Spring !

I love spring! I have been outside most of my free time this last week. We have done some spring cleaning, but there is still lots to do. With as many children as I have there is always something to clean. Krishawanda just (Sat) done a through cleaning of our kitchen. The kind where she cleaned off the top of the refrigerator, under the sink, and behind the cabinet. Wow, how can stuff get so filthy? Monday morning after everyone has left I'm looking at the kitchen and thinking Did she really JUST clean this? It takes one meal at my house and it is turned upside down again. At least under the sink is still clean and organized.

All of the pictures are of the house and yard. These are for Jen as she lives in Tennessee and doesn't get to see (me) the family very often. We sure do miss her. Brian visited yesterday. He too lives his own life away from me now and I don't see him very much. Tabitha and Staisha both live next door (thank goodness) and I see them most every day. If I had enough property I would give them all land and a house so I could keep all 22 of them near. I love being able to watch my grand kids grow up. And they are growing up. Andrew will be 9 and Lauren 4 in April. Kyson is 5 months old. I gave him chocolate in this picture and made his mama mad. It seems just last week Kyson was born. Andrew is playing soccer with my boys and that makes it so much easier on me. Tabitha takes them to one soccer practice and Keith takes them to another one. I know I can count on her if I (or Keith ) can't make it. Again another plus to having grown children live close. I don't think Brian would live close if he could. Jennifer neither. They both have busy lives and there is just not enough action around here for them.

I have psychologist appointments today, so I'm on the road again.

Military Ball

These are pictures of the kids going to the military ball. Although the dresses weren't quiet modest enough for me, I have to admit the girls looked fantastic. The young man is Anthony. He is one of my best kids if not the best. He is always respectful, kind, and loving. He does his best at everything he does. He is a little shy, and takes a little while to warm up but he is a wonderful person when you get to know him. Everyone had a great time at the dance/dinner. Doreese is with her date Patrick. I didn't get to get one of Krishawada and her date because I had to leave before he got to the house to pick her up. She got flowers, candy and the whole nine yards. (and then they broke up the next day) LOL

ON Purpose?

I know things accidentally get broken, torwn and just plain wear out. But honestly when some of my favorite items get broken, or come up missing I have to think these things are being done on purpose. I know foster children tend to do these things. I never really thought after having a kid (s) 6 or 7 years they would still have these behaviors. I usually try to just let it go especially if the kid own up to breaking or tearing something up. But really? Just the things I really like. My favorite cup? Not the chiped, old, no one knows where it came from cup. Just my fairly new, the one I drink out of all the time cup. Go figure. Maybe it is accidents. Maybe not.

cell phones

My cell phone is dying. I dread getting a new phone. I know I"m old and don't like change. Keith and I went in yesterday to LOOK at phones. He walks out with one of the new gadgets. He likes his new toy. Me I just couldn't pay the price. What's free with our new contract? Oh we have no free phones right now. replied the salesperson. Well I came home got on the computer and guess what? I had a choice of 12, yes 12 free phones. I will be choosing a free phone. All I want to do is talk anyway. Text occasionally. I don't have time for anything else. I may decide I like Keith's but Free is so much better!

Dress

What started out as a wonderful evening out with my three teenage daughters ended up being a nerve wracking experience. We went to Ross to look for a dress for Krishawanda. She tried on several and looked stunning in everything she put on. She did find one she really liked and it was within our price range (cheap) so along with a flowerpot, and a garden gadget we went to the checkout. I pulled my debit card from my wallet and swiped it, punched in my pin and THOUGHT I put the card back in my wallet. We then went to Chick-fil-a and got a tea. I almost put this amount on my card but between the 4 of us had enough to pay cash. We then went to Wal-Mart, where I always spend too much. We looked at movies, jewelry for the dress, little girl clothes, (I can't ever pass girls clothes up) and then got a few things we needed. (6 gallons of milk, 3 packs of cheese, 6 loaves of bread, 5 dozen eggs, and a few other things.) $263. I pulled out my wallet, no card. I rumbled in my purse, no card. I took everything out of my purse. No card. I start to panic. I know I used it at Ross. I sent Doreese back to the car. NO CARD. I paid with a check, and left. We searched everywhere. NO CARD!! I called Keith and had him cancel our cards. I checked my account and everything seems right. I pray I just dropped it or left it and no one has it. I am still a wreck over the whole thing. It's not like there is a lot of money in my account, but I need what is there. Maybe it won't keep me up tonight.

Sod

I have been really REALLY busy this last week. We decided to put sod in our back yard. My yard has been lush and green for many years. For some reason this last summer a lot of our grass died out. This fall and winter the kids have ridden there bikes around and around the yard until it is just a mud track. Now with all this rain it was a big mud puddle. Our back yard is pretty big, about 1/3 of an acre. It took 15 pallets. I laid about 50%. UGH! It looks really nice. One area near the gate which is on a slope didn't turn out quiet right. It was red georgia mud. I slipped and fell at one point. I think the ground shook. So that's what has occupied my time. That and 18 or 21 or 23 kids. I have several birthday pictures to post and the Military Ball coming up so I'll have lots of pictures to share.

Exciting -- Stressful

I should open up this post with a WOW! we won one of the 11Alive Community Service Awards for 2010. However, I can only get a little bit excited. wow. Keith works for Vulcan Materials in Norcross. He has done so for 25 almost 26 years. In fact he worked there long before we became foster or adoptive parents. They have learned of our very large family and are somehow impressed. I guess by the fact that Keith has worked so many hours while still parenting 18 to 22 kids. Well someone in the company nominated us for the award and low and behold we were one of 11 chosen for this award. It is not that I don't appreciate it, I just feel so out of place. There are people there who are so much more worthy. A woman who has played fairy godmother to a children's hospital for 35 years. A man who has raised millions for cancer research. A man who runs a shelter for single mothers who are addicts. A man who is 83 and a holocaust survivor. And the list goes on and on. All I do is raise my children. Some may see that as something special. I do not. It is what I want to do. If I had given birth to this many children I would be taking criticism. They are still just my children no matter how I got them. The award is a special honor with all the glitz and glam. My teenagers are the ones excited. I hope to make it as much about them as I can. We will attend a charity function which hopefully will raise 150,000.00. Which will go to a Mental Health Hospital that treats Major Depression, bi-polar and schizophrenia. All that is good. The affair is black tie. The dinner is $300 per guest. Vulcan has offered to buy my gown, which is good being I don't have 2 or 3 hundred dollars for that. The show will be aired on channel 11 WXIA. I think April 24/25. I'm not 100% sure. It will be taped April 20th. Vulcan has graciously bought a table for my adult and teenage children. That's a whooping $3000.00 I must say I'm impressed. I hope I don't come across as ungrateful or selfish. I truly dont mean to be. I'm scared I guess. Hopefully everything will go off without a hitch. Hopefully. IF you know me and my family that's next to impossible. My hairstyle will fall, I'll break a heal, someone will throw up, I'll get tongue tied, I'll look stupid, I'll fall, I'll look stupid. Any way that's all underway. Vulcan and the TV station have all been really, really nice. I know Tabitha, Brian and Amey, Doreese, Destinee, DJ, Krishawanda and Marvin will be happy. Our social worker is also going along with our children's minister and their spouse. It will be a memorable evening no doubt. Wish me luck and say a prayer.

YEsterday's post--For a good laugh!

This was actually suppose to be Wednesday mornings post. My Tuesday went a little crazy. I got busy and didn't get around to hitting publish. The picture says a lot about my day. We woke up to just a cold rainy morning. I checked the news to make sure that school had not been cancelled. NOPE! A lot of other schools, but not us. So Our regular routine began. It seemed like what usually takes an hour took twice as long. Nothing got completed, but alas all the kids did make it on the bus. No one was outside in line, or all didn't have coats and backpacks on but they ran as soon as someone yelled bus. So that's the way my day started. I felt kinda crummy. I had a BIG meeting to attend that night and Keith needed a hair cut and we needed to pick up Keith a new pair of nice dress shoes (for a suit) as one of the boys???? borrowed his and we can't find them. I knew we should have left as soon as the bus did but Keith isn't use to my hectic schedule or how fast time flies and you have to be back home by the time the bus does. Well we drug our feet and by the time we decided to go I just ran in and jerked on some clothes. When we left the house it was about 9:30. He decided to run by Wal-mart for his hair cut thinking that would be the quickest. Before we left the house it was snowing/raining. By the time we got to Wal-Mart it was coming down hard. Not sticking just snowing. So we ran in for the hair cut and I decided for the 2nd time in my life to have my nails done. Yep! 2nd time. I don't even try and have nice looking nails. My hand are in a lot of water with laundry, dishes and bathing kids so they break easily. And fake nails , please they would not last a day. But tonight was suppose to be a special night so I decided to splurge. (by the way the polish is already off on several places.) I just sat down when my phone rang. I decided to let them leave a message. Two minutes later it rang again. I tried to get it this time but by the times I got my hand dried so I could answer it had quit ringing. I didn't try to call back because I didn't recognise the number. Well the tech had one hand finished when Keith walked up and said the school called me and they are releasing school early. WHAT. Ok What time? He said 11:30. But it's 11:35 now. Yea, they called a few minutes ago and I told them I would come pick up the kids. WHAT!!! We are in the truck. We are 25 minutes away. They are suppose to send them home on the bus. That is what I filled out 18 forms for at the beginning of the year. If there is inclement weather how do you want your child to leave school? BUS____ or Car Rider _____ . I checked bus 18 times and signed my name to it. What is the use of the form if they aren't' gonna use it. I was upset with Keith. He said he didn't know what I would want to do and they had called me and didn't get an answer so they called him. He couldn't call them back, he had to make a decision NOW. SO I sent him to pick up the kids, while I stayed in Wal-Mart. Tabitha was going to stay with them until he came back and picked me up. That was OK, I could shop while he was gone. Well the nail technician was finishing my nails, while I was waiting on them to dry she started rubbing my arms and shoulders. I hate that. My daughters say they love it when they massage their arms and shoulders, but I do not like it. However I didn't say anything. I finished up got a buggy and shopped. Keith came in and we went through the check-out line. A family was behind us that had a little boy about 5 or 6. He was pitching a fit. Big Time. I would have taken him out of the store. He threw his toy, hit his dad, screamed and screamed. The cashier decided to try and talk to me, and ask if I had seen last nights episode of the Bachelor. No I don't watch much TV. The cashier wouldn't leave it alone. She kept asking questions until Keith finally said we stay busy with 18 kids. I try and not ever say how many kids we have because everyone flips out and ohs and ahs. The couple behind us heard and started Oh my how do you do it. (truthfully I did want to give them some tips) The cashier went on and on until several people was looking at us. She rang up our total (too much time spent in wal-mart = too much money spent) we payed and left. When we got home all the kids from highschool down was there. The first thing Destinee said to me as I walked through the door was "mom, did you know your shirt was on WRONG SIDE OUT? WHAT !!!! Yes, I had had my nails done, walked around Wal-Mart, had lots of attention called to me with my shirt on WRONG SIDE OUT. Oh well I needed a laugh after all that! AND everyone else had one. By the way we never did get the shoes and the meeting was canceled until Wednesday night. Exciting but STRESSFUL news coming. I'll try and post later today.

Soccer Practice

Tonight is the first soccer practice for the little boys. They are all so excited. I bought new cleats and shin guards today. I haven't bought any in several years and couldn't believe how much I had to pay for a pair of cleats. At first we had 4 different teams. When I signed up the boys we requested that Isaiah be put on the same team as Andrew so Tabitha could help with transportation. I guess they didn't get the message because they had all the boys on different teams. After several phone calls we finally got it all straighted out and ended up with just two teams. Life will be busy for a while, but the boys will be tired and ready to sleep after all the exercise. It will also give them a reason to do well in school, because if they don't have good grades then they can't play soccer. They are also super excited they get to wear shorts!