Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Ours

My daughter started her foster care journey exactly two years ago. For her first month she did respite care for a family of foster kids whose foster home had gotten damaged in a tornado. It was a great practice run with adorable kids. The night before their foster mom's home was ready for them to return my daughter got another call. 

Three little kids, ages 7 thru barely 3 were in need of a home for a few months. They had been in more than one foster care home. And there were behaviors, they warned. 

And we wondered what kind of behavior problems we adults might have if we had been removed and moved as many times as they had in a year. 

Something to think about. 

In the last two years my heart has broken and grieved. It has hoped and despaired. It has soared with feelings I just can't even put into words. 

Last Thursday, after 914 days in the foster care system, they were adopted into our family. 

I am so blessed. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Enjoyin the Sunshine

Our Gladys is so homely cute. I know that sounds horrible to say that your dog is homely, right? But she's a cartoon. We got to bask outside in the sun for a bit today. I read, they explored. Glorious. Lots of squirrels to bark at, a few birds to chase. Smells, delicious (to them) smells to follow. And when they got tired, they both hopped up on my lap to chill. In the bottom picture you can see the aftermath of the kneading, pawing, repositioning on my lap. A high selfie where the only thing  you can see is a portion of my shirt and my dog covered lap. Yeah. That added a lot to my attempt to relax and read. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Outta Here.

I got bit by a wild hair yesterday. I have some furniture I just want to get rid of. 

But before that I have to get rid of the stuff in and on it. First the DVD collection. We seriously had three storage pieces full of DVDs. Can you say excessive??? We went through a phase where we would buy any movie we liked if we discovered it at a decent price. The wicker drawer unit in photo one was crammed full of DVDs. The wooden unit in picture three was crammed full of them. And the two (there were three) baskets on the bottom shelf were actually loaded as well and slid into a wooden box. So we got rid of enough DVDs to downsize into one unit , with room. YAY!!! I'm going to try a new app I read about called decluttr. You apparently scan the scan code on the CDs or DVDs and they make an offer and you ship them to them at no cost. I'm okay selling some stuff. Oh yeah. Cuz as you imagine, I'm kicking myself for the $$$ invested in our library.

Then I decided, since I was on a roll, I'd move the 3 pictured units around to new locations that make sense. The wicker unit is near my coffee counter and holds extra coffee mugs now. The unit that held the coffee mugs before is now on the other kitchen wall and holds small appliances and other items I use. 

I was able to clear off a huge baker's rack that I don't love and place those items in new places. Sigh. Satisfied. Sleeping well, tonight. Those pieces were heavy. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ More Minimizing Around the Corner Comes

Another season of purging is upon me. With the prepurchase of Joshua Becker's new book, The More of Less, I was able to sign up for a 12 week challenge/class. 

The book arrived the other day and I'm two chapters in and so glad I parted with $11.00. I already have a few folks who want to read it when I'm done. So I'm excited about that, too. I can share the information. 

What speaks to me in what I've read is the fact that too much stuff can crush our mission, our passion, our very lives. If I, as I strongly believe, have a path already set out for me before my birth. And that God has uniquely created me for that path, then the clutter of life distracts me and keeps me from finding the bumps and turns and twists of that path. 

The fact that so much of that stuff is just an annoyance. Things I don't love, things I have to move over and over again. Things. Cheaply made, ill-fitting, items I don't enjoy. Just stuff that takes up space in my physical, emotional and mental world...it just needs to go. 

Even more reason to get rid of stuff. 

I'll keep you posted. In the meantime I'm going to be Unflattering and shedding some stuff this weekend. 

Scribbles and Scrambles - 1 Week of Lessons

We've had our pokeballs for a week.

Things I've learned about hedgehogs! (Many of these comments could be applied to people as well. just saying) 

They are as cute as can be. The disappearing and appearing ears, eyes and forehead action is just adores.

At least 2 of the worlds' beagle population are VERY leery of hedgehogs. Tonight is the first time they are sharing the same section of the room.

Hedgehogs poop when they walk or crawl around on humans. Or in the wheels or balls. It only lasts the first 10 minutes or so but poo is involved. Then there may be a warm dribble....insult to injury. Hedgie diapers....hmmm wouldn't need pins!

Hedgehogs are surprisingly cuddly. They don't mind being petted on their quills and it's not at all unpleasant as long as you don't go against the grain. They love to curl up and really like the buddy bags I made. Dark and cozy corners.

Quills are not barbed. But they are sharp. Hedgies who are startled, cranky or loners are very good at getting that across. They roll up and the quills extend. The texture is a combination of wire brush, dried out Christmas tree and dryer ball. 

Touching a puffed hedgie is touchy ( ha-ha ). You have to scoop up under their soft belly. They puff and huff sometimes while you are attempting that. And it's a scary thing to see. 

One more thing. This caught me by surprise. Daffodil chomped me. She was agitated. And I hadn't washed my hands before picking her up. Just one bite. But it was sharp and she didn't let go right away. Later, when I researched I found a few key things. 1) they are visually impaired. 2) in the wild they eat worms and small snakes. 3) food or perfume on your hands can grab their interest and make them think you are edible.
I did learn that I handled it well. I didn't put her down, scream, or toss her. Don't want that experience again but I learned from it. Win. And best of all, no scar. 

Scribbles and Scrambles - Presto Chango

You know we roll with change. Like other than the learning curve of immediate grandparents of three. Zero to three in 12.5 hours. 

Or our penchant for pet doubles. Change is kinda fun. 

This year we have been learning lots as Rob figures out life without a knee and I figure out how to be supportive and the bag and box hauler. That one hasn't been a favorite. I'm praying and hoping for next week's blood test showing he can have a new knee. 

Today I found out I get to interview for my job position as our clinic has decided to be absorbed by a bigger entity. Twenty years there, whew, this is going to be interesting. And I thought it was just a normal Tuesday when I got out of bed this morning. 

Scribbles and Scrambles - Well, Technology Can Be Awesome

From the safety of my car while waiting for the severe thunderstorm to pass I was able to check my email, creep on Facebook, begin a blog post and communicate with my daughters to make sure they were pocketed safely away with the children.  Yay, smart phone. I could also have tracked the weather down to the second, but I generally just use my senses for that. Which explains my occasional coatless days in January because the "sun is shining" moments. 

From my conversations with the girls I was reminded of two things. A) My older daughter's faith is strong. She was totally unaware of tornado warnings just a dozen miles away and they were just doing life and chilling after school. B) My youngest daughter has followed in the cliche "you marry your father" Her husband stood outside and filmed the wall cloud while she braved the tornado shelter in their apartment complex. It flooded, she had to navigate around spiders, broken glass and a condom wrapper floating downstream while carrying her 7 month old, 22+ pounder around. 

At least her hubby had a good time.