My little Hawkeye! Friday the boys and I hit the mall around 8am. Getting up at 6 to get some Black Friday deals was enough of a sacrifice for me! I was not about to go out at midnight and wait in line for hours. We were at Scheels and Sam saw a Hawkeye helmet and was suddenly seized with the great desire to have one. I remembered that I had seen entire outfits before in little kid sizes so we went on the hunt for one. We found one - the last one - in his size and Sam was overjoyed. He used his birthday money to buy the set. Any other kid would have been happy to blow his wad on toys, but Sam has influential older brothers and a Hawkeye outfit was what he wanted! He was so cute. He insisted on hauling the Scheels bag through the mall himself and all the way home kept chattering about how he couldn't wait to get his jersey and helmet on. He wore them all day Friday and Saturday and would have worn them longer except I put them in the hamper. He's been outside tackling his brothers in his helmet. He's so proud of that thing! I pointed out to him that his jersey had gotten a little dirty and he told me, "That's ok - real Hawkeyes get their jerseys dirty, too!" I won't be surprised if he insists on wearing this outfit next fall for his birthday picture - hope it still fits by then! It's going to be one sad day around here when he can't squeeze into his uniform anymore!
Speaking of sad, and this really is: Joy is probably dying today. She's the mom in our church I mentioned three months ago who had been dx with brain cancer. Things have gone swimmingly since the initial dx. She's been in a terrific mood and busy with household things. I read on her blog a couple of weeks ago that she was painting her bathroom or something like that. Then, around Will's birthday she started chemo and radiation. The radiation and tumor itself has caused her brain to swell and unless she responds to some new medication her family has been told it won't be long. I did get a prayer chain phone call this morning and was told that Joy is in an awful lot of pain. Death will be a blessing for her then. But it stinks, you know? Just yesterday, while driving around town, I was hit by a wave of longing for my grandparents who have been dead since 2003. And they were elderly and had lived their lives. I think it would be worse when you have to mourn all the things you thought you'd get to experience with someone and didn't. This world is not where it is. But it's all we know. And so, we grieve. I know Paul is hoping to get up to the hospital to sit with Rod for awhile, husband to husband. I hope someone would do that for Paul if it were me that was dying. But that's not going to happen because I am definitely going to outlive him!
We had our 2nd home visit a week ago. After talking with our worker, we found out that we can be just licensed for adoption. So that's what we're going to do. I've never been all that crazy about the idea of doing foster care, but was willing to do it if that is what it took to eventually adopt. The downsides will be that we will not have spent months with the child, getting to know her and it may take longer to have a child placed with us. But it's not like I don't have anything to do in the meantime! So we will be licensed and then we will wait for a call. I suppose then, we will have a gradual time of getting to know our new child as she is transitioned out of her foster home. The state also has adoption "fairs" twice a year where we could go meet children available for adoption. I think that would be kind of neat, even if it does bring to mind images of picking out a puppy from the pound!
Saturday I ripped up the old carpet in the bedroom (gouging myself only once with the jip knife and nearly breaking Sam's leg, as well). Paul then thought he had to do some re-wiring of the house sine the original wires ran underneath the floorboards in that bedroom. Sunday we put down part of the new carpet. Tonight we will finish it. Then we have to put up a handrail to the basement and hang some co2 detectors. Last night after class we went to Menards and bought a gun cabinet, the co2 detectors, and a needed smoke detector. And then next Tues. is our last home visit! Oh, and we have to move the new furniture into the bedroom, which will be fun! I can't wait to sew a bed skirt and matching curtains, but that's going to be an after-Christmas project.
Our last class is next Monday night. Maybe it's because I've been out of school for so long, but finishing these classes seems like a real accomplishment to me! They've just been so intensive. Maybe it's because my heart has been so tied up with all of this,too.
We have connected with another couple in the class that we discovered are fellow Christians. In fact, the husband is the assistant pastor at an area Baptist church. I'd like to find out their last name so I could find them on Facebook. The mom is a public school teacher in Waukee, although she used to homeschool.
Well, I have more to write, but it will have to be in a later post. I'm kind of scrambling with my to-do list today. I'll be back later!
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