A Goodbye

Hope you all had a great Christmas.  I know we did.  Too great.  The amount of gifts under the tree this year made me sick to my stomach- a total obscenity.  And I take all the blame.  The overspending... the gift gluttony... my fault.  All of it.  Darrell would be happy to give everyone a 5 spot and a nice, shiny apple and be done with it.  I, on the other hand, get a little carried away.  I try to buy each kid as many items on their lists as we can, then...  I always want to buy "one more thing."  I don't know why I do that because I can't stand overindulged, spoiled children (meaning those belonging to other people, of course- not my own.  I love my overindulged, spoiled children, for the most part).  I also become overwhelmed and forget what I've already bought (my closet gets so stuffed, you can't see what's in there), so one kid (or two... or three...) winds up with more than the others.   Instead of returning a few gifts to even things out, I go out and buy more for everyone else.  Some part of my brain forgets that I'm not a Trump or a Hilton.  Next year, we are scaling back.  I mean it.  No, really.  I do. 

Onto a different subject...  I think I'm done, guys.  Blogging, I mean.  I've run out of things to say.  My daily life is...  what's the word?  Busy? Boring? Hectic?  Mundane?  SoincrediblyuninterestingthatnobodywouldwanttoreadaboutitwhilealsobeingsounbelievablybusythatIdon'thavetimetowriteaboutit?  Yes, that's it. 

The funny thing is that I never intended for this to be anything other than a way to keep family updated on our adoption, our kids, and a place to post pictures.  Now that my blog has actually become that, I don't wanna do it anymore. 

For awhile, I thought I was just having a little block.  Then, I thought it was because I got sick for so long and wasn't getting out of the house enough to have anything to say.  But... no. 

I just don't have anything left to tell you that I think you'd want to hear.  My stories have been told, my insights revealed (um... insights?  Where were the insights?), and my jokes are beyond stale.

So...  I think I'm done.  To the two of you still visiting:  Thank you for sticking with me and I'll miss your comments.  I've made a few "friends" through this blog who I truly wish I could know in real life.  You know, they have that new email thing now, I hear- so hopefully we can still touch base from time to time. 

I thought I'd leave you with a few of my favorite posts.  These were fun to write and also fun to go back and re-read.  Here are my top five favorites. First, the funny (at least in my own estimation):

5. Has the Whole World Gone Nuts...? (During my super fun time belonging to the VN Yahoo Group craziness)

4. Last Sunday's Adventure

3. Today on "Survivormom" (During our famous ice storm/ power outage adventures)

2. Spanx are a Tool of the Devil. 

And this one has to be the Number One.  It's what this blog was created for:

1. ... BIG News!

 I hope you had a few favorites, too. 

And also...  A few last pictures of Sam.  He was the reason for this blog in the first place, so it seems fitting to end it with his beautiful, funny face.  Sammy, I love and adore you (your whole family loves and adores you) more than words could ever say.  No amount of blogging could cover it.  You have blessed our lives and enriched our family beyond measure.  You were most definitely, without a doubt, worth the wait. 

From yesterday (Our first Christmas morning with The Samster):

And a few pics from today.  Sam loved his first time playing in the snow!

To all of my children,
I hope you know that no matter how many sarcastic comments I've made about "putting up" with all of you, or how "terrible" you are... or the number of jokes we constantly hear from others for having "this many" kids,  I wouldn't trade my big family for anything.  Each one of you is a miracle to me.  I honestly never thought I'd be so blessed.   Having you has given my life meaning, purpose, and value.  You are my life.  I love you, I love you, I love you.  I hope this blog will be a place you can visit later on down the road to see what your nutty old mom thought about things, but mostly I hope that as you read it, you will take with you the knowledge that you enriched my life in countless ways.  When you look past the jokes, the complaints, and the sarcasm, I hope you'll see in these posts that: You are loved.  You are wanted.  And you were (are, always will be) my everything. 

Love,
Mom

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Vermin

Some of my long-time readers (all two of you) may remember this post when we had trouble with a squirrel in our house...  Well, he's back.  He waited a long time until our guards were down, but finally came back to exact his revenge and apparently brought the whole family.

Squirrels have chewed a hole in the corner of our roof outside and have gotten into our attic and walls.  They sound as if they are the size of housecats and are apparently moving furniture around in our attic, setting up their new winter digs just the way they want it.  They thump and they scratch and they run and jump.  Oh, the good times they're having.  It's like Dance Party USA up there.  You wouldn't believe how loud these stupid things are.  It's driving me crazy, since their little entrance hole is directly above the corner of my bed.  I hear them all night.  I hear them first thing in the (early, early) morning.  I can even hear their squeaky conversations.  And I'm hearing impaired. 

This has been going on for almost two weeks now.  TWO WEEKS, people!  Darrell finally got some time yesterday afternoon to get out there and start fixing the hole.  I asked him, "Um, hon?  How do we know- after you plug up the hole- that we aren't just trapping the squirrels in, instead of keeping them out?"

His response?  "Uhhh... That's a good question."

Something to consider...

As we approach the holidays (and for those unmoved by the spirit of the season- the end of another tax year), we often look for ways to give to those in need.  We put our change in red buckets, manned by smiling bell-ringers outside the mall, after spending an obscene chunk on Christmas gifts for our family and friends.  We donate canned goods to local homeless shelters and food banks as we prepare to gorge ourselves on all sorts of holiday yumminess.   We give a little extra to a favorite charity, but only after we've made sure we have enough to cover the holiday budget.  We hear pitifully sad stories of people in need and living through heartbreaking circumstances and we say really goofy things like, "Boy...  Sure makes you thankful for what you have, huh?"  Or, "Stories like that make me want to hug my loved ones a little tighter."  Blah, blah, blah.

Or maybe that's just me...?

Any giving to others is good, of course- no matter how small it may be.  But how often, during this busy season, do we really- and I mean Really, do something that could change a life?  

For me, sadly, the answer would be "rarely to never."  How about you?  I'm sure you're not as pathetic as I am.  I must admit that at this time of year, my focus is primarily on my own family (not solely on my own family, but still...)...  to provide toys that no one really needs, to give cash to teenagers who will undoubtedly blow it on something stupid and quickly forgotten...  to fill stockings with unhealthy, cavity-inviting crap...  to spend, spend, spend on groceries for feasts and goodies for people who have never gone hungry a day in their lives...  Always, always trying to outdo myself and create the perfect Christmas.  Each year I vow that I will focus more on the true meaning of Christmas for myself and my children and also find more opportunities to give to others and share the blessings God has given to me.  And each year, I wind up being more like a bipolar Martha Stewart on crack than a Mother Teresa.

But I've been given something to think about today; a reason to change my self-focused, holiday ways that I'd like to share.  I'd like to encourage and challenge you to visit Mrs. Broccoli Guy's blog and read THIS POST... Please.  Then, consider what, if anything, you might be willing to do. 

Christina's post (which I trust you are leaving me soon to read, right???), while adoption-related, will touch your heart and make you think, regardless of your ties to adoption.   If it doesn't, you must be made of stone (no offense).  Please, please read it...  All the way to the end- no skimming, people!  There is a website listed at the end of her post where donations can be made.

(Before I go, let me point out that I have intentionally not jumped upon my adoption soapbox for this post, although I very easily could have.  Talk of foreign countries and their adoption laws, the plight of orphaned children, adoption reform, etc.- those topics would bore lose a few of you, yes?  So I chose the holiday angle instead, preying upon your holiday spirit of generosity, hoping to appeal to those of you who may not share the same level of interest in adoption and children in need of families as I have (not to suggest that you do not care about adoption or children in need- I only mean to say we are each moved by different causes, and yours may be different than mine).   At least I'm honest about trying to manipulate you into doing what I want you to do.  That's worth something, isn't it?)