Terrible.....Very Bad Day*

This morning was shaping up to be a "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"*, but I ran into just the right person at the right time.

After a restless night, John's alarm went off at 6. I was glad when he reset it for 6:30. Unfortunately, I didn't hear him get up. My MIL woke me up at 7 (when she realized that wasn't me in the shower).

I realized, as she was taking her first bite of donut, that Crunchy was supposed to be fasting for blood work at the doctor. (Oops! Sorry baby girl! Gotta take that away!)

The car window was covered in ice, but I thought we would still make it to Chewie's bus stop in time. (That is his, alternate bus stop when we miss the first one.) Wrong. So we had to drive Chewie to school, making us late for Crunchy's doctor appointment.

We like to prepare our kids for what is coming, but we may need to rethink that plan with Crunchy. As soon as she learned they were going to draw blood, she began freaking out. Major meltdowns followed.

We survived the blood draw with lots of tears (including my own) and headed to school. In Crunchy's room, I found now one, but two substitutes. There was a sub for her long term sub (who has been here since Christmas) and a sub for her associate (aka "teacher's aid). Yikes! I left my cell number just in case.

Then I headed to the library to pay for a lost (?) book. Our school is very much into the Accelerated Reader program. Crunchy has not had a new book in 3 weeks because she didn't bring back one of her books. So I waited for Mrs.M. to finish with a Kindergarten class she was working with so I could pay up. I asked if we could double up on AR books so Crunchy can try to reach her goal (in the next 2 weeks). Mrs.M was not happy to learn that Crunchy had not been able to read AR books all this time. I was nearly in tears as I talked to her. (She was nice;I was just starting to feel overwhelmed.)

I finally headed out (late for my 9:oo appointment) and I saw my friend Meg (who teaches art at various elementary schools). She asked the customary "How are you?", but she wasn't happy with my half-hearted "fine". She pressed just a bit, and I threw out a few of the stressors in my day, so far. She said, "Stop!" (walking) and caught up with me. Right there on the sidewalk in front of our school, Meg wrapped me in a hug and held me while I cried. Then she prayed for me.

Ironically, last night after a discussion about healthy families, our group talked about how we often lie when people ask how we are doing. Or if we do answer, we quickly find out they didn't really want to know. I am so thankful that Meg was there right when I needed her. And that she didn't settle for "fine".

*Apologies to Judith Viorst who wrote Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

It's official! EVERYONE is on Facebook!

While I have been involved with on-line groups and social networking for quite a while, I was not an early fan of Facebook. I joined MySpace and set up a profile, but never really did much with it.

I first joined Facebook about 3 or 4 years ago to view my friend (and former colleague) Dennis' pictures of Fiji. Dennis and I taught together my first year. Dennis retired shortly after that and went to Fiji to teach at a Bible college. I didn't really "get" Facebook at the time.

About a year or two ago, a bunch of friends from my infertility support group (Hannah's Prayer) began friending each other on Facebook. I went a bit overboard and friended everybody I could find. Many I later purged because I had no idea who they were!

Shortly after the great HP (Hannah's Prayer) move to Facebook, one of my bridesmaids, Teri, friended me. The last time I had seen Teri was when I subbed at the school she worked at. Through Teri, I connected with many members of my old youth group. I found a few people from high school and college, and even some family members. 4 of my 6 siblings are on Facebook, and several of my nieces, nephews and cousins too.

Every once in a while, I will do searches for old friends. Sometimes I find some. But there were a couple of people I just could not find. I tried google, I tried MySpace, I tried Facebook....I even tried those White Pages where they charge you to find people. (I never did the paid version.) Both friends have common first names (Susan and Melinda) and fairly common last names. I knew that both had moved (one is an Air Force wife). So I didn't even know where to localize a search. Both Susan and Melinda were bridesmaids in my wedding 22 years ago.

Susan was my best friend my senior (and her freshman) year of high school. She moved to Washington state, and came back for my wedding the next year. We were penpals for a while. A couple of years later we were back in California after college when she married one of my classmates. (Susan's brother was in my class, and she married his best friend.) The last time I "talked" to Susan, she was in Virginia--about 15 years ago?? But the moved a few times and we moved a few times. And we lost touch.

Melinda dated my brother for a while. They didn't last long, but we became friends. She and her husband lived in Syria for a while, and they moved to Washington when they got back. I connected with her once, but then lost contact again.

Last month, I got a friend request from Melinda. Yeah! I was thrilled. We exchanged "where have you been for the past 10+ years?" stories. Once again I tried looking for Susan. No luck. Until last night. I logged into Facebook (which I don't necessarily do every day) and there was a friend request from Susan! No picture or anything, but I knew it was her. She just joined Facebook this week. Her husband wanted to connect with high school classmates. And she found me.

Oh...and get this....about a year and a half ago, they were in ROSWELL (my town). Can you believe it? We might have been sitting at McDonald's play area watching our kids together!?!?!

So, last night, after finding Susan, I did a few friend of a friend searches and found a few of my old teachers (Hi! Mr. Q!) And I realized that EVERYBODY is on Facebook. My sister's 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Whitehead (who was old when we were in 6th grade almost 30 years ago!) is on Facebook!

The Adoption Decision: Special Sale

A very dear friend of mine, Laura Christianson, who I had the pleasure of getting to know on-line as well as meet in real life beneath the Seattle Space Needle, sent me a note about an upcoming special she is offering. I wanted to share it with you. Laura is the most knowledgable person I know on the subject of adoption. As an adoptive mom (twice) she speaks from experience. In fact, it was conversations with Laura that helped my John and I become comfortable with the idea of having a continuing relationship with Chewie's birthmom. Laura is a published author of 3 books and countless articles.

To celebrate my wedding anniversary this Friday, I'm having a 1-day book bash on August 21. I did this last year, and it was wildly popular, so I thought, "Why not do it again?"

Here's how it works:

1. Buy The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting on Amazon.com

2. Send me your Amazon proof-of-purchase, dated August 21, 2009, and your mailing address.

3. I'll mail you an autographed copy of The Adoption Network: Your Guide to Starting a Support System, absolutely free!

This is a $10 value, plus I pay the shipping on The Adoption Network.

Is there a catch?

Nope.
Hundreds of people who have received free books from me during my periodic specials will attest to the fact that I'll send your free book promptly, and I won't hassle you with a bunch of unsolicited emails.

Both my books have a 5-star rating from Amazon reviewers.

Tell everybody about this special, 1-day offer, so they can stock up on free books:

Tell your adoption agency, social worker, or attorney.
Tell others you know who are considering adopting.
Tell your clergyperson...these books give any church that's considering starting an
adoption ministry a jump-start.
Tell people who are looking for a gift to buy you.
Where to send your Amazon proof-of-purchase for The Adoption Decision:

E-mail it to me (or send it as an attachment) with "1-Day Sale" in the Subject line: laurachristianson@hotmail.com.

OR

Send it via snail mail to Laura Christianson, PO Box 1254, Snohomish, WA 98291-1254. I'll honor any Amazon proof-of-purchase for The Adoption Decision dated 8-21-09, as long as I receive it by 8-31-09.

Hope you enjoy your new books and please, write and tell me what you think of them.

Rebate on Mineral Makeup

My very good friend Jenni is offering a rebate on Affordable Mineral Makeup™ . She has a short deadline (Wednesday) to reach a goal for a rep incentive. This is a chance to get a 25% rebate on the cost of the products. What a great time to order!

If anyone makes a purchase from http://www.innerbeautygirls.com/ by
Aug. 12 (before midnight EST) at full price, email me -
InnerBeauty@AffordableMineralMakeup.com - your purchase order number from your completed transaction. I will paypal you a 25% refund of your product purchase
total (not including tax/shipping fees) as soon as your order is processed. Your
purchase MUST originate through my link in order for me to receive credit for
your purchase and be able to send you the refund. I really want to hit this
goal, so I'm offering you a huge chuck of my commision as a direct cash-back
refund. Tara (the company owner) sometimes offers discounts ranging from 10-13%
(and only very rarely up to the 13% mark), but 25% if a really big deal and I'm
willing to take the cut directly out of my earnings in hopes of gaining some new
long-term customers and letting you see how wonderful these products are for
yourself! This really is your very best chance to try out Affordable Mineral
Makeup™ at a really great price. I hope you will take advantage of this amazing,
but very time-limited deal and pass my offer along to your friends as well.
Thanks for helping me out!

If you order, tell her Julie sent you. (No, I'm not getting anything for it. I just want to help out my friend!)

Answered Prayers

This morning, John texted me to tell me that the car wouldn't start. (This was quite frustrating as we just replace the battery about a month ago.) I couldn't help him because I getting ready to meet a family. I had just pulled up to Sam's Club gas station. While pumping gas, a friend from church walked over. Bob asked how John was doing. I mentioned that the car wouldn't start. He asked if he could pray for our car. I said sure. My mom always said, "If God is the 'great physician', why can't he be the 'great mechanic'?" Bob prayed for three things:

1. That the car would start quickly.
2. For wisdom to figure out what was wrong.
3. For finances to cover any repairs.

After I finished pumping, I texted John to give him the total (so he could update the checking account). And I added, "Bob prayed for your car." His return text: "It started immediately." I told him to stop by and tell Bob.

Later, he went to Sam's, and again texted that the car wouldn't start. (I told him to call Bob!) He checked a couple of things and let me know he got it started. He had an idea of a problem with the battery terminals. (See request #2) He headed over to the car parts store in the same parking lot and for $2.13 (see request #3), he fixed it. Yeah God! Nice triple play!

UBP: 2009 Party Time!

It's time, again, for 5 Minutes for Mom's Ultimate Blog Party. Please, come in and pull up a chair. My name is Julie, and I'm your hostess today.

You can find out more about me here. But in a nutshell: I'm a full time working mom of 3 kids. My husband and I have been married for 22 years. We serve as marriage mentors, and I'm heading our our church's women's ministry. I love to read, and lately I've had the opportunity to write reviews on some of the books. I have quite a few in a pile to read and review over the next few months. I've done a few other product reviews, but mostly I blog for fun. You can read my blogging journey here.

Those beautiful kiddos on the header, yep. They are mine! One was adopted, two were by birth, and all are really mine! That is where the Mom 2 ways comes in. (from right to left):

• Munchie (3, pre-K, all boy!) Short for munchkin. Loves Pomas (Thomas) the Tank Engine
• Crunchy (5, K, princess/wrestler)Love to sing, dance and tell stories
• Chewie (11, 5th grade, explorer) Loves science, Mythbusters, and video games

In case you are wondering, those are not their real names! :) I decided a couple of years ago that if I'm going to talk about my kids, I should probably at least partially hide their identity! :)

My husband, John (and that is his real name---his and half the country's!) is a stay at home Daddy who occasionally works as a computer network technician. He has two blogs: Every Daddy's Princess and Macs4Missions.
If you look closely at the picture, you will see evidence of his techno-geekness (is that a word?) His Mac Mini with 2 flat panel monitors (one is out of the picture); the Wii; the assortment of audio and visual components, the Star Trek: The Experience pictures, and the 50 inch plasma TV that replaces the 47 inch LCD TV I broke with the Wii-mote. Oh...you didn't hear that story? I wrote about that in He Loves Me More and Restoration.

Right now (hurry before you forget!) add me to your favorites or follow my blog! You don't want to miss all the exciting stuff I've got in store! (Plus, I need to feel the love! :) )

There are all kinds of cool prizes! Here are some of my choices! (These are all from the US list.)

58 – Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer (from Moms Who Think)
42 — 5 kajeet phones (from kajeet)

53 – Signing Time Parent (from Two Little Hands Productions)

1 — $100 gift certificate to either Pedal Cars and Retro or A Rocking Horse To Love
Provided by: 5 Minutes for Mom

Any of these gift certificates would be great!
19, 21, 22, 26, 91, 113, 68

Here are some other favorites!
5, 40 , 49 , 60 , 95 , 103, 106 , 114 , 72, 134

Okay, so I went back and looked at the US and Canada List and found more!
1, 8, 27, 32, 76

Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and join the fun!

Fitness Friday: Blog Swing Guest

As part of the Wii Fit Mommies Blog Swing I am happy to introduce my guest blogger. Today you'll find me at a CT girl in KS. Check out the other imposters, er guests, at Wii Fit Mommies.

Hi everyone! My name is Devon and I blog over at MamaCheaps.com! First, I’d like to thank Julie for letting me have the guest spotlight on today’s Fitness Friday!
I’d like to tell you a story about my experience with fitness through pictures! Before the arrival of my daughter, Lilyana, I succumbed to ALL SORTS of torturous, long, grueling workout DVDs and programs. Sadly, I probably own more than this- these are just the ones in my living room!

But let’s face it—once the baby arrived, I just did not have the time devote 60 minutes to a full workout video. In fact, after I came home with Lily AND a painful c-section incision, I all but banished the word EXERCISE in my house! Then as the weeks went on, I came to realize that even though the videos might be out for now, Lily and I certainly could work together on this working out thing. You all probably know that there is NO shortage of fitness products for BABIES!

From the floor gyms…

To the Exersaucers…

To the Jumparoos…

Babies seem to find exercise everywhere! But for mommies, it might not be so easy. Sure, there’s always going for walks (weather permitting outside or indoors like the mall), but sometimes that just isn’t feasible.

And then, I finally found something that not only gives me a workout, but believe it or not, it’s fun too. That’s right- the Wii Fit from Nintendo! I had so much fun the very first time I stepped on my balance board, and even broke a sweat! It’s fast paced, entertaining, and it documents your training, which gives me one less thing to worry about! Oh yeah- and the best thing about the Wii Fit? Lily likes to play too. So, even when she won’t go down for a nap, I can still get some workout time! (Thanks to my husband for posing!)


So, the lesson here is simple. Do you have to run out and buy a Wii Fit? Definitely not! What you do have to do, though, is find SOME way to get some exercise that you (and your baby/children) can enjoy together! I hope to show Lily that exercise is not only important, but can be fun and not a chore. That’s a lesson that I wish my parents had stressed to me, and a legacy that I would be proud to pass on.

Happy Fitness Friday, everyone!!

Girls Night Out

This week I was invited to join some girls from church at Applebees for dinner and then a movie. I was thrilled. I love to fellowship, and I've been trying to get some stuff going with the women at church. Apparently these girls get together every 6 or 8 weeks. Last night there were about 20 of us. We had a great time of fellowship at dinner, and then we enjoyed "Bride Wars". I hadn't heard anything about it, but figured it was a "bridezilla" type theme. It was. And it was funny. Amazingly, there were no sex scenes. And the language was not too bad. The only violence was the brides attacking each other. :) A great time was had by all, and I can't wait for the next one!

Chance meeting?

Tonight, after delivering some of our (almost) world famous caramel corn to some friends we had about 45 minute before Christmas Eve service. So we headed to Sam's Club to make a return. Church started at 6--the same time Sam's closed tonight. While John made the return, I took the kid and headed to the snack bar for dinner. (Hey! The pizza's good and it's a cheap meal! We ate for less than $10. Last night we spent $20 at Sonic--with no drinks!) While waiting in line, I chatted with the family behind us. Their daughter was wearing a shirt like one Crunchy has. It turns out their daughter is 6 (Crunchy is 5.) and their son just turned 3. (Munchie is 3.) We invited them to sit with us. The kids got along great. When Crunchy started singing "We wish you a merry Christmas", her new friend joined in. Munchie and his friend sat quietly together and checked out the situation.

About 5:45, I asked if we could get their number to try to arrange a play date. As I was asking, Mom was pulling out her cell phone to enter my number! We talked about work. She works for CYFD (children's services) in Early childhood services. I work in early intervention (with kids from birth to 3.) Dad is the senior network technician at a local bank (read: tech guru). My hubby is a contract network technician.

They will be out of town until after New Year's. (They were heading to Grandma's for Christmas.) But we are going to get together after the New Year. Wow! So often we meet someone with kids the right age for one or two of our kids, but to find a pair that almost exactly the same ages (and gender!) is great. They do have an 11 year old (like Chewie) and a 9 year old---but they are both girls.

I'm looking forward to getting to know them. It feels like a great Christmas present!

Star Wars House Party

I was selected to host a Star Wars: The Clone Wars Preview HouseParty. First of all, if you have not visited HouseParty yet, you have got to check it out! A House Party™ is a thousand parties on one day, in homes nationwide, with an exclusive brand experience at the center of the action. . They send you free stuff to share with your friends!

Speaking of free stuff! We received a box full of cool stuff! There was one hard plastic Clone mask, 10 full color thick paper masks (with names and descriptions on the back); 10 double sided posters; 10 light sticks, 10 balloons, 10 sheets of stickers, and 10 sheets of temporary tattoos. We also got a reusuable shopping tote bag with a Yoda design. And, a spring loaded light saber from Hasbro.

The party was from 5-7 pm. We had 13 Jedi Knights (ages 7-12) and 7 Jedi apprentices (5 and under). We began with a lightsaber battle in the back yard. As the guests arrived, they joined the lightsaber fracass. Each of the kids brought a snack (mostly chips and cookies) and I fixed hot dogs. Most of the kids were too busy playing to eat.







Even the 2 month old baby came prepared with a light saber!

At 6 we came inside. Before entering the "theater" we disarmed all the warriors. Besides not wanting any injuries, we didn't want to take any chances with the TV.





I was a bit worried about having the dozen tweenage boys (and one girl) plus their various younger siblings piled into my living room to watch the show. But they did great! Some of the "Apprentices" didn't stay in front of the TV. (Some, in fact, chose to go back outside to the swing!) But the boys are serious Star Wars fans. I don't think any of them moved until it was over!






And then the were ready to return to the fight!



A great time was had by all. And the boys are even more excited about the new series!

I was blessed this week!

As my loyal readers know, I'm flying to California to see my mom. (Shhh...it's a surprise!) One of my friends decided to bless me with a new outfit. It was one of those times that I knew it would be an insult if I refused. So we went together and picked out an outfit. I got a pair of tan, long, cargo shorts. (They were too short to be called capris), a turquoise tank, and a turquoise, tan and white striped shirt. It was good to have D's input on what colors and styles would look good. She didn't tell me how much to spend, so I kind of had her guide my choices. As we walked out, she said, 'We came in 96 cents under what I budgeted." I'll have John take a picture of me before I get on the plane.

After the party: Introducing new friends I

After the Ultimate Blog Party we were encouraged to introduce some new friends we made. I saved about 60 blogs in my google reader during the party. I will be going through them and eliminating some. (I don't have to keep up with them all!) But I wanted to have time to decide which ones were keepers.

One blog that I discovered last month's Bloggy Carnival was Pink Paper Peppermints. M is Christian home schooling Mom. She has some great insight, such as this post: How to actually make something. You can learn a little bit about her here: Tuesday 10



Stayed tuned for more new friend introductions