Learning

I learned a lot of things in the last week.  We had our first opportunity to have foster children in our home.  They were here for a very short time, but there were so many lessons learned. 

*I can't do this if Alan is not with me.  If he ends up with a job traveling all the time, we would have to change our course. 

*I absolutely can be a parent to a child who has a different shade of skin color than me:-)  This has never been an issue for me, but this last week just confirmed that in my heart.  Color just doesn't matter.  I am very thankful for my school years where I learned this lesson.

*Having children in my home is HARD.

*Davin needs to have his own room for many reasons.

*Alan and I are a team. 

*Instead of looking for children who are already freed for adoption, it is my hope that we are the first home that our kids come to, that we can all work through the issues together and that they will remain in our home until they become freed for adoption.  (Even if that means that we have foster kids and they don't end up staying with us forever before we end up with the kids God has for us.)

I don't want to write any specifics of our time, but I will share that it was much harder than I even could have imagined.  In the end, though,  both Alan and I decided that God has called us to this and we will continue to walk this path.

I can tell you that there were tears, there were frustrations, but there were also smiles, laughs and funny things said. 

Double Life

I am almost finished living a double life.  It hasn't been a secret double life, but it has been a double life in so many ways.  I am kind of a resident of two states.  I have two homes.  I do continue to keep my same husband in both lives, though, so I think that is good;-) 

One week from tomorrow, I will have my apartment packed up and ready to head back to my little house on the meadow and my other three kids.  This will be move #18 for me, I believe. 

I have such mixed emotions about the whole thing.  No mistake about it, I have missed being near my older kids!!  I have missed my little house on the meadow.  I have missed my dog:-)  (Bethany, don't argue!)  I have missed our extended families and some dear friends.  It will be wonderful to be back. 

But....I still consider upstate NY home.  I can't help it.  It is the place where I have spent the majority of my adult life.  I have the most memories with my kids here. I have wonderful friends and a great church.  I like the pace of life in Rochester and I love the people here.  Davin's school here is AMAZING! 

I live two lives, but not for long now. 

  "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"
                                                -Philippians 1:6

What a blessing this verse was to me this morning as I prepared for my Bible study this evening.  I have been stressed and concerned over some things that are out of my control.  I have seen God at work and I know He will continue it. 

Juice Fast Acceptable Alterations

At least these are my acceptable alterations.  Alan would disagree with me;-)

1.  Chocolate covered raisins continue to be a healthy snack and you may eat a few if you just "need a little something sweet", especially if you have just had some juice heavy on the broccoli and wanted to vomit.

2.  If your body is needing a piece of chicken, EAT THE PIECE OF CHICKEN....and I did:-)

3. Since you make up the amount of days you want to do the juice fast, you may change the number of days without guilt.

On a serious note (well, the above is pretty serious, too), we did get a lot out of the juice fast.  Alan totally did the juice fast for three days, not the original five, but he felt like he had no energy.  I decided to eat one meal a day and for my body that worked great.  I think we will keep juicing in our eating plan at least for one meal a day.  Currently, we are still juicing at breakfast and feel great getting such a good blend of nutrition right after working out. 

Probably the biggest problem for me is me:-)  As much of a rule follower as I am, there are just some things that I hate to be boxed in about.  I think my eating is one of them.  By giving myself some grace, I do much better about it. 

Balance

I always love to have Davin home, but during times where he is off of school, I can very easily get entirely focused on the work of it all.  I can go from meal to meal and all of the chores while forgetting to just relax and enjoy my boy.  Alan balances me perfectly in this way.  He is never in a hurry to get Davin into bed or rush through the day with him.  He reminds me that we are not in a hurry and the work is no big deal.  I think I will keep both of them:-)

Interesting People

Davin and I were out and about today for most of the day.  As we are out and about and people watch me getting Davin in and out of the car and stores with "my system", it is so interesting to see how people react to me.  I freely admit that much of "my system" looks awkward to an outsider, but it works for me and I have it down pat. 

Among the various people we encountered today, one sweet older man came up to me and asked if there was anything he could do to help me.  I told him I so appreciated his offer, but that we were good.  We headed over to Wegman's for our last errand (maybe Friday afternoon is not the best time to run into Wegman's if you happen to be using a wheelchair and a cart) and as I went out the side door near our car, I opened the door with my backside and wheeled Davin outside, while holding the door open and then while watching Davin so he didn't roll away, I pulled my cart outside while still holding the door with my foot.  It was then that I noticed the young Wegman's employee who probably had "helping hands" embroidered on his shirt.  He quietly waited over to the side as to not be in my way;-)  Very nice of him, indeed.  (Okay, maybe that was a little sarcastic.)  Truth be told, I never mind looking like Wonder Woman juggling the chair and groceries and the door:-)  I know it is prideful and I am working on it, just being honest. 

So Far...

So far the juice fast is not...well, let's just say that I am not loving it.  I am not hating it, either.  I am pretty sure one of the other people living with me is hating it, though.  I don't want to mention any names, but one of my guys is very crabby and miserable about not eating.  Not sure I have ever seen him whining and complaining like this.  Maybe he learned it from me;-) 

So, I think I am adapting my program for the next five days.  I think (but am not positive) that I will eat one meal a day and juice the other two meals.  The other person I mentioned before is not budging.  He insists that this is "the program".  Five days.  I tried to tell him that we made up "the program" and we can change it if it is not working for us.  Silly boy. 

One of the other men in my life is loving trying all of the different juice creations.  Some he likes and drinks a bit of and some he doesn't like.  I am super excited that this may be a way to get some different foods into him that he can't normally eat.  I still haven't mentioned any names, right?  ;-)

Juice Fast

In our journey to a healthier lifestyle, Alan and I have tried and adapted many things in both our eating habits and our activity levels.  The next stop on our journey is diving into a juice fast.  Our first juice fast starts Thursday morning and will last five days.  The fruits and veggies have been bought and the Vitamix Professional Series 500 arrived on our doorstep today.  We have done some research and gotten recipes.  Let the next adventure begin!

A Garden Visit

We have been blessed this week with a visit from my parents.  Prior to my Dad's traumatic brain injury, my parents did quite a bit of traveling.  Nothing too far, but lots of weekend trips and things like that.  Since my Dad's TBI, it is a much bigger deal for them to think about leaving the comfort of home and their daily routine.  I was so excited when I mentioned they might want to return to upstate NY with us and visit for a few days, and they said yes! 

Yesterday we visited a local mansion and it's beautiful gardens.  We had a great time and it was a beautiful day for it.