Gentle Years

My husband and I have always talked about living where it is warmer.  He didn't want to go when we were younger-said to wait till the kids were grown.  I said if we didn't go then, we never would; I won't leave my children and grandchildren.  So here we are still, but I'm home with a sinus infection and we're expecting 6-12" of snow on Friday, so I started checking out other states.  I know that the cost of living in NH is high-we're #40.  Turns out that it's lowest in Arkansas and Oklahoma (tie).  But you know how that is.  You might get paid less there too.  So I had to check out everything else that was being measured.  Overall, our state ranks #21.  But then I looked at the middle category, where they measured overall quality of life, and it turns out that we're #1.  So we'll probably stay right where we are.

Yesterday when I picked Aidan up at his after-school program, the workers told me that he had not wanted to play or engage in any activities and that he had complained that he didn't like anything, then he jumped up and played wholeheartedly for quite a while before sitting and moping again.  When we got home he wouldn't take a bath, when we told him he had to, he started sobbing.  By 6:00 he said he wanted to go to bed, which didn't surprise us.  But this morning I took him to school and his teacher said that last week he was sitting with her and listing a whole bunch of things he didn't like, which is out of character for him.  Aidan can say things that are contrary to what he means, but that's not what he was doing.  She said her daughter just returned from China and they had been doing some China lessons last week, so she thinks that maybe things surfaced as a result.  She asked him about his list, and he said he didn't like getting a sister; he wants his brother.  Ouch!

I am behind on visiting your blogs and posting to my own-sorry.  Twice a week I sleep at my mother's house so two nights a week I don't sleep.  Most of the time I'm operating in a foggy state.  So I'll just show you what we've been up to in pictures.

Tiger Scout visit to my sister's bakery as part of their healthy eating unit.  She makes all organic products and everything comes in gluten-free as well.  She shares the business with a woman who owns a health food store.

Pinewood Derby race for Cub Scouts

Aidan was excited, but his car came in last in each heat.  My husband said a lighter car is a faster car.  He used to drive stock cars, so he does know something about it, but stock cars have one thing pinewood derby cars don't have-an engine :-)

Visit to Chutter's store in Littleton.  They have the longest continuous candy counter in the world and are in the Guiness Book of World Records.  Pretty Baby used to go there every couple of months with her best friend in high school.  Aidan loves to pick up tourist brochures and when he got one of theirs and asked if he could go there, I called Pretty Baby and we made a trip today.

Normally I spend several days a month with a head that should be this big:

feeling this big instead:

Last year I tracked my headaches in a notebook, looking for a recognizable trend.  From August through December I had a headache-every day, sometimes morning, sometimes evening, sometimes from beginning to end-but every single day.  Sometimes they were just headaches, sometimes migraines.  Last summer I had a migraine in July that lasted 19 days and ran into August.  

I cannot remember my last headache.  I know that I had a migraine about a month ago.  I think I had a couple of headaches last week.  But for a person who normally cannot remember when she was last WITHOUT a headache, it is just AMAZING to not remember when I was last having one!  Of course I may have just jinxed myself, but I'll take it while I can get it.

Some people with less than wonderful childhoods want a certain type of family-the one they never had.  Others have wonderful childhoods and want the same thing for their own family.  I'm in the second category.  I grew up with four sisters and six brothers, and four of those brothers were "in a row" between my sister 16 years older than me and myself.  So I always wanted boys-plural.  Didn't get them.  But with the grandsons and Aidan, I've got them now and I just love it!  Here are the boys playing outside on a spring day this week-just before a day of snow and freezing rain.

This doesn't mean that I don't love my girls.  In fact, there are some people who make your day better, and brighter, simply by being in the world.  Our first daughter is like that.  She is quiet, and sweet, and a magnet for the rest of us.  Even her siblings go to her for "balance".

I can't wait to see what the personality of our one granddaughter will be.  Already she is a super happy baby, smiling easily when you talk to her.  She looks a lot like her brother, but she also looks like our son in many ways.  

(P.S.-I don't have that many pictures of Little Baby, since she's away at college)

I have to admit I was getting a little bit nervous about our dossier.  It was hand carried to China by our agency in late February but we do not have a LID yet and we had also not received a bill.  G takes medication that is normally prescribed for depression but he takes it to control vertigo and even though our agency had the medical pre-approved last August, you never know, right?  So I was very excited (yeah, in a sick sort of way) when I opened my email tonight and had an invoice from my agency!

I am running short on time for many things because I am either staying overnight with my mother or recovering from staying overnight and because it is just a busy time of year at work.  However, Aidan and I made it to the FIRST Robotics competition a couple of Saturdays ago and he just loved it!

His favorite things were actually the little blimps flying around the arena.

Then, one night this week when I spent the night at Mom's house, he and G finished his pinewood derby car for Tiger Scouts.  He was super proud of this!

I’m sending this message out to our families who have recently submitted their dossiers to China.  Your dossiers were hand-delivered to CCAA by our staff while they were in China!!  Congratulations on being through the dossier step of your adoption journey.  We will have your Log In Date for you soon.

This has been a very good week- a gospel festival at our church, Chinese presents from my cousin's wife, our son's children for the afternoon, and skiing all day with Aidan.

Our granddaughter is really starting to plump out and smile all the time.  She also loves it when I sing a certain song to her.  Our first grandson and I have a song, but the two year-olds don't like singing-one is too busy and one starts to cry the moment anyone sings, even his own mother, who has a beautiful voice.  So this is very sweet.

Her brother is busy, busy, busy all the time

And then there is Aidan, who tries to avoid photographs whenever possible