2000 census showed 484,674 living in New Orleans. I'm sure that number has gone up since then. Now they have told everyone they must leave - every one. It is heartbreaking to watch them pull people off their roof and from trees - crying because they don't want to leave but knowing they have to. Everything gone within minutes. I can't imagine the grief, the pain and then some people losing loved ones on top of everything. The loss is unimaginable. I thought today - what if in twenty years we are saying, remember when there was a New Orleans?
Today is a day of prayer for the state of Louisianna - i say it should be a national day of prayer for those in New Orleans and GulfPort Mississippi. God help them!

I would be amiss if i did not mention the terrible destruction that the hurricane caused down south. I am watching the TV in the lobby through my open blinds and see pictures of flooding, houses covered, rescues of people from the tops of their homes, arial shots of neighborhoods all up to the roofs in brown water. It's horrible. The French quarter in New Orleans is flooded(they escaped the actual storm yesterday but got flooded today), Mississippi's coast is a mess and millions of people are homeless. This is too much.
I am a Republican and an optimist but right now i am questioning how our governement is going to handle all of this. Too many people all over the country feel that if it doesn't affect them then they just go about life---like it was a miniseries on TV, not a tragedy that took lives and homes. This is true with the war, with poverty, with everything wrong with this country and the world. What can we do?

Tony talked about me "staying home" this morning. I have thought long and hard about this and wish i could do both. I love my job and it's very difficult to find one of these jobs - there are like less than 10 of these positions in the city and most of the people who hold them have been around for 15 years or more- and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon - most retire from the job.. I couldn't just walk away and come back to it in a few years. I'm at a loss on what to do. If i won the lottery the problem would be solved. Tony would take seminary classes and be a stay at home dad and i would work part time doing exactly what i'm doing. We need to be rich! Everyone dreams for that i guess - they think their troubles would then be over. Most of the time that's when the real trouble starts. I guess we cross that bridge when we come to it - I leave it in God's hands.
Still don't know much about the baby - 3/4 latino, 1/4 caucasian. She cannot keep the baby though - that's almost a definite. One step at a time.

Spent Friday and some of Saturday at Cindy's painting the bathroom - i'm so happy with it. It's Electric Yellow and one wall is some sort of sky color with a painted palm tree.. Somebody said now you could "poop under the tree". (didn't think about it - but that's what it looks like...lol)
Hung Flip flops on the wall and painted in some Hawiian looking flowers at the top like a border - i'm proud of it - it's bright and cheery!



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Sunday night my boss called and said someone was talking about a girl who wants to give up her baby...she's 17. The child is 3/4 caucasion and 1/4 latino. Beautiful skin combo! I'm not holding my breath but.......

The anti-war protests are ridiculous. There are many, many more people that are not against the war but we all have family we care about, jobs and live normal lives - we don't ahve time to stand out on street corners telling people how much we love America and respect our troops and what they are doing for us. The protestors need to fight for something like cancer research, poverty, etc. Or better yet, send them over to the iraqi insurgents to "negotiate" a peaceful settlement to this. It would be easy to "take them out" - lol

Okay - i can't wait until this is all wrapped up - all we are waiting for are those two references - COME ON!!!!!

I love seniors but if I ever get crabby and crab about everything - please slap me until i'm sensless! I had the worst Golden Club today.....200 seniors and about 50 of them could not and would not be happy about anything. I had one that ripped me up one side and down the other. It's like she wrote them down and had them memorized. I asked her if she was going to "point out all my faults because if you are- we'll be here all day". She came to her senses i think then and straightened up. Lord help me from being that way!

My SIL said she was mailing the envelope today and the other girl will get it notorized and mailed on Saturday.....that's it for Packet II. Then the home studies.

Everyone has their stuggles....
Everyone has thier heartaches....
Everyone hurts....

I am ashamed that i broke down in tears with my friends when one of them talked about all the stuggles she has with her kids. I finally covered my eyes and lost it and told her to be thankful that she has them. She hurts because she doesn't think she's a good enough parent. She thinks her kids will be messed up because of her inability to cope, to manage, to be perfect. She really, honestly hurts and struggles with this.....who knew?

Some people can handle anything and some find it hard to get up in the morning. It's still bad and things still hurt - just the degree of tolerance is different. My situation is not that bad if you look at an overall picture...there are people starving, in povery, sickly, abused....these people are the ones that endure so much. We are spoiled!

Tired from the weekend of the heat and running around......going out tonight with the girls.

It's hot. I mean it's "Africa hot"....i can't stand to be hot. I left church tonight so miserably hot i can hardly remember leaving. By the time i had the air on me in the car i was okay again. I hate that---because i LOVE the summer and playing outside and working in the garden---yadayadayada----I wish the summer away and then i can't wait for the summer again when it's cold outside. How fickle....

I have lost all the applications for grants - where have they all gone? the good news is that I have found my credit card - that has been missing for 6 days. They have it at the QT by my work. How it got there i will never know -- i didn't use it inside. Anyway, i think we need to start thinking of getting the loan....after the last homje study we'll owe about 1/4 of the money.

Well, everything is sent out and ready to go. Just waiting on two refrences to get in to the agency and then we'll set up the home visits and put together our profile.

One of my friends who went with the same agency said the social workers told her about some of the reasons why birthmothers picked or didn't pick parents from their profiles.

One requested a christian family who were involved in their church, a stay at home mom, and a sibling. other birthmoms have chosen for a variety of reasons...they'd had birthmoms choose a couple b/c they had a dog. One birthmom wanted the family on the list that makes the most $, One agency had a birthmom that wanted the family on the list that has the biggest house, another wanting a family who had the most land out in the country, and finally a birthmom who wanted a family that only read the king james version of the Bible! at another agency, there was a birthmom who chose the couple b/c the husband was a hunter, and her brother and dad were hunters. you just never know what will connect a birthmom to your profile and cause her to choose you. my friend's child's birthfather loved it that they travelled alot and loved it that he would get to see so many places. and you never know what they wontt care about...their son's birthmom is on a swimteam and LOVES to swim, and she never said one word about the fact that they have a pool! how funny is that...youd think she would've chosen them b/c of that.

My biggest worry is that i will not be a stay at home mom.....that seems so important to so many....

I am shocked at the amount of garbage on the other blogs! It's either political (where at least they are using their brians - even if it is a lot of liberal mumbo jumbo), alot of nothing or it's dirty. I guess i'd rather have a lot of nothing (which i'm sure this one seems to most people).

I want this to be a running log of the adoption so i guess this one is legit....

I got another blank reference in the mail and i will call Charlotte and Shad to fill it out.
Got to get this going!

I think you can be glamorous at any age...but this was just fun - a couple of years ago i did glamor shots with all my seniors. This lady was 102 (God rest her soul) and said one day she would die because she was born with her stomach up-side-down. The doctor said it would kill her one day and she always believed it....for 90 some odd years!


glamour

Went to Iowa - Meskwaki - with my seniors this weekend. They had a Powwow but it rained and we couldn't go - I was stuck betting on the dogs and horses for two nights. When i was coming back Tony warned me about how my neighborhood would look---there was a BAD storm. My goodness, we lost the tree in front and half of one of the evergreens in the back (that's about 5 stories of evergreen!)
Called the agency- they said we still are missing two of the references....then we are ready to get approved!

Yesterday was my 14th wedding anniversary....kind of sad that it's been this long with no children....hope that next anniversary we have one (or two).


I still have not heard from the agency about Packet II but another girl who went through the agency said it takes about two weeks. then they will call to schedual the home studies. WHen that's over and the profile is done - you are OFFICIALLY on the list!

Joseph made the weekend SO MUCH FUN! It was awesome to watch his reactions to art at the museum....he made it more fun and exciting. He also pointed out many things about paintings that i would not have noticed....cultural things had to be explained as well---all fascinating.

I am putting in for every adoption grant i can get my hands on - the worse they can say is no right?

I've heard nothing about packet II arriving.....wonder if they got it?

I've had Cindy's 4 girls since Tuesday and i'm pooped out! we've had so much fun but non-stop! I'm glad i won some money at the track, i've spent all that and then some..... I love these kids!!!

I'm mailing off Packet II today! Tony's very reserved......

Picking up the Jackson girls for tonight, wed, thurs, friday. We're going to the zoo on Thursday with Joseph - he's never seen art and marveled at the pictures in a restaurant a few weeks ago....... Can't wait to see his reactions!

Had a really long weekend - nail in the truck tire, cracked windshield, Tony Dyed his hair with the help of Hussien!!! Shocking

We have the whole packet II ready to go and wouldn't you know i forgot it this morning! It goes out tomorrow......