JUNE
2006
Today is
June 1st
and summer is nearly here.
“We shall find peace. We
shall hear angels. We shall see the sky
sparkling with diamonds.”
~Anton
Chekov
Today is
June 3rd
and we worked in the yard like hired help.
We removed Pansies and weeded. Mel mowed
and edged and boy at the end of the day…we
were bushed.
Today is June 4th
and amazing I know…we ached all over from
our marathon in the yard, but we managed
to drag ourselves out of bed to attend First
United Methodist church for the first time.
We have wanted to attend for many months,
but with the Chinese class on Sunday and an
already hectic schedule; we just didn’t
manage to do it until now. We were
surprised to see how many people we already
knew besides the Bradney’s. After church we
had lunch at Panera with Robert, Jill and
Lily.
Today is Thursday, June 8th and I
attended my first Aerobics class at the YMCA
in 2 or more years.
They started a new low impact class called
“fit plus” designed for those trying to lose
weight. The good news is, it won’t be so
hard on my “bad” knee. The class actually
started on Tuesday and I was not able to
attend, but tonight I really got a workout
and it was so energizing. My workout had
become a little boring so this will spruce
up my routine. It was kind of funny, the
instructor Benita wanted us to line up and
we were a bit like the “bad news bears” so
she had us count off and put us in lines…I
ended up on the front row. I have never
been on the front row and was nearly
paralyzed by it, but hey don’t sweat the
small stuff right.
Today is June 10th and I planted
white Vinca, normally I plant a multi-color
variety of Vinca, but this year I just could
not get excited about any flowers for the
yard and then I decided on all white, the
white represents “hope” that this wait will
be shorter verses longer.
I then mulched part of the front beds, but
have about 40 bags of mulch to still put
out. Another long day in the yard.
Today is Sunday June 11th
and Mel had to work, so we didn’t go to
church and for some reason I was in a house
cleaning frenzy. I even washed the floors
on my hands and knees.
Finally I had enough cleaning and went to
the pool. When I arrived it was closed…why
closed? Well apparently some child (who was
over tired) threw up in the pool. So they
spent an hour cleaning the pool,
unfortunately I didn’t get in during the
small time it re-opened and before I knew it
they closed it again because of a small
child with no swim diaper. So my relaxing
afternoon at the pool…was not. I know I am
one to even talk about what parents should
and shouldn’t do, but the YMCA should
enforce the swim diaper and they should have
mandatory rest periods every hour because
some children are left at the pool
unattended and just over do it. I submitted
a suggestion with this very information.
Today is June 14th
and I can’t believe it…I went to a “step
aerobics” class. It was pretty hard and a
little risky on the knees but what a work
out; I can’t believe I did it.
Today is June 17th and
we have been officially waiting 6 months
from our DTC date and 5 months from our LID
date. If referrals had not slowed down,
we would be anticipating a referral next
month. I shouldn’t even think that way as
it just makes it harder. Hopefully this
time next year we will be home and settled
in.
Father’s Day 2006, June 18th!
We went to church and afterward we went to
the Boat House and had lunch. Mel opened
all the cards from me, the cats and ladybug.
I also got him a book, “Why a daughter needs
a father”. I am not sure if this day
was as tough for him as Mother’s Day was for
me, but I am glad to have both of them
behind us and hopefully next year…we will be
a family.
Today is June
19th and Mel is in
Pennsylvania and New York this week. His
flight from Buffalo to Newark was cancelled
so he had to drive like 8 hours in order to
get there in time for a meeting.
Today June 22nd, nothing like
referrals to give you a “pick me up”. the
CCAA website says:
The CCAA
has finished the review of the
adoption application documents registered
with our office before October 31, 2005.
The CCAA has finished the placement of
children for the families whose adoption
application documents were registered with
our office before June 28, 2005.
Our paperwork was logged in January 11, 2006
so they need to get thru 196 days before or
LID comes up for referral.
Today is June 23rd.
“The possession of knowledge
does not kill the sense of wonder and
mystery. There is always more mystery.”
~Anais Nin
It seems
this journey is full of mystery, but I guess
if we knew everything, what would we have to
look forward to.
Today is Saturday June 24th
and I had a lazy day. I went down to
Chattanooga and looked at furniture for
ladybug’s nursery.
I then went to the airport to wait for Mel
to arrive and then we went to dinner and to
the bookstore. |
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Happy Anniversary . . . 7 years
Happy Father's Day to Mel
Lily in my shoes and teeshirt
Our Wedding Day Carriage Ride
Our Wedding Day - June 27, 1999
The neighborhood baby foxes
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We were
able to attend church today June 25th
and it was such a nice service. Afterward
we had lunch with Robert, Jill and Lily at
Panera. Lily is just such a joy and amazes
me each time we are with her. Later in the
day I went over and swam with Jill and Lily
and what a treat that was. She jumped off
the diving board and swam around like a
little fish with her wings on.
Well today June 26th begins my
time off from work to vacation at home.
Since referrals have slowed down all this
vacation time I had saved up needs to be
used or I will lose it. I didn’t really
realize this, so at the last minute I had to
take some time off. My hope is to get a few
things done around the house and maybe relax
a little bit. I got up bright and early
today and began cleaning and organizing and
I should have noticed something was not
right, but I was just too busy until I
opened the shutters in the Great Room and
saw what I thought was a “dead” fox on our
back deck. I about lost it, you see
this “fox family” has been in our
neighborhood and the neighborhood across
from us for about a month and when I saw
this “Momma” fox I was not sure if it was
one of her babies or what.
I called Mel and he came right home from
work. While I waited on him I called…animal
control, several rid-a-pest type companies
and finally connected with Tennessee
wildlife. Come to find out we live in a
“rabies zone” and that requires that the fox
be tested and disposed of correctly.
The more I learned the more I cried, finally
Mel got home. He called me on his cell to
tell me the babies were in our front yard.
So now we have a “dead” Momma fox on our
deck and her 2 babies playing in our front
yard…this even made me cry more.
Then Mel had the “grand” idea of taking a
picture of the “dead” Momma fox, I about
lost it.
Fortunately he insisted on looking out on
the deck, I had closed all the shutters and
refused to look again. Much to our
surprise the “dead” Momma fox was GONE! Yes
I said gone. So now I am crying because
at first I think some other varmint has come
and drug her off, then I realized she had
been sunning herself and she had just gotten
up and left. So now I have to call
Tennessee wildlife and cancel the guy who
was coming out to pick up Momma fox and then
they proceed to tell me that they can come
and “kill” the fox family, yes I said kill.
They also tell me that most likely the foxes
aren’t dangerous but if they are sick they
could attack me, so I may want to alter my
schedule to avoid them.
We have been following the foxes since
Memorial Day so killing them off was not an
option, no matter if they were sick or not.
If this wasn’t enough excitement for one
day, I don’t know what is.
It gets better….I babysat Lily tonight!!!
I bought some markers and crayons and some
special coloring books and paper. We
colored pretty pictures and drew with our
special markers. We read the “Three Little
Pigs”, maybe 10 times and a few other
books. She decided she wanted to take a
bath in the BIG TUB! To a child her
size the big tub is like a swimming pool.
She wanted to know what all the special
lotions were and she wanted to use the foot
pumice and the special back cleaner. We
used baby shampoo and filled the tub with
bubbles. After about an hour in the tub it
was time to get out. She did not have her
overnight bag with her, and she didn’t want
to put her clothes back on, so at first she
wanted to wear one of Mel’s tank top like
t-shirts. Then she insisted that I put my
“jamas” on too, when she saw they were pink
she had to wear something pink. So I found
a pink t-shirt and used a rubberband to
gather it up in the back so it would
“somewhat” fit. She then found my white
heeled sandals and insisted on wearing
them. Well as you can see from the
picture…it was a HOOT!
HAPPY
ANNIVERSARY BABY….GOT YOU ON MY MIND!!!!
Well 7 years ago today June 27th
1999, Mel and I were married in Mackinac
Island, Michigan.
It is such
a beautiful place and holds such dear
memories for us as a couple. We have been
back twice; once in 2001 and again 2003 both
for vacation. While Mel and I were dating
we talked of going to Mackinac. Once we
were engaged we begin to think of where we
wanted to get married. Since neither of us
had a “home” church we weren’t sure if we
wanted to include our families in our
wedding plans or if wanted to travel to a
destination and get married and also
honeymoon there too. Well as you can guess
the destination wedding idea won out.
Mackinac Island is like no other place
either of us had been and we planned the
wedding from a distance. Initially we had
hoped to marry on June 26th the
day we had met 6 years earlier, but there
were already 14 weddings on the island that
day, so we opted for the next day and we
ended up being the only wedding that day.
Mel proposed to me on December 26th,
1998.
We were driving to Morristown to check on
his house and then visit with his family and
have dinner. I was not feeling well, (too
much after Christmas shopping) so I laid
down on the couch and almost dozed off.
The next think I knew Mel was down on one
knee by the couch proposing to me. Well I
really never expected that. You see we had
looked at rings forever as in many years and
he had hinted he had even purchased the ring
the previous February. So from February
1998 every time we traveled out of town or
even went on a date, I thought this will be
it, tonight will be the night he proposes.
Well by December I wasn’t sure if maybe
he had other plans or if we were maybe on
the “extended” plan and I didn’t know.
Anyway I was sooooooooo happy and or course
I said yes.
Mel was so funny he was like I was going
to propose when we went on our trip to NC
(which we had to cancel because he was so
busy with work) and when we had to cancel
the trip he didn’t want to wait any longer,
but wanted it to be more special. Well
it was pretty special! Mel proposed to me
on the same couch where we basically had
“the talk”. We had been friends for so
long I wasn’t sure I really wanted us to
date and we had a long talk on “the couch”.
We now refer to the couch as the “commitment
couch”; it is in our TV room.
The day we were married was just beautiful.
We started the day with church at Saint
Anne’s Catholic church on the island. We
then had a quick breakfast and then I went
to have my nails done at the Grand Hotel.
While I was getting my nails done Mel
checked into the Grand Hotel and began
getting ready for our wedding. I returned
to the Chippewa Hotel and began getting
ready. Little did I know that Mel was not
able to check into his room on time, more on
that later. The florist showed up with my
flowers and then the photographer showed up
to take some pictures. The carriage arrived
to take me to the church and the trip was
well documented with photos and video.
Everyone was at the church, but Mel.
When it was 10 past the hour we should have
gotten married we all became a little
worried. There are no cars on Mackinac and
no quick way to locate Mel, so we waited.
Finally we see him running up the street
amongst bicycles, carriages and people. He
arrived a bit hot, so after he had a moment
to catch his breath and cool off, it was
time. We exchanged vows, kissed and
then took a carriage ride around the island
that was videoed and well photographed. Our
carriage ride ended at the Grand Hotel where
we had a special dinner and a mini wedding
cake and then danced in the ballroom. A
perfect ending to a perfect day!
Since that special day 7 years ago, we have
celebrated many joys together and we have
wiped each others tears, we have seen
distant lands and we have stayed close to
home, but most of all we grown as
individuals and we have grown as a couple.
Life’s journey does not always take us down
the roads we know, but together we can make
the most of the journey.
Well that was a little journey down “memory
lane”. Tonight we celebrated with dinner at
Cafe’ Roma, and Pam and Cary surprised us
with desert.
Today is June 28th
and I got up early and went to work out.
Then I went to the Bradney’s and laid out at
the pool. Oh my word, nothing like being
the only one at the pool on a nice hot
summer day. For a few hours I felt like I
was in the Caribbean.
Today is June
29th and we had planned to
take Rachael and Hunter to Cincinnati to
visit Aunt Betsy this weekend, but Mel has a
huge project at work so we are going to
stick around home. I thought about driving
them up by myself, but it would not have
been the same. I worked around the house
and then went to work out. In the afternoon
I went to the pool and relaxed. I have been
reading several good “summer reads” just to
pass the time.
Today is June 30th and I got up
bright and early to drive to Monteagle
Mountain to pick up Hunter and Rachael.
We had a nice drive home and then we did a
quick “tidy” up and left for the pool. We
had a great day at the pool and both the
kids are swimming so much better than last
summer.
After the pool we went to Kmart to get some
extra noodles and some “bullfrog”. We
made hamburgers and hotdogs and then watched
movies on Mel’s “BIG” TV. |
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