Busy! Busy! Busy!

It has been really busy around here. Kids are about to be tracked out AGAIN!!!! Samantha got a car from my mom that she loves. Mark flew up on a Monday to Chicago drove to Kentucky Monday night and made it back to NC on Tuesday. Sam jumped like some kind of crazy teenage TIGGER when she got the news that she finally had her own car (even if it is 12 years old and has 80k miles on it). She is graduating next week. Last weekend I had a small (said sarcastically) but awesome Memorial Day party with about 50 people. Kids were supposed to be in school. YES LADIES AND GENTLEMAN down south where I live they have MEMORIAL DAY as a make up required snow day.....so wrong...My kids stayed home. It was an eclectic crowd of friends from a few different churches. Some of my adoption friends were there. And some of our school and neighborhood friends as well. We had a ton of food....My sister Denise and my nephew Dominick were here for 4 days. We made approximately 190 cookies in two days that were gone as soon as they were made. I went through cinnamon rolls, bacon, two dozen eggs and a million other things...


Started Weight Watchers the day after Denise left (had to after the chocolate chip raw cookie dough)and am doing well. Not sure if I lost weight yet or not. Signed up online. Went to the actual in person meeting and was met with skinny people with an attitude and signs on their name tags announcing their weight loss. They told me I couldn't weigh in because I signed in online rather than in person and then told me I made a mistake and should call corporate if I want to come to the meetings. I decided I didn't like them and would rather have my diet relationship be with a computer. THey truly met me with the cold shoulder which I couldn't understand. Maybe it was because I am a naturally skinny person who is getting larger rather than a larger person experiencing skinniness for the first time in their lives. WHO KNOWS???? But I have decided the online version of Weight Watchers is much friendlier than the newly skinny actual people who are still thinking with a real FATITUDE regardless of their new figures === they don't like naturally skinny people that are turning fat for sure and don't want me to succeed (LOL and kidding but that is how it seemed)...First thing - they greeted everyone but me and then 20 minutes later when I was the only one standing there said "HELOOOOO can we help you? As if I was in the wrong place..." I said "Is this Weight Watchers? I came to get weighed." They said "we can't weigh you unless you sign up in person and it will cost you double..." blah blah....SOOO...I do like Weight Watchers ..the actual meal plan is great(and their desserts like the mint chip ice cream cone 2 points). You get to eat a lot. But their person to person customer service was nasty....IMHO...I am sure that isn't the case everywhere....OKAY DIET RANT OVER..

I have been handling the final touches of my book and have realized that the actual writing of the book was 10 times easier than editing. I edited it 5 million times, had others read and edit, put it through a substantive and copy edit with a pro..submitted it,....had to read proofs and had a friend do the same and still found 30 things that we missed....AND because I am a hyper creative person had to admit that I create with no real plan so am working on a game plan for promotion/marketing etc....

I am intending on incorporating adoption/pro life issues and child advocacy into a book tour in the late summer/fall/winter . I currently have tentative plans to spend 2 weeks in Northern Illinois in the beginning of September with my kids for a book tour and speaking engagements...SO, if anyone wants to have us in their church to speak/sing (or spinging), let us know. Don't hold my bad blogger punctuation against me....I was much more careful with the book....

We have decided NOT to get a dog ...SORRY! THe votes were in FOR the dog but Mark vetoed it and I didn't disagree. We did love Andrew's letter. There was a minute where he wanted to be homeschooled but he will be going to middle school afterall..RELIEVED..

Little Princessa baby girl Matea was in the car with me today. She has head phones on watching DVD of BARBIE and I am listenting to BUBBLY (Starts in my nose and goes to my toes...") . She takes her head phones off and yells "MOM...I get it .. I really get it.. OH MY GOD IS REAL...HE IS EVERYWHERE!!!" Honestly, we had just come from the dollar store buying 16 pair of flip flops (2 for each of us). I hadn't had a spiritual conversation with her in weeks...unless you consider talking about a neighbors dog being in doggy heaven. So I said "Yeah He is everywhere." She says "Mommy that is soooo cool...He is in the sky and the trees." I said "Yeah" and then she puts her phones on.....WILD!!!!!! So proud...