A whole bunch of tid-bits

OK...I am going to answer a bunch of questions I have gotten over the past few months that I have been bad about and not answered. LOL. Hopefully I can think of them all.

1. ARE WE GOING TO ADOPT AGAIN? For now, no. We are done. We wanted two children and we have two children and we feel this is the right fit for our family. We have, however, on multiple occasions discussed an older child adoption in the FUTURE. And by future we are talking maybe 10 years down the road and by older child we are talking a 10-15 year old child that needs a home. It bothers me badly to see all the older children on photo-listings that will more then likely "graduate" from the foster care system never having a family to call home. I want to be able to provide that for an older child. Give them a home to always come home to.

2. HOW IS PLATO WITH OUR CHILDREN AND DOES THAT SCARE ME? HAH! No. It does NOT scare me in the least. Yes, he is an agressive attack dog and in the next few days I am going to post a video clip of him "working" at the Mock Prison Riot in West Virginia. When Plato is at home he is a PET. When he is at work he WORKS.

3. IS PLATO YOUR DOG? Technically, no, he is not our dog. He is owned by Stark County Sheriff's Office. They paid the $4000 pricetag for him and they pay for every single bit of his care...and I am talking everything from bones and food to vet care and boarding. We do not pay a CENT for him...unless you count the carpet cleaning bills from having a large dog. However, when Plato retires from the force...which happens at different ages depending on the dog, he will then be OUR dog. They retire with their owners and at that point the county will stop paying for him and he will become our responsibility. But in all reality...he is our dog...with benefits:-)

4. WHAT KIND OF SKIN CARE DO YOU USE? LOL. Yes I have been asked this. My mom taught me the importance of skin care at a very young age and never let me go to bed without washing my face. It stuck and I will not go to bed EVER without washing my face. I currently use Olay Daily Facials to wash my skin before bed and I use a Clean and Clear Moisturizer that is oil free twice a day (after my shower and after washing my face at night). I think more then anything I have been blessed with my moms perfect skin...although yes, I still get break-outs. ESPECIALLY while we were adopting...stress!

5. HOW DO I FILL OUT THE G-884? It is very easy to fill out. I went to the Guat forum at adoption.com and searched for info about it and that's how I figured out HOW to fill it out. If you google G-884 the form will come up and you can print it right off the internet. You will need to send in a COPY of the childs birth certificate (from Guatemala or state-side if you have one), their COC, and their Guatemalan Passport and Visa stamp in it.

OK...I think that is all I have to say right now. I hope I remembered everything.

Now in other news. Mikayla cut another tooth today..OK..I think she did a few days ago because it is pretty much in and I am just now noticing it! LOL. How did I miss this? She didn't act like she was teething at all. But my mom called it and said she was and I denied it. So way to go mom...she now has three bottom teeth instead of two!

Kris went to the Ortho DR today for his knee and the guy was a terrible Doctor! GRRRR. They ordered an MRI but didn't tell Kris ANYTHING that he should do at all for it! The Doctor was just plain terrible and we are not going back to him. I was shocked since this is one of the best places in Canton to go to but whatever....we will go elsewhere. He is in a lot of pain and it about killed him when the Doctor was examining his leg. I took him because he couldn't drive and Alec was NOT in the mood. He is sick with allergies/sinus issues and has been very clingy and not happy the past few days.

As fo me...I am heading in to Walsh U to set up my classes next week. Can't wait to get it done with. Four more classes and student teaching and I am DONE. HURRAY!

The last thing is that our agency has informed me that our birthmother was asking about Mikayla and would love more pictures. I am sending some down with a GREAT friend in a few days (you know who you are and I know you are reading this..HUGS to you..I know you are struggling). I would also LOVE to send down a letter to her but oh man....where do I even begin?? WHERE?? I have sat down with pen and paper countless times and the words are not coming out. I just don't know what to say to her. There are so many things I WANT to say and don't know HOW to say them...which is a real first for me. Has anyone wrote a birthmother letter and if so, can you give me some tips??

OK...this is long, it's 1:17 am and I am heading to bed:-)