Photo Friday

Glen (with a photo lobotomy) at he Space Needle. Their presentation of two scoops of chocolate ice cream is out of this world cool.

Lori

The cool thing that is art outside of the Space Needle

 This is the art instillation outside of the Space Needle (and a little to the right, if you are facing with your back to the Space Needle). It is MASSIVE! You can walk underneath it but then you get this feeling that the sharp bits could fall off and slice you in two so you move quickly. "Oh yes.....OOOOHHH art. Ok, Let's get out from under this thing."

Lori

Photo Friday: Anniversary lunch at the Space Needle

Busy Weekend

We were really movng this last weekend. First we were invited to go eat dinner at our friend Sammie's house. It was so much fun. We were able to meet one of her sons. He was hilarious! I love that he just sat down at the table and started playing play doh with us, that is until he saw my iPhone. Ha! Such a teenage boy. He really made me miss Boo even more than I already do. We also got to met Michael and Seven Star. An amazing couple that are adopting a boy from Guana (hope I spelled that right). These two really craked us up! What great people. We just love Sammie. She really understands us and Norah and she is so much fun to be around. We left there late Saturday night with a container of Lincoln Logs, Play doh, full bellies and a bag full of tomatoes from Sammie's garden. She better be careful if we get that kind of treatment to often we might just move in.

Sunday was the school picnic for NWSFHIC (Northwest School for Hearing Imparied Children), We all met at a local park for a cookout/potluck. They said it was a smaller turnout than usual but we still got to meet even more great people. There were kids and parents everywhere. The park had the usual play equipment and then the school brought things for a tug-o-war, hula hoops, and a burlap sack race. Glen and I had found some little kites on deep discount that week and picked up four or five of them that we just put out with the other stuff. I wish the store would have had more of them, they were a BIG hit. Norah's teacher was also there. I can not tell you how lucky and grateful we feel to have crossed paths with her. She will be a huge part of giving Norah the head start that she needs. Plus she is awesome and has a sense of humor that blows me away.  We had so much fun and loved talking to the parents. The weekend went by so fast but we had a blast. Now I need to go do laundry and clean out the truck.

More to come. The fun bled over into Monday.

Lori

Photo Friday: Gangstas, Sweet Family and Boo

This is a picture of Norah from when we went to China for her adoption. The little ganstas first IEP meeting was this morning and went GREAT! Better than we ever could have hoped. Everyone is in agreement with the path that Norah needs to take and the services that she needs to be provided and how they will be provided. Could not have gone any better.
I found a file with some older pictures in it of Annie and Boo and the family.

21Years

Glen and I have been married for 21 years today. Let me just let that soak in......for me. Holy crapsicle Batman! I have now been married more years than I was alive and single. (Does it count to say that you were "single" in elementary school? )

I come from a long line of couples with very long marriages so I guess it's really kind of all I know, up close and personal. Don't get to flowery and romantic about that. My role models argue and disagree and have smart mouths and are as stubborn as a mule could only hope to be ( Grandma even threw dishes out the door. Lord I miss that woman! ). They do however tend to have a good sense of humor and let stuff roll off their backs (after they have their say of course). We try to laugh at most stuff, even though the majority of it is highly inappropriate and not take anything said in a huff to close to heart. Glen seems to buy right into this theory. I told him today that I am so glad that I allowed him to marry me. Don't feel to bad for him......he knew what he was getting into. When he really wants to tick me off he tells me to "keep sweet". Obviously he is not an innocent bystander around here and can hold his own with the best of them. I wouldn't have it any other way.  Can't wait to see what kind of adventure we end up on.



Happy Anniversary Honey!

P.S. That is the only picture of a mule type animal that I had. Let me rephrase that, I HAD a picture of a mule type animal WooHoo!

Lori

"Delfin Joaquin Paris lll" Here you go photos!

When Lori said you wanted to see photo of this guy inside I took it as a challenge so here he is hahahah. Glen 

 

Photo Friday: Pho', Moon Cakes and the week in review.

Glen made dinner the other night and modeled it after the pho' resturants that are all over the place here. Yes, it was as good as it looks.

Annie sent us a beautiful tin with moon cakes in it to celebrate the Chinese Moon Festival. She is so sweet. Thank you Annie. Hey, Boo Annie said to tell you hi. Hi from us to Boo. Love you.

Well this was Norah's first sort of full week at school. We were off Monday for Labor Day. Norah really likes the school but is having a hard time transitioning when we drop her off in the morning. The kids are expected to walk into the school and back to their classrooms without a parent. This morning I had some help. We walked in the front door and Norah refused to take her backpack, she was not going to go quietly. Luckily one of the great adults at the school took her hand and said bye bye and off they went. Whew! As soon as I was out the front door she was fine. We are so thankful for this new school and all the great people involved with it.

After we dropped Norah off at school Glen and I went to the grocery store. Glen is trying to work out how to do the whole extreme coupon thing and I do believe he is getting close. He was able to get about $320.00 worth of groceries that we need for about 116.00! He did manage to get a whole bunch of Gatorade for free but man can not live by Gatorade alone. While we were at the grocery store I called my Mom to ask her to please send me some of the big bags of plain cornmeal from home. Apparently here corn meal is sold in little bitty very expensive canisters. I mean seriously what do these people use to make a pan of cornbread or to coat their catfish in? When I got her on the phone she told me that Dad had an accident this morning. Somebody had hit another car and then slid into him. Luckily he had on his seatbelt. He did manage to hit his forehead on the visor though. I'm glad your ok Dad! So we all talked on the phone for about thirty minutes. It's always good to hear their voices. Then I begged for cornmeal.

Norah is going to start being tested for her IEP evaluation next week. We are really excited that things are moving right along. I will have to put her hair in pigtails so she is super cute on Monday. It never hurts your test score to charm the person giving the test. Just saying.
I guess most of this weekend will be spent reviewing my IEP book and typing up a parent letter to attach to her IEP. Except Saturday afternoon. I am going to volunteer at the warehouse for a group called One Brick. I will be helping repackage bulk donated food into more usable portions for a few hours. Hopefully I can meet some nice new people from our area.

Glen has taken it as a personal challenge to lure the squirrel into the apartment. Seriously! This could get ugly.


Lori

Washington Wildlife?

There is a practically tame squirrel living in the tree outside of our apartment. We have started putting out food for him in the mornings so that Norah can "Eat breakfast with the squirrel". He/She (not going to try and raise the tail to find out) doesn't even run when we step out on the pourch in the mornings, just waits for us to drop the food and leave. I told Glen that he better make sure that he closes the screen door or else we could come out of the bathroom or bedroom and the squirrel could be up on the couch with the remote scratching him/her self.

Lori

Happy Labor Day

Well we have been taking it easy this weekend. Glen and I have both been feeling a little under the weather. The cause most likely is Norah sharing her cold with us. So after lounging around the apartment we spent the rest of the day at a local park. The sun was out, with a slight breeze, it was gorgeous. Norah had a great time playing on all the equipment and then "helping" the hippo play on it as well.  FYI: The hippo has on panties and a bikini top under her clothes. We also saw a cute Jack Russel with only three legs. This prompted a discussion between Glen and I on what the dogs name could be:
Tripod
Angle
Hoppy
Fity (Like Fifty Cent, the rapper. Because the dog walks with a limp)

Tomorrow Norah starts her first of many full days of school. We both really like her teacher and the teacher's assistant and can't wait for Norah to start suprising everyone with what she can do.

I am currently reading a book on IEP's (Individual Education Plans). It is called The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child. It is amazing all the information that is in this book. I am learning so much. Because the more that we know about the process and laws the more we can be a valuable part of the IEP team, which in turn provides Norah with more of what she requires to be successful. So far, I would highly recommend this book for any parent/guardian/teacher that has a child that needs or already has an IEP.  I also picked up a book called From Emotions to Advocacy. I have not been able to start on this one yet but it looks like it could be really helpful as well. We should be signing paperwork sometime this week in order to get Norah's evaluations for her IEP started. YEAH!!! Everyone has been so supportive, I am really looking forward to going through the process this time with much more knowledge than when I had to go through it with Brandon. (Boo needed an IEP in 3rd grade when we moved from Pulaski school district to Cabot school district because he was behind. Only needed it for one year, Norah is going to be a whole different ball of wax.) Miss you Boo! A lot!

I am also reading The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. The back cover says: Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the ten comandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten string harp; to stone adulterers.
I am to the part where he throws a pebble at an self proclaimed adulterer. The man apparently did not take kindly to his project and grabbed one of the small pebbles out of A.J.'s hand and threw it at his face. This prompted A.J. to throw a pebble back at the mans chest. Afterward he is suprised by how it made him feel and has some intraspective thoughts on the whole thing.
I also like the fact that his wife is giving him a hard time about him not being able to touch her during her cycle or even sit in a chair where she has sat because it is "unclean", so she goes around their apartment and sits in all the chairs. Sounds like something I would do.

Well, I am off to read more IEP information.

Lori