Our family walk around the state park

Here are a few pics of our walk around the Ludington State Park tonight. We had a great time and have decided to do it more. Kids fought a lot but Wayne and I still enjoyed it.

Building Forts

So on the days when the kids have t-ball or baseball game I like to keep them inside and on the low-key side. I don't want them running around and using up all their energy, and then being tired for their games. As most of you know the weather here in MI has been beautiful. Warm, sunny days that are just right for being at Uncle John's pool and my poor kids are stuck in the house. Well...today is a different day.

Around noon they decided that today they wanted to build a clubhouse/fort. Ok. So, out comes all the blankets, pillows, flashlights, snacks, books...everything that you need to make a modern day clubhouse in the living room. Cam had asked if he could use my laptop to watch a movie and I had to politely deny that request. :-) As I listened from another room, I hear that they are struggling with keeping the walls of their fort up. I peek in ask if they need help. Cam says, "Mom, you know anything about building clubhouses?" Heh. "Yeah, I do believe it or not!" He smiles. "You ever do this when you were a kid, mom?" "Yep, I loved making little houses." As we tighten down the straps and use another chair to prop the sleeping bags, Cam says, "Wow! Mom, you're a pretty good fort maker. I'm impressed!" Hahaha! I love surprising the kids. They still don't make the connection between what happens when they grow up. Little do they know that some of the things you learn when you're a kid stick with you (like building forts!).

As of now, all three kids are just wearing their underwear sitting under 3 blankets and one sleeping bag, eating chips and drinking water out of sipping cups. K-Rock is jamming classic rock tunes out of Cam's little radio and Anna's little princess castle night light is giving off a pink glow....ahhhh, what it would be like to be a kid again. I only hope that my kids teach their children the art of making clubhouses and forts and can recall fondly of the times they spent together making forts with their siblings.

A reason, A season, A lifetime

So way back when I first got online (like April of 2000!), I got this email from a friend and I'll be damned if I can remember who. (If the person who sent it reads my blog...contact me!) Anyways, I have kept it and love to read it from time to time. I think we all have people who come into our lives for various reasons. Some known, some not. I have friends that float in and out, like the ebb and flow of the ocean. There are times when we need each other and times that we can go for a long time without speaking; although we both know that we still think of the other. There's no set of guidelines for friendships. Speaking of friends...I have a friend who lives in Canada (Hey Trashy!!) and for the most part we don't have tons in common. But we enjoy the friendly banter of talking hockey(I'm a Wings fan and he's a Senators fan!), asparagus, remodeling, my kids, his fish...you get the idea. What's crazier is that we've never met in person. Dan has been an online friend for nearly 7 years! He enjoys hearing all my crazy family stories and he shares his interesting work stories and amazing trips to Europe. Sure, I could ask why we were placed in each other's path, but...I don't care about the reason. How can you question friendship?? Anyways, here's the poem I love!!


Subject: A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met,Our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience or peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (any way); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas or your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being a part of my life...

Anna's t-ball and Great Wolf Lodge

Cam's team getting trophies!

Trophies!

Soccer, camping and what a spring!

Ok...so...I haven't updated the blog in a while. Sorry! We have been sooooo busy. We have t-ball (Anna) on Monday and Wednesday nights, baseball (Cam) on Tuesday and Thursday nights and we just finished soccer (YAY!) on Saturday. Both the kids' teams placed 2nd in their tournaments. Pretty good! I'm always excited for them to do well. Cam had a great time playing the goalie position this year. That's where he really wanted to be 80% of the time. The other 20% he wanted to be a forward. :-) Anna on the other hand hardly ever kicked the ball. But...in the last game she kicked it 6 times!!! What a miracle. LOL! Poor kid, she finally gets into the sport and it's the last game of the year. Oh well. I think she goes for the social aspect of the sport.

I'm also posting some family camping trip pictures. I didn't take as many as usual, as the mood around the camp was a little sober as we knew Big P was sick and not doing well. Then after we found out of his passing, it just seemed to go from sober to down right shitty. Ah well. We will again camp at Timberline and look forward to a much brighter time next year.

The kids are now done with school. It was a great year and I had lots of fun getting to know the kids in their grades. Cam had a primo class with lots of "good kids" as where Anna had an interesting mix of kiddos. I love them all and can't wait to see them in the fall.

Thanks again to all our friends and family that check on us. Kate, we missed you and Anthony up in Benzie. Cam had hopes of playing baseball/basketball with his "2 big tall guys...you know, the one...Uncle Eric and the other guy, mom...you know, he comes with Kate." Again, I assume he means Anthony! :-)

Well, here are pictures and video!

Something simple

Ever had something that you needed to say, and didn’t or show someone how much you love them and didn’t? I’ve been avoiding writing this post for some time now and finally, I think now is the time.

A close friend and relative passed away Sunday morning. Mike Patterson (aka Big P) was 37. He had cancer. He left behind an amazing wife and 2 beautiful daughters. Now we are all struggling to figure out why things like this happen.

I know, you’re thinking…another sappy lecture from Melissa. Well, you might be right. But, if I inspire one person to think about what I’ve said, then I’ve done my job.

I’ve watched family members be born and die. The circle of life is never ending and it’s in constant motion. People come into our lives and leave us at times when we may need them most. I’ve lost grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends and a very special father-in-law. I know the pain and hurt of death. I know the ache that resonates in my heart day after day each time I think of that special person. We all do. I’ve watched Wayne lose both of his parents. To see the pain in his eyes was almost unbearable. Life isn’t fair when it comes to death.

These past few days I’ve watched many family members struggle with the passing of Mike. We’ve all asked God the same question. WHY? Why Mike, why now, why cancer, why…… As of this morning, we still don’t have an answer, nor do I think we will get one. That’s part of life. Sometimes it’s just plain shitty. But there is a little thing we can do before…..

I love you.

Simple as that. Telling someone that I love you can mean so much. After this week, I have vowed to tell my kids, Wayne, my family and friends how much their love and friendship means to me. Sure we say I love you when we hang up the phone or when we hug someone goodbye, but I want you all to really mean it. Take the time; share your feelings with your family and friends. We never know what God’s plan is for our lives. I don’t want to live thinking, “Man, I should have told that person that I loved them or what they meant to my life.”

So this is my cyber “I love you!” to all my friends and family that read our blog. I love you all and can’t thank you for your support and love. We have been so blessed that I just can’t tell you what your following has meant to us. We are grateful to have friends from around the world check in on our little family and keep up with what we are doing.

None of us are ever really alone, for there is always someone, somewhere wishing they were with us again.

Sisters

As most of you know, my family does a lot together. Any time that we aren't doing with someone else, we're together. Tyler (Theresa's fiance) took this picture us at my grandparents' house this last weekend. Sorry Treepah, I forgot to crop the picture!

Anna's picture

Anna made this picture today at school. It's a drawing of our truck and the camper. Now, our camper isn't orange, but it has some orange and brown stripes on it. Wayne's truck IS red and it has an extended cab. I love how you added 2nd floor windows (our camper does have upper bunks, so it would appear to people on the outside that we have 2 floors!). Anna also drew the antenna on the top of the camper. We are headed to Benzie this weekend for our 14 year of camping at Timberline. I'll post pictures of the trip next week. :-)

Water bugs/Scooters

Here is a little video of some water scooters that we saw. I thought it was cool, bu they don't show up that well. Bummer!

1st graders and the Ludington State Park

Here are some random pictures that I took while out to the State Park with Anna's class. Enjoy!

Ambassador for International Adoptions: China Division

Interesting conversations…

While at that eye doctor today, I had 3 conversations about Julia and adoption. The first was with a girl that knew me from the hotel and she was a former tanner (the hotel where I used to work has a tanning salon). She asked very pleasantly about Julia and I had no troubles sharing with her about adoption. I guess part of me has become an “ambassador” for international adoption.

The second people I spoke with about Julia were an older couple who has grandkids that were adopted from the Marshall Islands. First, I had no idea that the Marshall Islands were involved with international adoption and second, I felt bad as I had no idea where it is! Either way, they were very nice.

Finally, I spoke with my optometrist and she mentioned having read Karin Evans’ book, “The lost daughters of China”. So, again…I retold Julia’s story. Dr. Lang spoke of her desire to adopt from either China or Africa. We shared some of the same views and I can’t wait to hear what her and her husband decide to do.

There are some very common threads with all three of these discussions. They all started with, “She’s just beautiful!” Why yes, we think she is, but she’s our daughter. Do they think that Julia is cute because she really is cute or because she’s Chinese? Part of me is torn when it comes to this question. I dunno, I guess I just smile and say thank you. Although, I did nothing to contribute to her looks. LOL!

I think part of how people view adoptive families and just adoption in general could be based on these limited conversations. This is where I try to educate and provide an inside to peak to others who might be considering adoption. Now, were the older folks going to adopt? No. But their lives had been touch by their grandchildren from the Marshall Islands. Was the former tanner going to adopt? I don’t have the slightest, but I used my “mom intuition” to judge where she was coming from in her line of questions. I felt that she was genuine and sincere. No need to shut down and not share our experiences. Same with Dr. Lang, I felt that she was truly interested and wanted to hear about our adoption journey and how things went for us.

All 3 people had no idea that Julia was “special needs”. Did I point it out? No, however, I made mention of it when they commented on how quickly we had made it through the maze of paperwork and red tape. (FYI: We started in April 19th of 2005 with no paperwork done and completed Julia's adoption on December 1st 2005. The average wait time from LID {log in date} to referral in the traditional program now is 18-24 MONTHS!) I think it’s important to share that the Waiting Child program is typically a shorter waiting time than the traditional program; if you are open to some unknowns (nonetheless there are some unknowns with ANY adoption whether domestically or internationally…or in my opinion, when you give birth too).

2 years ago I would have had no idea that having Julia in our family would bring me to being an educator of others. Even today, people still think of adoption as out of the norm. Why would we want to adopt when we could have had more biological kids? Some people are just fascinated with what drives people to adopt. I was one of those people 2 years ago too. I wish I could recall the people were so nice to share their stories with me. I truly wish to thank them for being open and welcoming to the “newbie”. :-)