Zombie & Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

1. Zombie - The Cranberries. Confession. This song isn't in my collection. Somewhere I know I have the CD, stored away like some ancient artifact. But it comes to mind for the topic and it fits so it gets included. Surely you remember this song from the 90's?  I loved it then and I still love it now. So much going on. The words, the political message behind it, Dolores O'Riordan's voice.  It's one of those songs that, although I haven't heard it in forever, I still remember the words and will sing along whenever it comes on. I have to stop trying to remember when it came out though, it ages me and makes me feel very old. So I'll stick with "back then" and be happy with it. 

2. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah - James Baskett. Ok. Everyone knows of this song. I mean it's Disney. It's a classic. It's global. I'm sure you're singing it in your head right now too. Sorry though, it'll likely be stuck there for a while.  Who doesn't love this song. Sadly my kids have never seen Song of the South and it's difficult to come by, what with how times have changed and all. But it's still a classic and if you go to a Disney theme park you're sure to hear it. It's also just a fun, positive, happy-go-lucky song. Puts you in a good mood and makes you smile. Well, the first couple of times at least. After that, maybe not so much. 

Well, that's it. Just like that April is over and the challenge has come to an end. Fun. But this is a "Z" post and I will look back later and post about it then. 

All is well, Z down and finished, in Drosche Land. 

Let It Go & Livin' On a Prayer

1. Let It Go - Idina Menzel. Yes, I know. But I do have a 2 1/2 year old daughter. She is so intro Frozen it's not even funny. She adores it. We've seen the movie more times than I can remember. She's got dolls. She's got books.  She loved the Frozen Fever short before the movie Cinderella. Whenever the song comes on she sings and spins around "like a princess". So naturally this song brings my little girl to my mind. And I smile. Now, I'll also go one step further and admit that I do love the song. I do. I love the movie. I do.  I've not tired of either of them and I'm not ashamed to admit it. There. I've said it. I love Frozen. I love Let It Go. I love the running gag with John Travolta and his ineptitude and inability to say her name correctly. I love it all. 

2. Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi. Come one. It's Bon Jovi. A total nod to my 80's childhood and love of hair band rock and ballads.  I know more than a few of you out there will belt this sound out at the top of your lungs when it comes on. Maybe you are now, or at least in your head. I know I am. So many awesome Bon Jovi songs, but this one is my favorite. I can't refer to myself or anyone else being halfway anywhere without breaking into the chorus. So good. Timeless really. Another song that I can play and it's sure to put me in a good mood.  I think I'll play it right now in fact. Rock on. 

All is well, L down, in Drosche Land. 

Spring Break

This year it was laid back.  Nothing special or eventful.  But that's not bad, just life.

See, this year Amy and I had Spring Break on differing weeks.  She was last week and the kids and I were this week.  Bummer.  This meant that we could not plan any trips or excursions.  Such is life though.  

So we stayed at home.  Monday and Tuesday were spent lounging around the house.  I did a lot of laundry, finished grading and report cards (they go out next week), mowed the front and back yards, and watched all of Season 4 of Pretty Little Liars (thank you Netflix).  So, nothing too crazy, but it was nice to stop and relax for a bit.

Amy took Wednesday off so we could all have at least one day together.  So we went out for lunch (a real treat as we rarely eat out anymore) and took the kids to see the new Cinderella movie.  Granted Braeden, in all his pre-pre-teen 8-year-old angst was not as thrilled as the rest of us, but he still managed to enjoy himself.  It didn't hurt that we sweetened the deal with a chocolate chip cookie shake for him to enjoy during the movie.  Jackson is always up for a movie, regardless of what it is.  Stella, ever the princess of the family, is now insisting on a pair of glass slippers and seeing the movie again!    Alamo Drafthouse was giving free admission to teachers for this Spring Break week so we took advantage of that!  Score!  Hopefully that will be something they do in the future and we can plan this to be a regular occurrence.  

Then yesterday and today it was back to binge watching TV shows via Netflix/Amazon/Hulu and relaxing around the house.  I am currently switching between The Slap and Bates Motel.  Equally awesome.  

Hopefully this will be the only year (fingers crossed) that we spend Spring Break apart.  the calendars for our schools are set for next year and we will once again share Spring Break!  We are already beginning to plan a trip to make up for this year's missed fun.  We're thinking Disney World again!  We have been wanting to return since we left last summer so if all goes well in the planning and budgeting departments we will be able to visit Mickey and friends again!

Well, that's it here.  Sounds even less impressive when you write it down but all is well.  It did force us to stop and relax a bit though, the kids have enjoyed the break.  Next week we are all back to normal though so we will see how easily we slip back into routine.  But, until then we will enjoy the last few days/hours of Spring Break.  Depends on if you include the weekend or not?  I do, I think.  May as well make it as long as possible!

All is well, on break, in Drosche Land.

2014 Year in Review

Happy New Year!

We did something a little different this year in Drosche Land for New Years!  We'd been hoping to get out and do some camping over the Christmas break, but there were no available spots where we wanted to go. Oh well, life moves on. Then, as luck would have it, Amy found us a spot at our all-time favorite state park - Stephen F. Austin State Park. It's nearby, within 45 minutes, and is our favorite go-to spot. Lots of a great memories made and many more waiting to be made here. So we booked it and began packing and planning. New Years in our camper!  Beginning 2015 out in a relaxing way together as a family. Sounded just like what we needed.  So, yesterday we arrived and braved the cold weather to enjoy some hiking, playing outside, and a campfire where we roasted hot dogs, our usual first night out dinner. The kids went to bed early, as did Amy and I. A busy day outdoors made us tired so we skipped ringing in 2015 at midnight, opting instead for some wine to celebrate at about 9. But enough about this trip, I'll post more later. On with a review of what 2014 brought us here in Drosche Land. 

January

I joined a blog hop to review the Top 20 Photos from 2013. This was fun. I'll have to head over and see if Duncan is doing the same. Or maybe I will again anyway?  January also brought a month filled with adoption classes, twice weekly, as we continued the pre-adoption process. We learned a lot about both the adoption process and the foster care system through this.  We also were busy readying our house for the Home Study process. The weather in January 2014 was wicked, with many freezing days and even brought the city to a stop for some unprecedented Ice Days!

February

February was kicked off by the burglary of our home. Yikes. That was rough. Very emotional for us all as we dealt with the emotional and financial aftermath of such an occasion.  It was a bumpy road but we made it through. Definitely something we hope to never experience again. The adoption process halted to a crawl and we were getting quickly impatient with how slowly everything seemed to be moving.  One fun part of the month included Braeden landing his first, albeit small, part in the school Spring Musical!  We were so proud of him for even trying out and getting the part as an extra. A great accomplishment for him!  So much fun!  February also brought us through the process of having Jackson evaluated for ADHD.  We weren't vocal about the process at the time, but it was emotional and tiring.  Overall February was rough and we were all too happy to see it end. Crazy how such a short month can pack a wallop!

March

March started off ok. For about a month. Until we discovered that our beloved pet dog Lucy was diagnosed with cancer. It was untreatable and aggressive. We made the horrible decision to end her pain and suffering, but just beginning ours. She was an awesome dog. Amy and I got her when it was just the 2 of us in New Orleans. She was our first baby. We will always cherish her and the memories we have of her.  Spring Break brought us an awesome family trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park. We had a blast. It also made us realize that we wanted to trade up our small popup camper for an actual travel trailer. The process was long but we ended up with our wonderful Fireside where I sit right now blogging and listening to rain. Best decision ever!  We love it!  March also is when we decided to sign the boys up for swim team with their cousins!  Something new. Something fun. Well, looking back, not so much, but it seemed like a great idea at the time!  We also received Jackson's ADHD diagnosis and began the process of finding the correct dosage of medication that would help him. More emotional rollercoaster time for us but it was beneficial. The month was brought to a close by our first Home Study visit. It had been postponed once that month, but went well once it finally happened. We felt like we were getting the ball rolling in the adoption process, finally.

April

April brought another year for me to join the Blogging A-Z Challenge where I wrote about TV shows. Good posts. Good tv shows. It was a fun month for the challenge!  The month didn't hold much else for us. We continued the process of medicating Jackson, finally finding a doctor and dosage that we were happy with. Braeden performed wonderfully in the school Spring Musical and swim practices went on, although not as smooth as we would have liked. We did fall even more in love with the Fireside as we took her out on her inaugural run, with much success!  We also were in the home stretch of planning our summer vacation to Disney World as we made reservations for rides and food!

May

Braeden turned 8. 8?!  Seriously?!  Wow.   We also ended our brief foray into the world of competitive swimming after much frustration and miscommunication with the swim team Coaches. Ugh.  Our boys love sports and we want them to be active in something. That something just isn't swimming. I finally blogged about Jackson's ADHD diagnosis on Children's Mentak Health Day.  I'll continue to blog about it as it is an ongoing syndrome that we are always dealing with. But there's no shame in it. We are proud of him and will continue to support him and advocate for him so he is successful. May also brought some shocking news as our adoption agency brought up Fostering and Amy and I, after prayerful consideration decided to become dual track as we proceeded onward with the straight adopt/foster-to-adopt process.  Another school year ended, my first (and awesome) at St. Mark. I also won an iPad mini via a contest with my favorite station 104.1 KRBE!  Holla!  The month ended on a great note as things with the adoption were looking promising and Disney World was getting closer!

June

Stella turned 2!  What?!  2?!  Wow. She was, and is, a hoot and keeps us on our toes daily. Disney was the name of the game for the month though as we spent a week there!  We did Disney World hard and were bus every minute of every day. But we had a blast and enjoyed it all. We made it to every park and ate some incredible food. While we don't have a definite date set, we are always planning, prepping, praying about, and waiting for our next trip!  I led VBS at St. Mark again and had a blast, so much fun and I always enjoy it. We spent the rest of the month relaxing and resting up from Disney while we awaited the all-important adoption phone call!

July

A busy month to say the least!  We started off the insanity by purchasing a new truck!  I love her. My beautiful blue Ford F-150. She is an awesome truck and has been such an improvement as a tow vehicle over the Sequoia (who is also a great vehicle as well, just not the same as my truck!). We took the Fireside out again, pulled by my truck, on vacation with my family. A few problems with the air conditioning occurred but we handled it and all ended up well.  After vacation we adopted not one, but two miniature schnauzer mixes. Twins. We named them Mickey and Minnie because we were, and are, still on a post-Disney World vacation high. They are adorable and we love them to pieces. I will say though, that everyone's is right when they say house training small dogs is way different than big dogs. Much harder and frustration. But it is slowly improving.  Speaking of house training, my awesome wife managed to potty train Stella in just 3 days. This is when she did with both boys and she ended the fun with a 3 for 3 success rate!  She is awesome. We started running. No seriously, we did. I know, I can still hardly believe it. But thanks to inspiration from friends and my wonderful wife, we because runners. We started off very slowly. But have gotten much better and actually, gasp!, enjoy it. The holidays and colder weather have seen fewer runs from both of us but 2015 will bring a change to that as we are excited to get back in it and put some more 5Ks under our belt!  Oh and we got Fitbits!  LOVE them!  Then it happened. At the very end of the month. It happened. We got the call. 2 girls. In need of placement. We talked and prayed (both quickly because you have to be quick) and accepted.  It also changed us. Forever. 

August

August was a blur. We had 5 kids. The foster care process was a lot. Meetings. Doctor's appointments. Meetings. Amy pulled the lion's share of it all. I will be the first to admit that. She was amazing. I saw in her the determination that made me love her. Determination to get things done. Determination to do right by these two little girls. Determination to care for her family, no matter what life threw at her. She was, and still always is, amazing. In the midst of all of this, school was starting back up.  We now had 5 kids to enroll!  Amy celebrated her birthday in the middle of everything.  School started and all 5 were at St. Mark since we'd made the decision prior to placement to move Jackson over. They all thrived. We also had our first home visit with T & L's family. The one where we found out a family member was interested in pursuing custody of them both. Mixed feelings emerged. This wasn't what we'd envisioned with our adoption process. But we continued on, praying and trying (successfully and unsuccessfully) to let Him lead us.  I ran my first 5K!  The FoamGlow Run!  Initially it was supposed to be Amy and I but the girls couldn't be left with anyone other than the two of us so I ran with Amanda instead. It was awesome and I loved it. Amy and I are currently looking into 5Ks this year to do!

September

Just as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. T & L moved on from our care. They'd been with us for just over a month. About 5 1/5 weeks. It was an emotional process to say the least. We learned a lot. About the foster care world, about our biological children, about our friends and family, about each other. It drained us.  After it was all said and done we decided to halt any further movement with adoption. We don't know what lies ahead for us or where He is leading us. Our hearts are filled with love, compassion, and advocacy for adoption and the entire process. We just still aren't quite sure what the next step for us is. Other than waiting. Waiting. A word we'd come to despise throughout the adoption process but now one we turn to. Waiting. To see where He leads us, what He has in mind for us. Who knows?  We don't, but we have faith in the fact that He does. For now we just heal from the process and wait. But life moved forward and so do we. The boys were both enrolled in soccer for the fall!  Jackson through St. Mark and Braeden through a league near the house where he played on the same team as his cousin Austin!  Jackson turned 7!  7?!  Wow. Our kids are growing up too fast!  He is thriving at St. Mark and in my class!  He's also doing quite well managing his ADHD!  

October

October seemed to be pretty uneventful. I didn't blog much, life was busyish. Amy joined the Handbell Choir at St. Mark with her mom and is enjoying it!  She won't admit it, but she does and is quite good! Our Tuesday nights were overtaken with both boys' soccer practices and Saturdays and Sundays were both game days. It seemed as though we were always on the move. Halloween was fun, we had a themed- family costume with the cousins. All 4 boys were Texans football players, the 2 girls were cheerleaders (with adorable homemade tutus courtesy of my awesome wife), and Amy and I were referees (a simple costume consisting of a white tshirt, black electrical tape, and jeans!

November

I vowed to blog more. Life had gotten too much in the way and posts dwindled. 2015 will be different!  I had a birthday and Amy spoiled me with an iPhone 6 Plus and I LOVE it!  Soccer ended and the season was a success, the boys both doing quite well!  Amy and I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time at our house. With my family members far flung across the country that just wasn't happening. So Amy's mom and grandparents came and my parents and grandmother did also. It was so much fun to host rather than travel. Something I hope we get to do a lot more of!  Black Friday was a success as Amy's Mom and I continued our tradition of heading out to grab some deals!  The Christmas season began as our little elf, Englebert, reappeared!

December

I began the month posting about Santa and believing in the magic that is Santa. We lost Braeden's believe last year but this year everyone continued their belief, with Braeden helping to keep the secret!  We also announced that after Christmas Amy would be moving up to teach 4th Grade at Epiphany. Something totally new, exciting, and slightly daunting. We spent the first few days of Christmas break cleaning and prepping her new room and I know she will be incredible!  Christmas came and was a blessed day as we celebrated the birth of Jesus and spent time with family. It was so much fun to just stop and relax. The week afterward was spent doing more resting and relaxing, in addition to cleaning the house and reclaiming it from the post-Christmas clutter. That brings us to yesterday, the end of December and the end of 2014. More relaxing family time. Much needed and much enjoyed. 

So, that's 2014. A bit long but it's all there, mostly.  It was a whirlwind. A rollercoaster. One heck of a year. But we made it through and can look back to reminisce it all now, both the good times and the not so good times. What does 2015 have in store for us?  Not sure, but we can ruminate about that in another post. One dedicated to the new year!  

All is well, saying goodbye to 2014, in Drosche Land. 

Trippin'

We made it to Disney World!

It was quite the eventful trip. We left early yesterday morning and ended up spending 14 hours in the car (several breaks and a too-long lunch) driving 656 miles. It made for a long day. A very long day. Stella watched Frozen 5 times. 5.  Now not only do I know all the songs (ok yes, I knew them well before today) but now I know a good portion of dialogue as well!  We stopped somewhere in Florida at Falling Waters State Park. We basically hooked up electricity and water, ate, and slept. That's all we had the energy for. 

This morning we left a little later so it was good to sleep in a bit. We only spent about 8 hours driving and only got in 2 viewings of Frozen.  But we made it in good time. After hooking up and unloading Amy and I took the kids to meet with a friend from college and her family. It was good to visit since we hadn't seen them in 4 years!  Yikes. Then back to the campsite.  Any plans for exploring the grounds and amenities tonight were cut short by rain. Lots of it. Apparently that's what it does here in Florida. Rain. Right now it's a light rain and between that and the fact that everyone is sleeping the camper has a very soothing and relaxing sound. Ahhhhh. The forecast for tomorrow says clear skies until rain in the evening. Hopefully it's not as much as today. But we will see. Can't complain though because we made it to Disney!

Also got to experience quite a number of camper firsts this trip so far. Driving it for so long. Pulling through gas stations. Backing into the spot here at Disney (we've stuck to pull-through sites thus far).  All in all though it was a great trip. Long but any good road trip is.  The real fun starts tomorrow though  and hopefully it'll be dry!  Especially since were headed to Animal Kingdom. Safari time!

All is well, at Disney, in Drosche Land. 

Last Minute

You know how it is. No matter how much you prep and plan for a vacation, the day before is hectic and filled with a whirlwind of activity as you get ready to leave. 

Today was no different for us as we are leaving super early tomorrow morning for the drive to Disney.  However, our first errand handed us a nice little setback. See, we had to cool the fridge and put stuff in the camper. But the fridge wouldn't turn on. Ugh. Propane was ok so it had to be the battery. Next up, impromptu trip to Camping World to get it checked out. However, they were anything but helpful; providing us with only further frustrations. Luckily we were able to just drive up the road to Holiday World and turns out the battery just needed to be charged.  Score!  So it's there while we spend the rest of the day planning. 

I'm currently blogging from the waiting area at Kwik Kar (I LOATHE stupid spellings of business/product names, must be my inner teacher) blogging while The Beast gets her oil changed. Despite my loathing for the name, the place it close to home and the price is right so I can turn my teacher eye for a bit.  The Beast by the way is our name for the Sequioa. I wanted a name for her, I like naming cars. Weird I know. We couldn't decide on once so this one stuck. It fits. She's huge, she works hard, she puts up with a lot of Drosche Land craziness.  The Beast it is!

So, after this it's back home to finish cleaning and prepping food. Clothes are all packed and loaded into the camper so that's done. Tonight we pick up the charging battery and drop off Rex with my parents who are being awesome and dog-sitting for us while we are at Disney. Woo hoo!  Then it's early to bed so we can early to rise. 

Vacations are awesome and this one is going to be epic since it's our first Disney trip. But they are so much for to prep for, not to mention the recovery work that will come next week once we return.  Such is life. Everyone's vacations seem to be that way. Totally worth it though. Stay tuned for copious amounts of pictures!

All is well, Disney bound, in Drosche Land. 

One Last Shot

Not as in chance.  Literally.  A shot.  Like the kind you get at the doctor.

See today we took all of the kids to the doctor.  Yes, all 3.  If you've never taken 3 children to the doctor, then you're missing out.  Trust me, it's a trip.  But seriously it wasn't all that bad actually; they did quite well.  See, Braeden and Stella were up for their yearly check-up and the boys needed their TB skin test for the adoption.  

Now, given past incidents Amy and I were pretty hesitant and worried about how this was going to play out.  3 kids, all getting shots.  Ugh.  The thought of the impending crying and screaming was definitely a fear.  However, all ended up quite well.  The boys were super brave for their TB skin tests and Stella only cried for a little with her shot.  All in all the trip was a success and we were able to happily cross one more thing off of our adoption to-do list!

So now we continue to wait.  Wait.  We were given a 2-week window from Home Study approval to when we would hear from Matching.  We went past that marker last Friday and we are doing our best to be patient.  Luckily we have the upcoming Disney trip just a few days away to occupy us in the meantime.  Once we return though I hope we are able to maintain our patience.

So, there's the latest adoption update.  Nothing huge or landmark but a victory nonetheless.  So for now we will take that.  And wait of course.

All is well, on the road to Matching, in Drosche Land.     

2

Stella turned 2 today!

2. Years. Old. Where has the time gone?  I feel like I say this three times a year on each of the kids' birthdays but it still shocks me.

2 years. Wow. 

So much has happened in the past 2 years here in Drosche Land and I am sure the same can be said about everyone.  We have been through a lot. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. All in the short life of our little princess.

She has definitively changed us. For the better of course. We've learned what patience is as we've ridden the rollercoaster that is food allergies.  Her allergies have also inspired us all to eat a lot healthier. We've also had to rethink who is in charge here as she seems to be fairly certain that she runs the show, especially when it comes to her brothers who will do anything she asks (nearly always willingly).

As you can see from above, Minnie Mouse is a new favorite. Maybe it's because we are heading to Disney in less than two weeks (yikes!) and thus are always talking about it. Maybe it's because she watches Mickey's Clubhouse.  Either way, she is in love with the large stuffed mouse, clad in all pink. Hello Kitty is another favorite of hers lately. She is also very much in the "why?" stage of life and is constantly asking that about anything. She loves to eat applesauce in the squeezable pouches. She has also taken to saying, "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" and pumping her fists up and down when she's excited or happy. It's hilarious. 

I could go on and on about Stella and all that is this wonderful little girl. But I'll leave it at the fact that she, like every child, is a blessing. Throughout whatever we have been through these past 2 years, she has helped us to keep our perspective in life. She's reminded us what is most important and she has shown us that it's ok, and valuable, to roll with the punches and be flexible. She's made us smile when we didn't want to or didn't think we could. She's given us something to look forward to when everything else seemed bleak. She's changed us. For the better. 

All is well, 2 years older, in Drosche Land. 

Asterisk

You know what an asterisk means. 

An addendum. The fine print. Further details and information. 

Such is the case with our adoption journey. Last Friday we found out that our Straight Adoption Home Study had been approved!  What a relief. How exciting. But with it came an asterisk. A side note. The Committee wanted to be sure we knew that the wait might be longer than we anticipated. See, they tend to lean more toward families with one or no children. We understand, we are not frustrated or upset about that. It makes sense. But it does put a little hiccup in our plans. A Straight Adoption (no fostering) was still possible, just with a likely extended timeline. In addition to this they also were wondering if we would be interested in the Foster-to Adopt program. Bam. Asterisk. This would greatly reduce our wait time, but brings with it many new aspects of adoption that we thought we had decided on. 

Fostering. We obviously knew about it and learned plenty in our classes. It just didn't seem right for us. Plus we are seeking an adoption placement so Fostering is not the route we wanted.  Foster-to-Adopt is similar but with the end result being an adoption placement. Permanent. But with it comes a host of possible scenarios. We could get a placement right off the bat that works out as an adoption placement. Or, we could get a placement that results in the child(ren) being returned to their birth family. Not us. Not an adoption placement. At which point we would have to say goodbye and would enter the process all over again. You can see our dilemma and concerns. 

So we talked. Then we prayed. Then we talked some more. We finally decided that proceeding with a Dual Track program was right for us. Simultaneously working in the Straight Adopt and Foster-to-Adopt programs.  That felt right. That felt like where He was leading us. Will it be easy?  Likely not.  But then again very little in this process can be considered "easy". Might there come a time where difficult decisions need to be made?  Maybe. Who's to say?  Sure it's scary and it's unknown. Sure there are risks and the potential for heartache. But there is still just this nagging feeling that this is what we are being called to do.  To change the life of a child. To change our lives. To grow our family.

So that's where we are now. Our Foster-to-Adopt Home Study went to committee today and I haven't heard back yet. We were told that the Straight Adopt approval was more difficult to get so the odds of approval are in our favor. The one difference that we will need to handle between the two is to have a fire inspection of our home done. I've begun the process but we will see what that means for the approval; if we can get it with without the actual inspection done or if it will have to wait for resubmission once the fire marshal gives us the all-clear. Until then we wait some more. I believe that our Straight Adopt file will proceed to Matching where we will begin that process, but we have yet to get confirmation on this so we wait there too. Just waiting all around. 

In the mean time school is getting out for both Amy and I this week so that means summer is just a few days away. That also means that Disney is just a few weeks away!  I haven't blogged much about that so I'd better get started before we head out in mid-June. So, more on that later.  Back to waiting. 

All is well, reading the fine print, in Drosche Land.