This is probably amusing me more than it should

Earlier this week Andy made margarita chicken.  Shiloh helped herself to the marinade.  That marinade contained tequila, of course.  I had been working on my parents' house and came home to a happy dog.  Andy was concerned about how the night would go especially since tequila makes people mean.  Apparently it just makes mean dogs goofy.  This was an accidental ingestion of alcohol, and while it is tempting to keep this dog so relaxed and nicer than usual, we won't be doing that.  So no need to call PETA.

the happy drunk

I found some messes the next morning and thought Shiloh had been throwing up, but after Andy inspected it, he felt that it was just the marinade that she spilled from the bag.  There was a substantial spot on her bed, and I did not want to put that in my washer, so I decided it was time for a new bed.  When I was considering washing the bed, I started removing the cover from Jules' bed to wash it too and discovered that the inside was in no shape for a washing, so I was then in the market for two dog beds.  Hello, Ross.  I might add that Jules was giving me a "what do you think you are doing?" look when I was taking her bed apart.  Little did she know that it was headed to the dumpster the next day.

Mission accomplished: I found affordable beds at Ross, and two dog beds left the house just in time for trash pick up.  The dogs were a little perplexed at first and had not touched the beds when we retired for the evening, but I found that they figured it out sometime during the night.  Shiloh was snoozing in her bed when I awoke the next morning.  She's not a morning dog, and I mean that.  We let her just stay in that snooze mode until she is ready to move - ah, a dog's life.   Jules greeted me per usual - anxious to go out but climbed right back into her bed after going out.

So this is pretty much how I left them when I went to work.

bed head

a picture that actually makes Jules look cute

So apparently, sibling rivalry got the better of Shiloh, or maybe the grass just looked greener on the other side because...

this is how Andy left them when he headed out for work on the very same day.

And this afternoon, I came home to this.  This dog is not right, but I am really getting a kick out of the whole thing.  Of course Jules is not complaining about curling up in a bigger bed.  

I'm Back!

We've spent our spring following Julia as she has played soccer for two teams.  She's learned lots and always takes the field grinning.  I really, really miss being a swim mom, but we've travelled out of town to some fun and/or beautiful places.  I drove Julia and one of her friends home one evening through rolling hills and beautiful farmland under one of the most breath-taking sunsets I've ever seen.  I had four girls in my van on the way to that game, and we had such fun. 

The season ends in two days, but I don't really get a break.  Julia will be back at it mid-July.

He's legal - sort of, almost, maybe

Wyatt passed his driver's permit test today.  He did this after completing the last two finals of his sophomore year.  We don't actually have verification of his legal ability to take the wheel of a car because we could not prove his citizenship.  Wyatt's Certificate of Citizenship is with the Department of State where we are almost four weeks into awaiting a passport card for him.  I have been remiss in this process as we should have pursued a passport for him years ago instead of relying on a certificate that cannot be replaced.  I learned the hard way when we went to apply for his passport that waiting until any child is sixteen to get a passport complicates thing.  They are not quite adults but are able to get adult passports, so the paperwork is a little more cumbersome than if they were younger or if they were older.  Add a foreign birth and an adoption into the mix and it really gets messy.  So needless to say, we have an appointment on Friday to get Julia a new passport.  She has an old one and is not sixteen so this should be easier for us, and we will have less trouble next year when she applies for a driver's permit.

All this research started as I was looking into the Real ID process for my state. In my state the Real ID process for domestic flights has been pushed back again even though our DMV site says it rolled out in March. The reality is that it has been postponed for the umpteenth time to the end of summer.  Savannah's license expired, and she did not get a real ID.  Mine will likely expire before the real ID rolls out, so I am replacing my expired passport with a passport card.  It's a cheaper option that allows me to fly domestically with an easy to carry ID, and I can consider the real ID license option in four years when my license expires again.  I can also still renew my passport to get a book by mail if Andy and I should actually get to take our dream trip to Italy or my dream to return to China with the kids for a heritage tour should be realized.  Neither is on the radar as tuition is sinking us for now.

Wyatt and I had a little celebration since he passed the permit test.  I've been wanting to try a shaved ice place near our home for years.  It did not disappoint.  We will have to pay another visit to this little shack that is not exactly easy to get to.  The Pina Colada flavor is so much better than the actual drink.  Funny story: this is how I learned that Wyatt thought all Pina Colada drinks had alcohol. He was cautious when I took a picture of our snowballs side by side.  He didn't want them to mix since he's under-age.  

Hoping and hoping that next week is the week that Wyatt can actually get his permit.  Our options were to find a certified Chinese translator to translate his original adoption decree or wait out the passport.  We've already had a big delay because I could not find his social security card,  and Wyatt is not concerned about the wait since he does not have to take the test again.  We are awaiting the passport- a bit impatiently (at least I am).

June 17, 2019 Update

We finally have the physical proof that Wyatt can legally drive!!!  WhooHoo!

Birthday Girl!

Yesterday, we headed to Savannah's college town to treat her to breakfast.  Between our weekend plans and her weekend plans, it was the only time we could celebrate her 21st birthday.  

At 21 Savannah is just weeks away from finishing her junior year of college.  She's on track to finish an architecture degree in a year.  Savannah loves the color yellow and being a little different from everyone else.  She works really hard at school and is in the top 20% of her class.  Her birthday weekend included participating in a fashion show for a medical fraternity  She's a pancreas and a liver (I think?).  I hope she sends pictures :) 

Savannah's birthday week did not get off to a great start.  Her laptop had been in for repair for 11 days, and she was notified that it was not worth fixing.  After trying to work through her classwork on slow computers in the labs and facing final reviews, it became an emergency to replace the laptop.  Andy drove up to meet her on Monday to address that situation.  UGH!  Fortunately, she did her homework before he arrived and found an option that met the necessary specs on clearance.  For the record a laptop on clearance is still pricey.  

Savannah is living with three roommates in an apartment.  I do believe that she has permanently moved out of our home.  The program she hopes to complete for grad school is out of state, so we will see how that works out.

All the kids came to celebrate their sister.

Savannah is legal now and started the day with a mimosa and was not even carded - LOL

Andy rocked new Elton John style sunglasses, and the kids loved them.  You never know what fashion statement Andy is going to make.

Zach and Julia had to try on the sunglasses.  They both looked really good in them.

Our time with Savannah was short as Andy had to play drums for a very special celebration and needed to get there for the run-through.  We were running late to get him there when we were rear-ended on our way out of town.  The other driver took off, but we got his plate number.  It's just a fender-bender, and after the last several weeks that have included the overwhelming situation at my parents' house, an expensive unexpected car repair, replacing a laptop, and a really discouraging work situation, we just kind of shrugged our shoulders and said, "this is no big deal."  If the vehicle were newer, I probably would not have felt that way, but I am just hoping to eek two years out of it, so there's that.

We made it back to our home town and celebrated a very special five-year-old.  Lizzy is small but fierce, and she has the most awesome parents who have walked her through an 18 month cancer journey.  We raised a hallelujah to a great God who has carried them through.  Lizzy's mom thought of everything planning the party - a time of worship with a band, a bouncy house for the kids, balloon animals, a chocolate fountain (Lizzy's only request), snow cones, cotton candy, and treat bags.  It was a grateful celebration with people who love this family so much.

So it was an eventful day for the Pages on the day Savannah turned 21, but it was a day worthy of celebration.  We always have perspective on this date as Savannah's paternal grandfather died in an accident on her fourth birthday.  That was a repeat of history as my paternal grandfather died suddenly on my 11th birthday. Savannah's life is very much worth celebrating, and it was an honor and bonus to celebrate another amazing girl on this day.  If we are friends on Facebook, don't miss my link to Lizzy's story.  It is truly worth the read.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

It's been a little rough here, so I haven't posted because breathing is more important at the moment.


Remember my last post where I talked about the contractor who left some damage at Dad's house?  This is our situation:

There is stain everywhere - on newly painted walls, trim, fireplace surround (that makes me the maddest), outdoors on the covered porch entrance, on floor transitions etc.

He got fired, and someone else was hired to do the job, and the floors are now beautiful.  We have been over there working to get the house on the market.  That original contractor has set us back more than four months, and the work is overwhelming.

The week prior to spring break, I either worked at the house or had something else on my plate every night.  Keep in mind that I get up at 5:30a.m. for work.  I left that house twice in tears because I was so overwhelmed which is not like me.  I was so tired that I made some pretty big mistakes at work.

Plan A for spring break was to spend 10 hour days at the house.  I started Friday night by buying lots of paint and supplies and taking it over there and prepping walls.  I couldn't spend much time there on Saturday or Sunday because of other obligations, but I did spend a few hours there each day and then spent 8 hours there on Tuesday.  When I left that Tuesday, I had painted three closets and some trim.  I decided I would not return for at least a week.  That was almost two weeks ago, and I have yet to go back.

It is frustrating because what we thought was almost finished is not.  The trim had not been painted, and that's a big job.  The rooms that were painted need to be repainted because of the contractor, and the realtor pushed for a different color, so now even the rooms that were okay need to be repainted.  We find additional damage that has to be fixed every time we are there.  For example, the blinds have stain on them, so they have to be taken down and scrubbed.  Tessa has been working through that back-aching process.  The banister had to have all new balusters because they were popped into place by the original contractor without being set.  The second contractor just left them out.   Then we learned that the holes were drilled incorrectly into the banister, and now a brand new banister may have to be replaced.


Every time the realtor walks in the house, she gives me another to-do list - most of which would not be a big deal if we weren't having to repaint the house.  The probate expires on April 30th, so I will have to make yet another trip to the courthouse to extend it.  If it wouldn't mean going through the process and paying fees again to name another executor/executrix, I would hand this over to someone else.

I am still trying to decide if I need to take a personal day and just put in a full day of work at the house since it is so difficult to get this done on weeknights and weekends with everyone working various schedules.  My goal is to paint the pantry and the two remaining interior doors that I have not gotten to.  I am hoping one of my siblings will be able to finish the trim. We know we have to hire a painter, but painting the trim is more than half the cost of paying a professional.

Now that the weather has turned, we have to add keeping up with the yard to the list of things to do.

It is daunting and impacting life on many levels. Yet I still go to worship where God speaks through ministers who say not to give up and that God sees me.  I think my two week break is enough to get me back in action, but I have a busy week ahead and a really busy Easter weekend.

stain on walls

odd, uneven, looks like spilled stain on floors, glaringly obvious - this was before another contractor fixed the damage

stain on walls

What?!

new quarter-round that was not stained to match the floor as contracted and did not go to the end of the wall

stain around banister

This is when I went to paint interior doors after the  floors were fixed.

Polyurethane on new kitchen floor 

A good thing - view of the gazebo that Mom really wanted.  I wish we had used it more.  It's perfect right now, but the house backs up to a farm, and the gazebo is harder to enjoy during fly season.  The deck and gazebo stain is the handiwork of my brother.

a treasure-one of Dad's bibles - He color-coded his underlining which was done free-hand - He probably did 20 bibles like this -start to finish.

Hard Pressed on Every Side

I almost started this post a few days ago - glad I waited as you will see at the end.

So the last few weeks have been a bit of a struggle. Rather than go into the details, I will just bullet them. Since I can be wordy, I will highlight the big picture.

• It started on a Wednesday morning when I awoke to large puddles on hardwood floors.  It was pouring outside and into our house.  That morning continued to go awry, and we later learned we have a hole in our roof.
• The very next day my phone froze overnight and did not wake me for work on time.
• I learned recently that some of the schools in the district for which I work have decided to make the librarian position part time.  If you don't work this position, you do not understand why that is troublesome, so let me just bullet a bit about the job before I go any further.
• Librarians curate the collection.  Those books don't appear magically.  They are purchased after careful consideration by a trained professional who knows the patrons.  We don't just check out books!
• About half of the schools have a clerk to support a library.  About 99% of the time, said clerk cannot monitor students legally, so if a librarian is not in the building, teachers cannot send students to the library independently.
• The books age or get worn out and need to be mended or replaced.  Some books fall out of date and need to be removed from the collection for newer material on the subject.  Librarians are trained to do this.
• A library degree requires graduate level work.  Someone has to know how to catalog that collection so that patrons can find what they need!
• Librarians are also the resource teacher for research and literacy and often for technology.  
• The contractor refinishing the floors in my dad's house has left a mess; an unprofessional and unacceptable job. He's been working on this eight weeks. We've had to hire a new contractor to fix the work, and we will have to redo the paint that was new, clean up polyurethane off of brand new kitchen flooring, etc.  Oh and I will have to extend the expiration on the probate again.
• I was surprised Thursday by a sickout which means so many teachers in my district called in sick that it was unsafe to have school.  Life was kind of hitting on all fronts, so I missed that a bill was being taken to committee that directly impacts my pension. Thus the sickout so that teachers could converge on the capitol and speak to their representatives. So there was that too.  I spent hours researching that situation trying to decide where my position on this is.
• I've spent the last month struggling to overcome a cold and planter fasciitis.  That's my own fault.  I did 28 Jazzercise classes in 26 days because I am all about a challenge, and Andy keeps telling me that I would get better if I would just rest.
• There was stuff with Andy's job too.
• There was also an accident involving one of the kids - a minor irritation and set back, but it revealed a bigger issue that needed to be addressed.  

So as the hits kept coming, and I didn't even include the little everyday stuff like prescription refills requiring appointments and multiple trips to the pharmacy and financial gymnastics working through some bills that are not of the norm, this verse came to mind:

We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8 (NIV)

and so did this one...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.  Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

Then I went to church tonight where we are finishing up a sermon series and where the two verses noted were highlighted.  Sometimes when you think you are just consoling yourself, and that is not of God, He just drops the same verses into a sermon to remind you that He sees you.

We are finishing up a sermon series. This sermon series is based on a newly released book - Don't Give Up by Kyle Idleman  We own the book, but I have much reading to do to keep up with two Bible studies right now, so Andy gets first dibs.  If you need to be encouraged, check it out.  You might also be encouraged by his new podcast series One at a Time linked here https://toppodcast.com/podcast_feeds/one-at-a-time-with-kyle-idleman-kyle-idleman/

As for me that sickout on Thursday was very helpful.  I had been looking for a day/way that I could just take a break from work, and there was just too much going on at school to make it happen.  I realized as I rested that day that I really needed it.  All those problems coming from every direction can seem like mountains, but God holds my future.

Winter Ball 2019

Before the Arctic freeze pummeled much of the nation, Julia attended her first high school Winter Ball. The theme was masquerade, but she insisted that her friends were not taking masks - freshmen! 

The Winter Ball is a senior class fundraiser, and all students are allowed to attend.  It's actually a dance where they are allowed to bring outside guests, unlike homecoming.  Wyatt, in case you are wondering, has either no interest or refuses to attend because his friends have no interest.  A funny side note on that - we left the house that night without the boutonniere.  We quickly realized our mistake, and Wyatt was surprised to see me walk back in the door so quickly.  I waved the boutonnière in his face as I raced out the door, and the look on his face said it all.  If I could read his mind, he was probably thinking - "This is quite a production, and I'm out!"  You see his aunt Tiffany had spent a good chunk of the afternoon working on Julia's hair.  There had been numerous shopping trips for the dress, shoes, makeup etc.  Julia had been fretting over her make-up that day. That reminds me of another story.  Julia never wears any make-up aside from mascara.  Her friends advised her on what make-up she needed for the dance, and a trip to Target ensued.  They had stuff on that list that I did not know existed. I regretted not just having her make-up done when that total hit $55 and later bemoaned the fact that it would have been cheaper to have it done to Andy.  His response: It's fine she will use it for dances for the next four years.  Ha!  I had to set him straight on the fact that make up does not keep for four years.

Anyway, I know you are ready for pictures, so I will continue sharing my story interspersed between them.

The first attempt for Julia's hair was an up-do that she didn't really like.  Tiffany ended up tearing that down and starting over.  Fortunately, Tiffany is talented and fast.

The Dress -I tried to get Julia to choose a dress months ago - right after homecoming when I fired myself from dress shopping with her I tried to get this dress purchased and ready.  Julia insisted that she would not choose a dress until she was sure she was attending the dance, and since her friend group had decided that they would not go without dates, she felt she should not go without one either.  So, less than two weeks before the dance she was asked to the dance.  YIKES!  This was made worse by the fact that her friends wanted to shop with her and could not do so until 10 days before the dance, and Julia refused to do any pre-shopping without them.  Um!  So I had dinner plans the day they could all shop.  I picked them up from school, and poor Wyatt had to ride home in the front seat (the one he refers to as the seat of death and refuses to ride in) while the rest of the van was filled with a chatty group of friends.  I dropped them off at the mall and dropped Wyatt off at home and proceeded to dinner where I received occasional texts with pictures of potential dresses.  In the end Julia's friends brought her what they believed to be an ugly dress.  It's so funny.  They even have video of her coming out of the dressing room so that they could all have a good laugh.  The video abruptly stops when the whole group realizes that they actually love the dress. Fortunately, the only alterations needed were a hem, and Julia felt the walking slit was too high.  I took the dress to a seamstress for the hem, and I looked up how to fix the slit and did that myself.  I also put a few stitches in the adjustable straps so that they would not slide. In the end that shopping trip with friends helped me tremendously, so from now on that's the way I plan to do this dress shopping stuff.

Julia's date -J was the perfect date for Julia.  They've been good friends for long enough that they are as comfortable as siblings with each other.  That made for much less nervousness and pressure.  They are both fun people, so it was great. They are both the stereotypical youngest in their families.  Need I say more? 

Friends since preschool--such great girls!

The pre-dance party - The kids (23 of them) all met at the home of one of their classmates where they were served dinner, and with the help of a neighbor (mom to another classmate) a picture backdrop had been built.  It was absolutely perfect!  No stressed wait staff waiting on kids who likely do not know how to tip and no delays because of restaurant issues, and finally much less expensive. I am so very grateful  to the N and M families for making this happen.

P and E pictured here with Julia have quite a history with her.  P was her teacher at church from 1st-5th grade.  E was her small group leader for all of middle school.  Julia just recently changed high school groups and is now back with this great couple. Once, at a middle school play, Julia's friends thought P was her dad, so now she calls them her parents and had to have a picture with them, and we will certainly treasure this.  I am so grateful she has them leading and guiding her.

She did get a picture with her real parents :)  I probably should have taken my coat off, but it was cold.

There are zero pictures from the dance because they were too busy dancing to take any.  I think you can say they had a great time.  They had a small after party at Waffle House where they got a kick out of their waitress, but she was actually quite rude.  Whatever. They had fun, and hopefully despite her attitude, they were good to her.

Going forward, there is a formal dress upstairs in a closet that is long enough for Julia, so if she decides to do last minute shopping for a formal event in the future, like it or not, she's covered.