Yard Sale--check!

Thanks to everyone that stopped by and bought something at the yard sale last week. We made enough to pay for A.'s flight to Ha Noi, so I'm pretty excited about that.

Now on to paying for our actual time in Viet Nam. I need to come up with about $3000 and while I'm not exactly sure how that is going to happen, I'm not panicking yet. I've got about a third of it nailed with my work-study job. And we are having another yard sale (less of our stuff will equal less income, but any is good. We've had some nice donations to our cause (and those donors can rest assured that we will be sending them kitsch from VN and/or Thailand); I really do have some great friends spread around the country.

So, next on the list are the visas. For some reason, this part frightens me slightly. I'm worried that for some untold reason they will be denied and it will all have been in vain. I just have to suck up and do it, send the passports, the fees and the application off to San Francisco and hope for the very best. If it's meant to be... That has become my mantra of late.

In a side note, our grapes are nearly ready. Another week or two and we'll have a day of steaming grapes to can grape juice. Homemade grape juice--there's nothing like it, really. You're welcome to some if you come help pick grapes! It is an arduous task, inspired by my dear grandma, but well worth it in the end.

back to normal (chaos)

It's been an amazing two weeks that I've spent volunteering at Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp, an experience that has honestly changed the way that I view myself and others. I met some really wonderful people (both campers and counselors) and went through just about every emotion possible. A crazy, difficult, and educational time for me.

And now I'm back at home, with my kids and our newest exchange student Satoe. She is from Japan and will be with us for four weeks, hopefully four great weeks. We started it off with a bang when we went grocery shopping; S. tried to hand off the milk, but neither he nor she had a grip on it and so the gallon jug plummeted to the tile floor, bursting open and showering us and all nearby displays with chocolate milk. The four of started laughing, then A. (the only one holding no groceries) ran to get someone with a mop. I suppose it was an appropriate introduction to our life: it appears to be working well, then all chaos breaks loose, usually met by gales of laughter.

We're down to just over 4 months until departure. Our big yard sale will be next weekend at my friend's friend's house (he has a much better location than I). I am hoping to rid myself of most of the superfluous stuff that we have, so wish me luck and send any Portlanders my way.

Happy 28th, Sis!

Today is my little sister's birthday--yea! Obviously she knows how to be silly and have a good time, too. I miss you, Steph!!!

In other news:

I will be taking off tomorrow and spending the next two weeks at Kiwanis Camp, a local nature camp for disabled adults. I get a short two-day break to see my kids, feed the fish and catch up on mail in the middle of it, then back out there. Here's to hoping that my sore-throat goes away and it's an enjoyable experience for me and my to-be-assigned camper.

saying goodbye again

I hate goodbyes. I've never been very good at them and even though I've had some serious practice at wishing people farewell over the last year my skills have not improved. Saying goodbye to Tommy this morning was slightly easier knowing that there was some hope of seeing him in the future. We'd like to visit him in Shenzhen; he wants to visit us in Viet Nam. I'm hopeful that at least one will happen and that seemed to ease the feeling of pointless attachment. He was a great addition to our family; the boys got along well and Audrey loved having another brother (especially one who didn't argue with her!). Really I couldn't have asked for a better kid to host. His parents should be proud.

Summer is flying right along and school will be starting before we know it. In a way, I will be glad as it tends to lend some stability to our lives and allows me some time to get things accomplished without kids fighting over game systems ("I want to play Yoshi on the N64!" "But I want to play Kingdom Hearts 2 on the PlayStation!") or lunch choices ("Ham sandwich!" "No! I want soup!") or any of the numerous other things that kids can find to argue about. I will miss the time together though. I do love being with my kids and even though I complain, I truly enjoy their company. So, I will deal with our separation during the day by knowing that by the end of December I will have completely given up any time alone. That will be an adjustment in itself.