I am trying to overcome this, but I am sure it is not helping my reputation as a "city girl"...(there is a funny story about me trying to meet some of my country neighbors at a yard sale and one elderly woman taking one look at me and saying "you must be from the city!") that whenever a bug buzzes me, I throw whatever is in my arms....shovel, hose, child...and run for cover as I am telling the girls to make no sudden movements :-) I am thankful we don't have really close neighbors, but even so, I think the closest neighbors are close enough to enjoy a good show over me jumping around and running through my yard.
We have what I like to call Tracker Jackers...you can google them as Cicada Killers if you like, though. I tend to exaggerate things, but these wasps are huge...seriously. I read that they seldom sting, but they like to intimidate and I certainly exude the smell of fear (or maybe the smell of a cicada...I should check my body wash) to them and am incredibly easy for them to intimidate...haha! So far, we have tried pouring boiling water down their burrows after dark (Brad made me hold the flashlight to find their holes...and I thought they would swam me and I would die because I was the one with the light...I live to blog another day, but so do they), tried to get rid of them with cans of bee and wasp killer (well, Brad has...I just stand at the window and point to where I see them as he is holding, not one, but two cans of the bug killer). We were probably spending at least 10 dollars to kill one, because they are so hard to pin down with the spray. So Brad invented a new game...it is really kind-of a red neck game and I am so proud of him. I like to call it Tracker Jacker Tennis because he uses a tennis raquet to swat at them and then he sprays them as they are stunned on the ground. Yet another two reasons why I picked him to marry...he is a genius and has the ability to make everything interesting.
So that is where I have been...a little obsessed with Tracker Jackers...aka Cicada Killers....trying to learn as much as I can about them and how to rid my garage and front porch of them. Fun times!
Savannah and Danielle are doing a great job with the transitions into our home. You probably noticed I am spelling their names differently now. We had to sign some paperwork this week and part of it was to issue them/us their new birth certificates. So, after we had discussed their names and what they wanted and what we would like to do...we all agreed to a couple changes to their names...Savanah is now Savannah Patience-Nicole Foster, and Danelle is now Danielle Elizabeth-Sophia Foster...we are very excited because now all we are waiting on is a signature from the judge and they can move in with us. That will probably happen this week or next week.
We have our tough days...especially now that the excitement of meeting each other and the newness of it all (and the trip to Florida) is now transitioning into the reality that we are all becoming a real family and we will have to work hard to be a family. Plus, Savannah and Danielle have been relocated several times and have not been consistently parented in I am not sure how long. It is interesting to me how trauma and being moved around can affect children....there are all the negative things they have endured, but (when the pendulum shifted) then there are all the well-intentioned people, who out of compassion for what they had been through...gave them everything they wanted thinking it would help to make up for the past. I totally understand the feelings of compassion, but I don't think the girls are used to being told "no"...it is difficult for them to accept that Brad and I are now their parents and for them to allow us to make decisions for them. I pray all these things will be sorted out in time, but this summer is a time for me to teach and re-teach and re-teach the same lessons...it is a bit exhausting for me, but I pray that the intensity of the repetition of these lessons will allow for them to transition more quickly into an understanding of what it means to be a part of this family and to have parents who love them...but, not to expect to be given everything they desire instantaneously. Please pray for Brad and I as we work with them and try to help them to work through some of these things and to have a healthy understanding of a family structure and a healthy understanding of love.
Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated! God bless you!
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