Fun For All

It is amazing how busy we have been with preparing for Makallia's move.  Her bedroom is now starting to look like her bedroom instead of a guest room.    Her bathroom is done (and she loves it).  Our bathroom is done and we have moved upstairs.  We have spent hours working on homework, horse chores, and even found plenty of time for play.  So, to put some of it in photos:

We are loving Molly and Lady and making sure that they get more attention, not less with all of our hustle and bustle. 

We adopted Checkers, who has become Joel's favorite cookie monster, and a reliable riding companion for Makallia:

We took in our first, born in the wild, Mustang foster horse, Addie: 

......who promptly became best friend's with Checkers (they are practically twins!):

Unfortunately, Jewel lost her baby, but she is much healthier and happy now, so we feel that it was for the best.  We still get to enjoy a little filly, since Evangeline and her baby, Aurora are fostering with us.  Little Aurora's antics keep us smiling, and her panelled paddock keep her safe and out of trouble:

Sebastian hasn't been overlooked either.  He is finally warming up to Makallia (it took him awhile), and he will let her hold him now.  We gave him a bath over the weekend, and I handed him to Makallia after I swaddled him in his towel.  He almost fell asleep in her arms:

Makallia has also been getting to know her extended family, and loves her cousin Douglas.  Saturday morning Douglas came over to play Wii with Makallia, and she got him to ride a horse for the first time.  His nerves let up after awhile, and he loosened his grip to wave at his Uncle Joel.  After dinner that night we went to his house and played Rock Band together as a family.  Lots of laughs all around.  

In the upcoming weeks Makallia is starting riding lessons, we will go to the zoo (she has never been), and are going to the Rennaissance Fair.  We are going the weekend of the International Jousting Competition which should be exciting.  After that, I will take a one week home vacation, and we'll make a day trip up to Beech Bend, and then Makallia starts day camp at Camp Widjiwagan. 

Gains and Losses

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks which has slowed the blog posts.  Last weekend was our last weekend without Makallia.  Starting today she will be with us every weekend, and June 1st she moves.  We are close to being able to parent our child rather than have a visiting relationship.  It is exciting and scary at the same time.  Today, I am meeting her and her DCS worker and will meet her oldest brother for the first time.  He is developmentally delayed and is 17, but functions at the level of a 7 year old.  She is very excited to see him, and I am more anxious than excited.  I have never been good at interacting with special needs kids, and teenagers are even harder, so I just hope that Makallia can carry the visit, since it is a special one for her.  She has not seen him for over a year, and has limited opportunity to visit.

For those that follow my Facebook you will see that I have been vocal about some pending legislation in the state.  H.B.3619 would have legalized horse slaughter in TN. The thought mortifies me.  When I found that the rescue that I was involved in would not take a position statement on the legislation, and in fact some members were in favor of slaughter, I resigned from all involvement in the rescue.  This weekend will be my last in assisting.  I will sidebar that there were additional issues for my departure---individuals in the organization were extremely rude to others in the animal welfare movement in our area, and I firmly believe that in these types of matters we all have to work together....the adage of divided we fall could not be more true.  My departure spurred the departure of others, and one member preceeded me. 

This leads to an exciting gain---we are forming a new rescue.  Middle Tennessee Horse Rescue will be formed by our little group of like-minded, hard working people, and we will be taking a firm and direct stance on animal welfare issues---slaughter, soring, Premarin and the other issues in Equine well-being.  We are very excited to be starting the new organization from the ground up.  We are, of course, seeking volunteers, so if you read this and want to be involved, just let me know.

We did however, have a big loss this week.  Jewel, our adopted mare, was pregnant at her time of seizure in October.  She was due to deliver at the end of July, but miscarried Wednesday night.  The foal was stillborn.  Jewel seems to be fine.  We are still sad for the loss of the baby who we were making final preparations for.  Just this week we had designed her foaling stall and paddock and purchased rubber mats to make it as comfortable as possible.  As I write this, I am very sad for Jewel's loss, and the loss of the first foal that we would have had.

In the midst of everything at home and in the periphery, work has been rigorous.  I have been extremely busy with the Philippines project and am almost wrapped up on it.  I have a meeting in an hour to discuss my next chapter here, and have been told that I will be asked to take a bigger role.  Yeah!  I love when hard work pays off. 

I am hoping for a happy weekend, and even though it will be busy, I am looking for some emotional calming.  With so much on my plate, I have been losing sleep at night and not able to let my brain quiet down. 

Inspection Passed

We got to the point of needing the final inspection on the plumbing and other fixtures in Makallia's bathroom, and the inspector was difficult indeed.  However, we were told that we passed....This guy checked everything, from the level-ness of the marble tile to the supply lines for the water to the sinks.  He is a tough critic.....

but oh, so snuggly, too.  Here is inspector Sebastian, in action:

Happiness Flows In A Circular Motion

In our home we always adopt.  Of course, we anticipated that statement to apply to our pets, but it has grown to include our daughter as well.  We first adopted Sebastian (if you ask him, he likely believes he is our biological child).  We then adopted Nugget who introduced us to Golden Retrievers and what gems they are.  After lost Nugget, Charlie followed (my heart is still broken at his loss), and while we had Charlie we brought in his sisters, Lady and Molly.  Makallia has been the next addition to our family, and she has re-adopted Molly as her dog (though she will share her with us).  We knew before Makallia came that we would ultimately adopt a horse for her, with her input, and so along came Checkers.  We aren't going to end up doing formal equine therapy, but Checkers has a therapy horse temperment, and his simple existence in our home will be therapeutic for Makallia.  She gains happiness through this circle of adoption.  We hope she heals as quickly in her new environment as they have.

Reflecting On Learning Of Christ

Some of my hardest earliest learning experiences were of what it means to be reverent.  As a child, it was so hard to sit still in church, and to not wiggle constantly.  When very young my mom offered distractions during our church service to make it easier---a bag of cheerios, a coloring book picture of Jesus.  Something to help me learn to sit quietly for the little over an hour each Sunday.  As I got older it went without saying that I would sit up and pay attention to the message given each Sunday.  In all honesty, I had a strong academic knowledge of the gospel during my teen years, but not a lot of testimony.  I was going through the motions, without a lot of effort or faith.  My sister was the opposite---her testimony of our savior's love was always strong, and she did and does believe that our Heavenly Father is always watching over her, leading her, and guiding her.  I wish I had been gifted with her seemingly effortless faith.  I know I would have made many different life decisions.   However, the choices I did make led me to my husband who I love with all my heart and soul.  15 years later, I still know we were meant for each other.

I can't say what the catalyst was...there was no groundbreaking changing moment in my life, but as I have grown as an adult, the testimony has slowly come.  Now, we are on the precipice of having our daughter come live with us, and we want to raise her to be a righteous daughter of God.  Unlike my childhood, raised in the church; Makallia's has been very different.  She really had no knowledge of the biblical teaching until she was 10 years old.  I still don't really understand what her knowledge is of scripture or the teachings of Christ.  She lives in a children's home run by the Church of God.  She goes to church there every Wednesday and Sunday, yet I know she has not learned reverance, I don't think she could quote any scripture, and she only has the vaguest knowledge of some of the most prominent stories of the scriptures (such as Exodus).  When she came to church with us for the first time she fell asleep in the service, and her feedback after church was that it was boring, and we sang a lot of "old school hymns", which she wasn't used to.

So what is she used to?  (No offense to any of my friends reading this who attend a progressive church).  She is used to a children's service on Sunday.  In the children's service they have a band that plays contemporary music only---complete with drums and electric guitar.  Her sermons deal more with peer pressure than they do with the Bible.  Her youth group has activities instead of lessons.  She is on her church dance team, which meets for 2 hours in the main sanctuary on Sundays.  I don't want to be critical of the faith she has been raised in for the past 3 years---but, where in this is the quiet time needed to hear the Holy Spirit?  That can't be heard over electric guitars in the mini concert they are calling a service.  Where is the foundation of the importance of scripture study?  If they aren't even studying the scriptures in a Sunday School class how can she be expected to learn how important it is to study the scriptures on her own?

Obviously a lot is about to change for Makallia.  I only hope she can enjoy the changes, and that she will understand that in the quiet and reflection she will have at church she can hopefully start to truly feel and understand God's love for her.  Even if we only spend 10 minutes a day on it, we will start with daily scripture study at home--starting with the New Testament because it will be the easiest starting place for her (especially since we use the King James version of the Bible, and I'm sure she has only ever seen a contemporary re-translation).  Please pray for us.  This, among other things, will not be an easy transition for Makallia.

Hippoty Hoppity Easter's On Its Way

Makallia won't be with us on Easter, so  we have decided to postpone the Fillmore/Hopkins Easter Celebration to the Saturday following Easter.  Makallia was dissapointed to not be with us for the holiday, so this is the best compromise.  She does get an Easter basket each year on cottage, but they are the kind stocked with candy, and she always gives hers away to someone that wants it more.  At our house she is getting a non-candy basket filled with goodies that she will really like.  We are building her basket with the following:

Her favorite color is blue, so we got these pretty cz stud earrings which will go inside a plastic easter egg.

Another easter egg stuffer.  Makallia loves Elephants.  Every evening she checks out the live cams at the Hohenwald Elephant Sanctuary to try to see what the elephants are doing:

Makallia has a guitar, but has never had lessons, so this is a Kid's Guitar lesson book so she can self-teach herself:

 I don't know what color we will get---it is a random chance, but these are mini photo albums.  We got Makallia a camera for her birthday, and she probably has taken enough photos to fill several of these, but one is a good start:

 One more necklace pendant.  I liked how the three parts of the pendant join together...it is representative of our new family:

And a sterling silver chain so she can wear whichever necklace pendant she chooses:

 These earrings are Swarovski, amd are a bit flashy, but I think she will like them since she loves blue so much.

 Last, but not least, a Taylor Swift t-shirt from the Speak Now Tour:

The Easter celebration will also be the first time that we spend much time together with Benjamin and Allison with Makallia.  So far we have been really sheltering her from other people and focusing on our relationship.  During her last visit she asked if we could see them next time, so we will spend the afternoon together--egg hunting, eating Easter dinner, and letting her get a chance to know her cousins, Aunt and Uncle a little better.   I know I am excited for our family Easter.

Vision Manifests In Its Own Interesting Fashion

We are now smack dab in the middle of two bathroom remodels at the same time. One is winding down, the other in full swing. It is fun....and dusty. I actually really like these types of projects when I get to come home and see the progress every day. Here are last night's photos.

Starting at the top, this is back to the master bath---the shower faucet is now installed, and looks great.  It is a small shower, so we did a big wall mounted rain shower style head.

 I saw the granite slab Joel picked out for the first time.  He did good.!  It looks beautiful. 

Another angle on the granite and tiled backsplash:

Closeup on the granite:

This is the Master Bedroom, just outside of the bath.  It has gotten more than its fair share of dust during this remodel. Friday we sold the queen size bed that was in this room via Craigslist, and this weekend we are hoping to get our furniture moved up and start using this room as our bedroom.

On the way to Makallia's bathroom now, This gorgeous huge piece of technology is actually her shower faucet.  It is a column mount with 6 body sprays, thermostatically controlled water temperature, the shower head, body spray and tub spout.  I may occasionally have to sneak into her bathroom for shower:

The bathroom floor before did not have hardi-board in it.  The tile was actually installed direct to plywood.  We are getting everything done correctly, and fully mold-proofed.

The tub is set, and the hardi-backer installed around the entire perimeter of the tub:

Another shot of the bathtub:

A wider angle shot showing the hardi-backer improvements ont he floor.  You can see the sink and toilet plumbing, which we redid freshly with new copper.

The hardi-backer floor as you enter the bathroom:

This is the glass tile that will be in the shower surround.  This is what we had to go all over Nashville for, but we got everything we needed plus 10 square feet of overage just to be safe.

Looking down at the tub--I asked Joel to make sure he got an extra deep tub, since I find trying to soak in a shallow tub to be completely miserable.  We ALMOST went with a jetted tub, but decided to go for depth over jets and got a 19" deep garden tub for Makallia:

Here is our mountain of tile for Makallia's bath---the install started about 30 minutes ago.

Conversations To Remember

I hope Makallia doesn't mind me posting this, but it was something that touched my heart.  A couple of weeks ago, Makallia was complaining that she did not like girly things.  I asked her, "what exactly is a girly thing?".  Her response was, "You know, like getting my nails painted, and stuff like that.  I'm a tomboy.".

I responded to her by simply asking, "Have you ever had your nails done?"  She says, "No".  So, I then say, "Then how do you know you don't like it?  Would you like me to take you to get your nails done so you can see if you like it or not?"  Her response that day, "Maybe".  Three days later on our Tuesday phone call, she says..."So, are we going to get our nails done on my next visit?"  I say, "Of course", and now, Makallia is sporting a pastel orange on her fingers and a dark blue with silver zebra stripe on her toes.  She really enjoyed her very first manicure and pedicure, and wants to do it again.

On our way home from the nail salon Saturday we were talking, and I don't remember what I said, but I used a word with more than 3 syllables.  Makallia very quickly said, "that's a big word.  I couldn't say that."  I responded to her and said, "Of course you could."  The conversation proceeded as follows:

Makallia: "The biggest word I know is supercalifragilisticexpialadocious"
Sariah: "Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious"
Makallia:  Very confused look
Sariah: "Don't you know the song?"
Makallia: "No, I didn't know there was a song, I just know the word."
Sariah: "You've never seen Mary Poppins?"
Makallia: "No, what is that?"
Sariah: "It's an old movie, but you will like it.  We'll add it to our list."
Makallia: "Ok"...then begins talking about boys.
Sariah: "Just remeber the rule---no dating till you are 16, or we'll send you to all girls school" (our typical threat when Makallia starts talking a little too boy crazy.
Makallia: "Ugh, No!....Oh wait, I mean, please please send me to girls school.  I WANT to go to girls school"
Sariah: "Oh, so you're going to be Br'er Rabbit now?  Please don't throw me in the Briar Patch.."
Makallia: "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Sariah: "You don't know the Br'er Rabbit Story?  What about Peter Rabbit, Hansel and Gretel....?"
Makallia: "No, no one ever read to me when I was little.  Actually the first time I have been read to is with you."
Sariah: (feeling extremely sad for the normal childhood experiences that Makallia missed. "Ok, well we are going to have a catch up session and read all the childrens books you missed out on....even though some of them are for little kids, they are reference points that you will need because most kids do know these stories."
Makallia: "Ok.  I love being read to."

So, since it would be cost prohibitive to build her a 13 year library all at once, I'm getting a library card and checking out a bunch of books so we can start up with the classics.  We're going to start at the beginning reader level, and then work up to her age level.  We're also going to Netflix all the classic movies that she hasn't seen such as My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, etc.....Over the next year, Makallia will get a crash course in normal cultural experiences for a young American girl, and I do truly think she will enjoy it.

The Remodel Grab and Dash

As luck would have it, we picked out our tile design for Makallia's bathroom about a month ago, and now that we are ready to move forward with the project Home Depot decided it was time to discontinue the mosaic we had picked for the tub area.  This is the first time in our life we have picked blue tile--the first time we have picked glass tile.....and that we are certain is the reason it was discontinued.  So, in an effort to keep the project on pace last night we hit every Home Depot in Davidson County that had any left and took all of it.  This morning Joel tackled Sumner County, while I handled the two in Williamson County over lunch.  As I write this, Joel is on his way to Wilson County to get the last remaining 3 square feet that will give us enough to finish our project.  Thank goodness we live in a metropolitan area with a dozen or so big box stores, or we would have to do an 11th hour re-plan of everything because the tile guys got ahead of schedule and gutted the bathroom completely yesterday.

As a reminder, this was the "Before" photo of the bathroom:

And now, on to the gut photos---the cabinets are still installed in these photos, but came out today.  We were slightly appalled at the hideous wallpaper on the walls that was uncovered when we removed the backsplash.  Apparently at one time this room had blue stripes on the wall with orange fixtures...I am seriously thinking the former owners were colorblind.

A Redneck Frontyard at night :-).  Actually, Joel and I can't help laughing that even though we got a construction dumpster the guys working on the house are taking every single thing they remove home.  Our dumpster is virtually empty.