During the first week of October, 2010, I got the call ... the paperwork is ready, ICPC approved, when can I go meet my new son? Wow. It wasn't expected to happen until Dec., at the earliest, so I was completely unprepared: financially and otherwise. A week later, the RV was packed up and we were on the road to Texas, a 30 hour drive to be done in 4 days. First stop: San Antonio. We stopped in VA to rest at a McDonald's and run around in the playplace. I was on the phone with my new son's worker and tried to get into the McDonald's quickly to rustle up the kids and get back on the road but I locked the keys in the RV. For an hour we tried to use a coat hanger to open a door, a screwdriver to open a window, and even tried to get in through the unlocked trunk and closet floor. We couldn't, so we ended up busting through the back of the bathroom wall and pushed my smallest son through the hole. Mental note: need a spare key hidden somewhere. We got to visit friends in AR, ever so briefly, unfortunately. Once in TX, I turned the RV off in Austin to fuel up for the last time before arriving in San Antonio. It wouldn't start. Turns out, the alternator belt had broken somewhere along the way and the battery was dead. We slept at that gas station for the night and were towed the next morning. We got it fixed ($400 later, ugh) and were back on the road, without any house lights, fridge, generator, or any other appliance that requires battery or electricity to function, and a day of visiting time lost. =[
Once in San Antonio, we were able to visit with 3 of my boys' adult siblings and their families. It's always nice to spend time with them, even though we only had 2 hours together. We had a picnic and tossed the football around while the littles rode their scooters. We spent the second day visiting younger siblings, adopted by their foster parents, after a night of sleeping next to the train tracks, where trains actually ride by, tooting their horn ... all night long. lol. Plus, some extended family apparently likes to blast their DJ music at 11pm while they bathe the baby. We almost went back to the local Walmart to sleep in peace and quiet but were too tired to move. Spending the better part of the day with them was well-worth the all night train horns and dance music.
On day 3, I met my new son: a 14 year old. What a cutie. We had a 2 hour visit the first day, a longer visit the second day where we went out to a Chinese buffet. On the third day I picked him up for the long weekend. We spent the weekend plugged in at Lake Whitney and Joe Pool Lake in TX. It was the first time we had ever plugged in. I learned that my 9 year old had turned every switch on that could be turned on. Thus, when the alternator was fixed it wasn't able to charge the house battery. Once we plugged in for a few hours, turned everything off, and recharged everything, we didn't have any other problems ... with that, anyway. It was a bit chilly one day but otherwise great. We chased a tornado on our way but stopped to sleep at a rest stop when we started to feel rain and wind. At the campgrounds, we fished, played basketball and football, and had picnics. The littles played miniature golf. They all had HW to do. I learned from another RVer that the switch under my stearing wheel (which doesn't seem to do anything at all when I turn it on or off) may be to start the RV on another battery if one is dead ... uh, start the RV if one battery is dead? ugh. Well, we live and learn, don't we?
On the last day, we had a visit with my new son's 10 year old brother. It was an awsome visit. We are still hoping he can join the family soon. Once we left that visit, my new son went back to his foster home to get ready to move and we started driving home. I had the same 4 days to drive the 25 hours back home. We stopped to visit some friends in TN along the way, and stayed longer than we should have but it was a great time. I overslept until almost noon the day after we left and also hit the time zone change so I lost a lot of driving time that day and had to wake up extra early the last day in order to make it home before my new son arrived with his worker by plane. They made it to the house about 5 minutes before we did!!!! It was a stressful drive home but I did learn a lot about my RV on this trip. I had built a full size bunk in the back but I think I need to redo that to make 2 single bunks, leaving more space in the middle for people to walk to the bathroom and reach their cubbies. I can't wait to take another trip that's more leisurely. I was tempted to go someplace this weekend, since it's a long weekend for us, but I still haven't cleaned and reorganized the RV from the last trip! Maybe tomorrow?
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
My First Blog
When beepers came out, I thought to myself, "Wow, what a cool little gadget. I could carry this while I'm going to college so my mom and children could beep me if there's an emergency." When cell phones came out, I didn't think I'd need one, as my beeper served it's purpose. My cell phone is almost always with me now. When computers came out, I didn't see why I might ever need one. Wow. I am with this little box, cell phone by my side, more than I care to admit. When I heard about myspace, I only made one because my teens (there were 5 at the time) had them and I wanted to keep an eye on them for safety sake. When facebook came out and my teens were grown, I didn't think I'd have a facebook, as myspace had served its purpose for me. Lo and behold, a former student put a post out asking if anyone knew one of her former teachers (me). A friend of mine "googled" me, for some odd reason, and discovered that post ... on live journal. This student convinced me to join facebook so, as a courtesy, I did. I now get my facebook updates on my cell phone. lol. Now I'm blogging, something else I thought I'd never do. My, how technology can change the way we live ...
When I was home with my first 3 young children, post-partum depression often hit hard. I didn't work outside the home. I did some house cleaning and babysitting. My children were always with me. When I became a single mom, it was very difficult having so little interaction with others. I had one or two friends in a similar situation who I spent the majority of time with. This little box has opened up a whole new world of support and socialization, conveniently spent in the comforts of my home with my children (5 at the time of this writing) still by my side. I love my online friends - you know who you are.
At the time of this writing, I have 3 birth children, 6 adopted from foster care, and 2 teens I fostered until adulthood. I have 1 adult child living at home and 5 younger ones ... with a 6th on his way and his brother, the 7th, expected to join us shortly thereafter. That's the plan I have, anyway. Sometimes, God's plan is different than my own. My children deal with ODD, ADHD, autistic spectrum disorder, mood disorders, PTSD, dissociative disorder, fetal alcohol/drug exposure, developmental delays, and mild mental retardation. I, myself, struggle with autistic spectrum challenges, although I was never formally diagnosed. I guess you'll get to know all of us as time progresses.
I also recently purchased my first RV: a 1985 Class C. Admitedly, I bought it as a vacation home but also as a "plan B" if I were to lose my house in this economy. I tried looking for homes/apartments to rent but very quickly learned no one wanted to rent to a family of 7, especially a family of 7 with special needs. I never lost my home, by the grace of God, but we kept the RV. We love that ol' dinosaur. We spend lots of time in it. It's been in and out of the shop more than I'd like so we haven't traveled far but now that most of the kinks are worked out and I've learned enough about it's operations to go somewhere, we'd like to start traveling in it long-term. Some of us would love to live in it full-time but others of us are on the fence about that so we'll see what happens. In 2009, we traveled around much of the USA in a minivan with a tent. We passed 16 states on one trip then visited 3 more on other trips. So, we've seen parts of 19 states so far. We did spend quite a few nights in motels and at friends' homes (you know, those friends I met in the box). We just "winged it" but we had a great time. The only thing I desired was a personal potty that traveled with us. Funny to think I spent $14,000 for a personal potty. lol. OK, we have living/sleeping quarters and a kitchen traveling with us, too, but originally, it was for the potty. I go often, especially in the middle of the night, and I hated walking to the bathrooms in the dark at campgrounds. TMI, I'm sure. I'll close on that note. There's a sticks and bricks house I need to clean before our work/school week begins. Even though I'd much rather be RVing and homeschooling full-time, we're still in the sticks andbricks house, attending public schools (with mixed emotions) and working part-time as an 8th grade science teacher (thinking I'm ready to retire soon but not even close to 'retirement age').
When I was home with my first 3 young children, post-partum depression often hit hard. I didn't work outside the home. I did some house cleaning and babysitting. My children were always with me. When I became a single mom, it was very difficult having so little interaction with others. I had one or two friends in a similar situation who I spent the majority of time with. This little box has opened up a whole new world of support and socialization, conveniently spent in the comforts of my home with my children (5 at the time of this writing) still by my side. I love my online friends - you know who you are.
At the time of this writing, I have 3 birth children, 6 adopted from foster care, and 2 teens I fostered until adulthood. I have 1 adult child living at home and 5 younger ones ... with a 6th on his way and his brother, the 7th, expected to join us shortly thereafter. That's the plan I have, anyway. Sometimes, God's plan is different than my own. My children deal with ODD, ADHD, autistic spectrum disorder, mood disorders, PTSD, dissociative disorder, fetal alcohol/drug exposure, developmental delays, and mild mental retardation. I, myself, struggle with autistic spectrum challenges, although I was never formally diagnosed. I guess you'll get to know all of us as time progresses.
I also recently purchased my first RV: a 1985 Class C. Admitedly, I bought it as a vacation home but also as a "plan B" if I were to lose my house in this economy. I tried looking for homes/apartments to rent but very quickly learned no one wanted to rent to a family of 7, especially a family of 7 with special needs. I never lost my home, by the grace of God, but we kept the RV. We love that ol' dinosaur. We spend lots of time in it. It's been in and out of the shop more than I'd like so we haven't traveled far but now that most of the kinks are worked out and I've learned enough about it's operations to go somewhere, we'd like to start traveling in it long-term. Some of us would love to live in it full-time but others of us are on the fence about that so we'll see what happens. In 2009, we traveled around much of the USA in a minivan with a tent. We passed 16 states on one trip then visited 3 more on other trips. So, we've seen parts of 19 states so far. We did spend quite a few nights in motels and at friends' homes (you know, those friends I met in the box). We just "winged it" but we had a great time. The only thing I desired was a personal potty that traveled with us. Funny to think I spent $14,000 for a personal potty. lol. OK, we have living/sleeping quarters and a kitchen traveling with us, too, but originally, it was for the potty. I go often, especially in the middle of the night, and I hated walking to the bathrooms in the dark at campgrounds. TMI, I'm sure. I'll close on that note. There's a sticks and bricks house I need to clean before our work/school week begins. Even though I'd much rather be RVing and homeschooling full-time, we're still in the sticks andbricks house, attending public schools (with mixed emotions) and working part-time as an 8th grade science teacher (thinking I'm ready to retire soon but not even close to 'retirement age').
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