yep, this is us
Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas songs...a new perspective
"Do you hear what I hear?"
this is a beautiful song, especially when Carrie Underwood sings it. Its so sweet, so nice to listen to. However....have you ever really listened to the lyrics. Let me enlighten you.
Said the shepard boy to the mighty king
Do you know what I know
In your palace wall mighty king
Do you know what I know
A child, a child
Shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say
Pray for peace people everywhere
Listen to what I say
The child, the child
Sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light
OKAY, HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!! Hey, shepherd boy, you're not too bright, are you. Knowing that the "shepherd' job was pretty much the lowest ranking job in society back then, it shouldnt surprise me. Heres the thing. You say "a child, a child, shivers in the cold, let us bring him silver and gold". Hey, genius, why dont you bring a BLANKET to the freezing child. Thanks, braniac, baby Jesus is going to get pneumonia if you dump a bunch of germ-infested money onto him. Oh, and that King that you just told??? That would be King Herod. Know how much he loved the news of a king being born in a palace??? he didnt say "he will bring us goodness and light" He said "kill all the sons under the age of 2". Way to go shepherd boy!
"I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus"
Ok, this song is pretty tame, but umm...WHAT? You snuck out of bed and caught mom in a torrid affair and you say "Oh what a laugh it would have been , if daddy had only seen". No...kid...reality check. If daddy had seen, there would be carnage and police all over your house. You can forget about that bike you asked for, its being taken in as evidence.
"jingle bells"
Again, I thought this was relatively tame, until I actually read the lyrics. Do you know the lyrics to the second verse? Let me enlighten you. The guy picks up a chick, and her name is Fannie Bright. really?? Fannie Bright??? I dont want to know what her side job is. They get stuck in the snow. Hmmm....stuck in the snow with Fannie Bright? Me thinks that wasnt an accident. hehehehe
"Its the Most wonderful time of the year"
This is a fun one, but theres a line in it that I've never understood. It goes "They'll be scarey ghost stories and tales of the glory of Christmas' long long ago". Ok, am I missing some sort of tradition? How many of you, instead of reading the Bible Christmas story or perhaps Twas the night before Christmas, read scarey ghost stories to your kids? "Hey kids, Santa is actually code for Zombie, and he's gonna come down the chimney and eat you!" Merry Christmas, off to bed!
"Santa Claus is coming to town"
Ok, other than the obvious creepiness of this song (Santa Claus is obviously working for the CIA) The Pendley version goes like this
"You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout I'm telling you why
Cause mom and dad arent afraid to spank your butt"
"12 days of Christmas"
This song is off the hook crazy. I understand that theres some kind of special meaning to all the gifts, but I dont care. I'm taking them all at face value. Do you realize that there are 5 flippin days before the man gets anything decent for his wife? Up until the golden rings, all she got is a bunch of flippin birds to take care of. And then right after the rings, he goes back to the birds with flipping geese. Geese are pretty much the meanest birds on the planet. Lets buy 6 of them! Hooray!!!! And then he brings home "Maids a milking" Hey honey, your next present is a bunch of harlets and they brought their cows!!!!! YIPPEEE!!!! Ohh, however, he does bring home a bunch of "lords a leapin" WTH? Lords a leapin? Makes me question whats making those boys leap. My best guess would be they are leaping all over the bird poop thats now covered the house.
"Baby its cold outside"
I love this song, I really do. But, do you realize he drugs this chick? I didnt know they had Roofies 'back in the day'. Theres a line in it that says " Say, whats in this drink?" see, he drugged her. Wrong, Bing Crosby, thats just WRONG!
Thats just my take on a few songs. Feel free to add your own!!!!!!! Have a very Merry Christmas! And watch out for that Eggnog!
Angie
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Positive Reinforcement
I firmly believe this world would be a much better place, if we all ran on the "Positive Reinforcement" model. Some examples would be-
"Excuse me, fine citizen. Do you know why I pulled you over?"
"No, fine officer, why is that?"
" Well, I saw that you were the only fine citizen not driving like a drunken monkey through the construction site. Here is a coupon for a free ice cream cone. *wink wink* Carry on fine citizen!"
At the doctors office-
"Well hello, fine patient of mine. I see that you walked in here with your severed head in a bag and didn't demand pain meds. Here, this is a script for loritab. Take two of them with a shot of vodka. Send yourself on a little mini- vacation without even leaving your living room."
As opposed to "Hello crack head patient of mine. I see you are demanding anxiety meds because your neighbors dog won't stop barking. Here, this is a script for "Suck it up sweetheart" and a gun permit. I think you know what to do."
At the school
"well hello fine parent. I see that you are the only parent who hasn't called to harass me about homework, lunches, my shoe size, and my middle name. Here is a free pass on having to sign the 400 parent forms that I will be sending home in the next 2 days."
" well thank you, fine teacher of my child."
Seriously, the world would be a much better place if they would only put anti-depressants in the water system like they do fluoride!
We either laugh or.......we shoot the neighbors dog.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The right way....or else
Anyone that has followed my facebook posts for any amount of time, knows that I absolutely HATE dropping my kids off at school (and picking them up). Hate it, abhor it, would rather spill my own blood than do it. Why? you may ask??? I'll explain it to you in the best way I know how....drumroll please....
The Right Way....When getting your child ready for school, before you put them in your vehicle, check to make sure they are fully dressed. Clothes, shoes, socks...not that hard. Make sure they have their backpack in order and fully zipped.
The Wrong Way...Throw your kid in the car in their pajamas and have them get dressed on the way to school. Put their backpack in the trunk with all the contents spilling out. Lock trunk, put padlock on trunk, sit elephant on trunk..drive to school like a bat out of hell.
The Right Way.....When placing your child in the vehicle, make sure they are sitting in the seat closest to the door that they will be exiting.
The Wrong Way....Stuff your kid under the seat, tie them down with chains
The Right Way...When entering the school lot, get into the drop-off lane and wait your turn. Slowly make your way up to the school.
The Wrong Way...screech into the parking lot, get into the left lane, bypass all the vehicles waiting their turn in the drop off lane, pull up to the school and completely stop traffic as your little angel weaves in-between cars to get to the door. Of course, if your little angel gets hit by a car, you would have the right to sue the snot out of the driver, the school, the corporation, the highway dept, and President Obama. It would have NOTHING to do with your negligence at all.
The Right Way...once you get up to the school door, have your kid unbuckle and hop out.
The Wrong Way...Once you get up to the school, YOU exit the vehicle, run around the car like a Japanese fire drill, unbuckle your kid that evidently cant do it themselves, talk to your kid, put their shoes on for them, knit them a sweater, recite the pledge, change the oil in your car....all the while ignore the people behind you that are waiting to leave.
If you are one of the parents that like to walk your child up to the school from the parking lot, then...
The Right Way...park your car in one of the designated parking spots. Walk to crosswalk. Wait for Principal to wave you through, pick up your kid.
The Wrong Way...park wherever you flippin feel like. Not a spot available, make your own. Better yet, park in the drop-off lane and then walk up to the school. Dont worry about the rest of us behind you, I assure you we have nothing better to do than to sit and wait on you. Go get your child, chatty chat with the teacher, give the principal an apple, reconstruct Noahs Ark out of toothpicks, learn a foreign language, then meander back to your car.
Exiting the parking lot....
The Right Way...wait your turn, drive about 3 mph, take RIGHT turn out of parking lot, drive slowly until you get out of the school zone.
The Wrong Way...peel out of your parking spot, flip off other parents, wedge your car sideways in the drop-off lane so that nobody can get around you, attempt to make LEFT hand turn around the orange barrels and cones, cause accident on 18th st (one of the busiest streets in Lafayette), cuss everyone out, sue the principal, the school, the corporation, the highway department, and President Obama.
People, my tolerance with this is VERY,VERY thin. I have an 8 passenger Suburban..it eats tiny cars for snacks and mini-vans for dinner. Cut me off again..I dare you.
Its either we laugh, or we....homeschool. hehehe
Angie
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Fun facts about the Twins
1. We were born exactly 30 minutes apart. Our poor mother. I was breech. This was back in the day when they just went ahead and had the moms deliver the breech babies. I showed my best side to the world from the get go.
2. We were shipped to Riley Childrens Hospital after we were born. Mom and Dad hadn't named us yet, so we were Baby A, and Baby B.
3. Angie, Twin 1, has a degree in Law Enforcement. Chrissy, me Twin 2, has a degree in teaching Special Education. We are both now Board Registered Polysomnographists.
4. Our husbands both have the same ex-girlfriend.
5. Growing up, it was predicted that Angie would have a million pets and maybe a few kids, Chrissy would have a million kids and maybe a few pets. Now that we're adults, Angie has a million kids and two pets. Chrissy has one kid and a million pets.
6. We were room mates in college. This was NOT by choice to begin with. They roomed us together because they processed the dorm applications in the order they were received. Since they received ours at the same time, they put us in the same room. We were told once we got to college, we could request new roommates. Once we GOT to college, we decided to just stay together since we didn't know anyone else.
7. The nick names Twin 1, and Twin 2, were given to us by our neighbors at college. They couldn't remember our names, so they just named us Twin 1 and Twin 2 and the nick names stuck. To this day, I SWEAR there are still people from college that don't know our names.
8. We both met our husbands in the same place at college. Campus Ministries.
9. We are both in love with Notre Dame football, Adam Levine, and chocolate.
10. We both despised every single minute of high school and don't feel like we really came to life until we left. College, on the other hand, was a freakin hoot. LOVED every minute of college.
11. We have matching twin tattoos.
I'm tired, I can't think of any more.
It's either we laugh, or we moon the mailman.
Chrissy
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
I've had too much caffeine
1. "Mommy drinks ALOT after the nice church ladies leave."
2. "Those child proof tops on Mommys Happy Meds are REALLY easy to get off."
3. "Mommy told me before you got here if I touched anything in the house she would rip my arms off and feed them to the dog."
4. "Mommy says she really hopes you don't look in the attic 'cause that's where she keeps the instruments of torture."
5. "Mommy threatened Daddy with bodily harm and possible death if he didn't get off his lazy butt and help her clean the house."
6. "Mommy doesn't kiss Daddy like she does "Uncle Charlie."
7. "Mommy took a triple dose of meds before you came here this morning. She says she hopes you don't notice her pupils are fixed and dilated."
8. "Mommy said if I don't tell you that I'm a happy kid and love my home that she would lock me in a closet and feed me nothing but bread and water for a week."
9. "Mommy says she hopes you don't get in the special drawer in her bedroom that has some funny lotions in it. "
10. "Mommy says she's going to jump off the roof if she has to do one more *&^% home study."
11. " Sometimes when Mommy and Daddy are sleeping, I like to play scientist with all the cleaning products I can find."
12. "Last week, my baby brother was eating out of the litter box and Mommy said that which does not kill us makes us stronger."
13. "Yesterday, the cat bit my baby brother, and as he was bleeding all over the place, Mommy called the vet to get the cats shots updated for the first time in 5 years."
14. "Last week, Daddy complained about dinner and Mommy threw the food across the kitchen and told Daddy to make his own (*&^ dinner next time."
I'm not right in the head. For the record...my kid has only said ONE of these in public. I will let you guess which one.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Small Boy Training Camp...I'm a genius
Upon arrival, you may notice that this is not your "typical" camp. Its in a warehouse. A warehouse of PAIN! You will enter the Pain Zone (PZ for short) and immediately be hit in the face with a stick. Why? What did you do to deserve this? Absolutely nothing. You need to get used to that sting, cuz you're going to feel it every day for at least 10 years. See, when you put a stick into a Small Boys (SB) hands, it immediately becomes a tool of destruction. Its not a magical wand, a conductors baton, or a drum stick...its a WEAPON FOR CAUSING PAIN! The same with baseball bats, play swords (which hurt really bad and makes me wonder who the heck thought of such torture devices), and the neighbors cat. All of these and many more will immediately turn your angel into a demon. You've been warned.
Once your face stops throbbing, its onto hardware. This is for you dads out there. I dont care if you are a handy man, you're gonna have to know some things before you bring your SB home. If you dont know them, then you need to have some serious cash stashed away for the handy man you will have to call. First up...toilets. Each man will be timed on how long it takes them to snake, snake again, give up on snaking, rip the toilet out, retrieve the object (and yes, it will be an object), replace the wax ring, and put the toilet on again. I'm proud to say that Andy has this down to usually under 10 minutes. He's a flippin PRO at it. You get points taken off if you become nauseous at any time. After toilets, its the sinks. You need to figure out how to get various items out that your SBs have managed to get into a drain. Paper towel, lego men, toothbrushes, and chicken nuggets have all been squished down my bathroom sink.
While the men are busy playing with hardware, its the womens turn. Ladies, this is where it helps to be slightly psychotic. You need to learn to think on your feet. First lesson....language arts. Here you will learn the art of saying "stop hitting your brother" in 4 different languages and tones. One of them may be effective with your SB. You will also learn how to come up with diseases and maladies that dont exist or will never happen. You need to think fast and make it as gruesome as possible. For example, say your SB wants to jump off something that is a bit too high. I assure you, a simple "No, you might get hurt" is not going to persuade them that it is a bad idea. Its more like this "if you jump off of that object, than your leg is going to fall off, your eyeballs will bleed, and you'll have to poop into a bag for the rest of your life". You have to be as deadly serious as you possibly can. NO LAUGHING!!!!! Same goes for insects, if you dont know the name of the bug, make it up and make it as deadly as possible. "If you touch that Beetle Raptor, then it'll bite you and you'll get these horrible bleeding spots all over your body and theres no medicine for it and then you die". See, its as easy as that.
After you have learned how to speak in tongues, its onto crafts. Each woman will be given a "girly" craft...the women will be timed on how quickly they can turn that girly craft into a manly craft. Most little boys HATE girlie things. For example, last year I registered Eli for VBS. When we arrived, he was given a nametag with a corresponding insect on it. Eli was quite upset that he was put in the "girly butterfly group". I quickly grabbed a marker and his name tag. I drew fangs on the butterfly and said "There, now you are in the butterfly vampire group". He was ECSTATIC!
Next, the men and women will join back up. As you walk through the PZ, you may notice dispensers on the walls. These dispensers contain little white or peach-colored pills. These are the Xanax dispensers, and no men, they arent for you, they are for your wives. Men, you need to calmly walk your wife to these dispensers and say that its chocolate for mommies. Men, you dont get any because its your punishment for putting your mothers through whatever it is that you did when you were younger. That'll teach you!!!!!!!!
Now its time for a group activity. Men, when you signed in, you were asked for your occupation. Each men will be taken to his designated work area (cubicle with complex computer, cars for mechanics, farm equipment, whatever it is that you do). Calmly start doing your job. At any given moment, something horrible will happen to that equipment. At the same time, your wives will begin texting you. The texts will look something like this "HELP, I NEED YOUR HELP, THE BOYS DID THIS AND THAT AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH AND ITS YOUR FAULT!" Men, you need to concentrate on both issues at hand. Should you neglect to answer your wives texts, then a phone call will follow. I assure you, you DONT want the phone call.
Next, we're going to play the SB version of "Telephone". Remember that game when you were younger? You'd get a line of people, a phrase would start on one end and then end up all jumbled by the time it got to the other end? The SB version will put husband against wife. Wives, you will be put into a room with several SB's. Husbands, you call your wives with very important information. Wives, you are awarded points as to how accurate you are with your husbands info. While your husband is speaking, the SBs will be kicking you, tugging on your clothes, throwing cake batter at their brothers, chasing a hamster, pretending to be spiderman on the walls, and yelling "MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE TOILETS BROKE AGAIN!". You cannot ignore the SB's, as they will only get louder until you address them. (and you wonder why I like email and texting)
The last training exercise is for Mom and Dad. Its called "What is that spot on the wall?". Each couple will be given multiple tiles of dried "stuff". Each will need to be correctly identified and bonus points will be given if either one knows how to remove it without damaging the wall. Some examples will be oatmeal, chocolate, ketchup, oreo, blood, etc.
Once you have completed all the exercises, you will be awarded with nothing. Yep, not a darn thing. However, you will be allowed to take your SB home from the hospital, which in itself is enough reward :)
I love my sons. I love them so much :) And, this is going to make me millions......
Its either we laugh or....we go to BED!
Angie
Friday, May 11, 2012
when it works, it's beautiful
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
keepin it real
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Soooo, you get paid to watch people sleep?
Sleep Apnea is essentially when you stop breathing in your sleep. Heres what happens if you have sleep apnea. YOU DIE! ok, maybe not instantly, but it can lead to a whole lotta nastiness if left untreated. When you fall asleep, your muscles relax. This includes the muscles in the back of your throat and surrounding areas. If you have sleep apnea, when these muscles and tissue relax, they collapse, cutting off your airway. This makes your oxygen level drop, which prompts your brain to say "Hey, wake up and breathe!". You take another breath or two, your body relaxes again, and your throat closes off. When your oxygen level drops, your heart rate increases. When your level goes back to normal, it decreases. Its been compared to running a marathon in your sleep (but you dont get the physical benefits of running the marathon). Most people havent the foggiest idea that they have sleep apnea, they just know that they are tired all of the time. Many patients come in and say "Well, my spouse says I snore really loud and that I stop breathing, but I think I'm fine". We hook them up, and no, they arent fine, they are half a beat away from death. I've honestly had some nights where I stare at a patient and wonder how in the world they are still on this earth. Sleep apnea leads to high blood pressure, obesity, impaired cognitive skills, chronic fatigue, and on and on.
How do we treat it? Well, theres this crazy little invention called CPAP. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. CPAP is this little machine that sits beside the bed. We hook a hose to the machine, with the other end going to a face mask that we fit you for. When we turn it on, it filters room air through the machine, to the hose, to the mask. This air goes into your nose, down your throat, into your lungs. When the air reaches those muscles/tissue that have collapsed, it forces its way through, opening those muscles and holding them open. This keeps your airway open, which regulates your oxygen level, heartbeat, etc. At this point in the study, Twin and I both usually yell "BOOM! SAVED YOUR LIFE!". Everyone has a certain level of air pressure that keeps the airway open, so part of our job is to work with different levels and see which one works best for you.
How do we do it? Well, we are the awesome super twins, so we can do anything!!!!!!!! hehehe I took some pics last night, so I'll share those with you.
Head Box |
Heres a pic of my cart after I've got everything laid out to hook someone up.
Lots of goo and sticky stuff goes all over your body. Its pretty awesome to rip off in the morning, especially if your crabby or rude to me!!!!!!!! So, be nice to your sleep techs or you'll be missing hair in the morning!!!
Heres our tech room. Its messy and cluttered, but we love it :) It has a tv, which is AWESOME. Twin and I always sit next to each other. If someone gets in between us, we harass them until they leave the lab crying. hehe No, maybe not, but we think about it.
And heres the main part of our job, what we stare at all night long until we are quite sure we are going blind.
All of those pretty monitors we put on you send all these pretty lines to our computers. The top two are monitoring your eyes, as your eyes will twitch when you are in REM sleep (which is why its called Rapid Eye Movement). The next 7 lines are your brain waves. Depending on the shape and size of them, we can tell when you are awake, asleep, or fighting the zombie apocalypse. The next two are your chin monitors. They also change during REM sleep. The next three are the belts that we put around your chest and abdomen. They go up and down with each breath you take. If/when they go flat, it means you arent getting the signal to breath, which is a whole other problem. The next red line is the cpap machine line. This person is on cpap, so I make sure that line stays nice and wavy. When it goes flat, I know theres an obstruction and its time to raise the pressure level. The next two are leg monitors. They check for restless leg syndrome. Fun times!!! Then you have two ekg lines, followed by your oxygen level and respiration levels. The numbers on the bottom are associated with the cpap machine, what level you are on and what the leak is for the mask. (for all you privacy law people out there, you can see I took this pic at an angle that does not show any patient information)
So, this is what we do while you are sleeping :) Its an awesome job, and Twin and I both love it.
Its either we laugh or...we laugh at our patients when they are sleeping!!!!!
Angie
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
adoption opportunity
www.arbonne.com, enter ID #19980211 in the top right hand corner. Click login. (there is no password needed)
thank you to all of you! Please Please do not think I will be "offended" or not name my baby after you if you can't go. There will be many many opportunites, give aways, fund raisers etc. in the ffuture. I thank the Lord for each and every one of you every day.
its we either laugh or......we buy make up! whoop whoop!
chrissy
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
I think I just peed my pants!!!!!
It's either we laugh or......idk...we just laugh and thank our God!!!
chrissy
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Sitting on yellow
Love you all,
chrissy
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Adoption Update
chrissy
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
I dont feel like laughing today
I'm going to be blunt with you. I havent asked my Twin permission to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway. My Twin telepathy is telling me that she wont mind. My telepathy is rarely wrong. Anyway, we need to start praying BIG. BIG, BIG, HUGE, MONSTER PRAYERS! People, we need 20 grand. Yes, as in 20,000 dollars. Yes, Chris and Tom have already done a great job at raising money, and grants will help, but my prayer is for the whole stinkin thing to be covered. And for it it happen NOW! Is it unrealistic? Yep, sure is. I'm not stupid. And I'm not delusional. I am frustrated however. Frustrated to a level that I didnt know I could reach. This isnt fair people. Its not fair for a family to long for a child like they have. Its not fair that my sister has to wait. Its not fair that they've literally had children ripped out of their arms and sent home. It's not fair and I'm sick of it. Yes, I know my God is sovereign, I know my Gods timing is perfect, I know that I (we) are to remain faithful...but I cannot help but be frustrated and want to know why. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ORPHANS AND SO MANY FAMILIES THAT WANT THEM?!!! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO DAMN HARD!??? I dont know that I'll ever understand this.
I'm throwing a tantrum and honestly, I dont care. Adoption is beautiful, but it can also be ugly. Today I'm feeling the ugly. I'm feeling it for my sister. This is the hard part about loving someone as much as I love her. What hurts her, hurts me, and vice versa. We cant always take the hurt away from each other, and that makes us hurt even more.
All this to say, we need help in brainstorming ideas on how to raise money. Anything you can think of, please post either on the blog, or on facebook.
Its either we laugh or....I dont feel like laughing today
Angie
Saturday, March 3, 2012
well shoot
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Switching Laundry
I love you Studly
It's either we laugh or....we sell our husbands to the lowest bidder.
Chrissy
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Things I've said...
1. Abe is not a toy, he is a little boy!
2. Stop trying to climb out the window
3. Stop trying to climb in through the window
4. Dont throw the cat out the window! (I seriously need to replace my screens)
5. Keep that lightsaber in the car or you're going to hit someones car with it and that'll cost me money! (as he is waving his lightsaber out the window while I'm driving down 18th St.)
6. Stop licking your brothers head!
7. Okay, fine, but you boys at least have to put underwear on in the house
8. Stop playing with your tooshie, its not a toy!
9. Fine, you be Buzz, He'll be Woody, and I'll be the mom drinking in the corner!
10. Either put that cat down, or he's going to scratch out your eyeballs/scratch your face off/rip your arm off with his teeth/hunt you in your sleep.
11. Max is not a horsey (my sisters dog)
12. No, you cant go live with Aunt CeCe (Chrissy)
13. Stop trying to put underwear on the cat!
14. Either sit and eat that food or I'm going to superglue your butt to the chair; and then you'll walk around with chairbutt and everyone will laugh at you. (I've had to get creative with my threats)
15. I'm not sure Aunt Chrissy wants to name her Haiti baby "Puddin"
16. No, you cant go live with Mamaw Miller either
17. its not polite to fart in church
18. You boys better leave your dad alone, he's at his breaking point
19. If I hear you talk like that to your brother again, I'm going to rip your tongue out of your head!
20. No, we cant go buy bean seeds to you can grow a beanstalk and visit the giant
21. No, I don't think Jesus is at the end of the beanstalk either
22. Stop trying to pee on your brother!
These are the ones I cant think of just off the top of my head. I love these crazy, wild, unpredictable boys. Yes, there are days when I seriously consider running away, but I know that I'd come back :)
Its either we laugh....or we sell our boys to the gypsies!
Angie
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Interview with Kaya Bug
2. What is your favorite animal besides your cousin?-- All animals. I like geckos
3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?-- Japan so I could see Shammie, Autumn, and Savannah
4. What is your favorite food?-- Fall off the bone Texas Roadhouse ribs
5. Who is your favorite....mommy or daddy?-- Oh gosh, mom, that's not nice.
6. What is your favorite tv show?-- What are the shows I watch mom? oh gosh, um, Amazing World of Gumball
7. What is your favorite past time?-- write stories, draw horses, listen to my Ipod
8. Who is your best friend?-- Emma Dorton and Eli
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?-- A Marine Biologist
10. Which one of your 2 million pets is your favorite?-- Max the dog
11. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?- "when i was at school, my best friend, um, she um, she dropped her milk and it went all the way down my pants. And I had to go to the office, and, the first graders just got in from recess so they were at the watering fountains. And I had to walk past them. And one whispered to the other, look at the 3rd grader, she peed her pants. " ( she tells this story with a bright red face)
12. Do you want to have kids when you grow up?-- I want 20 of them. (that's MY girl)
Monday, February 20, 2012
The front lines of adoption
We have sent an email to the agency to let them know that we are going forward with all of this and to expect our application this week. Once the application is accepted, we move on to step 2. If you all want to take a look at what our process is, go to this website. www.haitianadoption.org
Please continue to pray for our adoption, and even more so, for the people of Haiti.
Lead us Lord,
chrissy
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Ninevah
Chrissy
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
James 1:27---yep, its time for THAT blog
Ok, here we go. Those of you that know me (this is Angie, btw), know my heart. I wear it on my sleeve most times; so this long post should not come as a surprise. I've been asked by multiple people to blog about it, but had to wait for the "feeling" to come. Adoption. Oh, my sweet adoption. The very word makes me teary eyed, I'm not even kidding. If I can get through this post without getting carpal tunnel, it'll be a miracle. I'm finding adoption all around me this week. A dear friend of my sisters just flew to Utah on Monday to meet their new baby girl. How sweet is that?? How unbelievably miraculous is that? That their daughter was born in Utah when they live in Indiana. I have another friend whos daughter is in India. INDIA!!!!!! Now, how in the world did that happen????? Their daughter is in India, yet they live in Lafayette. I promise you, the God that rose from the dead, can create your children where He pleases. He can do it!!!! And He can and will lead you to them if you are willing. Ok, getting ahead of myself a bit.
Well, its no surprise to anybody that looks at my family, that we have adopted. Most people can take an educated guess that our Anthony didn't come from my womb. But, neither did Elijah. He's the "not so obviously adopted" one. hahahaha I'll tell you this, I didn't want to go down that path. People, I DID NOT WANT TO!!!!! And I shame myself for that. Andy and I were married in 1999. By 2000, we wanted to start a family. 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004............no kids. I knew before we were even married that it might be difficult, but I didnt know it would be impossible. Thats what we were told. YOU WILL NOT HAVE BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN. I cannot express my feelings about that time. I just cant put it into words. You want to talk about cursing the God that made me???? Oh yeah I did. Andy and I had KNEW that we were supposed to be parents. So, what gives??? We started looking into adoption. Ugh. yeah, ok, sure, we can afford that. My family had mentioned fostercare off and on, but no way were we going to do that. How would we give them back??? Nope, not gonna do it. Time passed, no kids. Time passed, no kids. My mom came to me one afternoon. She had gone to a conference that day, and sat beside a lady that just happened to work at the Department of Child Services. Mom asked if I had thought about foster care much. I told her I would at least give the lady a call.
I'm going to save my foster care blog for another time, as foster care and adoption are two separate passions of mine. SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED FORWARD! March 28, 2005, our son was brought to us. OUR SON!!!!! Our little boy, our answered prayers. Oh my Eli...how I fell for those blue eyes the moment I saw him. Little 19 month old Eli. SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDD FORWARD...October 16, 2006, Elijahs adoption was finalized. We honestly considered stopping there. We had had some other fosters, and honestly, we were a bit exhausted. However, our Father in heaven knew better. 3 days later, we get the call for a 7 week old African American baby boy. Oh, my Anthony. My sweet cocoa bean. This little baby who we thought we would only have for a very short time became "official" son number 2 on March 24, 2008. BIG SHOUT OUT TO SCOTT HODSON AND RICH ASHCRAFT! (its amazing who God sends into your child's life before you even know your child) These men played an important role in my sons life before I'd even met Anthony.
Heres the thing about adoption that some people dont understand. These boys are OURS. They are ours in every sense of the word. How can they not be ours?!!! I would be lying if I said that it happens immediately. No, it doesnt. It does take some time for the "feeling" to come. Nurse a child through a sickness, and see how you feel about that child after. Have a child in your home for months, and provide everything for them, and see how you feel. These boys came from another womb, yet they are OURS. I was once told "I dont think I could raise someone elses kid". Ok, people, DONT EVER SAY THAT!!!!! Which brings me to my list of "What not to say" I'm not making this list to be condescending, rather, to educate and hopefully inspire some of you people out there.
What NOT to say to an adoptive family
1. Oh, do you have any of your own children (own may be substituted with "real")---nope, no real children, just these imaginary ones I conjured out of air. Again, these children are ours. If you must ask, use "biological".
2. Were you not able to have kids? ....intensely personal question ALERT!!! Depending on who is doing the asking and under what circumstance. If I'm talking about adoption, sharing my story or whatnot, then yes, it is ok to ask me. If you're someone I just met...no, dont ask that. Would you go right up to a mother of twins and ask "oh, did you use fertility drugs to get your twins?" Uhhh, no, you wouldnt.
3. How do you raise a child thats a different race than you, I dont think I could do that.......I love answering this question, because honestly, its nuts to ask. How do we raise Anthony? Well, you know, we feed him sticks and leaves and beat bongo drums every night to get him to sleep. A child is a child, is a child, is a child. We raise Anthony the same way we raise our pale boys. hehehe Now, I'm not naive enough not to know that Anthony may have to deal with different things that my other boys wont have to deal with, but we'll cross that bridge (and that blog) another time.
4. How much did you pay for your boys?.......a million bucks. yep, we are secret millionaires. Again, this question is fine to ask if we are in a discussion about different kinds of adoptions, but I've had people start the conversation with this. Start the conversation, THEN ask that question.
5. Oooh, you adopted out of foster care, whats the scoop on that? Were his parents druggies? Was he abused? and so on. ...........This is where I'm going to really educate people. DO NOT ASK THIS IN FRONT OF MY CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!! Dont do it. I beg of you, dont do it. My boys are young, and honestly, they dont quite know the specifics of THEIR stories yet. But one day, they will ask, and Andy and I will judge on how much to share with them at what time. Their stories are heavy, but they are THEIR stories. I have to admit, I wasnt always so diligent about keeping it quiet. I blame my own ignorance on that. My boys know that they are adopted. We have never kept it a secret from them. We have "adoption parties" every year (similar to a birthday party)
6. You know you had biological children because God rewarded you for taking in the unwanted......yes, this has been said to me on more than one occasion. People, that is not how our God works. I dont deserve these kids. All I deserve is a hot corner of hell. But for the grace of God. There are a handful of times when I've been able to see Gods reasoning in pain. This is my biggest one. Had I not had the pain of infertility, I wouldnt have my precious Elijah and Anthony. I wouldnt. And, again, I shame myself for that.
These are just a handful of things that have been said or asked of us. I just want to tell you all this....Adopted children are special. Their births and lives are just as special (if not more so) than biological kids.
Why Adopt??? My question to you is....why not? Why not?????
Adoption is God ordained
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
James 1:27
Adoption is Holy
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.
Psalms 68:5-6
It is Gods plan
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-6
Do justice!
You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
Psalms 10:14,17-18
Listen to the Spirit calling you
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
Romans 8:14-16
These children need you, and they need to know God
And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
Matthew 18:5
Let me assure you, should you go forward with adoption, its not going to be easy. Its not. I firmly believe that Satan would love nothing more than to have these orphans suffer. The enemy does NOT want Christians adopting children, because he knows that we will teach these children about Christ. We will teach them about Christ and they will become mighty warriors. I look at my boys' lives, and I am reminded of Joseph. "What you meant for evil, God meant for good"
I urge any young couple out there, include adoption in your marriage plans. Start early so that when the times comes, you are prepared. For those of you that already have your family, can you have one more? Can you open your home to one more? I promise you, you already have room in your heart. Yes, I know its expensive. Believe me, I know. However, I think thats Satans biggest lie that he whispers in our ear. "You cant afford that kid, are you nuts? Its so much work, just be happy with the ones you have" DONT LISTEN TO HIM! Think about it, talk about it, PRAY ABOUT IT, and the doors will open. It wont be easy, but it will be worth it.
Its either we laugh or.....we adopt.
Blessings to all who read this. I pray a special blessing upon those that have already felt the call to adopt, but have not acted on it yet. I know you are out there, and this letter is to you. Lord open the floodgates for these people!!!!! Make it completely obvious to them that they are to adopt! Lord, set the bushes on FIRE and speak to these people!
Angie
Monday, February 6, 2012
What I wanted to say......what I should have said
---Boys are awesome in that they will eventually turn into men who will care for you, provide for you, become your husbands, and the father of your children. UNTIL THEN, they are boys and not worth crying over, losing your parents trust over, losing sleep over. They will tell you what you want to hear, show you what you want to see, and do WHATEVER it is they have to do in order to get past "first base" with you. 99.9 % of boys under the age of 20 cannot be trusted with you. You are beautiful, gorgeous even. DO NOT SETTLE for less than the best. And the best would NEVER require you to lose that which is most precious to you for them. Your testimony, your purity, you future are NOT WORTH losing over a simple boy. Let them take you to dinner, to the movies, to church, and then give them a hug goodnight. You all have way too much talent, passion, and love to give to waste it on some simple boy. You wait 'till you got a MAN!
--- Your mom and dad are seriously some of the best parents I have ever had the luck of knowing. Yes, they seem like they just want to ruin your lives. I get that. They don't. They, as many of us, made mistakes when younger and they do NOT want to see you do the same. They tell you no for a reason. You will "get it" when you have the maturity to see it from the other side. LISTEN TO THEM! They are not just saying things to tick you off. They say things to help prevent all sorts of evils from happening to their girls. They have been there, done that. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN to them.
---If you ever touch a cigarette or drugs I will personally beat you down. Seriously, the addiction is SO NOT WORTH IT. You won't look cool, or mature, you will look like a moron and stink like an ashtray. That is SO NOT CUTE! There are many of us who battle these addicitons that wish EVERY DAY that they didn't even start.
----GET YOUR DEGREE! BACHELORS BEFORE BABIES! Your education is something that can NEVER be taken away from you. Go to school, get that degree. Even if you find a man that has a job that will allow you to stay home and raise babies, you will always have that degree to fall back on if he were to lose his job, or God forbid, leave. Your degree will give you independence to do what YOU want to do.
---I love you. I love you, love you, love you like you're my own girls. I miss you. Lord do I worry about you. You are such awesome, beatiful, smart, God filled girls. Me and Aunt Angie are ALWAYS here for you. Even, especially, when you do something stupid. Please call us so we can either laugh at you, bail you out, or kick your butt.
You either laugh or worry yourself sick over the young girls in your life.
We love you sweet girls.
Aunt Chrissy
Ok, well, now its my turn. What I wanted to say and what I meant to say....and we'll see if I can get through this without bawling my eyes out.
Alright girls....when it comes to boys, STAY AWAY!!!!!!! As your aunts, you may think we are older than dirt, however, it honestly wasnt that long ago that we were in your shoes. So anxious to be older, more mature, to be dating, engaged, married, whatever. So heres my best advice. Dont date. seriously. dont do it for a LONNNNNGGGG time (Samantha, are you listening?) You girls are beyond gorgeous, and any boy would be lucky to have you...however...they cant have you. Nope, they cant. Because, right now, you belong to your parents. EWWWWWWWWW yes, yes I know. But, believe me when I tell you, that you have the very best parents a teenage, pre-teen, girl could ask for. They care about where you are, who you are talking to, what your character is, how you are dressed. Look around girls, those girls that you see that are dressed like whores???? their parents dont care about them. They are dressed like that so that they can find a boy that will fill the hole in their lives left by uncaring parents. Thing is...no boy can. A man can, but you cant have a man at your age. Take this time to spend with your family. You wont believe how much you miss this time when you are older.
Ok, next, DONT BE STUPID!!!! Remember, you are in a foreign country! You are not in the U.S. and therefore do not have the freedoms that we enjoy here! You do not have the luxury to "let your guard down" until your parents say you can. Just because a boy (or group of girls for that matter) seem nice, it doesnt mean you just hop in the car with them, or go for a walk with them. I did some seriously stupid stuff when I was younger, and it was only by the grace of God that I wasnt damaged permanently.
Next...get your college degree!!!!! This goes more for Sammy right now than Nanna or Autumn. Sam--get that degree! You will never regret it! I dont have many regrets, but one of my biggest is not getting my bachelors. There were several reasons why I didnt, not just Uncle Andy. I will tell you that I have missed promotions and not even been considered for jobs because I dont have my bachelors. And now I have a million kids and going back to school is the LAST thing I need to be doing.
My beautiful nieces, I love you to the moon and back. I wish I could give you big hugs right before you get on that plane. I miss you terribly already.
To Kim, I just dont have the words. I love you, my other twin. Take care of my sweet nieces, and kick them in the rear for me.
Ang
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Fun with the Family!
Oh mercy....the last 24 hours have been a hoot! We started it off by heading to Dave and Busters in Indy with mom, Kim, Gina, and the supertwins! What's Dave and Busters? It's Chuck-E-Cheese for adults. SO.MUCH.FUN! Great food, awesome games, goofy prizes, yummy drinks....it's like heaven.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Its your turn!!!!!!
Ang
Friday, January 20, 2012
random thoughts
my patient refuses to sleep
can't diagnose sleep apnea without sleep
Me and twin are in different labs tonight. It has messed up the flow of the world and the snow and ice gods are cursing us. We will be sleeping in the lab tomorrow as to not risk or lives driving home and then back again. This does not make me happy. I would much rather go home and sleep with the hubby.
My princess is at yet another birthday/slumber party tonight. I'm sure she is still awake. I love that girl.
I ate french fries today. So totally against the diet, yet, somehow the night just called for it.
I have a salad for later to make up for the french fries :)
I'm on my 4th cup of coffee for the night. Good luck sleeping for me tomorrow.
My Studly is working tonight too. We keep emailing stupid comments to each other to keep us awake.
My sister Kimmy is coming to visit next week. It will be the last time for 4 years since she thinks its a GREAT idea to move to Japan. haha
I have considered moving to Japan myself. :)
That's all for now.
It's either we laugh.....or we fall asleep in the sleep lab.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
twin rules and regulations
--Anything said to us personally WILL be shared with the other twin. Don't even think about saying "don't tell your twin, but..." we will be on the phone with each other as soon as you walk outta the room. This rule does not apply to christmas presents, our mom, or our sister Kim 'cause you don't wanna be on their bad side.
--No, you cannot be the "honorary triplet" Through the years we have had MANY friends that took this title. Admit it people, you just can't "hang" with da twins.
--Do not even THINK you will be friends with one of us and not the other. We are a package deal. Think of it as two for one. And if my twin doesn't like you, chances are I won't soon either.
--You wanna mess with me? Mess with my twin. I can handle all the beat downs in the world, but don't you DARE go after her. I will hurt you in 101 ways, 100 of which you won't like.
--If you and I have plans, and then my twin needs something, then sorry, you are outta luck. That's just how we roll.
--Don't think you're being clever by suggesting that our two families move into one house to save on time and gas mileage. The only thing stopping us are our husbands.
--No, we do not have "twin intuition" This is the stupidest thing in the world. However, I know what she is thinking, saying, feeling, by taking one look at her. If she gives me a little shrug in your presence, she doesn't like you.
--If you criticize her kids, I will cut you. I am their second mommy, for real.
--Yes, we share everything that happens to us with each other. EXCEPT intimate details of our marriage 'cause her husband is seriously like my brother and that is gross.
--Do not think you are complimenting one of us by saying we are "prettier, smarter, wiser" etc. than the other one. This is an insult. Your name will go on the list of people we make fun of.
--Don't ask us "What's it like being a twin?" Would you ask a non twin what it's like to not be a twin? Would you ask a female what it's like being a girl? This is, again, one of the stupidest questions you can ask a twin. And, yes, we pity you that you aren't a twin.
--Do not say "Wow, you don't look like twins, are you identical?" Wow, you really didn't look like a moron when I met you, but now you have proven me otherwise.
--My twin is perfect and pure in every way. Do not try to convince me otherwise. Again, I will hurt you.
Ok, those were Chris' rules of Twinhood...now its my turn to throw some in!!!!!
--as far as honorary triplet, that position has already been filled. Her name is Kim, and she helps us Twins make sense out of life. that, and she'll hurt us if we say the honorary triplet is someone else!!!
-- We talk about random subjects at random times..dont try and keep up. At the womens retreat, we filled a half hour talking about how we should build a fort and fill it with Little Debbies and nobody could come in unless they gave us Cheetos. (or if they were the Old Spice Guy)
--We plan on dying together, cuz we couldnt stand life without the other. We figure we'll die in some awesome fashion, and people will talk about for ages to come.
--Criticize my Twin, and I'll rip off your legs and make everyone call you "Scoots McGee". Oh, there goes Scoots McGee on his stumpy legs, he made fun of a Twin.
--One day we WILL buy property big enough to put two houses on. And we're going to build a big wall around it and dig a moat and fill it with alligators. You cant come in without the password and a bag of cheetos. (unless you're the Old Spice guy)
--We either laugh or we laugh behind your back.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
blah
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
love and marriage
Monday, January 2, 2012
Remind me who I am....2012
Tell me once again, who I am to you, who I am to you
Tell me lest I forget who I am to you, that I belong to you".
This wont be one of the traditional "Twin" posts. I'll try and throw some humor in here, but I have lots to chat about, so you'll just have to listen to my ramblings. My song for 2012 is "Remind me who I am", for so many reasons. I'll start with 2011. I dont have words for 2011. Easily the hardest year of my life, sans 1998 when I lost my dad. I dont especially want to rehash everything that happened in 2011, I'd rather tuck it away in my subconscious or save it for a therapy session or something. However, as I reflect on 2011, I have come to realize that along with all the heartbreak and stress and worry, I received an incredible amount of blessings. I honestly dont think I would have recognized the blessings, had it not been for the hurt.
So many things have changed in the past year, its mind blowing to me at times. Going through the hurt and despair that I had last year made me rely on God more than I ever have. I had to fully trust that His words were true, and very very real. My lead pastor said something to me last year, and I'll never forget it, because its completely changed how I view my relationship with God. He told me that God does not rule and run this world as if it were just a big chess game. He doesnt move this piece here, so that another piece can go there, and so on. Sometimes bad things happen solely because of the world we live in. (I'm paraphrasing what he said) Upon hearing this, and pondering it for awhile, it just really switched my way of thinking. Yes, God knows and cares about whats going on in our lives, but he's not directing all of it like some kind of huge traffic God. He knows life is hard, which is why He gave us all the handbook on how to handle this life!
Anyway, so back to "Remind me who I am". My goal for 2012 is to never lose sight of what our purpose is, remember who it is that I belong to, and further the kingdom of God. So many people want to know "why we are here". I dont have the complete answer to that, but I know that our goal as Christians is to help direct others to Him. My faith is so much stronger now than it was :) I dont worry nearly as much as I used to, because I know that its pointless. Why worry about tomorrow? Today, I have food, clothing, an awesome job, a fantastic smokin-hot hubby, and great kids. What more could I ask for? In 2012, my prayer for all of you is that you SLOW DOWN! Stop worrying!!!!!! When the hard times come, and I know that they are coming, HIT..YOUR...KNEES!
Its either we laugh or....we pray :)
Angie