As I told Allison yesterday, I'm trying to sort out a bunch of stuff, online and otherwise.  I'm not a deep thinker at the best of times and I just go whirling around here, thinking.  One of the things I think about is whether or not it is wrong to spend time blogging.  Yes, yes, I know, I am a goofball.  Blog or blog not, there is no thinking.  But there is...and I really really enjoy it.  I enjoy the comments (of course!) and the feedback about how I write and the stuff I write about but I also enjoy the writing.  Just the crafting of the sentences.  It is a wonderful thing to me to be able to write about what you're thinking/feeling/doing and have it resonate with other people.  It's just a wonderful thing to write the way you want to.  And I think that if I keep practicing (blogging, that is), I'll just get better, right?

The catch is that it can insidiously creep and suck up vast amounts of time.  The perfect styling of the words (or just vomiting them out on the screen), the checking for comments, the checking up on everyone else's blog.  This all takes time.  I could be cleaning the house (yeah, riiiight!) or walking one of the many dogs which has taken up residence in our home this week (more on that later) or making treats for the fam (well, I have been doing that) or spending time with the aforementioned family.  Sigh.  It's something to think about, isn't it?

Ok, about the dogs.  We are the resident dog-sitters in our congregation.  I love the dogs which belong to the folks in our congregation.  There's Chocolate Chip, who belongs to our preacher's wife.  She's a giant dog, a St. Bernard, with the sweetest disposition...as long as you're female.  I think that the only males she tolerates well are the ones who live in the house next to her run.  So Friend Husband doesn't go with me when I go to feed and exercise Choc & Addie, the husky who lives with her.  The children don't either, as Choc is not always terribly careful to not knock down the little people.  But there's nothing little on me and Choc and I get along swimmingly.  She's one of my favorite pooches to watch.

Then there's sweet Ethel.  Ethel is the sister to our own Lucy the Wonder Dog.  In fact, we got Lucy from Ethel's owner when Ethel's grandfather was about to ship her off to the pound for her many indiscretions.  We understand them very fully now.  But Ethel is a sweetie pie and we adore her.  Whether she stays at her house and graciously allows us to visit or whether she comes here and mucks around with Lucy in the back yard, she's a joy.

Then there's Snake.  I don't know what's up with Snake, actually.  Maybe he's spoiled.  Whatever it is, he is the most high maintenance dog we take care of.  He's truly a sweet dog...as long as he's in the house.  If he's not in the house, he barks, claws, and bites his way into getting into the house.  His bark is very high-pitched and just gets into the base of your skull and bores right through your whole brain.  After much consideration (and much night-time barking), Friend Husband and I stood at the sink and considered our options.

1)  We could take Snake back to his house and just pick him up at night to stay with us (he sleeps with his owners at night and I really didn't want him to be at his house, barking that brain-rattling bark all night).

2)  We could take Ethel back to her house and hope that Snake would be ok with staying in the back with Lucy.  And that Lucy wouldn't be too irritated that the invader dogs get to run loose while she doesn't.  But we adore Ethel and Lucy enjoys her, so we didn't want to do that.

3)  We could let Snake in the house, stopping his barking and eventually stopping Lucy's.  Friend Husband's response to this was, "But he doesn't deserve to be in the house."

And that brings me back to blogging and dogs and grace.  No, Snake doesn't deserve to be in the house, but he is.  We extended to him a measure of grace, rather than leave him out to bark or to be lonely at his own house.  And we also thought we might extend Lucy that measure of grace, once we're finished dog-sitting.  We really like having a dog in the house.  And I think of all the times that Friend Husband has extended grace and mercy to me, allowing me to flee the chaos of the upstairs in order to have a little piece of quiet down here, blog surfing and playing Neopets games.  What a super-sweet guy he is!  And how undeserving I am...what love he gives me in very practical ways.  And I should return that love by spending more time with him upstairs instead of blogging....right?  Right.  So there I am again. 

To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

I usually post a picture on Wednesdays, especially for Trina, who enjoys them so.  Trina is enjoying her vacation with her beloved but here's a funny snap of the twins, making fish faces.  Y'all enjoy yourselves now, ya hear?

Posted by Katie in NE Ohio

My 3.5 year old son makes the same face! Actually, he and your boy look very much alike :-). When you see those deep brown eyes, don't you just melt?

If you have suggestions for eczema and dry skin, I'd love to know them. My 1.5 year old is dry like a lizard.

Katie
mrsfan8403@hotmail.com

Posted by AcceptanceWithJoy

Your babies are beautiful. I love the fish faces!

Thanks for the comments on my blog, re: transracial adoption. Actually, the author of the column would have agreed with you. His main point was why were all these white families adopting non-black babies overseas when there are all these black children needing adoption. My beef is that he chalked all of this up to race. I am adopting black children, just not through the states ~

Adopting through an agency in the state is expensive. Philosophically, I am for open adoption, but it turns the whole thing into a "personality" contest. How many birth moms are going to choose two people in their 40's, living off the culture grid (one income, homeschooling...) with an older developmentally disabled child as the perfect couple to raise their child?

Adopting through the foster system? Been their, done that... I have been lied to enough in one life time. I suffered a failed adoptions at the hands of a lying case worker. Marissa's caseworkers lies cost her 6-years of having undiagnosed fetal alcohol syndrome resulting in lack of services. No thanks.

And did I mention cost? I am adopting two children from Haiti. Even after paying travel expenses and immigration fees, I will have spent less than had I adopted one child from the state.

One of the mom's on this site that is trying to adopt from Africa ran across a social worker that was being evasive, refusing to answer calls and making excuses as to why she shouldn't adopt. I told her to run, not walk to a different agency. The stance of the NABSW on not placing black kids in white families is adding to the pain and grief of kids in our system.

Posted by FaithfulGrace

way down here in your entries.



The twins are so cute. Thank you for sharing.



I don't get around to your blog enough.

You're right blogging is a great way to share your thoughts. But the time, it does take a lot of time.



Happy new Year

In gratitude for your friendship in 2006,

Blessings,

Linda