Collins Monthly - April

I apologize for my delay in posting.  We've been gone this last week, but I can't wait to tell you where we've been.  April sure was a blur with good and bad!

We started the month with a huge scare!  If you haven't heard our horror story with our 3 year old pup, you can read it by clicking here.  April has been filled with crate-rest, meds every 8 hours, diapering a paralyzed dog, lifting all 37 pounds of her out of her crate multiple times a day, sitting outside with her as we wait for her to do some business, taking her for appointments.  As for how things are now, we are seeing vast improvement and we have hope.  The only question and concern I have will be pain.  Reese is the life of our household, an energetic dog who brings joy exactly when we need it.  She's my emotional support animal, and that's one title I would have scoffed at until I realized I needed (and had) one.  Living a life of chronic pain is not what I want for puppy girl.  So even though she may be walking now, I need to be certain she is happy and pain-free.  I beg you to pray for the elimination of all aches and pains -- permanently!

Spring Break happened for our public schools and it was a challenge because the boys and I were still doing school.  We like to wrap up the bulk of our curriculum by end-April, so we had much to plow through while Miss Quiet Tiger was home with us, enjoying a week off of public school.  I normally would take a week off from homeschool around Easter, but this year we didn't do anything extraordinary for Spring Break.  We just worked our tails off so we could wrap up our school year.  More on that later.

Easter found us celebrating quietly at home.  Nothing big to report.  Not even cute Easter pictures of the kids.  Nada. 

Right after Easter we took clients to the Guthrie to see The Bluest Eye.  Very interesting story!  It was my favorite show at the theater thus far.  I love our nights down at the theater!

After pushing extra hard this month, we finished our 5th year of homeschool on April 25.  This year of homeschool looked quite different than years past!  For 16 weeks, Super C did independent study and was also student-teacher to his little brother.  Because we knew I'd be working for a good chunk of the school year, I chose 4-day curriculum versus the standard 5-day.  It worked for us and we liked it.  We were able to use that 5th day to catch up on anything we missed or to simply breathe from having so much on our plates.  But we are now officially done with the bulk of our curriculum.

•      Bible study - check (and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that in 5 years of homeschool, we have read 37 books of the Bible, putting us over the half-way point).  
•      History - check.  
•      Science - check.  
•      Writing - check.  
•      Spelling - check.  
•      Geography - check.  
•      Cursive - check.  

We will continue with Math for both boys over the summer, on a slower schedule since both boys are a year ahead of their peers.  Super C finished out Algebra I this year and he'll likely finish Geometry before the fall or very early in the fall.  Super E has finished 5th grade math and will be working on 6th grade math over the summer.  We will also likely read some of the awesome Sonlight reading books that we missed by choosing the 4-day schedule.  I love the Sonlight readers and I think reading and math will be all we'll do over the summer to keep their minds fresh and working. Congratulations to my boys on another fantastic year of homeschool.  You made me so proud this year with all the challenges we faced!

And if you read last week's post, I eluded to something big happening in April that I couldn't divulge.  Well, as promised, here is what all that was about:

For the last week, we have been out of town, down by Rochester attending a "camp" of sorts for families with attachment-challenged kids.  I still really don't have any idea how this actually came about because the camp is so expensive I couldn't even afford to go alone, much less bring my family of 5.  Yet we were invited and we went and the majority of our bill was paid by someone (or multiple someones).  Everything I had heard about this camp and it's therapist was summed up as: LIFE CHANGING.  Friends, it did not disappoint!  The kids and I went down on the 27th and Jay had to stay back for a work seminar that we were both supposed to attend.  Out of fear I'd lose our spot at "camp," the kids and I went down as scheduled and Jay just came later.  The camp offered therapists and counselors with experience with Reactive Attachment Disorder, classes for adults, kids, even special sessions just for the siblings of a RAD child.  We had 24 hour access to help for any situation and we learned parenting techniques that WILL WORK with our RAD daughter (and none of it is traditional, so we are just babies in the learning process and it will look very different for our friends and family to see for themselves).  Yet, mid way in the week, we got a course correction.  Due to Quiet Tigers young age and tiny weight of 43 pounds, we were told she would respond better if we complete a different course prior to all the new stuff we were learning.  I won't go into details now.  I'm not ready to go there yet because it is absolutely grueling and devastating.  People used to say, "Adoption is not for the faint of heart."  Well, that couldn't be more true than right now.  We have hope that this will restore our family and prevent us from having to face drastic measures in the future.  The experience at camp is definitely worthy of it's own blog post, so stay tuned for that.  I know so many who are so desperate for help, so I will share!  But we are so grateful to the powers that be for providing this opportunity for us that we could no way afford on our own.  I truly believe whoever those people/organizations are, they have saved our family!

Saving the best for last, my Super E turned double digits on April 30th!  His big day happened while we were at camp and I had to pack all birthday celebrations into our car for the week away.   His birthday was tearful though.  Camp was not all fun and games, even for the healthy kids.  My poor boy was in tears in bed on his birthday.  That's no way to turn 10 years old!  My poor boy!  He has had to sacrifice so much, all because of his troubled little sister.  I feel bad for having put him through so much!  Now that we are home, I still have 1 more belated birthday surprise up my sleeve, yet even that will have to wait until these next 6 weeks are up.  Happy 10th Birthday, Super E!  I can hardly believe you are now "double digits."  You are my favorite 10 year old on the planet and you will never, ever know how much I adore you!

Overtime

I can't even believe I'm writing this.  But it's time to fill you all in on all the insanity that has been happening and why it is happening and why we have asked you to pray so hard against these attacks.

Remember our adoption story?  Remember how everything that could go wrong, did go wrong?  How we lost Nepal?  How incredibly long (longer than average) China took?  How we lost 2 jobs?  How we moved, lived apart, had car accidents?  How we needed out of network surgery and had huge medical bills to pay?  How our Nebraska house wouldn't sell for nearly a full year because the market tanked as we were selling?

Satan was working overtime back then to try and stop us from adoption, from following God's call on our lives.  Satan hates love, adoption and family.  He tried his very best to make us give up.

Try as he did, as painful as it was, he didn't win.

Oh, but then what happened?

We have the most beautiful little girl in the world, but years later we get horrid behaviors that only get worse with time, not better.  We get diagnoses from multiple professionals.   Reactive Attachment Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  And love is not enough to heal these children!  [Please stop leaving the comment "Look what love can do!" on happy adoption posts because it makes RAD parents feel like failures!]  Our family has been spiraling down quickly with no hope.

Enter: Hope.

Somehow or other, we were invited to attend a week long, intensive family therapy camp at the end of April.  These camps are way out of our league, at a cost of nearly $1000 per person.  I'm not kidding.  We could never afford that.  Yet somehow, this camp was coming to Minnesota, someone had a heart to help a family in need and started drumming up donors before they ever even heard of us, and then they started searching for that family in desperate need of help.  Word got around, and bam, we were invited.  We're going to family therapy camp at a fraction of the cost.

Oh, but Satan doesn't want our family to heal.  He wants us to remain hopeless, broken, angry, detached, regretful.

Satan is working overtime... again.

So, what's the first thing he does?  He attacks me where it hurts me the most: my beloved emotional support dog, Reese.  Her back injury left her unable to walk on hind legs, a herniated disc putting pressure on her spinal cord.  Surgery would be over $5500, something we could never dish out.  Meds, chiropractics and weeks of crate rest have brought marked improvement.  She's hobbling, but walking again, but she has long way to go yet.  We're only on week 4 of recovery now; we have 4 weeks left to go.  Yet we're leaving her mid-recovery.  And our neighbors are out of town when we will be, so we've hired a house-sitter for the 2 healthy dogs.  We have a friend very graciously willing to watch our crate-resting Reese for the time we are gone!  So thankful!!!

But Satan didn't stop there.

Then he makes that lovely "Service Engine Soon" light illuminate on my dashboard, after we've already put over $300 of work into Jay's car last month (and it's still leaking oil - darn Fords).  Auto Zone says it's idling harder than it should, but then again, it could just be a bad sensor.  Knowing I have a bad tire sensor and a bad door sensor, I truly believe this is another stupid, bad sensor.  Thankfully, after much prayer that these attacks would cease and desist, that light went off 1 day after it illuminated and hasn't returned.

 

But Satan kept on trying.

On our way to Easter church services, we witnessed road rage first hand.  Some guy tried to run us off the road.  Then he proceeded to get behind us and video us, when we were doing absolutely nothing illegal!  He had to be on something.  Very scary.

Still more attacks kept coming.

During all this, Jay and I have been fighting more and more too.  And we never fight and argue.  Disagree?  Sure.  We're human sinners.  But big arguments and fights?  Hardly ever.  I'm a happily married woman, enjoying life with my best friend.  But this month, whew, not a good month for the marriage.  Doesn't help that it's April, a pretty traumatic month in our family history. 

So, yeah.  We're being attacked all over again when it comes to our Quiet Tiger.  From adoption, to home and healing, Satan just wants to destroy us.  And I hate it! 

This is how I know that this therapy camp

will be life changing,

a complete game changer for us.

With that, I am asking for my prayer warriors to commit to praying for us from April 27-May 3, the dates of camp.

• Pray our house and 2 other fur-balls will be safe and sound in the hands of our house-sitter. 
• Pray for safe travel and well running vehicles (we have to take 2 because the kids and I will go down early and Jay will come after an evening work engagement). 
• Pray for us to be open, honest and teachable as we learn new parenting techniques for Reactive Attachment Disorder and PTSD. 
• Pray that Quiet Tiger will be receptive but also that she'll show her true colors for the therapists to see exactly who we see everyday. 
• Pray that the boys will learn how to better cope with their sister and slowly learn to love her again. 
• While we are gone, pray for Reese to make huge strides in her mobility, but also pray for her to stay quiet during her recovery too.  We don't want her overdoing it one bit.  I keep praying the 4 R's for Reese:  Repair (of the bad disc and nerves), Relief (of all pain), Restoration (of all mobility), Rest (she's gaining energy and wants to run and play, but isn't fully healed yet).
• Pray our friends watching her for the whole week, for their strength, patience and compassion. 
• Pray for Super E, who will be turning 10 while we are away, that we will be able to celebrate him and that he will feel honored on his big day.  
• Pray that the evil one will be stopped in his tracks in every way, as we press on diligently towards hope and healing for our entire family, dogs included!

I will definitely be posting when we return.  It may take me a while to unpack my brain and everything we learn, but I will surely post to fill you in on how everything went.

Thanks for the prayers, friends!  We are so very grateful!  This is a huge blessing and opportunity for our family! 

Absolutely huge!

 

 

OH! 
One last PS....

Quiet Tiger CANNOT KNOW ABOUT THIS CAMP! 

We have been told by the professionals not to mention it! 

So, PLEASE DO NOT MENTION ANYTHING TO QUIET TIGER! 

Thank you!

Collins Monthly - March

I'm back into social media more and more these days with maybe the exception of days following any speeches by our President.  Still too much hate out there.  Yet I'm finding that a lot of the chaos has died down and for that I am thankful.  Right now I check in from time to time because I'm politely stalking 2 friends who are having their basements finished.  I am a green eyed monster!  I can't wait until we can do ours, but that will take a lot of saving!  I still think I'll keep my social media participation to a minimum and focus more on writing my monthly blog. 

April
The password for March is..... April.  That darn, sweet, pregnant giraffe in New York.  If you haven't heard of her, then you must be living in a hole somewhere.  Oh, that giraffe!  So many hours of her on my TV above my fireplace.  So many nights leaving her live-stream on my tablet on my nightstand while I dozed to sleep.  Good, educational entertainment nonetheless.  And I don't know who is in charge of the animal park's social media posts, but they have been handling them so well, using humor and even a little snarky sarcasm from time to time because of the ridiculous things people post.  I love their updates!

Back to Work
Early March found me back in the office for 1 day, filling in for Jay's BOA who had a much needed appointment on the calendar.  I have also been going into the office a couple days per week, just a few hours each, to help with some phone calls and event/seminar planning.  I have been able to get school done in the morning with the boys, then go into the office for a few hours while the boys kick back and relax and then I return home to make dinner.  I also had 10 hours of new training to complete because of the DOL changes.  Just a couple days a week in the office will be fine.

Twister & Snow
Wow, Minnesota Weather was drunk or off her meds or something.  On March 6 a tornado touched down in Zimmerman, just northwest of Jay's office.  This was supposedly the earliest tornado touchdown in Minnesota weather history.  Thankfully, the office was fine, our friends were fine and clients reported they were fine too.  They were lucky!  I saw pictures of houses that looked like doll houses, with entire walls ripped off 1 side. Yikes!  That was some damage from an F1 tornado!  The following morning we woke up to an ice covered driveway and a dusting of snow.  Our pond re-froze and frozen into it are several trees (1 large, 1 medium and lots of small ones) that were knocked down by 2 days of high winds.  We have a big mess to clean up!  Anyone with a chainsaw is welcome to lend a hand!  To bring back winter, we got 2 inches of snow the weekend of Daylight Savings but it melted in about 4 days.  By the last week of March, the ice was officially out on the pond and we were enjoying 60 degree weather!  Strangest weather I have ever seen!

Final Reveal
While Jay was away for a quick overnight trip and Super C was off doing the 30-Hour Famine with his youth group, Super E and I put the final touches on Super C's new teenage bedroom.  Well, technically, I do still have to finish the 1 cabinet door to his dresser and his nightstand that will need to be painted outside, so I'll wait another month or so for that.  I painted some peg board the same color as the bedroom walls and installed them on both sides of the bed and along 1 other small wall.  Then we hung all his equipment.  The Nerf themed teenage room is complete!  I love putting rooms together for my kids!  Now I can officially move onto the bathroom transformations.  Look out paint aisles, here I come, because ceilings, walls and cabinetry are all due for a new, updated look!  That will be more in the budget than lower level floors or a basement finish!

Missing Ministry?
We have really enjoyed our new church home:  Eagle Brook Church.  It's a large church with many locations.  We attend one that has been meeting in a high school, but this month we opened our brand new campus just 15 minutes from our home in nearby Anoka.  They renovated an old, abandoned K-Mart.  Our grand opening was this month and the first service was filled to overflow in the lobby!  How exciting!  This was probably the first time ever, since leaving ministry, that Jay and I both felt a tiny bit of nostalgia, missing all the fun of grand openings after building or expanding church campuses.  That was Jay's forte, but we both felt it for sure.  No worries though; we aren't going back into ministry ever.  Yet we'll play our role as volunteers.  With this new change for the church and it's close proximity to our home, we stepped up to be small group leaders.  We are starting a community group for families with school-aged children.  We hope to get more connected to people in our similar family situation, during this busy thing we call life.

Last Minute
I had an appointment on the calendar for mid-April for Miss Quiet Tiger to see a child psychiatrist.  It has been such a struggle just to find her help.  Why the struggle?  Why?  It was so hard to just get her home!  Why must we struggle so hard now to get her help?  Well, I went with her alone one Tuesday morning when the office had a cancellation and asked if we wanted in earlier than planned.  I took a leap of faith and we went.  I loved our new doc!  We began medicating for her anxiety.  Yes, we tried earlier, but that was with our pediatrician who just comfortable with medicating such a young child.  Sadly, even in 1 short week, we have had to stop.  Five days on a half dose of Prozac and my daughter was manic!  I've never seen her so wild and crazy, laughing maniacally all the time, unable to sit still or even speak a complete sentence.  I got very perturbed at my once loved doc when she didn't return my calls.  I finally heard back and scheduled a follow-up appointment, which I later cancelled too (you have to wait until next month's update to know why).  In the end, this new doc saw everything and confirmed the anxiety disorder and Reactive Attachment Disorder.  Hopefully,  we will see the anxiety diminish.  There will be no cure for the RAD.  We'll live with it always.  We have some big things on the calendar this summer and we need a truly Quiet Tiger, not an anxious, amped up, Wired Tiger.  I'll leave you with this: you won't want to miss next month's blog!  That's all I'm saying about that.

Orthodontia Revisited
We've been back and forth to 2 different orthodontists for the boys.  Two weeks after a visit to orthodontist #1 for a free evaluation, we went to orthodontist #2 much closer to home.  They can already see a difference in Super E's teeth and told us to stop the home treatments recommended by Ortho #1.  Sadly, Ortho #2 also recommended pulling 4 of Super E's baby teeth; something Ortho #1 never even breathed!  The minute I got home from this second evaluation, I called Ortho #1 for the promised free, reevaluation.  So, on a Wednesday morning, Super E and I headed back out to Ortho #1 and they loved the change thanks to the home treatments!  They disagreed about the tooth pulling, but did say that when Super E is older, he'd likely need braces for a short time, but that really all depends on how his 12-year molars change everything.  In the end, Ortho #1 gets my business.  We are still talking about when it will be best to get Super C into braces, but it will likely be this summer. 

Div Trip
Leaving his Texas office behind and starting fresh here in Minnesota definitely set Jay back in his career.  We were told to expect it and it was 100% truth.  It has been over 2 years since Jay has earned a trip through work (Jackson Hole was the first trip Jay earned and Rome was the second).  This past month he earned another Div Trip and we are anxiously waiting for the day the books are opened so we can see the available destinations.  We are so thankful for Edward Jones for awarding exceptional work to the employee and spouse with amazing trips like these.  We make some fun "Jones Friends" (and product partner friends too) from around North America and we see some amazing locales and are given the chance to relax and kick back all thanks to Jones.  Wish my hard working husband a big congratulations sometime.  Stay tuned for the selected destination.

We Need a Miracle!

Friends, our family is being attacked by the evil one.  I can't tell you how I know that just now, but I know it is happening and I'll be able to fill you in next month.

PRAY FOR REESE
PLEASE

Last Friday morning, my dog Reese didn't want to get out of my bed.  She normally nudges me and snuggles me as I struggle to get out of bed.  She seemed fine all morning.  But when we returned from running an afternoon errand, she didn't race out of her kennel or bound up the basement stairs.  I knew something was wrong.  By nighttime, I knew a call to the vet was in order and I made an appointment for 10:20 on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning came and she seemed a bit better.  Better enough for me to think she just pulled a muscle and needed rest.  So, I cancelled our morning vet appointment.  That was a crushing mistake.  While she rested all day, by bedtime she was panting hard and was losing control of her back legs.  I called 2 emergency vets (all we have is 2 by us) and both of them said they were booked because vets were in surgery for 2-3 hours.  Thankfully our vet has regular Sunday hours.  I called and left them a voicemail, tearfully begging them to see my dog on Sunday.

MY HEART AND SOUL
IN CANINE FORM

I took one of their urgent care visits and we went in on Sunday morning.  By this time, Reese was dragging both her back legs.  She was in severe pain.  The vet took x-rays and found a disc that was a bit thinner than all the rest between L5 & L6.  He recommended us to send the x-rays to a surgeon.  We went home with meds and a very drugged dog and waited for the surgeon to call.

While we waited, I put a plea for prayer out on Facebook, despite my hiatus.  Then the surgeon called and said we needed an MRI.  But the U of M wasn't open until today.  I called a number of emergency places to see just who does MRIs on dogs in the Minneapolis area.  None were open, but most told me that the price would be around $2000 for the MRI alone.

I knew at that moment alone that Reese's days were numbered unless a miracle happened.

Friends, I'm begging you to pray for that miracle!

I THINK THIS MAY BE THE ONLY PHOTO OF REESE AND I TOGETHER.
SHE ALWAYS LOVED SITTING AT THE TABLE WITH US.
ALWAYS WITH HER MAMA

Reese is on steroids to reduce the swelling and on a pain killer too.  She is confined to the kennel until I carry her out to the dog run to attempt going potty.  She'll do it, but she can't squat, so she in essence has to sit in it, unless I hold up her back and and compress her bladder, but even that she fights.  Yet she has wet in her kennel, so she can still do it on her own.  And that is a good sign!  

Please pray that the meds are the miracle that we need!

Reese is turning 3 this month.  Three.  She is still a youngster with a lot of life left to live.  But at the prices we are looking at, the only thing we can possibly afford is the sad, painful, heart crushing alternative of a humane "good bye."

We've prepared our boys.  We've all sobbed and sobbed until we are numb.  I made 3 salt-dough ornaments with Reese's paw prints.

I ADORE THIS PICTURE!
THOSE GIANT EARS!
SHE ALWAYS KNEW WHERE HOME WAS AFTER A LONG WALK.

Today I called multiple places and the dollar totals are over $5000 if we wish to proceed surgically.   This is something we cannot fathom.

Today I called my last hope -- a chiropractor who works on dogs.  It's a cheap help, in comparison to surgery.  We talked at great length and he said it's a really good sign that she has the ability to go potty and that those nerves haven't been effected yet.  Tomorrow at 11:30 am is our appointment.  I ask you to be in prayer that the doctor sees hope that his treatments will help.  He told me that he has seen it happen with a dachshund he has as a patient who is walking happily after a month of treatment.  I have hope, yet we are indeed prepared for the horrifying alternative.

To make a long post longer, I need you to understand why this dog means more to me than most.  Raising a daughter with RAD takes it's toll on a mother.  I have my own diagnosis which I hope will never be a permanent one.  Having a daughter whose emotions are not in check, who is defiant at every turn and who is unable to accept or show love is agonizing.  Enter: Reese.  Reese was the dog that I didn't want.  She was dumped on my doorstep as a stray in San Antonio.  Jay fell in love very quickly and I was hesitant because I knew all the potty training and obedience would fall on me.  I would be hard pressed to ever say no to a dog, but even I was shocked to reluctantly agree after a week or so in our home.  Reese has been my dream girl!  She adores me.  She has been so easy going and happy!  She is smart and loving and beyond loyal.  But what's more, she has intuition to know when I am having a horrible day with my daughter and she is always up next to me, on the couch or in my bed snuggling me, licking me, giving me the love-struck brown puppy eyes.  She gets me like no one else.  She's truly my emotional support animal!  She has saved my life in ways I'll never be able to express in words.  Life without her would be crushing to me.  It would be removing my heart and soul, a piece of me that I never even knew existed.

THOSE FIRST FEW MOMENTS MEETING REESE.
A  NEIGHBOR IN TEXAS FOUND HER AND THOUGHT SHE WAS MINE.
I NEVER KNEW THIS FUNNY LOOKING PUP WOULD BE MY DREAM GIRL.

So, I'm begging you to pray for the miracle of medicine and chiropractics and above all, God's hands of healing on my Reese's back.  We don't have much time!  Despite pain meds, she hurts.  She cannot walk.  Please, please, please pray!  I believe in the God of miracles!

[And just a note to those of you thinking, "Just set up a Go Fund Me account and raise the cash."  Having already adopted internationally with thanks to so many donors like yourselves, I cannot and will not ask for money for a pet.  Yes, to me, my heart and soul is more than a pet.  But I still cannot and will not ask for that because it doesn't feel right.]

Please, Jesus!  Heal my Rees-y Girl on this earth!  Please!  We need her and we adore her!

Collins Monthly - February

Welcome back to the Collins monthly.  I've been enjoying my social media hiatus but I have checked in from time to time. 

Cooties
This past month, Quiet Tiger brought home some major cooties from school and passed them to Jay, then to me, then to Super C.  Only Super E seemed resistant to the germs, but whoa man!  If I take a sick day from work and sleep all day long in my bed, you know I'm really sick!  I won't even mention what it means if I take 2 sick days!  It was awful.  I don't recommend that bug because what we had lasted for weeks.  Stay healthy, everyone!

Clean Up Efforts
It took an entire weekend, but I got my dust bowl of a house cleaned up after our construction project wrapped at the end of January.  I had to hand-wash all my new tile floors, scrub walls from construction smudges and dust, scrub showers and tub after toilets had been removed and then replaced once the tile was installed, and dust every surface from tile and construction dust.  The biggest task was scrubbing the carpet on the stairs -- something we don't intend to change for quite some time.  Oh, the dirty traffic that the construction guys left on my stairs.  Ew!

I think we have decided to start saving and budget to do the exact same tile on our main level, including living room, laundry room, Super C's room, bathroom and hallway.  Should be the exact same square footage, and much easier on our living situation since we won't all be forced to sleep elsewhere.  Just as long as that much needed laundry room can be tackled first.  I can't imagine being unable to do laundry for 2 1/2 weeks. 

Treats
My sweet friend Dawn who visited over Chinese New Year sent me a thank you of Garrett's Popcorn from Chicago.  She knows me!  Such a treat sent me over the moon with happiness!  I may or may not have hugged the tin.

We celebrated Super Bowl Sunday quietly at home with snack food galore, by far my boys' favorite dinner ever!  The popcorn added to our festivities.  What a surprising football game!  Never would have imagined such a comeback by the Patriots.  But I was happy for all the Collins family members out east cheering them on!

Freedom
I officially ended my 16-week part-time gig at Jay's office in mid-February when his assistant returned from maternity leave.  What a relief to have her back!  Equally a relief was that we weren't audited by our Home Office during my temporary stint as BOA On-Call.  That would have stressed me out beyond belief.  The boys and I celebrated my first day back home by going resale shopping (they do love resale shopping with me - read: hunting for used Nerf guns -  and had some Christmas money to spend).  I was perturbed that resale shop prices were as high as they were.  What the heck happened in 16 weeks?  Yet, we enjoyed our first day back together.  Jay also enjoyed that very night as a product partner took him and some fellow Jonesies out to the Minnesota Timberwolves game with amazing seats!  A treat for Jaybird too was well deserved after 16 long weeks.

For Valentine's Day, my sweet hubby planned a Widows Luncheon with some of our clients.  We wished more could have attended.  But he gave each gal a rose and some chocolates.  Jay and I celebrated Valentine's as a family at home.  Later that weekend, Jay and I enjoyed a date night for Thai food.  We tried a great place, Hong Thai, in Rogers.  We'll go back for sure.

Best Day Ever!
In mid-February I took the boys on a field trip.  Dog sledding!!!!!  Oh my gosh, BEST... FIELD... TRIP...  EVER!!!!  It wasn't cheap though, so that's why I decided to take just the boys.  I did invite my brother and his daughter and some of my local friends but it was just us in the end.  I was more than happy to treat the boys who had so much on their shoulders at home while I was at work.  From school work, to dogs, to house chores, to cooking dinner, these boys did a lot.  It brought me such joy to see their excitement with the sled dogs!  The lack of snow was definitely a disappointment, but we still had a blast!

I learned a good lesson that day -- it's good to get out and do things with just my boys.  Sure, we go here and there while the girl is in school, they get hours of my undivided attention during homeschool, but I mean something beyond the ordinary.  They struggle with their sister at home too.  They need a break, and more than just going grocery shopping with mom.  They need things that bring joy and fill them up.  Had we taken Quiet Tiger to the dog sledding event, she would have sabotaged the event, been all over the place, refused to listen, and made it difficult for any of us to enjoy.  This event, with just my boys, gave us 2 hours of uninterrupted joy, filling us up to overflowing (you can ask my boys and they will tell you that I practically sobbed the entire drive home because I was so filled up).  Despite lack of snow, it was truly a day I'll never, ever forget and I'll cherish that memory with my 2 amazing boys.

At home, we've seen bald eagles up close and personal again, eating their prey in neighbors' yards.  Trumpeter swans have been flying over.  And my deer have been in my back woods on a few occasions.  I love our wildlife around here!  I can't even explain what joy they bring to me.

Back to School
Getting back into the swing of homeschool was joyful for me, but a reminder of just how busy it is to homeschool 2 kids.  For those of you thinking we sit around all day, you couldn't be more wrong!  I had forgotten just how busy it is at home while teaching.  But being home also gives me time to work on much needed house projects, like cleaning out the toy bin, cleaning out the deep freezer, organizing the pantry and cleaning the fridge.  All those things had been put off for 16 weeks and were a complete disaster!

Google Calendar
This past month has also been filled with appointments.  Both boys have been to one orthodontist for a free evaluation.  I told the docs that they'd only get 1 child of mine in braces at a time and they actually went above and beyond.  Normally, with an underbite, Super E would be needing braces ASAP so that he doesn't cause more damage to his teeth.  But they are trying to keep him OUT of braces all together!!!  His molars all line up perfectly and we can do some things at home to hopefully move those front teeth forward and those bottom teeth backwards.  They offered to see us for another FREE visit in 6 weeks to see if our home treatment will work.  So, until we see results with Super E, we will hold off braces for Super C, just in case home remedies don't work for Super E.  It was suggested that Super C be in braces for about 12-14 months.  I was glad to hear that the clear braces I had in high school are the same price as the standard metal ones.  We'll get 1 more professional opinion from the orthodontist my niece went to and see what they have to say before making any decisions or scheduling the hardware.  Please pray that Super E's teeth respond to the home treatment.  Jay told him he'd get a large reward if he works hard on treatment and saves us thousands of dollars in orthodontia expenses!

Quiet Tiger had her appointments on the calendar as well.  Jay and I met with the school staff to inquire about an IEP or a 504 Plan to help her through school.  Now that we have a diagnosis of attachment disorder and anxiety disorder, she qualifies for help.  The school has eliminated homework for Quiet Tiger so that she can leave school at school and we can focus on home at home.  Sadly, (and this is what I didn't tell you last month), we learned that Quiet Tiger had been going into other students' belongings at school and stealing their personal items.  While this may be relatively common in kids this age, this is a sure sign of her attachment disorder as RADs frequently steal.  Towards the end of the month, QT would return from school with her lunch untouched.  She was eating food belonging to other students, either given to her freely or possibly stolen.  Sharing food in public school is a rule violation!  I was at the end of my rope once again.  Believe me, the first thought I had in my head was to pull her from school and return to homeschool.  The school wasn't very helpful before this meeting and I felt like perhaps they were trying to drive us out.  I still toy with the idea of pulling her, but at this point, with a meeting under our belt and some new understanding between parents and educators,  she will finish the year out at public school and we will revisit the whole schooling situation over the summer.  For now, we still do not have an IEP or 504, but the homework will remain at school and the teacher and social worker are trying to find a way for her to do the work at school.  There are other things we still need to work out with the school staff, but for now, we have made a small step in the right direction.

Weird Weather
Forties, fifties and then sixties?  Seriously?  A week after Valentine's Day the ice was nearly out on our pond.  A pair of ducks had happily returned.  Grass was turning green!  We were sad that a snowstorm missed us at the end of the month.  We miss our sledding hill!  Will winter ever return?  There is typically a March blizzard, so we'll see what happens, but we're crossing our fingers for snow!

Coming Next Month
I forgot to mention this earlier.  Super C, my teenage boy, is doing the 30-Hour Famine with World Vision and his youth group at church.  He is seeking support from friends and family to help starving children around the globe.  If you've followed my blog over the years, you know that this is something we live with daily as we raise a child who knew hunger for 2 years in an orphanage.  The event is in 2 weeks, but should you feel like supporting him, you can go to this link to learn more.  Thanks friends!

Phew!  What a busy February!  Here's to a good March!

Collins Monthly -- January

Late in January I decided to leave social media on a temporary basis.  I got so sick of the negativity and everybody complaining about politics and couldn't take it anymore.  Believe me, in the past 4 months I have blocked people from my news feed, "unliked" companies and organizations and that helped clean it up quite a bit.  But after our presidential election, I just wanted it to be over.  Even the people I agree with only posted political posts and I got tired of it.

Sweet friends commented how they'd miss my posts.  Talk about feeling the love, people!  Sweet.  You made me smile.  Truly.  Thus, I decided to update the blog more often.  This is my first edition of The Collins Monthly.  And yes, I will post the link to Facebook, but I will not check the comments at all.  The comments section is open below if you should want to leave a few kind words.

January can be summed up in 1 word: chaos.

Right after Christmas, I began painting our lower level guest room to turn it into Super C's new teenage bedroom.  Paint is cheap, easy and quick, but with working 6 1/2+ hours a day at the office, coming home to make dinner, do laundry, clean house, there wasn't much time on my docket for home improvement.  Of course, once I had the ceiling painted a fresh bright white, our friend who was going to start our upper level flooring project called and announced he'd be starting that very next week.  So, I had to rush my paint job so that my whole house wasn't a construction zone.  The room isn't quite ready to reveal yet as there is more to do to give this room some personality, but here is a sneak peak at Super C's teenage bedroom.

Walls are a very light grey.  He picked the bedding out from Walmart.
The set didn't come with a bed skirt, so I'll have to do something there to make that look nicer.

He bought his own TV, just like I did when I was 13 and was allowed a TV in my bedroom.
I still have to finish the 1 cabinet door for that dresser.
Nice photobomb by Reese.

Then, our long awaited flooring project began and we finally said goodbye to an entire floor of 20-year-old carpet and hideous bathroom linoleum.  We chose a wood-looking tile from Menards and our friend who flips houses did the install for us.  It took him about 2 1/2 weeks, which was quite long.  It also took twice the budget (like house projects tend to do) so now we save to rebuild the saving account a little before saving up for the next house project.  But at least we know it was done right and oh, it was so worth it!  The floors are GORGEOUS!

But for 2 weeks, all of us were living downstairs:  Quiet Tiger slept on the floor of Super C's new lower-level room, Super C and Super E slept on air mattresses in the living room, I slept on the couch and Jay slept in Super C's new teenage bedroom/former guest room.  We each had 1 laundry basket of clothes and we all shared the 1 downstairs bathroom.  Dogs were kenneled in the basement while workers were here and during the night, so that they didn't disturb the drying tile upstairs.  The house was a HUGE dust bowl for 2 1/2 weeks.  Dust everywhere was so thick you could write your name on my tables and shelves.  I won't even discuss the floors as the workers tracked dust all over the place.  But like I said, oh so worth it!  We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our new tile floors!!!!!!!

Close-up of our new tile floors!

Super E's Room.

Quiet Tiger's Room.

Upstairs kid's bath.

Master bedroom floor.

Master bath floor before bathmat.

Even closets were tiled!

On the school front, the boys were still doing homeschool on their own while I'd been at Jay's office.  I have 1 week left of work before Jay's assistant comes back from maternity leave.  What started out as about 5 hours in the office per day has now increased to about 7 hours a day.  It's a busy office and there's no way the job can be done on part-time hours.   I'm excited for Jay to have his BOA back and I'm excited to return to the home to teach my boys.  I've missed them so and I know they've missed me.  During my absence, Super C has finished Algebra I and Super E has finished 5th Grade Math.  They'll enjoy a few days free of math until I return home.  Quiet Tiger continues to learn in public school, but we've had some ugly issues pop up at school too.  I'm not ready to go into detail yet, but it hasn't been pretty and we're now dealing with new insurance and trying to get her the help that we need.  Prayers appreciated because the timing of all this just wasn't good, and frankly, as her mom, I'm just toast.  So more than over all this stuff.

We celebrated Chinese New Year with friends both local and 1 family from Chicago who came up to visit.  The Mall of America put on a CNY event and we spent a few hours downtown making crafts and listening to Asian music.  It was quite wonderful, but we did miss the lion dance at the end.  The next day we had our visiting friends over to our dusty, construction zone for lunch.  I made fried rice that didn't turn out half as good as it usually turns out.  But the sweet and sour chicken and beef lo mein were good.  Quiet Tiger had fun playing with her friend A and my boys had fun hanging out with A's big sister E in the basement playing Minecraft, Nerf and video games.

All dressed up for The Year of the Rooster!

We wrapped up the month taking a client and her daughter to a show at the Guthrie.  We saw The Royal Family which was quite good and lighthearted.  Just what we needed after a chaotic month.

Thanks for staying in touch and be sure to visit for the February edition of The Collins Monthly.

Merry Christmas 2016

Another year has gone by and once again, I did not send any Christmas cards.  I really wanted to this year, but budget wins again.  I promise to make a much bigger effort next year and mail cards out because I LOVE receiving your Christmas cards!

Here are some highlights from our year:

January
We rang in the New Year quietly at home, the boys enjoying staying up until Midnight.  In January, the kids were all quite involved in Awana and youth groups at a small church we were attending 1 town north of us.  Super C also attended a second youth group at his best friend's church about 25 minutes away.  Teenage activities kept me running from place to place.





February
February brought much of the same running around with the kids.  We enjoyed the mild winter we had and spent much of our time outdoors at the local sledding hill in our neighborhood and on our frozen pond to the side of our house.  My kids all need quite a bit of help in the ice skating area.  And I found that it's not as easy anymore in my 40's, but it was still fun to try.

We welcomed the Year of the Monkey as we celebrated Chinese New Year with our China Beauty in February.






March

We took a long weekend to Chicago to see my mom over her birthday.  We saw Jay's best friend Mark and his family who were visiting from North Carolina too.  I also got a chance to spend time with some fellow "China families" whom I love dearly.  It is always good to be among friends!

April
April was by far the kids' favorite month for 2 reasons:

1.  We ended another year of homeschool!  Super C finished 7th grade.  Super E finished 3rd grade.  Quiet Tiger wrapped up a shaky year of homeschool kindergarten.

2.  We used our tax return and took the family to the Wisconsin Dells for a week.  Being off-season, we got a deal of a lifetime.  We played family laser tag, indoor minigolf, the boys did an indoor ropes course, and we spent every spare minute we had at one of 3 indoor waterparks.  Unfortunately, Super E's time in the water was cut short following a freak foot injury at one of the indoor playgrounds.  We spent a short while at the ER (first visit to the ER with any of our children, ever) across the street where they bandaged him up as best they could, but his time in the water came to an end.  Thankfully, his spirits were restored thanks to multiple families of Canada Geese on the resort property that he got to hand-feed, much like I had in my past.

Super E turned 9 while we were in The Dells.  He is all about Pokemon and will walk miles and miles with me Poke-hunting, no matter the time of day.  He is his father to a T, with that same sense of humor.  He is also still my constant helper, willing to lend a hand whenever asked.

May
In May, Jay started taking clients to Twins games as a business "thank you."  It was a horrible season with record losses and more rain delays this year, but being at the ballpark is enjoyable.  He took a business trip to Alabama at the end of the month with a friends from work to visit a product partner.

We made our first trip up to the cabin once Jay's mom returned from Texas and reopened her place in Hayward, Wisconsin.

We celebrated Quiet Tiger's 4th Gotcha Day at the cabin.


June

June brought more Twins games, more trips the cabin and Jay's Summer Regional work event for the whole family.  This year we were at the Grand View Lodge up near Brainerd.  We had a cabin large enough for our entire family that was literally right on the beach.  Waking up to the waves of Gull Lake and sinking my feet into the sand made me smile every morning.  The boys loved the kids activities including Human Hamster Balls and Quiet Tiger made a couple of boyfriends on the trip too!  Jay won 2 awards this year, one for making 2 new hires to the Jones Team and the other was a performance award.  It was by far our favorite Summer Regional yet.

Summer storms at the cabin were fierce and we experienced power outages and large trees down all over the property and town.  The damage was really remarkable and we are thankful that no one we knew was hurt.










July
We were home in Minnesota for fireworks this year, as Independence Day was a Monday.  We watched fireworks at our local high school, only learning later that my brother and his daughter were also there.  The show was very good.

Late in the month, I got a chance to introduce my family to my beloved town of Duluth, Minnesota for a family reunion for my mom's side of the family.  We stayed at my uncle's cabin, with record heat, yet without power thanks to another major set of storms that rocked the north again.  We spent a few days "camping" in the cabin with no running water, no power, taking baths in Big Lake at the other end of the lake from where my grandparent's cabin used to be.  The night before we left, power was finally restored, but again, the damage up north was something else with so many downed trees and power lines!  But it was fun to see my boys fall in love with Duluth!


We celebrated Quiet Tiger's 6th birthday at my uncle's cabin with family.  She has lost 3 teeth this year, not all at the same time of course.  She continues to press our buttons and keep us on our toes.  This year her one-handed abilities continue to amaze us as she has mastered the art of braiding hair!  Ten fingers are indeed overrated.

August

In August, I began going in to Jay's office 1 day a week.  His assistant announced her pregnancy earlier in the year but she had to take some medical time off and I began taking some online training modules at the office while she had weekly doctor's appointments.  The boys held down the fort at home, keeping Quiet Tiger in line for a few hours every Wednesday morning.

We were all absolutely glued to the Olympics in Rio, particularly cheering on a former co-worker's son as he won Silver in the Men's Steeplechase!  So exciting!  Way to go, Evan!

Jay and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on August 18th.  We found our favorite new sushi place right in our neighborhood and celebrated there with an amazing dinner for two!

In mid-August, I began my 5th year of homeschooling.  Super C began 8th grade and Super E began 4th.

At the end of the month, we went to a free open house at the Guthrie Theater downtown Minneapolis.  We had such fun taking a few improv classes and learning all about the theater.  Can't wait for the next Open House!  I highly recommend it to all families!











September

Life took a big change for Quiet Tiger -- she entered public school as a kindergartener.  After our rough year of homeschooling, we realized that homeschool wasn't working for her as a student or for me as her teacher.  We had no choice but to try the local public school and we reluctantly decided to have her try kindergarten once again.  The first few months of school were pretty much a living hell for us here at home as Quiet Tiger unleashed all the typical RAD behavior on us due to the stress of being away from us for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.  It wasn't long before we sought more professional help for her including medication and psychologists.  We are still working on getting her the help she needs.  It is a long process and we'd appreciate your continued prayers for healing.

Super C became a teenager on September 16.  Friends far and wide helped me surprise him with a shower of greeting cards and letters from around the world.  He chose to have friends and neighbors over for pizza, cake, Nerf and video games.  Everyone slept over (they actually did get a few hours of sleep) and Super C still says that his 13th birthday was absolutely awesome!  Last year he passed me in height and this year I find myself looking up at him quite a bit!  Very soon, Super C will be moving into his own room in our home -- our current guest room.  He is excited to have his own space after 6 or 7 years of sharing a room with his little brother.  The room renovation will be fun to reveal in early 2017.  So, stay tuned.  And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that your kids might enjoy his YouTube Channel at Tepig916.






October
I officially began work in mid-October, filling in for Jay's assistant who began her glorious 16-week maternity leave.  Introduced into my vocabulary include SWPS, ADOT, DOL, and dozens more.  The first 3 weeks of work were really quite tough, as there is very little training for Branch Office Administrators, but after those initial weeks, I became much more comfortable.  Although it is a struggle to do someone's full-time job on part-time hours, I am doing the best I can and I am enjoying it most days.  But I miss my boys and teaching them tremendously.

For school, the boys began a new chapter with mom working. After starting the school year with me, Super C is now doing 16-weeks of independent study.  He is also student teaching his little brother.  Super C has a lot on his shoulders during this time, but he is handling it well.  I am one proud momma!


Jay turned 44 on October 21 and I turned 42 on October 27.  Celebrations were quiet at home.

The kids enjoyed their Halloween here at home.  Thanks to resale shop bargains, Super C was a gorilla, Super E was a skeleton, and Quiet Tiger was a clown.









November
We exercised our right to vote in November, but hated our choices.  We cringed to watch the aftermath of hate spewing across our nation on the news and on social media in the weeks that followed.  We are certain that our God is still on His throne, no matter who holds our presidential office.

But oh my gosh, how we cried tears of joy when our beloved Chicago Cubs won the World Series!  What an exciting series!  Fly the W!

Thanksgiving was a bit different this year.  Sadly, Jay's Aunt Patti passed away after a battle with cancer the Saturday before the holiday.  So, Jay flew down to the Dallas area to be with his family and to pay respect to his aunt. The kids and I stayed in Minnesota so I could hold down the office for a few days.  We celebrated the holiday with my mom and stepdad who drove up from Chicagoland, and my brother and niece who came over from the next town over.

During Jay's absence, we had our first snowfall of the year and the kids enjoyed playing outside. They sure do love the snow!


December
Things at the office continued to be busy thanks to new fiduciary changes and RMD season.  The holiday season added to the madness.  We enjoyed a nice Regional Christmas party in the nearby town of Big Lake.  I put on the Open House for Jay's office single-handedly.  We had a really good turnout of more than 30 clients and their families.

We've had our taste of true Minnesota winter with more snow and even -23F temps!  Wow!

Our plans for Christmas will be quiet here at home, likely spending time with my brother and niece.  We welcome visitors, so friends and neighbors, be sure to stop by and enjoy some holiday cheer.

We wish all of our family and friends a blessed Christmas season from all of us in Minnesota!

Jay and Brooke

Super C, Super E & Quiet Tiger

Juneau, Reese & Mack