Poem

I got this from my friend Nancy's blog

Maggie from FRUA wrote this touching poem:

An Orphan’s Life


I will never know the warm embrace of a mother.
I will never know a place called home.
I will never be tucked in at night.
I will never know all is right with the world.
I will never play catch with my dad.
I will never feel the ocean breeze in my hair.
I will never see the sunrise from the window of a plane.
I will never own the clothes on my back.
I will never eat popcorn in a darkened theater.
I will never run barefoot in a spring rain.
I will never have someone to catch me when I fall.
I will never watch fireworks explode in the sky.
I will never eat until I’m full.
I will never sit in a candle filled church.
I will never see a look of pride on my Dad’s face.
I will never ride a shiny new bike.
I will never dance at my prom.
I will never graduate.
I will never have someone to call for advice.
I will never make it on my own.
I will never stop wondering how my life could have changed
-if someone had taken me home-
for always.

Working for Television during a strom...

We here at WPDE and WWMB are preparing for Hurricane Hanna. Most likely it will be a wind storm by the time it gets here but we have to prepared the public for the worst. With storm tracking and staying up to watch conventions for the last two weeks I have been exhausted! I was sent the below preparation package from a friend and it totally woke me up and made me smile. I want to share it.


Hurricane Season


Since we are in the peak of the hurricane season, and since we all have the poop scared out of us, I offer the following:

Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic meteorological points:

(1) There is no need to panic.

(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in South Carolina. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one." Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1: Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.

STEP 2: Put these supplies into your car.

STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.

Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in South Carolina.

We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:



HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE


If you own a home, you must have homeowners insurance. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:

(1) It is reasonably well-built, and
(2) It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located in South Carolina, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be
required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can
drop you like used dental floss. Since Hurricane Andrew, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to
my kidneys.



SHUTTERS



Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off.

Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.

Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says
so. He lives in Nebraska.

Hurricane Proofing your property: As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc... You should, as a precaution, throw these
items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles. Your neighbors will ignore this part, and your house will be destroyed by all manners of "pool toys", yard good and various Madonnas they failed to secure.



EVACUATION ROUTE



If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says " South Carolina' you live in a low-lying
area).

The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

Be sure to follow the advice of "professional" weathermen on TV, because they are the experts. Try not to be too surprised when their recommendation takes you, and three hundred thousand of your closest
friends, directly into the path of the hurricane. Be sure to have lots of gas, beer, and above all, remember that the "hurricane path is not carved in stone."



HURRICANE SUPPLIES



If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! South Carolina tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with
strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

1. 23 flashlights.. At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

2. Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, so get some!)

3. 55 gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

4. A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)

5. A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators (Ask anybody who went through Hugo; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

6. $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.


Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand
right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean. And on the second day, the President of these United States will come down, in an air-conditioned helicopter, to "assess the damage" and check on the "coordination" between his guys and his brother's guys and they'll both pat each other on the back and then get the hell back to an air-conditioned space.

Good luck, and remember: It's great living in Paradise.

Cool New Luke

Look at my cool new nephew!!! He kinda looks like an old man version of his father. Of course he will grow out of that whole "looking like an old man" thing.

Max likes him, he like him mostly when I wasn't holding him. I guess you can say he is not keen on the idea of a little brother or sister. Cliff has a phobia of newborns, so he wouldn't touch him, just looked. I know he is a weirdo!

New babies are so neat. They smell great. Luke has two siblings that are 13 and 8 years older then him so Max and Luke will be pretty tight. Maybe one day when Max gets used to the idea of a sibling (or not, not like we are waiting for him to be ready) we will bring another one into the mix. We like the 3 and under age... I seem to feel more at ease when they have control of thier own necks.

I am a Pirate 200 years to Late

I know I know… All I can say is that I blame it on SUMMER! We have been at the beach or on the boat when we aren’t at work, sleeping or watching the Olympics. It really surprises me that I have been away for so long because I love my blog outlet! I miss my blog outlet!

I have so many updates. First and foremost Max has broken the 30lbs milestone. Seems he had a growth spurt over the summer. He is now FINALLY on the growth charts. 25% on height and weight, I was brutally attacked by a jelly fish from the bowls of hell, my sister had a baby (yeah!!!), and my sixteen year old niece spent 6 weeks with me, oh yeah… I am planning a wedding.

Maxim has his first day of school (3-K) today. This is a totally new school. It was a pain to get in but my doctor helped (she has two from Russia who attend) and me stalking the director probably helped too. This is a “school” and not a daycare. All of his teachers at his other daycare gave him a card on his last day and I turned into the totally sappy Mom when I read all of the incredible things they wrote. Mostly having to do with how far he has come. Max was re-evaluate and I am happy to say my little genius tested in the 90% for his age (whatever that means) Honestly I try not to put too much stalk in the tests the “experts” give. However it is always nice when they say… “Your child is far too advanced for OT and speech!!!”

I hate to see the summer end… but here in South Carolina we have a month or so left of humid, hot, disgusting weather which I absolutely LOVE! My son is now a pretty good swimmer which is always a good and bad thing when you are a parent to a 3 year old. What I mean is that I want him to be comfortable in the water and not fear it… but at the same time FEAR IT! He is pretty smart and knows that we don’t go in the water without Mommy and Papa.

My sixteen year old niece from Illinois spent the bulk of the summer with us. She totally turned into a beach girl (I think.) She has updated my MySpace page so I am now down with the cool kids. She has also turned me into a total Metro Station fan.

Now about that jelly fish. For as long as I lived here I have never been attached by a jelly fish, shark, oysters (long story) however on this particular day the jelly fish from hell found me! I was at the beach with Cliff, Max, and his family. Max and I were letting the waves crash over us (it was pretty rough that day) so I brought Max back to the sand so he could play. As I went back out the damn thing got me. I really thought it was a shark. I was out too deep to see it at first so I tried to see how much I was bleeding to my surprise there was no blood. Cliff and his nieces and nephews thought I was crazy. It wasn’t until a week later until I sought medical attention. It was so gross and swollen. It is going to leave nasty scar- tentacles and all. It just wasn’t healing at all. The doctor finally figured out that I was allergic to the venom… only me this would happen to!

I can’t wait to meet the newest member of the family… Luke Marshall Grant, my brand new nephew. Max can’t wait either he won’t shut up about “baby Luke”

Other then that the wedding stuff is going fine… We are still getting married no matter what the tabloids are saying. THANK YOU CHERYL!!! My new best friend whom I love love love is helping so very much.

Texas Is Now 2 Words

Max and Mikayla spent their first Gotcha Day together, therefore they will spend them together always well, with weather and travel permitting. If you don't know the history these two have, here it is in a nutshell:

I met Mikayla's parents on a flight to Moscow. We learned then we were going to the same region (our agency never let either of us know.) We went to Vlad together on trip 1. We went to the MOE together and met our children and learned they were only a few weeks apart in age. This was neat because they asked for 4 and under and I said 3 and under. We waited the excruciating 17 weeks for a court date together, only to find out our court hearings were one hour apart. We received custody on the same day. We spent a week in Moscow together.

Here they are in Moscow last year...



They were very comforted by each other on that journey. They were with people they didn't know so having each other was very bonding. Guess what they remembered each other. Max now says "Mikayla's from Russia but lives in Texas YeeHaw (thanks Cliff) but Max only lives in "merica" meaning America. I guess South Carolina is too much right now. So, every time someone asks "where were you this week" Max answers "Texas YeeHaw"

Here they are a year later... Wow they have changed.

Gotcha Day

A Letter to my Son:

Maxim,


One year ago I was handed over a terrified two year old. You were so scared and didn’t understand what was happening, I guess me and your Papa really did not know what to expect either. That night as we tried to put you to sleep it broke our hearts to hear you cry. I, myself even at that moment knew I could not comfort you. It was hard not to be able to comfort my own child however; I knew that your fear and uncertainty was too deep for me to begin to imagine. Just know that even then I was so happy to have you in my arms. Max, for I knew that your fears would soon pass. All of ours lives changed that day.

I will confess that I believe that I was made to wait for you for so long, because I was to resort back to those dark days of waiting to realize how much you were wanted. Also to remind me how my life felt without you in it and it was an incredibly empty place. I loved you before I learned of you, I loved you the moment I learned of you, and I hurt a pain so deep I did not know possible when I was not with you.

In the past year I have become such a better women because of your presence in my life. Your extended family will say the same. You light up a room Maxim like no one I have ever seen. Your smile inspires. You bring a joy that is impossible for me to put into words. There is nothing you can ever do to change how I feel about you.

I want you to know your past. I want you to know how loved you are and that it started long before June 18, 2007. So many people prayed for you. So many people cried for you. You are a great force of nature son. I want you to know that I smell the back of your head when you sit on my lap, that I wake up in the middle of the night to watch you sleep, that I stare at your picture when I am at work, and you make me want the world to be a better place.

One year ago your father and I gave you a book. The book is “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. We both wrote you a letter and placed it inside. I still want you to know that the world is a better place because you are in it.

Love,

Your Mother

*****************URGENT****************************


I can't believe this but we have beat out over 4,000 couples to be one of the 20 finalist for the US Weekly Dream wedding. Please vote for us!!! Here is the link http://www.usmagazine.com:80/wedding-2008-couple-6 You can vote as much as you want for the next 8 days

PLEASE VOTE FOR US

I can't believe this but we have beat out over 4,000 couples to be one of the 20 finalist for the US Weekly Dream wedding. Please vote for us!!! Here is the link http://www.usmagazine.com:80/wedding-2008-couple-6 You can vote as much as you want for the next 8 days