Random Pieces of a Week

Today was hard, as I expected, and long. I've been doing this volunteer work for 9 years now and I've never before had it end like this, the kids have always gone home to reformed parents or to relatives who would still maintain contact with the parents. But, now, the children on my case have no legal parents other than the state.

However, the case worker and I did discuss the search for adoptive parents and there is great hope for many candidates. Her last sibling group to come available was a bit older than the two on my case and with greater special needs and CPS had many, many people interested in adopting them!

I have no doubt God will use this experience to give me more empathy for the daughter I will adopt, more understanding of the great loss she will carry as she grows up separated from her biological parents.

On to lighter subjects because I'm too tired for any more heavy. . .

___________________

Monday we had a Valentine's dinner at home with our 3 children. Because that's how we roll and because we had a babysitter last year on Valentine's and I think that will happen about once a decade. My husband picked up take-out from an Italian restaurant and I set the table nicely, complete with wine glasses of Sprite for the kids and candlelight. My 5 year old asked why I was doing it and I told her, "Because we are having a nice dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day."

She immediately asked, "Are we having hot dogs?" Because apparently although she gets home-cooked meals complete with made from scratch items most nights, hot dogs are her idea of a "nice meal"!

And as if that wasn't bad enough, when I answered, "No, we are not having hot dogs." She asked, "McDonalds?" No! Good grief, my kids get McDonalds like 3 times a year when we are on a road trip. But wait, that's probably exactly why she considers it a special meal!

All I have to say is she will make some boy an incredibly inexpensive date, you know when she's 24 and we finally allow her to date!

___________________

I made red velvet cake balls as a Valentine dessert and also gave them as gifts to my kids' teachers, wrapped up in little boxes with a red bow. Have you heard of the cake ball? It seems they've been quite the internet sensation for the past year or more. You make a regular box cake, let it cool, mix it with a can of store-bought icing, roll many little balls, chill them, and then dip the balls in melted chocolate. I did red velvet cake mix, cream cheese icing, and white chocolate for the coating. They were super yummy, but I couldn't get them to look as pretty as the pictures I'd seen everyone post. Even though I put them in the freezer for part of the hardening phase, when I rolled them in the melted chocolate, little crumbs of cake still came off and mixed in to make the coating not very smooth. Oh well, taste trumps presentation any day! But, I would like to make them again so if anyone has cake ball tips, lay them on me!

___________________

The week has been so busy, I'm behind on the wash, so much so that my 3 year old went to bed in athletic shorts and a t-shirt instead of jammies and my 5 year old daughter suggested I do the wash when she dug through her drawer and couldn't find any of the panties she likes. Basically, she's had to resort to the B team panties. And we all know how undesirable that can be!

And my in-box? Looks like this:
___________________

Okay, back to the heavy, go and read this post of Katie Davis, you will see Jesus in her.

___________________

I'm off to rest. The wash and the inbox? Can wait until tomorrow! Really hoping there are not any bills buried in that stack!

Find more Finer Things Friday and Friday Fragments.