Camping pics

Josh and Isaiah hope to provide dinner for the group.















A lot of time was spent fishing. I even cast a line or two.
I actually caught 2 itty bitty fish. Proof of that to come later.

Davonice, Josh, and Isaiah hang out waiting to head to the lake.

Isaiah assists with cooking lunch.

Dinner....yum!!!!

Swimming (most everyone is in this pic)

Akeyrah, Arissa, Isaiah, Jadon,

Joseph, Zaresa, Josh

Davonice, Shay

Daniel, Josh, & Isaiah head to the lake

General informational update...

The school year is coming to a close. Joshua is potentially nearing the end of his treatment journey, the end of a wretched school year, and hopefully moving into the next phase where the roads are paved in roses and daisies. We are heading out for our first camping trip of the season. My daughter is going to meet Mickey and Minnie in person on Saturday. Joseph is in anticipation of his birthday. He will turn 15 (are you kidding me????) and will be able to get his learners permit. HOLY CRAP!!!

Do you remember getting your permit? Your license? Your first car? Do you remember thinking there is no way I am driving with my parents, in their old fogey car? Joseph seems to be living in this world where his mother apparently craps money. We will be driving and I will hear, "Hey Mom, will you buy me that one?" as he points to a 2007 Escalade. I say "Sure Son, because I am only driving this 2000 Stratus to divert thieves from stealing my car." What the heck ever!!! The boy, who has neither job nor adequate funds, will be driving my car (the aforementioned 2000 model), or taking his bicycle.

We have talked about it. He doesn't get it. People who make what I make do not buy their children cars for their birthday. I will buy him his license, and I guess for a while, his insurance (until that first paycheck comes in), otherwise, I will still be the only one that can go get milk on Sunday morning so the kiddies can have cereal. That is my greatest joy of this whole next year.

When he is ready to get his actual license, his first "alone" trip will be to Kroger. Milk and eggs baby! Milk and eggs. No you may not stop by McDonalds! No you may not take Jadon with you.

So, Mickey and Minnie. I think the bigger draw there for my child is the princesses. What little girl doesn't want to meet, hug, and talk to Cinderella, Aerial, Jasmine, so on and so forth? Question, do they have Princess Fiona walking around down there? That would be so stinking cool. I would want to see her before anyone else.

Well, I have flshlights to check, supplies to prepare, and shopping to do for the weekend. Isaiah and Arissa will be going camping with us for their first time. From what I hear, they are super excited! Isaiah is stoked on not bathing for 4 days. Oh my goodness, can you say stank butt? It's ok, honey, there is a bath house, very near by. Complete with showers that even have hot water. We don't poop in buckets. We don't forage for nuts and berrys. We eat better out there than we do at home. I will only go to the bathroom in the bathroom. No leaves for this tush. I am anxious to see if they enjoy it as much as my kids do. I think they will.

I will check in upon our return and get some weekend pics put up here.

Peace, love, and s'mores....Cool Aunt Camping Whim

DDDDDAAAADDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my last post I made specific mention of my mom and sisters in regards to the reading of this blog. I was not aware at the time that my dad read this as well. He was quick to bring this to my attention and I promised him a "shout out". Well here it is.

I think my sisters and I are very lucky to have the dad that God gave us. He loves us all so deeply. He is my moms best friend. He shows us what a real man looks like, should act like, and how we should be treated by how he treats our mom. My parents relationship has set the bar for what my relationships should be.

Dad is stinkin' hilarious. He makes everyone around him laugh. A lot of times, its the gross things that he does that he is the most proud of. He has taught the boys the art of the perfect fart, how to maintain a burp worthy of a "10", and what it means to put your ass in it. He teaches the girls that broccoli puts hair on your chest, that even in softball you have to dig, dig, dig, and that when he comes to watch them cheer, he really does watch them cheer!!!!

Here is a picture of my daddy:

Dad, I love you! You are awesome.

Love, peace, and trust....Queen of the Mice

Can you say ALUMNI???

Well, I don't have pictures to prove it....yet. But in case you didn't already know, I am a RSCC Alumni. I was notified of this tid bit of information, given a pin stating such, and a hearty handshake affirming the welcome mere moments after being handed the "baton" of graduation.

As a college graduate, I feel it is my duty to impart to you the "significance" of the red baton. I would like to say that it is the school's way of saying that it is our time to run this leg of the race. That, as a group, we were to be the race leaders and pace setters for tomorrow.

HA!!!! Yea right!

The red "baton" they gave us had absolutely no signficance at all. It was merely a tool to give us a letter stating that we graduated. That our diplomas would be mailed. And that the first alumi giving campaign would be starting soon.

Ok, so a little about the ceremony.

I walked in at 7 and out at 8 something. I had told the family that they were more than welcome to leave after I had gotten my red stick of graduation. Being that I was number 7 out of over 260 (and #5 didn't show up, so I ended up being #6), that was a long time to sweat for a bunch of people they didn't know. Can I tell you what I saw as I rounded the corner to go back to my seat? Butts! Nothing but Butts! My family was out! I was glad they left as it was hotter than heck and they needed to cool off. The only thing they missed was the other 260+ names and us walking out. Okay, so there was a little hooting and hollering. A lot of clapping. And a time for the class of 2007 to thank the people that supported them. Ok, so Carol and Joseph were still there, so that covered that. We left the gym, were handed a payday candy bar, (our first payday after graduation..ha ha), and I hit the stairs looking for my boy and his aunt. It was dinner time!!!

Today I had the best party! I had a number of family and friends come to help celebrate with me. In typical Stratman style, there was good food and lots of laughs. I think that everyone had a good time, and if they didn't get enough to eat, they have no one to blame but themselves. There was so much food that we actually were able to provide Andrya with the food for her international fair. Her country is Germany. Her food, left over bratwurst and kraut. The kids may not eat it, but it screams Germany.

I just want to say to anyone that was there, or wanted to be but couldn't, and might be reading this (sisters and mother aside cause I think they check daily to see if I updated, so I know they are reading) that I love you all and truly appreciate your support of my endeavor. Each person played some role in helping me achieve my dream. I never really thought this day would get here. It just always seemed so far down the road. Just a faint light in the distance that really didn't shine very bright until about 6:59 last night.

I was not in a position to take pictures, being the center of attention and all, so I hope that the pictures that were taken can be uploaded soon.

I am going to sleep now. The high from the last 24 is starting to wear off. Of course that could be the effects of Sara Bakers monster cupcakes wearing off too. It's hard to tell sometimes.

Again, I love you all. Thank you for everything!!

Peace love and graduation caps....Graduate Whim

The Saga Continues

So when last we spoke, I was going into great detail about the ups, downs, and topsy-turvy of this fun little thing called life.

So Tuesday morning came and off we go to Peninsula hospital for the evaluation. I was so scared I couldn't see straight. I don't know if I was more afraid of potentially leaving him there, or bringing him home. We talked to the assessment chick for nearly an hour. It was decided as he was not psychotic, suicidal, or homicidal that there was no need for inpatient hospitalization. It was an intensive outpatient program that was determined was our best option.

It was late in the day and we just had to wait for the phone call to discuss the when's, where's, and how long's. I heard nothing on Tuesday so I called them first thing on Wednesday. I left a hasty message as I was anxious to get this ball rolling. By lunch, Robin had called and we decided that he would start the next morning, Thursday. She offered the option of waiting until Monday, I didn't feel we had that much time to waste.

They offered 3 time slots that he could attend. 9-12, 12-3, or 4-7. I actually opted for the 9-12 slot. I know, I know...what about school? Well, my child was already going to repeat the 7th grade, so any thing he would miss at this point wasn't going to have a profound affect on his academic career for this school year.

He rode in with me to work, where he would hang out for about 45 minutes until I left at a little before 9 to run him over there. I then went back to work and worked until just before 12. I went and picked him up and took him to Oak Ridge to school. My lunch hour was now his lunch hour. The best part was that I didn't miss any extra work.

My office relocated to Parkside Drive this past weekend. Monday morning the transportation service began picking him up from the new office and taking him in. They are also now taking him back to school in Oak Ridge. The only day that I have to drive him is Wednesday. I think this is mostly due to the fact that he doesn't go to school on Wednesday. They get out at 12:45 and we get to the Ridge about 12:40. So he goes straight to the Boys Club.

This program is a 6-8 week program. So far we have exactly 3 weeks under our belt. He has definitely been more vocal with his feelings. Trust me, we have GREAT communication (insert sarcasm here). To be honest, his new found vocality of feelings usually comes in the form of yelling at me. I don't know which I hate worse. Him closing down and not letting any one know what is bothering him. Or him letting me know on any certain terms exactly what bothers him...at great volumes.

We are doing much better. We definitely are not all the way back. But we have started down the road to learning how to live as a family again. We are all learning how strong we are and how weak we are at the same time. Josh still bucks up and gets hateful and ugly. Just the other night, he got mad, mostly because he got busted lying, and reacted in what I would deem an inappropriate way. The difference this time...we were both able to come back and just move past it. We both have to learn when we are reacting negatively and consciously choose to stop. If one of us can do that, the outcome has been a peaceful resolution.

I am learning to pick my battles and be grateful that for the most part he is healthy. I am learning new ways to react to his new behaviors. It is just as much work for me as for him on certain days. I long for the day when my life, although it will never be perfect, has some resemblance to peaceful at the very least.

Enough about that situation.

I have changed the picture of us from the Christmas photo to an Easter pic. I have updated the puppy pic.

Stay tuned for an update really soon. I hope to have Graduation Pictures posted this weekend.

Much love and peace....Me