A Little Help Here?

A few months ago, the master and I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I don't say this very often, but that book changed our lives. It basically took most of our beliefs about finances and turned them on their ear. [A few of the book's precepts are NOT Biblical. For instance, Rich Dad says that "it is not the love of money, but the lack of money, that is the root of all evil." Enh. Wrong. But as I've said before, keep what you can, and throw out the rest]. Since reading the book, we've been looking for ways to "grow or assets," and we've brought the kids right along with us on our new journey to entrepreneurship.
Last week, God blessed us with an unbelievable, once in a lifetime, nothing short of miraculous, deal. For the price of what two vending machines cost, we were able to purchase 13 machines (nice, new ones) in already established, prime locations! We're talking about W*lM*rts, DMV's, Post Offices, teacher lounges, etc. L*nce snacks (they make the peanut butter crackers) is phasing out their vending business and are basically giving away their machines. We jumped on it! There were some stressful days of trying to decide how many of the machines to buy, gathering the collateral, and worrying like crazy that somebody else was going beat us to the purchase, but by Thursday, the machines were ours!!
Thursday evening I called the kids to the kitchen just before supper. I told them that they had a choice for dinner. They could have black bean pie (it really is a super scrumptious dish--it just sounds yucky), or they could choose to sit at the table with the rest of the family and sip their milk. Lest you contact CPS: I'd cut them all generous bars of cheerio treats in the late afternoon, knowing that some would choose not to eat. They weren't going to starve. Also I knew that Marina--who has true food scarcity issues--would gratefully wolf her black bean pie down and ask for seconds. I planned it as a sort of reality check for the kids. With these frozen meals, I'd let them slide into a bad habit of requesting what they wanted for dinner. It wasn't that much more trouble to heat up two entrees as it was for one, and they were all starting to feel pretty entitled to dinner menu options. Time to nip it in the bud.
Abby replied rather haughtily that she did NOT like black bean pie and she would NOT eat it, but she was much more subdued when she was called to the table a few minutes later only to find the promised solitary glass of milk at her place. It was a, "guess she really means it" moment, and her eyes filled up with tears. The master being absent from our dinner circle, I called on the drama queen to ask the blessing for the meal.

"Dear Lord, thank you for this.....[significant pause]

food.

And please Lord, let us get those machines soon....

'Cause I don't know how much longer we can hold out!"

Amen.

Sad News

My dear friend, Suzie, who was such a comfort to me when were adopting Marina, lost her daughter yesterday. Please lift a prayer for healing for her and her family.
Their story is becoming far, far too frequent in the blog roles. They made their first trip, bonded with the child, and even made a second trip to visit her. Now, a year and a half later, the child they love is shown to a Russian couple who decided to adopt her. Why are these children--who already have parents who have spoken for them--being pushed at Russian families? It is not like they don't have more than enough orphans to go around. Something sinister and evil is going on. For me, Suzie's sorrow is the last nail in the coffin for any dreams I held to return to Russia for a second adoption. As much as our hearts break at the thought of children left in the orphanage system, I feel powerless to do anything. At one time I thought, "I can help one. I'll do whatever it takes to help just one." But when that 'one' is ripped away, what can be done? Emotionally and financially we would be devastated--unable to complete the adoption of another child. The Bible says that only a fool begins a building without first carefully counting the costs to see if he has the ability to see it through. (Luke 14:28-30)
If we adopt again, it will be a domestic placement.

Yo Hablo Espanol. And Yes, I Do Know Who The Father Is

I own a contract with the U.S. Postal service. Let me assure you that the postal system is as inept, backward, and overpriced as it seems. All of the jokes are true. They make the Russian bureaucracy look like a well oiled political machine. They send you a letter that states that they are going to send you a letter that will precede three forms that will stipulate the changes they are making pursuant to your contract. Notice the word CONTRACT. There seems to be a large amount of confusion regarding this word. A contract is a legally binding agreement in which two parties agree to certain terms for a specified length of time. Now the postal systems says that they have changed my contract?! Um, they can't do that.
But anyway, I did not feel like taking the U.S. Postal system to court over $120.00. Which is what it cost me to have the drug screens for myself, the master, and our relief driver. When it comes time to renew the contract, I will simply add the amount--along with ample padding to cover any other new additions--to my bid. Two can play at this little game.
So yesterday, I loaded up the van with the kiddos and hied myself to the workforce drug screening place to pay for the tests and make my deposit. I sternly warned the children that we were going into a place of business that was not used to having kids in it, that I regretted that they would have to wait with me but that I would get done as soon as possible, and they had better remain calm and quiet OR ELSE. When we stepped in to the waiting room, the kids eyed me suspiciously. There was a large banner pinned to the wall featuring children of all ages and races with the words "PARENTAGE TESTING--100% Accuracy." There was a leggo table and two bubblegum machines, and lots of Highlights lying around. I never thought of that particular market for a lab. I grinned sheepishly at the kids. Ooops. My mistake.
We took seats on the front row. There were four men dressed in the plant jumpers and a long line of Mexican laborers along the back. Raucous laughter from this latter sector erupted as soon as we came in to sight.
Mexican 1: in Spanish One, two, three, four, five...It is taking her a while to figure things out, no?
Mexican 2: in Spanish Maybe she just doesn't pay attention.
Mexican 3: in Spanish Someone should get that woman a calendar!
Of course, they never dreamed that I could understand them and they couldn't see my face turn a dull red. Then one of their amigos came out with his test verification and they lost interest in me. (following conversation in Spanish)
Amigo: Hey, Robert, where are you going now?
Robert: To the house.
Amigo: You aren't going to take the paper to the office?
Robert: No, I'm going to fax it.
Amigo: All right then, good by.
Robert: See you tomorrow.
For some reason this exchange attracted Abby's attention and after Robert had made his exit, she asked loudly, "Mommy, what did they say?" I turned to her and with an equally loud voice translated the conversation. Silence from the back row. I almost feel bad for them. Almost, but not quite.

Happy Thanksgiving

Yum! I just finished two pieces of the best pumpkin pie I ever made. We had turkey and dressing for dinner. I'm in the cooking cycle again and you can get five good meals out of one $13.00 turkey. I brine my turkeys, which makes them juicy and flavorful. We had the "Thanksgiving" dinner tonight. I've never understood why we only eat a meal that tasty once a year. To finish off the bird we'll have turkey casserole (there will be leftovers for lunch the next day), and two meals of turkey soup. But, they are frozen for later in the month. I'm trying to avoid turkey overkill.
Some questions from comments: Esther, we have five kids: 8, 6, 4 (almost five), 3, and 1. I did only spend $250 for all of last month ($200 this month, woohoo!), but to be completely honest we qualify for WIC, and I'll attend all of the demeaning classes necessary to keep it current. I have no pride. That means that all of my cereal, milk, cheese, peanut butter, beans, and juice is free. That's right--0.00 dinero. It makes a big difference in my week to week spending. Especially when you consider that we consume one and a half gallons of milk per day. Jenny, we are not still selling our house. We were sure when we put it on the market that God was going to be moving us out of the area in the imminent future. When the master changed jobs/careers/life situation, we decided we might as well continue to put equity into this house for the next few years instead of throwing it away in rent--which for this size house would probably be as much or more than what we are paying on the mortgage.
Haven't been posting lately, though I'm keeping up with everyone's blog. I'm kind of...bummed? Bored? Busy? All of the above and none of the above. I dunno. So glad to hear for my adopting friends that Russia is granting accreditation--and that Slugger is home with Maggie.