I was running down the highway between Columbus and Cincinnati when I got an email from AM Kingsfield. She was commenting on my last post saying she missed me. Well, dear, I have missed you as well, along with all my other blogger friends. Now would be a good time to come up with an elaborate story to explain my absence from the blogosphere, but alas, the truth is that life has just gotten in the way. There have been a number of times where I have sat down intending to blog but then something got in the way or I just didn't have the energy.

As you already know, we have two new guys in our house and they are, to say the least, a handful. The only time the younger stands still or sits at all is when you take him in your arms and hold him. And he does not allow that for very long, and then he's off again, roaming around the house, clapping his hands and voicing his opinion on the state of the world. If we could only understand what he's saying.

Sheila has been sick a lot lately. Nothing major, just a virus that wouldn't seem to let go. It's been about three weeks now, and she just doesn't have the energy to keep up. So I've stepped in where I can and where I'm able and tried to help her out. She seems to be feeling better now but not by a whole lot.

Our company has changed health insurances again and now we are required to order all maintenance medications through the mail on a three month basis. This means going back to the doctor, getting a three month prescription and then finding the money for all the meds. I never realized how many pills my family takes. And there is no discount for ordering three months worth as opposed to going to the pharmacy. The only deal is that after three fills at the pharmacy we getting penalized and our copay goes up. So this has forced us to search out the places like Walmart and Drug Mart that offer prescriptions for 4 and 10 bucks without going through the insurance. It also meant changing a couple of meds that our insurance does not cover at all. Good thing ibuprofen is OTC cause this has all been one big headache.

And then we've got the two boys with IEP's trying to get them into the school and the school is fighting us about the younger fellow. They say that he can only come an hour and a half a day until his county of residence agrees to pay for another aide to deal with him one on one. And as with any governmental agency, the wheels are turning very slowly. I told Sheila we should drop him off in the morning and then tell them our car broke down in Columbus and we'll pick him up when we can get there. then make sure we don't get there until just before school is out. That could happen for 5 days in a row. CRAPPY CAR!!

Then we get a letter from Preston's county of origin saying that they want to renegotiate his adoption subsidy and they have been so kind as to already make an appointment for us to be there. Never mind that we may have other things going on that day, like work. I called and told them I would call them back later and tell them when the appointment would be. They gave us a week to gather all the documentation from doctors that he is still in need of counseling and such. Meanwhile, the caseworker for the two new fellows has been urging us to move forward with adopting them, even though they have only been in our house for a month and a half. I flat out told her no. We could not consider it at this time. The caseworkers comment was that N, the older, would continue receiving a subsidy until he was 18, which is all well and good. And that J, the younger, would receive one until he was 21 due to his more special needs. This young man will need help long into adulthood, long past the time when Sheila and I could physically, emotionally or financially help him meet his needs. The caseworkers thought is that his older brother will assume responsibility for him when he turns 21. And then care for him the rest of his life?! I think that a little more than we can realistically expect to occur. She is extremely nice and very efficient at the paperwork, I just don't think she is thinking realistically about these two boys and their individual needs.

And we're moving. Not far and not real soon. Maybe at the end of July and only about a half mile away from where we are. But it's a bigger house with a yard we can fence and a finished basement that we can set up as a safe place for the kids. Our rent will go up a little but our utilities will drop a lot, more than enough to make up for the increase.

Ben has come home twice from college in Columbus, since we last talked, which involves me driving down and bringing him home. Twenty year old college boy and he still doesn't have his drivers license. And it appears that he really doesn't want one that bad. Luckily I've been able to take him back down there when I leave for my run. I'd just drop the trailer at my first Columbus stop and drive him over to the university in the tractor. That saves us some time and money.

This last weekend was one of the times that he came home, and we decided that he would wait until Saturday morning, when the rest of us would come down and pick him up and then we'd all go to the Columbus Zoo. That was fine with him as it gave him time to finish his homework so he didn't have any to do at home. His girlfriend rode down with us and we had a great time. I realized that walking around on blacktop all day is something that I've not done in quite some time. And check this out. For my immediate family, which is Sheila, the two foster kids, our four other kids, Ben's girlfriend and myself to get into the zoo would cost $92.50 plus $5.00 for parking. So Friday before we left Sheila tells me we ought to just buy a membership. It might be cheaper in the long run. Know what? It was cheaper in the short run. $99.00 and that covers Sheila and I, Hana (who is over 21) all 5 children under 21 who are currently residing in my house, two children who we are considering adopting in June(I went ahead and put them on the list. Better safe than sorry.), two unnamed guest of our choosing and free parking. So I can get 12 people into the zoo and park for what 9 of us cost for one day. And the membership is good for a year. We are actually considering changing endocrinologists for Isaac which would mean we would be going back down to Columbus regularly for him. A quick trip to the zoo throughout the summer might be just what the kids need. One tip about the zoo for you though. If you ever get there and the rhinos are trying to mate, just walk away. As a man, the feelings of inadequacy will never go away after that scene.

So here I sit outside of Harrah's Casino in Saint Louis. I'm not a gambler at all really, but I was hoping for a nice meal. And I sort of lucked out. The buffet was serving all you could eat crab legs. Now I could really make a dent in that kind of pile. But the price for that meal was $25 and I just couldn't see spending that on just me. So I had a chicken sandwich, dropped two dollars in the slots and played on that for ten minutes, and went back to the truck.

I was able to get to my stop here before they closed so I'm sitting here empty waiting to go home. I think I will not set my alarm and I'll wake up when I wake up. It rained on me all day today and this is the third trip out here that it's rained most, if not all, of the trip. Tomorrow is supposed to be a little cooler but only cloudy. So if I sleep late maybe I won't catch the rain as I head home. I know it sounds like we're really busy, and we are, but life is still pretty good. Not much to complain about.

I'll try to post some pics and videos from the zoo trip when I get home.

Ya'll have fun. And remember...