Life

My nephew, Ryan riding with Madison.

Jerome, on a 'chilly' summer day! D.O.R.K :)

My nephew, Ryan who is almost 23 year old spent 4 days with us last week. He is taking a sabaticcal of sorts and is traveling around the U.S. on Greyhound so that he can get an authentic feel for our country and its people. Boy oh boy, is he getting an experience traveling by bus.

I recognize he is a grown man, but when I heard his stories of traveling from Portland to L.A. to Houston and then up to us in Bismarck, I almost passed out from fear. So far he has sat next to white supremacists, gangsta's to include Bloods and Crips, drug smugglers and completely drunk, vomiting people. YUM, sounds like fun to me....N.O.T!!!! He is keeping a journal and recording his experiences. He already has quite an array of stories and I think this has been an experience of a lifetime for him.

When we saw him on the bus here yesterday afternoon, I was so sad I cried. We all stood next to the bus, waving and blowing kisses. OK, well I blew kisses, Marc not so much. In fact, Marc assured me that blowing kisses to Ryan pretty much assured him getting his ass kicked all the way to Billings by the drug runners already on the bus. Yeah, I'm a totally cool auntie!

Ryan rode one of our horses for the first time yesterday and did really well. Madison rode along side for moral support and it was cool to see the cousins side-by-side. about a month ago when Madison's birthmom, Angela was here, it warmed my heart to see the two of them riding side-by-side. They have so many similar mannerisms that to see it with my own eyes always makes me smile.

In other news, the Laurie clan is planning on visiting the Watkins crew in October. We are anxiously awaiting our fun weekend with another family that gets us and our craziness. Plus, Thomas totally digs their daughter and thinks she is the cat's meow....purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Our little boys were creche mates at the orphanage and enjoy seeing each other. My boys are already dancing around singing about playing with Peterson and Adlerson. Two months and we'll be living it up in Polson, Montana!!

Some of you have heard me talk about Jerome and his unique personality. Seriously, this kid is the happiest, easiest going kid God ever made. I have been reaching out and seeking info on Jerome's little quirk and the info I am getting is really astonishing. I will share it fully in an upcoming post, but for now, just know that Marc and I completely support Jerome and will do what we can to ensure his life-long happiness. For those of you in the loop, Madison just may have her wish come true....someday in the future. Just keeping checking back to see what I'm talking about and until then just know that we are eternally grateful that God gave us our sweetest little soul, named Jerome. He is a treasure, as are all my kids. And no, it is nothing bad at all, just slightly kooky and different. All in all, a perfect fit for our family!