Holiday SOS.

This isn't really an SOS.

But I kinda feel like my posts have been so sporadic that it's almost like I'm sending out an SOS now and then...

"still alive"

"send help"

"send chocolate"

You know, that sort of thing, haha.

But, of course, it's the same old shenanigans --

we're crazy busy.
It's the holidays.
I have three boys to keep up with. (Yes, sometimes that reality check still hits me like a ton of bricks!)
I'm a pianist: at Christmastime I am crazy busy with extra rehearsals and performances, pretty much every night.
Oh, and I started a new job.
I now work an average of 25-30 hours a week.
There's a big change for ya'!

I am now an "Artist in Residence" for our local public school system. (I prefer the title "Arteeeeeest" if you happen to run into me, haha.) Translation: I am a pianist for the vocal music and dance programs at a high school. I should probably clarify that this is an inner city high school. Stress on the "inner city" part of that sentence, yo'.

So far I love it. But what an eye-opener. It is as inner city as inner city gets. Let's just say I might stick out like Little Bo Peep walking the halls, and those halls are more like that Michelle Pfeiffer movie, "Dangerous Minds" (remember that one?), or that TV show on Fox several years back, "Boston Public". Yep, more like that.

But like I said, I love it. I love when they say "hey, Miz Fischer" to me in the halls, I love when they really actually try to sing and glory, hallelujah, what comes out of their mouths is nothing short of heavenly, and I love that I'm (hopefully) making a difference in their lives. Because most of us just can't imagine living in their reality, and that's the truth. Hopefully I am part of the bright spot in their days because they are becoming a part of mine.

And in the meanwhile, we have a few other tricks up our sleeve as a family that we're just waiting on. As if we need more excitement 'round these parts, right? ;)

So what's new in your neck of the woods? I hope you're enjoying a wonderful holiday season so far, and if you're like me, trying to remember to focus on the real meaning of Christmas -- the amazing gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Happy December!

Random awesomeness...

...so you know I'm still alive, haha.

Have you seen this?



Pure voices mixed with empty plastic containers. Awesome.

Three little spooks

Before I forget, here is a glimpse into the magical first Halloween we had together as a family of five...




I had no choice but to come up with something halfway awesome for my three Lego-loving little guys, so I made two Lego bricks and a Lego Darth Vader costume (their ideas). They were pretty excited!

*Please, if you want to borrow my image to share the awesome Lego love with others, please please ask my permission in the comments and also source it back to my blog. I'm no professional, but after hours and hours slaving away on these things, I'd say I might deserve a little credit. Thanks...

We've got it all.

I think Oklahoma needs to change it's tourism marketing plan to something like this:

We've got it all here in Oklahoma!



Blizzards? We've got 'em!

Below-zero temperatures? We've got 'em!

Tornados? We've got 'em!

Floods? We've got 'em!

Hurricanes? (technically we can get the remnants of those, too) We've got 'em!

Over 100-degree temperatures for billions of days on end? We've got 'em!

Droughts? We've got 'em!

And now add to the mix...

Scary earthquakes?

We've got 'em!

I'm just waiting for the "tsunami zone" signs to go up somewhere so we can technically say we've got all of Mother Nature's fury covered -- surely our lakes could get a small tsunami going, haha.

Sheesh.

I felt the earthquake we had last October (2010) which was a 4-point-something. I slept through the next 4-point-something that happened yesterday morning around 2am. But darn-it-all-to-heck if I wasn't WIDE AWAKE for last night's fun, a 5.6 scary ride. Our house shook for at least 20 seconds. We were laying in bed, jumped up, ran down the stairs, and when I thought it was mostly over, I sat down on the sofa only to find my sofa was still shaking for probably another 5 seconds or so. I'm pretty sure I'll be shaking for weeks.

Not cool, people, not cool. Tornados usually give a little warning, and there are places you can seek shelter. Temperatures, high or low, I can deal with. Floods again usually give a little warning so you can evacuate. But earthquakes? What the heck?! There is no warning system and not really much you can do.

And here I'm guessing most people thought Oklahoma must be a boring place to live. I personally would prefer that it be a little less exciting, please...

How did I miss this????

I don't have an official "bucket list" for my life, but in my head there is a running list of things that I've always wanted to see, experience, etc. You know, things like traveling to far-off places, seeing interesting things, etc. Does anyone else do that?

I checked the weather this morning on our local station's website, and lo and behold there were NORTHERN LIGHTS visible in our neck of the woods last night.




And I missed it.

Folks, I've lived up in the cold, cold north and never saw them there either.

Shoot.

Cross your fingers for me that this happens again and I might get a glimpse of the beauty someday...

*image from here

Keep it classy.

Other than this, you will probably NEVER find me posting about Lady Gaga, or as I personally like to refer to her, Lady Gag-Me-With-a-Spoon. It's no secret, I'm not a big fan. I think she's talented, yes, but unfortunately I think she has used her talent in all the wrong ways, and I'm not crazy about the influence she seems to have on the kiddie set.

BUT.

There is always an exception.

Like this ADORABLE video. Tony Bennett + Lady Gaga = fantastico.

Lady Gaga actually keeps it classy! And we all know, that yes, unlike Madonna, the gal can croon.

So enjoy.

And please, pretty please, Lady Gaga, put out some more o' this and a little bit less o' that...

The Great State of Oklahoma has declared it...

OFFICIAL.

Our new and improved forever family of five...




On Friday, September 30th, our little family stood in front of the absolute nicest judge (she even had presents for each of us) who declared us ADOPTED.

What a relief. It took us all by surprise that the process really did indeed take only six months for the state to wrap up (which is a small miracle in and of itself). It's done. These boys will never have to worry about caseworkers, foster homes, shelters, or any other such stuff ever again. As the eldest, Rudy, put it, they are now "just like everybody else", "normal kids with a mom and a dad". I love that.

I also love how Rudy summed it up -- "Mom, my whole life has been filled with short timelines, from my birthparents to different foster homes to here, and now it is just going to be one big ol' timeline going forward".

Amen to that.

And thanks for all of the support and encouraging comments you all have left over the last six months of this crazy journey. Every single word was greatly appreciated.