The "Scoop"

We are definitely in a time of transition in our family in ALL areas. For most of you, you already know what is going on with the "Bailee situation". For those that don't, I will give a brief overview....

When Bailee was four years old, an investigation was opened with CPS against Bailee's biological mother, who we will call.....Megan. Bailee was placed with us temporarily while she went through the CPS process to get her back, which did not happen. We ended up getting custody of her and life went on....for a while.

When Bailee was six years old, fixing to have her seventh birthday, she went to "Megan's" house for the month of July, which was part of the agreement in standard visitation. In that month, we get to choose what weekend WE want. We choose the weekend closest to her birthday, obviously...So, she comes over that Friday and things were great. The next day, however, Bailee informs Kyle and I that "Megan" took Bailee to a hotel for the night so that they could hang out, swim, whatever...great!! That sounds fun, we thought. Then she proceeds to tell us that her mom tucked her into bed and left....SHE LEFT!!! Let me say again....SHE LEFT HER DAUGHTER AT THE HOTEL!!!! We weren't sure what we could do, so we called the CPS hotline to make a report...if nothing else, we reported it. We tell them what is going on and because of "Megan's" history with them, they launch another investigation and Bailee does not return for the rest of the month and cannot have any contact with her mom at all until further notice.

Fast forwarding a bit....so for the next year and a half, we have dealt with her lying, drugs, her family (which explains some of her dysfunction), rehabs, CPS, etc.... We finally have to close our case with CPS because she pretty much refused to comply with EVERYTHING they asked her to do....since then, she has spent over a month in jail for burglary of a habitation, she is now on probation for the next three years with a felony conviction and today we were officially informed that she is, in fact, pregnant again.

There is a little back ground and some reasons for why we were trying to pursue adoption. There is A LOT more to the story, but you can see the big picture. We are still doing supervised visitation and the stress of the open court case is wearing on ALL of us. We have had enough!! So, Kyle and I finally talk about how maybe we are being to hard on her...I know it sounds crazy, but I had to step away from my obsession with ....HER! I was constantly trying to figure out what she was doing, where she was going, what she was lying about....I had to finally just STOP! Once I got away from that, I felt like I was just trying to "win". So, back to me and Kyle talking....we talked about giving up the adoption/removal of rights and giving her another shot, her LAST shot. She is on probation and has another baby on the way, if she screws up this time....it's OVER!!

So we call her and invite her to come over and talk about our situation. I was so nervous all morning!!! We all don't just sit down in a room together and expect things to go well...so things started out ok, we all could tell we were all on edge, trying so hard not to piss each other off by choice of wording. The ice was broken and we saw the "sober Megan". We haven't seen her in so long, we forgot how easy it was to get along with her. The talk was pleasant, concerns were voiced without fighting and we were, in fact, able to reach an agreement. We are beyond excited to have ALL of this finally over and some normalcy back in our lives. Please continue to pray for us though. No papers have been drawn up and signed yet, so we are still a little anxious that she may change her mind. Also, continue to pray for "Megan". She has one of the biggest holes to dig out of that I have ever seen. Her life is fixing to change in such a big way and she doesn't have a clue. And pray for Bailee too, "Megan" has not told her about the baby yet. I'm sure she will be excited for a new sister...it's a girl...but, her life on that side of the family is going to change in a big way too.

A lot of things are happening right now and I am just hoping and praying that we are making the right decisions....God's decisions....

Oklahoma Here We Come!!!!

I know. I know. I am writing another blog....sorry! But this is my week off and I have a lot of catching up to do. There is no telling when I will have this kind of time again, so....here we go again :)

I can't go another second without telling you about our family vacation we had this summer. This is something we do not get to do often, so it is always a big deal for us when we do. This year, we wanted to go somewhere where we would ALL be able to enjoy it. The age difference in the kids is pretty big, so it really narrowed our choices. After long deliberation of about a week :) we decided on a trip to Oklahoma City!!!

We didn't have huge plans, just the zoo, some shopping (cause we all know our mall sucks!) and lots of swimming in the hotel pool. The car ride there was actually pleasant and we had zero accidents. Hallelujah!!! Of course we can't do anything the easy way, so naturally we got lost while using a GPS....I know!! How in the world can you screw that up, you ask? Simple. The hotel was pretty much brand new, so the GPS took the address we programed and took us to the address closest to what it knew....which was clear across town, through a million different highways and construction to a crappy little library!!! GREAT!!! Now what!?! So, I went across the street to the nearest gas station. I told them the deal and asked how to get back to where we had come from. Sweet people, by the way....So! We finally got to the hotel and got settled in and never left the rest of the day. What do you do with four kids and a restless husband at a hotel all day?.....SWIM!!!!

Posted that one just for you, Krystole!! I didn't get as many pics as I wanted because Madison refused to let go of me the ENTIRE time we were at the pool...this was pre-swimming lessons :)

So we wake up the next morning feeling pretty refreshed and reading to hit the zoo!!

The kids were beyond excited because, naturally, our zoo sucks! I have to add, we got there without any trouble what so ever, thank you. There was so much to do and see that we decided to start with the sea lion show. A lot of people said it was awesome and it was.

The kids loved it! Then it was time to find our way around the ENORMOUS zoo and it was already starting to get hot. Our mission was to make it ALL the way to the elephant exhibit, which is at the very back of the park. We finally make it there and it was amazing! The exhibit itself was as tall as a three story building. You walked up to the top and looked down at the elephants. It was pretty neat and to top it off, they had a little baby elephant....so cute!!

Then it was lunch time so we headed in doors for some grub and air conditioning. The inside was awesome cause it looked like a jungle :)

After re-energizing and relaxing for a little bit, we walked through as much of the park as we possibly could before the heat was unbearable. Here were some of our favorite exhibits...

Not that you can really tell, but these gorillas are all piled in a corner of a massive field because it is the only little bit of shade they could find...they looked so hot and miserable :(  We finally left hot and miserable ourselves and went back to the hotel to cool off in the pool. We played in the pool the rest of the day.

The next day, we got up, packed up the car and went to the mall....which turned out to be mostly closed down due to tough economic times. Well, crap!! So, we got on our fancy shmancy GPS and went to another mall :) We ate lunch, shopped a while and then started our trip home. And, of course, our trip would not be complete without stopping and visiting their local Cherokee Trading Post...

Your welcome :) All in all, we had an awesome time. We are already planing our next adventure, which hopefully will be this same time next summer.

Here are a few more pics from our Oklahoma City adventure...

Summer in the Sun!!!

I don't know if I have mentioned that my kids like to swim, but....my kids really like to swim! This was the first year that Kenzie and Bailee did not go to swimming lessons, which they were not thrilled about. On the other hand, it was my youngest daughter, Madison's first year. I was dreading the first lesson for her. She has hated the water since the day she was born, minus the bath tub. Braxton was the exact same way, but this was his second time so he thought he was a pro. About half way into the first session, she was having a blast! I was in complete shock! Then I was crying like an idiot...she is my baby. She is supposed to throw fits so that I will come hold her and make her feel all better....

She didn't want to leave!! I do admit it was fun seeing her have so much fun. Braxton did great too....until he scared the shorts out of anyone that tried to catch him jumping off the diving board....

I guess he thinks jumping off the diving board is like jumping on the trampoline. He has no fear. LOL!! After two or three times, they finally told him not to do that anymore :) He was having a blast until....he had to do the jelly fish float....duh duh duhhhh!!!! If you are not frequent in swimming lesson lingo, the jelly fish float is this: You bring your knees to your chest, grab them with both hands and then float face-down in the pool. THAT....is my nightmare!! I would NEVER do that! And Braxton felt the same way. His instructor, God bless him, gave it his best effort. I am sad to say that we will be ending out the summer without successfully completing the jelly fish float. Friday will be our last class of the summer and it is also Family Day, which is really cool because we can end the summer together. It really has been a great summer!! Bring on the school year!!!!

Her are a few pics of our last Family Day...

Daddy and Baby Girl

Most of my gang :)

Braxton

Miss Kenzie 

Smoking or Non?

For anyone who has known me for any length of time, knows one thing for sure.....I am a smoker. Or, used to be :) That is correct!! I finally quit smoking!! I recently challenged my husband to a life where we didn't have to "excuse" ourselves everywhere we went. This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time now, I just had to get him on board. Our official "quit" date was July 18th and tomorrow marks our first month of no nicotine!! .....and I still want one so bad!! The cravings have been harder for me. My husband is taking Chantix, which is amazing for him because I truly believe he would not have quit otherwise. I, on the other hand, am not....I have tried to replace my addiction with many different things: gum, peppermints, oatmeal (don't ask)....nothing seems to replace the satisfaction that a cigarette gives me, except one thing.....you will never guess. Go ahead, try......WATERING MY GRASS!!! I told you you would never guess. Needless to say, I have the BEST looking yard on the entire block and a water bill to prove it.  :)  Although we have done exceptionally well this last month, eventually winter will approach and then watering my grass will no longer be possible. I am desperately trying to find something else to satisfy my addictive behavior. I would appreciate any and all suggestions from those who have also quit. I am so glad that He has gotten me this far, I just hope that I don't screw it up!

Please pray for my husband and I that we can be encouragement to one another. And if one us should fall, the other will have compassion and understanding. And pray for me, again....this is another part of what I feel is my identity....another hole I will have to fill.
So, to end on a more positive note, which I am trying to do more of these days...if you are my friend, and smoke....STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!  Ha ha ha!! Just kidding, sort of :)

A Fresh Start....

Ok....I almost feel like I need to introduce myself. The last 6 months of my life has been like an enormous roller coaster. I am happy to announce that I have been put on "crazy" pills :) and am feeling like me again. So, lets try this again....Hi! My name is Mary Lodholm. I have been married for 9 years now and have 4 terrific kids. Their names are Bailee-9, Kenzie-8, Braxton-4 and Madison-3. Whew!!! Glad we got that out of the way :)

 So, what's been going on in my life? Dumb question! I have four kids....a LOT is going on.

My husband, Kyle, has been going to school and I am so proud of him! This summer was his third semester and he has done terrific. The fall semester is fixing to start and I am little more nervous than the previous semesters. With the way his classes were set up before, he was only going to class twice a week, in the evenings. And we have been extremely lucky....until now. His luck has run out on 1/2 semester classes and now will have to take two classes the whole semester which means we will not be seeing him Monday through Thursday. It should be interesting.

My oldest daughter, Bailee, just turned nine and considering what she has been through in her short life, she is a pretty good kid. For the last four years, she has been participating in gymnastics. She has decided this summer that she no longer wants to do gymnastics. She has slipped into her lazy phase. If anyone has any suggestions on extra-curricular activities for a lazy nine year old, let me know. OH!!! I almost forgot!! I think we may be entering the "bra" stage very soon. WHAT?!? I am not ready for this! New subject.....

My middle daughter, Kenzie, is eight years old and is fixing to start 3rd grade. She is my prim a ballerina. She started her dancing career when she was three years old and she still absolutely loves it. She is my happy child that completely loves life. She doesn't know a stranger and wants to help anyone she comes in contact with. She has the most loving little heart I have ever seen in a child. And...thinks she is going to marry Justin Beiber! WHAT is going on with my girls?!? I do remember when I was a younger girl liking boys, but I'm pretty sure I was in middle school before I thought boys were even human! Luckily, her crushes are still completely innocent and even kind of cute :) Moving on...

My one and only son, Braxton, is four years old and he aspires to be the next super hero. He has been unable to put a name to himself, but knows that someday there will be a movie made for him. LOL!! He is so funny!! He has been trying gymnastics out for a little while, now, but I think my little superhero needs to give sports a try. Suggestions please. I am sad to say that my little man will be starting school this year....I don't even have words to express how I feel about it. He is more than thrilled to be going to "big" school which I am happy about. It will make that first drop off that much easier for me. Don't get me wrong, though. I will still be sobbing like a baby. That will be post all on its own.

And last, but not least, my youngest daughter, Madison. She just turned three and thinks she runs this house....well, maybe she does, but that is besides the point. To be quite honest, she is the one that acts most like me which is probably why we can't stand each other most of the time :) She is following in Kenzie's footsteps with ballet and it is so cute to watch, the big sister helping the little sister...melts my heart. By being the youngest, she is by far the loudest and bossiest of them all! She will also be starting school (pre-school) this year. She is so excited!

We are definitely in a transition period, but I am feeling a lot more positive in life. I am excited to see what God has in store for our family.