random questions {my answers}

You guys just completely cracked

me up with your comments

from my "random questions" post

the other day.

First of all,

I rarely hear from most of you on most

days.

*Crickets chirping~Crickets chirping*

Then,

I ask some silly questions and ya'll just can't

stand not to weigh in with your

opinions.

I love that!

So in case you were wondering what MY answers

were:

1. I am still undecided about plumbing vs. electricity.

I go back and forth, back and forth.

But being that a couple of you have gone

without BOTH on the mission field, and you

highly prefer plumbing,

I will trust your judgement and go with that,

I guess.

But I do love me some air conditioning,

let that be known.

Oh, and don't forget...just because

you have plumbing, doesn't mean you have

HOT water.

No electricity makes that hard, ya know?

It's such a quandary, really.

Heaven help us if we ever have to do without

either one.

Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled, we ARE.

2. As much as I love me some steak,

I think I would vote for chicken.

Like Cari said,

chicken is much more versatile.

BUT...

I do love me some steak.

3. As controlling as I am.

And believe me, I am.

I really prefer to be the passenger.

But don't think for one second

that I don't take my backseat driver

responsibilities very seriously.

Ask my husband.

I will make all attempts to control the

driving,

while riding peacefully in the

passenger seat.

Oh, how he loves that so much.

Ok, ya'll...I gotta get started on my

day.

Have a most lovely Tuesday!

very random questions {very}

I have a couple of questions for you:

(Just for fun)

1. If you could only have one,

which would you choose,

indoor plumbing or electricity?

2. What is your preference,

grilled chicken or grilled steak?

3. Do you prefer to be the

driver or the passenger?

Just some very off-the-wall, random

questions that I thought up.

Don't worry,

I'm not secretly doing scientific

experiments and plan to turn you into

lab rats.

...Or am I?

advice column, continued

First of all, I had a BEAUTIFUL night's sleep last night.
Oh, thank you, Lord!!

I am daisy-fresh and feelin' fine.


Your comments yesterday cracked me up.

And two brave ladies even put their questions out there for
my newly-formed advice column.

This sort of thing just feeds my soul.

Just ask anyone around me.
It is my joy to tell others what to do, how to think, and well,
whatever else I can think of to tell them.

Some people call that controlling.
I choose to call it,
Lori's Life-Tutoring Service.
World, you're welcome.


So here we go!


Dear Lori, I have a blog that I started so I could share what is going on at our house with family and friends. Most of the time I feel like I am just keeping a journal. How do I get people to leave comments so I know I am not just talking to myself!!! Signed, Is anyone out there?


Dear Is Anyone Out There,
If you're waiting for real life family and friends to comment,
forget it.
They are Creepers.
A Creeper is someone who goes online, searches you out,
reads all about you, examines your pictures.
But leaves no footprint that they've been there.
Creepers, they are.

But, complete strangers are almost always willing to
comment. I love complete strangers.
But you gotta prod them along sometimes.

Try these things:

1. Do a giveaway and require a comment to enter.

2. Do some sort of cooking post with lots of pictures...
you know, the kind with step-by-step photos.
As if anyone needs a pictorial on how to measure a cup of sugar.
But the people love that sort of thing.
And be sure to make a mistake in your cooking,
the people love to correct you when you're wrong.
That's a sure-fire way to get comments.


3. Write something really out-there...
people can't seem to stay silent when something is extrmeley funny,
or extremely controversial.
Especially the latter.

Well, those are a few of my tips.
Oh and I have also found that the more comments YOU leave
on others' blogs, the more likely someone is to
go read your blog.
Leave your footprint!

Love,
Lori and Polly


*************

Lori & Polly, I had a stick of lip balm I really loved. One day when my husband had chapped lips & I gave it to him to use. Apparently he loved it, too. He "borrowed" it for days & then left it in his pocket, and it went through the wash. I loved that balm & now it is gone. What should I do? Sincerely, dry lips


Dear Dry Lips,
I ask you with all kindness,
did you own the very last stick of this beloved lip balm
that existed on earth?
Can you not go...perhaps...BUY MORE?
Save your marriage from a bitter and dry-lipped argument
and run up to the Walmarts (or whatever fancy store you bought it)
and get yourself another one.
And get one for your hubby.
Write your names on them.
Don't share them.
And don't wash them.
Ever.

Love,
Lori and Polly







*To submit YOUR question,
leave it in the comment section.
I will answer in a post next week.
You've created a monster here, you know.

the a's of the q & a

Your questions,
answered here.

Jennifer asked:
Alrighty! Here's a question for you....another question...thanks for the private Q & A via email! :) I'm starting to think about fundraisers. Any ideas???? We're collecting things for a huge garage sale. But I know that won't cover it all! ;) I'm trying not to panic over the cost. I'm being kindly reminded that He will help us. He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. *I think I need that tattooed on my forehead!*

My answer to that is, be creative and don't assume you'll raise all your funds in one or two "events". It takes perseverance. If you have a good solid following on your blog, then do some sort of giveaway. But also do stuff locally. One of our fund raisers was selling Show Hope t-shirts, which wasn't an overwhelming success, but was great fun and we definitely made money off of them.
Garage sales are great!! Make sure to post like crazy why you are having the sale. You will have a few generous souls who will donate. The rest are stingy. Just being real with ya. A spaghetti dinner can be a huge success but we didn't do that. Just couldn't get the courage to pull the trigger. Lastly, Getting,
He doesn't call the qualified, but qualifies the called,
is a great tattoo idea. Perhaps even a fundraising idea. Run with that one, friend.


**************
Lori,
I would love to know- when you adopt two unrelated children from China simultaneously, do you have to pay more agency fees? (please say they aren't doubled fees!)
Also, everyone I know of who has adopted two has done so from differing orphanages. Do you know if a family adopts 2 from the same orphanage if the orph. donation would still be $5k or would it be $10k?
I would like to get an honest estimate at how much more it would cost to adopt a second child and have not been able to get a straight answer from anyone...even agencies.
I would love 2 more...from China...one boy and one more girl and we'll all live happily ever after in bunk beds :)
Who knows?! :)
I totally get you...would miss China desperately but oh the flight...and I can't sleep a WINK on an airplane either. Jet lag for WEEKS and tummy upset too. So it would be nice to be all refreshed and in the right time zone when you meet your new treasures!
Blessings,
Holly

Yes, our agency gave us a discount for two kiddos. And as far as orphanage donations go…we are adopting from two different orphanages so no, no discounts there. And I am totally with you…I cannot sleep a wink on that blasted airplane… even with a prescription sleeping pill. Seriously!!! Vertical sleeping is evil.

***********

so, missus-hairstylist-extraordinaire.... if i want to put some purple steaks in my hair, do i need to bleach those streaks first? i'm talking chunks.

(really, that's it. nothing stressful or adoption related... unless now you're stressing about me wanting to put purple in my hair. i'm thinking in the summer, i would make it hot pink.)

oh, and how can i keep the fun colors from fading so quickly?

Jaime, you are a nut.
What are those Germans doing to you??
But yes, I would recommend bleaching first.
And as far as fading goes…it’s SO hard to avoid. Impossible, even.
Use good shampoo and stay out of the sun!
And be sure to send me a pic!
I'm excited!

***********

Greetings friend. I am sitting here in Johannesburg South Africa, and you will not believe the amount of hassle we have in trying to adopt. My wife and I have been serious about it for the past two years have been trying to get into the adoption proces but to no avail. We do feel God's call on us for adoption. in one of the provinvces of South Africa alone there are over 700,000 orphans..so the need is great. Incredibily great. Me ? I would go for it. But the doors just seem to say shut. Regards Simon Thomas
South Africa

Simon, Wow, I’m so sorry the doors to adoption are closed to you…
despite the GREAT need.
My heart hurts for you and all those sweet children who need a family.
It’s so not right.

***********

I'm in a "I can't believe it's only Wednesday, and not Friday" kind of mood, so I'm keeping the mojo kind of low key today. How about...what are the middle names of all your family members. Um, in your house. Not ALL of your family members. Low key mojo, remember?

Middle names:
Husband: Kelly
Me: Kim
Brenden: Terrell
Nick: Nicholas
Macy: Shu Li
Lucy: Joy

**********

Okay, here goes ~
How'd ya' get to be so awesome?
:) :) :)

Awww, shucks.
You know the answer to that because you’ve also
got the key to awesomeness… J E S U S!

***********

Hey Lori, ♥ this Q&A idea!!

When did you name the boys? I had been praying for them as HH & DJ, but then I saw the recent pics and I was like "WOW!! They have American names!!"

This ? will be so easy (cuz I'm going to answer it myself!!) Do you plan to put another paypal donation thingy on your site? Last several times I looked for the thing-a-ma-jig it wasn't there. BUT THIS MORNING I looked again & found all your sidebar doo-hickies at the bottom....along with the paypal what-cha-ma-call-it! (on a totally different note, i used to have an aunt that talked like this ALL.THE.TIME. I never knew what she was talking about cuz she never used the real words - it was always a "thing-a-ma-jig" or a "doo-hickie"!! LOL)

♥ you sweet gal!

JR…you crack me up.
Yes, my Paypal thingymajig is SOMEWHERE on my blog.
I’m not sure what’s up with its random locations.

***********

I don't really have any huge questions that I need the answers to, but if we were just chatting over coffee I would most likely ask you how you were preparing Lucy for a YOUNGER sibling. I think it will help that it's a boy, but I know in our family, Jami finds real identity in being the youngest (of all the cousins even) & she would have a hard time losing that role.

I second the fact that you are an awesome gal. Glad I know you.....=)

Oh yes. I do foresee this to be a possible issue.
We talk to her often about how she will finally get to be a
big sister and she will get to teach her little brother things…play with him, etc. etc.
So far, she is SO excited.
But since she teeters between being insanely jealous of
anyone getting my attention and
covets madly the fact that she isn’t the oldest kid in the house,
I’m really not sure what the heck we are in for!!

**********

OK ? first? What color is your hair? I love it. Only 1 parent being jet lagged has got to be a great thing for the whole family. I had not even thought of that.
Joy

Oh, bless you, Joy.
My hair color is a careful
(and very approximate)
formula of:
Redken Colorgels:
2 oz. 4N
1 oz. 5N*
And a drop or two of something interesting…like red.

**********

Okay...my question is, how do your kids all feel about all the adoptions? Have they all felt it has been a great idea each time? What has been the biggest post adoption trouble or struggle for you?

All of our kids were totally okay with our announcement of
our new 12 year old. But with our latest announcement, one
of our kiddos wasn’t so thrilled, saying we had enough kids.
We had some good talks…and didn’t rush or force it.
We are all in agreement now.
And for me…the biggest struggle would be the dang paperwork…
AND trying to prepare for such a big jump in population.

***********

Have you made our reservation at the funny farm in Maui yet? I'm getting anxious. That's my only question.

Patty…currently, I am in negotiations regarding
our grass skirts & coconut tops.
And I’m insisting on umbrellas in every drink at every meal.
I think the deal will be sealed soon.
Pack your sunscreen, girl.

********




This post exhausted me.
Just so you know.

q & a

As I type this the girls and I are bowling in our living room
in our pajamas.

Can you think of anything better than that?

Well, it would definitely be better if my feisty five year old wasn't beating me.
Anyway,
our fellas are at a basketball game, far, far away.
We are grateful to be home this time.

Anyhoo...

I really can't think of a thing to blog about.

What consumes my time and energy these days are the flaming hoops
of these adoptions.
I'm about worn slick.
But, I must press on because it's what I do.

God bless Heidi at WACAP.
I tell you what,
that woman deserves some sort of award for dealing
with the likes of me.

My beauty school education didn't give me much help
in the department of common sense.

Not that anything in this process makes sense.

It sure doesn't.

So, something that kinda bugs me regarding my blog is...
(Sorry... for whatever reason I am quickly changing the subject, as you can tell. Stay with me.)

I often have people ask me questions...but I don't always know how or
where to respond if I don't have their email address.
I usually assume they won't check back to see if I left a comment
about their comment (question).

Is anyone still following me here?
Or even reading to this point?

Anyway,
I will make this an official Q & A post.

Anything you want to ask me,
ask away.

Well, be nice.
Please.

If there are any freaky stalkers out there, I'd just assume
not hear from you.

But I'd like to believe that none of you are freaky.

So....

ask away!!

Oh and I'll start with this.

Jean asked me:
(I love Jean, don't you?)

"Since you are getting TWO boys now,
who will be traveling?"

Answer:
Probably just Kelly (husband extraordinaire).
Though Brenden may possibly go
if the timing and MONEY is right.

Money, being key.

I have pretty much resolved that I am not going on this
apparent all-boys trip.

And quite frankly,
even though I desperately hate to miss out on seeing China for a third time,
AND meeting my newest studly men on the spot,
I am truly at peace about staying home.
The plane ride nearly kills me.
Kills me!!
And jet lag...lags on for weeks for me.
Weeks!!

So I see many advantages to me staying home.
Even though I will desperately
miss my handsome groom like you'll never know.
We have barely even been apart of more than about 3 nights.
I hope we survive.
Sigh.

Ok, I digress.


Focus, Lori, focus.

Ask me questions...if you have any.
If you don't,
well, that's fine too.



I think it's time to end this.


Q & A,

Go.