Kind of the Last Foster Care Update

Wow. It’s been a while since I wrote. A lot has happened, and that’s been part of the problem. After my last blog post, I went and worked in Idaho until the second week of September. We weren’t sure if I should go work in Idaho this year, because we were waiting to hear from the foster care people, but after praying about it, both Grig and I received the answer, “Keep going and see what happens.” So, Kevin and I left Grig behind and went to work in Idaho.

Weeks passed and we didn’t hear anything. Then, on August 19, I drove my mom and younger brother to the airport to go and visit my sister who was about to have twins in Florida. I stayed in Utah for that entire week, and hoped and prayed that we would hear from the foster care people while I was home. 

It was a really good week to be home anyway. For one thing, Siff was in heat again, so it was nice that she wasn’t outside all day. For another, the foster care lady finally contacted us again and met with us on that Friday, the day before I was supposed to head back to Idaho.

It wasn’t good news. She told us that based upon Grig’s mental health evaluation (that he was asked to have because of trauma in his childhood), that they were going to deny our application. The frustrating thing is that no one will tell us what was the deciding factor during the mental health evaluation. The doctor told Grig that he’d have to ask the foster people, and the foster care people told us that the doctor would have to discuss it with us. So, we’re still a bit in the dark and it's been over a month since we received this news.

That was a pretty hard news to take. I was disappointed, but I knew I couldn’t let myself be too disappointed for Grig’s sake. I knew he already was blaming himself, and if I broke down about it, it would make his guilt worse. Besides, I married Grig, and he comes before everything. I wouldn’t change him, and I’m grateful for who he is. He is a wonderful father and husband, and I mostly feel bad because I know we could supply a safe haven to troubled children, and we're not going to be able to help.

However, I also know the Lord has a plan, but sometimes it’s hard to be patient and have faith. I’m sort of confused about some of the things that happened that made it seem like foster care was going to work out, like the cribs and extra beds that we were given.

We were told that we either need to withdraw our application or appeal the decision, but until we get the report from the doctor, we don’t know which course to take. We still haven’t been able to get a solid word from anyone.

Sometimes I get really sad, because I thought this was going to be the answer to our quest for a larger family, and the emptiness of a solo voice in our home occasionally breaks my heart. I am SO grateful for Kevin, but I also ache for him. He’ll never know what it’s like to have a close sibling and to grow up with a best friend near his same age. Sometimes, going home to visit my family hurts, because the memories come, and I know that Kevin will never have the childhood that I had; the childhood that I want for him.

At least he has the dogs, and they love him.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s my fault, if God doesn’t trust me with any more of his children because I’m botching it as a mother. I know that's probably not the reason, but I can't help the little voice that occasionally whispers critical words to me.

This current trial reminds me of two experiences that when I think of them bring me a lot of hope.

One was on the mission I served for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Right after my trainer left me, I began training new Sister missionaries. I trained two new Sisters, and I thought that was my calling on the mission. I loved being a trainer. It helped me be a better missionary, because I had to be a good example for those I was training.

Then, after my second trainee, I was transferred to a new Sister, who had been in the mission basically as long as I had. I thought that I was being punished because I had been a bad trainer and the Lord no longer trusted me. For the first week with my new companion, I kept going over my time and wondering what I had done wrong. I felt awful, and I beat myself up about it.

However, that Sister became one of my best friends in the whole world. I am so grateful the Lord let me have the time that I did with her and didn’t give me what I thought I wanted. She changed my life, and the Lord knew exactly what I needed.

The other experience is more recent. Two years ago, after Dakota our older dog died, we found a Norwegian Elkhound puppy for sale. It was expensive, but it was the breed that Grig had always wanted us to get. We prayed about whether we should buy it, and we received a very conditional answer that if Grig got a raise at work, that we should get the puppy.

Well, time went on, and the puppy approached the age where it could leave its mother. However, Grig hadn't gotten the raise. Things kept happening that made us positive that we were getting a puppy, but we kept waiting on the raise. Finally, on a Saturday after the puppy was over 8 weeks, we told the kid who owned the pup that we would meet with him the next Monday. That Sunday, he sold the pup to someone else.

We were heartbroken. We had felt so strongly that we were supposed to get this puppy, and we couldn’t believe that we had lost it.

However, as I left the church that night, I thought, the Lord made us a promise, and he doesn’t break his promises. If this puppy is gone, He will provide another one for us.

The next morning, I looked online and was thrilled to discover that someone had just posted another litter of elkhound puppies. They were from a more reputable breeder and were far less expensive than the puppy we had initially been trying to get.

Grig got his raise, we got Siff, and I couldn’t be happier. She is an amazing dog. We wouldn’t trade her for anything.

So, even though I’m not sure how this journey is going to end, I had faith that the Lord has a plan that will be better for us. The feeling that I keep getting is that something big is coming that is going to be amazing. I just have to wait for it. So, I’m trying to have faith, patience, and trust, and find joy in the miracles that I have been given.

Home Inspection and Surprise Visit

For those of you wanting an update on our foster care situation, we finally got our screen window fixed on Wednesday. 

Grig did a great job repairing it. It was looked awesome when he finished it. As soon as we put it back in the window, I sent in our checklist for the home inspection.

We've now been assigned a home inspector, and she's supposed to get in touch with us soon to schedule the home inspection. It's supposed to take a few hours to go through, so hopefully we can find a time that works for all of us.

We're waiting again, but this time it shouldn't be quite as long. I'll keep you updated. 

Yesterday, we got a surprise text from Grig's father. He's been on a trip delivering cattle for the past week or so. Last Friday, while we were on our anniversary date, he texted us and told us that he was in the area, but we weren't. We were sad to have missed him. 

We told him to drop by on his way back east, but he told us that the people he was with were planning on taking a different route and that he wouldn't be nearby. 

However, yesterday he informed us in that due to snow in the north, they were going to be passing nearby after all and he wanted to drop in to visit. That was pretty exciting. We haven't seen him in person for over a year, and he's never been to our new house. 

Grig was disappointed that he was going to be at work when his dad came by, but Kevin was pretty excited that he was going to see his grandpa. 

A little after 1:00 today, Kevin's grandfather dropped by 

Kevin was pretty excited. He drew a picture for his grandpa and waited at the window until he arrived. We fed him some food and then showed him around the property. He and Kevin had a great time smashing horse chestnuts and playing outside. 

Kevin was pretty excited to play tic tac toe with his grandpa. We'd learned how to play it at preschool the other day, and Kevin's been pretty excited about the game ever since.

After we came back inside, Kevin's grandpa began to teach him the finer points of the game. They had a really good time, and it was fun to watch them interact. It was really good to see Grig's dad. He's a great guy, and he loves his grandson a lot. 

Thanks for coming to visit, Grandpa! It was so much fun to see you!

Foster Care Update

For those of you who were wondering...as of yesterday, we officially had all of our foster care paperwork turned in.

We've been working on it since we completed the class back in November. There have been a few things that have taken a little longer than we were expecting. The first major thing was fingerprinting and background checks. We had to get an appointment for that, and the earliest they could schedule us was in the middle of December. The other thing that took a little planning was a CPR/First Aid Class. By the time we tried to sign up, all the classes were full.

However, they are now allowing Utah foster parents to take online CPR classes, and so we took that option. It was less expensive, and convenient. We rather enjoyed it, though it took a while. We got that passed of just before Christmas, and then we were just compiling everything together. I scanned it all in, and then submitted it a few days ago.

A couple days ago, the person who is coordinating with us, told me that they still didn't have proof that we were vaccinated for Hep A, but everything else was good to go. I made a few calls, and yesterday (thanks to Grig's mother) we were able to get the final piece of paperwork in.

So, you're probably wondering, what happens next?

Well, I guess they're waiting to hear from our references. Once they receive all of that information, we're going to have a home check scheduled. Allopex and Havelock, Grig's brothers, moved out on Friday night, so I've been reorganizing and cleaning the house in preparation for the home check.

There's been a lot going on, and some of it has been kind of stressful.

My only living grandfather ended up in the hospital over the weekend as well, and we were pretty worried for a few days. I am happy to report that he is making an excellent recovery and will hopefully be discharged soon.

We're excited for foster kids to join our home, but until then, we're enjoying having our home to ourselves for the first time. Grig's sister moved in a month after we bought the house, and then six months later, Grig's brothers moved in. His sister moved out the next month, and the brothers have been with us ever since.

We do miss them, but it is also really nice to have alone time with my husband.

Life is moving forward. It will be exciting to see what happens next.

Kevin Update

I realized that I haven't given an update on Kevin recently.

He is now three years old. He speaks quite fluently, and sometimes amazes me with his vocabulary.

He is a baby bear that he calls "Baby." Baby is a very helpful bear. When Kevin doesn't want to go to sleep at night, we pretend to be Baby.

Baby will say, "Daddy, Daddy!"

Kevin will respond, "Yes, Baby?"

The bear (through us) will then say, "I'm tired Daddy. Please come put me to bed."

No matter how angry Kevin was or how much he didn't want to go to bed, he just can't say no to his little bear. Sometimes, he'll pause for a minute, and then he'll say, "Okay, Baby."

He'll climb into his bed and snuggle with his little bear. It's adorable.

Baby, the manipulator. :)

I just love this picture (though it is a little grainy because it was taken from a video)

The other day, Grig told him that Baby had originally been his. Grig had called it Frances, after the little Frances the badger books. When Grig told Kevin that, Kevin became concerned.

"Baby is yours?"

Quickly, Grig said, "He used to be mine, but I gave him to you."

Kevin thought about that for a moment, and then said, "Daddy, I love you."

He is the sweetest kid.

Yesterday, while we were cleaning out Oryx's (our snake's) cage, Grig and Kevin were talking, Grig was telling Kevin how snakes eat mice. Kevin then said, "WE eat mice!"

"No," Grig told him. "Snakes eat mice. Are you a snake?"

"No," Kevin said, "I'm a goose!"

He is a goose. Who knew?

The last couple of days, Kevin, Arkhon, and I have started walking again. The weather's warmed up quite a bit, and we've been enjoying ourselves. As we were walking yesterday, we ran into a pasture with a couple of horses in it. They came right up to the fence and let us feed them some of the new grass that was growing on our side.

At first, Kevin was a little nervous, but he soon wanted to try. As we came closer, Kevin said, "Horses are big!" Compared to our dog, they were huge. The larger, dark brown horse took the grass from his fingers, and Kevin became very excited. "He licked my fingers!" he exclaimed.

Arkhon wanted to come see the horses to. I carefully brought him up to the fence, and the horse was pretty cool about it. I think Arkhon was thinking the same thing Kevin was though. As the horse and our dog nearly touched noses to sniff each other, Arkhon lost his nerve and backed off a little. He didn't run away, but he wasn't sure he wanted his head so close to the huge creature's mouth. Later, as Arkhon was looking toward some distant, barking dogs, the horse tried to smell his back. The horse nearly touched him before Arkhon realized what it was doing, and then he moved away again.

Really, it went pretty well. Arkhon didn't bark at them, he was just a little nervous. The horses weren't scared of him, just curious. We're going to go by again. It's good for Arkhon to be around lots of different situations.

Kevin runs pretty fast. He still loves wearing his Superman clothes, but he will occasionally wear different things. Yesterday, his Superman shirt got wet (which he can't stand), and so he went to his room and put on a dinosaur shirt his grandma had recently given him. He was so proud when he came out to show me what he was  wearing, and that he had put it on himself. I guess I reacted well, because a few minutes later, he came out wearing shorts he had put on too.

We just love him.

Some days, he's grumpy, and if he doesn't get what he wants, he will throw fits. Usually, he'll run into his room and calm down, and then come back out.

He plays pretty well with other kids, and he loves it when friends come over. They occasionally fight over sharing, but that's pretty normal.

I've recently made him a job chart using Superman and animals. There are no words, only pictures, but he knows what each picture stands for. He can tell me which job is next, and he LOVES it. Once he completes a job, he gets to put a sticker on his chart. Sometimes I think he wishes there were more jobs.

The other day, he told me, "Superman always helps Mommy," as he helped me pick up toys in the living room.

Yesterday, when he didn't want to help me do something, I reminded him of what he'd said. Immediately, he stopped dallying around and helped me.

He loves having his uncles here, and loves it when they play with him. His Uncle Allopex is teaching him sword fighting, and his Uncle Havelock plays (gentle) punching games with him. Both of them help use up some of his awesome energy. He is always excited when they come home, and loves it when they have days off to spend with him.

He is completely potty-trained and hasn't had an accident in months. We no longer have to buy diapers, which is weird.

Kevin wants a little sibling, and he often prays for one. He is a great example to me of faith and acceptance though. He loves every moment of life, and he helps me be a much better person.

We are so grateful for our son. Our lives would be so empty without him.

He makes the best facial expressions too.

Update on Job Search

Many of you have been wondering how Grig's job search has been going.

Really, there isn't much to say yet. He's been busy applying, working 55+ hours a week, and taking night classes. My husband sure is a trooper. He's also very tired.

He's had a few interviews and weld tests, but so far nothing has panned out. They all seem suitably impressed with his skill, but they haven't been calling him back. We've been praying that if he's not supposed to get the jobs, that they won't call him back, and if he is supposed to get the job, that they will call him back.

It seems so far, he wasn't supposed to get those jobs.

We still have a lot of peace about it, and we're hoping that something happens soon. We are grateful for the extra income that Grig is making right now, though we wish he could get a little more sleep.

Kevin is adjusting to being home. He's been a bit grumpy, but he is happy to be home and with his uncles and aunt. There have been some adjustments, but things are going pretty well. Kevin is sure happy to be around his dad again. They've been having a pretty good time.

I'm struggling a bit with balancing my time. I'm still in the "work mode," and it's hard for me to stop working and play with my son. I think that's not helping his mood. Tomorrow I plan to schedule more time to play with him. He's a good kid and he deserves more attention from his mom. I've gotten a lot accomplished, but Kevin is my top priority, and he should come first.

I'm still learning how to be a good mom. Life can be tricky, but we're learning.

Personally, I've sure enjoyed having my husband around. I really missed him. He is my best friend, and I wouldn't wish to spend my life with anyone else.

Funerals, Soccer, and Travel

On Wednesday, I played prelude and postlude for a funeral. I was pretty worried about it, but it went really well. I was pleased that I didn’t seem to ruin the spirit of the event, and the family was appreciative. I found out something interesting about myself though.

I didn’t know the individual who had passed away, but as his family and friends talked about him, I found myself crying in sympathy. I didn’t know that I do that. It is interesting to know that other people’s emotions can affect me in that way.

It’s pretty tough to lose a family member. That is one of my worst fears. I dread the time that someone I love will have to leave me, even though I know it’s only for a short time and that death is not the end. I guess I still need to work on my faith.

Yesterday, I played two soccer games. I have been to practices most Tuesdays for the last few weeks, but we had two games in a row, and then we drove three hours to visit family. The games were intense, and I had a great time. We lost both games, though we were ahead for most of the first one. The second one, I think we played better, but we still lost by 5. I had a good time, but Grig was a little upset by the different rules. He didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t kick it high, or the fact that you couldn’t enter the box around the goal. That’s probably what cost us the first game.

My favorite moment was when I was playing goalie, and I blocked around 10 goals in a row. It was an intense couple minutes, and I ended up pulling the tissue around my scar from my c-section, but it was awesome. I felt like a champ!

After the games ended, we got in the car, picked up the dog and our luggage, and took off. It was about 10:30 p.m. when we left, and we didn’t reach our destination until about 1:30 a.m.  Kevin and Dakota slept the whole way, Grig read to me, and I drove. As I was driving, I could feel my muscles stiffening up. That wasn't so much fun. By the time we got to my parents' home, my legs ached and I was tired.

Kevin and Dakota can sleep almost anywhere.

I usually drive on long trips because Grig likes to read to me in the car, and I like it when he does so. We've been reading C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy, and we finished the second book last night. It is quite good, if occasionally long-winded. 

Dakota (because it is finally warm enough) was asked to sleep outside last night. It rained, but she was just fine this morning. In fact, I caught her rolling in the grass when it warmed up a little more. I think she is enjoying being outside, despite the weather.

There may not be a video tomorrow, but I'll try to get one made for Monday. We're going to be relaxing over the weekend and enjoying our time with family.

Thank you for those of you who've responded to my post yesterday. I appreciate your thoughts. I'll give them careful consideration. 

Toodles!

Kevin's First Words

Kevin's been making leaps and jumps lately in the development department.

The last couple of days, we're pretty sure he's been saying "dog". He will point at Dakota, and say what sounds like "dog", and then he will make his sound for dogs, which is panting. In Kevin's mind, dogs don't bark, they pant. In the case of our dog, he's right.

We can now add dog to the words he already knows. He says ball, dad, mom, want this?, yes, hi, and bye. He may know a few others, but we haven't been able to figure them out yet. He babbles quite a bit. He's awfully fun.

Kevin also seems to be understanding more and more. I'll ask him a question and he'll nod enthusiastically if it is something he wants. If it isn't, he'll shake his head. He doesn't say no very often though, because I usually don't ask him about things he doesn't want.

He makes excellent animal noises, but he didn't have much choice, being my son and all. He pants like a dog, moos like a cow, does an impressive neigh for a horse, growls for most other carnivores, and whistles at birds. He hasn't got cats or pigs down yet, but we're making progress.

In the food department, we've been figuring out what he consistently likes as well. He always likes burritos. In fact, if you put anything in a tortilla he's likely to eat it. He likes eggs, cooked in almost any way, and he likes ramen soup. If I put veggies and meat in it, he'll even eat some of those. Grig made stir-fry the other night, and we were happy to see Kevin eat broccoli. He doesn't much like carrots though. He tends to like rice, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He also loves ham sandwiches. There are some things that he won't touch though, like cheerios. Sometimes he just looks at something and decides he hates it, and he won't try it for all the world. Hopefully that doesn't continue.

Adapting to this baby has been a great learning experience. Kevin is a wonderful, happy child, though teething can make him a bit grumpy. Currently, he has most of his teeth now, though he is missing his premolars on the top, and his canines and lateral incisors on the bottom. For a long time, he's just had two teeth in the center of the bottom of his mouth, and it's been adorable! However, yesterday, I noticed the teeth next to them are beginning to penetrate the gums. Soon, my little baby won't have rodent-teeth anymore.

Kevin is a lot of fun. He likes to ride Grig, Havelock, and I like horses, and he loves to play with balls. He is always excited when we take him outside, and he loves almost all animals (sheep still scare him a little). He's cautious, but brave. He's not afraid to try things, but he doesn't want to get hurt. He's not really shy still, and he loves people.

We have a great little guy, and we're grateful for him.

We wouldn't want him any other way.

You can see his two bottom teeth in this picture. I'll miss that.

My Little Rant and an Update on NaNoWriMo

Whew, this is a late blog today.

It's because I'm kind of ticked. 

I'm a big fan of Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, and for some reason today I felt like going and finding out what his critics were saying.  Okay, you have to understand that I know Cesar Millan isn't a perfect man and sometimes while training he makes mistakes.  However, as I've read his critics' arguments, for the most part they all follow the reward training technique.  They often have similar views on dogs but they are arguing semantics.  Anyway, as I've been reading their criticisms, I've slowly being getting more and more angry.  I want to tell them that I have issues with their methods, but I have a personal rule not to get into fights on youtube or other social media.

So, briefly, I'm going to tell you why I have an issue with the rewards system.  I was taught to train my dogs by a wonderful dog trainer.  He didn't use treats. He told me, "Dogs should do what you want them to do for affection, not for food.  They should do it because you want them to do it, not because they are going to get rewarded for it."

As an elementary school teacher, I heard many of the same arguments that I hear about dog training.  I was told not to use rewards and to establish "rules, boundaries, and limitations"-to use Cesar's rules.  Children and dogs do best when they know what the rules are and they are asked to live them with love.

However, the whole world is telling us to use rewards to make our dogs listen to us.  This is why we have a nation of extremely obese dogs and children.  These children have learned that they are all winners, and many of them don't know how to deal with challenges.  In the real world, not everyone gets the job.  They often don't even call you back. Children are not being taught to deal with limitations or rules.  They are being told that they are wonderful human beings, which is great, but that other people will make life easier for them so they don't have to struggle, which isn't so great.

I love dogs and I love children.  They are very different creatures, but both need boundaries.  They shouldn't do things because they are going to get rewarded for it.  Dogs do well if you shower them with affection after they follow the rules.  They don't need treats.  Children do well if they know that you love them and you are establishing rules because it will keep them safe.  They don't really need treats either.

All this talk about 'established scientific methods' drives me nuts. I watched the lady on Animal Planet's "It Me or the Dog," and I couldn't stand her methods.  She was constantly getting mad at the people for the way they were acting, and I watched her storm out of the house a few times because she didn't want to deal with them.  Maybe her methods do work, but I certainly didn't want to learn from someone so unbalanced.

Enough of the rant.  Now I want to tell you how I'm doing with my goal.  I feel better now.

Basically, I wanted to tell you how my goal is going of writing 2,000 words a day.  Some days it is going really well, other days not so well.

Currently, I am at 25,263 words. I'm really enjoying writing, and it has been really fun to have a goal to work on every day.  My story is finally past the beginning, and I'm really starting to get into the meat of the action.  It's been a fun way to keep in touch with friends that I haven't talked to in a while.  Actually, I'm still not really talking to them, but I can check up on their word count and it feels like we're doing something together.  That's been fun.

I'm going to do it.  I've still got a long way to go and only ten days left, but I'm going to get it accomplished.  Thanks for the love and support and for those of you who have been faithful readers.

Ciao!

Giving Blood and Saving Snails

Yesterday was an interesting day.

It started off with Kevin and I going with my aunt to play floor hockey.  I am trying to exercise more this week, so her invitation to accompany her was very welcome.  At first, Kevin did just fine.  Two of my aunt's kids were there, so I thought he would be enjoying himself while we played.  He usually is a very happy kid, especially when there are other kids around.

Unfortunately, someone brought Bambi, and soon all the kids were watching it...all the kids, that is, except Kevin.  He doesn't really appreciate tv.  We'd only played a few minutes when Kevin began to cry.  The fact the other kids abandoned him was probably compounded by the small amount of sleep that he had been allowing himself the last few days.  We're not sure exactly what's been going on, but I've been pretty tired.

Anyway, Kevin began to cry.  I tried to distract him, but it didn't work.  So finally, I said, "Come play with me."  I hoisted him into my left arm, and put the hockey stick in my right arm.  Luckily, I'm pretty strong, so I could still hit the ball pretty well.  Kevin and I played goalie and we played hard.  He seemed to enjoy it, except when everyone was running toward us, and he'd let out this little terrified shriek.  I'm not sure if it was fear or excitement, but when I looked at him, he looked fine.

We played that way for a while, and then they turned off Bambi so the other kids would play with him.  Again, he was distracted for a few minutes while I began to play harder.  One of the women said, "Oh, you're a runner," as I charged after the ball.  The distractions only worked for a moment though.  Kevin began to wail again.  He was tired and hungry, and every time he heard the sticks hit the floor, he knew he was missing out on fun.  So, I fed him, and then he ended up playing goalie with me again.  I got a pretty good workout.  I'm kind of sore today.  I've still got it though.  Half-way through my aunt told me that I frightened her.  Especially when I was holding the baby.

Heh.

Then, after Grig got home from work, we went and donated blood.  I always do really well with it.  I've got good veins and a great constitution.  I was a little worried because I'm still nursing Kevin, but I did just fine.  Kevin sure enjoyed himself.  He got the sugary treats and attention as he walked around the place.  Every time we go out, people ask, "How old is he?"   When we tell them 9 months, they usually say, "Wow!  He's doing really well."

We know.  It's because he's batman.

Anywho.

Then, we had to go drop off the car at Havelock's workplace.  He would then drive it home at 10:30 p.m. after he got done with his job.  Grig, Kevin, and I took the bus.  (Havelock would take it, but it stops its route at 8:30).  The bus was kind of fun, but the combination of donating blood and driving home took way long.  We didn't get home until 7:15.  We still had to eat, shower, send an important e-mail, and save a snail.  Not necessarily in that order.  Grig was supposed to get up at 2:50 a.m. this morning.  We didn't get to bed until 10:30 p.m.  It's going to be a long day for my poor husband. 

The snail was quite grateful, though.  And hungry.  It ate quite a bit of Swiss chard.

On a final note, I'm sorry for those of you who are waiting for out next video.  I know it's three days late.  It's been kind of crazy.  It's almost ready, I'm just waiting for some voice-acting from Grig.

Also, I have a question for my readers.  I'm thinking about blogging Monday through Friday, and putting up a vlog (video blog) on Saturday.  Would anyone be interested in us doing that?  I think it might be kind of fun, though more work for me.

Please let me know your thoughts.

TTFN.  Ta-ta for now.