The past couple of weeks have been like a whirlwind around here. Last week, as most of you know, my mom had surgery which kept her in the hospital for seven days. Yes, seven days without Big Mama...it was so hard. Chuck and I volunteered to take in Gito, Joey and Jose while Mom was in the hospital so that they would not be disruptive at Mom's house. It was by far one of the most trying weeks of my life. On top of the great pregnancy woes of morning sickness and fatigue, my fifteen month old CJ, and my husband who was on "vacation," Joey, Gito and Jose took everything out of me. The constant rude remarks, re-direction and supervision was very tiring. Having three cop cars in my front yard in the morning to deal with an EIGHTEEN year old who shouldn't need babysitting about put me over the edge. I love my siblings, all of them, but these three really tested me last week, not to mention my sweet husband. I know Chuck loves my family, and when we were discussing who to babysit while Mom was out of commission, he did not hesitate about taking the three top offenders into our home. He willingly gave up a weeklong vacation in Destin, Florida so that we could do what needed to be done for my family. Amazingly, after a week with these three, police activity, totally rude behavior toward him and two migraines (which he has never had), he still says he'd do it again. That is why I love him so much. Even though he was shocked by the way three kids talked to him (remember, he was raised in a military family), he never raised his voice or showed any signs of losing it with them. After Joey had threatened to hurt him and ran away, he lovingly went outside when Joey re-appeared and put his arm around him to talk him down before the police cars arrived at our house. He attempted to talk to Gito as he drive him to school in the morning, although all he got was a cold shoulder and an attitude whenever he asked him a question. Through all that, he still told me he thought all three of these boys would be alright in the end, they just had some major growing up to do. I'm glad he can see it, because after last week I had my doubts. Of course, if the need arose, I'd do it again, too. My family needed me and that's what family does...even if it does mean lowering the property value in our neighborhood by inviting the sheriff's department for a mid-morning party. As my old boss and dear family friend Emily said, "welcome to the world of special needs adoption."