We spent a week between both of my grandparents' house. We spent four days in Georgia and four days in Alabama. We just got home and it is the day before New Year's Eve. I helped mom get all the clothes in the wash. Gracie and I were texting earlier and I'm going to see if we can hang out for a little while today and maybe have a sleepover. She said she would help me pick out a song to do for the talent show.
"Hey Mama?" I asked in a sweet voice when we walked out of the laundry room.
"Yeah?" she asked suspiciously with her eyebrows raised. She can usually tell when I want something.
"Can Gracie come over for a little while today and help me pick out a song to do for the talent show?" I asked with a smile. She took in a deep breath and let it out.
"Is she going to sleep over?" She asked.
"Are you saying that she can?" I asked with my eyebrows raised and a smile.
"I don't know yet. Let me think about it and talk to your father" She said.
"Is all your unpacking done?" she asked as she walked towards the stairs.
"Yep" I said and Mom went upstairs by dad and Elijah. I sat on the couch and watched some TV and waited for mom to make her decision. About twenty minutes later, mom came back down.
"You can have Gracie over today" she said and sat next to me.
"Can she sleep over too?" I asked sweetly.
"Yes, she can sleep over too" she said.
"Thank you" I said excitedly and gave her a hug. Then I texted Gracie and told her that she could come over anytime.
About twenty minutes later, I saw Faith pull in the driveway and Gracie climbed out. I walked up to the door and let her in.
"Your new house is amazing!" Gracie said as she walked in.
"Thanks" I said. We walked in the house so I could give her a tour. We walked into the living room and saw my mom reading on the couch.
"Hey Gracie" Mom said cheerfully.
"Hey! My Mom said she thinks the house is beautiful and she can't wait to see the inside" Gracie said and mom smiled.
I showed Gracie around downstairs then we made our way upstairs. I showed her around then we went into my room.
"Your room is amazing" she said excitedly.
"And I have my own bathroom" I said and pointed to the attached bathroom.
"That's awesome! I have to share mine with Maggie and Audrey" she said and we laughed.
"What did you get for Christmas?" she asked.
"I got a bunch of cash and gift cards from my grandparents and aunts and uncles. My parents got me a record player and some vinyl records. Then I got a Bath and Body Works set with lotion, body spray, body wash, a candle, hand sanitizer and bubble bath. I got some new clothes and nail polish. I also got a new iPod touch with 128 GB since my other one was full." I said.
"How did your 32 GB get full?" she asked with a giggle.
"I listen to a lot of music" I giggled.
"Your entire iPod was full of music? You didn't have any pictures or apps or anything?" she asked surprised.
"It just had music" I replied.
"That's impressive" she said and I nodded.
"What did you get for Christmas?" I asked her.
"Cash and gift cards, the entire Harry Potter series on blue ray, a pair of studio headphones, and some clothes and makeup" She said.
"Awesome" I said.
"Let's talk talent show details" she said.
"Yes" I said excitedly.
"Do you have an idea of what you want to sing?" she asked.
"I was thinking a Carrie Underwood song" I said.
"A new one or an old one?" she asked.
"I was thinking an older one. I was thinking either Jesus Take the Wheel or Inside Your Heaven" I said.
"You should do Inside Your Heaven. You could definitely win with that" She said and I smiled.
"What about you? You're signed up in the bands category right?" I asked her and she nodded.
"We haven't decided on a song yet either. We've been practicing a few different songs, but we can't decide which one we want to do" she said.
"This is your first time performing as a band right?" I asked.
"Yep, so hopefully it goes well otherwise we're probably doomed as a band" she said and giggled.
"You guys will do fine. My parents made it work with their band, so I'm sure you guys can too" I said.
"I hope so" she said and I gave her a hug.
"Let's find the karaoke version of Inside Your Heaven so you can start practicing." Gracie suggested. I pulled out my laptop and we looked up a version on iTunes. We found one and I downloaded it.
"I'm gonna go ask my parents if we can use the studio" I said and we walked downstairs. My parents were sitting on the couch. My dad has his arm around my mom and they have a fire going.
"Can we use the studio?" I asked them.
"Sure, did you finally decide on a song?" Mom asked.
"Yeah! I'm going to do Inside Your Heaven" I said excitedly.
"That's a good one" Dad said.
"I downloaded the karaoke version off of iTunes so I'm going to hook up my laptop to the speakers" I said.
"If you need any help with the equipment just come and get me" dad said.
"Ok" I said and we headed downstairs to the studio. I plugged my laptop in and pulled up the song. Then I tuned on the microphone and amps. Then Gracie pressed play on my laptop. I sang through the song a few times before Dad came downstairs.
"Elijah just went down for his nap so you two have to tone it down a bit. And Mom wants to know if you guys want anything to eat or drink?" Dad said. I looked over at Gracie and she gave me the "I could go for something to eat look"
"What do we have to eat?" I asked.
"Hold on, let me go ask" he said and walked back up the stairs. A few seconds later he came back down.
"There is frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries, fruit, sour cream and onion chips and veggies and dill dip" Dad said.
"What do you want?" I asked Gracie.
"I could go for some pizza" she replied.
"Pizza please" I said and dad nodded. He headed up the stairs. Gracie and I stayed downstairs until the pizza was done. My mom called down to us when it was done. We cleaned up the studio and turned everything off. We walked upstairs and Mom had the pizza all cut up and waiting on the counter. I grabbed some plates out of the cupboard and set them on the counter.
"What do you girls want to drink?" Mom asked.
"What do we have?" I asked.
"There is juice, water, iced tea, and Coke out in the garage" she said.
"I'll have some coke" Gracie said and grabbed a piece of pizza.
"Me too" I said and grabbed a piece of pizza and set it on my plate. Mom went out to the garage and brought us back two cans of Coke and gave them to us.
"Thanks Mama" I said.
"Thanks Karen" Gracie said.
"You're welcome girls" Mom said with a smile.
Gracie and I stayed in the kitchen and talked while we ate our pizza. Then I heard Elijah come downstairs.
"GRACIE" Elijah said excitedly when he saw her.
"Hey little man" she said and raised her hand for a high five. Elijah gave Gracie a big high five. He always loves it when she comes over. Mom always has to remind him to leave us alone because he always wants to tag alone with whatever we do. Even if we're just hanging out in my room talking, he always wants to be by us. Usually we play with him for a little while or watch a movie with him, then Mom and Dad take over so we can be by ourselves.
"Can we go play dinosaurs?" he asked really excitedly. I looked over at Gracie and shrugged her shoulders and nodded.
"Sure, but only for a little while, ok?" I said.
"Ok" he said and took off to the play room. Gracie and I giggled and followed him.
We played dinosaurs with him for about an hour, then Dad came in and took over for us.
"Do you want to go up to my room and watch a movie?" I asked.
"Sure" she said. We walked up to my room. We decided on 'Pitch Perfect'. I put it in the DVD player and turned on the TV. We got comfortable on the bed. Gracie and I have seen this movie a million times, so we usually quote the whole thing and talk during it. We were about halfway through when we started talking. Things got pretty deep and we started talking about me being in the foster system and getting adopted.
"Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you didn't get adopted?" she asked.
"Sometimes. Literally, my whole life would be different if I didn't sneak into that Martina McBride concert and I think about it all the time" I said.
"What were your foster homes like before you found Jimi and Karen?" she asked.
"Well, not all of them were bad. I was in the same foster home from the day I was born until I was about three. That home only took care of little kids. I don't really remember that one at all. The next three were fine. I kept getting moved around because each house was getting too many kids. The last one I was in was bad. I was there for about three years. My foster dad was an abusive alcoholic. My foster mom was really nice, but he controlled her every move. She tried to protect me, but she couldn't. She couldn't even protect herself, especially when he was drunk. He only wanted me for the check every month. He hated me and treated me like I was nothing. After a while, I started to believe it. On the weekends I would literally be homeless so I wouldn't have to be at home. Running into my dad, literally, was the best thing to ever happen to me. They let me stay with them for the weekend and it was amazing. When the weekend was over, they still continued to keep in contact with me. They would pick me up from school once or twice a week and take me out to dinner. Then one night at my foster home, it got really bad. My foster dad threw me down the stairs because I left my backpack downstairs. I ran and called my parents, who weren't my parents yet, they saved me and gave me a home and a family. From then on, I have been with them." I said.
"Wow... that's a lot" she said in total shock. She knew that I had been in foster care and that I was adopted, but we never really got into detail about all of it. I don't think she expected it to be quite like that.
"How old were you when you started living with Jimi and Karen?" she asked.
"Ten" I said. Then it was silent for a few minutes.
"Do you ever wonder about your biological parents?" she asked.
"Sometimes" I said.
"Do you ever want to meet them?" she asked.
"I don't know. When I look at Elijah, I can see little bits and pieces of both of my parents in him. Sometimes I wonder about where I came from and why I have the traits I have, but then I remember that they didn't want me, for whatever reason, and I don't think I could handle being in front of the people who brought me into this world, and then gave me away without finding me an actual home first. They just passed me along and I don't think I could handle it. But then part of me wants to know why they gave me up. But then I remember that my parents wanted me. They chose to be my parents, I wasn't just given to them. They went through so much to be my parents and that gives me a sense of peace, knowing that they want me." I said. Then there was a long pause.
"Have you and your parents ever talked about your biological parents?" she asked and I shook my head no.
"It's never come up" I said.
"So you have no idea who your biological parents are?" she asked.
"On my birth certificate, it says who my biological mother is, but not the father. That's all I know" I said.
"Do you know her name?" she asked and I nodded.
"Sara Montgomery" I said.
"Do you know anything about her?" she asked.
"Nope, and I really don't care to" I said.
"You really don't want to know anything about her? She asked.
"No, not really. I'm afraid of what I might find. Not knowing is ok for me" I said and she nodded. We went back to watching the movie and continued quoting our favorite parts. We finished it and I turned off the TV and went back to talking about Gracie's band.
"I still wish you would join our band. It would be so fun" she said.
"I don't know, I'm not really interested in being in a band. Plus you guys don't even sing country. If I'm going to sing, it' going to be country and I'm not even one hundred percent positive if I even like singing in front of crowds yet" I said with a giggle.
"But you're so good" she said.
"Thanks" I said shyly.
"People should hear your voice. One day, you could be the next queen of Country" she said.
"I doubt I could ever pass up Martina, Carrie, Miranda or your Mom for that matter" I replied.
"You will never know if you don't try" she said with a smile. Then we heard a knock on the door.
"Yes?" I asked and mom peeked her head in the door.
"Do you two want to come down for dinner? I made spaghetti" Mom said.
"Yes, I'm starving" I said dramatically.
"Me too" Gracie said. We climbed off the bed and followed mom to the kitchen.
After dinner we helped clean up the kitchen and we all watched a movie in the living room. Dad took Elijah up to bed when the movie was over.
"Are you girls going to sleep down here or in your room?" Mom asked.
"In my room" I said.
"Ok, there are extra blankets and pillows in the closet by the bathroom upstairs if you need them" she said.
"Ok, thanks Mama" I said.
"Dad and I are going upstairs. Don't be too loud" mom said.
"We won't" Gracie and I said.
"Goodnight, I love you" Mom said and kissed my forehead.
"I love you too" I said and mom went upstairs. Gracie and I stayed in the living room and watched a few movies before going to bed.
The next day was New Year's Eve and Faith picked up Gracie around 10:30 that morning. Tonight my parents are going to a party and Daisy, Penelopi, and their manager's kids are coming over as well. Maggie, my homeschool teacher/Elijah's nanny is staying with us tonight so I don't have to watch all the kids by myself. Mom and Dad left at 8:00 tonight. We decided to have our own little New Year's Eve party. It didn't last all that long. The kids all fell asleep by 10:00 so it was just Maggie and I.
"So your mom tells me that you are doing a talent show in March?" Maggie asked.
"I am" I said and nodded.
"Have you decided on a song?" she asked.
"I did. Inside Your Heaven by Carrie Underwood" I said excitedly.
"That's a good one" she said.
"Can I hear it?" she asked.
"I guess so" I said and we walked down to the studio. I turned the music on quietly so I wouldn't wake any of the kids. I didn't use the microphone or anything, I just sang it. When I was done, Maggie clapped for me.
"Good job kiddo" she said and hugged me.
"Thanks" I said.
"It's eleven, do you want to go watch Ryan Seacrest?" She asked.
"Yes, I love Ryan Seacrest" I said and we laughed. The kids were all asleep upstairs between the two guest bedrooms, so we had the living room to ourselves.
We turned on the New Year's Eve special and watched it and talked about random things. We watched the ball drop and drank some sparking apple juice to celebrate. Around 1:00, I went up to bed and Maggie stayed up until everyone came home. 2014 is going to be a good year.