Thursday, December 30, 2010

Already making a career choice!

I should be sleeping.  But I'm not.  I just had to share this super cute story about Fabi!

Today we were at the Shedd Aquarium.  The first thing you see when you walk in is the huge tank in the center, one that you can walk all the way around.  It's like the center of the wheel and all these other halls are like spokes off of it.  In this center tank there was a man in a wet suit, scrubbing the coral or whatever.  We stood there for a while and Fabi kept asking about the man in the tank, what was he doing, why, etc.  Average 3yo questions, asked about 5 times each =)  After that, we moved on to another tank.  "Where man?"  It took about 3 halls for her to let go of the fact that each tank didn't come with a man in it!

Later, Dave and Mo went swimming while Fabi and I hung out...at one point, she looked up at me and said, "Mom, I be man."  What's that?  You want to be a man?  No hon, you are a girl.  "No, I be MAN!"  No, you're a girl like me.  The guys are on a guys date and the girls, you and me, are here.  "No, I be man. I wear MASK."  Um...at this point I was really searching my brain for a previous conversation about a man in a mask...I was coming up with nothing!!  "I be man in mask.  Crubbing.  In tank."  Crubbing?  AH - I GOT IT!  You want to be like the man in the tank, scrubbing, wow, yeah, you're right, he was wearing a mask!  (I was pretty impressed - we never talked about the mask!)  "I c-wean fish."  Ha - no sweetie, he wasn't cleaning the fish, he was cleaning their tank.  "Yeah, it dirty.  Fish dirty."  Seriously, this was an impressive conversation because she rarely comes up with topics on her own..that may sound weird and rude, but I don't mean it to be that way!  Fabi is becoming quite the conversationalist and it's cool to hear about what impacts her!  And she didn't just spit back what I said, she told me something original.  As the conversation continued, she made sure to emphasize the fact that SHE was going to 'be man', SHE was going to be in the tank, SHE would be crubbing...

So there you have it.  Our girl's first career choice!

New page

I added a 'ten things about me' page.  Most of the items there you probably already know, but I just thought I would point it out if you are interested.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

11 things

2011...a new year.

Lots of new things in store for us!

1 - a new (to us!) daughter.
2 - a new (to us!) van.
3 - a new calendar - baby animals =)
4 - a new 'word of the year'.  The word for '09 was discipline, '10 was give, not sure what '11 will be...
5 - possibly new foster kids, since Leah and Ray will be leaving at the end of January.
6 - new homemade bunk beds?  Dave wants to copy a set we saw today.
7 - new clothes for new daughter - she might actually be growing!!  Shirts are not quite fitting and neither are pants.  I don't think the stats show anything new, but maybe she is just taking on a new shape...
8 - more time on the road in the RV and on the lake in the boat.  We always say we want to camp a lot.  What's new is that it might actually happen!  And maybe I will go fishing more.  That's new.  I always seem to catch the most out of everyone in my family!  Whether it's at a friends' parents' lake house or the trout pond...the girl who hates fish catches the most!
9 - new drinking glasses.  I am hunting for some at the thrift stores.  A whole ton of our Correlle ones got randomly broken.  I thought of replacing them since the pattern matched our plates, but honestly?  It would be more interesting if they didn't match.  Then we wouldn't have to put labels on them when people come over.   "I have the one w/the M on it!"  Instead, it would sound more like, "I have the one with the purple elephant on it!"
10 - new babies in the extended family.  Some through birth, some through adoption!!!  WAHOO!!!  So elated...cannot wait to visit them ALL!!
11 - new opportunities to grow, learn, serve...

Thursday, December 16, 2010

For the birds!

Some notes on Christmas shopping this year...
First of all, when I went last week, there were entirely too many people in the stores during the day.  I couldn't believe the lines!  I found myself grumbling that no one in this town must have jobs since they are all out shopping in the morning.
I tried again today.  I realized a few things...there are gift cards for facebook games.  Really?  I wonder how many people buy them.  Or use them!  Also, I realized that helping the elderly is something no one seems to do anymore.  There was a grandpa looking for something, 'grousing' to his wife that it was the 3rd time he's come here and still can't find this one vitamin he is looking for.  The grandma tried to help, but since I overheard and saw exactly what they needed, I stepped in.  The vitamin?  Lutein.  Good for the eyes =)  I stepped back and grandma got all the credit for finding it.  Another thing that happened to me today was that I *almost* got stuck in a shirt.  You see, thanks to genetics, I am rather thin on top.  (Not so much on the bottom!)  But I always choose small when it comes to shirts.  Sometimes even XS if they look roomy!  I put this small shirt on and couldn't slide my arm out.  I was stuck.  I don't normally pull things over my head and this shirt was so small I didn't even think I could do that.  I considered stepping out and finding someone to help me (!!!) but luckily I was able to practically dislocate my shoulders to get it off!  Note to self: do not try on clothes unless you have planned an exit route or have an assistant, preferably someone who is related to you!  I also noticed today that stores do not carry nearly enough Pedia.Sure.  I cleared out the shelf!  I did see a really funny looking Santa Mr. Potato Head!  I laughed.  I also saw blooming tulips in a pot.  Um...?  I guess it's spring somewhere.  Sigh.  I am not a fan of Christmas shopping.  I always want to be one of those people that has their shopping done in October - I really need to try that next year!!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Ritardando Accelerando

If you know music, you know the above terms are contrary to each other.  Most of us would agree that life can be a contradiction at times too!  That is how I am feeling right now.  We went and set a court date for the adoption today...it's not until January 14.  Part of me wants time to HURRY UP and just get to that day already, but the other part of me is begging for time to SLOW DOWN so Christmas doesn't get lost in the shuffle.  For us, to say 'celebrating the birth of the Savior is important' is an understatement.  The magnitude of the free gift God has given in the form of Jesus, His perfect Son, an atonement for sinners...just the idea that He considers me/us worthy of this gift...
it is a humbling thought.
 
The celebration of Christmas is something we are really beginning to enjoy even more now that we have the opportunity to share it with the kids.  You can see how I want to make these moments last, yet fast forward to another day of importance!  A day not quite as important in the grand scheme of things, but meaningful to us in that we are being given a gift of a different kind.  To be considered worthy to raise a child, a child you had no business creating, a child who calls you Mom and Dad for no reason other than that she knows you are what a parent should be...
it is a humbling thought.  

Monday, November 29, 2010

Wheels on the bottoms of my feet

I don't even know where to start....I know I planned to write about feeding therapy and junk like that but I have so much other stuff that happened that I may not get to it....
Here goes!
Yesterday I hit a deer w/the van.  Actually I plowed through it.  We are all fine, the windshield did not break and the airbags did not deploy.  But the van is not really looking too good.
Today a new state case worker called about Fabi's adoption.  She said that due to budget cuts the current adoption worker assigned to us no longer will be working w/the state, as of the end of the month.  Tomorrow.  This new woman has been assigned the case and she also will be no longer working w/the state adoption agency as of the end of the next month.  So there are some things that need to be done w/or about the adoption before they are both gone OR ELSE.  As in, or else the case gets dropped into the lap of someone new who will most likely be taking a LOT of new cases and then our adoption 'will take forever', as she put it.  So (she asked) did I want to hurry up and do this before the current ladies are gone?

(This is the part where all of you should be yelling at your screens - YES!!!!)


So of course I said yes, we are ready to do whatever it takes.  Previously we had been told that the county did not close the case file yet, so the state could not take any action and move forward w/the adoption.  So I was a bit confused by this new information.  But I figured, if this lady is ready to move, let's do it.  So then she started to explain that Fabi had to be seen before the end of the month.  As in, sometime over the next 2 days.  She asked about tomorrow and when I explained that Fabi would be at school, we discussed the original worker driving down and popping in at school.  I would have to give the school a heads up, they would pop in and that would be that.  Easy enough.  Then she called back to say that they needed to see me.  Remember the part about the van vs. deer collision?  I have no car.  But I told her we could figure it out, I would drop everyone off, go meet her there later...and on and on...we figured it out.  She called back again.  Would a later time work?  Sort of, not really...she called back again!  It was nuts!  She asked if now was a good time.  I said, "I have a few minutes..."  She meant was now a good time to just come over and then skip the school thing.  "NOW?!"  It's not like my house is a disaster or unsafe or anything so having someone come over unannounced is never a problem, but there's laundry racks w/underwear and dirty dishes and...well you get the idea.  She said she'd be here in 30 minutes and I said fine.  So....I ran to change out of sweats, make a sweep to move the laundry, put the dishes in the sink, etc....My hair was a haystack of wiry goodness, but there was no time to fuss w/that!  She peeked in at Fabi and we talked about the adoption assistance rate.  She wasn't even here for 20 minutes and she was on her way again!  So yeah, I got off track from all the things I had planned to do all afternoon!!
But wait - there's more!
Lately Ray has been w/his dad, in fact the social worker said they would be transferring the title of primary caregiver to dad.  No big deal...today Leah, the social worker and Ray all arrived approx. 15 minutes after the state social worker left.  Leah was in tears.  I will spare you the details, but let's just say that the primary care may be switched back to Leah.  We're not sure yet, but it's a mess and that may be what we need to do now.  So we hugged and Mo rubbed Leah's arm and we all 'circled our wagons'.  We regrouped.  We went to McDonald's for dinner.  YUCK.  But the cool thing was that mostly everyone was happy and there was a play place for a really energetic 5yo to burn off some steam!
And now I am sitting on this couch, feeling like my head is spinning from all this activity and confusion, and Dave is trying to talk to me about a new TV.  He has had this bug about getting a large flat screen TV of some sort lately and won't let it drop.  Those things are so expensive!!!  I made the mistake of mentioning that today is cyber Monday or whatever and now he wants to read the stats of all these TVs that are on sale.  He thinks that by reading me the stats and 'incredibly low prices' that I will be convinced to spend more than a mortgage payment on one!
And now I am going to copy my cousin and do some positive self-talk.
Let's go Mel!  Time to get it done!  Girl, you got this!
I don't feel like updating about the feeding therapy right now but I will say this:  I went into it hoping that Fabi would drink something, ANYTHING, during that week.  I wasn't even concerned about the eating so much as I just wanted her to drink!!  I am proud to say that our sweet girl is currently drinking 2-4 ounces at most meals!  Eating has dropped a little but who can complain about that?  The other thing I will say is that over the course of the week she gained 2 pounds.  TWO WHOLE POUNDS PEOPLE!! She hasn't even gained more that 2 ounces in the whole year she has been here!  So the news about all that is good news =)
Ok, now it's time for this awesome momma to get her feet rubbed.

Tossed salad

(I wrote this 10 days ago...I'm still posting it, but fyi that the timeline is off since it's an old post..I plan to write a new one/continuation of this one today...)
This week has been like a tossed salad.  Probably one that is getting a little old and limp.  I made a reference on FB to doing a brain dump here - lucky you! - and now you can read it.

Last week Thurs - the Termination of Parental Rights was completed, making Fabi legally available for adoption.  This week - Fabi and I went to Feeding Therapy at the nearby Children's Hospital.  We slept at my parents' house but were at the hospital for every meal.  Which means we had a lot of free time in between too.  We went to the zoo and the mall, basically...

That's the week in a nutshell.  But nutshells are small.  My brain is not.  (At least, I don't believe it is!)

There are so many things I want to write about...the week started w/the doctors feeding Fabi and I was behind the 2 way mirror in the next room watching.  Don't kid yourself - she may be 3, but she's smart enough to know I was there!  I learned that all the fidgeting, twitching and such that she does is not some ADD thing, but really her way to distract us from the fact that she's not eating.  You may think, um, DUH, but honestly, this kid has so many things going on that it's hard for us to understand or sort out the what/whys of her condition.  We mostly all agreed that her feeding problems are not really physical, although she tires easily, but rather psychological.  Again, we thought we knew that, but it helps to go through all this w/lots of doctors to confirm it.  Most of the strategies they taught me I felt like I could have come up w/on my own, but honestly, I never would have taken the time to do them in our house full of activity.  It was so nice to have it just be me and her the whole week (even though I deeply missed the boys - more on that later!) and I think some elements of attachment were addressed this week too.  Mid-week I sat in the room while the doctors fed her and by the end of the week, I was going solo w/the doctor talking to me in an ear piece while in the next room.
(more soon!)

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The beginning.

(I am a day behind in posting, but I think you'll forgive me when you read the news...)


Court today.  A case about the termination of Fabi's parental rights.

It's over.

As in, the rights were terminated.

As in, we can start the adoption process!!

I would write more, but I need to ready myself for the funeral of a childhood friend.  More later...a bittersweet day for sure...

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Who's the winner?

Dave had practice during/after dinner tonight, so Moses, Fabi and I decided we were going to play a game before bed.  I was trying to think of a game that we could play and actually include Fabi.  Most of the ones I thought of were over her head or not here.  So...I was like, "I know!  Let's play WAR!"  I doubted she could keep up but hey, she can flip cards right?  Um, yeah.  She was so eager to flip cards!!  Note to self - when playing w/a toddler who doesn't even understand the game, be sure she doesn't have all 4 Aces!!  Every time we flipped our cards, I asked Mo who was the winner.  Every time Fabi's hand went up.  She didn't shout or yell, she didn't make a big fuss, just smiled and raised her hand!  A perfect picture of confidence =)  Mo and I were having a hard time winning and there were even times that I was down to ONE CARD.  Finally I called the game and we compared stacks to see who was the winner.  Yep, Fabi.  No contest.  I started thinking about all the times in life where I hear that voice asking, "Who's the winner?" and I don't raise my hand.  I'm not sure I have the confidence that my 3yo does!!  But there are a lot of things in life that I really am good at.  (Grammar is not always one of them - ending a sentence w/a preposition is just wrong!)  I think I am good at spelling, writing, talking (or at least my family thinks so!), coming up w/ideas or solutions, hanging wash, speed-reading, and cultivating tulips.  How many other things am I good at that don't even come to mind?  I am not asking to garner an answer - that was a rhetorical question.  But there's probably a bunch of things I do WELL that I don't even have the confidence to notice.

Who's the winner?

*silently raising my own hand*

Regularly Irregular

(Gotta love how I set out to post every day of the month and then I am only able to post every other day.  But I seem to make up for it by posting twice on those days!)


Some recent randomness...

  • I now have the trifecta of laundry lines.  I hung two loads yesterday and it was sunny, cathartic bliss!
  • I know someone who will be one step closer to adoption tomorrow.  (Not us, although we may be one step closer on Thursday!)  I am simply OVER THE MOON for her/them and I cannot wait to learn more!
  • All 3 levels of my house are the cleanest they have been in a long time!  And I mean they are clean.  I'm not hiding anything in the closets or oven...b/c I would never do that...
  • *deep breath* Ready?  Thursday might be the last court date for TPR.  Fabi may become legally free that day...it's also the same day I am going to a funeral.  This weekend our church is hosting a Compassion Clinic - free medical, dental, etc services for the community.  It is going to be a crazy busy day!  I am sort of in charge/helping in 2 areas.  Next week is Fabi's feeding therapy - all week.  Me and her, camped out at the hospital for 4-6 appointments each day.  Then it will be Dave's birthday, then Thanksgiving, then DECEMBER.  I need some pie just thinking about it!!
  • I actually ran errands by myself today.  My shoes squeak.  Just when I thought it was quiet, going out w/no chatty kids!  
  • I started the 1st homemade Christmas present =)  It was easier than I thought it was going to be.  It doesn't look as good as I wanted it to, but I think it will still be special.  I am full of ideas for more.  The main one is stalled due to a lack of supplies.  I keep haunting the store and asking when they will get more.  They don't really know and keep making references to the next truck.  I found it truly hard to believe that the world is 'out' of this product, since it's made in nature!!  In fact, I have access to an abundance of the natural material and if I knew how to make it, I would!  But I don't. And I'm sure that process is expensive.  So I'm waiting on it in the store.  It costs 89 cents.  I would like about 5 of them.  I'm considering asking if there is another store that has them and could they get them here?  I am even willing to drive 40 minutes or so to pick them up if I have to!  Ok, this rant is over.  But I WILL get this project done!
  • I have had a week off of Jillian.  No workouts for me.  I need to get back to it.  Not sure how it will work w/my busy schedule, not to mention the week at the hospital, but I feel all mushy and sluggish again.  
  • I need to stock up on reading material for the week at the hospital...

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Just Beautiful

Last night I was watching the news and they presented a story about a fostering/adoptive family.  It was so good I wanted to share it!  I found the link - there is a video and a written story (click on the next sentence to see it!).  These are the types of families that really inspire us!  We have a few of them in our own church community, as well as some that are doing the same thing on a smaller scale.  We are grateful to families like this, not only for their inspiration, but for their service and willingness to share their story on the news.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

O. P. B.

O. P. B. stands for Other People's Babies.  They've been on my mind a lot lately.  I have 2 friends who have miscarried this week.  Another friend w/a baby in the hospital.  The dr. operated and had no idea why the baby was still alive.  He is.  God knows why.  Then there's an orphanage in Africa we support, follow, and pray for.  I love reading their blog posts about new kids arriving!  Last week family friends lost their son/brother who is my age.  I've been printing out pics of the foster kids who have moved on from our house.

O. P. B. have the ability to break my heart like my own.  O. P. B. have the ability to make me rejoice and laugh like my own.  O. P. B. remind me to be thankful for my own.  Sometimes O. P. B. make me jealous and ache to have more of my own.  Sometimes O. P. B. are a lot of work.  And yet, at times I feel like I am not doing enough for O. P. B.

New words

Fabi has learned a new word.  It's commando.  As in - going commando or not wearing any underwear.  Yes.  That's the one!  The other day we were talking about giving commands, which 'tipped her off', if you will, and she spend the next half hour asking us if we were commando.  No, kid, no I'm not!  Then the other day she thought of the word - I'm not even sure why! - and starting leaning out of the cart and asking people, "You commando?"  Needless to say,  we finished our shopping pretty quick that day!!  She is using so many new words now, which is awesome, but the trouble is the more words she knows, the more words we need to scroll through to find out what she's saying!  As we drove around town yesterday, she noticed the things on people's porches or houses.  "I saw jack-o-lations!"  she said, but I thought she said DECORATIONS.  Turns out she was referencing all the jack-o-lanterns and I was stuck on the decorations.  Finally, I realized my error and asked her if she was talking about the pumpkins.  "YEAH - jack-o-lations!"  (She followed that happy comment w/a huge dramatic sigh of relief!)  I love hearing her talk clearer, using more words and verbs, but some days the toddler banter gets to be a bit much!  I remember telling Moses to talk to his teddy when I needed a Mommy Time Out.  It worked for him =)  But so far Fabi is not intereted in taking to a stuffed animal or doll of any kind.  Oh well!  I guess all the vocab guessing keeps my brain young.  Now if we could just turn back time and un-teach her a few words like commando...

Thursday, November 4, 2010

True or false?

Did I hang my wash today?





If you answered TRUE, you'd get an A+ on the pop quiz!

Wind at 17mph helps, even when the sun is not out.  Currently I am only hanging on 2 lines.  Soon I hope to have a new pole up to increase line space.  And yes, I realize this is a boring post, but when I started this month of posting every day, I warned you!  And besides, hanging wash is one of my all time favorite activities.  It's my blog and I'll write about what I like!  Maybe tomorrow/Friday I'll have something more interesting...=)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Retro + Grading

Retro + Grading is not equal to grading by light of a lava lamp while wearing a polyester pantsuit and listening to The Mamas and The Papas.

Today was a crisp fall day...we went and picked apples at the orchard - they were quite cheap since we picked our own and it's the end of the season.  Always nice!  Moses stumbled, almost quite literally, on a bunny nestled in the grass.  She didn't even move!  Maybe she was a momma on a nest...?  We unloaded some compost and coffee grounds on the garden too.  We had prepared for all this outside activity by putting on our rubber boots!  I love days like this!  We also raided a store's 75% off costumes rack.  When we came home we put the new costumes on and swapped masks, trying to make silly combinations of superpowers and names...oddly entertaining...!  During Fabi's nap, Moses and I counted money.  All of a sudden he wants paper money instead of coins.  I got him started, but for the most part he counted out $14 in change by himself.  I was pretty impressed that his attention span lasted that long.  That's a lot of coins!  Anyway, the day seemed to go down hill.  It 'declined to an inferior state' as the dictionary says.  I try not to let the end of the day spoil the best parts.  I also try to think about tomorrow.  One of the phrases kicked around here a lot lately is that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  So tomorrow's plan is to start laundry right away, work out, make dinner, clean the counter and put some love into lunch!  Then when everyone gets here we can eat, do a quick family photo project and make some pie during nap =)  Pie always makes things better!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

ketchup day

Since I am doing 2 posts in one day for the purpose of catching up...this one is going to be short.
This is what November means in our house...
N - nesting.  No, not the pregnant kind, but the kind where you bring up winter clothes, re-arrange furniture, pile blankets on the bed, clean things more thoroughly since you spend more time inside, make lots of hot meals...
O - observing.  Observing football games, holidays, school programs, the thermometer dropping...
V - voting.  Today!
E - entertaining.  I have been thinking of all sorts of things to keep the kids busy inside now that the weather is cooler.  They still play outside, just not all day like they were accustomed to doing.  That means I need to keep plenty of art supplies, activities and books handy!
M - making.  This year I am going to try to make almost all the kids' Christmas presents, w/the exception of books and a food item. 
B - baking.  PUMPKIN PIE!!!  I have so many pumpkins, we were eating 2 pies a week for a while.  Then life got busy.  But I hope to get back into this week.  We also have been missing the zucchini chocolate chip muffins.  Mmmm, I'm getting hungry!
E - energizing.  Those of you who live in climates w/a cold season like our winter, you know that it's so hard to get out of a toasty bed in the morning!  People always complain of Seasonal Affective Disorder, like the winter blues, when they just feel sluggish and depressed.  So in November we do what we can to energize each other!  Music helps a lot, but so does exercising, laughing, and sharing new experiences.  
R - recognizing.  November is a great month to reflect and recognize the blessings in life.  We choose to thank God for all that we have been given and even for some of the things that we lack.  That might sound weird, but there are days when I thank God I didn't have a bunch of my own kids.  If we had been given the 12 we wanted, I doubt we would have ever become foster parents.  Don't get me wrong, there are also days that I am not so grateful for that...but as a family, we recognize that God's will is perfect and so we thank Him for both what we have and what we lack.  


What does November mean for you?

Because I can

It's November.  I seem to remember doing a post a day during November in previous years.  I will again attempt to complete this task...even if they turn out to be short and mundane!  So here goes...

It's November 2010.  We painted various parts of our house before November 2006.  We are just putting pictures back up on the walls again!!!  I am having so much fun finding the old frames and the pics that were in it.  Dave's brother had 2 or 3 kids in some of the pics, now there are 5 kids in that family!!  It's funny to see Dave's varying degrees of bearded-ness and long vs. short hair!  I found some really great old ones that I put up on Facebook and some of people that I cherish.  I took most of the pics out of the frames and I am slowly choosing new ones.  It has been a week of reflection.  I am remembering a lot of good times w/great people =).  I am also a little sad that we don't print very many pics anymore, thanks to the digital technology.  One of my favorite things to do at my Grandpa's house is go through the old pictures.  Will my kids/grandkids have any to go through, or will they need to hack into my computer to see what crazy hair and fashions were in style?  Will they remember the good times on family vacations or will they need to make up the memories?  Only time will answer my questions...but I'm issuing this challenge for everyone w/a digital camera - go print some pictures!!  Hang them in frames on your wall, put them on your fridge, shove them in a book somewhere, slip them into the 'important papers' for others to find later, send them in the mail to someone, put them in your kids' lunches, cut them up and glue them onto the backs of playing cards, put them on popsicle sticks and use them for puppet shows, etc...trust me, the smiles will be worth it!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

It's never too early...

It's never to early to make a game plan for next year's school picture day.

Today was school picture day.  Both Moses and Fabi attend the same school, which mean they both need to be gussied up on the same day.  Not too big of a deal, right?  Apparently, for me, it is!

I kept meaning to get Mo's hair cut, but it didn't happen until last night.  Meaning today he had the 'fresh from the barber' look.  Then he argued about what to wear - I totally wasn't caring about the pants, so of course he chose sweats.  Whatever - the picture only shows you from the mid-section up!  But we haggled over his shirt.  He wanted a short sleeve button down w/a tie.  We have no short sleeve button downs.  So then I offered up the short sleeve polo shirts.  No go.  He got excited when he saw the sweater vests - they are really handsome! - but asked if he could pair one of them up w/a white undershirt and a tie.  Um, no.  So we settled on the undershirt and vest.  A little casual, but it worked for us!

On to the girl.  Um...why are all these dresses sleeveless??  Or too big?  What's the deal?  I have no nice shirts, but plenty of wrinkly T-shirts.  It was bad.  I even asked Dave to help me rank the choices.  We found a decent sleeveless dress and a sweater.  Cute!  Ok, hair...um...thankfully I still have my 80s tiny curling iron!  I did her bangs to hide the cowlick (85% successful) and made a few ringlets around her face.  After finishing one side, the other looked flat.  Fixed it and the other looked limp.  Seeing a pattern here?  We don't own hairspray (yuck!) but for once I felt I needed it!  Oh well - off you go!  It's not getting better so leave well enough alone!

I felt crazy then b/c I had all these notes and the teachers always say to pin them to the kids.  "Take the sweatshirt off for pictures please" and "I'll bring the snack before 9am" (oh yeah, did I mention it was also our day for snack?  I had some ready to go but *someone* left it out on the counter all night instead of the fridge...sigh...)  My poor kids had notes all over them!!

Back to the boy.  Hair.  He wanted a spike.  Due to the previously mentioned haircut, there was not enough hair for a spike!  We agreed on a 'ramp', like his uncle always does.  I grabbed the 'palm-aid' (sp?) type stuff I bought before school started (and never used!) and we gave it a try.  One half looked great while the other was curling...ah well!  We giggled a lot!  That stuff is thick!  Then I heard the requests for a pull-over sweatshirt and my pulse got faster - no!!!!  I explained that once you do your hair like that, pull-over clothing is not an option.  Seemingly satisfied w/that, he went off to hunt for another sweatshirt.

Back to the girl.  In case I didn't mention it before, she gets tube feedings in a McKey button.  Before going off to school each day we go through the motions - her whimpering like a cat and me reassuring her she's fine.  Sometimes it takes longer than others and sometimes all her tears render her shirt useless.  Thankfully, it was not a day where we needed to change clothes!  PHEW

Got some replacement snacks on the way to school, made sure everyone had their receipts for the photographer and drove home, replaying the morning in my head.

It's never too early to make a game plan for next year's school picture day.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Secretly rich

Apparently baby Ray finds Jillian Michaels soothing.  He fell asleep half-way through the 30 Day Shred!
*side note* Remember when I couldn't think of any anecdotes for myself?  Read on...*
-So I started the 30 Day Shred.  Not that I need to lose weight (it might be nice to lose a few, like 10) but I need to get into shape!  Day one reflections - not that hard.  I only did level 1.  I did, however, miss day 2 since I was sore and couldn't find a chaos free 20 minute block.  I just completed my 2nd day of it.  It's good!  I wonder what level 2 holds...do you think I should jump ahead on only my 3rd day?  Am I too cocky?  I was thinking of 10 days of level 1, 10 days of level 2 and 10 days of level 3.  I suppose I could get to day 5 of level 1 and make my decision then.  Yes, I need a work out DVD to actually do something. I tried Fit TV but the workouts on there all have a theme, like Bollywood dance workout or something I couldn't stomach.  I used to workout twice a week w/my cousin at the HS gym, which was SWEET but now w/Ray home and Leah working, Mo taking piano, Dave teaching piano, church on Weds...yada, yada...I literally cannot find a time when we can both go.  And the HS gym is not open to the community during the day.  We'll see how this DVD thing goes.
-I had a really awesome birthday week!  I opened a present early, w/permission.  It was a mug w/a bunch of photos of me and ALL the kids on it =D!!!  I drink out of it all the time and how can you not be happy when you see pics of your babies grinning in your arms all day?!  I also got breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants in town and a massage.  You have no idea how badly I needed that...I had been to the dr already and muscle relaxers are not my style.  The massage did the trick!  Dave also remembered that I wanted a T-shirt from a ministry we support - Drawn From Water.  If you haven't heard about it already, please go check it out.  The T-shirt has the outline of Africa w/all the babies' names that they have saved.  I also got some PB cup ice cream, attended a run/walk for the unborn w/my parents of a beautiful fall day (it was almost 80*!) and I managed to get a few of us decent and smiling for a cool family photo!
-When I was hanging wash the other day, I felt a lump in Fabi's sweatshirt pocket.  Um...?  Whatever it was had gone through the wash, so I was a little annoyed.  I peeled the little pocket open to find half a walnut shell, a rock, a piece of yarn and a fake leaf.  I laughed - Moses was never one to start collections unless he could proudly display them somewhere.  Fabi is not like that.  One of her favorite phrases is, "Keep it?"  She squirrels things away in pockets, car seat cup holders, her backpack, her bed, and her hand (when no other option is available)!  Anyway - to keep this anecdote from being about someone else, let me steer you back to my finding all this treasure in her pocket.  I did laugh, but then I just carelessly tossed the stuff out in the lawn.  Later the wash line broke and guess where her sweatshirt landed?  On top of the stuff.  I took it as a sign and collected her treasures.  After shaking out all the wash and re-organizing it on racks, I tucked the treasures on the ledge by the back door.  There are so many things I treasure that I would be crazy if someone just tossed them away.  I was a little crazy since the wash line broke - I love hanging wash!  I treasure the nutchie/pacifier I clipped when trying to break Mo of the habit.  I treasure coming in the back door and seeing a bunch of kid-sized shoes lined up near the size 12 men's ones.  I treasure my new mug and the kids I'm holding in the photos.  I treasure the notes Dave wrote me when we were dating - Mo just recently found one where Dave had drawn some pictures and used markers to color them.  He was grilling me on what kid made that note since he couldn't believe his dad did it!
-One last weird one.  Lately I have been having the knack of finding a product on the shelf that is not entered into the system.  I found a bottle of dish detergent that failed to exist at Big Lots.  The new guy and the manager couldn't figure out how to sell it to me.  Rocket science, I guess.  They finally found some way to override the system and accept my $2 payment.  How gracious of them.  Then at Shopko a stainless steel canteen had an unrecognizable bar code.  So did all of it's neighbors.  They kept bringing up a different one to see if each worked.  None did.  Other aluminum ones were in the system, but I don't want aluminum.  Again, they were finally able to override the system and take my $2.50 payment.  Then, I found a box of diapers, apparently the last of the 'old style'.  No longer in the system.  How could they offer it for sale if there wasn't an entry?  I'm not blaming the clerks at these stores, I'm sure they are not experts in computers and how the store handles the programming.  But even the managers have been baffled at how to sell a product to me if it's not in the system.  It's almost like they don't want my money, but they do want to make me happy.  Couldn't I just get the 'new style' of diapers?  For $1.50 more, probably.  If you are one of the clerks at a place like this, please don't be insulted.  I'm not trying to bash you or the stores.  I just find it ironic that this has happened to me at 3 different places in less than a week.  I feel like I should sign up for a secret shopper program!  There should be a bonus for finding flaws in the system like that, right?  I could be getting rich off my odd-ball talent!  "Go ahead, get the deluxe model, I hit it big at WalMart the other day - the bread I tried to buy was unrecognizable!"

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bodacious love

I am not talking about surfer dudes and dudettes falling in love.

I looked up the word unconditional today.  I liked the list of synonyms...

...all-out...categorical...clean...
...complete...definite...flat-out...
...outright...profound...pure...
...sheer...simple...thorough...
...total...absolute...unqualified...

...and...

...bodacious.

As a foster parent, our unconditional love for the kids is constantly being tested.  There are times when I know I should unconditionally love on them, but I don't want to.  I ask, "God, really?  This too?  I don't think I can do it..."  But then even as I'm talking to Him, I'm reminded of the unconditional love He gives me.  When I fail as a parent, when I fail as a wife, when I fail as a Christian, God loves me unconditionally.

But today I just didn't like that word.  So I went in search for another.

And I found BODACIOUS.

God has BODACIOUS LOVE for me!

I have BODACIOUS LOVE for my kids!

I'm praying that you, too, feel BODACIOUS LOVE from someone in your life.  Most importantly, I pray you feel the BODACIOUS LOVE of GOD!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Putting off the update


We had a TPR court date.  It passed.  A lawyer was late.  Really late.  So late that we couldn't even start.  It was postponed again.  As they were all trying to find a date that worked for everyone, it became clear that it would be a month before the next available date.  It was frustrating and annoying.  Of all the possible outcomes, of all the ways we thought it could go 'wrong', the lawyer being late was not one that we had imagined.  Anyway, most of you all already know this, but I figured I would make a post.  For posterity.  Or in case someone stumbles on the blog and looks for foster care stories.  This is a story that should be included.  Stuff happens.  Don't make plans.  Especially when lawyers and social workers and a bunch of other people are involved.  Too many variables.  I realize that this post sounds negative and crabby, but I'm sorry - that's not my intention.  That's why I waited a bit before I posted.  So...now we are looking forward to the next date.  But there's going to be a whole lot of other stuff that will happen between then and now - lots of fall fun to enjoy!  Tomorrow Fabi goes w/her class to the apple orchard, Moses has been helping me make tons of pumpkin pies, Leah went to a bunch of Homecoming activities...and we eat a lot of pie!!!  Here's a pic of some of the garden harvest...there's eggplant, squash and pie pumpkins of course!  We also got 4 pie pumpkins in our CSA box.  So far, each pumpkin has yielded 2 pies =)  YUMMY!  I love fall!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Anecdotal evidence...

I realize that this blog has turned into lists and such when it used to be stories that I wanted to record and share. So that's today's task - write some 'anecdotes' for each person! Smallest to biggest...
Ray - Right now I am waiting for his mom to get home so we can show her a 'trick/skill' he has been practicing. More on that later I hope! The other day I swore I heard him say "Buh" for every book we were picking up off the floor! One of his favorite games to play is when you are sitting on the couch and he is standing, holding the edge. He will lean his head back on your knee, expecting you to tickle his belly =) We all laugh! He misses his mom, since she's back at school and working. When she's here he follows her around...he will turn 1 SOON!!! Still only 2 teeth, but there is one peeking out!
Fabi - The other day we were at a chain drug store for a few things and Leah was looking at the Halloween stuff. Fabi joined her and they found a fairy type costume (Fabi loves Tinkerbell!). I told Fabi that we weren't going to get it b/c it was for adults and we would look for a kid one somewhere else. That cute girl wrinkled her nose, looked up at me and said, "Goodwill, Momma, get it at Goodwill?" She knows me too well!!
Moses - After a small adjustment to school, he is taking off! One day he came home and I asked a million questions about his morning. (It's pretty wild not knowing what he did for 4 hours after experiencing practically EVERY breath the kid took!) Finally, he sighed and told me they had cupcakes. "Sweet!" I said. "Yeah, it was Demon's birthday so he brought cupcakes." DEMON??? Hold the phone here, if there are demons in your class, we are quitting public school! I kept asking if he was sure, telling him the kid had to be named something else, when I realized I had a snack calendar. A HA!! DAMIEN. The kid's name was Damien! PHEW! The other thing that is new is that Moses gets the privilege of walking his sister to her class. The first few days he shoved her down her hallway, but now he says goodbye and even gives her a kiss =) Sweet boy! He has taken to carrying around a yellow stuffed duck his friend Martha gave him. Not only that, but he is calling the duck his son. When he was informed that the duck couldn't go to school w/him, he was very indignant that the duck needed his father. I offered to babysit, the same way I babysit Ray while Leah is at school. That 5yo face lit up and he started rattling off the instructions: Moses Jr likes to fed corn baby food, he must sleep in his crib, he likes to be wrapped in the Stephanie blanket, I must be quiet while he naps...etc...=)
Leah - got a job!!! Can't remember if I posted that already...She works at a pizza chain. She wishes for more hours, but she's still new. Maybe that will change. She's learning the balance of how to be a momma who goes to school, works and still wants to do things w/her baby. Personally, I am so stinking proud of her!!! It is so hard to be away from your baby when you work (I did summer school when Mo was little) and she is doing everything she can to get ahead in school. The other day she brought home algebra homework and asked for help. The book was pretty close to the same one I had in high school and exactly the same one I used when teaching ELL math. Her questions were pretty basic about real numbers and integers and stuff....but I had to check back in the chapter for answers! I felt silly, seeing as how I did well in Calculus and college math, but I wanted to be sure, ok? As it turned out, I was half right. We both learned something! As I was explaining all this to Dave (the math minor), I started to get choked up. I was telling him how 'normal' this all feels - doing math homework w/the teenager and having to check my own answers, driving her to work, getting ready for Homecoming, having her friends over to watch TV, etc...It feels 'normal'!! For me, that's saying a lot. I'm not sure I can explain how I feel, but I guess I always felt like I would never get here. It would always be work, it would be hard to have a teen, I could never do this...but I am...SHE is...We are!
Pickles - ok, Pickles is not still in the house, but we have seen her a few times since she's left. Leah and Pickles were friends before Pickles moved in here and while she was here. It's been amazing to get the girls and their babies together!! FUN for me!! Pickles now has a job and her own place!! Praise God, He has been so faithful to her! We are very proud of her too!
Dave - Even though it's never enough, Dave has been enjoying taking us out in the boat! We really enjoy Elkhart Lake and the other day we were able to get out on Random Lake. His favorite thing to do there was chase down the gulls! No calls from PETA, so I guess no one seemed to care! He had a 'crier' this year for the first day of school. It seems every year there is one, but if there isn't, there might be a runner or something. Well this year another mom told me the kid was crying AND running! I'm not supposed to laugh, it's so hard for those kids on their first day...not to mention rough for their teacher! I mean, Dave!
Me - Writing anecdotes about myself is kinda weird...I can't think of any good stories...what do you want to know? If I think of something, I will come back and write it!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

A slice of life

Today was pretty awesome! I was able to go out for coffee w/some friends - Tracy started this adoption/foster care support group and I am so glad we are meeting again! It's not formal or anything, we mostly just talk, but it's so nice to be able to talk w/people who 'get' it. Then I cruised home - Dave was working on a house project and had already taken Leah dress shopping for homecoming! Yeah, I was bummed to have missed it, but she already knew what she wanted anyway. It was still fun to see her dress and the accessories she picked out. We talked hair and I had the realization that I'm not all that into 'girl stuff' but here I was sticking it out in a conversation w/a teen girl (almost woman!) who valued my opinion about hair and a dress. Me? Have you seen the sticks of straw coming out of my head? And I am fashion-challenged, so I know only God could have authored these types of conversations, you know what I mean? Sorry - that was a tangent. After collecting a few things we hopped in the car and met my parents and Moses (he had slept over the night before). It's such a blessing to have them so close! Even having only one kid gone for a night is a re-charge to our batteries! We got home and Leah had a turtle! A friend of hers had found it wanted to give it to Ray. (Don't fret, we already let it go in the back 40.) But the kids got to see it waddling in the grass and we all looked over Dave's shoulder as he looked up the species or whatever online. (BTW - we decided it was an ornate box turtle. They don't have webbed feet and they have a very dome-like knobby shell.) We watched some football, Dave showed me the door we're planning to use as a headboard (he had applied paint stripper), and I actually got some cleaning and purging done! Whew! And today is not over! See what I mean? Yeah, I need more days like this. It was a pretty good formula for success. Tomorrow is laundry day, church and more football! Maybe even a boat ride...I LOVE FALL!!!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Ouch! Fell off my own wagon.

I challenged myself to post more and then I did ok and then I didn't. But you already know that and aren't surprised! Life has been more of a blur than usual, but yet some things are moving really slow. Today I want to analyze (b/c I do a lot of that!) what is working and what is not...
WORKING: Everyone has been getting to school on time and doing the necessary things they need to do. Leah started her job and that's going well too! We put up a marker board to keep track of everyone's schedule for the week and this huge board is filled already. Stuff we forgot about kept getting added and amazingly people are actually not missing stuff, thanks to the board! Who knew?! The garden has been 'working' - we just harvested 16 squash, 9 pie pumpkins and 5 eggplants. Basil is still there, still going strong...Fabi has been getting extra calories at school in the form of free breakfast and snacks. Not sure she's gaining any weight yet, but I hope it will happen soon. Mo's quiet times in the afternoons have allowed me lots of time to get stuff done, as well as baby Ray's morning nap times. Can you believe I've been actually getting lunches and dinners on the table pretty regularly? It's working! The planning and the using veggies and the cleaning the table 57 times a day...it works! (Mom, you're supposed to laugh...!) Something else that I marvel at - baking soda and vinegar. I have been cleaning bigger stuff now that I have more uninterrrupted time and I am so glad we don't buy commercial cleaners anymore. Why would we? I have cleaned so much stuff and I didn't need any of it! I just made more homemade dishwasher detergent and I even figured out why the dishes were so cloudy. I feel so smart!
NOT WORKING: I'm worn out. I need a vacation. I'm doing better, but any prayers would be appreciated. =) Since I'm worn out, I haven't been working out. =( That stinks and doesn't help my attitude. I hope to get that back on track soon. Also, finding a decent used single stroller. Where are they?? I am finding tons of doubles, of which we have 2. So I bought a somewhat cheap one but I don't like it. I haven't been diligent enough about getting breakfasts together. Stuff w/Fabi's feeding therapy keeps getting changed and delayed and that's really annoying. She's doing so much better but I can't help but think, "How much better would she do if she had her therapy week?" We will soon be attending court for the 3rd time in regards to TPR and I hope it will be the last, or at least the 2nd to last. I don't deal well when things are 'in limbo'. Something else that isn't working too well - purging. We started but then it gets late and we crash. Then the next day we don't get a chance to get stuff out of the house and it sits. So any kick in the pants you can send our way would be great!

That's a small summary of things around here...hopefully I will be a little more coherent next time!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Onward and Forward!

A friend shared a link about personal goals for us mommas, and the title was "Making Mom's Health A Priority". I admitted to her that the title made me cringe and feel self-conscious. Taking care of myself is not exactly one of my strong points! But needless to say, I clicked on the link (mostly b/c I admire my friend Amy and aspire to be more like her!) and I am VERY GLAD I read it! I love the woman's goal sheet and really hope to create something like that for myself. Bear with me here, as I brainstorm some personal, physical and spiritual goals for myself.

PERSONAL - I'd love to work more on scrapbooking and the baby books. It would be nice to have time to sew or be crafty in general. I think I could dedicate one night a week to something of that nature. I like to read too. So maybe log 70 minutes reading for pleasure each week. I would also like to have a date w/at one family member a week - it may be something simple like just taking one kid to the grocery store, or maybe something more elaborate like getting a babysitter and going on a date w/Dave.
PHYSICAL - I should get to bed earlier, like by 9pm. I would like to drink more water. Working out at least 2 times a week is definitely something I miss. I'd like to lose 15 pounds. (There - I said it!! Well, at least I wrote it....)
SPIRITUAL - Wow, you have no idea...this is an area in which I fail miserably. I would like to memorize a verse a week. So now you all have the task of telling me your favorite verse and why! I will learn your verse and pray for you =) I also would like to start attending or leading a small group at my church. So that means I need to email my friend Vicky. I hope that 70 of the minutes of reading that I do for pleasure could be matched for Bible reading each week.

In the article, the author then goes on to talk about how you can put these goals into your daily routine. Her first task is to get up an hour before her children. Um, my child wakes up before 6 am!! That's not happening. The place I find extra time in my routine is after the kids go to bed, which is usually by 7pm. I also have some time during the morning these days since Ray naps almost the whole time the kids are in school. As far as the dates go, I need to be more deliberate in planning them. We now have a marker board to keep track of everyone and I'm finding a visual schedule is soooooo helpful! Why didn't I think of that before? It is easier to see 'free time' when we could squeeze in dates =) Working out...my workout partner is my cousin. We used to go twice a week, but I think that might be hard to do that w/more kids in the house this fall. I am going to aim for once a week and then try to do something on my own 1-2 times a week. I think if I plan for Thursdays to be a day that I can run or try one of the programs on DVD, it will help. Drinking more water doesn't sound hard, but for me it is. I need to drink a glass of water with breakfast and one before the kids come home. One at lunch and another during nap. Then if I have one for dinner that would be 5. That is HUGE! I will need to set aside one night to get together a list of verses and email Vicky.

PHEW - Hope you are all finding time in your daily routine to work on your goals! (Don't forget to send me your favorite verses!)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Realizations

I just realized...tomorrow is the first day of school for my preschoolers.
I just realized...Fabi is almost all the way potty trained w/o much help from any of us!
I just realized...it's September and I'm spring cleaning.
I just realized...we have been eating a lot of meatless meals for dinner w/o even planning it.
I just realized...I'm seriously slacking failing in the bike dept.
I just realized...certain winter clothes don't fit as well as they did last year =(
I just realized...we've experienced 'smooth sailing' w/all 4 kids over the past 4 months.
I just realized...my husband has asked me to find a microwavable 'hippie' travel mug (his words, not mine). Is he coming to the green side??
I just realized...I have been keeping up w/the dishes lately.
I just realized...I could eat these muffins every day!
I just realized...I am really grateful for my former students. I am in contact w/some of them on facebook and they are some really great kids!
I just realized...this was an amazing summer! And I can't wait to write more about it...

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

And then one day I was on the run...

It was the first day of school for Leah, but the preschoolers don't start until the 7th, so that meant I had baby Ray, Fabi and Moses all to myself! We were running all day! The baby was asleep when Leah left and we were all getting ready. About a half hour before we were supposed to go to Moses and Fabi's school to meet their teachers, Ray woke up and we all loaded into the car. Met the teachers, visited Ray's teachers from last year...went home for lunch, left and met w/Dave to look at new strollers. (Side note - why are solo strollers w/no car seat so stinking expensive??) Came home and the baby was already asleep so put him and Fabi down for a nap. Cleaned the kitchen (!!!), picked up the living room and put away some things we had picked up. Leah came home, went to her job interview (PRAISE GOD SHE GOT THE JOB!!!), Dave came home, we made dinner w/3 kids underfoot and then we all went to church for a special Weds night service. They prayed over all the kids going to school this year =)

In case you were wondering, you don't need to buy special shoes for this kind of running!!

I am not the only mom running today, I know a lot of moms were running - to their first day as a teacher, to their job, to the store, to the hospital to be w/a family member, to school, to do errands, to be w/a friend, etc...so this is not like I'm trying to win an award for working harder than anyone else, but I just mean to explain how I/we are starting a new school year, a new chapter...next week the preschoolers will go off to school and I will be learning a whole new routine! It's pretty amazing how a day like today makes me feel tired but then God knows exactly what I need and then refreshes me at church tonight =) I am so grateful for days like today...

Monday, August 30, 2010

Chirp, chirp...

Hear that? No? It's the sound of crickets. The other 3 kids are gone and it's quiet here! Leah had a school appt today so I convinced her to leave Ray here so I don't go crazy from the quiet!
So here's a quick list of things I'm getting excited about...
-school starting! Can't wait to see how everyone does and how the routine works! Leah switched to the school on the other side of town, Mo will be doing K4 and Fabi will be doing K3 w/therapies at school. I will have Ray! So yeah, we will be doing a lot more baby proofing! He is almost ready to walk =)
-new children's pastor and new music pastor at church.
-my best friend has an interview back in the good ol' WI! That means he and his family are hoping to be moving back here from OH by the end of the year!! Not that we don't like to visit them in OH, we have been there a bunch of times, but it will be much easier to visit them now.
-our former foster daughter, Pickles, got a job!! And she's going back to school! We saw her yesterday and it was awesome. This was the 2nd time we saw her and her baby. (He needs a blog name....) They seem to be doing so well, which is so nice to see. We pray for them often and it's good to know that even when we aren't able to help, she is being watched over by someone...
-TPR court date again tomorrow.
-a ton of pumpkins in our garden! Can't wait for pumpkin muffins, pie, smoothies...
-Fantasy Football.
-just fall in general =)
There are probably a lot more things but that's just off the top of my head. Maybe I'll come up w/more randomness tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

8 is Enough (or maybe 9?)

Did you ever watch that show? It was fun - I don't remember too much, just the dad being really exasperated all the time! We have 9 people in the house this week again since we are doing respite for some friends from church. We have added 2 children aged five and 1 child age three. So yeah, lots of preschoolers/toddlers! One lady asked us today, "Are these all your children?" I laughed and explained that only 1 was actually mine =) It was pretty funny b/c the kids are of different races and such and it's always the old ladies who ask and try to figure out why I have a little United Nations group following me.

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I'm back and now I'm laughing at myself. I started writing this in like a 5 minute break, thinking I could do a quick one. What was I thinking?? I ran off to go deal w/some squabble, I'm sure! Now it's 'quiet time' for everyone. They are all sequestered in separate rooms w/a pile of books! Good thing they like to read =) Now to get to some cleaning...

Sunday, August 22, 2010

My baby is 5!!!!

Oh my sweet boy...I love this pic of you!! It seems to be the essence of who you are right now! I see this pic and I see joy. That's you - singing "I will not be moved, I will not be moved, like a tree planted by the water, I will not be moved!" You are a ball of energy - running, playing soccer, hanging from the rings and swing set, riding your scooter, big wheel or bike...The sky is the limit for you right now. You love to dress up in costumes of all kinds. Mascots of any kind are worthy of being followed and copied. Moses, you are so ready for school! You will be one of the tallest and oldest ones there, but I know you will also be one of the most sensitive ones too. You are constantly showing love, compassion and generosity to your sister and the foster kids in our house. This brings us joy beyond measure! Moses, you are fearfully and wonderfully made in God's own image. His plans are to prosper you and not harm you. I pray the joy in your heart never fades! We love you Moses!!

If this is it, please let me know...

(See, I'm really trying to post more!)
I don't know why, but as I scanned my last couple of posts, I have noticed that a lot of the titles were song lyrics. Can you name the song this title is from? I have thousands of things to write about and photos to post and honestly, I do not want to do another update. So I am going to try and get back into the swing of things here and write more frequently.
First of all - the court date for Fabi's TPR is behind us. It didn't turn out as we planned, but it wasn't a huge surprise either. Basically, the judge asked her parents some questions and it was clear they didn't completely understand and/or have their own feelings sorted out. He then recommended they sign up for a public defender to guide them through the process. We will be returning on Aug. 31st for the next step. We were not too surprised about the end result, and it makes sense to ensure that everyone understands what is going on so if there is an appeal, it won't be under the pretense that people did not understand the proceedings. I will keep you posted...
Second of all - it's almost fall!! That means school, leaves falling and FOOTBALL!!! Don't get me wrong, summer was a blast but it was also a blur. School means routine, leaves falling means cooler temps and less humidity, and football means PACKERS and Brett Favre (again!) and Peyton Manning and watching games w/family!
Finally - I am serious about trying to blog more on a regular basis. If you have any topics (not too controversial please) or questions you'd like to see talked about here, let me know! I have so much to talk about but I will catch up on the important stuff as we go. Thanks for sticking w/me even when I haven't written much!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Slow march to fall

I have been meaning to write this post for so long! We have TPR news (Termination of Parental Rights - as in, the child would then be legally freed up for adoption) for Fabi. We have an early August court date! We have been informed that it could be over in one day, or it may require more. The social worker would like it to be one, and you can guess what our wish is too! If you know me in real life, feel free to ask more questions in person. But please, just pray...there will be a lot going on for all of us in fall - Moses and Fabi start school, Fabi will be having 2 week intensive feeding therapy (including us staying at the Ronald McDonald house the whole time), possible TPR and adoption...I want to write more but now is not the time. It has been a full summer =) Lots of other new additions to the family! (Not people, don't worry, I would be quick to announce any new people!) Much to talk about and many photos to post...so how's all that for a teaser? Stay tuned, come back for more!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway...

So many things to update, so little time! I will try to keep it short though b/c it's late...

FAMILY: - there's still 6 of us and probably will be for quite a while (Dave, Mo, Leah, Ray, Fabi and me) - bought an RV - hitting the open road in August! - no summer programs, just going to get creative and learn stuff on our own...
DAVE: - finished some classes, but not all - found out he's not going to be at 3 schools next year, just the same 2, phew! - going to be teaching middle school ESL for summer school - going to be boating a bunch this summer - enjoying men's prayer breakfast every Thursday - playing church softball and promises no broken bones...
MEL: - teaching Enrichment Spanish for summer school - learning to drive an RV - started garden boxes at her local BFFs' house again - hoping to help w/the church's huge garden and grow lots of veggies for those in need - needs to get her biking butt in gear if she ever expects to hit anywhere near 100 miles this year!
MO: - graduated from Creative Play Preschool and misses his teacher =) - sings ALL THE TIME! - loves attending the Traditional Service at church w/Daddy - scooters around a lot - is very compassionate to his little sister - eats 3 breakfasts each day and is hungry all the time - doesn't take any more naps but informs us around 6:30 that he's tired and goes to bed (on occasion, but more often than we expect!)
FABI: - may be available for adoption by August, but we're not holding our breath or anything - dances A LOT and sings too - has made huge gains in her physical skills, talking skills and general daily task skills - no longer wears braces on her feet WAHOO! - has graduated from the church baby nursery to the 'big girl class' where they sit down and listen to the teacher tell a story from the Bible - shadows a lot of stuff her big brother does...
LEAH: - is doing an awesome job in school!! - continues to amaze us - makes mothering a teething baby look easy - she is 'finding herself' and sorting out things for her future out of our care - will be going to summer school and hopes to find a summer job...
RAY: - cutting teeth - need we say more?? - crawling, but really wanting to skip all that and just wants to pull up and stand by everything - suffering from asthma and bronchitis so please pray - starting to interact more w/everyone, listens to Mo read a book and smiles or laughs...

Well, I don't know, of course I have tons more to say, but I think that was the short quick version of a whole bunch of stuff! We have been told by the social worker that Fabi's TPR (Termination of Parental Rights) has begun, with the help of a lawyer, and they expect it to be completed by August. Again, we are not holding our breath, not counting chickens that haven't hatched, not betting any money on it....yada, yada, yada, but at the same time, we are excited or 'cautiously optimistic' as we say around here =) We're at the point in the journey where 'signs' like this are popping up and it seems we are nearing the 'destination'. We appreciate your prayers as our family and the birth family go through this...thank you!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

We were on a break!!

I have been writing all these posts in my head but not posting them on the web. Such is life! So I'm on a break. But please don't leave me forever! I promise I will put a highlight reel together or something. I will check in again soon!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Twenty days!

A LOT has happened in 20 days!! I have so much to say! So many posts are in my head, screaming to get out....First things first - had a meeting w/Fabi's social worker and the term 'TPR' came up. That's Termination of Parental Rights. When we accepted Fabi into our care, they asked us if we would be willing to adopt and we said yes. But here we are, actually hearing words that like that and it's SO EXCITING!!!!! Well, not that exciting b/c it hasn't actually started yet and it still might not, but the fact that it was mentioned and that time is coming close to that is another step on the path...
AND - there's even better news! Fabi is eating and drinking a bunch! She was sick a while back - more on that later - and she just got hungry and thirsty enough that she started and didn't really slow down! We are going for another weight check tomorrow to see if she's keeping her weight up...I don't know if she is, but I pray it's enough to show that she's made progress on her own!
I guess those are the big, exciting type news items. In the past 2 months, there's been a funeral, black water coming out of the drains and sink, a prom, a vacation in NC, 2 summer school jobs secured, lots of online homework, a road trip w/4 kids and a camper to KY/OH, conflict w/a social worker, 2 kids signed up for school next year, a baby that started crawling, etc...I have a mess of photos to share and I wish I had time to do that tonight, but I don't. So I'll do what I seem to be doing a lot of these days...talk about what's coming up! FLOWERS!!!! And more appointments of course. And more camping and wedding parties and hopefully a big BYOM BBQ in the backyard! (That's bring your own meat/main-item-for-vegetarians bar-b-que, for those of you that haven't been introduced to our style!) Not only that, but I'm going to be sure there will be more posts coming soon...

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Time Out for Momma

I've had good behavior, but I am still quietly sitting on the steps. This week we have 3 extra kids at our house for respite. Like Mo, they don't take naps anymore, but like Mo, they need quiet time! So I currently have all 5 children spread out in separate rooms and I am monitoring from the steps. No one is really doing anything like trying to get out of it (they know we do this every day) but they tend to wander or try and talk to each other if I don't sit at my post. I'm not complaining b/c I enjoy this quiet time out but I tend to run out of things to do sitting here. It dawned on me that the blog has been neglected again, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to fire off an update post...
...only I feel weird talking about all that's been going on. It's been a blur and writing stuff here won't do it a justice. If you know me IRL you know most of the stuff anyway.
So I'm going to write an update on what I want to be doing =)
I'd love to get back into the habit of working out again. I miss my bike too. It's rainy today and the temps are going to be quite low tonight so they put the S word back into the forecast. You know I love snow, but only if it's enough to be playing in. Snow at this point in the year is just an annoying nuisance and seems to impede all the spring/summer activities from getting off the ground. Or in the ground. I am hoping to garden again this year, w/my boxes over at my friend Tracy's house, and maybe a few things nestled in the flower beds too. I really want to get some seeds under a grow light but that means some work in the basement needs to be done. I'd love to do some scrapbooking if time permitted. I bought a small album and ran off a few pics of former foster kids so I could make a mini-album to help remember them =) I'm ready to walk/bike to the grocery store and church again, ready to camp, ready to visit the secret beach, ready to hang more wash outside...ah, yes, spring fever...

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Prioritizing - The APLS post

If you're a regular reader, you've heard me talk about some of the 'green' or 'eco-friendly' things we do as a family, like not using shampoo, using cloth bags when shopping, hanging laundry indoors and out, composting, etc...a while back I joined a group of other bloggers in swapping stories, if you will, at a website called the APLS blog. APLS is an acronym for Affluent Persons Living Sustainably. Each month there is a topic posted and anyone can write in and share their own thoughts on their blog, as a sort of 'carnival' as we call it. This month I am hosting the topic here! For those of you that are 'tuning in' for this post, welcome! If you feel like looking around, you'll find I talk about all sorts of stuff ranging from foster care to my faith, from silly stuff to serious. Hope you enjoy getting to know more about me =) Moving on to business...

This month's topic is about the decisions we make, big or small, that affect our actions as self-proclaimed APLS. How do you decide what gets to be top priority in your green life? What types of activities are a MUST for you, and what gets left on the chopping block?

First and foremost, I should probably admit that 'going green' hasn't really been a priority in our house. We do our best to make God a priority in all things that we do. That being said, I hear people talk about their reasons for 'saving the earth' and things like that and I feel conflicted. On some levels I agree, but for us, we believe God created the Earth and we are merely stewards of what He has provided. This type of thinking drives our decision making on a base level but honestly, on the surface, there are other things affecting our decisions too....Steph at Greening Families wrote a great post about Deciding to Decide. Whatever your reasons for changing your lifestyle may be, it's good to get active and make a difference.
The title of my blog is "The Good Life", which it is, but there are plenty of tough decisions to be made to make this the best life. How do we decide what 'green' activities to spend our time on? I think when we started all this, I was looking for things that my hubby would get on board with...things he would participate in, like building us a barrel composter. I looked for things that were easy and convenient, like inexpensive cloth bags at the thrift stores, or even better - free ones! I wanted to find stuff that would be easy to do as a SAHM with an ever-changing number and age range of kids in the house. I took things slow and we found stuff that we didn't argue about! Well, truthfully we 'found' things that we did argue about, but those issues were tabled in favor of ones that we agreed upon.
As time wore on, I found myself pushing the envelope more...like when I didn't use the dryer for almost 2 years. I already loved to hang wash outside but then in winter it meant lots of clothes hanging in the basement and racks in the hallways. Dave wasn't always thrilled with that, but I made a commitment to myself to keep it going and find ways to keep it from bothering him and getting in the way. This past winter he didn't even seem to notice it! We also chose together to go almost 2 years with only one car. (That has since changed, but that's another story for another time!) I decided to try and bike 100 miles over the course of the year. It was a fun undertaking, but thus far has proved to be unsuccessful! As for Dave, at first he didn't like getting up much earlier to catch the bus, but it didn't take long before he enjoyed the time. How did these types of things become a priority? I think we do them now without thinking...we tried them, there really wasn't any large reason NOT to continue and we found many things benefitted our family in various ways.
As for what kind of things get left 'on the chopping block'? Well, we are trying to reduce our waste in this house, particularly plastic waste. Right now that doesn't seem feasible though! We have 4 kids in the house. I would rather spend my time making the baby giggle, building trust with the 2yo, reading, singing and dancing with the 5yo, and just being there for the 17yo than fussing over how much our garbage weighs or if someone brought a plastic container in the house! The Farmer's Daughter is beginning to understand this all too well as she gets ready to become a mother for the first time.
Another issue that just doesn't warrant the time right now is the car issue. It's nearly impossible for everyone to get to all their appointments, practices, schools and such with only one car. It's not worth the headache. I would rather have a million kids than try to curb our gas guzzling, exhaust polluting ways! I am not super mom! Going Green Mama talks about multi-tasking and just accepting that we can't do it all - yay someone gets me! =)
We are slowly working on changing our diet to eliminate genetically modified foods, crappy meat, sugar, HFCS and out of season produce that has traveled a long way, etc, but sometimes the kids just want a banana and I'm just happy they are eating fruit! We have found lots of local sources for food but we're still figuring out how these more expensive items will fit into our budget. It's becoming more of a priority, but I don't feel like we can just quit our old ways cold turkey without a little help. We're just not there yet, but I am happy w/the progress we have made! Jenn the GreenMom feels the same way because she suggested we form a splinter group off of the APLS group.
It has been such a pleasure to read this month's entries! I have been enjoying the chance to get to know more about my fellow APLS. Thank you ladies for participating and please, if you are reading and want to 'chime in', please leave a comment!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Music you can march to!

If you know me, you know I love music!! I think my mom had a lot to do w/that...she used to always turn it up and clean and sing and dance around =) That was a lot of fun! When I was younger, I listened to the Beatles a lot. I don't remember where or when I got a Beatles' poster to hang above my bed. I guess my parents saved it...which is odd (you guys, it sort of is!) b/c they seem to have gotten rid of tons of stuff since us kids are now grown (I'm not complaining, I'm just explaining). Anyway - my boy likes the Beatles, too. We heard their songs on the radio or on the Ipod and I told him about the poster. We checked out the yellow submarine book for kids from the library. Well, my parents brought out the poster and gave it to Mo! He loves it! It's in his room, on the bookcase. We haven't figured out how to hang it yet, but he said he wanted it on the part of the ceiling that slants in...anyway - our whole family loves music, but lately I have been really pushed on by music. I take the Ipod when I go work out and it's so awesome to just close my eyes, ride the stationary bike for 2 miles or whatever and let the music carry me away. I built a playlist - here's a sample of artists!
Rhonda Vincent, Gipsy Kings, Kirk Franklin, Celia Cruz, Keith Green, U2, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Journey, Styx, Barlow Girls, Superchic(k), Bob Seger, Steve Earle, FFH, Mary Mary, Tom Petty, ABBA and Hillsong...
A lot of times I have to catch myself to stop from singing out loud! Can you just hear me? "I go out walking...after midnight..." or "Don't stop, believing, just hold on to that feeling..." NOT!! I am not a good singer!! But who cares? I sound awesome in my head =) What kind of music keeps you marching??

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Inspiration deliberation

Lately I've been thinking about all the things that keep me going, keep me thinking, keep me revising the way I do things...in case I haven't said it already, I am truly inspired by a lot of my friends! Some of them are so much more intellectual, creative or disciplined. I get recipes, craft ideas and motivation to get out of the house from them! Speaking of getting out of the house, I am so grateful to live where we do. We go to the library, the art museum, restaurants w/real food, parks galore and the beach! Some things we are looking forward to right now are starting seedlings for our garden boxes and the garden box we adopted at church, wearing our rain boots to the secret beach, and biking around town. We are blessed to live close to church and Mo's school, the grocery store and a bunch of parks. Today I am reminding myself about the inspiration that is around me...even my kids keep me marching on! When I see Mo coming out of school, when I hear Fabi putting multi-word sentences together, when I see Baby Ray figuring out how the ExerSaucer toys work and when Leah opens up and shares some of her struggles w/us, I am inspired. All these things happen w/o help from me! Time marches on, kids grow up, all those cliches would fit here! But I feel challenged to do new things and meet the kids where there are at, even if that might change tomorrow!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Waxing. Well, at least philosophically!

Do you ever have those days where you wonder if what you are doing is really important, would any notice if you stopped and what's the point? I do. It's hard to keep marching when you doubt the reason for the journey. Lately I've been having a lot of things click in my head though. I have analyzed what it is that I actually do. I am a stay at home mom, and as soon as I say that you already have an idea in your head of what I do. But everyone's different, so maybe I don't do exactly what you think I should be doing. Or something like that. I do laundry. I load the dishwasher. I feed kids. I taxi family members around. I take notes when it is necessary for the medical needs of Fabi. I go to a ton of appointments for everyone. I really don't clean much, which is evident if you come to my house. I play outside a lot. I make speeches about rules and admonish those that break them. I fuss over what we eat and cook a little. I make myself available to my friends and family. That's pretty much it...So is it important? Well, obviously I say yes! But no really, is it? Would anyone notice if I stopped? Yes. The family wouldn't have clothes to wear and couldn't go to their job/school. Well, they could but it's socially unacceptable and generally not recommended to go places naked in the winter!! Having dishes to eat off of is pretty important to keep the mess in the house down. Helps keep sicknesses from spreading in my opinion. Everyone needs to eat, but not everyone in this house can make their own food. No one wants to walk to where they need to go, they try to avoid the bus and the little ones would never make it anywhere if they had to walk. Fabi will never get better if I don't try to follow what the dr's say. Getting outside relieves stress for all of us, plus we get vitamin D and enjoy time in the world God created! I believe everyone will be healthier and have less dr appointments if I fuss over the food - cut out white flour, sugar, HFCS, corn syrup, random meat from CAFOs, etc...all that means less future dr appointments, I hope! I believe in building community and treating others as God instructed in the Bible. Every nap and night time I pray w/the kids..."Lord, we purpose to love you w/all our heart, soul, mind and strength, love our neighbor as ourselves and love one another as You've loved us!" The point is that even though these tasks seem so menial and that anyone could do them, 'anyone' isn't. I AM. I know my job is important, I know w/o me things wouldn't run as smoothly and I know the point is that I am not doing all this for them. I am, to a certain degree, but I am really doing this for the Lord. No earthly reward compares to that which I will receive for acting in obedience to his commands. So I keep marching...!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

MARCHING

(Please click the link to hear a sample of the song - sorry, I didn't know any other way to do it...)
We are marching! This song has been in my head a lot lately =) And tomorrow we dive into the month of March! I plan to post a lot more...I know you don't believe me, but I take that as a challenge! I hope to post about the things that keep me going...there are so many! Today I have a photo and a story.

This is the light switch for the upstairs hall, between our room and Mo's. It gets a lot of use. I slipped one of my favorite photos behind the plastic...

This is my BFF from way back, Dawn! She keeps me going in so many ways...Every time I use the light switch I see my girl and I just keep going. We try to talk on the phone a bunch but we don't see enough of each other even though we only live an hour apart! Lately we've been trying to do once a month kid free dates...there's a bonus to this picture too - Dawn is holding the frog shaped bird house I made for her bridal shower. I made that bird house w/Dave's dad, who has since passed away. It was a pretty cool project to work on w/him =) Anyway - the memory of that project and my BFF in this picture keep me going every day. I love you Dawn! Thank you for being a model of a Godly woman, wife, mother and friend! Thanks for helping me march...

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Not to busy to redecorate!

It's a bit of a busy week but I really wanted to change the blog colors before I posted again...I feel like it's MUCH BETTER. Still adding a few things, so keep checking back to see what's new =) I promise a real post soon!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Crayola won't hire me anytime soon!

But I did mess w/the colors. My favorite colors don't quite look the same here but I didn't like the yellow. Enh. We'll see...

Adoption Support Group

Today I went to an adoption support group for our area. If you are in the area and have adopted, plan to adopt, foster or are just interested, please let me know! The next one will be in late March. I really hope this group continues to grow b/c I remember when we were in the foster care classes, they referenced a support group. I asked when it meets and they said it really didn't, only if needed...I was a little put off by that. What kind of group 'really doesn't' meet? Are there actually considered a group if they don't even meet?? It seemed silly to me. So my friend Tracy started this group and although we already get together and talk about this stuff, I know there is a lot I can learn from Tracy and any others who attend.

Friday, February 5, 2010

2 scoops

I always debate about how much to share, but since this blog is mostly read by family and friends, you're all going to meet our new 'kids' eventually =) Also, I wanted this blog to be about foster care and my/our perspective, so sharing a bit about the kids in our home makes sense.
Last night Leah and Ray (their 'secret' names of course) joined our family! Leah is Ray's mom, she is soon-to-be 18 and Ray is a few months old. They needed to be placed together and we have an empty room and an empty crib =) Please pray for all of us as we adjust to life as a big family again, to life w/a baby and to life w/a teen/almost adult! As time goes on I'm sure you will hear more about Leah and Ray...

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Party of 6

Did you ever see the show Party of 5? I watched it a little. Though somewhat dysfunctional, their family seemed so cool.

Anyway.

We are now a family of 6! And as always we covet your prayers...more than you probably know...I am too tired to explain right now, but with God nothing is impossible.

I wouldn't do anything if it wasn't for Him.

So many of my daily Bible readings lately have been about Jesus telling people that if He calls them, they shouldn't look back. They shouldn't take a bag. They shouldn't change their shoes, tie their sandals, say good-bye to family or attend a funeral. They should go.

Here I go, God. Here we all go.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Go vote!

I posted a question on the bike blog and I would love it if you would all weigh in! Thanks!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Twenty-five years and still...

This is the boring what's-going-on post...not that you asked, but I feel like I have a lot of these little things I keep meaning to post on.
(Me) Working out again! So nice to learn how to use an elliptical. Still can't figure out the silly stair machine! White girl has no rhythm ok? But it's so nice to talk to my cousin (my workout buddy!) and be active again! I am carving out a sewing corner in what used to be our room, but is now the spare room. I hope that some time this weekend I can get in there! I have been doing so well at keeping up w/the usual housework jobs and we've even tried a few new menu items! We've been doing a lot better about eating healthier and cooking more from scratch. I have found a good source for free range chicken and eggs, grass fed beef, and bulk foods we enjoy. All these goals seem like they're falling into place. The kitchen is more organized, our new room is more organized, the basement is more organized...I'm starting to feel like a grown up! Weird. I signed up for another online class, but I haven't started it yet. I've been helping in the church nursery as needed, which is so much fun! BABIES make me smile =) I was in a drama over Christmas and it reminded me how much I hope we can do a few more of those in the future. What else?? It's been awesome to see my kids grow and change and start to do a lot of things for themselves. I always tell Mo, "Someday I'm going to be out of a job!" He loves that!
(Dave) Exams week for him - which is good b/c he just started another online course. Exams week is a little easier on him so he's getting into the habit of studying more, hoping it will stick as the second semester gets going. Together we're leading a Do Something group at church, which will be interesting. We never really consider ourselves leaders in church, but we've been around longer than a lot of other people and we're involved in other ministries. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of the group and what we will DO =) Dave got to take KiKi and Nugget (new class pets - rats) to school the other day...he's hoping the kids will get more of a chance to interact w/them soon!
(Moses) Whether it's singing or rhyming, spelling or writing, drawing or cleaning, this is one 4yo who works hard! Sometimes I forget he's 4! I see what Dave's 4 and 5yo students are doing and I feel like Mo can do that and better than some of them. We've been getting stuff in the mail about enrolling for kindergarten, so of course those conversations have been rolling around. Bilingual or regular? 4K or just kindergarten? If we choose Bilingual 4K, that means he'd be in Dave's class...yeah, I'm not sold on that. But we'll see =) My peanut is GROWING so fast - we hardly have time to wear the size 4 stuff and wouldn't you know the pants are too short! Our boy is still adjusting to having another child w/a medical need, but we're working on it. He is finding opportunities to teach her things and revel in his role of big brother! Now that she talks a lot more he laughs at her sentences and silly songs. He is loving LOVING absolutely LOVING dressing up in superhero costumes, his Army and firefighter costumes too! Many people are surprised that Superman shops at the mall! It's nice to see him do a lot more imaginary play, like pretending to rescue dolls from a burning crib or play school w/his sister. It is such a blessing that I get to witness almost everything he does and not a day goes by that I don't thank God and Dave for making it possible!
(Fabi) You are not going to believe this, but the baby is not really baby-ish anymore! She's graduated to a bigger size pants, she's TALKING sooooooo much! Singing, asking for things, putting sentences together and pointing random things out so we can actually understand them! Today, the first word out of her mouth when she woke up was "Church?" She wanted to go! I laughed! She went and got her shoes! Goofy girl...I didn't even know she could say that word yet! Physically we are seeing her try and succeed at so many things that were difficult mere weeks before. She understands where things go, she uses logic when she can't figure something out instead of giving up, oh yeah and she's started to show a little 3yo attitude! That's a whole new concept for us (we never really had a foster kid 'come into their own' here) and we're beginning to treat her more like a toddler rather than a baby. As far as the eating and drinking go, there's not really any change. That's a little disappointing at times, but when we look at how far we've come in 6mos, we know that there is still plenty of time to work on other things.
So that's what's going on...what's not going on? Not nearly enough crafting and seeing friends!! No progress in the adoption category, no serious life changes, and no major vacations coming up. But we are looking forward to a lot of camping this summer =) I hope to share more photos in the next few posts. Our new bed comes tomorrow!! I'm going to try and get some pictures on the walls and a few more projects done. I swear sometimes this blog helps motivate me! Whatever it takes, right?