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.

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...

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!