Yet Another Twist in the Journey

Last night I went to a Women's ministry function at church. Wasn't expecting anything too exciting to happen, well I did expect to meet with Jesus and that's always exciting, but otherwise nothing exciting. Imagine my surprise when I was approached with a possible adoptive situation. I was gonna put an exclamation point there, but that would imply more excitement than I want to put into this at this moment. I mean, I could be excited about it and I probably will be if something comes of it but right now I'm not getting my hopes up. I know those of you who have been there and done that know what I mean.

So here's the low-down:
An acquaintance approaches me and says, "This may be a silly question, but are you open to taking more foster kids?"

I of course told her that we were, thinking she knew of someone who needed to have their foster child moved for some reason. Then she told me that she worked with two sisters who needed to be moved to a foster/adopt home and they were really struggling to find a family to take them. And asked if we would be interested. These little girls are seven and one.

Rick and I talked about it last night and we are interested but trying to be cautious as well. I don't really feel like having my heart broken yet again. On one hand I know it could be an answer to prayer. LB is now seven (being adopted by her foster parents-BTW) and we really wanted her to be part of our family plus I have a strong desire to have a baby girl. These two girls fit that so well, but I am being cautious and guarding my heart. Another issue is, "The Girls". We don't know what would happen with them and I would hate for them to have to be moved to another placement in the middle of the school year. They have had that happen to them too many times with their bios, I don't want to do it to them as well. I also can't imagine how it would make them feel to be kicked out so that two younger more permanent kids could come in their place.

We can do nothing but pray, just like we always do. God's Will will be done whether I like it or not and maybe I'm learning to be at peace with that. Either that or I'm getting cynical. The vote's still out on that one.

Music and Life-Noah 1-4-09

What kind of bad motherblogger am I? Yes, that was my sad attempt at humor. Feel free to ignore it. Here's the deal. One of my kids had a birthday on January 4th and I am just now getting around to his birthday post. Horrid, right?

Noah, my "baby", is ten years old now. I am totally flabbergasted at how he could possibly be that old, but he is. He reminded me the other day when I said he was nine. This is the child that proved to me that I truly could love another child just as much as I loved Austin. The one who makes the craziest facial expressions you've probably ever seen without even trying. The kid who says the most random things at random times to crack everyone up.

One of the funniest things that I love about Noah is his issue with kissing. He decided at around 2 1/2 that he was done with kissing people and stopped giving kisses. If you wanted a kiss he offered you his cheek so you could kiss him. This was kind of hard for me, until I discovered that I was the ONLY person he would randomly go to and offer a kiss to. Those kisses were so much more special for me because I knew that kissing was not really his thing. I'm happy to say it's still not and let's keep it that way!

Noah is funny, sweet, and friendly but shy. Oh, and tremendously cute too! He's a huge Bakugan and Harry Potter fan. He loves his big brother, and is in that stage where he wants his own identity yet still wants to know Austin will be willing to play Nerf gun wars with him.


This is Noah's favorite song right now. "99 Red Balloons" by Goldfinger. He knows that this is a remake of an old song but I don't think he's ever heard the original. He'd probably prefer this one anyway.


Happy Birthday Noah! I love you!

Pickles in the Bathroom

On New Year's Eve we allowed "The Girls" to go to a Lock-In hosted by one of the Missionettes teachers at church. They had been grounded prior to this for not respecting other people's things, something they both struggle with, but we thought we'd make an exception because of my birthday and give them a chance to redeem themselves.

Apparently, they like being grounded.

This is what we heard when we picked them up the next day.

1. They were part of a FOOD Fight
2. When asked to stop with the food fighting they were the only ones who did not.
3. Then they took pickles into the bathroom and began throwing them at each other.
4. They were just generally disrespectful and disobedient.

The sweet lady who teaches this age group said that if it hadn't been my birthday she would have called us to come and pick them up. Needless to say Rick and I were both mortified. And, of course, they have no idea why they acted the way they did. The thing that gets me is they love Ms. P also and when we made them write letters of apology they were both near tears when they gave them to her. So, WHY did they act this way in the first place? I don't get it.

Well, actually, on some level I kind of do get it. I think that maybe it was too much freedom for them and they just couldn't handle it. It's no excuse, but it's the only explanation that I can think of. We have told them that they are on severe lockdown mode. They have to be within sight of Rick or I at any public place we go to. Which S has already tested by trying to saunter over to the other building after church on Sunday to pick up one of our other kids. I had to call her back and asked her where she was going. Her answer was the standard, "I don't know". They are also grounded to their room and pretty much have to ask permission for everything.

It will probably be a long time before we allow them to do anything else like this. I'm wondering if we should discontinue all field trips and such since we don't know if we can trust them to behave if we aren't there. Anybody have suggestions?

Pickles in the bathroom. It's almost funny!

Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Happy Birthday

I have a hard enough time making myself post and then I get hit with Christmas, birthdays, and the New Year all at once! My poor little ADD brain can't handle the pessure. I have lots to say but I get distracted plus I tend to have perfectionitis. I made that up I'm pretty sure but you probably can relate-if it's not gonna be perfect I just don't even get started. Not sure where that comes from, but I need to work on it.

Anyway, here's what we've been up to.

Austin got a cell phone for Christmas. He was NOT expecting that in a million years!

Noah asked for binoculars. We're not sure why, but he was happy he got them.

Miss Annie got new Webkinz. What an awesome smile!

The Girls got gift cards to Build-a-Bear as one of their gifts. I wish I could show them with their new "friends" but they're faces show in all the other pics. They were happy though.

The boys got gift cards to Ridemakerz. They had loads of fun buiding a car. All the folks in the mall had loads of fun watching me run between B-a-B and RMZ taking pics of two sets of kids!

I turned 32 on the 31st. Hard to believe I am actually that age. It seems I think more lately about how time really does move along so fast. I guess that's normal? Or maybe I'm just nuts!

My budding young photographer (Austin) took my pic with my birthday cake. He's tons better at it than I am!

My Rickydoodle took me out to dinner at the restaurant that we hd our fist date at 4 years ago. That first date was on my birthday also. He can be romantic when he wants to be :)
(I couldn't get this pic turned.)

Foster Care stuff

I've really hesitated sharing much of what goes on with "The Girls" because I'm afraid somehow the wrong person will see this and All H-E-you know whats will break out. I've heard too many horror stories I guess. But, I did start this blog with the intention of being open and honest about our journey, no matter where it might take us. I also know that, personally, I have learned and been encouraged by others who have been there done that and not been afraid to share.



So, where do I begin. Maybe with a little summary of each Girl.

Mississippi: I have really struggled with what to even share about her because I am afraid it will just end up making me sound like "That Mean Old Foster Mom". The honest truth is that M is just really hard to live with. She's only 10 and has the worst chip on her shoulder. One morning last week I asked her if she was ready for school and her answer was, "YES! I'm ready!", full of nasty, How dare you ask me that question attitude. We haven't found a way that really deals best with this behavior quite yet. We usually make her say everything over to us until she can do it without attitude but it doesn't always work. At times we have just ignored the attitude to see if not giving her a reaction will solve the problem. It's kind of like picking your battles, at times it's worht it to make her keep repeating until she gets it right and other times it's best to let it go.

She also can not stand to be told to do anything. She's been told to change into something clean to go out in and has a fit over that. She doesn't even like to be told when to walk out to the bus stop in the mornings. She has no sense of what's appropriate. She has been known to yell at people down the block while standing at the bus stop, where the bus comes at 7 A.M.! Needless to say she now has to be completely silent at the bus stop.

Then on the other hand she can be sweet if she chooses and she actually has a strong sense of justice. Mostly it's used to determine that she has been wronged but I have seen her get upset because she feels someone else is being mistreated. She's also befriended a girl her sister decided was too weird to be friends with because she felt bad for her. She loves animals and likes giving gifts. She does have a good heart, but she needs to work on some issues. Just like we all do.

Skippy:She's a little harder to figure out at times because she is not as vocal about things that bother her as M is. She tends to be the type of kid who will say she will do something and then not do it. One of her biggest issues is lying and not following through. We're pretty sure she can be sneaky as well. A lot of times we think conflicts that erupt between S and M are M's fault because she is the loud one so the attention gets focused on her and she looks like the bad guy. We are starting to figure out though that that seems to be a strategy that S has developed and plays well. She may actually instigate a lot of it because she likes.....well, we're not sure what satisfaction she really gets from it yet, but we're working on that. Another issue is schoolwork, and this goes along with her acting as if she's doing what's required but not really. When we get interims she's always missing homework or notes. She is required to study and do homework every night so we don't know what happens between home and school. She tells us she wants to go to college and have a nice career but her actions don't reflect that.

S is very funny and very bright. She can make up a rhyme about someone very easily and she and Noah love doing this. She can get along with most anyone and is pretty easygoing.

There are other issues for both like hygiene, visits with parents, behaviors at school. We are just going to keep walking it out for as long as they are with us. And hopefully blogging to have a record and memories for when they move on.

Music and Life-Father of the Fatherless

This song brings tears to my eyes EVERY. TIME. It is one of the few newer Christmas songs that i really like listening to. It's the message in it that makes it so worth hearing. I heard it in Wal*Mart the other day, and just pray maybe someone who never considered adoption or the fact that there are orphans in this world, was really listening.

Shelley made this slideshow with pictures of Reece's Rainbow's Older Angels and Other Angel's. Maybe you've noticed that I seem to be stuck on these kids. I am. My heart's desire for this season is to see them find families.

These are the Faces of the Fatherless.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One More Day For Ornaments

Yes, I shamelessly stole the below post from Shelley but I got the idea from Meredith. Please go and sponsor one of these angels. Help them get adopted. I'll even tell you which one I am praying for Jesus to make a part of our family. Her name is Liza and she is a beautiful platinum blonde with the most captivating bluish-greenish eyes. There are a couple others who have a soft spot in my heart but she is the one I keep going back to the most. Before it was Victoria but her family has found her and I am so happy for all of them. She is going to be so blessed to join her new family as I know they are going to be blessed by her.

And here's another good reason to sponsor one or two or a few: My birthday is in 12 days. In lieu of a present you can just sponsor an angel and we'll call it even :) Seriously though, these kids need families and receiving this sponsor money makes that more a reality for so many of them. If you can't, pass this info on to someone who maybe can.

The Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree project is in full swing. But there's only one more day left to donate and receive an ornament of the waiting angel for your tree! If you'd like to receive a 2008 RR Angel Tree ornament with the photo of a waiting child, go to this link and choose a child to sponsor. A donation of $35 or more and you will receive a beautiful ornament for your tree. I assure you, the ornaments are beautiful(I've spent a lot of quality time with 300 of them, so I should know!). But, more important than the ornament, 100% of the money you donate will go to help the child you choose to find a forever family.
The Angel Tree fundraiser has already raised over $20,000 in grant money for children with Down syndrome all over the world and there's still 15 days left (400 ornaments will have been mailed by tomorrow with a projected 100 more going out next week!). If you want an ornament, you have to donate by midnight on the 15th (tomorrow!).
Also, make sure you scroll to the bottom of the page and look at how many children have already found their forever families since the Angel Tree began on November 1st.
So, what are you waiting on? Click the tree....and give the gift of a forever family this Christmas season!

You know you want to go check out Liza! Click the tree below, please....(with puppy eyes face)

Updated to add the button. Thanks toMeredith for the code.

Grab This Button

Music and Life-My Fave Christmas song?

I am not a huge fan of Christmas music. There are some songs that I really like and some I just can't stand. I think some are too overdone. Every artist who wants to make some money off a Christmas album has to try their hand at this one or that one. Maybe I'm just a scrooge, but I just don't want to listen to the same song 20 times a day by 20different artists.

Tonight however, I had the opportunity to hear one of my favorite Christmas songs. It never fails to bring a smile to my face and I don't believe any other artist has attempted to cover it.



Ok, yes, it's Jeff Foxworthy and not a "real" Christmas song. But, it makes me laugh and it's one I don't mind hearing every year. I'll try to post some of my real favorites later on. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

Things I Ponder-12-2-08

I think this is going to become a regular feature. I've always been a ponderer (is that a word?) by nature. There's always something on my mind, something I'm working out or trying to understand better. Sometimes it's deep and meaningful and sometimes it's just silly.

It's amazing how kids can give you something to ponder every day. Sometimes a few times a day.

I'm pondering this:
Why is that putting away schoolbooks or doing homework becomes soooo important when you're asked to help someone else do a chore?

I Miss Summer Already

This is one of the last family outings we had this summer. The annual Labor day picnic. I know they're not the greatest pics but I've been nervous about sharing any that have The Girls in them. So this is the best it's gonna get.

Um, and yeah, this one. My Knucklehead kid (aka Noah) took this one upside-down on purpose. I haven't had the heart to turn it right side up and it makes me laugh. He's pretty goofy :)