OUR NEW KIDS!!!

I case you aren't on Facebook.... I have amazing news! We had our conference call Monday. It was crazy and stressful getting there. I felt flustered and scattered. My questions were formally compiled on the way there! (1 hr drive) Hubby and I talked about what we needed to ask and share and it was a good trip. Then once there, we had TWO therapists that have been working with the kids, one of the foster moms(of our new son) and two case workers and a supervisor. I had to pretend it was a lovely chat not to freak out. I HATE business type calls! I HATE conference calls!!! So anyway, we asked all the questions we needed to. We got lots of answers and even hearing the difficult behaviors... we were MORE excited to get them home quicker. We felt like a lot of the resentment and anger are simply because they have been abandoned by birth parents. I am amazed at the amount of stuff that WAS NOT in their file! No physical abuse!?? (verbal emotional...etc and that is enough, but still!!) It was amazing that parents rights were terminated early. There was a clean break. No back and forths to confuse them. It is heartbreaking for them but still I can see how that may make it easier for us all to bond. I am not freaked out by the little stuff there was. WE CURRENTLY deal with most of those issues. I felt like saying "these people have no idea how qualified we are" Not of ourselves, but that God has been preparing us and HE has been giving us wisdom for a few years. And plenty of practice . :-) We were told we would have to wait 24 hrs to give our final answer. But they waived that and we said YES!!!! Then we went on to planning placement. Please pray with us that our ICPC paperwork goes through fast. (it is the permission between TX and OK that it is ok for us to HAVE them!!) FRiday they will be given our lifebook and told they have a family! Then we get to talk to them on Monday. Then we go to visit them on the 7th!!! We see them for three days that weekend. Then we get twice weekly phone calls. The 27th of OCt, we willhave them here at home for 7 days! Potentieal placement for GOOD is the 4th of Nov!!!! If that ICPC doesn't keep up, we won't have placement til the end of Nov. :-( Please join with us in praying?? Our new kids are DJ,(11 yr old boy) Joycelyn(9 yr old girl), and Arial(4 yr old girl). Cant wait ti get to share pics! Have I mentioned we are so excited!?? We have two more sets of bunk beds to set up and a lot of organizing to do. please pray for us??

In case you aren't on fb ....

I have news!! Actual news! Our case worker talked with the kids worker today. The file was being mailed out today and should be at her office in OK by the end of the week!!! This means we will schedule a time by the first part of next week to go to her office 1 hr away. We will look over the details of the kids' private files. We will talk with their case worker and foster parents through conference call. We will ask any questions we need to ask and learn what it really takes to parent these kids. Then we are required to wait 24 hrs after THAT before we can say yes. We feel they are ours and we are to be saying yes no matter what. So for us this is just a legality. At that time we will talk about actual visitation and placement timeline. Also, then the kids will be given our lifebook and told they have a family. We are GETTING THERE!!!! We are so excited and nervous and crazy busy.... We have begun the school year. We have been active in the garden and chicken patrol. We are getting to visit with family we haven't seen in YEARS! My brother and kids have come back from Fl. this week!! They are finally home. (SIL following this week!btw) So my boys have their big cousins back and we had a sleepover with Nikki(my neice who is actually only 7 yrs younger than me) her hubby and two kids, my two teen nephews, and our kids. lol We did family movie night AT the theaters! lol, we divided up into three groups. The big guys went with Dan to see Green Lantern. James took the littles(gulp... all 5!!!!) to see Kung fu Panda 3D. And Nikki and I got to see a chick flick by ourselves! I will tell the butt slapping story in another post. heh heh. We finished off the weekend with a busted head(no stitches needed thanks to new skin and lots of hair), Nikki passing out because of all the blood, and her and Riley fussing at each other. It went something like this :"thanks Nik for passing out on me in my time of need!" and Nikki saying "Riley you bleeding all over the place MADE ME FAINT!" James and I secured them both on sofas and told them to BE STILL. Then G the oldest nephew, ran into a cabinet door, D the next older nephew complained of an ear ache... the two little girls were mud-bathing in the yard with one wearing the middle girls new favorite outfit--without permission. The 11 yr old apparently worried the two little boys because they came in crying "Is RILEY GONNA DIE!?" I finally lost it, and was woozey from the blood too. I screamed "EVERYONE SIT DOWN AND HUSH UP FOR A FEW MINUTES AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT MOVE!!!!" Not my finest moment. I admit it. It was quite a day. AND I was on my way to be a server at a wedding reception that had been scheduled months ago. So I had to leave my sad crew in the hands of only two capable adults. It was scary. But they survived and the wedding was great. I came home that night and cleaned the sad owie on Head wound Hairy's noggin. Then texted a picture to my nurse friend and got professional advice of "clean it thoroughly, cut the hairs on and around the cut. Then seal it with new skin. voila-- 3000.00 saved from NO ER trip! I should be a nurse. I should seriously get paid for what I do. Seriously. I should. I mean it.

Nothin says love quite like:

klonking a possum on the noggin?? !! Well you may beg to differ, but let me explain. We lost another hen yesterday. It was gruesome again and horrible. My poor hen was attacked by a raccoon that snatched her out of HER NESTING box and proceeded to do unspeakable acts of consumption! Where the poor ladies are supposed to feel safe and secure in the night. So yesterday after hearing what I had to deal with while he was at work, my hubster bought mega latches for those nesting box doors. Then he installed them before bed. He watched the coop for a while after dark. Then in the middle of the night he woke up to do a security check. There was a possum out there! He chased it up a tree shot it repeatedly with the BB gun(yes I know we are getting a real one asap!) then when it came down, klonked it with a baseball bat. Very cave man style. Very unattractive. Primitive and not so humane for the death row victim. And yet, my heart pitter pattered at the fact he kept my sweet ladies safe another night. He sacrificed an HOUR of sleep!?(his most favorite thing) and I slept through it all(and I am now a tad worried about me cause I NEVER sleep that soundly) He asked if I wanted it buried. I said, nope leave it today as a warning to the other chicken eating wildlife. I went out to see the ladies this am and they were all twittering.... I said, oh, Daddy kept you girls safe another night! I hope you are proud of him and grateful!(and could you lay us some eggs even though it is hot and you have all been traumatized please?) As a normally romantic person, I was a bit shocked to find that I felt loved by such a barbaric thing! odd. I am now going to seek therapy....