Jackson is HOME!

We are home! I am trying to figure out how downloading the pics from my phone goes. lol But for now, this is the picture Dan took of our first meeting. We had a lovely 3 second photo session and then Jackson threw up on me.Hee hee. He is a little laundry maker. He is peeing on everything no matter how well guarded I think we are, he spits up after you finally think the burp session is over. We are learning. I have all his clothes in the dryer now. He slept 5 hrs his first night and 4 hrs last night. He is a really sweet baby and puts up with the noise and chaos here so that is awesome. More later. I really need to find some coffee... maybe I will be more eloquent then. maybe not.

Baby number six!

oh um ,yeah so I did gasp a little. Cause six sounds like a big number . Lol i am in the hospital. The baby had to have his hearing screening. In the middle of the night?? He is a truly beautiful baby. Yeah I fall for the short,dark and handsome type. He is calm and alert. I can't post pics yet--some stupid law! Whatever! But I am thinking when we check out I will be posting from the hubsters I phone. The papers are signed. We are hoping they will do his procedures early!!! Then we can go home. And his name... Jackson Paul... Have I mentioned he is adorable?

baby boy arrived

Our lil' fella has arrived. While we were snug in our beds, at 5:15 am. He is 6 lbs 1 oz. Birth mom still says come. We are now looking at traveling. Trying to figure out the how to get there part. It is only a few hrs drive normally, but the roads are all slick.(MAY I JUST SCREAM!!! IT IS SPRING!!!! I have A BABY to pick up!!!!!)

waiting.....

Well, our case worker has said we wait until tomorrow. They are waiting to see if she will really have it. No progress so far. SO we are packed and ready. AND, My sweet niece and her family will come here and stay with the kids. So we can go alone! Just us!! We will be able to focus and sign papers and snuggle the baby alone for a bit before bringing him home to our loud, crazy family. lol POor lil' guy, hope he is a sound sleeper. I have two little kids who are whining, "but I wanted a baby brudder today!!!" Moriah asked, "can we make it a GIRL baby??" lol, um, nope sorry.
OK while we wait, I am taking name suggestions from anyone. Even your KIDS can get in on it. seriously we are desperate. We are having fun with it here.
I think his middle name will be Paul after my oldest brother. So something that goes well with that would be great.

My younger brother has suggested Shooter, Wayne, and Roscoe.Then nicely suggested Graham as a real option.
The kids are all begging for Jacob or Jake.
The hubster loves Isaac(but we already have an Isaiah!!)and Jacob
I like Judah(Jude?), Matthew(means gift of the Lord), Emmett, Bennett(means blessed little one!)Jack,Wyatt,
My mom has suggested Whit
alrighty.... share your options and we will let you know what we think he looks like when we see him. I am hoping and praying roads clear up a bit tomorrow! Thanks for all your prayers and kind words. They really have helped!

eeeek!!!

OK Um, BIRTHMOM IN LABOR!!!!!!! We have a few hrs drive and it is really horrible weather. Snow and ice. Pray for us? I have five backpacks to pack, plus me and hubby need bags. Our crib was not put together yet... lol my nest was not quite feathered. But I guess loving arms and excited siblings and a home are the important things. lol I will keep you posted!!!!!!

going to bat

OK I am just throwing this out there into cyberspace. I have to vent and have no other safe spot to do it other than my blog. I am crying now and have been off and on for the last 24 hrs. I have had to inform people of our new baby news, and understandably they are surprised. I get that. I am surprised. I would expect nothing LESS. What I am shattered by, though, is the quick judgments and harsh words and critical things that have been hurled at me IN surprise. It is so hard to deal with those who love you the most sometimes. When you all of a sudden think differently than they thought you did. I am just going to throw this out there-- WE love kids! We know there are kids who need homes. We KNOW we can't save them all. We KNOW it cost money to raise children. WE KNOW we are not perfect, rich or always stable and consistent. I do NOT see children from outside my genepool as "a gamble", a "blank check" or somehow less than me. And neither does God.
BUT that said.... We are aware of our imperfections. Please for heaven's sake do NOT point them out to us now.
I am so broken right now because the hardest thing for me ever is to feel misunderstood. I feel like people just think I go off and do crazy things without ever thinking them through. I DO!! I analyze things to death.
I don't expect everyone to adopt children. I know not everyone is called to that. And I don't judge others for NOT doing that. I would appreciate the same respect. It breaks my heart that I see a need that God has placed practically IN my lap, and gird up for filling that need, then get slapped around and questioned by people whom I trust with my heart. (um, no not the hubster by the way. lol he is fully in agreement with me on this)
I feel so frustrated that people say "there are so many people waiting for new baby's you shouldn't take him, let someone else." There IS NO ONE ELSE standing up to do it! This is HOW kids get families, someone stands up with papers in hand and says, I will do it!
I feel like we are in a game of life and there are moments when we all have to step up to the plate. So, here we are doing that. With our imperfect selves, our imperfect bank accounts, our less than organized home.... etc etc etc. But we step up and say, WE will go to bat for this one. Why is it so hard for them to understand that? I have no idea.

gratefulness

Today we have had so much going on as you can imagine. But I am amazed! I have had people calling and texting me all day about things they have for us to use! We have been promised a crib, changing table, some clothes,a sling, play pen. . . I am so grateful for such an outpouring of generosity!! I will probably spend most of tomorrow, getting the baby things and setting up crib and all. I bought just a bumper pad and crib sheet and car seat base tonight that we needed. I am anxious. WE are all nervous! The kids keep making name suggestions. Really funny by the way what a 4 yr old girl can decide for a new baby brother! I am having a very humbling day. But oh so thankful.

Whirlwind!(baby?!)

OH MY GOSH!! I have news!!! I been praying lately about a subject but not sharing(that is why I have been so quiet!! I knew if I got started here I would be begging for prayers and letting the cat out of the bag!) Our home assessment agency asked us a few weeks ago, if we were interested in a newborn baby boy! (in state) We were unsure, HA! I had just said, whew! we have finally gotten every kid potty trained and starting school and we hsve NO BABIES! We were saying, wow, this is kind of nice. lol
So it was the LAST thing on our minds. I mean how often to people in the adoption world get offered a brand new baby? We have already been blessed with two! We never dreamed another would come. So, we said, we could be open to it. Then the b mom decided on another family. We let it go. Then I got an email yesterday from our case worker asking if she could please share our information with the b mom. We prayed and I talked to a few people, and we said yes. She immediately sent back a reply that the b mom says "start the plans." We had a small glitch about home schooling. She wanted the baby to be in private school. I carefully sent back a respectful email that we would not be changing our home schooling. Then we waited until this morning to hear the reply. WE are ON!!! The baby boy is due the 23rd!! THIS TUESDAY!! We havent had a baby in this house for nearly 5 years! I have to gather crib/carseat and everything in the next 24-36 hrs! lol I am flustered, but in a flurry of excitement. I need prayers!! please? and um, maybe baby name ideas?? We have Paul(my brother) as a middle name possibility... I will update you when we have more news!

Husband hunt???

My sweet baboo, who is 8, saw the World's richest men list. I was amazed that the 3rd richest man in the WORLD lives in a home he bought for 31,000 in 1958! I think that is incredible. Well, while I am talking about that, she says oh, there is a whole list of the rich men and their homes! Well, yes, they are not all so frugal. She said, ooooh we can find a rich husband! There is one that lives in FRANCE!! I have always wanted to go to FRANCE!!! I said what?? she says, well, we can marry a rich man and live in a mansion! (probably thinking, fill it up with brothers and sisters and fund any adoption we could find!) Well, small problemo there Sweet thing. YOU are too young, and I am too married. lol So, I wouldn't pack for France any time soon.(poor Daddy huh?) Then I notice it shows his age. The young bachelor in question?? Our prime husband candidate?? He is a mere 70. lol Yes I need to counsel my daughter on the things to look for in a hubby. Where have I gone wrong?

Homeschooling in a nutshell(give or take a few words)

(Olivia memorizing her poem)


(Riley-- he was working so hard)
This week, I was talking with some ladies while waiting for my daughter's dance class to finish up. They asked about home schooling. It sparked a thought that maybe other people want ideas or encouragement about it. I had another mom say, "I like the idea of it, but I just don't think I could do it!
Well, If my crew and I can manage it, I figure anyone could. Of course we could do better in some things. We will be summer schooling to catch up certain subjects. So, we are not perfect, we don't have any genius kids or adults among us. We do get the job done and we (for the most part) enjoy it.
Some may wonder, what do I NEED.
list of basics:
kids
a parent or guardian
library and card
computer and internet access (would be best if at home, but some libraries offer this)
access to printer and copier

With those things you could build your own schooling materials! The internet has so much information and curriculum it is overwhelming. The obvious things to teach are the basics first, reading, writing and math.

*Reading: we used Alphabet Island Phonics for the first three kids and it was wonderful. The 4th kid went through the first book and got NONE of it, but then didnt want to do the same one. I am trying out My Fathers World Kindergarten now for the two younger kids together. But I miss Alphabet Island! I knew how to teach that one. These are both multi sensory learning kits. My Father's world is a Christian focus. www.eagleswingsed.com is where you get Alphabet Island
www.mfwbooks.com is where you get the My Father's world kindergarten.

* writing: There are two types of writing. Handwriting, where one learns the actual formation of the letters and numbers. The BEST is Handwriting without tears! www.hwtears.com The other type of writing is creative writing, or writing for expression. For this, we need to be reading great literature and exposing our kids to lots of different subjects and communicating with them a LOT. I dont even begin this until age ten! I focus on the handwriting and reading to them first.

*Math. ahhh, math..... lol Not my strong point. We tried so many different styles I should get paid to reviews them all. Right now we are loving Teaching Textbooks for big kids. For the littles, I am using simple workbooks from wal-m*art and counting bears, toy money from Meliss* and Doug, and a clock set from Rod and Staff.

*For the other subjects, we love sonlight books and My Fathers world books.I am sort of blending those two!

* For Spelling, we are using All About Spelling, and www.spellingcity.com (AWESOME website!! -- enter their words, and it teaches them, they play games with their words, then it tests them! (if you have headphones for your computer this is great.)

*For readers, I LOVE the McGuffey readers! They are great stories, easy and age appropriate bits of reading. They uphold values and morals we want our kids to know. Lessons our country was originally founded on. Sweet, quaint but real learning.

*For Language, Primary Language lessons, then Intermediate language lessons. Both can be bought from My Father's World.

Art-- Artistic pursuits or Drawing with Children.

* history-- timeline from sonlight!! You enter all important dates you run across on this! It really helps you to see at a glance what things were happening and how the overall picture of history came about.

It doesn't have to cost a fortune to school them. You don't HAVE to get entire packages and sets of things. There are free books online! www.hillbillyhousewife.com has an entire section you should look at for free sites and printables! The main idea is to be with your kids, share the joys of learning, while teaching them how to gather and absorb information. Give them LOTS of experiences and "pegs" to put their information on! Exposure to great books is so key. It really is!! Reading aloud as a family is an awesome thing for building family memories, relationships and developing their minds.
We allow the kids to have an outside subject or activity. One is a baseball nut. Two love drama/theater. Two love Dance. We try to keep this stuff limited. I got in over my head this year trying to get caught up in "socializing" our kids and I am simply running around crazy some days. Know when too much has happened and don't do it again. :-) lesson learned from my own lil' school of hard knocks.

My favorite mom books on the subject:
The Charlotte Mason Companion
The way they learn
For the Children's sake
Dumbing us Down
Honey for a Child's heart
I love to talk about homeschooling! I love talking about BOOKS!!! I love being with my kids and seeing them learn. Home educating can be an awesome thing. (yes daunting too, and overwhelming) This is my first year homeschooling all five. So it is an interesting one so far. :-) I hope though, that we can learn and grow and see even more improvement.
Charlotte Mason said atmosphere is 1/3 of education.(what is our home atmosphere??? lol well, we are working on that)
She said that discipline is 1/3 (habits and training are what she meant mostly, I believe)
then that must mean she meant that only 1/3 was actually the books and teaching!(and even that she broke down-- living books (great literature), school books, art supplies, the outdoors,listening and narrating, music, memorizing, playing, arithmetic... etc.

silly signs

Okay, we are weird. We know it, but our family thinks it is really funny when signs are out and/or spelled wrong. This was their favorite. Tacky, yes, I know. But my tacky kids and I laughed pretty hard nonetheless. And what is life for if you can't laugh your way through a drive- through every now and then.

Club food

We have now become a part of a club. The S@ms club. The "buy your food in Gi-normous sizes because you have more than two kids" club. We buy peanut butter in what appears to be a a 1 gallon can, and gatorade, and lemonade and nesquick. ALL in the same size cans. If I can figure out how to wash, and decorate those cans.... well, that will be another craft project blog. Anyway, we bought paper towels in a sz that looked like we could throw a fitted sheet and comforter over it as a guest bed! I am not exaggerating here. And of course triplet ketchups and jelly. Orange juice in big 4 can pack. The possibilities of huge food there is endless. But the biggie(yes, pun intended)... Kr@ft MAC n CHEESE. So the next morning, this is what Moriah wanted for breakfast.

I would say, this is the cheeziest please mommy EVER. (again, full of puns today. But yeah, she is cute.( And don't worry I only made her hold that incredibly heavy box for a few seconds. No children were actually harmed in the shooting of this photo and we ARE doling out the heavily processed macaroni over the course of a month and not, say a single week. Just thought you might need to know that.)

Birthday bash!

My Isaiah turned six! We had cousin Audrey sleep over, then our plan was a birthday at the cinema! We had not done one, but we had attended one. So this was a new thing for our crew. We only invited my niece Nikki and her kids(she is more like a sister than a niece-- we are only several years apart)her two are the same ages as our youngest two. They are dear friends AND cousins. So in all it would be 8 kids, and 4 adults. Going to see "Alvin and the chipmunks--the Squeakuel"(sp?)
Nik called me that morning(this would be the morning Audrey and Moriah were in my bed but that we got to sleep late) She said," um, can we ride with you? Our van has issues" Now, we have a 12 passenger van. Then we have the mini van. I had hopd to take the smaller version of big family vehicle. But what can you say? We took the gi-normous big old party wagon.(oops THAT pic is on the hubster's phone!)
It was loud, crazy and fun. But did I mention loud?? It was Audrey's first movie.Nova could not figure out why her seat kept going up. Isaiah wanted to go home to see his big gift(a bike surprise). I wanted to NOT offend the others who came to see that movie. But we had a good time. And My Little Bear, is just not quite so little anymore. Six years ago, we brought him home. I had 4 kids ages 6, 4, 2 and a newborn. My first adoption had left me far more emotional than I ever thought possible. I had fallen in love with the first child who came to me without having been born of me. It was miraculous and wonderful and eye opening. I am so grateful God saw fit to make me this kid's mom. He is an amazing fireball of activity. He is bright-eyed(and the only blue eyed!!) and always in motion. He does everything with intensity and spirit. He lives so fully in every moment. He forces you to see that moment too. 6 years have gone by in a whirly swirly tornado of fun.

First sleep-over

My Sweet Niece Audrey came over for her first sleep-over with us. It was for Isaiah's birthday party. We wanted to take her along but her parents needed to be out of town. So Mi Mi kept Baby Henry and we took her. It was a hoot. MY big guys have dubbed her "the informer" one said, " I am going to kick butt on THIS game" she says(always at top volume by the way) "WE DON'T SAY THAT WORD AT MY SCHOOL-- IT IS A BAD WORD" (um, so that means Daddy says it still, right?? lol) and then, " RILEY SAID HATE AND THAT IS A BAD WORD" ( he hates when the game stops like that) and this was all in the car on the way home. The boys promptly hid out in their room playing legos and transformers and probably saying "hate" and "butt" profusely. At one point she heard "stupid" and "shut up" through the door.(which actually ARE bad words here) so she sort of helped me out. Not gonna lie, it was handy.
We ate a bedtime snack and I put the girls in a bubble bath. Three girls in the tub. Yes it was adorable.
Then pajama time. And reading time. And praying time. And kissing time. Then apparently it is singing time. As I kissed her, she started singing "Just a few more weary days and then...." Then Moriah started singing "it's gonna be a good good night"... aren't they sweet?



As you know, we had the bedroom bylaws going here. Well they have a bedroom issue at Audrey's house too. A new baby means mom and dad are sleepy and Audrey climbs right in their bed. Are you seeing where this is going? put one kid who likes getting in mommy's bed, with another kid who likes getting in HER mommy's bed... what do you have??? TWO kids who patter around at night.(and remember one has volume issues-- and we ain't talking hair here!!) So, at 5 am, I hear "AUNT HEZRA I CANNOT FIND MY SOFT BLANKIE!!!" I was lazy, because I had already been up with them once on a potty party.So I say, "look under the bed, I'll bet it fell." I hear thumps as they run away, then thumps as they return. "NOPE, IT WASN'T UNDER THE BED!" "ok, can you talk softer please? Try looking around in the covers." They, thump away. They thump back both yelling "WE FOUND IT!" I knew this would not go well, we would be up for the day at 5 am. So I said, how about you two lie here on my side? so I moved over, they cuddled in, and we got three more hrs of sleep. Which I needed because that was the day of the actual party. Which required xanax and Midol. But I am pretty sure the kids had fun. To be continued for Birthday Bash.

falling down on the job

Riley has been unloading the dishwasher for a while now. He is FINALLY doing it well, without complaints and as a routine (and bless his heart about 3 times a day.) This week, we had a casualty. I heard an awful crash. I heard him say, "oh no!" So, I did what any good mom does. I screamed, "everyone ok?" he said "yes, but stay there" heh heh. Not only did I come, but I brought the camera. Because he was saying, "well, mom, I have never lost a dish yet, it is the first one down"(what is he? a DR??) So I took pics of the fallen and the boy. Then I assured him it was ok. It was after all a cheap one. Now, if it had been the pink depression glass. . .

Blurry Bedroom Bylaws

The nights have begun to run together. My days are a bit of a blur. One night in the middle somehwere, my little girl climbed over my head to get in my bed. Then cried when I said, "come on, back to your bed." Not only did she cry, she held the headboard and screamed. So, I took her back to bed, and sat by her. She was asleep pretty fast in spit of her anger.
Then last night, she fell asleep in her bed, AFTER I read, and after I left!! She was asleep in her own bed without ME!!!! Woohooo! Then when she woke up, it was about 3. She didn't even ask to get in my bed!! She just pulled her blaket and pillow to my floor and lay beside the bed. Then after realizing her bed was cozier, she asked if I would come to her room please. (please??) So, since it is a well-known fact the hubster can sleep in any conditions, I sent him. He got up early though and came to our room, so she once again fell asleep and woke up all by herself. And happy. YAY!!!!!

The lengths boys will go to NOT to do laundry

This would be my two oldest boys after I said, "which one of you has the most dirty clothes?" They knew whichever laundry basket was fuller(most full?? fullest?? Darn! grammar goes out of my head by 9 pm), would be the unlucky guy doing his laundry today. This was their plan: smash it down as much as possible. They got a moment of bloggy fame, but I won in the end. For all their cleverness... I am cleverer. (cleverest? Most clever --gah!well at least more than those two) I made them both go today. So HAH! Mom's score (again. not that I am keeping score, cause that would just be a wrong and petty thing for a mom to do.)

Night 1 of the new bedroom bylaws

This is what we want to have happen. (her in her own bed-- tu tu optional)

Okay, night one. Well, the little girl has a cold and sounds terrible. So she knows I feel pity on her. But I was strong! FIRM! I gave her cold meds before bed, I read the Secret Garden to the girls. She was happily snoring in her bed by 9:30. Mission accomplished. She fell asleep in her own bed(step 1).
Then the hubster and I watched a couple of episodes of our favorite sit com on NetFl*x.(by the way, you should check that out! Totally saving us $$ and we can watch some things instantly) Then the little girl comes back out about 11(hmmm early. Well "mess up her midnight habit"-- step 2 ACCOMPLISHED!) So I said, ok, sweet, go back to your bed, I will come there in a minute. She went. I went about 20 minutes later. She was sound asleep! So the hubster and I got to fall asleep WITHOUT HER!!!(step 3 accomplished!!) Then at some point in the night, I wake. Uncomfortable and hearing her cough, snore and snort next to me. I realize I have a foot in my ribs and before opening my eyes realize... SHE IS BACK! (ok so step 4 not accomplished-- the sneak attack still worked) So (not wanting her to pee on my unprotected mattress) I took her to potty, then to get more meds, then to HER BED.Where I lay next to her from 3 am to 8. I woke up in the stupid uncomfortable bottom bunk. Thinking a new mattress??? Maybe THAT would help?? So I got up before her and she woke up in her own bed by herself.(step 5-- accomplished!)
Report? I have a dry bed. The hubster had a few hrs of blissfully alone sleep in a super cozy(dare I say it? Heavenly king sized bed) I am sore, and weary-- I feel as though I were in a fight. But I feel it was a semi successful 1st night. A few of our issues went well. That, my friends, is the update! stay tuned for the next installment. This will be where she wants to know if I AM SERIOUS. And where my weariness will be tested. I might need a nap when the hubster gets home. Then I will be READY for battle... dum da dum dum... (this is what we usually see-- this is MY bed)

Letter to a child- "Bedroom Bylaws"

Dear little Moriah,
My sweet 4 yr old. My darling tiniest daughter. My "baby." May I begin with telling you I love you with every fiber of my being. I absolutely adore the God of the heavens who brought you to me. I love that you remind me to live, and laugh and dance and sing.
There is, however a problem in our relationship. You must STOP climbing into my bed every night. You have more predictable timing than a clock! Every night at midnight, like some strange Cinderella story, you are running down the hall. Then once there, you kick. You pull hair, you snore(as loud as Daddy, I might add), and you occasionally pee on me. I do not enjoy waking up wet, and feeling abused-- emotionally, physically and psychologically. I have lovingly and willingly provided you with attachment parenting. You lived in the sling attached to my body for your first 6 months. You crawled following my every move for weeks after that. Then you walked at 9 mos and followed me even faster. I have had you near me to bathe, you have followed me to the bathroom.... I have had few private moments. By three you were handing me my underclothes as I got dressed. NOW, we must learn a new, hard lesson. It is called "tough love" my sweet baboo. It does not mean mommy does not love you. Just that I need to be tougher than you. We now begin a teensy bit of DETACHMENT parenting. This will be where you and I no longer sleep in MY bed. So, here are the new Bedroom Bylaws. I understand you are scared of your windows, but we will cover, adorn and block the said windows until they are no longer visible from the inside. You may have a lamp on ALL night long. Even if your sister has to have a spa- like sleep mask.If you have a bad dream, I will lie next to you on YOUR bed. I will pray for you, hold your hand and kiss you. I will not let you in my bed! All naps will heretofore be on your bed, nI hope this has been clear and loving enough. I am now going to order a new bedpad from Overst*ck, because there was a small hole in mine I was unaware of, and your last lake Erie managed to make it through. I also must go spray my mattress and let it air. When we make the bed together (because I know you love that!) please refrain from saying "our" bed? It really will make e feel like you understood this whole new set of rules. Thank you, love you so much, Mama

Please pray

A family with the last name of Smith lost their ten yr old son, Kolton, in a car accident last week. His funeral was yesterday. Please keep them in your prayers. He was on Elijah's baseball team, so it has been our kid's first brush with death of a young person. I baked bread for the family meal, and must have cried a hundred tears in the process. I wrapped the bread before bed and went to give my kids extra kisses while they slept.Please join me in prayer for this grieving family.