our adoption update

I don't know if I told my bloggy friends, but a few months ago, I was asked to talk about our adoption experience at what everyone hopes will be the first of many adoption fellowships. It was humbling. It was also so amazing! To be asked to share on what is so very deep in my heart!?! While I am all nostalgic about that day, now I am rolling in today. When people say adoption is a roller coaster-- they are NOT kidding!! Our three new kids are a challenging group. They would make a challenge even if they were the ONLY kids in the home. Strangely though, because they aren't- I think they have an even better chance at being self-less and adaptable. I know it sounds odd, and warped, but I think it is true. We have days that go so well and then we have days that I want to pull out someones hair.(and it is usually a toss up between mine or some little girl!) I have never seen such disrespect, laziness, or flat out rudeness than in these three kids. I also have seen tenderness and depth and hurt and love. They all had attachment issues, but two of the three have really formed deep bonds. Then finally the other day my 10 yr old said, "Mommy, I love you so much, I don't even know the words for it. I never felt it before." Then a few hrs later her little sister sobs in time out wailing "I WANNA NEW MOMMY!!! ONE WITH BLONDE HAIR THAT WONT BE MEAN TO ME!!It doesnt mean I don't love you, I just wanna new mommy!" lol sigh. So you can see why I may need to start therapy? I am afraid I may be becoming bipolar soon. lol(just kidding!!) The ups and downs are crazy. The ride is slowing up a bit though and the ups and downs get a teensey bit more even. I think that is what they call progress. Kids are attaching. I am working on keeping it all together. The marriage is still working. The kids are all alive. The chickens are too if that means anything! Well, except those roosters- but that's another post. Keep us in your prayers please? We will not be finalizing as soon as we had hoped due to crazy time issues and between state stuff.(?!)The kids may have to go back into public school for a stupid amount of 2 months or less. I am trying to just have peace and let God be in control. I cannot make anything happen. I can only pray. Please join us in praying? Thank you!

Forever ago?

I am so sorry. If there are any sweet friends who still read this blog, I would like to apologize for having not posted in FOREVER! It has been a roller coaster of a several months long ride. I HATE ROLLER COASTERS!!! We have had the new kids here since Dec 29th, 2011. It has been a life lesson in the school of hard knocks. Literally. I have so much to say, but so much that needs discretion too. For kids' sake and for the sake of State rules until adoption is final. I am awed by the system of adopting from foster care. I am appalled at the crazy stuff that American kids go through when removed from their birth homes all in the name of "their good." I understand there will be holes in the system, but I intend to do something( and I am completely unsure of WHAT!) to help other kids.Praying now about what that would be. Our kids are adjusting pretty well. (two easier and one harder and much slower.) We get to finalize any time after June 29th. So we are in the final stretch. The two older kids were required to public school for this six month waiting period. They finished Thursday. So Friday we had our first REAL day as a full family of home-schoolers. I have two sets of twins here in the 4th and 5th grades.(how fun is THAT!? lol no really I think it is fun. Give me another year and a few more hormones and I might be crying about it. lol) I begin high school homeschooling this year. I am a little nervous. But hey we survived pre algebra and we are moving on to algebra. No big deal. (really!) and I love my teenager. (again ! REALLY!) I have a kindergartener again. This shocked me. I said if I have to teach this phonics again I will scream. (I did) But here we go again. And I really feel I should get some sort of award from the company. I have had to buy three copies of the teachers manual since 1998. And more workbooks than I care to count. But I dont see me adopting any more children younger than Miss A. So I will happily retire this asap! I have two with learning difficulties who are NOT yet readers at 7 and 8. I am hoping to see HUGE improvement this summer. With all these 10 and 12 year olds I will have plenty of listeners to the kids sounding out H-A-T for the millionth time. ;-) We have officially become a poultry farm this year. I went to the feed store for chick days(which has lasted since FEBRUARY!!) I go in for feed, and POOF! They have more fuzzballs. I sneaked them home in purse, box, pocket... I have an addiction. Good news though, I KNOW it and fully admit it. I am seeking help. Rehab. It takes place in my yard as I feed and water my nearly 50 mostly teenage chickens. In a month or so I will be getting over 30 eggs a day potentially. lol I am beginning a sell list now. I have an assortment of amazing layers(about 20) standard size hens. One Rhode Island red rooster that got mis-sexed at the feed store. And then about 30 Bantams!! So some of those eggs will be tiny. I have a few breeds I love so I am making breed box coops for a rooster and a few hens of those breeds. My hubby has built neat and nearly free coops! I will post pics as soon as possible. Cause I know people are SO interested. Heh heh

the kids are HOME

I know there are some who do not do facebook... and you may not know... our kids are home! We had some crazy things happen. When they were taken back Nov 4th because of a stupid contract undone, things went haywire. Our girls were taken to a NEW foster home in the middle of the night. It was told to us that the contract renewal would be 3 days to 3 weeks. Well, two weeks before Christmas, the girls' new foster mom was having a mess on her hands. The girls were being violent to each other and her. The girls were taken to a treatment center. The 4 yr old was left in a psych ward overnight for "observation." I cannot imagine what she must have thought. I sobbed and felt so helpless. They were put in yet another home, while we made fast plans to get us there the week before Christmas. We decided that if they wouldn't be HOME for Christmas, we would go to THEM. We spent Christmas in a hotel. I asked my caseworker for the contact info for where the contract was supposed to be. From a hotel room, I made a call on Tuesday explaining our situation. I explained that this contract was the only thing keeping these kids from being home. I BEGGED for help. She took my number and name and said she would see what she could do. She also told me it was typically a 2 week process from the time they received it. They had just gotten it! GRR. So we simply tried to enjoy time with the kids and prayed daily for it to come through. Our week was sort of hectic. 10 kids, two hotel rooms... 4 adults... but there were moments of fun and we DID get to be together. Then I got a call thursday that the contract was done and ready!!! The kids could not come home with us the 26th, but they were flown in the 29th! So they have been here just over a week. This week has been hectic. Paperwork for school(I have to enroll them for the 6 mos before finalizing), medical stuff, behavior issues. There have been boundary testing, heart issues, anger issues, rejection issues, fear... you name it and we have seen it. We have prayed and held crying kids and stopped fights. We have accomplished nothing but feeding, loving and discipline for a solid week. I have been told by the new son he felt this was not the best place for him when I set limits on the computer. I have been kicked, and screamed at by little girls. After their hearts are calmed they apologize but it is very hard not to get so tired in the middle of it all. Lack of sleep, lack of food(not having TIME to eat!!), and lack of prayer time and quiet time are getting to the adults. However, yesterday and today we have seen some breakthroughs. We are seeing progress, and they are bending bit by bit to what we expect of them. I even think they are finally beginning to believe we love them. But have I mentioned I am tired?

Time of serious praying

I know I am way way WAY behind on blogging. I am barely able to post quick tidbits on facebook. But to update any of you who have not heard, and to get MORE prayer(cause I am greedy right now on that one): our adoption story took an odd turn. We were to visit with the kids from Oct 27th- Nov 4th. We were praying the ICPC would go through fast enough to let that "visit" turn into placement. Well, about 3:00 that afternoon, we got the call saying the ICPC is done-- they can stay TELL THEM!! So we did. We heard whooping and yelling and celebrations were already being planned for family fun night(it was Friday). Then I got a call from the supervisor saying "step away from the kids". UGH, no!!!! It was discovered that our agency's contract with their agency had expired. It was a crazy fluke. But it meant packing up three crying children, trying to keep it together. It also meant packing them for unknown TIME! Then I find out the girls were going to a new foster home. Their flights were for 9. It was delayed. They landed about 11. Then the supervisor took the girls to their new home, and the case worker took our son back to his previous home. We were told it would be anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks for the processing of that contract. In the middle of that(on the 3rd), my best friends 41 yr old husband died at 4 am. It was a massive heart attack. It was a complete shock. He was really a healthy guy. Loved his fammily. He was an amazing brother and friend to me and his wife's beloved. I left the kids with Daddy and went to be with her for the day.(really I spent far more time loving on her three kids. They are 12, 10, and 7. The two girls birthdays are the 16th and 23rd of this month, then thanksgiving and christmas... it is all without their very special daddy. I was still reeling from that when we get devastated by our kids leaving! Now it is so close to thanksgiving and it looks like we might be spending it without them. They are not allowed to come here for the visit we were promised. It is not legal without the contract in place. We were told we were welcome to come there, but the kids are 7 hrs away from us and probably 45 minutes away from each other. We are not allowed to have them with us at a hotel, so we would spend a ton of time driving! The time and money involved make this practically impossible at this moment. So we are waiting to hear that the contract is ready and they can come home. Please pray with us?

going a little nuts....

I am not sure if I have even updated my blog to the plan of arrival of the new kids! And I have no time to even go check... We are on a serious count down! They come on THURSDAY AFTERNOON!!! I have s many projects going it is unreal. We were given two sets of bunk beds.(!?) And We bought 1 set. So we have put together beds and rearranged rooms and oh my gosh we are tired every night. My niece and nephew have been hanging out here to help every day. James rocks at the hard work, heavy lifting and boy motivation. Dan is the super cook and host. Nikki has been so helpful at encouraging me and the kids and keeping us focused without letting me panic.(sometimes) I had to buy a new washer and dryer(the old ones are too small and not so high efficiency). We had to build closet space for 4 boys. It has been nuts. On top of the usual feed us all and keep laundry and dishes going thing. Then of course bathe kids and get them to bed.OH and let's not forget schooling!! I have three new children coming to my house in three days.... AUGH!!!! I keep looking at everything through new eyes and feeling like oh no, what if they HATE this?! What if they HATE US!?? They will hate our rules.... they will hate their new school.... yadda yadda yadda... so, if you have a minute to pray for us, please do. thanks so much.

Visit time!

Warning: no pictures! Not yet. Sorry. We just aren't allowed. But that being said, I gotta tell you how amazing this has been! D gave us a card that was heart melting. " hi, I am glad to be adopted. Thank you for choosing me" I went to bed last night feeling such a mix of excitement and sadness. I can't explain it. Knowing that you know that these kids were MEANT to be yours, then seeing the sad faces of their foster siblings as they beg " I wanna go too will you be my mama too?" these kids have been so loved in their foster homes, but they just want forever families. It blesses me that mine will be home soon, but my heart breaks for those I can't take home. I can't even put words to the feelings I have. But dan and I were saying , why aren't more people doing this?!?! Then I will explain the very real flip side. ;-) it was a crazy day!!! We went to a fall festival. D and James threw the football a bit. Olivia and Elijah played life sized chess. Nik and I took the girls and Isaiah to the library and met with another adoptive mom
And one of the foster moms. We took girls to potty. We had lunch. Then we took kids to potty. Then we tried to see a movie ( all the kids were sad about seeing it so we begged a refund and left) then we went on another potty trip. After a long drive into the city, we went to a gorgeous park. ( side note-- when these kids see what our town calls a park they may cry) they played in the sprinkler park part, went to the restroom. Then played mini golfs and rest room AGAIN. Baby girl needing a change of clothes btw. The sprinklers had made her twists come undone and her hair was getting puffy and crazy. I tried retwisting and ended up with crazy poky puffs. Nik worked on it and got that part better, but little sister was using the FINE TOOTHED COMB on the back of her head!!! She had three inches of puffy at the back of her hair! We so messed that up! Lol j was a sweet girl and called me mommy all day long. D held my hand, and a enjoyed being spoiled. Counting 4 boys and four girls everywhere was hard. But watching them buddy up, and seeing ri holding his new baby sister so sweetly... Made my heart happy. I have 4 snuggly girls and4 handsome loving boys. D wants to hold my hand. I gives me the tightest hugs ever . E gives me kisses on the cheek and hugs all day long saying " you just looked like you needed that" and r puts his arm around me as we walked down the city side walk saying " mom it has been a good day". Yep my sweet hearted man- boy. It has.

Getting ready to meet!!

Today we cleaned the van did a million loads of laundry and started our trip prepping! We. Are. So. Excited!! On Friday at 4 Pm we will be meeting our kids! Can't wait to hug them!!!! Our new boy asked the counselor " do you think they will mind us calling them mom and dad right away?" nope buddy-- pretty sure that will be just fine. Little sister here had me a bit worried. She will be the only one " displaced". She has been the baby in our family for six years! Today she told Nikki-- I am getting a little sister! She will share my room and we will play!! Elijah can't WAIT to play ball with the brother almost exactly 1 yr younger than him. Olivia is beside herself with excitement to meet her " twin" ( they are both nine for a month together) she helped decorate their room, sort through tons of clothes, and is ready to pack tonight. Riley seems nervous but excited too. Isaiah asks " when's that new brother coming?" can't wait. Elijah has been singing" we are family! All my brothers sisters and me... Lol love it!

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....

Ladies a layin!

Our hens laid their first eggs this week! To say we are excited would be a HUGE understatement. The tiny egg is from the tiny hen we call Beatrice. (Moriah hugs her... heck, we ALL hug her) Our ladies are well loved!)

Chicken news

I know so many people have nothing better to do that to hear my tales... this weekend we had drama for sure. We had 14 chickens originally. One was a confirmed rooster. We had a dog. Well, the dog was given to a farm family. The rooster went to the same family. Apparently those two were my home land security system here, because the first night they were gone, a possum attacked! I heard a strange chicken scream. I said, DAN! There must be something in with the hens in the chicken tractor!! He said, nope, sounds like the kids playing the angry birds game to me. I went around the house, no one was playing a game! I came back to our room, and heard it again. He jumped up and said, "oh, yep! That was a chicken alright!" We went out and there was a possum in the stupid tractor( for those who may not know, the tractor is a small moveable chicken coop. It sits on the ground, and they forage on bugs in the yard!) Dan flung the door open and the possum ran out. I will save you the gory details. I quickly moved the two skittish but surviving hens in the safe house with the rest. Then we poured peroxide on the pour hurt chicken. We thought we patched the coop, and put her in a safer spot. It turns out the darn possum came back and finished her. Poor thing! I felt so bad but I was NOT bringing her in... she was a MESS! So then we hear the rooster died!(at the farm where we sent him) He must have gotten stressed and overheated on the trip. So, our chicken numbers are down to 12. An even dozen. And this week, we began to see eggs! Our first ever and we got 5 this week! I have figured out the sweet ladies a layin' and am so proud of them. Can't wait til I am getting 5 a day!!!!

digital photos...

I gotta say the other day I took about 10 rolls of film and disposable cameras to be developed. I had stuffed them in a drawer hoping not to have to deal with them, then eralized--- OHMYGOSH!!-- those are my kids pictures I NEED them. Eventually they will stop developing film. Better do it now. Well, about 100.00 later, I have photos. Some of them are as old as 5 years ago. I am so embarrassed and frustrated. And though I never would have believed it, I am grateful for digital photos! Thankful for the easier way(and cheaper! I can eliminate half of our shots before buying!!)

Kids update

My case worker emailed me today. She talked with the kids' caseworker. She says they are all doing well. They don't know we have been selected yet, but they know there were parents being considered for them. The 8 yr old keeps asking "when will we get to go live with our new mommy and daddy?" Heart melting isn't it? They won't be given our life book until we see their files. It still hasn't even gotten to THEIR caseworker so she can send it to OURS. please pray with us that this stuff goes faster so these kids who have been waiting 4 yrs won't wait much longer. As soon as we see their file and say yes, they will know we are working on getting them. They will see our pictures and know they are about to finally be in a forever family. I am on pins and needles!!

WAHOO!!!!

My niece and her crew were here for a week because their AC went out. Since we are at record temps and major drought... that is unbearable. So they moved in for a week-long sleepover. About this time, I got news of the life book we had to make. I have never done one!! And there were these very confusing papers to fill out. So, since I like scrap-booking I started there. My niece helped me sort through photos and make pages. It ended up being 65 pages!!!! After they went home, I forced myself to do the forms. I finished today! The whole package was mailed today. They will show the life book to our new kiddos. It will introduce them to our wild and crazy family. Because of their ages they will not be given a choice whether they want to come to us. It seems sad, but we are just praying they get excited. We are now waiting for their case file to be sent to our caseworker then we have our phone consultation where we ask tons of questions.... Please pray that D, J, and A will love the idea of being with our family. That we can get the rooms ready in time. That schooling here and for them will go smoothly. Lots to do, but that was a HUGE hurdle and I did it in under 6 days. Praise the Lord! I can't WAIT to show you their pictures!!! They are so so cute.

lifebook craziness

We were informed suddenly that deciding to move forward with these three children in TX meant we needed a lifebook. (?!) I have never had to do one! Our agency had always asked for update photos and stuff but not a whole BOOK. Of our LIFE. We had 15 yrs of photos to scan through,,pick out, then put in a scrapbook! Then write up tidbits about each member of the family and got CRAZY! My niece was here with her family because their AC was being replaced. So She helped me. I cannot imagine getting it done without her!!!! It looks amazing!!!! So I will mail that out tomorrow.(a few more pics are going in today) Now I have odd paperwork to fill out that is confusing and crazy and I have no idea where to start! Please pray for me?

Today's News!

Today began with an email from a case worker that the little girls I wanted had been assigned to another family.(insert moping for about 2 hrs here) We already knew we were having a staffing today(our caseworker was talking with the staff on our behalf). So I waited and waited for her call. There is a sibling group of three kids in Houston. ADORABLE! D is a ten year old boy, J is an 8 yr old girl, and the baby A is a just turned 4 yr old girl. She told me more about them. We had inquired about these kids a YEAR Ago!! Then they went off the websites and we heard nothing else. At. ALL. We just assumed they had been placed already. So our caseworker called to tell me "they are yours if you want them!" OHMYGOSH!!! I have had butterflies all day since. Seriously, can't think. And we really need to pray and think and not make the decision just because we have waited so long. Will you please pray with us? We need to call our case worker back tomorrow with an answer. Then we begin more final paperwork, and discuss visitation(they are several hrs away!), and start making plans.

July 2011

Kids at the zoo 2011


Moriah and Daddy taking a break at the zoo!




And Elijah pretending to ride the gigantic turtle statue. No worries, no actual turtles were harmed in this process!



Elijah pretending to be blown away by the ginormous fan.







Olivia loving the pool!


I even got in on the pool fun!

You may be wondering what our family has been up to?? Well, we went on a little vacation. Last year our vacation included Dan injuring his ankle. Rupturing his achilles tendon to be exact! It required surgery and months of recovery! We were praying for a safe trip this year! We only went three hrs away and rented an apt/hotel. It was two bedrooms and two bathrooms and came with a washer/dryer. It had two meals a day in their cafeteria, and about 6 pools! Not to mention a lovely lake and ducks. And yes three TVS and free internet. Which is apparently very important to this crew.
We managed a trip to the zoo and met up with long-time friends.(some of our kids best friends) We went to the science museum(AMAZING!) and we swam. and swam. and swam. :-) It was 105 degrees on average. Next year I think we should take out vacation in the fall. Unless we are going somewhere cooler!

Panic sets in

We have been working on adoption for three years. Seriously. We have had two failed ones in that time. One was seriously devastating. Now we are being considered for a sibling group in TX. And there is one in AR I really hope we get picked for. But really I think that is all we have on the table right now. And those are not for sure things by any means. But I need prayer! I am starting to panic. If we get the TX kids we have to public school them for the six months post placement. Then once the adoption is finalized we are set. I am nervous. About a vast number of things. At this moment, my house is a MESS with a capital M. I feel I am barely swimming on so many subjects.(house, marriage, kids, schooling...etc) So that I feel like an utter failure on so many things. I am feeling the discouragement so deeply that it is even out of MY normal Eeyore mode. I know it is an attack and I know I need prayer and Godly wisdom. Please pray for us? We need the kids God has ready for us. We need to not make rash decisions out of desperation and exhaustion. We need to get ourselves together on the home keeping and schooling again. And I need time to think, pray and work. I need to surround myself with supportive people and not the sponges who dry me out with their neediness. can you my sweet bloggy sisters please pray for us??? thank you so much!

Fun and tasty summer treat

We have a subscription to Family Fun magazine. It is a seriously FUN magazine. There are always crafts, recipes and fun things for.... FAMILIES! They are timed right and great ideas. (for example, while we homeschool, not everyone does. There were awesome end of year teacher crafts gifts that would be fun and easy and melt any teachers heart.) A springtime one included a recipe for mega bubble mix. We LOVED it! The last one though had a really neat recipe idea. It was home made ice cream in a bag.
www.familyfun.go.com/recipes/homemade-ice-cream-in-a-bag684806 They even have a video! Fun and yummy! (by the way, I used fat free half and half and it was yummy!!)