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!!)

Home- made laundry soap

Here is an awesome recipe for home made laundry detergent!
1 1/4 c white vinegar
1 c baking soda
1 c washing soda
1 c Borax
1/4 cup liquid detergent or castille soap
essential oils if you want

Use a stand mixer if you have one, and a BIG bowl.(the baking soda and vinegar will FIZZ!!)
pour in the vinegar first. Then the baking soda. Let the mixer stir those together and when they fizzle out, add the Borax. Mix well. Then add in the washing soda. Mix these ingredients really well, scraping the sides if needed. Then add 1/4 c liquid soap. Stir this for a long time! (This is when you add the essential oils too by the way!) If it is not really well mixed, it will turn hard as a brick. You want it to look like an almost foamy mixture. I let my mixer go for about 5-8 minutes on med -high speed while I clean up the rest of the mess I have made. I use a rubber spatula to scrape every bit out into my container. I use a tight sealing container, but leave the lid off for the first 24 hrs or so. It will dry out from a foamy mixture to a dry fluffy powder overnight.
I use Purex soap, and this means my bottle lasts MONTHS! Walmart sells the washing soda and borax now and my ingredients cost about 10 dollars and last quite a while.
OH! Use 1/4 cup for a double load sz. 2 TBS for a regular load. It does not suds so, don't think it isn't cleaning. I use vinegar in my softener ball. Or there is a home made softener which will be y next post. Sorry no pics, but I am horrible with gettting pics loaded on the computer and re-sized. I thought you might be able to use the information and recipe though even without photos. This is a fun project that my 9 yr old can do even, and it saves quite a bit of money. We do at least three loads a day, and I am making this batch once a week. Have fun!!!

Keep praying?

We have had no new news yet on the adoption front. We had our updated home study(including the visit). It was insane. Right in the middle of baseball camp(which is that kid's only activity this year), and children/teen theatre. We had two flooring projects and a few other odds and ends house remodeling jobs we were in the middle of that had to be rushed up.(and cleaned up!) It was a mass exodus of clutter.We got it done though and we are just waiting to hear about match ups!!! Please keep praying for the kids God has for us to come quickly! I hate to think they are waiting and we are waiting and paperwork shuffles are keeping it all bogged down. We have had so many episodes of bad news we are ready for some good news!

possible?

We may have a possible match. It is a three sibling group that is two girls and a boy. We are praying now. We should get more info Tuesday. Right now we are getting the house ready for an updated home visit. Eek.... I was painting and flooring.... it looks like a construction site in a few rooms. pray??? I will keep you posted.

oh. my. word

Ok, I haven't been on here in a while. Maybe there aren't even any readers anymore. But I need to vent out into cyberspace and hopefully be heard by SOMEONE who will then pray for us. I have spent all day mulling this over. How to word it? How to be as polite as possible. etc. Here is the situation: we are still working on a foster- care adoption. We were hoping to get a small sibling group from foster care. After the HUGE disappointment of last spring, we had hoped we would have better luck. As it turns out we have had more bad adoption experiences. We had one staffing in MO that did not pan out. The kids and I were pretty sad about that one. Then there have been several different families we have been "considered" for since then, but turned down as well. Then yesterday, I received a package in the mail saying "congratulations, you have been accepted as the adoptive parents for ____" It was for a sibling group I had fallen in love with. I had REALLY wanted them. And it was between our family and one other with our agency. But they had chosen the other family. So I called our case worker and she said, " oh, that has to be a mistake." I called 2 workers twice each(leaving messages) then waited to hear back. I finally got through at the end of the day and this one said,"I can't tell you anything, I am waiting to hear from the supervisor." This morning that one called me and said " I am calling to tell you, it WAS a mistake. Another family was chosen for those kids. I guess it got mixed up at the other office." GAH!!!! How can they make such a horrific mistake?? How can they not even say sorry???? They just blamed each other!!! I now have a pkg that I have to PAY (!?) to mail back to them that I was not supposed to receive??? And it is a cruel blow that it was kids I realllllllly wanted. I have one little girl not so happy about this development either. And a teen who says I should just claim them by filling out the paperwork anyhow. We could call it an intervention from God. oops.
So, now that I have blown up about it, and vented about it, I need prayer for peace and my faith to be restored. I am feeling such frustration and depression over this long drawn out experience. I am seriously tired of the stupid enemy interfering with our dreams. I will sleep tonight dreaming of the kids GOD has for us, and know they will be even better for us than the sweet peanuts I was coveting from another family. I will trust that God will work all things together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. Maybe this means I will have extreme favor in that state in the near future. And as hard as it may be, I will refrain from writing a biting letter of injustice(even though I totally rock at those) So, any who are still following the drama of our lives-- please keep us in your prayers??

Rainy days

What do you do on rainy days? Well, when we had little baby chicks in a box in the living-room for a while, we would get out a chick. Or three. Three kids plus three chicks... equals a ton of fun. We only play for a few minutes because of the obvious mess factor and lots of handwashing but it was fun while it lasted.
One decided he needed a pirate costume to go with his parrot, I mean chicken- on his shoulder.



Moriah gives them way too many snuggles. Some rather hard squeezes. They cheep a lot when with her, she says it is because they love her. Of course it is Sweetie. It can't be because they fear for their little lives.

Home made wet wipes

Making wet wipes is super easy and saves a lot of money. It is also healthier too. Regular wet wipes can contain all sorts of things you don't want on your baby's skin. Some contain formaldehyde.. did you know that? Then add perfumes and alcohol... well it can be a bad deal. (not all of course, but some)
These are great for babies with sensitive skin or eczema. They help deter yeast rashes and clear them up.
Step one: gather supplies. You need Bounty paper towels(no other ones work as well! )I use select- a -size which we get at S@ms for less in bulk. You need warm water(about 2 cups. Oil of some sort.(olive, apricot, vitamin E oil, etc) You will need tea tree oil and some other essential oil (lavender is nice), a sharp big bread knife, a cutting board or tray. You will need a container.(I have used a Rubbermaid style big cannister. Others have had good luck with giant coffee cans)Cut an "X" in the lid.







Step two: cut your paper towel roll in half.(this is a bit messy with little fluffy tidbits but it is easily swept off into the trash if you are careful. Loosen the inner cardboard tube and pull it out. The wet wipes will come from the center out the top of the "X"






Step three: add your oils to the water and stir well.


Step four: pour water/oil mixture into the container.


Put the lid on and pull the paper through the "X."Let them sit for a few minutes if possible to let them all get saturated.




There! You are done! These are money saving and healthier. You can adjust the recipe however you want. If you want less oil, or they seem too dry you can add more water. Or different essential oils to get your perfect scent. Tea tree oil is an antibacterial one so you need to keep it, but play around with others. I like to label the back with the recipe so I remember what went in but also so others can re mix them without my help!

Mama on a mission

Here at the home in the woods, Mama is on a mission. The mission is: to save money, to get healthy, and get out of debt.
The beginning if this is simple in theory.
*It begins with shaving of any extra spending. I figured the best place to start was to cut off some of the misc. stuff. So I have been trying to find cheaper ways of getting the things we need. There will be a lot of these posts coming up. Home made everything! Well, not EVERYTHING, but still I may be going a bit hippie on ya. Bohemian even.
*The next bit is to get for ourselves or make for ourselves anything we can. We have begun a garden. We are raising chicks. We are trying to learn the art of self sufficiency in some degree. It is a tall mountain to be self sufficient and we are only on an anthill, but I figure everything we do teaches us something and helps cut some spending. So it will help at least a little. Recycling, reusing, and restyling are going to come in heavy here.
*The best part of this whole ball of wax? The saving. What I save from my efforts will be saved and put to debts or needs that wlll keep us from occurring anymore debt. I hope by tax season of NEXT year, to see a big difference in our debt and savings.
*An extra here, is that I want to give more. Obviously to our church, but also to people. Give my time, energy, and gifts. One thing I am working on, is Christmas gifts. Crochet or hand-made things that I make throughout the year are being earmarked for certain people and put up in my closet to await Christmas! I hope to have a vast majority of Christmas ready by the time that season hits!