despite the huge bite mark

there was a wee incident in our home this morning. it involved the new kiddo biting another kiddo. i heard crying but didn't rush right in, because at this house, there is always crying. most of the time it's me. (haha...no really)

anyways, at the time it looked like just a small bite by monkey's eye...but NOW, it looks like somebody socked it to him. it's pretty ugly. poor baby. and what's interesting? he bites too. you'd think after a moment like that, you'd think to yourself, "hmmm. biting hurts me. i guess i shouldn't do it to others." --but alas, this is not the case, because children are not logical beings. -go figure.

but the real news?? the rest of the day has been great! we went to sam's because they have a double seater shopping cart. it was our maiden voyage alone without help. the man at the door said, "four, huh? wow!" --to which i said, "yeah, i think about that everyday."

we attended sonic happy hour because the boys did so great. and enjoyed snack in the car. the baby, although sick, slept well. the boys took good naps. they helped clean up. they didn't violently attack each other any time i left the room (well, except for the malicious carnivorous activities of the morning). it's really been the best day so far.

and z-diddy is actually listening and obeying, which is HUGE! more than half the time today he actually did what was asked of him. this is amazing!

the baby is on meds AGAIN but cps called to say that there's a "service manager" that is assigned to our case. she's a nurse, and she can answer any questions i have about the baby's medical stuff... regarding the insurance, prescription info, or even concerns about his health. they were thinking he might have to be considered "medically fragile" which is NOT good for us because that would mean they'd move him (we are not trained to be a medically fragile home).
but he doesn't meet the criteria, so he's sticking with us. -all this to say, i am very excited about our service manager, because his medical needs are such that it is hard to keep up with all the specialists and appointments AND take care of 3 other living individuals...oh...and the hubs and myself.

so, God once again saves the day. He's truly the only way i am doing this, because visions of locking myself in my closet and crying myself to sleep are never far off. but today was better. and maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be better too.

we're movin' right along

it's been a hard transition with everybody being sick. i took colalicious to the doctor this week and then took the older 3 boys to the doctor the next day. the gunk. and now everybody's on meds. guess what? with foster care, you get to fill out a med sheet for every med a child is on. 3 kiddos who are foster children+ several meds + med sheets =a lot of paperwork.

z-diddy (the 22 mo old) has turned out to be quite the little tooter rooter. we are currently dealing a lot with behavior issues. what's working best right now is to ignore the grunting and aggressive behavior and the "NO"s and praise good behavior. unfortunately, anyone who knows me knows i have trouble ignoring the not-so-good stuff.

this is not to complain, we are so BLESSED! -but i'd like to be realistic so anybody out there thinking taking on 2 new kids is easy can see a glimpse of the fun we're having.

the baby, colalicious, is getting on a schedule. he's responding well to it, and that means more than 1 1/2 hours of sleep at a time for me. woohoo! nobody ever told me how much the baby would take over not only our daily life, but our home. there are bottles, blankets, burp cloths, and formula everywhere.

the other boys are adjusting, cute as ever. the eldest is having the hardest time.

we had our first visit with bio parents this week for the two new boys. it was really awkward and more difficult than i thought it would be.
i have to say, i don't think the state of texas has it set up very well. i met the bio parents and everything. if they wanted, they could probably follow me home. (sadly, i am paranoid, and actually DID check my rear-view mirror many times during the drive to make sure i wasn't being followed) we truly have NO idea how long they'll be with us. but think about it, if they stay with us, we will have all our children out of the house by the time i'm 45.

i'm gonna be one hot mama when all my boys move out and go to their state schools that are PAID for, because if you are adopted over the age of 2 and are a minority, or are part of a sibling group that's adopted, you get FREE college tuition to any state school. --thru a doctorate. something else you might not know, you get a monthly stipend, medicaid until they're 18, and all lawyer expenses are paid for the adoption. this is all if they're over 2 and a minority, a sibling group of any age, or a caucasian child over the age of 6. so there is assistance for families adopting thru the state. spread the news. these are not good reasons to adopt, but it takes away some of the reasons people use NOT to adopt.

so anyways, i still haven't figured out how to take them all shopping with me, but we are getting better about loading up the car, taking walks, nap times, bath times, etc. when i start getting frustrated or overwhelmed, i just remember what it was like last week at this time, and how much i've learned since then. one of my friends said to give it 6 weeks. --take that time to get down a routine, initiate discipline with the 22 mo old, and establish myself as the caregiver. i bet in 6 weeks, i'll have this thing down pat. ;)

amos story

my friend, lauren, sent this to a few of us about a worship leader and his wife. they have been in the process of adopting two beautiful children from haiti for the past few years. it's been a difficult process, but thankfully they were able to go get their daughter, story, a few months ago but they are still waiting for the arrival of their son, amos, who was in Port-a-prince when the earthquake hit. thankfully he was not harmed. please pray for this family. adoption is such a struggle. i can't imagine the struggle that goes along with international adoption.

Amos Story - Music Video - Aaron Ivey

www.youtube.com

the tough part is mostly over

so i took colalicious, the baby, to the hospital last night because he was wheezing so badly. after several breathing treatments, he responded well and is now eating, sleeping, and smiling. he was not admitted, but that meant we got home last night around 10:30pm. it was a rough day and a rough night, but today has been 100% better.

my parents are wonderful and momage (my mom-in-law) is wonderful and we have lots of help.

gabe and monkey are adjusting well to having new kiddos in the home. monkey will lay on his stomach to watch colalicious play on the floor. it's pretty adorable. chin in hands, feet flopping around, monkey LOVES this baby.

the hubs stayed home from a trip to mexico he was supposed to go on. he is a keeper. i love him and am very grateful for him staying home.

everyone has been so helpful. we have only bought formula and diapers. the rest was donated to us. we lack nothing. isn't that an amazing testimony of the Lord's provision?
the moment after we agreed to take these boys, things started happening. donations started flooding in. we have so many clothes, we don't know what to do with them all. now all i need is someone to fold my laundry and help us get ready for our health inspection on tuesday. any takers? ;)

prayers have been wonderful. we are so appreciative. i TRULY never thought our life would be like this. i said i never wanted another kid under 2, God gave us a little baby. i said i wouldn't be ready for more kids until our youngest was over 5, and he's only 1 1/2. God has bigger plans than what we have for ourselves. the hubs and i, of our own strength, cannot do this. but God can do it! --what an adventure!

anyways, it's sad i can't put up pictures, because our family is a good lookin' one!

welcome home

so the boys are home. we are now a family of 6!
whew!
my back hurts, my head hurts, my feet hurt...you name it, it hurts.
we got the baby, colalicious, from the hospital much later than expected, and then met z-diddy, our newest 22-month-old) at home later.
z-diddy is super clingy and has adjusted well to me, but won't let anyone else touch him. he already calls me "mommy," although i never told him to call me that. (since they're having visits with their bio mom, i didn't know what he should call me.)

it's weird because z-diddy is less than a month older than monkey but he talks so much more!

the baby has been crying all evening long. i have not yet found the trick to making him stop. at this moment, he's sitting in a swing and calming himself by literally sucking on his entire hand. wait...wait...and now he's crying again. i have held him, rocked him, fed him, changed him, bounced him, sang to him, and nothing has worked. i am not sure what it is: the overload of leaving a hospital after being there a month, coming off serious medications, being in a new place, being with a new family, reflux that we have no medication for because medicaid sucks, nausea/heartburn/indigestion/upset stomach/diarrhea...to which we would only need to give him pepto bismol and he'd be a-ok.

the hubs is home, my parents are visiting, and the hub's mom is coming on saturday. so we have help. and we have had so many people offer to do whatever we need. the problem seems to be that i can't leave the children's side, so i need people to do all these random things like throw away old bottles and change poopy diapers and install car seats and sort clothes and enter medication logs for fostering.

i am doing ok....i am doing ok...i am doing ok....if you say it more than once, it makes it true right?

it is rough, but you know what? with monkey, it was SO rough that i literally called the hubs sobbing after taking him to the doctor the first time. it was bad. i mean really bad. it was the lowest point of my entire life for reasons i can't fully remember or explain. he was in bad shape and i was not prepared at all mentally or physically or emotionally for an emergency placement, so while this is tough, i have help. i am prepared to be at home without leaving for long periods of time. it's a transition, and i don't do well with those, but we can handle it. God knew what He was doing when He gave us 4 children under the age of 4, and the joy of the Lord is my strength.

thank you guys for all your prayers and support. we need ALL the help we can get.
i love each and every one of you!

goodnight and goodluck

12 hours to go

we are blessed beyond measure.

to the left, the closet that was clean and tidy last week? hmmm...

we've gotten so many donations of clothes, diapers, bottles, and so much more.

and bibs. we now have lots of bibs.

--and we need them, because apparently young babies spit everywhere.



i pick up the baby at the hospital tomorrow morning and the older kiddo comes later in the day from the shelter.


so here's what i've decided: the new toddler will be named z-diddy, and the baby will be called colalicious. i know it sounds complicated, but there's four kids, 3 of them who can't be named publicly, so roll with it.


here's some of the donations we've received so far. thanks to my friend missie who has helped out enormously. she had friends donate to us that i don't even know. i was worried i wouldn't be able to thank her friends and do you know what? she even addressed thank you notes to them so i could write them our thanks! what a great friend, huh?

i still need to sort stuff, get more hangers, and sanitizes bottles. we are just plugging along.

i got to spend some time with the baby, colalicious, today at the hospital and he's doing so great! he smiles and coos and laughs. everybody at the hospital loves him.




i think one of the hardest parts of all this is the realization that my house, as it is now, is the cleanest it is going to be for a LONG, LONG while. and i like cleanliness. ah, well. you live and learn and then get dirty.

please continue to pray for us. i can seriously feel the peace of God throughout the day when i begin to feel frazzled.

i won't be able to post pictures, but hopefully tomorrow i can blog and tell you guys how our first day went with all 4 of our boys.

...and here...we...gooooooooooooo!

fostering update

we were approved for the boys and will now be getting them THURSDAY! whew! but God has truly provided. as i drove home from meeting the youngest in the hospital, i was praising God. He has provided everything we need. i kept singing "Your grace is enough, heaven reaching down to us, Your grace is enough for me." --chris tomlin

in the last 24 hours, we have at least a temporary car to fit 4 children, car seats, high chairs, cribs, clothes, diapers, formula, and lots and lots of help. i have sat back many a time today and just thought, "man, Jesus, you love me!" and He just keeps giving us confirmation that this is exactly what we're supposed to be doing.

i spent today rearranging the rooms (gabe and monkey will now be rooming together), making TONS of phone calls, meeting the littlest at the hospital (he smiles and coos a lot), and getting my eyebrows threaded (because who doesn't need a makeover days before doubling the number of children in their home?) (btw, threading...CRAZY. i've never had it done before and it was way weird and amazing).

over the next few days, people from all over san antonio are going to be dropping off stuff for our new boys. if you are one of these people, or a person who is praying for our family, i cannot thank you enough and words really don't express the gratitude we have for you.

i'll try to keep you guys updated over the next few days.
i need to think up blog names for all 4 boys to keep this generic. any ideas?

urgent

we are getting two foster placements on friday. we just found this out. they are 2 boys, 7 mos and 22mos. we were not attempting at getting more children at this time, but the agency called and they have no place for them. can't give much info at this time, because they're foster kiddos. one's in a shelter, one's in the hospital. not good at all. but they're both doing ok, so we'll be getting them friday.

are we crazy? yes.

are all things possible with God? absolutely.

please pray for us and our boys as we all adjust. i am a wee bit concerned about how our current children will handle this change. my parents are bringing us a suburban to use for the timebeing, praise God! other than that, we need everything you'd need for 2 more children.
please please please pray. the Lord knows exactly what He's doing, even when it's hard.

a good day

so today has been one of those rare relaxing days...who knew?
we got up early, waited for the fire inspection man to come...that's his technical name.
(since we're a foster family, we have to get a fire and health inspection every two years...and ours is due).
we ate popcorn in front of the tv, played with cars, got some small chores done, and enjoyed a warm-microwaved-cooked lunch, had ECI come out to work with our foster son, etc.
we even read our Bible story for the day...so we're pretty productive around here.

we have been so incredibly busy getting all sorts of stuff done that we have not had time to just sit and be. --who really "sits and be's" with two small children around? i don't know anyone like this, but it's good to dream.

this weekend was wonderful, with a birthday party for a now 4-year-old friend and a going-away party for a 20-something year old friend. lots of junk food and laughing and a pinata shaped like a pudgey superman. who could ask for anything more?

and today it's just peaceful. this is not to say we haven't had our moments: the eldest has been lying and talking back lately, and the youngest likes to pinch and scratch you when he's mad. but other than that...it's been smooth sailing.

the antecedent of this smooth sailing? last night i cleaned out the pantry and the refrigerator, took out loads of trash, straightened the house for the inspector, etc.
and you know what? this morning we enjoyed ourselves. last night was a small price to pay.

how is your week beginning?

closets are done!

so, as promised, here are some before and after pics of the boys' closets. they are not drop-your-jaw impressive, but i did work hard. the problem is, we have all these clothes that we've bought for our foster son to grow into, and we don't want them in the garage. --hence the big storage bins in the top of his closet.

here's our foster son's closet before:

i promise i don't leave large trash bags in my child's closet for long periods of time. this bag is full of hangers for my friend when she thought about selling her child's clothes...needless to say, turns out she didn't need them

another organizational challenge is that our foster son is growing like a weed and his tummy is becoming quite rotund. so where do i put the clothes he has grown out of?

--the answer is: on the other side of this closet. i had them shoved into every nook and cranny. but i took care of that too, and now have them sorted and put away.





AND after...




TAAAA-DAAAA!
applause? why thank you!

(insert curtsy here)











the eldest's before:
our older son's room has been the catch-all for scrapbooks, toys too old for him, craft supplies, games with pieces too small to be left out, etc. this is only one side of the nightmare.
don't judge...please.

i know...

for shame!

see anything you like? i sell to you for 2 dolla. ;)


what do we have here? geo tracks set, huge dog from my dating days with the hubs, a frog hanging thingy (that's the technical name for it), a dirt devil toy vacuum, and all sorts of board games. wait...is that the kitchen sink i see back there?


AND after...


the biggest shocker of all? no, i didn't just take some stuff out and hide it from the camera's view. i actually have put some stuff out in my car to donate. and some stuff got thrown away (but don't tell the hubs, because he is the king of re-gifting/donating/etc.)

victory is mine, trebek! something accomplished. ta-da!

as for my to-do list shared in the last post, things are looking up. i had a mental breakdown of sorts last night, and my lovely husband held me and patted me while i cried. gotta love him!

and now, after scheduling things, cleaning out/sorting toys, and eating some chocolate chip cookies, i am feeling much better about life. i am ready for a bubble bath with my fabulous milk and honey scented stuff from bath and body works.
next up on the to-do list: clean the house from top to bottom. due date for completion? sometime in late february. i'm lowering my standards. ;)

icky

hello my peeps. how is your new year going? i have been working hard ever since coming back home from the holidays. and i...am...exhausted. i feel almost icky.

i have been working hard from the time i get up until the time i go to sleep. working out, trying to get on top of cleaning up the house (and that's not even actual cleaning, it's just putting things away that have been out for too long). whew. i need to put my feet up.

i have some before and after pictures of cleaning out the boys' closets and will post them soon.
here are some things i still need to do this week. maybe if i share them with you, i'll feel more relaxed.
coffee with my friend heather (this is the only one i'm excited about)
go downtown to schedule and pay for fire/health inspections
mop the bathroom floor (3 year old boys...let me tell yah)
fax forms to pediatrician
get haircuts for boys
do daily reading of Bible (should be excited about this)
daily workout (never excited about this)
dentist visits for boys
high school youth girls night out: i'm co-hosting (oh wait. i'm excited about this too)
schedule CPR training for justin
and maybe go to the zoo

well that's better than i thought. i'm excited about 2 things! that's something to be glad about.


you know what i just realized? almost half of this list is because we're a foster family. --with fostering, you have due dates that everything must happen by. and it seems all is due sometime in january. all of this list will happen before saturday. i also would like to go thru all the boys' toys and organize/get rid of/donate some of the older or less interesting ones. but i don't want to bite off too much, so we'll see how it goes.

i bet each of us has a big to-do list. alrighty then...let's go get 'em

marge revolution

so instead of new year's resolutions...i'm going to do
a marge revolution. dum dum dum.
the hubs thinks this is corny. and ridiculous. and that's exactly why i like it.
i have a few goals:
*i bought a daily Bible from lifeway and it was on sale for $5.
i started it today. one of the goals is to read it daily and finish the Bible in a year. --thanks to my friend amanda jo for that one. she's a good tipster.

*i have been doing power 90 on and off for months to get in shape. i am not making a resolution to lose a certain amount of weight, but i want to be healthier all around. and my "all around" is much bigger than it used to be.

*i like sudoku. my mom gave me a book and i plan on working on it to where i become THE sudoku champion... of.the. WORLD! (when you say this or read this, try to use a wrestling announcer's voice.) --in all reality, i just want to challenge my brain a bit.

*i bought a new study on ruth and am excited to delve into that one. i will have my Bible study brain in full gear because we're also continuing our revelation study by kay arthur next week.

*AND i received two new books from my parental units: vintage Jesus by mark driscoll, which i have not started yet and adopted for life by russell moore.

adopted for life rocks my face off. it's pretty amazing and i'm not even to chapter 3. it's not solely about the physical adoption of a child, it's about our adoption as children of God. i think everyone will love it. that might be what my free giveaway will be. who knows.

so those books and things won't take me a whole year, but they're things that will keep me learning new things. and the sudoku thing...well, who doesn't want the fame that accompanies such a feat?


our Christmas was fabulous and blessed and new year's was uneventful. i have to admit that i have been nervous about moving past Christmas. january is when some things can change with our foster child and bio mom might get out of jail. this is the beginning of the end. either parents will work their plan to get him back or they will falter. either way, by this time next year, we should know if we'll stay a 4 person family or not. the boys are growing and flourishing and learning so much. i am such a proud mama.

enough about me. let the revolution begin.