Livin' With a Toddler....again

So, it's been a while since we have had a toddler in the house! My youngest is 4...so it's been a few years. I forgot how much you learn from 2 year old little boys!
What I've learned this week:
1. when you see something brown on toddler's finger you pray it's play-dough! It was.

2. It's very tricky to convince toddler that a bag of cotton balls is not a bag of marshmallows!

3. If you want everyone in your house to see you naked...forget to lock the bathroom door while you shower.

4. I learned that more food goes on toddler's clothes than in his mouth!

5. I learned that the toilet is a fun place to play!

6. I learned that everyone 'shares' a toothbrush with toddler....other kids were not impressed....don't worry we cleaned them!

7. I learned that toddler is smarter than I am as English is his second language....I only know English.

8. I learned that not matter what time I set my alarm for...toddler will hear it....toddler will get up.....and speak loudly to me in his first language.....that language has no name....he's one smart kid!

9. I learned that toddlers smile makes my heart melt.

10. I learned that the toddler has lots of friends....cuz he's so cute!

How It's Going

Yup....the picture says it all. LOL....it's not all that bad....but this is an acurate picture of Sunday night! We are all still trying to get meshed together. It's hard. The kids miss thier parents...and we don't "know" them. We are still trying to figure out where the baby is 'at'. I think we got it. We are now feeding her baby cereal before bed and she is sleeping better. We are introducing stage one baby food today. I always made Colton's {my youngest son} baby food....so we are not used to buying jars. Other than that....we have had fit throwing, biting....lots & lots of biting. So much biting that we are now required to keep a log for when Matt bites! All 3 are in diapers so we have had countless diaper changes. We have had a million appointments and we have about 6 or 7 specialists that come to the house for the kids weekly...all different people and all different days. We are stretched.

BUT.....to see God's hand at work is awesome! All that hard, stinky stuff I just wrote is true....that's our life for a while. It will smooth out, it always does. But, along with all that 'stuff' are some pretty cool moments! We have got to see the oldest of the boys start to trust us enough to go potty. {some times!} We have seen that the middle child stopped pulling his hair out! We have seen both boys sit and eat real food. We have seen the first time the boys were in the woods. We have seen the boys go to bed with smiles because they could show us thier "own" beds. We have seen the oldest boy call our house 'home'. We have seen the children happy to come back here, to this house, after seeing their parents. We have seen that the boys are responding to directions and doing what they are told {most of the time}. We have seen that the kids will hold hands and be silent while we pray as a family. We have seent he baby start to use her leg muscles {they didnt know if her legs worked, nobody ever held her...just laid in a crib} We have seen that baby can indeed hear {they thought she was deaf, nobody talked to her} We have seen that baby eats like a PIG { we were told she has failure to thrive, nobody loved her} We have seen baby fall in love with my husband and play a game where they stick tounges out at each other. We have seen baby giggle and laugh because she has more friends {all my kids} than she knows what to do with! We have seen baby's brothers be happy to see here instead of try to hurt her {we were told the youngest tried to hurt her and the oldest was scared of her}.....

What have I learned......so far I have learned to not push and just wait on God. I have a tendancy to think I "know" what is best for these kids {meaning all of my foster kids :0) } and yesterday wasn't soon enough for the "best" for them....so I push....hard. It gets me in trouble. County workers don't like that. So....this time, I am not pushing....God can handle it! And of course...He is! I was told by a driver yesterday that the kids have court tomorrow and they are going to try to change the goal to pull the oldest boy out of preschool and keep him home with me! WOW! What an awesome God thing! I am learning to not expect too much. I am learning to accept the kids parents and know I need to pray for them and not get mad and judgemental. I have learned that my job is not to organize all the counties "stuff" {they like it when you do!} and let them....my job is to care for the kids, that's it. I have learned to go with the flow and things go much better...meaning, school will get done...but may be off schedule a bit...stuff like that. I have learned that I am grateful I run a very organized home. I have learned that it was good to train my own children so they do not need so much direction and I have the time to focus on the new kids and their needs. My own kids know the routine and what to do, so they just do it. I have learned that God really does have a plan for me and He will have His way. We had a TOTALLY different plan for this time 'round in foster care....His plan won out. Go figure :0)

*Spell check wouldn't work & I don't have time to look this over...sorry !!! ***

WOW! 3 more!

WOW! We have been in the process of getting our cert. to be foster parents again....and when we did we were told that there were 3 little boys that we could consider for adoption....we were thinking we wanted to foster teen girls {we did this years ago....for 5 straight years}....but we wanted to follow God's will so we said ok. A week later we got a call and they said "it's a no" about the boys...we weren't even cert. yet...so we were just taking out time...chillin' out....waiting on God. Then yesterday we got a call and a proposal....the county asked us to take another 3 children and that they would just go ahead and call the state to get us approved for emergency care. They NEVER do this...as we are not kin of these kids. I prayed...rob prayed...we said yes...but were sure they would call back and say "no". Not this time! They called and said they would be coming in 2 hours! So....the kids we were blessed with taking care of for a time {honestly, they hardly ever go home}....are...a little boy {4}, another little boy {2}...and a sweet baby girl {5 months}! So in a matter of 2 hours we went from 7 kids to 10! All three new kids are in diapers....I tried to put the oldest on the potty and he arched his back and got upset....and the other boy has downs syndrome...I think. they are all VERY VERY delayed. We shall see where God takes this, but we are in much prayer that these kids' parents will get help and they can all be a family once again. Please join me in prayer for these 3 kiddos and their parents. they sure do need it!

Family Fun

Family fun....that's been what we have been up to! We are on an even tighter budget, for which I am thankful, so our fun is more of the "free" kind! We have also been trying to get more activity as a group. In the picture above we are watching a close friend of ours make homemade cider! We picked MANY 5 gallon buckets full of apples that day! Then we went on and unloaded a huge trailor of "stuff" for them. We had an awesome workbee!

We have spent countless hours hiking in the woods as of late. We are always laughing and finding treasuers!

Bike riding!

the crew getting ready to "hit the road"! What a fun time!!!

And last night we had a 'camp' fire! We roasted marshmallows & played hide and seek in the dark! The kids loved finding hiding places behind hay bales! Daddy also led us in worship songs! We didn't have time for baths before bed....and the kids all smelled like "camping"....ahhh....life is so good! I cannot believe the Lord has blessed me with so much!

Kids....Frugal or Not?

I often hear that people don't "want" more kids because they think "they" cost too much. I have thought much about this. Yes, children do cost money...they eat and need clothes. I will not deny that my food bill has increased since we have grown our family! That is a burden financially...but it's expected. You expect to buy clothes for children, but there are ways to cut costs. It saddens me to think that people use this as an excuse to not follow the will of God. I thought I would list just a few things that I could think of that people could use as an excuse that kids cost too much, and a way to avoid the cost.

Babies:

clothing...you could buy used, wear hand downs, and what I do is buy neutral colors so they can be shared between sexes.

Baby food....make your own! Those jars cost a lot!

Gerber Bottled Juices....just water down the juice your whole family drinks.

Bibs....a dish towel works great!

Kids:

special shampoo.....teach them to close their eyes and look up...lol...we all use the same shampoo!

special bodywash....we all use the same soaps...either bar soap or a "regular" smelling bodywash. Babies should use something more gentle.

Toothpaste....we all use the same as soon as child can spit out what's in their mouth!

Toys....children who are close to the same age don't all need the same toy...they can share! I know a lady who buys all of her girls and then the boys the same toy so they don't have to share.

Toys....try not to buy gender specific toys, they can all play with them!

Clothes...again, hand downs, used, and for instance....plain white turtleneck shirts can go for either boy or girl under sweaters for added warmth. We have had the same set of turtlenecks around here for years!!!

Bedding....don't buy "kid" bedding...plain is best as it can be passed around from child to child.

McDonald's....yup, we all eat there from time to time! People always ask us how we afford it. They think that everyone gets a happy meal! Not so much. A few times a year, yes. This is how I do it for the kids....on the cheap! I get them all a $1 sandwich...and a few boxes of fries to share, a few drinks to share (I split them up into cups)....and there you have it!

Christmas....kids don't need everything they WANT!

We need to remember that children and a gift and not a burden! Yes, they do cost some money...everything does...but people make it seem much more than it needs to be!

Those are just a few ideas I had....share yours!

Blended

you know something.... I have waited, watched, and prayed for this to happen....and it did~ God is SO good~ our family has finally, really and truly, blended! I no longer see birth siblings gravitating to each other, I no longer see that when we ask them to stand or sit together as a group, birth siblings always stuck to each other. I no longer see the birth sibling groups always watching their own siblings to make sure they are OK. they no longer ask to make SURE their OWN birth sibling will also have a snack...they are blended. They are all mixed together. We are a true and real FAMILY! Praise the Lord!