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!

Interesting....

I have had tons of people approach me as of late to ask about adoption through foster care. We adopted 5 children through foster care in Nov. of 2010. It was awesome! I am glad that people are thinking about adoption...it's SOOO important and I am hugely in support of anyone who feels led to adopt. I pray we will have the chance to do it again someday! BUT....these people who are calling me all say the same things...we want kids with no or very few "issues"...only one child....and a child under 2! That's all fine and dandy....but then why are they looking to adopt through foster care? That may sound harsh....and maybe it is harsh. I am a strong supporter of Children and Youth....and foster care is primarily for kids who have "issues"...to say you want a child with no "issues" is just like saying that you really just want a kid and don't really want to do the REAL "foster care thing". People are under the wrong impression by thinking that children who were abused under the age of 3 will suffer no ill effects from their abuse. Wrong. It's part of them. A very important part of what makes them who they are. A part that needs talked about, cried about, prayed about WITH the child. These certain people who have been asking me questions about adoption really don't even intend to tell the kids the truth about who they are. Adoptive parents cannot just pretend to be "birth parents" to these kids...we are not. They have a whole separate "family" that they will want to and need to know about and maybe even meet so they can have some peace with things. I guess the whole point of all of this mumble jumble is this....adoption is not about the adoptive family....it's about the child whom you are adopting. Adoptive families need to realize adoption is not a fairy tale...it's not all dreamy and easy. It's not like you wave a magic wand and have a new family who lives in harmony. Not AT ALL! It's hard...it's sad...it's exhausting. It's SOOOO worth it. But, these people who are asking me questions don't see it that way and then take GREAT offense to my answers to their questions! they ask me if all of my kids get along...meaning birth and adopted...answer : NO! My birth daughter and my oldest adopted daughter hate each other. My adopted daughter tries to ruin my birth daughter's life...by stealing from her and being REALLY mean. Then they ask me..."why did you adopt her then? What are YOU going to DO?" I answer them..."I will DO nothing and we adopted her because God said to do so and because we love her."....then the person who is asking a million questions looks at me like I have 2 heads! People ask me if my baby (he's 4 now, but came to us at 10 months) was "normal".....keep in my mind...these people only want babies...I get to tell them that he hated everyone and would scream like you were gonna kill him when you touched him for over 6 months! That he still has food issues from being starved. they just say "oh"...I feel like I am not being an encouragement to these people and that's wrong of me. It's just that they are not appearing to want to adopt through foster care for the reasons it was intended. Adoption through foster care is beautiful...but it's hard work. It's not just a way to get a "free" adoption! (the county you live in usually pays for the adoption fees)....it's to help kids have a better life. It's to minister to lost souls and show then that God loves them. It's to show then that no matter how many times they steal from you or try to kill your pets that you will love them and pray for them. It's NOT to make them feel creepy for what they do...it's all manifested from their abuse. It's NOT to pretend that nothing happened to them....that makes them feel "dirty" and "odd" for the things they think, say, and do. It's NOT a way for people to get a ready made family. I pray for these people and I think I have upset them with my answers. They were honest answers and they were just shocked by what we live through...daily. I see it as a blessing....they are scared. I pray anyone who is thinking of adopting...decide what you are looking for. Remember that any kids who are up for adoption WILL have issues....they are up for adoption after all! Remember that's it's NOT about you...it's about them. If you adopt through foster care....know the adopted child may never love you....they may never even be able to show love. Love them anyway. they may never be able to eat like a normal person....teach them anyway. They may try to kill you in your sleep....make them feel safe. OR....they could adjust normally and feel like they are just part of your family. We have both. I just described my kids. the thing is....you don't know what's going to happen or what it's going to be like. There are so many failed adoptions because people give up. They had a picture in their mind....and when the picture isn't just as they had envisioned....they are done. This is horrific for the kids....it makes them full of hate for God. Again, if you are thinking about adoption....figure out why you want to....what you want....pray....and don't give up! I pray that many families feel led to adopt....it's very important...it's a command from God to take care of the orphans....just go into it with real expectations and know it's not fair to your adopted child to out those fairy take dreams on thier shoulders!

Fall Centerpiece

I was looking around....trying to figure out what I could make into a fall centerpiece....this is what we came up with! I love it! I love that it was free! I love that Rob helped me with it! We saw in a magazine that people decorated with chunks of tree trunk, we thought it was cool....so out came the chainsaw....and this is what we ended up with.

I pray that the people who gather around this table will share the love of the Lord and we will have sweet and godly fellowship this Thanksgiving. I pray that they will all be able to feel God's love for them...and be thankful.

Object Lesson From God!

Yesterday we were doing our family devotional....titled..."Temporary Treasure"...the scripture reading to go along with it was Matthew 6:19-21....the devotional was about how we need to not hold tight to our earthly treasures....but work to store up treasures in heaven. It spoke of how we are to handle ourselves when things that we hold dear get broken or lost. (this is a children's devotional)....as I was turning the page I looked at my left hand....and....my diamond had fallen out of my wedding ring! Next to my Bible, my wedding ring is my moset "prized" possesion! I was upset...but this even was a gift from God! It was the perfect object lesson! I got all the kids around and within 2 minutes Kate (my 5yr old) found my little rock...on the throw rug in the kitchen! that was such a God thing! I then was able to sit down with the kids and explain how that really tied in with what the Word tells us. I'll bet that they will have that piece of scriputre hidden in their hearts due to God's object lesson!

By the way....I am getting my ring re-set and re0sized next week for about $100....so not too bad!