Rock-a-bye

Our sweet Sadie girl has been sick for nearly a week. I've been running on a combo of Plexus and a prayer! The dr said it was just a virus and that we just needed to let it run it's course. Most of the time, the course doesn't last so long, so it's been really hard on her. I'm so ready for that sparkle to come back in her eyes.

On a good note, we are just waiting to be assigned a case writer. This will be the person who will cover our homestudy. Praise the Lord that the reason it is taking so long to get assigned is that there are a lot of families becoming certified right now. In turn, this gives my kids extra time with their beloved trampoline. That's going to be one sad day for them (and for mama)! I've been so proud of how they've understood the rule against trampolines while fostering. They didn't at first, but they've come around. When we started the foster care route, it seemed like such a personal decision- between Tim and I, but I have quickly realized that all five of us are being stretched and refined through this journey and we don't even have a baby yet.

I've found myself thinking about her a lot lately. Sadie has been wanting to be rocked a lot this past week, since she's felt so bad, and the rocker is in the baby's room. I love how the arms and seat are worn down. So many memories. The rocker was a baby gift to my parents, from my Grandmother and Grandpa. My mom rocked my sister and I...My Aunt Carla rocked my two cousins...and I have rocked all three of mine.

It's hard not to picture our daughter in the nursery, and all the babies who could find themselves in our home, for a time. I think that's the thing that I can't get over just yet...That we will very likely not know how long a baby will be with us. You have to be all in. I know me and I know that won't be my stumbling block. I think that's where trusting them to the Lord and dedicating them at our doorstep, will be the best thing we ever do.

So, I think we're ready. Sadie keeps saying that it feels like Christmas and sometimes I feel the same. It really is very possible for the kids to go to sleep one night and wake up the next morning with a sister. It's such a weird feeling of being anxious for different reasons. For being excited to get her here and deeply saddened and scared for what she will go through to get into the system to be brought to us.

Thank you to every one who asks about how things are going. We're so close!

Almost there

So far, today has been the hardest in our journey to become foster care certified. Up until now, everything required has been about Tim and I. From the mounds of paperwork and hours and hours worth of training, to getting our home all ready for baby...it's all been adult stuff. We've never had to ask anything of our children. I have held off on this one thing for as long as we could- the kids' dreaded TB test...And, to make matters worse, I took them all by myself, like a moron. What in the world was I thinking? It was slightly less than a nightmare. I lied to the kids and told them that it was for school because a lie in this situation seemed to make more sense, or at least it did in the moment. When we left, all four of us were crying. Afterwards, we met Tim for lunch because Mexican food fixes everything (it's true). Tim is so wonderful with the kids. He explains things so simply to them. He told them the truth (guess he's the honest one out of the two of us) and you know what, they listened and their little hearts heard him. A little shot is the very least we can do to be able to open up our home to a baby sister. We spoke about where she may be coming from and the sacrifices we need to make to be able to offer our family to her. Though he was explaining it on their level, it was totally hitting my heart. Being obedient to God's call for your family isn't easy, but I trust the minute we open the door to our forever daughter, or our for a time daughter, all the hoops and stuff will make sense. I know it will. We really are now just waiting to have our homestudy scheduled and then we'll be official! I can hardly believe we're almost there!

Off the chain

Yesterday was one of those off the chain parenting days, where you question everything, desperately need to turn on a movie, but realize you took away all media- dang the rules!- and then stare at the clock until it's a reasonable time to have a glass of wine- 5:01pm, but in my case, whenever I hear the sound of the garage door opening.

Tim's home. My rock. My helper. (I love you!)

Just when I thought everyone was all cozy in their beds and I could settle down for a nice dose of YouTube's "Best Fails"...(treadmill fails really turn it around for me) someone...who will remain nameless, had a little mishap with an outlet. Awesomeness. Guess outlet covers really are absolutely and completely still necessary.

Did I mention we're about to have four kids?

Some days I feel like I can barely catch my breath, putting out fires left and right (metaphorically, of course), but without fail, God follows my craziest days with a deep understanding of what His Word says and how it applies to every aspect of parenting.

Jesus Calling, for today, reads:

"TRUST ME in the depths of your being. It is there that I live in constant communion with you. When you feel flustered and frazzled on the outside, do not get upset with yourself. You are only human, and the swirl of events going on all around you will sometimes feel overwhelming. Rather than scolding yourself for your humanness, remind yourself that I Am both with you and within you.

I Am with you at all times, encouraging and supportive rather than condemning. I know that deep within you, where I live, My Peace is your continual experience. Slow down your pace of living for a time. Quiet your mind in My Presence. Then you will be able to hear Me bestowing the resurrection blessing: Peace be with you.

Beautiful description, right?



Happy Thursday (that's like Friday)! Yay!!!

Six

If you haven't heard by now, we will be adding ONE MORE to our family of five.

**No I am not pregnant.**

We will be fostering to adopt! And we couldn't be more excited! When you answer God's call on your family, you pray that every one in your family hears the same call. Though our kids are young, I am certain that fostering to adopt is something that God has placed in their little hearts as well. The kids are very excited and talk about their baby sister all the time.

Holden: Wanted us to confirm that he will still be the head of the kids. Ha! (I'm sure he phrased it more cleverly than that).

Fount: Wants the baby to live in his room so he can sing to the baby and give the baby a bottle if they cry. (Ahhh so sweet!)

Sadie: Wants to share all her toys with her and sing to her and hold her hand in the car.

We have a long way to go before we are certified...between the mound of paperwork, home study, background checks, and training hours...it will be months. Thank you, in advance to our family and friends who will be taking care of our kids while we do our training. It means a lot!

Lastly, but first in our hearts, please pray for our little girl. She may already be born...pray for safety and that she knows she is so loved already.

I see the light

(Holden's writing his own movie. It's called "Left Behind" but it's about war, of course).

On Friday, I got a call from the school nurse, telling me that Holden had an ear infection and pink eye (which made 4 of us). I wish you could have seen us picking him up...the littles and I were still in our pajamas...we were a sight! We looked like death warmed over. Tim and I had the medicine assembly line down. It was like calf roping. After 14 solid days of someone being sick, yesterday, we saw the light. Thank you: antibiotics, ear drops, eye drops, and Netflix for getting us through.

As much as I love having all the kids at home, I have to say...I am looking forward to Tuesday and Thursday when everyone is at school and I can snap this house back into shape. A few months ago, when Sadie began preschool, I was so emotional about them all being away from me. Several of my friends reassured me by saying that I was going to love this time and be able to get so much done and it's so true! I miss the kids so much, but I am able to tackle so much, it's unreal.

On my list for tomorrow:

laundry

laundry

laundry

put it away

To get back into the swing of things, I am making Mix and Match Mama's Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta for dinner tonight. I'm so thankful I met Shay. I now make bundt cakes and bars. You're welcome, family. She has those real life recipes that are reasonable for a mom of three to squeeze into her day. Check out her blog!

I wrote a post, yo

Somewhere between school starting for all three of our babies (eeek!!!) and settling into our new routine here in Texas, I stopped blogging. We originally started this blog as a way to stay connected with our family, but now, I realize that I just want the memories documented and I need to seriously get to that. Thank you Facebook and Instagram for being my go-to! So, hopefully, you haven't missed out on too much from September thru February. Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do, plus something happened to a lot of my pictures, so little by little I'll be going back and fixing them on my previous posts.

In the meantime, don't come over. If it wasn't so cold, I'd be giving our house a nice airing out. For now, Clorox will have to do. Four out of five or us have some type of sickness.

Last Wednesday, Sadie girl started running a fever, bless her heart. Turns out that she had the flu.

After a full week of up and down fevers, I took her, and both boys to the pediatrician.

As it turns out, she now had pink eye and an ear infection. Poor baby! The boys tested negative for the flu and ended up both just having bad colds.

In the middle of all of this, I came down with the flu and it has just wiped me out.

Thankfully, Tim has somehow, managed to stay well through all of this and has been able to take care of us four sickies. (Thank you, honey!)

On a positive note, it's Friday and it's snowing and it's beautiful. Too bad the littles and mommy are sick, or we'd be OUT! I hope we get enough to make some yummy snow ice cream! Come home soon Daddy!

Guess what?......

Holden lost both front teeth. I can hardly stand the cuteness!

Fall is here!

I love this picture of Sadie. She wanted to sleep with her "fwinds" and this is how we found her :)

Fall has finally hit our part of Texas, or at least for a bit. We've even gotten rain...It's been absolutely wonderful!

Yesterday, we went to McKinney's flea market and it was fabulous! Of course we had to bribe the kids to get them to go. Chocolate chip cookies work every time!

We walked around looking for treasures, had corn dogs, nachos, and sipped on homemade lemonade.

Did I mention we wore long sleeves? Ahhhh...It felt amazing! I wish today that we were doing more of the same, but Holden isn't feeling well. Hopefully it is just a quick bug and the rest of us are able to stay well!

Oh Happy Day

Did you hear about our crisis?... Somehow, during our cross-country move to Texas, Holden's beloved Star Wars movie was lost. I hate to say it because I know there are a lot of die hard Star Wars fans out there, but I just don't get it...But Holden does and he could talk about it 24/7. It's really sweet, so I play along and act like I get it. Maybe he knows I don't and that's why he keeps explaining everything in such detail to me :) Anyway, he would literally tear up often when he thought about it being lost forever. It was pitiful. But...the other day, Fount found it! I'm so happy that I was able to capture this moment between the two of them. Holden was over the moon with happiness!



Last weekend, Tim was in Austin for work... (Thanks, honey, for not eating glorious BBQ without me. That was love!!) It was just the kids and I for Friday and Saturday. They were just precious for me, thank goodness :) Every Friday night, we have Family Movie Night. Some times we watch an oldie...Other times, we let them rent/buy one from Amazon and last Friday was one of those special times. I was soooo happy when they picked Home Alone 2: Lost in NYC. Classic!

(Despite how this picture looks...I promise I don't have vampire teeth).
We laughed so hard! I surprised myself by knowing exactly where to scream (That's what Tim and I do when we know a word we don't use is coming up. It works like a charm. Although, I'm pretty sure they think I have turrets. Oh the things you do for your kids...)

I've been so proud of the kids. They've had such a major life change and they have handled it beautifully. Tim and I prayed and prayed that the move would be easy on them and God truly honored our request.

Our home is starting to become home...People are starting to become friends...

I couldn't be more thankful.