2 More Angels to Love

The storm blew into my house today around 12:30. All the way home from preschool, A kept saying when are they coming?? And in they came. Sweet, sweet children with 4 tubs of clothes, 2 big black trash sacks of toys and shoes. The case manager stayed for 4 hours. It took at least 3 of those hours to inventory the clothes. You have to have a written log of everything the kids bring in. The reason why it took 3 hours is because I've forgotten about a 3 year old little boy. I kept having flashbacks to another active little boy. I must have chased Z at least 5 times up the stairs and then carried him down. Yes, I was out of breath every time. He did a head first accidental flip of the back of the blue banquet in the dining room. Lucky the case manager was still here. Lucky he's a toughie cause he barely cried. Got more tears out of him when he snuck the bag of marshmallow under the dining room table. Got one eaten before I could catch him. Took the bag & the crocodile tears began. Tied the bag shut real tight and gave it back to him. 15 minutes later it was untied so I tied it up again. He tried biting thru the bag but wasn't successful. In the meantime Lucas finally comes home. Got him a soccer ball to play with but he was mad cause he wanted a football.
About 4 we finally got all the paperwork complete & now I'm the official foster mom of 3. 3 little girls had a little drama when A got left behind. This was to be expected. 2's company, 3's a crowd. Proud of Camille for helping thru the situation. Lucas played with A & Z. Nerf basketball! Got showers for Camille & KK. Asked Z if he wanted a bath. He ran to the bathroom & was stripped down before I even got the water turned on.
Missing Madeline tonight. She would be such a help, just having an extra set of eyes to keep on the wild man 3 year old would be great. She's a party pooper at a sleepover.
Z said he wasn't going to bed. Read the same book to him 3 times and each time he snuggled a little bit closer & fell asleep in my lap. Taped a piece of butcher paper over the bottom of his door so that I can hear it if he gets up in the middle of the night. Great aunt says that he gets up about 3 times at night. Please prayer this isn't the case here.
KK must have told me at least 4 times, "you are so nice to let us come here." I reassured her that it was she that is so nice & how lucky I was to have her. Its hard to fathom what her little mind must be processing. So well mannered, yes ma'm, please and thank you. My heart is once again so full as I have two more angels to love tonight.

Eight is Enough

When I stay up until midnight I've found that it's easier to go sleep in sweats that way the next morning I don't have to worry about getting dressed. Even better, when I'm too tired to dry my hair, I just dig in Todd's drawer and pull a stocking cap down over my wet head. Of course my hair is pretty short right now. I let Madeline cut it for me. She didn't cut me or herself so I figure that's a success. I think that everyone in the house has longer hair than me, except for Camille.
Well, its going to happen. Eight is enough will be our lives beginning tomorrow. I loved that show as a kid. Shelley was curious as to how I'd like living it. We'll son find out. A's lil bro & sis are going to stay with us for a couple of weeks. Of course I loved how my friend Kim laughed when I said just for 2 weeks part. That's the plan. Spent the day cleaning & preparing. Office stuff moved out of guest room(thanks Kristi) and blocks and trains moved in. Squished A's stuff over to make room for KK. We are ready. A trip to the grocery store in morning and I'll be good to go. We went out for dinner tonight. I figured it was the last time out for a while. Going to hunker down and get lots of quality time at home. Anxious & excited about what God has in store. We can do this!

Stay tuned

Wowsers, where has the time gone. I feel like I've been running in circles. It took me almost a week to get 6 people packed to go on a long weekend trip to Taos. Socks, gloves, multi-layers, and a big thanks to Linda & Kim for letting us borrow. Madeline looked like a fashion queen on the slopes. I hear from her dad that she's really a great skier for this just being her second time. I survived, or rather, Camille survived a week of the flu. Was diagnosed last Monday & got the ok on Thursday to go on the ski trip. Eleven hours in the car and we made it. Todd is absolutely in love with snowboarding. Lucas tags right along. They are the cutest snowboarders with their floppy blonde hair hanging out from under their helmets. The van made it via chains on the front tires. A & Camille played in the snow. A loved it. She wasn't sure when Lucas started pelting her with snow balls, but she did give it right back. A true member of the family. I was dreading the trip. Don't like the cold. If I'm going to have to keep up with a house, it might as well be the one I live in. But. . . it wasn't so bad. Still a lot of work, but the sun was shining, I didn't get cold, and the views were spectacular. I won't be buying a snowboard anytime soon, but I guess I can keep the fire going.
Got home on Monday night, thanks MLK for the day off on Monday. Yes, we did take time out from video equipment to mention the significance of the day. Kids back in school on Tuesday & I took A to see her parents. We brought pics for them to see & they were so thrilled she had a great time. I always see genuine warmth, compassion, and thankfulness when I see them.
I asked my kids when I got home that night what my fav store is. "Target?" Well, a close second. "Home Depot?" no, "Lowe's?" YES! And I felt like rushing to my fav store after A's visit because I learned something new. Lowe's is helping A's parents get their home in order so that it will be safe for A to return to. Not sure how the 2 partnered up but I am so thankful. There are 3 churches that are also pitching in to help get them back on their feet. I give thanks to all those helping A's parents. It seems like everything is going so well.
God whispers in my ear again on Tuesday when the case worker tells me that A's brother & sister will not be able to stay at their relatives house anymore. Can't go into the details only can say that this is the 3 & 5 year old that I get to see almost every week at the supervised visits. I keep picturing in my mind going to the animal shelter and playing with the puppies. Who can leave without wanting to take one? Anyway, I left the visit struggling with what I am suppose to do. God has clearly guided me along this entire journey and I knew He would provide in this instance, too. Got home after doing a sidetrip to see Camille at dance. That girl is such a great dancer. As I was thinking about adding 2 more to the mix I still didn't know what to do. You know, if I had a big ole school bus, I'd probably not even hesitate. I kept picturing myself & 6 kids in the van and poor Todd having to follow behind in his car (all by himself) since my van only holds 7. I called case manager this morning and said that I felt like the best thing to do was for us to take a back seat and see if she could get a couple of other family members to take the kids. That was this morning. At 4 I got the email from A's attorney, also KK & Z's (KK= big sister, Z=lil bro)attorney asking if we could keep the kids for a couple of weeks while they get a home study completed for a family member. I knew that once again, God has given me a clear answer on what we are to do. I've got a thumbs up from every member of the fam, even Camille. I'll give case manager a call in the morning, and we'll see what happens next. Stay tuned. . .

First Day of School

First day of school for A! She had a great one. The kids were all so excited for her. Walked into class without looking back at me. Got her stuff put away & went right to work at the center. Mrs. P & I were talking. So thankful that A has her for a teacher. Camille says she is the best teacher ever. Probably because Mrs. P & Camille have some of the same sassy personality. I guess I was talking too long because A announces,"Nina, Nina, you can go home now." I laughed and did as I was told. This child has come such a long ways. It was just seven weeks ago that I took her to Sunday school for the first time and she asked if I would come back and get her. I am so thankful to have witnessed this transformation in trust. She loved everything. Her favorite part was painting on toilet paper. Not exactly sure what that is, but it sure made her smile.
Poor Camille is sick with the stinkin flu. I would have sworn it was just another sinus infection. The kid has been tested 2 times for the flu & its always turned out to be sinus infections. Glad that its not a sinus infection but I feel like a super lousy mom for never having got the kid her flu shot. It seemed like there was never a time when she was well enough to get it then I just became a slacker. Did get her started on tamiflu. I sure hope it helps. This afternoon it really hit & there is no doubt its not a sinus infection. Poor sweet baby. Clorox wipes, paper towels, and lysol are now stationed everywhere. Praying that no one else gets it.

Silverware

Christmas is packed away. Waited later than usual this year since Todd was gone over New Year's. A little strange with this being the 1st Christmas in this house. I loved my Christmas decorations and feel more sad than usual as the house is so bear. Felt even more strange as I was tucking the stockings away and folded A's stocking to be stored until next year. Only not sure where she will be next year. I guess my "best case scenario" is that her grandparents get the new house and grandma gets her job. She told me that she looks at the picture of A that we gave her for Christmas every day as inspiration. I hope that they can get their lives together for A and that she can go back. I hope that we will be able to continue to see her and that next Christmas she can come visit and her stocking will be waiting here for her. I truly believe that all of that is so attainable.
I love having a 4 year old help me with chores. Well, almost always. Yesterday I asked her to help me empty the silverware and she went into a 10 minute crying spell. I'm thinking that the big kids really had rubbed off on her and that helping with the dishwasher must really be something awful. Lucas even offered to help here. Finally she dried the tears and tackled the job. One spoon into the drawer and she says"Nina, this is fun." Geez, one more person to add to the drama of the stanfam. She fits in so well. Since then she has emptied the silverware at least twice. Yes, I need a commercial sized dishwasher. She says that it is just like playing the matching game she got for Christmas. I love a cheerful worker! She joyfully put away ornaments, emptied trash, and anything else I assigned her. Hoping that she will rub off on the older kids but doesn't seem to plausible at this point.
She continues to thrive and will get to start preschool on Monday. I am so excited for her. I'm excited for me, too. I love getting to go to Trietsch. So many friends that I get to see. So many to add to the mix of loving this lil girl. I know she will love school. She is so smart and will learn so fast.

Veggies & Fruit

I sit at the dinner table and wonder who these children are that are growing up so fast. I love hearing Madeline bubbling over with so many stories from her day, Lucas adding in his say(flashing his huge bruise on his shoulder from tag at recess), Camille & A listening. A has taken to being our primary prayer girl. She always wants to pray, and she is good at it. I guess that is a little bad to say, I mean, how can you be bad at praying. It is interesting to listen to her and see the other 3 listen. She is setting a great example for all of us. Todd missed out on dinner tonight. Superman flew to Houston and then back to Dallas for a meeting. Usually when he's gone we order a pizza, break open the mac & cheese, perhaps splurge with some hot dogs. Now, we are promoting healthy eating. Roasted chicken, brown rice, cooked carrots, zucchini. Geez, what's happening. I think the only person missing it is me. The thing about the kids is that they'll eat pretty much whatever I give them. That's a lot of pressure on me. My hidden stash of junk is almost diminished, luckily, Lucas brought me home a new stash of laffy taffy. Gotta love banana laffy taffy.
A had visit with mommy(grandma) yesterday. She's really been missing her. I thought about getting her phone number so that we could call her sometime but the more I think about it I feel like its opening a whole other can of worms. They were definitely happy to see each other. Mommy asked for prayers for the house they may get, and she has also applied for a job. I hope that both those things happen for her. Please join me in my prayers for her. It is still so strange to me the process of all of this. How it takes losing custody of a child to get your life together. Of course, I also think of no better reason to get one's life together than for this sweet child living with us. Out of the blue the other day she asks if she is going to live with me forever. I didn't give her a direct answer but asked why was she asking this. She didn't know. She has certainly flourished at our home and I catch myself thinking what would life be like for her if she did stay with us. All I can do is establish as many good things as I can while we are blessed with her presence. I guess if that means veggies, fruit, and roasted chicken, I can certainly do it. I do miss my mac&cheese.

FAT

I got all snuggled on my sofa last night with my handy new iPad in hand ready to do a lil bloggin when the thing wouldn't pull up the screen to type on. So aggravating. Have to rely on the old tried & true laptop.
Yesterday I was so proud of myself for getting clean sheets on almost every one's beds. I think that's probably one of my most hated tasks. And to think that in the foster care live-by manual it says to change sheets once a week. Good grief, I know that's what I'm suppose to do. Tucked the girls into their clean beds and not 4 hours later, Camille gets sick. Does she get sick on her new pillow pet or her new blanket that can both be washed? No, misses them, but gets the clean sheets and the new carpet. 45 minutes and a roll of paper towels. The joys of motherhood.
Since I'm up in the middle of the night unable to sleep I'm trying to decide what to do about A and preschool. I'd originally thought that she would qualify in some area to go to the early childhood program at our elementary. Anymore I'm thinking that she won't qualify. I totally overachieved & taught her way too much. I was thinking about TEC or Flower Mound UMC. My heart belongs to TEC but it would sure be convenient just to cross the street. I'm remembering Lucas going to TEC & how they make the cute handprint shirts at the beginning of the year. He switched there mid-year(got kicked out of Flower Mound UMC, that's another story) so he didn't have the t-shirt. They dug an old one up for him. It didn't have the same kids names or handprints but he didn't know the difference. I'm wondering what A would do. Today, I'm cleaning my closet and what do I run across. Camille's TEC handprint shirt. No idea why it is there, well, ok. God whispers in my ear. I'm going by TEC tomorrow. That brings me to another story. While I found Camille's t-shirt, I know it won't fit A. I'm reminded of last night's dinner episode. Madeline made us a yummy dinner of manicotti. She loves to cook. Camille stands up afterwards, lifts her shirt and says,"I'm fat." To which A stands up, lifts her shirt and states,"Well, see this." I quickly head to the pantry where I can laugh without an audience. I text Todd the scenario, and he types,"Don't want C to think she's fat. Don't want A to know she's fat." Geez, the pressures of the term fat. Actually that's a word we're not even suppose to use in this house. You can tell what control I have.
I'll be glad to have my boys home tomorrow, too. They ran away to Colorado & New Mexico for some snowboarding. I think Todd would have us move to a lil cabin off the slopes. The thought of snow is enough to make me cold. The house has been quiet without them. I'm not looking forward to being back on the crazy schedule of school. I've enjoyed having everyone home. I do love my family.