Back to School: Photo Style

 Leah journaling before her 1st day of 5th grade!

 Porter wanted a goofy picture and spiked hair before starting 3rd grade.

 Girl knows what she wants!

Josie insisted on this outfit from Ginni and her hair in braids for Kindergarten.

 I LOVE this picture of the girls.

It is rare that they all are looking at the camera with all eyes open.

So how do I feel about the bus taking off 3 of our 5 kids?...

I am so happy that they love school.

I love our schools.

I only wish I could decide which 3 that they would take each day (hehe).

Happy Back to School, y'all.

I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home

Anyone that has been a foster or adoptive parent knows that it does 

not come without special struggles.

There are questions that are hard to answer,

 grief and loss issues, 

special attachments and bonding to develop,

and sadly,

milestones that you just weren't there for.

Julia is at the magical stage of questioning.

She wants to know things about when she was a baby.

Things I didn't witness.

I have only been able to imagine what my newest "baby" looked like when she was a baby.

The other night, we were given a gift.

A wonderful surprise.

We ran into someone who knew Julia before I did.

She smiled and told us how amazed she was at how big Julia had gotten.

Then she gave me this...

 I know that I am biased, but she's so cute she makes my eyes hurt.

So far, this is the only baby picture that we have of our Julia.

She asked if I'd like to keep it.

I responded as tears filled up my eyes, "More than anything."

I smiled and Julia's face lit up with pride!

 She showed anyone who would look.

Our other kids, one by one, studied the picture and told Julia how beautiful she was.

I couldn't have paid them to have more perfect reactions.

This one little picture is so precious to her and to us.

This new home is so good for us too.

This house is all of OURS since we all came to it together at the same time.

I hadn't thought about how nice it would be for her to 

have a fresh start and not have to "come late to the party", so to speak.

As we approach one year of living together, we still work on establishing a bond
that will 

leave her feeling secure and forever loved.

We build new memories with her everyday.
Each hug and kiss and laugh do this.

On the radio or while watching the Olympics,
 you might have heard this song by Phillip Phillips.

"Home"

I couldn't help but think about my Julia.

I also thought about all of the kids needing to

know that they are home, forever.

Take a look at the lyrics HERE.

You can listen to a sample of the song HERE.

She knows that it is "her song" and it offers one more connection,
and  puts us one step closer to making this place her "home."

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?

Yesterday, I ran around this town like a UPS driver,

delivering children and things to each

corner of this town.

It was a Monday my friends.

Darn you, Mondays.

In the middle of our very tight schedule, I had to go to the bathroom so badly.

I head into therapy and find the nearest restroom.

"Great! This stall has one of those toddler seats in it.  Maryn will love it and not try to escape." 

I thought to myself.

There was just one major problem...

 Yep!  The dang seat is within arms length of the door lock and handle.

Who thought this was a good idea?

Not me!

That kid opened the door on me 4 times and I wasn't in there very long.

Look how happy she is though.

(And, yes, I did take an extra minute to photograph it.  Don't judge.)

Despite my embarrassment, we had a great therapy session 

which included a great dress up game.

Maryn refused to let us adjust her sunglasses.

She loved them just the way they are.

Pretty cute, don't you think?

 

Laundry Gone Wild

Who would have thought that I could post a whole blog on the mishaps of our laundry?

Well, surprise and here it is.

When we moved in to our new place, we had to change our dryers and of course I got sucked into the Memorial Day appliance deals.  In short, we bought a new washer to match the new dryer.

I got a top loader because it had greater capacity than the front loaders, and I have never been 

terribly drawn to the front loaders anyways.  

(Sounds like more maintenance to me, but anyways.)

The only problem is that a woman of short stature, like myself, can't reach the bottom of the dang tub without a step stool.  It is a ridiculous sight, I tell ya.

Oh but it is so worth it.  I can dump a whole laundry basket in at once and have room left over.

Sweet.

Now for the funny stuff...

One of our little lovelies decided that it would be really nice to rub her sister's absolute favorite 

doll on her bare bottom.

Yes, just to be mean.

I was in a rush and threw the whole doll in the washing machine on our way out the door.

Fast forward to later, and this is what I found...

Anyone else recognize this white fluff that coated each sheet and piece of clothing in the laundry?

Hint:  It comes from this...

Yes, I threw the baby doll in the washer with the diaper still on.

Then it exploded.

The picture isn't very clear, but I was covered with it as well.

It was even trapped in the bleach dispenser.

Don't worry! It was nothing that 

one roll of paper towels,

one shop vac,

one rewashing cycle,

and one husband who was NOT amused

couldn't fix.

At least it wasn't a real diaper filled with something else.

Forever Family Party

We were so blessed to celebrate our Forever Family with so 

many of our friends and family.

The theme of our dessert party was "Sweet Love."

 I may share the recipes of our treats in a later post, but some of the fan favorites included cake batter blondies, white chocolate marshmallows & jello cookies.

I can't forget Gma's amazing brownies and just look at the elegant Key Lime Tort that our neighbor made.

 The only thing that disappoints me is that we didn't take many pictures.

This picture is the only one of my kids, and two aren't in it.

There are almost none of our wonderful guests.
I was too busy having fun to think about snapping pictures.

 We also offered our guests the opportunity to bring donations of toys, books, and toiletries to benefit children in foster care.

Look at how generous our family and friends are.

Seriously, the pictures don't do it justice.

I am so happy to celebrate with so many loved ones.

We have felt very supported along the way, and that day was no exception.

Thank you to everyone who baked, helped, prayed, sent well wishes, brought donations and gifts,

had fun with us,

 and shared in our excitement all along the way.

This Forever Family is forever grateful.

Little Photo Moments

 I have titled this one, "When Porter is away, the girls will play...in Mommy's tub."

I love how this simple thing made all four girls happy.

Even my "big girl."

We finally started to clean up and organize the family office and this is

what I found the other day.  

While I folded laundry, Leah and Porter ran their own little preschool.

Notice the use of technology to teach letters and sounds...Dad's iPad.

Like a Good Neighbor...

We've been married 12 years and we just moved into our fourth house...and hopefully our last house.

 Let me tell you, moving ain't fun my friends.  

However, we have gotten really lucky in the neighbor department each time. 

      This week, PT had football camp and a neighbor and I carpooled, which was a lifesaver. 

 Today, I picked up her son and his hair was wet. I asked him why and he told me he had just taken a shower. PT asked why he showered right before football and he smiled and said, "My mom made me because I face-planted into a spoonful of peanut butter." He was quick to add that the spoon poked him in the eye, which "really hurt." I saw his mom and she validated his story. She said that he had peanut butter smeared in a line down his face and shirt. Being a good friend, she acted quickly and rushed him off to the shower before he came in contact with my son who has severe allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. 

Way to go Liz! This got me thinking about our other great neighbors. 

 Here's just a few examples that came to mind... 

 ...at our first house, our neighbors let us borrow their kitchen table when we hosted our 1st Thanksgiving as newlyweds. The hubs and I carried that thing all the way across the street to our house. I still wonder why we didn't just get a card table. But don't worry, I returned the favor when they asked for my help to pull a wad of paper towels out of their dog's butt! So gross, wasn't it Stephanie?

 ...at our house in Lexington, my sanity was preserved by my neighbors when I had two little ones under the age of 2, was missing our friends and family back home, and my husband was working endless hours. I would join them outside EVERY evening just to have adult conversation while our kids played. Although we only stayed in Lexington for a year, we are still great friends and we'd do anything for each other. 

 Right, Dana?? 

 ...at our last house, our kids had great friends on the street. I can't tell you how many times I needed an egg (usually late at night for baking for the next day), extra hands at the bus stop, or help to get a kid on or off of the bus. Thanks Kim! And I can't forget the neighbor that brought a pair of gym shoes to the bus stop for Leah (with about 4 minutes advance notice) when she left her gym shoes in a friend's car. Oh, and Allison came through on the day we closed on our new house when Leah called from school saying that there was no cafeteria service due to field day. As we went into our closing, I called Allison and she rushed some food up to her, just in time. Thanks again, Al.

...and at our new house, we tried to unpack the first few boxes and set up beds with all 5 kids underfoot. Sounds easy, right? Our new neighbors brought us the largest spaghetti bake I have EVER seen, desserts (peanut free), salad, garlic bread, a houseplant, and a card with all of their names and phone numbers. Soon after that came a knock on the door. Leslie and Karen offered to watch ALL of our kids play with their slip-n-slide while we got unpacked. Oh and they added that they would put sunscreen on all of them and if we didn't know where their suits were, they'd find one for them to borrow. FYI, I think a happy little tear streamed down my face at that moment.  The kids were thrilled and we have felt so welcome, ever since. I've also enjoyed dinner with some women from the neighborhood and our kids are having a good time playing with new friends. Oh and I couldn't forget about Karen saving the day when I couldn't find our gardening gloves and happened to be using my oven mitts to pull weeds. Can't beat that kind of help. 

I feel really lucky to have good neighbors that become good friends.

And don't be jealous my non-neighbor friends, I love each of you to pieces too.

Thanks for all of the help and fun to all of our friends.

Do you all like your neighbors?