I Nominate...

...www.LovingMyAmazingLife.blogspot.com for the Sisterhood Award! I was nominated by Queen of the Castle, over at www.savingstarfish.blogspot. She rules her home with grace amidst the chaos and is a fine example of perseverence.

Now I'm choosing LMAL as my nominee. This award is given to foster mamas who have a great attitude or show great gratitude. That's sometimes tough in the business of fostering (especially with unbalanced former foster parents stocking a new placement). LMAL desserves this award for juggling all this and still managing to make her own laundry detergent.
Yeah, you read it right: Make.

I'm also nominating www.largefamilymomma.blogspot.com. This woman. Wow. 26 children through birth and adoption. Most have some really challenging special needs. Need I say more?
And, D, over at www.blakesmeme.blogspot.com. For dealing with RADishes and Baby Weepy who was so horribly treated before he was given to her family. His healing will be slow, but he's in the perfect place with a fostermama who's up to the task.
These women and their families do good work every day and I appluade them.

You go, girls!

Now:
1. grab the award and stick it on your blog.
2. Nominate others
3. Link your nominees to your post
4. Let your nominees know they've been nominated
5. Link to the person who nominated you

Note From Birthmom

The caseworker hauled Zephan, kicking and screaming, out of his house and to his weekly visit with his birthmom. When he came home a few minutes ago, this note was in his diaper bag:

"Thank you for caring for him when I couldn't. Thank you for stepping up to be his mother. I'm grateful to you and your husband. I know that he'll be guided and loved, no matter what. I love you guys because you love JJ."

I'm speechless.

Special Needs

Oh, my goodness.
Look at them.

God did some amazing work when He created these guys. You know, it's funny, we bought Turbo Tax and Micah was working on our returns. He says, "Babe, I thought you said that there was an adoption tax credit of some sort...."
Me: "Yeah, there should be."
Micah: "Nope. It's not on here. Hmmm."
Me: "It says on the box that it covers adoptions!"
Micah: "The only thing I can find is the Special Needs Adoption Tax Credit."
Me: "That's it!"
Micah: "Wha...? That's not it. It says, 'Special Needs'."
Me: "Yeah, that's how State adoptions are classified."
Micah: "Nuh-uh. Really? But they're not really special needs..."
Did you guys know that a child is qualified as special needs if he or she is a minority? Or part of a sibling group? Or if they're in foster care at all?
Every child without parents has special needs. I would pray that every family truly seek God with regards to these babies. I believe every Mom and Dad needs to ask God if this is a path He has set out for them. Not as a last resort to parenthood or as a special ministry, but as a Christian. He may say, "No.", He may say, "Not right now." or He may say, "Yes. One of your children is waiting for you to claim them. They are scared and alone and they want their Mommy. Will you allow Me to lead you to them?"
People don't know what they're missing by not seeking God in this. These children bless our home every day.
Are you sure all your children are home today?

John 14:18
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

My Eldest is 7!

I wish I could say that Solomon had a better birthday than he did. He and Levi both came down with the stomach flu. We didn't know that Levi had it until he projectiled in Wal-Mart. Twice. But at least we got the Sprite.
And, of course, I had told Solomon that he could pick out a movie at Hollywood Video. Needless to say, he didn't want to skip that, as it was the silver lining for his otherwise pathetic birthday. So, we went to rent a video. The trip consisted of me waiting on the curb with the puker while Solly and Kai ran in and chose what he wanted. The they came out to sit on the curb with the puker while the baby and I ran back in to grab his choice and check out. Luckily this worked because the storefront consists of huge windows through which we could see one another during the whole process. I think the clerk was a bit confused, though!
Then, as we headed for home, Levi let 'er rip all over the van.
Perfect end to a perfect birthday.

For My Friend Today.... I'm Thinking of You.

The Boys New Favorite Video - Sleepwalking Dog

Bowling

Big Brother

So, here's your quota of cute kids for the day. I got this shirt for Sol at the outlet mall and he wears it proudly. This is my kid who wants another baby, "a real little one". He's a cuddler and loves to hold sleeping babies. As you've probably surmised, Zephan is not a cuddler and refuses any of Solomon's efforts to hold him or snuggle him.
He's got a better shot with Malachi or the dog.
So, when he sees babies who cry to be held and receive comfort from being snuggled he gets envious. Even if we thought we were done having children we would probably reconsider for Solomon's sake! I'm very excited about the potential for many Grandchildren coming from my eldest and his wife. He's a wonderful big brother and will be a wonderful Daddy and Uncle in due time.
But, in the mean time he'll have to sit tight and be happy with the brothers he has, because.....drum roll please.....
Micah has applied for the Nursing Program. We won't know if he's been accepted until June. Why it takes them 3 months to decide? I dunno. But, if he gets in, we probably won't be adding any more little ones to the mix until he's done. Which is 2 years. Do I want that much of a space between #4 and #5? Not really. Buuuut....do we have room for any more in this house? Not really. So, we'll see what God does with all this. Well, the boys have a cold and it's naptime, so I'm off.

"Soooo, you like rats, huh?"

So, there I was, petting my dog on the floor, watching Discovery channel. When my cat popped through the cat door with a huge, dead rat in his mouth. I took little notice of him until he practically laid the thing in my lap. Then I noticed.
Boy, did I notice.
Micah later said that I made an odd yelping noise and he thought to himself, "Uh-oh. That's not a normal sound." He rushed into the front room to see what was up. We figure Furgus was thinking 1 of 2 things in his kitty brain:
"Oh! They like rats in the house now! I'll earn my keep and add to the collection!" -OR-
"Stupid, selfish humans refuse to share their rats? Fine. I'm perfectly capable of obtaining my own, thankyouverymuch."
Either way, it was gross.
I grabbed Lexx and begged Micah to handle the situation. But, of course, he had to grab the camera and snap a pic (making sure to get the rat cage in the background, for irony's sake) before he disposed of the poor guy.
Blah.

Introducing...

Sable and Margo!

Solomon & Sable



Malachi & Margo (and Sable)



...and, yes, they named their rats with the first letters of their names on purpose. The rat sisters came to us from the boys' cousins, Nikki and Edan. The girls enjoyed the rats but their parents were concerned that the family was traveling too much. Plus work/school all day and activities. They began feeling guilty about leaving the rat sisters alone so much of the time. Now, for those of you who know my husband, this will surprise you: they asked Micah about adopting the rats and he was the one who approved.

And meanwhile, my weekend away at the Homeschool Mom's Retreat was so refreshing!

This was our view on the deck (where I drug the Lazy-Boy recliner and my blankie and read my book - yes I go to great lengths to relax).

And this was the view out my window (where I lounged on my bed, drank tea, chatted with homeschool buddies and....read my book.)

We also watched movies and played board games and soaked in the hot tub. And since we all go in together to rent the house, it only cost $60 per person. Including the awesome homemade breakfasts and dinners Shelley and Liz make every morning and evening.

Nothing like coming home from a full day shopping for bargains at the outlet stores to a beach house that smells of freshly baked garlic bread from scratch. We ate on the deck and laughed and listened to the sounds of the waves and watched the sunset. It was such a refreshing time with good friends traveling the same path.

I'm already looking forward to next year and will begin putting $5 in my (now empty)"retreat jar" every paycheck!

This Chick's Outta Here

Well, tomorrow I'm off to a big ol' cabin at the beach with my fellow homeschool moms. We always rent the place over Presidents Day weekend because the outlet mall in the town has amazing clearance sales on all their winter stuff. Now, if you live in a state where it rains 9 months out of the year, you covet your sweaters!
This beaut was one I got 3 years back and it has stood up through Solomon, Malachi and is now looking great on Levi.

I paid $1.99
Score. This far out-weighs the day after Thanksgiving sales!
We also enjoy way too much food, play board games, sleep in as long as we want and relax in the hot tub that overlooks the ocean. It's so layed back and nice. I plop $5 bucks a paycheck in my special jar throughout the year in anticipation.

I'm excited, but I worry about Zephan a bit. I don't want him to feel abandoned. But, his brothers are all here to give him the sense of sameness. And it will be nice for the boys because Papa & Goga are spending the night. They're so excited about their slumber party with Papa! And Daddy has a special bowling outing planned for the 7 of them.
I know we'll all have fun.
See you Monday!

Valentine's Day

The boys had their Valentine's party yesterday. Fun times! Too fun to get a decent picture of the 4 of them as they were playing games and eating cookies. They even all had little temporary tattoos on their cheeks. Dad always rolls his eyes at that tradition. Guess he doesn't like his boys wandering around with butterflies and hearts on their faces.

Look at Zephan's hair, though - it's coming in curly on top! Finally! For so long all the curls remained in back. I'm so glad he's looking more balanced.

Oh, and, here's one: Zephan's caseworker confided in me that she was puzzled as she watched his birth mom in a recent visit. It's a group visit, set in a classroom-type of environment with activity tables and such. This offers more accountability as multiple supervisors roam around and keep an eye on things. Well, it seems that birthmom began eating the snack I packed for Zephan. Then, it seems that she also....wait for it....drank his juice from his sippy cup. Like the no-spill kind with the screw-on lid. For babies.
Weird.
Well, so next visit she sends a note home in the diaper bag, "Please pack the baby more snacks. He is mooching off other kids and my food stamps go towards rent."
Excuse me?
Keep in mind that this is the only note she's ever written me despite the fact that on that very visit I sent a package with about 30 new pics of the baby, an update and locks of hair from his first haircut.
A thank you?
Nah.
I'm just ordered to send more snacks for her to eat while her child gets hungry enough to "mooch off other kids".
I know that she's immature, but sheesh!!
So. next time I'm making sure he has a full belly before he leaves and I'm not packing him a thing. If he gets fussy, well, she'll have to deal with him being fussy.
Welcome to my life.

Tonight....

We're celebrating our win at Committee!

Looks like we'll be finalizing Zephan's adoption in April! And after the session his caseworker told us she'll give us a call regarding his farewell visit with birth mom! YAY!!

Cake & Committee

Well! I think I forgot to mention that we have Committee for Zephan tomorrow! That's where they'll "designate placement" by the board (and potentially schedule his farewell visit with birth mom? please?). Since it's pretty much a sure shot, we're bringing him with us to meet the board.
This may or may not be a good idea since the little guy, who has a double ear infection and pneumonia, is on a med containing steroids. This is making our little angel a bit...volital.

The doc warned us that these meds may cause frustration and irritability.
Ya think? Sheesh, it's nearly as bad as the stupid Red Bull incident. And he's got 3 more days of it to go! Anyway, I think we'll still bring him, if only just to force the board to hurry up and sign the paperwork and let the cranky baby go home.

In other news, my sister (www.javadragonadventures.blogspot.com) e-mailed us this easy recipe for making little cakes in coffee mugs. You probably have all the stuff in the kitchen already, there's only a few ingrediants. The boys each made one this evening and really enjoyed both the process and the end result. Yum!
Here's the link in case you want to let your kiddos try it: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Cake-in-a-Mug

Another Gold Star Moment

So, one of Solomon & Malachi's favorite classes this year is sign language. Every class they learn a few new commonly used signs and are tested on their knowledge of prior signs they've been taught. Today one of our signs was, "Excuse me".
We practiced the sign several times until we were proficient at it. I looked over at my eldest and was surprised to see the look of contemplation that graced his face.
"Whatcha thinking about, Sol?"
"Well. I'm wondering why we have to learn how to say, 'excuse me' when deaf people can't hear me fart."

Sigh.

Just a heads up...

If you happen to have a 16 month old meth affected child who already has the frustration tolerance of a jackal, make sure your husband puts his open Red Bull up high.
Very, very high.
Remind said husband that said baby is now adept at pushing various toys around the house in order to make convenient steps for reaching shiny objects which entice him...
or you will have a very difficult morning.
Very, very difficult indeed.
Holy Guacamole.