Miracles

This is my outlet when life is nuts!
Today I write happiness!
Our little 8 month old, Addison is getting into everything. This child was malnourished and alien looking when she arrived. She now is a chunky monkey or butterball that gets into everything! If it is less than 12" from floor, it is hers!

Now let's talk about our 2 yr old Hannah. Very scarred, scared child at arrival. Now very happy and learning to play and interact with others! Her smile melts the heart of the hardened. We continue to pray bc she still has a lot to overcome and may never be at "normal" functioning level, but we love her just how she is! She makes us a better stronger family!

Oh Keegan! Oh dear Jesus did you forget about me? Is my prayer some days! The kid is bright! He is catching on like a whiz! Think about 2 1/2 yrs of survival and then getting it all handed to you. That is our son!

Avery & Braden are catching on to the facts that these guys are here to stay, we hope! No they can't understand "we hope". But one day, they will!
We are talking about our family and how it has changed but it is a good change that God instructed.
I live by He only allows kids that we need to learn from and that need us! Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so stubborn bc some of our kids have stumbled me beyond words! We are thankful for each and miss some more than others.

Haden, he is just oblivious to the craziness! This is the only thing he has known for 29 of his 31 months of life! This is HIS home and NOTHING will change that.
The older boys are adjusting.
Cb is finding out his place in the world and J is just testing every patience bar there is. Cb is too, now that I think about it! There are days I would just send them to boarding school if there was one near! Other days, they are the most considerate boys on The planet!

Ex. Last week, we went to dinner. An elder complimented us on our children. It always helps my short coming spirit to have an elder point out that I am guiding my children to the path of fruitfulness.

We did get the news this week that a special child is getting a potential forever home and it is not us. Sad but good for that little girl. They know her and work with her daily. It is what is best for her.
We will keep being open to the Lord filling that space for a bit longer. Patience never has been my strongest attribute!

Enjoy this festive season! Remember that Jesus is what makes it possible. Not so much His birth, but His death allowed us life! His birth gave us physical example of how to live selflessly! His death gave us chances when we don't necessarily deserve them.

Mixed blessings!

It has been a whirl wind of a week! :}
Kids are really struggling since Friday's birth family visit.
On Monday we had great news of Addison is an official crawler AND she is already high kneeling! Ahhhhh were did my baby go? Today, she went from tummy to sit without falling or wobbling. Had been wobbly and falling...NOT any more!
She is into everything at her level now. GO ADDI!
They had a birth family visit yesterday and it has been AWFUL. Hitting, bitting, screaming, spitting...u name it, it has probably gone on! The digestive issues are really bad! Feeding my 7 month old French fries, really?!

Then my dear son decides to slam against a curb and ruin a rim! Really?! Guess that privilege is gone for a season!

Crazy days ahead as we train a temp nanny and survive CHRISTmas break.

Till then, enjoy those babes! They think they should grow up?

Holidays

Yes, it is that time of year!
We were blessed to celebrate 2 of our 4 girls birthdays last week! It was so good to have our oldest and her friend home for the weekend.

It is such a blessing to see the gifts we have that we need to be thankful for daily! NOT JUST 1/365 days in a yr!

We were blessed with cup cakes from www.sugarscupcakes.com
Go check them out! They were the best cupcakes I have EVER had!

We recovered from that awesome visit and got out the tree & put it up on regular turkey day. I must admit, I DONOT like the hassle of a tree and small children. Casey does, so it is all on him!
I did decorate the porch and FINALLY finished painting all the chairs the same color.
Neighbors rejoiced! JK. It did take me 8 months to commit to a color that wasn't painful to the passerby!

Now I am in the process of brainstorming ( no one panic, I only have pen and paper!) my own creation of "25 days of Christmas story with fun projects to do with each #. Goal to start Saturday morning and do with all the littles daily as part of their school. Hope to post regularly in case someone else needs ideas?
I can't stand Santa and I know that even though they go to a baptist preschool, Santa is there! Grrrrr
Another days soapbox!
For today, I will only attempt to control what I can HERE at our home. SANTA NOT WELCOME HERE!!! :)
May you all enjoy this season however you celebrate it!

Life in the fast lane! 

It has been a crazy 10 days!  We made it through illness and birthdays and Thanksgiving!

Let's start back on the 12th, Hannah's birthday.

She is a whooping 25# & 32" long! Growing nicely!  We have gotten various referrals to start the education process on her true needs. She has started water therapy. She was very apprehensive and warmed up quickly to the water.  She slept like a rock that night! Next month geneticist, January for those roaming eyes

We welcomed a new pup home 2 weeks ago. I know, WTH was I thinking? His name is Solomom, bc I want him to be "king" of my yard.  Our neighborhood is still not selling many homes, only renting and the current season is a bit to handle without some barkers!

Britney is 19 today!!!!

  Today, our baby girl turned 19! She has been an adventure since the moment we found out she was coming!

She has taught me how to be a mom. There have been days I could only hope we all would survive! I could not plead for the morning joy enough!!!!

Then, there are the days like the day she announced she asked Jesus into her heart! Oh, how the angels gathered to sing that day!!!

I was blessed to have her home with me for 6yrs. of schooling. We watched the fruit of those yrs. of learning independence when she walked the stage this last summer.

She now is living in apartment working full time, deciding what her path will be in life. Praying she chooses quickly! ;)

I can think of many times she had me tears because she was growing up  TOO FAST and many times I questioned "will you ever grow up!"?

It is so amazing to watch God's grace & mercy on ALL His children! The day I got that precious bundle of joy, I had no clue what I was doing but I did know...she had my heart! She came so helpless and dependent. Now she is fierce and independent! Did I mention she came at 3:07AM via c-section? No, we couldn't make our appearance easy! ;)

I wouldn't trade one moment with that precious girl for anything!!! 

In a week or so, she will come home for Thanksgiving and birthday celebrations. Yes, I know Thanksgiving is still 2 wks away,but we work around the days our family can be together.  NOT necessarily a calendar. She needs to work to survive and we want to spend time with her, OUR thanksgiving will be when she can be here.  After all, shouldn't we be thankful to God daily??!! And year round?!

Almost 4 yrs ago, we got a glimpse of God's sacrifice of His dear son Jesus. It was when we laid our battle down and gave her our blessing to do what she felt she needed to do. It was the closest to crazy, I have ever been. Now, I look back knowing "it was all a part of His plan".  (A line from one of my favorite songs.) I had known from the day she was born, that she one day would leave. I never dreamed it would have been so early, yet I did and did not want to live in reality.

Now, I am very proud of the young lady that I often refer to as "our baby girl", because in my heart, she still is our baby girl!

One sad, yet happy momma this day!

Adventures!

It has been a whirlwind chaotic week! Made it home from Six Flags!
Addison was sick and missed school all week. Brandon got one cast cut off, another put right back on. Should be healed and cleared the Monday after Thanksgiving?
Now Addi's little virus has struck 3 others! :(. Just praying it moves fast and we get clear before Brit visits!
We start birthday celebrations this week!
Our oldest baby girl will turn 19! It seems like yesterday she was screaming from her room, "I need ice!".
Life was so simple & not complicated back then!
Now we are intwined with constant dr runs and various therapists. As much as I don't love the chaos, I wouldn't trade my kids!!! They are worth every moment of adventure!
This week is somewhat calm.
I did get some work done in the office yesterday and hope to finish tomorrow?!
Goal: be intentional with older kids school!!! And to get my studying done for my next test! Got to get started on school for me!
Have a great week!

Six Flags Over Texas weekend

Our family ventured to Fright Fest this weekend.
All 9 of my kids made it along with a child that is like my "bonus" child for a season or 4? He's a great kid and treats our daughter well!

The older ones enjoyed the scare houses and littles enjoyed a few rides.
Saturday dear'ole dad splurged on a Flash Pass to shorten the wait times on us all.
We have never been to this particular park when they had signs of "no re-entry after 5pm".
Saturday night was a bit nuts!
There were people everywhere!
It is amazing to me how so many people will just run over a buggy FULL of children!
Remember, I have 6 children ranging 6months -4yrs. None weigh 30#! They are small little people, yet large people run right over them!!! Like they will really get where they are going that much faster?!
Then, I was with my darlings and in a "no smoking" section of the park..a guy walks up beside us and starts smoking...really!!! That is my biggest peeve with amusement parks...people smoking in NON designated areas!!!
One of my older kids REALLY reacts to smokers! Ughhhh

Yes, I was the crazy lady that starting getting a kick out of people and their reactions! They would ask, "are these all yours?" In a very concerned tone.
I would respond, "yes & I have 4 more in line at the giant!" They would usually just be floored! :)) I would just smile!!!!
Truth is sometimes shocking!!!
Some people understood the way our family was formed. One guy was sweet! He asked, I replied. He instantly said "foster to adopt". I just smiled and shook my head. What gave it away??? My 3 kids that have textbook signs of FAS?

Over all, it was a great weekend with all 10 of my kiddos!