Missing Her

We are missing our little purple plum.

We talk to her on the phone and we visit periodically.

The boys miss her.

A lot.

Trey is asking some very good questions.

About adoption.

Different than the older girls who remember.

Oh, if there were only ONE right answer.....

Part of the great joy of being foster parents was getting to be there for the firsts. First taste of snow, first time at the beach, first piggies in the lake water, first steps, first bites, first strawberry field, first pony ride, so many wonderful experiences.

Miss you little purple girl!

International Night

We participated in International Night with the local home school group.

Three guesses which country we picked to study.

No, actually, you only get one guess and your bound to get it right if you know what we have been thinking about lately.

Yes, you are right.

We picked the amazing country of China to learn about.

Erika made many moon cakes, a simplified version.
We had two boards that included reports on Chinese New Year, Great Wall, pandas, numbers, interesting facts, Forbidden City, maps, lanterns, and dragons. Erik had his laptop to the right that had a slide show of the landscape of China.
They did most of the work. I am proud of them. Next time, I think I will do even less...
We all went together to support the kids. There were hundreds of people and about 18 families exhibiting from all over the world. Lots of goodies.
He was getting tired near the end. Poor guy!
The goal was to learn about China and that we did.

For me, it wet my appetite to know more about the culture, people, and landscape that we will hopefully visit later this year.

The Best Line

We got a draft of our home study. Right now it is going back and forth between two agencies for revisions.

Reading about ourselves was humbling but actually we are pretty boring. No skeletons, no prior marriages, no arrests or convictions to spice things up. Plain old God-hearted people, that's us!

Here was the best feel-good-line in the whole thing:

"They are more interested in their family, close friends and community than they are in material acquisition or social status. They are happy with their life and feel they have been blessed."

Someone who spent a few hours with us GOT it. She encapsulated what we are all about in a few sentences.

Does it get any better than that?

Artists in Residence

I looked for a picture of our artist-in-residence but couldn't find one handy. She's is too busy creating. Cora made these mural size drawings a few weeks ago. The depth of her artistry amazes me. Yes, we signed her up for art classes. Just her. Generally we try to combine classes and interests but she has earned this one.
Speaking of artists, I believe a certain almost 12 year old might need her own camera. This is what I discover on mine on a regular basis. I love the creativity.
Not to change the subject but what am I going to do when the two of them are on the real deal? I can just imagine them revving those engines. Maybe my hearing will be gone by then!

Is it spring yet?

One of Those Days

Some days are like this.

All day long.

What do you see in those eyes?

I love this clever, beautiful, amazing girl. My mother heart wants to help her to be happy. I want to take away all the hurt and worry and sadness. I am thankful that God has given us the opportunity to earn her trust and love. This soul battle is one I am willing to fight with everything I've got.

And it is a BATTLE.

We are having some of these days right now.

Back to the change issues, weather, time, activities, clothes, Mom gone at appointments, anticipation of upcoming events.....

The earlier time change will hopefully prove to be beneficial around here since it is farther away from a birthday which can be an unsettling time for many adopted kids.

What we learn on this journey continues to amaze me still.

And tomorrow all things will be new.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

The Long Wait/God's Timing

All of our paperwork for our dossier is complete......

EXCEPT our home study.

Waiting for review, for a waiver from the state, waiting.

Our China representative sent me a time line and my hopes
of traveling sooner than later were dashed.
I get discouraged.

But then God comes through
every time I start feeling anxious.
I got this picture today which was
taken at the beginning of this month.

He's waiting too!

Once the home study is cleared,
we can send in our I800A
and get the process moving.

Hebrews 11:1
Faith is being sure of what to hope for and certain of what you cannot see.

Techno-Kids

Look who's surfin' now?

I think he likes what he found.

Today we had Chinese class online.

We had a girl's laptop and a boy's laptop.

The kids are enjoying the class and take
lots of notes about radicals.

Meanwhile, the dynamic duo got introduced to Starfall.

Driving a wireless mouse is no problem for a three year old.
Who knew?
While they were all engaged, I got to:
Organize the toy box.

Which was being used as a.....bed/hiding place?

And laundry, always the laundry.

Busy kids, happy momma.

Mandy sang this is in church today.

I couldn't help think of the path we are on right now.

That God is totally in control.

Of my heart, of his heart.

In all things

we know that
we are more than conquerers.
You keep us by Your love!

It is in God's power to heal the broken heart of our boy in China.

The physical.

The emotional.

Or is it my heart He wants to change....

to enlarge,

to heal.

Now by Your grace I stand!

******************************************
Healing is in Your Hands
by Christy Nockels

No mountain, no valley, no gain or loss we know
could keep us from Your love
No sickness, no secret, no chain is strong enough
to keep us from Your love
to keep us from Your love

How high, how wide
No matter where I am, healing is in Your hands
How deep, How strong,
And now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands

Our present, our future, our past is in Your hands
We're covered by Your blood
We're covered by Your blood

How high, How wide
no matter where I am, healing is in Your hands
How deep, How strong
And now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands

All About Hair

I promised.

She could have straight hair.

She was very patient with me and the hot iron.

The kids were dressing her up during the transformation.

Cora came around the corner and gasped,
"Kloey, you look just like Mom."
I had to agree, she did.
Bio-mom.

Sadly, I never met bio-mom.

But we have pictures.
She was beautiful.
Like Kloey.

Baby Steps: Pills and Personal Care In a Large Family

Time to clean out the medicine cabinet after I went to a workshop on drugs and kids. Amazing what lengths people will go to these days and what they use to alter their sad states. I try to weed out the meds 3-4 times a year but honestly I cannot believe how much stuff I had that was old and expired. I am only showing you this because I realized how important it was to NOT have this medicine laying around.

Old and expired medicine. Yikes!

It has been a hassle to organize the meds for our family. Finally, I bought a little crate to corral all the bottles. Then I put everyone's initials on the top of their own bottle. With this many people, it adds up quick when you have allergies, asthma, adhd, eczema, and vitamin deficiencies. This is working better for us. The only one who doesn't have anything in this basket? Bob, the Mr. I'm-as-Healthy-as-a-Horse guy!
I saw this idea on another blog and decided to try it out. We used to have cute candles and a china teacup and saucer on this crackle painted shelf in the bathroom. But really, 8 kids in one bathroom? The toothbrush holder never got used and seems like the brushes multiplied over night because there were about 15 of them laying around. The premise is that everyone gets their OWN basket with their OWN bathroom supplies. Yup, I sprung for 8 tubes of toothpaste which completely alleviates the clutter on the bathroom counter. Teaching self care 101.
Except for one particular son who is rebelling. Do ya think you should leave a razor and shaving cream lying around with a 2 and 3 year old on the loose?