The W Family

2012-01-24T08:56:00.001-05:00

I just found out that there were a few lines left out on her remake of the song.

Lines that I feel are so important.

Why do we not stand up for injustice in this world? What will our children look back on and say "Mom, why did you just sit by while that was happening? When you had money? And time?"

Get out of the wilderness. I am sure we each have our own wilderness. But I am sure they all come back to selfish reasons. I know mine does. It is a lot easier to focus on myself then this broken world around me. Loving the poor, living on the rundown side of town, serving the people of our church-these are not top priority when I am living for myself. But when I focus on what I believe to be truth, everything is turned around.

Please know I am writing this to myself. I am quick to speak up for the hurting and broken but I wonder deep in my heart if my actions match my words.

Now only thing I did was wrong
Stayin' in the wilderness too long
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

The only thing we did was right
Was the day we started to fight
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love Sara Groves.

I heard this song months back and it keeps getting stuck in my head.

Enough that I wanted to share it.

The first video is the song, the second is Sara talking about why she remade the song.

Reminds me to fight for what counts. How many battles do I fighting daily that don't even matter?

Paul and Silas, bound in jail,
Got no money for to go their bail,
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

Paul and Silas thought they'd lost,
The dungeon shook and the chains fell off,
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

Freedom's name is mighty sweet,
and one day soon we are gonna meet.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

Got my hand on the Gospel plow,
Won't take nothing for my journey now.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

CHORUS:

The way is slow,
And we've so far to go.
Keep your eyes on the prize...
(x2)

Hold on.

Only chain a man can stand
Is that chain of hand in hand,
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

Ain't no man on earth control
The weight of glory on a human soul.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

[CHORUS]

Keep your eyes on the prize...
Keep your eyes on the prize...

When you see a man walk free,
It makes you dream of Jubilee.

When you see a child walk free,
It makes you dream of Jubilee.

When you see a family free,
It makes you dream of Jubilee.
Keep your eyes on the prize,
Hold on.

2012-01-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

It has been a long week in the W house.

It is hard to know how to put things in words at time.

Let's just say that living in this broken world sucks at time. And it is hard to watch your children, who have had to deal with harder things then I have at 32. Hard to watch them trying to grasp poverty and death and the wealth of this nation compared to wealth of the world. To tell your children that there is a good chance their mom would still be alive if she had lived here. To try and get their minds to grasp these things brings out many things-anger, disobedience, sadness, an emptiness in their eyes. And then to try and parent them, with a mixture of grace and mercy.

Hard hard stuff.

But good too? Does that sounds odd? To see them wrestle and then to see the beauty that comes? Sometime the glimpse is so small, maybe even just a few seconds. That if I blink, I could miss it. And I do many times.

But healing does come. And God DOES work all things together for the good of those who love him. Oh if you only knew how many times a day I have to say that truth to myself. To remind myself that if God promised it, it IS true.

I am always worried about how to be honest about what is going on. I never want things to be painting things beautifully when there is pain and hurt. But I don't want to be so cynical that my kids read back through this as adults and feel they were trapped in a world of yelling, crying and despair. And they are at an age where people read and bring it up when we see them. So for them to hear "So, which kid was giving you trouble this week?" Yeah, you can figure out how well that goes over. :)

And for people reading, I hate thinking that you would read something like this, after B and J have been hear 5.5 years and think adoption may not be for you. But a wise woman reminded me this week that I don't have as much power as I think (ahh....to be put in your place :) ) and that if God is moving on someone's heart to adopt, they will not be scared away by a little truth.

I love my kids. I would give my live for them. And if I don't learn patience by the time they are 18, I have decided that learning patience is not possible in this world. :)

2012-01-13T19:06:00.002-05:00

Random

-I started using Instagram today. You can take pictures on your phone and post them quick and easy. I am going to try and post everyday. I am sure I will fail. :) But it will still be fun to see the random life we lead! You can follow me HERE.

-My friend Lisa has been blogging about her life. Amazing. Heartbreaking and healing at the same time. She gave up her son for adoption, and now has become the mother of many, including adopted kiddos. You can start reading HERE. Please take the time to click and read.

-A got a haircut this week. She had been begging. Now if only I can figure out how to get those darn pictures of her off the new phone and on to the computer.

-I just started reading When Helping Hurts with a friend. Man, questions swirling. Good good stuff. It is making me think. I am really good at thinking and doing nothing. So hopefully this book will push me past that.

-I never knew I would learn so much about patience having children. I know, all of you who are seasoned moms are cracking up. It is just amazing. And amazing to realize you have little to no control. I will leave it at that. Any moms reading YOU ARE NOT ALONE! :)

-It was snowing a ton today. Every school in town was closed. Except the very large public school system my kids attend. So off to school they were. I went with K to pick our church trailer that was being fixed. Lets just say after 4 hours of driving, hitching up, sliding, re-packing the trailer and then being stuck in the storage parking lot for a good 45 minutes and yes that would be 45 minute s AFTER we were supposed to pick our kiddos up at school. Oh epic mommy fail. And I felt worse as we flew in the parking lot to pick them up and the PRINCIPAL had to walk them out to us. I think I owe them some cookies.

-I found the pictures! :)

2012-01-08T19:11:00.002-05:00

Today I taught the 3 youngest how to stitch and the 2 oldest how to use the sewing machine.

We made pockets. Turned into puppets. Yup, that is as far as my sewing skills go. :)

Sewing is one of the few times I WISH I had perfectionist tendencies. Everything is always crooked. And hilarious looking. Luckily kids could care less!!!

(A is missing her two top front teeth in this picture-it is hard to tell. She seems so OLD!)

2012-01-06T09:45:00.002-05:00

We were lucky enough to get some pictures taken in the fall from a photographer from our church. Below are some of the shots she grabbed! Thanks so much Maike!

Her website is here if you are interested in her work!

2012-01-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

Best read of the week.
Take 10 minutes to read.

An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

2011-12-31T10:46:00.001-05:00

I am always amazed how adoption related conversation come up when you are least expecting it.

You can somewhat plan for them, but then boom, your son brings up questions or makes a comment out of nowhere and you are completely blindsided.

One of the boys was in timeout the other day and when I went up to talk with him, he turned around with tears in his eyes, saying how much he missed his Ethiopian mom. No matter how many classes you take, books you read, planned out conversations you rehearse, you sit there like deer in headlights. Trying so carefully to pick the perfect words out of your mind that will encourage him, build him up, validate his feelings. And any words you come up with seem just too small. Too unworthy. How do I teach this child that because of sin and brokenness in this world, things like this happen? And how even though there are times he dislikes our family, he now has a family?

I would not trade adoption for anything, but man, it can be so much harder then I ever thought. I really don't think I realized that 5.5 years in, when relationships have been built, many years of life have been lived, that questions like this will continue to surface over and over again. Or maybe I knew they would surface, but I never realized how painful it would continue to be. For both of us.

2011-12-31T10:38:00.001-05:00

Oh my.

How did the last day of the year come so quickly?

How is tomorrow going to be 2012?

I have spent part of the day reading back through the blog for the year. I am so glad for silly blogs! I had already forgotten all of the fun things we did, hilarious things my kids said, recipes we have enjoyed and books I have read. Really, all of this in one year?

Over Christmas dinner, we were all discussing our favorite parts of this year. Trips with extended family, to the waterpark, the beach, camping trips-all of these were favorites.

K and I were just happy that it was such a boring year! I think every other year of our married life, we have either: moved, changed jobs, birthed or adopted children, or bought/sold houses. NONE of those things happened this year. Whew, I guess God knew we needed a break!

Some fun things were: becoming foster parents (short lived), buying a new van to fit our family (I drive that thing like a pro now!!), K traveling to India to visit our churches orphanage and my sister having her first baby.

It is always fun thinking what the new year will hold. I am always amazed how many things can be fit into those 365 day. Wait, it's 366 this year! Thanks to a 7 year old obsessed with calenders, I know this. :)

The below picture is including Baby E, my sisters baby! I did not realize my kids would be so smitten.

2011-12-24T14:37:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from the W's!

The video below has been traveling around the internet and I finally took the time to listen and watch this morning. I wish I wouldn't have waited! The kids made me listen to it about 10 more times. :)

Check it out, turn up your speakers and dance around!

Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Born unto us this day a Savior
Gifted from heaven to a manger
The hope of the world
A light for all mankind
All of the earth rejoice
It’s Christmas time

So lift up your voice and sing out His praise
It’s Christmas
Born is the King, rejoice in the day
It’s Christmas
Make a joyful sound
It’s Christmas
Let His praise resound
It’s Christmas

Goodwill to all the earth
And peace divine
All of the earth rejoice
It’s Christmas time
It’s Christmas time

2011-12-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

My baby lost one of her top teeth!

Why do they grow SO fast?

2011-12-23T08:32:00.001-05:00

Because it has been in the 40's here and NO SNOW, we headed up to the park yesterday to burn off some Christmas Break energy.

I remember when my kids were younger, the older kids that ran around the park doing crazy things. Now being a mother of 4 boys, I understand. I once again have learned to not make judgments!

These kids walk across monkey bars, climb to the top of any pole around, swing, jump, etc. And no, they are not allowed to do it when little kids are around. But the park was empty. :)

2011-12-21T21:22:00.001-05:00

Christmas break is here!

Today was the first day home with all the kids.

And it was chaos.

I need to go back and read how this is always how the first day of break is. :)

We have a pretty laid back Christmas-family will not come till after the holiday. We are counting the days!

I will try and get some pictures soon-A lost one of her front teeth. I can't believe how big our 'baby' is!!

2011-12-16T15:52:00.001-05:00

Feeling like I should be blogging about something but I am not sure what!

We had a great time in Flordia-missed our kids like CRAZY but knew that getting away was such a good thing to do. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa W! They braved our kids for the week. And survived. Only a broken closet. That is not too bad with all these boys around!

I am having a hard time getting in the mood of Christmas this year. I am not sure if it was being gone or the lack of snow or what. We love Christmas, but don't make a huge deal out of it. The kids each pick a name and buy something small for each other. K and I usually give them something fun. One year it was bibles-this year, I am sewing them each a blanket for our bitter cold basement.

I read the biography of Steve Jobs while we were in FL. I have always loved biographies. I am not sure if it is the nosy part of me, loving to read about someone elses life. Or if it is just being encouraged by the amazing ways that different people live their lives. That each choice they make has huge ramifications for what comes next. I was amazed at how much Steve's mind was always working. Thinking. Creating. He reminds me so much of our J. That type of mind that never really has an off switch.

Hopefully I will get some picture on here over the Holidays for those of you we will not get to see this year! These kids are growing up way too fast.

2011-12-07T21:22:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe that tomorrow, K and I will have been married TEN YEARS.

I remember people who were married that long. They had their lives together and always seemed so much older and more mature.

And here we are. We started out, fresh from of college, a social worker and a marketing director at P&G. We have been through a honeymoon pregnancy that resulted in preemie twin boys. Buying our first house. Becoming foster parents. Moving to a new city-new job. Buying our second house. Getting pregnant. Moving to a new state for not only a new job but a career changed. Buying our third house Birthing a daughter. Adopting two more children. Job change. Planting a church. Buying our fourth house. Becoming foster parents again.

And here we are. Older. Wiser. We definitely have learned how to buy and sell a house. Have had a crash course in parenting. We still laugh. A lot. Usually at my expense. We are still best friends. We love being together. We still annoy the crap out of each other.

Oh but we are so much better together then we are apart. We spur one another on in our walks with Christ. We hold each other accountable. We balance one another in an amazing way.

I love you SO much babe. And cannot wait to spend the next 50 years with you. Though right now, I am just as excited to spend the next 6 days KID FREE!

(I could not find any recent pictures of us. HA!)
:)

2011-12-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

J was on a roll last night.

We had some friends over for dinner and we were asking him about marriage and if he thought he would ever get married.

He was quick no answer "Girls, no. Eww...I would never like girls. And also, if you are married, girls cost money! You have to pay extra taxes on them. And I would have to buy more chairs. I would just have a one person chair and I would have to buy a two person chair".

I challenged him on girls costing extra money and his answer was "They use more electricity! Mom, I am always having to turn the lights off in the kitchen because you leave them on!"

Oh J.....life is never dull. :)

2011-12-03T10:22:00.001-05:00

Life is so busy right now.

I am sure there are important things to blog about but none are coming to mind. SO

Random

-Fun news, friends are FINALLY bringing their sweet kids home from Ethiopia! We are excited to celebrate with them on Sunday! Nothing better then sweet kiddo's finding families!

-We went to a wedding last night for some friends from church. All the kids came with us and did so well. It is fun they are old enough to laugh, enjoy good food and BEHAVE! :) I thought these days would never come.

-The kids had a music concert at school this past week. It was painful (aren't' all kids concerts?) but we enjoyed watching them with their friends and get over their fears of being on stage. We were also reminded how thankful we are that our kids are in school where they are thriving and learning. Where they LOVE attending. Where they are pushed. Where they are practicing what it means to be a light to their friends and teachers. But man, it was painful. :)

-We have no decorations up yet. No kids have even asked.

-When K gets paid for work that is during 'family time', he is good about doing something fun with the money, either giving it to the kids or doing something fun with them. He was officiating the wedding yesterday and the kids split the money between them. It was quite a chunk for young kids. He had commented on the way there that they didn't seem overly excited about it. And then we realized how awesome it is that our kids are already grasping a healthy view of money. No one talked about what they wanted to buy. They just put it in their wallets and moved on. Now of course I would love to see them giving more :), but hey, they are all under 9. It was fun to watch their little hearts forming.

2011-11-28T22:49:00.000-05:00

I have not written lately about what I have been reading, so here you go!

I just started Tim Keller's book The Meaning of Marriage. I am not a huge fan of reading marriage books. The only other one I really enjoyed was Love and War. I am enjoy this one so far-I love that he just says things the way they are!

I stumbled upon this book, Out of the Spin Cycle, at Bargain Books last week and have LOVED it. Oh moms, go find this book and be reminded that you are not alone. And it is filled with truth!!

Castaway Kid was handed out at the Orphan Summit last May. I just refound it the other week and read it all that day! I was captured by the story. It was a quick, but good read. I am continually reminded that I have been so blessed to have an amazing family. Oh how I long for this for all children!

I read Relentless Hope twice over the summer. It may be one of my top books for the year. I loved Beth's first book, Reckless Faith. I enjoyed that the idea of this book is that we all have a story, and so many times, we are only hearing the stories of those who have made it through the tough times. They are the ones who write the books and stand up front and tell the stories. But how many of us are in the in between, still waiting to see what will happen? This book paralleled many things going on in our lives. SO SO good.

Now I am sadly sitting here, knowing that I have read other books over the past few months, and not remembering ANY of them. Maybe they will come to me? Or not, I am seriously forgetting more and more things every day!

2011-11-27T18:30:00.000-05:00

So good. Oh how I needed to hear this truth today, for myself as the adopted parent.

(the back posts are good as well-I enjoy the transparency as they go through the adoption process)

The Gospel and Adoption

2011-11-27T16:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. If FLEW by. We enjoyed time in Ohio with both sides of the family. So thankful for laid back, fun lovin' families!

We stopped at the park on the way down and I was able to get some pictures. Kids-STOP GROWING!

Our minivan hit 100,000 miles on the way there. Oh my. I have never had a car hit 100,000. We bought this can brand new when T and H were toddlers. We bought it in hopes of filling it up with kids and making a family. We love you little blue! (And yes, a minivan is considered little when you also own a 12 passenger!)

2011-11-21T22:01:00.001-05:00

The kids were playing so nicely Sunday night. And then came the blood curdling scream.

Head into tile fireplace.

I guess I should have known a game titled 'tiger' where kids are running, jumping, screaming and laughing was too good to be true. :)

We have done many rounds of stitches, but this was a first time for staples! B was so brave. This along with A's foot, which is now grossly huge and black and blue (from a bench accident) made for an oh so fun weekend at the W house.

Does the fun ever stop!!??!??!

2011-11-16T16:01:00.001-05:00

Having 5 kids within 3 years can just be weird sometimes.

There are not a lot of books written about it. Or studies done.

Most people who have that many kids that quick have quintuplets or something.

Right now, the kids are 9,9,7.5,7,6.5.

It can be tough. That is a lot of boys in one clump. Rough and tumble, smart, competitive, annoying boys. :)

Not sure why I felt I needed to write this. Things have just been hard lately. And I don't know what is normal 6-9 year old behavior or what is typical sibling rivalry.

But whatever it is, it is here. And it can be tough. And I don't always know what to do with it.

We are on such a steep learning curve. Usually with 5 kids, you have about 2 years between each one. 10 years to learn and grow and make better choices. We get 3. If we screw one up (or really two because we start with twins!), the others will be quick to fall. :)

I don't want it any other way. I don't wish it to be any other way. I just feel very inadequate. But as all my great mommy friends have reminded me (including my own mother!), we all feel this way. If I had one kid, I bet I would feel this way.

Ahh...sometimes it just feels better getting something out in the open.

Hi, I'm the mom of 5 kids. In 3 years. Who are all the same height and weight. And I screw up daily. Welcome to my life. :)

2011-11-16T16:00:00.000-05:00

We headed to the park yesterday after school.
How could we not?
It was 60 and sunny-unheard of in Northern Indiana in mid-November.
The kids had a blast running around, smiling, not having to wear coats.
It was one of those afternoons you wish could last for hours and hours and hours.
I needed an afternoon like this after the past few weeks.
(and yes, H was with us, somehow he missed being in front of the camera!)

2011-11-15T17:11:00.001-05:00

Oh my.
Could our front tree be any more beautiful? It goes from an almost purple on the top, to a deep red, to orange, to yellow and still bright green on the bottom.
Beautiful.

2011-11-15T08:41:00.001-05:00

Do you ever have those parenting failure days?

I have them more then I would like to admit.

The ones where you have said something for the thousandsth time and still, no one is listening. Where you decided to engage in a verbal battle with your 7 year old, knowing that no one ever wins. Or your six year decides the world revolves around her and is finally sent to her room screaming "I hate this family!"

Wow, and that was only within about an hour last night.

I keep reminding myself that parenting is for the long haul. I am still learning from my parents as an adult. That these years are super formative to the rest of my children's lives. They are learning how to deal with frustration and anger in healthy ways (well, we are at least trying!). They are learning how to serve and share. Beginning to set values and make decisions for themselves.

This is so hard for me to remember in the thick of it. I am quick to focus only on the current situation and not too far beyond that.

It is also hard that nothing is promised. I am not promised that if I teach them correctly, yell the least amount of times and remind them of truth that they will turn out to all be wonderful amazing adults that have something to add to this world. I think that lack of control as they get older has been so much harder for me then I ever thought. I realized how much I liked when they were little and I knew everything they ate, what they did all day and I was in control of every decision they made.

And they are growing. And need to make their own decisions. And screw up. And I need to be full of grace. and love. Not lectures.

I am sure people told me parenting was hard. This hard. And my oldest are only 9! What am I going to do in the teenage years?

2011-11-10T15:15:00.001-05:00

This is what I am doing right now!
Hanging out with my new sweet nephew. He is seriously awesome.
Makes me miss my kids like crazy.
But SO thankful for a rockstar husband who lets me leave for 4 days to come love and serve my sister and her family! :)

2011-11-06T21:14:00.001-05:00

It is funny how encouragement comes along right when you need it.

I just posted on facebook yesterday "anyone have good advice on sibling rivalry?". My kids have been at each other the past few weeks (well, really 2 in particular). :) I feel at times I have just run into a brick wall with their relationship. And that the other kids all pick on each other and do all those normal 'kid' things that are just exhausting to a mother!!

So today I had to send emails to all of their teachers, saying that we would be missing parent teacher conferences this week because of prior commitments. And the nicest emails have been coming to my inbox.

I know my kids are NOWHERE near perfect, but somehow, they have gained a love for learning. And good manners (atleast at school!). And are all leaders in their classes. And have won over their teachers hearts. I am so proud of them. They are not the smartest. Or most obedient. Or the most charming. But they all are trying their very hardest in their own ways. Doing their best. Learning everything they can about everything they come across. This weekend has been filled with taking apart cameras and phones to see what is inside. And J has been studying the periodic table. For fun. Seriously.

Here are some pictures from our walk this afternoon. This is one of those posts I make myself write, so that tomorrow, when they all come home calling each other loser and calling every lame (yes the chosen word of the week), I can remind myself that I do love them to pieces. And I love being their mom. And there is NO job in the whole entire WORLD that I would rather be doing.

2011-11-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

I am not sure they make them much cuter then this. :)

Children, please stop growing. As much as I want you to grow up and move out, I am sad that your growing.

2011-11-05T12:49:00.000-05:00

We were able to get a family picture taken last weekend and it had me thinking.

About how I carefully picked out these perfect matching outfits, made sure no one got breakfast on their clothes, brushed my hair more in one morning then I usually do in a week. And how we will receive this picture of my family that is not what we look like everyday. It isn't showing kids bugging each other. Food crusted on faces. Untied shoes. Moms and dads looking exhausted. Baggy sweatpants. All of the things that truly make up my life.

And it had challenged me to think about what parts of my life that I share with people. I am a people pleaser, so I am quick to tell you the funny thing my kids said this week or how they were loving to one another or the great way my husband served me. I might forget to tell you that I have given out more warnings in one morning then I thought was possible. And that my shower has an obscense amount of mold growing on it. And that I still don't have a ceiling in my kitchen. Or that is my kid says the word "LAME" or "LOSER" one more time, I might just scream and run down the street and never come back. Seriously.

I think I am trying to find the balance. How do I share the good parts of my life, in hopes of bringing encouragement to others and how do I share what life really looks like? Without complaining? Especially when compared to a majority of the world, I have life so good. I have a husband who loves me dearly, amazing kids who bring me great job, great church and family and friends.

Just what's on my mind.....

2011-11-02T14:46:00.001-05:00

Halloween 2011

Two trick or treaters

Three passing out

One husband relaxing :)

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

One morning last week, I was disciplined enough to walk/run after I dropped the kids off at school. It was so beautiful outside. The sun was creeping through the clouds, only hitting the tops of the tree's. I grabbed my camera when I got home and tried to capture it. I love living in this house-we are a few blocks from the riverwalk and I love how beautiful and peaceful it is walking along the river. I came home and opened my bible to the following verse.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftmanship. Psalm 19:1

It goes on to say that day after day, these things continue to speak and make him known. That they speak without saying a word or making a sound, yet their message has gone for all to hear. That is exactly what I felt that morning. Meeting God in the quiet. In the silence. In the beauty that he has created in the midst of this crazy chaotic world.

God, thank you for being a God that meets us where we are at. Thank you that you speak to us in every day things, like the sun rising and setting. I am amazed that we take for granted that the sun will rise every morning and bring us light for the day. Thank you for meeting me where I am at, despite my pride and selfishness and desire for self. Amen.

2011-10-31T09:01:00.001-05:00

9:26AM October 31, 2011

The kids have off school today (no not for halloween! just happened to be a teacher in-service day). I thought it would be fun to show you a glimpse of our house right now.

Music playing: Caedmon's Call "In the Company of Angels" a long time favorite.

Weather-rainy. Welcome to Northern Indiana fall. :)

K working. This is what your office looks like when you are a church plant. I still have no idea how he can tune out the rest of us. Amazing. :)

H getting some breakfast.

This is what the sunroom looks like. Yesterday afternoon was spent listening to Adventures in Odyssey and setting up army men and blocks. Guess those two things mix okay. :)

A reading.

J eating breakfast. (I feel this need to defend my children eating frozen waffles and syrup on their day off school. It is taking everything in me to not make excuses.)

Ahh....my desk. Filled with half-read books, left over starbucks from a sweet early morning meeting with a fabulous friend, loads of papers to be organized. Do you notice a difference between K's desk and mine? I am sure I drive him bonkers. :)

Happy Monday morning!

2011-10-27T17:26:00.001-05:00

Random

-We ate homemade chicken and dumplings for dinner. It was delicious! I have never made it before and THIS recipe was great!

-I was reading this blog post on fair-trade chocolate and discussing with K what we should do about Halloween candy (he was rolling his eyes). Then the doorbell rang and there were 2 girls selling candy bars. Chocolate candy bars. I bought 4 and we all ate them. Seriously. I am pathetic.

-A friends gave me this recipe for granola bars a while back and I just got around to making it. DELICIOUS!!!! I am sad I waited to long!

-We have been watching Human Planet as a family. It is super good and even my 1st graders have enjoyed it. It is fascinating learning about how others live. And how easy our life is here in America.

-We have been to the doctor a lot this month between T's finger and yearly check ups. We go months with no one at the doctor.
-and last, BUT NOT LEAST, my baby sister is a MOTHER! Her sweet boy was born yesterday, sweet baby E. She was in labor forever. And pushed for multiple hours. I think she should get an award. :) Congrats Sister (and Z!). You guys have loved our children so well over the years, I am so excited to see you be parents!

2011-10-19T15:40:00.001-05:00

This week has had a slow and frustrating start.

First of all, the weather. Cold, rainy, fall. I have only ever lived in the midwest-why am I not used to this yet?

Second, T woke up Monday morning with the tip of his middle finger on this right hand looking droopy. I know, totally weird. He got into the doctor in the afternoon, who x-rayed (nothing broken) and sent him to the orthopedic surgeon. So yesterday they diagnosed him with having a mallet finger. Or baseball finger. For a definition and picture, click here. We still aren't really sure why he got it (can't remember anything happening to it). Treatment is a splint. Nonstop. You seriously cannot take it off (or really, it is let the finger tip bend) for 6 weeks. If it bends AT ALL, healing starts all over. Thank goodness he is an obedient child and old enough to listen! Next step would be casting or a surgical pin if the splint doesn't work. We just kept reminding ourselves we are super thankful for good doctors and appointments the day you call. We are so spoiled here in America!

Third, we learned Monday that we would not ever get any foster placements. Indiana is strictly enforcing the 5 child rule, so we would not get any placements until we have less then 5 children...meaning when T and H turn 18 in 9 years. Blech. We could stay on for respite placement, but our agency has been getting mostly teenager from residential treatment and teen moms. Two groups of people we would love to work with IF we did not already have 5 young children in our house. SO from here, we will close out our license and then wait and pray and wait some more to see what they next steps are for us. Everything in our married life has always fallen into place and moved very quickly, so I know that it is our turn to wait. Wait and be patient and trust that this desire we have to help children, house children, love children will some day be used. Oh yeah, I guess we have 5 kids to do that for right now. :)

2011-10-15T21:12:00.002-05:00

Here is your entertainment for the day.

Enjoy!

:)

2011-10-15T15:28:00.003-05:00

When I was in High School, Friday night meant football games, hanging out with friends, anything away from home. In college, I lead Young Life, so Friday night was filled with leadership and finding out where HS kids were and hanging out with them.

Friday night now means weekends are here!! No school, less work (can't say none when your husband has to preach on Sunday mornings!). Last night was great-no agenda. We sat on the porch while the sun set, sitting around the fire. Chasing kids. Laughing. Eating Joe Joe's. Just being.

I know this time is so short, till their Friday night will look like mine did above. When they all have plans and K and I are home alone or chauffeuring them around.

I enjoyed just 'being' last night.

Families rock.

(I purposefully left off the pictures of my husband spinning the kids by their ankles. Ahh....to have a cool dad who is super strong.)

2011-10-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

Random

-I am making this for dinner. It smells delicious-hoping it tastes delicious too!

-I found the recipe on Pinterest. I caved and joined. They say the goal of the site is to find new things and share things found, so I am trying my hardest to not just pin what every one else pinned.

-Katie Davis's book came out this past week! A friend is lending me hers and I am excited to read it.

-We have nothing to do this weekend. Really, nothing. Sometimes those are the best.

-My sister will hopefully have her baby sometime soon! Can't wait to be an Aunt again! And to watch my sister be a mother. She is going to be fabulous! A keeps making the baby cards, it is super cute.

-T's teacher at school is pregnant with twins. Last year, H's teacher got pregnant. The year before that, T and H's teacher got pregnant with twins. Weird.

-

2011-10-09T20:30:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun to list some of our favorite things around here lately. These are completely random. Enjoy!

Adventures In Odyssey-Are you tired of me talking about this yet? My kids LOVE LOVE Adventures in Odyssey. We listen to it almost every night before bed. The stories are great, the characters are great. When I turn it on in the car, everyone gets quiet. You can listen to them free online or get them from the library or we will lend them to you. :)

Lego's-I know it is over priced plastic stuff, but my kids LOVE this stuff. It gets played with every single day in our house. They create, image, build, re-build-it is amazing to see the stuff that they come up with. I know it is more expensive, but we have found it to be worth every penny. Pieces are well made, rarely break and can be used for years and years. H likes to mix these first two things together-he will sit in his room for hours listening to Adventures in Odyssey while playing Legos. My little introvert! A close second-Playmobil. Love this stuff! It ends up all over the place, but I love hearing the stories they create on the way.

Coin Collecting-Yes I now have some avid coin collectors in my house. My dad has always loved coin collecting-me, not so much. H started a few months back and he and K have jumped in head first. It has been really fun to watch the 2 of them collect together. Personally, I still don't get it, but hey, if it gets my husband and son doing something together and it doesn't involve staring at a screen, I am all in.

Jesus Calling-I saw this a month or so back and mentioned to K it looked good. It showed up on our doorstep later that week. Yup, my husband is a keeper! But back to the book-I think there is an adult version of it, this is a children's version. We have been reading it right before we walk out the door to school. The kids enjoy it (they have been asking for it in the mornings) and it is right at their level.

Sleeping Queens-We randomly asked for this card game for T for his birthday and it is great! Something different-keeps kids and adults entertained (unlike many kids games!). The cards have been played many times and are already looking quite worn-down! A few runner ups- we have really enjoyed Carcassonne, Transeuropa, and Qwirkle. Our older 3 (9,9,7) are all able to play all of these games and at times can even beat us. Not sure what that points out-that my kids are super good game players or that their mother is awful at any game that includes strategic play.

Andrew Peterson-When I grew up, my mom always listened to John Denver. To this day, I think I might still know every word to every John Denver song. Our kids will grow up knowing Andrew Peterson this way. He is an amazing and talented song writer. His songs are beautifully written stories and I love hearing my kids sing them and ask questions about them. He has a great kids cd too that was loved in our household. In a close second, Hillsong kids (we have the ultimate collection cd). We joked that it was where all the Hillsong reject songs go, but really, it is catchy and the kids love it. They also love a random cd that was a free download from The Village Church. Nothing better then hearing your kids sing to Jesus!

Joe-Joe's-Seriously, why has no one told us that Trader Joe's version of oreo cookies are 10x better then the regular oreo's?? Luckily my in-laws brought us some because the closest TJ's is Chicago. YUM YUM YUM they are so GOOD!

Parenthood-No, this is not something for your kids, but K and I have started watching it (what did we do before Netflix streaming?). It is fun to watch, I am sure because this is the stage of life we are in, but we have enjoyed the character development. And discussing how we would make the same parenting decisions. or different. or how we SWEAR our child would never do that, which means after 9 years of parenting, we have learned nothing. Don't you remember all the things you swore would never happen when you were a parent? I think I did a post on this once-listing out all the things I swear I would never do as a parent or more importantly, the things I swore my children would never do. HA! :)

PS-I found the old post HERE! So funny and great to read the comments too. A friend this summer said "I have learned to never judge anyone's parenting, especially when they are parenting an age my kids have not gotten to yet." How true!

2011-10-09T08:17:00.001-05:00

Oh. My.

B is 7. Seven years old.

That just seems so OLD.

He celebrated by going hunting w/daddy (which really just meant sitting in the woods at 6am counting deer) and pizza and cake for dinner.

B, I can't believe you are seven years old. It seems like just yesterday we learned about you. And saw the first picture we would ever see of you. And then learn over the next few days that we would call you our son. I used to worry about you-worry that you would never walk straight, or without falling. That you would never learn to talk. or read. or have any guts to stand up for yourself. You have proved me WRONG. So so wrong. You are smart, sweet and funny. You still take your time doing most anything, but the person who waits the extra few seconds for you to pull your thoughts together is the the lucky one. I think you have become friends with everyone you have ever met. And you are learning to read. Right on schedule.

We LOVE you B, with every inch of our being. We love you being a W and cannot imagine a life without you around.

Happy 7th Birthday!

2011-10-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have a thousand thoughts spinning around my head but I have the hardest time getting them out into words. Reason #918 why I could never be a writer!

It has been beautiful here this past week. In Northern Indiana, it is usually chilly and cloudy. It has been sunny and in the high 70's for a week. And should be for the next week! Yehaw! Nothing like some sun to put you in a good mood.

I have been reading a book on Prayer with some friends of mine. It has been so interesting-it is a book that I read in college with a bunch of ladies. At that time, I was single and just in a different place all together. Now, ten or so odd years later, I am re-reading this book and amazed and how different lines and paragraphs have completely different meanings now that I am a wife and a mother. I have been challenged lately that there are so many things that can only grow with time. Adoption has been one of those. Yes I can love this new child that shows up, but it takes time for that love to grow. They way I feel now is nothing like I felt 5 years ago. Same with my marriage. I thought that first year this is the best it gets, and now almost 10 years later, I have such a deep love for my husband that I did not know could happen or even existed. I can't imagine what it will feel like in 10,20,30+ more years.

There are so many things in my life that I want to hurry by, quickly jump to the next stage or chapter. But I am learning that for a lot of those things, I just have to wait. Not a wasteful, dull, boring wait. But a wait nonetheless. And what am I doing in that time? Am I wishing it away or learning all that I can?

2011-10-02T18:18:00.001-05:00

Ahhhh...

A contented sigh after a wonderful afternoon.

After days and days of rain, today was beautiful. A reminder of why I love fall in the midwest.

We packed up (thank you husband for turning off the game!) and headed to pick apples. I forgot how fast apple picking is, especially with 5 kids who are all able and excited. Then headed to the park to run off some steam and just be together. Stopped at an antique store on the way home and are now looking through old wheat pennies (we have some new avid coin collectors in the W house) while eating a random dinner and watching football.

I just love days that are normal. Nothing special and over the top. Just being a family.

(of course my camera ran out of batteries as the kids started climbing the giant tree over the path. maybe that is a good thing so no one lectures us as parents. :) )

2011-09-30T12:27:00.000-05:00

Interesting blog posts I have read lately-

Blindspots-This article was written for homeschooling families, but as a mother who is realizing she likes control of every second of her children's life, I was encouraged and challenged by it.

"Lasts"- This makes me want to go hug my kids and not wish away the mundane of everyday life.

Moses-Come on, you know you want to adopt this sweet little boy! I am once again encouraged by the Livesay's and their desire to love the poor and forgotten.

Riverside Blog-Do you know my husband has been blogging daily through Phillipians? He will start on Ephesians Monday. Much more spiritual and thought-out (and better written!) then my mumbo jumbo. :)

Hell on earth- My friend Amy was just in Ethiopia to hang out at a garbage dump. Yes, you read that correctly. A garbage dump. With the people who LIVE on the garbage dump. Their whole life revolves around trash. I know this is one you are hesitant to click, but please do. You will be thankful for your old tile, cracked windows, 4 year old matching shoes and everything other stinkin' thing you have that you take for granted every day.

Poverty Parable Response-lots and lots of food for thought .

2011-09-27T20:16:00.001-05:00

Best friends. I love it. I always say, never thought these two would be attached at the hip. :)

2011-09-26T15:31:00.000-05:00

I thought I would capture what 4:48pm looked like this Monday.

We have an army getting ready to attack. I keep hearing 'German Helicopters, get ready to shoot'. Boys will be boys. :)

I am not sure what she is doing. But she has such a girly voice with all those cars!

Piano practise.

One boy reading about solar systems in the tree. That is his new favorite place to read-cracks me up!

Dinner cooking. Yum!

And I guess I could have taken pictures of myself taking pictures but that just seems silly. Off to teach T how to play Rummikub. Found it brand new at Goodwill-score!

2011-09-25T17:44:00.002-05:00

I feel like I have been slacking at blogging. In 20 years, my kids will read back and probably wonder what the heck was going on in their lives!!

I am enjoying the fall weather we have been having-as much as I think I would like warm weather all of the time, I really enjoy the change of seasons, leaves changing, sweaters, hot chocolate, all of the good stuff.

The kids are doing so well-I really need to dig my camera out and follow them around a bit. I think my older boys are getting to that constant eating/always growing stage. Golly, they can eat A LOT! And I know it will just get worse! I have been on a cooking kick, so we have been enjoying lots of yummy food.

We have tested out boy scouts and girl scouts in the past two weeks-I sometime just feel so overwhelmed at all of the options of 'activities' to put your kids in. We have always said each kid could do one activity at a time, but really, no one has done much of anything. :) Which I enjoy-we come home from school and just hang out and be! 3 kids are doing piano, but we have a fabulous teacher that comes to our house. All that said, I am not sure what we will stick with or not.

Okay, nothing really to say. K is at the Colts game today, so the rest of us are eating pizza and watching a family movie. :)

2011-09-16T17:19:00.002-05:00

Random

-We just ate THIS for dinner. It was SO SO good and so easy. All of my kids (well accept picky B) ate it. It hit the categories of simple, tasty, quick and was pretty much a meal in a bowl (now thinking I should have put some bread with it!)

-I posted this story on Facebook, but wanted to share it here as well. It went something like this:

J-Did you know the most inappropriate cartoon movie of all time was shrek 2?

I found this to be a weird comment. Thinking to myself that their are more inappropriate ones then that, I asked him "really J? Shrek 2? Why do you say that?"

J-I read it in the world records book.

H interrupts and says "No no J, it wasn't the most inappropriate, it was the grossest cartoon movie of that year."

To which it clicked, it was the top 'grossing' cartoon movie of the year.

HA! They crack me up!

-I had such a good day today. Connecting with friends, old and new. Cooler weather (which is appreciated A LOT when you don't have air conditioning and have been sweating for months). Just one of those days when you are happy to be alive. Thankful to have a great husband and cool kids. Looking forward to a weekend filled with the perfect amount of busyness and quietness.

-I have enjoyed watching B's progress over the last 6 months. He has really matured a lot and hit a good stride. He takes his time in everything he does and is never in a hurry, which can be frustrating when you have 4 other kids racing for the finish line. He has been doing so well in 1st grade this year. He has been working so hard and it is paying off. A little story from church the other week-he won a treat for answering a bunch of questions. There was a new little boy next to him who was there for the first time. When the teacher looked over again, B has secretly snuck the treat on to the other boys napkin and both were beaming. :) I loved hearing this story-hearing his sweet little heart looking out for those around him (even if it meant sharing his carbs!) and also to hear of him gaining confidence in answering questions in a group. Raising and discipling these kids is seriously the best job. Ever.

2011-09-15T15:11:00.003-05:00

I remember before I had kids, thinking I would never have rowdy children.

I know, you are all laughing.

Then I was blessed with twin boys. BOYS. Who were both climbers. I have to keep my chairs lined up on a wall of my kitchen from months because otherwise, they would be on the table. They would pull drawers out like stair-steps and hold them in place so the other one could climb onto the counters.

I am not making this up. Crazy.

Then we added A. And then two more boys.

Then that first winter hit. What was I supposed to do with 5 kids 4 and under in the WINTER!?!

SO yes, years have gone by and my children still are creative in the way that they are getting their energy out. And this old house is perfect for that.

Below is what they do on a daily basis. Including pull-ups from the top trim.

Never a dull moment.

2011-09-10T09:21:00.002-05:00

Two recipes we had last night that were DELICIOUS! Go, try them tonight. You will not be sorry!

Tomato and Corn Tart

Apple Turnovers

2011-09-08T17:17:00.002-05:00

Random

-I have talked about my rice cooker before. And how much I love it. I am not a kitchen gadget person AT ALL but oh how I LOVE my rice cooker. And now we have stumbled upon a delicious recipe that has made it even better. You will not regret trying it! And did you know you can freeze rice? Yup! YEAH! (we leave the zest out and use lime juice)

-Some of you have asked about foster care. Yes we are licensed and yes we have been waiting. We have had a few calls for respite care that we were out of town each time. We have had 2 referrals-one child was older then we felt comfortable with and the second child's needs were very severe and we did not think it was a good fit for now. I keep asking K if we should just adopt and he reminds me we really have not been waiting long. Oh how I STILL need to learn patience. :)

-A friend shared THIS post and I enjoyed it a lot. I was so thankful for her openness and appreciate the way she was able to put it into words. When I say we have had hard weeks, I am usually thinking the things that she typed. I read many parts allowed to K last night and was just thankful to live in a time where you don't often have to feel alone. I am so thankful for the other adoptive mom's God has brought along side-here in my city and across the US.

-I also enjoyed THIS post this morning. I don't remember how I stumbled upon this blog, but I have really enjoyed watching this family as they transition to their life in Peru. I loved be reminded today that stuff is just that. Stuff. Some of her other posts have been really good.

-I am reading a handful of books this fall with different groups of friends. They include: Prayer, Identity and Compelled By Love. I love started fresh in the fall-everything seems new and 3 books seems like nothing. Hope I feel that way by December. :)

-With the kids back in school, I have been able to start walking/running again. I have been listen to some sermons and podcasts while I am walking. I love being able to clear my mind and start the day right. I am realizing I spent too much time on my kids this summer. I know, sounds crazy, but I did not do much of anything for myself. I am excited to dive back into some practices that I enjoy this new school year.

2011-09-06T15:19:00.002-05:00

I asked J if he wanted to write a guest post for my blog. :)

All I said was 'let's tell people about school' and here is what I got...

I just started school. What I am learning now is space. I learned about the largest planet and it is Jupiter. And Neptune is the 4th largest planet. Pluto is not a planet anymore. It is too small to be a planet and it is not the right shape to be a planet and it does not go in the right orbit-it goes in Neptune's.

My teachers name is Mr. B and he is gone this week because he is learning how to be a teacher. But he will check on us. And he knows a lot about books and we are also learning about fairy tales. We learned about Sleeping Beauty, the Prince Frog and Hansel and Gretel.

My favorite part of school is space. I learned that Neptune has blue gases around it, that is why it looks blue.

And my mom is writing this down, so you don't have to feel embarrassed that I am writing so fast and a lot.

Are you laughing right now? If you are all laughing, we are going to laugh our heads off.

All right, back to school.

School-we have a new school building and there are water fountains everywhere, all over the place. There is even one in the gym. And we are not doing any presentation because we are not into work cycle yet.

Everybody has their own body, so use it for good.

(I asked 'anything else J?')

ATTENTION! I HAVE A QUESTION. Which planet has the largest sun?

(to which he whispered "i don't think anyone knows)

2011-09-02T10:23:00.003-05:00

It is hard to believe that the kids have been back to school for over a week now.

I am so thankful for our neighborhood school. My kids LOVE school and all have some great new teachers this year. I love that it is so close to our house.

I have had a hard time getting into the swing of things. I know, it should be easy, all the kids are gone. :) But I have said this before, I know how to do life with kids running all over-multitasking, breaking up fights, etc. But when it is quiet and the house that was picked up at 8am is still clean at noon, I have to re-learn how to be here without them. I know the days will quickly fill up with errands, helping K with church stuff, discipling women, bible study, etc. But for now, I feel like a fish out of water!!

I am hoping soon to do an update on each kid-they are growing so fast, I don't want to forget!

2011-08-26T09:40:00.002-05:00

A and I are headed to Ohio today to attend my sister's baby shower!

We are super excited to make a 'girls only' trip (we told the boys they could come, but they had to wear dresses-no one took us up on it!).

I am realizing I don't do this enough-do special things with just one kid at a time. It can be so hard in a larger family to remember this-they so so well clumped together as a team, I really want to remember to take time to just sit with one and hear what they have to say!

Hopefully K will survive w/all the boys-I think they are looking forward to it! :)

2011-08-25T11:06:00.002-05:00

And off they go to their first day of school!

Two 3rd graders, one 2nd grader and two 1st graders!

I can't wait to hear how their first day went!

2011-08-23T11:51:00.005-05:00

Every summer, camping is at the top of our list of things to do. And every summer, it comes down to a few days before school starts and we realized we haven't gone!

So Sunday afternoon, we packed up the 'big white-y' and headed up to Lake Michigan.

We picked a camp ground near the beach-one we had never been to and hoped it would be great.

AND IT WAS!

Oh my, we had blast. We could walk to the beach and there was an awesome hill and creek behind our site-the kids spent hours down there and were super sad to leave it. We hiked on the beach and through the woods. We enjoyed the cool night and the warm days. We watched the sunset (I think I could watch the sunset over the lake every night and never grow tired of it!).

We decided as a family it was one of the best things we did all summer.

And it always makes me so thankful for the things I have. One night on the ground and using porta johns makes you thankful for everything you have.

As always, too many pictures. I love my kids and sunsets!

2011-08-20T20:01:00.002-05:00

I feel like summer flew by and we are trying to stuff everything we can in the last few days!

We are headed up to the beach to go camping for the next night or two-thankful the weather is cooperating! And hopefully we will go swimming on Wednesday before school starts THURSDAY!

Below is a picture from last week at the park with friends. I love all of our kiddos lined up-oh yeah, plus the random kid from the park. And I love that you would never guess which one he is because of our huge mix of kids! :)

2011-08-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

The last kid to loose a first tooth. And doesn't she look old in this picture?! I am usually not sentimental, but I felt so sad for this moment! She has been working on that tooth for WEEKS (maybe over 2 months?) and was so excited to get it out! Precious!

2011-08-16T13:21:00.013-05:00

We made it to the beach! K even came with us, which is such a treat. :)

It was beautiful out. The beach was empty. The sunset was fabulous. I felt stress just fall off me as we played and splashed and laughed. I think we said multiple times that we just love our kids to pieces. They are at great ages.

We finished the night with a wash off at the splash park and Dairy Queen.

As we walked in the door at 1015pm, one kids mentions he doesn't have his shoes. And they all agree. UGGHHH! We just donate 5 pairs of shoes to someone. Usually I wouldn't care but I had just bought on kids a new pair of crocs! Oh well, the night was worth it. :)

Enjoy! I will probably post an over abundance-I love taking pictures on the beach in the evening!

2011-08-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

I loved finding 'rainbow rocks' at the beach a few weeks back. I am excited to head there tonight w/the family for some fun in the sun and dinner! I am hoping to stay till the sun is set, one last beach 'hurrah' before school starts soon. I will have to sweet talk my husband, who after 15 minutes will be done. :)

2011-08-14T19:28:00.003-05:00

The kids and I had a great time last week visiting family. I was able to see my super cute pregnant sister, my family, in-laws, old friends.

I realized how blessed I am to have great family all around me. I am blessed to have great friends from high school that are still encouraging and loving. I am blessed to have awesome friends from college who are seeking the Lord and serving in many different capacities. I am blessed to have ladies who have prayed for me, spoken truth into my life and encouraged me in many ways and STILL make time to listen and love on me and my family. Ladies-grab every coffee, breakfast, lunch you can get with women who are a step ahead. It is SO fruitful!

It was a great trip, but always great to come HOME!

Below are pictures from my parents house-I wish the first picture was clearer, but hey, the photographer was an excited 9 year old. It was ten times better then the one by the excited 7 year old. :)

2011-08-09T14:43:00.002-05:00

Parenting 5 kids it hard.

I know, that seems obvious to most of you. But most days, I don't notice.

Adoption is hard.

Same, I am sure that seems obvious, but most days, I don't notice. These are just the things that make up normal life around here and it is all I have known for the past 5 years.

Then there are the days when these two things collide. Whiny children, messy house, unpacking from almost a week away. Kids that don't deal well with change and transition.

I have to constantly remind myself of truth-that I am called to be the mother of these kids. All of them. That I am called to do the best I can. Not to be perfect, but to be real and open and honest. Truth is also that it sucks that adoption has to happen. I feel this is something that J has been dealing with and voicing a lot lately. And it is hard, because there is no good answer. I wish there was nothing called adoption, that all children could stay with their parents, that parents could always keep their children and would have all the resources readily available to do this.

But it's not. The truth is, many kids don't have families and many will NEVER have families. And as hard as parenting 5 kids can be at times, I am always thankful that B and J have a home and a family.

Not sure where all this came from-I guess I just needed a place to dump today. :)

2011-08-01T06:58:00.002-05:00

Some of you know my sweet friend Ashley who is in Uganda for the month serving at an organization called Serving His Children. She is trying to blog some, so the link is here if you are interested in following along! Ashley is an amazing girl that we are SO thankful God has brought to Riverside. Enjoy!

2011-07-31T15:21:00.002-05:00

I was looking through the K's India photos to make a slideshow and wanted to put some of my favorites on here. I loved looking at all of their beautiful smiles and feel so lucky that we get to be a part of their lives. I can't wait till it is my turn to go and love them!

2011-07-29T08:40:00.003-05:00

The week has flown by with K home!!!

Maybe I should have him write a guest post about India. I feel like I am asking him too many questions and I am sure y'all would love to hear about it. :)

I was reading this post from a friend the other day and thought I should share it. I thought that it spoke a lot of truth that I know I needed to hear.

The kids and I are headed to Ohio next week to see family! Yippie for a later summer road trip!

I love having the kids home in the summer, but for some reason, this summer has been really hard for me. I thought it would be easier since they are older-in a lot of ways, it has. But they don't sleep as much and want to play and hang out more. We have a lot more things to do, so that takes time. I would usually get their movie time as quiet time but I enjoy the fun movies they are watching! So all of that means I have had NO TIME TO MYSELF. Oh my, exhausting. And they are ready for school-they love school and keeps asking when it starts.

So I may say for the first time 'I CAN'T WAIT FOR SCHOOL TO START!' :)

2011-07-24T17:13:00.003-05:00

Happy 9th T and H!

Hard to believe 9 years ago I became a mom. At 23. Not our plan, but was the perfect plan. I will never ever forget our ultrasound appointment, when we heard we were having 2 babies. Not our plan, but the best plan. I will never forget going into labor at 27 weeks. I hadn't even read enough in the pregnancy book to realize how bad it was. Not our plan, but a plan that resulted in 2 healthy, smart, strikingly handsome, loving boys.

T and H-we think the world of you. You could not be more different. Half of your school did not even know you were twins till almost the last day. Brown/blond hair, brown/blue eyes, artsy/athletic, extrovert/introvert. You could not be more different. But you are the best of friends and a great example for the younger 3.

Here is a link to video of when they were born. Peanuts-2lbs 14oz and 2lbs 13oz!!

Hope your 9th birthday was great, despite your father being on the other side of the world and your mother getting a speeding ticket on the way to the theater. If not wonderful, at least memorable. :)

Pictures are from swimming at a friends house Tuesday-thanks Miss Deb!

2011-07-22T22:13:00.004-05:00

We are surviving our week!

It has been a scorcher-our 1st floor does not have central air, so it has been stuck at about 85 all week. BLECH! So we have kept busy with 3 swim days, time w/great friend, eating w/o turning the oven on, sleeping in late and being thankful for air in our bedrooms! We hit the movie theater once and tried again today, yet was foiled by my getting a speeding ticket...which made us late and miss the movie! Guess we will try again tomorrow.

We have heard some from K-they are doing well in India. Seems like it may be a life changing trip. We are SO ready for him to be home-he travelled a lot when the kids were very small, but this is the first time in a while he has been gone for so long and in a place where we cannot have contact with him whenever we want. I have thought a lot about military families this week and how hard it must be and also for missionary families long ago. We are SO spoiled with our instant communication! One more day!

T and H turned 9 Tuesday-hopefully I will get their birthday post up soon!

2011-07-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is my 1000th post.

I cannot decide if this is something to celebrate (because I am not sure I ever got anything better then a C in english class) or to hide from (seriously, do I think that my life is interesting enough to write 1000 posts about?) or exciting (because I rarely finish things I start).

I thought about giving something away (how about a free day with my children?) or having a contest (again, could not think of anything) or just not even commenting about it.

I am glad I have stuck it out the past almost 6 years. We love reading through the past years-laughing at the things the kids have said and watching our family grow.

Happy 1000!

2011-07-18T17:07:00.002-05:00

Does anyone know what 2 days ago was? July 16, 2011?

It was the FIFTH anniversary of B and J coming home. Fifth. Yes, 5 years. Holy moly.

I linked to the old years below. I am glad to see that almost every year I post this a few days late. It is nice to know that some things never change and I am consistent about something. :)

I would be lying if I said this year was the easiest of them all. J has had a tough year and we all have been challenged by that. It has stretched and grown K and I, as well as our children. BUT we all have tough years, right? And when we look back, even on those years we aren't sure we are going to make it, there is SO MUCH growth. I see that already in this past year.

J-Oh J. You are one of the most amazing kids. I love that your psychologist did not believe me when I told her how brilliant you were. After a few sessions, she understood. :) You have been given an amazing brain-not just in an intellectual way. You are always looking out for people around you, making sure everyone is included. You desire to do good, even though it is not always natural for you. You amaze everyone-I am amazed that people meet you and YEARS late remember you by name. You ask about your Ethiopian mom on a daily basis-I love that about you. I love that you talk to me about her and I love that you have a deep love for her.

B-Oh B. You dad and I looked at each other the other day and just smiled about the little man that you have become. You were so small. So weak. SO helpless. We worried that you would never stand up for yourself-that we would spend our lives chasing bullies away. We could not have been any more wrong. It is a miracle what love and stability (and FOOD) have done for you. You are so loved-I don't think you have an enemy and you treat everyone with respect. You are very truthful and have a hilarious sense of humor. You have an amazing memory and are an amazing artist. You have just started asking about your Ethiopian mom and almost always ask with a deeply sad heart. You are full of compassion.

Five years. Amazing. Our family has grown so much and learned so much. T, H and A have been pushed out of their comfort zones and gained such an amazing view on the world. Wonder what the next 5 will hold? :)

ps-I just realized in 5 years, the kids will be 14,14, 12,12,11. I think that speaks for itself what it holds. :)

Here are links to the past 5 years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

2011-07-18T08:34:00.003-05:00

They are safely to India! K just called and I got to talk to him for all of 1 minute. :) Amazing to think they are on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, after a straight flight of 16 hours. :)

I was talking with the kids yesterday and we were talking about making sure we pray together every day for daddy. I also was explaining the idea of fasting to them-giving up a meal to take time to pray for something specific. I was encouraging them (and myself!!) to try and choose a meal this week to fast and pray for K and India. I really did not think they got the idea or would even try it (A kept saying 'oh yeah, i will pray WHILE i eat'). Low and behold, dinner comes along and B never shows up. I look into the family room, and there he is on the chair, praying. Oh my, the sweetest sight I have seen in a long time. He never asked for any food all evening or complained. He did say "i cannot wait for breakfast!"

I have been so busy thinking and praying for all the things that K would learn on this trip-I think I need to remember to focus on these kids who have SO MUCH to teach me while he is gone!

2011-07-16T20:01:00.000-05:00

K heads to India tomorrow!!!

We have been helping him prepare all week-helping collect and pack things for the kids, writing letters, all kinds of fun stuff. I think a small part of each kid wishes they were going! H has been asking a lot about when he can go. Love watching their hearts grow for the world around them and realize how much they do have.

Below is a video about Asha Mission and the sweet kids. I can just picture my husband running around with all of them!

Please pray for safe travels, no sickness, amazing connection with all the right people. Pray for God to show up and do miracles.

Pray that I don't loose my sanity chasing 5 kids around all week. We have planned pool, beach, friends, movies, pizza...hopefully enough things to keep us occupied and not missing K!

2011-07-16T12:41:00.003-05:00

We are so lucky to have great family!

My sweet Aunt sends my kids each a birthday package every year. It is the highlight of their birthdays! They start looking for it about a week before, stalking the mailman and dreaming about what inside has been picked out just for them.

This year, A received a butterfly garden. Oh this was a hit in this house! You get caterpillars in the mail, yes LIVE caterpillars and then watch them grow. To cocoon. To butterfly!! This was totally my kind of pet because once they hatch, you let them go! :) Well, I guess you could keep them, but they had already got knocked off the mantel once by a flying stuffed animal (and secretly placed back on the mantle UPSIDE DOWN) so I think it was time for them to go be free.

If these butterflies survived the W house, they can survive anything!!!

2011-07-12T08:02:00.005-05:00

We did NOTHING for the 4th of July. No pictures of my kids in red, white and blue and blurry fireworks. Sorry! :)

We did go to the 4h fair in town. I feel like a hick typing that. I grew up in the suburbs and had NO IDEA what 4h was till we moved here. I still don't completely understand. We did get to see Galaxy Girl and her death defying stunts. I went to post a link to Galaxy Girl, but could not rationalize linking to a girl who was barely dressed. Believe me, I have become such a mom-I cringed at every stunt and have been trying to convince my daughter that if she became Galaxy Girl, I may have a heart attack.

We went to Chicago last week to visit our sweet friend. We were thankful they put up with our ornery mood and enjoyed our time with them as always. Below is the only picture I took. I know, sad. And yes, between us we have 10 kids-5 from adoption/foster. This includes kids from Ethiopia, Mexico, Columbia and Guatemala. We are such a site in public. :)

Now we are just doing summer again. All the kids are in Cross Country camp this week. It is such a great little camp and I love seeing them push themselves and gain confidence.

Oh yeah! I forgot I took pictures the other day! Yippie! :)

2011-07-02T21:38:00.012-05:00

random pictures of the past few weeks:

one of the last days walking to school. i miss my free mandatory exercise!

amazing lego creations!

playing in the sprinkler! never gets old on a hot day.

lazy days at the beach

great attempts of catching pictures of all children looking normal :) seriously. close to impossible.

kids picture. try #2. fail. again.

successful magic camp. magician now for hire.

splash park on cloudless days

really at this point? i should give up! J looks like a shadow! crazy how close in height they all are. T is really about the same as H, he was leaning down.

great time at the zoo with grammy and granddad. it was in the mid-90's and the kids barely complained. though they cannot smile for a picture to save their lives, they sure are good kids.

and last but not least, we went out tonight to catch lightning bugs. this is the first year my kids can stay up late enough for it to get dark. we live right on the border of central time, so it does not get dark will 10pm! they had a blast.

whew! summer is flying by!

2011-06-29T14:17:00.004-05:00

Random

-I love summer laundry. Biggest reason: NO SOCKS.

-The chore charts: almost lasted 2 weeks. I didn't make new ones this week and it is already off my radar. I am sure this is driving my husband crazy. Someday I will learn to follow through.

-Making this cake for small group dinner tonight. My house smells FABulous.

-I have sunburn on my ankles from the beach yesterday and no where else. I look so weird.

-I got to help unpack at my kids new school today. It was reminded how little I know about Montessori-the works on the shelves seem so random. But am excited for my kids to have a school that is not filled with mold and peely paint. And to keep gaining a love for learning and the world around them.

-Did you know peely is not a word? Do you know every day I have to look up definitions of words for my kids? I could not figure out how to explain the word gaudy to them. Harder then it seems. I now know the difference between city, town, village and hamlet. Yes a hamlet. My kids make me smarter.

-Here is a random picture for a random post. This was Saturday night dinner. I don't know where K was. Kids have random assortment of plates with random food. I don't think some even asked for the food on their plates, but hey if it was healthy, I was not going to complain. I even made a menu for meals this week and it just did not happen.

-That is all I have. I really need to blog more regularly so that you are not having to read about what we did or did not eat for dinner. So sad. :)

2011-06-28T20:29:00.004-05:00

Another day at the beach.

I think it is the only time I remember to get my camera out.

There was not a single cloud in the sky. Beautiful. Great waves to jump in. Lady bugs to be named and taken care of.

When we got there, I realized the elastic in A's bathing suit had gone bad. Her little butt kept hanging out, which kept us all laughing.

This summer has really been a lot of fun so far. The kids are at the best age (which I find myself saying at every age). We can go wherever whenever. No naps. Diapers. Easily entertained wherever we go because they always have each other around.

WE. LOVE. SUMMER.

2011-06-23T08:34:00.003-05:00

Summer is going F A S T.

B has been doing some extra math tutoring. T is at magic camp this week. Our basement flooded last Saturday. It has been hot as heck (J would be giving me a hard time for saying heck). Celebrating A's birthday. Reading lots of books. Lots of art.

I have hard such a hard time getting into a schedule this summer. Our house seems to be in a constant stage of mess. I never know what to make for meals. I cram too many things in one day and have nothing to do the next. I forgot how loud 5 kids are. How much mess they make. How much they fight. How exhausting they are.

BUT I have loved watching them play all day. Some of them have started blogging to work on typing and writing. Seeing how creative they are getting. How old they seem-the great questions they ask. How much they want to know about how the world works. (If H asks me one more time if we can go on a field trip to water works, yes the water treatment center, I am going to scream!!) :)

I will try and get some pictures soon and write some more about things we are doing.

Would love to hear what others are up to! Yeah for SUMMER! And some cooler weather. :)

2011-06-22T21:20:00.003-05:00

My baby is 6.

How did this happen?

It seems like just yesterday, we were waiting for her to show up. After having babies come 3 months early, it seemed FOREVER to have a baby show up 4 days late.

Sweet A, you have always been so loved. We were so hoping for a little girl and you are more then we could ever hope or ask for. You are smart, spunky, hilarious and full of life. You don't take no for an answer and thanks to your brothers, can hold your own against just about anyone. You have become an amazing reader this year, super jump roper and bring a smile to so many faces.

We love you A! Happy Birthday!

2011-06-17T12:27:00.002-05:00

IT'S SUMMER!

I have started to blog multiple times this week about multiple topics. Things I have been reading, articles or blogs I have read, things the kids and I have done, what summer break looks like. Yeah, none of them completed! OH WELL! :)

I wanted to post the below picture. We started chore charts this week to begin summer. I know, you are thinking, hello, your kids are old and it is SUMMER! But we needed some structure and I needed some help and desire for my kids to learn practical things! They really are not anything complicated at all. Really. Brush your teeth is one of them (but was something not getting done enough!). I was looking at the charts today and was laughing at how the difference in personalities comes out in something as simple as marking off your chart. Enjoy the below picture!

2011-06-11T13:36:00.003-05:00

I just finished the book Unbroken.

It is SO SO SO good. Best book I have read in a while.

It is such an unbelievable story, you will think it was made up. Many times in reading it, I had to remind myself it was a true story.

I feel like most things I have read on WWII have dealt this Europe and Nazi's. To read more about the Pacific side and Japan was fascinating.

I didn't want it to end. I read the last half slowly.

Please share if you have read anything good lately-I am always looking for something new!

2011-06-09T08:00:00.004-05:00

I love the beach.

My kids love the beach.

We could spend an entire day there and I would still have to drag them home.

It was 97 degrees yesterday so after school, I picked up the kids and we were off!

When we were looking to move here, people said "Oh, you will be close to Lake Michigan" to which I said "whoop-de-do". I figured all lakes were gross and yucky.

I am so glad to have been proved wrong all these years! It gets more and more fun every year as the kids get older.

Here are some of my favorites from yesterday. We didn't leave till 9. I think they are a bit tired at school today. :)

2011-06-07T15:42:00.002-05:00

Life is crazy busy.

3 more days of school. Yeah! I am ready for summer!

A got stitches on Sunday-5 on her chin. Poor thing. She fell on the playground. She was super brave and now holds the record for most stitches in the house! :)

It has been crazy hot. It is 96 degrees right now. COME ON! I think we are going to head to the beach after school tomorrow.

3 kids started piano. They are super cute, practicing a ton. I know it is new. Hope it sticks.

Hopefully I will get some pictures at the beach tomorrow. These kids are growing like weeds! I just bought A some new sandals and they are 2 sizes bigger the the tennis shoes she has been wearing. Whoops :)

2011-06-01T13:01:00.003-05:00

Random

-My kids have 7 more days of school. 7. Seems like everyone else is DONE. Oh well, it will be here before we know it. We have been planning all the things we want to do this summer-they come up with creative ideas. One actually asked to take a tour of the water treatment plant. No comment.

-I made my first ever angel food cake from scratch today! It smells wonderful and I am hoping tastes just as good as it smells. My aunt will be proud-she makes the best! I am hoping mine will rival!

-We are going to see someone tomorrow to get some help for J. No worries, just adoption/attachment stuff. Please be praying for us and J. We really want to be able to help him and give him some good coping skills.

-It is the most beautiful day today. Sun is shining, breeze. I love the days when it seems all is right with the world. It has been so crazy, I don't feel like I have taken the time to just stop and be.

-3 kids starts piano lessons this week. T,J and A. I have never taken piano, neither has K. The kids seems excited!

-I am making this for dinner tonight. It is simple, delicious and healthy (well, if you don't use the full amount of cheese!)

-Did you know if you have a gmail account you can make free phone calls in the US? We got rid of our home phone and I am finding this to be a great alternative!

-And to end this very very random post, here is a random picture of A and I. I cannot believe she will be SIX soon!!

2011-05-27T09:24:00.003-05:00

There were so many good speakers at the Orphan Summit this year. I went to breakouts on: human trafficking, attachment, holistic care for the poor, advocating as a busy mom and teaching you kids to have a heart for orphans. All were very good and spoke to heart in different ways.

The one I have been thinking about the most lately is Attachment. I feel like this is a word thrown around the adoption world, but really, can you define what it means? I know I thought I knew what it meant, but truly had NO idea. And still don't! We were made to be in relationships from day 1, so what happens what those relationship do not go as planned? When parents die? When we see trauma? When bonds are broken? What happens to the brain?

I am amazed how much they have learned about the human brain and how it works. Karyn Purvis was the speaker-she is very knowledgeable and gave lots of great ideas.

We have had a tough two weeks around the house, in dealing with the things mentioned above. B and J have been home almost 5 years. I have said this before, but when we adopted them, I thought we would have to 'work on attachment' for the first year or so. Oh no no no. How wrong I was!

We also had a mandatory foster care training this past Saturday on Crisis Intervention. It was right what we needed to hear. I think we mostly heard that K is good at keeping a level head, where I on the other hand, have very little patience and take everything personally! It can be so hard to show no emotion when your child is yelling things at you.

These weeks have been tough, but as I always say, I would not trade adopting them for anything in the whole world. Adoption has taught me more about my heart then I knew was possible.

2011-05-25T19:10:00.000-05:00

Things are finally slowing down a little around here.

We actually had time to just play in the sunshine the other night and I grabbed my camera. These kids are growing way too fast-I wish I was one of those people who had their camera attached to their hip, not missing a beat. Nope, not me.

I do love these pictures. They catch personality. Love. Sibling relationships. Free spirits. Oh how I love these kids to pieces.

And I tried to hard to get a picture of all the kids together. Epic fail. The best picture I got was the last one posted here. Oh well, maybe next time. :)

2011-05-19T09:37:00.003-05:00

I have not done any before and after's of 'this old house' lately. Probably because we still have a hole in our kitchen ceiling. :)

Here is the before of our deck. Beautiful, eh? It has been like this for the past 2 years (well the hot tub was there for a while) and we have just been too busy to get to it!

Before:
After:
We (meaning K) built the new deck, tore down the fence between the driveway and yard and re-seeded the whole yard.

Oh, I now love our little city yard!!!

I took video of the boys knocking the fence down. I need to post it-let's just say T trying to knock the fence down is laugh out loud funny!

2011-05-16T11:56:00.002-05:00

Today is beautiful.

Sun is shining, I was able to eat lunch and read my bible on my newly built deck (to be shared on another post-thanks sweet husband!).

This past week, I was lucky enough to attend the Orphan Summit with friends Kandace(she needs to start blogging!!), Chris and Danielle.

I was not sure what to expect-I don't often attend conferences and don't think I have ever attended one with out my husband attached to my side (okay, I am more of attached to HIS side, but you get the idea :).

What did I learn at the summit? SO much that will take me a lot of time to process.

One thing that was so refreshing was not feeling alone. Sometimes, advocating for orphans is a lonely job. The looks I get as I walk around with our 5 kids or mentioning that we are becoming foster parents or how proud I am that our church has sponsored orphans in India. I get tired of blank looks or even better, the look that I have grown a third eye and am losing it. Oh but not at the Summit. It was full of men and women who not only love God with all their hearts, but have captured his heart for the orphans. Oh how sweet it was not not feel alone.

Some of my favorite parts were learning of the Chalmer's Center and what they are doing to fight poverty with a Christian Worldview. I loved the interviews with families who are not just preaching this, but are living it. I loved worship with others, who hearts break daily for those who have no mom and no dad.

I was very convicted of how hard this road is too. We have recently been helping a woman who has no where to go. This is something K and I have talked about doing, just like we talk all the time about helping those in need. But putting it into practice? I never imagined it would be so hard. My heart is so much harder then I ever imagined. It brings back feelings of when B and J came home and how much harder it was then I ever thought it would be. But it also reminds me that if I truly believe what the bible says, this is the only way to live. Being stretched and pushed beyond my limits, to have to lean on Christ so closely when everyone around me thinks I have grown a third eye or second head. When I look at scripture and read God's word, this is the type of life I read about.

Hopefully I will write more as I continue to process the things I saw and heard.

For now, I am super thankful for a husband who lets me go away for 3 nights and never complains! :)

2011-05-07T11:39:00.002-05:00

My kids love to do art. Whether it is a project, drawing, making clues, there is constantly paper and markers out.

I was cleaning under the couch this morning and found this book T was working on. I couldn't help but laugh.

Incase you can't read the title, it is "The Adventure to Alaska P.S. Get Hairgel"

2011-05-06T15:17:00.003-05:00

It has been quite a week.

Between sickness in our house (meaning lack of sleep), extended family medical emergency (meaning extra kids around), working on the ceiling hole and helping a woman who has no where to go, it would be an understatement to say that the W's are being stretched.

BUT I am re-learning the great things that come from being stretched.

Renewed love for our family- having strength that only could come from the Lord-being reminded that love is NOT a feeling AT ALL, it is a CHOICE-that following God is the only way to go-seeing your spouse give and give and give and be so thankful that he is your other half-watching you kids worldview grow and their hearts grow as they are reminded once again of how much we have.

Let me get this straight-following God's and believing in Jesus does NOT make your life any easier. People still get sick, ceilings fall in, people ask for help.

BUT we aren't doing it on our own. I don't have to wonder where my strength will come from today. Or tomorrow. And the peace that comes from that is so so sweet.

Here's to a sunny friday!

2011-05-02T07:54:00.002-05:00

Hello world!

How is it May?!

I loved the picture below-it was finally sunny this weekend and I caught my boys sitting on the porch, reading and drawing. Super sweet.

We have just been living life.

Cooking (in the darkness of a kitchen with no light), cleaning (which is never ending in an 80 year old house), chasing kids around. Waiting ever so patiently for a foster care call.

I had to drag a screaming child into school today. Oh to be a stubborn 5 year old. :)

One of our favorite things lately has been watching old disney movies. There is nothing better! The Absent Minded Professor? The Parent Trap? Why don't they make wholesome movies like these any more!?!?!??

Happy Monday!

2011-04-24T13:18:00.004-05:00

I was cooking dinner last night and felt water drop on me.

Never a good thing.

Here is my kitchen ceiling.

I was scrubbing the floor last night for the 4th or 5th time and just told myself over and over again that half of the world would love to have running water and a floor that they could scrub.

Old House:1 W's:0

Are you seeing a trend? Didn't we lose against injuries last week? :)

Thanks goodness for friend who don't mind mold, yucky water and chunks of concrete falling on them. Yes, for some reason there is concrete in our ceiling.

It is now a huge hole, but I do not have enough energy to post a new picture.

HAPPY EASTER! Thank goodness houses are not eternal.

2011-04-23T15:37:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I am amazed at the growth in my children.

J came to us with a bald spot on the left side of his head-the doctor said it is a burn scar. It does not give him any pain and I don't think he even noticed it until a few years back.

We have had many conversations about it, discussing what might have happened. People have talked to me about stretching his scalp and 'fixing it'. But I have always felt it is just part of him, who he is. When he is older, if he wants to 'fix' it, he can. Or just keep his head shaved. :)

I just caught him talking to our neighbor outside and the neighbor was checking it out and I heard J say "Yeah, it's my scar. Isn't it cool? Some kids at school wish they had one just like it."

Oh be still my heart. I SO long for my children to see themselves through God's eyes-as beautifully and wonderfully made the way they are. To hear those words come out of his mouth almost brought tears to my eyes. Hearing him confident in who he is.

I also read today about a mother in Southern Ethiopia (same town my kids are from), who died in childbirth. It is a bit graphic, but I think needs to be read. This is reality. Everyday in parts of this world. This could have easily been my childrens life.

Love you J.

2011-04-20T14:18:00.003-05:00

We are offically licensed foster parents!!

Yippiiee! The kids cheered when I told them. :)

And now we wait.

The timing of this has been so neat. We have thought about doing this for a while, tried back in the fall to get into classes and it never worked out. When things started to fall in place this spring, we moved forward fairly quickly.

When our worker called to tell us we were licensed, she let us know she was a bit worried we would not get licensed. Indiana just passed a law saying that if you are a foster family, the max children (foster, bio, adopted) you can have in your house is 5. Yes, the amount of children we already had. Thank the LORD we slipped through and are licensed for ONE girl, 0-5. But if that goes to adoption down the road, we will be done as foster parents. If we had gotten our stuff finished even a week or so later, we would have missed out!!!

All that to say, yeah! Now we wait.....and wait......and wait for a phone call. :)

2011-04-18T09:00:00.003-05:00

When we picked this house, we knew we were not moving to the greatest neighborhood. Yeah, our house is big and old and pretty and cheap, BUT that is about it. :)

The statistics are not great. Our kids school has been on lockdown twice this year. And we live only two blocks away. It is a through street, so there are buses, police cars, fire trucks, tons of traffic. People often walk by. It is a busy place.

When we moved in, we were so thankful for our fenced in backyard. Our kids played there everyday and every once in a while, we would let them in the front, when we were out watching.

Over the past year or so, they have grown. More responsible, aware of their surroundings. And we have grown more comfortable. We know our neighbors. We wave to the police men and say hello to people getting off the bus and walking home. And our kids play out front. All the time.

It is amazing how something can seem so scary but when you take the time to invest, to get to know people, it becomes home.

I caught this picture out the front door late last week. It was a beautiful day and the kids were all sitting with the neighbor kid in the a circle. And it just made me smile, listening to their laughter under the sun as the cars flew by.

I love when things happen unexpectedly.

I am so glad we did not turn down this place because of what it looked like it would be. We would have missed out on so much.

2011-04-17T19:47:00.002-05:00

Random

-Two new delicious recipes this week. One was Apple Peanut Butter Pancakes which I stole off a friend from HS's blog. DELICIOUS! We loved these. The second was red beans and rice. Delicious, cheap, healthy (if you nix the bacon grease and use turkey sausage).

-I am so excited I get to go to the Orphan Summit this year!!! I have wanted to go the past few years but it has been too far away. Louisville is close enough this year! I am excited to be around people who have the same passion and love for orphans, excited to learn and worship! Yippiee!

-It snowed yesterday. After being 85 last Sunday. Darn Northern Indiana weather!!

-K is going to get to go to INDIA this July to see the orphanage our church sponsors. He and another guy from church are going and I am just super excited for what they will see and experience. Oh but for their sake, lets hope for a mild summer-temps are usually around 110-115 degrees. :)

-We have been working on our awful yard all week. Well, we means K and my neighbor. Oh it is looking good folks!! I will have to do some before and afters.

-No news on our foster care license going through yet. We are anxiously awaiting!

-K's parents are here this week. We always enjoy time with them and feel so lucky to have to great sets of parents who love us and our kids so much!

2011-04-15T20:01:00.001-05:00

In the past 36 hours, K has stepped on a rust nail and needed a tetanus shot, B and K both got burns from hot tea splattering and H got hit in the face by a frisbee at school.

Battle wounds: 4 W's: 0

I think we are locking ourselves in for the weekend. :)

2011-04-12T15:37:00.005-05:00

I know you are thinking "Really? That is something she really really wanted!?!"

YES! Any of you who drive with 5 kids on a regular basis (with some in booster/carseats) I bet are agreeing-fitting 7 people in a 7 passenger minivan was NOT cutting it. And if we are going to have foster kids in our house too??

So there she is. We are working on figuring out a name for her. The beast? Party wagon? :)

And really people, it is not that bad to drive. I was scared. Especially if you saw my driveway. We live in the city, on a busy street that only has parking on one side, and share a SINGLE lane driveway with our neighbor. It took me a good year to learn to back the minivan out! I posted a picture of the driveway below so you can picture me backing out.

Benefits of this big car-room for everyone, it has huge side mirrors-so convenient!, tons of space under the seats. AND I can actually carpool and have other people ride places with me. Do you know how exciting that is? All my friend with 1/2 kids will want to go do something and all jump in a car together, and there i am, left with my filled minivan. NOT ANYMORE! Yehaaaw! :) I am now wondering why we didn't do this earlier (oh that gas mileage, I am sure that is why).

I loved the guesses of what I got. I am allergic to dogs, so I would NOT be happy if my husband brought one home. We already have an Ipad, so no on the nook. A Lisa Leonard necklace would be nice, but I am not really a jewelry person. I wish I was!!

And it was good for my 'people pleasing' side of me to have a picture of me taken in my pajamas next to a huge fan. Seriously, the vain side of me shudders.

Hijacked Blog Post

2011-04-12T07:50:00.002-05:00

So, This is Keith (Shelley's husband)... I've hijacked her blog to simply post:

"Women who own and drive 12-passenger vans are babes!" Introducing Shelley's new (well, new to us and used in reality) Ford 12-passenger van.

2011-04-08T18:58:00.000-05:00

My husband bought me something I really really wanted.

Let the guessing begin!

2011-04-07T09:32:00.000-05:00

Yeah for Spring Break!

We are having a fabulous time with my family.

Our house backs up to the National Dune park (best backyard ever). We have spent time eating, celebrating birthdays, running around in dunes and beach, checking out the aquarium and museums.

Here are some favorite pictures-enjoy!

2011-04-06T21:43:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday J!

SEVEN! Seriously, seven? I cannot believe you are that old.

You are wise beyond your years and leave an impression on every person you meet. I will run into people who met you a year or two ago and they remember you and their interaction with you-amazing!

You are a leader and a comedian, with a heart of gold.

I know that huge things are planned for your life and I am thankful everyday (okay, most days!) that I get the privilege of being your mom.

We love you to the moon and back J!

2011-03-31T16:22:00.002-05:00

I am supposed to be packing.

We leave in less then 24 hours to spend a week with my fabulous family.

I have done nothing to get ready.

I have stacks of clothes in the hall and instead of packing them, I am taking pictures of H, bowling for Lego men in the hallway.

Love watching my kids be creative! :)