how our foster care journey began

I would love to just copy and past my blog post about how our foster care journey began, but for some reason, blogger won't let me paste anything. I had some quiet time today, and was thinking about how this journey all began for us. Click here to read our journey. It is on my private blog, and if you would like to read it, please send me a message or e-mail, and I will send you an invite to my blog.

Here is one more where I announced "we are expecting".....and now, 6 foster kids later and 2 adoptions coming up, I really enjoyed getting to read these posts, and I hope you do too.

If anyone ever wants to ask me questions about fostering and adoption, please ask me!

Fine Arts Night at school

Thursday night was Fine Arts night at the kid's school. This was their time to show off what they have been doing in Art and Music. They have had a Literacy night and Math and Science night, but this one was my favorite. It was a good distraction, as that afternoon, our foster daughter M left to live with her grandma. We'd known she wouldn't be here long, but it was a surprise, b/c we thought it would be around a month longer before she left, so we were all really sad to see her go. I will talk about that more later on my other blog. Luckily, our parents had planned on coming up for the program, and they were the perfect distraction for everyone.

Rachel couldn't find which one was hers b/c her name was on the back, so I just had her pose with the artwork from her class.

Leah posing with her Starry Night
Each class also had a group art project...there was some really cool stuff, and they had it for the parents to bid on to raise money for the school. What a neat idea! This was Leah's class. They had to do words of things they loved....Leah chose Spongebob...oh good grief girl!

This was Rachel's class...their fingerprints are razorbacks!

This is from Noah's class...and I want to get me one of these boards to hang by the door

Noah with his fish

I thought his scuba man was a cute touch

Then the kids all performed songs outside from Disney Movies. Rachel's class sang "Just can't wait to be King", Noah's class sang "Supercalafragalisticespealadocious" (o.k..I did not check to see if I spelled that right...I just guessed at it!) and "Let's Go Fly a Kite". They all made kites....his had Star Wars characters drawn on it.

Leah's class sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". Their class skipped away at the end of the song

And here we are! It was so great to have our family with us!

Christian laughing

I took about 5 videos, trying to get one where you couldn't hear other background noise, but decided this one was the best....so ignore Noah running around making his own noise, and then Zach getting mad right at the end. That is just our house. :)

Makayla's birthday

We surprised her the day before her birthday with her party....we weren't sure what the plans would be the next day, (visit with her parents at DHS). We came home from school and got everything ready before we picked her up from school. She was so excited, and very surprised.

Zachariah was mad b/c he had to come in from playing for the party
She is such a happy little girl. She gets excited over everything, and is very grateful too.

She had been asking for Legos b/c Noah never lets her play with his....so she said she wanted her own set

Now he is having a meltdown b/c he "sees" cupcakes. He had to eventually be taken to his bed for a timeout b/c he was ruining the party with his tantrums.

I was going to make her a cake, but ran out of time, so I picked up these cupcakes....she didn't seem to care

She told me later, "thank you Mrs. Maury....that was the best party ever!" I hope it was a good one for her. We tried hard to make it special. I am sure it was hard on her being away from her family on her special day.

She was so funny...she woke up on her birthday and literally thought she had grown over night. She said she could reach things she used to couldn't, wondered if her shoes would still fit, and told EVERYONE she saw that day that she is now 5. She is quite the charmer. She got a lady at the big kid's school to smile that I have never seen act very friendly.

She did have a party at the DHS office, so I was glad I did the one here the day before b/c the visit was last minute, and right after school. She ended having her parents, grandma, some aunts, uncles, and cousins there. I thought it was great so many were there. My only complaint would be that they only let her keep a few of her toys....and took the rest to her grandma's house. Then told her don't worry....she would get to spend the night in 8 days, and have all her toys then. When, in fact, it will probably be a month or longer. I don't know if they are just misunderstanding the process, or what...but this little girl is smart, and even though I have told her a few times that it will be longer than they told her, Sunday, she asked if she had just 5 more days until she would spend the night with her grandma. I knew she was counting down in her head. I called the caseworker and told her that was wrong of the family to be doing that to her...b/c it makes her very anxious, and brings on un-needed disappointment. Who knows if the judge will even allow it anyway. Give a child toys, and then not let her keep them...that is not very nice. I wonder if they just think they will get lost here, or we won't take care of them....I can understand them feeling that way...b/c they don't know me. But...don't even give them to her yet if you aren't going to let her keep them!

Birthday cards

Last week was our newest daughter's 5th birthday. I have never seen a more excited birthday girl!! The big kids all made her a card...unprompted, and I was proud of what they did! Noah made the one with the yellow 5, and then I guess Rachel thought that was a good idea. :)

I am SO proud of how far Rachel has come with her writing skills this year. She couldn't even spell anything at the beginning of the year, and it was pulling teeth to get her to copy just one sentence. Now look! She is a writing machine! She says she loves to write, and told me she needs a notebook for this summer so she can write all the time. I am so proud of all her hard work.
This one is from Leah. She doesn't really enjoy writing, but she is an awesome speller, and puts a lot of time into everything she does.

To see more of M's birthday, check out my other blog www.blessingsforthegoodlife.blogspot.com

Sweet girls

I forgot to included these photos in our Saturday of fun. While Noah was hard at work on his clubhouse, the girls were on the trampoline "telling secrets". These 3....I don't imagine there was really much secret telling, but they looked cute anyway!! I think I have mentioned our neighbor before. She is the sweetest girl. She is in the 4th grade, that age where they begin to get "too cool". But she isn't. She is always so kind to ALL of my children. Every baby we have had, former fosters that come to visit, friends, and our newest little girl. She is always so nice and patient with them. She is always the oldest, but you wouldn't know it. She loves my babies, and is always happy when Z comes out to play. We will probably be moving soon, and I know that she is what I will miss the most. She is the first girl that my girls have had to play with, usually our neighbors are all boys. She always waves and smiles really big when I see her at school. My girls just love her.

This was the scene I saw from the window when I went inside....too cute!

Saturday of imagination and fun

Last Saturday was a beautiful day, and I loaded these pictures quickly, and then forgot to finish my post.

Clay has started his garden this year, and has put a lot into it. He tried just growing in pots last year, and that didn't do too well. The veggies also didn't fare well with the bunnies and squirrels last year so he put a little fence around. I am anxious to see what we get this year.

Clay and Noah got the yard cleaned up, and then Noah got to work creating a new club house.
His hair is really getting long. I keep wanting to cut it, but he wants it to keep growing. That is how all the kids at school are wearing their hair.

You gotta have a fake snake to protect your clubhouse.

and a teepee

Loved the hat and fly swatter hanging up

an old license plate, and a decoration made out of an old bird feeder and a water sprayer

got their St Pat's day beads and a gatoraid container of water

and lots of friends, hard at work sweeping and raking the dirt.

Aint it fun to be a kid?