Joy Dare Catch-up

Yesterday I got the kids pictures taken...not bad considering we did it quickly and the little boys are not the most cooperative at getting their pictures taken!

Now, I have not blogged about the Joy Dare since last Tuesday...what a catch-up to do!  But as this is the last day of May, I'm going to complete May's....now!

So...here goes...the prompts...and gifts which may or may not correspond!

23 (Wednesday) - 3 gifts found in community

1.  Acceptance

2.  Companionship

3.  free food.  :-)

**On this note, I met with this past year's MOPS table group at the park today along with our kids.  What a great time.  I will really miss this group next year!

24 (Thursday) - a gift in a plate, pot, package

1.  Hot Dogs

2.  Leftover Chili

3.  (cheap) Jeans I ordered that arrived*

*minor issue...not exactly the style I thought they were when I ordered them off clearance....they definitely need to go back!

25 (Friday) - 3 gifts hard giving thanks for

1.  Pain

2.  Illness

3.  Grief

26 (Saturday) - a gift worn, white, whispered

1.  a new skirt for the summer

2.  a meal out with Randy & friends (no kids, this time)...Yes, not white, but definitely a gift on Saturday!

3.  "I Love You, Mommy!"

27 (Sunday) - 3 gifts found in church

1.  Community Worship as Sunday was the community worship service I mentioned in a previous post.

2.  Singing together with others.

3.  hearing the Word of God, whether I like it or not.  :-)  This week I appreciated the focus on God's faithfulness to us in our community.

28 (Monday) - 3 gifts in Today's work

1.  The satisfaction of completing a task (despite the knowledge that it will need repeated nearly immediately)

2.  the pleasure of spending time with family

3.  heat and humidity (which makes days like today...the 31st...pure joy)

29 (Tuesday) - a gift at 8 am, 12 pm, 8 pm

1.  Laundry to fold (we have plenty of clothes)

2.  Spending time with Miss Laura and Zach

3.  Bedtime for kids, a quiet hour and a book for me.

30 (Wednesday) - 3 gifts blue

1.  My Boys (see photo)

2.  one of the 2 remaining "sippy" cups in our house

3.  my favorite (denim) jacket

**Also, being able to go to see the surgeon with Randy.  Back surgery is scheduled for later this month.

31 (Thursday) - 3 gifts you gave today.  Well, I don't know about gifts I gave....never was much for introspective questions!  But gifts from God today...

1.  A beautiful day, no humidity, perfect temperatures, down right lovely!

2.  As mentioned, time with my MOPS group

3.  Time alone with Josiah, even if it was at the orthodontist.

**Braces scheduled for July.

Memorial Day Evening

Did not realize how long it's been since I posted.  I have a feeling I may be posting rather sporadically during the summer months.  Some random thoughts...

• I don't like heat and humidity any better this year than last year!
• It is rather hot and humid!
• We needed to get out all the fans (no a/c here) this weekend.
• Sunday morning we went to the Community Worship Service.  I love this service where we worship with other local believers from assorted denominations.  Every year our small town has "Community Days" on Memorial Day weekend and this is part of it.
• We watched fireworks on Sunday night (close of Community Days).  They were put off early due to thunderstorms rolling in.  Got finished just in time.  It was different seeing fireworks against black storm clouds instead of the night sky.
• Saturday night Randy & I got to go out for dinner without the kids (we swap babysitting with another couple).  We took some friends along and had a lovely meal.  Then we did some errands.
• Today I made strawberry jelly, did lots of laundry.  
• Randy was here for most of the day.  
• We found a used bike for the little boys since their's broke.  It'd be nice to find one more yet so they wouldn't have to share.  By next year that will be a must!
• Randy went to work, the rest of us went to my mom & dad's for supper.  Several of my siblings (& their kids) were there...always nice to catch up!
• Still hot and humid.
• Micah is having sleep issues again at naptime and bedtime...driving me crazy!  I get tense just thinking about it.  :-)  What's so hard about laying in bed and falling asleep?!
• We have a busy week....I'll try to come back and catch up on the Joy Dare before May gets away from me!

Surgery for Micah & other random thoughts

Micah had surgery to put tubes in his ears this morning.  It did not take long and went fine.  He seems back to normal already.

I'm reading novels by Dee Henderson (again).

Finishing up folding & putting away laundry from yesterday and washing some bedding today.

Grilled cheese for supper...unless I change my mind.

Joy Dare Catch-up - Prompts:
19 - 3 gifts from your childhood
20 - a gift sweet, sour, salty
21 - 3 gifts found in little people
22 - 3 gifts that made you laugh.
That makes 12:

1.  a little boy snuggling with me.
2.  light in a child's eyes
3.  that sweet, "up-to-something" grin
4.  Chocolate covered pretzels
5.  A lovely dark chocolate bar...just for me from my secret sister at church.
6.  hard pretzels
7.  only one more day to pack school lunches
8.  the anticipation of having the kids home for the summer
9.  long eye lashes on an adorable baby
10.  the joy of a wedding
11.  the pleasure of spending time with friends
12.  the children playing (nicely) with their friends
and for good measure:
13.  Bare feet (even if they're dirty).  :-)

This past weekend Randy got home on Saturday morning.  We took the kids to mom's and Randy & I attended a wedding.  Beautiful, but quite emotional as the groom had lost his wife to a brain tumor 4 years ago and has 3 children.  The pastor did a phenomenal job.  Sunday we went to church in the morning.  In the afternoon Randy & the 4 older ones went to play softball/play on the playground.  In the evening we relaxed with friends while celebrating a 16th birthday party.  The weather was beautiful all weekend.

Friday Night

and I should go to bed soon.

Joy Dare prompt for today - 3 gifts unexpected - but I'm thing of other things:

• Coffee, Chocolate, and God's Word
• Good results from the x-rays of Autumn's foot (no injury, just growing pains/overuse)
• kicking a couple of soccer balls with some little boys
• the girls' help cleaning up the kitchen and living room tonight.

This and That

Joy Dare for today - a gift in a box, a bag, a book....or whatever else I decide!

• a visit with friends/cousins and their children...including 2 babies that I got to meet for the first time!
• a doctor appointment available "same day"
• a gorgeous day with low humidity and sunshine

Josiah has pink eye.

Randy is being referred to a surgeon because of his back issues which result in leg and hip pain.

Autumn is having pain in the area of her achilles tendon so we're going to have that checked tomorrow.

I guess when it rains it pours!  Hopefully we can all start feeling well before our crazy summer.

5 more days of school.

Joy Dare Catch-Up and other notes

May 12 - 3gifts held in hand
May 13 - 3 gifts found in your mother
May 14 - a gift picked up, put away, put back
May 15 - 3 gifts about you
May 16 - 3 gifts found in His Word.

Okay.  Those are the prompts for today and the past several...5x3=15.

1. Amoxicillin
2. Roses
3. Laundry all put away before beginning again (I rarely accomplish it...when it happens, it's awesome!)
4. Laundry - which means we have plenty of clothes.
5. Pizza in the freezer for when I don't have the energy to cook
6. a box of food from a friend
7. a babysitter that became available at the last minute (sparing me from taking all the boys to speech this morning)
8. clean floors
9. neighbors
10. my mom's energy
11. my mom's ability to cut hair
12. my mom's availability to babysit (particularly this weekend while we attend a wedding
13. John 17:5 - [Jesus speaking] - "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."  Jesus was not just a man or a good moral teacher.  The choices are only God or a liar or a lunatic.
14. John 16:33 - [Jesus speaking] - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."  Can't be more clear then that...Jesus does not promise a trouble-free life.  But he does offer peace with God for all of eternity.
15. John 15:17 - [Jesus speaking] - "This is my command:  Love one another."  One of the "easy" (but hard to do) answers  to the question, "what is God's will for my life?"  Love God's people!  Practically, that means those believers within your circles....of course there are other verses about loving your enemies and all people as well...but here specifically it relates to the circle of believers.

In other news:

• I started to read "Gulliver's Travels" at speech this morning but couldn't get into it.  Maybe I'll try again next week.
• Josiah is at a friend's house overnight.  I always miss anyone who is gone...
• I should be sleeping instead.  If I'm not going to be sleeping, I should be folding laundry.  If I'm not going to be folding laundry, I should wash some dishes.
• I think I'll go to bed!

National Foster Care Month

May is "National Foster Care Month".  I'm sure at sometime in the past I wrote about why we did foster care and thought that this year I'd just write down my thoughts about it.  But in looking back, I can't find where I wrote about it.  Perhaps I incorporated it in adoption thoughts blog posts.  So today I'm doing a random list...about us and foster care and foster care in general as far as we've experienced it and/or read about it and/or our friends have experienced it.  Very random.

• We got into Foster Care as a way to adopt another child...to care for a child who did not have a safe home.
• We initially said we would "NEVER" do foster care as we couldn't bear to give a child back to a situation we deemed unsafe.
• Adoption is very expensive, foster care is not....financially, that is.  It is rather expensive emotionally and mentally!
• For myself, I prayed for compassion for the birth parents (who knows what I'd be like in the same circumstances).  And God answered!
• To often, foster-to-adopt parents see birth parents as obstacles to adopting their child.
• Reading blogs about kids who grew up in foster care can be very, very disturbing!
• There are a lot of bad foster parents who give all of them a bad name!
• I know lots of GREAT foster parents, who want what's best for the child, who are not "in it for the money", who love their foster child(ren) like crazy!
• I do not know how much money it would take to make it worth "doing it for the money"...I got less then $1/hour....I could work at McDonald's for a lot less stress and more money, and nights off duty. It is totally worth doing...but not for the money!
• The caseworker and judge assigned to the child can make all the difference in the world.
• Everyone...EVERYONE...makes decisions based on biases and assumptions.  Some caseworkers believe that every child is better off with a birth parent (regardless of situation) and will work that way.  Other caseworkers are better at looking at things more impartially....but everyone tends to be biased in some way and by some presumptions.
• Things changed based on whatever seminars the caseworkers recently attended and/or national trends and/or news stories.
• The point of foster care is that it should be temporary and the goal is (nearly) always "reunify with parents".
• If my kids were "taken", I would want every opportunity to get them back.
• The system is not so broken as the people that make up the system.  I have yet to have anyone tell me a better way of doing things...but perhaps there is something out there.
• Many people lie.  You become jaded and skeptical very fast.
• Some people should NEVER have their kids....and there are lots of families willing to take them in.
• Bouncing kids back and forth is not helpful to bonding.
• It can be very hard to be part of a system in which you don't know who is lying.  Who is just saying whatever you want to get you off their backs about something.
• I should've pushed the caseworkers to get Zach's behavioral issues evaluated younger.  But on the other hand, since we waited...I got to choose who he saw.
• Foster parents have no status legally.  They cannot sign anything.  Kids are "Wards of the State".  That should be for as brief a period as possible!
• There are lot of really great, dedicated people as "part of the system"....and there are a lot of people who are not!
• The State you are in makes a difference.  The County you are in also makes a difference.  If you work with an agency instead of directly with the county, the agency you work with makes a big difference!
• Every caseworker etc. has a supervisor who has certain biases, and so on and so forth.
• Foster Care is not for everyone.
• There is a HUGE need for people willing to foster (and/or adopt and/or become legal guardians if child is not interested in adoption) for older kids.  But it's a huge, huge challenge!  Same goes for kids with major medical issues.  Check out www.adoptUSkids.org to see the list of kids waiting....many with severe physical, mental, or emotional issues.
• I found Foster Care very challenging emotionally...and I had "easy" cases!
• Consider calling kids by their name and saying "they are staying with us right now" instead of calling them a "foster child"...who wants that label?!
• I do not understand why we were able to adopt the 3 kids we fostered, while some childless people who would love to adopt had hard case after hard case and difficulty ever adopting a child.  Life is hard.
• It was worth doing, and I'd do it again.  Our experience (and our friends' experiences) changed me...I hate to think of what I'd be like without it.  God definitely had his hand in this!
• And every other foster parent would have a whole list to add!

Okay, if you're still reading...congratulations!  And if you know any great foster parents!  Tell them they're doing a great job!  :-)  And if you are one...."Do not grow weary in doing well!  You are doing a great job!"

Sunday

Quick note...and then I need to check on Micah again.  The last time I left him alone for a little he got into Josiah's room and found a Sharpie.  Now I need to find my Magic Eraser!

Micah woke up with pink-eye so he and I are home from church.  I was rather disappointed as our pastor is being ordained today and we are celebrating that and his graduation from STEP (a 3-year training program).  But we've had a lovely morning, just Micah and I.  We took 2 walks, one to the creek to see the ducks and one around the block.

I'm making waffles with turkey gravy for lunch and need to go start that in about 10 minutes or so.

While watching him play, I finished "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  Very thought-provoking and challenging!

Alright...I'm going to check on the boy...will be back later....

It's a beautiful Friday!

The sun is shining.  No humidity.  Gentle Breeze.  Beautiful!

Joy Dare...I'm not doing very well at keeping updated daily like I hoped...

Wednesday - May 9 - 3 gifts found in the dark

• The moon...particularly a little sliver or full
• Stars on a clear night
• the insects' night noises

Thursday - May 10 - 3 gifts outside, inside, upside down

• The book "Inside, Outside, Upside Down"
• The vibrant colors of the rhododendrons and azaleas
• Looking out my kitchen windows at the largest tree on our property...the yellow-green leaves dancing in the breeze

Friday - May 11 - 3 gifts about your parents

• Gracious
• Encouraging
• Available

I've been reading assorted books recently..."Erasing Hell" by Francis Chan, "Othello" by Shakespeare (not quite sure of the point, and old english is a bit challenging...but I think pretty much everyone ended up dead!), assorted Christian fiction books that I could find for free for my Kindle...none worth mentioning!  I am enjoying Francis Chan's books...very thought-provoking.  Next on my list is his book "Crazy Love".

Now to go work on the kitchen while the boys nap/rest....Have a lovely weekend if I'm not back on here before then!

Joy Dare & Tuesday

Today is Autumn's birthday.  By the time this posts, she will have opened our gifts to her (3 is our tradition, although sometimes several small things are packaged together into 1) and eaten her cake.  And hopefully I will have remembered to take photos.  So far she has enjoyed her birthday...Saturday Grammy took her shopping and she picked out a cute pair of flip flops and a whiteboard/corkboard combo for her room.  Sunday Grandpa & Grandma dropped off her gift...a white/lime green volley ball, pack of m&ms, and 20 questions electronic guessing game.

Joy Dare for today - 3 gifts inside a closet.

• coats.  We all have coats to wear.
• games.  We enjoy playing games, although with all the little ones we don't as much as perhaps some of the kids would like.  Currently our favorites are:  Apples-to-Apples, Blokus, and Othello
• My bags...love my bags...different ones for different purposes....  :-)

Zach had therapy today.  Thankfully it went well as his sensory system has seemed rather out-of-wack here of late.  He is especially sensitive to light touch but craves deep pressure (crashing into things, etc.).  Therapy went great and I think he's more even keeled since then.  Because of his issues this morning, I didn't get the cake baked before we left like I had planned.  I baked it when I got home and now it is cooling.  I'm hoping it's cool enough to frost & decorate before the kids get home from school as Autumn has plans to make cupcakes to take to school for a birthday snack.  We had planned for her to take them today but I was out of cream cheese so had to push it off a day.

double didgets

Autumn is 10!  Happy Birthday to our oldest, beautiful daughter!

This Easter

At the cabin, possibly '09.

Spring '10 or '11.

Holding Mark...Oct. '08

So grown up already...

Monday

I like to stay home on Mondays...but the shortage of eggs and milk in this house necessitated that I go out.  So this morning we went to the discount grocery store, the discount egg place, and my sister's house for tea.

Joy Dare Catch-up.
May 5 - a gift in a sign, a smile, a snack

• sign...no idea!  But it was a beautiful day, truly a gift!
• a smile....I just love those beautiful smiles from my beautiful kids...
• a snack...homemade ice cream with toppings before bedtime in the company of neighbors and around the campfire.

May 6 - 3 gifts found in Christ.  I think we've done this before.  And I can't remember what I put to put something different.

• Okay, this one is not "in Christ", but I got a full night's sleep with no little interruptions...that very rarely happens.
• Comfort in time of trouble.
• Forgiveness...for myself, and in turn to extend to others...and the grace to do so.

Today, May 7 - 3 gifts about your home.

• my spacious kitchen
• the garage (having been without one until almost 5 years ago, it's so nice to have!)
• The warm, cozy feel I get when I'm home (unless it's to cluttered and I get the frustrated, grumpy feel).  :-)

And now....back to Easter Sunday morning and our attempts to take a family photo:

All the kids.

Sisters

Brothers

Back to Good Friday

Some photos of the kids painting and dying eggs for Easter.  We usually enjoy this tradition on Good Friday.

 Joy Dare for today - 3 gifts before 9:00 a.m.

 1.  coffee with chocolate caramel creamer

 2.  Smiles from my children

 3.  listening again to the album "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman

Trouble

This goes back a month or so....I heard the sound of something hitting the floor, and found Micah dropping spaghetti and saying "boom boom".  Um...yeah.  These little guys of mine are constantly getting into things and finding ways to get to stuff we thought we had securely stashed!  Very ingenious!  :-)

Another "stay-at-home" day

Seem we have a lot of those right now!  I think tomorrow I might go to the post office to get our mail and mail some stuff...Mark is pretty much over the hand-foot-mouth thing.  Micah's almost over it.  Zach is getting the worst case of it as he also has fever and managed to get pink-eye also so he's rather miserable.

I'm trying to stay more on top of the Joy Dare this month then I did last month.  Today:  3 gifts found in difficult people...hmm...do I know any difficult people?!  :-)

• personal character growth!
• a chance to practice mercy
• seeing God supernaturally work in me when I have the patience to deal with them...because trust me, it does not come naturally for me!

The kids are down to the last 3 weeks of school so I'm starting to think about summer plans (in no particular order):

• dentist appointments (we do check-ups every 6 months...and I try to have some of those in the summer so we don't need to miss to much school)
• orthodontic appointments
• eye doctor appointments (if I decide anyone needs them)
• Physicals if needed
• Summer camp for the girls
• Swimming lessons for Zach and Janae
• a family camping trip to Maine and New Hampshire and the Poconos
• Tending the garden
• Mowing
• playing at parks with friends
• visiting with the boys' biological siblings family
• pictures - I usually do the kids pictures over the summer instead of paying for school photos...better selection and cheaper!
• our annual beach trip
• weeding the flower beds
• annual Transport for Christ Truck Rally event
• Freezing and canning.
• And the normal therapies:  speech, occupational, attachment/trauma

I may need to send them back to school so I can rest!  :-)  Can't believe that next year I will have a 7th grader, 5th grader, and 2nd grader.  (I'm obviously getting old!)  We are choosing to hold Zach for another year.  He turns 5 during the summer and the school recommends that boys with summer birthdays wait until they are 6.  That coupled with his behavioral challenges has convinced us that it is best to keep working with him at home and with his therapists for another year.  Then the 3 boys will go back-to-back-to-back years...so I'll have a kindergartner for 3 years straight.

Wednesday

Only Wednesday?  My schedule is fairly cleared this week because of this hand-foot-mouth thing...a very common but annoying virus!

 Today the boys and I (and my favorite 15-year-old babysitter) attended the adoption of the boys' biological brother.  How great to be there to celebrate with them!  I have photos...but since it involves someone else's children, I won't post them.

My house was cleaned this morning by my sweet friend.

 There's a beautiful creek beside the place where Zach goes for therapy.

Another friend was diagnosed with cancer today....not ready to walk this road again...but life doesn't wait for us to be "ready" for anything.

Joy Dare for today - 3 gifts flat

 1.  Paper

 2.  My Bible is flat when it's laid down.  The scriptures are such a source of comfort to me.

3.  Flooring in our house....much handier then dirt or raw boards!

This picture does not do justice to the way this tree looked against the blue sky on Sunday.

 Josiah posing for the camera....on Autumn's bike.

 Autumn with the new bike she bought with money saved up.

Zach took this photo of Randy & I