I Run From Bugs

I am trying to overcome this, but I am sure it is not helping my reputation as a "city girl"...(there is a funny story about me trying to meet some of my country neighbors at a yard sale and one elderly woman taking one look at me and saying "you must be from the city!") that whenever a bug buzzes me, I throw whatever is in my arms....shovel, hose, child...and run for cover as I am telling the girls to make no sudden movements :-)  I am thankful we don't have really close neighbors, but even so, I think the closest neighbors are close enough to enjoy a good show over me jumping around and running through my yard. 

We have what I like to call Tracker Jackers...you can google them as Cicada Killers if you like, though.  I tend to exaggerate things, but these wasps are huge...seriously.  I read that they seldom sting, but they like to intimidate and I certainly exude the smell of fear (or maybe the smell of a cicada...I should check my body wash) to them and am incredibly easy for them to intimidate...haha! So far, we have tried pouring boiling water down their burrows after dark (Brad made me hold the flashlight to find their holes...and I thought they would swam me and I would die because I was the one with the light...I live to blog another day, but so do they), tried to get rid of them with cans of bee and wasp killer (well, Brad has...I just stand at the window and point to where I see them as he is holding, not one, but two cans of the bug killer).  We were probably spending at least 10 dollars to kill one, because they are so hard to pin down with the spray.  So Brad invented a new game...it is really kind-of a red neck game and I am so proud of him.  I like to call it Tracker Jacker Tennis because he uses a tennis raquet to swat at them and then he sprays them as they are stunned on the ground.  Yet another two reasons why I picked him to marry...he is a genius and has the ability to make everything interesting.

So that is where I have been...a little obsessed with Tracker Jackers...aka Cicada Killers....trying to learn as much as I can about them and how to rid my garage and front porch of them.  Fun times!

Savannah and Danielle are doing a great job with the transitions into our home.  You probably noticed I am spelling their names differently now.  We had to sign some paperwork this week and part of it was to issue them/us their new birth certificates.  So, after we had discussed their names and what they wanted and what we would like to do...we all agreed to a couple changes to their names...Savanah is now Savannah Patience-Nicole Foster, and Danelle is now Danielle Elizabeth-Sophia Foster...we are very excited because now all we are waiting on is a signature from the judge and they can move in with us.  That will probably happen this week or next week.

We have our tough days...especially now that the excitement of meeting each other and the newness of it all (and the trip to Florida) is now transitioning into the reality that we are all becoming a real family and we will have to work hard to be a family.  Plus, Savannah and Danielle have been relocated several times and have not been consistently parented in I am not sure how long.  It is interesting to me how trauma and being moved around can affect children....there are all the negative things they have endured, but (when the pendulum shifted) then there are all the well-intentioned people, who out of compassion for what they had been through...gave them everything they wanted thinking it would help to make up for the past.  I totally understand the feelings of compassion, but I don't think the girls are used to being told "no"...it is difficult for them to accept that Brad and I are now their parents and for them to allow us to make decisions for them.  I pray all these things will be sorted out in time, but this summer is a time for me to teach and re-teach and re-teach the same lessons...it is a bit exhausting for me, but I pray that the intensity of the repetition of these lessons will allow for them to transition more quickly into an understanding of what it means to be a part of this family and to have parents who love them...but, not to expect to be given everything they desire instantaneously.  Please pray for Brad and I as we work with them and try to help them to work through some of these things and to have a healthy understanding of a family structure and a healthy understanding of love.

Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated!  God bless you!

Did you know Brad speaks Germanese?

He said something at the dinner table in Spanish and Kassi asked him if that was Germanese.  I just love the things they say sometimes.  We are trying to get settled back in after our Florida trip, but I totally lack motivation to really clean and put everything away...thus I am posting a blog today and trying to make up lots of other things to do this past week like make scrabble tiles with all our names on it for the family room wall and do silhouette drawings of all the girls...(I saw some at Disney and thought I would try my hand at it).  I think the ones I did look a little like cavemen or the evolutionary drawings, so maybe I should have purchased them at Disney...any other ideas?...quick...I need some more creative thoughts...anyone care to assist me in my avoidance measures?!!!  OK, tonight I will clean...I have to.  I have now promised the blogosphere!

Usually I post on all the great things that are happening, but this week has been hard.  I think everyone is tired and cranky, but with that and all the transitions that have and will be happening soon as the girls will be moving in with us for good have come some difficult questions about the future and we have had to define some boundaries that have not been met with much satisfaction... I guess that is the best way to put it.  Some decisions cannot be understood overnight, so it is our prayer that over time Danelle and Savanah will understand why certain decisions were made for them and they will be able to, with God's help, forgive and overcome. 

We talked to them during our trip to Florida and asked them if they would allow us to give them middle names that would be meaningful...something Brad and I would chose as a gift for them and as our prayer for them and their future.  Both girls have agreed to let us do this and so we have chosen Nicole (meaning, victorious) for Savanah and Sophia (meaning, wisdom) for Danelle.

Please join us in praying for them in these ways.  When I try to step into their shoes I wonder how I would have dealt with their circumstances at their ages.  Thank you again for your prayers!  I am off to start cleaning...where do I begin!?

UnANTiciplated, unpleasANT, and unwANTed

You got it, ANTS!  When we travelled through Georgia I had a craving for peaches...who wouldn't, I mean that is just a given!  So, there was a little fruit stand at a place we stopped on the way through Georgia and Brad picked up some peaches for all of us to enjoy.  We ate some of them and then we arrived at our hotel for the night and were excited to go for a swim, so in the unloading process we forgot to bring in the remaining peaches...they were left in our van in a plastic bag.

The next day when we went to pack up our stuff....our van was infested with little ants....you know those lines of ants you see marching around your yard....we had lines of ants in our van.  YIKES!  Of course, it was my fault because I was the one who suggested the peaches...forget the fact that everyone ate some...hey, that makes me feel a bit like Eve, I guess.  So our day of travelling was detained about two hours while Brad took the van for disinfestation detail.  FUN! 

BUT, we made it home, finally :-)  I think overall we were in the van for 53 hours and 13 minutes during our trip...but, who's counting? :-)  Savanah and Danelle wanted to just come home with us this time for good, but we still have to wait for some paperwork to be completed by the state and by a judge for them to move in with us.  Their caseworker thinks this will be accomplished either this week or next week.

Here is another answer to prayer I have not reported yet.  I had our polebarn listed on Craigslist because we have about 5 outbuildings on our property and there is no way we will need all of them.  I didn't know if I would get any bites on it since it would mean someone would have to take it apart and move it to their own property, but the day before we left for our Florida trip we sold it...so, now that we are back in town we have some extra money to start phase 2 of our plans for our home.  We will be beginning to work on both porches and the roof....YAY!  I was really hoping we could get this portion of the renovation completed before the winter....and it looks like we will be able to accomplish this.

We'll see 'em when we see 'em

The great colloquialisms of all time!!...I realized I said that to my girls tonight and thought it sounded a lot like something my mom and dad would have said to me when I was little and was pestering them about when something was about to begin....I was even tempted at one point to say, "if I told you once, I told you a thousand times"...but never actually let that one out of my mouth.  I always wondered what that really means anyway, but now I know.  Tonight it was about fireworks and we were all at Epcot touring around the world...waiting for the fireworks to begin...so we tried to say, "we'll see 'em when we see 'em", in as many different accents as we could think of....my favorites were Scottish, German and Australian. 


We had lots of fun with the girls today...this morning we went to Norway (at Epcot) and enjoyed Breakfast with all the Princesses...we are quite a spectacle on the move...it is funny how many people stop us to ask us if all the girls are ours :-)  Especially when they are all dressed up like Disney Princesses.  Here are a few pics from the morning.

Just so you know...I did not dress up like Snow White for the breakfast...that is an actual Disney Princess :-)  I know, people mistake me for her all the time.

McKenna (Ariel) finding her legs at Epcot...though it was so hot...she would have rather been in the water, I think.

Karly (Belle) I actually think I should have named her that.. it has a nice ring to it....so sorry, it is late and I have been at Epcot all day...forgive the pun!

Savanah (Cinderella) actually did lose a slipper on the stairs...how ironic.  Isn't she a drama queen?

Kassi (Rapunzel) a view from her tower...Ok, it was a short pillar, but you get the idea.

Danelle (Sleeping Beauty) catching up on some MUCH NEEDED rest :-)

I am learning that people don't really appreciate large families.  Every time we have to stop for a bathroom break somewhere...we form an instant long line to the ladies room...restaurants that have "kids eat free" specials hate us, and we just let the girls do some souvenir shopping and spend their own money and the store owners just look at us like..."are you kidding me!"..."we have to ring all these up separately?"  So fun!  I definitely have to get over my concerns about what others think or trying to "not make a scene" because we are way beyond that now.


We are having a lot of fun in Florida and, despite some Princesses not getting the proper amount of beauty sleep from time to time, I think the girls are having a great time too!  Both Savanah and Danelle have been calling Brad and I, dad and mom now....not exclusively...they still will alternate dad and mom with Heather and Brad, but still...it is becoming more natural for them.  We are so pleased they are feeling this level of comfort with us.  This trip is such a blessing for us!    


Happy Independence Day!!!

Time and Rubberbands

Sunday nights are becoming a good reflection time for considering the past week and thanking God for the joys I have experienced.  We were able to have Savanah and Danelle stay with us the whole weekend and I am learning that with 5 daughters there are a million requests for my time.  Can you read a book?  Will you play a game with us?  Can we swim?  Can we do manicures?....Can you make us a sign so we can open a hair salon in our room?...and many...many....many more requests.  On Saturday evening, Savanah asked me if I had time to braid her hair so it would be wavy for church on Sunday.  Any other time, I would have been tempted to say I had other things I needed to do.  I did have a list of things I wanted to try to get done that evening and I had a suspicion that braiding her hair would cause a chain reaction (If you know what I mean).  Sure enough, my suspicion proved to be correct and I ended up searching for enough rubberbands to braid 5 golden heads of hair.

Now comes the payoff story for the time I spent.  Today, Karly and Danelle were in the restroom at church and Karly asked a lady in the bathroom if she liked her hair and the lady reponded, "yes, who did it for you?" to which Karly responded, "my mom"...then Danelle asked the same lady if she liked her hair too...and the lady responded, "yes...and who did your hair?"  and she said, "my mom".  She hasn't actually referred to me this way yet, so I was quite surprised (and happy) to hear she had said that.  I have kind-of been thinking they would probably never call me "mom"...not because they hadn't yet because it is still early in our process of getting to know each other and bonding, but because they are old enough to have pretty strong attachments with their biological parents.  I will be surprised if she begins calling me "mom" regularly any time soon, but that gives me a sweet little hope that we may reach that point eventually.

God never stops surprising me!

Disney World or BUST!

We have been hoping and praying for the last month or so that we would be able to take the girls on vacation with us.  This year we have been preparing to take the girls on a Disney vacation because we felt they were a great age now to truly enjoy the experience.  A terrific family from our church is allowing us to use their timeshare and we had requested special permission for Danelle and Savanah to go with us, but there is always "red tape" and "hoops to jump through" and hoops made of red tape...yep, good luck jumping through those...they are pretty tricky.  They remind me a little bit of the obstacles on America's Ninja Warrior :-) The date we are supposed to leave is coming up pretty quickly and I was starting to wonder if we would ever get permission for this.  We had tried to keep the vacation a secret for some time so as not to cause heartbreak if it didn't work out, but it is incredibly hard, if not impossible, to keep a Disney trip a secret when there are a 4, 6, and 9 year old inside the "cone of silence"....so, word got out and we prayed harder.  The great news is that we got word today that they can come with us.  I am thrilled...(though it is always the 11th hour answered prayer)...God keeps testing my ability to be patient and wait on Him.

In a bible study I am involved in we are starting to study the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  The book takes the perspective that it was spoken more to the "older son" than the "younger son".  Although I believe it is packed with truth no matter where you find yourself and which brother you most closely identify yourself with, it has given me a lot to think about.  I have been given so many "robes, rings, and fattened calves"...Especially lately, I have just been seeing God's hand blessing us with one gift after another and this book has challenged me to understand that the "reward" that should mean the most to me is simply being with the Father, trusting Him, and loving others.  When I do this, He gives me so many more opportunities to be a witness for Him.  It is crazy how taking a step of faith and starting the adoption process has allowed us to share our story with others and, ultimately, be a witness of what God is doing...to give Him glory.

Here are a few new pics of the girls...we had a fun time last week doing nails, shopping, picking flowers...it was a very girlie-girl time...good bonding.

Thank you for your continued prayers!  We are so excited for what God has been doing, but we are also aware that there will be many challenges along the way as this family melds together and each takes on their own role as sisters...and mom and dad too.

The Irony!

Our short meetings with the girls have been going fabulously!  We have been to a softball game, horseback riding, playing frisbee in the yard, to a couple cookouts, and tonight we had a wii dance competition..Brad even made up brackets for it...haha! AND, the complete irony of it all is that out of all the girls dancing in the dance-off...who would you think would win?...BRAD!  I guess complete irony would have been if Kooper would have won, but Brad is a close second.

Something I have learned and am learning is that this process is changing me...for one, just knowing I am following a plan God has clearly laid out for me (as a part of this family) is so fulfilling...it has been a while since I have felt this much fulfillment in my spiritual walk and I have been enjoying this closer walk with God.  BUT, also, with us beginning to see the girls only for short blocks of time...we try to plan our time wisely and we try to spend a lot of time with them and working to bond in different ways.  I have been seeing my "mom" role in a slightly different light as I have realized I had not been making this kind of effort in my time with my girls previously and I see this as a refreshing opportunity to "renew my vows" of mothering.  This renewal is a gift...the complete irony is that just when you think you have really given God a terrific gift...you realize He has "thanked you" with a blessing that is better than the gift you just gave away.