Busy Busy Busy..

Things have been going great here in our house, but it's been super busy! Sometimes I stop and think I can't do it all, with three kids, two social workers, 5 therapist... But I'm learning to let go of the small things.  My house wont always be clean, I can't always cook a entire meal fresh or from scratch, and I'm getting okay with it!
The kids are doing great here is a little update on them...

Soley- Soley is such a sweet loving girl, she is growing up so fast right before my eyes.  Some days I feel like taking on our new children has been the best thing we could have done for her, and others I worry that it might have been to much. She loves her brother and sister. She had a rough start with Jalen but they now play together and really are starting to enjoy each other, that is not with out saying that they are still brother and sister and at any moment could pull each others hair out.  But those moments are getting fewer.  Soley has such a huge place in her heart with Mya! She loves that girl more then life it's self.  Soley can make her laugh bigger and louder then anyone. There relationship is very special.  Just the other day we were driving to Mya's vist (to see her dad) (it's a long drive, 40 min one way) and soley said... Mama, where did I used to do my visits with my real dad when I was little.  You know those moments where you can't breath and you feel your heart stop, this was one of those.  My eyes welled up with tears and I giggled a little at the same time.  My sweet baby has so much going on in her little head, and she is trying to figure it all out.  So I came to the conclusion that I could no longer give her the basic story of what's been going on. Now I did not go into detail and embellished a little so that I could help her understand what I wanted her to get.  So I said... Soley daddy is your real daddy. Mya and Jalens mommies and daddys did not make good choices and they don't know how to be a good mommy and daddy so therefore they need to learn to make better choices and how to be a mom and dad.  And when they do, we will have to let them go back with them, and if they can't learn then they will stay with us.  WOW, that's a lot... And I asked her if she had any other questions and she said no she understood. So we will see! Soley is still taking Ballet and Gymnastics, she loves it and looks forward to it every week! She is in a recital in May, they are dancing to Beach Blanket Bingo! She is doing so well in preschool and knows all her letters, numbers, shapes, and can write her first and last name.  She loves learning and is such a smart little girl.  She thinks very logically.  We are looking into schools for her for this up coming year or for Kindergarten, we are defiantly going to send her to a Classical Education School, which I am very excited about.  There are really only three in Louisville and we have ruled one out.  One offers a pre-k so if we choose that one she will go there starting in the fall.

Jalen- My sweet Jalen, he at times can be the most loving boy in the entire world, and at other moments he can deify you like no other! It's such a privilege to have a boy! For anyone who has girls they are so different! Jalen is adjusting so well! He has good days and bad days, but the progress that he has made is amazing! He is such a smart little boy he talks up a storm (18 months on April 9) He knows all his signs and will attempt to say any word you ask him, my favorite new word is Jesus.  Jalen will now hold our hands at dinner to pray and always raises his hands up afterwords to say amen, very cute.  His case is still very much up in the air, I thought that by now there would be no way he would be going back but after meeting with his social worker this month, they are maybe going to start visit back with mom and allow her to leave jail to see him and then go back! (YES INSANE!!!) He has not seen anyone in over 5 months now.  I have really come to peace with our foster care issues as I know God is in control! SO we plan like they are here forever and take it day by day.  I just signed Jalen up for preschool in the fall.  We decided to send him to a very AMAZING preschool around Louisville because they also double as a therapeutic preschool.  So there ratios are a maximum of 1-4 with three teachers in every room (2's are 10-3) and one teacher has her masters in Education and one teacher is a certified OT, DI etc... It's not a Christian school so I was a little worried about that, but it offers so much and is such a amazing school that we knew it was a perfect fit for him! So he will start in the fall.  Jalen is a big boy, he wears 24-2t clothes, weighs almost 26 pounds, but he is short for his age.  I know dad is over 6 feet but mom is like 5'3 so we will see :) He
has the blondest hair you have ever seen!

Mya- Our precious girl is doing amazing! She is tiny as can be... Weighs around 15 pounds and is such a peanut! She has been in first steps for about 3 months now and it's going great! Her speech is still a little behind but she is caught up or ahead on everything else.  She wants to walk so bad and is such a climber! She has been crawling up the stairs, dishwasher tables chairs, anything for months.  She is eating anything and everything and still takes her bottle very well! Her sleep is still pretty bad and up 3-4 times a night. She still visits weekly with her dad, and her case is still in limbo.

6 Months...

Can you believe it? Yes 6 months ago today, at 4:30 pm we welcomed baby Mya into our home! Sometimes it seems like a whirl wind that 6 months ago we were parents to one 3 year old and now we have 3 kids 3 and under! With that said I wanted to recap that wonderful day 6 months ago.

It was a regular Monday morning Soley and I were playing at the park with My friend Dan and his little boy Rolfe.  After an hour or so of playing we headed back to our car to pack up and go, before I was out of the parking lot my phone rang, it was our social worker.  She said that they had a little baby girl named Mya who they were searching for a home for and would we be interested, I immediately said yes, or worker told me to call Jon and confirm but I proceeded to tell her that we were taking her anyways, lol.  I did call Jon and we both decided that we would take her.  Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine all that would come from one simple yes.
Soley and I spent the day running errands, getting a new car seat, pulling out Soley's old clothes (keep in mind all we knew was that she was a she and she was 3 months old, and obviously a little other facts that we don't disclose)  I called both my parents, in laws and brother and sister in law, and told them.  Each and every single one of them were so excited and were praying for our journey before it had begun.  Around 4pm I got a call saying that they had found Mya and they were on there way.  At 4:30 the door bell rang, and My heart sunk and my eyes welled with tears there sat this tiny child of God smiling from ear to ear as she looked into my eyes from her car seat.  I will never forget the first time I looked at her, it was as if she had always been in my heart.  The social worker gave us our contract and a binder and off she went.  All we knew was the type of formula she ate, and that was about it.  At that point I started to panic a little as we needed formula, diapers, wipes, bottles, etc.  (We had put in for a placement 3 and under, so we could not be prepared for that wide of a range of stuff) My parents joined us for dinner that night (they brought us qdoba) Both my parents fell in love with Mya on first sight as well, I mean who would not? The days, weeks and months to follow, have gone by so fast.  There are days when I'm not sure I can do it all.  There were months when Mya was up 15 times a night (she is still up 3-5 times a night now), she has therapy 3 times a week, doctors appointments, visits with dad 40 min one way every week, and social worker visits. But no matter what the last 6 months have entailed every min was worth it.  Her smile, her sweet little giggle, her saying dada for the first time, all of these things make us fall deeper in love with her. We have seen her sit up, roll over, laugh, stand, cruise, crawl all for the first time. I'm there every time she needs anything 24 hours a day, I am her mom, her foster mom that is.  I don't know what the future holds for sweet Mya or our family, it's a daily struggle for me to find contentment in this situation but no matter what the Lord decides I will love this little girl for the rest of my life. Thank you Lord for the 6 months we have spent with Mya, I look forward to the days to come, no matter how many or few that may be.

Better days...

So the other day I went back to that post I shared with you guys from daddy's tractor, there were over 300 comments that people had left sharing all of their stories... thought I would share this with you. Defiantly makes those hard days feel better around here. 

I’m not a foster parent but I was a foster child. I had my heartbreak leaving a home. When you leave something that isn’t desirable and are put in a home where someone gives a crap about you and than you’re torn from that and given back to your parents who screw up again and put you back in another home it sucks. You wonder why foster kids are so reserved sometimes, scared, don’t like to get attached it’s because we go through a lot more at a young age than most people should. We see things we shouldn’t, we get treated in ways we shouldn’t but sometimes it takes people who are willing to give that love and support to flourish us into young productive adults who end up having a normal teenage life and become outstanding adults. Here I stand after graduating out of the system with a 4.0 in college obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. I got placed with someone who encouraged me to be active in high school, I played sports which my foster mother went to almost every game of mine. I made honor roll and was rewarded for good behavior. I got to be a normal teenager, no worries of what the past had dealt me because I was taught that I could make my own future regardless of where I came from…foster home or not. I just wish there was more people out there who did do this for kids like me. I am the impact that you can make on society. Instead of getting on drugs, being low income and depending on the government, I am on the path of success because someone decided they could do it and that I was worth it!

Good Morning...

I'm reading a devotional about foster children and familys, and I read this, thought I would share.  I hope everyone has a great Friday!

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27 (NLT) 

Mamma's in pajamas...

This past week Soleys preschool had a event just for moms and their kids where we all wore our p.js and went to Soleys school, it was so much fun! We spent time reading stories and having breakfeast together. For three and a half years I spent every min with my sweet baby so anytime I get one on one time with her I cherish every min. I love our new life and I love what soley Jon and I have gained from having such a large family now but... There are times when I miss all my one on one times with Soley. So this day was very special. 

In other news Soley had her first Girl Scout cookies this week and she loved them...