Friday Encouragement..

This past year and more have been a journey, a long journey. I am often glad  I didn't know what I was signing up for, because honestly I would have said no way.
But God is faithful. I see Him providing for us, protecting us and guiding us. Every challenge every bump we have encountered we have found him right alongside us. He provides what we need when we need it.
The support network I have now, is stronger then ever before. The tools for parenting are better then ever... The medical knowledge seems to multiply. (a Dr asked me if I have experience in the medical field. lol nope, only hands on experience with my kids) But God has given me a love for advocating, a desire to fight for my kids, a passion for searching for answers.
I love how God has provided people in my life.. my good friend  has the gift of encouragement. She is the one I call when I am feeling overwhelmed or in need of some motivation. She has spoken much wisdom into my life, encouraged me through some pretty big challenges. She knows how I work and what I need...

I have another friend who was a nurse and her children have lots of the same health obstacles mine do. She is only a text message away, often giving advise, saving me countless Dr visits etc... Her wisdom in my life has allowed me to advocate better for my kids.

I may not have an active social life. I may not get out much. My friends may be few, but they are true friends. This is the thing I find the most disappointing and yet inspiring. When life gets hard, people who have the easy life will slowly drop away, but those who have had challenges tend to stick around. I am inspired to be that kind of friend...

Random Thoughts

My original goal was to write on one specific subject. But reality is, my life is scattered in a million directions. Homeschooling, canning, therapeutic parenting, foster care, medical care, special needs parenting, and Godly living are all things that are important parts of my life...

Today we did a fun day. A day I hope to repeat over and over in the next year. We worked on a schedule. I had made a breakfast casserole last night, which I popped into the oven when I got up at 6, so it was ready for the kids at 7.

We worked in some therapeutic things like a big wrestling match and a bike ride right after breakfast. I was able to add some fun rewards to the day for those who worked quickly. Everything went the way I planned... in my world that is rare.

I love watching my kids sprawled out in the living room and dining room, working on school. They like it too. They share interesting tid bits from their books. They all stop to gather for a certain interesting moment on the math program. There are often breaks for kisses from a snotty faced cutie. I allow the distractions on one condition. All work must be done and checked by 12.

Things went smoothly for the most part.  We have one who dawdles all morning, but we consider it great progress that there is no longer  playing dumb on most days from that one.. But another child stepped in right where the first one left off... We are still working on getting him through the day, we shall try again after a nap.

We have cereal or find your own lunch.. For the first time in weeks I have dinner in the crockpot.  Laundry is working well with my new system...I even got a short nap in and am now blogging. What is happening in my world?!?

I did receive my shelf for the girl's closet, so I should start cleaning out closets and organizing their room.But I do not feel like tackling that today.  The basement is in desperate need of a good organizing too... The tomatoes will be turned into salsa this afternoon. But for the moment I am going to enjoy the quiet.

I love homeschooling. I love being home all day. I love watching my kids learn and their love of learning. It's not perfect. We have complaining and whining. The floors are sticky. The living room has a tent build over the train table.There is still one child's laundry that needs folded. But I have a plan that by bedtime it will all be clean and done. So we can start over again tomorrow. lol
 But there is PEACE in my house. It is a choice I make. A choice to enjoy the good in my children. A choice to embrace the chaos.

We have some pretty big unbloggable stuff coming up. It always brings back memories of previous experiences. I hug my kids tighter, pull them closer and cherish the moments just a bit more.  I remember the battles of years past... I choose to focus on the victories...

Disclaimer; These pictures have nothing to do with the post, except for the fact that they are very random. random

Support...

This past week was incredibly stressful and full of "fun". As I reflect over the past week, I am in awe of how God provides. The people he has brought into my life..

We had a last minute Dr appointment. I sent the boys to the landlords and the 3 girls to the other neighbor/friend. (if you know me IRL, you know I am extremely picly about where I leave my children) I have been blessed with neighbors who do foster care and understand why I am so careful.

At the Dr's office, they called the ambulance... I called all the important people from the ambulance... but didn't  call Mrs. B who had my girls until 7 pm, 3 hours after I dropped them off... Yes, she would keep them for the night and yes, she would call Mrs. S and ask her to keep my boys. If Mrs. S couldn't keep the boys she would bring all the kids to my house to sleep.
No cell service, weary and dealing with lots in the ER I gave her 2 instructions. Keep the kids safe and make sure Nesiah gets her seizure meds.  This is what I love about my current support network. They dropped everything and helped. They knew what my kids needed. They were not overwhelmed by my crew or atleast they didn't act overwhelmed. They also know what I expect from my kids so they are not afraid to give them responsibilities.

Also this is important for me, I knew they would ask me to do the same. They never take advantage of us, but they do ask for rides here and there, use of my resources, and we are all in the midst of foster drama.

When we were in the ER, I realized 2 things. 1. I had not eaten since breakfast and it was now close to 8 pm and it was looking to be a long night of sitting at the bedside. 2. My vehicle was still at the Dr's office.
My dear friend (who has bailed me out of more complicated situations) came to the rescue. She drove to my house to get a change of clothes, chargers and my spare key. Unfortunately my house was locked up so she was unable to get those things. But she still drove over 30 minutes to the hospital to bring me food!! She also got my keys so that she could bring my explorer back to the hospital for me. However because it was now close to midnight we were unsure where to park, so she went home and came back the next day. Bless her heart, this momma of 3 kiddoes dropped everything to drive into the city to pick us up and then drove me to my explorer, so I could go home! I am blessed by her willing sacrifices.

I was finally on my way home. More tired then I could remember ever being, I needed to stop at the pharmacy  for meds and then pick up my kids. I called my sitters and they offered to keep the kids longer so I could sleep. After a long nap, I was feeling refreshed and ready to deal with all my kiddoes. Unbelievably my friend who had my 3 girls, including NESIAH! had made dinner for us!! That chili and baked potato dinner was exactly the food I needed!

I was blessed by the people praying for us. The people who emailed and messaged offering to babysit. The mentors willing to come take over childcare if needed. The many people who texted prayers and just stayed in communication with me during that long evening.

I love how God provides. I don't have sisters or a mom to call in crisis. But I have willing friends who will drop everything and help! Who knew this neighborhood would become the support network I need for this season of my life!

I just completed my first online bible study with  Lysa Terkerhurst. We did a study on her book, "Am I Messing Up My Kids".  Lysa is a mom of 5 children, several whom are adopted...

The online bible study was perfect for me as a mom. I could do it at home in the mornings before the kids got up. I got the book on the kindle (on my chromebook) for 2.99. So it was effortless and almost free.

Each Sunday morning we would get our week's assignment and a little video update from the leaders via email. There was also a ` blog with lots of interaction. I am trying to limit my internet time so I did not interact as much on that level.

I love how real Lysa is in her books. There is no condemnation and lots of encouragement in addition to real life mom stories.

I was inspired to be patient, thankful and to remember that we are all human.

During this study they had a contest where we had the opportunity to win Lysa's new book The Best Yes.  I won a copy of it!! I can not wait to receive it and read it!!

I got to enjoy the webcast of the release of her book. It was inspiring and now I need to go read the story of Abigailin the bible.

I love that there are opportunities  that us single moms, parents of special needs, toddlers and/or big families have to be encouraged and inspired.

Vacation Pictures...

Random vacation pictures... 

Sisterly love...

Mom, I am bored...

My handsome son at the Elk viewing area...

We watched lots of "man vs food"...so the kids asked if we could make some of the food they saw. We made pancakes with bacon IN them. Def not something we will do again! 

States Bingo was one of our favorite games for the week. 

Granola bars and milk were a yummy snack. 

We had some competitive Qwerkle games..

Manicures with my girls..

We had fun painting nails.

Nerds Nail Polish, who wouldn't enjoy this?!

Selfies with the girls..

Everything in life is a choice, a choice to see the good or the bad... 

a choice to focus on our blessings or the not so good things.

Living this and teaching this can be hard. This is hard as a parent. My kids learn more from watching me then from  anything I say to them.

We learn to rely on each other, to connect as a family or to wallow in what we want but can't have.

When I choose to focus on the moments of peace and joy instead of the frustrations and disappointments, my kids are watching and learning.  I must respond in a way that will teach them to respond to life's challenges...

Corn Day

Monday Morning, bright and early we picked up 300 ears of corn, husked and ready to go! I was really dreading this project, but the  kids love corn and I am trying to cook healthy food, year round. 

The kids were excited. I asked the boys to pose with the corn before we started.. They thought they looked homeless.

The boys cleaned off the first 100 ears for me..

We cooked the corn in these big pots. I am "storing" this giant stock pot for a friend and have been incredibly thankful for it more times then I can count! 

We had a second pot with cold water and a cooler with cold water sitting outside. When the water boiled in the big stock pot, we added the corn and allowed it to boil for 2 minutes. Then we took the corn out of the stock pots and dropped it in the cooler with cold water.



After cooling the corn for 5 minutes we cut it off the cob. We had a knife (for me) and a creamer (for the kids). We were able to get it all done much quicker then I ever anticipated. The kids worked well.

Each child had an assigned task. Sometimes they had down time... in which they ate corn. lol The boys and Journi each ate 6 ears of corn in the time we were doing corn. 

After cutting the corn off the cob, we scooped it into quart sized freezer containers. Which we then place in the freezer for eating this coming winter!! 

Corn is messy. Corn is hard work. Corn is yummy! ;)

New Facebook Page...

Follow us on our new fb page! our private fb page!

Vacation attempt #2

This momma needed a break, a time of recharging and refreshing. So I decided to try vacation again. This time in an environment where the kids are comfortable and the area is relatively safe and requires less supervision then a place like the beach. 

This is the view from the back deck:

My father in law own a timeshare to a golf resort. This year they had an extra condo we could rent for a very reasonable price.

Another back deck view, this time from the second floor balcony. 

I connect with God and find peace in places just like this. There is something about just being here that is restful.

snack time...

We had worked hard to prepare for an easy week. Casseroles and easy meals were prepped and frozen. Mother's helper was hired, schedule laid out... I was looking forward to some serious down time.

Our breakfast view...

Unfortunately, my helper injured herself and was unable to come with us. So we did a quick revision of our week. But I was still looking forward to a week of recharging with just a little less relaxation.

Special treats like cranberry juice in wine goblets.

We arrive Saturday in high spirits. Unfortunately things did not go well the first two days, injured back, rattlesnakes, injured child, neighbors, angry child, rain and more rain...

Beach time...

But eventually with lots of prayer from many friends, we overcame the obstacles and still had fun. We had fun days at the beach on the lake, blowing bubbles, riding bikes and lots of fun games, USA bingo and qwerkle are our two favorites!

With a steady supply of coffee, lots of quality family down time, lots of tv time for kiddoes so momma could recharge, lots of sleeping in, eating breakfast in our pjs, snacks all day long, and lots of time on the back deck, just enjoying God's beautiful creation and this momma feels recharged and refreshed.

 Lazy summer days... I find that having a place for peaceful, quiet family interaction is so important. Moments that create happy, fuzzy feelings are so important for all kids, but even more so for thos who have experienced trauma. Trying to bring those moments into our every day chaos is not that difficult, if we are intentional.  

                                                  

Hugs from sweet Abi is a happy, fuzzy moment...

Special desserts cooked on the grill are a happy, fuzzy moment..

 One of MY favorite happy places is my deck. Dinner made on the grill and served on the picnic table is just a peaceful, happy moment. 

Everyone joins in the cooking, prepping fun...

Add some music and really good food and it becomes a fun family night with very little extra work! The kids love this as much as I do. We do it about once a week, during the summer. Simple yummy food on a beautiful summer evening...

Family: spending time together and building the bonds of attachment that will last a lifetime. We are raising the next generation. What we do today will affect not only our kids, but our grandkids and great grandkids. The moments of intentional peace, intentionally saying no to outside commitments, the moments of just "being" with our kids. It doesn't need to be great things, it doesn't need to be expensive or fancy. Just time and attention are important, relationship matters...