You Think You Are Pro Life?

Over the weekend we kept 3 foster children (ages 4,4 and 18 mos) to offer respite to the foster parents of these kids.
This means I had my children plus three more. This gave me 6 children ages 6 and under to care for, but I am happy to announce we survived.

 *My two biggest helpers goofing off!*

It also gave me perspective, as in 7 kids are easy to care for in comparison to 10! It literally took both me and Devin to keep track of everyone. These kids were very bright and well behaved. I credit this to their foster parents who seem to be doing a great job.  Here are some challenges we discovered with foster children.

1. These kids were hyper focused on food! Because they were basically starved by their biological parents, food is something they like to always have around. If ANYONE in the house had a food or drink item, then these kids felt they had to have it also. We went through a few dozen bananas keeping little hands filled with something portable to eat! This was something I have read about in many fotser/adoption books but had never seen it first hand.

2. Sharing was difficult and there was a good amount of sibling rivalry. I am again not used to this behavior. Sure my kids have moments when they don't want to share, but not consistently. I do not know if this behavior is a result of a hard childhood or daycare. Maybe both? At any rate, we had to remove some toys completely if the children fought and refused to take turns. It seemed to help.

3. These kids liked to yell to get their point across or to just fuss at us. They had to reminded on many occasions that ugly talk and yelling was against the rules of the house.

By Sunday evening we were all exhausted! This weekend required all of the energy from every single member of the family! We were happy we did it but it did bring to my attention how disruptive fostering is to your entire household. I really hold foster parents in high esteem. They sacrifice much for the care of these children.

*One day, when I have spare time, I am going to up-cycle these coffee bags. What to make?*


This experience also brings to mind the idea of being pro life.

Here are some statistics from 2010:
Number of children in foster care: 254,375
Average age: 9.5
Avg length in system: 25 months
Waiting for adoption: 107,011
 (with avg time in system of 37.3 months)
48% of foster children reside with non-relative foster caretakers

Average number of abortions per year in the US: 1.3 million

  Now I like to think of myself as pro-life. I believe life begins at conception. I do not like abortions, they kill living babies. I know many, many people preach the pro-life stance.

Consider this. Doesn't pro-life go beyond saving an unborn child? You can rejoice all day that a young, un-wed mother decided to not abort and to instead keep her baby. Pat yourself on the back too, if you wish. Consider it a noble thing done.
But WHO will be there 3 or even 10 years later when that same mother can't care for her child. When that child goes into the foster system. Who's pro-life then?

Where are all of the Chrsitian Pro Lifers who demand abortions stop? What if they did stop? Will these churches and these pro-life fanatics care for an extra 1.3 million children when there are so many in need of care now? 107,011 kids are WAITING to be adopted!
I am not suggesting that abortion is right, I am merely suggesting that the term pro-life shouldn't be tossed around so lightly. Foster families around the nation know what is means to be pro-life.
After this weekend I too know what it means to be pro-life. To really be pro-life.
It's exhausting. It's disruptive. It's challenging. It's wonderful.

Some lessons are truly learned through experience.
To those who really are pro-life, I think you are a hero.


Thank you!

I Can Punch Harder

Okay, so sometimes running a family is stressful. Sometimes you need a break, a day off, a glass of wine...or even a cheap wine cooler and a chick flick will do.
Having a large family is usually great but let's get real. Let's be truthful.
Some days stink.
Some days the baby fusses all day or the kids nit-pick at their food or the dogs bark way too much or maybe NOTHING is going smoothly.

*The baby literally clinging to my legs and fussing*

Some days you just want to throw on the pajamas, lock the doors, turn on the TV and sit and stare.
The blank stare. The "What in the hell is going on today?" stare.

Well, my "what the hell" question was answered this week when DFCS called and asked us to do respite care for another foster family.

* Me and Rosie practice our sad faces*

"...but we didn't sign up for respite!" I exclaimed!

We were hoping for a call about a possible foster-adopt situation but you know what? We are needed NOW. A foster family who has given their all to these kids for the last YEAR needs a much deserved break.

We can do it. We will do it.

*Sometimes the only quiet place to read a book is in the laundry room!*

Back to my "what the hell" moment.
It is a well known and well documented fact (you adoptive families can back this up) that things usually fall apart just about the time an orphan or foster child needs help. It's true.

You have to fight back and say, "Throw your best punch mean devil 'cause I can punch harder!"

Then you must stand back and take notice at all the wonderful good things happening.

 *Willow made a grape vine wreath after I trimmed the muscadines*

Yes, you have 20 loads of laundry but thank goodness there is a machine in the room that washes those 20 loads.
Yep, you are exhausted from yard work and now must cook dinner, but aren't you glad that you have a yard for the kids to play in and food sitting in the fridge and pantry to cook?

Maybe you are ticked off at the less than intelligent and not so prudent social worker at DFCS that you had to deal with, but it is a wonderful opportunity to care for some kids who need a lot of love.

And if there is one thing in abundance with a large family like mine, it's love.

*Me and Rosie practicing our happy faces!*

I will be busy, busy starting tomorrow with three little additions (all under age 5) so I will be back Monday.
In the meantime, go see Katie Davis and read her latest post. I promise you will be happy you did!

Friday Phone Dump (on Thursday!):

Hope your weekend is void of "what the hell" moments!!!!!
Have a GREAT Friday!!!!

The Week's Top Highlights

 The week was a rainy one for the most part. Every morning I would look out the window and see mist and fog.

It was typical fall weather for Georgia. Cool. Misty. A nice break from the hot summer.

I was determined to finish up some projects when our school day fiished. Each afternoon I was able to accomplish a little.
There were a few set backs, like Fletcher finding the pantry door cracked open. He loves to play in there.

I am thinking that perhaps I need to tighten the lid on my bread flour. Not only was he covered, but the floor and shelves and everything on the shelves were white. It was like an early white Christmas in the pantry.

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There are  times when we lose a bird to either an illness or a predator such as a hawk.
We have roughly 40 birds out here, so we have gotten used to seeing some die.

This little guy though was a bird I really loved.
He only had one eye (he's quite the fighter) but he would crow every morning by my bedroom window. Sadly he died this week.
It was tragic. So. Sad.
I miss the early morning wake up crow. He sure was a little fluff of feather. R.I.P.

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On a happy note, there is a little baby here who is saying "Mama" now!

 Here I caught him in the act. So sweet!

My kids are late talkers compared to some, but they always manage to learn and then talk non-stop! I am sure this boy will be the same.

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Finally, teens and Dad are kicking off the weekend with an outdoor movie night as I sit here and type.
They are watching a scary movie, Thirteen Ghosts.
The little kids and I satyed in the house and watched a rental movie with our own stash of popcorn and hot cider.
Before the movie kicked off though we were outside playing and enjoying the sunshine that showed itself all day long!

Zeb helped himself to some lemonade we had outside ready for movie goers.

Willow, Indy and Rose practiced some ninja moves on the trampoline. I think I took a kazillion pictures of them, stopping every few minutes to show them all the shots.

They would try and perfect the ninja moves between photo sessions, trying to make a new and daring move.

Zeb decided to get some of the action too.

Aren't these trampolines one of the most dangerous toys on the market? Devin sees many fractures each year in the ER from these things, and yet here we are sportin' some awesome twists and jumps on the danger machine.

Yeah, baby! The outdoor fire pit is officially back in use! Where are the smores?

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Quick adoption update!
Devin met a lady( who like us got tired of the DFCS run around) who told us to go through an agency in Georgia that works with DFCS offices all through the state to get an adoption for families. Well, I called them and they just wanted to see the homestudy first. I called my DFCS worker and she isn't too pleased. Pfft! Looks like we may need another homestudy done for this new agency. There are some issues about using any agency other than DFCS, according to my worker. I will have to look into that matter. At any rate, I will keep ya'll posted.

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Have a great weekend! Remember not to get into too much trouble!

Sew Crazy Sometimes

Okay, so I MIGHT, just MIGHT have an issue with too many projects. I decided to take a look at what all I have started so that I could best draw out a plan to get it all finished. I even made a promise to myself NOT to take any more classes or start any new projects until these were finished. 

*Double Wedding Ring Quilt I WILL finish within 6 months*

Sometimes I do crazy, wicked stuff like that.

 * Quilted Devotions Quilt I WILL finish within 6 months*

I just can't help myself when I see beautiful fabrics and patterns. It might be an illness....or maybe not:-)

 See this cute Owl PUL fabric? Yep, bought 1/2 yard so that I could FINALLY sew a wet bag to put used cloth diapers in when we are out and about. Exciting, yes? I hope to sew one up within the next week.

* One of 8 scarves I am knitting for Christmas gifts. I WILL finish it within a month*

Then there is the knitting. Oh boy, I love to knit. My night of relaxing consists of watching some Netflix and knitting. I have no time for the 3 books sitting on my nightstand at the moment.

Then there are those cool crafts like Cherry Pit bags. We bought one over 12 years ago at a craft fair. It is just a bag with cherry pits sewn in it. You can heat it in the microwave for a hot pack (sprinkle water on it for moist heat) or you can freeze them for a very cold pack. I bought the cherry pits HERE . My sister in law split the 40 pound bag with me and I made up several on Saturday using fabric in my stash.. These are the BEST heat pads around and now all the children will have one if, unfortunately, the stomach bug ever makes its way around here again.

I also have it on good authority that these are wonderful to take to bed on really cold winter nights.
It's gonna be a Handmade Christmas again this year.

Enough of my many, many projects that I squeeze in during the busy week.
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It doesn't have to be spring time for us to enjoy new babies around here.

 Journee has been incubating eggs in her room and these three babies hatched Friday.

 It's amazing how little they are and yet how quickly they grow up!

She has several more "cooking" and we will have some hatching throughout the entire month.
Yes, they are in the house in a brood box. What can I say? I love having babies in any form around the house.

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I decided last week that my house was too dull and needed to be painted. I wanted something with more color.

Of course, I came to my senses and decided to just hang a quilt up on the wall.

Please ignore that it is crooked and not properly hanging:-) I decided that it was perfect, color wise, and it satisfies my need to paint (yippee!). I have ordered some proper quilt hangers and Devin will have it all hanged and straight once they arrive.

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Adoption Update!

Well, there is no update at all. Everything is complete and now we just wait, which we have been doing since July.  Either this is good because it means there are few children in need of homes and families...OR..this is bad because it means lots of kids are "stuck" in Foster Care.

I am not sure which to believe but we will continue to wait for His perfect timing.

Can you see this? The dogs and a cat and a hen all basking in the sun this weekend?  I almost missed this shot because the window is so mucked up with dirty finger smudges. Ha! My house was pretty messy this weekend, and still is quite messy!
I love this shot though.

Hope your week is  a peaceful one too!

This Grand Life

I finally finished this book, the book about adopting children and how to manage some of the challenges that go along with the entire process. I was happy to be chock-full of knowledge since we had  our home study and parenting training today. I was ready to impress the psychologist with everything I had learned, except she had NEVER heard of Karyn Purvis or the book. (sigh)
I think that dealing with the state that is under-funded has been eye-opening for me. She was very nice and was very optimistic so we were thankful. She will come back next week for a short follow-up and then we are finished! They will put us into a state-wide database so we can wait for a match. We are in much anticipation.

This week has flown by and I am sad that June is almost half way gone. I have been savoring my time outside, despite the record heat and drought, because there is so much to discover and admire. We have lots of new critters hiding around the property so the kids and I enjoy snapping photos of them and giving them names.

Feathers seem to be the new "thing" here, so the girls' and I ordered some feather extensions to put in our hair. I must say that we all look good, but little Rose is cute as a button with her feather.

As if the kids need ANY excuses to not brush their hair, Devin showed them all how to take a bandana and make a do-rag for their heads. So we now have feathers and bandanas......everywhere!
I am not sure about Willow's yoga pose, but the girl is limber!

Zeb got his first real haircut, and he cried the entire time. It was a little pathetic, but he got over it quickly. That evening we sat outside in a very summer-like fashion and ate ice cream cones. I think we could have one every evening and it would be a perfect summer.

Last 

Speaking of perfect summers, we had a perfect dinner of fried chicken nuggets. I used to make them mostly for birthday dinner requests but I was really craving a comfort food and this hit the target. Of course Mr. Bartyl and Jaymes made the preparation even sweeter. It has been forever since I have had a wine cooler, much too long. Fuzzy-navel, oh how I have missed you.

Finally, this sweet boy not only has 4 teeth now, but he loves to sit outside and try and grab at the streams of sunlight on the rug. His little world is full of big wonder and new discoveries. Life is good from here, my front porch. All I have to do is slow down and take it all in, and I do. I love his sweet face, blue eyes, and chunky thighs. The dimple in his chin makes me *swoon*!

Now, if I could only find a way to slow time down.