Back to "normal"

We no longer have 2 adopted children. We just have 6 kids. Two of our kids are in college, we have 4 at home. Ryan is finishing out a hard semester, making plans to go to Africa this summer with ROTC, and will attend a wedding with Katelyn in TX this weekend. Lauren is returning from a great Spring Break missions trip in Canada and can't wait to start 10 weeks on staff at Falls Creek this summer.

At home we have a high school junior who will play soccer this week and prepare for Prom this weekend. We have a 5th grader, whom I homeschool and will focus on equipping her with strength to be a witness and great sister to all her siblings. This week she will have swim team and soccer practice. I have a third grader who is getting her hair fixed at a salon for the first time this week. We are going to focus on reading the last 9 weeks of school and also appropriate responses and thankfulness. She will begin swim lessons tomorrow and continue with spring soccer. We have a kindergartner who continues to learn new words and we will make huge attempts to read more with him during the last 9 weeks of school. He will begin swimming lessons tomorrow and will continue with spring soccer.

It's normal...and I could not be more thankful. I MUST remember to thank God every moment for His work on our behalf.

Freezing in Branson

LOTS of firsts these last 3 days...first time in a motel, first time to an amusement park, first time to a water park, first time to eat Pringles (for Cameron!) and first time to meet and play with cousins! We had a good time, even though the weather was very cool! We were layered up at Silver Dollar City, but laughed and played and walked ALL DAY for fun!

We spent 6 hours in the indoor water park at our motel on Tuesday, and even though they say the water was like ICE WATER, they kept on playing! Ryan and Richard were the fun ones who played basketball, warmed up in the heated pool, floated in the lazy river, and loudly went down all the slides for hours upon hours! The kids had a lot of fun and the trip was a success!

Ashley's family met us there and it's probably the first time we've ever tried that and it worked out. Her kids were precious to mine and they all got along great. Justice told Ashley on the way home, "Cameron's my BFF!" Audra told her mom she was glad Jordan was her cousin now. VERY THANKFUL.

**I have GREAT pictures of Jordan and Cameron's smiling faces, but because the kids aren't legally ours, I can't post them. We are making copies of all of them and making photo booklets for each month they are here before the adoption is final. Jordan even put her books in her travel bag and pulled them out to show the cousins while we were on vacation.**

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIN!

(finding FROZEN in the freezer)

I love this girl. She's creative, busy, usually smiling, and has a lot of God-given confidence. This week she's in Arlington, next week she'll play soccer and go to the prom. Last month she swam, and she'll continue her job beginning the day she gets back from Spring Break. She loves Jesus, music and her family. She needs only a reminder when she slips into the world too far, and then she's back in the Word and prayer about her busy, busy life. She plays with her younger siblings, shares a bathroom with the girls, and when she's home she offers to help me in the kitchen to get dinner on the table or cleaned up afterward.

 

Back on the Field

Erin took a year off of soccer, and isn't participating in the spring play this year, so she's back on the team and playing forward. We don't know much about our team yet, but the second game was super exciting to watch! Erin scored with 5 seconds left in the game and sealed our win against Dardanelle.
Go #12!

 

Spring Break Time...

For 9 of the last 10 years we've headed to Arlington, Texas, with our youth and college kids to work at Mission Arlington. I've written numerous posts about why this trip is so good for us, and we'd be packing for it now if it weren't for the changes in our lives since December. I don't grieve not going, but it is going to be a different week. We are taking the kids to Silver Dollar City and headed to an indoor water park for a couple of days. We just weren't sure they/we could handle the full days at Arlington since we are still navigating the "new" things we are experiencing each day. They are super excited about an indoor water park...although they don't know what that is, and it's harder than you think to describe an "amusement park" to kids who have only been to a park if they were on a day visit with their caseworker.

Lauren is in Canada with a huge group from Tech...Erin heads to Arlington tomorrow with a church from Fayetteville. She initiated contact with them herself, since our church isn't going this year. She arranged to get a ride with them and stay with them, even though she only knows a 9th grade boy who is going. She'll be fine. I'm so thankful for her heart (and persistence) in this matter. She knew what and where she wanted to be and she worked it out.

Ryan is here and headed out with us tomorrow. There's still 6 of us, 2 motel rooms, and 2 bags of toys and activities (just in case).

Take 12

There are several reasons why our 12th event was different from the rest of our events:
1. Winter seems to be lasting forever. Several of our events have been opened with ice and snow. It was freezing during our move in...then we had the MOST BEAUTIFUL WEEK of sales...then it snowed the evening of pick up.
2. The two days before move in the kids were OUT OF SCHOOL. It wouldn't have been a big deal except Richard was out of town...my list was SO LONG and I just lost it. I almost always make myself sick before we move in, trying to remember details and print our thousands of labels...but the guilt of feeling like the kids were an inconvenience absolutely threw me for a loop. Lauren came over one afternoon and printed labels for 2 hours so I could play with them. It was a sacrifice for her and made me even MORE emotional.
3. We have new children who we haven't left with friends or sitters. Richard was at home all week, except two days. Sheridan had to prepare her own lessons for several days because I hadn't planned enough for her. She spent one night with Lauren at Tech and one day with one of my friends in Russellville. None of our parents were available. I came home early one day and then our sweetest friends kept them for my late night. It all went fine.
4. I hired two ops managers who WANTED me to feel free to leave if I needed to. They were so supportive, knowing things are different at our home.
5. We sold our highest percentage ever. For the first time EVER, I left before they finished sort. It only took them 4 hours. They double-checked the racks and swept the floor too. WOW.

I must remember this feeling of euphoria before, during and after the fall event. EVEN with all the changes this season, God's hand is all over what He has me doing. I can clearly see that He went before me and took care of my children when I couldn't. I'm thankful.

Family Time

Ryan and Kate came home for the night. Lauren drove over and Chris was in town. Erin won her first home soccer game and I came home early from my event to see it all! When your big kids come home because they want to see you...it's good.