Book Worms

For some reason they all fight over this chair. During the course of the evening each of them sat on the chair then got up to do a job, leaving their book to "save" the chair. They all happened to finish at the same time and raced to the chair. This is what we ended up with. This only lasted about 15 minutes, then it turned into a tickle/pinching/licking fight.

This is the look Addason gives if anyone gets in her 10 foot bubble. The only one that can really get away with it is Bayler, as seen in the picture above. Scott loves tormenting her by trying to dance with her or hug & kiss her.

Tylee's Birthday

Only 1 year left until she's in Young Womens, then she'll officially not be a little girl any more. That means I only have 1 year to enjoy my little girl Tylee. She hates having her birthday right after Christmas cause then she doesn't get very many presents. She's has a very good point. We're usually out of ideas and extra cash, so this year we tried to do better.

Here are a few little facts you may or may not know about our Tylee:

*She LOVES sweets, especially candy

*If you smile at her, she can't help but smile back, no matter how hard she tries and even if she's mad at you.

*She adores her big brother Bayler. Anything he likes, so does she. What ever he does, she wants to do too.

*She never forgets to make or buy birthday presents for her family.

*She frequently writes sweet notes to me, thanking me for the things I do for her.

*She's the biggest book worm in our family.

*She's the only girl in her primary class with 7 boys. The teacher says she holds her own.

*She has a crush on a boy in her school class, but I won't mention any names.

The cake she picked out fits her personality. It was covered in M&M's. Tylee LOVES candy.

These are their scripture blankies. I meant to have Addason's done by her birthday but it didn't happen. Then I was going to give all three girls one for Christmas, but never got Avery's started. Tylee opened hers first and then I gave Addason hers. They both love them, which isn't a surprise because they picked out the colors themselves.

Just some thoughts

Feel free to just skip over this post. It's mostly me venting and saying what I've wanted to say haven't. I'm not sure why I don't say it. Actually, yes I do, cause I don't want to offend anyone and if I said it, it would come out all wrong and people would think I was rude.

During the last few weeks I've had more than a handful of people tell me I need to get rid of all our foster kids. They say we already have enough going on in our lives without the stress of extra kids. I totally understand why people would say this. Maybe I look like I'm going crazy and that I'm can't handle whats going on. At moments, several lately, I feel like I would like to just quit and be done and send every child in my house away.

But take a minute and look at from a slightly different angle. Yes, I know it's not the same but still, just think about. Let's pretend all these kids at our house actually belong to us and they all have the same issues. I find out I'm pregnant and I get really sick and am feeling a little overwhelmed. Can I choose one or two of my kids that are too hard and just send them away. Nope, it doesn't work that way, well neither does foster care.

When you sign up for foster care, you are signing to be substitute parents for these kids. The only time you should ever consider removing them from your home is if your family will fall apart if you keep them or if it's in the best interest of the kids. The decision to move Tate out of our home was very difficult. We knew he needed to move while he was little so he could bond with the family that wanted to adopt him.

I can't think of one time that it has been convenient or easy to have extra kids in our home. Adding even one extra kid always makes life harder. We've all decided that we are willing to make our lives a little more difficult so that a few children's lives are made easier. After each one of our placements we talk to our kids about continuing fostering children. Never have they wanted to stop doing it, in fact it's usually Scott and I that want a break. So, for now we are keeping our extra two kids and we're going to make the best of it.

Updates

As far as Tate goes, he's been gone a whole week and I think we're already adjusted and back into a routine. I love sleeping through the night. I wake up about 10 minutes before my alarm goes off feeling refreshed and well rested. In fact Bayler commented this morning, "Wow mom, your awfully bubbly this morning." I know I've only got about 4 months of this wonderful sleeping before I'm so uncomfortable I can't sleep. Then I'll have a newborn again that will wake up every couple hours. I'm going to enjoy all the sleep I can get. I've been surprised that Addason hasn't been upset or really said anything about missing Tate. I'm grateful she isn't sad and depressed, I was a little worried about that.

I was very hopeful that once I was getting a full nights sleep that I would start feeling better and not be so sick in the evenings. Unfortunately that hasn't happened, YET. Yesterday I did move off the couch after the kids got home from school. I even helped Avery with her homework. I have to hold on to the tiniest of improvements. To add to everything else- I HATE WINTER. I'm sick of the cold weather and being stuck inside, especially with three rambunctious , loud, bored kids. This morning we painted birdhouses to help keep the crazies under control. It helped for about 1/2 hour.

We've decided this placement has been very difficult for Landon. I'm not sure what makes this time so much different than all the rest, but there's a BIG difference. When Landon and Leland are together they bring out the worst in each other. I'm not sure if Landon feels threatened or what, but he becomes a monster. We've been trying really hard to make sure he is getting lots of one on one time with mom or dad. This last week, it's been me since I'm laying around doing nothing anyways. We play on the kindle, snuggle and read stories together. It's been good for the both of us. It reminds me of what a sweet boy he can be. It also makes me look forward to the time when we just have our own kids in the house.

Bye Bye Little Man Tate

We said farewell to our little man today. It was harder for some of us than for others. We planned on having him for a long time or forever so it's been an adjustment for all of us. I think it was the best decision for our family and for him. The family he went to only has one little girl and they've wanted another. I think he will be well loved. He will be missed at our house for awhile. It was fun having a tiny baby at the house, even if it was for a short time.

Surprise!!!!

Yes, this is an ultra sound, and it is mine. We will be welcoming baby #6 into our family the end of July, if all goes well. I'm 11 weeks today. I've never announced a pregnancy this early so there's still a few weeks before we are out of the danger zone. I've miscarried in the 15th week so if we make it past that point, I think we're safe. For now everything looks good.

This is the main reason for not keeping Tate. I've been horribly sick and tired. It's been very difficult to be so sick and get up with a little baby several times a night. Not only that, we've done the two babies at the same time before. We lived through it and I'm grateful for both the girls but I'm too old to want to do it again. One baby at a time is all I want to do. I've spent days praying, talking to Scott, thinking, rationalizing and crying to make this very emotional, hard decision. But we know it is the best for all of us. Addason might be the only one that doesn't think so. She said she would rather keep Tate than have our own baby. She's not too happy with me right now.

Christmas Morning

Not sure if it's the camera or me, probably me but these pictures are awful. I have to post them cause there all I got.

Grandma Carol's Christmas Party

This year it was a full house. I don't just mean with our extra three kids either. Lots of family that hasn't come for awhile, came this year. I think everyone had a good time. Being the airhead that I am, I forgot my camera. I didn't think it was a big deal cause I already had pictures of most of the kids with Santa from my moms party. Mark had a few pictures of my kids from the party so thats where this pictures came from.

The strangest thing happened though. Bayler's shoes disappeared, yep they were gone. No where to be found. He had to come home shoe-less. But don't worry the next day they found them behind some plants on the fireplace.