Updates on the Littles

Our knight is growing so fast! I cannot believe he will be eleven this year! He loves sports. He just finished basketball and will be starting baseball this week. He is now reading chapter books! The boy that could not read at all two years ago is reading chapter books! I could not be more proud. His favorite series is Magic Tree House. When he grows up he wants to be a K9 officer. This is HUGE as he was scared of police when he moved in with us and now has learned that police keep us safe.

Our beautiful butterfly has been home for two months. She is still a little diva and has decided that she wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up. She loves to draw/create outfits in her sketch book. She dresses up any chance she gets and looks more like a preteen than a little girl. Daddy desperately wants his girl to stay little. :) She thinks its hilarious when he tells her he wants her to stay his little girl forever. She is currently in dance and loves it! She will be in her first recital next month.

Our peanut is still a little sunshine with a big smile most days. She just finished her first season of cheerleading. She says she is not going to do cheerleading anymore and gymnastics is her sport! She is currently on the waiting list to start gymnastics again. She loves school and wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Her teacher this year has been amazing. She told me yesterday, "I needed a hug so Mrs. ***** gave me one and I felt better." Nothing puts a mothers heart at ease more than knowing her baby is being well taken care of at school. I am very thankful.

All three kids now are doing independent Jesus time at night. It warms my heart each day to see them writing down their prayers and reading their bible verses. God is so good.

 

What's Up Wednesday!

I am linking up with Shay, Shaeffer, and Mel for What's Up Wednesday!

 

 

What We're Eating:

 

We recently tried a new recipe for Succotash and Sweet Potato Stew from the Vegan on the Cheap cookbook. It is one of my favorite plant based cookbooks. You can purchase it here.

 

pic from Amazon.com

We also have tried a zucchini fettuccini recipe from the Good and Cheap cookbook, which is also one of my favorites. You can purchase it here.

pic from Amazon.com

 

 

 

What I am Reminiscing About:

 

I have been thinking a lot about when the kids were first placed and how much they have grown. Mainly due to the fact that I have been spring cleaning and getting rid of clothes again. Why can't they stay little forever?

 

 



 

 

What I'm Loving:

 

Having my beautiful butterfly home!

 

What We've Been Up  To:

 

We have been preparing to take the kiddos to the beach for the first time this weekend! I cannot wait to see their faces when we arrive! They love love love sand!

 

 



What I am dreading:

Nothing right now! :)

What I am working on:

 

Cleaning out the kids' closets and dressers! I feel like if we add one more thing to peanuts' drawers they might explode! :)

 

 



What I am excited about:

 

Easter! I love everything about it and we starting hosting last year, which is super fun! The thing I love most is the reminder of the sacrifices Jesus made for us. What an amazing gift. I am not gonna lie though, the dresses, egg hunts, bunnies, and candies are super fun too! :)

 

 

 

What I am watching and reading:

 

I have been watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I am currently on season 5! If you need another show to start watching, it's amazing!

 

 



Picture from: http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/greys_anatomy.jpg

 

 

I have not been reading much more than my daily devotionals lately. I read Jesus Calling and I have the One Year Bible App. You can purchase Jesus Calling here. You can get the free You Version Bible app on your mobile phone/tablet and search the plan Bible in One Year.

 

 

from amazon.com

 

 

What I am listening to:

 

 

 

 

Click the icon to listen to KLOVE online!

 

 

What I am wearing:

 

 

Boring work clothes. :) If you have any ideas on how to spice up my work attire. Please share. I need help! We have to wear business casual, but not too fancy!

 

 

What I am doing this weekend:

 

Going to the beach! Pics to come :)

 

 

What I am looking forward to next month:

 



 



Easter! :)

 

 

 

 

 

*I was not paid to advertise any books, radio stations, or television shows for this post.



 

 

 



 





Sensory Room

Ok, time to brag on my amazing husband. He created a room in our home for our kiddos to get away and relax when big feelings are getting to be too much for them. It has a swing, ball pit, body pillow, sit and spin, stability ball, and Bluetooth player.

10 on the 10th

I am linking up with Erin for the 10 on the 10th list. I am a bit late, but I thought it would be fun to join in anyway. This month is 10 household tips. So here it goes...

1.) I love collapsible boxes for the kids' toys! We have one box for each type of toy. The kids know that they are expected to place the toys back in the appropriate bins after playing and it is preferable that they only bring out one bin at a time. :)

2.) We have cubbies for each of the kids to hand their back pack and coat. I also use it to put odds and ends in throughout the week. On the weekend, they are expected to clean out their cubbies.

3.) For laundry, I have one basket for each family member. This is helpful with dogs around the house that like to knock over my beautifully, folded piles!


4.) On Sundays, the kiddos put away all laundry in their baskets and pick out outfits for the week. We store their outfits in a sweater hanger in their closet. It definitely makes the mornings soooo much easier.

5.) For all you fost/adopt mommies and daddies: I keep all the kids paperwork in a large binder with their name on it. This makes it easy to grab when workers request specific paperwork. They have tabs, such as medication logs, doctor appts, report cards, receipts etc. I also keep a "foster care" box in my email.


6.) We do have an art closet for the kiddos that we keep locked. The kiddos have to ask mommy or daddy to open the closet when they want to get out art supplies. This has saved our lives! We constantly had papers, markers, crayons, pencils, etc around the house before starting our closet.

7.) I keep all of my sensory fidgets and boxes on a metal shelving unit. The items have to remain in that room and have to be placed back on the shelf when finished. This does not always work perfectly, but it is much better than when we had open access.

8.) I absolutely have to keep a calendar for the kids' appts. Otherwise, I would be lost! I carry it everywhere and write the appts down immediately after scheduling. If I need hubby to help with an appt, I let him know and he writes the time down in his calendar. This has allowed us to sync our schedules better. Some families use a synced calendar on their emails or phones. For me, it is better to write it down, but whatever works!


9.) Although, I have been slacking lately, we usually keep a monthly menu hung up on the fridge. I still have my menu, but have been slacking on writing it down on my fridge calendar. This decreases food waste and allows hubby to get started on dinner for me if I am getting home later. Yes, he cooks! I am blessed.

10.) I do keep back ups of all shampoos, conditioners, body washes, toothpastes, hair gels etc in my bathroom linen closet. This is very helpful with three bathrooms! The kids know that they can ask for an item when they run out! Each time, I use my back up I purchase another. :)


Please share your tips! I could definitely still improve my organization in some areas of my house and car!

Our butterfly has landed!!

Our beautiful butterfly is home! We are grateful to God to for the gift he has given us of seeing her precious face each morning! Please continue to pray for our family as our butterfly adjusts to being home again.

PS: I have never been this thankful for a mess!

Our Butterfly

We have started visits with our butterfly and they are going very well. She had her first weekend visit this weekend. Oh, how I loved having her back in our home. I did not realize how much I missed her big smile, sweet cuddles, and contagious laugh. We had a wonderful time playing, watching movies, enjoying nature, and cooking together. Although all of those things were wonderful, the biggest blessing was when I saw her fall into the arms of Jesus.

I have prayed that she will grow closer to God and open her heart to His love first and foremost. This weekend we had an amazing discussion on the importance of prayer and reading God's word. She asked to make her own prayer journal and was eager to start the devotional book I had ordered for her.

While at church on Sunday, she asked to go and pray. I was overwhelmed by her desire to leave her worries at the feet of Jesus. She cried for the first time all weekend after that prayer and later she said, "Mommy, that prayer helped me." Be still my heart. God is at work in my baby girl's life. What a miracle it was to see her realize that God grants us peace in the midst of chaos.

Please be praying for our family as we continue visits and hopefully bring our baby girl home.

 

Overwhelming Peace and Joy

Hello all,

I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus lately. It has been hard to put our struggles into words as we have been grieving the loss of our beautiful butterfly. She moved to a new placement in October. We, along with several professionals, have been advocating for her return. I have been going to battle in prayer, trusting that God has a plan for our family. It has been an amazing journey seeing the many miracles He has already created in our lives. The peace that I feel when I read His word and sit in his presence has been nothing other than a blessing from God.

Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

Psalm 34:8 "The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Romans 8:28 "For we know that in all things God works for the good for those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Although, life has been an emotional roller coaster lately, we have much to be thankful for. The adoption process for our little man and peanut has been moving along. We are hoping that they will be adopted by the end of 2017! We have been granted visits with our butterfly and cannot wait to see her sweet face.

Our little man has been progressing in all areas. Within in the next two months, it is foreseen that he will no longer need a few of his therapies due to the fact that he is flying through his goals! We are very proud. He is beginning to trust us more and has given us the gift of comforting him in his times of grief. Nothing is better than rocking my baby boy to sleep. He is so precious.

Our peanut is progressing in several areas as well. She will also be graduating from one of her therapies this month! She, too, has been trusting us more and talks with us openly about her feelings. I love our little talks as she lays in my arms. She is the sweetest.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with joy. I loved seeing our littles faces as they saw that Santa remembered them two years in a row! :) It has been an even greater joy to see their faith grow and their focus shift to Jesus and his sacrifices for us. I feel extremely blessed to be their momma.