So I was sitting on the floor at home talking to the family. We were just being lazy and hanging out.
Abby was getting sleepy and ready for bed. Abby looked over at me and said, "Mama, sit on the couch please." When I asked why, she said, "I want to love on you."
Awww...my heart.
We hugged, snuggled, and LOVED on each other!
Thank you, Jesus!
UH-MAZING!
Yes, I know how to spell it, but I'm in awe...this weekend was UH-MAZING!
Our little eleven year old S is settling in and becoming one of us. She is getting into a routine and melting our hearts daily. I figure she's truly settling in because I sigh, grin, giggle, sing with, pray for, hug, get firm with, and roll my eyes at her at least once daily. Life couldn't be any sweeter.
S had a friend spend the night Friday night and it was really big fun. I told Tony before we brought Abby and Laney home that I couldn't wait until the girls' first slumber party. Their first sleepovers. I had plans...big plans of what we would do. I have such fond memories of having friends over and my mom making the time so special. Or, heading to one of my friend's houses full of excitement. I wanted to recreate that for Abby and Laney...and now, S. And I think we did. We sang in the kitchen (into whisks of course), and they taught me dance moves. They baked brownies and oogled over a neighbor boy who S is sure she's in love with now. :) They stayed up until 4:00 am (we were snoring they informed us) and got up early. They let me sleep in and fed Laney (Abby went with her Baba to pick up some tires.) I mean, could it get any better? We geocached all day, which all the girls love, and just had a fantastic day. We topped it off with church that evening (which S's friend came too!) Unbelievable. It definitely filled my heart up with joy. Now, the next time though, my neice Kristy is coming over and we'll party like it's 1999! hahah!
I wish I could share pictures...but alas, I cannot. Just know there were lots of smiling girls, both young and old. They weren't too cool to hang with us, OR with Abby and Laney. We just all had fun together!
I am still a roller coaster of emotions, because, simply put-fostering is hard. There are meetings, counselors, appointments, dos and don'ts a mile long. But would I trade this time with S and her family? Nope. Not in a million.
I'm going to kind of switch gears here. All the fun we had this weekend made me think about those who cannot or will not have that opportunity. WHICH, led me to thinking about my friend, Adeye's, blog. She has such a heart for the orphan. And the least of the least are her passion. She is sharing information about a little girl who is languishing in a crib on the other side of the world who needs rescued. She's raising Yulia's ransom and sharing about her in hopes that her family will come forward. The adoption is NEARLY paid for! PRAISE GOD! But can you help? Read her blog and pray about what you can do. Is Yulia yours? If so, email Adeye IMMEDIATELY! Yulia needs saved! If she's not, can you spare a couple of dollars to help her family-yet-to-be found bring her home? Hop over and read her latest three posts. You'll be changed. I promise.
Just because I need a cute kid fix, I thought I'd post pictures of the girls. My MIL took these when they were at her house recently. I uploaded them to Picnik.com and played with the features. I settled on HDR-ish because I like the cartoon quality with the silly faces.
Ok, ok, ON TO THE CUTENESS!
While blog hopping...I stumbled upon THIS BLOG. OH MY WORD.
Read it.
Process it.
Then pray...I did.
THIS BLOG is WAY more newsworthy than my little bit 'o news below!
Ok ok....for anyone who was actually wondering what I was talking about....
We have our first official "foster" daughter! YAY!
This is a big deal because this is the same child that was my student last year that started coming home with us once a week. She and her siblings (who are still at home with dad) spent a lot of time with us at the end of last year and over the summer. Unfortunately, we don't have the legal space for all of them. They're not in any danger per se (so don't email me) it was just a yucky situation where the youngest kiddo needed out. We'll call her S from now on. She's S because she's a STINKER! hahah. Not really. She's perfect. A little ornery, very pretty, funny, and smart, and just a great kid! She makes her bed, asks permission, AND wanted to learn how to do laundry last night! I know it won't last, but let this girl dream, ok?
THANK you so much for praying. We can now help S get back on track and be as successful as she deserves!
I'll keep you posted!
Psalm 59:16 (NIV) "But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."
This is the scripture from my daily devotional. God knew JUST what I needed. He loves me, he's strong, and my fortress.
But what I needed to hear more was that He is my refuge. And today, I needed to remember that.
Thanks for praying friends!
Thank you for those of you who prayed for us today. I still can't reveal much but I can give you some of the ingredients in today's recipe.
1 dash of courtroom
Several sprinkles of tears
A pinch of fear
Mixed thoroughly with prayer.
Bake for two more days. See end result Friday late afternoon. Could be warm, toasty, with the aroma of love. OR, could be burnt, deflated, and moldy.
I'll update you as I can. Please continue to storm Heaven!!!
Yeah, God amazes me.
I am not going to say much...but we would LOVE your prayers tomorrow.
No, we're not adopting. But, it involves a kiddo.
No, it's not one of our kiddos. But, it's a kiddo we care a lot about.
So pray God's will be done tomorrow. Pray that Tony and I are ok with whatever God intends to happen.
Tomorrow could be really great. Really really great. Or..."Definitely not so great" to quote the girls.
PRAY please!
Ok, there are some funnies I have to document so I don't forget them...and so they will have proper reasons to be mad at me when they're older!
Abby: She is one big snuggle bug. She's funny, clumsy, forgiving, caring, flexible, and just flat adorable. She's been showing a bit more of her opinions lately, which for now, I want to enourage. Usually, Laney just bowls right over her and leads the activity, story, or play time. But now, she's being a bit more assertive.
Future job for her at this point? She'll be a Mama and a missionary. I can feel it in my bones.
The other night, they were both on the couch because I was sweeping. (Quit looking so surprised! I DO sweep occasionally!) Anyway, they were giggling and wrestling and just having fun. Suddenly, Abby jumps down and comes running to me. She said, "Mama! Laney's THROWIN' ATTITUDE over there!" Bhahahwwhwhah! Never heard that one before, sweetness!
Laney: This chicka has become more attached as of late. She snuggles in, and seeks us out more than ever before! I'm soaking up every second. I would describe her as the dominate, loud, bossy, creative, artistic, beautiful child. Both girls are capable of all of these adjectives, but this is what we're seeing shine through most right now.
Future job for her at this point? CEO of her own fashion company.
We were en route to their gymnastics class the other night, and as I was getting off at the exit, we went over some rumble strips. The girls have named my car Ruby because she's red, and so Laney pipes up and says, "Ruby tooted! It's because she has a lot of GAS!" Bwhahahahaah! Clever girl!
No, she doesn't always talk about tooting, but when she did once in Ruby this week, she said, "I toot loud, but not as loud as BABA's!" I thought I would die!
Also, both girls have taken to saying, "That's definitely not great!" They say this if they mess up, or something is a mess, etc.
Thank you, Jesus for blessing us with laughter. It is a perfect salve for my soul.
I'll leave you with one funny school comment I had. We were talking about the author Roald Dahl. He wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among other great books. I was showing some students a website on him when all of a sudden a child said above the others, "I thought he was dead!" Another student immedicately replied, "No, he's not dead, he's DUTCH!" ? Huh? I was so confused and we all laughed and laughed and laughed!
Ok, have a good weekend! Go laugh yourself silly!
Going to admit something here...the girls wouldn't settle down for bed last night, so we separated them and brought Abby to bed with us. Well, after chatting with Abby for a few, I felt guilty that Laney was all alone in her bed, wide awake. So I yelled for her to bring her blanket and come sleep with us too. So yes, two adults, two four year olds, and two dogs were all in our room last night. All humans were in our queen sized bed and one dog is on the floor while the other is in his crate. And yes. This happens more often than not. Go ahead and criticize. I mean, my neck and back yowl in the morning from all of the funky positions I have to sleep in, but it is sometimes so worth it.
So anyway, we had just settled in and everyone was calming down. Next thing you know, Abby says, "Mama, I love you...(insert dramatic pause) Chicken Lips." I was just starting to get all misty, with warm Mama feelings when that Chicken Lips part came out. I thought I was going to roll off the bed from laughing.
Bwhahahahahahaah I was like, ok, sure. "I love you too, Chicken Legs!" Which brought about hysterical giggles from everyone but Baba and the dogs. They were all actually TRYING to sleep! BAH!
So tonight, after you say your prayers, night time routine says, and give kisses. Don't forget to tell the ones you love, "I LOVE YOU, CHICKEN LIPS!" It's sure to bring a smile and sweet dreams!
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