I need to listen to them.

Ladies' Prayer was on the calendar for this morning, so my mind was on my Lord and all He has done for me. Many of those things I have written about previously, many I will be writing about in the future, and many, I will not post via my laptop or any other computer for that matter. Some have happened and are permanently ingrained in my mind. Some have been stored in my memory only to be brought forward at the perfect time. Some (many I am sure) have happened and have been forgotten, never to be thought of again. I am glad God does not expect me to keep a record of everything He has done for me.
I have to say, if I were in His position, I wouldn't be so gracious. For example, as I have written about, AG has had difficulty with kind words towards her brothers and sisters. We adhered to the old adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." This morning, daughter number 2, finally chose shed compliments on her siblings. My heart was so used to giving her consequences, I had to consciously remember to praise her instead of reprimand her. God is not that way, He longs to forgive us and praise us. At the same time He helps us to grow, to become men, women, boys, and girls in whom He can be proud of. He gives us every chance along the way to choose the right path. When we go our own way, He provides a way back. There is always an "escape hatch" from sin, always an opportunity to turn around and go the other direction. I am thankful for His patience with me. In turn, I need to share the same patience with those in my life, whether they are dear to me or some one whose name I don't know.
It's ironic, when I sat to write this message, my head had me going in a very different direction. Instead, my heart was lead to these thoughts. I needed to think them. I needed to read them. I need to listen to them them.
Now, I am off to fold laundry.

We are family.

Tonight we had a party, no, it wasn't any one's birthday, it was an anniversary of sorts. Four years ago today AB and AG came to live with us. Little did we know, they would be a permanent part of our family. Little did we know, we would fall in love with the woman that brought them into this world. Little did we know, not only would they become part of us but many others would join with us as well.
Tonight we celebrated, three very different families who share a common bond, that is our children, along with the woman who made this all possible. I know for a fact every parent there was blessed to be chosen, by God, to love these siblings. I am also blessed that our home gets to be "family central". We have more nieces and nephews now. EB and EG now have more cousins, aunts and uncles than they began with. Holidays became not only more complicated but more exciting. I love watching our newest members begin to integrate into this crazy, chaotic, comfortable enigma, we call family. I love to think about what we, as a whole, represent; everything good, everything forgiving, everything loving. Without question, without worry, without fear, we are family.

He's right, he does.

Ropin' and ridin' was on the calendar for today. We took a drive out of town about an hour and another 15 minutes down a dirt road and ended up at a free range cattle ranch for the owner's, our friend, 40th birthday. JB fell asleep, thankfully, on the way down and when the dirt road started taking us for a ride, he woke up with the biggest grin of excitement. That's our boy, he definitely keeps us busy. This boy has no idea he is two, he will take on his 13 year old brother without a thought. He doesn't understand why he can't carry the gallon bottles of milk or help move the couch. When one of his older siblings are being reprimanded, he is right there repeating the parent's words. So, sitting upon an animal 50 times his size, piece of cake. Standing next to a six foot tall man he waits his turn to hold the lasso in his tiny little hands. When it came to handling the branding iron, I am thankful, JB allowed his big brother to do the captaining. A child like that keeps you on your toes. This boy has no fear, except when it comes to automatic flushing toilets. I think he said it best when he looked at me and spoke these words, "Mom, I make you tired." He's right, he does.

It feels normal

My how the kids have a way of keeping me busy. I know, that sounds like an obvious statement but sometimes I need to hear it to remind myself why I don't accomplish everything I think about doing. Most of the time six kids feels normal, just like two, four and five felt. Other times I feel like I am surrounded. In fact, at church the other day I was holding JG while walking through the lobby, with every step I took, all of the rest of the kids were right beside me. I made a quiet plea to my friend for rescue from the sea of youth when she said I looked like a Verizon commercial. Great, I have my own "network". Now, if I only had those extra minutes. Sometimes I need to remind myself that the twelve "Mom"s I've heard in the last ten minutes came from more than one child. There are days when a "low roar" is all the quiet I can hope for. You know,I wouldn't have it any other way. I love hearing the excited voices fill my van after school. The conversations overlapping at the dinner table are like music to my ears. The crescendo of laughter ringing down the stairwell, warms my heart every time. Sure, I relish the sound of silence when my dear husband takes the kids to school. I do find myself stretching my own bedtime a half hour or so later just to hear my thoughts. And I am wonderfully blessed each time some one mentions how well behaved my children are. But, who wants quiet, perfectly behaved children who leave you alone? My kids do a great job at being kids. Sometimes they make my job easy, sometimes, they make it difficult but they always make it exciting.

Pop Compliments

We have a child who is having a serious problem with words. She is having a hard time saying positive things to her siblings. In our home, if you don't have anything nice to say, you lose the privileged of words. We have enacted this consequence on numerous occasions with said child, so, because she obviously needs practice in saying nice things, we have invented "Pop Compliments". Similar to a pop quiz, pop compliments can be sprung on you at any time. When your name is said in conjunction with this new disciplinary tactic it is your job to tell each of your siblings something you like about them. If you have difficulty with this, then you must be tired so your bed time is bumped up. We are still working on the offending child. (who has gone an entire day saying she can't think of anything, a long time for her not to be able to speak to her brothers and sisters) Being one of my strong willed tykes, consistency is the answer. Hopefully, by this time next week, she will be able to sing the praises of her siblings. Until then, the house will be a lot more quiet. I should enjoy the peace.

My heart was stirred.

"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." We sang this lyric in church this morning and it stirred my heart. Waiting upon the Lord, how good am I at that, I wonder. These past few years I have been living what God has set before me. We said yes to our calling to do foster care and I didn't need to wait, life just happened to me. After JG was born my life took a turn, patience and time would be in my future. All of a sudden, this steam train of a life has come to be more of a touring train. JG is only 16 months old but her delays are becoming visible. For a baby with Down Syndrome she is very strong both physically and willfully, both are very exciting to me. But, we are already experiencing the waiting, when will she say her first word, when will she get her first tooth, when will she take her first step. How wonderful it is to know the answer to all of these questions, "All in my Lord's timing." The thing with JG is, there will always be waiting, but, as the song promises, I will get stronger. What an exciting life God has set before me and I get to live it.

A wee bit of Wii

My day was a bit busy and inspiration hasn't hit me yet. So I am posting a video of two of my boys playing Wii. AB and JB are having a ton of fun but JB is too little for the video game. He plays right along though. The video is short so, I hope you enjoy this wee bit of Wii.