Apple Orchard 2009

whats been up....

Last week was kind of a crazy week. So much happening all at the same time. Its not always bad to be that busy but sometimes its nice to just have nothing to do but enjoy being home. I would say maybe half the craziness was in the form of phone calls.
So much has been happening I am not even sure I can remember all the way back to the last post day.
We had an amazing Foster Parents Night Out. I am learning to be more flexible and understanding with those I must work with. It is frustrating to be dependent upon volunteers in order to keep our ratio of child to adult in a good way. I am working on ideas to build my volunteer pool. Admittedly, I am becoming more and more picky about whom I allow to help. I can handle a lot of things and can be flexible in a lot of areas. But the one that makes me crazy is when I am counting on help and plan the number of children, the activities and food and then just a few hours before the children are scheduled to arrive I get calls informing me that my volunteers are very sorry but something else has come up and they have other plans. It is one thing if an emergency arises or someone gets sick. But seriously.....when someone commits to helping I really need to know I can count on them being there. It is just never a good situation to have 30 children and then end up with only 4 or 5 adults to help. I am so thankful for my faithful few that arrive every month without fail! These kids are worth our time and deserve our best! This month we rented the gym at the Orange Planet in Pleasant Hill. Could not have been a more perfect month to do that! With lower than I like # of volunteers it was great fun to have an entire double size gym for all of us to play and hang out together! I am planning a volunteer information meeting for Thursday Oct. 8. Am so excited to see how many turn out!
That weekend was our Runnells Razzle Dazzle Days. The town was buzzing with tons of fun and activities. Beginning with a parade and ending with fireworks we had a lot of fun! Amaris and I missed the parade and morning activities in order to go celebrate the upcoming arrival of my cousin Paula nd his wife Heidis first child. I love baby showers! Such miracles they are.
Sickness entered the house AGAIN ack! and I am happy to report has left. WHEW!
Meetings and appointments. Phone calls, drama and craziness...what else is new?
Dominique called and informed me he has decided to transfer to DMACC and instead of visiting for Christmas he is moving back to Iowa. Long story~ I just decided it is way easier to listen and support than it is to negotiate...He is a good kid and I trust he is making the right decision for himself.
I was planning on doing a Madison update but have changed my mind...later.
Friday we finally moved Mother back to her house. What a journey of healing she has had! Her injuries happened on July 20 she has been on the mend ever since. I am sure it feels good to her to be back in the quiet of her home. She still hasn't been cleared to go back to work but life is much batter for her now!
We did respite for an amazing kid this past weekend~we went apple picking came home and had a BBQ.
Church on Sunday. The usual Monday chores and making applesauce and crisp yesterday. Conferences for the elementary kids tonight!
All in all life is busy but good!
I will post Apple orchard photos in a different post. We had tons of fun with our friends the Fernandez family!

The Jitter Bug and a cookie thief!

Lately the air has been thick with pollen and other nastiness that make my little monsters miserable.
Yesterday brought Amaris to the breaking point, she awoke in the morning struggling to breath. As I was on the phone with the doctor the Burrito sneezed a nasty toxic sneeze and so...I made an appointment for both! After putting the others on the bus, setting Isaiah up for his school day we were off to the clinic.
Amaris was given treatments and meds to get her breathing under control the poor little things was so shakey and jittery by the time we left I decided her new name should be Jitter Bug after all she is as cute as a bug! The Burrito?? Double ear infection...AGAIN! UGH! Meds for both shopping for food for Foster Parents Night then home for more meds more jitterbugging and a nap. ;0) We were up most of the night struggling to breath but this morning was much better so off she went to school.
Today I am baking cookies for my cousins baby shower. I had them all cooling on the table nicely lined on the waxed paper...that is until the cookie thief arrived on the scene! I am in the kitchen rolling out the next batch and hear this tiny little "mmmmmmmmmmmm...thats goood.....mommy mommy mommy....thats goood" I look over the counter into the dining room and what do I see perched on the table? covered in flour and cookies crumbs? YUP you guessed it, THE BURRITO!! 4 and a half cookies down and he hops off the table and says over his shoulder "thank you mommy!"
What a day already!

Potty training has officially begun!

The Burrito has begun to express an interest in going potty! YAY! Personally I think it started as an excuse to escape his gated community, but hey, it is paying off. And with encouragement from big brother this could possibly be the easiest of the 7!

an answer...

I have been thinking a lot about the recent contact via the postal service. I was leaning towards tucking the cards away with the photos and other items from pre-adoption days. A little treasure I have been saving to share with the children when they 'come of age' so to speak. As I pondered, and prayed, and asked God to show me what to do...He answered in the most precious way possible.
Amaris and I were snuggled up on the couch Sunday night watching some random thing on TV. When out of the blue she looked at me and said, "Do you wanna know what I think is weird?" with Amaris you NEVER know what is going to follow a question like that. So I cautiously asked "What do you think is weird?" she looked at me and said "I think it is weird that I have more memories of being with the Blaedes than I have of being with my real mom. Why do you think that?" I thought for a few minutes before answering, then I said. "well, honey, I think maybe because you were so little when you came to live with us it is hard to remember that long ago. And when you were with the Blaedes while Isaiah was sick, you were older,  you had tons of fun and they love you lots! So you have lots to remember." I held my breath a few heart beats waiting for this to explode. after a while she said, "I have another question, I thought (Oh boy here it comes) she asked "What if my real mom gets better?" this time I had a quick conversation with God...."Lord please help me out here!" I asked her "Honey what do you think might happen?" she said "well, I think God will help her get better and some day maybe I will see her again." So I told her..."Amaris, we pray everyday for your first family. And I know God can help them get better. But, you will have to wait until you are grown like Dominique before you will be able to see them again. Do you understand why?" Amaris slipped her warm little hand in mine and said, "yes. I do. Because I am safe here and I love you." And that was it. She was happy. no more questions. We just went back to snuggling and watching the randomness on TV. And I whispered a thank you to God for the answering my prayers.
So the answer to my question?
save the cards with the rest of the treasures.
for another time.

This weekend was the Dream Kids Convention. The first kids convention we have done here in Iowa! What an amazing time we had. The team brought an amazing opportunity to our kids and I am so grateful to have been a part! These pictures are ones I took of Elijah at convention. The ONLY draw back to convention was that we could not afford the cost for all our kiddos to attend. :0(  We decided it would be Elijah because he went to camp this summer and has been talking about convention ever since camp!

An interesting thing happened today.
The mail arrived and I ruffled through it and came across one pink envelope and one blue envelope. Both with hand writting that was foreign to me. I studied both for a moment and realized they were addressed to Jade Jones and Nicolis Jones. and my heart. skipped. a. beat. c/o Angela Albers. with me address. not my po box address but the real deal house address. and tucked in the upper left corner was the name of the kids biological mother.
my heart.
stopped.
beating.
while I pondered for a moment what could be inside and what would I do with it when I found out.
I opened Sam's first. a birthday card with a simple message written on the inside cover. with a promise to write again soon.
then I opened Amaris's. hers not only had the greeting but also an apology and a request for me to explain everything to her.
The first thing I thought was how thankful I am that we have been open and honest (on the level that the kids can understand). We celebrate their adoption. We celebrate the blessing they are. and we Pray for their biological family. daily.
I have allowed these thoughts to dance around in my mind all evening.
do I contact them?
do I ignore it?
do I read the cards to the kids?
do I tell the kids about them but not exactly read them?
do I just save the cards and wait until they are older to tell them?
I am not sure what I will do.
I will continue to pray about it and wait....until I know.

Happy 13 Isaiah!

WOW! Today is a sad day for me. I can not believe Isaiah is 13 today. There is just something about that number that makes me sad. He is not a child anymore, no longer my little boy. Today he is a teenager. I am blessed though.
13 things I love about Isaiah!
1. He is a living walking miracle, and this past year he came to realize and understand exactly what God has done for him. What a precsious moment that was!
2. Isaiah is very creative.
3. Isaiah can build anything with Legos. I look at those crazy instructions and am lucky to fit the first 2 pieces together correctly!
4. He has a compassionate heart.
5. He is an amazing big brother.
6. He has a great sense of humor. He makes me laugh daily!
7. He loves to play jokes on people and 'set traps'.
8. When something tickles him, his laugh comes form his toes. I love to hear him laugh!
9. Isaiah completely enjoys life. He rarely ever complains about anything.
10. Isaiah loves people with his whole heart. No reservation.  If you are his friend you have a friend for life.
11. Isaiah loves chocolate more than any person I have ever met! It is crazy how much he loves chocolate.
12. Isaiah is one of the bravest people I have ever had the honor to know. The tests and things he goes through at the hospital and doctors would break most people. 
13. He is my hero!

Isaiah, you bless my world ans swell my heart daily! I love you so much and I am so very proud of you. I hope you have the best birthday ever!!
Happy happy happy birthday!!!
Love mom!

Yesterday was Labor Day. And it was a day of rare moments. My brother Philip was temporarily transferred to a wind farm in Iowa. So we packed up the kids and my mother and drove 3 hours to Storm Lake Iowa. Philip reserved us rooms to stay over night and took us on a very educational tour of his wind farm. We stayed in a hotel right on the Lake. It was beautiful we walked and walked around down by the shore, climbed on the rocks, played on the play ground and much to the kids delight. There was an indoor/outdoor water park at the hotel. We drove back home today. the kids missed a day of school but it was definitely worth it! all the photos in this post are from the tour of the farm. I will post other fun photos later. Thanks Uncle Cowboy! We had such a great time!!