Little Mama!!!

This morning, I have chosen to just reflect on this past week. Last Wednesday, our family took in two extra special kids, temporarily. We were blind-sided, to say the least, but everyone rose to the challenge, without question.

I have heard so many people comment about how "proud" they are of us or how "amazed" that they are because we are now raising seven kids but I have to interject and mention how proud and how amazed I am at the way our children have responded.

Foster Care (well, in this case, Kinship Care), is not for the faint of heart. It takes every person in your home pulling together, working to establish a new norm. Our family (especially our kids) have done just that.

Because we weren't expecting our lives to change, in this way, we weren't exactly prepared. We had an extra bedroom (currently our toy room), for them, but we had no beds. Thankfully, we had a couple of crib mattresses to hold us over until we could get them some beds.

We realized, really quickly, that bedtime was going to be our biggest challenge. No matter how many nightlights and hall lights we left on, the oldest of the two got really worked up at bedtime. I found myself praying a lot for wisdom for me and comfort for her when it came to bedtime. My answer came in a small package. a 48 pound, 48 inch package to be exact...Erin!

On night three, during our family prayer and Bible time, Erin took the initiative to lay hands on Taylor and pray for her to not be scared, for her not to have bad dreams, and for her to sleep through the night. Then, she willingly gave up her bed to Taylor and opted to sleep on the crib mattress next to Tyler to keep him from getting scared. Taylor has slept through the night since. Praise God! ;o)

As for Erin and Tyler...they are attached at the hip....literally. Erin pretends as if he's her baby and carries him around on her hip....he's 5! And though he's a little peanut, too, he's too big to be carried around but in Erin's words, "I don't mind!" Tyler is enjoying every second of Erin's attention, especially during the four day break they had from school. Boy did he miss her when she was at school, yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, when Erin got off the bus, Tyler saw her and yelled loud and proud, "MOMMY!!!!!!!!"

She may not be a mommy, yet, but mark my words...that girl will be quite the mommy, one day, and I believe she will fulfill her dream of adopting 5 kids!

Nice Things!

It's Thursday!!!!

Know what that means????

I "get" to study with my three 'bigs' for SEVEN tests, on Friday!!!!

Harrison's reading test is over a story about a little girl who moves to a new town, into a new house, and has to go to a new school and make new friends. At the end of the story, it says something to the effect of some things change but the nicest things stay the same. I decided to start at the end of the story and ask Harrison what types of things would stay the same for him if we moved to a new town.

Our conversation...

Harrison; "God."

Me; "Yes, but what..."

Harrison interrupts; "God if He's in your heart, that is."

Me; "Yes, but what else besides God?"

Harrison; (quickly responds) "Jesus!"

Me; "Yes, Harrison, but outside of Jesus and God. What are some of the nice things that will stay the same?"

Harrison; (Again, without skipping a beat) "The Bible."



Okay, Harrison. You win. Not even worth correcting! Hope you fare well on your test! With answers like God, Jesus, and the Bible, I have no doubt that you will pass every test that comes your way. :o)

New Year's Resolutions!

Last night, in Kidz City, the kids were supposed to write down a list of five things or events that they want to see happen in 2012. Emma Rose's was so sweet, so innocent and well...so Emma. I had to share...(copied verbatim)

1.) God I want you to hear me pray to you when I need to pray.

2.) Jesus heals people when they die or when they are very sick.

3.) God made a beautiful Garden and made a boy and girl and named them Adam and Eve.

4.) I would be nice to to every body on the whole planet earth.

5.) I want to obey and pray to God not other golden statues.

(Home)School

Yesterday, we (I) decided to have a makeshift homeschool day with my kids since they were out of school for election day. I know...no rest for the weary. Before you think that I am a horrible mom, they LOVED it! The kids got up at their normal 6:3o, had breakfast, did their chores, and off to (home)school we went. Emma did her science, social studies, math, and spelling, Erin did spelling and reading, Harrison did reading, math, and spelling, Anderson made a turkey feather and Karrington worked on the color blue. There was sooo much going on at one time but the kids loved it....and so did I! It was the best day that we've had in a long time!

My favorite part was the time we set aside to pray and read the Bible. We talked a lot about respect and obedience and then I offered the kids a challenge. I taped up four words; Respect, Obedience, Kindness, and Sharing. I told the kids that Daddy and I were going to start paying closer attention to who was making a choice to be obedient, respectful, kind and unselfish. When they go to bed, we are going to tape those tags onto the kid's bed that we saw choosing to take on any of those attributes. The child that has the most tags gets to be Mommy's special helper for the day and the one who has the most tags by the end of the week doesn't have to take a nap on Sunday. Let me just say, my house has never been so peaceful. Our kids were so well behaved that I couldn't wait to put their tags on their bed. Winner #1 was Miss Erin Owens, with two tags. She blew me away with how she rose to the challenge. Their faces, this morning, when they saw their tags on the beds was priceless!!!

Anyway, after devotions and bathtime, we did what every good homeschool family does and went on a field trip. :o) We voted and went to Frisch's for a free lunch.

What a great day!!! If every homeschool day is like yesterday, I'm going to kick myself for not doing it sooner!

For The Last Time...

Let the record show that potty training has begun for the last time in the Owens' home. Karrington has been asking to use the potty since she was 18 months old but in my desire to keep her young forever, I have forbid her. :o) That was until diapers went up $5 a BOX!!!!! Being the frugal woman that I am, that is all that it took for me to cave.

Day #1
Successes - 2 Accidents - 1

So far, Today (Day #2)
Successes - 1 Accidents - 1


50% = not too bad!

TALENT!

Wednesday - Erin gets glasses
Friday - Erin breaks glasses
Saturday - Daddy fixes Erin's glasses
Monday - Erin breaks glasses, again
Monday - Daddy & Mommy fix Erin's glasses
Tuesday - Erin breaks glasses
Wednesday - Erin gets brand new pair of glasses

TALENT!!!!

I Got a Boo Boo!

As I was straightening my hair, this morning, Anderson came in crying and holding his elbow. He had fallen out of his chair and hit his "not so" funny bone. After kissing it, I asked him if he was okay. He said, "No. I think I need....." I was getting ready to finish his sentence by saying his normal answer, "bandaid" when he piped up and said, "I think I need some money!"