Almost Summer

I am catching up on some of our fun events this spring and early summer. These are the last few weeks before school got out.

We got to attend an event at a local church and see our favorite TV celebrities.

This was pre-scandal. Sigh.

They were such a sincere and gracious family. The children sang and performed bible versus, Jim Bob and Michele spoke and then we go autographs from several family members. 

Grandma and Pampa came to visit. They got to join us for a Red Robin birthday dinner. I can't remember if it was Reagan's or Gracyn's. 

We watched lots of Screamer's Softball. Reagan played for the first time and had a great season. She played catcher, first base and second base and scored her teams first home run of the season. 

We went with Gracyn's class on a field trip to Turpentine Creek Animal Rescue.

It was a fun field trip day with this girl!

Reagan's cheerleaders, rooting on the Screamers. The little two were always in a dirt pile nearby. They dug in sand for hours and hours of softball season.

I beat Tommy at Pop-A-Shot. On his birthday!!!

The long awaited community center finally opened!!! We have been waiting since we moved here. It is a 2 minute drive or 5 minute bike ride from our house. We have been there about every day since it opened.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Reagan and Gracyn came along with me for Mother's Day pedicures

Addison had some friends over to do "homework". They were filming a commercial for a product they made for economics. Everyone got involved and they had a blast.

She got some cardboard out of the recycle bin for a project. She has NO idea. :)

Gracyn's class presented their research. This is my personal favorite page of her presentation.

Memorial day with friends. They all traded clothes, put on the hats and mustaches and tried to trick us.

Addison did an extra role in a commercial. She had fun. It was a LONG day. We still have yet to see the finished product.

Sidewalk chalk on a Sunday afternoon.

Kindie field day.

Daddy wakes up early and works long days. Sometimes he can't even stay awake to finish his popsicle at night.

Food truck season is a BIG deal around here. Yum.

Six

After recent court hearings, we have learned that we are 6, for at least 6 months longer. Our Little Guy is not able to go home at this time and we will not go before the judge again until January. When we return in January he will have been in our home for 1 year, or 25% of his 4 year old life. This next 6 months matter big. The first 6 months are of little consequence as biological parents have time to meet the requirements the courts have given them. The 2nd 6 months is a turning point. Things really need to begin happening, or goals have to change.

It can be a challenging time for us as this little person becomes more and more a part of our family. We have to think about the future with caution, because we have no idea what it holds. We continue to pray for the biological family, even when daily frustrations can make it so hard to do so. Major changes can come about on a daily basis. We are learning not to let those phone calls or new bits of information wreck us, but to just go with the flow.

As with any type of mothering, most days start with acts of service long before you even want to be awake, and often end with acts of service later than you want to be doing them. However, each day gets easier. As we get to know him, things that would have thrown us for a loop 6 months ago don't even phase us any more. Back in January, the first time our Little Guy threw up in the car, I almost had a nervous break-down. 6 months and 5 car throw-ups later, we travel with a buckets an carry on when it happens. We know when he is over-tired, what activities might trigger emotions in him and how he likes to fall asleep.

Our children are complete rock-stars. They have been the best foster siblings I could ever have imagined. They have so much compassion and love for him. They are always willing to play, serve and love right along with us. They have unselfishly shared time and resources. Their is a little bit less of mom and dad to go around and they have been so patient with that. They are learning that not every family looks like ours and that some people have hard lives. They are seeing consequences for poor choices and how they affect the people around you. They are growing up and maturing through this and we are so proud of them.

Please pray with us. In so many ways this experience is not what we expected. I realize as we work through our situation that I really longed for a quick, easy reunification. For a happy-ending wrapped up in a pretty bow. We still pray every day for that happy ending and know that God has a plan for our Little Guy's life, but no answer is easy at this point. There will no doubt be joy in the sadness however this ends. Until then, we love him each day and pray for God to take care of him and his family. I pray for loads of wisdom on the people who have to make big decisions in his case. Thankfully I am not one of them, because there are no easy answers. Prayer, compassion, love and patience that is where we need to be for the  next 6 months. Each day is a fight to choose those things over frustration, tiredness, worry and judgment. It is a learning process all the time.

We are just living in and enjoying the day to day. Reading books, riding bikes, sharing God's word, swimming, scootering, making friends, wrestling, playing and providing experiences. We are walking in faith and waiting to see what the future holds. 

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Last Day of Texas

All good things must come to an end! This was my laundry room the day after we got home from our 10 day tour. Totally worth it though!!! The only laundry I did over those days were wet clothes from water rides at Sea World and all the night time wet sheets from the little guy!

Any of you boy Mama's have any miracle tips for me. He sleeps in the most absorbent (and expensive) Pull-ups I can find and still leaks through and wakes up in a wet bed at least 5 times a week. 

We had a big cook-out at Mimi's house. She has created a back yard paradise for the kids. They play in the fields, sand box and hammock for hours on end. Addison got to feed Baby Jax some dinner.

Pappy has a talent for napping. He slept for 3 hours in that chair with my crew making all kinds of noise and craziness all around him. I assumed when he woke up that he had turned his hearing aids off, but nope, he took that nap with them on. :)

We had our traditional Babes dinner with my family. It is always good to see everyone, and I think I could eat that chicken fried steak every day of my life!

I actually made me crew eat there 2 days in a row. Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch. It is that good! We wrapped up our week and a half of fun Saturday evening and headed for home around 6am Sunday. 

Texas Stop 3

Our 3rd stop in Texas took us to Miss Debra's house for a few days. There was lots and lots of horseback riding! We played outside and rode until we couldn't take the heat anymore and then headed to our friends waterpark in Canton. They treated us to a great day playing on the waterslides, eating yummy treats and relaxing in the cabana. 

The Rainforest Cafe

This was Baby Jax at Sea World. He is always smiling and happy. Except, not at Sea World. I think it was just a little hot and over stimulating for a 5 month old. 

We pulled back up to our hotel after 10 hours at Sea World. We were hot, sweaty, wet from water rides and hungry. Tommy ran to the hotel for a quick shower and some dry clothes and the kids and I walked to the Riverwalk to go to Rain Forest Cafe.. Why not got to a dinner at bedtime while on vacation, right?

We had a blast and the food was good, but the service was TERRIBLE and it took forever. I think it ended up being a 3 hour ordeal. Thankfully Tommy brought me dry clothes when he caught up with us and I was able to change in the bathroom.

We walked these kids back to the hotel for bed at 10:30pm.

Sea World

The big plans in San Antonio included a day at Sea World. I have been wanting to take my little animal lovers there FOREVER!!! But, we have just never wanted to add the additional driving hours to make it there. I am so glad we went. We had such a fun day and managed to pack in everything they had to do, with about an hour to spare before the park closed. 

This was such a fun day for the Little Guy. I don't think he has ever experienced anything quite like it. He was a little apprehensive about the rides at first, but warmed up quickly and then just wanted to do everything over and over again. He and Gracyn rode everything they were tall enough for. Addison and Reagan did all that, plus the 2 big roller coasters. 

You have to keep a schedule at Sea World in order to squeeze in all the shows with rides in between. It was a busy day, ending with 24,000 steps on my Fitbit, but they were troopers through it all. Gracyn and the Little Guy took turns with a stroller and the big girls walked it all. My Mom, sister and nephews only made it until about 3:00. Baby Jax wasn't too interested in conquering all of Sea World! His Mama wasn't that interested either. :)

I think the Sea Lion show and the water rides were the big favorites of the day. They even persuaded me on a water ride and of course I ended up the most soaked of everyone.

This was the Little Guy's first ride of the day. He almost lost it when it started moving, but he had 2 great big sisters to calm him down. 

The play area was another great hit. They could have stayed here all day, if it wasn't for that schedule we had to keep.

I am so glad we have checked Sea World off our family bucket list. We were a little disappointed at the amount of actual sea life they have these days, but it was still so much fun.

Texas, Stop 2

The 2nd stop on our Texas road trip brought us to San Antonio. We met my mom, sister and nephews for a few days of fun on the Riverwalk. We arrived at our hotel and were quite as sight! Road trip error, I booked us a downtown hotel, because I wanted to be walking distance from all the fun. I did not consider parking. Our hotel was right on a busy downtown street, curbside unloading and only valet parking. I didn't think about us (Tommy) having to unload everything for a 10 day road trip, off the roof of our car, on a downtown curb. We filled several luggage carts for a 2 day stay. All while trying to be discreet about the fact that we had 6 people staying in the room. Tommy's favorite part is that he was loading and unloading a saddle, as Addison brings hers to Texas to ride at Miss Debra's. He kept saying, "We might be in Texas, but I am the only one unloading a saddle!".

After all the unloading we headed to the Alamo and to the river boat ride. Tommy and I were digging deep to try and remember all our Texas history. My girls no nothing of any of it, since they have never been to school in Texas.

Baby Jax was all smiles until we wore him down with all the traveling. 

On the way to San Antonio that morning, we were able to meet up with the Borie girls for a quick Chick-Fil-A breakfast and some playtime. They were precious friends in Colorado and then moved to Texas. It wasn't long, but we were so excited to see them!!!