I'm sorry. . .

a couple of you have contacted me in the past month asking about foster care and/or adoption and I haven't gotten back to you yet! I was a *little* busy with Advent, Christmas, and 10 kids. LOL!

BUT,

I actually would like to answer your questions and get back to you but I don't have a very good email sorting system and so I can't find your emails.

SO. . .

Let's do this: If you have a question about adoption, foster care, our crazy (but good) life right now or in the past (we adopted 3 kids from Liberia 2.5 years ago if you are new to the story). . . leave a comment or email me and I will try to answer the questions here on the blog this week!

If you're wondering why I might actually have time to do this, it is because we have 2 wonderful young ladies visiting us this week who are GREAT mother's helpers! Thank you Julie and Ryne!

Resource for 12 Days Celebration

Here is a great place to learn more!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Twelve More Days of Christmas!

We had such a wonderful time truly celebrating Advent (the coming) this year, that we have decided to celebrate Christmas for 12 more days! As a part of our continued celebration of Christ's Birth, we will be doing/attempting some of the following:

Our Family's "12 Days" Grand Plan (Pretty Much)

• Continuing to read and talk about the shepherds and the wise men visiting the Christ Child
• Memorizing the 12 days song and it's possible true meaning
• Baking sugar cookie cutouts each day to share with friends and neighbors. I have a set of 12 days cookie cutters we've been waiting to use!
  
• We had some small gifts that are for the whole family that we saved - we will have the children choose 1 gift each day to open and use as a family.
• We will add a set of 12 days ornaments (found at Target, also available at the Land of Nod) to our tree - one each day.
• We LOVED reading "Jotham's Journey" so much during Advent, that we decided to keep going and read one of our favorite books, "One Wintry Night," during these next 12 days.
• We will make our annual "Remembering God's Blessings in 2009" booklets together on New Year's Day.
• I *think* we will have a Twelfth Night celebration and/or Epiphany Party on January 5 or 6.

Well, I am excited to continue celebrating (and I am glad the tree doesn't have to come down quite so soon!). Twelve more nights of carols, 12 more nights of lights, 12 more nights of gifts, 12 more nights of remembering His birth!

I would love to hear how any of you celebrate The Twelve Days or Epiphany. Please leave your ideas in the comments!

Rejoice!

More Christmas Pictures

Mostly, this life of ours is beginning to feel really "normal" to us and so I find myself wondering why people stare in obvious disbelief and/or wonder when we walk down the street or into a store or restaurant. I have a friend who reminds me that for most families, this is not the norm!

Well, when I downloaded these pictures tonight and was clicking through them, I laughed out loud when I actually SAW what other people see. . . our family does look really big! LOL! It is so much about perspective though: I'll bet we look small to families like The Duggars. Many times when we have been gathered to read our advent book (more about that later), we even find ourselves and our children commenting that it seems like someone(s) is/are missing. . .

I love these beautiful girls. Little Missy is loving her new sisters!

Our Many Merry Brothers. . . They are a GREAT bunch of boys!

Here are my sweet "babies."
They aren't really babies but we are going through a lot of the baby bonding phases right now.
The Lord has been so good to give me another chance to have "babies."

A Very Merry Christmas!

Yes, I'm still here

and I really do mean to update this blog more often! I was doing so well there (for about a week!) LOL!

Needless to say, life is very full right now. I am busy! But, busy in a very good way: not in the "run around all over town like chickens with our heads cut off" kind of way, but in the "run around the house corralling and training the children who are running around like chicken's with their heads cut off" kind of way! I hope you get my sarcastic sense of humor here.

Actually, it isn't really all that more chaotic and crazy than it was when we had just 4 children. There is still a sense of peace and order in our home and in our lives. It is just a LOT (and I do mean a LOT) of work for my husband and I to basically re-train our newest additions in almost EVERY area of life. They have, quite honestly, never really been parented and so we have to be even more intentional and consistent and diligent in our every day training and teaching to help them overcome the bad habits that are so ingrained and to hopefully lead them in knowing the One who can really change their lives by changing their hearts.

For the record and just to be clear - I wouldn't trade this for anything! It has been an amazing journey so far and we are SO blessed that God has chosen us to be a part of this. I greatly encourage anyone looking into adoption to at least REALLY prayerfully consider adopting foster children who are waiting for families. Of course, I would also encourage international adoption too (we have been totally blessed by that as well!). Don't let fear stop you from following the Lord's leading! You will be the one who misses out!

We appreciate your prayers during this season of our family being "knit" together and I look forward to being able to post more regularly as our life settles back into our new normal (still figuring out what, exactly, that is!).