I AM SO SAD!

I took our camera to church for the Christmas Eve service on Wed. and forgot it under a pew. Well, went back the following Sunday and it was gone and no one has turned it in. I have turned the house upside down and I am most sure it was left under that pew. I checked twice this week and nothing. Surely someone found it and it will be turned in, right?
Now, I borrowed my mom's camera and have been taking fraudulent Christmas pictures of the kids. You know, making them get their pj's back on and hold up something they got days ago...I feel very evil. What kind of mom takes faux- Christmas pictures?!
I am very sad....someone will turn it in, right? Someone wouldn't steal from a church on Christmas Eve! Maybe they went on vacation right after the service and plan to return it when they get back...

The Nobel Peace Prize Winner is...

You know who should win the Nobel Peace Prize?? The person who invented gift bags.

Oh Christmas Tree...

We got our Christmas tree up today! Wait...is it still called a Christmas Tree if there is nothing on it?

And Another Ones Down

My turn with the stomach bug. Yuck!

Another one bites the dust

Kami has become a stomach virus victim. Just praying I don't. We can make it if mom stays well. Those are Mo's words not mine. Actually his were more like pleading with God, "Please don't let mama get sick. I can't do this by myself! Please don't let mama get sick."
And Mo has been a real life saver. He is the definition of a real man. He has been doing dishes non stop, making bottles, letting me take a nap, holding one or all the babies while I get supper ready, running to the grocery store for high dollar formula and praying for me not to get sick. I haven't made all the right decisions in life but I did right by choosing him. Thank ya, Jesus!
And a shout out to my principal for being so understanding of all the days off I have needed. Once everyone is well, I will be back in the saddle.
Be praying for Sandy. She is our babysitter while I work.

Let The Games Begin!

It is 4:13 am and I am up. Now don't go accusing the little ones. Kori has a stomach bug. YUCK!
Let the games begin!
Sleep?? What's that?
And I can quitely hear the histerical laughing of all the moms who have 3 or more kids.

Hair Everywhere!

Oh yeah! I thought when I was signing up for boys that I would have less hair to do every morning. Something I am not a fan of as you can tell in that my girls wear pony tails everywhere.
Well, Julius has thrown that out the window. He has a crazy mop top! We have got to get it cut! But not if biological mom doesn't approve... which is likely to be the case.

Day Two

They say you can tell a lot about a person by how they respond to difficult situations. Well, today was a test for our babies. And they did pretty darn good.
Ariel is not a fan of sleeping, sad to say. Maybe she is used to sleeping with her mom....not happening in McDaniel Land. So, she is gonna have some adjusting to do for a while.
Julius slept like a champ! Thank ya, Jesus!
It was our typical jam pack Saturday with basketball, a party and then a meeting with a friend so there was no schedule. But the kids did great and it took all of us to make it through the day. We left the house at 8:45 and got back around 4.
A couple tears from Julius when he didn't get his way but that is typical for his age and Ariel just wants the world to revolve around her and that is typical of girls.
Tomorrow will be a bit easier and hope to get us all on a better schedule for naps and such.

My Heart Is Full

Ya know when you get that feeling, "This is what God made me for!"? That is how I feel today. I was put on this planet to be a mom. I got my wish 11 1/2 years ago and I fulfilled what I believe God added to my purpose by having a heart for orphans.
We were told to prepare for the worst but have gotten off to a great start. We were anxious about having 2, one being a girl that we had nothing for and were told there were a few issues at the other foster parent's home. God heard our concerns and provided for each one. He is our portion deliverer!
Today Julius and Ariel came to our door. We don't know what brought them here but know we were bathed in prayer the entire day. They took to all of us like fish to water. It is still unclear how long they will be with us but we feel like they are already part of the family and feel blessed to be serving them while God reveals His plan. Julius and Ariel are so happy and easy going. They laugh easily and Julius has liked everything but broccoli so far. The girls have been so helpful! Julius is almost 2 years old and Ariel is 7 months. Both are beautiful!
Even if they leave in a few days or months, they are a joy and loving them will be easy.
What has God been asking you to do but fear has kept you from it? I encourage you to run to His will. He truly does have plans for you. Plans for you to prosper.
Thanks for your prayers and your support. I have written that after a day with the girls that my heart is full. Well, tonight my heart is full, my spirit is full and so are all the beds in the house.

Ask and you shall be given in abundance!

Table for 6, please!
We are getting 2 babies tomorrow! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I know. A boy and girl will come to our house around 2. The boy is almost 2 and the girl is 6 months. I know we were only looking for a boy and only one not two and certainly weren't planning for a girl. But, they needed a home and were about to run out of time looking so our agency called us with the "I know you weren't really planning for this but..." speech. Don't know much else other than they may be here a few days to a few months or forever. Just gonna love on 'em and leave the rest to God. Like how we don't all fit in any of our cars (thanks, mom for letting us use the minivan). Thanks for all your prayers but don't stop now! God's real work begins 'cause this mama is gonna need it. 2 under the age of 2! I wasn't even that brave with my biological children! Stay tuned. We are about to find out how much of a sense of humor God has.

All the Gates (Decision) Be Damned...

Ok. Here is the latest in the Foster/Adopt saga. We had our quaretly visit by our case manager last Monday. Nothing new really other than come to find out, to make a long story short, the agency had our information wrong in the computer that CPS acccesses to determine where kids go. So, it has been wrong since we got our license back in April.
Then I did some investigating on my own and talking to the "in-take manager" for the agency to see what is taking so dang long and found out that back in August, legislation in Texas passed the Gates Decision. To make short work of it, all CPS workers must get a court order before removing kids from bad situations or face the possiblity of being sued. So, as you can imagine all the courts are backed up waiting for judges to sign off on these orders and in the mean time the parents are skipping town with their kids in tow. Plus all the "hoops" that the parents had to jump through to get their kids back are now having to be jumped with the kids still with the parents so the kids could be in a bad situation for longer than would be originally. Thus were CPS removed 50 kids per month, they are now down to 3. Not that the abuse is now gone, it is just taking so long to get the kids removed. Sad for us! And the kids.
My new medidation is 2 Cor. 4:8-11
We are pressed on everyside but not crushed,
Perplexed but not dispairing,
Persecuted but not forsaken,
Struck down but not destroyed.
We carry around the death and life of Christ.

A Bow Hunter's First Lesson

Here are a couple pictures of Mo's forearm from the bow he recently got. A lesson you only need to learn once, or in this case twice. Yep, he hit his forearm just 2 times. For future bow hunters, keep the lead arm sightly bent.