Baby Update

Many of you know that our adopted son's birth mom is expecting another baby any day now. She has asked Travis and I to adopt her baby. We have said, yes. It is still all so unsure, as we will be working with the foster system as she relinquishes her rights.... so, we are leaving things in the hands of our government, once again. It will be a tough road, and things might now work out- but we hope they do. Right now we are really concerned that she might be carrying TWINS!! It is a little daunting to think of, but we are prayerful people and know that the Lord will direct our path, whatever that path may be. She (birth mom) will be going to her FIRST doctor's appointment tomorrow, and I worry that the doctor will tell her that she needs to deliver her ASAP!! Birth mom is 8 hours away from me, and I have 5 kids that I would have to get situated and drive myself to her. I am excited for her to go to the doctors, hopefully we will get some answers to our questions.... due date (I believe she is OVER DUE), baby gender and #'s of baby(ies), and health of mom and baby. So, maybe the next time I post I will be updating you on the number of children in our family!!!

Luau!

Our ward had a luau party last month. It was a lot of fun, the youth did some dancing and then after the men in the ward were challenged to come up and learn a dance, as well. Of course, Travis took the challenge, he did a great job!!! It was fun to watch the men act a little..... ummmmm- crazy!

I had to include the picture of the young women because it includes a picture of my honorary daughter (Samantha)... we love Sam and love to embarrass her!!!

Photo Shoot

This past January our family went and had our pictures taken. I am so far behind in life that I am just now getting them posted and printed. Here are a select few... It was really easy to bribe the kids because they don't get to eat sweets  very often (once a week, every week)- so, we told them that they would get dessert for dinner that night if we got a lot of big smiles and happy attitudes. They all complied, but even with the smiles and great attitudes during our 2 hour shoot, we still got only a select few family shots with everyone looking and smiling- but all we needed was one, thankfully!! So, enjoy these pictures of my super cute family!

Foster Care

Foster Care is a very difficult decision for anyone to make. When Travis and I were dating, I told him that I had always wanted to do foster care and adopt children. He said that he would definitely consider doing that after he was done having his own kids. 

 9 years later, After we were done with having our kids, Travis and I talked and waited until we felt the time was right for us. We then we started filling out the paperwork and proceeding with our plans to foster/adopt. It was not a decision that was made lightly. I knew that I would rely heavily on Travis and that we would both have to love these kids like they were our own. We knew there would be sacrifices, a lot of sacrifices. So, after a lot of prayer and thinking and searching ourselves to make sure that we could bring a child into our home and give them the love they deserved, we made the decision to go ahead with the process. The long, long, long and time consuming process. We eventually finished all of our training and homework and home improvements and became official foster parents. Then we were presented with a lot of different foster kids to bring into our home. It was hard, but Travis and I had to be really picky about who we would bring into our home. We knew that our kids could not be harmed or hurt because of us bringing kids into our home. So we considered each child presented to us and in the end, the only child that we have ever brought into our home has been Max. Travis and I both knew when we got the call about Max that this was the right baby for us. We knew about him before we even got the phone call. We were waiting for him. It was meant to be. It was a miracle. He is our miracle.

We tell a lot of people about foster care and how we came to have Max in our lives. The responses that we get range from apathy to awe.  It always drives me CRAZY when people say to me "I wish we could do foster care, but I can't because I just know I would get too attached to the kids and it would be too hard to let them go back to their homes"!!!  I think that is the BIGGEST cop out that I have ever heard. Really?! You are afraid you would love these kids TOO much? These poor kids who are in your care because they don't receive enough care or love from their parents? These kids who have been neglected or starved or abused? You are afraid of loving them too much and being sad when they leave? Well, that is the lamest excuse I have ever heard!!!  It is ridiculous. Really! That drives me CRAZY when people say that!  When Max came into our home we told our kids that we were babysitting long term until his mom could get better. I became friends with his mom so that when she got him back she would know that she could call me anytime for help or baby sitting or just if she was having a bad day. I wanted to be there for Max. In the end, it worked out that we get to adopt Max and have him forever, but we didn't know that would happen. It was hard. It was an emotional roller coaster. But how selfish would it have been for Travis and I NOT to do foster care because we  didn't want to hurt our hearts!!  So- if you ever tell me that is the reason you don't do foster care, be prepared to hear me tell you that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!!!

All right, off my soap box. I just thought you should know, I've heard it all and that tops the list of lameness!!

3 wishes

Here are some pictures from the past 2 weeks of my cutie pie's!!

As most of you know, we are working on adopting our sweet foster son, Max. It has been quite the process, and I am happy to let you all know that we are almost done. We are hoping to have him officially adopted by mid June, July at the very latest! Our home study is nearly complete... we have done absolutely every thing that we can to speed this case along. 

During the home study for adoption, the process includes interviewing (very extensively) every family member. When the adoption worker interviewed our kids, one of her questions was 

"If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?". 

Here are the 3 oldest kids answers.

Cami: I wish we could adopt Max. I wish we could adopt Jacquelines new baby (Max's birth mom is pregnant and has asked us to adopt her unborn child). And I wish we could be a family forever.

Grayson: I wish I had laser vision. I wish Jacqueline's baby was a boy. I wish we could adopt her new baby too.

Gloria: I wish we could adopt Max. I wish Jacqueline was pregnant with twin girls. I wish we could adopt them.

I thought that it was pretty funny and definitely showed that my kids are excited about adoption and bringing kids into our family and that they are in no way worried about any aspect of adoption. They are secure in the knowledge that they are loved and that our love grows as our family does. I am so proud of my kids. 

My Sweet Cami is 7

Today is Cami's 7th birthday. My sweet Cami has always brought a lot of energy to our home. I remember the day she was born- I felt a special bond with her because she was our 3rd child, and I was the 3rd child in my family. I loved to cuddle with my sweet Cami. Most night I would hold her late into the night while she slept. I hesitated to put her down and wanted that special time to just bond with her. This was against my nature, as I strictly followed the "Baby Wise" guidelines with her 2 older siblings. I worried constantly that because I had 2 other children at home that that demanded so much of my time during the day that Cami needed the time at nightj (even if she was asleep) to just bond with me and her daddy. That continued for about 6 months, and Cami was not yet sleeping through the night. 

She woke up 6-8 times a night, or- anytime that she woke up and discovered that I was not holding her. That was really tough. I didn't know how to get out of this bad habit that I had started. I could not continue on without getting any sleep. I was up all night with cami, rarely seeing Travis, and running around all day with 3 young kids. I remember the night that I broke down in tears, Cami was 8 months old, and told Travis that I couldn't continue this way anymore! Travis decided that I needed to fix Cami's routine so that she could sleep on her own. We decided that that weekend we would sleep train Cami. We had to pick the weekend because we knew that it would be difficult through the nights and we would need to be able to alternate taking naps during the day. Travis is the strong parent, in that aspect. As soon as Cami started crying, that first night, I was sure it was because she was sick, or hurt, or scared or stuck... or something that needed my attention. We had a monitor and travis helped me be strong. After 2 long nights, and long days, Cami started to sleep through the night! Not only was Cami a happier baby (as she was finally getting good sleep at night), she napped better and was eating better, too!! It really was a huge turning point in her life and mine! We were both happier and it was a lot more fun to have 3 kids!!

Cami has always been a bit of a loner. Even when she was 3 months old, she would be so happy to just lay on the ground or in her bouncy seat by herself, as soon as her siblings would come around, she would get grumpy and just acted irritated.  Not all the time, she did love her siblings, but there were times then and there are times now that she just loves to be by herself. I can relate, I have always been a bit of a loner. I really enjoy quiet and solitude. In that way, we are alike. Most days when Cami gets home from school she will go up to her room and play by herself for a couple of hours, until we call her down to do homework.  

Cami has her own sense of fashion. Something she did NOT get from me. I have not strong fashion sense. I am very conservative, but Cami, she has a STRONG fashion sense! This girl rocks her clothes! She has a strong opinion about what she wears. I love this about her. From the time she was 2 years old, she was picking out her own clothes, and she LOVES accessories. At our house, most days, I let the kids pick out their own clothes ON THE CONDITION that on "mommy days" they don't complain and let me pick out their clothes. They are generally pretty good about this rule. Most days I truly try to let them pick out their own clothes and do their own hair, but there are some days when we are going to special places or when something special is happening and those are the days that I get to pick out their clothes and do their hair. 

Cami is a wonderful reader. She is great at spelling. She really does super in all aspects of school and really excels. She is a smart girl and I love to see her little brain working when she is figuring our problems. We have never studied for a spelling test, and I believe that only 1 time has she NOT gotten 100%. She did miss 2 words on one spelling test, and I think that was the week that she missed most of school that week due to sickness. I don't really push her too hard, as I don't want to stress her out this early. She does her 100 math facts every day. She is one of the top in her class (as far as passing off her addition and subtraction facts). She silently reads a chapter book every day at home for 30-60 minutes. She is amazing!!

Cami loves routine. She is very hesitant to change. We have been singing her the same song every single night to go to sleep since she was 8 months old... "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Every night we sing the same song to her, give her a hug and kiss and sign "I Love You" with our fingers touching. We always say it...  "hugs, kisses, I Love You" as we do each action. This never wavers. Ever. Every night for as long as she wants we will continue to sing and give "hugs, kisses and I Love You's". She forms routines for every aspect of her life. Where she puts her clothes when she takes them off... you will never ever find them in the middle of the room, they will always be next to her dresser. Always. Never failing. Her toys will always be in baskets under her bed, because that's where they belong. She will always be the polite police at the dinner table. She plays with the same friends every day... I could go on and on and on. I love routine, also, so I cannot fault her for her love of routine!!

Cami is super responsible.She is also compassionate. She loves to sing and play. She is always willing to help. She has the BEST smile. She is great at making others feel loved. 

We love Cami so much. She is a great daughter and sister!  

I love you, Cami!

Cami turned 7... and Merida came!!

Cami's 7th birthday is today!! We had her birthday party yesterday with her friends. We had a great party, and as an added bonus, Merida (the princess from Brave) came to our party! Merida was so much fun -She really is a cool princess. She was smiley and outgoing and happy the whole time! She started out by telling her story to the girls.... she was so animated and asked questions, and the girls were captivated. Then she did some dancing with the girls and then played a game of "Bear-Bear-Mordue" (duck-duck-goose) with the girls. She had a jumping contest (she was very tricky and the girls kept jumping too early, which led to a lot of giggles.... similar to the style of "Simon Says"). After the games and dancing we had a tea party with juice and sandwiches and fruit. Merida gave us all instructions for a proper tea party. She showed us the way her "mum" makes her eat and drink tea! She was smiling and sharing stories, asking questions and engaging the kids the whole time. She was  a really fun princess. She finished off the day by painting faces. Then she hugged all the girls and left. The girls really enjoyed having Merida there. She definitely is the most energetic and "improper" princess with her bow and arrow and love of games and rowdiness! A perfect princess for our Cami.

At Cami's party we also had a craft time where we decorated crowns and necklaces (while the girls took turns taking pictures with Merida, the others were decorating crowns and necklaces). Then While Merida was face painting, the other girls decorated (and ate) sugar cookies and also played "pin the crown on Queen Elinor the Bear". That was a lot of fun and brought a lot of giggles. The girls were spun and ended up running in the wrong direction and then the other girls would go to the bear and yell "come this way", while the boys would run to the other side of the room and yell "come this way"... it was super enetertaining! The kids each got 3 tries to get the crown on and we were laughing the whole time!

It was really a successful party and we were so glad for the girls who came and helped us celebrate! Happy Birthday Cami!