Hello 2014

Time....that is something I do not seem to have much of these days. My days zoom by and I fall into bed having missed a few things on my list. (Not enough hours in a day!) I guess that is my new normal since the 7th, yes I said 7th child entered our home. Time to play a bit of catch up....

I have shared previously that our girls' mom was yet again pregnant and had not made any significant positive progress in her life. We were asked by CPS to take this new baby. We found ourselves at an interesting cross roads again. We committed to fostering this new baby but long term have not made any decisions. Every one makes sure to tell us this baby will stay forever too just like all the rest but I assure you, we have not made a final decision about that. We are waiting once again on the Lord to reveal Himself. Birth mom was not forth coming with due date, heck any pregnancy information. I did finally find out early November she was having a boy. (Of course this thrilled the men in our home...they say we need more testosterone!) I found myself once again waiting endlessly for 'the phone call'. Little man was born on 11/29. Due to circumstances out of my and the case workers control, he went home from the hospital to another foster family. We surrendered the God would have to put him in our home, we were not going to fight to get him. (After all, I am plenty busy) God worked out all the details and on the evening of Dec 4th I met my caseworker at In and Out to pick up this sweet bundle.

There is nothing like having a newborn again. He was my first newborn boy since Jacob...12 years ago! He is sweet and content and has been a fairly easy baby. He has his challenges however, and just shy of two weeks old we found ourselves in the ER. Poor little man was having seizures. Unfortunately the choices of mom contributed to his medical issues, but after several inconclusive tests he is now on anti-seizure meds and is THRIVING! We will have to have additional follow up appointments through out the year, and most likely repeat several of the tests at one yr. It is unbelievable what a difference I saw in him just two days after starting the meds. Now, he is almost 6 weeks old and this is by far my favorite stage! Cooing, responsive smiles and lovely eye contact fill my mama heart. He has been waking me at 4am this past week, but he more than makes up for it with all the "conversations" we have together. I adore these early mornings...well mostly, by 7pm it does catch up with me.

As if we needed more on our plate, in the midst of this crazy time we have been diligently working on getting our house ready to list it FOR SALE. It is amazing what kind of little things needs to be done with this many people in a home for ten and half years. We spent the week of Thanksgiving replacing flooring up stairs and it is gorgeous! Over Christmas vacation we managed to finish all the things on our list and the sign went up yesterday. It is a bit surreal I will tell you. Now we wait....wait for the Lord to move, to bring a buyer and for all the details to fall in line. We are praying the timing of this house selling and the new house being complete match up and we do not have to find 'temporary' housing. We are overwhelmed...in a good way I guess. I find it horrifying to try and keep this house model home ready every day but I trust that my effort will pay off. We just want to have someone walk in, fall in love and HAVE to have it!!! (Not too much to ask right?)

So, that is the start of our 2014 in a nut shell. We had family photos taken just before Thanksgiving that I have yet to share...so enjoy them...I do!! (Thanks to the amazing Kelly B!)

Blessings to all in this new year!

Merry Christmas...

I am so far behind in posting...so much going on that I haven't had any time to sit and get caught up. Here are a few photos from Christmas...hoping to start 2014 fresh and new and will get caught up.

Blessings to all of our friends and family...Merry CHRISTmas!

 Christmas Pj's

 Christmas Eve

 Christmas babies

 Christmas morning

Pan-Asian Noodles Kona Grill Recipe

We recently went on a date night to Kona Grill at San Tan. Wow, it was yummy! The leftovers lasted a couple of meals because they give generous portions, and I couldn't get it out of my mind. If San Tan was closer I would ave been back there in a minute to order again, but I could justify driving that far just for food. Then I had an "AH-HA" moment...Google the recipe!! And of course Google does not disappoint and I found the recipe I wanted right away. Although I will say shopping for Asian ingredients with a fussy baby was not really part of the plan.

It was a hit with the hubby and there are plenty of leftovers here too. A few of the kids enjoyed it, hey I'll take that from a new, spicy recipe any day!

http://www.kare11.com/life/recipes/recipes_article.aspx?storyid=835757
 This is the link to the recipe I found...tasted exactly the same. I will say I needed more noodles than recipe called for so keep that in mind.

Nathan is 7!!

Happy Birthday to our Nathan!!!

Building our dream

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

We have once again begun a new journey that can be called nothing more than divine. God has been moving over the past year in several ways, in His perfect timing for us, to move into a home that is exactly what this family needs. We cannot be more humbled with how this has come about and offer all the glory to God!!! From the moment we accepted His call to care for hurting, neglected, and orphaned children He has proved over and over again, "He is ABLE" to provide for all our needs. We have known for quite a while that our house was a bit small for how He has shaped our family, but for many years have felt that we needed to be content with where He has us. We have prayed for His timing and way, and for a house to basically drop in our laps. We have toyed with moving and changing jobs a few times over the past couple years, but He has always shut those doors. We now feel like we know why. He has our dream house waiting for us!! 

We are building in the new Eastmark Developement, or for those who have lived here a long time, on the site of the old GM proving grounds. We will have a home with rooms and space for our family!!! We will have a place where the kids can invite friends over and there is space for them to play and just be kids! We hope to be moving in at the end of March. We are praying that our current house will sell quick and smoothly, and while the process is still new, and we know anything can happen, we are faithful to believe this is what God has planned for our family. Please feel free to ask us any questions, join us prayer, and celebrate along with us! 2014 is shaping up to be an exciting year and God is worthy of all the praise! 

Halloween 2013

What a blast yet again! These kids are a hoot and we love dress up in a theme. Not sure if we will get many more years when this is 'ok' but I relish in it now! I love my family!!!!

A change in seasons brings a change in sport for this awesome family

This weekend both our boys started a new sport...BASEBALL! Now, those that know me know my heart is elated. Jacob has spent the past 4+ years playing another great sport, soccer of course. He has much success and growth in those years but at the end of the season we decided the impact on our whole family was too big. I mean club soccer is almost a full time job by the time they get to Jacob's age. We wanted to have some of our other kiddos experience a sport as well as try something new.

We signed the boys up and Shane is actually Jacob's coach. He is taking is very serious and learning all he can about my beloved sport. He still laughs when he asks me about a specific rule or type of play and I can of course rattle off what it means or describe the play. He is amazed at my knowledge of the game, but he is WAY better with kids so coaching fits him perfectly.

The biggest bummer is out of the 10-12 games the boys play most of them are at the same time... no way for me to attend both. This weekend was the first weekend of games and I took my camera to capture Nathan and this exciting moment. In a couple weeks I will be able to make it to see Jacob and will post about him then.