foster care

instafriday

August 17, 2012 By lissa 2 Comments

Hello, Friday!

Let’s take a look at our week via instagram, shall we?

The boys made us their “special” lemonade…

We worked on our projects… okay, well mainly my husband worked on the chicken living situation.

BUT, I was busy turning this old family writing desk into a beautiful dresser in our foster care room! It’s perfectly imperfect and I love it!

Speaking of foster care, our life has been busy with our little foster baby. It’s so much fun to watch her learn and grow. It’s amazing all that she has picked up in the last few weeks.

She stands next to furniture!

The twins read her books…

And Averie and I have soooooo much fun clothes-shopping for her!

Christy and I found these “vintage” desks for giveaway while we were visiting my Dad. I grabbed two for the twins and she grabbed two to haul down to Texas. The boys are loving them!

Linking up with Life Rearranged.

Filed Under: instaFriday, my life Tagged With: chickens, coop, foster care, i love shopping for baby girl clothes, instafriday, instagram, iPhone, life rearragned, pantone colors, photos, reading books, twins

grabbing life by the horn{worm}s

July 17, 2012 By lissa 6 Comments

Does it seem to you that time is flying by at epic speeds? Or is it just me?

I’ve been meaning to write about our trip to Florida. How the massive crowds at the theme parks made me want to stab people, but then the last few days at our favorite beach town soothed my soul {and feet}.

I was planning on writing about how awesome the kids did in school this year. They are some smart little cookies, you know.

I had intentions of writing about foster care. We are officially a licensed foster family now, since April. We waited and waited for our phone to ring, and wouldn’t you know it, as we were in Florida going through the security line for Disney World, we got a call for two little girls. It didn’t work out and they weren’t placed with us, but a few weeks ago, we finally had our first placement. She is the most adorable baby and we are enjoying loving on her!

Did I mention that I survived another year of the three-kids’-birthdays-in-five-days week? Just barely. We pulled it off, though, and I now have TWO teenagers. Lord, help me.

Our oldest is taking his driver’s road test next week. Lord, help me.

Oh, and today I discovered these beasts {tomato hornworms} mooching off my tomato plants. Okay, more like devouring them. What the hell. Don’t mess with my tomaters.

So, like I said. I’ve been meaning to share all these things with you; but, I’m kind of tired. This having five kids thing is kind of exhausting. And awesome.

Filed Under: animals, kids, my life, photos Tagged With: busy, children, driving, foster care, foster parents, gardening, kids, teenagers, tomato hookworms

just be.

January 10, 2012 By lissa 3 Comments

I sit here on my favorite corduroy chair with my warm blanket and a steaming mug of coffee, with a computer on my lap and a cat at my feet. The kids have just been whooshed outside to meet the bus at the end of the driveway, and I sit as I do every morning for a short time. This is the most peaceful time of my day. So quiet. So un-chaotic. I love the chaos {most of the time}, but sometimes it’s lovely to just be.

I think about how I arrived at this place in my life. Many, many mistakes and lots of hasty decisions. It’s so odd to think that if I had just made one different decision all those years ago, my life may have veered off on such a different path. But, all of those decisions and mistakes added up to be so right.

I am blessed with an awesome husband, who has put up with me and my quirks for over a dozen years {not to say that he doesn’t have his!}. Children who know they are loved, get it, and are able to pass this love onto so many others. Some may think our hearts and house are overflowing, but we have so much more to give. We will open our doors {and hearts} to those children that may not know this kind of nurture. My family will be the love, acceptance, and stability that they need to thrive. I’m excited {and nervous} to see what our new journey will bring.

Linking up with Just Write.

Filed Under: kids, my life Tagged With: family, foster care, just write, kids, love, my life, warm

room for improvement {2012 goals}

January 2, 2012 By lissa 7 Comments

this photo has nothing to do with my post. it's just funny.

I am a resolution-type of gal. I love sitting back and analyzing what is working for me, what is not, and making plans for change. I love to daydream, and love to think of all the things I want to do with myself. If only I had the follow-through. Can I resolve to try harder with my resolutions? Kidding! {sort of}

I need a place to be accountable for my goals and where I can look back and refresh my ever-forgetful memory when I start to slack off. So, in no particular order, here are my 2012 resolutions:

For my fitness and weight loss goals, visit me at Shrinking Jeans.

Eating dinner at the table as a family, at least three times per week. We have a hard time with this. A lot of times, we are on the run somewhere between dance and basketball and choir and soccer and basketball… you get the picture. When we get home and have time to eat, it usually consists of the kids eating at the table and me sitting in my chair eating and catching up on emails or something equally as ridiculous. I am going to make an effort to eat with the kids AT THE TABLE several times a week.

Cut the cussing. I cuss. I try to not let it slip out in front of the kids, but I know that I could be much better about it. Especially when angry or annoyed.

Time management. I am planning out times for working from home, and also planning on setting aside a certain amount of time before bed each night where I pick up various clutter and junk around the house.

Establish a better relationship with Kane. I think we are off to a good start so far this year.

Keep my vehicle cleaner. It’s a disaster right now. The end.

Get licensed for foster care. See this post.

Limit my Starbucks visits to just twice a month, unless we are on vacation. Ouch. This will be tough. I love my coffee lite frappacinos and skinny iced lattes.

There you have it. I hope at this time next year, I can look back at 2012 and be happy with the progress I’ve made!

Happy New Year!

Filed Under: my life Tagged With: 2012, better me, changing, clean, eating at the table, foster care, goals, Kane, kids, New Year's Resolutions, shrinking jeans, starbucks, stop cussing, time management, wishes

a year of loss, patience, and growing

December 29, 2011 By lissa 11 Comments

2011 kind of kicked my ass. I’ll admit it. I am not one bit sad to see it go.

The losses were hard. Not that loss is ever easy, but I never expected to lose so many wonderful people in my life. Cyndee, my Grandma Krank, my Grandma Barnhart… there is not a day that goes by where I don’t think of them or miss them terribly. It’s painful to think of just how big the void in our family is without their physical presence.

This was the year we went forward with our plan to have more children. Never in a million years, did I think we would be wanting more little people running through the house, but over the years, we have grown to love the chaos, the loudness, and the crazy. Justin had surgery in March, but that story is best left to be told face-to-face, preferably while consuming alcohol. If you’re lucky, he will probably show you photos, too.

No luck with making babies, yet, but we will keep on trying! If anything, this whole journey has taught us much about patience and strengthened our marriage. We have opened our eyes to the possibility of adoption and foster care, not as second-best, but because we have taken time to see, learn and realize that our hearts have more room than we ever thought possible. We have so much love to give to more children, children who otherwise might not ever experience the love of a family.

The spring was filled with sadness, anger, and shock as we learned of certain betrayals. It was not easy making the decision we did, to cut people out of our lives completely, but it was necessary to protect our family. There are just so many chances you can give someone before you say no more to the hurt. Our family is stronger because of it. We’ve grown. We have become closer.

Having our oldest kid home the past few weeks, on Christmas break… we know that we made the right decision in sending him to boarding school. He is changing, we are changing… the tension, the anger, and the hurt on both sides, it’s better. So much better. He is excelling in school and has been given opportunities that he would not otherwise have been given, had we kept him home this year.

2011 has grounded us and strengthened our family. We have learned once again to take nothing for granted.

“She turned her cant’s into cans, and her dreams into plans.”

“Some people come into your life as blessings, others come in your life as lessons.”