Yes, we are normal!

I keep meaning to post this and just keep forgetting. Life has been crazy the last couple of months. Now, that Christmas has passed, I can see more time again here on the blog. Yippee!

So, a couple of weeks ago, an incredibly sweet woman approached me and the kids during breakfast out. She was wearing one of our fundraisier tshirts and simply said...'excuse me....but did I buy this shirt from you?'. Odd question, maybe...but she didn't know me, and I didn't know her.

We talked for a few minutes and she told me that she found my blog from a friend of a friend on facebook and had ordered a shirt. I mailed a ton of shirts to people I didn't know, but remembered her name because she was fairly close to us. She was so kind and asked about our children and adoption and the progress of our current Faith journey to our third adoption (updates on that coming up later).

We talked for a bit, and then she said a few things that made me laugh incredibly hard inside. I quite literally had to make myself NOT burst into to a screaming laughing fit (because that would make me look like a crazy lady! right?) and only humbly laugh a bit.

She commented on our family...and how 'perfect' we are. How 'perfect' my kids are. How they are so well behaved and well dressed at all times (are so it appears as she has only followed me here and more recently through my photography facebook page). Her amazing compliments continued until I had to politely cut her off. ha!

So, now that it has come to my attention, let me set some things straight:

We are a normal family.
Our kids fight like all others.
They drive each other crazy at times.
And they enjoy driving each other crazy.
And that drives me crazy!

Our kids may appear to be well dressed at all times.
When we go out, I expect them to be wearing clean, size appropriate clothes...that match.
I love if they happen to be cute clothes also.
But it doesn't really matter.
Bug changes clothes 4MILLION times each day. No exaggeration. 
She has a style of her owe.
I don't let her wear 'her style' outside of our house.
They LOVE hand me downs...and so do I!
If it were up to Hulk, he would wear shorts and a tshirt every single day.
In fact, that is all he ever wears to school
And that is ok.
Also, if it was up to him, he would never tie his shoes and only wear one sock
Don't ask...we don't know why either.

Yes, they are well behaved.
Most of the time
Not all of the time
They often spend time in 'time out'
As well as other consequences
We expect their best
We expect good attitudes
We expect good manners
We expect them to be kind and polite
But they aren't always those things...because they are kids.
And that is ok.
They learn from mistakes.
We learn from mistakes.
That is why God gave them parents to guide them and correct them.
And why God gave us children...to guide and correct us.

I'm  terrible house keeper
Let me repeat...TERRIBLE house keeper
Our family runs in a million different directions at all times
I often have a stack of folded clothes in the living room.
Yep, the living room
And that is ok
We rarely make beds in our house
And that is ok

We are not perfect
We are so far from perfect that it's not funny
And that is ok
We don't want to be perfect
Why would we?

Life is about the journey of life
Do with what you have, good and bad and make your journey your best
Rely on God to lead you.
He loves your imperfections!

I hope that puts some things in the light! Love you all....and love that you all think we are an awesome family...I think we are pretty awesome too! bahaha!!

Adding another bed...decorating time!

There is no new news on the adoption front, but we've decided to go ahead and add another bed to our home. It's been something we've talked about for awhile, and have been keeping our eyes open for a nice set of bunks. Well, this past weekend we found them. Rather, my mom found them. Picked them up with the help of my daddy on Saturday. They are great!!!

With the help of the kids (um, yea, me and 2 kids...hubs was out of town), we took apart (they wouldn't fit through Hulk's bedroom door) and reassembled the bunks and took apart his full bed and removed it from his room. It was a lot of work...probably would have been less work with another adult. ha! But they wanted to help.

I look at these bunk beds and they mean so much more than just another bed in the room. They mean that we are growing our family. Maybe now, maybe in the future. But we are dedicated and ready. The kids LOVE them...now to get the room together. We have been needing to paint both kids rooms  for some time now. So, hopefully we can do that in the coming week and start making both of their rooms fun and cute...and ready for a new brother or sister.

Now...off to pinterest. Need some inexpensive, diy, decor ideas!!

For now, I have this idea for the walls. I made these quickly and thinking of printing them for 16x20 frames (each painted in coordinating colors or just black)...or decoupage them to canvas? Don't know yet. I love dictionary art and love the way these turned out.

Both kids rooms will be painted gray so if they need to trade rooms when kiddo #3 comes home, they can. So, color and fun stuff has to come through art and bedding. What do ya think?

Hulk is 8, so I'm trying to find something fun...but also something that can grow with him for a couple of years.

Adoption Update....

We've had several people ask us recently about the state of this adoption. Since this is an adoption with no plan...it's has been just that. No plan. No direct path. Just faith and knowing that we were led to adoption again for a reason. So far, God has not told us the reason why. And that is okay, we are patient (most of the time) and will wait on His timing.

What we know? God planned this. He broke our hearts for adoption again for a reason...and He has a child preparing for our family.

In the past few weeks, we have searched our hearts and prayed for guidance. We prayed about a 6 week old baby boy with a heart condition in another state. We prayed about a 4 month old baby boy in a state over with a severe genetic issue. We prayed about an unborn baby with unknown issues and prayed about a unknown baby girl facing abortion. We've also prayed with and talked with several friends and 'friends of friends', and complete strangers about the adoption process. And have answered questions and prayed for a mother considering placing her baby for adoption.

I sit back and think that 'nothing has happened'...and yet, so much has happened. We do not know the path of this adoption. My patience would rather it happen sooner than later...but that may not be my plan. And frankly, I'd much rather it be HIS plan than mine!

We have no idea if the child joining our family is already born or if his/her mother is currently considering adoption. So I simply pray for all mothers considering adoption and all children waiting for families. Would you join me in praying?

Would you join me in praying for mothers considering adoption. My prayer is always that each of these mothers are 110% confident in their placement plan. That if they want to parent...that they can find a way. No regrets. I pray that these mothers choosing adoption, find the perfect family for their baby. I pray that God surrounds them with comfort and peace through their pregnancy, delivery and after placement.

Blown Away...again!!

Last week a friend and I were talking about fundraisers and adoption (she is in the process as well). There is that fine line of  having support and then feeling like you are literally begging for money. You know...burning the bridge. I NEVER want to feel like that...and I certainly don't want others to feel like....'oh no, photogirl is trying to get money again'. *sigh*

I've said it time and time again, but I will say it once again. The support shown for our family....amazing. Simply amazing.

Anyway, back to my conversation with my friend. In the midst texting, us crafty mama's decided to take the plunge into something that we knew was do-able for us. We are both crafty and creative and love to try knew things. Sooooo....we did. After a couple of days around her kitchen table, we created these BEAUTIFUL necklaces. Each one soon became our favorite...and then we would complete another and IT would be our favorite. You know how it goes...

Well, we went out on a limb and made a good many...really not knowing how well it would go over. We knew WE loved them...and our friends were saying THEY loved them. But you never know!

This afternoon, we launched 39 necklaces out there for the world to see. The majority sold within a few minutes and tonight we have only 10 left. We sold 29 beautiful necklaces today.

That. Is. Amazing!

Those that bought from us....thank you thank you thank you!!
What is special about these necklaces is that they support TWO adoptions. Yep, my friend and I are doing this together. I LOVE that!! And we have been asked several times about when the next sale would be. Hope we can nail that down this week...but for now, all I can say is THANK YOU again!!

God truly funds what He favors. Again, and again he has proven it!!

If you want to check out the few that are left, just take a peak at them on our page.

An amazing week

This has been a great week.

This week, I am behind on my laundry.
Dishes are piled in the sink.
My house is a wreck.
The studio is a wreck.
My car needs to be serviced.
And I still haven't made it to buy the kids some fall clothes.

But, with all that needs to be done, it has been a terrific week! I have watched my son's confidence SOAR as he does well in school. A struggle we have battle for a couple of years now. I have watched my daughter tumble to her hearts content, every day, for her love of gymnastics. I have prayed with friends as they had several adoption situations in front of them this week. I have talked to other families hoping to adopt and shared our story. I have answered questions and prayed for a expecting mom who is considering adoption for her baby.

Most of all, I've been encouraged time and time again this week via text, email, facebook, calls and letters. People encouraging us for this adoption. People continuing to commit to prayer for our family.

While I know with every inch of my heart that this is exactly the path God has chosen for us...I will also admit that there have been a couple of dark days in the past couple of weeks, wondering, HOW? Financially, adoption can be tough. And for this adoption, we are truly praying for a private adoption (us, mom and attorney) because the fees would be less. But...we also KNOW that God funds what He favors...so we are considering anything that comes our way. I have faith. No doubt. But there are times that faith can be soooo tough.

So, to everyone who has continued to encourage. Thank you!! Perfect timing this week.
Love you all,
Me and Hubs
Hulk and Bug

 

A glimpse at these awesome necklaces that will benefit our family AND another family!!

Sales will begin TOMORROW!!! Check out the facebook page, don't forget to like and of course don't forget to view all the necklaces when they go up tomorrow. They are AWESOME!!!!

BURLAP AND BEADS

AND...this will be the LAST WEEKEND FOR TSHIRT ORDERS!! I LOVE these shirts and this will be our third...and final...order. Get your order in so you don't miss out!! All tshirts that came in this past week will be mailed asap!! You can order HERE

Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

And the journey officially begins...

Tonight I get a message from our super awesome social worker. Remember that last little piece of paper we needed? Yep, she has it!! What does that mean...she is signing and we are READY!!!! Super excited tonight.

Late July...God told us to get prepared. We spend the next couple of weeks, praying, sorting our thoughts and saying YES to an open door for adoption. Soon after we met with our social worker to begin a new homestudy and tonight I sit here reading our NEW HOMESTUDY!!!

Yes, you read that correct...we have a current updated homestudy.

You ask me...so now what??

Well...we don't know.
Simple as that.

In July God placed a little girl in our path that simply turned our lives upside down. She opened our hearts once again to adoption. Seeing this same little girl journey to a new family herself has continued to warm my heart. Her new family has been fighting for her, advocating for her medical care, education and simply advocating for her to be in their family and to be loved. Seeing her again this weekend for the first time since July was amazing. It is amazing what unconditional love and care...and FAMILY can do for a child.

So...here we sit. Homestudy in hand. Our door is once again open for adoption. All we are waiting on is for God to knock on the door. And if/when He does, we will answer. Simple as that. 

So tonight...the journey officially begins.
My prayer? For God to guide us and direct us in the path that He wants us to go.
Will you commit to praying for our family?

Update

A little update...

Our homestudy is ALMOST done. And by almost, I mean we are literally waiting on one sheet of paper. One tiny little document...that we should have already...but seems it got lost. And well, in the adoption world, things like this are just going to happen. Although both mine and Hubs clearances were mailed together, in the same envelope, at the same time...only his was processed. So, our awesome social worker sent it again last week. So, literally, any day we will be done. DONE!

Whohooo!!!

On the fundraising part of this process.  We are now in process of our third order. Honestly, I didn't think we would do a third. But several people encouraged me to to 'just one more' and here we are...orders coming in. I stand amazed at the generosity of others (many complete strangers). I stand amazed at the support and commitement to keep our famlily in prayers. I simply...stand amazed.

We've been asked many questions, over and over again, so I'll take a second to answer anything I may have missed, or you may have missed. Soooo....here goes.

Timeline: There is no time line. Well, God knows...but we do not. He simply asked us to open our door and to be ready...and here we are. Ready and willing.

Baby, toddler, older child? Again, we have an open door. Younger than Hulk, but other than that, pretty wide open.

Boy or girl?  Yes, it will either be a boy OR a girl.

How will this work in your home? Good question! We have a 3 bedroom home, and currently Hulk and Bug have their own room. Hulk's room is slightly bigger, so depending on the gender of the new little one, will determine who has the biggest room. This, my friends, is a minor issue when it comes to a child needing a home...a family. For many generations, children have shared a room, not a big deal in our book!

How much will the fees be for this adoption? The reality of this....we have no idea! Scary? Ummm, yes. We started this adoption with $6.00 in our adoption account. Yes, just $6.00. There are a lot of factors that come into play with this adoption. What I know? God told us to be ready...and we are. Will it happen tomorrow, next month, next year? I have no idea. What I know is to continue to be ready. What we are raising right now, will go towards legal and travel, which we will have regardless of the situation.

How many tshirts have you sold?
First order: 126
Second order: 56
Third order: ?

So there you have it. A tiny little update. And as always...thank you thank you thank you for praying!!!!

Stay at Home Moms...Can you relate?

Alright, I have thought about this post for awhile. I would love to share with you what a typical Stay at Home Mommy day is like. Why?? Because I occasionally get comments like this:

Oh, how great to be a stay at home mom! It's great that you...
...can play with your kids all day
...have plenty of time to do your housework
...don't have any commitments
...have no stress.
...can watch your soap operas (seriously?)
...have so much time!
...don't have to work.

OK. really? So, being the optimistic person that I try to be, I'm thinking that those people who say these things simply and truly have NO idea what Stay At Moms do all day. You must think we just sit home and eat chocalate all day while laying on the sofa watching our shows? ummm...no.

I cannot remember the last time my tv had anything other than dora the explorer or music playing. Yes, I do play with my kids...but umm, not all day. Plenty of time to do my housework? It must have been a LONG time since you've been to my house. I consider it a extremly succesful day when my house looks anywhere near clean. No stress? really, no stress? I'll keep those comments to myself. Don't have to work??? I work harder and have less time then I ever did when I 'went to work'.

Do I enjoy being a stay at home mom? You bet!!! I wouldn't change it for the world. I love that I get to 'work' and be home with my babies? Really could it be any better. Do I wish my house was clean and the laundry wasn't an all day event? Yes. But, I'd rather have happy kids and a messy home, then a clean house with unhappy kids. Do I wish I could do it ALL...yes. But I can't and that is ok.

I AM NOT SUPER WOMEN...AND I AM OK WITH THAT!

So, what I decided to do, was simply document a day in my life. So here ya go...for all those that truly have no idea what we S/WAHM's do all day. Enjoy!

Things I didn't get to today...
Today, I didn't make it to the bank and didn't get the goody bags done for the birthday party this weekend. I also didn't get a slide rental (although I did call, but ran out of time to call back). I didn't get Bug's pants made and didn't get her shirt to my friend who is going to embroider it. I folded all the laundry, but it's still in the middle of the living room floor...wish I'd had the time to put it up. And my house...yea, haven't touched it in 2 days.

But, what I did do is everyday things. My day is full, every day. Every day holds different items on the checklist. And everyday I can get overwhelmed if I let life get to me.

But, why get overwhelmed! Life is good, very good!! I truly have the best job ever. I get to see my kids grow. I get to see them learn and laugh and love each other.

Tomorrow, with a 3 year old behind me every step of the way... I will do all the things I did today (minus the grocery store and dropping/picking up Bug from school) plus, I will clean the house, go to the bank, pay bills, drop off that shirt that I didn't get to today, start preparing for the birthday party, more laundry, make the pants for Bug's party and clean the back yard of all the kiddos toys and clutter. I also need to refreshen Bug's hair, which will take 30ish minutes. We also do homeschool 3 days a week, and that happens to be tomorrow. Oh, and I can't forget to rent that slide for the party! Oh dear...have I ordered cupcakes yet??

Every day is different and every day is busy. For those of you who think we SAHMs just sit around all day...I love you, but I think you are clueless. Soooo....here ya go. I did miss several things, but maybe you'll get the idea. :)


*********************
Today started at 5:30
Shower, then...

Answer a few emails from overnight.

Put up dishes from last night...leaving the kitchen a mess.

 get the kids up for school!

 

Look at this in my home...love it!

Start laundry load ONE of the day

Breakfast...I have no idea why there are 2 spoons?

Last minute homework.

 

Hubs left his sunglasses...Hulk running out to hand them to bossman.

Bath time for Bug

Packing Hulks folder...check out these awesome grades. GREAT start to the year!

Say for the millioneth time...tie your shoes!

A few seconds of play time before school. Notes from Bug to Hulk

Load up! Time for school

Check it out...wet hair! Yep, no time to dry it. I'll do it when I get home.

Driving driving driving

Morning prayer for our school, teacher, friends and our family.

Made it...now we wait

 Whew, made it just in time. Never tardy, but we do cut it close some days. 

 Back home. Bug is really excited about her new 'high score'...please note, there is NO iphone/ipod. Our kids don't have them...so they use their imaginations. yea, mean mommy, right?

Now time to get Bug ready for school

Loading up again...

 Today is grocery day and the pantry is empty...quick stop

Yep, that's healthy? Air head are NOT for lunch by the way. :)

Walking Bug into school

In class

Back in the car...

Back home, hanging up car keys, and grabbing studio keys.

Thankful for a hobby/job that is literally in the back yard.

Time to finalize galleries, network and start uploads before my 10:00 appt

Just a few minutes to straighten up this crazy mess

He's here!

Session finished, now to purchase a few things for the birthday party this weekend.

Gourmet meal and 8 minutes of peace and quiet in the parking lot.

1:00 and time to get Bug!

Grocery shopping

Unload the groceries....did I mention the slight panic when they were out of car carts...not my panic, Bug's! Thankfully one rolled up at the perfect time and we grabbed it. Grocery shopping with a regular boring cart is just no fun.

Ugh...hate putting away groceries

Laundry load 2

Wash dishes...again. How do they multiply when I'm not even home?

Prep yarn for Bug's yarn braids that I will freshen up tomorrow

Fold laundry (this happens. all. day. long)

A few minutes of front yard play time as we wait for the bus. For the record, she dressed herself

Bus is here!

Homework time

Backyard sprinkler fun while Hulk does homework...means I'm in 2 places at once

Supper prep

More homework...with a small appetizer

Load 3 for the day

Starting supper. Love this purple pan. :)

Good behavior/effort reward (homework time can be brutal). 10 minutes of music.

Supper time

Yep, the dishes multiplied again

Laundry load 4 for the day

Bedtime...we have early bedtimes at our house. Everyone needs beauty rest!

Kids go to bed and Hubs follows soon after...didn't grab a photo of him. :)

See ya later Dora!

Write letter to one of our kiddos bmoms. 

Last load of laundry (for the day) in the dryer. Silent celebration!

Answer emails from the day

Sit down to work on the session from today, expect to be there a couple of hours

Fold the last load of laundry

Work at the computer until 12:30 and called it an early night. 

**************

If you've actually made it this far. Thank you for taking the time to ready. I know it's long, but I did enjoy doing this today. I did kept forgetting my camera and missed several things...but I hope you get the point. Being a sah-mommy is the most fulfilling thing...ever. But it is also tough, and finding that balance is tough. 

If you know a sahm, give her a hug, and encourage her. Tell her she is a great mommy and is doing a great job. There are far too many mommies out there trying to be super-mom and do it all. 

Ladies...you don't have to be super-mom. We don't have capes and red boots with stars on them. But we do have fantastic kids and the opportunity to be there while they are young. This is a blessing!!! Stop worrying about what the mommy down the street will think of your decorating or un-swept floors. Do YOUR best...but most of all, make time for your kids in your busy busy day. 

Love ya'll!