It appears at this point that we are the only family that the state of Idaho is moving forward with for this particular young lady. We'll get the last bit of information we need next week and if both parties agree to move forward there will be a permanency hearing committee meeting scheduled 2-3 weeks out. This is where they will officially give us the thumbs up or thumbs down.
If they give us a thumbs up we start planning visits to Idaho (and I think she visits here too) and make a transition plan for her to move here permanently.
Rob is out purchasing mattresses right now. Titus is helping! Rob and the kids put her bunk beds together last night and this morning and now we're ready to put her room all together. It's crazy to see this all happening so quickly! I admit, I'm so excited yet scared out of my mind at the same time. Ultimately we believe God has his hand in this and has a special plan for our family. It's fun to see it all unfolding!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Balloon Launch
Last Friday morning we decided to get up with the birds and watch the hot air balloons launch at the Art and Air Festival. We plucked the kiddos out of bed, threw sweatshirts on all of us and ran out the door by 6:20. My camera battery was all but dead, so I only got a few shots. I was bummed because it was all so beautiful, and it was the PERFECT morning for such an adventure!
There were probably several dozen balloons that launched within 1/2 hour of each other.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Family Expansion!
I confess that I've been keeping a significant secret from my blog readers for about 3 months. It's been difficult to do but the day has finally come where I get to tell my secret. God willing, we are about to become a family of 5!
Several years ago Rob and I found ourselves hoping to give a forever family to an older child in need of a family. As I understand it, once a child reaches the age of 5 it is hard to find an adoptive family for them. Once a child reaches the age of 11 it is even more difficult to find a home for a child and once they reach their teen years it's nearly impossible. One statistic that I saw is that the average (older) child spends 60 months waiting to be adopted. That's 5 years! Many age out of the system and are left with no family support once they turn 18.
Anyway, God laid on our heart many years ago that perhaps we would be able to make a difference in the life of a child through adoption. I kind of thought it would be a little bit later in life but it appears God has other plans!
Three months ago we decided together that God was asking us to have another child. Our focus quickly turned toward adoption and we settled on a girl somewhere between the ages of 8 and 16.
We spent the following months doing loads of paper-work, having interviews and doctors appointments, fixing up our house and talking and talking and talking in preparation for our future daughter. As of mid-August we are officially certified in the state of Oregon to be foster and/or adoptive parents!
During this time there have been a select group of kids' profiles that we've had access to (you have to wait until you're certified to see most of them), and there has been one young lady that really stood out to us. We've spent every day this summer checking to see if she was still available, and finally got in touch with her case worker once our certification was complete.
I spoke with an intermediary case worker last week. She handles state-to-state adoptions since the child does not live in Oregon. This particular case worker gave us more specific details about the child and then forwarded us along to her actual case-worker once we affirmed our interest in her. After months of anxiously waiting, I finally got to speak with her actual case-worker yesterday!
It appears that they will likely be taking our family to the next stage of this process (they are still waiting to hear from one other family also), and we could hear in as little as 3 weeks whether or not we will be selected as her permanent family!
If we are chosen (which is still an if, so please keep that in mind!), a transition plan will be set in place where we visit and have frequent phone contacts until it has been determined that it's time for her to come live with us permanently. Once she has been placed with us it takes 6 months to 1 year until the adoption is final.
Please understand that we cannot be forthcoming with many details about her and her life up to this point, as she is 15 and we very much want to respect her privacy. Also, there certainly are many things that could happen between now and then could affect our future and hers. We are still in the early stages!
This is where you come in. We would like to solicit your prayers for our family and for this particular young lady. Pray that she will quickly be placed in a family that will be the perfect fit for her, that God's will is done in her life and in our family. Pray that if it's our family that the process will move quickly and that the transition will be an easy one.
Also, this seems kind of trivial in light of the situation, but we're also praying for two gently-used (very clean, yet very cheap) top mattresses. She will have her own room but we decided to go with bunk beds. We have the beds but we don't have mattresses yet. Ideally, we need to have these in the next two weeks so we can include a picture of her room in a scrapbook that we will send her that introduces her to our family.
Anyway, that's our news. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Please, please, please pray with us over the next couple of months regarding this. We are anxiously awaiting the unfolding of God's plan for our family!
Several years ago Rob and I found ourselves hoping to give a forever family to an older child in need of a family. As I understand it, once a child reaches the age of 5 it is hard to find an adoptive family for them. Once a child reaches the age of 11 it is even more difficult to find a home for a child and once they reach their teen years it's nearly impossible. One statistic that I saw is that the average (older) child spends 60 months waiting to be adopted. That's 5 years! Many age out of the system and are left with no family support once they turn 18.
Anyway, God laid on our heart many years ago that perhaps we would be able to make a difference in the life of a child through adoption. I kind of thought it would be a little bit later in life but it appears God has other plans!
Three months ago we decided together that God was asking us to have another child. Our focus quickly turned toward adoption and we settled on a girl somewhere between the ages of 8 and 16.
We spent the following months doing loads of paper-work, having interviews and doctors appointments, fixing up our house and talking and talking and talking in preparation for our future daughter. As of mid-August we are officially certified in the state of Oregon to be foster and/or adoptive parents!
During this time there have been a select group of kids' profiles that we've had access to (you have to wait until you're certified to see most of them), and there has been one young lady that really stood out to us. We've spent every day this summer checking to see if she was still available, and finally got in touch with her case worker once our certification was complete.
I spoke with an intermediary case worker last week. She handles state-to-state adoptions since the child does not live in Oregon. This particular case worker gave us more specific details about the child and then forwarded us along to her actual case-worker once we affirmed our interest in her. After months of anxiously waiting, I finally got to speak with her actual case-worker yesterday!
It appears that they will likely be taking our family to the next stage of this process (they are still waiting to hear from one other family also), and we could hear in as little as 3 weeks whether or not we will be selected as her permanent family!
If we are chosen (which is still an if, so please keep that in mind!), a transition plan will be set in place where we visit and have frequent phone contacts until it has been determined that it's time for her to come live with us permanently. Once she has been placed with us it takes 6 months to 1 year until the adoption is final.
Please understand that we cannot be forthcoming with many details about her and her life up to this point, as she is 15 and we very much want to respect her privacy. Also, there certainly are many things that could happen between now and then could affect our future and hers. We are still in the early stages!
This is where you come in. We would like to solicit your prayers for our family and for this particular young lady. Pray that she will quickly be placed in a family that will be the perfect fit for her, that God's will is done in her life and in our family. Pray that if it's our family that the process will move quickly and that the transition will be an easy one.
Also, this seems kind of trivial in light of the situation, but we're also praying for two gently-used (very clean, yet very cheap) top mattresses. She will have her own room but we decided to go with bunk beds. We have the beds but we don't have mattresses yet. Ideally, we need to have these in the next two weeks so we can include a picture of her room in a scrapbook that we will send her that introduces her to our family.
Anyway, that's our news. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Please, please, please pray with us over the next couple of months regarding this. We are anxiously awaiting the unfolding of God's plan for our family!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Ew, Ew, Ew, Ew....!
Leeann went outside to get her sandals today and she was playing on our front porch area for a few minutes. She came back inside and looked at me with a funny look on her face.
"Mommy, there's something outside on the ground and it tastes really salty!"
I immediately knew what it was because I saw the salty pile and wilted slug out there last night! I'm thoroughly grossed out by the fact that my daughter was tasting anything on the ground, let alone a slug. Yuck!
I asked Titus if he touched it too. He looked up at me with a self-righteous look and said, "No, Lann did it!" I love my kids. I don't think she'll be taste-testing anything off the ground again anytime soon!
"Mommy, there's something outside on the ground and it tastes really salty!"
I immediately knew what it was because I saw the salty pile and wilted slug out there last night! I'm thoroughly grossed out by the fact that my daughter was tasting anything on the ground, let alone a slug. Yuck!
I asked Titus if he touched it too. He looked up at me with a self-righteous look and said, "No, Lann did it!" I love my kids. I don't think she'll be taste-testing anything off the ground again anytime soon!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I'm Leaving!
Seriously... someone's gotta go, I can't take this living situation any longer. I'm constantly irritated, frustrated, annoyed and picked on. I'm losing money by the day and I'm grossed out on a regular basis. I've tried to work it out, I've tried to deal with the situation on various levels. I've even resorted to just trying to co-exist in peace... but I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY LONGER!
Me, or the ants, someone's gotta go! They drew the line this morning when they decided to go after my Trix. For the last year Rob's been doing the grocery shopping and doesn't buy me sugary cereal very often. So, when I was at the store the other day I felt the need to replenish some of our cereal since following the antastrophe incident. Trix were on sale and I decided to splurge. I've only gotten two bowls of it and now it's gone! That's it, this means WAR!
Me, or the ants, someone's gotta go! They drew the line this morning when they decided to go after my Trix. For the last year Rob's been doing the grocery shopping and doesn't buy me sugary cereal very often. So, when I was at the store the other day I felt the need to replenish some of our cereal since following the antastrophe incident. Trix were on sale and I decided to splurge. I've only gotten two bowls of it and now it's gone! That's it, this means WAR!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Another Room Bites The Dust
Today Kimmee and Kelli came over and we busted out the last bedroom to be painted... and Rob had no idea we were doing it which made it extra fun!
I still have to finish the ceiling because I ran out of paint. I also have to finish painting several other areas of our house but at least the bedrooms are done! One step at a time my friends, one step at a time!
My friend SaraJane flittered down from New Jersey for a couple of days! We ate at Red Robin and did some shopping together which is always fun. It was great to have her here! She introduced me to a new game called Word Twist on Facebook. Add that to my growing list of addictions!
I'm slowly recovering from VBS. I did 4 loads of laundry today. It doesn't seem to matter how much laundry I do, there's always more to be done. ALWAYS. It's terrible! Even more terrible is the fact that they're all laying on my bed waiting to be folded before I crawl under the covers. Maybe I should make this a short post and go work on that. It seems like a good idea. Of course, I'd rather soak in a bath. Hmmm... decisions, decision!
I still have to finish the ceiling because I ran out of paint. I also have to finish painting several other areas of our house but at least the bedrooms are done! One step at a time my friends, one step at a time!
My friend SaraJane flittered down from New Jersey for a couple of days! We ate at Red Robin and did some shopping together which is always fun. It was great to have her here! She introduced me to a new game called Word Twist on Facebook. Add that to my growing list of addictions!
I'm slowly recovering from VBS. I did 4 loads of laundry today. It doesn't seem to matter how much laundry I do, there's always more to be done. ALWAYS. It's terrible! Even more terrible is the fact that they're all laying on my bed waiting to be folded before I crawl under the covers. Maybe I should make this a short post and go work on that. It seems like a good idea. Of course, I'd rather soak in a bath. Hmmm... decisions, decision!
Friday, August 15, 2008
It's FRIDAY!
It is Friday and we've said our last good-byes to the VBS kiddos, at least until Sunday that is! Sunday we have a program where the kids sing their songs. We also have a slide show and VBS overview. Then, we get to have a BBQ and a carnival after church!
It's been a great week. Jayme (our 1st time VBS Director) and Julie and Stephanie (Co-Directors) have done an AMAZING job! Brenna transformed the whole church into an amusement park with her talented crew... It's so nice to be surrounded by such dedicated, talented people!
I was princess Spunky, and Leeann was in the Roller Coaster group! We had lots of fun. We had more than 120 kids, and lots of them don't go to church (which is the main reason we do what we do... letting kids know that Jesus loves them and having a super fun week for kids and their families to get to know the church and the people in it!)
Anyway, I'm exhausted... but in a really good way! We're off to the movies, we're going to see Kit Kitridge. We're trying to beat the 104 degree heat!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Antastrophe!
Like a good mommy, I decided to feed my kiddos cereal tonight. After all, it's Thursday night during VBS week (our craziest, busiest week of the year), and Rob had a late meeting tonight so it would just be the kids and I. I went to the pantry to grab some cereal and noticed a small trail of ants. After my irritation seethed a little and I refocused I realized there was more than a small trail of ants. There were several trails of ants--some big, and some small. I was confused because I had gotten a snack out of there about 30 minutes earlier and I didn't see any then. But, sure enough, they were there now!
I threw the open cereal boxes onto the floor in the entry (the pantry is off of the entry) and began moving items, spraying ants with cleaner and wiping them up. I inspected anything that was open (like bags of chips) and discarded what was necessary. After a few minutes of spraying and wiping I look behind me and see the boxes laying on the floor with ants scattering in all directions! At this point I shew the kids away and tell them to sit at the table and wait patiently for dinner. It's okay, my floor is in desperate need of cleaning anyway!
Well, patient doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary! Neither of them ate much for lunch (probably thanks to the rice crispy treats at VBS), and they were just making noise, taunting each other and being silly. I went to take a picture of their silliness because I was already writing this blog post in my head then Leeann started licking Titus. He pushed her away and started yelling, "Yucky! Ew, that's dis-gust-ing! Mommy and daddy say NO LEEANN!"
Guess what they're doing now? Watching Blue's Clues. That sounded like a splendid idea to me!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
VBS
Ah, I love VBS. It might very well be my favorite, most exhausting time of year. The preparation for it is intense. The love and prayers you pour into it before a child even walks through the door is incredible, only to be intensified 180X once the kids actually arrive!
Like it or not, it starts Monday! We've spent the last couple of weeks at the church at odd hours painting, and drawing, cutting and tracing, building and... drinking a lot of Starbucks! Today will be no different. The beautiful thing is, Krista (she's almost 12) has been coming to the church to help out with the kiddos. So, my kiddos are having a blast getting to hang out at the church with her and with their friends. Krista and Byron both came over this morning when their mom went to work so they're running all sorts of energy out of Leeann and Titus! It's beautiful!
Therefore, I'm taking a few short minutes to blog and let you know that we're knee deep in preparing for Vacation Bible School... and that's pretty much been consuming our lives lately! So there you go, you've now been officially updated on the status of Robyn's Nest.
Like it or not, it starts Monday! We've spent the last couple of weeks at the church at odd hours painting, and drawing, cutting and tracing, building and... drinking a lot of Starbucks! Today will be no different. The beautiful thing is, Krista (she's almost 12) has been coming to the church to help out with the kiddos. So, my kiddos are having a blast getting to hang out at the church with her and with their friends. Krista and Byron both came over this morning when their mom went to work so they're running all sorts of energy out of Leeann and Titus! It's beautiful!
Therefore, I'm taking a few short minutes to blog and let you know that we're knee deep in preparing for Vacation Bible School... and that's pretty much been consuming our lives lately! So there you go, you've now been officially updated on the status of Robyn's Nest.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Pool Time
I snagged this picture of Titus drying off after playing in the kiddie pool today.
I'll try to post more pictures of pool time soon, but this is all the time I have for now. Enjoy!
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