A New Adventure

The chaos I am surrounded with has changed quite a bit since I started this little blog. A year ago I was surrounded by my 3 biological children and 3 more little girls entrusted to me by the foster care system. While we are no longer fostering, our family has grown, and we are hoping to add more members in the spring--mainly of the animal variety!




A year ago I couldn't see an end to our fostering journey. A few months later our eldest started threatening to make some allegations and we began re-evaluating our situation. After an unfortunate late night escapade involving police officers (and family and friends scouring the neighborhood for an "escape artist"), we decided to close our license. We felt the need to protect our family unit from false allegations and we needed some respite. Within the week our house was quiet again. We settled into life as a bio family of 5. Sissy missed her sisters, and it was especially hard for me to let go of the twins, since they were happy in our home and not the cause of the turmoil. Nonetheless, the break was helpful. We lived in our cookie-cutter home near family and planned to be there for awhile.

Moving Day

Fast-forward a few more months and our world was rocked again. With the lagging economy, our little neighborhood--and our street in particular--began to see an influx of Section 8 tenants. I really did not have a problem with this until two of our neighbors had an altercation. In front of our house. Involving shots fired near Bubba's bedroom window. That evening we discussed selling our home. The next day Hubby listed our house on Craigslist. Less than 24 hours later our house was sold. We never expected it to sell quickly. Everything moved so fast that even our closest friends had no idea. On Labor Day we moved our belongings into storage and took up residence in my parents' guest bedroom and office. Although I enjoyed living blocks away from family, I was looking forward to pursuing our dream of acreage.



We soon found what we thought was a great deal: 5 acres for only $99,000 a mere 10 minutes away. Still on the outskirts, yet close to everything. However, we were not familiar with the current housing market (as things had moved so fast), and were disappointed to learn that the property was under contract, as was just about every other property in our price range with acreage. Feeling desperate, we expanded our search farther West. But after driving out to a few properties we realized that was out of the question for several reasons. I didn't want to live quite so far from family. Hubby would have a ridiculously long commute. And all the properties we looked at were desert landscapes without irrigation. We knew we wanted animals and these properties would not be suitable. And then we found it.

An ugly, outdated split-level built in 1969, just miles from my old high school. It was still across town from family, so not as close as I'd imagined. Nonetheless, it was in a great location: close to abundant shopping, hospitals, and freeways; and just under an acre--with irrigation. We loved the layout, the property, and the prospect of updating it to our own specifications.

Bubba and Sissy with our new goats, Ivy (1 1/2 yrs) & Zoey (6 wks)

 We made an offer, and soon began the long process of remodeling. With the help of many family members and friends we were able to move into our new house in late October, and quickly added a few new girls to the family.

In the coming weeks we added 2 more goats to the family, hosted family from out of state, and continued to remodel and get settled into our new neighborhood.

We are gearing up for even more changes at our place, and I'm excited to share them with you in the coming days!

28 Things I love about my husband

in no particular order...
1. He loves his family above all else.
2. He makes me laugh.
3. He's smart.
4. He loves to learn.
5. He keeps us safe.
6. He is a great father.
7. He rides a motorcycle.
8. He puts up with my healthy lifestyle changes.
9. He loves to read.
10. He's not afraid to try new things.
11. He brews his own beer.
12. He is patient with me.
13. He's hot.
14. He gave me 3 beautiful babies.
15. He challenges me.
16. I never have to doubt his faithfulness.
17. He keeps us out of debt.
18. He makes family time a priority.
19. He flirts with me.
20. He likes to garden.
21. He's building me a petting zoo.
22. He supports me (even in the birthing tub!).
23. He wrestles and tickles his kids.
24. He has been a father to 12 kids who were not his own.
25. He values my contribution to the family.
26. He works hard.
27. He is a great storyteller.
28. He is committed to me.

Happy birthday to the love of my life!

Casting a Vision for My Children

"Stop being naughty!" I said it to my nearly-two-year-old as we left the grocery store. He hadn't wanted to stay in the cart, tried climbing out, throwing a fit when I held him down. Common toddler occurrence, though definitely not acceptable. We had two more errands to run, and my baby was up early and grouchy already. As we drove 2 miles down the street to the next stop, I heard, "Naughty, naughty, naughty!" from the backseat. Almost immediately I saw the error of my ways. "No, Bud, don't be naughty. Be good for mommy. Good, good, good!" Unfortunately things didn't get much better before he fell asleep on the way home. Interestingly, I found this post on my Facebook feed a few hours later. I highly encourage you to check it out. Suffice it to say that I will be focusing on speaking life and vision into my children this week.

When Things Don't Work Out Right...

Curly arrived at our house last Thursday. She was sick and kept pretty quiet, though she seemed to have fun with the kids that evening. Friday was busy, so there wasn't much time for normal interaction until the evening, when my mom watched the kids for my birthday date with Hubby. We ended up picking the kids up a little early after a text that she was being mean to the other kids. I hadn't seen anything major, so I figured she was just tired and sick.

Saturday was my birthday, and I woke to Bubba screaming in pain. I hurried out of bed to find Flower Girl holding him. She told me that Curly had thrown him into FG's footboard. I was alarmed, but not extremely concerned. Unfortunately, the injured list kept growing throughout the day. She was obviously a hurting child, lashing out toward others both verbally and physically, often completely unprovoked. With six other children in the house, we knew we couldn't let it continue. Hubby emailed her caseworker Sunday afternoon, explaining the situation.

We're currently waiting to hear when she'll be leaving. Hopefully she'll be placed with her brother, in a home where they are the only children, or at least the youngest. Disruptions are disappointing, but we're confident that we've made the best decision for our family and the children in our care.


81. my children's love for each other
82. a protective little brother
83. the great staff at our doctor's office
84. the opportunity to help my sister through THREE days of active labor, and in the end
85. welcoming my new nephew into the world!
86. free childcare via my awesome mom for my birthday
87. beautiful weather
88. baby breath and
89. open-mouth (baby) kisses
90. comfort in the chaos