Why we chose to foster

When we tell people that we do foster care, most of the time people express their admiration for us being willing to do that. True, it isn't for the faint of heart, but more people are capable of doing this than they realize. I know, because my first reaction was that I could never do foster care.

Prior to my participation at Wood Badge in 2006, the only thing I knew about foster care was what I saw on TV. And it wasn't the best image. I went to Wood Badge to learn about becoming a better leader/commnunicator/team player. I believe that any training you can get that helps you become a better person is well worth it. Of course, it's put on by the Boy Scouts of America and I was looking forward to the scouting experience (I come from a family of 5 boys and a dad who was a scoutmaster for a long time so scouting is in my blood). I was surprised to arrive and find that about one-third of the course participants were from the juvenile court system in various positions such as parole officer, CPS workers, etc. (I don't remember all the specifics). Even the course director was a judge. I enjoyed getting to know these wonderful people who have hearts of gold and are truly advocates for the children and teenagers that come into the system. Towards the end of the course, when we were bonding with our patrols, we started talking about foster care. (One of our patrol members works directly in the CPS program). She gave an awesome presentation that seemed to awaken something inside me. She actually suggested to me and my friend that we should consider becoming foster parents. We talked about it and my first thought was, "I have a hard enough time with my own kids sometimes. How in the world could I take on more kids!" I was convinced it was not for me, but I took an informational packet to show my husband (I don't know why). After showing it to Eric and talking about how fabulous the course and the people were, I put foster care out of my mind. 

 But nuggets of thought work in a funny way. Once it's in your mind, it tends to be recalled at odd times.

Every once in a while, it would come up in our conversation. We always felt that spark of desire to help the children that get caught in undesirable situations. For me, the song "Because I Have Been Given Much" kept going through my head. One particular scripture stood out, "...Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matt. 25:40). Other scriptures have also influenced my feelings, but this stood out the most. We also thought that this might be the route through which we adopt, since at one point we felt that was in our future.

We believe that these children deserved the chance to experience a stable home, one where they could have refuge until it was safe for them to go back home. For some, it might be the only time they experience such a thing. If they're going to be removed from their home, why not have them stay with us. Children go into foster care for all different reasons but in most cases (that I've seen so far), the parents love their children and will usually work hard to resolve the issues so the children can come back.

Everytime we talked about possibly doing foster care, these wonderful songs and thoughts came up, but in the end, we'd convince ourselves that there's no way we could do this...and still be sane. Then it was put out of thought, again. At one point, I was reconnecting with an old friend and I discovered she was a foster parent. After expressing to her my fears, concerns, and feelings of inadequacy, the reservations disappeared and, after 6 months of thinking about it, we found ourselves making the call to the local Health and Welfare department to get started with training and licensing.

It has been an adventure, to say the least! We have had many children come into our home and each of them have taught us something. We almost adopted 3-sibling group (we ended up not being selected). With each placement, we learn a little more about how to be better foster parents. With this current placement, I have truly felt that I am helping my brother and sister (in the gospel sense) work towards reunification. So far, it has been awesome experience for our family.

Like I said before, being a foster parent is not for the faint of heart, but more people can do this than they realize. True, you do get attached to the children and it hurts when they leave. But you and the child(ren) are better for it. There's a saying, "It is better to have loved, and lost, than never to have loved at all." Each of these children leave an imprint in our hearts and we remember them, long after they have left. And I hope they remember us, long after they leave.

Validation

Eric and I had the opportunity to attend a workshop called "Discovering the Keys to A Loving Relationship." It was a two day workshop and we throughly enjoyed it. We laughed and cried and made new friends. We accepted challenges to find creative ways of expressing our love to each other. We learned techniques for better communication (like validation). A lot of what we heard wasn't anything new, but you gain an understanding of why it works and how to use it effectively in your marriage.

Here's a short video that demonstrates validation. It's about 16 minutes but I promise you that it is worth the time. Sit back and enjoy.



It is important to validate the feelings of those around us. When we show that we acknowledge them and the things they say, it makes them feel as though we care about them and what they have to say is important. I realized that this was something I did when I was in Primary. Those kids just lap it up and bask in the love and attention they are getting. Why is it that it's harder to do with the teenagers and adults around us?! If everyone did this with those they came in contact with throughout the day, imagine how much better this world would be...as evidenced in this video above!! Maybe there really would be world peace! (Hey, we can dream, right?!)

It's official, I'm a DORK

Maybe you should hear the whole story first but I'm sure it won't change the result. Most of my readers understand the LDS culture so I won't explain everything. If any of you recently had a baby, maybe you shouldn't read this...

A few weeks ago I was at the park having lunch with my kids and some other women from my ward and their kids. It's a daily ritual for us and the USDA provides a grant for lunches to be distributed at certain parks in the area. One lady in particular was very pregnant and was eagerly anticipating her due date. I visit teach her so I was looking forward to the chance to see her new little one. One day, before this lady showed up, my RS president turned to me (she also eats at the park with us) and asked me if I would make a meal for the lady mentioned above. Of course I told her yes and she even gave me the choice of days! Sweet! The choices were Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. I chose Monday figuring I should do it before I got too busy with my week. (It's been known to happen!) She reminded me a couple more times before the park lunches stopped. And of course I remembered every time. How could I forget something like that?! I didn't need to write it on my calendar...I'd remember.

My friend's due date came and she delivered her baby (induced). They announced the birth in church and via email from the RS president. Monday came and I had a crazy day. Eric was late coming home from work (came home at 7 pm) and we had stuff that needed to be taken care of with Health and Welfare during the day. I barely got dinner made for my family and headed out the door for my 8 pm appointment. I remembered that I was supposed to take dinner to my friend at 5:30 pm on the way to my 8 pm appointment!!! Of course my hand smacks my forehead at this realization that I let someone down.

So I called my friend and profusely apologized for missing dinner that day. I told her I wanted to make it up to her and offered to bring her dinner...again. She left the date up to me so I decided that since I forgot on a Monday, I definltey would remember on a Tuesday! I wrote it on my calendar so I wouldn't forget. Today. Tuesday the 18th. Can't forget that, right?!

At 10:30 pm, I got home from an awesome, inspiring EFY meeting with the youth and leaders in my ward and eat the dinner that I didn't have time to eat before I left at 6 pm. At that point I realized...I forgot to take dinner to my friend...AGAIN!! I get on the phone right away and call her and apologize profusely. I can't believe I forgot twice in a row!! I'd offer to make dinner for her again but I think she'd just laugh at me in the face. I don't blame her...I wouldn't trust myself a third time either! LOL! So I told her I'd visit her in the morning.

Now I need to put together a peace offering. Banana Bread?

I can't believe this happened. I have NEVER forgotten to take a meal to someone before! So, it's official...that's why I'm calling myself a dork. At least I'm laughing while I'm typing this. If I can't laugh at this, what can I laugh at?!

Feeling VERY inspired

Summer must be keeping all of my usual readers very busy because my last few posts had "0" comments! So I kind of stayed away from blogging. But now I have to repent and keep blogging away...if only for my own personal recordkeeping. (Journal writing is too hard! :- ) )

Last week I went to girls camp. I wish I had pictures to post but I didn't take my camera with me. *Gasp!* I know...shocking! I figured enough people were taking theirs and it would be silly to take a picture of someone else taking a picture. It would be easy enough to get the pictures I want from them...right? Still haven't done that. (Hey, we just got back last Friday!) Some of you who have facebook might have seen the ones that I was tagged in. Anyway, the camp director, Sandi Henderson, is a wonderfully talented lady who moved into our ward (from the married student ward) and just as quickly as she moved in, she moved out! (The day after we got back from camp, she moved to Montana.) She has her own business designing fabrics and patterns. She is in the process of making a book and has her hands in so many wonderful projects. Such a lucky lady. Our camp theme was Royal Generation and each ward chose a princess with a kingdom for their camp theme. By the time they got to our ward, some of the obvious princesses we all know were already chosen. But our wise and fearless leader chose Mulan of Ming Dynasty. (Now I haven't seen the movie so I hope I got that right.) So, going along with the Mulan theme, she decided to make kimonos for the girls and leaders. And I got to help her make them! We spent endless days (well, probably 5 to be exact) sewing for a few hours a day. When we were done, we had 15 kimonos and a stack of scarves to last til kingdom come! (All camp participants wear scarves to identify wards by color). I'll post a picture in the next few days and share a little more detail of camp stuff. For now, the reason I feel so inspired...

Sitting in my friend's sewing room surrounded by beautiful colorful fabrics and wonderful project ideas really inspired me to get over my love/hate relationship with my sewing machine. I love it and it looks pretty sitting in my laundry room but I just can't bring myself to use it because I'm afraid I'll mess up something that is pretty costly to replace. I just can't afford to take that risk! But, I see so many wonderful things that people make and I think to myself, "I can do that!" So...here's where I feel really inspired and feel like I can conquer anything! My first project will be a market bag for Kaitlyn that Sandi designed. I'll take pictures and post them along the way!

I also just recently got a watch/bracelet combo that a friend made for me. To me this is the best of both worlds...the beauty of a beaded bracelet and the functionality of a watch combined in one! Some of you may know this as Bumbles which can be costly. I'm going to try making the watch straps myself. We'll see how that turns out! I'll post my projects as I work on them.

So, are you feeling inspired to make things? Let me know what wonderful things you're doing!

Life with a toddler in the house...

I probably already mentioned this but for those who forgot...we have two little kiddos with us now... a 5 1/2 year old and a 22 month old. When they came, the younger child was 18 months old. He was pretty sick and not walking at all. As time passed he got better, learned to walk, and has since been gaining confidence in himself and the world around him. Now he's like any other 2 year old and we have had to keep an eye on him so he doesn't get into everything! Our first indicator that he was developmentally caught up was when my husband came home from work and found this in the kitchen...

The funny thing is I was with A in the kitchen earlier (making dinner) and had left him just a minute prior. When I was in there with him, he was opening drawers and playing with the stuff inside. I had to laugh when I walked into the kitchen and saw this! It's too cute! He had dropped the container with the pink sprinkles and it cracked. Upon picking it up, the sprinkles started coming out which led to him shaking it. The pink sprinkles were everywhere! We stripped him, gave him a bath to remove the pink dye then cleaned up the kitchen. After sweeping, we had a huge pink spot on the floor still! Love the pink feet!!

A loves to give us kisses and hugs and always has a smile for us. He's such a sweet little boy. I will miss him when he leaves!

Summer Visitor

The other day Kaitlyn's friend came over to play and brought her motor scooter. She parked her scooter in our garage and we closed the door to keep it from being stolen. As her friend was leaving, Kaitlyn and Jared come running in to my bedroom..."Mom! There's a snake in the garage!! Come get it, quick!" I thought for sure this was some sort of prank. So out I went to the garage and sure enough, right where the back wheel of the motor scooter was, there's a small snake coiled up, poised to strike.

Of course I go in panic mode (but not too bad because I'm the only grown up around and I gotta protect my kids) wondering how in the world to catch this snake. So I run inside and find a bucket, find some leather work gloves and a stick when my prince in shining armor comes walking up the driveway (just arriving home from work). I gladly handed him the stuff and told him he had to catch the snake then proceeded to get up on a chair so the snake wouldn't come after me. I'm not a fan of snakes. I'd rather see them in a glass aquarium than in my personal living space. (I guess this is one of the downsides to having a field in your backyard.)

So my kids, after seeing my reaction, found a rubber snake that Jared has and for the last 2 days have been strategically placing the fake snake in places where I will find it like my purse, the cereal bag, my chair, and right inside my bedroom door to name a few. The first few times it startled me, now I just find the snake and look accusingly at my kids after which they giggle and take pride in the fact they put a toy snake somewhere where I'd find it. I think it's so funny that they find this so entertaining...even after 2 days!

We took pictures of the snake and then went online to figure out what kind of snake it is. We can't tell exactly the breed but we are sure it's not venomous (what a relief, right?). It does have teeth but we aren't sure if it will hurt if it bites (and I don't think I want to find out). Now my kids and husband are begging to keep it as a pet. My neighbor, who found a baby rattlesnake in her garage a couple of years ago, actually encouraged my hubby by telling him that Wal-Mart has aquariums for $12! She even told us that it would be better (less time consuming and cheaper) for us in the long run to get a couple of mice and breed them in our garage for feeding to the snake! Ugh!! I'm just not ready for this. When my kids ask about keeping the snake, all I can think of is the snake getting out of it's cage and being loose in the house. I just can't handle that thought. I'd temporarily move out until the snake was caught..er, found, and evicted from the house.

What do you think? Would you let them keep this snake??

Rain, rain and more rain

Quick!! Someone alert Seattle! Are they missing any rain? We certainly found it.

Ever since school got out on May 28th, it has been raining. I don't mind it, it certainly beats 100 degree weather...but it's hard to keep kids entertained indoors for days on end! My yard has mushrooms growing in it and we haven't turned the sprinklers on all month! My friend was commenting a few days ago that it rained 12 out of the last 13 days (as of that date). It didn't rain yesterday so by that calculation, it rained 18 out of the last 20 days. At this moment, the clouds are gathering overhead and the wind is blowing like crazy. A few drops of rain even made it's way to the ground. I think now would be a good time to invest in a rain coat and good rubber boots. Except if I cave now and buy it, chances are the rain will stop the minute the debit charge clears my bank.

(It really is this gloomy outside right now.)

Eric decided that Seattle would be his dream place to live because he just loves this kind of weather. It reminds him of the sudden downpours that he saw when he was growing up (Florida). This gives me a sudden flashback- I remember going out on rainy days (when I was a lot younger) and singing on the top of my lungs, "Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day!"

How are things in your neck of the woods? Is the weather the same as usual for you or different? Leave a comment and let me know!



P.S. I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera- all 592 of them! So I'll post some pictures soon so you can see what we've been up to!

Help the environment

Another giveaway on the Shopping with Cents blog I check out. They're giving away a set of two reusable shopping bags to some lucky follower. So I am shamelessly trying to win by posting about their giveaway. The bags are cute! I don't know abut you but I prefer using these kind of bags anyway- not only does it help the environment but the bags don't break like the plastic ones do and they hold a LOT more stuff which means less trips back and forth from the car!! Getting this for free is a fabulous deal!

Want a new recipe to try??

This 30 recipe challenge made me realize that my selection of recipes is really quite small. I came across a blog that has lots of yummy recipes on there. I made the chicken enchilada recipe from her blog and it was so yummy! It looks more like the kind you get at a mexican restaurant, pretty easy to make and it actually has color! (I don't know about you but the recipe I already had has no color and has too much creamy stuff). The most time consuming part for me was cooking a whole chicken (because it would give me more meat for less $$ than buying packaged skinless/boneless breasts.) There's a ton of other recipes on there too. Go on- check it out !! You won't be sorry.

My techie husband...

I told my husband about this 30 day recipe thing I want to do, explaining that this will help us to stay on budget a little better since there will be less trips to the store. I had downloadeded some fabulous looking 4x6 recipe cards from a link on Nannygoat's website and was typing in my 3rd card when my husband tells me there's got to be a computer software that will compile all my recipes, allow me to schedule meals and produce a shopping list all with a push of a button. So he researched the Net and found some software that does all this. He found one but it costs $80 (Cook'n) so he looked some more and found Bigoven.com for less (can't remember the amount now). He said that's my Mother's day gift. LOL! Now I'm in the process of trying to learn how to use the program and also entering 30 recipes. I was excited when it said I could post my recipes on a weblog but I can't quite figure it out. It's also supposed to allow me to print them so I can compile it into a book (remember the book I want to make for the foster girls we had?) When I figure out how to post to a blog, I'll post a link on here so you can get some more recipes!

Anyone have a good recipe for smoothies? Fruit ones? I saw a recipe book thing at Walmart yesterday full of smoothie recipes but it was $5. I'm hoping to find some free ones from family and friends (tried and true!) and maybe some on the net before caving in and getting the one at Walmart. (Chances are, by the time I go back to get it, it will be all gone anyway!)

Inspire your walls contest

Hi everyone! I heard about this drawing for free vinyl rub ons for your walls through my sister's website. She co-blogs for Shopping with cents that has all sorts of tips and coupons for getting the best deal around. And in these hard times, getting something for less is always a good thing!

Check it out and maybe you'll be interested in winning a $50 gift certificate to use for yourself or give to your mom for Mother's Day! Click here to read more details...

Gotta start somewhere!

Ok- it's time to come out of retirement.

I just got busy with focusing on getting our foster kids (Destiny and Raivyn) ready to leave in January then enjoying the calm and freedom that came when they left. The calm lasted about a month and a half when on March 3 we got a call asking if we could take two little boys in our home, ages 5 1/2 and 18 months. We had heard that Health and Welfare wasn't getting very many cases (which is a good thing!) so things were slow. So when the phone rang and they asked if we could take them, we jumped at the opportunity. We brought them home, gave them baths, went shopping for clothes and diapers and basic necessities (they didn't have anything but the clothes on their back) and in the midst of all this, we discovered that Jared and the oldest boy weren't getting along at all. And that's putting it mildly. To ease strain between Jared and the older boy, whose name is Caleb, we put the foster kids in day care from 8:30-12 M-F. It has been a life saver! After a month, things improved because: 1) the boys got used to each other, 2) everyone got used to the new routine (the foster kids adjusted to having a schedule which they never had before), and 3) Eric and I went to a parenting workshop that taught us a few new techniques (and reinforced quite a few things we already knew and applied in our home). Things improved so much that Caleb and Jared now call themselves buddies!! It totally shocked me when they announced one day that they were going to be buddies now (I think my eyes jumped out of my head like it does in the cartoons). That doesn't mean there aren't "moments" when there's crying and hitting but I feel the relationship they have now is more like brothers.

Anyway, I was looking at a link for a recipe card idea that my sister sent me the other day called Nannygoat. I'm not much of a fan of recipe cards but I love the idea of gathering 30 of my family's favorite recipes and choosing my menu (and compiling a grocery list) from the dinner recipes I select for the week. It's all in one place, not in 20 different books. I was already in the process of putting together a recipe book (and taking pictures of all my meals to add to the recipe book) to give to Destiny and Raivyn because they loved all the things I made while they were here. When they knew they were leaving, they asked me for the recipes so I thought I'd put together a 5x7" recipe book for them. Since I'll already have it made, I might just give it to other foster kids that come into our home and like the cooking. (I'll only give it to them if they ask, I don't want to offend any parents :o) )

So, here's a few of my family's favorite recipes. (Some might have already been posted previously, sorry!)

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef, browned with onion (opt.)
1 can each: corn, pinto beans, kidney beans, stewed tomatoes,
green beans, corn
1 packet Taco Seasoning
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Brown burger in pot, add cans of veggies (DO NOT DRAIN), taco seasoning and water for desired consistency. Warm soup mix. Garnish with shredded cheesed, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Southwestern Chicken Soup

1 12-oz jar of Salsa Verde (or use combination
of green enchilada sauce and salsa)
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
3 cups chicken broth
1 15-oz can of corn
1 can of black beans (drained)
1 15-oz can of kidney beans
1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
2 green onions, chopped
Sour cream
Shredded cheese
blue corn chips

-Empty the Salsa Verde into a large saucepan. Cook 2 minutes over medium-high heat, then add the chicken, beans, broth, and cumin. For a soupier dish, increase broth to 4 cups. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkling of green onions and grated cheese. Serve with blue corn chips.
-NOTE: if you substitute green enchilada sauce and salsa for salsa verde, use about 1/3 cup of salsa and the rest of the amount of enchilada sauce to make 12 ounces.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 C. sour cream (8 oz.)
3 C. cooked fettuccine noodles
3-4 C. cooked cubed chicken
Stove Top Stuffing mix- Chicken Flavor
¾ cube butter or margarine
2 C. chicken broth or bouillon cubes

Mix first soup and sour cream together in a 9x13” pan. Stir in cooked noodles and chicken. Sprinkle Stove top stuffing mix over top (bread and seasoning). Pour melted butter and chicken broth over top of stuffing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

1 pound ground beef
1 16-oz jar thick and chunky salsa
2 cups Cheddar cheese
10 flour tortillas

Brown meat and drain off fat, if necessary. Stir in 1/2 cup of salsa and half of the cheese (1 cup). Spread 1 cup salsa into the bottom of a 9x13” baking dish. Fill tortillas with 1/4 cup of the meat mixture and roll. Place tortillas seam side down in the pan. After all tortillas are rolled, top with 1 cup salsa and remaining cheese. Bake at 350ْ for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve while still hot with sour cream and remaining salsa.

Serves 6-10

I think that's enough for one day. I'll post pictures soon so this boring blog will have variety. :o)

Spreading the word...

Hi everyone! I know...it's been a long time since I posted. I promise to do it soon. This post is dedicated to my cousin-in-law who has great talent. She designs blogs and I have to say her blog designs look fabulous! Hop on over to her site to see for yourself! I'm sure you'll find something you'll love!

You can also find her cute button called "Designer Blogs" on my sidebar.

My favorite day...

While I was listening to the lesson in Young Womens today, I pondered on the fact of how much I LOVE Sundays! I love getting ready for church and listening to church music on the radio while getting ready. I LOVE listening to Primary songs in the car, belting out the songs (out of tune probably) and waiting for church to start! I love singing the sacrament songs, taking the sacrament, and listening to the speakers (getting only half of it sometimes because of a particularly restless and distracted 4 year old!) I love the silly comments Jared sometimes says that almost makes me laugh out loud. Almost. I love that warm fuzzy feeling the spirit brings, telling me I'm where I'm supposed to be. I love catching up with friends and other members of the ward in between meetings. I LOVE serving in Young Womens! I love hearing/teaching the lessons and the fact that I still learn things that can help me improve myself! I LOVE that sometimes Eric comes in to interpret for me in Young Womens. (The girls developed a relationship with him since he went to camp with us all week this summer so they enjoy it when he's there too!) Even he says that he enjoys the Young Womens lessons more than High Priest's (shhh...don't tell them he said that)! I love helping to plan weekly activities and I really miss the girls when they don't come. I LOVE Heavenly Father and I want the girls to be able to develop those same feelings and their own testimony about Him and our savior, Jesus Christ. I LOVE that Sunday is a day of rest because that allows me to indulge in a guilty pleasure- having all my family together for a while; no friends over, no phones ringing. Nothing but pure family time. Sometimes the occasional meeting is necessary, but for the most part we all enjoy time together as a family. This afternoon we worked on Caleb's Duty to God (he's almost done with the Deacon portion!) and a little bit of record keeping for Scouts. Kaitlyn started preparing her lesson for Family Home Evening tomorrow night. I think it's so neat that our foster kids currently with us look forward to FHE too, though for them I think it's mainly because of the treats. (They do say they like the stories too but I wonder...) The only thing I don't like about Sunday is that it ends. It was nice to enjoy a day of spiritual nourishment that will sustain me throughout the week.

My Facebook Discovery

I finally discovered Facebook (some of you might laugh at this- the fact that I just now notice it) and can I just say "Wow!" I have renewed so many friendships through Facebook that I thought were gone forever! Or at least until the high school reunion that will hopefully happen someday. No more wondering (while I'm in the shower) what a particular friend is doing at this point in their life and just wishing I could sit down and chat and just catch up on all these lost years.

I lived in El Paso, Texas before I went to Ricks College. It was the only place I lived in the longest before I left for school (I think it was 7 years??). I haven't been back since except for my wedding reception. But when you're newly married, you don't pay attention to much other than your brand new spouse.

If you haven't already done so, join Facebook! It is amazing the friends you'll find on there!

The reason for our busy month!!

New Placements!

This last month was really busy here at the Hensley house- we were trying to adjust to new routines and keep everyone happy. Our household now consists of a 13 1/2 year old, 9 (almost 10 year old), 7 year old, 5 year old and a 4 year old. And shall I say I now understand the necessity of a schedule! I always thought I had one before but looking back now, it was a very flexible one. Nowadays, if I don't stick to a schedule, it's a zoo around here! Dinner has to be ready by 6 pm or I have a major meltdown on my hands. Bedtime requires a sergeant to make sure everyone does everything necessary to get ready for bed in a reasonable amount of time. And that's no joke!

School is in full swing with all the kids in school at some time during the day. Jared goes to preschool on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays for a couple of hours. One child is in afternoon kindergarten everyday. I go to work while she is in school and leave Jared with a babysitter. Kaitlyn just started up violin lessons again and is begging me to buy her a blue violin. Caleb never has homework even though he is an eigth grader. (He has study hall 8th hour so he is able to finish all his homework during that time.) So the first thing I hear from him every day after school is "Can I go to a friend's house?"

I spent a couple of Tuesdays up at ISU cosmetology department learning how to take care of the girls hair. They don't have relaxers so styling has been a challenge! I really appreciate the instructor taking the time to help me out. I learned quite a lot about curly hair- it needs lots of moisturizers and it's a pain to brush!

I am in the process of creating a chart for everyone so they know what chores they have and can earn rewards for doing their part to help out around the house. I'll let you know more about it when it's done!

15th Anniversary!

Somewhere in all the busy-ness of the last couple of weeks, Eric and I celebrated our 15th anniversary (on August 20th). It came and went and my good intentions amounted to nothing. I had visions of snapping a picture of Eric and me and posting it on the blog documenting this milestone but somehow life had other plans for us (we were busy preparing for the arrival of Destiny and Raivyn). Nevertheless, I have a whole year to celebrate our 15 years together so I figured...better late than never, right?

Over the years we have grown as a couple and individually. I always thought it was so sweet to hear other "much older" couples say that they love each other more now than the day they met. Now I truly understand what they mean and it makes me look forward to the future because I love what we have now! To think it could get better than this amazes me!

15 random things I love about us:
1. Anything said after 10 pm doesn't count.
2. How when we're dealing with unruly kids, we step in to relieve the other when we see their stress levels rising.
3. That we serve the Lord with all our might, mind, might and strength and support each other in our callings.
4. That we both know sign language! I never thought it would be so crucial in our communication with each other. We mostly speak but there are some pretty hilarious moments whenI repeat what I hear back and realize I heard something completely different. Sign language sure helps clarify what I didn't hear.
5. We are never afraid to say "I love you" often- to each other and to our children.
6. We laugh often. That is so important in a healthy relationship and it helps to keep us sane. Though I do wish it would burn more calories- we'd both be pretty skinny by now!
7. He laughs and gently teases me about my crazy, semi-OCD compulsions (light switches, purses, cleaning, etc.). If I use middle school translation for this kind of behavior, I know it means he likes me. ;-)
8. That we're quick to forgive each other.
9. We support each other in our hobbies and interests. He supports and encourages me in scrapbooking and in other hobbies I enjoy- including blogging. (Though reading books does sometime annoy him because it doesn't include him... and I tend to be glued to the books once I really get into it.)
10. He sends me sweet text messages during the day. It lets me know he still remembers me when I'm not in his sight. :o)
11. We both help to keep the house clean (though there's only so much we can do with 5 kids underfoot). I'm so glad he's not one of those men that believes that only women do the dishes and cleaning.
12. We set goals and work to achieve them.
13. That we are there for each other- through the heartache, joy, frustration, disappointments, excitements, etc. We've had our fair share of them!
14. That we'd rather be together rather than off doing things alone. It sure makes grocery shopping more enjoyable! (I remember we couldn't wait until Caleb turned 12! Whoo-hoo!)
15. And last but not least- we make such a great team. Nothing is done without consulting each other and discussing the pros and cons of a decision. We respect each other's opinions.

RazzBerryPie Boutique: Giveaway! (UPDATE!)#links

RazzBerryPie Boutique: Giveaway! (UPDATE!)#links

I just happened to discover yesterday that my cousin has this cute online store called RazzBerryPie Boutique. What a cute name! And the blog is way cute too! Check out the giveaway link. I think the necklace and earring set is pretty cute! There's also other cute things like baby leggings. I wonder if this is the same thing my SIL had on her son when I saw him in April. She said it works wonderful for long car trips- keeps the legs warm without the hassle of pants over onesies (makes changing diapers a pain while traveling). So cute- wish I had a little one to put these on.

Where's the time gone??

Wow! Time seems to be flying by so fast! It seems like I just got back from girls camp and youth conference and now my kids are already in school! We also welcomed two new additions to our family. Destiny and Raivyn will be staying with us for a little while. So now we have a 4 year old, 5 year old, 7 year old, 9 1/2 year old and 13 1/2 year old in our house. And I discovered a schedule/routine is important! I know I always say this, but I'll post pictures tomorrow. At this ungodly hour, it's amazing that I'm even typing up this post!

I've been reading the Stephenie Meyer "Twilight" series. I thought the first book was ok but the rest of the books made up for it! I'm on book 4 and Caleb reports to me that one of his friends is reading it! And he wants to read the series now! I never figured a guy would like reading it. Go figure!

Anyone have any fun plans for Labor Day weekend? I'm thinking of heading down to Utah. In March, we purchased a membership pass to the Hogle Zoo thinking we'd be back at least once during the summer but the increase in gas prices prohibited us from traveling this summer. I figured we might as well "bite the bullet" and go down and enjoy a fun weekend with the fam. One last hurrah!

Busy, busy!

Whew! July was spent getting ready for Girls Camp which was held the last week of July. Eric and I went and stayed the whole time (Tuesday-Friday). We loved being up there at the beautiful new campgrounds! Of course it helped that we had our pop up camper with heater. Cozy nights (shhh...don't tell the girls!). We were constantly on "bear alert" since a young women group, just a few weeks earlier, had a bear visit (it tore into a leaders tent because it smelled the chocolate doughnuts and Dr. Pepper in their tent) . Their camp was only a few miles away from we were so they strongly emphasized bear safety. We were praying that we wouldn't have a bear encounter! Wednesday morning we saw a guy dressed in military fatigues with a bear hound on a leash, walking through camp to make sure there were no bears. It was pretty comforting to have them accompany us on our hike that morning! Especially when it ended up in a hiker needing to be escorted back to camp for health reasons (he used his GPS to get the girl, leader and another hiker back to camp). I'll post some pictures of camp later.

The next weekend was Youth Conference and we both went to that, with Caleb. We went to Willow Bay in American Falls (25 miles away) and spent Friday night-Saturday evening boating. Our bishop loves to have any excuse to go boating so he took the youth up to share in his favorite activity. We all had a blast and came home with some pretty good sunburns. I even went on the tubes with some of the young women. I was so sore the next 2 days! Now if I can just get the sunburn on my thighs to go away!

This week we're busy getting the kids registered for school and buying back to school supplies. I love that time of year! Jared will be going to preschool 3 days a week. He is so looking forward to it! I'm so excited for him.

Oh, we got a call the other day from the mother who has Lakota in her care. She asked us to do respite care (babysit) while she goes out of town for a few days. Kaitlyn, Jared and I just can't wait until she gets here!! We're so excited to be able to have her in our home again for a few days!