This is so fun...

Lisa, thanks for the info on photobucket. I haven't had a ton of time to play with it but I did add a 'sticker' to a cute picture of A and G. A is the 19 month old little girl we are fostering. G and A tend to clash but more and more lately they are getting along. A was born 1 year and 1 day after G. A came to live with us Aug. 12, 10.



Here is our baby boy "P"...he came to live with us July 28, 10.



This is one of the twins. We called her Sophia but her name has been changed again. Their aunt brought them over Saturday for a visit. I love them so much and I was so excited to see them.



and this is who we called Skyla...



They lived with us from Dec. 17, 09' to July 07, 10.

I love a peaceful Sunday....

it's kind of gloomy out. Dh went to the store and bought a roast, I'm slow cooking it and the house smells wonderful. A and I are in sweats watching the Lions play the Vikings. I can't help it but every year I pray for a miracle in that the Lions win some games! I've been very optimistic about this year...;)
G and P are still in their pj's and A has on some leggings a long sleeve t, like I said, it's a very peaceful/relaxing Sunday. I can't wait to overeat!
Yesterday we were blessed to have K and the twins come over for a visit. They are getting so big...yet they are still so small. In two days they will be 10 months old (8 months adjusted). To our surprise they are standing, I'm sure they will be walking any moment. It looks funny b/c they are tiny, wearing 3-6 month old clothes and weighing only 15 and 16 pounds.

I wanted to get on here today and post some pics of my family. I call the foster kids family b/c, well, right now they are ours...so they are family. P is 6 months rolling and laughing like all get out. And A is 19 months, fiesty but finally warming up to G (they are both head strong and tend to clash).

These pics are from yesterday and today. As you can see the living room looks like a tornado hit it pretty much everyday. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying....

P's in the bumbo watching A and G play.



The twins attacking P yesterday...



A and G playing today.

Software question...

Can someone please tell me how to blur someone out of a picture. I'm not sure what software I would need but any suggestions would be great. I would like to post some of G and the kids we have placed with us. But of course, I can't show their faces....:(

Help please.....

Just a little update....

Well, it's nearing fall and I'm a little excited because I love the holidays. Yesterday, I was thinking of Halloween and what the kids will be, how about the Three Amigos?, or Three Little Indians?!?! I hope it's nice enough to take the them out. Last year we went to the mall because it was raining.
Things are going ok here. I think fostering is taking a toll on me. It's not that I don't like doing it, I just want to be more settled. We really want to add to our family and even though fostering gives us that option we just don't know if/when that will happen. You have to have great patience. The SW at our agency are suppose to be placing children who are likely to be place for adoption with us but it doesn't seem that way. At least at this point. Or maybe I'm in to much of a rush and I'm taking in children who I know are not perfect fits...is there even such a thing as "a perfect fit"? I feel like each time we have a placement I'm learning more and more about myself, which is not always good....

It's been awhile...

but the news I wanted to share is that we have two new placements. P is a 6 month old baby boy. He is such a great baby. I'm serious, he never cries unless he is hungry...nothing but giggles and smiles. At this point we are not sure what is happening with his BP's. My husband and I decided that this time around we are going to court to stay in the loop. The next court date is Oct. 13th, I'll try to post as much of an update as I can.

Our second placement is an 18 month old baby girl. We call her Ari, she is a very good little girl. It's been an adjustment for G, since we never had another toddler living here. There is a lot of tug of war over toys. We were told that she will be here temporarily. She has multiple family members who have come forward to care for her. BCS have been doing everything to determine which family member will be the best placement for her. In fact tomorrow is the first family visit for her. She will have two visits with different family members back to back. This is great, I can't wait to meet them! I bet they miss her terribly!

Basically our house is FULL of life and craziness!!!

There are big things happening with G too! He has started going #2 in the potty. I've never been so excited about poop in my life...it's the little things I tell ya. And we have also moved him to a big boy bed. We bought a race car bed off craigs.list. I wasn't sure about it because I never had such a thing but it's the best thing ever! G runs to his bed at night and he doesn't get out of bed, even when I tell him too. He is also so smart, he cracks me up with the things he says. I'm going to post a video of him spelling his name....



Doesn't he look so small....



Sleeping like a baby...

Godparents????

Yesterday, which was Friday G and I went out to the country to see the twins. K (their aunt) is being so great to us, I can tell she genuinely likes us. The girls are growing and look different even though it's been just over three weeks since they left us. SM my little drama queen and totally a mama's girl reached up for me right away with this huge smile on her face. SR smiled too and started to jump around. K said "boy, they didn't forget you." It was amazing!
We spent around an hour and half visiting and talking about the girls and family. G loved hanging out with them, he would lie on the floor and let them crawl all over him. It was cute. I have pictures but I can't post them until they are officially adopted.
I did surprisingly well, I only cried when K asked if A and I would be interested in being the girls godparents. Of course I said "yes" but then I had to call A (he was at work) and ask him....and of course he said "yes" with no hesitation. So as soon as they are officially adopted by K and R (their aunt and uncle) they will baptize them which we will be a part of....it's such an honor and I can't wait! Then I'll post pictures for all of you to see....

I have more news but I just wanted to post this first. I'll be back soon to share....

Teen Mom....

I'm obsessed with this show, I don't know why because I watch it and pretty much cry the whole time. This season seems like it's going to be horrid. I love Caitlyn and I'm so sad for her. I wish she could come live with us. Tonight Tyler broke her heart and she took it like a champ. I wish I had her composure at that age.
As for Farrah....all I can say is OMG, OMG, OMG! I hope they are watching her with Sophia...I hate for something to happen to that precious child.
And what about Amber....all I can say is they better wrap it up!! Please for the taxpayers...wrap it up!
This is my chant for Macy....Go Macy, Go Macy...GOOOOOO! Ryan needs to give up his gym membership and pay for his child's needs!

Twins are gone...

just wanted to let everyone know that the twins are gone. We decided not to pursue adoption, it was a hard choice but we feel it was the right choice of our family. Since they have left we have seen them once....it's so very hard. I cried a lot. I miss them but I also know that they are in good hands with their aunt and uncle. They are a great family and they really want us to stay in the girls lives. They have told us numerous times how grateful they are to us for taking such great care of the girls. I can't wait to be able to share pictures of the girls but I can't until they are officially adopted by their aunt and uncle. They are so beautiful and getting so big. I'm serious. I can't believe how perfect they are....just precious.

As for us, we are now waiting for another placement. I'm definitely excited yet enjoying this time only having G. It's been so easy running errands. I'm not stuck in the house all day. In fact today we are going for a walk and then for a swim.

We've had a busy summer...in May we went to NYC, which was so fun. I can't wait to get back. We went to the Central Park Zoo and had NYC cheesecake....yum. In June we went to Tampa Bay, FL....Busch Gardens is beautiful and SeaWorld was awesome. I wonder why I didn't become a dolphin trainer...;-) And just this past weekend we went to A's older brother's wedding in IL, it was a beautiful wedding. I'm glad we were able to be a part of it.

August 5th is our 10 year anniversary. I can't believe we've been married for 10 years....geez time flies. I know this is crazy but we were going to Mexico, then A told me if we didn't go he would buy us a new house. So we put our house on the market but since the tax credit expired in April the housing market came to a halt. So basically we've had no action. I wish Obama would restart that program asap. We'll see what the future holds....I'm not going to stress about it.
We've also sold our 00' Honda Accord and A is getting ready to sell his work van. He really wants a larger SUV. Of course, I'm on board...my husband works so hard and deserve a new truck.
Since we aren't traveling in August, I feel like I'll have time to catch up with all my blogger friends and keep my blog updated...finger crossed.

I'll be back to post pictures soon....

Summer fun...

In my last post I mentioned that we were having a family over for a bbq on the 6th. Well, we did and it went great. I met Amy about 2.5 years ago on B.aby C.enter's adoption boards. We only lived a half hour from each so we agreed to meet in person. We hit it off right away and have since gotten together several times. This past weekend we had them over for dinner. We had a great meal and wonderful conversation. It's funny because our husbands are the same age, having been born on the same day. And they act very much alike as do Amy and I....lol. We just have a lot in common, it's a blessing to have such wonderful friends who truly understand where we have been and where we are heading on this journey. Our families are rich and full of life all made possible by adoption.
In August we are planning to go camping together. I hope it all works out, maybe it'll become an annual tradition. Here are a few pictures from Sunday.

Visit with E and new baby!!!

We are so lucky! We were in Pennsylvania a couple of weekends ago and were able to visit with E and her hubby T and new baby G. We had such a great time. Hopefully we will be able to all get together next spring in AZ! I never imagined that I would meet potential life long friends online. But through our common bond of IF and now adoption it's no wonder!

Here is a picture of E and I. E has a blog too...it's, Waiting for Baby: Our Adoption Journey Chronicles
What miracles our children are! I'm especially happy for E b/c we 'met' right before we were approved to adopt. She had alittle longer wait than us but it was totally worth it. G (her new daughter) is absolutely adorable. I can't wait to watch them grow as a family!



I'm realizing that E hasn't even posted pics of her baby girl on her blog but I can't help it.I know she has been adjusting to motherhood therefore she hasn't been blogging a whole lot, so sorry E!

The ride from A's aunt's house in Philly to E's house was only about 20 minutes. G managed to fall asleep, it's funny b/c from NY to Philly he was wide wake. I was hoping he would have slept then so he would be nice and fresh. When we arrived at E's house G stayed asleep for about an hour. But oh my gosh, when he woke up he was so grumpy. I'm telling you driving from MI to NY to Philly was very long for him. I would not do it again. Anyhow, here is my baby sleeping in the car peacefully.




On the 6th we are having a couple whom adopted over for a bbq. I met Amy about 2.5 years ago on an adoption support group. Since then we've gotten together a few times. It's always great to see her and her family. So I'm sure more pictures are soon to come!

Baby daddy?!?!

I finally got word today that R is in fact the girl's BF. I knew it. SR looks just like him. So now the judge has to establish him as the legal father, which may take place 6/24. Once that happens their aunt might be able to take them home. As you may remember R does not want them, he loves their BM and since her rights have been terminated they can not be in the same household. It's sad, I can't imagine choosing a boyfriend over my children but whatever....they will probably be better off with their aunt.

E (the sw) is calling me tomorrow to let me know if and when the girls will be transitioning to their aunts. As of right now, all we know is that they will definitely be here until the 24th....I'm starting to wrap my head around the fact that they will be leaving...:( I've had a couple good cries but for some reason it just doesn't feel real. Maybe because we don't know exactly when they are going to leave....

If I hear from E tomorrow, I'll post an update.

Jenn and Joe...

Jenn please email me, I need to get you the bag! Click on 'view complete profile', then click on 'email' under contact. Maybe we can get together this or next Friday?

SWAGGER WAGON

I love this video!!!!

Adding a Mietz....

Last June a few of my online/bloggy friends had a meet up in Chicago. You have to admit it's a little usual for a group of online friends to make a special trip to a far away city to enjoy a face to face meeting but we did it and we had so much fun. Since then we have been throwing around the idea of another meet up next year in Arizona, maybe we'll see the Grand Canyon together...who knows.
Today A, G and I were lucky enough to meet up with Gordon, Col's husband from Adding a Mietz. He was in a nearby city for business and we hooked up today for a quick dinner before he had to catch his flight. We went to Smokey Bones BBQ and Grill, it was good. We were having such a great time catching up, I almost forgot to take a picture but I didn't so here it is!







Thank you Gordon for hanging out with us. We hope to make the trip to the AZ...next spring!!! Give Chy a hug and kiss for us and tell Col we missed her!

Wordless Wednesday...

Not good...

well for us anyway. The girl's BF showed up to court with his sister. From what I was told he does not want custody but he does want to prove his paternity so the girls can go with his sister. This is after he specifically told me he did not want his girls to be with her but things have obviously changed. So even though he missed the court ordered, state paid paternity test in March, the judge pulled some strings and was able to get him the test done yesterday. I'm happy about that because at least we will know either way soon!

I've always believed that God will place the girls where they are meant to be so I have to have faith. If their aunt is going to step up good for her. I just hope and pray the children will be ok. So now we wait again, we wait for the results of the paternity test....now I'm imagining that they are not his.?.?.? But honestly the little one looks a lot like him.

When the social worker was here I could tell she was sad and sorry. I tried to keep my composure until she left but I couldn't my heart was breaking too loudly. I've grown to love my little girls and I will be so sad if...when they leave!

I don't know if adopting through the foster care system is the route we should continue on, I'm going to giving myself a few days to think and talk it over with my husband...

Shaking...

in my boots!!! Today is court for BF. I hope to hear something this afternoon but if not the girls social worker is coming over tomorrow. I don't quite know how to describe my feelings today. I'm kind of in lala-land. I guess the best thing to do is keep myself busy. I'll post when I hear something!

We have a winner...

Congratulations, Jenn and Joe.

So Jenn, email me your address and I can send it to you. Or since we live close, maybe we can finally meet. :)

Thanks for entering. Maybe I'll do some sort of giveaway every few months, it's fun!

Giveaway #1

I'm doing my first giveaway. I've been taking a sewing class every Tuesday and I made a super cute drawstring bag. Mind you, this is my first real 'project' so I'm sure if you know how to sew you'll find some mistakes but overall I'm real proud of it.

To enter this giveaway you must post what you'll use the bag for. I was thinking of using it for my sewing stuff but I already have a bag for that. Anyhow, here's the bag...oh one more thing, it's reversible...dang I'm good.

Good luck, a winner will be picked at random. Please enter by Saturday.

We are family....

Monday I took the girls to meet their sister...Allie. She is adorable and I'm so glad that her dad and stepmother keep her in touch with all her siblings. If we do in fact adopt to the girls, I'm going to make sure they have a relationship with all 6 siblings! Allie's stepmother Holly (who is absolutely wonderful) and I exchanged emails and I have since received pictures of all the kids. I seriously can't believe how beautiful they are....I'll try to get permission to post them here soon. I would have to ask their mom and dad...whom I have never met but might in June. Here's the breakdown...Allie lives with her father and Holly (stepmother). The next 5 children where by another man, they have all been adopted by the same family. I don't know their parents names yet but like I mentioned we might meet them in June. And then of course we have the last two, SR and SM who were by yet another man. So there are 3 baby daddy's.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around meeting so many new extended family. As I sit here and think about it my potential children have a lot of brothers and sisters. And brothers and sisters that they will have relationships with...this could mean big...I mean huge birthday parties...oy! Ok, I need to stop getting ahead of myself, anyhow...we've already been invited to Allie's 12th birthday party in June. Holly also told me that she is inviting the other 5, so if they go we will meet their parents too. All I can say is "WOW, who would have thought..." :):)

Bargrain hunter...

extrodinaire...I love shopping! And shopping for a bargrain is even better. Spring time is a great time to get out and to garage sales. But I also like hitting up G.oodwill and The S.alvation A.rmy. This past Saturday A watched the kids and let me go hunting and boy did I find a couple of great pieces at G.oodwill.
It's crazy because sometimes the second hand stores will have things overpriced and then sometimes you get lucky and find things that are completely underpriced. I felt like I robbed them Saturday...lol. I found a wooden rocking chair for $5 and a nightstand/side table for $7 but the bonus was they were having a 50% off furniture sale. So I spent a whapping $6.36. I took a picture of the rocking chair to share with you. I'll post before and after pictures of the side table. I'm hoping to sand it and paint it pink for the girls room this weekend, if I can find the time.:)

Update on the girls....

I have to be careful of what I say still but I wanted to let you all know that adoption may be more possible than we thought. We have had them in our home for 4 months and we are totally in love. I feel like we've been pretty patient waiting for things to fall into place and it may actually be happening. But that's all I'm going to say because I hate to get so excited only to have my heartbreak....

There is also something else in the works....the girls are going to have a sibling visit at B.ethany C.hristian S.ervices with their oldest sister. I'm not sure of her name yet and even if I did know it I couldn't share it. But anyhow, I'm getting more and more excited to meet her and her stepmom. She is only 10 and keeps in contact with all her 5 siblings who have been adopted by another family.
Of course my main objective is to protect the girls but the SW and I both feel there is nothing to fear in this case. So Monday it is!!! I'll let you all know how it goes for sure!

Here's a picture of the girls feet. It's funny because although they are fraternal their hands and feet look identical.



This is G and SM....he is truly an awesome big brother.

What day is it???

We've been having so much fun lately, it's hard to get online or should I say it's hard to post. The weather was really nice last week, all I heard was "mommy outside!" How can you deny such a cutie fun times outside.
I've also been working on a rocker glider that I bought used. I'm recovering the cushions, it's a lot of work but it's slowly coming along. I actually bought a used sewing machine and totally love it. I wish I would have bought one years ago.
Let's see what else...oh, G and I were sick for Easter, so no egg hunt for us. G has had a fever on and off for the past few days. He also has a running nose and horrible cough. We're thinking it's he molar causing all the problems. I feel sorry for him...my sweetie.
Since we didn't go anywhere we didn't take any pictures. I'm hoping to get some professional pics of all the kids next month. Just thinking about it makes me have a panic attack...it was hard enough getting pictures taken with just G. Some how, some way!
A couple weekends ago we went to the children's museum, that was a good time. G and Daddy played, it was very cute to watch.
So overall, I'm tired! But I enjoy blogging and reading other blogs so I need to make time for it!

If you are just stumbling upon my blog, the two little girls in this video are my nieces. We were their legal guardians from May 08 - May 09. They are the reason we are licensed foster parents. They are attached to G and he is to them, they always have fun together!

I'm an artist....

Ok, first I want to let you all know that I'm an aunt again....YAY! My niece B was born about two hours after my last post. She is a cutie! We took the twins to visit her, I thought they would look like triplets but they look nothing alike...lol. She has tons of light brown hair, my girls are bald...ok SR has a mohawk but SM is definitely bald. Anyhow I'm hoping to visit them tomorrow, I'll take my camera so I can snap a pic of her to post for your enjoyment.

Now on to my new career...I'm going to start painting murals, ok that's funny. But really I actually painted a mural on the girls bedroom wall. First I had to paint the room since it was totally boy blue. Can't have that...so I painted two walls brown, it's called Antiqued Earth and the other two walls were painted Porcelain. Then I went online and found this



I love everything about this room. I even love the wall color but G's room is a green/blue and if you remember I just redid my dinning room and the color is a blue/green. I can't have every room painted the same color...so I had to switch things up a bit.

Here is the room before I painted....and from when K and T were living here obviously they didn't like to clean. Anyhow you can see the blue walls...not the greatest picture but you get the idea.



This is the Antique Earth...



This is the Porcelain...




And this is my masterpiece...lol. I should have taken more pics from the beginning but you can still see the transformation.



Everything is done except the bird on the third branch. A is going to finish that...I would probably make it look like a frog or a monkey. ;)





If you are wondering how I did this...it was easy....kinda. A is an artist, so he made a drawing of the branch on a piece of copy paper (real fancy) then he put in it his trusty old projector and projected it onto the wall. I was the lucky one who got to trace it and basically painted by number...does this make me an artist???
My mom and dad asked me what I'm going to paint on G's wall....oh goodness, here we go again.

No baby yet...

So my SIL is still pg. They scraped her membranes (whatever that means, sounds gross though) a few days ago and still nothing. Hopefully soon!

As for us, we've been busy getting the girls bedroom together. Well, I've been busy. A basically did everything in G's room so it's only fair that I paint and decorate the girls room. It's so hard picking out wall colors and bedding. I decided to go with neutral colors on the walls and more girlie colors in the bedding and wall art. We only bought one crib thus far, it's still unknown if the girls are our forever daughters. We figure they can share for a few more months. But last night was interesting, the girls are just over three months and they are starting to move all over, even trying to roll. Anyhow, A got up about 1am to change and feed them, he said they were in a figure seven...with SM (the older and bigger twin) kicking SR in the head, could it be sibling rivalry already (wink,wink)? The crib is definitely much bigger than the pack and play they were sleeping in. We'll just have to put each girl at each end instead of side by side. BTW, if you can't already tell, I'm in love. The girls are beautiful and I'm attached big time. I just look at them in awe, they are such miracles.

As for G, he is doing awesome! He is getting so big and talking up a storm. I'm truly amazed at his ability to express himself verbally. This past Saturday was his first Sports Sampler class at the YMCA. He will learn about basketball, soccer and bowling....which is right up his alley (no pun intended). He absolutely loves bowling. He bowls on the Wii and he also has the F.isher P.rice bowling set that he can't get enough of. A, myself, the twins and G all trekked down to the Y on Saturday to watch G meet his coach and all of his new friends. G was a little shy but he did really well. No meltdowns, except near the end...he did not want to turn in the basketball or leave. But overall he did great! A and I decided that we'll keep him in some sort of class at the Y just to get him accustom to social interaction. Here are some pictures Daddy took Saturday. G wanted me to play with him, A was a little sad about it but he understands that G is a Mama's boy...lol.

G and I practicing passing the ball...



G going for a shot...



G loved the hoop, he couldn't make the shot but he kept trying. G's cousin N has an old hoop just like this one, we are going to clean it up and bring it home. Practice makes perfect...lol.



G runs non-stop, he has so much energy. I wish we could bottle it.



A group picture...if you notice the lady standing up with the blue t-shirt on, she fosters too. It's so nice to meet other foster parents, who truly understand. I'm sure we'll be talking in the weeks to come.



G when he realized the class was over...so sad.

My brother...

This picture was taken in the summer. It's my younger brother and his family...I love it. They are such a beautiful family. We just went to a party celebrating C (his son) and S (his daughter's) birthday. She turned 1 and he is turning 6. We had a great time.

Here's a little background on my brother and his wife, they are high school sweethearts who had C pretty young. It was difficult for them but they made it and eventually got married. They waited a good amount of time to have a second child. Our family is very happy for them after all they are married and they were wise to wait to have a second. However....when S was three months old J (SIL) found out she was pregnant. Yup...baby #3 is due March 13th. It's another girl. At first J was upset and panicked, which is understandable but once it started to sink in she and we all realize that it must be meant to be! So we are now waiting for her to go into labor...lol. I'm can't wait to meet my newest niece....

I love you B, J, C and S!

My Birthday Boy....

I loved the blow up crown and so does he...


Saturday we had a birthday party for G, he will turn 2 the 16th. As I sit here trying to put into words the joy I feel, my mind keeps going back to fact that we're actually celebrating our dear child's 2nd birthday. At times it still feels surreal. My son, our son is 2 years old, my heart sings from the mountain tops. I want to live in this bliss forever! If there is anyone reading this post and you feel down because you've been waiting for your child to find his/her way to you....do not give up on your dreams. It's the most amazing love you will ever feel. I wouldn't trade a day of my life because then we might not have adopted our son when we did! Now I know the answer to "why us".

We decided to have his party at Ch.uck E. Chee.se. The gathering was entirely different from G's first birthday, it was much more intimate. I really tried to invite children his age. I have to admit it was a little hectic but we had an amazing time. The pizza was yummy, as the cake and the kids really enjoyed running around and play all the games. To my surprise G was not that scared of Ch.uck E. Chee.se, he let him put his birthday crown on him. He was definitely clingy but he was also smiling and clapping the whole time Ch.uck E. was greeting all the birthday kids.

I'm so thankful for all our wonderful friends/family who came out to celebrate. I wish I would have gotten a group picture. I thought about it for a second but then I realized all the kids were running around with parents in tow...lol. Well here are the pictures I promised!

G's Birthday Cake....or as he called it "Happy Cake" too cute. Look at Barney, he is kind of scary looking..lol!



He would not sit in the high chair. He was sort of clingy...



My wonderful parents, who I love with all my heart!!!



This is my best friend since 6th grade, she's family! BTW, I don't mean to put her business out there but she was adopted too!



This is my cousin Priscilla's beautiful daughter, K. Priscilla post comments on my blog.



This is my cousin M and her children.



G playing skeeball, he was too little so we let him stand on the game. He loved it!




This is G riding some sort of space ship. It went up and down and side to side.



G would only stand by Ch.uck E, if I was holding him :)



Grandpa, Daddy and G opening his presents. He is so blessed and loved!



I almost forgot this last picture....the is G before we even left the parking lot..:)