Update-ish

Hi!  I've been getting a lot of questions about how court went...which is great because that means 1 - you read my last blog (thank you!) and 2 - you probably said a prayer for the kiddos (thank you!!).  So...I'm updating you to tell you we don't have an update yet :(  We (Dave) had originally planned on going to court (which is allowed, but not required), but were discouraged from going from both their CPS caseworker and ours.  Now that we haven't heard anything, I think if we had to do it over again we would probably go because I'm very curious as to what all was said.  But oh well...we'll learn from this!  I also learned that CPS caseworkers generally always discourage foster parents from going to court cases...because let's be honest, we're just the babysitters, right??  He did however encourage us to go to their permanancy conference, which from what I understand, is more informal and more of a meeting where everyone gets to participate - so Dave could give input if needed.  He said that would be happening soon, but did not give us a date.  He (and by 'he' I'm referring to their CPS caseworker) said that this hearing was really just to talk about birth mom's progress and not to talk about a return yet, or what that would look like.  He did tell Dave at their last visit that he probably wouldn't recommend return until at least February...which we were very relieved to hear.  It also means that it APPEARS that we will have a kid-filled Christmas - yay!  But again...it's foster care, so you should probably just delete that sentence from your memory because ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN :)  So...I did email OUR caseworker and asked her to get a report for us, but that has not been sent to us yet.  If we get that and there is anything to update about, I will certainly let everyone know!!  Thanks so much for caring and for praying and for asking....I really appreciate it!

Also - who told brother that I wrote a blog about her hair getting easier??  Because here is what her hair looked like when I picked them up from daycare the day I wrote that post and according to sister, brother was the culprit:

in case you can't tell, that is sand-like
 dirt and grass all up in there

So...our past 2 evenings have been all about taking out that style, washing, rewashing, parting, and doing a new style.  I had to know this was coming some day - what little kids don't play in dirt??

Birthday parties, hair, growth, and prayers

I know, this is a super random blog title, but it's what has been going on in our house the past few months.  We celebrated both birthdays since my last post - sister's was in October and brother's was just yesterday.  I'm glad that they are finally different ages again.  It was really weird answering the question "How old are they?" during that 2 month period when they were both 3.  We did park birthday parties for both (only in Texas can you do a December birthday party at the park), and I think they both really enjoyed it.  I did mostly fight the "urge" to go all out and do a cute, themed birthday party....even though he did request a Spider-Man party so that included Spider-Man-ish cupcakes and some Spider-Man napkins from Party City.  The one thing that took a little bit of time was I did make a "Happy Birthday ____" banner for each of them.  And we didn't even get to hang hers up at her party because we didn't get the pavilion that we were hoping to reserve and there was no where really to hang it.  Apparently I also only pick super windy days to have birthday parties, so even though we did hang up his birthday banner it was flapping all over the place and you couldn't really read it.  All this to say is I've now learned that our birthday parties from here on out will indeed have a theme - "less is more." (actually that's a name of a friend's blog...great name I might add!)

Ok, so on to "hair."  It is getting easier!!  No, I didn't say "easy."  I said "easier."  It still takes me a good 2 hours to just style the hair.  That doesn't include the time it takes to take the previous style out the night before.  So, it does take up a lot of our Saturdays (usually that 2 hours is spread out with a few breaks, because getting a 3 year old to sit still for 2 hours is no fun for anyone).  I am super thankful for 2 things when it comes to hair because without them, I would be lost - first is her daycare teacher who will do her hair when I just don't have the time (busy weekend, or on a weekday if her previous style is looking rough), and second is a blog that has saved her hairs life - www.chocolatehairvanillacare.com.  If anyone is doing chocolate hair, I definitely recommend this site, and from what I can tell from her followers, it's not just vanilla ladies out there following her.  She's pretty amazing when it comes to knowledge of how to care for and style "chocolate hair."  I usually stick to the basics and part her hair in sections, rubber band them, and then put twists in with clips at the end, but I have been getting a bit more adventurous in my styles.  For family pictures I just had to try something different, so I did flat rope twists, which probably mean nothing to most of you, but just think an easier version of cornrowing.  It turned out good enough to keep for family pictures, but it didn't last long.  The best part of that whole style was that at the visit that week, the mom told Dave that I would have to teach her how to do that style....what???  I may have finally earned some street cred, I dunno. 

The last 2 thoughts will have to be quick as I need to go wake the little ones up in about 5 minutes.  Growth - Dave and I love to sit and talk about how far they've come.  We got a date night the other night and it was so fun to talk about what they "knew" when they came, and what they know now.  It's just crazy amazing.  These kids have grown so much, physically, mentally, spiritually, socially.  It's so good to think about where they came from because then it makes whatever we are dealing with at the moment sooooo much LESS, because we can say "well at least they aren't doing ____ like they did when they first came."  And I'm not saying this to make us look awesome, because we're just not.  I think they would grow just as much anywhere else....well not anywhere obviously, but you know.  It just shows that they weren't getting all the basics that you truly need - love, conversation, routine, consequences, and most importantly Jesus.

Ok last and certainly not least - their court date is TODAY, so please pray!  From their caseworker's report, it seems that this one is maybe not as big as we had thought as far as discussing their return and what that's going to look like, but I'm still nervous and anxious to hear what goes on...and I understand that it's foster care and anything can happen.  I will write a quick update after today to let everyone know what did, or didn't, happen. 

Thanks for reading!!

Kristy 

Long overdue

Okay I first want to apologize...this post is way long overdue and people have been asking me to write another post for a LONG time now!  I haven't made a post in such a long time for several reasons - #1  BUSY and feeling in-over-my-head now that school has started for me and #2 - I honestly have struggled with what I would write about as our experience has been very challenging for me and #3 - just being lazy and avoiding something I know I should do.  Ok, so wow....where to start??

The last time I wrote, I think the kids had been with us for 2 weeks...well tomorrow will be 15 weeks, or 3 1/2 months.  Even as I sit here and think about what to say about them and us, I struggle.  Of course we love them and they have taught us so much, but it has not been easy.  So, I will just speak what's on my heart and hopefully you can get the picture. 

These kids are great, seriously...GREAT kids.  I can't imagine what they have been through...being yanked from their family, put in a stranger's home (who happens to not be the same color you are - so looks completely different, has COMPLETELY different routines, eats different things, etc.), and forced to adjust to a new way of living.  Seriously...can't even imagine.  Dave brought it to my attention for the first time a few weeks ago...our first memories were somewhere between 3 and 4 years old...maybe even closer to 5 with me.  Which means, they may not even remember us, specifically.  I do wonder if they will remember more vividly the details since it is related to a trauma in their life, but what exactly will they remember?  Our names?  What we look like?  The dogs (and ALL their licks!!)?  Our house?  Their rooms?  Timeouts spent in those rooms?  What it feels like to live in a (moderately) clean home, and wear clean clothes, and BE clean?  Certain foods (they LOVE to eat edamame...pretty sure they are not going to be eatin' edamame when they go home :) but who knows??)?  Church?  Praying before meals and before bedtime?  Acting out Bible stories on the felt board (thanks Jan!)?  Who God is?  Reading stories on the couch before bedtime?  There is a good chance they won't remember the details...but we do hope and pray that somewhere along the way we have taught them (really God has used us to teach them) some important ideas - how to be kind to each other,  how to love people (and animals), how to love and obey God, how to follow rules and accept consequences when you break them, and how to pop edamame beans out of the pod :)  It's just so weird and crazy and sad to think that we have no idea what all they will remember, if anything...and if I'm real honest, it adds to other things that make it hard to "finish strong" since we are pretty sure they are going home, possibly soon-ish. 

Ok, back to my first thought (this is what happens when you don't write anything in 3 months) - these kids are GREAT and have been a HUGE blessing in our lives.  However...they are still 2 and 3 (really almost 3 and 4).  And they are VERY strong willed children...her more so than him.  They have been very challenging at times to parent.  One of the hardest things for me is that I hear my friends, who have similar age kids, saying their kids are doing very similar things - so I proceed to treat them, and discipline them, the same as those kids who have experienced no trauma, had healthy pre-natal care, healthy births, nurturing first few years of life, etc.  And attached to that, and probably the bigger issue, I have the same expectations as a parent would have of their kids whom they've parented since day 1 of their life.  I went to a conference last Saturday that reminded me that these kids don't have all that.  Their brain responds differently and they act differently because of that.  I felt much like I do after going to an awesome training on Autism or how to be a better teacher - refreshed, rejuvenated, remembering why I started teaching in the first place, and ready to go back to my classroom and get started on all these new ideas (or remembering to implement ones I've already learned).  It was such a good refresher and a good reminder to give them more grace, more nurture, and more love. I feel in a way that I've failed these kids in some of those ways.  Not that they don't need structure and rules, and need to learn the VERY important concept of consequences and how to obey...but it's just finding that balance that sometimes I feel like I lost at some point along the way.  And maybe that's how it is with all parents - it's HARD.  And I blame pinterest and facebook and myself for making me think it was going to be anything but that.  I love my friends and their cute, silly, fun-having posts and pics with their kids, but man it is NOT all fun and games.  My good friend, and fellow foster mom, Rachel reminded me that I was crazy for ever thinking it was always going to be fun...I believe her exact words were, "WHAT??  Who ever told you that??  Cuz they are liars.  I certainly did not tell you that!!"  I'm thankful that I have friends who bring me back to reality and am even more thankful that I know and trust a God who doesn't promise "fun" or "happiness" but DOES promise struggles, blessings (which could be your struggles), growth, eternal riches, and the glorifying of HIS name, not mine. 

All this to say - it hasn't been easy, and God is certainly changing and growing me (which is probably never easy), but it has been wonderful to serve God through these kids and I pray that in the end, God will be proud of how we loved them and how we taught them about who He is and how much He loves them...which is far greater than any amount of love that I can show them, and that is why I will trust Him when they go home...because I know that He loves them and can protect them FAR greater than I can.

So here's an attempt hit the highlights of the past 3 months...

• summer was great...maybe I'm just saying that now that I've been in school for a while and it's just much more to try to handle...but I had "fun" staying home with them - particularly doing things like riding the DART train to the zoo, traveling to Houston to visit my family, swimming, playdates, staying in pajamas until noon, and being able to workout (we found out that it's FREE for us to take them to the gym and have them play while we workout...score!) whenever I wanted.  
• working and being a mom is hard...thankfully, I have a WONDERFULLY HELPFUL husband who knows how to help and knows what I need...I think things will get easier once we hire a cleaning lady (hun, by the way, I think we should hire a cleaning lady, no?) 
• daycare = sick kids...they have had a constant stream of snot for the 6 weeks they have been in daycare; they have taken 3 of my 5 sick days that I'm allotted each year as a teacher...1 of which is today...after being on antibiotics for strep throat for 8 days, the daycare called this morning to say she has a fever :(  it's been "fun" to figure out sick kids when working...although I will say having 1 sick one at home is wayyyyyy easier than 2 sick ones
• visits are going pretty well...we have come to the conclusion that their CPS caseworker is "seeing rainbows" but we are new to this so we also know that we have no idea how it all works and that anything can happen at any time...their next court date is early December and "if mom keeps it up, they see it moving pretty quickly"
• I get to plan my first kid birthday party!!  Little mamma's birthday is October 15. **warning for those that are coming - there will be no frills or thrills - we are keeping it low key...as much "fun" as it would be to compete with the pinterest and facebook moms in the "who can throw the most elaborate, fun, cute, DIY toddler birthday party" contest...I know with me working, it would just completely stress me out and I'd be up all night the night before.  So...we are having it a park and we will eat and play - on the playground equipment that is already there and is free to use and that the kids love to play on (but WHY do I still have this itch to create fun little kid birthday party activities and games??  okay, maybe there will be ONE organized game....and WHY am I still searching pinterest for cute party favors that will take hours to make and minutes to be tossed in the trash??  THAT'S CRAZY, right??)
• big brother's favorite song right now is one he learned at church (don't even know the name of it, but you all know how it goes) - "my God is so BIG, so STRONG, and so MIGHTY there's nothing my God cannot do" - love that he will just break out singing this song at any moment
• big brother has also started pee wee soccer - so cute!  he is no doubt an athlete and he really enjoys it (although we've only made it 1 out of the 2 weeks)...Dave and I also are the "coaches" so that has been "fun" (again, for the 1 week we have done it); basketball starts in December, and she will be 3, so they could both do that if they wanted
• we're thinking about doing Halloween with some friends who have 2 2-year olds and they will all be characters of the Backyardigans...so cute!  My dogs have already thanked the kids for being here and saving them from having to be dressed up to fulfill a mommy itch :)  But don't you worry Rox and Clark...I haven't forgotten about you (even though it may seem like that with 0 trips to the dog park and only a handful of walks since June 20)...there WILL be dog costumes too!!!

     Well, I think nap time is about over and we need to go pick up brother from daycare.  My goal for the rest of the day is to keep them "separated" so that he doesn't get whatever she has - this should be "FUN"!!!

Also - a friend shared this blog post with me a while back and although I can't relate to everything....it gives a good "picture" of what I am feeling most of the time and she says it way better than I ever could.  So...if you've got another couple of minutes please check out this, as it gives a little more light on what it's like here in the Blevins' home these days:

http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2012/08/21/the-truth-about-adoption-one-year-later

Thanks for reading and I do intend to post more often than every 3 months :)

Kristy

and so it begins...

Well it took 2 weeks to the day to get our first placement.  We are now caring for a 3 1/2 year old boy and his 2 1/2 year old sister (who we will call Jr and Sissy for privacy issues).  And it has been quite a week!  First, let me say that we are overwhelmed (in a good way) with all the support we have received from our church, friends, and family.  We are involved in the Orphan Care Ministry at our church and we have had people we don't even know just drop things off on our doorstep, packages mailed to the kids....it has been truly amazing to see God work through everyone that has supported us.  We have people praying for us, meals being brought to us, and everything the kids could possibly need and more being donated...we are so blessed to have such a great community!!  We have truly experienced God taking care of our every need!

Ok, so on to the kids...

They are precious.  It's probably a lot easier for me to say that right now as they are both napping....as opposed to being woken up in the middle of the night to un-consolable crying :)  Just kidding, they are truly wonderful.  I can't even imagine how hard it is to go through what they have gone through.  Then to be put into a house with a "schedule" and being told to follow a "routine," with things like "rest time" and "eating at the table."  They have really done a great job adjusting to structure...lucky (or maybe un-lucky) for them they were placed in the house of a Kindergarten teacher, with maybe too much structure :)  And it's not just the kids that are doing the adjusting around here...the adults and doggies are adjusting right along with them!  We have had our "what in the world have we done??" moments, and judging by these pictures, so have the dogs...

Clark? Are you still alive??



I know Rox, me too...me too


Here are just a few of the highlights, and "low-lights," of our week (FYI it is now bedtime...I'm also adjusting to my snipits of peace and quiet where I can do things like write a blog...so this could be brief):

HIGHLIGHTS:
1.  the best part of my day is when Dave gets home from work and both kids drop whatever they are doing and run (and jump) into his arms...this is pure awesomeness for so many reasons, but mainly I'm just so happy that they have an adult male in their life that loves them and cares for them the way he does
2.  my new nickname, KiKi...which was given on Day 2 when I was tired of being "HEY!" because they couldn't say "Kristy"...also, Jr. pronounces his /k/'s as /t/'s and so it's "TeeTee" to him; Dave once tried to call me "TeeTee in front of him, to which Jr. yelled "NO! it's TEE-TEE!!"  Lol....love it
3.  seeing how much they have learned, or picked up on, in just 1 week...they are learning how to count, name colors, sing kid songs, say prayers, share their toys, LISTEN and obey "TeeTee"....they are really picking up quickly for only being here a week....even their CPS case manager commented on that today
4.  being able to stay home with them for 2 weeks and build a strong bond and relationship to them...and have play dates with friends...and I finally have an excuse to try all the pinterest "activities" that are pinned on my "kids" board :)
5.  exposing them to new foods, places, people who care about them, and a different of living (it's just crazy what kinds of food they don't even know the name of)
6.  seeing their great big smiles and knowing there is a fun, loving, playful attitude inside both of them, even though sometimes they have to be too tough to show us that side of them
7.  realizing that even though they can be tough to handle at times, i am loving them more and more each day
8.  getting to parent with my wonderful husband...it is truly a blast, and i don't know how people do it alone
9.  even though we haven't done a lot of this yet because we truly are just trying to survive this adjustment period, I know the best part of this all will be teaching them about Jesus and how much God loves them...they already show excitement and interest in praying as they are beginning to repeat our prayers (literally, as we are saying them) that we say at meal time and bedtime

I know I could think of more, but after going to bed last night at 4AM due to a trip to the ER (Jr had an asthma attack) and the stress of their first "visit day" today, my mind is a little shot.  So, briefly, here is what is the not-so-fun side of fostering...some of which we knew to expect, but most not the extent that we have discovered:

LOWLIGHTS:
1.  speaking of visit day - visit day really stinks; I took them for the first time today, and it is nothing but uncomfortable, awkward, and awful.  The kids have no idea what is going on and why they got to see their mom, aunt, and grandma for 1 hour today, and why they can't go back home after this visit.  The mom needs someone to blame right now, so of course that is me right now and makes for a super uncomfortable time of dropping off and picking up the kids at the CPS office.  Visit day really just magnifies all the brokenness that is foster care, and it ain't at all pretty.  FYI, as far as we know these kids will see their mom once a week and their plan is reunification - which is usually the plan for kids entering the system...they have a court date set for Monday, so we may know more of how it looks after that...but then again, probably not.
2.  bedtime - i'm sure this is a struggle for most parents, but it's so hard to find the balance between establishing boundaries or rules and comforting them when they truly are just missing their home in this situation (Jr has a pretty hard time being alone at night, or anytime really)
3.  my nickname Kiki - when Sissy says it 57 times in 1 minute
4.  introducing structure to kids who have had zero structure....this can be very draining
5.  trying to set up doctor appointments, dentist appointments, and figuring out daycare all in 2 weeks...ahhhh! 
6. hopefully this will turn into a highlight, but for now - learning how to take care of their skin, but more importantly and wayyyyy more stresseful HER hair.  my heart starts beating a little faster when we walk by an African American woman when we are out in public...I just want to tell her - "I promise I'm trying!!  I've read blogs and watched YouTube videos....I'll get better!!"


Mainly we just feel really blessed to be able to parent these kids for however long God would have us do that.  We know we have a lot to learn, and I'm so thankful for great friends who have walked this road before us and can give us support and advice when we need it.  I wonder how many times I will say this throughout this blog, but we could not do this without our community supporting us and just showing up.  God is so good, and it's been an amazing experience so far.

Love you guys!

Kristy

OPEN!!

Well we are officially open!!  We went and signed the final document on Monday afternoon and they even gave us an official plaque to hang on the wall.  She said it takes about a day for the paperwork to go through, so yesterday was our first official day to be on "the list"....which also happened to be our anniversary.  So that was definitely a special anniversary  for us!  I've had a ton of fun in our first 3 years of marriage, and I'm excited to see what God has in store for us next!

So what is next?  More waiting...yay!  The average time for families to get a call is 2-3 weeks, but really there is no telling.  In the meantime, I am enjoying being off for a few weeks before I start working HEROES camp that I work at in the summer.  We are also working on getting that 2nd room ready.  It is all painted and we are just working on filling it and decorating, so I will post pictures when it's ready.  If any one knows of a place where I can get yellow/grey crib bedding, let me know :)  My cousin was super generous in donating her crib, rocker, high chair, and tons of other things!  We are so thankful for her and her desire to care for orphans by supporting us...as well as others who have generously donated their things as well!  Again, we could not to this without our community...we are so blessed!

So I guess my next post could be after we have kids in our home...kinda crazy!  Talk to y'all soon!

Kristy

saying goodbye is hard

Last week was tough.  For those that don't know, I lost both of my grandparents within 4 days of each other.  As hard as this sounds, it was actually a really good thing...for them.  I miss them so incredibly much, but I'm so, so happy for them.  They get to hang out with Jesus with no more pain and suffering.  Actually they both lived very long, relatively healthy lives with little suffering up until the last couple of years...which I'm so thankful for.  My grandmother was 94 and my grandfather was 97.  I know they were ready to go, and it really couldn't have happened in a better way.  My grandmother went first, and it was after spending a few days with all 4 of her daughters...I definitely think having them there had something to do with her being "ready."  She went very quickly and peacefully...such a blessing!  My grandfather took a bad fall a few days before she died, and that was really hard on his body.  So after my grandmother died, I think that was definitely his cue that it was okay for him to go too.  He wasn't doing well and the hospice nurses said he only had a few days, so I decided to go say goodbye.  That was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  I'm thankful that I was able to do it, but man it was tough.  Even knowing where he was going, and how much I knew he was ready to go...you just can't ever prepare or be ready for losing someone that you love.  The hardest part is when I think about how we won't be going to visit them in Austin anymore, no more games of 42 (which my grandfather taught me and my brother when we were young),  no more calendars to give as Christmas presents (it became a tradition for me to make a calendar of the grand kids/great-grand kids each year), and just knowing that they aren't there if I want to pick up the phone and talk to them.  But, that is just me being selfish...wanting them here when they are in a better place.  A place where I can't wait to get to, and I can't wait to see them there.  I hope that I can do as good of a job following Christ here on Earth as they did.  They were missionaries in Brazil, and their heart for mission work was played out  in their lives for sure.  I hope that I can continue that legacy, as we enter in the mission work of foster care.  I wish they were here to see us do that, and help us along the way, and meet "our" kids, but I can't wait to talk about it with them some day.  They also gave me a great example of how to be a teammate to my husband.  They were married 71 years!  I doubt that Dave and I will make it that long (that would mean that I would have to live to be 101 and Dave 107...I don't think either of us wish to live that long!!), but I know that we can be just as committed to our marriage as they were.  I'm sure it was not always easy, but I could always see their love and commitment to being each other's helper and teammate...even up until their last months, and I'm sure days, before they died.  I feel so blessed to have such a great example to follow.  Thanks Vovo and Vava for living out your love of God and love for each other!

I know I will have many more "goodbyes" to say with foster care.  I know it's going to be tough.  The hard part with saying goodbye to the kids will be not knowing what exactly they are going home to and if their parents have really changed.  It makes it so much easier to say goodbye when I know my grandparents are in Heaven, walking with Jesus.  Giving kids back to their bio families may, or may not, be a better place for them...and most likely the latter will be true, unfortunately.  But our hope is that God will have used us to plant a seed in them  and that they will some day come to know Christ and hope for a time when we no longer have to deal with such a sinful, fallen place that can cause even our own parents to not love us enough to take care of us.  My heart breaks for these kids and parents and I know there is no other reason that their situation is what it is other than this - we live in a fallen world.  Although I miss my grandparents, I'm excited that they are no longer living in a place that is groaning for redemption. 

On a brighter note, I also wrapped up my last week of my 1st year as a special education teacher on Friday!  The last 2 weeks were rough, even just with school, but I'm happy to say that I made it through.  It was definitely a year of learning for me, but I'm excited to do it all over again in the fall. 

We ended the week yesterday by sorting shoes for our church's orphan care ministry = fun!  And then headed over to our last training before we are finally licensed tomorrow at noon = awesome, but getting really nervous now!! :)  I'll probably write a quick report on how that goes tomorrow and what exactly that means as far as when we could receive kiddos.  So talk to you again soon!

Still Waiting...

Well we are about 2 weeks past our "45 days" it would take for them to write our homestudy, and still nothing.  I decided I needed to start reaching out just to make sure we are still on their radar and that our file did not get lost in the merger transition.  So I emailed them Sunday night and a lady did write back Monday morning that she has our file and it is going through a "file audit" to make sure it has everything it needs, and then they will set up an appointment where we would be officially licensed and put on the open list.  She said she had hopes of getting that file audit done on Monday and calling me as soon as it's done to set up the appointment, but I've learned, not so quickly, that I should not count on that being true.  As my friends in foster care would say "welcome to foster care!"  :)  To give our agency a break though, I know they are swamped with the merger just happening May 1st.  Also - God definitely knew what He was doing (once again) when He had us wait until school was out to be on the open list.  School is killing me this week, and I cannot imagine taking in any kids before school gets out.  So, all that to say...sorry I haven't updated the blog in a long time, but there hasn't been a whole lot of updates going on.  However, I have been having fun getting the "kid rooms" ready and so with that, I'm going to follow suit as some of my other foster friends have done and make a list of "Top 10 Things To Do When You Are Waiting For Kids."  Some of these I stole from these said lists, but here it goes...

1.  get kid rooms ready...we have 2 rooms that we have been working on.  We are done with the first, and in the process of the 2nd.  The first is more of a "big kid" room, and the 2nd will be more of a "baby/toddler" room...which could be a 2nd big kid room depending on who we get!  Here are before/after pics of the 1st room, I will post pics of the 2nd room once it is finished:

Before

After

Here are some of my favorite parts of the room...

 

sign with fun lamp

chalkboard doors with "art table"



painted boards with clothespins for hanging pictures, school work, etc.



2.  put new plants in the backyard

monkey grass, the dogs has pretty much left these alone

some sort of cool purple plant...the dogs tend to leave plants alone have tiny leaves



palm tree - dogs have not left this little guy alone...he's looking kinda sad

3.  get haircut
4.  change oil in your car
5.  do respite care for foster friends
6.  buy kid food!! 

am planning on making some freezer meals, but we'll see if that actually happens...it's a good thought though :)

7.  give dogs a bath

not a fan of baths

also not a fan of baths...sorry doggies!







8.  PINTEREST projects!!! yay for pinterest!

coasters made from tiles, scrapbook paper, and photos (couldn't get the picture to turn, and i'm tired of messing with it)

this was my favorite...i sent some to my mom for Mother's Day



Crayon Art for the kids' room

This is all you need! (and a blowdryer)





this is actually not pinterest...the idea/technique came from my crafty cousin!





9.  get as much sleep as possible = sleeping in until 11:00 on saturdays :)

10.  take a vacation!!  (we haven't done this yet...thinking about taking a small trip somewhere soon)

(sorry for all the pictures being sideways and weirdly placed...i'm getting super frustrated trying to fix this, so I'm quitting!!)

I'll update the blog with pics of the finished 2nd room, and hopefully the next time we'll at least be on the open list!!

Kristy