Thought it would be fun, if for nothing other than my own amusement to record my days activities. Just a normal day.
6:45 am- alarm goes off, realize that I didn't get A's clothes out which means I have to go into the 2 yr old twins room which is the closet she shares, which btw means that I am UP-which is something I hate to be at this hour.
6:50 am- 2 yr old twin boys wake up when I go into their room to get clothes for A-Robb TRIES to convince them it is not morning yet, that lasts about 20 minutes. I TRY to go back to bed since I HATE mornings and have an amazing husband that usually manages mornings for me.....
7:00 am-5 kids downstairs waiting for breakfast-Robb feeds them, gets himself ready, gives those requesting seconds their additional portions
7:30 am-Robb leaves with the first round of kids to drop them off at school.
By this time kid number 6 is downstairs eating breakfast...and the twins are officially up which means I am officially up.
7:45 am- I change Twins, get them dressed, and set them in their highchairs for their breakfast. Over the next 25 minutes I refill both cereal bowls two times each-in response to grunts and sign language motions for "more"
7:55 am- Robb gets back, jumps on the computer to respond to a couple of emails.
8:15 am- Back out the door with kid # 6 on her way to school. By this time 3 of the Jackson 4 have made it downstairs, getting lunch together..... with #4 racing down the stairs right at 8:30, throwing food in her lunch box as they all scream out the door on their way for day one of the only 2 days a week they go to school in a classroom.
8:35 am- Only ones left at home, Me and the boss and the twins..... I breathe and then get to work. Shower is first.
9:00 am-Speech therapy backed with occupational therapy for each of the twins-they come here, thankfully. While twins are busy with that- Robb takes a break -spends a few minutes playing the PS3 I jump on the computer and get my FB fix and then issue a couple of invoices to customers...then I get myself in check realizing that if I don't hurry up and get a load of clothes into the wash I'm gonna regret not having enough time to get the few loads done today that I need to in order to stay on top of things.
10:15 am- Therapy is done, house is back down to me, Robb, and the boys. They find some toys, I clean up a little, and then we get a call from Nurse Finley at the school-A isn't feeling well, we should come pick her up.
10:40 am-Robb is back with A, Twins are still playing. A-"Can I just go lay down?" Oh, it's gonna be a great day-please Lord, do not let this be a virus that will trample it's way through my home!
11:20 am- Get snack ready for the twins...I've learned that if I can give them an oversized snack before nap and another after nap (basically split their lunch in half) they have a much better rest. Today on the menu, Hot dog, peanut butter crackers, and a banana.
12:00pm- Twins down for their nap and get a quick visit from their Social Worker to pick up some of the never ending paperwork required to be a successful foster parent. (Side NOTE: Soapbox moment: I could be a much better foster "parent" if I wasn't expected to spend on average 3 hours/day completing daily logs and paperwork)
12:50- SSW is gone, twins are sleeping, sick A is asleep-absolute silence=absolute bliss! I have a few moments! I will change some laundry around, grab some lunch and spend some time with my creator.
2:00 -Reading/praying as Robb walks out the door to drop off an order at the printer and then head to pick up the first round of kids. Got a txt asking if kid #5 could stay after school to practice clarinet until 4:20, that gives a longer break in between trips out. Sick A has come down at least 5 times in the last hour declaring that her tummy feels better and she would like to watch TV now.....unfortunately that does not fit within Jacksonville guidelines-If ya don't feel good enough for school, you should certainly rest until you can return!
2:50 Twins are up and eating the second half of their lunch, in the last 2 hours I got some blogging done, laundry changed, some prayer time, ate some lunch, ordered a phone for my soon-to-be 12 year old, took a new Tshirt order, scheduled an info meeting for TeenMOPS, of course visited FB, and did a little homework on the upcoming FP training they are holding at FOTP
3:15 They start funneling through the doors.....snack, homework, chores....all of the daily duties!
4:42 Robb makes it home with child #12 Homework is done, "some" chores are done, "some" kids are outside, some kids are playing video games, ME-another Tshirt quote, a little more blogging, and another load of laundry.
5:15 Robb out the door again to take Elijah to Tae Kwon Doe, I wont see him again until we meet up at bible study @ 6:30 pm
5:30 Ok, so we've had 3 time outs, had to break up 2 different sibling "quarrels", give "chore reminders" to at least 4 of the kiddos, change laundry around one more time, and swept the floor.
6:15 off the hook for dinner tonight. Monday night is bible study night, all of the kids at one house for childcare and the adults at another-both serving dinner, neither of which are my responsibility this week-woo hoo! Heading to bible study-Robb is leading our group through a study based on the book "Love and Respect"-it's been awesome! Highly recommend it!
8:30 Race in the house so Kami can head out the door to Ryteside rehearsal.....still trying to balance that not driving me absolutely crazy that my little girl drives all the way across town to rehearse with what has proven to be the most God-centered activity she has ever been involved in, but that would be a whole nother blog.. Now, we're home, had an AWESOME night of fellowship and bible study... most kids are in bed, kitchen is clean, I'm ready to chillax.
10:15 Pray with the kiddos that are STILL up (they all have the last name Jackson), as I tuck them in. Head to bed...my favorite time of day with my absolute favorite person. We chat, and visit with no interruption, talk about how much we love our life and the little things we'd like to change. I'm sure it will be at least a couple hours before we begin to fall off to sleep. We will then get up tomorrow and start again, and thank our heavenly Father for this blessing of a day.
Today, was a good day!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The Journey.
"get me a few paragraphs of your story-what are the joys, struggles, challenges, and laughs" were the instructions given by a very dear friend that wants to turn our "story" into a film, TV show or book. I'm guessing a comedy ;-) Seriously, in a few paragraphs?? was my first thought.....then I had to really think about what was so important, poignant, and lasting that would warrant it's place among those few paragraphs. My attempt......
Robb and I always knew we wanted a big family. After giving birth to our 4th child by our 3rd cesarean, our Dr. strongly suggested that was our last pregnancy. We were a bit disappointed, but decided immediately that we would adopt someday and we'd do it through the foster system. When our "baby" was approaching 3 we started the classes to become certified foster parents. Our timing does not always match up with God's. Among many things we were not ready for, taking in more children was one of them. God had some stripping, breaking, and transforming to do in our lives to prepare us to live the selfless life required to be "good" parents. The long story would include all of the details surrounding the bringing to our knees God accomplished over the next seven years, the short story will just share the results.
Through much resistance our path led us to Texas. We didn't "want" to come here. God was extremely creative in convincing us to come. I am always in awe of the many details He puts into place so I can comprehend what He's telling me. Almost from the minute we stepped on to Texas soil, little hints were dropped leading us to the realization that we were ready to adopt through the foster system. The process moved rather quickly and quite frankly there was no time to change our mind. One afternoon when driving home from a training I was quietly in thought and Robb looked at me and said "we don't get to do this just to adopt, do we?". That's when I realized that the thoughts I had been ignoring were the voice of God leading me into obedience. We were scared, but ready. We were licensed to take in 2 children, that would bring our count up to 6 kids, which is the max. Those first boys placed in our home had 2 sisters in another home. I was literally nauseous thinking about all they had been through and now they were separated. We immediately started the process to have the 4 reunited in our home, which meant we had to become a "group home". This change in licensing would then allow us to have 8 foster children (which WE never intended to have). It was not long before we couldn't say no and became the loving parents to 12 amazing children.
Life is now quite an adventure. Trips to the grocery store are somewhat comical, including the bill. Getting kids to and from school requires 3 different campuses, 4 different trips each way and 2 different vehicles. Each meal requires 15 minutes of plate preparation all before Robb and I can even sit down and at least 4 trips for seconds prior to us making it through our meal. There are 8 bikes, 5 scooters, and 2 skateboards in the garage where a car belongs. At least 20 loads of laundry make there way through our washing machine each week. We've got 6 counseling appts every other week, 6 speech therapy appts each week, date night every Wednesday. If you ask any Jackson "what is the hardest part?" every single one would give you the same answer "watching them leave". The most grounded -Robb- would then remind us all that this is not about us (I sometimes forget that). There are days I want to lock myself in a closet. Days I cry out to God "why did you choose me, do You have no idea how bad I am at this?". There are days when I question the negative impact this will have on my bio children. There are days when I feel like every fiber of my being is being tested. Then there are days when I get more snuggles than any person deserves. Days when I praise God for choosing me for such a time as this. There are days when my heart is overjoyed watching the 4 people I gave birth to love selflessly and give wholly. There are days when I stand in awe of the life transformation taking place in this home. And there are days when I look back on the journey that brought us here, all the shaping, all the breaking, all the cleansing, and I thank my God for every heart ache, every hardship, every difficulty and every ounce of persecution. Because it is then that He has proven Himself strong.
Robb and I always knew we wanted a big family. After giving birth to our 4th child by our 3rd cesarean, our Dr. strongly suggested that was our last pregnancy. We were a bit disappointed, but decided immediately that we would adopt someday and we'd do it through the foster system. When our "baby" was approaching 3 we started the classes to become certified foster parents. Our timing does not always match up with God's. Among many things we were not ready for, taking in more children was one of them. God had some stripping, breaking, and transforming to do in our lives to prepare us to live the selfless life required to be "good" parents. The long story would include all of the details surrounding the bringing to our knees God accomplished over the next seven years, the short story will just share the results.
Through much resistance our path led us to Texas. We didn't "want" to come here. God was extremely creative in convincing us to come. I am always in awe of the many details He puts into place so I can comprehend what He's telling me. Almost from the minute we stepped on to Texas soil, little hints were dropped leading us to the realization that we were ready to adopt through the foster system. The process moved rather quickly and quite frankly there was no time to change our mind. One afternoon when driving home from a training I was quietly in thought and Robb looked at me and said "we don't get to do this just to adopt, do we?". That's when I realized that the thoughts I had been ignoring were the voice of God leading me into obedience. We were scared, but ready. We were licensed to take in 2 children, that would bring our count up to 6 kids, which is the max. Those first boys placed in our home had 2 sisters in another home. I was literally nauseous thinking about all they had been through and now they were separated. We immediately started the process to have the 4 reunited in our home, which meant we had to become a "group home". This change in licensing would then allow us to have 8 foster children (which WE never intended to have). It was not long before we couldn't say no and became the loving parents to 12 amazing children.
Life is now quite an adventure. Trips to the grocery store are somewhat comical, including the bill. Getting kids to and from school requires 3 different campuses, 4 different trips each way and 2 different vehicles. Each meal requires 15 minutes of plate preparation all before Robb and I can even sit down and at least 4 trips for seconds prior to us making it through our meal. There are 8 bikes, 5 scooters, and 2 skateboards in the garage where a car belongs. At least 20 loads of laundry make there way through our washing machine each week. We've got 6 counseling appts every other week, 6 speech therapy appts each week, date night every Wednesday. If you ask any Jackson "what is the hardest part?" every single one would give you the same answer "watching them leave". The most grounded -Robb- would then remind us all that this is not about us (I sometimes forget that). There are days I want to lock myself in a closet. Days I cry out to God "why did you choose me, do You have no idea how bad I am at this?". There are days when I question the negative impact this will have on my bio children. There are days when I feel like every fiber of my being is being tested. Then there are days when I get more snuggles than any person deserves. Days when I praise God for choosing me for such a time as this. There are days when my heart is overjoyed watching the 4 people I gave birth to love selflessly and give wholly. There are days when I stand in awe of the life transformation taking place in this home. And there are days when I look back on the journey that brought us here, all the shaping, all the breaking, all the cleansing, and I thank my God for every heart ache, every hardship, every difficulty and every ounce of persecution. Because it is then that He has proven Himself strong.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
the faith of a child
I went on a date tonight with one of my favorite guys. During dinner I asked Robbie a question that we ask our kids regularly. This time though, his answer was a little more candid, a little less protected, and a whole lot more insightful. This is how the conversation went....
Me: "So, are you still glad we are foster parents"
Robbie: "ya, why do you always ask us that?"
Me: "Cuz it's very important to dad and I that all you kids remain on board with this, we know you sacrifice a lot and we never want you to be resentful"
Robbie: "I don't mind dealing with everything while the kids are there, it's when they leave that I hate. Well, I think it's hard having someone so close to my own age. Not that it's bad, I just think we fight a lot cuz we are so close in age."
Me: "So, does that mean if this child was moved from us you wouldn't want us to take anymore kids that old?"
Robbie: "No, I don't want you to turn a kid away just cuz it's hard." Then he proceeded to give me a bible lesson.... " Right around the time we took our first kids we were studying 'something' in the bible that was talking about how everything we have belongs to God. Our teacher was telling us a story about a man who opened his home to people who didn't have a home. I was thinking how could we do that? My parents would never let adults come live with us. That's when it hit me, that's what we're doing with becoming foster parents. So, it's not my house-who am I to decide. Our house belongs to Jesus, let's just let him decide."
At this point my eyes had teared up, it took every ounce of control to not allow a single tear to fall-that would most definitely embarrass my guy. Instead I sucked it up, stared at my boy in complete adoration and told him "you are a pretty remarkable young man".
Robbie: "I know"
Now that's more like it......that's my boy!
Being a mom to many is not a chore......it has blessed my life beyond comprehension. I cannot even express in words what a blessing this life I live is. Robbie did it for me.
Me: "So, are you still glad we are foster parents"
Robbie: "ya, why do you always ask us that?"
Me: "Cuz it's very important to dad and I that all you kids remain on board with this, we know you sacrifice a lot and we never want you to be resentful"
Robbie: "I don't mind dealing with everything while the kids are there, it's when they leave that I hate. Well, I think it's hard having someone so close to my own age. Not that it's bad, I just think we fight a lot cuz we are so close in age."
Me: "So, does that mean if this child was moved from us you wouldn't want us to take anymore kids that old?"
Robbie: "No, I don't want you to turn a kid away just cuz it's hard." Then he proceeded to give me a bible lesson.... " Right around the time we took our first kids we were studying 'something' in the bible that was talking about how everything we have belongs to God. Our teacher was telling us a story about a man who opened his home to people who didn't have a home. I was thinking how could we do that? My parents would never let adults come live with us. That's when it hit me, that's what we're doing with becoming foster parents. So, it's not my house-who am I to decide. Our house belongs to Jesus, let's just let him decide."
At this point my eyes had teared up, it took every ounce of control to not allow a single tear to fall-that would most definitely embarrass my guy. Instead I sucked it up, stared at my boy in complete adoration and told him "you are a pretty remarkable young man".
Robbie: "I know"
Now that's more like it......that's my boy!
Being a mom to many is not a chore......it has blessed my life beyond comprehension. I cannot even express in words what a blessing this life I live is. Robbie did it for me.
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