Never Enough

These are a few things that we NEVER have enough of!!! Socks and chungles (that's what the girls call pony tail holders). I can't ever find these, I'm beginning to think they eat them!!!

The weather is cooler now so we wash hair only 3 days a week. That might sound awful but think about it...None of the girls can wash their hair very well so they all need help. I run them through the shower and help wash their hair, that one gets out and dries off, I dry their hair while the next one gets into the shower, and so on and so on. Basically, on those 3 days I am bathing 6 and drying everyone's hair because it is so cold now. That takes a good 2 hours in the bathroom, feeling like a drill sargent.

I told Albert that my full time job is babysitting, and I have several part time ones...laundry (at least 20 loads a week), cook (this crew can eat 1/2 of a restaurant size can of fruit in 2 meals) and janitor. Focus is required to not feel like you are drowning.

Please pray for the youngest girl, she obviously has been through some horrific things and she can test our patience like no other. Some days it is hard to like her. I remember days like that with my own kids!!

Giving Thanks

Wow, Thanksgiving is over. It was very different this year, for me at least. OK, I'll admit it...I am almost 40 years old and have always coasted in the holiday department. I mean family get togethers, holiday meals, etc. Being the baby and having a sister who is great at getting things done and planning ahead have enabled me to be this way for so long. And then came Thanksgiving 2009...

My first holiday meal all on my own, lunch for 10 by 11:30 on Thanksgiving day. I planned to only have ham since that's my favorite, until my son requested turkey and a wonderful CASA worker gave us one! Once Morgan got out of bed this morning she was a big help, not so much at 5:30 a.m. Every bit of help is appreciated.

The menue for my first Thanksgiving dinner...3 loaves of homade yeast bread and a double batch of homade cinnamon rolls (for breakfast), started on Wednesday morning. From there we had turkey, ham, 2 pumpkin pies, oreo pie, green bean casserole, baked potato casserole, gravy and Morgan's cherry suprise. This afternoon Dane and the girls cracked pecans and I made a peccan pie for them. Cooking for 8 people day in and day out has been great preparation for today. I'm thinking I could cater!

Now, as I sit here thinking about all the things I am thankful for...I would have to say family first. For parents who spent their lives showing me who God is and then have supported my family as Albert and I have attempted to follow God's will for our lives. For a sister whom I love dearly and her family. For Albert's and my kids, who we thought had tested us to the limit and yet given us so many wonderful memories of marshmallow fights, singing songs from the movie "Oh Brother" together and spending time playing all sorts of games.

Lunch was bitter sweet today as I looked at my kids and realized that as thankful as I am for my family, we are not theirs yet. The wounds are still fresh, the hope of going home is still there and the displaced feelings they have can be overwhelming at times. These are good kids, they are my kids, sent to us from God. Whether here for ten days or ten years.

1 year...

Yesterday was little Sydney Anne's first birthday. Although we have not been able to hold her since she was 3 months old, we still thank God for the lessons she taught us and how she blessed our lives.

What else are we missing?

Geese are amazing creatures! I have enjoyed watching hundreds of them fly overhead on their way south. This is something you don't see in East Texas. But evidently, most people here in Lubbock don'e see them either. It is like the girls are seeing them for the first time.

As I drove the girls to school this a.m. we were talking about the geese and I told them I would find a book about geese and we could make a book about them this weekend. The girls actually asked that instead of having "movie night" on Friday, could they make their books instead.

Then, as I dropped them off at school, I was made accutely aware of how my excitement is rubbing off on the girls when they got out of the van and immediately started going "Ahhhhhhhh" as they looked up at the sky. I giggled watching them watch the geese, I noticed that all the adults were looking up to see what the girls were looking at! I laughed all the way home.