Philosophy

3yo: Mom, what's a philosophy?

Mom: it's what you believe in

3yo: and sing about?

Mom: some times. My philosophy is that Jesus loves you and will take care of you.

3yo: my philosophy is that the monster trucks love me

Then we sing Hakuna Matata for the next 8 miles

CFA

3yo: mom, can we go to Chick fil a?

Mom: I don't have any money 

3yo: it's ok mom. I have some (3 pennies)

April 2017 Update

I haven't figured out this twin thing yet. Fortunately God is easing me into it. Baby B isn't home yet. He still has some time in the hospital. Not quite sure how long. And no one can tell me.   We are thoroughly enjoying our time with Baby A. Waking up in the middle of the night for only one baby, preparing only a few bottles a day, changing only a dozen diapers… but only one baby to snuggle too…

We are still spending a lot of time at the hospital with Baby B. It's a little more difficult since the hospital changed though. I love my son and he is work every moment, but a one hour visit with him takes 4 hours out of the day.  By the time I get a baby, a toddler, and 3 teenagers in the truck, get to the hospital (and find the right parking garage), get through valet parking (a 12 passenger bus doesn't fit in the garage), get through all the nurses you have to check in with, scrub in, and find where my baby is (he was moved a few times) it takes anywhere from 60-90 minutes. Even once we started talking the train it only shaved 10 minutes or so off that time. I cherish every moment in that hospital room because I know that once he comes home I won't have as much devoted, uninterrupted baby snuggle time.

Until he comes home I spend a lot of time looking at different twin websites. When I have a conversation with another mom they often bring up questions I hadn't thought of.

• How are you going to wear two babies? (I LOVE baby wearing!)
• How are you going to feed two babies?
• How are you going to make it through the night?

Then there are my random sleep deprived thoughts;

• Does the diaper bag need to be different?
• What is the best double stroller?
• What milestones is Baby A missing?
• What is cradle cap? (Both Baby A and B)
• What can I do for hypertonicity? (Baby Moses and Baby B are both hypertonic)
• How do I keep Baby Moses from feeling left out?

Most of what I looked up was good for a first time mom.  The only good thing I found was a few YouTube videos on tandem baby wearing.  I'm pretty excited at that one!

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

March 2017 Update

Our first visit to see the babies was a test in patience.  I don't do well driving downtown. I had never been to this hospital and trying to explain to security that I am here to visit kids that are mine, but not mine was frustrating. Fortunately the CPS worker was able to meet me there and get us introduced to all the nurses and get all the authorization approved for us to visit whenever we wanted.

It didn't take me long to start harassing cps and arrow caseworkers for info on my new babies. I was even able to finagle my way into hospital visits!  With mom's history, her lack of visits to the hospital after her release, and other factors, we were able to go up there and love on those sweet babies weeks before they came home.

Visiting these babies brought us all a lot of joy. I think the big kids enjoyed it because it meant several hours with no school work. Baby Moses enjoyed tablet time after reading and singing to his new baby siblings. He is so sweet with them!  

I'm not usually a fan of toddlers on tablets,however there isn't much for a 2yo to do in the NICU, except get into trouble.  Paw patrol helped solve this problem.

March 30 “Baby A” finally came home after many delays. We drove over 400 miles, paid $105 in parking fees, spent 60 hours driving, had 1 long phone conference, filled out 3 piles of paperwork, took 4 classes, 32 hours of hands on training, 2 meetings, and one tornado watch.

“Baby B” will be home in a few weeks.

Ecclesiastes 11:5
Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. 

February 2017 Update

Not my babies - for privacy purposes
(and cps rules) I cannot post their photos

5:30 pm - I am on stage working on last minute details with the volunteers. Making sure everyone is clear on what the rules are and what their job is, when Commander Bobby comes up to me telling me that hubby is frantically trying to get ahold of me.  Crazy thoughts start going through my head. Hubby would only have someone else come find me (instead of waiting until I noticed I all the missed calls and messages) if there was an emergency. Who is in the hospital?  What's on fire? Who is sick?  

Wednesday February 15, 2017

4:30 pm - the big kids and I arrive at church with our now 2 ½ year old “baby Moses.”  I have a lot to do tonight - it is our quizzing competition!  I have a group of 7 kids who have been practicing for months for this competition. I am working hard to get all my volunteers ready, get equipment setup and start the competitors on the written portion of the quiz.  

I quickly finish what I am doing and go call hubby back. What?  I'm 5 minutes to late?  Too late for what?!  To help make a decision. Cps had called and asked if we wanted new born twins!  WHAT!  YES!  They are biological siblings of Baby Moses?  A thousand times yes!

What info do I have?  None. Just that we are getting newborn twins. Nothing else.

Psalm 127:3
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.

January 2017 Update

Life takes some unexpected turns sometimes.

A few days ago we found out that two families that live next to us are moving.  We pray and then Hubby talked to the realtor.  He got the moving bug too. Actually, it's someone we had been considering. Our mortgage has gone up $600 a month since we moved in 5 years ago, and the HOA fee has doubled in the last 3 years.

Ok, so we're moving.

We do all the stuff you have to do to move.

• Put all the “good stuff” in storage (toys, books, puzzles)
• Fix everything you've been able to live with for the last few years
• Finish unfinished projects
• Mow more often
• Clean up the gardens
• Etc

Our goal with this move is

• Lower mortgage
• Lower HOA fee
• Bigger yard
• Mom would prefer a 1 story

Seems easy enough.

We list the house after (A LOT of) drama with the contractor and start on an adventure to find the next house God wants us to live in.

Day one: we don't go very far, but the gps takes us a funny way to get to what seems like a great house. The road is nonexistent (used to be country club Dr, now it is a dirt road full of potholes).  We bounce up and down the road, scratch the truck and see smoke come from under the hood. Ugh.

Finally, we get to the house, by another route.

Hubby calls the realtor. Don't come down here- by either route!  This is not the house for us. The neighborhood is sketchy and I will not drive on these roads in my little car.

We get back home, barely, and hubby spends the next few hours, and $700 trying to fix my truck. I need it for church tomorrow. 6 pm comes and he is frustrated. This fix is going to take another 10k and several days. Is it worth the hassle?  The truck has 200k miles on it and is over 10 years old.

Mom is on the way over for dinner. We leave her to eat with the kids while we go get something that's will get us to church tomorrow.

We barely made it to the dealership. Talking to the salesman, he asks what we are looking for. Something to haul 4 kids, 2 dogs, and a bunch of instruments.  We're thinking minivan.  He asks if we want to see a Transit van.

No.

I don't want to drive a little bus.

Not going to happen.

We humor the guy and look at it. It's not too bad. But we're still not interested.

We take it for a test drive. I don't hate it.

But no.

Not interested.

We find a town and country.

Nice

We both like it

A lot

It drives well. It has a sunroof.  It has a TV for long trips. It's comfortable.

We will take it.

It's after 8. On a Saturday. The bank will not finance the minivan with the balance from our dead excursion. However, they will finance the transit.

We pray.

God, why do we need a 12 passenger van?!  There are only 6 of us, and 1 is leaving for college soon.

We've been talking about quitting foster care after our last placement.  So we don't need the extra room. Are we not supposed to quit?  Are we getting more kids?  I don't think I can do this anymore. Not after the last 2.

The salesman comes back. The transit is the only thing they will finance tonight. So, we either take the excursion back home or buy a brand new 12 passenger van.
We buy the van.

But why?  

I don't need a 12 passenger van...

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.