Tuesday, September 28, 2010

One down...

... one to go.

Birth mother's rights were terminated for Roo this morning at court.

Now they are doing a 'diligent' search for a father. If none come up then they will be terminating on him in 45 days.

Dismissal date is Jan 17th, 5 days after his 1 year birthday!

Thank you Jesus!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Where there is one... there is always another!







I love that they are all brothers!



It's all fun 'n games til someone squishes the baby!

eh. he's tough like that. He was laughing through it all. The boys are so gentle when they play with him.

I have tried keeping him away from their rough and tumble games but he is NOT happy unless he is in the middle! Well, unless he has a bottle while being contained! He has cried non-stop until I put him out with the boys. I do say, he can hold his own; you know, in an 8 month old sort of way :)

Friday, September 10, 2010

Is that really you?

Can I just say we have been blowing around like a leaf in the wind lately. Only in our windstorm there is also hail and fire and debris flying around making it even more challenging to remain intact.

After posting all this we got an email from our adoption atty stating that the birth father (the same guy that has had his son removed TWICE so far) has filed an appeal. Meaning that this case is nowhere near being over now. We were hoping that his adoption would be finalized in November. But after an appeal is filed it will now take from 9 mos to 3 years to finalize Moe's adoption.

As if that wasn't enough combined with all the OTHER drama we have been facing... the battery is dead in the Sequoia AND the tire is flat on the jeep. I mean! ENOUGH ALREADY!

I have to admit I have been having a poor attitude toward my children and it has not been fair to them. I would rather just fade away most days than to face them and feel like I am failing them in every area of life.

Since J has been home it has been stressful to continue a normal routine with the boys and my household chores. Even the work that I have taken on in this time has been a challenge to get done with someone popping into my artroom every 5 minutes or so. Yes, I have tried locking the door. Yes, I have earplugs. Yes, I have talked to J telling him that it is not helping me get anything done when he is interrupting me several times in an hour. But for some reason none of it is helping. I just work better when he is NOT here for the duration of the day. Is that awful?

It's not that I don't love him. It's just easier to feel like you are free to get more things done when you don't have to think for someone else too. We have enjoyed him being home for the most part and the boys have totally taken off this past month with him having been home. They are doing so much more stuff and have been LOVING him being home.

Anyhoo... So J finally got a job with a local Roofing co. I struggled when he told me this not to feel scared. J is what we like to call ACCIDENT PRONE. He scares me just walking around much less DRIVING, and ON A STINKIN HOT ROOF! I, however, did not want to turn God down or be a snob about any sort of work he was in fact getting so I just sat silently swallowing down tears and thanked God for the opportunity for work for J.

We both never really had a huge peace about it but it didn't feel like it was against God's will either so we were torn. We just continued to pray that if it were Gods will that it would carry through. If it were not that the door would be closed.

That following Tuesday that he was supposed to start working we woke up to a terrible storm. Rain in the forecast was for a while. You cannot roof in the rain (as I believe I explained in the other post) so he could not go in. We thanked God for the closed door, b.c that was indeed what we felt it was. AS we prayed about it I asked J what he felt the "open door" was. He said "Liza"

She is a friend I meet with for playdates on Friday mornings. Last Friday after he'd gotten the job with the roofing co (he was supposed to start that following Tues) I was talking to her about it. She was telling me about two of her BILs that had businesses that would possibly be hiring if we needed.

I didn't really think anything else of it b.c they were both construction type jobs that J is not the best at.

I mentioned it to him later that Fri evening in passing and that was that.

Tues rolls around and the storm was going on. I ask him what he thinks the open door is... he says Liza.

SO I email Liza and ask her about the job possibilities. She calls me in a matter of 30 min it seems and tells me that she contacted her sister (it's her husband who has one of the businesses) and talked to her about it. She goes on to tell me it's a Roofing company, my heart sank. In all honesty, I was thinking to myself, he cannot do this type of work, HE WILL FALL OFF!

But no sooner than my pity party started blowing up balloons to invite guests over she pulled out the pins for popping and said that it would not be roofing but sales. As if she were reading the party invites already! I mean really. Lord WHY do I doubt. LIKE EVER!?!

I felt a peace. All of a sudden that unmistakable peace quieted my heart and the party was cast away. She told me that more than likely he would hire him b.c they have 2 part time employees and really need to get a full time employee also. She gave me his number for J and we went on about our day. PEACE.

Later J goes to meet with him and when he returned HOURS later (guess it was a great visit) you would have thought he just met his best friend. He could not stop talking about their "interview" and just how much he LIKED this man and his wife (she was there too, "helping" with the interview :0)). PEACE.

I felt overwhelmed with thankfulness! You see, J is not the kind of person that does well with a lot of criticism and bosses breathing down his neck. He is such a personable person and he does well with more one on one contact and training. This man owns his company and works it too. It is a family owned business and they are all about family. PEACE.

What will be happening. J will go with N (the boss) looking at houses and if it looks like there is a home that needs a new roof they will stop and discuss with the homeowner that their roof is replaceable by insurance and discuss the steps they need to take to get their roof replaced. If the customer agrees they contract a roofing co and from that job J will be making 50% profit. When he starts going out on his own he will be making 60% of the profit.

Now the thing that COULD be unnerving is that there is no pay unless he makes a sale. But even that is peaceful. There is still this overwhelming peace about it all. I know some of you understand and KNOW that peace I explain. It is amazing and sometimes makes NO sense at all whatsoever BUT it is God and I KNOW that.

We will sit here and rest in HIS PEACE knowing that HE is indeed in control and we will NOT be harmed in this season of turmoil!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Open Mouth...


... insert, scratch that. TRY to insert foot!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Here Goes...

Okay so, haha.. don't you all just anticipate what is coming next. Yeah, me too. or NOT!

J has now been without work for over a month. No income... NOTHING. OH wait, we get the reimbursement for fostering once a month, but that goes back into the kiddos. And I have sold 4 canvas paintings. I have also had photo shoots galore so that has been keeping us going somewhat.

Our A/C is creating a huge hole in our floor in the laundry room. It is leaking and we have had someone out to look at it and "clean" it and it is still leaking. now our floor is just saturated and falling in.

Drying clothes has been a challenge seeing that our dryer has stopped heating YET again. We hung a clothes line outside to dry clothes on, that was fun, no really. I love hanging clothes to dry! But there are certain things you cannot do in the rain. Drying clothes is ONE of them. Now they are in the house with us... but not that they are going to dry b.c we have turned off the a/c so that it will stop leaking. All the windows are open now and the humidity is 500% with a wind burn of 400 degrees.

I don't see the clothes drying.

J was supposed to start a job this morning at a local roofing company (yeah as if that wasn't scary enough; J on a roof!) but this morning he gets up to go in and it was pouring. Want to know another certain thing you cannot do in the rain. Roofing. Yes, you cannot roof in the rain, a dog can but we humans cannot. roof roof. Want to know how long the forecast calls for rain. yeah, I don't either.

I was listening to K love the other day and it said "Thank God for the "NO'S" in our lives.

Thank you Jesus.

J ran into his old college pastor last night and he was telling him that sometimes there looks to be two good answers to the paths that you are trying to differentiate between but if you feel like there is not any reason not to go down one path if it is in fact the wrong path, God will close the door and open another.

Okay Lord.

Roo's CW sent me a message a little while ago saying that BM wants to do a drug test and visit "her son". Why yes, she hasn't seen him since he was 7 days old in the hospital. He is NOW 8 months old. NObody has seen her since the removal hearing when he was 8 days old. Fair? notachance!

Your will Father!

OOOH look a WONDERFUL cool breeze is finally blowing away the humidity and it is cooling off in the house. Oh what's that? The.rain.is.pouring.in.the.windows? hmm okay


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ENOOOOOOOOUUUGH!

You are more than enough for me!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

for you, the readers, my friends

Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement on the comments and in emails. I got them all and I appreciate you, your words and your prayers!

God is amazing and has brought me through this valley once before, He will do it again. He LOVES this time with me and I enjoy getting to see His face in the midst of the fire. I do not LOVE the fire, do not misinterpret that... but I do love the shield and the Hero pulling me through!

Just through the emails and comments that I have gotten, and even other conversations I have had with other friends, I think it is VERY safe to say that this is a tough season for everyone right now. There have been so many "attacks" on our friends and loved ones homes. In every circumstance I have been hearing the same thing, "I am not sure what is going on but everything just seems out of whack", More or less.

I do not feel alone in this battle any longer. I know there are others in this burning hot flame with me. I believe this is a season of purifying. God is purifying our hearts to look more like him.

I have heard before that when hard pressed by circumstances whatever is inside comes "squishing out". Man if all that has been coming out of me in this hard season stays cooped up in there much longer I will rot! This is awful stuff! I am not even kidding. I have been using words I dropped at the "I DO" entrance to giving my life to the Lord! I mean they just crept up on me one day and it stuck. Now that I am being hard pressed, it is all pouring out. NOT GOOD!

Thank you LORD for the cleansing, but please help me to be obedient in responding well to rebuke. I need more of you and less of me! I want to abandon myself to your praises Father! I need your presence more than ever right now!

A dear sweet friend of mine wrote me an encouraging email the other day and I just wept. It painted the perfect picture of where I feel like I am right now.

I would like to insert a portion of the email here and I pray that it may speak to you as well and that you will see God's heart for you too.

You are not alone!

"...my heart was in pain and I asked God why isn't there anyone here to pray for me -with me. And he reminded me of a scene in the garden when he was alone... His closest friends had gone to rest while he was aching -preparing to die to himself -and save the world. "Sound familiar on a smaller scale?" But he also reminded me of the one to whom he was praying the one who for a brief moment in time left Jesus so Jesus would never have to leave us. You are not alone... "