Where has time gone

While I guess with 6 kids and all of the appointments we have I think I'm gonna be lucky if I get one post in a month.
Life in general---I'm going to start working any day now just waiting on paperwork. After being off for almost 2 years I'm not ready to start working again. I want to just stay home with my babies. I'm sure after I get a paycheck it will feel a little bit better. We went to Orlando, Florida at the very beginning of June for a week. We had a blast and all the kids loved going to universal studio's. On top of all of that we have been house hunting. We have been looking for several months but not very seriously. Unfortunately, the tornado and storms did some damage to our current home and my grandma (who we rent from) has decided that she is wanting to sell the home since it will have a new roof and siding. This pushed us to find a home faster. We weren't really wanting to buy a home right now but rent in this town is crazy since the oil boom so buying is the only way we can afford a home that will fit all of us.  We also only have 4 months until frog legs turns 1 and when she turns 1 she has to be out of our room and we have no place to move her too so this has also seed things up. We also went through a panic when they told us they may be moving 3 of our kiddo's to a native home. We knew that if it was God's plan he would help us through it and so far we have heard nothing more and it has been several weeks.

House hunting.....
House Hunting Experience. First house love but while looking at it the home owner came in and started talking to us which was very helpful. Second house we walk in and it was very stinky and then we turn around after looking in the kitchen and there was a big fat raccoon (bigger than our dog) looking at us  We all agreed to just leave. Third house we looked at the ceiling was missing most likely from the storm and the back door won't open and when Jacob opened the side door and bugs came crawling in.

The first house we looked at we wanted to look at again. We went back a second time later in the week and decided that we really like the house. Its not everything that we want but it fits what our family needs and is at a price we can afford. We are waiting for the home owner to find out what his insurance company is going to cover as far as storm damage to the outside of the home. As soon as we hear back we are planning on writing an offer. The biggest thing is going to be the amount of time we have until we can move in because all of the companies are booked out several weeks because of the number of homes that need new roof's. We know that if it's God's plan for us to get this house that everything will work out at the most perfect time. 

Update on our kiddo's
My sweet little miss who we call frog legs now because she is also moving her legs like a little frog. I can't believe she is already 8 months old. She has started rolling herself over this past week and has started pulling herself up on things. I really think she is just gonna skip the whole crawling thing (which I hate being a therapist because that's where you get your coordination from). She is also not liking baby food anymore so we are slowly starting her on table foods. She is quickly catching up with her bother who is 10 months older than her. In fact she is only 3in shorter than him and they are both in 12-18 month clothes.

My little climber is now 18 months. He is still waking up through the night but not as frequently. It's mainly happening the night or 2 following visits. After the visit this past Friday he started screaming shortly after falling asleep. He won't wake up and you could just see by his face he was having a nightmare and won't wake up from it. It broke my heart. He is still climbing on everything. He's started walking backwards and is trying to figure out how to jump. He is picking up on learning his colors very quickly.

My little man has regressed big time since the tornado's. We have a feeling that he was locked in a closet at one point because the minute we got in the closet he started screaming and won't stop. He literally screamed the whole entire 2 hours we were in the closet. The following morning he woke up with hives all over his body. The doctor said it was stress hives. We have also had increased behaviors since.

My little princess is making so much progress. Just today we were reflecting back with her therapist about how much she has changed since the beginning. She is talking way more and her words are way easier to understand. She is also starting to remember her colors which is amazing since we have been working on it almost every single day since she came to us about 6 months ago. She is also starting to copy the older girls with imitating different voices. She is also the best wrestler in her martial arts class.

My big princess has changed so much this past month. She has been opening up and talking about things that happened to her at home and in other foster homes. She is also finding herself but struggling with the things changing in her body. I think we are going to be starting monthly visit soon and she is not taking the talk very well. She just freaks out and starts yelling "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die" and then shuts done.  Listening and attitude have gotten way batter.

My Oldest had her sweet 13th birthday. Her party isn't until this coming weekend but we still celebrated as a family. However, since turning 13 she now thinks she can rule the world and her attitude has gotten way worse. I'm hoping a week at church camp will help. We'll find out at the end of this week. She has also had a lot going on with bio mom and I know that it is not helping. She has a very good reason to be mad but I can't just let her get away with it so we are working on ways to deal with our anger. 

While that's as much time as I have for now so I guess I'll be back in a month because I don't think I'm gonna get back before than. With increased visits, starting a job, working on closing on a house and getting things ready to move. I should say it might be 2 months before I get back. :(
I miss the blog world

Please Pray

We are all fine and didn't get hit but we have family and friends who have lost everything. Please be praying that they can continue to find the missing kids alive.

Where did a month go ??????

Well so much for blogging more often :(
I really miss blogging not only to keep track of things but to help claim my mind.
I honestly don't even know where to start.

This month I have started watching 2 little ones on the weekend to help earn someone money so on the weekend we have 6 kids under 4. We also started attending a class at church called How to Hear Gods Voice. So to fill the time between when church gets out and when we need to be back for the class we have tried to find something to stay busy since we have an hour drive each way it doesn't pay to come back home. What do you do with 8 kids. I don't know. This last week we went to the outlet mall. This is how we stroll on the weekends.

Sorry I can't show you pictures of my babies I would love to so I can give you is the back of their heads. The blue one is the 4 place stroller I recently got and we love it. It has been a huge life saver.

Here's an update on all of my kiddo's
My sweet little miss is now 6 months old and rolled over for the first time by herself on Monday. We have been working for several hours everyday to gain those muscles and it finally paid off. Not only did she just roll from her stomach to her back she also rolled from her back to her stomach.  We are still struggling with her trying to stand on her legs when you hold her up but will keep working on it. We are also continuing to struggle with latching issues with the bottle and mouth stimulation with baby food.

My little climber is now 16 months and has regressed with behaviors since visitation with family has increased. We're having issues with screaming and pulling hair. He has started waking 4-6 times a night again. He is making progress with his speech therapy and is talking more :) YAY!!!!!

My little man turned 2 and is growing like a weed. He is learning no words everyday but is also picking up on my oldest girls attitudes and is starting to copy it :( He loves to eat and down almost any fruit.

My little princess turned 3 and is also growing like a weed. She started school this week and is loving every minute of it. We are waiting for a hearing exam to see if she has a hearing impairment which could explain some of the cognitive and speech delays. We are going to try to figure out what else could be causing the delay. 

My big princess has been doing an amazing job in school and I'm so proud of her. She went from all D's and F's, along with never getting a good grade. After 3 months of hard work she has 3 A's and 1 B. She also made student of the month. So So Proud of her. She has finished the soccer season. We have huge progress with behaviors besides the night before and the day of visits.

My Oldest is also doing well and school and passed her AR goal in the 4 short months she has been with us. Wow it didn't hit me until I wrote that. I can't believe its been 4 months. She is so helpful with the little kids and is always wanting to help with the baby. I try to discourage it just because she needs to learn how to be a kid but it is nice sometimes.

Everyone is getting very excited for our next vacation. We will be leaving for Florida in a month. It will be the second time my kids have ever been on trips and the first time they have ever been to universal studio's. 

We have been so busy with every one's visits and appointment and end of year school events but we make it through out the day. A generous person from church has agreed to watch my children so me and my husband can go on a date. It will be the first time since January so it will be so nice to spend some time together.

I'm looking forward to this summer and all of the fun things we will get to do....

Until next time....
I'm gonna try to do a post on their birthday party but I can't make a promise 

We're Still Here

I can't believe its almost been a month since I last blogged. I try to blog but with 6 wonderful kids my time is very limited. What has happened in the last month? So Much.
We're still a family of 8 and we're enjoying every minute of it. We are still trying to get every one's nap schedule in sync.

My sweet little miss who is now 5 months old has found her hands this past week. She is finally reaching her hands out for toys and trying to hold her own bottle. She is going to be starting PT in the next couple of weeks to help her with her motor skills. Last week she tried to roll over for the first time. She started on baby food and moved from 6 oz bottles to 8 oz bottles. Her little feet are already hanging over the edge of the car-seat already.

My little climber is now 15 months old. He has figured out that he can now climb. We're going to have our hands full. Last week I was change a diaper and turn around to walk back through the dinning room to find him standing on top of the table. We have been teething all month long and they still have not broke through yet. He only has 5 teeth. He started speech therapy this last week.

My little man will be 2 years old in a month :) Birthday party time. He has been wanting to go potty so I'll try to do a separate post on our potty training. He is getting so tall and has out grown almost all of his clothes in the last couple of weeks. He is such a happy and smiling boy. He was test last week and scored above his age in almost every category :) So proud of him...He's such a smart little nut. He is totally in love with the dogs.

My little princess. We'll she will be turning 3 years old in a month :) A double birthday party. My little girl is going to be starting head start in the next couple of weeks. She will also be going to the elementary school for speech and social interaction to. She'll be gone from 8-3. Its going to be weird having her gone. She has had some regression in some area since she has came to our house but its a good thing because she is getting more comfortable.

My Big princess. He started soccer a couple weeks ago and has her first game last weekend. We all got burnt. Although she struggles with school she is making some improvements and making new friends. I'm not gonna lie we have our struggles with behaviors but it all stems from things that have happened to her from her past. It will take time but it will eventually disappear.

My Oldest. What can I say. We could not of asked for a better behaved 12 year old.  She does not let things that have happened to her in the past affect her future and that is usually the biggest struggle with foster kids. She does very well in school and tries her hardest at everything. She is also very helpful around the house and can get anyone to laugh.

Last week the kids were on spring break so we headed back home to South Dakota for a week. The 13 hour drive there went way better then I thought. It took about 45 minutes every time we stopped but we made it safe in sound. The kids had a blast well we were there but they missed their daddy. The drive home didn't go as smooth. I'm pretty sure everyone was tired of being in the car.

We celebrated Easter together as a family. We colored Easter eggs, went to church and our family came with us, we went out for Easter lunch and had an Easter egg hunt. It was one of the best Easters.

We're still praying that God will guide us to the right house if he has a bigger house for us in the future. We love having this many kids but they need space to run and play. My grandma's house just doesn't have the space.

Sorry I can't update more often but I'm gonna try my hardest because I defiantly miss it.

Family

Our current family is very multicultural but that doesn't stop the love between all of the kids. Including the ones who were not siblings before coming to our house. God has shown how loving our kids with all of your hearts and holding nothing back can change their lives for the better. We are holding nothing back. I'm not guarding my heart so that it is not so hard when they leave. God doesn't guard his heart with them so why should I. I know God with help us through anything that will happen with the wonderful kids he has placed in our lives.

We are beyond blessed and loving every minute with our family.

PS: We bought a bigger vehicle so we can all 8 fit in the car at once. I'll post pictures later.

This is our 4 months old and our 2 year old

I wish I could show you a picture of their faces. You would totally understand why I feel in love 

with these kiddos so fast.

Little Miss E is growing so fast. Last week she started on baby food. She likes sweet potato's and carrots so far and only dislikes green beans and rice cereal. She is also starting to gain more head control :). Last week I put in in the little bouncer/activity table and she is going crazy in it and has already learned how to bounce. I can't believe she is already 4 months old.

We also received an update from the little boy that we support in Africa. He has gotten so big since his last picture.