Happy Birthday Honey!!

Today is my sweet husband's birthday. I thought I would share with the blog world a few wonderful things about this man!

1. He cooks, cleans and even does laundry (it's ok ladies, don't be jealous)


2. He wonderfully handsome


3. He loves me, his kids and his family with all of his heart and would do anything for us.


4. He is committed


5. He loves the Lord


6. He is the head of our house and uses that "power" respectfully and responsibly


7. He is funny and charming


8. He loves to do things and is NOT a couch potato or a sports fanatic.


9. He is caring and compassionate


10. He takes care of us and provides us with stability and comfort.


11. He can be crafty


12. He can sew


13. He participates in Family Night


14. He loves me for me and understands and accepts my flaws


15. He is loyal


16. He is patient


17. He is forgiving


18. He can fix anything


19. He is my best friend


20. He is the best husband I could've ever hoped or dreamed for.

I love you!! Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Precious Video

I will post more about our little Bruce's departure soon. I'm still trying to get through my day without breaking down. For now, here is a precious, touching video..

Bruce's reaction!

When we told Bruce that he was going to go stay with his sisters...this is what happened...

He started the car....

He cranked the radio...

And he was outta here!!

Our Sweet Angel

First I want to thank all of you so very much for all the sweet thoughts and prayers for little Bruce. As most of you know Tuesday we lost our "fight" in court to keep sweet Bruce in our home.
His final day with us will be next Wednesday.
We are so sad and disappointed. Yes, we know that fostering children doesn't mean keeping them...but this case was a bit different.
We know God has a great plan for Bruce and he knew what he was doing when he placed him in our home for these past 6 months. We cling to the idea that everything has a purpose....and that nothing happens by chance.
We now have Bruce's baby sister in our care. She will be 2 weeks on Saturday and is a tiny little blessing. We will love and care for her just as we did with Bruce.
Today Bruce will be starting his "transition" period to the other home. DHS is picking him up from daycare today around 10am for an all day visit at his new home. This will happen today, tomorrow, Monday & Tuesday. They will come to pick him up the final time, from our home, on Wednesday.
Please say a prayer that Bruce will be comforted by God's peace when the DHS worker (whom he has never seen) comes to pick him up this morning. That God is watching over him while he is there today, giving him the courage and strength to play and enjoy his time there.
Please pray for a safe, happy transition for Bruce and our family. Our children, Laynie and Blake are just torn up over this...please pray for their comfort as well.

Thank you again for everything and for being such wonderful supporters of us and our journey with Bruce!

Cherry Pie

Little Cherry Pie is home and safe. She came home with us on the 13th. She did fail her carseat test 4 times, so we got the car bed and was able to bring her home. She is a very good baby and just eats and sleeps. She drinks about 2oz each feeding and has gone from 4lbs,6oz at the hospital to 5lbs, 1oz just this week!!

We love seeing Bruce with her. He just is amazed. He got jealous for the first time last night when I was feeding her, so I handed her off to Clint and loved on little Bruce.

Car seat mayhem!

So little Cherry pie is coming to stay with us. We were supposed to be able to pick her up last night but she failed her car seat test. Because of this, we have to use a car bed. Sounds strange huh!?
Since she is so tiny (4lbs, 6oz) and doesn't have the strength to sit up, it affects her breathing and heart rate. So much so that she almost completely stops breathing because she slumps over and can't sit back up.

So we are going from this.....

To this.....

Little Helper!

Fuming!

I could just SPIT right now. I'm so frustrated with our system it's sick! Cherry pie is still at the hospital. She's almost a week old and has spent her first days not in the arms of a loving mother, but laying in a hospital crib. Why? Well, mainly because the state is determined on taking little man from us on Tuesday so they don't see why they should place Cherry pie with us now when they think they will move her next week.
It's all so very ridiculous and sad. DHS is power hungry and they abuse the so-called "power" they have. Unfortunately it's not us that suffers from these decisions, it's the thousands of children in state custody that do.
How scary is this.... since we have had our little guy, his worker has made a visit to our home maybe 4 times (one of those times she sent someone in her place). She is supposed to come every month to our home. What if I was someone was mistreating a child? Making them live in a closet, or tied to their bed (I have read stories of this). DHS would never know because they don't come out and check. No wonder there are foster children out there that are abused by their foster parents and no one knows about it...because DHS always claims to be TOO busy to check anything out!
It breaks my heart for all those little children out there that don't have a home like ours that is loving and caring.
So, we still sit and wait. While Cherry remains in the hospital.
Funny that the kids worker called me today asking if I needed a case aide to come pick up the baby for the parent visit. I was thinking, "you don't even know where the new baby is"? SCARY

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I feel like my brain is totally fried! I have to say that I don't blame people for staying away from the whole foster care system and DHS. I know first hand how frustrating and sad it can be!

I have no idea if Cherry pie is coming to our house or not. Seems they (DHS) has it "in" for us since we are fighting to keep little man. Whatever.
I was told that since they dont know if he will go to the other foster home next week (after our informal hearing on Tuesday) that they dont want to place her in our home until they know.
So.....in the meantime....where does she go?

Just pray for little Cherry pie...that no matter where she goes, that she is loved and cared for and that it's more then just "tending to her needs".

Starfish

I read this little story over at Saving Starfish. I feel like this little girl right now!

While at the beach a mother and her daughter saw hundreds of starfish wash ashore. The little girl scrambled as she tried to throw them all back into the water one at a time so they wouldn't die. "Don't bother dear" the mother said, "it won't make a difference because you'll never be able to save all of them". As the little girl listened to what her mother said...she looked into her hand. She threw the starfish into the water and said "it will make a difference to THIS one".

Tiny Baby

Little man has a new baby sister. She was born today at 7:05am and weighed 5lbs 5oz and is 16 in long. I didn't really know what 5lbs would look like and WOW is it small.
I'm not sure right now, but this cute bundle of sweetness may be coming to stay with us for a little while. I will have to keep you updated on that.
:)

My Newest Obcession

It doesn't take me much to get hooked on anything "scrapbook". I really wish I had the space and time to sit down and do more of it. I look back on the ones I have completed and remember how much fun I had doing it.

I have heard of "digital scrapbooking" before, but never really knew what it was all about. Well...those days are OVER. I'm in LOVE with all you can do! The possibilities are just as endless as if you were in a scrapbook store going nuts!! Oh, and it's cheaper! You gotta love that part! Maybe I will have time tonight to play around with it a little more. Check out this cute collection of "digi" pieces.

Can you say Fab-U-lous!?

LOVE IT!!!! Here is my new runner for my kitchen. Its made from carpet, so it's extra soft on your feet. Now I need to paint my cabinets and replace the hardware, but to avoid giving Clint a heart attack, I will just start replacing the hardware first. See...I can compromise! hee hee.

Sorry for the blurry pic. Not sure what that was all about!

Where's the harm?

Our little guy has decided that he loves pacifiers and blankies. Not sure where this came from...well, I have a hunch. After we switched him to the new daycare (LOVE it BTW) he started wanting "things" more...like his babies aka...stuffed bear and pig, his blankies, his paci, etc...

Most of the time it's all very manageable and not all that bad. Clint can't stand that I let him have his paci, but I figure that Bruce really missed out on the attachment when he was younger....and I sucked my thumb till I was 10.....so where's the harm?

In the past week he has been feeling a little sick, so our evenings have been spent listening to him whine and be very moody. The other night when it was dinner time, he INSISTED he have both blankies AND his paci with him in the high chair. Usually I don't allow this, but with him not feeling good...it's very hard to get him to eat anything...so I gave in. I know, I know...one time leads to many, but oh well.

And yes, I know his hair is getting really long...but YOU try and take a sick child, who already despises haircuts, to get it cut and see what happens!!! It's worth waiting it out!

Great News!

First I want to THANK everyone for praying for our family and our little Bruce. Today our attorney filed a objection requesting a "stay" for Bruce. The judge SIGNED it around 11:00am today! What this means is that the judge is willing to hear what we have to say. We have an informal hearing on Feb. 17th at 1:30! That will be the day that we find out if the judge will allow Bruce to stay with us, or if he will order him to be moved.
I am just SO thankful that the Judge is giving us the chance to be heard.

Please keep us in your thoughts, especially on Feb. 17th. Your kindness and thoughtful emails have brought us great encouragement and hope. We thank you for lifting us up in prayer during this time.

Update!

God is good!I just talked with our attorney. He said that he will be filing an objection requesting an "informal" hearing for us today. He waited until then because our 6 month mark was Sunday. He said that the judge would much rather grant us the "stay" then have our attorney go to the Supreme Court and file (especially with all the OK DHS stuff that's going on right now). So, still more of a "sit and wait", but it looks like we are 99% sure that our little guy will not be taken from us on Wednesday.
Praise God!
Thank you for all of your prayers.....God hears them!