It's been awhile...

This poor girl has been sitting in my drafts for quite some time.

Brought to you by Razorbacks fans.

Bump-it if you got it. Woo pig sooie.

I Heart Faces

This entry is two-fold. First of all, go here to get the update on Madi's health! Her body is responding well to the meds!

Secondly, it's Orange week on IHeartFaces! Kinda perfect, huh? Cuz I heart this little face and can't stop praying for her!

It takes a village(to foster)...

* Countless emails, texts, voicemails, fb and blog comments
* A letter in the mail from my FIL with encouraging words and a devotional
* Erin watching Eliot so Russ can go to a court hearing
* Nancy taking Eliot on a date to Target and CPK
* Deluxe chocolates from Angie and Dane
* Seibels having us over for dinner
* Emily offering ideas and "stuff" to help w/ behaviors
* Eliot's teacher giving a bag of clothes
* Heather delivering a caramel frap to the park
* Dana watching both boys so Russ and I could go on a date
* Edwards making/delivering an amazing chicken dinner
* Neighborhood friends making me go out for a glass of wine
* Sarah coming over to make dinner while Russ was out of town
* Lance and Cory helping w/ T during soccer
* Carol donating more clothes out of her fostering stash
* Seibels making a goodwill run for more clothes
* Daycare offering/supporting strategies
* City Church peeps every Sunday morning being amazing
* Coworkers being patient with all the distractions/leaving early/arriving late
* Respite care over a weekend so we could go to a family celebration
* Becca covering my shift in nursery on a Sunday morning
* Eliot telling me he liked my dress on a difficult morning
* Beth surprising me at work w/ my fav Starbucks
* Nicole watching E while Russ is out of town and offering dinner to us all
* All friends and family being understanding of us not returning countless emails and messages

I feel like I'm probably forgetting a good handful of people. If it's you, please forgive me! I'm lucky if I remember to brush my teeth these days...

llaF yppaH

This was an appropriate and oh-so-telling accident.

A struggle in taking on a high needs foster kid was putting everything on the back burner that wasn't absolutely necessary. Selfishly, I was disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to take advantage of my favorite time of the year. I'd envisioned capturing amazing photos, cute activities with Eliot, etc.

But this is what you get. Ha! One night was especially rough here at Camp Mohr so Russ told me to take a break. I thought I'd take my bit of "free time" and do a quick craft. The next day it had dried and I got it ready to hang it when I realized what I'd done. Didn't really have my head in the game, I suppose.

But I left it that way. It's still there. Backwards. Kind of a craft representation of this season for us. Endearing, quirky, backwards.

Update

Pray for Madi

The blog listed above was set up for updates and to give people an opportunity to give toward Melissa and Scott's medical bills, extra food expenses, etc. Madi's body has responded well so far to the heavy antibiotics which is the main prayer request at this time.

Kelsey (author of the new blog) gave the quick version of their story. Those of you that aren't familiar with their story, take a few minutes to go read it. I met Mel while we were both living in Guatemala waiting for permission to take our kiddos home. After less than 8 months, I was given that gift. Mel's been there almost 4 years and is still fervently praying for that news.

Pray hard for Madi. Write it on your wrist, put a post-it on your fridge, your computer, your wallet, whatever.

Prayer needed!

I know the majority of you believe in the power of praying and I need you to rally. Sweet Madi's appendix ruptured and she's in very serious condition in a hospital in Guatemala City. Pray against infection, pray against fever, pray for the right doctors, pray for peace for Mel and Scott.

Not sure what tangible things we can do yet for them, but if I hear anything I will let you know. If you'd like to send her a note but don't have her contact info, I'd be happy to pass it along or you can leave a comment here and eventually she'll read it.

Pride.

Not like the "I'm so proud of you!" type but the "ew, that's ugly about me" kind.

Parenting pride, to be exact.

Baby T has behavior issues. They show themselves everywhere we go. It takes everything in me not to drop the "he's our foster kid" line to all within ear shot. I immediately hope people don't assume that this misbehavior is connected to my parenting abilities.

Ugly.

Then I think back. How often have I quickly offered, "Oh I think Eliot's teething" or "Eliot didn't have a great nap today" when E has done something wrong in public. Why do I feel the need to blame shift when my kid is just being a kid. Or, heaven forbid, I'm not a perfect parent and my kid made a bad choice because of it.

Parenting pride.

And a sidenote: If I'm not going to own up for the bad decisions he makes then I probably shouldn't take credit for all the good ones he makes, either.

Conspiracy Theory.

There must have been a meeting at some point.

It started w/ Baby T. Over the 5 weeks we've had him, he's slept through the night maybe 5 times.

Of those 5 times my sleep has been interrupted by the neighbors dog barking ENDLESSLY, Eliot having a bad dream, Eliot being silly, Daisy chewing on her paws from allergies (sounds minor but if you've ever had a dog w/ allergies, you get it), a crazy storm that knocked out our power and old man winter (aka Russ snores this time of year...).

At one point last week I slept in our breakroom at work over my lunch hour.

Sleep, beautiful uninterrupted sleep, I miss you.

Oops!

Sorry friends, I am still trying to figure this whole "private" blog thing out. I will need your email address in order to send you an invite. Sorry for the confusion!

Well, hey week 5! Where did you come from?

I know I've been absentee lately and I don't even have the energy to apologize. It is what it is. I miss blogging and have so much to share but there's really not much time or energy left at the end of our days anymore. Baby T "has lots of energy."

I've decided that I'm going to start a separate blog that's private where I can feel more comfortable writing my thoughts and feelings about fostering. I will still blog here normally but when there's stuff I'm not comfortable putting out there, I'd still like an outlet and I know a few of you can relate. If you'd like an invite, let me know and I'll send it to you.