Little Lady update

Just wanted to give a quick update on the pinkest member of our family. She is thriving! She's gained 3 pounds since coming here at Thanksgiving (which is thrilling for a baby but not so great when it can be echoed by the mom =/) She is delighting us all with her baby babbles (and none too quiet I might add), her clapping, waving, saying "uh-oh" and her beginning to walk. She is a joy to have around and we are relishing our time with her.

As far as we know there are no family members who have been approved to have her placed with them. We are really out of the loop as far as what is all going on with family members but I think too much information is sometimes too much information. We are here to love on her today so that's what we're doing as long as it's still called today.

When talking about this journey with people I often hear "I could never do that- not knowing if you have to give her back?" or "I don't think I could handle not knowing if she was going to be yours or not". I won't pretend to know how I will actually be emotionally if she does end up having to leave but for TODAY and each day since we've had her I have had this - truly supernatural- peace and assurance about her. Not assurance as in "I'm SURE she'll eventually be ours..." but as in I know that God loves her more than we ever could and I have only ever prayed that what is best for her will be done. We never see the whole picture of our lives or the lives of others but I know He does and He is trustworthy enough to cast all of our cares onto. God also, very gently, reminded me that we are not guaranteed tomorrow with ANY of our family members- not just this one "temporary" one. This led me to ask myself if I knew that I wasn't going to have Seth around after tomorrow how would I treat him today? What about Jaedon or Brad or Owen? It was in that mix of thoughts that we decided that our already-family of 5 needed to be a priority in this venture. That might sound harsh but for our family it has already been a breath of fresh perspective. We are thrilled having Little Lady (or whomever else God allows) being part of our family but we cannot allow that to interfere with what God has already given us to build, train, teach, tickle and read to.

A lot of people have asked how the boys are liking having her around and while they might respond "good" if asked - they are LOVING her to pieces...sometimes almost literally. Seth, I think, is the most tender towards her. He genuinely loves to play with her and make her laugh while the other 2 enjoy her in shorter spurts. As of now we have not seen any regression or negative behavior effects because of her presence. It's been a smooth transition as far as that goes- which is a huge blessing!

And the long awaited Egress Window which legalizes our basement for use (after 8 years of apparently using it illegally??? ;-) is DONE. We have to figure out some safety measures and creative landscaping for the outside well but we're happy to have that over with.

So thanks for your interest and continuing to pray for our family.

Christmas sum up

This December is a bit of a blur for me. Adjusting to life with 4 kids threw me for a loop! After 6 weeks (isn't that the typical maternity leave time? =) I am starting to get a grip of it now. Our Christmas time, however, was very sweet albeit fuzzy for me.

I am loving the kids getting older and remembering silly and sappy traditions like making monkey bread, reindeer food, nativity scene hunting, balloons on Christmas morning for Jesus' birthday, sleeping out under the Christmas tree on Christmas eve and getting glowsticks for the church's candlelight service.

Then there is finding and giving THE perfect gift. Oh the JOY in giving!

Seeing the older kids take the lead in wanting to play more strategical games, organizing a play or teaching your cousin the sign language to Silent Night.

And don't forget about the girly Christmas clothes! =) That was a bit of fun this year too. ;-)

North Pole Diaries

I know I am a bit biased but I think he's a pretty good lookin third grader- heading to his Christmas concert called North Pole Diaries. His music teacher is pretty good looking too ;-)

I Egress....

So the dilemia of our Egress window is not so much a dilemia any longer- it's more of a pile of dirt in our front lawn, a big gaping hole, a slab of concrete cut and removed and the window (on order) waiting to be installed HOPEFULLY as soon as we get back from PA for our Christmas break.

A very Howells Christmas

This year the 6 of us adult Howells thought it might be fun to book a weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge and do our Christmas weekend together there.

We were right- it was fun. =)

Here are a few pics of our time together...A ceramic tea-set for Katelyn with a promise for Aunt Amber and her to have a tea date together.

Becoming a traditional gift- the family picture calendar. Fun to make- fun to see.

Fairly safe to assume that all 6 kiddos had a blast in the waterpark.

Thanksgiving break

The cousins making a "bunny nest" in Grandmas backyard on Thanksgiving. If dirty fingers are an indicator of fun then this was a super successful adventure. =)

Lest I forget the other 3 miracles in our midst... we have really enjoyed this past few days together as family. The thanksgiving tree was (obviously) overflowing which is just a visible sign of the truth of our abundant blessings in our lives. These days off have been a really nice blend of getting things done and playing together too.

Little Lady is doing so well. She is sleeping good and is actually going right in her crib to sleep. She doesn't eat a lot - but that might just be the difference between her and my boys who couldn't eat fast enough! She is very laid back and crawls around like she knows where she's going. The boys love interacting with her but they do a nice job of not overwhelming her either. They still go off and play on their own because...afterall...she is still a BABY. ;-) This weekend has been just awesome for doing a lot of "nothing" to see what sort of routine she likes.

Her caseworker and I meet on Monday so I hope to get some more information about her situation then. Until then...thanks for your continued prayers.

November 21

Oh how fast life can change!
We got a call on Monday at 2pm from our fostering agency asking us to consider taking a little 9 month old baby girl.
Enter heart aerobics.
After talking with God, Brad and asking for some prayer from friends we said yes. She was brought to our house (after a lot of waiting) at 9:30 that night.
Since then I have been a very humble recipient of an overflow of generosity. I had very little information about her from my 2pm call - I knew she was 9 months old but what size diaper was she in? What size clothes was she wearing?
When we saw her we quickly saw that she at least is a healthy girl- wearing 12 month clothes already and got her weight to get her the right diaper size. She came with the outfit of clothes she had on, a hat, coat and blanket. I had 1 12 month sized sleeper for her and 1 size 3 diaper. =)
However, that was just exactly what I needed.
We had friends give us clothes, a monitor, onesies, pink bears, barrettes, diapers, wipes, dresses (!), swimsuits, burp rags, and socks. My list of "things I need" is very small. What a blessing.
Perhaps a bit invisible but just as meaningful to me is the love, support and acceptance we have witnessed these past few days. When we went to my in-laws for Thanksgiving yesterday there was already a framed photo of this little girl on her shelf with her other granddaughters. What a tremendous feeling to be so covered with support and unconditional love not only for us but for her.
So as I watch my "resolve to not become TOO attached" sail happily away into lala land I can't help but admit I am afraid. This little mocha colored baby is winding herself into all of our hearts already and the fear of the unknown future with her is a dangerous dwelling for me right now. Please pray about that with me. The words to this hymn came to mind this morning in my sleeplessness....

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
(I love those lines!)
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

November 16

Our case worker called me yesterday to let me know that we are officially licensed for foster care!

I was quite surprised since we still have to install our Egress Window (which is slated to be worked on the week after Thanksgiving). She, however, told us if we signed a waiver that stated we would agree to not use the basement as living quarters with a foster child that she could open our home for care.

We signed.

And now we wait.

I have neglected blogging for awhile simply because it seems too overwhelming to sit and actually journal (I don't do very well in maintaining my own journal!) so I've decided not so much to go back and try to update but just carry on from here.

In my bible study time we are studying Acts. There are many good lessons to pull from but one thing that has stuck out to me is that Christians are not called to a life of ease.

Consider the early church -individuals who were lucky to only be shunned for their beliefs and more often were beaten or killed because they dared to believe that Jesus was who he claimed to be; the first missionaries -who walked for hundreds of miles to spread the gospel in some cases it was not accepted, they were laughed at (in good cases) and beaten (in not so good cases) yet they kept spewing Jesus because...oddly enough...they believed him to be who he claimed to be too. Consider those I have heard about, read about who believed Jesus' claims to the point that they spent all their lives attempting to align their way of life to mirror that of the one they serve. I see a very disturbing similarity... they lived hard lives.

So these observations beg me to ask myself- do I believe Jesus' claims? Do I believe him to be the Son of God, the perfect provider of salvation, the Word made flesh, the only Way, the only Truth and the only one Life?

If I do then am I willing to embrace a hard life in a culture that screams for us to treat ourselves because "you're worth it"?

I am challenged also by the fact that my actions pour out of the well of my beliefs. (This is something we've discussed recently in the Young Marrieds class at church. ) Similar to the idea that how I spend my money is what I value... how I spend my time, the words I use, the shows I watch, the music I listen to, what I view online... all of that and more are indicators of how much I reverence Jesus as God. Convicting to me at least...

So... all that to say... this fostering journey has me both excited and terrified. I am very aware (although naive at this point) of the sheer ugliness of the fostering system. It is both triumphant and tragic. We are going to need you to be praying for us - for a listening ear in tune with the Holy Spirit (because I have no idea how I'm going to say "No, we don't want THAT child" !! yikes). Please pray for increased unity in our marriage- we are already experiencing it but we haven't even started yet so please pray for that. Pray for our kids- that we will love on any child we have in our home and that we will be willing to grieve as a family when/if a child leaves our home. We were talking with the boys last night and said "This is not an easy way to live. But we love Jesus more than we love ourselves so this is what we are going to do together....".

Thanks for your partnership in prayer. I'm reminded too that the prayerless life is a powerless one and we need all the power your prayers afford us!

Octoberish

So at school the teachers take turns recognizing 2-3 students from their classroom that they feel has displayed the months moral focus of the month. October's focus has been respect and Jaedon's teacher let us know that she was going to have Jaedon recognized (they call it "being fished") Proud Mama moment. =)

Owen experienced his first dentist visit... and subsequently was "thankful" for the dentist for the next 3 days. He did great. =)

Besides the 1/2 day, every day drive to kindergarten I am THRILLED with him doing afternoon k-garten. We have been able to enjoy some slow, lazy, puzzle and story-filled mornings.

I can't remember if this is our third or fourth year doing our Thanksgiving Tree- but a recent family night had our tree making attention by taping, coloring, cutting, hanging and reciting.
I read a book recently called One Thousand Gifts (www.onethousandgifts.com/thebook). It was a personal story about the author's journey on the road to learning not just the act of thanksgiving but the undeniable need we have to foster a life of gratitude. One of my favorite ideas from these poetic pages was the idea that becoming a person of gratitude takes practice. Maybe not oh so profound- but it raises the question for me: How am I practicing a life of thanksgiving today? What am I thankful for TODAY- and every day- throughout the day?
I love being prodded.

My punkins in the pumpkins...

We spent some time this weekend at a local orchard and had a lot of fun exploring the world of apples, corn mazes and pumpkin patches.

We had SO much fun walking around cornstalks... who knew!?

The not so itsy bitsy spider