Daddy

What is a Daddy? So much has been written about this that I know I can't say it any better. But I can tell you what I've seen in just a week's time.

I know my boys respond in a special way to Dad because he's the Dad. But they've always had him. They've always had the security of a Daddy there to protect them.

These two little ones are enamored by the stubble on Daddy's face at the end of the work day, they just can't stop touching it. They seem to understand what to expect from the mommy, but are hesitant about what this "Daddy" will do. Sis holds back from him for a minute but just can't resist a chance to see what Daddy is all about. Little man finds a wrestling partner and super tickler and someone to laugh with. They sit quietly while he reads to them, a near impossible feat for most of the day, just for a chance to snuggle up close to Daddy. Hanging on every word he says, they learn new skills in record time and with exuberant enthusiasm.

And the Daddy is not left unaffected. His heart is being stolen, even in the short hours he's spent with them so far. He can't help it. They melt him. And that melts Mommy's heart. Because what is more pleasing for a mother (biological, foster or otherwise) than to see her children loved in a gentle, abundant way by the man she chose to do life with.

Our prayer is that no matter how long they're with us, they will leave knowing what it is to be loved and cared for in a way that only a Daddy can do.

TWINS!!!

When you decide to obey God's calling on your life, you really never know where that will take you.

For me, the call began about 3 years ago. I became more aware of the world of foster care and felt led to learn more. From that came my discovery of The Forgotten Initiative and my advocacy through them here in Birmingham. Then, last spring, the time finally seemed right to take the foster parent training classes and finally at the beginning of January we were officially licensed as foster parents.

Our vision for this was one child younger than our youngest. We felt like that was what "we could handle". And then the call came...twins. I was speechless. We hadn't even considered this. But here we were with 2 babies needing a home and us having plenty of room for 2. But could we do it?

We had a long weekend full of uncertainties and unlikely scenarios. And then God didn't just crack the door open for us to say yes...he blew the doors wide open. And meanwhile showed us just how much His people were willing to do to support us if we would just say yes. And so we said yes.

A few hours later I held a precious little girl and boy in my arms and the journey really began.

Yes, we're exhausted. Yes, it's tough to jump into being parents of 2 toddlers. Yes, there are difficult issues involved in being part of "the system".

But also Yes, God is holding our hands every step of the way. Yes, our friends and family and church are loving on us in exceedingly generous ways. Yes, He is answering the prayers I pray in the middle of the night, on the heads of the babies, with our boys before bed...it's emotional, it's moving, but most of all it proves to me once again that when we step out in obedience, even beyond what we believe we are capable of, God is there doing more than we ask or even imagine, just as He promises.

Countdown to Christmas with The Forgotten Initiative

You're invited to countdown to Christmas with us at The Forgotten Initiative! The Forgotten Initiative exists to bring joy and purpose to the foster care community through the gospel. There are four simple ways you can become involved:

1. Kick off your Christmas shopping by purchasing your favorite children's books and gifts through www.catiesusbornebooks.com. Be sure to click on The Forgotten Initiative event party! ALL proceeds go to our Christmas project of ensuring all 1,400 foster children in the Birmingham area receive Christmas with the hope of the gospel.

2. Don't have a little one to shop for? Simply pick out your favorite book through the website, send it to me, and we'll match it with a child for Christmas. Email tfi.birmingham@gmail.com for the address.

3. Consider sponsoring a child for Christmas. Email tfi.birmingham@gmail.com for details.

4. PRAY, that the hope of the gospel will be known through our efforts to the foster children, their families, their foster families and DHR staff.

Shop right in your home for books you can cuddle up and read to your precious children at night! Christmas is coming!

Please shop today until October 25th at midnight, right in your pajamas! When you order, the books will be mailed straight to your home!

Check out our facebook page at The Forgotten Initiative, Birmingham.

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." - Psalm 68:5

He is faithful!

**If you would be interested in hosting your own online or home party to support our ministry and come away with fun free books and gifts, let Catie know - email her at shelbytfi@aol.com!

Not eat for 10 days...what?!

It's been an interesting week around the Solomon household.  Shane and I haven't eaten a single bite of food in 6 full days.  Let's back up a little...

A few weeks ago, I saw an advertisement on tv featuring Joe Cross promoting his movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead".  He was offering for us to watch it free online at http://www.jointhereboot.com/.  I'm a sucker for things like this.  I religiously watched countless seasons of The Biggest Loser.  I loved Jamie Oliver taking over the town in West Virginia.  And I've been a recovering HSN addict since I was about 7 years old.  So I was the perfect target for his catchy little ad.

Shane and I each watched the movie, which by the way was pretty entertaining anyway, but we were caught off guard by how much of it hit home for us.  I won't go into Shane's details but for me the lady suffering from migraines was right on for me.  I'm tired alot, suffer from migraines and other frequent headaches, have back troubles and other more minor troubles.  So when she went on a "juice fast" for 10 days and got rid of her headaches, I was intrigued.

Here we are 6 days later and the verdict is still out on this process.  I had headaches for 3 days before I started and about 3 days after as well.  But those are gone now and the best thing is that I am not having sugar and chocolate cravings, both of which contribute to my headaches and I'm honestly okay with not eating for now.  I'm trying to go for 10 days but may add some food after 7.  It's supposed to make me feel great and have so much energy - I'm still waiting for that to happen.  But I'm thinking one healthy meal a day might do wonders for that problem.

I spend alot of time shopping for kale and spinach, peeling pineapples and oranges and washing the juicer but I love that a healthier lifestyle may be making its way to our family.  I'll let you know how it goes.

And let me know if you watch the movie and what you think!

We're Getting There!

So we finished class #7 our of 9 last night and we're nearing the end of GPS or foster parent classes.  We've also had our first of two home studies.

Home study sounds scary but basically the social worker from Lifeline checked to see if we have all of the safety precautions in place around our home (we don't) and told us to fix what we need to.  This includes plug covers on every plug in the entire house (did not do when either of our boys were babies), cabinet locks on all cabinets that have anything remotely dangerous in them (did not do when either of our boys were babies), install a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and detail an escape plan from every room in the house (never considered either of theses before), place a escape ladder in the foster child's room (but not in our own kid's room - hopefully they'll just jump!) and a myriad of other things.  Let's just say our house will be a much safer place thanks to this process.

The biggest project will definitely be the garage where every chemical, paint, etc. has to be locked up.  We're thankful for our friends who are remodeling a house and donating some of the old cabinets to this project!  Now we just have to find a Saturday to conquer the task!

Also, the social worker did interviews with us separately and together, just discussing our childhoods and how we met and what our marriage is like.  Overall it's pretty painless but there is work to be done on the house, getting fingerprinted, having a physical and a few other things.

And it's pretty exciting!  We're moving closer with every passing week to having kids in our home.  I've read a book to the kids and discussed being a foster family with them a lot.  I think at this point they know as much as they can without actually experiencing it and of course they let me know when they're bored with those conversations..."Mom, we know.  Can we just play Wii now?"

Also, our church, Mountaintop Community Church, is having a big foster care/adoption Sunday in late August where the entire morning service is dedicated to this topic and following a call to get involved, a meeting will be held that evening for anyone wanting to get involved in whatever capacity.  Also, Lifeline will be holding classes to become licensed foster parents at Mountaintop starting in September.  I am helping to coordinate all of these efforts which is a bit overwhelming but definitely exciting!  I've been researching, studying, blog reading, podcast listening on these topics for several years now so the real challenge is boiling it all down to the most important, most inspiring points and presenting them in a way that allows people to clearly see how God calls them to serve in these areas and how specifically to plug in.  You can pray with me as we prepare throughout the summer!

And totally unrelated...here are the silliest boys around, immediately following one of our impromptu around the house obstacle course runs!  Yes those are my shoes on their feet and swimsuits on their heads.

It's Been A While

It has been quite some time since I blogged here.  I'm honestly not sure if anyone is still with me here but we'll see!  It's not that there weren't things to say or fun things to share.  It's just that life has been busy and the thought of blogging felt like just one more thing to do.

But part of my job now as a volunteer Forgotten Advocate with The Forgotten Initiative is to occasionally post to the blog connected to the website.  And last week was my first post.  It was just my initial introduction and story of how God has brought me to this place of working in the foster care world, but it definitely speaks from my heart about these issues.  Go check it out HERE!

Also, Shane and I have begun GPS classes through Lifeline which are the foster parent training classes.  It's 10 weeks of classes (we're halfway through!) and then a homestudy to become licensed foster parents!  We're excited, fearful, curious, and a whole range of emotions but the classes are extremely informative and the resulting discussions helpful as we decide what kind of kids we will be welcoming into our home and dream about what this is going to look like for our family.  Yes, we concede that we have no idea what it will really look like but we pray that the tough elements will strengthen our faith and the victories will be celebrated as from the Lord as well!  We hope that you'll be able to follow our journey here (assuming I remember to update more often).

And of course I can't do a post after this long without a few pictures of my cute boys.  They're getting so big!!

The Forgotten Initiative Update

If you are friends with me on facebook, you've been bombarded with posts about The Forgotten Initiative.  It's a great place for me to share what's going on and the needs as they arise.  If not, I'll tell you that the needs are many but God's people in Birmingham are stepping up to meet them.

If you're wondering what The Forgotten Initiative is, click HERE to read our story on the website and go LIKE us on facebook HERE!  We're just prayerfully identifying the needs in the foster care community and connecting God's people to the creative but simple solutions to these needs.  Our first prayer meeting is scheduled for Nov. 29 at my house.  All are welcome!  More details will be in our our first monthly newsletter that we'll be emailing this weekend.  If you'd like to be included, just leave your email in a comment here or email us at tfi.birmingham@gmail.com.

A great example of how all of this works is detailed here in this short (2 min) video with our founder Jami (you can read her wonderful blog HERE).  Watch and let God speak to you about the great need and what ways you are willing and able to help!



The Forgotten Initiative "Journey Bags" from Vale Community Church on Vimeo.

What We've Been Up To

We get asked often about how homeschool is going.  Overall it is great so far.  Just like everybody else, we have good and bad days.  But overall, Bennett is learning so much.  We go to the library most every week and he loves to read.  He is so into science experiments, especially if something bubbles, foams or turns colors.  We enjoy Classical Conversations, the school we go to on Mondays and the amount of memory work we've learned so far is amazing.  Every week we learn history, Latin , English grammar, science, math, geography, art or music and a timeline of history since the beginning of time.  It's a little tough to have few breaks and I can see my weaknesses coming out in Bennett as we spend so much time together.  But overall I love the memories we're making, the flexibility of each day and the level of learning we can achieve, both scholastically and spiritually.

I had some pictures to download from my phone and thought I'd post a few cute ones to show some of the things we've been up to.  So here goes...

We went to the zoo several times before it got so chilly.  Here are the boys with our friend Emory.  This was right after petting the goats who were quite feisty.  One dove off the top of the rocks flying through the air and the other kept trying to head butt all of the kids.

The three headed giraffe!

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A few weeks ago, we did a real homeschool field trip.  We went to Children's Theater and saw Cinderella.  It was fun and the boys did great.  Plus I got to meet a blogger I love, Lora Lynn from Vitafamiliae, who apparently lives in Birmingham.  It felt like a celebrity citing but hopefully I kept my cool.

Here's Noah making his calmest face possible

And as usual, Bennett smiling and excited

They let the kids go on the set at the end and even meet the characters.  The boys did not want to meet the characters but they did go up on set.  Noah posed so nicely for me.

I wish I could say that my kids compliantly do all kinds of chores around the house but it would be a complete lie.  I'm taking a break from that discipline right now (ie I do all the work around the house myself so my house is usually a total disaster).  But Noah does love to do the recycle and I can now let him out of the car at the end of the driveway and he brings the can all the way up.  Big boy!

 Bennett's been begging for a basket on his bike to carry around his Webkinz, Dragon.  We did it today and it was so easy!  We just got 2 for $1.50 baskets at Dollar General and a pack of zip ties.  Wrap the ties around the handle bars and basket and voila!!  They love being able to take things along with them.  (If you look closely in Noah's basket, you'll see he's carrying a gun.  Look out world!)

 Our neighborhood usually is pretty good about Boo-ing each other.  We got it started this year and put the usual junk and candy in.  But I had seen these cute oreos dipped in candy melts and turned into jack-o-lanterns so we decided to give that a try.  Cute and yummy too!!

This one was a while back but this was one of those great days where the boys cooperated to complete a project.  This usually happens when building something, which is why I love all things lego, lincoln logs, tinker toys, etc.  Here we have a tinker toy and lincoln log barn.

That's a little about what we've been up to.  How about you??

Getting the Kitchen In Order

My kitchen is currently a mess both literally and figurativley.  For most of the summer and especially since school/Wed night church/soccer/Shane travelling all the time began, I have not been cooking much.  And we've been scrounging alot - can you say pb&j or toaster waffles for dinner?  I always want to get something good on the table but cannot decide what, or wait to late to begin, or don't have the ingredients...you feel my pain, right?
Well, I decided it was time to take up freezer cooking again.  I think it lends itself to the cooler months more than summer anyway.  So I worked hard Saturday morning, laying out a menu of freezable meals along with a few easys and a crockpot item, many old favorites and a few new pinterest finds.  I shopped at 3 grocery stores that morning to get all I needed (even though I now realize I forgot artichokes) and came home to get going.
Meanwhile, rewind a day or two.  I've been noticing these little moth like bugs around for a while but we are prone to bugs in the kitchen with 2 little boys and a dog, all of which insist on going in and out of the sliding glass door hundreds of times a day and none of which seem to know how to close it after they walk through (we'll forgive the pug, but surely the other two could learn!).  Well, sometime last week, I went to get the rice out of the pantry and YUCK, it was filled with these little bugs.  Along with several other things of rice and the likes.  So I researched and figured out that we have Indian Meal Moths.  I wish these on nobody, I promise!  The remedy, so says google, is to throw out everything containing rice or wheat and maybe sugar.  Then clean out the pantry well and put out bait or bay leaves to keep them away.
Back to Saturday...I was going to do a quick pantry clean out before I began my freezer cooking, just to be sure all of these critters were gone.  Only to discover that they were in EVERYTHING!!!  So rather than being productive and getting my month's worth of meals made, I threw out more food than I want to think about, took all shelves outside and scrubbed them, scrubbed the trash & recycle cans, scrubbed walls, floors, everything.  And much to my dismay, the bugs were still there Sunday morning.
So our kind bug man showed up today, Monday, and put out traps that he assures me will catch and kill the remaining moths and leave me bug free, sometime soon.  Meanwhile, I've been containerizing or freezing all of my new food to protect it.  Pray for my sanity!!
So anyway, I have all of this food and all of these grand plans but my Saturday afternoon is long gone.  So I decided to make due and see how much I could get done on a Monday afternoon.  The boys cooperated for the most part, thanks to legos and coloring, so I'm not done but I got alot of the hard work accomplished.  A little more time tomorrow and I think I'll be pretty well prepared for the next couple of weeks.  Here are the recipes I used below:

CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese {I used colby & monterrey jack}

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta

Optional toppings

Avocado, Green Onions

Tomatoes, Sour Cream

Cook chicken, drain, and shred.  Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies (I used the food processor to make them smaller for picky eaters plus it's quicker).

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces.  Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through.  Now toss in the sour cream, but whatever you do, DO NOT bring to a boil!  Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle.  Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

*We ate this tonight and it was mucho yummy!! Plus it made lots so a big batch went into the freezer for later!

Pizza Casserole - find that link here in a previous post of mine. this one is great and tells you where to stop and freeze and then what to add when you're ready to cook & serve

Poppyseed Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts (uncooked if freezing)

1 can cream of chicken soup

2-3 tbs white wine (i use chicken broth)

8 oz sour cream

Combine ingredients and freeze. When ready to cook, thaw chicken. Place in baking dish and top with poppyseeds, crushed ritz crackers and a little melted butter. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes. Serve with rice (or rice-a-roni at my house).

Buttermilk Chicken

12 chicken breasts (uncooked)

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup melted butter

2 cups breadcrumbs

Mix buttermilk, lemon juice, salt, paprika and pepper.  Place in freezer ziplock with chicken and freeze until ready to cook and serve.  When you're ready to serve it, remove from freezer the night before and let it thaw in the fridge (or do like me and remember sometime during the morning and let it thaw on the countertop - I know, I know that's bad for you but it's just what I tend to do).  Remove the chicken and roll in bread crumbs. Spoon half the melted butter over chicken and bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350.  Spoon remaining butter over chicken and bake 15 minutes longer.  DELICIOUS!!  This is great for company and it takes very little work!!  PS Don't know why there are spaces in the ingredient list.  All 8 ingredients are there.

Taco Ring

1/2 to 1 lb ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning (or about 1 Tbs if you make your own, without the headache inducing MSG - would you like that recipe too, it's easy!)

1 or 1 1/2 cup cheese

2 cans crescent rolls

Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning.  Freeze.  When you're ready to make this, unroll crescent rolls (wide end in the middle and points facing outward) making a ring.  Place meat and cheese inside the ring (at the wide end of the rolls) and fold up the points of the crescent roll to cover the meat.  Cook according to roll directions.  Serve with taco sides.

*This is not fancy or particularly healthy but my husband & kids love it.  It's good for a night when you just don't want to hear anyone complain about what you cooked for dinner!  Not that that ever happens in my house ;)

Not Your Lunchroom Lady's Sloppy Joes

2lbs ground beef

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (we don't like this as much, sometimes I shred zucchini in or just leave this out)

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp yellow mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

6 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp black pepper

In a medium skillet brown the ground beef and peppers (or zucchini or nothing).  Freeze.  On serving day, put back in a skillet and stir in garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar.  Mix thoroughly.  Let simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Serve on buns.

*Don't write this one off right away.  These don't taste like what I remember Sloppy Joes being.  They are really yummy, not extremely sloppy and truly one of my family's favorites.  We love them with carrot souffle or baked sweet potatoes!

Super easy super yummy crock pot soup
1 can of rotel
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans (drained & rinsed)
2 frozen chicken breasts
8 oz cream cheese
1 packet dry ranch dressing
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours. Shred chicken, and enjoy!

*Sounds alot like taco soup with chicken and cream cheese added. I'll love it & the males in my house will eat it because they're hungry.

Pizza Snowballs
Canned biscuits
Pepperoni (or cooked and crumbled Italian sausage)
Shredded mozzarella
Muffin tins
Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray.  Use kitchen scissors to cut the canned biscuits into four pieces each.  Chop the pepperoni into small pieces.  Hold three to four biscuit pieces in your hands and have mama sprinkle mozzarella cheese and pepperoni on them.  Pack and squeeze it all together like a snowball.  Place into the muffin tin.
Bake at 350 for around 15-17 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

*This one just sounded fun and easy and like the kids could help if I'm in the mood for that one night. No freezer element to it.

The Forgotten Initiative

I've mentioned The Forgotten Initiative here and I hope you've had a chance to check it out.  If not, click on over to the website and enter your zip code to see the current needs and read the founder, Jami's story, and go to the facebook page and click LIKE to receive updates in your news feed.  It only takes a moment but could make a huge difference.
Things are really beginning to move.  We have a couple of churches excited about getting involved in this ministry, which seeks to link the local churches in the area toward one goal - showing the love of Jesus to those in the foster care community.  We're working on a meeting with leaders from several of the large local churches that we know have a heart for orphans and those in foster care.  You can pray that the meeting will come together and that it will be fruitful!  Does your church want to be involved?  Please let me know!  The more people and groups we have participating, the easier it will be to meet the needs.  And let me tell you, the needs are GREAT!!
Anyway, Jami has a wonderful blog that was what brought me to this ministry in the first place.  I read her most recent post today and it really hit on the heart of what the ministry is all about!  You can read it here.
If you're moved to help, please let me know.  If you think your church or small group might want to get involved, on whatever level of commitment from small to great, please let me know.  These children, agencies, and families need us.  The need is great, but if we all unite together we can meet them more easily than you think. Will you join me??!!

My Big 4 Year Old!!

Last week was Noah's fourth birthday.  I just can't believe my "baby" is so old!  It seems like just yesterday that he arrived and yet I also can't remember what life was like before he was here.  He continues to be the most affectionate, expressive, passionate, imaginative child.  His first true love continues to be everything horse, although he is finally branching out to enjoy other things too.  He is awesome at sports, specifically throwing and catching a football, hitting a baseball and even playing frisbee.  He's been doing much better with Bennett's homeschool than I thought he would.  He either does school right along with us, coloring, working on writing and joining in on our math lessons, or he just finds ways to play on his own for a while.  Plus he's joining in on the memory work and amazes me with what he picks up just hanging around while we work.  He can say all of the states in alphabetical order, all of the history sentences Bennett's learned, lots of Bible verses and he's learning to skip count by 2's, 3's, etc.  We still have self control issues and he tends to get really upset, really easily.  But we're working on it and I see progress all the time.  He's just growing up and that's all there is to it!!

So, over the weekend we had his Ice Cream Man birthday party.  We invited our cousins and a couple of neighbors to the backyard for games and ice cream.  It turned out to be great weather (although not hot enough for the water games we had originally planned) and a really fun time!  My sister took nearly 200 pictures of the day.  I won't share them all but here are a few of my favorites!

The cousins getting ready for the party.  I love the look on Brock's face!

Do you think he was excited about his party?

Thanks to some of my favorite blogs and my new pinterest obsession, I had some fun ideas for the food.  Sweet Petits on tiny sugar cones made our "ice cream cones", cupcakes baked into cake cones with icing on top to look like soft serve, fruit kabobs, veggies in a cup with ranch at the bottom of each, etc.  It turned out cute!

Noah's Ice Cream Parlor, complete with the Melissa & Doug ice cream set

Noah blowing out the candles

Total concentration on the balloon & pool noodle game

Me and my sweet boy!

All of the party goers

The kids spot the ice cream man!!

Noah with all of his presents...and there were alot of them!!

A rare family picture

Even more rare, one of Shane and me

First Day of Homeschool

Today was the first day of school for our neighborhood so we followed suit and began our homeschool today.  I'm going to copy someone I read from in blogworld and call this week "Homeschool Light" because we're not trying to do full days - I think it will be helpful to ease into it, plus Noah hasn't started preschool yet.

Last night felt a little like Christmas Eve in that I was trying to get the kids on to bed so that I could finish setting up the classroom (ie dining room) for school.  I wanted it to be neat and fun just like a real class would be.  I'm sure I was more excited about it than them, but it's not bad to get me excited about this too, right?!  It is my first day ever as a teacher after all.

We started out like normal with the boys watching a little tv while I read my portion of Bible in 90 Days.  I guess I was distracted because I was supposed to be reading in Nehemiah but accidentially flipped back to 2 Kings.  I kept think how familiar it all was but this part of the Bible repeats itself alot so I kept reading.  All of a sudden, I clued in (I'm guessing the caffeine from the coffee started doing its job) and flipped to where I was supposed to be.  So now I'm a day behind.  Oh well, at least I was reading God's Word, right?


After that, we had a special recipe of baked oatmeal with apples that Bennett loves and read from the ABC Bible Verse book.  Then I showed the boys the new chore chart that I think will really work for us.  It has pictures on index cards that they move from one library pocket to the other as they finish the chore.  If they clear out all of them from the "to do" pocket, they get a star.  I'll be putting cards in morning and evening.
They did all of those so we were dressed, beds made, teeth brushed and kitchen cleaned up by 8:30.  Pretty good for us.

We then went outside to take first day of school pictures.  They are getting so grown up!!

Then we filled out a little first day questionnaire, with things about their favorite things, what they liked about summer and what they're looking forward to at school this year.  That took a little while because Noah would only use baby talk and Bennett didn't much want to write, but we got those done.

Bennett wanted to draw a picture of himself just like he did last year on the first day of school.  This is him on top of a rocket.  So Bennett!!

After that we worked on some crafts for our neighbors that we'd seen online.  We delivered them after lunch so that the kids would get them when they get home from school.  The best part of the day by far was when we were walking around delivering them, Bennett said "Hey, we're giving and that's better than taking because giving brings us joy."  Ding, Ding, Ding, great answer!!  So we got to talk about that some and how we're going to look for ways to give during school this year.  After we finished delivering, the boys both told me that the had lots of joy in their hearts and Bennett said it made him feel like giving some more.  What more could I ask for?!

After our crafts, we did a language lesson and the boys got to build with the blocks that came with our math curriculum.  After that, we went for a treat of fried fruit pies from Golden Rule Barbecue (something my mom showed the kids) and some playground time at Fresh Air Farm.  We came home for lunch and rest and we're anxiously awaiting the neighbors getting home from school so we can hear about their days and have some fun play!
 

It was not the most academically intensive day, but neither was the first day at regular school, I'm sure.  I needed a confidence builder day, so that was accomplished.  And it was overall a fun day with the kids!

An Exciting New Opportunity

I'm so excited about some things that are going on in my church and hopefully will spread around Birmingham (and across the country!)!  I have been feeling the Lord's tug on my heart for orphans and specifically those in foster care, mostly since I started The Bible in 90 Days program in early 2010.  There is such a need to minister to them, both by providing for their physical needs all the way to becoming a foster parent and investing your life into them.

In the midst of trying to learn more and decide as a family if we were ready to become foster parents, I came across a blog I love by Jami Kaeb.  She has 6 kids, 8 years old and under...2 biological children, one adopted internationally and three young foster children.  She has an amazing heart for the Lord and for his children!

This spring, she began a new ministry and that is what I have recently become involved in.  It is The Forgotten Initiative and it is all about connecting God's people to the needs in the foster care community.

I have visited Jefferson County's DHR and have gathered our first assignment (school supplies and uniforms - you can find out more on the website if you are interested in helping).  Our goal is to build a relationship with them and find ways for the Church to meet their needs in a variety of ways, including increasing the number of Christian foster families who are willing to love on these children.

Probably the easiest way to keep up with what's going on is to "Like" the facebook page, which is set up just for Birmingham.  We will be posting needs and updates there.  There is also so much information on the website as far as what TFI is all about and how you can help.  I really hope you'll check it out and share it with others.  The more people who are informed, the more chances we have to meet the needs that are out there!

Finally, this video (from Arkansas, but you get the idea) is posted on the website and is such a powerful message about what goes on with children and a motivation to find out how their needs can be met on every level.  I pray that you will be moved to help!!


Will you answer the C.A.L.L.? from The C.A.L.L. in Arkansas on Vimeo.

Summer Fun!

We have been having a really fun and surprisingly busy summer so far.  It is exhausting to have the kids with me, doing fun things, all day everyday.  But at the same time, I really love having them with me and spending so much time with them.  We are able to just take it easy, rush less and just enjoy being together (when Bennett's not whining at Noah and Noah's not hitting or biting Bennett, of course).
Here's a little of what we've been up to...

Bennett is on the dive team this summer.  He's doing great and has really made alot of progress.  Here he is learning his back dive.  We're trying to talk him into a flip but he's not quite there yet!

We have a little Cars fanatic, so we had to be there opening weekend for Cars 2.  Bennett enjoyed it but still loves the first one best (something about "We're going to kill Lightning McQueen" didn't sit well with him in part 2) and Noah just fell asleep part way through.  But the funniest is that Bennett was dressed in a Cars shirt, socks and even underwear.  He was prepared!

 Since we have summer passes to Alabama Adventure, we've spent a decent amount of time there.  It's such a fun place, especially when it's not really crowded.  We went on Saturday for the fireworks show and did a few rides until it got dark.  Here's me and the kids on the super fast forwards and backwards one (I wonder what it's real name is).

 Seriously, it's fast.  And Noah doesn't like to hold on so they totally squished me the whole time.  

Great fun!

 We spent the morning at the zoo today.  I've been avoiding it because of the heat but the kids really wanted to go so I sucked it up, packed lots of water and headed there.  Here was our friend the alligator.  He swam right up to us.

 They love the new Africa exhibits, especially the playground

 Bennett Lion

 Noah Lion

 We've been doing some fun crafts to keep us busy while we're home.  One of my favorites so far is Rainbow Rice.  You just basically dump some rice into a ziplock, add food coloring and about 1 Tbs vinegar and close it up and shake it until the rice is all colored.  Then put it outside for a couple of hours or in the oven on 175 for about 20-25 minutes until it is dry and set. The kids had a great time making it.

 Then I just gave them some plastic shoeboxes and scoops and let them mix up the rice into their own containers.

 Throw in some measuring spoons, tinker toys, plastic monkeys, cups, football guys, etc. and you have hours (or at least several minutes) of fun.  Plus, you can put the lid on it, put it away and bring it back out another time.  It is a mess but the kids love it and I have to admit I really like it too!!

Finally this summer, there's nothing like free food!  And we have no shame.  This is our second year in a row to dress like a family of cows, have our children Moo to the Chick Fil A order takers, and happily eat free food.

Here's hoping the second half of the summer is as fun as the first!!