Part of It

Setting up a room to make it feel like "his"... part of it.

Going through a tube of Boudreaux's in two days..


Trying to soothe a baby who doesn't know you, much less love you...


Figuring out feeding schedules, likes, dislikes, and sleeping routines...


These are all a part of foster care.

Buying a wardrobe of new clothes that reflect his fun personality,

Babyproofing the house because he is such a busy boy :)

Watching him learn to scoot, then crawl, then pull up, and walk.

Hearing his first words and starting to discipline. This is all part of it.

Planning his first birthday,


Going on vacation,Vacation Bible School,

Praying for him and his family fervently....and calling on our prayer warriors to do the same.

Soothing him after shots,

And watching him enjoy ice cream and snocones...

Building quality relationships with his family, becoming friends with his mother....part of it.

In the midst of it all, you try to keep your emotions in check, even though you fall in love...

Because letting go is part of it, too.

We love you, Kaden, and we are so proud for you and your family. And so immensely blessed that you were a part of the Iles family for seven months.

More than we can ever ask or imagine!

A few months ago I was praying about needing another twin bed in this house. Right now we have two cribs and a twin bed, but in the near future we would be needing to take down K-Man's crib and put up a twin bed for another placement. I knew we needed a quality twin bed, but I didn't really want to spend a lot of money.

So, I just told God that we have this need and asked him to please provide someway.

I told Clint that we needed to start thinking about another bed, but then I kind of put it out of my mind.

A few weeks ago, a friend of ours (who is in the process of making room for a new daughter they will be adopting) called me up and asked if we could use a solid wood twin sleigh bed.

Ummm...yes!! It is absolutely beautiful!!

On the side rail, she wrote: This bed is dedicated to be used for God's glory in obedience to James 1:27. Her entire family signed it and it will be signed by every child that comes into our home through foster care/adoption.

Right now it is set up in Jack and Sydney's room because the foster room has a furniture set that included a twin bed. We bought an additional crib when Kaden was placed with us, so now we have two twin beds and two cribs - crazy!!
Little Miss Priss thinks she is ready for a twin bed...she gets in Jack's bed and says "Night night." Yeah right, Priss, you have at least six more months before I'm ready to tackle that challenge!!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." Eph. 3:20

Summer Fun with Friends

We have been so blessed with our friends, the Carnes. We have had many fun summer play dates this year, but Becca and I are always so busy with the five kids that we never take pictures! Becca and the boys came to play a while back and a got a picture of Jack, Ethan, Asa, Sydney, and Kaden all together on the couch. We marveled that when we became friends, there were only two kids - Jack and Ethan....and we've only been friends for a couple of years! Also, Seth and Becca are almost through with the process to become foster a parents, so before long there will be SIX kids running around our houses!

The Lord has blessed us tremendously in our friendship with this precious family and we cannot wait to see all of our kids grow up together.

Oh, the difference!!

Right now I am raising two kids almost the exact same age - a boy and a girl three months apart. (We're foster parents in case you're not up with the blog...ha!) Funny story: I told a nurse in the doctor's office that they were three months apart and she told me it wasn't possible. I chose not to correct her and just agreed with her. Whatever.

And Sydney Kaye is ALL GIRL. Priss, sass, clean, and scared of everything.

And Kaden is ALL BOY. Rough, dirty, and fearless.

The other night I made spaghetti and looked over where the babies were eating and witnessed first-hand the difference between these two kids.

Sydney was eating one noodle at time, trying not to get anything on her face, and not putting any food on the floor. Except for her face and hands, she was spaghetti-free and working hard to stay that way.

Kaden was sloshing spaghetti all over his tray, throwing it on the floor, stuffing it in his shorts, and hollering about it the whole time.
I mean, just look at his expression....doesn't he look proud??




The pictures don't completely portray the moment, but trust me. They are night and day.

But, they love each other so much. When they spend any time apart, they are so excited to see each other again. And every once in a while (if they're not fighting over toy), they will pause and smile at each other. Oh, so sweet!