How It's Going

Really, really well (just ignore the twitching eye)!!

I've had this question many times over the past couple of weeks, so I thought I'd share: How do we do it with three kids between 7 months and three years and two that don't walk or talk?

A: By the grace of God. There is no way in this world we could go 14-15 solid every single day without His help and provision. Our goal is to stay connected to our "power source" because without Him, we could do nothing.

B: By being neurotic. We have a rigid schedule that would probably make other families crazy, but it's working for us. We follow the same routine every morning and evening, we do laundry every day, and we run the dishwasher full of bottles every night. (Yes, the dishwasher ritual is wasteful, but if you think I'm hovering over a hot sink full of sour bottles after teaching all day, you're nuts!)

C: I work outside the home. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Yes, I'm completely, utterly exhausted by 8:30 every night, but I get interaction with people that can string together a complete sentence that has nothing to do with poopoo.

D: Help. Clint's parents watched all three kids for the day last Thursday and it was such a mental relief for me. My mom wrote me a note to say that she's ready to babysit whenever we need her, and I know she means that. Saturday night is childcare night at Calvary and Clint and I are going to dinner. And I have a host of high school girls that would love to squeeze on fat babies for a couple of hours if I needed them to!! I'm learning to let go of my pride and ask for help when I need it.

E: Things on the Calendar: We made a decision that as we continue in this foster care journey, we would have to schedule time away from family. Clint and I will each schedule one weekend away by ourselves (like me without Clint) for each semester (I'm going to Austin in February for a half-marathon) and Clint is supposed to be thinking of a weekend trip he wants to take. And then once a semester we will schedule a weekend away together. Just seeing "time away" on the calendar helps to keep us balanced. Also, we are taking a beach vacation this summer! I'm so excited about just.....being.

F: Your prayers. Thank you, so much, to those of you who are praying for us and for the K-Man. He is truly a blessing in our lives and we are honored that God chose our family to be K-Man's stopping place for a few months.