Keepin' It Real

I am loving having three kids right now. Of course it can get crazy, it's exhausting, and it's never fun when all three kids are crying at one time. But, I do love the family that God has blessed us with.

However, I don't want to give anyone the illusion that we've "got this under control." So, tonight after supper I took pictures as proof that our house is anything but under control. Ha!



Clint giving Sydney and K-Man breathing treatments. And Jack wanted to be a part of everything. Exhibit A of why my house is nuts. Notice the Checkers game on the couch. Jack seriously wanted to get out all of the checkers at that very moment. See what I mean? Crazy.



Looking into Jack and Sydney's room....notice the bed (that is never made...ever) and the toys that have been drug out.


And this is where it all ends up: the kitchen. While I cook, they destroy.


K-Man's room...aka Babyland. When I'm desperate, I empty all the toys out of the baskets, put both babies on the floor, and leave the room. They either get happy or cry a lot. Either way, supper gets cooked.



Aaaaaand, at the end of the day, this is what's left. A little pile of toys and clothes that I pick up after everyone has gone to bed. I leave it all at the end of the hall by Jack and Syd's room, but I would NEVER attempt to put up their toys after they have gone to sleep. They could wake up. And that's not cool.

So now you have it.....I'm just keepin' it real.

A Great Season!

Our adventures in organized sports began this year with Jack participating in the Rapides Junior Runners Association.

We learned two important things about our son:

• If he doesn't perform as well as he expected, he will be very disappointed. You can tell him you're proud and brag on how well he did, but he doesn't appreciate it. When he IS proud of his performance, you better brag on him for days. If you don't, he'll remind you how great he did :)
• Jack is very enthusiastic about everything he does, which makes doing anything with him fun. I can't wait for the spring and summer seasons with my over-the-top fun boy.
  

This spring he will be playing T-Ball. I cannot wait to see how he plays with a team and how well he understands the game. Here goes the first of MANY springs and summers at the ball park!!

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.

10 Months Old (2 Weeks Late)

Sydney turned 10 months old on December 22nd, but I'm just now getting around to updating:

At 10 months, Sydney is:

• on her hands and knees, rocking back and forth (yes, we are well aware that she is about three months behind on her physical development. However, she is making considerable progress and the pediatrician says as long as she is pulling up by 15 months and walking by 17 months, she'll be okay. We are very excited that she is showing interest in crawling!!)
• Can go from her tummy to sitting by doing the splits and rolling her hips backwards to a sitting position. It's hilarious!
• Taking three or four bottles and three meals a day. She refuses to feed herself, though. I don't know why she won't put anything in her mouth! She'll figure it out one day, though.
  
• Saying "mama"
• Loving dolls with all of her little heart
• Enjoying having K-Man around to play with
• Thinking Jack is hilarious....she laughs at him even when I think he will make me crazy
• Still the sweetest little girl there ever was
  

Roll With It....

Bathtime can be a little crazy around here! Until a couple of weeks ago, Sydney HATED bathtime. She screamed the whole way through it and it was miserable for everyone. Then, it's like a light came on for her and now she loves it! She splashes and plays for as long as you'll let her!

K-Man is indifferent about bathtime. He just hates it when Syd splashes water in his face. But, otherwise, he's just chill.

Now, for the best bathtime picture EVER!!




Can you count the rolls???

And here they are ready for pajamas and bed!

And, just for fun, I spent some of my Christmas money on some living room updates. I bought a lamp, some picture frames, and redid the window above the couch. It looks so much "homier"!

Christmas 2010

What a fun, busy Christmas!!

Thursday, December 23rd:

Iles Family Christmas

The boys played a game of flag football. They were so cute huddling up together and chasing each other down. I'm not sure how much they understood about the game of football, but they did understand to get each other's flags!!

Terry organized an Advent candle reflection time where the boys (with the help of their parents/grandparents) read Scripture pointing us towards the birth of Christ. It was such a special time.


We then ate a wonderful meal set on a beautiful table!!


Then...presents!! You can imagine how fun it is with six grandchildren four and under. Whew!! The kids (including Sydney and K-Man) loved opening presents and we are having so much fun at home with all of our new toys!!


Friday, December 24th:

Our Family Christmas
We went to the Christmas Eve service, and we left 25 minutes into it!! K-Man was sleepy and Jack was restless....it's hard to handle three kids in a service!

Christmas Eve we opened our gifts, then tucked into bed to see what surprises lay ahead for the morning!

Clint got me this column-plant-holder thingy from the local art store in Alexandria. I love it! Right now I have some paperwhites growing, but I'm looking forward to putting different indoor plants on it.

Christmas morning Jack woke up to a new bike and a dump truck! He was so thrilled. Sydney and K-Man didn't have any big gifts on Christmas morning, but they did have stockings full of goodies, including Fruit Puffs and teething toys.

Sydney loves her new dolls!

Jack loves the babies' toys almost as much as his own.

Saturday, December 25th:

LaFitte Family Christmas

We loaded up Christmas morning and headed to DeRidder to have Christmas with my family. My grandparents were in, so it was good to have a house-ful!

Jack got a Hot Wheels race track and some cars from GiGi. He LOVES it! We have it set up on the rug in his room right now, which is off-limits to babies (which he is loving, also). I think the grown men enjoyed putting it together as much as Jack enjoys playing with it!

Sydney and K-Man got a load of new clothes, which they both needed. Thanks, everyone!

After supper we headed to my dad's house and spent some time with him. All three kids were being so difficult and were very tired, so we only stayed for a little while (and I think everyone was glad to see us go...ha!)

**Blogger won't let me upload any more pics...I"ll try again later***

Today we relaxed around the house and organized and cleaned. I'm taking down Christmas stuff just as fast as I can - I always feel back to normal when my house is back to normal!

Christmas Baby

For those of you who have been waiting on an update, sorry this has taken me a week! With a 7 month old, a 10 month old, and a 3 year old in the house, things have gotten a little crazy and the blog has not made the priority list. Ha!

I received an email at school last Friday at lunch from our home development worker that just said "Call me." I immediately knew it was about a placement. I called her while my 7th period was playing Human Body Bingo (don't tell) and she told me about a 7 month old boy that was needing a temporary placement for about two - three months. I told her that I would have to check with day care and call Clint and I would call her back. The baby was on his way from Baton Rouge (where he was placed previously) to Alexandria and they were trying to find a home for him by the time he made it to Alexandria. Calvary Day Care had an opening, so I called back and said that we'll take him! Jack had a Christmas party at 3:00, so by the time we made it home it was almost 4:00 and the foster care worker and the baby were waiting in the driveway.

We had a family wedding in Dry Creek in which Jack was the ring bearer, so we had to leave the house by 4:30 to make it there on time for the rehearsal. So, we took everything from the foster care worker's car into our car and headed to Dry Creek!

We will call the baby K-Man on the blog and of course I will not be able to share any of his personal information because of confidentiality reasons (and of course that's his business and I'm sure he would appreciate later in his life if the whole world didn't know his business). He is the sweetest baby and we have loved him being a part of our family. It's been an adjustment having two children that don't walk yet (!!) but we are learning to stay at home more and stay on a good schedule.

The plan is for K-Man to be able to go back home in a few months. Of course that timeline is dependent on several things. He could easily be with us for a longer or shorter period of time.

Please pray for K-Man, that he would continue to be healthy and happy. Pray for his family, as they make necessary changes to get their baby back and be a successful family. Pray for us as we raise a third child, even if it's just for a while.


Sydney and K-Man playing. They really do play well together!