Baby Fever

I guess it is about time that I actually post something on our blog. I have been pretty busy with life and haven't made the time to update you (the reader).
Our foster kids are still with us. Can you believe it? I seriously didn't think we would still have them. Their birth mom had the opportunity to have them back with her since January. She still hasn't gotten housing and done a few other things and therefore we still have them.
I wish I knew what her plans were. But, soon enough (by May 1st, their permanency hearing) we will know. Unless the judge decides to extend their case.
It's so hard to be patient! I love being a foster mom, but their are a few things we want to do. And can't really plan, until we know where our foster kids are going. Like go to DISNEYLAND. That was our main trip we were going to go on this year. We will be flying, so I guess we will just have to wait. Plus if we still have our foster kids we will probably need special helpers with us or something. Can you imagine having 6 kids under the age of 9 at Disneyland with just Wes and I?
I have been thinking a lot about Adoption lately. I get really baby hungry around this time of year. This year especially because, last year at this time we had our foster baby T. I have been missing her so much lately. She is over a year old now, but I still imagine her as a new born in my head.
I have been doing a bit of research into the agency we want to pursue if we don't adopt our foster kids.
Some people get spring fever around this time of year, but I get "baby fever".
I can't imagine having to take care of a new born having 6 kids already, but I like to plan for the future. I guess I'm trying to protect myself and plan for something that will give me comfort if we have to say "goodbye" to our Foster kids. I do have comfort in knowing that we still have 3 beautiful Biological kids who aren't going anywhere. But, I know we can provide for more.

I'm not really sure what I want. I know that our Foster Kids would probably be best off with us. They would have a loving Dad and Mom, a safe home, opportunities, routine, etc.
But, they still love their mom. I think that if their mom is going to change her ways, and be able to provide for them...she might deserve them back. They are her kids and all. But, I don't really see that happening.
I think I am just split because these children are a lot of work to take care of, but we love them a ton too.
So, here's to the future.....I will keep you posted. (Even if I am just writing to the future me who will be going back and reading my online journals).

Family Newsletter 2011

So, I guess I should do some type of a newsletter this year. I have just been so busy and sick with a cough/cold I haven't had much time. Here it goes...

We have had an awesome year this year. We have become foster Certified and had baby T (in April/May). She was such a good baby. We had our hearts crushed when Kinship came forward and she had to go with them. We won't forget her and we were so thrilled to have her, even if it was for such a short time. Now we have a sibling group of 3. We got them in October. It has been one of the hardest things Wes and I have ever done, but we have learned so much that we wouldn't trade it for anything. These kids have changed so much for the better in their speech, their behavior, and every aspect of their lives. R has learned how to communicate better when he is upset, he has learned to read better and is doing better with his numbers, and he loves to eat! :) M has come the farthest. He was a holy terror when we first got him. Even though he has a ways to go with sharing and not getting so upset about little things, he has learned how to control his emotions, is learning how to use the toilet, is so much happier, and loves going to Preschool on the bus. A is becoming more engaged and becoming more aware of her surroundings. She is talking more and more each day, and she is leaps and bounds above what she was when we first got her. I think in a few months she will be ready to be potty trained. She has developed such an attitude lately, typical of a 2 year old. She has these big brown eyes and cute dimples. Our foster kids are some of the cutest little Hispanic kids ever and we just feel blessed to be able to have them in our home. We will probably have them until the spring, or until their mom can start their trial home placement. We will have to see if their mom minds her P's and Q's.

We have traveled a lot this year. In March we went to San Diego and went to Sea World, Lego land, and the beach. We had a blast touring San Diego and excited to hopefully go to Disneyland next year. In July Wes and I went to Hawaii for our 10 year. It was awesome to get away and show Wes the areas I had already been when I was 17. We went to the Temple, the Polynesian Cultural Center, some awesome places to eat, we stayed at Turtle Bay, surfed, walked on the beach hand and hand, went to Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, the swap meet, etc. (It was a vacation we will never forget).

We also went to Idaho this year a few times. With my parents we went to the Ranch and had a great time in the cabin and hiking around. We also went to my Dad's side of the families family Reunion. It was really fun to be up in the woods in these cool cabins. With Wes's parents we went horseback riding on their horses. That was really fun for the kids to be able to ride a horse for the first time. We also went boating and our boys smoked it up on the knee boards. We have been riding our four wheelers around a lot this year. Ethan is saving up to start riding the little quad this next year. I can't believe our kids are growing up so fast! We love to be able to get out and experience new things, especially for our kids. Making memories is what it is all about. Right?

Wes has been really busy at work this year. He just landed a new contract with a company that he has been wanting to be with for a while. He's excited, but feels a lot of pressure to impress them, so they will want to send more work his way. He is such a great Dad and if it weren't for him we wouldn't be able to do foster care. It's also nice that he works from home. He loves to spend time with each of the kids and brings so much to our family. Wes has also kept busy being the ward mission leader. He is so dedicated to go to those 6:30 morning meetings.

I (Becky) have still been busy teaching preschool and enjoying it so much. It's fun to have new kids each year and some returning ones. It is so rewarding to be a mom and a teacher, just to see the results slowly over time of the hard work I put into it. I am the Young Women's secretary and Personal Progress Leader. I love the girls and learned a lot from them. I have also worked a lot on my blog ziggyfoods.blogspot.com. I don't have much time to work on it now, but it was fun when I had the time.

Byron is nine now! Crazy. He is so fun to be with. He laughs a lot and is continuing to love hanging out with adults. He has a lot of friends and loves school. Byron has a witty personality. He still draws a ton every day and I just love to see the new things he comes up with. He is thriving in school and loves to read. Byron played soccer and football this year. He also did Karate. He has decided to take a break for a while. He will probably play soccer in the spring.

Ethan turned seven this year. He is still joking and being silly a lot. He adds so much humor to our family. He loves his video games and did really well in soccer this year. He is reading up a storm and reads way above his grade level. He has loved having a foster brother his same age and will miss him a ton when he leaves. His new thing is right when he gets home from school he changes into his "comfy" clothes. He is so my son.

Lilly is four now. She is a little lady and we have enjoyed spending a lot of alone time together while our foster kids go to their birth mom visits every week. (I try to trade off with each of our biological kids. They love the one on one dates). Lilly started dance this year. She just had a Christmas performance and Lilly did so well! I was so proud of our little girl. I also think that it is cool she is taking clogging. I took clogging when I was in third grade and loved it. Lilly is starting to read and is just so clever.

Can you tell I love my kids and like to brag about them? Ha ha.

We have had such an eventful year and are looking forward to what next year brings us. Life is so unpredictable and we are learning so much from our experiences. We know we can't do anything without the savior. We appreciate the comfort and guidance we get from Heavenly Father through our trials. Life is about strengthening our character, endurance, and our testimonies. We love all of you and are so blessed to have such great friends and family.

Happy New Year!
Wes, Becky,
Byron, Ethan, Lilly
& our foster kids R, M, and A.

They're with us

So, on Friday we found out our foster kids will be with us for a few more months, if their mom wises up. It will continue to be challenging, but we can do it. The Lord has been there thus far and we know he will continue to give us strength and energy to deal with these kids. We love them so much and we are relieved they are going to be in a safe and loving home for a while. :)

It's all in God's hands

So, tomorrow we find out if our foster kids will be going to live with their Grandma. She lives with a guy who is married to someone else in Mexico. Originally she didn't want to adopt them if their mom failed. But, now she changed her mind. Their are a lot of little things about the whole thing drive me insane. But at the end of the day, it is all up to DCFS. They usually choose kinship if they barely scrape by and are good enough.
I know that I have said a million times that we are done with Foster care, but after this I think we are. It's just hard for me to work so hard and then DCFS always choosing kinship no matter what.
We will see what the future holds for us. I am completely exhausted at the end of each day. We have learned so much through this experience that will help us throughout our lives and hopefully we have helped these kids learn certain things that they can take with them.
Anyway, just wanted to record my feelings a bit. Now I need to go deal with screaming kids in the next room. :)

Bear River Bottoms

This year we have been getting out of the house a lot. With Six kids if you don't get out, you go insane! We went to this place near Logan Called Little Bear River Bottoms or something. It was so fun. The kids played on this huge pile of one ton straw bails. It was cool because they had little spots for the kids to play in and since they were one ton, they weren't mov'n. We also went in some corn mazes and a twine maze. Our favorite part was the hay ride. We weren't going to go, but the driver came over and needed some more riders. He cut us a great deal. It was so funny, it was a little haunted. The main guy asked for some volunteers.  Byron and Ethan went up. They went in this outhouse and this guy with a scary mask went up behind them. It was so funny to watch because Ethan got pretty scared. He was trying to act tough, but he was scared. It was in broad daylight and the guy geared it toward kids.
Then it was so funny because the kids were talking on the way home about what our driver on the hayride said. There was a part that he claimed we got sprayed with water that had cow poo in it. Then one of the kids said it was cow pee. Ethan spoke up all matter of factly and said, "No, cow pee is milk". Wes and I laughed and laughed about that. It's funny what kids put together in their minds.