Tag: joy

Joy

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Elizabeth:  the oath or fullness of God

Seems fitting.  Elizabeth came into our lives on December 2, 2017 around 4 pm.  She was pure joy from the beginning with her strong will, curly dark hair, brown eyes and beautiful smile.  Eli (Ellie), was pure happiness with a little bit of toddler mixed in.  She immediately loved Landen and Reece and became an easy fit into our family.

Almost 5 months to the day of her arrival, she has moved on to some relatives.  She approached her departure with the same courage as when she came to our house.  Two years old and already teaching us so much about strength, courage and faith in humanity.

I pray that they treat her well.  I pray that her parents make better choices and raise her to be the strong, creative, kind and intelligent person she is meant to be.  I pray that she maintains her joy in the everyday things, her positive energy, her curiosity and her silly sass.  I pray that she continues to be allowed to be a kid.  To play outside on the swing or the slide, in the sand or in water.  To paint daily, to play with stickers, to do puzzles and play with superhero toys.

Elizabeth has definitely demonstrated the fullness of God to us.  We will miss her greatly. Our heart will hurt for a long while.  I hope that we will see her again and get to be apart of her life, but if not, I know we got to experience her joy for 5 months and I am thankful.

 

Be Brave

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Landen is on the Dana’s School of Dance drill team this year.  She goes to classes 3 nights a week (totally about 6 hours).  She is committed and loves it.  This past Saturday was their first competition as a team.  She was nervous, anxious and excited.  But mostly she was brave, bold and confident.  She danced beautifully and I am so proud of her!  I am proud of her attitude, her honesty, her determination and her shear commitment to this group and this process.  She said she loved performing (especially the applause) but not the awards ceremony.  Of course, I loved that statement even more.

I am thankful we have a found a dance studio that fits her personality.  It is serious but not too serious.  And it picks age appropriate songs, dance moves and outfits.

Next year she wants to do a solo.  I love watching her spread her wings.  Fly, baby, fly!

“All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.”
― Martha Graham

This Man

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This man has my heart.  He is kind, smart, funny, thoughtful, principled, and creative.  He supports us ALL through love.  This man leads by example, loves God and ALWAYS takes the high road.  He is THE partner to have in any and all situations and I am so thankful that God saw fit to make him my forever partner.  This man makes my day brighter just by being.

Foodies

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“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” -George Bernard Shaw

 

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I love my foodies.  I love watching them analyze, discuss, theorize and execute recipes.  I love the excitement in their eyes.  I love the bonding.  I love the results.  Joy all around.

Joy filled Flight

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“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

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“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”  -Leonardo da Vinci

 

‘fly me with your feet, momma…please’
trying is succeeding
contagious giggles
guttural giggles
everlasting joy
irreplaceable memories
‘fly me with your feet, momma…please’
-kdm

Big Dreams

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img_0396A love of food gets passed along.  Gregg has that love of food.  It’s grown over the years from a necessity to a relaxing obsession.  Landen has acquired his taste, observance, technique and desire.

Cooking shows fill the airwaves in our home.  WE watch, critique, admire and dream.  A couple of months ago Landen found THE show that was going to highlight her dad’s impeccable cooking skills.  And so we filled out an application. What happened next has been a ride that none of us expected, especially Gregg.  Had we known the amount of time it would required for Gregg to participate in this show, we may have thought twice. Instead we risked and signed him up for the competition.  Hundreds and maybe thousands apply for this competition so why shouldn’t we sign up the best chef we know?

Phone calls, emails, Skype calls and one sliced off finger tip and HE made it on the show!  I don’t know how Gregg has felt throughout this process, but I do know that there are at least 3 girls in TX that are proud of him.  Win or lose, we are proud.  And we are hopeful and we are excited and we are in awe.  And we brag and we share and we anticipate and plan for the big trip and the big show.  And we are all in NYC.

And after a 10 hour day, it is over.img_0458

The mixture of emotions that was displayed between these girls and their father was beautiful.  Joy and pride, anticipation and excitement, disappointment and yet appreciation.  I witnessed a level playing field of humanity tonight.  No hierarchy.  Just pure human emotion surrounding the events of the last couple of months and it was beautiful.  Risking big without huge reward.  Being brave.  They know.  

A lot of life is reacting to what ‘happens’ to us or accepting the ‘consequences’ of our actions.  This is how we respond to life and this is what we teach our kids.  Today Gregg taught us all how to be brave and to risk.   How to boldly go after something that seems crazy and beyond the expected life path and he did it with humility, hard work, and an open heart.  Most of all he taught our kids how go after your dreams and I am so thankful.

Jayden

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We were blessed on August 13, 2015 with the arrival of Jayden.  Our newest foster son was 5 days old and adorable.  With a full head of black hair and dark eyes, he grabbed all of our hearts immediately.
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And over the next 9 months, he wrapped us all around his finger with his constant smile, buddha belly and chill personality.
In the beginning, I was determined to get him placed with his forever family ASAP.  I had decided he needed to be moving on by the time he was 3 months.  When that came and went, I decided by Thanksgiving he would have his forever family.  I called, texted and emailed the caseworker, her supervisor and the attorney.  And know-one budged. It seemed they were determined to take a year to place him.
January came and we were informed of a court date.  All parties said they were working towards parental rights being terminated.  I was excited and hopeful.  The court date was a debacle.  (I think I wrote about it in another blog post) and a new court date was set for May 13.  Five more months of a babies life on hold.  5 more months that another family misses out on.  But God lead us to a potential forever family for him and I was excited…And then a great aunt and uncle appear.  A home study begins.  Then a potential dad.  Home study stops.  DNA testing wait begins.  Two month later, it is determined that DNA is NOT a match.  Home study re-starts.  All the while, Jayden is growing, developing and bonding with us.  A constant source of joy.
I don’t like how his last week went down with the fast approval to transfer him to a distant relative without transitioning him and an over-zealous judge that made a rash removal.  But I know this is part of the fostering process.  (well not the judge part)   We are all still a bit shell shocked. I knew it would be hard when he left, but the way in which he was taken was devastating.

Everyone in this case, the judge, attorneys and to a certain extent the case worker, had no interest in what was best for Jayden.  While family is important, there wasn’t any discussion or concern about the fact that he was number 5 in a family which one mother and three fathers.  Or that 3 of his other siblings are back in care after being placed with paternal family.  There is no interest in doing what’s actually best for Jayden but only that they had a year and that they were dead set on finding someone/anyone that would state they were related and willing to take him.

This happy, well adjusted, loving, giggling, chunky baby was not represented properly or advocated for properly by the people in power.  The dysfunctional family that he came from, however, was overly represented to the detriment of this beautiful baby boy.
And so in a selfish act to wield her power, Judge Martin did the unthinkable and removed Jayden from us at the court house.  She treated us like criminals for taking care of and loving our ‘little man’.   I will eventually let the good memories overshadow this moment
of insanity from the judge but for now I am still processing.  I am still aching because he isn’t here.  And I am still angry and baffled by the disrespect we were shown in the court room.
I miss him.  I miss feeding him and snuggling him and kissing him.  I miss his laugh and his dancing to the music.  And I pray for him.  I pray for the relatives.  That they are good people that will love him well.  That they will be patient with him while he adjusts to their home.  I pray for Jayden that he will bond with them quickly and be comforted when he is scared or sad or confused.
I knew this one was going to be hard to let go…

Joy

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Tyler&J  Pure Joy seeing these boys together.  Our first foster and our current foster.  These two can run a room with their pure love, joy and charisma.  How could we NOT foster?  I definitely receive more than I give in moments like these.  T is with a wonderful family and we get to see him several times a year.  J will be with us a while longer but I know God has big plans for him!  Thankful we have been called to foster.

Feeling Sentimental

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My long time friend, Amy Carroll, has been doing a picture blog for a couple of years now.  I love it!  She has inspired me to jump off into my own Blog…for me and for my family and whoever else is interested.

I am feeling a bit sentimental this week.  Some may call it the post holiday blues and maybe that’s it.  Not sure.  I have many thoughts swirling around in my head and feeling swirling around in my heart.  Gratefulness for the time with Mitch, Liz, Chase, Landen, Reece and especially Gregg over the last couple of weeks.  Exhaustion from having a sick baby.  Dis-belief that Landen and Reece are growing so quickly.  Sadness over the impending loss of some and the actual loss of others.  Anxiety over money.  Curiosity about the future.  Desires to be disciplined yet wanting to enjoy the moments.

So, today I start expressing those feelings and thoughts.

Gratefulness for our family.  Check out these beauties!

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They are ALL kind, thoughtful, giving, funny, smart and sassy!  And I love them ALL for their unique gifts that they bring to our family.  Elizabeth is our newest member.  She and Mitch have been married a bit over a year.  She is gorgeous inside and out.  God couldn’t have placed a better woman into Mitch’s life.  I love the joy and peace she brings to a room.  She is confident, kind, inquisitive and understanding.  Reece is our firecracker!  I love her constant energy, observations and creativity.  She is sassy and sweet and has the biggest sympathetic heart in the family.  (unless it has to deal with fighting her sister) Mitchell is a bit of a duplication of his dad. Of course, I love that!  He is passionate, inquisitive and willing to experiment.  And he loves others well.  He also rivals Reece on his energy level!  Landen, aka mini-Krista, is our queen of questions.  She is always watching and learning.  Her awareness of everyone and everything around her is remarkable.  She is an old soul with a passion for food and family.  I love watching her care for friends and family with her kind heart.  Chase is our free spirit and yet not so free.  He is sensitive, kind and loving to everyone he meets.  I love watching his determination, creativity, and awareness grow thru his experience at SCAD.

And then there is THIS GUY…

Gregg

I can’t imagine doing this life without Gregg.  He is the true rock of this family.  He is a compassionate, tough, kind, disciplined, loving, challenging, smart, creative and a funny man.  I admire his desire to always take the high road and his dedication to his faith and  family. And I am very grateful that he chose me to do life with.

Tomorrow…Exhaustion