HOLA a todos :)

I have had some people asking me about where we stand with things- adoption, life, etc. so I am going to write a detailed message here for one and all :)

A lot has changed since my last entry LOL; which only goes to show that God can change anything in an instant. Well when I left my last entry on May 2nd we had just watched our friend's children and came back from a nice mini getaway (just the two of us) to Cleveland, OH. Well that week we were getting ready for our adoption yard sale....when.....wouldn't you know it.....we got the "call." It was three weeks ago exactly from today when we got a phone call from our agency about a sibling group of four. It is a temporary placement which means that it is fostering only and the goal is strictly reunification and for them to go back home. Our agency told us this and while we really want placements that are "pre-adoptive" only (pre-adoptive are children whose parents either have or are about to lose their rights because they are not doing what they need to get the kids back or because they gave up rights, etc. It means they are looking for a foster home in which to place the children that can work toward adopting. This whole process can take from 6 months to 18 months----you know the government and each case is different). Ok so back to the phone call. Well this placement (placement- children who are placed in our home) was temporary only. We decided to say yes for several reasons; but mostly being we just wanted some kids in our house and to see what God had in store. Plus we are getting our feet wet and going through the whole experience at least once. We are also hoping after this our agency will call us with a "pre-adoptive" placement.

So we said yes and things got REAL crazy from there. I dont know how many of you have ever gone from 0 to 4 children in three hours but that is what we did LOL. I was at work (of course the call comes one of the two days I work each week) so Shawn left early and went to meet the children from DCS. I got home as they were pulling in and we winged it from there. Some of you know this, but for those of you who dont, we cannot give out too much more information about the children or post pics of them due to privacy issues. I am sure you can understand the delicacy of the situation. Anyways I can tell you that "I" is 5- boy, "K" is 4- girl, "C" is 3- boy, and "A"- girl is 3 weeks (almost a month). The older three came to us first on that Wed night. The baby was only two days old so we picked her up from the hospital that next Monday. They are all great kids and very well behaved.

Since that day things have been crazy (like def more laundry for me and home cooking for 6)! I am staying at home with the kids. "I" attends school right here in our subdivision and the other three are at home. Between appointments, tutoring part time, selling Lia Sophia, etc. I have def stayed busy. It was great though how much our family and friends have rallied around us and have helped us out. We were "mentally" ready for the thought of many children but to actually go through the motions is a different story! I do agree with the saying once you do it for more than two children it is like a couple more is no big deal :).

We have gotten to do some fun things with them like go grocery shopping all together, eat watermelon outside, wash the cars, go for walks, grill hot dogs over the fire; and last week we attempted to go to a baseball game. It was rainy and cold so we stayed all of thirty minutes; but hey, we tried! I am getting good at multi-tasking and since I love to schedule this is great for me- now I have 6 schedules to keep track of!


Now they have been with us for three weeks, and, of course, the famous question is "how long will they be with you?" (That comes right after- "Wow you had a lot of children real young." Or "you are so brave to be out with those children all by yourself.") Anyways your guess to the answer of that above question is as good as ours. We hear different everyday. I honestly thought I would be dealing with behavioral issues with the kids; but the issue for me is DCS and how slow things work. Part of the deal of foster care if you take day by day and just love on them while you can. This is hard for me because the thought of getting close only to have them leave breaks my heart but we knew this going into it! The emotional side of things is very hard. I just try not to think about it and I also try not to keep a wall up with the kids to "protect myself." I know they need love right now and so we are just loving on them.

Our goal in this has to be selfless; we are there to show them Jesus. One sweet moment was with 4 year old K (girl). She is a quiet but smart girl. She is glued to my hip. She loves Hannah Montana and to read stories, esp princess stories. Well anyways we were going home from church two weeks ago and she starts telling us that in Sunday school she asked Jesus into her heart. It was such a poignant moment. We got to tell her about Jesus. It was interesting to answer the questions of a four year about heaven, Jesus, how he lives in our hearts, how he died, etc. but at the same time what an honor to be able to do that! We didnt think we would be doing that for a couple of years yet but it was sweet. It really is a ministry.

Obviously life is crazy right now (the reason I am writing this community letter- sorry guys!); but fun and very unpredictable (the other morning the dog threw up, kids had accidents, and the baby chooses this moment to spit up all over me----you get the idea) all at the same time!

Side note: example of craziness- our dogs have ran away twice since the kids have been here. That is more than in the last year combined! Our friend says the must need to have some "doogie alone time." I say it is because more people mean more chances of the gate getting left open. This past week a lady locked them in her yard, took the time to look on Chico's rabies tag and call our vet to hunt us down (yes I know their tags need to be updated with our new info). The funny part was the kids had told me they saw the dogs running away while we were eating breakfast but I said "No they arent! They are in the backyard." Well lo and behold I get a phone call from Shawn around 12 saying some lady called him down from the street at his job and she had our dogs in her yard. I had to go and retrieve my stinky, nasty rascals! They had decided to take a dip in the creek before cruising the neighborhood. Turns out----the kids were right----they did see the dogs running away while I was getting their breakfast ready and my head was turned. Shoulda listened lol. However, I think now I am about prepared for almost anything!

On another note- As I am sure some of you may have seen, we did send out letters the past couple of weeks in regards to our adoption fund. We did get the fund opened and now we are still working on raising money for our private adoption (this means a birth mother would choose us and we would travel to where she is at the birth and the baby would come to us then instead of waiting to adopt in foster care. This is a quicker, but more expensive process). So we are still waiting to raise the money for that. It is looking like it might be a couple more months before we can approach that again. We are at a waiting point in that area. We will do this AND fostering to adopt.

With so much going on I was thinking the other day I dont want this to define who we are. I feel like I have become so defined lately; with the definition of my life being our "problem." We have been trying to stay us- Shawn and Rachael- married, in love, best friends, and children of God through it all. We are doing pretty well. Each days has it own challenges. Throw 4 kids and two dogs in to the mix and whew it can be tiring. Plus the no sleep with a newborn. Whew. We make it out alive though and other people do it so we know we can make it! We just take each day at a time and try not to let the kids, having kids, and problems with the kids define us and our relationship with each other or the Lord.

Side note: A shout out to my amazing husband. He is such a caring man and without him I would never take on these crazy things- but at the end of the day it is all SO worth it and he is SO worth marrying. I love him so much. His birthday is in a week, as well as our 4th anniversary! I CANT BELIEVE IT! Time flies! We are still so in love. I wouldnt trade a day for anything. And really, how many people can say that?


Life is good, may not always go the way I want, but at the end of the day it goes exactly how He knew it would be. It keeps me on my toes. God def has a sense of humor :)

Keep in contact. God bless and love you all!

Love,
Rachael