It has been a while since our last post. The last two years have been the hardest of our life. But, by God's grace, they are over. We received the judge's decision from our investigation with Residential Childcare Licensing (RCCL). We won!! The charges have now been removed and we can finally move forward with the adoption. I never imagined we would experience this when we agreed to take these two girls into our home. I guess that is why God doesn't allow us to see the future. We wouldn't do anything. The biggest part of adoption is the journey. Christyana's adoption was a wonderful and beautiful journey but I will have to say, I have grown more during this trial (figuratively and literally). We still aren't done with this one and anything to could change between now and the end. But I will say that no matter the outcome, we are a better and stronger family for it.
Lauren has been working so hard in getting the children ready for school (they start Wednesday). After buying uniforms and 8, yes 8 pairs of shoes (we have 4 kids going to school this year), school supplies (on tax free weekend...she's NUTS!!) we are finally ready. We have new clothes, new shoes, new supplies, new lunch boxes, new backpacks, new nap mats...I think we are ready for Armageddon. Ha ha. Thank God for the uniform closet at the school; this is where you can buy/exchange uniforms with other families at little or no cost. We literally would have to sell everything we own to afford all brand new ones. But I digress. Needless to say, I gave her the weekend off. I told her to go away, just her, for the weekend to recoup. So yep, you guessed it, I have all 5 kids to myself. It amazes me how she does this every day and does it well. The kids are not bad, don't misunderstand me but they are busy. Still, we are surviving. I thought it a great time to make some special memories with the kids.
Our day began a bit different than every other Saturday this summer...I got to sleep in till 8 am. We have been doing summer sports at the YMCA this summer so usually our Saturday began at 5:30am just to get everyone out the door by 7:30. So to sleep in till 8 was an unusual treat. We had breakfast (Eggs and bacon) and then I packed up everyone to go for a little outdoor treat. It is excruciatingly hot here and while we have a pool, I didn't feel it was the best idea to have 5 little ones in the pool with me being the only adult. But I knew I needed to choose something wet to do. So we found a neighborhood park in the Heights that had a little water pad and playground. A water pad is a small area where water shoots up from the ground from little fountains. It was a big hit, the kids were safe from drowning and got to play. I enjoyed watching them enjoy themselves.
I then took them to McDonalds for lunch (let's be honest, I wanted to wear them out playing). We shared chicken nuggets and french fries. After breakfast and lunch, it is a miracle my heart didn't stop on the spot. But hey, we try to keep it simple. We came home and all took a nap...well the older three didn't really sleep but played quietly in their rooms. It was a nice break. Then we watched a family movie once everyone was up. The littlest ones were a bit fractious for this. So after dinner, I put them to bed and decided it was a great time to continue our family tradition of s'mores in the fireplace. So, since we live in Texas, the last thing we want to do is heat up the house in August. Fortunately, our gas fireplace doesn't put out a ton of heat. And you get kind of used to the refreshing taste of natural gas flavored burnt marshmallows. It brought back a flood of memories for me. This tradition began in our last house. We had a slightly elevated fireplace. It was shortly before we got the girls that we had our first indoor campout. Of course, at that campout, I setup a tent in the living room and everything. The boys and I read stories and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows in the fireplace. They had a blast, as did I. It is way to hot in this state to tent camp (in my humble air conditioned opinion). Well, when Cyniya came to live with us, this was one of my first good memories with her. As she finished her first gooey cracker, she looked up at me and with an adorably messy face said, "I yike chockit" I think I fell in love in that moment (in a parent child sort of way). Ever since then we have made it a periodic treat. Mind you it is a carefully choreographed routine of cooking a marshmallow, including catching it on fire (they're best when crispy); pulling it out of the fireplace while trying to avoid setting anyone's hair on fire or filling their hair with a white gooey mess and making sure not to get it everyone but on the cracker smothered in chocolate. Inevitably a mess ensues. But in the midst of the mess a memory is made. That is what matters. I remember spending the night at my grandparents house and getting to eat a giant bowl of cereal in front of their fireplace atop their enormous floor pillow settled on top of red shag carpet that was older than I was. My grandparents house was a neat place; I have many memories there. My grandmother was certainly no decorator. The home was filled with eccentric tastes and relics from all over the world. But it was a great place!!
I realized tonight that no matter how crazy life can get (and with 5 children it is downright chaotic sometimes), it is moments like these that I want my children to remember. When I am gone, I don't want them to remember how well I followed a budget or how much money I made. I want them to look back and remember the s'mores. I want them to remember reading stories before bed and wrestling (when they were younger). You never know when your moments with them will be your last. I want to make every moment count. It is far too easy to get weighed down with the cares of the world. But I miss so much when I do that. I want to have made an eternal difference, too. I want them to remember me as a man of faith. We have grown and changed a lot over the past few months especially. My prayer is that our children will grow from that as well. They are worth it.
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