Our Family is GROWING!!!

Once upon a time, there were a lot of exciting things that began to happen in too short of a time.

Snot began to pour like rivers out of everyone's noses. It shows no signs of stopping.

Our family size is increasing with two more children, a dog, and baby chickens. All within the next month. Not to mention my sister already lives here, along with our two cats that we have finally decided need a new home. Actually Eric decided that a long long long time ago. Let's just say there were many tears on my end until I finally admitted to being truly unable to care for them properly. And they're annoying. (Mostly that.) Our house (that was big when we moved into it not even a year ago), is starting to bust at the seams.

But speaking of busting at the seams, we finally finished our basement (minus a few rainy day touch ups), and it is pretty awesome. Other than the initial work that Eric's brother did back in January, the bulk of the renovation we did completely ourselves. It's not perfect, but we are extremely proud of it. Pictures to come. Sometime. Anyway, my sister moved downstairs, and we finally go the crib and twin bed we needed for our extra bedroom. (Yes, I said crib. I think we're crazy too.)

My eleven-month-old (who I swear was just born a few weeks ago...) has decided that being a picky eater is the new trend. She lives on a diet of black beans, bread, and large quantities of grapefruit. (Ironically, that's pretty much all I ate during my last trimester pregnant.) This makes the whole weaning process rather difficult...

Lexi has been (rather aggressively) "dancing ballet" in a tiny pink leotard every day without fail. Fortunately, she inherited my athleticism. Unfortunately, she also inherited my strength and flexibility without an ounce of grace. I'm guessing real ballet probably won't turn out to be her profession.

My crock pot is going to be my new best friend. I am determined. BBQ chicken cooking at the moment. I am hoping to find a lot of different types of food I can cook in there that are things other than 'chicken chili,' 'taco soup,' and pork roasts that are running rampant on the internet.

We are having a weekend visit with our potential (and most likely) placement of two brothers. We are still waiting on our license to be processed, but we got the call about these boys the very same night that I wrote my last blog post. Fortunately, because of their situation, we are able to ease into the transition of them living with us over a few weeks so we can all get used to each other, and our license can be finalized. It's extremely frustrating that I can't go into details about the boys, but what I can say, I will.

Both boys have names that start with the same letter, so I will call them D and Baby DJ for the time that they are in our home.

D is four. He is bright, spunky, and full of energy. He has an adorable smile, huge dark eyes, and an infectious laugh. He craves positive attention and loves to have fun. He is a little overly obsessed with cars and loves to "cook" in our play kitchen.

Baby DJ is four months old. I know. We are crazy. With an eleven-month-old daughter that is still extremely clingy to me, this will be an extraordinary challenge. The thing is, there are very few foster parents who will take sibling groups, and this happens to be their biggest need. If they can't find anyone to take the kids together, they get separated. We are one of the few families that agreed to take a sibling group in order to avoid sibling separation. So we are. And DJ is ADORABLE. The most beautiful black curls that I have ever seen on a baby in my life! He is easy going, hardly ever cries, and smiles all the time. He giggles at just about anything and has two deep dimples on his soft brown cheeks. I will be honest. I CAN'T. STOP. TOUCHING. HIS. HAIR. :-)

While they have already had two visits in our home so far, this weekend is our first overnight stay. We are not sure what to expect, but both Eric and I are at peace and surrounded by an incredible community that is offering us prayers and support. And due to the fact that D and Lexi have very similar independent personalities, I can, without a doubt, promise you lot's and lot's of exciting kid stories in the very near future!!!