Unpacking and trying to get settled..

This last week was good and productive! Got more boxes unpacked and got rid of some more stuff.... Stuff seems to be the root of all evil and it multiplies while I sleep!! Working on getting the stuff monster under control. On a happier note we have started to fully engage with the homeschool family here and have meet some really nice people and feel very blessed that this homeschool group is so large and has alot going on.
I have decided I don't transition very well when we move, it takes me a very long time to accept the move and start up a new form of existence.
We have also tried to somewhat get a routine going. Anyone who knows me knows this is something I always battle.... It is nice because the bigger girls are motivating me and waking me up with coffee. Yes I am kinda spoiled by my amazing kids!!

So onto another week, hopefully we can maintain what we got going and just add to it!! Scheduling.... Ugh!!!

Messed up the blog a little!!

So I went and posted some drafts so now my blog is out of order and I don't know if I can fix it?? Oh well read it if u want?? Not stressing this!

Two years already???

Wow two years ago today we got certified as foster parents and got our first foster kids! We got the call for K and A and had to rush to the MP station to pick up these two girls who had been up most of the night and were only partially dressed in clothes that didn't fit, hair a mess just looking a hot mess (not knocking anyone if u show up in the middle of the night at my house u will rarely see my kids in matching jammies and combed hair, they can usually pass as hobos). To top it off K was confused and scared, A on the other hand did really well and bonded immediately with Daddy. We had no idea what we were in for but we were prepared to do whatever God lead us too. We now had 5 girls, oh my. Of course at that point we had no idea that we would actually be adopting them,they were just cute little girls we were going to love. We thought for the first 6 months or so that they would end up going home. So we were just loving babysitters. The bio parents had there own things going on and were very young, some bad decisions and some things out of there control and then we were headed to adoption. Bio Mom was supportive after she found out the harm it was doing to K not knowing where she was going to be. K had a terrible time adjusting and had a lot of loyalty to her Mom, but as time went on she had love for us and her new family and didn't want to leave us either, very hard and confusing feelings for such a little girl. She acted out a lot and was very hard to handle. Once K knew she was staying things got much better. A is doing fine just getting through the horrible threes!

Now here we are two years later with adoptions finalized and being able to move on as a complete family! Truthfully though it is bittersweet though because through this whole process I have developed a close relationship with bio mom and some of the other family members and it is hard while my heart is rejoicing to know that there heart is breaking. We have said from the beginning that we would have an open adoption which was not required but was what was best for the girls. We still have not completely established what our open adoption is going to look like we r just kinda playing it by ear. I do know that it is kinda just feeling like a bigger family with more grandmas and grandpas. It is no longer just K and A the have three big sisters and a baby brother. I don't want anyone treating any of my children differently I love them all equally and I want everyone else to Love them all the same. This makes it sound as if we are having issues but that is exactly how our families treat the kids they are all equal and loved just the same.

We r now figuring out how to be a big blended family and it is not always easy but so very rewarding! I am still in shock that it has been two years already and I look forward to seeing the awesome individuals all six of my beautiful children r growing up to be!

Wow it has been awhile......

Well we are all officially in Texas full time. We cleared housing right after we finalized the adoptions! Then the new Gardner family headed to The Lonestar state. We will miss our Irwin family dearly but it was time to say goodbye to CA! It was such a relief to finally have the judge say we were a family but it was also strangely anticlimactic. No more foster parent paperwork, no more social workers, no more homestudies, no more invasive questions..... Whew what a relief!

So now we r in El Paso and I really like it here so far but I have been a bit anti social and have just recently started making an effort to get involved. Ron made the E 8 list and is already a 1st Sgt, he is excited about his new job and is enjoying his own office!

There have been alot of changes and I think the reality of it all is setting in and can be a bit overwhelming at times. Now that the chaos of all the red tape of foster parenting and adopting is over we r trying to settle in as just a regular family. The rollercoaster has stopped but we haven't gotten over the nausea!

We also finalized the permanent guardianship with parental rights for Wyatt and will soon be embarking on another adoption journey very soon. So in less than two years we went from 3 children to 6..... The journey has not been easy, nor has it always brought out the best in us. But for better or worse this is where God has led us. He gave us the support we needed even being so far from family, he gave us wonderful friends who without there support we never would have made it this far. They know who they r and I will never forget them!!! Our family even being thousands of miles away still supported us any and every way they could, most importantly accepting these new additions wholly and completely into our family!! So in ending this chapter begins a journey of a newly complete family and who knows where God will lead us next but I for one trust in his wisdom and love for us!!