Today I had a really good time with my sister (n-law). This was the first time that we really hung out the two of us and we had a good time talking! :) Even though the girl in Pot Belly's HATED me ... and I don't think she was too fond of Amy because Amy rolled her eyes at her! HAHA! :)

Well I don't really have anything else for today! Also I won't be able to post for a little while cause I'm going to be in Indiana and Tenny!! :) Everyone have a wonderful Christmas! Also like my pastor says, "Remember we are the reason, God is the season!"

It's beginning to look a lot (less) like Christmas...

I am happy to say that our real Christmas tree experience is officially over! YAY! Eric and I decided to get a real tree this year and WOW! It actually wasn't that bad, except for the fact that it WAS our living room! It's amazing how small the trees look when they are outside in their little tree farm! It is also amazing how BIG the tree looks when you bring it inside your 2 bedroom apartment! :) It was fun!! We decided to take the tree down because we figured that once we leave this weekend and return that the tree will be nothing but bare branches and our carpet will be showered with sharp, green pine needles! OUCH!!

We also rearranged our living room which was kind of fun! :) We are trying to be more artistic!!
Stay tuned for pictures of our tree buying experience and family Christmas pictures! :)

Lifetime, Hallmark, and Gilmore Girls

Well, this week has been pretty uneventful so far. I have been trying to clean my house so that when we leave this weekend we can come back to a nice clean home! :) I also have been watching a lot of Lifetime, Hallmark, and Gilmore Girls. I'll tell you what.. this is the simple life!! :) I also haven't been feeling the greatest!! Stupid sinus infection!! Well I know this post is kind of silly, but better than not posting at all I suppose! Have a great day everyone!
This is what Lucas does all day long while I watch my movies and tv shows!! :)

Another reason not to drink...

Today Eric and I went exploring southern Ohio. We had a really great time. We saw The Nativity and really enjoyed it. Although, I must say I couldn't help but wonder the whole time we were watching it, if people were viewing the film as fictional or non-fictional!

Well Eric and I got home pretty late from our little road trip. When we got home we let Lucas outside to go to the bathroom and this is when it all began!! Normally we don't put Lucas on the leash to go to the bathroom. We just open the door and he is out for about 2 minutes and than he comes running back and waits until we let him in. Well this time.. Eric and I forgot that he was out there and he never ran back to the window. Eric peeked his head out the door and said something like, "Oh my gosh!" I immediately expected the worst and thought that Lucas had been hit by a car. When I looked outside there was a car stopped and a man outside talking to Eric. When I stepped out on the porch I saw a man lying in the middle of the road! I freaked out! Eric told me to call 911. So.. I called 911 and they put me on hold!! YEAH.. that's right.. 911 EMERGENCY RESCUE.. put me on hold! How comforting!
Well anyway.. a police man ended up showing up with an ambulance and they knelt by the man and shouted that he was snoring! So needless to say.. this man had one too many drinks and thought that his bed was the middle of Hither Creek Lane! Thank the Lord that he didn't get ran over!! What a night!!

Well today has been a pretty busy day! I took Lucas to the vet today for his allergies! He has been itching so much that he itched all the hair off behind his ears! It's kind of funny! Well he ended up getting a shot while we were there. The shot didn't even phase him. The lady kept telling me, "your puppy is so good", "oh what a good dog". haha :) What can I say! :)

After the vet I met Renae my Mother-N-Law. :) We had lunch at Max and Erma's and than walked around the mall for a little while and chatted! :) It was good being able to be with her and catch up! :)

Tonight Eric and I are having our Christmas together! I am excited to give him his presents! :) He thinks he already knows what I got him! Well I better get off here! Everyone have a lovely weekend! :)

Things work out in HIS timing!

Yesterday the foster agency called and wanted to place two kids with us. I was so EXCITED! I starting thinking, this is finally it, I get to be a mom!! :)

God obviously had other plans...

After waiting a whole day (which seemed like YEARS) we finally got the call saying that the kids were placed in a different foster home. I was totally crushed! I didn't know whether to cry or be angry. I immediately starting praying asking God why things happen the way they do. I also complained to Him and told Him that I was so excited and this was something that I really wanted. After about two seconds I realized how selfish I sounded. Never did I think about what would best benefit the kids. Perhaps, Eric and I did not have what these kids needed. At that point I realized that God is calling me to be content with where I am in life. After having coffee with a friend I realized that everything happens for a reason. I also realized that this is something that God has called Eric and I to do and He is going to bless us for being obedient... in HIS timing!

Well all this to say, if you think about it please pray that I can learn to be content!

"I want to stay with you"

As we sat in the McDonald's parking lot waiting for the boys foster mother to arrive I looked in the back seat and saw Tony crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I want to stay with you." I had to turn around quickly so I didn't start crying myself. I was shocked that he wanted to stay with us. I mean yeah we went to Chuck E. Cheese and did some fun things but this is the same kid that spent quite a bit of time sitting in timeout. I learned at that moment that kids want and need a parent not a friend.
There were so many times growing up that I would become so angry at my parents because I wasn't allowed to do certain things that my friends were allowed to do. I thought my friends parents were so cool because they seemed more like a friend than a parent. Boy was I wrong! I am so thankful for the parents that I have. I hope and pray that someday I will be just like them. They taught me so many good things and I truly believe that I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for them! Thank you Mom and Dad! :)
Well that is all I have for today! All I ask is that whoever reads this, think about the blessings that you have! Think about all the people that have been positive role models in your life. Also, if you have kids, remember they need a parent not a friend. :) (A parent is a friend)!!

*This is a picture of me and my parents! :)

Guys, guess what.. Chuck E. Cheese moved!

Today was another really good day. Matt went to school today so it was just Tony, Zoe and me for most of the day. It was so cold out today so we couldn't really play outside or anything. We did go to the store and we got Tony a Spiderman toy (it was only $3, I couldn't resist).

Tonight Eric had the idea of taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. I instantly thought, NO WAY!! 3 kids and 2 adults!! NO WAY!! However, I looked over at Zoe and thought about how excited he would be going there so I caved in. Well we set out on our journey and arrived at an old abandoned Chuck E. Cheese. Finally Eric went inside a store and found out that Chuck E. Cheese had moved. So Eric came back to the car and said, "Guys, guess what Chuck E. Cheese moved!! They were all really excited and wanted to know if he moved to a bigger house, where his house was. Kids are so funny the way they think.

We had such a GREAT time! The kids were really good. They loved climbing around in the tubes.. even little Zoe! He was so brave! The boys were so cute how they all played together and helped one another. For example, Zoe was too little to climb up the stairs to the tubes and Eric and I were too big to climb up there. So I look over, and Tony is kneeling down letting his little brother use him as a stepping stool to get up the stairs. Now what brothers (2 and 4yrs) would help one another out like that. It was adorable! Oh also, I will say that Zoe was a little scared of the Chuck E. Cheese band (although I have to admit, so was I).


We had a great day with the boys! We are sad that they will be going home tomorrow! :(

God, help me to be more thankful!

Today went really well. The kids had their visit, which was nice cause I had some time to go get some more toys and movies. I found a really cool spiderman toy and some kids Christmas movies. I never realized how awesome a television was until we got these three boys. I'm pretty sure they would watch cartoons all day long if we let them. :) Well I brought the bags of toys in and showed them all to Tony. He instantly started crying when I told them they were for him and his brothers. It just about broke my heart. You know, doing foster care makes you realize all the small things that you take for granted. God, please help me to be more thankful for silly Christmas movies and all the hundreds of "toys" that I have.

Tony sure was testing me today. He was in timeout about 4 different times. Timeout basically consists of him sitting in a chair in his bedroom for one minute. Today while he was in timeout, he was yelling and I told him that he was not allowed to talk while in timeout. Well he continued.. so I told him I was going to add another minute every time he yelled. Well I ended up adding 4 more minutes! Finally he stopped and I went in to get him and he was crying. I knelt down and he told me he loved me and that he was sorry. For the rest of the evening he was really good. I think he may finally be realizing that I am not going to give in!


I picked Matt up from school today and his teachers were so nice. He was so excited to see us and his brothers. They are all so cute together! They get along really well! :)

Oh yeah, a little side note.. we sold our truck tonight! :) YAY!! Thank you God for answering that prayer! :)

Well all the kids are asleep, so I suppose I should try to get some sleep too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! :)

The Big Day

Tonight I picked up the three boys. Their names and ages are as follows (their real names are not allowed to be shared, to protect their privacy).

Matt 10yrs. Autistic
Tony 4yrs.
Zoe 2yrs.

So the pickup went great. I took them home and showed them their bedrooms. Tony was really excited that his pillow was Finding Nemo. Matt was even more excited that his pillow and sheets were Star Wars. :) After I showed them around the house we waited for Eric to get home. In the meantime, I gave the boys some fruit snacks and unfortunately the only ones I had were princess characters. Matt (who remember is autistic) was really confused by this. He asked me, "Mrs. Shelly, does this mean that I am going to be a girl if I eat these."

Once Eric got home we went to McDonalds and grabbed some food. We also stopped by the store and got some toys. On the way home from McDonalds the kids LOVED looking at Christmas lights.

Once we got home we had bath time (which was fun) and than it was off to bed. The kids slept really well. I was shocked!!

Overall, I would say that our first night as parents went fairly well... especially with going from 0 to 3 kids!!

Quitting so soon..

Well today I got a call from our foster care agency and they wanted to know if Eric and I were interested in doing a respite for 3 boys (one being autistic) for 3 nights and 4 days. We said yes!!! So it looks like my last day is going to be November 29, 2006. Foster parenting here we come..

Discernment and God's rewards...

This past year has been one of the most confusing times in my life. I feel like there have been more decisions that have needed to be made than I have answers for. Just one of the decisions that Eric and I were deciding on was whether or not to be foster parents. This decision was HUGE! This entailed me quitting my job, leaving my co-workers, and mostly leaving familiarity. After much prayer we decided that this was something that God was calling us to do. The day that I went in to tell my bosses that I was quitting, they offered me a raise! I was so confused... I thought to myself, God I've been working there for almost a year and of all days TODAY is the day they are giving me a raise... uhh.. Well for about 20 seconds I thought of all the things that Eric and I could use the extra money on.. paying off school bills and our truck and buying a new house, etc... Well after talking to Eric he reminded me that being a foster parent is what God wants us to do. So I told my bosses that my last day was going to be November 30, 2006.