Tonight at Church was the annual Dicken's Carolers concert. All day long, Faith kept asking for her "Jingle Bells" adventure. 4 o'clock finally rolled around and off to Church we went. I wish you could have seen her do the 12 days of Christmas (so cute!) and then finally, finally, they sang her long awaited "Jingle Bells". She was estatic! She sang along with so much joy on her face! Priceless! And then she danced to "Blue Christmas" (absolutely hilarious and adorable) and the Dicken's Carolers always close with the Hallelujah Chorus and, of course, she danced to that too. She just makes my day whenever I am with her. She loves Christmas so much and I intend on cherishing this one to the fullest as I fear it is our last together. God gave me the best gift ever when Faith came into our lives. I won't forget that and will always thank Him for that! She is the best girl!

Complete sadness

Unless a miracle happens, Faith will be transitioned into an adoptive home in January - on the other side of the country... I am sad, angry, frustrated, devastated, and everything in between. I know we cannot keep every kid we foster, but Faith is very special to me and I feel that a home near by where Faith has lived her whole life is far better for her than to rip her away from the ONLY family and life she knows. But apparently, the decision makers in this process don't feel this way. I will always be grateful for Faith and having her in my life. She will ALWAYS be my girl.

The sheer joy of Faith

One of the fun things about raising Faith is that she is hilarious and so innocent (well, most of the time! :-) ) Not too long ago, we were playing out in the backyard, jumping on the trampoline and playing basketball. Suddenly she decides that perhaps strip basketball would be more fun :-) and off went the shoes, socks, pants, shirt - all flying skyward... I kept saying "No!" and trying to retrieve and have Faith help retrieve the clothes and shoes all the while praying that the diaper would remain on the body and that nothing would fly over the 6 foot fence into the back neighbor's yard. Sadly, my prayers were not answered and gleefully off went the diaper but not only did the diaper come off, it went FLYING over the 6 foot fence and  *PLOP* right into the lot behind us. I then was faced with a quandry, albeit a brief one, do I trespass onto the neighbor's yard to retrieve the wet diaper or leave it so I don't trespass?? I decided fairly quickly that they'd rather have me trespass in their yard and get the wet diaper rather than leave it there... So, I opened the gate  to go get the diaper and was soon followed by a very naked 5 year old! We quickly trespassed and I had to hop down into their main lot to get the diaper (it hadn't landed on the upper lot as I had hoped). The whole time I was holding back the urge to laugh because as much as I had hoped she wouldn't get that diaper (or anything else) over that fence, the glee on her face as the diaper flew through the air was so priceless. I LOVE THAT GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hilarity at its finest

Tonight, as Faith was getting ready to get out of the tub, we were talking about getting her pajamas on and going to bed and then Faith muttered these wonderfully funny words, "Let's see; I need to check my schedule"! 

Are you really THAT thirsty??!

When Vanessa was little, Janel caught her drinking out of the toilet with a straw... When asked WHY by her mom, Vanessa replied "I'm thirsty". Moral of the story? Keep your kids hydrated! :-)

Short Joshua blog

When Joshua was about a year and a half, he was begging for some crackers but he had had his snack and I was in the process of getting dinner ready. However, as things go when you have 5 kids, Freddrick and Faith both needed diaper changes so I went to do that. While I was in the middle of the diaper marathon, I heard Joshua calling for help. He had tried to sneak some crackers and got stuck in the cupboard! :) I grabbed the cell and took a photo! (I did get him out; I just had to take the picture first!!)

Dairy diary

I am going to start by "borrowing" an event from Lisa, as I am too tired to think of something creative on my own! :) (Which may always be the case, just to warn you!)

Last Spring when I was living in Dallas, I got a phone call from Lisa. Faith had asked for (yet) another string cheese. Lisa said no as Faith had had her allotment for the day. Lisa offered Faith a cookie (cause that's the healthier option! ;) ) and Faith took it and went to her room. Joshua then woke from his nap and asked for string cheese. Since Joshua didn't have an allotment, he was granted a string cheese. Or Cheeeese as he called it... Once he got his snack, he went into Faith's room. A little bit later, Lisa was walking down the hall and glanced into Faith's room and realized Joshua was eating the cookie and Faith the string cheese. The two of them had traded snacks!! (No doubt initiated by Faith!) As soon as Faith saw Lisa, she ran for it and hid in her closet...she knew that she had not pulled one over on Lisa as she probably hoped she had! :)