The Making of M.O.M.

I haven't posted pictures of my sweet ones in a while so here goes:

These are of Lucas and Ashlee. Apparently, good friends who have older kids don't remember the days when little ones would use markers on inappropriate items, like sheetrock. Dry erase doesn't come off of sheetrock. A simple oversight by the manufacturer, I'm guessing. Dry erase DOES wash off skin relatively easy.

At first I thought someone had painted Ashlee's face. But upon realzation that she had only been downstairs playing and NOT at the fair, my question to her went something like this,

"Ashlee, where did you get your face....*GASP* No, no, no, no, no!"

Those last "Nos" were said while running down the stairs. Only to find Lucas like this:

They HAD "decorated" the wall, but it was downstairs in the playroom, so I'm not sweating it. Besides, it adds character...don't you think?

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Baby Girl Finally had her first bath a few nights ago. Her belly button stump fell off at only 1 week old, the earliest of all of my children. However, I had not made the time to give her a water bath. Newborns only stink on their booties and I HAD given her a washcloth-bottom bath. She wasn't crazy about the tub, however she was already ticked about something else and I'm guessing that her irritability carried over into the bathtub. I'll try again in a few weeks (kidding).

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Elizabeth is growing up so fast, wanting to help with everything. She's really into changing diapers lately. As long as they are pee-pee diapers, I let her. She LOVES changing Ashlee. Last night, she asked to feed Baby Girl her bottle. I figure I'll let her do as much as she asks to do and let her stop when she wants. I don't want her to get burned out, and I want her to love being a big sister.

Yesterday, we were at the mall playing on the indoor playground (we'd been housebound since Sunday...we needed to get OUT..yes I had help). Anyway, a lady sitting near us asked me,

"Are those all your kids?"

To which I replied - "Yes."

Elizabeth proceeded to tell her that we were keeping Baby D and Baby Girl because their parents couldn't take care of them right now. Precious, huh?

Not to be outdone, Ashlee has assumed the big sister role as well. Mostly, her time is spent showering Baby D and Baby Girl with kisses and putting pacifiers back in the mouths of otherwise happy babies. Since Elizabeth was feeding Baby Girl, Ashlee just HAD to feed Baby D. He's at least half her size, if not more. Here she is doing 2 of her most favorite things, smoochin' and holdin'.

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Baby D is officially rolling from front to back, mostly because he hates being on his tummy. He's rolled from back to front only once. He's found his feet and loves holding them and cooing.

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Not much new to report on the fostering homefront. We are at house total (meaning we cannot accept more children). In NC, the limit is 5 children. Since we already had 3, we could only have 2 spots. Since they've been filled we are done unless Baby D or Baby Girl are moved or go back home. I'll update later on Baby D and Baby Girl's situations. I know you people and you'll be irrate and only comment on the updated status. For now, I want you love my pictures and focus on the GOOD THINGS that come out of having precious babies in our house, all 5 of them.

Part 1

My first semester at college was a reality shock. I actually had the freedom to come and go as I pleased, make my own choices without reprimand and I LOVED it. I played volleyball, which consumed all of my time outside of class. I did, however, find some time to "play."

I remember the first time I went to a party with the intention of partying. I'd never partied in high school. This was a fraternity apartment (b/c they didn't have houses) and, thankfully, there was one upstanding guy who took me back to my room without taking advantage of me in my drunken state. The rest of my freshman year was more of the same. I managed to fail Calculus which crushed me because I'd never even made a "C" in high school. With each new challenge that came, I enjoyed trying to figure out solutions on my own. My relationship with my father continued to crumble, but the relationship with my Mom was slowly being rebuilt.

I returned to Lyon the fall of my sophomore year to find myself single, free from a relationship that had consumed my entire freshman year. I was one of those girls that always had a boyfriend or was dating someone. Looking back, I was hardly ever single unless I'd just broken up with someone. It didn't take me long to find another boyfriend.

I started dating this guy, an upperclassmen and I was totally swept off my feet. He lived off campus and I fell for him, HARD. We dated for about two months and out of the blue he broke things off. I got so angry with myself for being hurt. I had allowed him to hurt me because I had made myself vulnerable. I promised myself never, ever again would that happen.

Two weeks later, I met Luke again. It still amazes me that we didn't run into each other more often, or maybe we did and I just don't remember it. Lyon's total enrollment at the time was right around 500 students. The majority lived on campus. That meant everyone knew everyone. How had I not really noticed him before?

Still licking my wounds from the heartache of my last relationship, I decided to focus on making good choices. Since it was fall, volleyball was in season again. I tried hard to follow the rules of curfew, but with my heart broken I wanted to rebel. One night, the day before a volleyball game, I went back to my room to wait for our coach to call for curfew check. Once I got the call, I headed back out. I went over to the apartments on campus, the on campus hang out, hot spot.

I was sitting on a fence that surrounded a patio area. My sorority had hosted a party earlier that night and the theme was "Decade Party." Being that it was a game night, I was not drinking. As the rush of partiers arrived back on campus, here comes this guy in a light blue pin-striped suit with the most awful, curly wig on the planet.

**Sidenote: If you've been to our house and seen a short, curly wig in our kids' play chest, it's THAT one.**

It was a cool night, and Luke ended up offering me his jacket. I didn't get a twinge of "Ooooh, he's the one" or "Wow, he's so hot." Yes, I found him attractive, but still reeling from the last boyfriend I, for once, was NOT looking.

I've always heard that it is when you are not looking for love that you find "The One." I've also heard that when you "know", you "just know." For the record, the first one turned out to be true for me.

That crap about just "knowing"...it wasn't until years later that God showed me that there was a reason that I could not let go, even when everything and everyone around me was screaming..."DUMP HIM."