What's half a dozen??

Six....six is half a dozen.  Six is also double the size our family was just a few weeks ago. Six will also be our head count starting next Wednesday.  Big Brother and Little Brother's little sister will be coming to live with us as well.  She is 1, and the Brothers are soooo excited.  I think Tater is excited to add more girls to the house!!
As our number continues to grow, I think about what all has changed.  The best way to describe it is that our NORMAL has changed.  The very way we define things has changed.  How often does Webster update his dictionary?? I'm not sure.  But for me, there are a few definitions that have drastically changed.  Please see the list below:
Dinner - This used to be a time where the three of us sat around the table and talked about our day. Tater would study if need be and it was quiet and peaceful.  Dinner is now the three kiddos sitting and eating and Papa and I refilling, encouraging two little monkeys to stay in their seats, reviewing manners, and answering questions about what we would do next.  Papa and I eat later, or sometimes forget and just go to sleep instead.
Bedtime - We used to send Esther to bed at 7:00 to read for 20 minutes and then one of us would go in, read a Bible story, say prayers, give kisses, and then retreat to the living room with the other to watch TV.  Bedtime is now every man for himself!  Big Brother still struggles with nightmares and night terrors and needs quite a bit of chill time before he is ready to go to bed.  He and Papa lay on the couch and watch some calm cartoons.  Tater reads a book to Little Brother, we say prayers, and then Tater and I lay in his floor until he falls asleep. Once LB is asleep, Papa can bring BB in and sit with him until he falls asleep. Tater sometimes falls asleep in the floor, so she is then carried to bed in true princess style.  Sometimes I am still awake when Papa comes to bed, and sometimes I have already passed out.
A clean house......no scratch that.....let's just say a 'picked up' house - I have a basket or container for everything. Tater has lived with this system for seven years.  She understands that toys are grouped according to their kind and put away in this manner.  Well.....BB and LB understand the concept of cleaning up our toys...however, the Little People are chillin with the hot wheels who are mixed in with the dinosaurs who used to go in the basket in the living room but have now been relocated to the boys room.  My new policy is....off the floor so I don't twist my ankle.
Relaxing - My relaxing time used to be an episode of Bones enjoyed from my red recliner where I can see the birds eating out of the bird feeder in our front trees.  Relaxing is still in my red recliner, however I often have at least two children and one dog in my lap, Bones has been replaced with Handy Manny or Dragon Tales, and the birds think I've died.
It has taken two weeks to rework our definition of NORMAL. And guess what?? It will take two more weeks to make a new one once Little Sister comes. The coolest thing?? This Momma who does not like change, enjoys her order, and loves routine.....goes to sleep every night with a smile on her face.
There is no good reason I should be enjoying this insanity.  Not one.  It is hard, messy, loud, and sometimes down right horrible.  However, there are two little people who are learning to love again, learning to trust again, and learning what family can look like. More important, they are learning of the unconditional love that their Heavenly Father has for them.
The month of October holds many important dates: LS comes on the 1st, Bio mom and dad have their first court hearing on the 8th, and the first hearing for the kiddos is on the 23rd.  Please continue to pray for all involved. There are many people that are involved in making decisions for this kids, funny though.....I have never seen them at 9:00 when BB is showing no signs of sleep, or after dinner when LB is throwing himself on the ground in a full fledged tantrum. I pray that they seek God's wisdom and guidance.
Thank you all for your prayers and riding in this wacky wagon with us :)

And God laughs at my plans :)

Sooooooo THE CALL came Thursday night.  I saw the name of our family consultant(FC) come across the caller ID and my heart stopped. This was it! Papa had Tater at gymnastics, I was home alone and this was THE CALL.  I excitedly greeted our FC and listened as she gave the few details she had on our first placement.  We would be getting two children from a sibling group of six. The oldest was a five year old boy and the younger a two year old sister.  Papa and I had pictured was an older girl and younger boy, but this wasn't bad.  Bottom line, they needed love and we have it to give.  Because they were to arrive Thursday night, I jumped in the van and headed to Walmart for diapers.  I also began to make calls to let my school know I wouldn't be in to work the next day, and letting our friends know THE CALL had come.
Suddenly, as if you could audibly hear the screeching of brakes, our FC called again.  They were able to find a family member that would take all six siblings, so they didn't have to split them up.  (Which is good.) She also informed me that while one person was taking that call, another call came in for two brothers, ages five and four.  Would we be willing to take them??
Wow.....would we be willing to take them??  That was a very good question.  You see for almost 11 months we had been preparing for a baby and a toddler or two year old.  We had the crib, the car seats, the stroller where one could ride and one could sit, we had the high chair and booster in place.  We had toddler and 2ish toys placed throughout the house, and we were ready for that.  I had planned.  I had prepared.  I was ready.
Would we be willing to take them??  I am reminded of one of my favorite books, Forgotten God.  It is the book that provided the encouragement for me to leave public education (and the public education paycheck) in favor of ministry in Christian education.  In Forgotten God, Francis Chan writes of becoming so desperate for God that whatever follows could not have come from you, but from Him.  I'm a planner.  I know....I know....that comes as a shock to anyone who has read this blog. Change comes....and I plan.  I believe someone wiser than I once said 'as we plan, God laughs'.  Man do I believe that!
Would we be willing to take them?? YES!!! Not because we were ready, not because it was what we had 'wanted' or thought of, but because we are doing something we are called to do, and God called us to these boys.  So, yes, we took them.  I came out of Walmart, not with diapers, but with dinosaur sheets, boys underwear, and boy tooth brushes.  Papa called in the troops (i.e. friends from our church) that have boys and collected an amazing amount of little boy toys and clothes (and more underwear).  We put all of our plans in storage, and began preparing for what God has for us.
This morning began day two with Big Brother (BB) and Little Brother (LB).  They are crazy cute and snuggly.  They have learned manners somewhere along the road and gobbled up more dinosaur chicken nuggets last night than I have ever seen kids put away.  They slept soundly for 11 hours!!  This morning they are enjoying the park.  Last night BB prayed for dinner and thanked God for ketchup and a good day.
We won't know how long they will be with us until after the initial hearing sometime next week. But in the meantime, we are basking in the greatness of God's plan and joining Him in chuckling at the simplicity of ours.
I think I will always remember Friday, September 12, 2014 at 1:00 PM when God grew our family by four wild and wooly feet. :) (Just a side note....the bigger shoes actually belong to LB!)