Michelle got a new Adventure Bible for Christmas. She has been reading it. Very carefully reading it. This afternoon I realized that she is underlining and circling every comment about sex or being naked. She thought that it was quite funny and was sharing this information with the other kids. She can quote you the last of Genesis 19:5 Bring them out to us. We want to have sex with them.
In that case I had her read to me the entire Chapter 19, The Lord Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. We read the entire chapter and learned the consequences delivered to those people. I have had to take her Bible away because she kept showing the kids other specific verses. She decided to tell them all about Noah....and how he got drunk and was laying on the ground naked.
Honestly, I am not sure what to do about this one. She spent a long time scanning the Bible to find anything shocking. We talked for a long time about sin and how we are lucky that there is a New Testament because we are all such weak creatures and need the salvation offered by Jesus.
Any suggestions?
Monday, December 30, 2013
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Calm Days
The last few days have been calm days. The kids play lots of games to include Twister.....
Where marking of the feet has helped!
Lots of wii playing, trampoline jumping and sharing. The kids are on a pretty good run right now. The squabbles have been few and the fighting minimal (for our house).
I almost don't know what to do with myself. I am on the last load of laundry from the girls room and have done a lot of sorting. I have even done a lot of cleaning of my desk! However, I feel the need to do some type of project.
Right now our life is in a stand still of some type. John doesn't know what to do or where to go. He wishes that the direction he needed to go was clearly marked. He is looking at going back to school. I am even looking at going back to school to get a second master. I am also contemplating starting a business in the next few months and am thinking about actually taking an art class online (I have never actually taken an art class, might be fun).
I have started looking at adoption photolistings and am shocked that some of the kids that were there over 2 years ago are still there. Our adoption homestudy is almost complete so we wait to see where that goes. Should I look or just wait for the call? Emma and Michelle were not on any photolistings because they were a disrupted adoption placement. Sarah says that she would like it if we got some easy kids for a change. Somehow I don't think that will happen. I have a feeling that we will get a call for another hard to place kid/s. That just seems to be how it goes for us.
Ever have that feeling of "now what?" That is how I feel right now. Not a concerned feeling, more of a restless feeling. There is something that is missing or something that I need to do. I just need to figure it out. Is this the calm before the storm? More concerning to me is do I only know how to do storm?
Where marking of the feet has helped!
Lots of wii playing, trampoline jumping and sharing. The kids are on a pretty good run right now. The squabbles have been few and the fighting minimal (for our house).
I almost don't know what to do with myself. I am on the last load of laundry from the girls room and have done a lot of sorting. I have even done a lot of cleaning of my desk! However, I feel the need to do some type of project.
Right now our life is in a stand still of some type. John doesn't know what to do or where to go. He wishes that the direction he needed to go was clearly marked. He is looking at going back to school. I am even looking at going back to school to get a second master. I am also contemplating starting a business in the next few months and am thinking about actually taking an art class online (I have never actually taken an art class, might be fun).
I have started looking at adoption photolistings and am shocked that some of the kids that were there over 2 years ago are still there. Our adoption homestudy is almost complete so we wait to see where that goes. Should I look or just wait for the call? Emma and Michelle were not on any photolistings because they were a disrupted adoption placement. Sarah says that she would like it if we got some easy kids for a change. Somehow I don't think that will happen. I have a feeling that we will get a call for another hard to place kid/s. That just seems to be how it goes for us.
Ever have that feeling of "now what?" That is how I feel right now. Not a concerned feeling, more of a restless feeling. There is something that is missing or something that I need to do. I just need to figure it out. Is this the calm before the storm? More concerning to me is do I only know how to do storm?
Friday, December 27, 2013
The Making of a Dollhouse
Making an American Girl dollhouse on the super cheap can be challenging. One challenge is simply that they are pretty big. I had this dresser that I got very cheaply because it needed a lot of repairs. Instead of repairing it I decided to tear it down.
December 16th
I printed out a headboard that I thought looked interesting to use as my headboard design. I used the side of the drawers for the wood.
For the side rails I used an old drawer front from another dresser that was demolished.
I used them because of they already had the space for the mattress board.
In the meantime I cut parts for the loft bed.
Started painting the walls.
Made a desk which was later painted in a zebra pattern.
I decided the extend the floor space to fit more furniture in. The cabinet was a small display cabinet that had broken glass.
The flooring was made from the demolished ramp.
I used a style from the Ana White site but decided to add safety rails.
December 23, made some accessories and sewed the bedding..
The headboard was stenciled and the entire bed was aged to match the cabinet. The bed is adorable.
I sewed a comforter, two pillows and two pillow cases. I almost finished an extra pillow but need to hand stitch it closed.
There are still a lot of things that can be added and with time Larissa can add whatever she wants.
The house is a big hit, all the kids play with it throughout the day.
December 16th
For the side rails I used an old drawer front from another dresser that was demolished.
I used them because of they already had the space for the mattress board.
In the meantime I cut parts for the loft bed.
Started painting the walls.
Made a desk which was later painted in a zebra pattern.
I decided the extend the floor space to fit more furniture in. The cabinet was a small display cabinet that had broken glass.
The flooring was made from the demolished ramp.
I used a style from the Ana White site but decided to add safety rails.
December 23, made some accessories and sewed the bedding..
December 24th, saw some cute battery operated lights at Target and decided to add them.
Tasha painted the chair. The base of the chair is an old jewelry box bought at Goodwill for $2.
The headboard was stenciled and the entire bed was aged to match the cabinet. The bed is adorable.
I sewed a comforter, two pillows and two pillow cases. I almost finished an extra pillow but need to hand stitch it closed.
There are still a lot of things that can be added and with time Larissa can add whatever she wants.
The house is a big hit, all the kids play with it throughout the day.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Too Many Stockings on the Mantle
We heard a big crash and went to go check it out. This is what we found. Anthony was running from the scene and was messing with the stockings. Obviously we needed a different method for putting up the stockings.
I got a piece of wood from the garage from the ramp dismantle and cut it to size. I carefully measured out for 16 nails. (I eye-balled them)
I drilled a small hole at an angle and hammered the nails in part way.
Then I put everything back. It worked really well. I even filled some of the stockings and it didn't budge. I plan on keeping it and might even paint it for next Christmas.
Anyone else have a problem with too many stockings? If so, how to you deal with them?
I got a piece of wood from the garage from the ramp dismantle and cut it to size. I carefully measured out for 16 nails. (I eye-balled them)
I drilled a small hole at an angle and hammered the nails in part way.
I emptied the mantle and place the piece of wood down.
Then I put everything back. It worked really well. I even filled some of the stockings and it didn't budge. I plan on keeping it and might even paint it for next Christmas.
Anyone else have a problem with too many stockings? If so, how to you deal with them?
Fail
Well, giving the girls responsibility of their clothing failed. I think it was because they have too much. I have taken care of that.
On Christmas Eve I asked the girls to clean their room (Emma and Michelle). After 5 hours I went to see what the problem was. Others in the house were checking on their progress and I was attempting to clean downstairs and do some baking.
I walked in on this. Yep, this is how far they had gotten in 5 hours.
I peeked into their closet for their clean clothing.
I looked across the closet at Anthony's bedroom and handed him a broom.
I sent the girls away and cleaned for them. They will now have a lot less clothing and no toys or books in their bedroom except for a Bible. I filled three big trash bags and found 4 tubes of almost full toothpaste in their mess.
Then I went downstairs and saw glasses everywhere. I brought out this tray and explained that they would get one glass a day and if it wasn't on this tray then they lost their glass for the day. Naturally they take their glass to the table for meals. I have run loads of dishes that were mostly glasses, it was becoming a big issue with me.
I didn't get all my baking done and today I am still doing laundry. Most of the girls clothing will be gone but I have to sort them a weeks worth of clothing first.
On Christmas Eve I asked the girls to clean their room (Emma and Michelle). After 5 hours I went to see what the problem was. Others in the house were checking on their progress and I was attempting to clean downstairs and do some baking.
I walked in on this. Yep, this is how far they had gotten in 5 hours.
I saw their overflowing laundry baskets and told them that there was no way that they wore that amount of clothing since the last laundry day less than a week ago.
I peeked into their closet for their clean clothing.
I looked across the closet at Anthony's bedroom and handed him a broom.
I sent the girls away and cleaned for them. They will now have a lot less clothing and no toys or books in their bedroom except for a Bible. I filled three big trash bags and found 4 tubes of almost full toothpaste in their mess.
Then I went downstairs and saw glasses everywhere. I brought out this tray and explained that they would get one glass a day and if it wasn't on this tray then they lost their glass for the day. Naturally they take their glass to the table for meals. I have run loads of dishes that were mostly glasses, it was becoming a big issue with me.
I didn't get all my baking done and today I am still doing laundry. Most of the girls clothing will be gone but I have to sort them a weeks worth of clothing first.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Merry Christmas
Elves playing....
The second project was finished Christmas Eve.
The downstairs need more work. Tasha painted the chair but some type of furniture is needed on the other side of the room.
I love the bed. It was made entirely from wood reclaimed from the dresser.
Time for bed.... 4 am
6 am, let the fun begin. The kids played hard all day.
The day went by so fast that I didn't even think to get pictures of the group of kids. Everyone in state made it home so we had a houseful. We invited the foster kids parents over to spend some time with their kids on Christmas. We told them to bring one gift for each child which they did. (The kids may be going home in January on their next court date.)
Tomorrow....the rest of the story. I am keeping Christmas positive. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.
The second project was finished Christmas Eve.
The downstairs need more work. Tasha painted the chair but some type of furniture is needed on the other side of the room.
I love the bed. It was made entirely from wood reclaimed from the dresser.
Time for bed.... 4 am
6 am, let the fun begin. The kids played hard all day.
8 pm all the little's are in bed.
The day went by so fast that I didn't even think to get pictures of the group of kids. Everyone in state made it home so we had a houseful. We invited the foster kids parents over to spend some time with their kids on Christmas. We told them to bring one gift for each child which they did. (The kids may be going home in January on their next court date.)
Tomorrow....the rest of the story. I am keeping Christmas positive. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Loft Bed Finished
I have finished the loft bed for Emma's American Girl doll. This design works best for her because the bed is about indestructible.
This was a very cheap project. A large majority of the wood was from the ramp we took apart. I reused paint from our house. I got the basic design off of the Ana White site. I added the security rail because it bothered me that it didn't have one. This project was a lot of fun and very quick. Tomorrow I will finish what I can on Larissa's project.
This was a very cheap project. A large majority of the wood was from the ramp we took apart. I reused paint from our house. I got the basic design off of the Ana White site. I added the security rail because it bothered me that it didn't have one. This project was a lot of fun and very quick. Tomorrow I will finish what I can on Larissa's project.