Bad Weather - Cool Clouds

The Wednesday before Memorial Day, Kansas City experienced very severe weather with at least 2 tornadoes touching down in the metro area. Below are some pictures of the clouds right before the heavy stuff hit.
I had actually taken the pets to the vet that day. When I went to leave the vet's office, an assistant stated a tornado had touched down near 115th and Roe. Driving home from the vet was very exciting because the wind was howling and the rain was coming down so hard I could hardly see the road.
As I pulled off of 435 to go north on Wornall, I saw a huge funnel cloud to the north and east of where I home would be. I also noticed that some storm spotters were stopped on the Wornall off-ramp to videotape it as well.
I prayed my home would still be there...It was!!! It was reported that the funnel cloud had formed near 75th and State Line. I was in the basement for about 2 hours with all 4 pets texting Josh back and forth about the weather.
Hope you like the cloud pictures...taken while driving!

Jamion Graduates Pre-K

On May 17, Jamion graduated Pre-K through KinderCare. He really enjoys the daycare and the daycare has brought him a loooooooooong way. When he first came to live with us, he could sing his ABC's, but could nto identify any of the letters or their sounds, etc. After 2 weeks at the daycare, he could spell his name...write it all by himself and correctly! Now he knows all of his letters and he learned songs and such to remember how to spell them. I've put the words down to the one he sings the most...which is RED. This is sung to the tune of Brother John or Frère Jacques. R-E-D RED R-E-D RED I can spell RED I can spell RED Fire-trucks are RED Stop signs are too R-E-D R-E-D Below is a video of him receiving his "diploma". During the announcement of his name, they also stated what he wants to be when he grows up. Several of the graduating girls wanted to be princesses, or a "hair cutter" and several of the men wanted to be firemen or policemen...one wanted to be a grandpa! But not our Jamion! Can you guess what he wants to be...the clues are below. 1) It is of ancient origins 2) It requires cool gear 3) You can be a good guy or a bad guy 4) You use martial arts Watch the video and listen carefully for the answer!

The Great Adventures of London...Part I

Well, our little London is growing up! The first picture below is of London sleeping in his car seat when he was about 10 months old. His legs are crossed "indian" style and then pulled up to his chest. When he was 10 months old, this was a common sleeping style for him. I just thought it was too cute to pass up.
The next two pictures were taken shortly after London turned 1 on May 23. He's a smart little fella...our nickname for him is Little Man because he's like a miniture man. Jamion, CJ, and CeKariya were in the front yard fighting ninjas and saving princesses. London was inside with me and Josh was putting on his finishing touches for dinner. I was working on the computer while London was attempting to walk, bear walk, and crawl around the front room.
I started to smell a slight hint of strawberry in the air...like lotion or perfume, but didn't think much of it. Josh walks into the front room with a boom "Oh, no! London! London, what are you doing?" I looked at him curiously and Josh responded, "He's eating the strawberry body butter...it's all over him!"
We took the below pictures of his look before we wiped it off. We also discussed how he got into the body butter because the lid was screwed on tightly...the Little Man figured out how to open it all by himself! The pro of this ordeal? He smelled good for the next two days!
Enjoy the pictures! Click on them to see a close-up of his face and mouth!

CJ's New 'Do

So, being foster parents can be challenging when you're not allowed to change a kiddos hairdo. For example, we'd love for CJ's hair to be in a low faze hairdo like Jamion. It would be so much easier to manage. However, we have to have permission from the biological parent(s) to do so.
Since we have not been given permission to cut CJ's hair, we've had to fix his hair as best we can on our own. We've taken him to the barber and cosmetology college here for them to do braided dreads, but they were not done correctly and were done too tightly; they were making his head swell from the pressure.
I've attempted the braided dreads, but a 3 year old is not the best person to try the braids on...he moves a lot. Also, he is very tender-headed and cries when the braids are done...even by his biological parent(s).
We've had great success with multiple "twisties" which is were you twist the hair in a certain direction while using hair conditioner gel. Below are some pictures with his hair in the twisties. We've also had success with multiple individual braids...but I don't have any pictures of those. Also, both hairdo's tend to look great when I'm done, but when he wakes...BED HEAD!!!

Hope you enjoy...I'm playing catch up and some items will be out of order.

Our Everyday Lives...

So, I keep getting harped because I don't post enough...here's a snippet of our lives. Enjoy it!

A Visit From God

You talk about God. You read about God. You pray to God. You think you know God. But what a surprise to get a visit from God!
Near Christmastime, I had come home and just gotten dinner on the table for my brood. (It's quite a chore to work a 10 hour day and then cook a full meal for husband and koddos...I was quite worn out.) Josh went to the store to buy some more milk and came home just as dinner hit the table. He called me to the front room and pointed outside..."There's a girl sitting out there in the cold and snow...I'm not sure what to do."
Sure enough, outside was a young woman in front of our neighbor Steve's house. She was hunched over rubbing her hands. I asked Josh to get the kiddos going on dinner and I'd see what was going on.
I walked out to the young woman and asked if she'd like to come inside. She explained her ride was on the way and she'd be okay. At this point, it started to snow and I insisted she come inside to keep warm. I wouldn't take "No" for an answer as we were just the next house over.
As we stepped inside, I asked if she would like some supper or a drink and she declined. I invited to sit on the couch and prepared myself to listen.
I asked a few leading questions..."What were you doing outside in the cold with 2 baskets of clothes? Did your car break down while doing laundry? Were you out there long...it sure is cold?" I waited as she answered the questions, sidestepping what had really happened.
I nodded knowingly, expecting there was more to the story. She suddenly started to cry, breaking into a sob as she tried to explain through gasps what she was going through and the pain she was feeling. I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry while I rubbed her back and prayed over her. We sat like this, her crying, me holding and praying for her, for 15 or so minutes.
She looked up and said to me, "I know you're praying for me because I feel God here. I feel his love through you and I like it." All I could do was nod.
When she left, she said to me, "I love you and I know God is with you in this place and with me as I leave. I don't know your name, but I know you are love."
Now, you might say, "Well, that wasn't God that came to visit, just some stranger. And you let a stranger into the house with 4 kiddos in your care!"
But let me give you some background...Around the time that that this happened, Josh and I had just accepted CeKariya & London to our little family. Jamion and CJ were acting out because they were having trouble adjusting to their siblings joining the family. CeKariya was being shyly stubborn and spent every two or three nights just screaming and crying. London wasn't sleeping well due to his sister. On top of this, two of the kiddos were sick and Josh and I were starting to catch it. I was stressed at my job and weary of the lack of flexibility. Josh and I were straying from each other...little things that never bothered us before were causing us to fight and bringing tension to our marriage. We were also straying from God and church just seemed to be another commitment that was taking away from what little down time we were afforded.
We needed God. We needed to talk to God. we needed to read about God. We needed to pray to God. We needed to know God again. God knew just what to do. He put the young woman into our lives because He knew we would pray for her and in praying for her, we would come together and bring ourselves before him.
A visit from God is just what our family needed.

New Kiddos

Well, Josh and I have just been jumping into being foster parents and we have totally taken the plunge. Our first sibling group was a group of 3 with only one needing diapers changes and bottles made, etc. Our newest set of kiddos are a different story completely.
We've taken the full plunge and now have 4 kiddos...Jamion (4 1/2), C.J. (2 1/2), CeKariya (16 months), & London (6 months). We've only had all 4 of them for 2 weeks, but we've had Jamion and C.J. for almost a month. This sibling group is as cute as can be and bring us lots of laughs and joy. But, you can imagine the shock of having 4 persons trying to use one bathroom and the change of routine!
Needless to say, Christmas this year will be quite a rockin' event! Josh's family has waited patiently for years for someone to have kiddos and now we have 4! I think these kiddos will get spoiled this year and they deserve it!
Here they are...along with a picture of our first kiddos!