A New Year

A Brand New Year and baby it's cold out there. I don't consider myself a wimp when it gets cold but I don't think I'm expecting too much from Florida to expect temperatures above freezing.

We have had below freezing temps for almost a week now and its getting a little old. I believe that if its cold enough to freeze then we should at least get snow, that would be something nice to look at as we turn blue in our less then adequately insulated house.

We have had to make some temporary adjustments to the house in order to stay warm. Our front door is a joke. the windows on either side of the door are basically there for show because they do not keep any cold out at all. You could in fact feel the cold air rushing across the floor.

So Will came up with a plan to try and keep some of that arctic air outside where it belongs. He bought some foam insulation and cut it to fit the windows.


It helps, but our poor heater cannot keep up. During the day it's fine but once the sun has gone down we are so out of luck it just blows and blows and blows and I hear $$$$$$$$ all night long. It cannot heat the house enough to turn off not even for a moment. We can turn down the heat and it will turn off but once it gets below what we have turned it down to the same things starts all over again blow blow blow and that equals $$$$$$.

Christmas was wonderful we all had so much fun. I think Santa must have crashed his sleigh at our house. Sorry rest of the world but we got everything. I guess that all of this is to be expected with 8 people. Here is the video Will made of the crash site Christmas Eve.




This will be the last Christmas with our girls.
They will be moving to their preadoptive placement in the next few months. We have enjoyed them so much, I can't believe that it has been 4 years that they have been with us. Each and every one of them have grown so much. They are no longer the same little girls that came to us with so much stress and problems. It has been a growing experience for all of us. It will be hard to let them go but we know that they are not meant to be our forever children.

The family that is looking to adopt them has known the girls for years, they had Heidi originally when they were first placed into care. They had tried to get all 4 placed with them but we beat them to it. I talked to her about that and said how strange it was that they came to us but they will end up with them why was that? She said that it was meant to be and it worked out for the best for her. Because if she had taken all of the girls at that time she would have not been able to take her two nieces in when they were placed into care. so it all worked out just fine.

I will not lie I will miss them and I'm also sad that things did not work out the way we thought they would at one time. Yes at one time we would have adopted them in a heartbeat, but things kept happening and when the time finally came our lives had changed as have our goals. We have prayed and fasted about them so many times and each and every time I said yes we will adopt them it felt like ashes in my mouth. It just was not right and my heart knew it as well. It took a long time for us to finally listen to what the Lord wanted us to do. It does not make that decision any easier and I still feel deep levels of guilt over it, but deep down I know it's what should be done. My heart is still broken.

We have found ourselves pushing them away, I don't want to feel the pain I felt when they went home that first time. I thought my heart would break, but at that time I knew they were not safe and that it was no a good place for them to be. This time I feel better about it. this family is very nice. And they have adopted other children from foster care in the past. And those children seem so happy.

Jessica and Brandon were able to come out and spend New Years with us. That was wonderful I can't believe that they have been married for over a year now. Where has all of the time gone?

Joshua will be graduating from High school this year so that will leave us with only one child in school, other then college of course. Josh is wanting to be a graphic artist He is extremely talented. He hopes to work on making miniatures for movies.

Benjamin is in the IB program at school, it is an accelerated program that once he has completed it he will also have completed his first year of college. He as of right now has not decided what it is he wants to do when he goes to college but we tell him that is alright. I myself have not decided what I want to do when I grow up either. Perhaps I just will not grow up.

My New Years resolutions are

1. to finish writing my novel
2. get more exercise
3. to enjoy the life I have and not dwell on what we do not have
4. get a full time job

I don't think I'm expecting too much of myself do you? Just because I have never kept any of my New Years resolutions in the past does not mean I can't do it this time.