Live. Love. Foster.

Oasis

6/6/14

Don't eat the yellow snow (and other life lessons)

Would you do anything differently with your kids tomorrow if you knew their days with you were numbered?

Our life feels a little bit like the movie Elf. In the movie, Elf's adopted dad only has a few weeks left to spend with him at the North Pole before Elf is sent to NYC to find his real dad. His adopted dad tries to cram in a bunch of life lessons right before Elf leaves for fear that he won't have a chance to teach him the lessons at a later time.

Buddy is told not to eat yellow snow, not to eat gum on the bridge, where he can find the "best" pizza place, among several other important lessons.

We've found ourselves cramming in a few life lessons with our Little Lady recently, too.

Here are just a few (most of them written by Bry)...

1. The world says, "Never give up." Jesus says, "You have to give up everything and follow me. Trust me, I'll take care of you."

2. When you're a lot older, make sure you never settle for a man that doesn't treat you right. You'll know they're not worth it if they ever yell at you, are always lazy, never work hard to get a good job, or if they say mean things to you.

3. If you ever are in danger or feel unsafe, call 911 or my phone number (even if you don't live with us anymore). I'll always find a way to get you help.

4. There will always be people that try to get you to make the wrong decisions like them. When you're in middle school, other kids will try to get you to smoke a cigarette. Remember, when someone tries to get other people to make a poor choice, it's because they want to feel better about themselves for doing something wrong.

5. You need to go to college. Even if you want a job that doesn't need a college degree, you need to go. That way, when you're a really old lady, you can change jobs and you won't have to work so hard and so you can retire and play bingo all day. After all, because you're a foster kid, you get free tuition to any state college in Texas! Going to college isn't about trying to be more important or more special or better than anyone or even about making more money...it's about giving you more choices in life, like getting a job that you actually want to do, or having the choice to get good insurance for your family. The extra money you usually get is just a bonus.

6. Don't ever let anyone let you think you aren't loved. Some people are really sneaky about trying to make you think that you don't matter, but it's a lie. Jesus will always love you like a princess of his kingdom, and Julie and I will always love you, no matter what happens in life!

LL's quotes:

- "I'll take care of MJ and AJ at my party tomorrow!" (Anie, you have nothing to worry about!) :)

- "I have cooties cause I'm a cutie!"

- (On our way to dinner) LL: "My dad would never let me be this crazy in the car." Me: "It's ok to be a little crazy right now." LL: "But, will I still get to order a coke???"

- Me: "Wanna go dance?" LL: "No! I'm in heels here!"

Sweet moment...walking down memory lane looking at old pics of the Hills family...some of the pics are 150 years old!

Today was our Little Lady's last day of first grade! Her aftercare (daycare) is amazing! They had a summer kick-off party tonight to celebrate her last day of school!!!

Just a little excited about the bubble bath.

She called this the "duck dunker."

Her favorite event of the night!

"We're in a tiger's stomach!"

Finished our last day of school celebration at Testa!

The man making pizzas gave her some dough to play with!

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Oasis

6/5/14

I'm telling you private stuff.

Our little one has been opening up a little but more and slowly bringing us closer to her heart. Most of her stories aren't traumatic or disheartening, but in her mind, they are very personal and she doesn't share them with just anyone. Tonight was the second time she told me a story and then followed it up with, "I'm telling you private stuff here." This trust-building stuff is hard work and it definitely doesn't happen over night.

LL's end of year party was today. We are so proud of her. She deserved that party with how much she's been through this year. It took 3 schools, 4 teachers, interim parents, a few case workers, 3 counties, and a whole lot of prayer and Lunchables to get her through it!

LL's quotes:
- LL's teacher told me they were working on Father's Day gifts a few days ago and she told her, "You know? Mr. Brian really has been a good dad to me." So sweet!

- Bry: "Do you want teddy bear pancakes for dinner?" LL: "How bout dog pancakes or cat pancakes?" Bry: "How bout snowman pancakes?" LL: "Ok. With a hat?" Bry: "You're missing the point. Circles only!"

- "You sure are attracted to that phone."

- LL: "I wanna meet Ms. Jilly!" Me: "I wish you could, but she lives so far away and plane tickets are expensive." LL: "Well, I'm willing to take that risk."

End of year party!

Her newest Barbie.

We bought season passes to the community pool, but when we went to go swim, it was closed for a private party. Luckily, we found this splash park down the street. She loved it!!!

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Oasis

6/4/14

This is my temporary home

Our Little Lady sang the Carrie Underwood song, "Temporary Home" about 67 times tonight while she was in the bath. If you haven't heard it before, you should look it up. It was beautiful (and heartbreaking) to hear her little voice singing such profound lyrics.

This is her temporary home, but she will have a place here forever.

On another note, Bry and I had to take a second to reflect on how far LL has come in the last few months. This little girl was able to bathe, change, brush her teeth, and get ready for bed all by herself and she finished in about 15 minutes tonight! Who is this child?!?! This would've taken hours just a few weeks ago, and it only would've happened if we stood over her every step of the way. So proud of her!!

LL's quotes:

- "----- told everyone at school today that I'm in foster care. I told her she had 10 minutes to think about what she had done. She said she was sorry."
- (After she passed gas...) "I said excuse me three times because you're about to smell it in a second. Just wait. I'm waiting for another one to come in. I'll send it your way."
- Bry: "Stop scratching your bites, please." LL: "But I'm going to keep scratching because it's my body."
- "I know the sun is in space, but you can still see it."
- "My imaginary sister is sitting here."

LL using her new jump rope.

Playing with her FurReal friend.

Bry had to work late tonight (and by work late, I mean he had to join his team at a Rangers game!) He decided LL would be his +1, naturally, and she was SO excited! She'd been looking forward to it for weeks! They had a blast!

I wish you could see the nacho cheese all over her face!

Sweet and sassy. Don't mess with Texas OR this little firecracker.

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Oasis

6/3/14

Where do you want to live?

It's hard to over hear some of the questions people (case workers) ask our Little Lady sometimes. I wish she never had to hear these questions, or even think about things like this.

Where do you want to live? What should I tell the judge this month?

Do you know what drugs are? Do you know what they do to your body? Do you know anyone who does drugs?

It's even harder to hear the answers. I know some day she will be stronger because of everything she's enduring right now in this moment.

I'll lean on that.

LL's quotes:

- "That was a really gooey bug!"

- "I need memonium!" (momentum)

- "I wanna live in New Mexico with the brick houses and all of the mobile homes."

*Theres still time to vote on your favorite LL quote! See yesterday's post for more info! I've loved reading through your favorites!*

I love watching these two girls love on each other.

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Oasis

6/2/14

LL's "Best of" Quotes...please VOTE!

In honor of our 60th day with our little lady, we wanted to share our favorite quotes from the last 2+ months while she's been with us.

I thought it'd be really difficult to choose just a few, but when I read back through them, I realized that most of them weren't that funny anymore (which might be how most of you feel when reading them.) But like any great story, you really just have to be there to appreciate it. Still, I'm glad we have it all recorded so we can look back and laugh at her funny stories someday.

Some of her quotes definitely stood out to me more than others. I narrowed my list down to my top 5, but there a few more I decided to include in the honorable mention category.

Please comment below with your favorite LL quote (by choosing one of the top 5 or including a different one that was your favorite!) I understand not everyone feels comfortable commenting, so if you'd still like to participate, feel free to answer this (anonymous) survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VV2929M

TOP 5:

I'm from the country. Nothing hurts.
You don't need any more fuel. Stop eating.
This is my Mexican freckle. I got it in Kindergarten when I sat next to a little girl from Mexico.
Dear Jesus, thank you for helping me get all that gas out.
I wish I could rewind my life so I could see all the things I missed when I wasn't looking.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

- My feet smell ripe.

- I got the chill bumps.

- Something just bit me and gave me this freckle. I think it was an angel disguised as a moth.

- That's the romance table. There are candles.

- Did you tell her that I don't listen? Cause sometimes I have important things to do, so I'm not always listening.

- My nana is kinda big. She's poofy. She ate too much candy.

- My head hurts cause I'm not watching enough TV.

- My teacher keeps telling me all this stuff about math and science cause I think she wants me to be the teacher.

- My old church used to have the real cross and it smelled like dead people.

- That can't be Santa! His eyes don't even look jolly!

- I had a nightmare about my dog. She got stunned with a trampolizer gun.

- It's hard to lose a grandpa. Grandpas do all the yard work.

- I'm so patriotic.

- We gotta get home, Mr. Brian. No pit-stoppin'!

- I wish I was born in the 70s. You should've seen my disco moves.

Hiking in Arbor Hills with Bry while I was working late.

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Oasis

6/1/14

Let's start from the very beginning, again...

We finished reading through LL's Bible last night. We read one story a night, unless we were late on bedtime that night. We read about 44 stories together, all of which "whispered" Jesus' name (as the subtitle suggests) and tonight, we started back at the beginning. If you have kids around her age, you should definitely get them this bible. The pictures are gorgeous and the stories are simply beautiful. If you don't already own it, let me make it super easy for you - go here and buy it for about $10. You will not be disappointed!

I will never forget the time we've had with her reading through this book.

LL's quotes:

- "Let me guess what you're going to say....by 'we,' you mean ME?"

- "That's a giant van fitting all the men!"

- "I won't be a kid forever. I don't wanna grow up."

- "Jesus is everywhere. I bet he's writing down everything we're saying right now."

- "You're gonna be amazed at what I did to this fat pear."

- "This apple (a glass apple Bry got as an award) is killing it!"

- "My parents made me with sweet spices and everything nice and giggles."

- Me: "Do you have any prayer requests before we pray?" LL: "Please pray for my baby bunny. She lost her family in a soup accident."

- "I wish I was born in the 70s. You should've seen my disco moves."

Something amazing happened today! Aubrey got baptized!!! It was such a special moment and I'm so glad LL was there to experience it with her. Love these kiddos like they're our own! It's been such a blessing them watching them grow up for the last 11 years or so.

LL couldn't wait to hug "Aubs" (as she calls her) after she came out of the water!

LL and Paige! Uh oh...she already has pretty expensive taste. :)

We're so happy for you, Aubrey!

LL got lots of gifts today. The first gift she opened was from my momma...new earrings from her shop. They're beautiful on her!

Her second gift came from Angela and her family in Thailand! She got a shirt, hair clips, nail art, pencils, and a cute pencil pouch. Thanks SO much, Angela! She is one blessed and loved little girl!

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