Free Stuff!!

Did you know popular products are offering free samples all the time? You don't even need to pay for shipping, all you do is sign up! I just discovered this and today received my first free sample from Kotex!

   I got two pads, 4 panty liners, two tampons and two coupons for FREE!!!

  Seriously, it's not like I'm suddenly NOT going to need this stuff anytime soon.

Candy, Candy ,Candy!!!

 Halloween for our clan is a serious family event. My husband is very involved helping make costumes and create faces. I LOVE watching my kids explore their imaginations, deciding what goes with what, how we can make props, best ways to apply make- up and so forth.

 We have always done Trick or Treating with cousins, planning our route ahead of time and almost competing to see who can get the most candy. I know my kids are making memories...

 Neither my husband or I grew up celebrating Halloween, due to our parents religious beliefs. While, I am aware of the darker side, my kids only think of it has a costume party with free candy that the whole city participates in!

 We go over safety as it and the holiday seem to coincide, we go over stranger danger, when to say no, who to go to for help, never go inside a stranger's house, how to cross a street etc...

 Please ignore the messy house, some times I'm a lousy housekeeper, because I am busy being an awesome mom!

Growing and Stretching

 Sorry about the lack of posts! We are homeschooling and as much as I love it, it IS time consuming. This year we started Jasey on kindergarten work, C.J. is in 2nd grade and Alex my baby is almost 2!

 We have spent the past year educating ourselves and going through the steps to become licensed foster care parents. Our hearts have always bled for the hurting children out there and for along time we have longed to be able to do something. Now we are able, even if it's only one child at a time.
  Our own children's compassion and love in accepting this choice astounds me. They are truly amazing kids, of whom I am so proud of. Living in the small town that we do, we have only had one placement to date, but our eyes have been opened to many other ways to help and the knowledge we have been able to pass on is immeasurable.

 Along with schooling our oldest two, we have been struggling with raising a non-verbal child. Alex out youngest is by most means non-verbal he has about 20 words all of which are single-syllable and not used consistently. We are doing speech therapy and SLOWLY seeing progress. In the mean while I have had to grow as a parent and a person. Whenever you have a child developing differently there are always people who mean well, but in the end their words hurt so much. Like the well meaning lady at the bakery who insists on holding his cookie just out of reach until he says "please", not understanding that he would if he could. Explaining to people over and over again what can cause this and what we are doing to encourage growth. Learning to hold my tongue when people tell me, "My child talks a lot, but then, I spend A LOT of time with them", "I heard the more you talk to your child the more they will talk." As if I spend no time with him and never talk to him.

  Honestly, there are some theory's about the causes of speech delays, all can agree that early intervention is key. That is what we are doing, with a therapist and on our own daily between visits. Having a toddler with limited ways of expressing his desires has lead to frustration issues, it's hard to teach a child to use their words when they don't have any.

 On a less serious note, we have also added to our family. We now have 8 feathered friends, Chickens, that live outside in the coup. We are eagerly awaiting eggs!