Whew! It was quite a whirlwind few weeks! Jesse and Kaitlynn went on a school trip to Orlando and Kathrynne went on a school trip to Key West. Since I had a lot of media interviews and other projects related to my book launch, my mom came to stay with us so she could watch Kierstyn during my interviews plus spend time with us.
Kierstyn loved getting so much Grandma time! And I think Grandma probably enjoyed it quite a lot, too! 🙂
We enjoyed playing Farkle together — my first time to play it!
My mom made me these huge, amazing salads for lunch every day. I was so spoiled!!
My mom spent a lot of time reading and singing with Kierstyn. It was the sweetest!
On Tuesday evening, we got a call that there was a sweet little 7-month-old boy with special needs who had come into custody and they couldn’t find a foster home for him in his county. Would we be able to take him in as a long-term placement that night?
It was 9:30 pm. Jesse and the girls were gone. I was already feeling tired and worn down. And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were supposed to say yes.
I called Jesse in Florida and told him all the details and, without missing a beat, I heard him say a very confident, “Yes!”
At 12:15 am, this sweet boy was dropped off and my mom and I got a crash course in g-tube feedings, Down syndrome, cleft lip/palate, and more!
Wednesday morning — even though I had gotten very little sleep the night before! — I headed to the Dave Ramsey headquarters to record a video segment about Love-Centered Parenting with Christy Wright for her show.
I was grateful for the nice lighting that hid my tired eyes! 🙂 (Also, for some reason I thought it was just an audio interview. I’m so glad I decided at the last minute to actually dress up a little and fix my hair and put on some makeup before I ran out the door that morning!!)
Overnight, she seemed to grow up! And she’s been taking her role as big sister very seriously!
The last two weeks have been hours and hours of phone calls and doctor’s visits and trying to track down doctors and medical records and details on this little boy’s case + learn his care protocol. We are so grateful for the incredibly helpful medical professionals who have been working with us to piece together his records and create a plan of care (DCS didn’t have that much info when he came into custody).
She’s learning how to be gentle. 🙂
Thursday, I did an interview with The Doctors TV show — which was pretty exciting (it’s supposed to air sometime in April!)
This sweet boy has been such a gift to our hearts and home. His smile and babbling bring so much joy!
I’m so grateful that my mom was here for the first few days while Jesse and the girls were gone. I could have never done everything I needed to do without her support!
And reunited as a family at last!! Also, right before they got home, Kierstyn started throwing up. And then multiple people here got the stomach bug.
Instead of my big book launch week plans, I was in bed recovering from the stomach bug! It was a book launch to remember, that’s for sure. But we tried to make the most of it by watching fun shows together and (once our stomachs were feeling well enough!), eating popsicles.
I can’t get enough of this sweet girl! She started pointing and now it’s opened up a whole world of us being able to better understand what she is wanting.
My parents and my sister sent me these beautiful flowers for my book launch!
Sitting at the doctor’s office — look at his little long spout of hair!
She’s always trying to help take care of him!
Introducing him to March Madness at a young age!
I went back into the recording studio to re-record a few lines that didn’t turn out well in production. The audiobook of Love-Centered Parenting is coming soon!
And we had another big event happen at our house! Kathrynne got her driver’s license!!
This Week’s Goals
Personal Goals
1. Log 7,000 steps/day = 49,000 steps for the week.
2. Finish 2 books: Growing Slow and Can’t Steal My Joy.
3. Fill out my habit tracker every day.
Home/Family Goals
4. Read 10 pages of A Boy’s War as a family. Read 10 chapters of The BFG aloud to Kirerstyn.
5. Do our CPR re-certification for foster parenting.
Work/Blog Goals
6. Finish signing and mailing out the Love-Centered Parenting bookplates.
Congratulations to Kathrynne on getting her drivers license. What a big day for her and for your household.
Yes! It was pretty exciting for all of us!
I love seeing all the pictures of your newest little foster baby just being included in your everyday life. So sweet to see everyone holding him, and Kierstyn being a little mother to him. I know that he must feel so loved!
He has started laughing and giggling and talking and really getting excited when he sees us — which is so fun!
This makes me smile when I see Kierstyn and the baby. What does she do when she is around him? Does she try to talk to him? Does she reach out to touch him? So Cute.
She mostly lays her head on his head (her way of hugging) or she pats his head (we’re still working on being gentle!) or she tries to touch his eyes and face (something we’re teaching her not to do!) It’s definitely interesting to have them so close together but for him to be pretty delayed so that he can’t crawl away from her… and since he has a feeding tube, we have to watch them very closely when they are together! But overall, she really, really loves him and tries to be a little mama to him.
Hi Crystal! I’ve been following your blog since 2009. It’s really helped my family get out of debt. Now I come here for the baby pictures! Thanks for sharing your life. I always come away feeling hopeful and my heart feeling light. God bless you and yours!
Aw, that made my day! Thank you for sharing!