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HERE WE GO…

November 17, 2018 Filed in family fun,foster care,Uncategorized

On Instagram this week I mentioned how I was missing my blog so here I am.
there’s too much to cover if I make myself go back and write about everything I skipped so I am starting with today.
I can tell you WHY I stopped blogging. There are several reasons – time, bigger kids, different season, etc.
But I think a huge part of it was feeling like I had no more words.
My energy for words was gone.
You’ve heard the saying “little kids – little problems, big kids – big problems”
For awhile… parenting big kids really felt like a punch in the gut.
The emotional energy being poured out all day every day took all that I had.
It’s not been a smooth & easy path so I really felt like I had no words left to say at the end of the day.
I felt defeated & exhausted.
I certainly don’t have it all figured out now but I have been able to find a new rhythm.
It sounds crazy but what has brought back my energy has been taking of our sweet foster baby this past year.
He is all light & joy & fun all day long!
Caring for him has been life giving for me and helps me smile 100 times a day.
He’s brought our whole family closer getting to love on him together.
There’s plenty of stress that comes along with foster care too (because of all the adults not Tiny) but with so much happiness surrounding me it is so much easier to handle the highs & lows of foster care, parenting and life!
So that is where I am today.  It may change tomorrow… who knows?!

Here’s a bunch of pics from the past few months!


Our daughter Lauren had a baby in July!  He is so much fun!
His name is Lowry.
It’s weird having a baby at the same time as your daughter… but weird is not bad.  🙂 
Tiny’s favorite thing in the whole world is lawn mowers.
And getting to sit on it with Craig is better than anything!

who needs parks when you have a mower?

On my 43rd birthday I was serenaded by waiters singing mariachi and it scared Lowry!


Tiny can walk now (when he feels like it) and reading books is the way to his heart (unless you have a lawn mower…)

we 
we celebrated Tiny’s 1st birthday! He came to our home when he was 6 days old.
He did not like the cake, was confused by the singing but really loved the new ride on toy that plays music.

Talby has had a full season of volleyball.
I’ll post all her volleyball pics on another post but these were from a tournament day where they won everything and played with Tiny inbetween all their games.

kansas views… at the end of my block.
I can’t take the cuteness!!!!

I got to spend a weekend at the Craft House with these friends.
I love these girls!!!

Sean’s (#53) also had a full football season…  more pics to come on that too.
He is a senior so football is over forever.
SO SAD!!!!

Craig & Sean went to a Chiefs game.
That’s A LOT of red!!!


Annie turned 14 – WHAT IS LIFE??
How is this possible?  She is just a tiny baby… how can she also be 14?
She and my dad share a birthday so we sang to them both and they sang to each other.

we made Tiny a crown out of the chip bag at Chipotle.
and wore him out with all of our birthday shopping.
i love wearing sleeping babies!!! their little kissy lips breathing baby breath on my neck??? HEAVEN!

Annie started basketball and has had 4 or 5 games already!


Talby turned 17.
She’s the sweetest kid!
NONE of her birthday gifts arrived in the mail on time so she had birthday WEEK – getting different packages each afternoon after school.
we went to dinner with the whole family to celebrate…not quite as easy now that we have another baby (Lowry) and a toddler who doesn’t want to sit at the table (normal).  But it was wonderful to be all together none the less.


Lowry & Tiny are 9 months apart.
Tiny is smallish/average for his age and Lowry is a tank.
They are so cute together.

So that is my post easing back in to blogging.
I want to FINALLY answer the loads of the questions I got about foster care.
There were over a hundred and it overwhelmed me.  Foster care itself overwhelms me on certain days…
so I gave up on the post.
but I will do it because there are kids out there that need a grown up to stand up for them.
It can help more of you consider foster care or helping a foster family so I will do it.

And as far as Tiny’s future with us… in the next week we should know a lot more.
I love him.
forever.
he’s changed our lives, our hearts and our family.

and he just woke up from his nap so I will be done with this post.

thanks for reading for all the years!

 

Michelle - So great to hear from you, Meg! I’ve been reading along for years…

Rebekah - I am giddy that you’re coming back to the blog!! Yay!! Your pictures and words always bring me joy and I know it’s the joy of Jesus shining through you!

Patti Mullican - Thanks for blogging! I love your blog and instagram feed and I am so inspired by you as an artist, mom, Jesus lover, etc. Blessings on you and yours this Christmas season! P.S. I hope you do a gift buying guide this year – I always end up purchase at least one or more items from your list! LOL

Karyn - I am glad you are back! Will you please post one of your gift giving or stocking stuffer ideas for Christmas! I love reading them.

Jenny B. - OH, wow!! This post was bittersweet for me. I mean, not really bitter, but there was a tinge of sadness because my oldest just turned 14, and he and Annie were so little back when I first started reading. Sigh… To quote you — time is a jerk. 😉 Also, Sean has changed SO much. He looks so grown up now! This just tells me I need to follow you on Instagram! Hello! Why have I not been?? I miss blogs, but IG is good too… Congrats on your grandbaby, and I hope things go well with Tiny and your family! Thanks for the update!

Beccy - Congratulations on your new Grandbaby!!! Parenting is not for the faint of
heart. Looking forward to your foster care post.

Becca Groves - I’m so glad you are posting on your blog again! Thank you for sharing this way! And I will be praying for Tiny this week with earnest prayers, for him and for all the adults making the decisions for him. And especially praying for you. Love and Peace to you.

Toni :0) - I have always loved your blog. The colors, the family, the babies, you are just fun and so inspiring. It brightens my day. Thank you for being a flashlight 🔦 in a depressing world. Look up Kristen Hampton on Facebook. She’s funny and joy filled and she will explain the flashlight. It’s because of you that we love Jim Gaffigan and got to see him last summer in person. God bless you for fostering Tiny. 💜

Andrea - Loved the post. Love your blog….love to follow you on insta…. update us on Tiny. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Rachel Jeter - MEG! So glad to see you back on here blogging. Sometimes I browse thru your old posts. I’ve loved your blog since 2010! Praying for you guys on this foster care journey. What a blessing you are to Tiny and no doubt Tiny is blessing you. Lots of love from Arkansas and hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Lindsay - So happy to see you back! Looking forward to more blog posts! ❤️

Erin - Love to you, Meg! Long time reader who is praying for you all and so thankful for each time you do share.

Linda - So happy to see you blogging. I know what you mean by having no energy after dealing with big kids! Wow it is tuff. But I love your blog and the happy spirit it always has. Glad you are back!

Dana - So good to see you on here, Meg! We have 6 kids and our youngest is 4, so I’ve always looked to you to have a glimpse into what life could look like in the future. I completely want to do what you’re doing when all our kids are bigger, too- foster a baby! I know I would end up wanting to adopt, but I’ll leave that part up to the Lord. What you are doing is so important! I too have been a little bit disillusioned by foster care and DHS, but these kids are the ones who lose when we give up because it’s too hard. Keep up the super important, life-changing, good work!

CathyMA - Love this update Megan ❤️

Michelle - I saw one or two other people say this, but I also have been reading your blog forever and I’m wigging out at how big your kids have gotten! Congrats on making it through (I feel like we all need congrats on just getting by sometimes.)

Michelle - Welcome back, Meg! I don’t feel like you’ve been too far because I follow you on Instagram but this was a lovely update and I was grateful to read it. I hope this week brings the best outcomes for everyone involved. Not sure there is such a thing, but as close as you can get it my wish for you and Tiny. xoxo

Kelly - I loved “catching up”. I pop back into my blog and I do love it when I do it. Blog as much or as little as you want! Kelly

Heather - I’m so happy you’re blogging again! I have followed you for YEARS and always look forward to reading your posts. They are real, encouraging, and always helpful, from parenting to paint colors! 😉 I look forward to your Christmas gift ideas for teen girls each year and my girls get great gifts from your suggestions.

I’ve had the hardest parenting year of my life. I’m raising two teenage girls (15 & 16). And while they are great girls, teenage years are HARD! I found myself wishing for the days of sippy cups and Dora the Explorer. But God is good and makes good of all things. Lifting your family up in prayer!

Blessings,
Heather

Kayla - I can complete relate to your reason for stepping away from blogging because I have done the same thing. We have 6 kids and blogging about our lives was easy and fun when they were little. Now they are big-ish….and I feel like I can’t share “their lives” or candid moments anymore without their permission. I also had to pick and choose my words carefully, which made it more like work than fun! But, I am happy to get an occasional glimpse into your lives – from someone who understands the struggle!

jennibell - I’m so glad that you are blogging!! I’ve missed you so much. . .but know how seasons change and all that. I’m rarely on Instagram but have kept up a bit through that. Great post. Happy Holidays!!!

Debbie H - Thanks for the post, Meg! LOVE all the photos! You must have even gotten out the BIG camera for the flowers and butterflies! 🙂 . Pray for you and Tiny that the best decisions are made. . . although I know from experience the system sure seems flawed. Hugs! And thanks for sharing yourself with the “rest” of us. So great to have you “back”. Happy Thanksgiving to your entire family. We all have so much to be grateful for. xoxo

Melissa - Are you going to adopt Tiny?

Lorri - Welcome back to this wonderful home you have made here on the Web and invited all of in for a visit. Thank you for sharing your home, business, family and journey these many years. Please know total strangers are out here rooting for you and your family, and sending prayers to all. God bless.

Tracy - So happy to read your stories again!! Makes me so happy! Can’t wait for the next post 🙂

Lisa - I feel like a creeper saying this but I randomly discovered your blog when Annie was like 4 years old! Which means I’ve been following your life for 10 years. The internet is a weird place. But I do want you to know your blog and Instagram and family has been an encouragment to me. Even your story of getting pregnant with your oldest. My 17 year old is pregnant and due soon. Your story encourages my mama’s heart! Also your comments about big kids is spot on. So thankful their stories don’t end during those teenage years. Xoxo

Beth - Love this and bless you for fostering!!
Nice to read about what you have been up to lately. I’ve been reading since tabby was like 3!!!

Shannon - Thanks for posting Meg. As the parent of four kiddos 13-24 I needed to hear this. I thought I was tired when my kids were little, but I had no how emotionally exhausting it is to parent big kids. Hang in there and know you are not alone!

Sue - Loved this. Thanks for the update! Thanks, too, for the confirmation that parenting big kids can be as draining as it has been for me! Will look forward to more whenever you’re able to post. Absolutely love seeing and hearing about Tiny.

stephanie ackerman - love EVERYTHING about this post..love you more and love #tiny even a little bit more than all of that #auntiesteph

liz c. - So fun to see a post from you, and so many beautiful photos. Tiny and Lowry are both darling. Sending good wishes to you and your family.

Tiffany - My energy for words was gone. – Sheesh, I hear you. But delighted to hear that you have more energy and looking forward to the Foster Care information.

Kristen - I’m newish here. I started following your Instagram because of Selah Signs. Visiting the craft house is on my bucket list! I didn’t even know you had a blog. But I feel like I could have written this. Except for the foster baby and the first grandchild. I have a kid who recently turned 17 and another who is 13. And another teen in the middle. I used to keep a blog too. And in this different season of motherhood, there’s just not words. But I sense God is doing something big. I don’t know what it is yet, but maybe it will come with a return to my blog.

Susan - So glad to be reading this!

Amanda - Life at Cloverhill - Lovely catch up. Nice to see everyone is doing so well 🙂

Melissa - Welcome back!

Cara - So glad you are back!!!!!

Rachel - So lovely to read your words again – I’ve missed your blog 👍😄

Jennifer - Welcome back! It was the perfect post. Thank you!

Kim - Just wanted to say “you’ve got this”. I don’t have teenagers yet but my 3yo is giving me a run for my money. Glad you came back to this space, it will be here when you have time for it. No pressure. 🙂

Kathi - Thanks for the post! I’ve missed you, Instagram just isn’t the same as a good old fashioned blog post:)

Lynette - I am so glad you posted. I so enjoy your words and your pictures are always so colorful! I have five kids, ages 5-16 (17 at the end of the month) and while the teen years are so much better in many ways than I anticipated, I love my teen girls, it is also such a challenging parenting season. We are so busy and life is full of weighty issues. In some ways teens feel just as needy as toddlers but their needs are more emotionally draining. I find myself completely done in at the end of most days!!! Mommying is hard. 😊 So inspired by your foster care story. It’s always been a dream of mine to be a foster mom.

Michelle - Thanks for sharing! I loved seeing all the pics!

Rachelle - So glad you are back. Much love and light.

Lisa Anderson - It made me so happy to read this post. I’ve missed your blog. Thank you so much for being honest about the big kids, big problems. I feel ya and sometimes I think I’m the only one having problems. It’s good to be reminded I’m maybe normal. Love your beautiful family and adventure with Tiny. Thanks for giving us the time!

Emily McNulty - Thank you for blogging again! I sure have missed you🌻

Kimberlee - I hope it felt good to write that. It felt great to read it! ♥️

Sara Neufeld - So good! Love reading the update! Reminds me of the old days when I read your blog every single day and Annie was a preschooler! Time just flies on by. Have a great weekend!

Shanna - Loved loved loved this wonderful update! It’s so beautiful to see this season of your life and all the joy you bring to it!!

Rebecca W - Thanks for posting all these years!

Jenn - Loved reading this post and seeing a bit of family life – thanks for sharing!

Laura - I loved reading this! I love your blog and I have missed it 🙂

Astrid - <3 Thank you so much for returning and sharing bits and pieces of your life with us. I truly have missed reading your posts. (PS…you helped to inspire me to paint our stairs in rainbow colors <3 )
I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts and learning more about foster care.

Amy - Yay!! I’ve missed your blog. Thanks for sharing!

Rita - So nice to catch up a bit! Good luck with it all!

Angela - This made my day!! Your family has grown so much! I was thinking about all your wonderful Christmas posts today while I was putting up our tree. So glad to see you back at it!

Catherine - Welcome back!!! So nice to read a post! Thanks for sharing so much! Life can keep us really busy and trying hard to figure out all that comes our way. ❤️❤️❤️

Kelly - Love all those sweet pictures and all the color and rainbows we know you for!

Rachel Boers - So glad you are “back.” Yes, life with “bigs” is a challenge, and in a different way than the physical exhaustion that came when the kids were little. And the stakes are so much higher too! Its not always easy (or right!) to ignore that and act like everything is fine, yet you have to respect their privacy at the same time, which can feel deceptive. Not to mention there is a grieving when kid after kid leaves the nest. Every year there is a new normal, not just for me and my husband, but also for the kids left at home. I’ve said to my husband over the past five years, “I just don’t know how much more change I can take!” It’s a season of transition, and while it’s necessary, and, in the end, good, it’s also still messy and JUST PLAIN HARD. But I’ve learned that I can’t let it steal my joy, and it looks like you’ve learned that too! There are still lots of great things happening, of course, and I am getting better at being content in this season of life. Please keep writing!

Mary Byberg - welcome back xo you were missed

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