No! Mine! I wanna!

Words I didn't think I'd hear in my home on a regular basis again...no! mine! I wanna! But here we go. Since I last blogged in October, we have become foster parents to 2 precious little boys (ages 2 and 5 months).

We received a call on October 26th at 8pm that they were dropping off 2 little boys (a 6 week old and an 18 month old) in 45 minutes. Can you say "Yikes!" ? Needless to say, we were a little overwhelmed for the first few days. But we've settled into life as a family of 6 and are truly enjoying discovering the differences between boys and girls. As Robbie would tell you, we've never been peed on more than in the last few months. Our girls never did that. And the activity level of our 2 yr old boy continues to amaze us. We're looking forward to warmer days and being able to run and play outside.

He is a typical 2 year old boy with a great need for structure, security, and love. We discipline him differently than we did with our 2 girls for several reasons. Partly, because we are older now and hopefully a little wiser in our approach. I want to see him the way Christ sees him, as a soul in a body, not as a body with a soul. This completely changes what I say and how I treat him.

It has taken a few months to develop a long-lasting bond with these boys and although we don't know what the future holds, we hope they always know how much we love them and more importantly, that Jesus loves them. We talk to them about God all the time and pray this sticks with them far into the future.

There's been a lot of change in our lives and a lot of roller coaster emotions, but nothing beats knowing we are able to give these boys security and love to help them grow into men who will know and feel God's love.

We may deal with some little power struggles and hear a defiant "no" a few times a day, but the best phrase I get to hear every day...wuv you! And it reminds me that as a parent, there is nothing better. How often do I express my love to my Father?