Our family of ten spent the day with my mom, my siblings, and their families! We have a group of 21 all in, and it is SUCH an amazing group! We have had an incredibly lovely time together today, and Friday supper as well. Some of us were together in May. Others we haven’t seen in person for five-ish years. And no one (besides my mom, of course) have had a chance to get to know our babies!! So this time together has been a total whirlwind of stories, jokes, pranks, food good, and really getting to know each other again. It has been an incredible blessing!

Of course, most of the pictures I have, I can’t show you :/ Man. That is really hard for me. It feels like I’m hiding things, and I’m NOT! But, rules are rules. So I’ll show you a snippet or two.

My mom had the forethought to rent the church gym out for the weekend so we could nap the babies and also have room to run simultaneously. Stefan arranged a whole bunch of games for the kids to play, and then just some free time to run. Many of the kids do well with a bit of a plan in place, so that was perfect. Then we hit the spray park and playground for a bit before we went back to the gym for more play, as well as some spread out coloring and drawing tables, and some snacks. Dekker surprised me by getting in on a game of floor hockey!! 😍 That never happens!! It was SO nice to see!

Once I got the all clear that the babies were all up at the house and it was time to get supper going a bit more in depth, it was time to tidy up the gym and head home.

It was just a really really cute scene 💜

We went back to our house and kids played downstairs or with the babies in the living room until suppertime, where we ate our body weight in kielke, sausage, schmaundt, and honey carrots. YUM!!! We wrapped the evening with a drumstick-esque cake, all peanut buttery and frozen. SO good! It was almost as good for my tummy as it was for my heart to see the Morsel practically launch out of my arms the moment Uncle Simon came into view 😍 It felt like worlds colliding in the best way!

We wound down the activities a bit earlier than the night before so we could all pack it in at a reasonable time. Over here, the Lemon Drop is not sleeping well, and we are feeling pretty wiped to say the least. Yet, winding down the group still took time, as it does, and only now, at 9:52pm can I say every child is tucked into bed.

My turn! 🙋🏼‍♀️😴

Ok! Here is a brief rundown of yesterday’s workload! It was monumental!!!

Yesterday, day four, was the day of the big things. The moving of both stuff, and also furniture. I sat the kids down and pep talked them good and proper about how things were going to get really really messy before they actually got organized. That everyones stuff would be in everyones space. That people would touch other peoples things. That everyone would be expected to help others if their things were currently finished or on pause. And everyone was on board! Fully expecting them all to tap out after fifteen minutes, I got to work guiding each kid to know where they could possibly start, and just started working. I began moving all the girls stuff out of their room and dumping it into the middle of the basement. Their room would be the most challenging, and the last to put together, so all of their things just lived in the main area. Once their bedding was down, I started bringing Rowans stuff up and chucking it onto the bed. Just to get the right things into the right rooms. We’d set it up after. I worked to get the girls dresser downstairs and then helped Rowan get his dresser up. Solly was taking Rowan’s stuff out of his room and Dekker was dragging their things over into their new space/Rowan’s old space. It was chaos.

But the kids didn’t quit! They worked for a solid few hours and got the bulk of their things done!! I got Rowans new storage shelf in from the garage, as well as a dresser for our baby room. That sucker was heavy! But it got done!

So while Rowan worked on moving his things up and around, and the downstairs boys puttered in their room, the girls hung with the babies for a bit while I got to assembling their bed. We got them quite the new bed setup, secondhand, with no assembly instructions whatsoever. But I sat with it and worked slowly, looking at the diagram pictures off of the Wayfair link the previous owner had sent me. The babies went down for naps and Laela came to hang out with me while I worked. She brought lunch down for both of us, and insisted on helping screw the slats in place at the very end.

The next time the babies were up, I got into their room and made sense of all the boxes stacked up mindlessly in their room. Their closet is still pretty much just used for storage, which isn’t ideal, but it works for now. Lots of “for now” solutions going on over here, but I’m excited to gradually get our house to where I want it. Its ok if it takes time. I plan to be here until I’m an old, old lady.

We wrapped the day up with trash food for our kids who worked very, very hard. They were stoked.

This is Rowans new room…

Dekker and Solly’s new room…

Laela and Wavy’s new room…

and a fresh baby room.

Everyone slept in their new spaces last night 💜 It was a total win.

Today was about cleaning more so. Cher came and helped. Loose floating boxes that just needed putting away finally vanished. Floors were swept and mopped and vacuumed. Bathrooms got cleaned. Babies got bathed. Basement got tidied up. Extra dining chairs came out of the garage and covers were stretched in place. Kids continued to settle into their rooms. Babies stayed alive. A few groceries were picked up.

Aaaaand everything that didn’t get put away nicely now lives in tubs in my room 🤣 Just so the house is nice for the weekend!

Happy Friday, friends! Only so many summertime weekends left! Enjoy! Everyone slept in their new spaces last night 💜

I skipped the third day of this week because it was Dekkers birthday, and he indeed WINS! NO regrets!

However, the day was full! In a different way than the others, but it was indeed full.

The Lemon Drop had a visit in the morning, so we ate breakfast quickly, with none of Dekker’s preferred birthday food. However, as a last ditch effort, I found a bottle of chocolate sauce in the pantry and squeezed it into everyones milk. Which went over perfectly! Dekker laughed and was totally, completely happy with that result!

We dropped off the baby and then began our errands! We ran across the city to pick up a dresser for the baby room, which I have been waiting for on Marketplace and finally came across the right thing! I’ll show you soon!

We grabbed that and then made our way to Nordon Medical to pick up a couple of boxes of bandages. Did I tell you guys that we are officially G-tube free?!?! I don’t know if I did, but we are!!! 🏆 Just have to heal up that little stoma now, and even though I got a HUGE bag of medical supplies just a week or two ago, somehow, about half of it went missing, and for the life of me I cannot find it ANYWHERE! So I went in and explained why I was already back 😅 They know me there, so I can’t really sneak in and out. I told them the error absolutely was on my end and I was happy to buy some extra boxes on my own dime. Which of course they didn’t allow for a second and very willingly put it on the childs file. They are incredible over there. Truly. So I walked out of there with exactly what I needed.

We still had a tiny bit of time before we had to retrieve the Lemon Drop so we ran to Walmart for school shoes for Wavy and Solly, as well as jammies, because they are REALLY cute this season. Ack!!!

So we picked up the Lemon Drop and then headed to Warman so Brady could with Dekker a quick happy birthday in person. Also, I really wanted to get the kids all s’more McFlurries, and bring one for Brady. So we did that.

We came home and I made Dekker a totally trash lunch because lunch time was both over, and also ruined by ice cream 🤣 No regrets! I made bacon and garlic toast, and the teenager was HAPPY! Lol!

Once lunch was done (It was like, 2pm ish) I sat for a bit and worked on Dekker’s birthday blog (he’s reading it right now!) and then I started prepping some food for his supper of choice, which of course, was chunky chicken salad. So I made nuggets, chopped tons of veggies, made dressing, and shredded cheese. And that unfortunately took up most of the rest of the afternoon, mostly because I have many other children in my home who also need me.

It was during supper that Dekker and I both realized we hadn’t planned a dessert. Or a cake. Epic fail, right? But Dekker perked up and asked if we could go get ice cream downtown. So while we had absolutely no time for that, we did it anyway!

So we ice creamed and then came home to get into the actual work of the day. The babies went to bed, and Brady took it upon himself to disassemble Dekker and Solly’s beds and move them into Rowans old room. So the day ended with the two boys sleeping in their new room!!! Not with their stuff, but in their room, so I was told it still counts, hahaha!

After that, Brady and I hit the sack. We are absolutely EXHAUSTED, even though, really, it seemed like we didn’t do a ton. But it felt like a ton, whew!

Today, day four, was the largest day yet, but I don’t have the gumption to write about it alongside this blog. So, it’ll have to wait for another day.

Happy worky week, everyone! 💜

Guys 😳 It happened. We have a teenager!!!! I can’t even fathom how we got here!! Wasn’t he just born?!

It has been SUCH a fantastic year for Dekker, honestly. He has grown and changed in some of the most fun ways I could’ve imagined as his mom! A very big shift this last year was his opportunity to attend youth! That became his lifeblood, which really couldn’t have been a better setup. At certain points in the year, he had five opportunities each week to be with one of his two youth groups, and it was just him. I can’t explain it, but it grew him so beautifully!

Dekker has become someone who loves babies, and willingly helps with them when needed.

He has gained quite a bit more freedom and independence, where he’s seen more movies, gotten many more special treats and outings, and he’s found his taste is music. Which, by the way, is often electronic, which I did not expect! It was literally just today that he said to me “I just appreciate the instrumental value.” Doesn’t that sound like him?

He will make a request for supper and then insert himself into the prep and cooking without being asked. Thats actually been a fun one! He liked Home Ec last year and it shows!

My favorite thing about Dekker right now is his true comfort in his own skin. He is one who tends to be a bit of an easy target at school, and while he still gets quite upset and hurt when someone heckles him, he doesn’t change who he is to pacify the pests. He will rock the things he likes and continues to be shamelessly himself. And I LOVE himself!!! 😍

My beautiful Dekker boy 💜 How I love you. My oldest child. My oldest son. You are lined up so perfectly in the birth order. You fall exactly where you were meant to. Praise God for bringing you to us!!! Try as she might, Laela is not the oldest. That is you, son, and I am SO unbelievably proud to be your mom!

I hope you had the happiest birthday, albeit a weird one, and that you feel loved and celebrated by your family 💜 We LOVE you, sweetheart.

Thirteen years. Man. Crazy.

Day two was another big one! Cher came in the morning and we worked for a good few hours in tandem! I made a big batch of party mix, and did some laundry along the way, while simultaneously tidying things up, and also keeping babies alive. Once the babies went down for a nap, I hauled myself back outside to work more on the climbing dome. I put on every single handhold EXCEPT ONE because the bolt and nut were STRIPPED!! 😩 Ack!!! But hey. It came together. Mostly.

Towards the end of the afternoon, I got myself put together, as well as a baby who had a visit. And then before I had to leave for that visit, I carried every piece of the girls new bed frame into the house, and every piece of Rowans old loft bed frame out of the house! Whew!

Aaaaand then my mom came and Cher and I kidnapped her and Dekker to hit up a birthday supper for royalty!

Well. Asian royalty. On the west side. Once we dropped off the baby, of course.

The Great Buffet of China was on tonights menu!!!! Dekker’s first time. As a lover of all the food, he was STOKED to have a shot at it! Somehow he just seemed like an extra big boy tonight.

The rest of us were punks, though.

We ate more food than a human person should consume in one sitting, and then we had dessert 🤣And then we went to pick up the baby and head home. Dekker hardly moved on the drive, hahaha!

It was a riot of an evening out with my mom, my almost teenager, and my best friend 💜 Of course, the guests of honour – the birthdayees (yup its a thing) 🙌

Happy birthday supper to you, my dear mom 💜 And a happy birthday eve to you, beautiful Dekker 💜 And all kinds of squishy love and happy to you, sweet Cherice 💜 Thank you for being an integral part of our family.

What a GREAT day. Still lots and lots to do, but this day had a fun outing in it! Tomorrow also carries an outing, but there are errands to run throughout! Plus, we HAVE to build beds! Ack!!! Wish us luck, guys!!

Alright, everyone! We have SO much to do this week, so I figured it would be a fun little miniseries to manage over the five days we have to crush everything.

Today was a lofty kick off to our week! Not a bad one! Just a busy one! Lots and lots this day, and much more good to come this week 💜 In the morning, Cher and I had coffee and made a bit of a plan for the week ahead. Not long after, Rowan and I had a virtual appointment that was both productive, as well as shorter than anticipated! Double win!

I spent a large part of the day working on building our climbing dome. Remember a while ago, I was trying to decide if we should get one. There were mixed reviews, but ultimately I think it would actually be a good fit for us. However, being who I am, I wanted to get it second hand, and I finally found a great price on a really really nice one! We picked it up a couple of weeks ago and its been waiting for me in the backyard. And today was the day. In amongst the fallen crab apples in the grass and the mosquitos, I hand tightened the whole stinking structure.

Its true that it looks a little crooked, but thats what the next part was for.

I left it for Brady to double check it and tighten it all up with his impact when he got home. Rowan helped him get the very very top.

Tomorrow I’ll put the handholds on it but then its DONE! 💪

After the climbing dome, my hands and wrists hurt like that time when they just quit on me that handful of years ago, so I decided it was time to rest them. But it didn’t last long before I needed to get supper going.

I made creamy spaghetti and meat sauce for supper, and got everyone settled at the table and eating by the time Brady got home. At that point, I basically high fived him at the door and headed in to Saskatoon to pick up the girls new bed! As luck would have it, the bed was in many many pieces, upstairs in a narrow, very beautiful little character home. The family who sold us the bed were super friendly and everyone helped me carry it out, even the little girls who had apparently cried many tears about passing it on. However, their mom assured me that it was great for them to hear about our kids and how well it will be enjoyed by us. We discussed the bedroom setup with eight children, what their new setup was, how we all liked camping, and what foster care means. It was a loaded half hour but it was really nice to make that connection. Super nice people.

I came home to a bustling house full of people who were done eating. Everyone ate well. Even the babies, though it kind of doesn’t look like it…

They did, though! There was one bowlful left for me, plus a few scoops of corn I ate right out of the pot like the classy lady I am.

At this point, Brady has gone downstairs to start disassembling Rowans loft bed. That thing was so broken down and rickety when we got it, we’re just throwing it out :/ He feels super sad about the principle of that, but he is excited to have the girls old bunk bed! And I’m blogging. Big duh. Hopefully there is a bit more supper to come this evening. Note to self: Make more of that spaghetti at once! Double if it we have any extra people at the meal. Or add garlic bread. Something. It looks like enough, but it isn’t.

Tomorrow, the goal is to finish the climbing dome and at least bring in the bed I picked up today. A late birthday supper for my mom is also on the books tomorrow. And a foster visit. And… I think thats it.

🥱

This weekend, Brady and I drove to camp separately. We had worked out plans for Brady to bring the work truck to the lake for the week in order to bring up a schwack of patio stone (eek!) for our site. The kids and I came up to the lake early afternoon on Friday to pick Dekker up from camp, and Brady was going to join quite late after he’d finished out his work day, driven to Asquith to pick up the stones, and then driven all the way to Christopher. But, when he called to confirm the plans, the person we were meeting had forgotten, and the plan had fallen through. Merp. We’ll try again in a couple of weeks, I suppose. The upside was that Brady would be able to join us sooner 🙂

So our weekend didn’t turn out to be as worky as anticipated, which works out because I think this week will be craaaaazy full! Hahaha!

We left camp a touch early so we could drop off the minivan and unload the camp stuff before driving into the city to pick up a new storage shelf for Rowan.

See, this week, the kids are moving. Like. ALL of them. Almost. I’m not even exaggerating. Just this evening, after getting home from the city, three children are sleeping in new places! Not all permanently, but here’s the breakdown for what whats been done and whats to come!

Tonight, the Spoonful moved in with the Morsel.

Tonight, the Lemon Drop switched sides of our room. Does that count? I’m not sure.

Tonight, Rowan bunked in the with the girls. Just for a couple of nights, untiiiiiiil…

Rowan is moving upstairs!! He will now sleep in Laela and Wavy’s room!

Laela and Wavy are moving into Dekker and Solly’s room downstairs! They are getting an awesome new bed setup, and it wouldn’t fit in their current room. Plus, Rowan has wanted to be upstairs all along. So this is a GREAT move!

Dekker and Solly are moving into Rowan’s room! This is also a big win because that room is the coldest room in the basement, and they are my sweaty boys! So this is also a win!

There is lots to do this week, and I won’t lie – thats not even all of it. But! It WILL get done! Maybe not all as quickly as I would ideally want 😅 But the ONLY person putting that pressure on me is me!! So I guess we’ll just see how far we get! Lol!

Sleep well, friends 💜 Tomorrow the real work begins! 💪

I will leave you with the highlight quote of the day today, and that is all, as I am eagerly awaiting tucking in for night over here. I plan to watch a little bit of a show with Brady and eat some s’more popcorn that Cher gave me for my birthday. So I’m making this quick. 

Today, during lunch, I got this face, and this line: 

“This pasta salad tastes like frogs and pickles.” 

😂🐸🥒

To be clear, it does not. But goodness did I ever laugh 🤣 I can’t tell you what frogs taste like but it seems Rowan can! 

For the first time ever, I drove up to camp on my own with the kids. I had 7/8, and we went early in the day so we could receive Dekker after his week at camp. I spend the day with all eight of them all the time. No real stretch there. 

Except it totally was a stretch. It was challenging. Very little went smoothly with naps, and attitudes were tough. I was more than ready for Brady to join us. Aaaaany minute now. 

Thankfully, I got this cute little text mid afternoon 🥰

Spirits lifted after that and I have to say, time actually went quicker at that point, which I did not expect. 

Thank you Lord for a husband who WANTS to be with his family 💜

This is the face of someone who slept really well and is already in a good mood 😌

Her little nose dot just gets me 😍

I hope you all sleep as well as Laela did last night 💜