The Daily Hailey

Today was the day we got our family pictures taken for the year! There are a handful of different dynamics that come with them nowadays. Since fostering, its tricky, because who happens to be living with you during photos may not still be living with you at Christmastime. But! Family is family! 💜 This unfortunately means we can’t share any online :/ We couldn’t last year, either. Which SUCKS, because it is SO fun having such a big group in our picture! 😍 My heart is SO full when I see my beautiful crew. Thank you LORD for bringing us all together!

We took pictures intentionally a bit sooner so the weather would be cooperative. Especially with little little ones, being cold can end a photo shoot really quickly. So. Sooner rather than later!

Speaking of a photo shoot moving quickly, that really is the ideal. So for the last couple of years, this has been the method of choice.

Everyone wears their favorite thing to wear. As long as its clean and doesn’t have words on it, it passes. I don’t care too much about the color or making us all match. Just, like what you’re wearing, and be warm enough. We run outside for maybe 20 minutes max, and take a few smiling shots, a bunch of casual ones of us just chatting and getting settled, and some funny faces. Grandma shakes the noisy toys and keeps the babies attention for as long as they’ll hack it. And then its over! Boom. Done. Mom brings out the bribes, and thats a wrap. This year was orange cream filled Twizzlers. I gave one to everyone. Even the babies. It. Was. FUN.

It helps when your best friend pops out of retirement for a sneaky moment in time just to make it happen for you 😘 Her camera is old and her services are pretty darn closed, but she lovingly chased us around our backyard this afternoon to make this happen for us 💜 Thank you, Cher, from the bottom of my heart.

One more cute shoot done ✅

Off my list.

Off Cher’s list.

Aaaaand onto Melissa’s list 😏 Lol! Soon enough! Get readyyyyy!

I think, for the first time ever, I’m going to have family pictures up on my wall 💜 I can’t wait!

Rowan here!

Sometimes on Fridays we do movie nights. This time, we watched “Minions: Rise of Gru.” Its turning out really good. We really like minion movies. You should watch it. I had like six solo cups of popcorn, haha! I really liked it when, every Friday, we watched a different minion movie. I really liked that. When Despicable Me 4 shoots out for free, I wanna watch it. Maybe with pizza instead of popcorn! Ya!

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There you have it, folks! Rowan’s first blog!

Whew! I cannot describe it but WOW, what a week!! I feel quite tired and weary, but somehow peaceful at the same time 😅 Today was definitely the right day to use a coffee cup the size of a cereal bowl. A very, very cute cereal bowl, mind you!

It was before long that a fruit fly met its demise in my cereal bowl of coffee, unfortunately, but it was very enjoyable while it lasted.

The morning started to make me feel a liiiiittle bit crazy, and the lack of sleep wasn’t doing me any favors. But! I won a very persistent battle, which helped a LOT.

Toddlers: 0
Mom: 1

Cher came over and cleaned for the afternoon. We played a true crime docuseries loud enough for both of us to hear, and I crocheted while she worked. It was a peaceful way to spend the afternoon 💜 which was just what I needed when feeling the way I am. Hopefully a little more peace to come! I trust you, Lord.

You know I’m working pretty hard on Christmas presents over here. I’m pretty close to done the kids gifts, which is AWESOME.

A few things on my Christmas gifts list for others, however, are crocheted items. Which take up a lot more time than ordering things online or shopping while babies are having visits. Some Christmases, I scramble through crocheting, panicking a little about getting things done, pimping Brady out to weave in ends and untangle the ends of skeins I’m desperately trying to stretch in order to complete projects.

However, because I’m ahead of schedule-ish, I can crochet some beautiful things without rushing.

Not only can I crochet, but I can prioritize crocheting!!!

I can spend time finding patterns, yarn shopping, and planning colors! 😍

Did you know we have a new Michaels in Saskatoon?? Ack! Its smaller, and packed a little tighter, but it is quieter and cozier and just so so lovely 💜 Absolutely worth a look.

Now if you’ll excuse me, its just about supper time and I need to figure out whats going on the table tonight!

So. Monday was a LOT. Tuesday was less a lot, but it was a LOT of thinking and being bugged, if that makes sense. Today still carried plenty of that, with absolutely no questions from the past days answered. But! It was the least a lot of the past three days. I did some resting, which felt good. The fun part about actually having crocheting commitments is being able to justify prioritizing it! Woop woop! However, the day also held…

Coffee that Dekker made ✅

Wavy practicing her writing ✅ Can you read it?

Baking banana bread ✅

Lots on the go, even when my feelings are pestered, hahaha!

Tomorrow will be a good day. Cher is coming for the day to clean and help and spend time 💜 I want to make a yummy supper. And crochet a bit more. And keep my fingers and toes crossed that I hear something to lighten my heart up a little.

Thank God for God. I don’t know how we’d manage these things without being able to rely on Him.

In our weakness….. 💪

Whew! How is it only Tuesday?! 😓 The last two days have been the longest week of my life. Except not at all. But they’ve been incredibly full and challenging. While yesterday, we literally had EIGHT commitments, and today we only had two, I feel quite ragged as I lay in my bed. Yesterday, in one of my texts to Cher, I told her I felt like crying. She told me it might feel great to have a cry. I told her I figured taking my pants off would feel just as good. And it did. So tonight, as I lay here pantsless, I can process a bit more.

I’ve tread across some new territory this week in the world of fostering. It goes without saying that things are imperfect. Its really the understatement of the century. It’s pretty messy, the entire category. So my expectations are low. I was advised long ago already that I am allowed to disagree with the choices made, and in most instances, I am welcome to say my piece, once, and then keep my mouth shut. And that makes sense to me. I’m a team player. I’m willing to do everything I can for the best interest of the children, and bite my tongue once I’ve advocated appropriately. Its a bumpy ride, but I’m on it on purpose, and I expect things like that.

Yesterday, I had an encounter that rattled me good and proper. It didn’t feel right to me. I know you know why I can’t speak in ANY detail on the subject, but I believe my radar is fairly strong, and this had it flared right up. Conveniently, this went down in the evening, so I slept on it and processed a bit. This morning, I texted the appropriate social worker, and when I didn’t hear back within a few hours, I got in touch with my worker. She was eager to get this all sorted out with me, and agreed that it seemed a bit fishy and was worthy of investigating. She called me back shortly thereafter just to reassure me that a supervisor was also looking into things, and that I would be kept in the know as she was.

And it felt good!

Except.

A very real part of my desire to foster is to be on the same team as the parents of the children I care for. I do not want to give them any reason to not want their children in my care. And while this interaction was not with any parents, and I didn’t have any confrontation or anything at all, this would be the first time I have pushed back about anything. So. I’m nervous.

Its all very small. But it could be big if no one speaks up. So I’m trying to do the right thing. I saw a red flag. I processed. I said my piece, with the childs best interest at heart, and now, I shut my mouth and wait.

😩

God is bigger than ANY of this stuff.

I took Rowan to an appointment this morning. It wasn’t a long outing, but missing school plus being one on one plus the promise of a treat on the drive home was the trifecta for a good time. And thankfully, we had exactly that! A very successful appointment, some good intentional time where he even held my hand while we walked together, and a donut. This kid is a REALLY good one to hang out with. Truly one of the best people.

I love you, Rowan. Through thick and thin, baby!! I’m looking forward to the next time we play hooky together 😍

Brady’s hair has changed a LOT in the last few years. That goes without saying, though. It was long, and then it was thin, so he cut it good and short, and felt like a million bucks. After radiation was done, his hair started falling out. And. Like. In a strange way. Think of how old men get that stripe of hair around the back of their from ear to ear, except in reverse. He had a bald strip horizontally around his head where the radiation was introduced day after day this summer. He decided to abandon the fade, and we started buzzing the sides of his hair down as close as I possibly could. Which, surprisingly, didn’t hide the bald patches as well as we thought it would! But alas, it was our best option, so it was what we did. We knew, someday, it would fill in.

Only a couple of days ago, while he was sitting beside me, I noticed some HUGE regrowth!!! We got the clippers out and refreshed his buzz to see just how close he is to having that patch be gone!! And guys, its not far off!!!

The most prominent spot is right where the tumour was, and its still pretty shiny over there, but even that spot has the beginnings of stubble!

Its coming 💜 And I’m SO happy for Brady! He hasn’t let this bother him much at all, but I know its been a bit of an odd conversation here and there when people don’t know why he “chose” such a style, lol! No, its not a choice racing stripe. Its a cancer one 😅😬 But its on the way out, which is SO exciting! Even in the midst of chemotherapy, hair returning is really awesome to see!

Thank you, Lord, for any and all of Your healing, however that looks!

So far, the day has been pretty productive, but its been busy with fun things!!

After everyone slept in, and Brady and I enjoyed a cup of coffee in bed, we got everyone up and the day started moving.

Brady started by putting some things up that have been in the plans for a good long while now! Guitar hooks….. (just showing one here, but he and I both have our acoustic guitars on either side of the front window)

And some coat hooks we bought from Ikea to put up in kids rooms for hoodies, backpacks, etc. (A ghost!!)

We had a couple extra coat hooks, so we put one by the front door for diaper bags and hats and such…

And one behind my chair, to hang my cuuuuute new bag that holds some of my current crochet projects!! 😍 Thank you again, Sandy!!! 👻

Look at my little MAN!!! Oof! I love him!

Before I show you my new bag, look at what else we did! 😅 Yes. Times are this desperate when your toddlers unpack the entire bookshelf every change they get!

Board books will all be sorted down to the bottom, and the rest CAN be protected when I’m in the kitchen and they’re in the living room, which is when they get into the most trouble, hahaha!

Ta-daaaaa!

For lunch, we all enjoyed some apple crisp!! 🍎 I had made the filling a couple of days ago and its been waiting to be eaten in the fridge. This morning, Dekker volunteered to make some oatmeal but we have run out of eggs. No biggie! I asked if he was willing to try something different, and he absolutely was! I barely helped, and he pieced a beautiful huge apple crisp together for the family. Conveniently, it baked a little longer than anticipated (as tends to happen when one doubles the batch) so the littles were down before it was done. So while it would be lovely to share it with the babies as well, it was more peaceful to eat as a family of seven. We blobbed some ice cream on top and everyone ate in the living room.

Except Rowan, which prefers to sit at the table, but was not AT ALL unhappy or feeling left out!

Lunch was capped off with a few kids heading outside, and this one particular kid offering me a back rub.

Does it really get any better than this?!?! 🥰 Thank you Lord!!!

We had a bit of a sibling spat the other day. They happen always. Thats just life, I’m pretty sure. This particular day, it took a little bit more to come back from it. But when it happened, it was SO worth it. Here is the very quick play by play.

Rowan came to apologize to Solomon, and he gave him a hug, but lingered a little. I wasn’t supervising or anything, beyond just witnessing that Rowan was coming over to make an effort. But when I looked in their direction, I saw that a cuddle had started. Both of those boys are total snuggle bugs, though rarely with each other. But it was SO soft and cute!

It got better still when Rowan went in for the head scratch! 😍

Who doesn’t love a good head scratch??

Everyone LOVES it! Wavy included. So naturally, she inserted herself into the party.

The cuddle got a little bit silly from there on out. Just in the gentle headlock kind of way. You get it.

Aaaaand then it was photobomby.

Aaaaand then we called it. Dekker wasn’t home, otherwise I’m sure he would’ve been sitting across the room, look at me and Brady like “Kids, am I right?”

I loved this resolve so so much. I hope there can be more of these in the future. Soft sorries and loving head scratches 🥰