Would You Take 6 More Kids?

I can honestly say that my three kidlets sometimes nearly push me to screaming my lungs out. I love them, but man they can be testing. Then I think about adding 3 more to the mix and I get a little nervous... I may end up in the mental institution after a major breakdown. Then 3 more after that? Ya, it's no more a "may" end up in the mental institution, it's a I "would" end up in the mental institution!

Well, taking 6 more kids into their home at one time is EXACTLY what one of our friends has done! Going quickly from a family of three to a family of NINE!!!! But honestly, with their personalities... if anyone can do it... THEY CAN. They are some of the most giving people we know and so full of love you can almost taste it in their presence.

When we first met Josh and Deneece we were still newly weds (as were they). We happened to be next door neighbors. We would often go to each other homes for dinner, cause HEY two people is NOT much to cook for and any "normal" sized meal would last us a week of dinners. We talked about many things and played many games teasing each other the whole way. I remember at one point talking about the number of kids we wanted to have. My response? Five.... though that has changed since and three is good. :) Their response? LOTS!!!

As the years went by I had Goober and they adopted Eli. Then I had Missy, and they kept trying for those kids they knew would be theirs. Then I had The Energizer Bunny and they began looking into adopting another child. And low and behold they found those kids that were supposed to be theirs! They just didn't know they would find them all at once!

Needless to say their family is going through a lot right now. Instead of one 6 year old they now have 7 kids ranging in age from 12 years old to 4.....and they need a lot of things!

So if you would like to help they have a fund set up at our local WestMark Credit Unions or you can go here and look at the list of things they know they are in need of right now. Or if you have questions you can email amazingadoptionstory@me.com.

What an awesome family!!!! God Bless them... every single one of them!

Thankful for:

In honor of Thanksgiving I thought I might list some of the things I'm truely greatful for.

-That I have parents, who I know truely love myself, my sisters, and our children.
-The fact that the guy I really liked in highschool never took notice of me, because I might have missed out on the truely amazing marriage to a really wonderful man.
-That my In-Laws not only love my husband and children...they seam to really count me as one of their own as well.
-That my children can yell and scream and even fight with one another, because they are healthy and have the ability to do so.
-That I have a home that is in a safe neighborhood, that I don't worry about taking walks in.
-That I have neighbors that I can call if I need anything, be it a babysitter or 1/4 cup of sugar.
-That I have a car that is reliable and can fit my whole family... even if it is getting tight :)
-That the few close friends I have are down to earth and worry about me when they can't get a hold of me after a few days.
-That I wouldn't feel weird calling my friends and neighbors for no reason at all, just because I needed an adult to talk to.
-That my children have friends.
-That G and Missy My are such good friends and really adore their little brother.
-That my marriage is stable and loving and that I have never had reason to regret marrying the man I did.
-That my life is not a soap opera like so many people I see around me.
-That I have the opportunity to stay at home with my children, raising them how Jer and I see fit.
-That I can still kiss a ouchie better sometimes
-That I have a backyard, for those times when my nerves are shot.
-That sometimes money is tight, so I can recongnize how blessed I am in the comforts of this world.
-That there is always someone better than I am, so I have something to aspire to.
-That there is always someone worse than I am, so I don't beat up on myself to much.
-That somehow things always work out for the best even when I don't see how they can when I'm in the middle of them.
And so much more...

Iraq

In our Ward I help out with Activity Days. Basically this is an after school group for girls age 8-12 (though we only have the 8-10 year olds... there are too many girls in our ward to only have one group!). We have about 14 girls total though we usually end up with about 10-12 that show up! Needless to say...my new Codirector got a baptism by fire when I had to run and pick up one of the girls and she ended up with 10 hyper girls all to herself for a few. LOL Sorry Heather!!

Anyways, because Veterans Day is coming up I envited a dad of one of our girls to come talk to them about the military. This particular dad served in the National Guard in Iraq for 2 years. I have to say I think I enjoyed this more than the girls did! But I think by the time we were through they understood that they should be thankful for all of the blessings they have due to where they live in the world. And thankful for the military that continues to fight for those freedoms today.

Afterword I talked to our guest for a while asking more "Adult" questions that I don't think the girls would have understood, or would have been more graphic than they needed to hear in their young lives. So not everything in this post reflects what the girls learned :) I thought that I would list some interesting tidbits about Iraq that some of you may be unaware of.

1. An average Iraqi day is about 150 degrees F. And their nights run about 115 degrees F. WOW talk about hot...and to think that they haven't even heard about Air Conditioning!!! Yowsa!

2. Our military me and women end up carrying over 40 extra pound of gear around in this heat!

3. Iraq grows loads of watermelon but they have sanctions so they are not allowed to export them.

4. Our military is not allowed to interfere with their police or political people. They are only there to make sure that the Iraqi government has a chance to survive.

5. Terrorists come in from all of the surrounding countries. This includes our Ally Turkey.

6. Turkey pays for some of the most deadly Assisins in Iraq.

7. The Kurds love our military and do all they can to help them.

8. The Kurds have there own military outside of the Iraqi military and have had since before Sadam Hussien. They use their military to police there own land making our militarys job in there reagion easier.

9.The Kurds are not Iraqi. They are Gypsies.

10. Our military does not go near Oil Fields. The only time they have gone anywere near them was to protect the oil lines going out of them from getting bombed.

11. Though our military has had over 800 casualties this last year usually this in not put into perspective. California has over 200 a year and they aren't in a war zone.

12. Iraqis live in mud huts with dirt floors. They do have some "modern" buildings but are afraid to live in them because crooked politicians and police make people that live in them "disappear".

13. the serviceman that I talked to believes that Fox News is the channel that gets the most information correct and has the most reporters in Iraq, though they do mess up as well. He detests MSNBC because they assume our servicemen are evil and try to find the worst information possible to report. He said that he had some of their reporters ask him "how many babies have you killed today?" He was disgusted but still fought to protect them when they were in harms way.

ok, so that is all I can think of at the moment. I just found it enlightening to actually get first hand information from someone who has been to Iraq and doesn't have an agenda as far as the information he shares with me. I personally no longer trust the media (call me paranoid!). So I love it when I'm able to talk to someone who knows first hand. Wish I had more oporunities like this one.