I love you guys!
I know, it's been a while.. shame on me! Lots to update you on.. but, just in case you stumbled upon this blog- I want you to know that this is about the ups, downs, and in-betweens of parenting. In my case- single father foster parenting. So with that, let's begin!
This is me. To the left is my sister Rose (she and I are very close) and my nephew Jason (more like my little baby brother). I love these two people! Other than my boys at home, I spend a lot of my time with them and my niece Devin.
Since the last time I updated my blog, tons have happened.
As you may know, I have a teenager (17 years old) and his name is Daniel. I can speak freely of him on here (he's the only one I can do so about) because he is 'legally free' of the system... Well anyways.. he has just graduated from high school! Whoop Whoop! Here he is.. :)
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That's quite a feat and I am proud of him for making it this far! You know, living in foster care most of your life.. I can't imagine the hardships and heart aches. Kudos to this guy for rising above the statistics! Now he is off to my alma mater (sp?), USC Aiken!
My family has grown too since my last post.. we are now a family of 6! Of course, I can't go into great detail but.. I will tell you a little :) One of the new ones may soon be adoptable.. so that gives me some new, exciting feelings.. I would love to adopt one day and you know what? This kid is adorable.. he's sweet and cute- anybody would be lucky to have him! I sure will be praying about God's will and hoping that I can be the dad he is already calling me...
I have another couple boys that are relatively new and they are doing well with the transition and changes too.. one is slightly.. aggravating.. but funny too. And looks up to me.. so I choose to enjoy having him. Each day. lol One of my kids has a little extra weight.. and really, all of 'em are a little lazy and grew up eating junk food so I have been trying my very best to make healthy meals for them and keep our activity levels high!! Although always have been active in my home, feeding 6 mouths is that much more difficult when you have to avoid unhealthy foods!!!!
I also have had another "first" recently when I got a phone call from a fellow foster parent asking for respite care. (This is when you watch someone else's children for a short amount of time for them..) When I got the phone call, I was in the middle of pulling up all my carpet in the house.. with 4 children.. lol.. however, it was for a 2 year old.. and Lord knows I cannot say no to that!!! So I said YES! haha.. and well, turned out that there were 2 toddlers that needed watching.. no, actually 3!! Yes, 3.. 3 little tots added to my 'entourage' for the weekend! Of course I could have declined.. but as I said before, I don't know what "no" means and really, who can decline those little guys!? We had a blast together.. they are so precious at that age and despite the "terrible 2s" notion.. they were actually way more behaved than my boys! (which I did vocalize, mind you!) lol I took them to a nice community pool and we pigged out on raisins and watched Cars, twice! :P It was a lot of fun but it was also sobering.. it's not easy foster parenting when you have to see what these kids have been through or.. let them go.... and my hat is off to all of those foster parents out there that take these young, young ones.. I would fall apart letting go of a baby or toddler. It's always hard of course, but those lil' ones bond quickly and I don't see how y'all do it!!!!
We're on summer break and staying pretty busy.. I've been trying to redo my floors but it's taking a little more cash than I had planned.. it's gotta be done by the end of the summer.. hopefully sooner! I will be so glad to be rid of all the nasty carpet that came with the house! The kids have been driving each other crazy but that's usual right?! (My teenager is especially annoyed with them..) We did a week of Kids Kamp recently.. I had planned on just attending to keep an eye on my kids but ended up volunteering with the 5 & 6 year old group and as usual, loved it! That age is my favorite and I really got to know those little people. We had a lot of fun learning through different skits and worship songs. They had inflatables, popcorn, snowcones, crafts, horseback riding, etc.. all for free. It was a great time!! We all came home pretty exhausted... so this week is going to be a little more low key than before. Then we will have a week of VBS at a local church followed by another week in which we are going to family camp--- this is what I can't wait for!!! It's a full week out on this ranch, full of water sports, 3 meals a day, camping, inspirational talks, and relaxation. :) Well.. as much of that as you can with 5 kids :P The following week we will be going down to Florida to visit my dad's side of the family (also exciting!!). It will be a very busy end to the summer!!!
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| The tank we built from cardboard!! |
In closing, today is Father's Day.. and well, I wasn't told 'Happy Father's Day' at all today by any of my kids until about 3 o'clock.. when we saw an old foster child of mine.. and he hugged me and told me I was the best dad ever :) (I want him back!!!) :P However, I like to focus on the most influential Father of them all, my heavenly one!
Michael Sutherland
PS. Comment Please!
