Monday, December 31, 2007

playing catch up- gifts

here are some more of the things i made this year



a heat/cold therapy pack for my mom
cool bowls made from melted vinyl records
coasters

an apron for my aunt who loves twall
headbands for the tween and teens on my list
yay me!


and everyone -i have a new email adress!!!
kirynspiscesmama@gmail.com

mark it down!

Monday, December 17, 2007

fun with our friends!

today my friend's kiddos (3 of them) came over. they are each close in age to the three i have at home right now and we had so much fun!





sebastian and his buddy Eden played duck skittles,
cars,


and piano!

lucca's friend Belin and her made decorations,


played on the horsey swing,

and played orchard

the boys found a snake in the backyard and looked it up in the reptiles book (couldn't find it!)
and kiryn drew a pict of it-

we had so much fun!!!

Friday, December 14, 2007

i have made more cool stuff, but can't show pictures of it due to not wanting people reading this to know what they are getting! i think some have already seen . YIKES!
sorry if i ruined any surprises -

we have gotten TWO referral calls over the last two days, one was a sibling set, boy 6, 4- the next was just a boy 5 -
i , of course turned them down. i can't even begin to imagine THREE boys around the same age in my house- all fighting and tearing up my house, sigh.

still hoping for GOD to send us a miracle for Christmas!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

crafty gifts- keeps me occupied!

ok- so i have been keeping myself busy while i am waiting for a placement. i have been making crafts, most are gifts- here they are




this is for my car (for the trip to OKC)- it hold notebook, pencils, game boys ect-


this is what i call a "boy box" decorated, "laminated", and filled with safety goggles, Tape measure, a snake skin, a Geo to break open, and a friendship bracelet.


this is Lucca's purple cat she wanted for christmas





this is what goes in the "Girl boxes"- homemade, playdough, homemade chalk, homemade crayons, a homemade notebook, and a monster ball
close up of chalk


playdough

crayons, notebook


a boo-boo bag for my house (filled with rice, kept in freezer)
two heat/cold therapy bags for family members


that's what i have so far!!!!

i will post more as i make it!

Friday, December 7, 2007

i am going mad!

it's official !
i am crazy with anticipation!!!!
when? who? did i mention WHEN???!!!
sigh
so our home study finally got turned in for Ketura (see previous posts), and we are still waiting on word from the 2 month old and the 21 month old....
and then of course at any point we could get a referral for an immeadiate legal risk placement....

even with all these possibilities, i feel like it's never going to happen.
this sooo feels like being overdue in a pregnancy!

come on baby, er !
liz

Thursday, December 6, 2007

websight with cool show

http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/publish/consumer/home/shows/adoption.html

show is called "adoption" and it is GREAT!
no commercials or anything, and i think it is better done than TLC's "adoption stories"

keep your tissues handy!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

5 days later

no word yet on anything. i havn't talked to my case worker and i am (along with all the kiddos) sick as a dog. head colds are no fun .. :(
my nose is raw from blowing it so much and my head feels like a box of rocks.. sigh
and i am seriously starting to worry that we arn't going to get a placement by christmas!
if you are the praying type- please pray for us!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

uhhhgghhh

i can't stand this waiting- i want to know NOW!
lol
can you tell from my blog posts that GOD has always been trying to teach me patience? it's the lesson of my life, and unfortunately i am a slow learner!
GOD, give me patience, right now!! ... ROFL

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

second referal in one day

we got another semi referral. this one is in austin. she is 21 months, and it is also a foster/adopt , legal risk placement. so, our homestudy has been submitted for her too.
we will soon see in what ways the paparella brood shall grow!!!!

another possible referral

she is 2 months old and in Dallas. they are looking state-wide for a "legal risk" foster/adopt home for her- this means they will collect home studies from anyone interested up until dec 8th, then the case worker for the will pick three of the best ones (for this baby) and those three will go on to get more detailed interviews and also have access to her full case file (can't be that long since she is so young. Gabe said "lets go for it" so we submitted our home study.
we are still waiting to hear back about Ketura and the other s we submitted home studies for. we could also still at any time get an immediate referral call. who knows!!!!

Monday, November 26, 2007

another week to wait

so here we go again, now it's another monday where i am pondering, "will this be the week???"
so will it?
our thanksgiving was great fun, Sebastian ate like crazy! He spent almost an hour in his highchair munching down!
~~~~i am so looking forward to christmas this year!!!!!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

WE ARE OFFICIAL!!!

It's truly official! We are licensed, approved foster/adoptive parents. they called yesterday to tell me that they finally signed the papers.
my case worker is submitting my home study for several children already freed for adoption (like Ketura) , and if the agency gets a referral in our range she will call me! it could be any day now!!!!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

our foster *DOG?*


well we got the opportunity to foster a little 5 month old Rat Terrier puppy for the week. she has to get her little foot amputated (she was hit by a car). she is the sweetest thing ever! We are calling her Grace. (since it's by the grace of God an 8 pound dog survived getting hit by a car!)

Friday, November 16, 2007

a little on adoptUSkids.org


oh she is precious! I could see her being our daughter. i asked my case worker to find out more about her-
here is her bio:

About Keturah


English Public Narrative

Keturah has brown hair and brown eyes. She has been diagnosed with Proximal Femoral Deficiency. She does not have femur bones on either leg and therefore has no thighs. Her knees are just below her hip bones. She has extremely short calves, ankles, and feet. She has a lazy eye and recently had surgery to correct this condition. She requires the use of glasses . She is approximately 27" tall and weighs 24 lbs. She is a sweet and loving child. She likes receiving lots of attention and enjoys helping around house. She likes books and age appropriate toys. She takes good care of her possessions. She has a good appetite and she enjoys a variety of foods. She does require some assistance in completing personal hygiene tasks. She is too young to have formed her values and traditions. She is developmentally appropriate and is in good physical health. She is a well behaved who enjoys being around other children.




i belong on a adopting with limb differences group and i asked about her diagnosis. i was told she should be able to do most anything, she will just always be little

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

yucky day, but good things too

yuck=
still no call from my agency. no call=no license=no foster child
i have major dental work scheduled from 9am -2 pm tomorrow. probably two root canals and two crowns, maybe just 4 crowns. anyway you stack it , it is YUCK. may i add it is also very expensive? try $3,500. that number is AFTER my insurance pays a hefty amount.
good=
jim (my step dad) started reading lessons and piano lessons for my boys!
my mom let me borrow her walkman and i found "secret life of bees" on tape so i have something to do during my root canals .
so it not an all bad day!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

waiting

well, no call this week, maybe next week?
sigh

Thursday, November 8, 2007

our fall bounty

tristan's "museum" of fall leaves





our persimmon tree has given us a whole bunch of goodness!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

large families ROCK!


i love my growing family :)

here are some links:
101 reasons to have another child
mega families
large family resource


some things i love about having a large family:
everyone helps
i love to see all the car seats and boosters in the car
i love serving up all the kiddo portions on plastic plates
i love how the big ones love and help care for the little ones
i love that there is always someone to give you a hug
i love that i am very rarely bored
i love a challenge!
i love when the big ones teach the little ones something
(like last week the boys taught Lucca the continents )
~and most of all i love Love LOVE how much hotter my husband gets the more kids he fathers. he is seriously one hot daddy :)

Tuesday, November 6, 2007


we turned it in yesterday- now we are just waiting for approval, which the SW (social worker) said will be (hopefully) this week......
Lucca can't wait to meet her sister!
we have her room as ready as it can be, since we dont know her age yet! Lucca even gave her some of her babys, and i put all my bryer horses from my childhood in there.




Saturday, November 3, 2007

grrrr

i got an email at the END of yesterday that the last form we turned in was unacceptable because it had white-out on it..sooo now we have to wait till monday, re sign and re turn in and wait and wait and wait some more...
did i mention patience is not one of my virtues?
lol

Friday, November 2, 2007

latest news

so the final walk through was yesterday. two social workers came over and re-examined the house. Now they submit the home study to their supervisor and he/she? approves it. then we are licensed!
she said it should take one to two weeks..sigh...
it's like a 2ww !
I sure hope we get a referral quickly after that! i want her to come in November, in time for thanksgiving :)

Friday, October 26, 2007

two years ago we went to the same farm



two years ago.. amy was 8 months along with eden ! ..this year she's two months along with someone new :)
lucca was tiny



kiryn still loved him some horse back riding!

elgin farm today

feeling better today..
we went to my friend's friend's farm today, check out these cuties!

milking a goat


a truck full of younguns!

tristan riding



lucca with her best buddy!

kiryn looks so happy!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

blah

my head is KILLING ME. Motrin doesn't work. i don't want to take any more vicadine, and coffee makes me feel worse so i am exhausted to boot from not having my morning joe. sigh..
it's one of those days where i am doing a horrible job parenting, teaching, standing..lol
seriously . OUCH

~~~pity part for Liz, everyone is invited!~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Friday, October 19, 2007

my scary eyes


i have zombie eyes!
seriously, when they said my eyes would be red-this isn't quite what i had imagined :)

Monday, October 15, 2007

ouch- my surgery (eye muscle) is on thursday of THIS WEEK!
yikes
here's a good website talking about it:
eye

i have to go under general for the surgery and then they give you vicadin for afterwords. mainly i am just worried about recovery time and taking care of the brood. Gabe won't be taking off work since he is hourly and all.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

war orphans in Liberia

i am reading a book about Liberia and the thousands of orphans there. truly these children have nothing. they need homes. i think more people could open there homes to children who need homes if they listened to what God has to say on the matter.


Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
james 1:27


have a look at these sights:
rye reflections

adopting from liberia

waiting children

video of children from liberia

time article

Friday, October 12, 2007

silly sentimental mommy

so, i was at Big Lots! today and i went down the doll aisle and decided i MUST buy a dolly for our foster/adopt little , even though i don't know her or anything about her yet, lol. but, i figured it would make a good Christmas gift. so lets all pray she's home by Christmas!
anyhow, as i was buying this doll i got all choked up thinking about how we were so close to meeting her. so i was like a 26 year old baby crying in the big lots, lol..

I AM SO READY ALREADY!!!!

Thursday, October 11, 2007


little daddy!
sebastian was mowing with his mower, while daddy was with his!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007



baby Otto, home with mama!

Sunday, October 7, 2007

ok, so i was over analyzing. we finished our homestudy yesterday and from what she said we passed, and should have our license in about two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so we could potentially have our little girl in a couple of weeks :)

Thursday, October 4, 2007

warning! over analyzing ahead!

my hubby thinks i am over analyzing- BUT i feel like i did horrible on the homestudy.
why you ask?
well for one when i am nervous i talk ALOT- none reading this would deny that .lol
then i had to drag every bit of dirty laundry out of the closet and it freaked me out! i am so worried that it makes me look terrible. but of course thats not the person i am anymore, but the past is there, written down. yuck
then she told me i cant breastfeed in front of a foster kid >IN MY OWN HOUSE! she suggested a BLANKET. cough cough WTF?

help me LORD

sigh

Wednesday, October 3, 2007


looks like someone shot my animals!
lol