Today is Wednesday. Our foster children should be released back into their parents’ custody after their hearing on Monday (11/1). That will mark the end of our journey on the foster parenting road; at least for a while. Eight children in twelve months has exhausted me. It has also shown me that I need to be putting 110% of myself into my children’s home education in this season of our lives and that is just not possible with two or three foster children in our home. Maybe when the boys are older and can work well on their own, but not now in these crucial early years. I feel like God has really prepared my heart for the end of this season. I’m ready. I’m ready to reclaim my house, which has been set up like a motel for the past year; borrowing furniture from friends, putting walls up where there use to be no wall so a sixth child can have their own room. Not to mention, the placement we have now come from a very good family who simply made a bad decision and got caught. I’ve gotten to know the parents quite well, they’ve worked their tails off getting everything done that was required of them to get their children back. That makes the process easier on my heart and mind.

On another note, I finally got a new dishwasher. Hand-washing dishes a few times a day for a family of four or five may not be that big a deal, but hand-washing dishes four or five times a day for a family of seven was no picnic. My hands were raw, cuticles bleeding, and knuckles cracking. Apparently I could not have been Laura Ingles Wilder afterall….although if I remember correctly, they all drank out of a ladle sitting in the water bucket and had only one dish each, so maybe I’m selling myself short. I was an old school cafeteria worker for three weeks, but I have now moved back to civilization and boy is it good!

I researched and researched dishwashers. I combed through Consumer Reports and every major appliance store in a 30 mile radius. You see, my house was built in 1971. My hot water heater is 27 years old and going strong. They just don’t build appliances like they use to and I am not going to buy another dishwasher in five to seven years (THAT is the average life expectancy of dishwashers nowadays!). The bottom line was that I did not have $1000 to spend on a dishwasher. What I found was this:

The Whirlpool Quiet Parter I. It had very good reviews on all the sites I checked out and it was on sale at Best Buy for $250! As an added bonus, my handy hubby installed it himself (I’m still wondering what he’s going to do with our old dishwasher and the giant box that the new one came in that are still sitting in the garage). I’m not sure how old our old dishwasher was, but I’m guessing 10-15 years. It was a bottom of the line–no buttons–just turn the dial to ON and walk away as your house fills with the noise of your dishes being cleaned. The new one on the other hand, quietly cleans every dish and every glass (even with baked on rice!) and the rinse aid brings them to a nice shine before the cycle is finished. It even has a ‘one hour cycle’ for when you’re in a hurry. Thank you Lord for my new dishwasher!

Yesterday was the last day of CC in which we’d be toting two extra children. They always leave half way through our day to go to visitation and therefore, Tuesdays have become my favorite day of the week. We come home from co-op and the boys shut down. They have lunch, clean their rooms, and then watch movies and chill out for the rest of the day. This is great for me because no one is running around and demanding my attention, so I’m able to clean clean clean until my little heart is content. That is exactly what I did yesterday. By the time Josh got home, the house smelled divine, supper was on the stove, and everyone was happy. I had my final night of Bible study last night and I ended up going with no make-up on and my hair pulled back and held up by a Christmas pencil with a bright green eraser topper on it. It was a lovely sight, I’m sure. But I didn’t care: My house was clean!

I have quite the to-do list going for next week when the children leave. I’ll fill you in on that later. Time for school.

Happy Wednesday!

~audrey

I go through huge waves with my food preparation. Sometimes I go months making the same ten things over and over and other times I’m excited to try a new recipe every other night. Right now I’m back to trying new recipes and OHHH do I have two good ones for you!

Last night I made Over the Border Shrimp Enchilidas, which is a Philly Cream Cheese recipe, and it was delicious and very simple.

I look forward to finishing-off the leftovers at lunch.

Then I decided to experiment with Pioneer Woman’s Maple Pecan Scones. (believe it or not, I couldn’t find the recipe on PW’s blog, so I had to link you to someone else’s blog that posted pics and the recipe…saves me time from having to type the recipe myself.) I will never buy a scone from Starbucks ever again! These were SO incredible and so incredibly simple. I cut my scones in half before sticking them in the oven because they were about 1/3 larger than the scones you would buy at a coffee shop and I knew the icing would be very rich.

I’m glad I cut them in half. They were perfect for dessert and perfect again this morning for breakfast. 🙂 Not perfect, however, if you’re trying to shed a few pounds rather than GAIN a few before adding a bun to your own oven.

On another note: 17 days until the foster children’s next hearing where they should be going home.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

~audrey

I have SOooo much to share from the last week or so I don’t even know where to begin.

I took six pages (front and back) of notes from the Priscilla Shirer conference. I will surely be sharing some of those in the days to come.

The kids and I have all been sick with colds, sniffles, fevers, coughs, etc, etc…nothing life-threatening. 🙂 (don’t you just *love* it when you’re on the computer trying to complete a thought and you can already hear someone in another room saying, “THAT’S IT! I’M TELLING MOMMY!”) Ugh!

Our school time has been great this week. More structured but also more relaxed, if that makes any sense.

I think I’m going to go ahead and hang my big white board in the “foster kids’ room”, even though we won’t be able to make the full “school room” transition until they leave.

I needed to go grocery shopping BADLY so I went at 6:00 this morning. Is there really any other way to grocery shop when you have five kids (or even TWO kids?)!? It only took me about 45 minutes to do two weeks worth of shopping and have it all unloaded by 7am. It’s amazing what you do when you’re desperate. We’ve been wiping our butts with Kleenex for the last three or four days because I just never could make it to the store. I had been carefully cutting off the fuzzy white parts that were starting to grow on our final loaf of bread because I didn’t have all of the ingredients I needed to make more. Thankfully, those problems are solved now and all is right in our world.

When I finished my grocery shopping and realized I still had a few minutes before 7:00, I decided to drive thru Starbucks. It was pure bliss to sit in the Hobby Lobby parking lot, sipping my latte, listening to Anthony Evans, and meeting with the Lord. Anthony is Priscilla’s brother, son of Tony Evans. What an incredible worship leader. More on that later. 🙂

Time for lunch. The natives are starting to bite my ankles.

Happy Thursday!!

~audrey

For six months this trip has been planned. Girlfriends at Grace are going to see Priscilla Shirer at a church in Columbia. I signed up for the trip knowing I would need the refreshing of a girls’ weekend and knowing God has always been faithful to meet me right where I am in life. I also knew in the back of my mind that we would likely have foster children when October 8th and 9th rolled around. However, my husband has not wavered in his willingness to let me go. We leave at 1:00pm tomorrow and will arrive back sometime Saturday evening.

Tonight I’m down to three kids while my oldest two are out for a bit. Everyone has been bathed, laundry is done, the kitchen is clean, and all of the dishes are washed. I probably won’t pack until noon tomorrow when e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. else has been completed.

Today was wonderful. My Aunt Kathy came down from Maine to help take care of my mother after her back surgery. She decided, since my mom is doing exceptionally well, she’d come to Augusta for the day to see the kids and me. She brought fruit salad and roast beef from the deli. Lunch was delicious as we sliced through hot bread soon after it was pulled from the oven. The children climbed trees and rolled around in the dirt as Aunt Kathy and I sat in the living room listening to the giggles and squeals from the open windows. I closed my eyes as I realized where I’d be in just 24 hours. Relaxing with the girls. Soaking up the presence of the Lord. Laughing. Crying. Resting.

Jesse went to the symphony with friends and Joshua went to Sam’s school talent show.

Everyone will be asleep soon and I will sit in bed and read with my love. God is good. If ever I’ve needed a little break to regain my sanity, get the pep back in my step, stoke the flames within me, put the wind back in my sails; it is now.

~audrey

Today we had co-op and our foster children had visitation, which takes them out of town until after bedtime. I debated going to visit my mom after co-op, but decided to stay home instead. I have a ton of stuff to do around here including give three very hairy boys some much-needed haircuts! Staying home was probably the smartest decision I’ve made in a month!

Joshua ended up going home with a friend after co-op, so Jesse and Owen and I had about three hours to get a LOT of stuff done. I went to the bank, drove thru the post office, went to the car wash (always makes me feel better to have a clean car…even if it only stays that way for about 24 hours!), cleaned the house (can I get an AMEN?!), did lots and lots of laundry and even put it all away. I feel like I’m getting my groove back.

I started compiling my list for OctoberFest but realized it’s really going to be November before I do a large chunk of it. It will just be so much easier if I wait until the foster children go home before tackling some of these things; like turning the “foster kids’ room” into our school room.

Either way, today gave me a good boost. Tomorrow is Bible Study in the morning and school time in the afternoon…and church again in the evening. Busy, busy, busy.

Happy Tuesday!

~audrey

One of the definitions of the word festival is: gaiety, revelry, merrymaking. By that definition, we will be having an OctoberFest of sorts in the Wilkerson home.

Today was going to be good. Mondays have turned into review and cleaning. The boys and I sat down with books, snuggled on the couch to fend off the morning chill as fall has swept in with no warning and my kids are still sleeping in their tighty-whities. We reviewed our memory work, practiced our presentations, and read. Every room has an open window.

I’ve been fighting discontentment lately as I look at our “Debt Snowball” and the things that so badly need fixing in every room of our house. Faucets that leak, a wall in the bathroom that stays mysteriously damp (gross!), a dishwasher that is out of commission because it is leaking somehow, from somewhere. I was reading a book recently on contentment and what a blessing it is to others when they see that you are content no matter what season of life you’re in. The truth is, my house could look a lot better and feel a lot better if I’d take even better care of it. So, through the inspiration of my friend Ali, I will be compiling a list of Fall Cleaning tasks to be completed during the month of October. Cleaning and re-organizing is utter gaiety and revelry to me, hence the title, OctoberFest. 🙂 I think I will post my list once it’s complete (the list, that is…not the house)

Our pastor taught on the dangers of having self-esteem yesterday. The overall message was that it doesn’t matter what other’s think of you. Being a child of God, you are made in Christ’s image, so what other’s think about you, your value, and your worth, should not matter to you. Something is only as valuable as the amount one person is willing to pay for it. For example, an antique vase could be worth $1 million if there is one person out there willing to pay one million for the vase. God loved you so much that he paid the ultimate price, the death of His only Son, that you might be saved from your wretchedness. Fill yourself with His word, that you might have high God-esteem. Because what your Daddy (Abba Father) thinks of you is really all that matters.

~audrey

I can’t believe it’s the first day of October and it actually feels like fall!! Right now, it’s 72 degrees out and tonight there is a low of 51!
Josh is taking the boys camping tonight, so I’ve invited some girls over. I thought about getting a movie, but then realized we’d have much more fun if we just eat, laugh, and play games. My house is a mess right now. I need to pick up every room, vacuum, mop, and light some candles, but all of that will have to wait until I get my four men on the road to the wilderness. I think Joshua is checking the clock every 15 minutes for when Daddy will arrive in the driveway and they’ll pack up the truck.
This morning I opened all of the windows in the house, lit a fall candle, put on some CHRISTMAS MUSIC, and spent two hours changing out summer and fall clothes. I love this time of year.
In two days, my love will celebrate his 32nd birthday. Where does the time go? He was 23 when we got married. That’s right, we’ll celebrate TEN YEARS in about 16 months. Unbelievable.

Time to check the mail and move on to the next task.

Happy Friday! We have our fall festival at church tomorrow afternoon. I hope to take pictures. We’ll see.

~audrey