"How Do I Do It?"

"How do you do it?" I get this question a lot. Almost everywhere we go, from almost everyone we meet, I get some version of this question. People at every church we visit ask this. Phil Robertson, from Duck Dynasty, asked it in his own unique way: "How many do you HAVE?" LOL.

Behold, children are a heritage of the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3

You see, I'm a single homeschooling mom of the youngest 8 of my 12 children. I know many parents who have as many children as I do, and sometimes many more children, many who've adopted, and some who've adopted kids affected by trauma. Mine is actually one of the smaller large families I know but I realize most people aren't familiar with any large families, or large adoptive families, or kids with trauma histories. It is the PTSD and trauma history, and the behaviors that result from that, as well as my reactions to those behaviors, that escalated and brought this family into a crisis situation just 2 years ago. I had children busting holes in walls regularly, running away, fighting at school and getting suspended, barely passing their classes, harming themselves, ... one threatened suicide and another attempted suicide. Twice.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

We traveled PT in our RV for 3 years before we hit the road FT. Before that, we couldn't ever leave our home town for very long, or go very far at that time. Our lives were dictated by medication cocktail regimens and doctor appointments: monthly psychiatrist visits, monthly social worker visits, biweekly or weekly therapist sessions, and a plethora of other specialist appointments. There also were random episodes interacting with local law enforcement, runs to the crisis hospital, and CPS calls from the public schools, not to mention the occasional broken door, hole in the wall, overturned furniture, etc.
How did I turn all this around? I didn't. I couldn't. God did. What I did do was seek Him and His guidance with all I had. Sadly, this was my last resort, what I tried when all else had failed, when the situation had gotten so totally out of control. It should have been my first option. It certainly was the only viable option. It has been my greatest desire to get my children to know, and feel, God's love for them, and my love for them, even in my completely imperfect brokenness.

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:25

Our journey began after I adopted 3 brothers. One kept asking me to take them to church. I had gone to church in the past but, due to behaviors and false accusations of a previously adopted child, I felt shunned by that church. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Plus, I did work all week. I was tired on weekends, there were lesson plans to do, etc. After months of begging, I finally conceded to search for a church family for us. I Googled all churches in my area with the things I like in a service: modern music, Sunday school, youth activities, etc. Each weekend, we attended one or more services at different churches until we found one or two we liked and began attending regularly: Sunday school and Sunday service. That's not what did it for us, though, but it did open the doors.

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek His presence continually. 1 Chronicles 16:11

We started getting involved in more biblical learning opportunities. My children started attending bible study and youth group. They came home one night with a small booklet called 30 Days with Jesus or 40 Days with Jesus. I forget which one, exactly, but the idea was we had to READ this every single day for a month or more. I was still working at that time. Finding 30 minutes per day to read a devotional seemed impossible. However, we did it. We found the time each night. It got us into the habit of reading together each night. We used to read together some nights, usually fiction novels, but we started reading the bible together. We really started to enjoy it. Reading the bible used to be a daunting task for me, and I certainly never thought my children would understand it, but the more we went to church and listened to sermons about bible passages, the more we learned the major themes presented throughout the bible and comprehending it became much easier.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Then, I was listening to KLove one day and they were asking people to take the "30-day challenge": listen to only Christian music for 30 days and see how your life changes. OK. Challenge accepted. We listen to almost nothing but Christian music these days. Listening to Christian music has helped us feel better. The mood and climate of my family has been completely transformed. The music encourages us and keeps us focused on God. Some songs have brought me to tears and have really spoken into my life. I highly recommend it.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8

Even after these steps, my family was still a hot mess. I kept seeking help for them. Therapy increased. Meds changed. I tried desperately to find a self-help or support group for teen boys who'd been abused/neglected. I found such a group for girls but none for boys. Then, quite by accident, I found Celebrate Recovery with its Landing program for teens and Celebration Place for children. We attended meetings every Thursday night over an hour away from our home. This program helped heal my heart of its past hurts, which I never realized were there affecting my life as much as they were, and my youngest children loved it. My teens were OK with it but it did bring out PTSD flashbacks for one and we had to stop going for awhile. We did get back to it and now they all love it. We still attend and always learn something new about ourselves or about God's will for our lives.

And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

My home church also offered some classes to teach people how to be disciples in Christian counseling. I took every class offered, at any church I could, in an effort to learn how to best help my family. I also learned a lot from the Post Institute regarding how best to react respond to my children in the midst of their behaviors. I found some videos by Christine Moers, who is now a therapeutic parenting coach and have gotten some precious, treasured advice from her that really helped me help my son in the midst of his depression. He began to improve. We found a little help and healing from everything but found our greatest help, hope, and healing from God Himself through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5

Attending church-related programs almost daily really took it's toll on us, however. By Thursday mornings we could barely get up for work and school. I lost my job in all the chaos and my boys were constantly being suspended anyway so, I started homeschooling them. I pulled them out 2 at a time until they were all home. Each time a new child joined our family, or each time we started slipping back into chaos, we retreated from life and simply stayed home reading the bible together until our focus was on God and His will for us. One by one, my children's hearts were healed. One by one, they accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. One by one, they were transformed. One by one, they went off all medications. I would say I started seeking God earnestly about 2 years ago. I started teaching my children to be Jesus seekers shortly thereafter. I will be forever grateful for all He has done for us. We each have a testimony to share and it has become part of the reason we travel. We travel to raise awareness of the need for forever families for the many children waiting to be adopted and to give hope and encouragement to other families struggling with the effects of past trauma on their children. That's not to say we don't have days with struggle. We do. Despite our struggles and mistakes, God is working in our lives. We are free. Free in every way, including medication-free. Living under God's grace, mercy, and love.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

We finally launched and traveled FT for 6 months before we had to leave the road to do another adoption. Now, we wait. We are taking advantage of this opportunity to be stationary by involving ourselves in youth group ministries, bible studies, Celebrate Recovery, and fellowship opportunities at our home church as well as educational opportunities in the area. Because I've been homeschooling/roadschooling for almost three years now, year-round, my older children caught up with their peers and were able to graduate high school early in order to go to college. So, they're taking classes at a local college. I have no doubt God will work in my future children's lives the way He has faithfully worked in ours. Gotta love that!

The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him. Exodus 15:2

My Chloe Bug

This girl is the baby of our family. I adopted her when she was 7 years old. She was developmentally delayed, which caused her to get hurt by other children running and playing around her, creating in her a great deal of fear: fear of falling down, fear of steps, fear of heights, fear of jumping, fear of walking over jetty rocks, fear of cracks in sidewalks .... you name it, she feared it. In her fear, and with her diagnosis of autism, she'd often melt down into a raging tantrum. Many. Times. Each. Day. Her anxiety caused her to self harm. When I met her, she was taking 21 pills per day under psychiatric care. Today, she is medication-free, thanks to her relationship with Jesus.
Yes, Chloe still struggles at times with self-control, fear, and anxiety, but she has learned to Google bible verses that help her in these areas. I didn't realize how much fear she had overcome until she jumped into the pool at a campground one day. I asked her how she was able to jump in like that after years of resisting. She said, "I just prayed about it and did it. God helped me not be scared."
Chloe's favorite bible verse is Ephesians 6:11:

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Back to "Who We Are"

Who We Are

We are a large, racially mixed, adoptive, homeschooling/roadschooling, Christian family. Our desire is to share our testimonies of how God's love healed our hearts and brought us all together as a family while repairing broken relationships with others. We were a family in crises. Broken. Now we are a family filled with the love, peace, and hope found in Jesus Christ. We hope other families will find peace, hope, and encouragement from our stories. I will add testimonies to this page as they are written.

It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. Daniel 4:2
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 1 Chronicles 16:8
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect; 1 Peter 3:15

Alison

God has chosen you to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

Daniel

He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. Daniel 6:27

Richard

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Arthur

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Mercy

Chloe

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:11

My Arthur

I asked my children to give me their favorite verse and to write a testimony for our blog. My Arthur said, "Well, you already know my favorite verse and I wake up every morning. That's my testimony." He's right, I do know his favorite verse:

"... For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future..." Jeremiah 29:11

Arthur's "testimony" is so fitting for him. As long as I've known him, he has always woken up each morning full of energy and with a huge smile on his face. I adopted Arthur when he was 9 years old. He was the one boy who drew me to the sibling set of 3 that I adopted that year. Him and his life of struggles. He had bounced around from home to home, from residential treatment program to residential treatment program. He was angry, volatile, violent and destructive. He hated himself, his birth mother, probably me many times, and God. He was hospitalized many times for his behaviors, which later included suicide attempts.

Each heart knows it's own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy. Proverbs 14:10

Even with all the chaos, he still woke up every morning renewed.
I will never forget the day I was talking to him in our RV, shortly after he came out of the hospital, and his face just changed. It was as if a light bulb suddenly turned on. We had been seeking Jesus wholeheartedly for about a year. It's as if all the bits and pieces finally fell into place. He put his life into prospective from a biblical view. He stopped hating. He stopped holding onto his past hurts and his bitterness. He, like all my other current children, are living free: spiritually free and medication-free.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:31

Arthur still struggles with the effects of being born exposed to drugs and alcohol but found hope in his favorite verse. He loves God, loves people, and loves himself. He has let go of a lot of bitterness and anger and has forgiven his birth mother for her role in his life struggles. He would like to be a pastor some day. He is also the reason for the adoption of my last sibling set of two. They had lived together in their first foster home and, when he found out they were still waiting for a family, he begged me to adopt them. He also relates well to other foster children who struggle with severe behaviors, often giving me insight as to their thinking process. He is a special guy.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

Back to "Who We Are"

How My Homeschoolers Got to College

My 8 youngest children are all adopted from TX foster care. They all came to me way behind academically, as well as in other areas of life. I had to homeschool them while they were in public school because they received homework each night that they couldn't even complete. Despite being placed in classes that were supposed to address their special needs, they still struggled immensely. I had to try to fill in all the gaps they had missed in their lives: a daunting task. It made them feel bad and caused me to be very frustrated.
Some of my children came to me with developmental delays, some classified with intellectual disabilities/mental retardation, some with attachment issues and behavior disorders, some struggle with autistic-spectrum disorders (3 diagnosed, 1 not diagnosed) and some with PTSD. Of course, I've never met a foster child yet that hasn't been diagnosed with ADHD. However, I believe the thing that most negatively impacts their growth and development, their daily life, and their academic progress, which has no cure or 'quick fix', is the effect of alcohol exposure when they were in the womb. They often don't understand the meanings of simple, every day words enough to understand instructions. Everyone talks too fast for them to follow. they can't communicate their thoughts properly, as well. They've had much to overcome, which is one reason why I started homeschooling.
My children were all behind in school. Most were placed in self-contained special education classrooms or inclusion classrooms with IEPs. Some had 504 plans in regular classrooms with modifications. Some were still in danger of failing every year and had to attend summer school at times. They rarely passed a standardized test and, because of that, they had to give up an elective class in order to attend a second reading/writing and/or math class-a class designed to help students learn skills in order to pass these standardized tests. They had to attend before and after school tutoring. All this was on top of the homeschooling I had to do each night with them. it became crazy. At a time when our family was already in crisis due to emotions and behaviors, our lives revolved around learning academic things to pass tests and therapist/psychiatrist visits.
The madness ended when I started pulling my children out of public school by simply filling out a withdrawal slip, 1-2 at a time, to homeschool them and we spent our days fervently seeking God's wisdom on all matters. The first thing I did with them was ... nothing. We deschooled. We talked. We played. We took day trips. We watched TV. They played football and basketball. We did all the things we weren't able to do while they were in public school. We discussed what kinds of things we'd like to learn. Other than learning how to learn, learning to read and write was my top priority. It still is. I avoided math like the plague since it was a source of confusion, frustration, and shame. I did spend some time, as I had started to do while they were still in public school, teaching my then 9-year-old daughter (DD, ADHD, mild MR, autism) how to read, since the public school hadn't been able to do so. She was reading age appropriate chapter books within 3 months.
After a few weeks of deschooling, I unschooled. Some would call it radical unschooling. It came out of necessity but served us well at the time. At the time, we had had a pipe burst in our upstairs bathroom which flooded and damaged the bathroom and kitchen below it. Home owners didn't give me enough money to hire someone to fix all that damage so I did it myself. Being busy, all I asked my children to do every day was read, learn something, and tell me what they learned. That's it. I had no other requirements. Later, when we went out to aquariums, museums programs, homeschool classes, and even church sermons, they still had to tell me what they learned but they also had to write a summary of it and/or take notes. This was based on a survey of colleges who stated their biggest issue with accepting homeschoolers was that they didn't know how to take notes. Then, to synthesize what they learned as they got older, they had to not only write a 1-paragraph summary but also write a 1-paragraph description of how what they learned applies to their lives and, if it was a science related topic, they had to write 5 questions they now have about the topic. Often, they would google their own answers. In this way, they learned how to question what they see and hear, ask good questions, and google answers.
I took only a few children out of public school at a time. The oldest ones didn't trust that mom could actually educate them well, even though I was a public school teacher for 10 years, but once they saw my littles were learning how to read ... and that we learned science at aquariums and museums and watching TV programs ... they were begging me to homeschool them, too. Yes, our public schools called CPS on us several times, who did come out to check that I was actually educating my children. Remember, too, we were a family in crisis quite often due to behaviors.
I unschooled for 1 year. Just for fun ... well, actually, because of some pretty serious behavioral issues one of my oldest was displaying, I felt the need to prepare them to go away to college. So, I took them to our state workforce office to take a practice GED test. They did quite well, despite being behind all their lives and unschooling for 1 year. I had hope for their futures for the first time. Ever. Eventually, I finished the home renovations and I started teaching some things my children still struggle with. I loved unschooling, and they loved it, but I honestly feel it's not enough for my special needs kids. They need direct instruction in many things to improve their weaknesses because, due to their disabilities, things don't often come to them naturally like they may to others, so I started homeschooling in a way that looked more like public school in some ways.
Once my oldest 3 were ready for college ... OK, they weren't all ready but the opportunity to be stationary and attend college presented itself, I made sure we covered topics expected for high school graduation in our home state of NJ, I wrote up transcripts, they took the college placement test, and enrolled in community college. Since I had stopped grading their work, making the transcripts did take me quite some time, thinking back on 2-3 years' worth of schooling; however, I try to keep on top of that each year with my younger children now. They could have taken a few dual credit courses first, at a reduced rate, but we were eligible for financial aid, which doesn't cover dual credit courses, so we opted to graduate them from high school early and attend college full time. If we didn't get so much financial aid, we would've opted for the dual credit while continuing with high school. They each had more than enough credits to graduate, they just didn't want to rush adulthood.

homemade high school diplomas =]

blank transcript I used from the HSLDA website

my son's NJ transcript, without identifying information

So, the boys who couldn't read or write when I met them, at all for some of them, who were detained a year in public school, who barely passed each year, have finished high school early and are now in college. Some of them did have to take one basic skills refresher course in reading and writing and they all had to take the pre-algebra refresher course but, so what? They're in. they're there, improving their skills and learning new things. They're taking college general education courses and courses in their chosen fields of interest. I couldn't be happier. My littles still work on reading and writing with Starfall and K12 Reader, and math facts with xtramath.org, and they use Easy Peasy Free Online Homeschool but we also unschool so they can continue to learn how to learn and follow their passions. I believe we should all work in our fields of interest, no matter what the pay scale looks like. If you work in a field you love, happiness will follow. Happiness rarely follows the money.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income, this also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 5:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 1 Timothy 6:10

If you're doubting yourself. If you fear you can't do it. If you think you will ruin your kids' lives by your inadequate homeschooling methods, like I did: stop. You won't. Children have natural interests, abilities, and curiosities ... even lazy ones (trust me, I know). Encourage their interests, teach them how to seek knowledge and ask questions, learn along with them. Learning should be a part of life and life should be enjoyed.

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. Proverbs 18:15

At Cross Roads in Life

Did you ever have a change of plans that you weren't counting on? Did you ever have to stop something you love and switch gears, not knowing what to expect? That's where I am now.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

I was already homeschooling so taking my family on the road was no big deal. It was a dream I had for years. We launched as a full time RVing family on Jan. 28, 2014. It was not without it's problems; however, we loved it. I loved it so much that I gutted our RV and customized it to fit us comfortably full time. Even on the rough days my one son, Arthur, would wake up excited about wherever we were, in new places, with new things to see. He'd say to me daily, "Isn't this great? This is so much fun!" It was hard not to be excited around him.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In our travels, we've been from Massachusettes down to the Florida Keys and over to Texas. We've visited and volunteered at many great churches while traveling, met a lot of great people, and learned how God is working in other people's lives everywhere. We've been to almost half of the states, not just on this one trip, but over the past few years part-timing, as well.

map generator

(red: passed thru, yellow: stayed a night/did some activities, blue: spent quite some time in, green: spent lots of time in)

We stopped full-timing on July 15, 2014, just 2 weeks shy of 6 months on the road. Leaving was not planned nor intentional. When we were in Texas, we intended to visit my children's siblings then continue moving toward California. Upon visiting one, we were told TX was ready to place him with us immediately; so, we needed to get home and complete the paperwork and homestudy. Many people think I adopt while "on the road". Not so. You do need a sticks n bricks house, at least for the homestudy and placement process, which takes 8-12 months, or more, depending on how long it takes you to identify a child and have them placed in your home. I tried to sell my s&b house before we hit the road but no one even came to look at it (after I had spent a whole year renovating and upgrading). God had other plans.

In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. Psalm 25:1

You see, when I adopted my son, Daniel, I knew he had a brother. They weren't living together any longer. Separated in foster care. I saw both of their pictures and knew they both belonged to me. It has taken many years but we are finally awaiting ICPC approval for this next adoption of this sibling. I won't lie, I'm a bit nervous about this placement, as we attempted it once before but, if it's God's will, it will take place and I will try to be obedient in the storms and keep my eyes set on Jesus.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

If you're a prayer warrior, you could pray that I will submit to Jesus as my Lord daily and have the strength, courage, patience, and perseverance necessary to endure the storms so God can work miracles in this boy's life, as He has done in the rest of our lives. It is a blessing that God can use anyone, even me, to work His miracles. He can use you, too.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15

We have been using our RV to raise awareness of the need for forever families for orphans waiting in foster care, especially teens ready to age out.. It is something I am passionate about; however, I realize that adopting children from hard places is, well, hard. Sometimes, getting through a day, or an hour, or a moment, is one of the hardest things I've ever done ... but oh so worth it to see God work in someone's life and heal hearts.

The dove below is what we painted on the sides of our RV. The triangle and heart are the symbol for adoption. The triangle represents the adoption triad: birth parents, adoptive parents, and child. The heart, obviously, represents love. The cross represents Jesus, who we try to keep as the center of our lives, and the dove symbolizes God for us and He is carrying the adoption triad. A bible verse will be in the ribbon. I wanted the verse to be related to adopting orphans and, in turn, how we are all orphans and adopted into God's family through Christ but I think it will be 1 Peter 4:8, which says "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." I think that one just covers it all.

God had another use for my RV for now, though. Since I believe we will be 'grounded' for the next 7-8 months, I offered my RV to a woman I know. She was left alone at 4-months-pregnant with twins and her 3 other children, had to take off from work at the end of her pregnancy, then had to take off again when her babies were hospitalized. She fell behind in her rent and lost her rental home. She tried staying with family but that didn't work out. She was on the verge of homelessness. That was unacceptable to me. She is a Christian woman who thanks God daily for her blessings. Even in her storms, she finds the blessings. She works so hard. She inspires me. Even when she was without a job she proceeded to hold yard sales daily, all day long, to make ends meet. She is a go-getter and her children are awesome, always happy. So, I offered my RV. It was all I could do to help. Her church set up a 30 amp RV hook-up for her, and now she lives comfortably ... for now. She does own a piece of land that needs a double-wide mobile home on it. I found a free mobile home an hour from her land in NC - a real fixer-upper but we are both skilled in all areas of construction. We are now hoping to find someone who can move it for her or scrape up the $5,000 to have a moving company do it for her. I know God will take care of her needs. If you feel led to help her by praying God provides permanent shelter for her, or donating a double-wide in livable condition, or moving the free fixer-upper, or helping to fund any of these options, please feel free to click my donate button.

If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need. 1 Timothy 5:16

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

So now we are back in the s&b. I'm a little fidgety and cranky being in one spot this long but I'm trying to adjust, trying to accept my current situation and my new direction in life, whatever that may be. I don't like limbo but I'm praying for patience until God shows me what this new chapter in my life will look like. While I wait, we've plugged back into our home church programs: bible studies, youth activities, volunteer work, etc. We're still learning and growing and trying to find God's will for us, even in stationary mode.

Those who know Your name trust in You, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10

My "Little" Mercy

Mercy turned 15 years old yesterday. I adopted her just over 2 years ago. She came to me with many delays and "issues". She couldn't read or write anything when I met her. However, after homeschooling her for almost a year, she learned to read and write. We all read the bible together each night and she was finally able to start taking her turn reading. She first read, "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?" Psalm 13:1 I gave her a "thumbs up" then she put her bible down, ran over to me and gave me a big hug. She is so proud of her accomplishments.

Another day, we were reading the bible and the word 'grace' was mentioned several times. When we were finished, she said, "Mom, Grace is a name, like Mercy." I said, "Yes, it is." She skipped away saying, "Mercy and Grace, two gifts from God. I like my name!" This is HUGE. You see, before I adopted her, she had had several failed adoptive placements. One of those families had started calling her "Eva" because they wanted to change her name. When the adoption failed, she, and her brother, demanded they still be referred to by their new names, even though it was never legalized. It made life quite confusing in transferring all of their legal documents here. At any rate, she hadn't liked her name, or herself. Huge.

This year, we couldn't celebrate her birthday the way she likes to because we were in North Carolina helping friends then drove the 8 hours back home. However, we stopped at Burger King for dinner and she got one of the crowns and wanted her birthday picture taken with it. Look at that smile!

While we were in NC, we went to church on Sunday morning, as we often will do while we're traveling. I like to go to church to hear whatever lesson God has for me that week. Today, although I enjoyed the sermon and meeting new people, it was Mercy who taught a lesson. First, the pastor asked if anyone would like to share a testimony. I was prompted to share our family testimony but I didn't do it. Yet again, I didn't obey, even though I've experienced many blessings through obedience, but I'm thick-headed so God just went ahead and used Mercy. The children were called up to the front for the Children's Church discussion. The pastor asked if they had ever had any "good news." Mercy said, "I was adopted." Now, some people had already met us in Sunday school and knew I adopted several children but most people hadn't. The children's lesson ended and the pastor returned to the alter to preach his sermon but stopped and started talking about how he felt the Holy Spirit moving and how Mercy's comment opened his eyes and reminded him that we were all orphans and are adopted into the family of God through Jesus Christ. The pastor was weeping! My friend said to me, "Alison, you're family made my pastor cry!" Lol. I commented to Mercy about how God had used her that day. She was beaming. What a blessing it is to be used by God to bless others. The pastor later posted this on the church website:

"My heart is over flowing. This morning worship was awesome as always at Providence UMC, but one moment this morning stood out. During the Lambs Lesson I asked the kids if they had ever had good news. One said, "my dog once had puppies", another "My grandfather got out of the hospital." So far so good, but then one little boy (ok, it was a girl) who was visiting from New Jersey with family says, "I was adopted." I was a mess the rest of the service. that little boy (girl) reminded me that I was adopted also, into the family of God! It was an emotional service all because a little boy (girl) shared his good news...Praise be to God for the little children!"

What made this special, too, was the fact that Mercy and her brother had had several adoptive placements before mine that had failed. I read in her paperwork before she joined us that she wasn't looking forward to being adopted again because, "It didn't work out too well last time." Even so, she gave it another shot. "Adoption changes people, it just does." That's what my son, Richard, says. I have a passion for adoption, especially of teens. My children have all overcome so much and have accomplished many things. I'm so proud of them all.

Happy Birthday, Mercy!

Back to "Who We Are"

FtF Summer Scavenger Hunt

We have participated in this for the last two summers. If you have followed my posts on Facebook, you know that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this game. The first year, my kids really weren't into it. They did not enjoy the embarrassing and/or difficult tasks I 'made' them do. So, when I announced this year (2014) that we were playing again, they groaned and said, "Mom, we don't HAVE to play." But I love it, so we played. One interesting thing we did in last year's (2013) hunt was visit Walt Whitman's grave. So, we also visited the historical house he lived in, which was in the same town as the cemetery he is buried in.

For one task, we had to perform a random act of kindness. We chose to sit around in a Burger King until we found someone we'd like to buy lunch for. We chose this couple. He was all about it, accepted, and ordered a nice big lunch for himself. She clearly didn't want to take advantage and ordered just a small lunch for herself and scolded him for being a pig. LOL.

You can see the kids weren't real thrilled in this next task. It wasn't hard or embarrassing. I guess it wasn't exciting enough.

I was very happy to see they enjoyed it this year. We had to locate a dinosaur statue.

We tapped into our creative juices by building a fairy house out of natural materials. We also had to find a model of an architectural marvel so I bought 4 3D puzzles of the White House, Big Ben, the Empire State Building and a castle. they enjoyed building those and learning about them.

We had to find a pay phone in a phone booth and a gas street light. We drove for hours searching for these after researching possible locations online. Both were in Philadelphia but I wasn't sure the street light was working or if it was still gas so we went to a party rental store and used one of theirs..

Since the party rental store was about 2 hours away near Hershey, PA, we went to the Lancaster Airport to learn about hot air balloons and ballooning and take our picture in a balloon basket. We learned a lot about balloons, weather, air currents, and some physics.

While searching for a phone booth, we passed by a bar and grill with lots of old wagons. We had to take a picture in a covered wagon. It was covered alright but we got permission to sit in it and take a picture. They even had a petting zoo out back. Score!

We had to dress up like an explorer and state what they did so we went to the Daniel Boone homestead in PA and learned about him and dressed up in time period clothing in the dress up corner. I bet you didn't know they wore Hello Kitty back then. LOL.

We had to visit a battlefield and this one is in NJ along the Delaware River. It fit in nicely with our homeschool studies of the Civil War and Revolutionary War. Next month we will be visiting Fort Mifflin, which is on the opposite side of the Delaware River, and learn more about how these two forts contributed to local battles in the Revolutionary war.

We also had to visit a National Park, so we went to Valley Forge to continue learning about American history. I learned so much!

Grill something unusual. We grilled pickles. The kids loved them. Me, not so much. =/

We also had to create a human totem pole. We chose to order the kids in the order they were adopted and, for sibling groups, they were seated oldest to youngest starting from the bottom. These are my youngest 8 kids, at the moment. We are expecting ...

We had to find an RV with a Lazy Days dealer tag on it. We drove through 2 different campgrounds and the older boys stalked walked between rows of RVs looking for the tag. When we found one, we asked the owner if we could take our picture under her RV tag being lazy. We met a nice woman and learned all the places she and her husband have been so far.

Embarrassing family photo. No other words necessary ...

The contest ended with a family photo wearing matching outfits. My sweet, funny clan. We had a great time this year. Thank you, Kimberly and Fulltime Families for the fun times and the RV community you've created.

PS. We came in third place in the hunt.

"How do you all fit in there?" (RV renovations for 9 ... now 10)

"How do you all FIT in there?"

"How many do you HAVE in there?"

"How many beds are IN that thing?"

"Can you even walk around in there?"

These are the questions we are greeted with after we pull into a campground or parking lot and start filing out of our 26-foot Class C motorhome.  That's about 240 square feet of living space (or about 215 square feet if you don't count the cab, since we don't actually live in the cab, I just drive in it).

When I bought this RV, it slept 6 and we were a family of 6, so it was perfect. The RV originally had a "living room/entertainment" area in back behind the kitchen and in front of the bathroom. I had added a bunkbed across the top which could be set up and taken down daily but that quickly got old and we just left it up all the time, but that meant ducking down to get to the bathroom and we hit our heads numerous times trying to stand up too soon before reaching the bathroom.

 

As I added to our family through adoption, I also had to add beds and storage space. So, I gutted the entire RV. We emptied all cabinets and cubbies and started pulling all the pink furniture out. We pulled up the pink carpet. Everything was pink! Notice how the kitchen counter curved into almost an L, blocking part of the hallway to the back. It left very little room for people to walk by if someone was cooking or washing dishes so I reconfigured it all. I was able to reuse almost everything I had taken out and only purchased new flooring (one long sheet of vinyl) and some 2x2s and 2x3s to build the new beds with. The vinyl flooring has come in handy so many times. We had a water leak, a big water spill, and several wet, muddy days but it was extremely easy to clean up.

Our original dinette could seat 4 regular people, or 6 littles, so I took it out and rebuilt the benches to be a little longer, adding maybe 6-7 inches. I haven't put in a longer table yet but that's coming soon. With the longer benches, we can fit 6 teens or adults or 7 people with littles and, instead of sleeping 1 person, the bed sleeps 2 very comfortably. I also added more seatbelts under the benches so everyone can buckle up. When we are parked at a campground, we just leave the dinette in bed mode. When boondocking, we must set it up and tear it down daily unless we find a picnic table at a park, or something similar, to eat at.

You see, below, I took out one of the kitchen cabinets, cut them, and pieced them back together so that they are straight along the wall and I cut out the L part. I had to make a new counter. After much research, I decided to cut out a sheet of plywood to the dimensions I needed, with sink and stove holes cut out, then I painted it on both sides with blue garage floor paint and finished it with many layers of polyurethane coating. It has held up for almost a whole year now pretty well. I intend to make the dinette table to match it: blue plywood. We have about 2 feet of hallway space straight back from the door to the bathroom. It does require patience in waiting your turn to pass, and sitting while others pass, but we've gotten used to that.

I built a permanent bunkbed above the dinette. There is a long cabinet of cubbies along the ceiling but I built the bed in front of those so the child up there uses those cubbies for his clothes. It is almost a standard single bed up there. I also added a cabinet under the bed above the center of the table for a VCR/DVD player for the TV I eventually want to put in near the window. We do have to duck down to scootch into the dinette benches but otherwise it's pretty workable. I also want to put in a white board for homeschooling. I miss my whiteboard.

I added small shelves between the dinette bench and my driver's seat. It fits many canned goods perfectly.

I replaced the (broken) gas/electric refrigerator with an apartment-sized electric one. It does run on the generator while boondocking but we just try not to store perishables. We generally boondock at Walmart so buying milk and yogurt and such isn't a problem. I also keep canned and boxed milk around for those occasions. I hung magazine rack pieces wherever I could find room for them and a violin bungied to the wall. I built a bookcase above the dinette bench behind my driver's seat, also. It gives the kiddos something to do at the table, besides homeschool work, while I drive. We have a game bag but I haven't figured out how to store the games so that they're within reach of the kiddos without unbuckling.

We gutted the entire rear and I built 2 sets of bunkbeds, one on either side of the hallway. The 2 bottom ones lift up. There is storage under the left one and the water holding tank is under the right one. I added 2 Lowes kitchen wall cabinets on both sides of the bottom bunks, installed under the top bunks. I used the metal magazine racks from Ikea and hung each section individually for storage of books at one end of the beds on the top bunk. I plan to add another one on each side under the ones already there. One just doesn't seem to be enough for their notebooks and reading books.

The Lowes cabinets on both sides of the bottom bunks consist of an 18x12x30 inch cabinet, which is short to allow ventilation for the cold air from the a/c to get to the rear. It also allows us to lay our head under it so we can use the entire bed to lay flat out since the cabinets did cut off some sitting room. No biggie, 2 people, instead of 3, can sit on each bed during the day. When we read the bible together at night, 2 sit on each bottom bunk, the 2 little boys go up in their top bunks, someone sits on a stool in the kitchen doorway, and someone sits on the toilet. lol. It makes a cozy reading circle.

The larger 24x12x30 cabinet on the rear side holds all of our clothes and we found a bunch of cans fit nicely on the little ledge on top of it! I added shelves inside plus a piece of wood along the bottom to keep things from falling out during the housequakes while I drive.

Under the right bed, and under the water holding tank, I installed some drawers. This boy can't have enough storage space for all of his STUFF! He did try to minimize but he's got a long way to go!

Under the left side, we have a shoe cubby, a shoe drawer, and an over-the-door shoe tree that I cut up and screwed on for yet more shoes. We each have a pair of sneakers and a pair of flip-flops or water shoes, although the hoarder still has a few pairs of sneakers he couldn't part with yet. That's 20 pairs of shoes!

The view below is from the bathroom looking forward. I have a curtain that separates the back bedroom from the kitchen for privacy when people get out of the shower to change. Plus, the top bunks slide in and out on a track between 2 2x2s. The first picture shows them pushed in while the second shows them pulled out. They pull out even with the doorway I added and with the beds below. When they are pushed in, it gives us about 6-7 inches of added space for shoulder room while walking down the hallway.

Here are the cabinets above and behind all 3 top bunks (these 2 rear bunks plus the one above the dinette).

  

We couldn't figure out where to put the 2 guitars so I just bungied them to the ceiling!

The picture below shows the front looking from the rear bedroom. I used an Ikea cabinet from the sticks and bricks house that didn't sell, cut it to fit, and installed it by the door behind the passenger seat in the cab. I keep my printer, paper, puzzles and various homeschooling supplies in there and my sons in the cab bedroom store their books in there.The ladder hangs straight down when not in use and, again, I used the metal magazine rack for books but I installed them separately on the cabinet so each had more storage space in it. On the other side of the door, I added Ikea spice racks on my microwave cabinet. They hold lots of little containers.

Above the cab is the queen or king size bed 2 of my boys share. I installed a wall cabinet up there, one on each side, for the boys' clothes plus a shelf that goes along the length of each side. I also used the very front shelf, enclosed it with a 2x8, to make a cubby of sorts across the entire front for the boys' guitars and ukuleles.

We have a tub/shower in our bathroom. I added the small wall between the tub and sink and much more storage space in the shower. (all storage stuff throughout the RV are from Ikea except the over-the-door shoe tree) I also have 2 shower bars going across the bathroom. One stays up always to hang wet things. The other is in the closet and can be put up when I want to hang laundry inside or when campgrounds make crazy rules like "no hanging wet laundry outside"! We can shut the shower curtain with the permanent one up, altho it can be removed, but we can't shut it with the second one up. We have Ikea towel hooks for towels: 6 on the closet doors and 2 on the bathroom door. I need to buy more of those.

That's our home and that's how we fit in it. It's basically a big bedroom on wheels, as we spend most of our time at libraries, exploring, or just outside.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7

"I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." John 14:18

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will - to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. Ephesians 1:4-6