It's that time again...time to blog, that is!

Cade has all but 2 kids watching Indiana Jones, so I have a free minute or two to do some much needed blogging.

I got to have another vacation at the hospital the Sunday night after Thanksgiving. This is horrible, but it really is sort of a vacation for me. No kids to look after, no house to clean up, drugs to take away all thoughts of everything that needs done at home...maybe this is the Lord's way of telling me to chill out and take it easy! lol! It's just too bad that I have to be in so much pain while I'm laid up in the hospital. Not to mention that their beds aren't very comfy. ;)

So, the day I'm being released from the hospital, the DCFS caseworker calls me. Of course, I was coming down from a morphine high so I didn't answer, but I did call her back just as soon as I felt I was coherent enough to understand atleast some of what she was saying.

Can I just say, this caseworker is awesome. She really is. I've had minimal issues with her from the moment we took these kiddos in 7 months ago. Caseworkers generally get a bad rap, but I'm glad that we had the opportunity to deal with this one.

Okay, so back to my story. I called the caseworker back and she informs me that the Attorney General feels it would be good for Cade & I, or atleast one of us, to be at mediation Wednesday morning. EEK! I can't even begin to tell you how nervous I was about this. Initially we were told it was not necessary for us to be there, and now I was going to have to go alone (Cade had to work) and face my Brother-in-law, the kids' mother, and their lawyers.

Oddly enough, things didn't go how I had planned. At all. I was sweating bullets, literally, as I went into the mediation room. Then when I get as comfortable as is possible under the circumstances, the mediator asks me how Cade & I would feel about the parents remaining in contact with their children if we were give permanent custody. uhhhhhhhh...not exactly the line of questioning I thought was going to occur.

SO, after much ado, and going before the lawyer last Thursday morning, we are now officially the parents of 8 children. :)

I'm so grateful for the Lord in my life. I truly know that he looks after me and my family. After years of praying for these kids' safety and well-being we can finally know that they ARE safe. I also know that without the Lord there are many days when I could not go on. I never thought I would be the mother of 5, let alone 8, kids. Heck, I didn't want ANY kids. Now I have an army.

I just have one more thing to say, "be careful what you wish for." Clear back when I was pregnant with Ethen, or when I had first had Ethen, I clearly remember telling my mother-in-law that I would take as many kids as the Lord trusted me with. By the time I had Asher, my mind had definitely changed. When I found out I was pregnant with Roxie, I cried. haha! (Turns out she was my best baby!) And now, when we find out we're pregnant again, we also find out we're going to have 3 additional kids added to the family. I guess my prediction 9 years ago was right...I will take as many kids as the Lord will trust me with. However, I know the Lord has given me enough and we will NOT have more than 8 kids. :P