So how DO we do it?

At least once each day I am asked, "How do you do it?"   Most of the time I just shrug my shoulders and don't really know what to say.  "It" is such a general word.  It could mean so many things -  "have so many children" or "feed so many children" or "wash clothes for so many children" or "school so many children" or "work while you have so many children".  I could go on and on, but I'm pretty certain that we have a common denominator to work with here - SO MANY CHILDREN.

To be honest with you, the children are the easy part.  As Mother Teresa once said, "How can there be too many children?  That is like saying there are too many flowers." She was johnny-on-the-spot with that one.  I love their laughter, their questions, their love for me and their father, their love for God and others.  I simply LOVE having so many children to love.  So if I answer the question, "How do you have so many children?" from my heart, the answer is "We say 'yes' when God sends children to us." We have a heart for the fatherless, the vulnerable, the poor, the oppressed.  And we are incredibly blessed because of it.

As we're preparing to bring home one more Robinson, Dean and I have been reflecting on the other meanings of "it".  Okay, I've been reflecting.  Dean humors me and listens to all of my reflections while we sit together in the quiet of the early morning folding socks.  Feeding, washing, schooling, working....these are things that can be overwhelmingly difficult for a family our size if we do not strategize.  The reality of the situation here is that we cannot do it all and have so many children.  Our lives look so much different today than they did 10 years ago, or even 3 years ago really.  From what we eat to what we do with our time, almost everything has changed.  And we are incredibly blessed because of it.

As God shapes us and molds us and equips us to this life He has called us to, He is allowing us to be apart of His incredible work!  And that's AMAZING, folks!!  If we only did what we thought we could accomplish with what money we have left in our bank account, what time we have left in our our day, and what strength we have left over after living our ordinary lives , we Robinsons would have missed out on SO many blessings!!!

As we reflect and grow, God is showing us how to do it - how to have so many children, how to feed so many children, how to wash clothes for so many children - how to school so many children - how to work with so many children.  And we are incredibly blessed because of it.

Now I know, I never really did say "how" we do anything.  I will soon.  I promise.  But right now, I have to go.  So many children are wanting my attention, and what a blessing is that?!?  So, stay tuned, folks.  Up next....how do we feed so many children?

Problem Chicken

In an effort to be more green and farmer-ish, we have been free ranging our chickens for the past few months.  It was hard for me to let them out of the pen at first, but I did.  They're free as the wind and loving life.  None of my great fears have come to pass - until today anyway.....and to be honest, this is one fear I never even had before today.

We have this one chicken.  There's always one, right?  Well, she likes to climb in cars....and trucks....and vans.  She sees a car door open and she beelines her way across the yard in hopes of scoring a goldfish from the floorboard in front of Riley's seat.  Maybe if I was a free-ranged chicken living on a diet of yard bugs, I too would risk it all for the slimy discards of a four-year-old boy.  Who knows?  

Until today, this strange chicken behavior hasn't been a problem - annoying but not really a problem.

I was at my parent's, cooling off my little people in the pool, when Dean called from Highway 78 in Stone Mountain.  We're chit-chatting away about the day when Dean pauses and says, "I think I saw a chicken in my rear view mirror."  That's odd.  He's two hours from home, out in the big city. As the truck rolled to a stop in traffic, our conversation went something like this:

Dean (with a calm voice): "Brownie is in the back of the truck.  She's roosting up on the side of the truck right now, flapping her wings like she's going to fly off."

Brownie is our goldfish thief, the automobile invader and apparently now a hitchhiker.

Me (with a not-so-calm voice): "Stop the truck and catch her, Dean!"

"What am I going to do with her once I catch her", questioned my love.

"Put her in the cab, Dean!"

"I'm not putting a chicken in the cab of my truck!" (That doesn't sound like a very farmer-ish thing to say, my love).

So....my love drove to my parent's house with a chicken riding shotgun in the cab of his truck, because....well,  that's just the kind of guy he is!

(Notice the chewed up rear view mirror.  A big thank you goes out to Jethro, our bloodhound, for personalizing the truck!)

When he got to my mom and dad's he popped that sweet chicken into the back yard to feast on the fare there, thinking we could just pick her up when it came time to go home.  The thing is, we forgot about the whole roosting thing.  It got dark.  She roosted.  We couldn't find her.  We had to go.

There were chicken sighting for days in their neighborhood before my daddy caught her and caged her.  Dean made a special trip to bring her home to us because he's just that kind of guy.

Alls well that ends well, I suppose.  We'll get this farming thing right, eventually!

Sweet Baby Wyatt

We began the adoption process again in February.  Team Robinson is growing again!!  Why, you ask?  Well, we felt like someone was missing, and we filled out the application.  I'm forever counting and asking myself and my peeps "Who did I miss?" Dean every now and then dishes up an extra plate.  I never fail to see him do that, and so I pipe up, "It's a sign there's one more Robinson!" He smiles at me.  I take that as a "yes" and start calling agencies to ask them where the greatest need might be.

Long story short, we're adopting internationally. The enormity of the need makes me catch my breath, but that's not why we're adopting.  There will always be need.  The truth is the love that we have for God is bubbling over.  I can hear the precious voices singing with my young ones when I say that.  "Jesus' love is a bubblin' over."  It is, indeed!  It's gotta go somewhere.

I really thought we'd be heading to Africa.  I'm pretty sure Dean spends long hours contemplating how to keep me out of Africa, though.  He's afraid if I so much as touch one big toe on the soil of that continent, he'll end up living there with 8 children in a thatched-roof hut.  I love Africa.  But we're not going to Africa.  After much prayer, Team Robinson is headed to CHINA!  I'm so excited I could scream!!

The home study happened.  We're all approved - for TWO even!!  Don't fall out of your seats, folks.  It's just the way we roll.  9 kids is not that big of a deal really, is it?  There are folks out there with WAY more.   We had barely finished the study when we saw his picture, read his story, and knew he was our son.  We signed on the dotted line and sent our LOI (letter of intent) off to China.  Today, we received our PA for sweet baby Wyatt.  PA stands for provisional approval.  It's what starts the ball rolling.  Wyatt is months just away from a family of his very own, and we are beyond excited!

Without further adieu.....

James Wyatt

I know!  I know!  He's the most beautiful little boy in ALL of China!!  I made a blog for him.  It's called While Wyatt Waits.  Feel free to follow along on our journey to bring home Robinson baby #8!

Black Gold, Texas Tea

Riding around in our big white van can be interesting at times.  Sometimes it's loud and wild; other times everyone is cranky and whiny; then there are times where it's a whole lot of fun.  Every now and then there's a happenin' worthy of writing down.  I store up the CRAZY on purpose so that when a rough day rolls around we can scroll through and laugh and laugh until we feel better.

Some days the laughter keeps me from crying.....seriously!

I'm not sure if we're funny to other people or we're just funny to ourselves, but today the funny helped get me through the day.

Back to the big white van and today's ride to and fro....We're rolling along the highway this afternoon when Dean and one of our offspring get to talking about some new show called Bayou Billionaires. This sparked a vehicle-wide convo about what we'd do with a billion dollars.  I'm only half-listening by this point because I've recently begun using all of my riding to and fro time trying to beat Dean's high score in Bejeweled Blitz.

This is important, y'all!  You have no idea how crazy I can get about the high score!

I vaguely remember someone asking Dean if he knew any billionaires, but my attention didn't really leave the game until I noticed that Dean's words began to rhyme. He wasn't singing, y'all, just talking in a regular voice, with normal story-telling inflection, explaining about the only billionaire he knew.  Ummmm.  Huh?  We don't know any billionaires!  I almost said something, but then I did it - 178,850!!! NEW HIGH SCORE!!  Attention back to the game!

I almost missed the hilarity around me.  I have no idea how he kept a straight face because by the time I heard "black gold, Texas tea" I was making snorting noises, rolling side to side and trying not to wet my pants.  It wasn't until he got to the line "Californy is the place you ought to be" that somebody caught on, which is not surprising since the BEVERLY HILLBILLIES is about a billion years old.  Within seconds I pulled up a You Tube video of the theme song and we were all singing along.  Ah, joy!  Thank you, God, for a husband that makes me laugh without even trying!

Se Fala Ingles? No Fala Portugues!

Today we had to wake up early to head over to the elementary school for English lessons.  Dean and I walked with Jim, Matthew and Marlon in the rain down to the bottom of the hill to catch the bus….the rain was inevitable; remember the prayer for the full missionary experience…The school bus here is a curious thing.   

Even though only students are allowed by law to ride the school bus, anyone on the mountain needing a ride to town hops on. Then the driver takes off like he’s being filmed for an episode of IRT Deadliest Roads.  I must admit it was a bit frightening, especially when the youngest three children on the bus gathered right next to the bus driver to laugh and talk with him as we flew down those hills.  They actually stood on the steps right next to the doors to the bus.  It was crazy!  

The bus dropped us off in front of the school, and we headed to our first class.  We taught 5 classes before lunch.  The kids really liked their English lessons, and despite the language barrier, I think the classes went well.  Jim and I took turns teaching the lesson while Marlon translated for us.   

The best part of each class was watching Dean teach the kids how to do the craft in a foreign language.  He connects so well with kids, even when he can’t speak their language.  He’s a cut up in class, too, which is probably no surprise to any of you. 

The school we were in is very different from American schools.  I don’t know what schools are like in other parts of Brazil, but here they don’t have much

The school operates 2 sessions, with the morning session running from 8:00 to 12:00.  The children that attend school live up on the mountain and don’t have a lot of money, family stability or even clean drinking water.  Most of these children will live their whole lives in this community.  This aspect of the ministry of Hope and Life is so important because it provides an opportunity to reach out to the children that are desperate for hope…the kind of hope that only the Lord can provide.  It also gives the team here a change to develop relationships and a reputation in the community.    

I loved trying to talk to the children.  I started out each conversation with questions like, “Se fala Ingles (do you speak English)?” Because I asked them a question in Portuguese, they would usually start telling me all kinds of things that I couldn’t understand.  “No fala Portuguese (I don’t speak Portuguese)” is one phrase I can say well now.  At that they would look a little disappointed and then just keep talking.  I’m going to have to learn to speak Portuguese before we visit again. 

Don’t you just love to eat Brazilian steakhouse?  Fogo de Chou is my favorite.  There isn’t one here, but there is the truck stop down the road from the school that’s just like it, except that it is…well, it’s totally different and it’s located in a truck stop.  Servers still come by with skewers of what I hope was pork, chicken and beef with bacon.  We ate lunch there today before I caught a ride back to the house with Brad.

I enjoyed a laid back afternoon of visiting with Mary Jane before we walked the kids back to the bus stop to meet the men.  I’m not sure how the walk to the bus stop could possibly be uphill both ways, but it sure feels like it is. As we waited for the bus, Riley found an enormous spider that he was poking at with a stick. 

I thought it was a tarantula because of it’s huge hairy legs.  Dean said he thinks it was a wolf spider, but I’ve seen wolf spiders before; and that was like no wolf spider I’ve ever seen before.  When I said, “Riley, don’t play with that tarantula”, Robert stepped on it.  Right away, Riley looked up and said, “It’s already dead” like that made playing with the tarantula okay.   Robert quickly shouted out, “It still has venom.”  I can’t believe Riley even understood what venom was, but he yelled back, “Venom is so yuck, right mom?”  I was relieved when the bus finally came.  

Our day ended with hamburgers and French fries  with Jim and Mary Jane and a late night of laughing, talking and catching up with Brad and Carolyn.   God is doing an amazing work through the families here.  The Atkinsons, Moores and Dunns definitely need prayers and support, folks!  I’ll write more about ways we can help them in the days to come.  For now, chou!

To Sum Things Up.....

When I set out to "do" this whole blog thing, I thought it would be a great way to document this crazy little life we've got going here. The problem...other than the obvious lack of free time...is that I'm such a perfectionist that I struggle with finding the words and putting them together into sentences.  I write and erase many more sentences than I actually end up keeping.  I've actually erased enough sentences tonight to make a person batty.  This little problem I have usually leaves me extremely frustrated, and so I quit, which explains the 12 item list of unpublished draft posts that greet me when I log into Blogger.  Alas!  An ugly cycle has been unleashed where I don't log into Blogger, therefore I don't have to see and cope with such a long list of unpublished thoughts that my 6 followers (2 of whom are my husband) can't wait to read.  Anywho...In order to resolve this issue I'm just going to sum up all those blog posts, delete the drafts and MOVE ON! If I had a therapist, she would certainly be using words like "exceptional progress" right now as she hammered out her session notes in the wee hours of the morning.   So, here we go....

I got a job.  I know I said just a few posts ago that if my resume landed on your desk to worry about me because I had no business having a job...The folks what hired me don't read my blog, though, so I did get a job - and it's working! I'm  recruiting and training foster parents, which is awesome.  Next to being a wife and mom, my favorite thing to do is to encourage and support others on their journey to care for orphans, so it's perfect for me.  Naturally, things got a bit complicated for awhile at home, but my kids tend to roll with the punches, so it's all good. 

The new job wasn't the only great thing about April.

We got some chickens and ducks.

We enjoyed a visit with Hollander and Aunt Blake

 

We hung out and hunted eggs with Hollander, Zachary and Macy

We celebrated Reagan's first birthday in America

We traveled to South Carolina to celebrate Dean's parents' 50th wedding anniversary

 We showered Rene and Daniel at one pig roast of a baby celebration.

And we finished out the month with a BANG!!  The Army Ranger's graduation ceremony at Fort Benning is explosives rich and right up the Robinson's alley.

May was slap filled with things like finishing up school, Mother's Day, birthday celebrations, graduations, trips, Six Flags and taking care of chickens and ducks.  We had more fun than 9 people should have in a month, and I've got about 500 pictures to prove it! I'll spare you all the hundreds of random photo shoots I put my kids through and just show you the cutest little six year old in the whole wide world.

My little Lauren turned six in May!

I just knew June was going to be filled with things like cleaning out the schoolroom, organizing closets, play dates at the pool and relaxing. IT WASN'T.  I had good intentions, but the school books are right where we left them in May, the closets are just as packed with unnecessary junk, we've not spent much time with friends at all and let's face it; you just can't really relax when there are 7 children in the house.  We did manage to fit a whole lot of fun into the first of our summer months.  Whew!  It's exhausting just trying to remember all that took place in that 30 day span of time.  Take a look!

We enjoyed a week-long visit with sweet nephew Parker.
 

We sent a few kids to camp.

We celebrated Blake's 15th birthday.

Blake got his driver's permit.

We released the ducks onto the pond.

And we finished out the month with a trip to the Antiquities Museum in LaGrange with friends from Northlake. (I'm hoping somebody will forward me the pictures.)  Big fun!

Well, folks.  That about sums it up. It's been a great 3 months, and as Dean pointed out, we kept 7 children, 10 chickens, 3 ducks, 2 dogs, a turtle and a cat fed, happy, and out of the ER.  Praise the Lord.  I hope you and yours are happy as crickets.  Love to you all!

Blake and Riley

I love, love, LOVE the special bond that Blake and Riley share.  I must hear the words "Hey, B-wake" at least a hundred times in day, as Riley always has something to say to him...And Blake always takes the time to listen...Okay, maybe not always; he is, after all, 14...One day not long ago. I caught the two of them laying on my bed watching TV.  Riley was laying on his belly with his face cupped in his pudgy little hands, elbows propping him up...just like Blake...and every now and then he would look up and say, "Hey, B-wake, re-nem-ba we ride the for-ya."  "Yeah, buddy.  I remember."  "Hey, Blake, re-nem-ba we go to da pond."  "Yeah, buddy.  I remember."

Ahhhhh, it makes my mommy heart so happy to see them loving each other the way they do.  Remembering these special moments makes realize how blessed we are to be homeschooling, because if Blake were away at school all day I'm not sure they would have developed the bond that they have. There are so many times I'll look up from a reading or math lesson with one of the other kids to glance out the window and see Blake driving over the dam with Riley on the four wheeler (or as Riley says it, "for-ya").  "Can we go for a ride B-wake?"  "Sure, buddy. Let's go."

Riley loves Blake so much that he even made up a song about him.  It was so cute.  I happened to walk into Blake's room just in time to hear Riley, strumming Blake's guitar, belting out, "Me and B-wake and the pond."  Melt my heart!  He's just precious.

My heart got a little weepy when it dawned on me how little time Blake has left at home.  He's finishing up the 9th grade this year, and I'm so proud of the young man he's becoming.

I just wish I could've kept him little longer.  My first baby, so precious and close to my heart!

I showed Riley the scrapbook page above that I made for Blake at the beginning of his 6th grade year.  Riley took one look at it and said, "Oh my goodness, B-wake, you so BIG now!"  *sniff, sniff*  If I only had a pause button...