a glimpse of Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas.....

....from the Haycraft's

Twas the night

before Christmas and all thru the house all the creatures are stirring,
...(I pray there is no mouse) The stockings are hung in the
windows with care (alas no mantel to hang them from, and not certain that all those
stockings could fit) in hopes that St. Nickolas soon will be there. (of course I have
repeatedly suggested that "if" they don't go to sleep Santa can't possible visit. No need to mention me sleeping pretty certain it won't happen, if you could see the list I have to finish before tomorrow it would certainly make you cry. No plans to continue that timeless tale...if you don't remember how it goes find the book it truly is a wonderful story. (a complete aside, in second grade I had a part retelling this story my lines "His eyes how they twinkled, His dimples how merry, His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry" that was my one and only appearance in a play, seriously I was ill for days, terrified of appearing in front of people.) We are preparing to spend the evening with my sister and her family, Kevin's mom will be joining us, my dad won't be there, he is sick, it will be weird not having him there. There will be too much food, and way too much ribbon and paper and gifts, Kids will be crazy, energized on excitement and sugar,
and I can't simply wait for it all to begin.

So I send you warm wishes for a blessed Christmas
may it be filled with wonder,
sprinkled with magic,
and full of the promise that was given so very long ago....

merry christmas to all and to all a good night!

The elves are busy.....

at the Haycraft home. Josh and Cassandra oh so cheerfully loaded the car(sigh, actually cheerful would be a stretch to describe that moment)
with gifts to deliver. Josh has been busy assembling Santa gifts...the comments
drifting up from the basement have been hilarious. Rosie wanted no part of the
santa hat experience...Cassandra was able to catch a quick pic of her...she is oh
so cooperative. The cookies are ready for tomorrow night as are the carrots and
milk, Anthony insisted we needed to feed the reindeer, and when I asked what
they ate he was quite postive that carrots would be their choice...cool wondering
which adult in the house is going to take a bite out of that. Rosie's face says it all
she found a box of chocolate's, (a gift from a daycare family) that had just been opened
needless to say the box was empty in a very short time....it would seem Kevin and Pedro were determined to blame the baby, whom I'm sure consumed some but not an entire 3lb box of chocolate....just a bit crabby that I didn't even get a piece.

2 days until christmas

how did that happen????? Someone stole a week from my calander, honestly it can't be Christmas in just two days. Someone said to me the other day "I have Monday and Tuesday off" "Why?" I asked completely confused, "because it's Christmas" they said. So now I'm just trying to figure out how I missed that with all these little people around, they are usually counting down by hour by this time....(perhaps I can just say it's "because of these little people that I lost track) Oh well since I haven't quite perfected stopping time, I guess it's coming whether I'm ready or not.

since we are speaking of holiday's, today I was reminded of just how simply unbalanced life is, here it is a holiday that most view as a family event, filled with traditions, and memories and two families I know are facing the holiday's with the most unimaginable news. My neighbor's daughter was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, she stopped breathing and coded, she is stable but they have no idea what caused this to happen, they are now in a hotel with countless unanswered questions and fears. Another family has just been told that her father is full of cancer and there is nothing that can be done, his life is now measured in weeks, perhaps days. A week ago they suspected nothing...and so I wonder how is this right (I know it's an age old question with no real answer) bad things happen, I realize that, but I will never be able to accept it. Especially when it is tied to holiday's and events that are so steeped in tradition and family. Put's my life into perspective, wondering why I was so crabby this morning with my kids, at least they are here for me to hug and snuggle. Knowing I will hug them tighter today, and be thankful for the challenges they present, wondering if I will ever know the "right" words to say to someone when faced with such awful news. Praying I never become so jaded to just accept the bad that is out there.

Christmas lights

I had the most awesome pic to post of the Haycraft's Christmas lights, but my computer died tonight and I am now using one of the kids' laptop, so since my pics are on my dead computer you don't get to see the wonderful, beautiful, Christmas light....yes you are reading that correctly light as in singular, as in one. So so sad, so very sad. This year I actually wanted to decorate the house, perhaps not Chevy Chase Christmas vacation type decorating but, something simple, beautiful. It is now a week before Christmas and the only lights on my house belong to a wreath, yes one wreath...a wreath I didn't buy, a gift from a daycare family...every night rose stands by the window to look at the lights...so excited, (wondering how excited she would have been with more lights) I guess we have a scrooge among us. So instead we drive around looking at the lights, sometimes leaving little notes of thanks to the homeowners. Love that part of the season, love that the weather has been mild so being out isn't such a chore. Next time we venture out I think I will bring my camera to capture some of the more amazing homes...of course I probably won't be able to share since my computer has issues. :(

Being 2...

She gives new meaning to "2" This was her choice for sleeping attire the other night, yes the shoes were a very needed accessory. Rolling my eyes here, I hate those shoes, they require an act of God to get on, and she has mastered unlacing them and removing them with amazing swiftness. The person who saw those and thought they were cute should be shot for even suggesting they be purchased. Now her big sister Beckie thinks she is truly spoiled rotten, this may stem from the fact that according to Beckie, Yahaira has far better, cooler, stylish shoes than she does. (a note, Beckie doesn't own a pair of airwalks, Cassandra and Yahaira do, life as a poor college student is so unfair) Let's not touch that topic today :) and so with everyone now home for Christmas break, is it the picture of domestic bliss (you who think my life is charmed need drugs, strong drugs) (those who know my life can stop laughing, really stop) no I don't think domestic will ever suit me, and bliss, let's not go there either....my home is a picture of many sizes and shapes who share a very amazing bond, it's filled with conversations and arguments, (yes often over shoes) a large amount of laughter and an energy that is simply amazing.

Gingerbread house

Frosting, candy, lot's and lot's of sugar, how could this not be fun?

5 kids= 10 hands

1 adult=2 hands

balanced right?

So the haycraft's are not handy in construction by any stretch of the imagination, so why would I even think we could construct a gingerbread house? insane I know. I thought that by buying a kit it would be simple....make a note, with kids nothing is ever simple :)

First of all the kit did not come with enough frosting, not even close.. an additional 2 tubs later and we still were having roof issues, but since the natives were getting restless it was time to move on to decorating, translation candy time!!!! this went quite well considering large quanities were being consumed by the decorators. Rose had the best approach, she would take a piece off the house taste it and if it wasn't what she wanted she put it back. Ok let's not even start on the health aspects of this approach. I was impressed she put it back.... :) So as you can see by the end result it isn't contest worthy by any stretch, but hey we had a fun, and that is what really matters.

Gingerbread anyone?

9 peas in our pod....

while at the mall this past weekend I passed a kiosk in the center hall of the mall. For sale were christmas ornaments, any and every type of ornament you could imagine, and each could be personalized with a child's name, I saw a few that had room for two children and one had room for three, so more out of curiosity than actual intent to purchase I asked the gentleman working do you have one with 9, well actually yes we do, "no way," I thought, "well could I see it?" I asked, and he takes me over to a display and points to this ornament, 9 peas in a pod, too stinking cute, and how amazingly apropriate. Of course I bought it, how could I not? some day down the road as I hang this ornament on the tree I will remember that in the year 2006 we did actually have 9 kids under our roof... and that is just simply unbelievable in more ways than I care to count.... but what a ride it has been.

christmas party

Friday was our annual Daycare Christmas Party.... what an event that is. Great food, excited kids, presents, good fun.... (is this where I say I'm glad it only happens once a year?) The above pics are from the night's festivities...that is most of the daycare kids, not everyone was there, and a few daycare alumni....don't get me started on how old that makes me feel. the top pic is of Kevin and I with all the foster children currently living under our roof...what a group, what fun, what chaos. Busy weekend, not busy in the way we expected, still trying to sort out my feelings on the cancellation of the kids' baptism, so very sad, and frustrating that nothing is in your control, nothing. I find myself wondering why I'm surprised after all nothing with these kids and their case has ever followed anything that could resemble normal, it is what it is I guess. with an open weekend presented to us we decided to take the kids to see Santa, what a trip that was, the line was minimal, thank goodness, the kids were somewhat cooperative, until it came time to smile, go figure.... Anthony asked for books, (love that kid) Yahaira wanted mermaid, bless Santa's heart for knowing her name is Ariel, Yahaira was so impressed, rose, well she's one need I say more...Alonso just seemed dazed by the whole experience, and moses, someone was holding him, life is good.

blink

and there is goes, time that is....has it really been over a week since I last posted? good grief! well let's play catch up...here are some pics of what we have been up to, well not all the picks since I didn't think to grab the camera while my family shared the flu bug, there has been a sick person in my house every day since last friday :( it's getting old. almost everyone has had it, myself included simply put.... yuck! just yuck!!! I lost count on the number of loads of laundry I have done since this began wondeirng how I managed to not launder a child in the numb state I existed in lately, and I have disinfected every surface in my house, numerous times, ( I truly never desired such a clean house) hopefully soon we will be done sharing this bug and be healthy once again.
love pics like this, when they fall asleep near the tree, this is by far Yahaira's favorite place to sleep, of course she has to compete with Cassandra since it's also her favorite place .
yes that would be a toppled tree, this event has occured twice so far this season... we have now replaced the base and readjusted the tree location, hoping it will stand firm for the remainder of the holiday season...amazingly it fell this way rather than the other, had it fallen the other way, cassandra would have been buried under branches...never a dull moment around here.
pics from the winter carnival parade, Anthony, Alonso, and myslef froze while we watched it go buy, Kevin, Cassandra, Rose and Yahaira (she was sleeping) watched it from inside the van....wimps. one float tossed stuffed animals...how cool is that?

and so begins ....

this busy, crazy season, that is the holiday's. We are only on day 5 of December and I am quite simply exhausted, how sad is that? This weekend kicked off the insane agenda with too much to do and never enough hours to do it. Was it all necessary? of course not....and yet to try to decide what to eliminate seems impossible and so we just simply try to do it all.

I thought I was done Christmas shopping, actually I was done by the middle of October, but as is life we were sent a few curve balls, this go round in the way of new kids, so naturally some Christmas shopping was needed for them...and you know how much I love to shop in crowds....and since my 12 hour workday doesn't pencil in much time for a trip to Mankato, that left the weekend, Saturday, even better yet....and of course we had 4 of the kids with us...don't ask, it really wasn't pretty. Did I accomplish my mission? of course not, which (I shudder here) will require another trip...oh joy!

We seemed to have settled into a routine of sorts here, still adjusting to life with 5 little people under the age of 5, plus balancing the needs of the 3 older children. Last weekend we had respite which added two more into that mix.Next weekend we will add another, just for weekends, I guess in some strange way I am just used to those numbers....adjusting has not always been the smoothest road, but certainly it has been quite hilarious at times. So I guess I forget the picture we must present when we head out into the public if you will... ( I will never get used to the stares, for a person most comfortable blending into the wall this is truly a test for me) and often I am just simply distracted keeping track of everyone that I just don't notice people's reactions. And trust me the reactions are quite varied, from horror to disbelief, to every now and again pretty rude comments, some people will simply ask, "why do you have all these children?" I admire them. Others just stare, coming to their own conclusions... some will whisper amongst themselves, forgetting that just because a person is surrounded by children doesn't mean she has lost her hearing, actually the opposite is the case, my hearing is very strong, it has to be with little people around :) I really just try to find the humor in their speculating. (yes I do know what birth control is, no i never planned my life this way, yes I do know how to say no, but when faced with the decision to split a family or take the whole family unit, I have yet to be able to say yes to that, waiting for someone to show me how to do that, let's not even touch on the comments referencing that some of the children we have are not white, I simply choose to believe that the person making such comments does not realize how ignorant they sound and I try to forgive them.) Sunday at church I was approached by someone who said, " when I saw the Haycraft's approaching the communion rail I just smiled" (always glad to add humor to people's life) then she said "and you just kept coming and coming and I counted once than again, and then asked my husband how many kids do they have and when he said 7 I realized I had counted correctly" I then said well actually there were 8, she looked puzzled for a moment and then said "Oh! I didn't count Cassandra since she is an original" that made me laugh "yes she truly is an original" that stuck with me, I've always been hesitant to distinguish these are our children these are foster care, simply because foster kids already have enough burden to carry, separating them out even more serves no purpose...and yet how does one reference all these children... I like the term "the original three"...what she said next startled me (guess this is where I simply don't notice the picture we paint, again simply trying to live my life) "it brought tears to my eyes she said to see you with all those little people, you are just amazing" whoa,that was awkward and how does one answer that? no clue, (I found myself wondering if she would still be so impressed if you could see us at bedtime, or during the two year old meltdown, or the 18 year old attitude, sometimes called seniouitis.) we don't do anything spectacular, we just simply do what we can, our gifts are in helping kids in need, simple really, there are far too many other people who accomplish far more amazing and wonderful things, things I will never in many lifetimes hope to recreate... giving a child a home and meeting their basic needs, loving them, that is so basic, so simple...not amazing. Puzzled and surprised by her response, knowing that just simply the numbers will cause people to look, and speculate, accepting that it is just the way it is, wondering if I will ever find the "right" answer for some of those comments. I guess what matters most is that I know why we do this, and that is simply enough.

Decorating the Christmas tree

Helping Kevin assemble the tree...


Rosie's loved the lights...



it was Cassandra's year to put the angel on top of the tree. We have to write on the tree box who does it each year, since remembering from year to year is impossible.

Beckie had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled on Friday, she wasn't too interested in the whole tree decorating venture.


adding the ornaments to the tree....

we put the tree up last Saturday, it is always so fun to watch the excitement as the tree comes together. I love pulling out the ornaments and remembering the stories behind them, where I bought them, or who gave them to us, each has a story, (and I am often simply amazed that I can actually remember them) It's fun at night to sit in the living room with the tree lights on, such a soft, calm atmosphere. It is a tradition that the first night the tree is up the kids sleep downstairs, Anthony, Yahaira and Alonso all were excited to keep this tradition going. As mentioned in an earlier post Rose has rearranged the ornaments daily, she must be looking for the perfect layout, rolling my eyes here. The tree has toppled once, no casualties, just some reassembling required. Let's hope that is the only topple it takes. Reminded me of the cat who would knock the tree over at least once a year, long after our kids had grown out of that phase. Now we have new little ones to take up where the cat left off...a never ending circle it would appear.

why not?

be comfortable while you are redecorating the christmas tree? This would be Rose's ingenious idea....she now has a chair pulled up to the tree so she can sit while she rearranges the ornaments.... on an hourly basis I might add, thus the need for the chair.... I must admit it's quite brilliant on her part. Ok not even going to touch the fact that she "is" touching the tree.... sometimes it's just good to go with the flow.... and it is rather entertaining watching her enjoy Christmas in her own little way. This year has been such a wonderful reminder of what truly is Christmas...nothing like little people to remind you of the simple wonder, the simple magic, the simple joy that is this season. No commercials necessary, just simply them being little blessings.

christmas pics...

Baby moses....age 4 months

Brandon and Grace,

and one of all the cousin's (notice yahaira is so happy to be doing this)

rosie doing what she does well, removing ornaments from the tree, (so the tree has been up since saturday and she has rearranged all the lower branches on an hourly basis....life as a 1 year old is wonderful!

gracie...and bitty baby

this would be Yahaira's view on picture taking....she is definately "2"

yes all these little people currently reside at our address...life is fun!

this is Alonso, Pedro, and Moses

Rose, Yahaira, and Anthony

yikes!

8 kids

3 adults

1 photographer (who is a saint)

and this is what you get..... insanity, pure and simple

thanksgiving

so much to be thankful for:
my husband,
my kids,
my faith,
my family,
my friends,
my job,
my health,
my home,
my hobbies,
my life.....

how could I not have had a great thanksgiving with all those blessings?
simple.....life is good!

100

numbers seem to be a frequent part of my posts these days...either marking milestones or occupants of my home (that number seems to change daily) ...and this one is another milestone...my 100th post.
wow! that's a lot of thoughts and ramblings. Pretty certain most weren't witty or thought provoking, I just don't lead that type of life. Often it's quite boring...mixed with a large does of busy/crazy. It is what it is.... and I wouldn't change a thing....loving this ride I'm on, loving the people who share it, just simply loving this life I have.

18

This pic was taken on Sunday, November 12...the day she officially turned 18. 18 years....it's hard to imagine..... she was our last, the baby (a burden she has carried well, and on occasion used to her advantage just as well) the third child in 4 years (what were we thinking, we weren't it's as simple as that) She put up with over tired parents, sharing everything, bossy older siblings who were quick to remind her that she was the baby, the hand me downs, the just wait a second comments, and she survived. She is my moody child,and yet she is quiet, she is a reader and would choose a book over any other activitiy.... and I simply can't imagine life without her. She has taught me to slow down, to enjoy the simple things...often in the chaos of life when just trying to get out the door was a challenge we would find her pausing to watch a row of ants...unflustered by our hurry up let's go attitude...she reminded us by example that it's the little things that matter. She has tested me, beyond limits sometimes and yet she is the one who always gives you a hug when she leaves and say's I love you. My life is better because of her, fuller, and complete. It has been an amazing journey... she faces life with a quiet determination, accepting that somethings are more challenging and yet never gives up...she sticks to her goals and reaches them. I admire her strength and determination. I am a better person because of her....and I am thankful daily that she i s my daughter. Love you Cassandra, being your mom is one of my greatest gifts.

well....

we survived the weekend, I think.

Traveling was ok weather wise, but the traffic end of it, now that just simply sucked! wouldn't care to travel in that mess again for an incredibly long time. The hotel was great, the pool and waterslide fun. Saturday morning Linette and I headed to the scrapbook convention, some new products, and venders, not so many as in previous years...in the afternoon Cassandra and Josh joined us to attend Bodyworks at the Science museum...amazing! well worth the wait and cost...indescribable. Linette headed home saturday we stayed until sunday, but we pretty much stayed in the hotel. ...I underestimated the time and energy it takes to keep track of 5 little people....I'm still tired. We went out to eat sunday for Cassandra's birthday, (will post her birthday another day, she deserves her own post for this milestone, year 18 yikes!) arrived home to a freezing home, the furnace stopped working sometime during the weekend, and one of the hard-wired smoke detectors back up batteries was beeping a low battery warning....ok after an hour of the beeping I was ready to scream...Kevin arrived home (he had to take josh back to austin so was behind us by an hour or so) we pretty much tracked and tried to determine just where the darn beeping was coming from, when finally located of course neither of us remembered how to take the battery out...good grief it is a nightmare of course the little piece that fell out as kevin finally figured out how to open the door turned out to be a major and important item....needless to say when we finally replaced the batter, (which required a trip to the store to buy a battery, we have every other battery size under the sun but not a 9 volt) the door wouldn't close completely thus the beeping continues, since the detector couldn't detect the new battery....a note if you want to drive some one crazy this would work, the beeping every two minutes is annoying to say the least...so I decide to try....which was simply to just disconnect the whole thing, sounded good in theory...but! perhaps not so great in practice...needless to say we are replacing the entire unit....ahhhh but there is no more beeping. Life is good. as for the no heat that we didn't get fixed until yesterday afternoon, so sunday night everyone slept in our bedroom, (we have a small space heater) there were bodies everywhere...but hey it was toasty warm, even the dog slept in the room, of course she shook all night, we think it was the trauma from hearing the beeping most of the weekend...poor dog. So for now all is good, no more home issues, things are put away from the weekend, just need to catch up on sleep :) (ok I know that isn't going to happen) and honestly I don't need to go away for a very long long time.