When I was growing up, ear piercing was allowed at a certain age. Was it nine? I’m not entirely sure anymore. But it was something of a right of passage, and I couldn’t wait to get my ears pierced!

As my kids were born, I started wondering how we would address ear piercing. I have no bad feelings about how it was chosen when I was younger, but I felt like I’d rather wait it out a little and just see when my kids expressed interest. And maybe just do it then, or on their closest birthday. Something like that.

As we got closer with our dear Dahlsjos, I learned their ear piercing system was at age 13. And our girly, Avery, has officially reached that mark just last week! 🥳 We had hemmed and hawed about the when and the how, so Stacy and I conspired on Saturday to take the girls to get their ears pierced at the mall in PA on our way home from the lake. We let a couple of the kids know, but not too many, so no surprise was blown.

Our crew was loading into the van to leave the campsite. Sadie was loading babies in, and Jaxon was standing in the open side door. I walked past him and told him to get his butt inside, and I shut the door behind him, effectively kidnapping him. Sadie was stuck between two baby seats. I climbed into my seat, and we drove off. The whole point of this was to add Laela to Averys family’s vehicle.

Ok. No more lead up. Let’s get to the mall already.

We were the only customers, which was nice. We got silly, and took our time choosing earrings. Both girls were nervous, but Avery took the hit to go first. Thankfully, there were two people willing to pierce, so each girl could have both lobes done at once! Just one jolt per girl.

She didn’t even flinch!!! 👏 Total rockstar right here!! With her June birthstone studs! 💜

Laela was somehow not reassured by the fact that Avery said it was totally fine 🤣 She was nervous.

But she got in the zone! I mouthed and asked her if she was excited, and she nodded vigorously. So we went with it!

And again! Perfect calm response! Done and done!! She chose the cross studs!! 😍

They taught the girls how to clean their ears. Apparently Laela was skeptical 🤨

Each girl picked out a little sheet of earrings to wear once the weeks of healing had passed. And we were done!

Goodness I am just loving this pair of girlies! 😍

Thank you for sharing your birthday gift with Laela, Avery! This was a riot, and likely a core memory for my daughter 💜 Thank you for all your soft warm love for those around you. This was a super precious milestone to celebrate together.

June 29th, 2025

Ear piercing ✅

I did this stickler thing…

We are a milk and water family. We don’t drink juice or pop really ever. Brady and I will have a drink or two while we’re out camping, and we have a bit of pop in the fridge there, also, but in general, we drink milk and water. The kids, too.

Recently, I bought a bunch of these sparkling flavored waters that people like. This brand is called Sap Sucker. They’re Canadian, and from Costco. I thought they’d be something worth trying, and I know some of our Dahlsjos like Bubly, so I figured they might like them, too. My kids do not like sparkling water, but then they’d last even longer! Wins all around.

So naturally, the kids REFUSE to quit. They BEG for these stupid things, even thought I KNOW they won’t like them! But they are relentless!! So I finally let each kid have one today, and I told them if they didn’t finish it, I would NEVER give them another one. EVER! 😅 I was really abnoxious about it. You need proof? Oh I’ve got the proof.

Finished ✔️

Finished ✔️ (She and Wavy traded halfway through)

Finished ✔️

Finished ✔️

Finished ✔️

No one was safe. Not even someone else’s kids.

Finished ✔️

Finished ✔️

Finished ✔️

Not. Even. Adults.

Finished ✔️✔️✔️

I am both embarrassed and impressed 😅 I secretly enjoyed every bit of the whole debacle.

So. Sap Suckers were a success. As was Coors, lol! Way to finish your drinks, everyone!

So this morning at the campfire, Avery and I both spoke up at once. We both immediately stopped to let the other speak. I insisted she go first, and she went to say something, and couldn’t get past an initial “ummm…” We looked at each other for a moment before she giggled at herself. 

“I had it, and then it was almost gone, and then it was GONE.”

And quietly from the other side of me, Brady goes – 

“Just like the feeling in my legs…”

😂😂😂 

It was a real laugh, I promise. He wasn’t forlorn. It was REALLY funny. 

Thanks, Brady, for making today’s blog so easy 😅😘 

Well, friends, today makes THIRTEEN YEARS of daily blogging for me 😳 with only ONE forgetful day. We have stayed afloat through a lot of things in the last thirteen years, but most specifically the last few. Though, before those were all the pregnancies and births, which I won’t pretend weren’t significant events. Regardless, we could not have made it this far without willing guest bloggers, most of which were Cher 🤣 and I WOULD not have made it this far if no one ever followed. It was never dependant on an audience, but I won’t lie – it helps. So, to all of you who read consistently, or sometimes, or you’re just here for pictures on occasion, I appreciate your care and love and support. 

Cher brought me a gift this morning to celebrate 💜 I’d say the best parts of it were the artwork. 

She felt I warranted a movie poster… 

And I even got an award!! 🤣🥰 

There are days where I think I’ve maybe come to an end of blogging. There is so much I can’t say that it feels phoney sometimes. I’m SO careful not to blow a single detail of any of our foster children. But also, fostering in general NEEDS to be talked about!!! I’ve had some other ideas for different blogs but I don’t anticipate maintaining two blogs. One is enough. But who knows. Maybe something changes in time. 

Anyway. Some are exciting and some are fun and some are quick and some are boring, and no matter what, you guys show up. And I am grateful for you. 

I praise the Lord for the incredible community that has grown over the years. 

That’s a wrap for the 2024/25 school year!!

Each year, I try to meet the kids at school on foot, pick up their stuff in a stroller, say goodbye to their teachers, etc. However, this year, we had to take a kid to a visit 😅 Surprise, surprise! So, rather than our lovely Born family goodbye, everyone ran out to the van, dumped their stuff in the back, and whipped into the city. It seems like thats a bit more our style these days anyway.

But we made it worth their while. We listened to good, loud music. We went and bought some fun things at Dollar Tree. And we ate french fries and McFlurries for supper. That strawberry cheesecake one is possibly the best one they’ve ever had. If you haven’t had it, do it. Limited time!

We got home right around 7pm and the whole mess of the van was unloaded. Five backpacks and extra bags. A random pair of rubber boots. Two diaper bags. Three babies. And all the garbage from supper. I present to you Wavy’s summer bucket list.

She very excitedly squealed “It’s a goat!!! No one else picked a goat!!”

My favorite part is one of her summer goals being hugging all of her siblings 💜

Now, most of the kids are down for the night. More than half, anyway. I’ll crochet a little bit while we wait out the last ones, and then to bed I go!!!

And tomorrow 💪 SUMMER BEGINS!!!

A while back, I mentioned that our meal trail was over, and that I felt so loved and cared for. There was no sideways intent on my part, but I was pleasantly surprised when more dates added on, and we’ve continued to receive meals. What an enormous gift!! It has meant a lot that there has never been some predetermined cutoff and we can continue to have a need met as long as we need it. What an incredibly generous group of people.

The meals have been wonderful all along the way. Today stood out as delicious and photo worthy.

Yup. Roll kuchen and watermelon! Making this meal takes a lot of time and effort for a group our size, and it was still warm and lovely!!! We had a VERY happy crew at the table!!

Each time I would pick something up to eat it, whether it was watermelon or a piece of roll kuchen, Spoons would SO politely ask for it. So. I ate half of a lot of things which eventually became most of a meal 😅 Thats babies, though, right?

Everyone ate without fighting. Everyone got enough. There is some watermelon left, but not a stitch of roll kuchen 🤣 Babies are messy and happy. And we even got a shorty rainstorm while we ate.

Thank you, Lord, for such a beautiful meal, a beautiful evening, a beautiful family, and a beautiful supportive community 💜

Recently, I’ve had crocheting projects that have been taking up any spare time I could possibly find. Yesterday, I officially ran out of the yarn I was using for a project, so while I didn’t have anything else tightly on the books, I decided to bite the bullet on a much bigger, much more important project.

Foster expenses!!!

To super quickly break it down, there are things I can send in to the ministry that they reimburse me for. Gas towards visits or appointments. Meals at certain times. Fresh clothing or toiletries when a new placement moves in. Babysitting and respite. Things like these. As foster parents, we’re expected to fill out forms for relevant expenses and hand them in each month.

You may or may not remember, but our very first placement was a shock to the system! Not only because we were new at the world of foster care, but the child also had incredibly high needs. Very early in the game with the Morsel, we spent a week at the hospital. Note taking and expenses went out the window while we just worked to keep our heads above water with this little baby. It took a long time before we felt caught up in our life in any real significant way, and at that point, I knew I had to catch up on expenses before I really started tracking current expenses.

You know how this goes. It is VERY easy to get lost this way. I should’ve just started tracking all the current stuff, and hung onto the month I needed help with. But, I didn’t. It took a LONG time before I finally got my first batch of things in to the finance department. If I remember right, it was about six months worth, and I felt really good about that!

Aaaaand that leaves me where I am now. I have not handed in expenses since. I could hand over all my great excuses, but you probably already know them, and I don’t need to say them anyway. I am just waaaaay behind. This time, the big hangup was Brady’s brain surgery. Not to mention the month before that where the Morsel also had surgery. I did not keep great records of who watched which kid and when, and because I didn’t do that, I was hung up on expenses. I knew I owed people money, but I didn’t know the details and I felt SO crappy about it. I kept reassuring myself that I would sort it out soon, and I would somehow be able to read old blogs, scroll through pictures, and jog the heck out of my memory until I had it all beautifully locked down.

And you know what? I. Just. Can’t. I’m not sure that info ever stuck in there, considering the circumstances, but I know that didn’t make it fair. So rather, Brady and I decided to pay our people each just a good chunk out of pocket, and start fresh. I will expense for the things I KNOW with confidence, such as mileage and meals out. But childcare and extras will go by the wayside for now, and thats ok. Even with gas and groceries alone, there is a LOT to ask the ministry for 😬

I feel incredibly accomplished, however. I did not rest today, which I actually do very intentionally most afterboobs (Ha! Afterboob is back!) but thats ok. We don’t always get our ideal, and I will find some rest time once the kids are down 🙂

Everyone will be home soon. The goal is to clean off the island, which is my dumping ground, and it has pretty much reached capacity. Wish me luck, all.

As Wavy gathered up her lunch stuff today, I had to stop her and take a picture. Save for the one granola bar, she had selected a completely orange lunch.

She had orange lunch for her birthday once. Well, it was mostly just a cheese day. With grilled cheese, cheese balls, KD, and the list went on. I couldn’t blame her, though. Cheese is always a win.

But today, orange food once again took over, and I couldn’t be mad about it. It looks delicious.

Meanwhile, I stirred a bunch of cheese into leftover taco meat and scooped it with chips for lunch. I’d say that’s a pretty bomb meal as well!

She wins, though. Its all in the face.

Celebration weekend continued at Kinasao today, and it kicked off with a breakfast with the camp! Brady, however, woke up in terrible pain where he could hardly even breathe in. We knew some tricks, but they don’t fix the situation entirely, and they don’t work quickly either. While I have plans to seek out some backup plans for him in the very near future, we did what we could and then just waited.

In the meantime, the five kids took off and ate at the camp with our Dahlsjos. They offered to bring food back for us, but I knew we would happily just have coffee once Brady could finally move. Once he was as managed as he could be, waiting for medication to kick in, I got LD and Spoons up for the day. I cracked out some cereal and they walked around the deck, dumping it out and putting it back into its container, over and over and over again. I would’ve been frustrated, but they did eat it, so I let them go.

Brady eventually was able to surface and be around the fire with me, and eventually, with others. It was SO nice. We sipped coffee and chatted and stoked the fire absolutely all day long. After lunch, many of the kids disappeared to the dining shelter to play games. Some ended up at Pickleball. Some went biking. And the few of us that were left were back around the fire, keeping warm and cozy together.

Everyone was doing SO well, so we stayed nice and long. So, naturally, packing up was bumpy and challenging, but we made it. It wasn’t long or particular brutal. Just a big group of overtired kids who have only played and thought of themselves all weekend long 😅 You get my drift.

The drive home was peaceful. Sometimes it was totally quiet, and other times, everyone sang along to the music we had going. We got home, unpacked, and sent everyone to bed almost right away.

And now its my turn. And Bradys turn. Our roomie, Peanut, is already cashed out. This felt like one of my more taxing weekends at camp so far, though the kids had an absolute blast and I have NO regrets! But goodness I’m beat! Ready for night.

Goodnight everyone. We’ll talk again tomorrow. I still have to tell you about the grade six farewell! Ack!

We were promised a downpour but have yet to see it. I’m honestly quite fine either way. We have LOVED having a fire all day today. We have sipped many coffees and enjoyed countless conversations throughout the day. Kids ran around all day. They played games. Won prizes. Played pickleball. Went on wagon rides and boat rides. Did the challenge course, and shot archery. We ate every meal with the camp and enjoyed the auction. While the auctions weren’t as well attended as past years, the blanket I entered went for over $400. So we’ll call that a win. 

It’s cooling off now. Kids are having cookies and hot chocolate to wrap up the day, and I just put the babies down. Not sleeping yet, but in bed. Which is perfect, because the kids won’t wake them when they come back to the camper. 

Come rain or shine tomorrow, I’m so grateful for this place, as always. It is positively beautiful here, people and place. It’s been a lovely weekend. As always, I’m completely overwhelmed with gratefulness for the gift that is Kinasao 💜 thank you God!