So, we headed to GA State College for a basketball tournament, and on the way there I discovered that I left my camera home... what to do, what to do? Well, thankfully we were able to find a replacement point and shoot. No where near as good as my Nikon, but we have had fun with the little camera, and the girls (as you will see) LOVE IT!!!
B was so excited to be at the games, she could not wait for them to start to get to the American Girl Doll Store in ATL!!!
Our 2 boys.. the Big J and the little J respectively!
This might just be his cutest picture yet!
The little j is in his glory at these tournaments! in a gym all day with lots of boys, lots of balls, and lots of places to run and play! His dad likes it quite a bit too!
Yes, much to his dad's chagrin, this horse made a very big showing at the gym!!
I should have posted this last... this is how we look when it is over!
The Big J, and 2 of our players.. this is how all tournaments start out.. EARLY!!!! excited and waiting to play!
He was excited, and had not idea why! It was very cute.
We had no problem getting up today! We were actually there about 30 minutes before the store opened! 
waiting for the AGD store to open....
The lady at AGD was kind enough to take his horse out of the box.
M and B both got new dolls on our trip! They were very excited!
The little j had a fit over this horse, and in the end I bought it for him.. I think it is the most expensive fake horse I have every bought.. and for the little j, maybe even the most expensive toy! However, for the record he is still sleeping and playing with his horse!
They have the best lunch here! And it is reasonable which makes it all better!
This was B's appetizer! B thought it was one of the best pretzels she has ever had- crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle! With cheese and mustard.
My lunch! Those shrimp were so good!!
B's lunch - tic tac toe pizza!
M's lunch minus the mac and cheese!
After lunch and shopping at the American Girl Doll Store...
This is the little j on the way back to GA State College!
M looking very middle-schoolish!
B - still smiles all the time!
the little j in logan's portable crib! no- he has never been in there before, but now, he believes that it is his job to "sleep with" baby logan! And that baby is just precious by the way.. he has been over a few times, and I promise you he is absolutely the best baby ever! Mom, dad, and baby are doing really well!
Today, I took a four hour nap because I had the worst week ever and needed to regroup, and apparently this next series of pictures is a little of what went on... The big boys were at the NCAA tournament here in town!
See.. at this point, I must have been SOUND asleep!
Not sure why he is somersaulting on tile... sure that has something to do with my taking a nap!
So, you ask... where have we been? And to that I reply ... all over! Literally.. I mean all over. We have been going non-stop for quite awhile now. It seems days have turned into weeks, and weeks into months. The 24 hour period of a day just is not enough sometimes! along, giving things to God and then he gives them right back to you. Is that a lesson? In January most of you know that we went to court and we left with things NOT in our favor- and not in our favor a little, but NOT in our favor a LOT! I remember thinking to myself.. okay God, I guess this is your plan, and this is how it is going to be. I will live with that- we will live with that. It is not what we want, but that is obviously the path we are to take. So on with life we went. We got involved with travel ball, dance, church, etc. We didn't think about what we didn't have- and we felt that we had been given a clear path that it was truly only 1 child that we would get out of 3. Well, we have peace with that.. we move on, we try to adjust and we feel pretty good about it. We are healthy, we are busy, and we are practicing being content. And then, out of the blue in early March we receive an email asking us to set-up visitation (after a visitation disaster in January/ February that didn't occur). Inquiring minds want to know.. why are these crazy people still calling us? Honestly.. what is the lesson here? We just don't get it at all, and that makes it the most frustrating for us. Anyway, we really don't get it, and then we receive another call from another agency asking us to hire an attorney in Jacksonville because the mom has not met her TPR goals as outlined by March 4- I mean as if any of us want to travel that road again.. It was like walking through fire with briars at your face. It was not a pleasant experience at all for us. It makes you a little crazy.. and we just did not know what to do. Really, hire another attorney for what? The Judge that we thought was a devout Christian turned out to be very ugly.. (remember the whole "You need to get a reality check" comment) and the emotional tugs were almost to much to carry if the truth is told. But, after prayerful consideration we did make some calls. First to our caseworkers here, and then to several attorneys to find out what our options would be. Because again, when we explain what has happened, or what is happening, and when you read the motion, no one, not ONE single person can believe that we are even going through this.. because the scenario is this- you have 2 boys in foster care for 15 months when the family that adopted the middle brother is willing to adopt the other 2??? Nobody gets it- us included. But we will put that aside, because as much as I would like to fix that, I know that I can't. So, this time around we will let our attorney try and figure out what to do... What do you do? There are several options that could happen according to our attorney-
Our 2 boys.. the Big J and the little J respectively!
This might just be his cutest picture yet!
The little j is in his glory at these tournaments! in a gym all day with lots of boys, lots of balls, and lots of places to run and play! His dad likes it quite a bit too!
Yes, much to his dad's chagrin, this horse made a very big showing at the gym!!
I should have posted this last... this is how we look when it is over!
The Big J, and 2 of our players.. this is how all tournaments start out.. EARLY!!!! excited and waiting to play!
He was excited, and had not idea why! It was very cute.
We had no problem getting up today! We were actually there about 30 minutes before the store opened! 
waiting for the AGD store to open....
The lady at AGD was kind enough to take his horse out of the box.
M and B both got new dolls on our trip! They were very excited!
The little j had a fit over this horse, and in the end I bought it for him.. I think it is the most expensive fake horse I have every bought.. and for the little j, maybe even the most expensive toy! However, for the record he is still sleeping and playing with his horse!
They have the best lunch here! And it is reasonable which makes it all better!
This was B's appetizer! B thought it was one of the best pretzels she has ever had- crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle! With cheese and mustard.
My lunch! Those shrimp were so good!!
B's lunch - tic tac toe pizza!
M's lunch minus the mac and cheese!
After lunch and shopping at the American Girl Doll Store...
This is the little j on the way back to GA State College!
M looking very middle-schoolish!
B - still smiles all the time!
the little j in logan's portable crib! no- he has never been in there before, but now, he believes that it is his job to "sleep with" baby logan! And that baby is just precious by the way.. he has been over a few times, and I promise you he is absolutely the best baby ever! Mom, dad, and baby are doing really well!
Today, I took a four hour nap because I had the worst week ever and needed to regroup, and apparently this next series of pictures is a little of what went on... The big boys were at the NCAA tournament here in town!
See.. at this point, I must have been SOUND asleep!
Not sure why he is somersaulting on tile... sure that has something to do with my taking a nap!
So, you ask... where have we been? And to that I reply ... all over! Literally.. I mean all over. We have been going non-stop for quite awhile now. It seems days have turned into weeks, and weeks into months. The 24 hour period of a day just is not enough sometimes! Church, dance and basketball fill the majority of our time, however, work, cleaning, and life takes up the other. And life has been a little crazy right now. It is funny how you think you are moving
1- the guardians could file a TPR motion on behalf of the brothers; the mom has not met her goals, she has never had her children, and it would make sense for them to come to us at the guardians request
2- the judge could follow the LAW and grant the TPR and follow the statues and place the siblings with us
3- the centers could continue to fight us, request a match staffing, and give the kids to whomever they please- we in turn would have to hire an attorney for Jackson and it would continue to be a mess
the fourth option, and the one we are most hopeful to occur is-our attorney files a motion to intervene, the mom agrees to surrender rights to our attorney, and we privately adopt Jackson's siblings-
the fourth option is more costly, and his brothers would not receive some of the same benefits the little j has (college, free medical) but they would be ours free and clear. That like I said, is the option that we want to happen.
Now comes the hard part again.. the waiting, the not knowing, and the unrest that comes with not knowing. We have never not wanted those boys- we have never forgotten them, or taken their pictures down- we have continued to pray God's favor on them- but our hearts have always felt like they should be with us.
So, again we will leave it with God. Our ultimate desire or wish, or what we just want more than anything is to have the opportunity to parent all three boys. Of course, we have those desires, so we have felt as if we are missing 2 - My social worker told me last week, that maybe God needed us to let it really "GO" so that he could be in control (because that is one issue that I still struggle with) and in January when we finally let it go.. his work could continue.
If this doesn't make me crazy, the joy that is yet to come is thrilling! I think to myself in an attempt to figure it all out that maybe we needed this time to adjust to the little j- that he needed that time with us- and we are ready now for the next step!
We have asked and continue to ask God to show us favor and mercy in this situation- we will continue to be faithful in our works so that His good can shine through.
Today when I was teaching my 1st and 2nd graders Sunday School one of them said to me... You know the most amazing thing about telling God something...... he already knows.. and if it's bad, or not pleasant he still loves you and he forgets about it immediately! How true is that! That just simply asking him to lift this unknown from us and guide us is what he truly wants to hear!!
With that.. we have about 8 days left in our 3rd grading period. It has flown by this year. I have started everyday in devotion with GOD and it has been an amazing year for me. I don't know why I stop reading my Bible when things are going good- maybe this is the year that God needed to point that out to me as well!
Next week we head to Disney- the girls, the little j and I! Big dance stuff happening down there. The little J is so excited he can barely contain himself. I think we all answer about 50 questions a day from him. The big boys are heading to another tournament, and then Spring Break, another Orlando tournment, and then a trip to the University of Tennessee! I can't wait for that trip! I love Knoxville! Heck... I love Tennessee!
Keep us in your prayers- prayers that God would show us what we need to see at the right time. Prayers of contentment, and for us to be able to continue to let him work this out!
As B would say... Peace out home scout!
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