Foster Family Journeys | Keilen Corner

Hey everybody. Thanks so much for joining us today. It's been a little while since we posted a video, so sorry about that. We actually intended to post last month and things got away from us. We recorded some stuff, but things just got really busy. But we have to prioritize our family and the needs there, so thank you for understanding. And we have a lot to catch up on. A lot of exciting things have happened over the past several weeks. And not just with the boys. We had the opportunity to volunteer at a church kids camp, which was a blast. Such a highlight. I get to be a storyteller at this kids camp. We've done it for a few years now. And so usually I try to pick a character from history along with a lesson. And this year it was John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress. I usually try to keep it a mystery until the very end. And that was really fun. He was a musketeer at one point in his life. And he was a pretty rough kid. There was a lot of work in his heart the Lord had to do to bring him to where he eventually got. But it was just kind of cool learning about his life. And then being able to tell the kids about it. And they really seemed to enjoy it. Brina puts a lot of study and work and effort into this. And there's costumes and props. And things that the kids can touch to really make the stories come alive. And it's just fun because I'm usually in the back just watching their anticipation and excitement. And this year he did a chalk art with blacklight. And he would add to the picture every day. So just seeing kids get engaged and excited and watch and want to learn. It's super fun. And just the connection. And then throughout the day they're asking, who is it and what is it going to be? So it was really fun for both of us. But anyway that was just one of the things we did this summer. We were able to do some fun stuff with the little guys too. I don't know if you want to talk about any of that. We got to take a trip up to Michigan and be with all of Brayden's family for 4th of July. We weren't exactly sure if it was going to happen or not. There's a lot of paperwork and details involved in traveling. So it was just one of those things to wait and see. And make sure that it's okay with all parties involved. And it was. And so it was a very special trip. They were very loved and doted on and cuddled. And Brayden's dad has a little tractor. So that was probably the highlight of the whole trip. 3Road loves anything with wheels and driving. And so he got a little pay ride on the mower. While we were in Michigan, my mom just has a way of putting really nice touches on things to make things extra special. While we were there, there's this dessert she made. Growing up, I loved 8 Minute Cheesecake or something. It's a cheesecake, but it's like a whipped cheesecake. Like a no-bake cheesecake. Yeah, a no-bake cheesecake. You put it in the fridge so it somewhat hardens. It's kind of like a cream pie with pie filling on top. It's light and fluffy. It's just refreshing and cold. It's not heavy, heavy like a deep dessert. Yeah. I always loved it growing up that she made it while we were there. She put candles on it and let him blow them out. We did a Happy Birthday Uncle Sam. It was around the 4th of July. But the 3Road got to blow the candles out. He was so excited. He gave the biggest smile when he got to do that. He was so happy. So appreciated. My dad had outside covered with the tractor rides, which made that fun. And indoors, my mom was just doing these kind of special things to make it a neat time for everybody. But the little guys especially loved it. I posted a few pictures of our trip on Instagram. And several of you messaged and reached out for the recipe. I had never made it before. I enjoy it whenever we go up north. But I had not made it. But I messaged Brandon's mom and she sent me the recipe. So we recorded that so that you can see how quick it was. And it was my first time. And it was so quick and so fun. And it's just so good. It's so yummy. So yummy. But growing up in Michigan, you know, we were in kind of rural farm country somewhat. Wheat fields and corn fields. Right, right. But it's pretty, you know. It's kind of hilly and stuff. But it's just, you know, it's pretty country. And I didn't really appreciate it while I was there. But going to Chicago, wherever you look, is a building or a highway or something like that. It's just so, so, I mean, the traffic at rush hour is just not something you want to be in. Do not miss it at all whatsoever. But being there, being back in the country is just such a refreshing feeling. And now, we're not far from the country here in Tennessee, which I love. But going back to Michigan in those fields and just, you know, seeing the countryside and driving through it and being able to go outside and walk. You know, in the northern air, I guess, it's just in me because I was born there. There's so many dirt roads and just corn fields and wheat fields. So you can take walks and just enjoy being out there without fear of it being a dangerous road or stuff. So taking the kids on walks and enjoying the outdoors and doing it with Brandon's siblings. It's definitely a memory that I think we will treasure forever. Getting to pick the blackberries and see them chase bunnies and be in the garden. Just all the little things that make our heart smile because he was happy and loved. And there's a big place to be safe and just roam. So it was lovely. She mentioned chasing bunnies. There was a time when I was walking outside and our little guy went darting after a bunny that was out in the yard. And I couldn't help but think, I wonder if that's one of the bunnies we saved. You know, last spring when we had that little accident. Rescue accident. So it very well could have been. I'm not sure, no way to confirm it. But it was a really good trip and they seemed to enjoy it. Came back home and life, I mean, I was going to say life doesn't slow down. But I mean, I think a slow life is kind of a thing of the past for a while. It has been so full. Because as you know, with fostering, there's a lot of appointments and a lot of things that way. A lot of paperwork, a lot of requirements is part of the system. And anybody in foster care, you're already aware of that. So that just adds a dimension to life of, you know, there's the child raising, which is a full-time job already, which Michaela does so good. I love it so much. She's kind of a full-time mom and full-time secretary all in tandem here. So it keeps life really non-boring. It's definitely not boring. It's one of those things that there's caring for the kids and then there's, you know, like Brandon said, all of the paperwork to make sure that they're being saved and to make sure that things are being documented and to make sure that the best things can happen for them. Because there are multiple parties involved. So just making sure that everybody's updated and nobody's left behind. And so it's an extra little workload that we weren't quite as familiar with. But I am glad that the boundaries are in place to make sure that they're safe and that they're in a good spot. Yeah. We mentioned going to Michigan for the 4th of July, which some of you, I think, asked, you know, were you going to go to South Carolina because that was probably Bill's birthday. And that was something that we had done every year. We didn't end up going to South Carolina for that. Obviously, there wasn't a birthday party this year. Several family members went that year. There was a gathering and several of my siblings went there to be with my Mama Jane. But it wasn't the same. But you got a chance to go later. As much as I wanted to see my Mama Jane, I didn't feel like I was ready emotionally to be there on his birthday. So it was something that we had talked about and considered. But it was also something I felt like I needed a little bit more time. And being in Michigan, it was good to be something that was kind of just totally different. But since then, we have gotten to go. It was hard. It was emotional. It was different being back there after spending so much time together. With Papa Bill. Mm-hmm. It was, oh, I was going to cry. I miss him so bad. We made a day trip for the funeral. And since then, we haven't been back. And we talk to Mama Jane almost every day on Marco Polo or FaceTime. The kids talk to her, so that's special. But actually being back in the farmhouse and everything being rearranged and Papa's bed being gone, it was good closure, but it was also so hard. Part of me is relieved that he's not suffering in another part, As a lot of you probably remember, when Papa Bill was right towards the end, that's when we got the boys, they overlapped. Was it days? A couple days. Okay. When he passed away and we went to the funeral, we couldn't be gone very long. And so we didn't even have a chance to go to the house. We made a day trip, went down that morning, went to the funeral and then came back. And so going back to the house, this was the first, which I had forgotten. We hadn't been back to the house since he passed away. The boys did come right before he passed and then it got really busy. And I feel it really helped to heal our hearts, but there was also the need to grieve. And I was so grateful that several of my siblings could go and be with Mama Jane and that she wasn't alone, but it was just something that I didn't, I wasn't quite ready for. So being somewhere totally different for the fourth was, it was good to make new happy memories, to take the boys to the fireworks show and still thinking of Papa Bill and Mama Jane and talking to Mama Jane on Marco Polo, but just creating a good memory on the day that was hard. And then going back to the farm for the first time, it was really good. It was happy watching Mama Jane get to hold the baby and he just smiled at her and he laughed and cooed and it just, it brought so much joy. I think it was, it was happy for Mama Jane, it was happy for me and just, it was a mixture of hard and beautiful all at the same time and just thankful for the grandfather that we had and for the time that we had with him. So by now you can kind of get an idea maybe why we haven't posted a video in a while. We've been traveling everywhere. My parents up north and down to South Carolina for Mama Jane and the kids' camp. It's just been, it's been a roller coaster of a summer, but it's been really special in many places, doing many things. A summer we'll never forget. Yes, for sure. We also wanted to give an update on the boys. I know several of you have inquired about that and it's, this has been amazing. So many of you have reached out asking for updates and how they're doing and what's going on. We're learning every day. They're learning every day. We're getting more connected and finding out the things that they're thinking and loving and how, you know, the little guy processes and just so much fun watching him learn. He loves to learn everything. He's constantly asking questions and I read a bunch of preschool books and just tracing and letters and numbers and all the fun preschool things and he asks for school all day long. He's excited about it. He's so excited. All of the colors and the markers and the crayons, the crafts, just, it's been so fun for me. I've done it with nieces and nephews, but it's different with the little guy that's in our home and he just, he just, he's so excited and he learns new sounds and as soon as Brandon gets home from work, he wants to show him his sounds in his new workbook, so. It was cute, though, because earlier this evening, I wanted to do something special with our three-year-old and Michael was like, okay, well, I'm going to let him know, so she's like, hey, you're going to do, you're going to get to do something special and he looked, you know, he looked at me and he's like, are we going to do school? I was like, wow. That's how high he rates school work. He loves to be the big helper and he loves to put a sticker on his chart and he just loves to feel like he's included, so, I mean, they're little simple things that three-year-olds do. Put your, put your clothes in the hamper and get to help out and he just gets so excited to help cook or just to be a part of what we're doing and then, so that sense of achievement and he gets to show Brandon at the end of the day all of the stickers that he has if he finished his school or brushed his teeth, so it's just fun to, to watch that. And the baby, he's, he's learning new things, too. Every single day. I mean, it's, it's crazy. Just in the limited time we've had him, you know, it's, these milestones are, it's just exciting to watch, you know, rolling onto his tummy. I don't know if that's season time or early or what that is, but it just seems like that happened overnight. And he's, like, gripping things now. Yes. Like, you know, it used to be you'd have a dangling toy and he'd just kind of whack it, you know, couldn't do much else, but now he's actually with his fingers gripping it. And cooing and following us. Oh, goodness. If we walk in the room, he just, he, he watches us with his little eyes and it's just so sweet. About 6.30, 6.15 in the morning is, like, his happy, happy spot. Of course it is. Brandon's getting ready for work and once he has his bow, he is just, he's ready to go and he just talks up a storm. And he's, just this week, I guess, started laughing, like, actual laughing and it's just, it's just so much fun. It's heart-pounding. It's really cute. It's, like, every single day something new is happening and it's one of those things that we're just loving it and... Because this is a first for us, too. Having a baby and watching him find these different milestones is... He's found his feet and his ears. It's just the little things that you just get so excited watching them learn and grow and life changes at such a fast pace for them. They're both learning a lot, which is... We're learning a lot. Yeah. Appropriate for this time of year. Back to school and everybody's learning something. But speaking of back to school, we want to do something special this year. It was, a lot of you are already aware that I did a children's book series a few years back. And for those of you following more recently, this was, this was an exciting, long process. It was more work than I anticipated when I asked him to do it. Just a little recap for those of you who don't know. Several years back, Michael asked if I could do it, write a children's book. And I was like, oh, sure. I mean, how hard can it be? But it turns out... Little did we know. It quite... And the story got a little bit more involved. I mean, it wasn't just a little, you know, two-year-old's book where there's one sentence with a big picture. I had my own drop on you. Right. Well, we got in touch with an excellent editor. He just does top-notch work and has worked for a lot of prominent authors just with a contract. You know, you're not allowed to say the name of who it is, but he worked with a lot of amazing authors. And so we were really blessed to be able to work with him. I felt like he really just ironed out the wrinkles in the story. Like... He was excellent. He was. And so anyway, for those of you who don't know, this is a story, a trilogy that takes place in the medieval time period. This is something that took over three years to write this, write these. It's a time period I enjoy. It was fun for me hearing bits and pieces as he would add to the story because it kind of left me on the edge of my seat because I could only hear it as he wrote it. I'm like, well, what happened? I'm like, well, I've got to write that. Yeah. With this time of year back to school, we actually wanted to do a special sale with these. We had a teacher, a reading teacher, get in touch with us recently. And she loved the books. And she's like, I want some sets for my class to be able to do. And that was kind of special for us hearing from her. And knowing she's using them for students. So anyway, we're like, hey. Didn't know if anybody else out there would be kind of in that same vein of thought, wanting some material that has a good lesson. We tried to incorporate good lessons into these books, but also in adventure story form where it's also fun to follow along with. With this back to school season, we're actually having a sale for these, all three of them, for $24.99. Each book is around $12 to $14 a piece. But we wanted to do this sale with this time. It's actually a bigger sale than we do at Christmas time. We've actually never had a sale this big. If you're interested, it's called The Quest of Quentin. You can get this on our website. We'll provide a link below if you're interested. But I think you'll enjoy the story if you haven't read it already. If you love reading, you enjoy it. And then we've also heard from a lot of people that if it's a struggling reader, it's enough of an anticipation that it actually helps them to start enjoying reading. So that's kind of special. Yeah. So anyway, if you're interested in that, it's called The Quest of Quentin. It's a trilogy. You can also buy the books individually, but the complete story is in the three. So we just wanted to mention that as school is getting back into gear for the students. But anyway, in relation to summertime, I know it's back to school, but this past summer has been really... I just feel like we've made some great memories, had some great times with the boys and they've added so much. Parenting is not exactly like I imagined it would be, and I've found that there's a lot for me to learn. You think parent, parent, child, it's time for parent becomes teacher and child student. But it's just like there's so much to learn when you have little people in your life. In certain things, I thought I knew already and answers that were already pre-packaged, if you will. And then you get hit with a situation, it's just like, that doesn't work in this situation. God help. What do I do now? We're learning every single day. But it's such a rewarding thing. It's so different having a little person that wants to do things that you do. It melts my heart watching it. I've got work boots and he wanted to get work boots. I have an office where I study and his bedroom became his office and now he's studying. I don't know why he's studying when that was something new. Brandon does it, he mimics it. Right, I was studying for something recently that was taking a lot of time and Will was asking what I was doing and I was like, I've got to go study again. So he's starting to tell Michael I've got to go to my office and study. I'll be back in a little bit. It's really cute. It's a wake up call to me. He's watching. It's not just the stuff you want them to learn so you're intentionally teaching something, but it's just living life. They're watching everything. They're watching you live life. It's just like, oh man, it's so important to strive to be the real deal and to be not just fake something for somebody to copy, but actually be the person you want them to aspire to be and that's a challenge. It's just kind of like you can have all these ideas for other people. It's like this is a good way to go for you, but when it's like, well, I'm following you. What are you doing? It's just kind of a wake up call. Oh man, pressure's on. You're a good role model. Well, in many ways I'm not, but I want to be. I feel like Brandon's a hero to the little three-year-old and he does, like Brandon said, he watches everything and so it's made both of us think just in the ways that we respond and the ways that we communicate because sometimes something can be frustrating to me and it'll have nothing to do with the children. It will be, you know, I'm delayed for an appointment or I need to grab groceries or something. Something went wrong with the car that we didn't anticipate ahead of time which makes everything late when you need the car. So I'll call Brandon and I'll just, you know, this is frustrating or whatever and the little guy will pipe up and be like, are you sad? It's just like, oh, he's picking up on the way that I'm feeling and my attitude and just being careful that I don't make him feel sad or make him ever feel like he's the reason I have a frustration because things happen and it's always just been Brandon and I and I just tell him how I'm feeling and so just being aware of different things that he's feeling, our feelings as we're talking through it whether it's exciting or sad and just him checking on me. So it's just, it's one of those things that we're learning. You know, there's that side of it and then obviously the other side is he's just himself and, you know, full blast, energetic, loves to drive, anything that's got wheels, anything resembling a car, he's all into and walking outside. There's so many things in nature where it's just like he loves to observe, you know, every spider, every insect, every butterfly he sees. It's just fascinating to him and so it's not like it's just a little robot that's, you know, doing everything we do. He's teaching us stuff every single day, I feel like. It's brought a new dimension to life that we're enjoying. We don't know how long it's going to be there with these little guys but while it's there, we're enjoying it. They've brought us so much joy and we do appreciate so many of you who've reached out and I feel like I've apologized to several times. I haven't taken the time to respond to so many messages. I do try to read them as I have time and we feel so grateful but just the prayers for us, the prayers for the boys, we appreciate the care and the love that you guys have shared for all of us. We really appreciate you taking the time with us today. A lot continues to happen and to go on and, you know, different things we can share, different things we can't share but we appreciate your care, love and concern and prayers through all of this because it's an adventure and we're learning new things all along the way. So anyway, thank you again for sharing this time and we hope to see you next time.