2025 Family Update

2025 has been a big year for our family! 

I never blog anymore, so wrapping it all up in one post seems daunting, but I'm going to try.

FOSTER CARE

Last December our 3 foster kiddos returned to live with their Dad. It was a little sad but mostly happy because they love their Dad SO much and it was wonderful to see their family restored. He has done a great job with them and the best part is that we have been able to keep in touch through text and pictures and having them over for the weekend about once every month or two. That has been so great for our kids to all keep their relationship with each other. I think it's been good for our former foster kids too, to see that we haven't abandoned them but still love them and consider them a part of our family. 

It hasn't always been easy as they live about an hour and twenty minutes away, one way. So its a lot of time driving on weekends we have them. It also means we have 10, sometimes 11 kids in our home for a weekend, if it happens to coincide with a weekend we are watching our other former foster son, which it has a few times. He is 6 now and we also have him over once a month or so. 

After December we told our RFC (family worker) that we would like to be called only for babies. Because a few of our kids were struggling having bigger kids we felt like this was what was best for our family. Well in February she gave us a call for a little 2 year old boy with severe special needs. Because of his special needs he was more like a 12 month old developmentally. She also told us that his case was very likely going to adoption and they were struggling to find a family for him, given his level of special needs and the unknowns about his future. 

Well we prayed about it, a lot. We have never prayed about a placement so much before. His special needs sounded really scary and like a lot. However, I had felt seeds being planted in my heart for special needs adoption before this. We have a family in our ward that have adopted children with special needs internationally and they and others really inspired me. I was browsing website like Reece's Rainbow but when I did, I always felt like our calling was foster care, not international adoption. So getting this call did sound like an answer to my prayers about what we were to do next. After lots of prayer and talking it out, we decided to say yes. M came to live with us in the middle of February. Almost immediately he started making remarkable progress. It seems that a lot of his special needs were the results of neglect, sadly. In the early summer we became aware that this case was not going right to adoption like we were told. It turns out his mom was working hard to get him back. and as of this writing he is scheduled to return home to live with her in the next few weeks. (It  feels a little like Groundhog's Day, with us doing another reunification right before Christmas, just like last year.) 

M's case has by far been the hardest we've ever had in foster care. It has been a year of growth, fasting, prayer, and learning to trust in the Lord for me. At times it has felt horridly unfair and like the system has really failed him. But I have had to trust that the Lord has the best for him, even when it looks different from what I think should be happening. 

He has continued to make rapid progress. Remarkable, miraculous progress really. It's has been great to witness and be a part of, He definitely is not at the level of a 12 month old anymore! He is pretty close to his normal age level of 3.5 now. 

After he goes home next month, I don't know what the future holds for us as far as foster care is concerned. It's another thing I've been grappling with, trying to figure out what God wants us to do. Maybe by this time next year I'll have the answers. 

A NEW BABY

In May of this year we found out we are expecting our 7th baby! We are all SO excited. The baby is due in January and we can't wait. We have not found out the gender again and we will all be truly surprised to see what it is. This summer was pretty rough for me with having morning sickness from week 4-15. I truly thought I must be having twins due to how sick I was. But no, our 20 week ultrasound just showed one healthy happy baby. After the sickness wore off, this has been my best and easiest pregnancy, which I am so grateful for. Pre-conception I worked really hard on getting myself healthy, losing weight, eating a high protein diet and getting my vitamin and mineral levels up. It has made a  huge difference. The baby is due at the end of January and we are planning another home birth. I'm so excited to meet this little one and I'm sure I'll post the birth story here. 

HOMESCHOOL 

We have continued homeschooling this year and  I just love it. The kids are thriving and learning and growing. It has been difficult to manage homeschooling with our foster son's schedule. He generally has 4-6 appointments and therapies a week and that has been really hard to work around in order to homeschool. I've spend most of the year feeling like I'm failing as a homeschool mom, but when I look back on the past year, we have accomplished quite a lot. This fall we joined our first ever co op, and it has been so good for my kids and ME to find like-minded friends, something we've struggled with ever since moving here 3 years ago. Maybe I'll do a full post of everything we're using but the main highlights are these. All four big kids are in piano lessons after graduating from Let's Play Music in the spring. Esther is learning Swedish and Spanish. In Math she is learning geometry, long division and multiplication of decimals and fractions. I think next year Leland may need to take over math for her. Adele is learning multiplication tables and long division in math. She is also studying French and Spanish and still loves to do her painting. Her and Esther are doing great in reading and have read lots of chapter books. They each earned $100 by reading 100 chapter books and it was money well spent, they are great readers now! 

Israel and Julian are both learning how to read, at their own paces with their own curriculums. They are both thriving in math and Julian especially has made remarkable progress in math. Israel is learning a lot of habit training as this is his first year doing real schoolwork at age 7. I am also working on Spanish with the younger kids but it's one of the many things I need to be more consistent on. Moses, at age 4.5 has started showing more of an interest in school work. He has already picked up all his numbers to 20 and all his letter names and sounds just by being around the other boys learning it. He wants to do everything Israel is doing and has started reading Bob books. It's adorable! I'm excited to have more time to dedicate to homeschool once M returns home. Well as much as I can with 6 kids and a new baby. 

THE PARENTS

Leland and I have both been hard at work too. Leland has passed an actuary module this year, advancing his career as an actuary. He now has to go to an annual actuarial conference for 4 days each year, which is the first time he has had to travel for work. It been a growing experience for me too even though it's only 4 days of solo parenting. Leland also did the hunter safety course and got his hunting license and a deer tag. He was gone three days deer hunting but didn't get one this time. I'm proud of him for trying something new though! 

On our little homestead front, we raised meat chickens for the first time this year. Our friends Alba and Andres helped us out (their first time too) and we butchered 27 chickens together. I do not recommend while pregnant, ha, but it was a good learning experience. We will probably do it again next year. 

I have been busy canning and gardening. I canned over 100 jars of food this summer, some of it from food we grew ourselves but most of it from local farm stands. Jams, applesauce, pears, peaches, potatoes, beans, pickles and ketchup, to name a few things. I really love canning and I love us to have a well stocked store room so I don't have to go to the store as often. I have also been growing my instagram this year, posting about things like natural living, motherhood, sewing and canning. I have been somewhat successful and I have made a little bit of money from it. I'm hoping to keep growing it and contribute more to our income from it in 2026. 

LIVING THE GOSPEL
We have really loved our ward. It's been amazing. I feel like it's small town vibes where everyone looks out for each other without a lot of gossip or nosiness. Leland is an assistant secretary in the Elder's Quorum, and only occasionally gets assignments for that. I am a teacher in the nursery for kids ages 18 months-3 years. I have been in the nursery in every ward we've been in, so I guess it's meant to be my calling. It is a little tiring but it's simple so I really can't complain. Leland and I have been given easy callings, but that's fine since it feels like foster care and parenting in general is our much bigger calling right now. 

Because we homeschool I feel blessed to teach the kids the gospel in our home each day. We study come follow me together every school day, and then we study the scriptures individually too. We're far from perfect but I think the small drops in the bucket are making a difference each day. I love our Savior Jesus Christ and his gospel. I hope that love comes through to my children. I hope that they are gaining strong testimonies because it seems with the way the world is going, they are really going to need it. In January Esther is going to move from Primary to Young Womens which feels like a huge step. Also this year Israel will be baptized, so that will be exciting to have our 4 big kids baptized. 

And because I didn't write anything about Sorrel, she is just as sassy and darling as ever. She is hilarious and so adorable and also so stubborn. We are working on unspoiling her a little before the baby comes. She is super super excited for the new baby. You have never seen a toddler love babies like she does. She loves taking care of everyone especially M who is like a little brother to her. She has such a bond with him and I hope and pray it won't affect either of them too badly when he goes home. I'm glad the new baby will be born shortly after that, I think that will help her too. 

At the end of the day, I'm just so grateful to have this beautiful family that we have. I've seen lots of my friends go through divorce and loss in 2025. It's hard to see but makes me want to be more intentional with my own family. I'm so grateful for Leland and each of our precious children. Life is busy and full but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm excited to see what 2026 brings us.