Summer Questions: What is Something Mom Said...?

Okay, I'm excited to post another question for you with our kids' answers.  If you want to look back at the introductory post about these summer questions, click here.  If you want to see other Summer Question posts, click here or look for posts labeled with SummerQ.

Today's question:  What is something your mom said once that you will never forget? (The humor of my role as their "mom," as well as being the interviewer, is not lost on me -- I could be setting myself up for some majorly embarrassing moments.  Let's find out...)

Summer Questions: How Old Would You Be...?

I like getting our kids' insight on different things and then recording them for posterity.  In the past, I've used different resources or just made up random questions to get them thinking.  Recently, I stumbled on this website that has various open-ended questions and since the whole point is to get their brains moving, I'll be pulling from this list over the summer and sharing answers with you here for fun.  The questions are not specifically written for kids so if anything needs to be adjusted to make more sense from a child's perspective, I'm giving myself license to do that.  I'll label each of these posts with SummerQ so you can easily find any you have missed or reread the good ones in the future.

June 13-17: Colorado Trip

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how S and I were planning to visit New England so she could visit with her birthmother and we could see some of our friends who still live there.  Well, plans changed and after S left, we didn't have a lot of motivation for me to go off to New England alone.

So instead, we decided to use the prearranged days off for a little family trip, which included our friends, KF, AF and SF, as well as AF's good friend, AB.  There were ten of us in all and so we rented a roomy condo just north of Durango, Colorado and spent a long weekend up there together.

At a Loss for Words

Since our daughter left home so suddenly just over three weeks ago, I have found myself at a complete loss of words for something to write here at Mama Flock.  I am moving through the grief and loss process one day at a time.  Some days I can do this more gracefully than others.  But often, I am just truly sad down to my bones. The process has taken much of my energy and leaves nothing much for creative and thoughtful blogging -- so I write nothing.

Here my blog sits ... silent.  Waiting. 

Guest Post: Head Over Heels

Today, my husband offered to do a guest post here at Mama Flock.  It is S's 18th birthday today and he offers a unique perspective on our lives with our daughter that I enjoyed reading.  I hope you do, too...

Head Over Heels

I knew this girl once. She was eight years old and had just come to live with us. She was a foster kid and we were foster parents. A good match at least on that count, I suppose. Her two younger brothers lived with us already so, you know, it seemed like a good idea to keep the family together. They’d already lost so much.

Joyful, Joyful

In our service this weekend, there was a contemporary mash-up we sang. It included the words from the hymn Joyful, Joyful by Henry Van Dyke. I was reminded just how important true joy is in our lives -- and where true joy comes from!

I wanted to share with you the lyrics to the hymn here as a reminder to myself (and all of you) to seek joy. It's everywhere if we just look around.

Less Depressing

Word on the street is that my blog posts and Instagrams lately have been a little depressing for people.

Okay, I'm sorry about that.  This is my real life and I'm trying to remain as hopeful as possible through something with which I'm really struggling.  But sadness and frustration are emotions that, as humans, we all have. 

That being said, I don't want anyone worrying themselves that I'm going to throw myself off a bridge or something.  My hope is in the Lord.

Changing Dynamics

We have been a family of seven for so long.  Now that there are just six of us in the house, it seems like we have to rethink how we do everything.  This would have happened whether S left suddenly or not (eventually), but now that we are faced with this situation as it is, there are a lot of things that just seem both harder and easier, as well as different.

Almost My Last Hope

I stumbled upon S's pink Bible today.  It was a bit of a heartbreak for me since I was holding onto the hope that she had brought this with her amongst the limited belongings that seem to be missing from her room.  But no.

A New Day

So much has happened over the past week or two that I haven't been on my computer much.  Most of the "stuff" has been little and insignificant, but there has been one major change that has affected us all and until we notified our family and closest friends, I was reluctant to say anything here.

I could still say nothing here, but then I wouldn't have a good explanation about my distraction from all things blog.  Also, as Christians, I think it's important to share our joys and our burdens so that we can understand each other better as real live people and not just text on a page.