The Special Month of May

The month of May was a fantastic month.  As you can see we had some fabulous things happen this month.  Aislynn was baptized on her birthday.  Her birthday just happened to fall on a Saturday and so she had her birthday and got baptized on the same day.  It was such a special day.  We were blessed to have my parents be able to come to the baptism.  My camera died in the middle of the pictures.  So I will have to post more once I get them from my parents lol.  Grandpa Robinson was able to speak on the gift of the Holy Ghost and Grandma Robinson gave the closing prayer.  We also sang "I'm trying to be like Jesus" as a family.  It was such a wonderful day.  Since it was also Aislynn's birthday and it just happens to fall on Cinco de Mayo we had a huge Mexican fiesta at our house afterwards.  It was filled with such great food and even better friends and family!  I am so proud of Aislynn.  What a blessing she is to us.  She was so excited during her baptism.  She was so happy to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We love you Aislynn!

 

 

It was also Cecely's birthday this month.  She turned five.  So on her birthday our Relief Society was having an activity where we brought our daughters and had a sewing project.  We all made aprons.  So here is Bailey's apron.  She loves it and wears it all the time! 

 Here is Cecely's apron.  You have to love the mixed match socks.  She loves her apron too!  She loves to wear it with other accessories.  It's not just for cooking you know.  She let's me know this all the time.

 While I was making Cecely's cake Aislynn and Devonney were eating the left overs.  Can you tell they are thoroughly enjoying themselves.  I think this is the part that they like best.  I love Devonney's face.  Pure enjoyment.

 It has also gotten very hot here and so no day is complete without Otter Pops.  It is the tradition after the kids come home from school to get one of these yummy ice treats and go sit in the shade.  I went outside and found Dev and Cecely sitting on an overturned flower pot.  Too cute.  I love my kiddos.

 Here is a picture of the cake that I made for Cecely.  She wanted pink pink pink!  I cannot believe that she is five already.  Wow the time has flown by!  She is such a sweetheart.  She is also very stubborn and very opinionated!  She is also my fashion diva and still changes clothes about 50 times a day!  She keeps me busy and on my toes.  I love that girl!

 Here is my husband in all his glory!  This was after church one Sunday.  Does he look like a bear or what?  I love that guy. 

 The kids decided to take pictures of themselves.  It happens quite frequently.  My beautiful Aislynn who is now eight years old.  She is awesome!  She is so smart and so funny.  She is a whiz at everything she does.  She is such an example to her family!  We love her.

 Aww my beautiful Cecely Grace.  She is hilarious and is constantly soaking up everything around her like a sponge.  She is such a great sister and big sister to Devonney.  She lets you that she is in the room and she has an infectious smile and laugh.  Love her.

 My Bailey Rose.  She is so smart and such an incredible sister.  She is my organizer and my artist.  She loves to do crafts and loves to draw and write books of her own.  She will also organize my kitchen drawers and my room.  She is a joy and we love her!

The Faces of a two year old.

 There are many faces of a two year old.  I find these days she can be completely happy one minute and throwing a huge tantrum the next.  She loves to dress up and loves to put anything on that she can find including bibs and hair clips and all sorts of kitchen utensils.  She has become quite independent and let's us know everyday that she is a force to be reckoned with.  She is such a piece of sunshine and has the vocabulary of a four year old.  She loves her sisters and her foster brothers!  She is such a great helper.  She loves to yell at the top of her lungs when we are in the store "don't touch me, leave me alone, I want a cookie!" 


 She loves to color while her sisters are doing their homework.  She constantly tells me that she is doing her hooomwoork.  That is how it sounds coming from her very kissable mouth.  She loves to give kisses and when she knows she is in trouble that is the first thing she will offer.  The other thing she adores is lotion.  The girl can't get enough of it.  I have proof.  Just look at the photo below.

She naps like a champ and I often have to get her up to go pick up kiddos from school.  She loves to sleep with her bear bear and night night, binks and a princess shoe.  This is how I often times find her when I go wake her up from her nap.  She is such a sweetie pie and she makes me laugh so many times during the day!  I love this girl so much.
 Here she is getting her PJ's on all by herself.  She is very proud of herself.  Can you tell?
 Aww yes..   This is a face I know all to well.  This face appears periodically through out the day.  Gotta  love the barrette in her hair. 
 There are many faces of my beautiful little two year old.  This is the face I love best!  Peaceful sweet angelic sleep.  She is my sweetie and I love her.  Our lives would be no where near as exciting and sweet without her.  Love you Dev!

A Review

No pictures for this post!  So sorry.  I just wanted to let everyone know what has been happening in the Bingham Household lately.  It seems for the past two months we just can't seem to get well.  My kids have gotten sick and it stays forever.  I guess the more kids you have the longer it takes for things to just go away!  I have done lysol and bleach and cleaning everything and airing everything out when weather permits.  Of course we are doing vitamins and all that fun stuff.  It has been a hard couple of months that is for sure.  We have two foster kiddos that we adore.  I can't post names on the blog since its not private.  We'll just say R and H for both of them.  Both are boys.  R is four and we have had him since the beginning of November.  He is a cute kid and is so curious about everything.  He loves to talk talk talk and a lot of times during the day I will hear one of my girls say "R you need to stop asking me questions."


The other little boy we received two weeks ago.  He is six months old.  We had to get him from hospital because he was so sick.  He is a rolly polly little chub and loves to smile and talk.  My girls love to hold him and love on him. It isn't hard because he is so chubbalicious.  I am still in the Relief Society Presidency.  I love the women I work with.  They are simply amazing.  I learn so much from them.  Adam is currently without a calling which has been very hard for him because he has worked in the Primary for so long and he really loves it.  Sacrament can prove to be a challenge with six kids seven and under.  You should see the looks I get when  we go anywhere.    I have actually had people come up to me and say "you know how you got all these kids right?  Maybe you should tell your husband to leave you alone."  I just laugh and stroll on my merry way.  It's easier than telling them that two of these cute kids are our foster children.  It can prove to be a long story.


Adam still loves his job and they are so good to him.  We have such wonderful friends here in Ridgecrest and have been so blessed to be in the ward that we are in.  Aislynn and Bailey are loving school.  Both are so smart and so beautiful.  Aislynn loves to read and had her first big second grade project due.  She did her project on Giraffes.  It was so much fun.  She did three big posters on them and their eating habits and body parts.  I remember my first big project.  I think I was in first or second grade.  I remember my dad helping me with it.  It was on ants. I remember the poster my dad helped me with.  He helped me draw tunnels and researched with me what ants did and how they lived.  I remember we watched ants outside of our house and how they worked together.  It was awesome and I still remember that.

Bailey is reading so well and she loves math and science stuff..  She takes after her dad in that respect.  He loves those things.  Both Aislynn and Bailey will be baptized this year.  I cannot believe how big they are getting.   Cecely is in preschool and will be going into Kindergarten this year.  She is smart and sassy.  She has lots of little boys in preschool who fight for her attention.  One even gives her jewelery and gifts.  Devonney is two.....  that should be all I have to say.  She is so curious about everything.  Dynamite comes in small packages and that is so true with her.  She is adorable and a mess all at the same time.  She talks like she is four.  She has no problem telling her sisters what she wants.  We love her to death! 

We are doing very well and feel so very blessed.  I cannot wait to see what this year brings for our family. 

Sisters

Yes I posted pics of my kids in the tub on a public blog. However, all of their little girly parts are all covered so if your offended so sorry :). Since we have one boy in the house and 4 girls we have to take baths together. R usually has a bath by himself playing and getting the whole tub to himself. The four girls get to share a bath. Usually Cecely and Devonney are bathing partners. I hear tons of laughing and splashing each time these girls are together in the tub. Cecely is so good about playing with her and making sure she is safe and happy. I of course am in there most of the time but it is nice to know I can go and check on dinner while these two happy sisters are playing together. Cecely will even try to wash her hair and is so gentle about it. Dev loves her big sister. She looks forward to bath time with Cecely.


Whenever she hears the water start running she comes racing and stripping her clothes off. It is such a fun time for these two. It makes my heart happy to see them have such a great time together.

I am so blessed

Sometimes I look at my life and just have to sit and think about how blessed I really am. I have four beautiful daughters who are the light of my life. They are smart, funny, kind, tenderhearted and just plain amazing. Sure they have their moments and at times I pull my hair out and wonder how on earth I can last until bedtime. All that being said the happy moments are so much more than the hard ones. They are growing and growing not only physically but spiritually as well. They have such a special understanding of the Gospel. They are getting to know their Heavenly Father and realizing how much He loves them.

Since we have started to do foster care I think that they have learned and felt more about our Heavenly Father and his love. Each child that has come into our home as their own special story. Whether it be neglect, abuse or both my children have learned to love each child that comes here. We talk about how every person on this earth is a child of God. They have learned about good and bad decisions and consequences that follow. They have learned that even though these beautiful little children may not be in our home for long it is important for them to feel loved and special.

Bailey and Aislynn started singing to the older children we have gotten. R and L and A(since my blog isn't private I am not supposed to put pictures or their names on the blog) absolutely loved it. R is still here and he requests it all the time. There is singing time and story time and prayers and hugs and kisses. It is amazing that no matter what type of home these children have been raised in once they start learning about Heavenly Father and Jesus and the Gospel it is almost like their little spirits remember. They want to learn more and they want to pray. Little R will often be in the back of the van practicing his prayers.

Many people did not understand our decision to do foster care. To expose our children to so many different children and have them bond with them and then have them taken away. I have had so many people tell me that "you never get a break, you alway have so many children with you." It was a prayerful decision. It wasn't something that we decided overnight. We weighed all the options. We knew it wasn't always going to be easy. It is never easy saying goodbye to a baby that you have had since he was a newborn and got to keep for five months. You love them. You love each one of them that comes into your home. You love them because they ARE each children of God. You love them because they are children and deserved to be loved. You love them because they are such special spirits who have already endured so much in such a short time. You love them because you think about yourself. You think what if I was in that situation. I would want someone to love my children, to be kind to them, to nuture and protect them.

Our whole family has been blessed by this decision. Each child has given us something special to keep and to remember. I am blessed. There is no doubt about it.

Family Home Evening

This past Monday we decided spur of the moment to go feed the wild burros that we have here in Ridgecrest. There are also wild horses. You can go and feed them anytime you want and the girls absolutely love it. They are horses and donkeys that are rounded up by real cowboys because they end of eating the vegetation and of course it starts to get a little sparse. So instead of letting them suffer and be hungry they round them up and put them in this little corale area and it's open to the public. We decided to invite our fabulous friend and her kiddos to come along. It was so windy and freezing but the kids enjoyed it tremendously. Devonney had no fear and just went right up and would say "here Max yum yum." Max of course is our dog and everything that has fur is a "Max". The donkeys loved it and ate right out of her hand. Of course as soon as they would start nibbling on the carrot she would immediately let go and come running.

Even living in a small town I find that we have some really fun things to do with the kids. As we drove up to the animals two of them were.... let's just say they were getting it on. My kids were instantly interested in what they were doing. They kept asking questions. I guess we could have taken the time to tell them, but we didn't . We told them they were playing donkey games lol.

We had a great time with eachother and with our friends! It was a great FHE.

Holy Spots Batman

In November Devonney became really sick with a bad chest and upper respiratory infection. It was kind of running through our house that month. So she was put on antibiotics. She seemed to be getting better and was towards the end of her antibiotics when she woke up one morning covered in spots. I was mortified. I thought for sure she had chicken pox. She was so itchy and miserable poor baby. This was on a Saturday so the Dr. office didn't open until one that afternoon. So I called and left a message and waited for a return call.

As the day progressed the spots got worse. I kept trying to think of where she could of gotten the chicken pox from and who we were hanging out with that week. The Dr. office finally called me back and told me to come in but make sure I come through the back door they have because if it was chicken pox they didn't want it to be spread to anyone in the lobby. SO I took my infected little child in and awaited the news. When the Dr. came in she immediately looked at the spots and said " nope these are not chicken pox, this is a skin reaction to antibiotics, has she been on antibiotics?" I told her yes she had but that she was on the last day of them which seemed weird to me that this was just presenting itself now. She told me that that is usually how it works. It is usually towards the end of the cycle that if it is going to happen it will.

I was so relieved. I mean she still had spots for a couple of days and was miserable, but I am so happy it was not chicken pox. I remember having chicken pox as a child and I had a very mild case. My poor brother though had them everywhere. In his ears and eyes and on his head. All over his body. The one good thing about this was she did let me snuggle with her and she actually sat on my lap and wasn't trying to go ninety miles an hour like she usually does.

What they do when I am not looking

My children never cease to amaze me. They can get on my very last nerve sometimes. With that being said they can also be the highlight of my day. They often times will grab the camera and just take pictures of random things they are doing through out the day. At first I would get a little irritated but then I realized these pictures are absolutely priceless. The pictures completely tell the story of my kiddos. Each of them have such a unique personality.

I look at these pictures and smile. Some are goofy and some make me think. Each of them are such an incredible blessing in my life. They each bring such a different yet needed spirit to our home. My favorite is the last one. I have a mat that is on the floor in front of my kitchen sink. Each of my children loves to just look at it and pretend they are walking on a street in some beautiful far away place. They like to pretend what they are wearing and what food they would order. I love the picture of the feet. It reminds me how precious my children are and how precious the imagination is. My children remind me what is was to be a child. It is a precious gift. I am learning not to take it for granted.