New Adventures - A Big Move and Foster Care Certification

Two Wild Boys! 

I don't regularly post on my blog anymore, but I really want to start doing it again. I always have so much to say and so little time to say it. So, I wanted to try to sit down this evening and write out a little bit about what has been happening in the Buchanan House recently! It's way too much for a Facebook post, so blog it is! 

First, after 12 years in our first home, our family is moving!! We will be staying close to my parents and in the same county, but we are moving outside of the city, to a quieter area. We will also have a little bit of land! (Meaning, more animals! Yay!) I had to get rid of my chickens about a year ago, because I live in the city, so once we move, we will be able to get them back! I am also wanting to raise some other sort of livestock, but I haven't settled yet on what that will be. We have plenty of time to decide on that! 

The house is much bigger than our house now. We outgrew this house a long time ago but because I was in school, moving wasn't an option then. Chris and I bought it before we married in 2007, and it was perfect for us then. Although it only has one tiny bathroom, we made it work. Now that I share that tiny bathroom with three boys instead of one, it's a bit more challenging. lol! 

Our new home is much bigger and we will have plenty of space now. However, my favorite thing about our new home is the entire acre of yard that is fenced in! That means the boys can run around outside and do what kids were made to do without me worrying about them getting to the road, or someone from the road getting to them! 

Taking Selfies

The house we live in now sits about 20 feet from one of the busiest roads in our town. The speed limit is 45 but realistically, most people go 50 to 60 by our house, all day and all night. We have had a car come through our yard and almost hit Chris. We have replaced our mailbox 7 times because people keep hitting it. Worst of all, we had a neighbor get hit and killed in front of our house a few years ago. So, I don't feel safe leaving the boys to play outside alone or even let them play in our front yard really. Last week, we watched the police capture a fugitive on the loose from our front yard. Needless to say, we are more than eager to get away from the busy road and have space for the kids to run! 

The house has two stories, so it will take Christian some practice (and some child safety gates installed by us) to get him used to it. The stairs do make me a bit nervous, but we will practice all we can and take all precautions. Something that people have asked me a lot over the years about Christian is if I have to keep my furniture the same all the time or if I am able to rearrange it. Their concern is if Christian will know his way around with the furniture in different spots. So, as you can imagine, moving house is a whole other level of that. With Christian, I actually can rearrange furniture easily. He may bump into it a few times, but he learns quickly where the furniture is moved to and he adjusts. So, he will do the same at our new house. He will eventually learn where everything is and how to get around just like he did at our old house. :)

The boys are so very excited about moving. They're also a bit nervous because this is the only house they've ever known. I have to say, I'm a bit melancholy myself. The home we're in now is the first home I bought as an adult. It's the only home I've lived in since leaving my parent's home. It's the home I brought both my babies home to from the hospital, where they learned to walk and run, where they have grown up. So, while I am very excited, I am also going to be a little sad to leave. 

The positives definitely outweigh the negatives though, and we are all excited to have a second bathroom and real closets! lol! 

Because we are moving and will have more room, that means the opportunity to do something else that we have been wanting to do for a while, foster care! Our tiny home just could not hold another person, so we always put off foster care until "one day." ( We also needed our own kids to get a big bigger too.) Now that we will have the space and because the boys are getting older, we decided to take the leap of faith and began working on our foster care certification. Another thing that pushed us to go ahead and start was the fact that because of COVID, all the classes were virtual. While they were still rigorous, being able to do them from the comfort of home and not having to secure child care for them was a huge plus for us! 

So, we completed the classes around September and are working on the home study now. However, since we are moving soon, (we think in the next 4 weeks or so, just depending on how long closing takes) we won't be doing the home study on our current home, but on our new one! This pushes back our timeline a bit, but all things in His perfect timing! 

So, there are just so many things happening all at once. I don't feel overwhelmed by it. I feel energized and excited to be honest. We have been packing for a while now and I think by the time we move, we will be pretty much set and ready to just load up and go. I am so excited, also, to open our home to children who need us. It's just exciting! 

The boys are excited about moving too, but they're also excited about foster care. We explained it to them recently to let them know that we may be welcoming some children into our home who need lots of love and understanding. We realize that some foster children come with behavior issues, trauma, etc, and we want the boys to understand why and how to react in love. They are so empathetic as it is, that it didn't take much for them to be on board. They jumped at the chance to offer love to a child who was going through something so difficult as being taken from their parents. 

Chandler's Toys for Sale 

Chandler had an idea a few nights ago to sell some of this toys to help make some money for our future foster children. He gathered some of his toys, laid them out on the table, and made price tags for everything. He even drew a picture of him in his little shop selling toys. He was ready to set up shop and take action to help and I absolutely LOVE that about him! 

Chandler's Picture of His Toy Sale

So, as we continue through this process, I want to keep you guys updated on this journey! I know you guys have been a part of this journey for many years and I so appreciate and love all of you! Check back for more updates soon!