Good Times!

Sorry for the delay in getting an update to everyone. As you can guess, it has been a very busy five days.

We picked up the kids from their foster family at 9:00 a.m. last Friday. We had been told the day before that the oldest boy (I'll call him "JR") had been sad when told that he was leaving his foster home. I had made a book about Billy and me (and our family) back in October. JR's therapist read through the book with all the children on Thursday. They were all very excited about coming to live with us. However, JR was still a little sad even with all the excitement which is of course, is understandable.

When we picked them up, it wasn't nearly as emotional as Billy and I had anticipated. Even the baby of the bunch (I'll call Marshmellow), didn't even cry and she is very closely attached to her foster aunt and cousin. The kids jumped in our vehicle and wanted to know if we were going to the beach. For those of you following our blog that don't know me, the closest beach is probably a 6 h0ur drive from our house! I had put a photo of Billy and me on the beach in their book so that is where that question was coming from. They were very excited about having a cat. It is the first cat they have ever had.

Unlike a lot of foster kids, they came with a lot of possessions. Two pick-up truck loads to be exact! A lot of the stuff was nice but some of it had been handed down one too many times. I had to call my mom over to come and go through all the boxes because the first night I couldn't find the PJ's and underwear!

JR - He is six years old and entering the first grade. He is a very intelligent and handsome little boy. He is very sensitive and definitely the most impacted by all of this. He tells us and his Social Worker that he is happy here but he does get kind of withdrawn and has moments of sadness each day. He is very polite and definitely an easy child to parent.

Wiggles - He will be 5 years old in September. He will be starting pre-K this year. He has the prettiest big brown eyes and dimples. This child is a very sweet little boy with good intentions but is ALL BOY. He is loud, rough, and simply into anything and everything. He is the child that has skinned both elbows and knees. He is easily redirected but you have to watch him and stay on him like a drill sargent. Put it this way, one of the kids down the street will be in 6th grade this year and even he thinks that Mr. Wiggles is funny!

Marshmellow - She will be 3 years old in October. She is definitely that baby girl that is capable of wrapping EVERYONE around her little finger. She is still learning to potty train. Her foster aunt said she was doing well but sort of regressed after visiting with her mother. She has the cute raspy little voice. She is a very pleasant little thing. She was calling Billy "Daddy" yesterday.

They boys really enjoy baseball and basket ball and seem to have a lot of athletic ability. They all love to sing and dance. Today, I enrolled them all in gym class starting this fall.

The kids have been eating well...yep, they even like my cooking! LOL! Plus they go to bed very easily. Marshmellow has been sleeping in her own room without any problems. They sleep soundly all through the night.

We have been keeping them busy here and we are worn out! They have been staying up late but tonight we are going to try and get them in bed before 9:30 p.m. and when school starts I'm going to bump it down to 8:30 p.m. We've had a lot of people dropping by to see the kiddos (mostly neighbors) and with it being summer time, it is hard to get in bed early when it stays dark until well after 9:00 p.m.

Overall, everything is going very smoothly and much better than we could have ever dreamed. For all of you that know me, I haven't been stressing about my house being messed up too much. Fortunately, the kids don't really bother my decor. It is just now that I constantly clean! LOL! If there is one thing that drives me crazy, it is the constant running in and out of the house when I send them outside with Billy with the hopes of getting something accomplished inside. One has to potty, one is thirsty, etc. So now I'm making them tinkle before they go outside, send them out with a drink and then lock the door behind them! I guess some parenting techniques have to come with time!