Update

Since I caught up about 9 months worth of posts, I thought I would give a quick update on how we are doing.  Our foster placement that came to us in October is still with us. I'll call him "N".  Not allowed to share any pictures but you can probably see a little yellow coat running around in some of our family pictures.  That's him:)  Four kids from teenager to toddler is pretty crazy.  Much harder than we anticipated but we are learning so much.  It's been great to see the kids really work together as a team to help pick up the slack.  They are capable of so much more than I imagined.  Ethan pushes a stool over to the sink and washes dishes.  NiNi can change a poopy diaper like the best of them.  Meagan is invaluable and often holds down the fort so Chris and I can go out for a quick coffee.  As I'm typing this, Chris and I are in Orlando and the four kids are home with my niece. They are getting by just fine, much to my amazement. (Maybe I don't have to be a control freak after all!) Meagan turns 16 next month and is working on drivers ed.  Chris took her out driving in the parking lot for the first time last week.  She is very cautious (like her mother) so its probably best that Chris teaches her.  She is gearing up to go on a mission trip (inside the US) to serve inner city kids in Philly this summer.  Will be the first time she flies without an adult!  NiNi (11) is by far my most responsible, capable, and no-nonsense child.  The other day Meagan was calling to me from the laundry room and asking how much detergent to put in.  I was tied up with something and told NiNi, "go help your sister."  She makes us laugh every day with her wit.  Ethan is obsessed with Star Wars, legos and art.  He loves to draw or trace pictures from books and then color them.  School is so very hard for him so we are trying to get more supports in place for him.  No first grader should cry over homework!  Sharing a room with N has been hard for him, as well as no longer being the baby.  It's been a tough 6 months for him.  Chris is working more and I am working less.  Just one day a week now.  Here is a dirty little secret they never tell you about being a foster parent.  The amount of appointments the child has in a month will make your head spin.  N has a case worker, a CASA, and a therapist who all see him weekly or monthly.  He has visits with his dad weekly.  A week with only 1 or 2 people coming and going from our house is a good week.  Add in my kids' normal doctor and orthodontist appointments and that's nearly the equivalent of a part time job.  I keep reminding myself that this is just a season.  It's not going to be like this forever and we will get through it!  When its all said and done we are so blessed.  Healthy kids, family close by, friends who love us and take care of us, we can't ask for much more than that!

funnies

"No girls allowed"

The kids have hardcover scrapbooks and they often look through them. I had one of my old textbooks out the other day and I saw Ethan looking at the pictures.  He asked me, "Mom is this me, or NiNi."

Ethan's class was doing a lesson on Martin Luther King Jr.  He memorized part of the speech and then had to write about his own dream.  I don't think that having a hot tub was exactly was MLK had in mind.

NiNi's 11th birthday

 Dinner at Jasmine's and family birthday sharing.  Ethan shared, "NiNi I like you because we both come from the same direction."

Bathing pigs.  My first time making anything with fondant!  It was so fun, like edible playdough!

She had been saving up for rollerblades and was able to get them once she threw birthday money into the pot.  This day it was about 20 degrees out but she was out roller blading!

The touch screen soda machine was a big hit

lunch with her besties at Bellacinos and then ice skating