My name is M. The only mom I know has held me in her arms since I was hours old. She and Daddy picked me up at the hospital when I was 48 hours old. I have lived with my brothers and mom and dad for over 3 years. I have walked my 1st steps, said my 1st word and rode my 1st bike at this home. Mom seems worried from time to time and I don't understand why.
She won't tell me but I think it has something to do with the lady that visits every month. My friends at school call me by a different name but when I ask mommy she assures me of my name. She talks in hushed tones to the lady that visits. The lady asks how we are all doing and tells mom that things are on hold. There is another lady they talk about but I don't know her. She sounds like she's had a lot of troubles, I hope someone can help her. The lady tells mom that "our case is difficult, that no one knows how much longer it will take". I don't understand what it all means but it feels yucky to mommy.
Mommy holds me a little extra tightly after the lady leaves. She sometimes cries when she doesn't think I'm watching. I wish it were all over and the lady wouldn't visit anymore. It seems to upset mommy but she tells me not to worry. I don't know why this takes so long, I wish someone could help mommy make this all done. Is there anyone helping mom and dad? It sounds like we have to wait longer. Mommy doesn't know how long, Daddy doesn't know how long, the lady doesn't know how long..... do you know how long I have to wait? If you do, would you please tell me and I'll whisper it to mommy and help her feel better.
Doesn't anyone tell the man in charge that we are still waiting? Does he even know we are waiting? Why does he make us wait when we've been waiting so long. I tell mommy it's ok, I'm glad she prays because we know God can take care of everything. Some people just have to wait longer, mommy says "God's timing is perfect". I don't understand, but maybe that's because I'm 3. When I'm 5 I might understand better. Until then, I'll hold mommy's hand and get bigger and stronger every day.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Maddi is 18 months today
18 Months has gone by so quickly. And yet some days last forever (can I get a tired amen from toddler moms out there). The boys are growing so quickly, I think Isaiah will be as tall as me by the time he starts 3rd grade in the fall.
Maddi is very vocal in her moments of frustration. She's a screamer and not a floor dropping type of fit thrower. We are currently having her room remodeled so she has a door, closet and privacy. It will be nice when her crib is out of our room as I don't think about how noisy a sleeping kid can be. She had her checkup yesterday and the doctor says she looks great!
Isaiah is trying really hard at school and is thrilled that the weather has changed and he can get out on his bike. His gymnastics skills continue to improve and they are learning how to do back flips right now. He doesn't realize how close he is to doing it because he can't see himself.
Sam is ready for summer and still loves Thomas and other modes of transportation. They've been talking about rockets and outerspace at school and that really has his imagination going. He loves to hear Brad and I make of stories at bedtime. I've cheated a couple of times and told him bible stories because at that time of night my brain has about shut down.
We're looking forward to our vacation in June, the kids don't know but we're going to see Thomas in Greenbay then we're going to Holiday World. So lots of exciting fun!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
It takes a village
You may not know the whole story of how Maddi came to live with us. I would like to take a moment to try to share the story of the last 9+ months and hope that you are encouraged by the works that the Lord is still doing today. In December of 2007 we took in two boys as our very 1st foster children. They have been a joy and a challenge to us and we were just hitting our stride as a family when we moved into a condo in July. A short month later we were informed that the boys mother was expecting but that we wouldn’t need to consider taking in a third child because the county intended on having services in place to help the boys mother take the baby home. It was with mixed emotions that I heard this news. The prospect of a baby was exciting but realistically the boys needed all the attention we could afford to give them.
Three months later Maddi was born and that same day we received a phone call explaining that the baby needed placed in emergency care until things could be sorted out. Because it was a Thursday they needed to know by Friday whether or not we’d be willing to take in the baby. At 1st blush the answer seemed obvious but I was not willing to depart from Brad regarding the decision, as always we were going to make a decision together and that would be our answer. If we said no then the baby would go to another foster home that had signed up for and was equipped for a newborn. The initial answer was to be for a short term, 3 day placement. This meant that even if we took the baby she might go back to her mother’s as early as Tuesday the following week. If she stayed longer that would mean I’d have to take off work, our 1st Christmas as a family would be slim and we would have to buy all sorts of supplies with limited income but mostly it would make Sam a middle child and divide our attention even more from the 2 children we had signed up to care for in the first place.
So Brad and I talked about it for hours and agreed to take in the baby. That Friday we talked to the caseworker several times and twice the baby was not going to be placed with us. I had to make an impassioned plea to let us have the chance of 3 days and then let’s move forward or not. I made a phone call to a friend and on Friday our family of 4 hopped into Brad’s car and drove an hour to meet with friends to pick up just the basics- a bassinet and a car seat. She was able to scrape together some other items and even surprised us with an outfit. Because of the late hour this would be the very first outfit Maddi would wear and came to our home in. What a blessing to have friends give so generously, they offered many other helps also. At the time we took only what was required for a weekend stay.
The next day our family of 4 went to the hospital and picked the baby up. It was a very surreal moment as we were given instructions of how to care for this new little person. The nurse at the hospital learned of our situation, grabbed everything she could think we would need over the weekend, and sent us home with formula enough for days and other items that proved very helpful. As we left the hospital amid other women’s flowers and well wishers we quickly got the baby into my car and she and I left with the boys getting in Brad’s car. We got her home and I ran to the store to pick up a couple more outfits and had my 1st moments of new mom shopping.
Tuesday came and went and we learned that the baby would be with us longer. The entire 1st two months of her life I kept notes of feedings and diapering because we never knew if this would be the last day for her to be with us. Our church organized food for a week, the week of Thanksgiving, so we only had to plan for the big meal on Thanksgiving, thanks to church members we had all the food and staples we would need for the rest of the week. I went to work and talked to HR and was told that I could qualify for some time off and would be able to be compensated for it. What a terrific relief I could be home with the baby and we wouldn’t have to have a Very Charlie Brown Christmas.
Once people heard of our situation we were inundated with offers. Current teachers and former teachers from Sam’s preschool brought in items from their own homes to share with the baby. One teacher suspiciously brought in a giant gift bag of diapers that her son (only days older than Maddi) had already outgrown. Brad’s co-workers brought in clothes and we had enough clothes and diapers to last almost till Christmas. I received a phone number of a parent at the preschool and she offered a pack n play, baby carriers and asked what else we might need. I told her that we didn’t have a current car seat and did she know of anyone we could borrow one from. She said she’d check around and called back that she had one that we could have. When she brought it to the preschool we realized that it fit the base that we had borrowed from our friends so we automatically had two bases, one for each car. In the mean time my mother in law was talking to coworkers and they sent gifts. My mother in law mentioned that we were going to need a car seat cover and wouldn’t you know it without any additional information we received a couple of beautiful hand made afghans and a car seat cover that matched the color and style of the seat we were using. We hadn’t even had time to tell mom what we had let alone what we needed.
When Maddi got close to the 3 month mark yet another onslaught of diapers from that same fast growing baby 4 weeks Maddi’s senior and more clothes from more people that heard about our story.
I had really wanted to get Maddi a brand new piece of furniture, or pack and play or swing or something. But every time I looked for something someone offered an item that fit the bill. My sister in law even said she had a great pack and play, swing and travel booster seat. Since they were moving to Albania they wouldn’t need the items. We happily accepted the items and were grateful for such nice things.
Brad’s coworkers collected money and gave us a very generous gift card that we were able to use towards a dresser and changing table. Someone offered a Jenny Lind style crib and changing table, before I was even able to see it to decide if we would like it someone gave us a crib. Brad’s coworker and her husband were at an auction and knew of our situation and felt led to bid on a crib. We were thrilled when she asked Brad if we still needed a crib, ‘yes’ and she said great she’d bring it in the next day. When Brad got the crib and mattress home he put it together and it worked so great for our little one. One of Brad’s co-workers mom’s even ‘adopted’ Maddi as her ‘angel tree baby’ for Christmas and gave us many wonderful gifts.
Over and over we’ve been blessed by people that learn of our situation and just happen to have the perfect item for our needs. We never had the chance or need to register for any items and we never had a baby shower but we were showered over and over with people’s generosity. We may not have the dream nursery that many new mom’s plan for months for but we have a very happy, healthy and blessed baby and isn’t that the most important part.
So as you reflect on our world of uncertainty please remember that the Lord provides you with what you need and sometimes even what you want, you just have to let go and have faith that you may not understand what is happening but He will get you thru.
At this writing we are currently working with caseworkers to figure things out. Our case is not done and may continue for years, sometimes they do but we will continue to take care of these children that the Lord has entrusted us with for as long as we can and know that He holds our future.
Three months later Maddi was born and that same day we received a phone call explaining that the baby needed placed in emergency care until things could be sorted out. Because it was a Thursday they needed to know by Friday whether or not we’d be willing to take in the baby. At 1st blush the answer seemed obvious but I was not willing to depart from Brad regarding the decision, as always we were going to make a decision together and that would be our answer. If we said no then the baby would go to another foster home that had signed up for and was equipped for a newborn. The initial answer was to be for a short term, 3 day placement. This meant that even if we took the baby she might go back to her mother’s as early as Tuesday the following week. If she stayed longer that would mean I’d have to take off work, our 1st Christmas as a family would be slim and we would have to buy all sorts of supplies with limited income but mostly it would make Sam a middle child and divide our attention even more from the 2 children we had signed up to care for in the first place.
So Brad and I talked about it for hours and agreed to take in the baby. That Friday we talked to the caseworker several times and twice the baby was not going to be placed with us. I had to make an impassioned plea to let us have the chance of 3 days and then let’s move forward or not. I made a phone call to a friend and on Friday our family of 4 hopped into Brad’s car and drove an hour to meet with friends to pick up just the basics- a bassinet and a car seat. She was able to scrape together some other items and even surprised us with an outfit. Because of the late hour this would be the very first outfit Maddi would wear and came to our home in. What a blessing to have friends give so generously, they offered many other helps also. At the time we took only what was required for a weekend stay.
The next day our family of 4 went to the hospital and picked the baby up. It was a very surreal moment as we were given instructions of how to care for this new little person. The nurse at the hospital learned of our situation, grabbed everything she could think we would need over the weekend, and sent us home with formula enough for days and other items that proved very helpful. As we left the hospital amid other women’s flowers and well wishers we quickly got the baby into my car and she and I left with the boys getting in Brad’s car. We got her home and I ran to the store to pick up a couple more outfits and had my 1st moments of new mom shopping.
Tuesday came and went and we learned that the baby would be with us longer. The entire 1st two months of her life I kept notes of feedings and diapering because we never knew if this would be the last day for her to be with us. Our church organized food for a week, the week of Thanksgiving, so we only had to plan for the big meal on Thanksgiving, thanks to church members we had all the food and staples we would need for the rest of the week. I went to work and talked to HR and was told that I could qualify for some time off and would be able to be compensated for it. What a terrific relief I could be home with the baby and we wouldn’t have to have a Very Charlie Brown Christmas.
Once people heard of our situation we were inundated with offers. Current teachers and former teachers from Sam’s preschool brought in items from their own homes to share with the baby. One teacher suspiciously brought in a giant gift bag of diapers that her son (only days older than Maddi) had already outgrown. Brad’s co-workers brought in clothes and we had enough clothes and diapers to last almost till Christmas. I received a phone number of a parent at the preschool and she offered a pack n play, baby carriers and asked what else we might need. I told her that we didn’t have a current car seat and did she know of anyone we could borrow one from. She said she’d check around and called back that she had one that we could have. When she brought it to the preschool we realized that it fit the base that we had borrowed from our friends so we automatically had two bases, one for each car. In the mean time my mother in law was talking to coworkers and they sent gifts. My mother in law mentioned that we were going to need a car seat cover and wouldn’t you know it without any additional information we received a couple of beautiful hand made afghans and a car seat cover that matched the color and style of the seat we were using. We hadn’t even had time to tell mom what we had let alone what we needed.
When Maddi got close to the 3 month mark yet another onslaught of diapers from that same fast growing baby 4 weeks Maddi’s senior and more clothes from more people that heard about our story.
I had really wanted to get Maddi a brand new piece of furniture, or pack and play or swing or something. But every time I looked for something someone offered an item that fit the bill. My sister in law even said she had a great pack and play, swing and travel booster seat. Since they were moving to Albania they wouldn’t need the items. We happily accepted the items and were grateful for such nice things.
Brad’s coworkers collected money and gave us a very generous gift card that we were able to use towards a dresser and changing table. Someone offered a Jenny Lind style crib and changing table, before I was even able to see it to decide if we would like it someone gave us a crib. Brad’s coworker and her husband were at an auction and knew of our situation and felt led to bid on a crib. We were thrilled when she asked Brad if we still needed a crib, ‘yes’ and she said great she’d bring it in the next day. When Brad got the crib and mattress home he put it together and it worked so great for our little one. One of Brad’s co-workers mom’s even ‘adopted’ Maddi as her ‘angel tree baby’ for Christmas and gave us many wonderful gifts.
Over and over we’ve been blessed by people that learn of our situation and just happen to have the perfect item for our needs. We never had the chance or need to register for any items and we never had a baby shower but we were showered over and over with people’s generosity. We may not have the dream nursery that many new mom’s plan for months for but we have a very happy, healthy and blessed baby and isn’t that the most important part.
So as you reflect on our world of uncertainty please remember that the Lord provides you with what you need and sometimes even what you want, you just have to let go and have faith that you may not understand what is happening but He will get you thru.
At this writing we are currently working with caseworkers to figure things out. Our case is not done and may continue for years, sometimes they do but we will continue to take care of these children that the Lord has entrusted us with for as long as we can and know that He holds our future.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Update on prayer request
Just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers last week. It is very reassuring to know that we are being surrounded in prayer.
Many of you have asked how things are going and I wanted to touch base with what we know so far. The meeting with the case workers and the kids mom did not go well. She found out that the observations were not favorable for reunifying the kids with her. She still doesn't understand why the kids are in substitute (foster) care and she was surprised that the kids aren't getting returned to her anytime soon.
I met with the other caseworkers last night and they let me know that they are going to pursue filling for terminating parental rights on one of the boys and the other will most likely happen soon also. Most times in a case like this they would try to do both boys together however, with the length of time that they've been out of the home the case workers are thinking that perhaps this would be more advantageous to at least get one permanency plan going. This all sounds terrific, but keep in mind that even though it sounds quick it is a very long process and by no means a "slam dunk". It falls on the caseworker to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the child is not safe returning to his mother.
What this means for us is that we make ourselves available for visitations up until a judge makes the final decision. In our case it is difficult to be too encouraged because the caseworkers have a very hard road ahead due to mental delays on the behalf of the mother and challenges from the birth father. So the birth parents lawyers will most likely bring out every claim they can find.
As far as the baby goes she is still a completely separate case. She hasn't even been officially added to any substitute paperwork beyond the initial concerns. Next Monday the caseworker and the parents lawyers meet with the judge for a pretrial to determine where the case goes from here. It does sound like the caseworker will push for the term adoption to be added to the long term recommendation if reunification can't happen. This really doesn't change much on our end -basically it's just semantics on the paperwork.
So, the meeting happened with the outcome we expected. We ask that you continue to pray. This process is very difficult for the family. We are trying to keep this all from the boys so that they aren't too upset about the unknowns. We are focusing on finishing the school year, getting kindergarten paperwork started, summer gymnastics signed up for and 6 month checkups held.
For now we count down to Day out with Thomas -5 weeks away and August birthday -4 months away. Brad and I are looking forward to summer vacations, having fun just as a family of 5 in our new van and making memories and getting a couple of pictures of it all.
Blessings,
The Mortons
Many of you have asked how things are going and I wanted to touch base with what we know so far. The meeting with the case workers and the kids mom did not go well. She found out that the observations were not favorable for reunifying the kids with her. She still doesn't understand why the kids are in substitute (foster) care and she was surprised that the kids aren't getting returned to her anytime soon.
I met with the other caseworkers last night and they let me know that they are going to pursue filling for terminating parental rights on one of the boys and the other will most likely happen soon also. Most times in a case like this they would try to do both boys together however, with the length of time that they've been out of the home the case workers are thinking that perhaps this would be more advantageous to at least get one permanency plan going. This all sounds terrific, but keep in mind that even though it sounds quick it is a very long process and by no means a "slam dunk". It falls on the caseworker to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the child is not safe returning to his mother.
What this means for us is that we make ourselves available for visitations up until a judge makes the final decision. In our case it is difficult to be too encouraged because the caseworkers have a very hard road ahead due to mental delays on the behalf of the mother and challenges from the birth father. So the birth parents lawyers will most likely bring out every claim they can find.
As far as the baby goes she is still a completely separate case. She hasn't even been officially added to any substitute paperwork beyond the initial concerns. Next Monday the caseworker and the parents lawyers meet with the judge for a pretrial to determine where the case goes from here. It does sound like the caseworker will push for the term adoption to be added to the long term recommendation if reunification can't happen. This really doesn't change much on our end -basically it's just semantics on the paperwork.
So, the meeting happened with the outcome we expected. We ask that you continue to pray. This process is very difficult for the family. We are trying to keep this all from the boys so that they aren't too upset about the unknowns. We are focusing on finishing the school year, getting kindergarten paperwork started, summer gymnastics signed up for and 6 month checkups held.
For now we count down to Day out with Thomas -5 weeks away and August birthday -4 months away. Brad and I are looking forward to summer vacations, having fun just as a family of 5 in our new van and making memories and getting a couple of pictures of it all.
Blessings,
The Mortons
Friday, January 9, 2009
End of Year letter
2008 is done and gone, but we can't help but look back on it with a sense of ....well....Holy Cow what a year. I guess that about sums it up. We added 2 kids, moved, and then added a newborn, so we've had lots going on. The boys have been with us for just over a year and school has started back up. Isaiah is doing well in 1st grade and we're debating about Sam's readiness for Kindergarten next fall or rather Kindergarten's readiness for Sam next fall.
All issues are still going forward, we've not had any changes as far as what affects the boys life with the small exception of a little gift that came to us in November. Their little sister is with us now. We were told originally that the baby -affectionately known as Maddie, would not need placement but things happened and they needed placement for her right away. Brad and I struggled with the idea and after much back and forth decided that if the boys could handle the change that we would figure out how to handle the new addition.
So we went as a family on November 15th and picked her up at the hospital. The boys have been terrific and very loving towards her and we're happy with our decision, even though it wasn't an easy one to make in less than 12 hours. I took off work for 5 weeks and now Brad is off work for 3 weeks caring for Maddie. I've never missed sleep so much in my life, it's amazing what the lack of sleep does to a person. There were a couple of nights I had to wake Brad up to help me because I just couldn't go on. Don't misunderstand me, Maddie is the best baby ever, she's not fussy, or cholicy, she's not demanding, she's very content and growing into a happy babbler. But those 1st few weeks were such an adjustment when no preparation was made. We truly had no idea- good thing God knew. (he's a better planner than me anyway) We were borrowing baby items, people that knew our situation were offering items and we can't tell you how many times something would come available at the perfect time. God has been in this decision from the 1st and we're so blessed as a family.
The cat won't ever recover from this last year, poor thing. The boys tend to treat him more like a dog than an 8 year old cat but he's pretty good at finding places to hide. Sam's language continues to develop and we've got some specialists looking at his situation for a new perspective. For my birthday I asked for a bunch of books, the list was put together before the middle of November. Everyone was so generous and I received almost all the books I asked for, now I just need to figure out how to read them this year.
My personal new years resolution is to have a really boring '09. I don't know what the future holds but I do trust Who holds the future.
From our Family to yours may 2009 hold Blessings and Joy beyond measure.
Brad, Kodi, Isaiah, Sam and baby Maddie
Monday, October 6, 2008
Name Surreal
So far the fall has been good to us at the Morton house. We went to the pumpkin patch a week ago and everyone picked pumpkins. The boys determined the bigger the better. Since this was their 1st pumpkin experience we decided to indulge them. I said if they could lift it they could have it. We had lots of fun riding the wagon out and petting the animals at the attached petting farm. Brad and the boys carved the 20+lb pumpkins with great delight this weekend.
Isaiah's school work is going well. He's in gymnastics this fall with a class of just 2 other 7 year old boys and he is getting really good! He's doing hand stands, they don't quite look right yet but he's getting the idea and he's doing back pull overs, almost by himself. As his strength increases he is enjoying seeing what else he is capable of doing -climbing the walls (yikes) and lifting himself up with just the strength of his arms on chairs, tables and anything else that will hold his weight.
Sam is working on words and we're really happy with the speech teacher he has this semester. She is really working with him and we're noticing a daily difference in pronunciation and willingness to learn words. He points at something and says "name" we tell him and he repeats it, usually not to bad. Sam also is having a fit with tags on anything, clothes, sheets, rugs you name it. If it has a tag, as far as he's concerned, it has a fault, so the tags must be abolished. Cute for now but if he doesn't grow out of this phase he'll possibly drive us nuts.
We met with the case workers recently to go over where we are with this case. I was disappointed with the lack of answers. Everything takes a long time and it all depends on other people, timing, and issues. For the planner in me it is frustrating. Probably the most frustrating part is the fact that nothing can be planned except that things take longer than seems necessary.
Right now life seems surreal. We've known the boys almost a year. When we look back over this year we've had a lot of challenges and a lot of triumphs. We don't know what the future holds (but we know who holds the future). It's hard to think about the boys ever not living with us, but the reality is that as a foster parent you have to hope that the best happens for the children and know that what you think is best is not always what the courts think is best.
As we enter this fall season we ask that our friends and family pray for our strength, for wisdom for the powers that be and for the boys to have memories that they can take into this unknown future. That they will have memories of love, teaching moments, spiritual heritage and a (possibly brief) time of two parents that love them unconditionally and want the absolute best future for them.
ps. I hope to actually have pictures to share soon.
Isaiah's school work is going well. He's in gymnastics this fall with a class of just 2 other 7 year old boys and he is getting really good! He's doing hand stands, they don't quite look right yet but he's getting the idea and he's doing back pull overs, almost by himself. As his strength increases he is enjoying seeing what else he is capable of doing -climbing the walls (yikes) and lifting himself up with just the strength of his arms on chairs, tables and anything else that will hold his weight.
Sam is working on words and we're really happy with the speech teacher he has this semester. She is really working with him and we're noticing a daily difference in pronunciation and willingness to learn words. He points at something and says "name" we tell him and he repeats it, usually not to bad. Sam also is having a fit with tags on anything, clothes, sheets, rugs you name it. If it has a tag, as far as he's concerned, it has a fault, so the tags must be abolished. Cute for now but if he doesn't grow out of this phase he'll possibly drive us nuts.
We met with the case workers recently to go over where we are with this case. I was disappointed with the lack of answers. Everything takes a long time and it all depends on other people, timing, and issues. For the planner in me it is frustrating. Probably the most frustrating part is the fact that nothing can be planned except that things take longer than seems necessary.
Right now life seems surreal. We've known the boys almost a year. When we look back over this year we've had a lot of challenges and a lot of triumphs. We don't know what the future holds (but we know who holds the future). It's hard to think about the boys ever not living with us, but the reality is that as a foster parent you have to hope that the best happens for the children and know that what you think is best is not always what the courts think is best.
As we enter this fall season we ask that our friends and family pray for our strength, for wisdom for the powers that be and for the boys to have memories that they can take into this unknown future. That they will have memories of love, teaching moments, spiritual heritage and a (possibly brief) time of two parents that love them unconditionally and want the absolute best future for them.
ps. I hope to actually have pictures to share soon.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sum Sum Summertime
So we had a pretty good 1st summer together. Isaiah enjoyed doing different activities with the "kid's club" and Sam had fun with his friends too. They had regular visits with their mom. She's been given some extra time to meet the requirements for reunification visits because she's met the initial basic requirements set out. We pray that the Lord continues in this process, we know that whatever happens will be heart breaking for someone, we all love these kids so much.
We went to St. Louis for a Partylite conference and Brad and the boys went exploring every day. I'm continually amazed how well the boys really do in the car, even for long rides. Brad and I are very grateful that no one gets car sick, and we don't hear "are we there yet?". This is very great for a long trip. I put some books and toys in the back seat and then have little toys or snacks in the front seat the hand back every two hours or so. Isaiah came to ask at every rest stop if mom had another surprise for them. It really was pretty fun to shop for little things. Brad took the boys to the zoo in St. Louis and they were ready to go pretty quickly, so it was a little discouraging that he still had 3 more days to find things to do that they would enjoy. We found the "Magic House" in St. Louis and that was mostly a hands on children's museum and they all LOVED it! In fact Brad said if they had more time he'd take them back because they didn't get to see everything and they were there several hours. The next day after my meeting we all packed up and went to the arch. Brad had never been and I hadn't been for years (last time I was in 8th grade). Brad was amazed how big it really was, you really can't appreciate the size till your right next to it. Isaiah took some pictures and Sam liked riding the "train" to the top. It was a very busy Saturday and my claustrophobia and timidity of high spaces really kicked in and I just stood close to the middle end of the hallway up top and tried to breath so the boys and Brad could get some good pictures and enjoy the view. I was glad when we were back at the bottom and could get something cold to drink. But we all had a nice time in spite of me almost freaking out :).
Earlier in July, Bliss, my sister gave birth to Cadence and as his name suggests he already has perfect timing. My folks were on their way up to Madison to visit us for the July 4th weekend and before they had even reached Chicago they got a call the not only had the baby not waited till his July 8th due date he was coming today! Mom and dad turned off in Chicago and headed to Green Bay instead and I took the boys up the next day on the 4th to see Cadence, Bliss and Chad. It was great fun and the boys did so well with the baby, it turned out to be a good thing because within two weeks we found out that their mom is expecting. So it's nice that Cadence could give us an easy baby -pre and post birth to talk about and answer questions for the boys.
Cadence brought Bliss and mom and dad down to visit a couple of weeks ago and at 7 weeks he's already been swimming 3 times, he's my type of kid! Speaking of swimming, the boys and I have been swimming as much as possible this summer. So there are MANY boxes still packed. It's hard to want to unpack the boxes anyway but when you add a beautiful summer day and a swimming pool that is NEVER overcrowded that's within walking distance....well, let's just say that maybe this fall it will look more like we've finally unpacked. But if the boys can give me a reasonable excuse....I doubt those boxes will ever get unpacked.
Brad's job is going well, we have been blessed with an ever changing schedule. Seems the Lord is teaching us how to go with the flow. I've learned thru this whole parenting experience that timing changes significantly with kids. There is NO hurry up, NOTHING takes a couple of seconds to do (except perhaps a huge mess that stops everything) and even when everything goes exactly as planned and you get out the door early, it's probably because you forgot to do something.
Since the move we have noticed that things are calming down. We're using positive reinforcement with the boys that seems to be making a difference. So we enter next week, the first week of school with much hope and prayer.
We went to St. Louis for a Partylite conference and Brad and the boys went exploring every day. I'm continually amazed how well the boys really do in the car, even for long rides. Brad and I are very grateful that no one gets car sick, and we don't hear "are we there yet?". This is very great for a long trip. I put some books and toys in the back seat and then have little toys or snacks in the front seat the hand back every two hours or so. Isaiah came to ask at every rest stop if mom had another surprise for them. It really was pretty fun to shop for little things. Brad took the boys to the zoo in St. Louis and they were ready to go pretty quickly, so it was a little discouraging that he still had 3 more days to find things to do that they would enjoy. We found the "Magic House" in St. Louis and that was mostly a hands on children's museum and they all LOVED it! In fact Brad said if they had more time he'd take them back because they didn't get to see everything and they were there several hours. The next day after my meeting we all packed up and went to the arch. Brad had never been and I hadn't been for years (last time I was in 8th grade). Brad was amazed how big it really was, you really can't appreciate the size till your right next to it. Isaiah took some pictures and Sam liked riding the "train" to the top. It was a very busy Saturday and my claustrophobia and timidity of high spaces really kicked in and I just stood close to the middle end of the hallway up top and tried to breath so the boys and Brad could get some good pictures and enjoy the view. I was glad when we were back at the bottom and could get something cold to drink. But we all had a nice time in spite of me almost freaking out :).
Earlier in July, Bliss, my sister gave birth to Cadence and as his name suggests he already has perfect timing. My folks were on their way up to Madison to visit us for the July 4th weekend and before they had even reached Chicago they got a call the not only had the baby not waited till his July 8th due date he was coming today! Mom and dad turned off in Chicago and headed to Green Bay instead and I took the boys up the next day on the 4th to see Cadence, Bliss and Chad. It was great fun and the boys did so well with the baby, it turned out to be a good thing because within two weeks we found out that their mom is expecting. So it's nice that Cadence could give us an easy baby -pre and post birth to talk about and answer questions for the boys.
Cadence brought Bliss and mom and dad down to visit a couple of weeks ago and at 7 weeks he's already been swimming 3 times, he's my type of kid! Speaking of swimming, the boys and I have been swimming as much as possible this summer. So there are MANY boxes still packed. It's hard to want to unpack the boxes anyway but when you add a beautiful summer day and a swimming pool that is NEVER overcrowded that's within walking distance....well, let's just say that maybe this fall it will look more like we've finally unpacked. But if the boys can give me a reasonable excuse....I doubt those boxes will ever get unpacked.
Brad's job is going well, we have been blessed with an ever changing schedule. Seems the Lord is teaching us how to go with the flow. I've learned thru this whole parenting experience that timing changes significantly with kids. There is NO hurry up, NOTHING takes a couple of seconds to do (except perhaps a huge mess that stops everything) and even when everything goes exactly as planned and you get out the door early, it's probably because you forgot to do something.
Since the move we have noticed that things are calming down. We're using positive reinforcement with the boys that seems to be making a difference. So we enter next week, the first week of school with much hope and prayer.
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