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
