Family Update

I just realized it had been a while since I'd updated about our family. I'm not sure if anyone is still following our blog but just in case :) ....

We have moved into our new place here in Virginia...which we are rent-to-owning Lord willing...as things have been delayed on the owner's side but we know God is Sovereign and good, so we are praying that if this is where we should settle that it will work out. No we are not totally unpacked yet...it has been slow going as we are still adjusting to life with our 2 recent additions and it can be a challenge just to get feeding, dishes, laundry and basic clean-up accomplished!

It has been wonderful to see Spring arrive here and to see all the green everywhere (a big difference from South Dakota, where it is only green in the beautiful BLack Hills) though our allergic ones in our family are suffering with their asthma and allergies.
We've been hit here with ticks and mosquitos....I am rather concerned about summer coming if they are already this prevalent. IF anyone has any remedies (preferably natural but I'll hear any advice!) for people and dogs, please let me know. We are not used to the HUMIDITY here either...and I know it will get much worse as it has only reached the 80's so far :)

I realized that it has passed the 6 month mark for Lily and Joshua being home....they have been home almost 8 months--its unbelievable. IT has really flown by....perhaps because so much has been going on with us moving across the country, looking for a home and moving again. I hope to make a slideshow of their first year ....actually my daughters would love to do that I'm sure.

Joshua has had a couple seizures but generally has not had them on his medication. He will be seeing a neurologist soon. He has lately been doing better with sleeping at night--sometimes through the night, though he seems to go in spurts of sleepiness and wakefulness. THEre is so much I wish I could understand--like why sometimes he sleeps through, and why sometimes he cries or is wakeful at night; why sometimes he does well with eating from a spoon and why sometimes he is very fussy and doesn't want to eat or drink. I hope to find out more about his condition and how medication could possibly help him with his cognition and behavior and even sleep. He continues to make improvement with having bowel movements on his own (which we'd been told he would never do!) --we've only had to give him one suppository in a couple of months. TOnight I got home late from the store and he was up so after dressing him in his pjs I had him sitting up with support and when I kissed his cheek, he would loudly yell with a smile on his face... He also is very happy when he is at the table where all the family is. So sweet.

Lily is doing pretty well though she'd be happier if she could be down walking around all the time --which is a challenge because she will throw everything she gets her hands on. ANyone have advice on that? I need to figure a way to not have things laying about. Even toys though she likes to throw, though it is improving. She has started to play with toys....like push a car, hug and kiss a baby, push a stroller. Her favorite things by far is to be held and talk to someone...her favorite word being "ba" though if prompted she can repeat words like mama, dada, baby,....and her favorite word, which she says with much gusto, is "GOD!!" She LOVES men...and if a man so much as smiles at her or shows her attention, she is immediately in his arms. She often will do this when we are out...like when we were at Williamsburg, when we were at the library. It is quite cute and even more sweet, how the men she seeks out have loved her. She is drinking a little better ...I discovered that if I tie her drink to her chair (so she doesn't throw it to the ground) she will keep getting it and drink more. Lily can be incredibly stubborn and it can be tiring...but she also has a smile that lights up her whole face.
She seems to like to work and help, so the kids have her carry clothes from the wash or groceries to the kitchen (she and our almost 2 year-old love doing this)... that is more fun than playing with toys.

Our SEan ( who we adopted in 2009) is doing well...can't believe he is 5. He too can be very stubborn... though in a different way. Lily seems to test you but Sean just seems to have to keep doing something....like that drive is stronger than the warning. You can almost see him thinking..."Mommy said no, but oh, I want to touch that." It is very sweet to see him trying to tell Lily or Aidan not to do something he knows they shouldn't or trying to feed Joshua or help a younger sibling. It is also neat to see him "getting" it more and more who Mommy and DAddy are, like when he gets all excited and says "DAddy!" like the other kids when he gets home, or when he comes to tell me he has a boo boo. He is initiating trying to talk more--alot of the time I don't understand it, though if I stop and listen closely I can sometimes "hear" it. I need to work on that more. NOw that we are settled we hope to get therapies lined up here. Sean's favorite things in the world are MUSIC (its like a different language that he hears and is fascinated with-- he would listen to a cell phone's ring or a musical toy as long as I'd let him) and WATER-- if I give him some water and some scoopers, he is a very happy boy for --well as long, as the water stays in the container. OH, a close 3rd is ICECREAM and TACOS...he has learned to love drive-ins for these occasional treats. ONly thing is that he cries or complains when he is done.

Our olders kids have been so amazing with our adopted kids. While they do at times want and need time to themselves or reminders to help someone (as in our family, everyone needs to help someone else) --they have done such a great job in incorporating their special brothers and sister into the family routine. It is not easy as it just takes more time, as 3 kids need to be fed, 4 kids need diaper changes, and 3 need close supervision. It will get easier as a couple start learning to feed themselves and grow out of diapers....that we are hoping to work on in the near future. I am so proud of them, and I often learn alot from them.