Ever After

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

She's Amazing

Can you tell I am having a rough night by all the posts? Nothing like electrical shock type pain to interfere with your sleep!

The other morning when Bre had the house to herself from approximately 5:30 AM to around 11:00 got me to thinking.
I held my breath as I walked into the kitchen and living room area. I just knew it was a mess, that she had created some sort of disaster. The least I expected to find was she had used the wall as her personal coloring book. I was so shocked but happy to find nothing even out of place.
She really is a good little girl overall and she has adjusted so well to having us as her family.
Before we adopted I tried to read about every worst case scenario I could find. It isn't that I was expecting the worst but I did want to be prepared for it or at least what she threw at us.
She has had a few bumps along the way but nothing out of the ordinary or what we expected. Her main issue has always been food. Since the day we meet her and first feed her anything she has had to know that food is always available. It took months before she could walk around and play without at least holding a cracker in her hand. Now we all sit back and watch in amazement at how much her tiny body can consume in a day.
She also showed some post traumatic stress syndrome symptoms in the past that were quiet hard for her to overcome but she did in time with a lot of patience and work. There were also a couple of night terrors and she still doesn't sleep through the night.
Overall though we have been so lucky and so blessed. She is thriving and is such a happy go-lucky child. It has been almost three years since we first meet her and she has changed a lot. She has grown so much. I think she will always be incredibly slim but she has filled out and no longer looks thin. Her hair that was once dry and brittle now is thick and looks and feels like silk. Smart, she is so smart. I know there is no way I could have learnt a whole new language as fast as she did. Heck she even has the slang parts down too. She can count, knows all her numbers and most of her letters, can write her name, and sing many songs by herself. She picks up on everything going on around her.
To have went through all the life changes that she had to experience and to come out the other side smiling and singing is nothing short of a miracle. Simply put-she amazes me!

A Place To Sleep?

I know these are not very good pictures since they were taken in a near dark living room but I couldn't resist when I saw my two youngest and their choices for a bed.

This is what I found around midnight.

Bre had made a bed out of the rocking chair by pulling the footstool up to it. She had placed pillows on both sides of the chair to add some padding and found a sheet to cover up with.

Then there was Marcus all nice and cozy on the couch.

I swear both kids have bedrooms, nice bedrooms as a matter of fact. Remember the beautiful canopy bed in the princess room? Or the decked out St. Louis Cardinals bedroom that any fan would kill for?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Conflict and Growing Up

Right now there is a big conflict going on between Marcus and one of his very best friends. This isn't the first time they have gotten into it this summer. Last time, just like I knew it would, it blew over and worked itself out. This time I am not so sure. Marcus is ticked off, I mean REALLY ticked off. Heck I have never even seen him this mad at Dylan and I think that says a lot.
Personally I just think they are developing different personalities at this very awkward age of growth. They no longer click like they used to and it is no ones fault.
I remember when this happened to Dylan. All the boys he had hung out with for years just started disappearing from his daily conversations. Their names were being replaced with names I had never heard. I found myself asking "and who is that?" more than a few times. Now his very best friends are not those of his elementary days. Neither are the girls but that is a whole other post :)
As far as their fighting goes my motto is as long as there are no broken bones or a lot of blood-leave it alone, stay out of it, and let the kids work it out on their own- in their own way-in their own time frame.
The mother of the other child though took a different approach. Let me start by saying we are good friends and I truly love her and don't know what I would do without her and her never ending support. Anyway she chose to handle it another way and face it head on. She wants them to get along so bad and hates to see their friendship change or worse, be damaged.
Today we had a long chat and I told her what I fear to be the truth. These two boys are simply growing up and their developing personalities may just clash. They may work all of this out or they may just not be close anymore. I know that is hard to hear especially since he is her only child. You don't want to face that they are not little boys anymore and this is a time that is full of changes for them. I know it is hard in so many ways to see your little boy grow up.
It is difficult on the mother in another way too. You spend years getting to know your children's friends. The close ones you learn to love as almost your own. In many ways they feel like your own and that you have helped raise them. So when your child is no longer best friends with them you have to accept the fact that you will no longer be seeing that child on a regular basis. This makes for a huge loss on the mother's side of things cause we had no choice in the friendship cooling off and others taking off.
Dylan has a friend that became like my fourth child years ago. Even though him and Dylan are no longer that close we still consider him family. He comes and stays for days at a time still and it doesn't matter if Dylan is even here or not. He will always be special and at one time we thought about trying to get guardianship of him even.
My point here is it is tough when they change or loose a friend. If it was a close friend then more that just the child suffers the loss sometimes. But it is a fact of life that people come and go out of our lives. Once close friendships may start to fade as other intensify. It's all part of growing up and growing as a person in general.

School Starts Tomorrow-SMILE!

I believe these kids think that since it is time to start back to school why not be total demon children and see what they can get away with on their last days of freedom!
I have yelled more these past two days than over the entire summer break. If I was big enough Dylan butt would be between his eyes by now! It's kind of hard to do that when the kid is bigger than me.
I love my firstborn with all my heart but he has been awful today. At 16 years old he should not have to be told to take out the trash or to put his clean clothes up. I have found myself riding him on and off all day just to get any movement out of him. Every request is met with "ooooooh I will do it later right now I'm watching tv" or "mommmm, I'm tired, later". Uggggh!
Tomorrow is the big day though. I will be smiling to myself all the way home, while listening to MY choice of music on the radio.

Talking about school makes me think about how far we spaced these children out. What were we thinking? Oh yeah, we weren't thinking-we just done!
We tried for another child when Dylan was around 2 but God apparently didn't think we were ready. Then Marcus was conceived when Dylan was 4-total shock! Next we decided to adopt without so much a thought as to how this would place our children apart in age.
So this year we have a Junior in high school, a sixth grader, and one starting her last year of Pre School. Next year we will have one at almost every corner. One senior, one starting Jr. High (7th) and one in kindergarten! Yeah-we weren't thinking at all.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Wake Up Call

Bre is my alarm system. I don't bother with setting an alarm clock cause she is always up early. Well she attempted to get me up at 5:30 AM, to which I told her to take her little booty back to bed. Next time I heard from her it was a little after 11:00! I panicked when I realized how late it was for two reasons....one Dylan had an appointment to get his hair dyed at noon, two because it was scary for many reasons to think about a four year old having the run of the house for a few hours.

Luckily we made it to the hairdresser on time and when I asked Bre what she had been doing for so long her response was watching cartoons and eating Tic Tacs. Needless to say she skipped school today and hung out with Dylan and me.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

All Dressed Up

Bre was all dressed up and waiting to go to a special church service in which Uncle Don was to be sworn in as a Deacon.

Of course she had to pose once she seen the camera.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Heat Wave-Pog Style

Daisy still goes outside knowing how bad the heat is. When she finally comes back in her tongue is hanging out and after a quick drink she heads to this A/C vent in the kitchen. She just plops down on it while it cools her off, so funny.

Friday, August 7, 2009

All I Got

My daddy and brother went to Six Flags and all I got was a stuffed beaver and fish.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Guitar Playing Panda

Dylan really is this goofy all on his own!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Putting on her shoes

Where's My Daddy?!

"Where's my daddy?"

Those are the words I woke up to this morning. It was said in more of a blood curdling way but you get the point.

I quickly reminded her that daddy had took Dylan to a concert and would be home tomorrow. She doesn't know that daddy and Marcus were going to Six Flags or she would have really had a fit. Oh yeah she would ride all of it if she was tall enough, she is our little dare devil!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Pictures by Daddy

Vacation Coming To An End

Summer is winding down and now is the time to squeeze in those last few things the kids want to do.
Marcus spent almost a week at church camp with Alex and Grant. He enjoyed himself but was ready to come home. I know I was ready for him to come back. There is something about him that makes me not like it when he is away for more than a night or two. I mean I miss the other two but when Marcus is gone I almost drive myself crazy missing him. The only thing I can figure out is because of his health needs-makes me more protective of him than his brother or sister. All that matters is he is home safe and sound now.
It was funny. Marcus said that he was only gone a few days and comes home to find daddy bought two new vehicles. He asked us if we had purchased anything else he should know about?!
Dylan's ride to the concert in St. Louis fizzled out. Believe it or not the kid that he was suppose to go with has been signed to a record label and is on tour right now!
Marcus has been asking to go to Six Flags before school started so I suggested that Joey take him on the day of the concert. That way Dylan's ticket doesn't go to waste and Marcus gets his thrills at the amusement park.
So as it stands Joey, Dylan, and Marcus (along with a couple of friends) will be heading to the city very early Monday morning. They will stay the night then come home the next day. Bre is gonna be upset having to stay and it being just me and her but she will make it. She will be fine once she knows they will go camping later next week.
Joey is outside playing with Bre right now. I told him to take the camera with him. If he gets any good shots I will post them on here later.