Warning...Lot of Christmas Pictures

One thing Haylee asked for long before Christmas and continued until Christmas was a bonnet like Laura on Little House. She was so excited to get one.






Each girl received an Amer*ican Girl doll and an extra outfit. Morgan was thrilled to get hers and the new tap dance outfit



Hannah didn't ask for much, but was very excited with everything she received. We had a hard time getting her to tell us anything she wanted. We knew if the other girls received something, she would also want the same thing.








As we do every Christmas morning, my husband made pancakes. I found mini red and green white chocolate morsels for the pancakes, so they were very festive. We had a wonderful morning!!

I melts my heart when Haylee and Hannah say they are so glad to have a mommy and a daddy. Haylee had said numerous times that this is the best Christmas ever!! I am so happy God placed these girls in our home! It makes my heart ache for the many children still in foster care.

Permancy definately makes a difference. Since our finalization, the girls have improved a great deal. I wonder if it makes a difference in most children adopted from foster care?

Setting the bar

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I am struggling with what to post. Things are going pretty well. I truly believe the girls had a wonderful Christmas. We are still having issues, but they aren't as big as some of my other blogger friends, so I hate to post about them. They feel really big to us, but trivial to others.

I have been pondering lately what issues are truly disablilites with the girls and what things aren't. I have to teach them multiple times for them to understand things. However, they usually get it, eventually. We don't want to enable them because we want them to be all God has created them to be. We also don't want to hurt them by setting the bar too high. A friend told me that we set high standards for our kids. My husband and I have talked about it and we don't think we need to change anything. We realize it is harder for Haylee and Hannah to reach the goal sometimes, but most of the time, they reach it. The goals are often different for them. For example, they are third graders, but I have backed up to second grade work in some areas because it was just too hard for them. I want them to be and feel successful. We are praying and trying to find the best balance for the girls.

We are headed to my parents house today for a one night stay. A friend of mine is also taking her two girls and going with us. We are going to take the girls to the big mall and let them see the Christmas decorations before they are removed. All of my children love to eat in the food court, so we will probably have lunch there.

I am also very excited to have breakfast with a friend that I babysat for when her son was a baby. She would have me come play with him while she was home because I was young myself. Eventually, as we both got older, I babysat him alone. She was my number one babysitting job and I called her before I took any other jobs to see if she needed me. I am excited about visiting with her!

I will post pictures of Christmas soon!

Keeping it cool...

Hannah is struggling with no structure and the holidays. She has a very short temper and gets mad over anything. I am trying to stop the eruptions before they happen. We are hanging in there...

I stuggle not losing it with her also. I get frustrated with myself during these times because I don't like what I feel and think at times...

I know this sounds crazy, but it is almost a relief to read about other adopted older children that struggle around the holidays and with little structure. It is exhausting. I find myself listening to prepare for the next issue to arise.

Hannah did create a few movements to go with the song, "I Can Only Imagine" I think that is the name. It is a great song. I think eventually music will really help in healing.

I have enjoyed not having to teach the kids this week, but in some ways I am ready to start back. Tucker, Alex and Morgan love the break. Hannah and Haylee aren't quite sure what to do. I guess time will take care of that.

I offered to make cookies with them, no interest. I offered to make their Christmas tree ornaments, no interest. Tonight I will just say, "We are doing this now."

They are going to swim team in a few minutes so they will have some structure. My mother in law will be here tomorrow. I am sure she will do some fun things with them. The boys are going hunting with my husband and my father in law.

They are growing!!

The girls are all growing!! All three of them!! I am thrilled that we have this problem, because the girls are under treatment for growth issues. I am hoping they continue to grow so we don't have to enter the world of growth hormones. We are continuing to pray that God will remove the entire issue by them continuing to grow. We think Hannah is growing a little faster than Haylee, which is good because was shorter than Haylee. My husband says she has grown over two inches since May. Wonderful!!

Due to the growing, we are having to shift jeans around so everyone will have jeans long enough. I am excited that we are having this problem, but that also means I have to buy more jeans. Ugh! Morgan is very slim. Morgan had been squeezing into some 7 slim jeans and finally we said no more. (Morgan is having a hard time passing her clothes down to her sisters. I guess once again she is having to share everything.) She has a pair of eight slims that fit her well, so that is what we will purchase for her. However, Haylee and Hannah are small but not as thin as Morgan. The 7 slim pants that Morgan was squeezing into fit Haylee, barely. The length was good, but she had to work to button them. I think they will be okay. I guess Hannah and Haylee will be regulars and not slims. Oh well, no big deal. They can almost wear the same size jeans eventhough they are shaped differently. Haylee's little best friend is shaped like Morgan and can wear her old jeans if Haylee can't.

What a boring post, but it is our life and drama today!!

Have a wonderful and joyous day!!

A Social Network Christmas

I saw this on this blog and wanted to share.

Christmas...part 1

Morgan woke up with a temp Thursday morning. The fever continued until last night. Needless to say we didn't get to travel to have Christmas with my parents. Haylee and Hannah were very disappointed because they have heard about our traditions and wanted so bad to be a part. We weren't comfortable going with Morgan continuing to have fever. Of course, my parents traveled today and brought all of their presents and the leftover banana pudding and chocolate pie. They were both delicious!! The kids were all excited for them to arrive today. I wish I had my camcorder recording when Haylee opened the horse to go with her American Girl doll. She was so excited! It was so sweet. Hannah said they had never had a Christmas like this before. They got presents they wanted. I guess you get presents in the foster society world, but maybe not want you want. I was happy for them. They were so excited to get skates and a horse for their dolls. They have had a blast riding their skates outside today.








I don't mention the sweet big brothers very often. Below are pictures of them opening the presents my Aunt gave them. We are a divided family, part Auburn and part Alabama.

The girls were in a Christmas Musical a few weeks ago. They did wonderful!! I am so proud of how far all three of the girls have come since Haylee and Hannah joined our family in April. They had a movement part to two songs.

My sweet husband gave me a surprise 40th birthday party. This is a family picture taken at the party.

Joy

I went to bed thinking about "joy" and woke up thinking about it also. I feel like I am always correcting someone, asking someone to do something, completing a chore, ect. I feel like since April, when the girls came, I have not been able to relax enough to just enjoy my family and my life. I really want and need to try to slow down and enjoy the journey. I want to so bad, but the busyness always seems to take over, or the children not doing what they are supposed to be doing.

I turned the big "40" yesterday. I wonder if that is why I am thinking about this?

I believe God wants us to have joy in the journey. I am going to really focus on hugging, laughing and visiting with my children more. I realize "visiting" sounds silly, but I am usually task focused and not just talking with each of them.

Early bedtime for one...

We have been really busy around here lately. The girls were all in a musical Friday night that was wonderful. They did so well!! I am a proud mama!! I cried part of the way through thinking about how far Hannah and Haylee have come in eight months. Wow, they have really changed.

Today hasn't been a good day for Hannah. I noticed yesterday she wasn't acting right. I kept trying to figure out what was going on. She kept saying she was fine. Today she has been testing boundaries.

The third strike was when she was putting things in the fire. Alex told her not to because Daddy had already explained why we don't put pine in the fire. She sarcastically yelled back that she knew, but... I don't even remember what the rest was. I went in to ask her why she said that and she said she didn't. She lied. Four of us heard her. We gave her a chance to talk through it and explain herself and she just sat there. Well, she went to be very early. She isn't happy, but my husband said enough is enough.

The first episode today wasn't terrible and we recovered quickly. The second episode was when she was being ugly to her sisters. By the third episode, I was done.

She appears to be struggling and has reverted some. She also asked to call her foster mom last night. We told her no. When she asked she used the voice we haven't heard in a long time. It was her manipulation voice. She also used fake manipulation tears last night. Neither works with us. Hopefully, a good nights rest will help.

Idols

We went to a family retreat this weekend. We go every year and are always blessed. The girls have looked forward to this for months because the other three kids have looked forward to it so much. I am always a little nervous when we go somewhere new with the girls. They did really well. We went over the routine very well before we arrived. They did pretty good. We had a few minor issues, but the handled correction well and went on their way. Each girls made new friends and seemed very happy. We are always exhausted when we leave, but refreshed as well.

The main topic was idols in our lives. What is keeping us from focusing on Jesus? It can be anything from money, approval of people, perfectionism, family and many others. David Hall, one of the speakers made a statement. He said he struggles with the ones he loves the most, his wife and baby. How do you stretch your arm up and out to Jesus while holding on tight to your wife and baby? Wow! What a picture!! You can't. You must reach for Jesus first and foremost. Also, we can turn our blessings from the Father into idols if we aren't careful. This is just a touch of what we heard this weekend. The retreat is called The Family Reunion. You can read about it here. The group is based in Texas, but the family is originally from Alabama, hence the name of the meeting. Families come from all over for this meeting. We are blessed each time we go.

I am exhausted and off to bed now.