Terrific Tuesday!

Yesterday we took our first out-of-state field trip!

A friend and I took all four kiddos to Shipshewana, Indiana, for the day.  

We went to a great little bead shop that a lady runs in the shops area.  Kaleigh and I both found some great treasures in there!  Kaleigh spent about half of her spending money on beads! :-)  Most of what I bought will be for gifts :-)

We also went to an awesome Amish grocery store, where they sell a ton of stuff in bulk at extremely reasonable prices.  I wished I had a trailer to bring stuff home in!  I did get a few things to bring home though.  Then we went to the Amish department store, where the kids shopped with their spending money.  On the way out of town, we stopped at the Amish bakery; the kids had been talking about ice cream earlier in the day, so I thought for sure they would all be thrilled to have some.  BUT, only two of them went for ice cream; the other really wanted a doughnut.  Can you guess which kiddo that was?  After the bakery, we stopped at a farm where a lady keeps greenhouses and sells plants.  Lots of fun!  Then we hit the road and drove a little ways before stopping for dinner.  After eating, we were on the road for good - at about 7:00!  

The roads weren't too bad on the return trip.  We hit a little construction in South Chicago, but it was nothing compared to the construction traffic on the other side of the road!  We got to the park and ride a little after 10:00, dropped my friend off at her car, made a bottle for Ty, who had been screaming for several miles, and finished the last 15 minutes of our trek home.  

Everyone slept soundly once they were in their beds, although no one slept any later than usual today.  Two kiddos have visits today, so nap times will be missed and bed times will be a little late again tonight.  I'm hoping that tomorrow we can get back into a routine.

Honeymoon

Well, I am happy to say our first weekend with our newest little member went very well.  It was nice to go to bed last night knowing all my Littles were tucked into their beds and I didn't have to "return" any of them.  As of this morning, this is officially the longest K3 has spent with us, and God-willing, it is just going to keep getting longer.

In some ways, this weekend served as a bridge.  As difficult as it was to have her here and then gone repeatedly for two weeks, I know the visits were a good thing.  I don't think she quite comprehends that she is going to be staying; she mentioned taking things back to "her house" and bringing things here from "her house" - meaning her previous foster home - several times.  It's certainly a normal and expected phase, and I'm not worried about it.  But I do think that having had the visits will help with this part of the process.  If she had been moved here without meeting us or having visits or any of that, I believe the adjustment would be much more difficult.  

Also, the visits gave us all a chance to experience the "honeymoon" a little at a time.  Don't get me wrong - I think we are still in that phase.  But, Kaleigh and K3 have gotten used to each other during the visits, and now the true "sister" phase is really starting to begin.  K2 is really going to have to learn a few things about being a big sister, not the least of which is that being the big sister does NOT make you the mom.  K3 is learning what it means to have a sister in general, as she had only foster brothers previously.  And both girls are learning that as much fun as it is to have a sister, it is still okay to have some alone time once in awhile - especially since they both have become accustomed to playing alone.  The testing of the household guidelines has already begun.  And the prayers for wisdom and grace and consistency have already increased!

A weekend was a good time to do the move.  It gave us all a chance to settle in a relaxed atmosphere, and was nice not to feel like we had to stick to a routine - as much as I miss the routine on weekends.  I am looking forward to starting a new week and getting back into the routine in all aspects - Hunter is back to school work after his spring break week - and helping K3 really begin to realize that this is her home now, a place she can belong and feel safe.  

I have a couple of activities in mind for the next couple of weeks, and look forward to sharing them here as the Shan Clan experiences them.  Until then, Happy Monday, and enjoy the start to your week! 

Eve

This is potentially my last night ever to be a mother of three.  If you haven't read my recent Facebook posts, I am a little over 12 hours away from becoming a mother of four.

God has seen fit to bring me, at the age of 31, to motherhood and four beautiful children.

I am so thrilled. 

And I am so scared.

Okay, not SO scared.  Just a *little* scared.  I mean, anyone in their right mind would be, right?  Four years ago, I had been happily married for two years, and the most parenting I did was three nights a week.  Three years ago, I had just handed off three sweet but troubled babies after parenting them for 8 months, and had just met two equally but differently troubled kiddos who would eventually become my own.  Two years ago, we had just finalized adoption, and after 28 years and 10 months of waiting, I was a mommy of two.  One year ago, we were focused on finding and moving into a new, bigger house to accommodate our growing family, and hoping our family would be growing more SOON.

Time has gone so quickly, even when it seemed like it was passing slowly.  I learned a long time ago, for that very reason, not to wish my life away.

Yet here I am, feeling like time has just flown by.

I digress.

We did much work around the house today, getting ready for the newest addition to the Shan Clan.  Most of what we worked on was in the girls' room, but some of that work overflowed into the boys' rooms too.  I took the desk out of Kaleigh's room, and decided to put it in Hunter's room.  It took the place of a bookshelf, which I decided to put in Ryan's room.  Then I decided Ryan needed a desk too, so I brought a desk down from the loft (a desk I have been planning to put in Ryan's room for a long time anyway).  To make room for the desk, I moved Ryan's other furniture around.  Back in the girls' room, I brought up a cube shelf set so that they would each have their own space for their toys and books.  We also rearranged a bunch of other things in their room, during which time I made a list of  some things I needed to get to further the organizational goals.  

After quiet time, we made a quick library run to take back the books that were due tomorrow and get a few more books to get us through... a few days at least.  Then we swung by Target to get the items on my organization list.  One of the things I planned to get was the cloth storage cubes for the girls' toys.  They had the purple ones, for Kaleigh, but were all out of the pink ones, for K3.  So I MIGHT get brave and take the kids to the other Target tomorrow to see if they have the pink ones.  

Kaleigh has been very excited all day.  She had fun helping organize the bedroom, and kept reminding me that K3 is coming to live with us tomorrow.  She has been looking forward to having a little sister for a long time.  I know there is going to be a period of adjustment for her, but I think it is overall going to be a good thing.

I, on the other hand, have no idea how I am going to deal with having TWO little girls growing up in the house.  One made me nervous.  Two... terrifies me.

And don't get me started on the boys.  

Nope, that's not even true.  I am more worried about raising girls than boys.  Although I know God is giving me His guidance and strength in both cases.

I sit here on the eve of becoming a mommy of four.

And I couldn't be happier that God has brought me here.

A Whole Weekend!

A very lovely- and busy! - weekend has come to a close.  We had K3 from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening - and loved every minute of it!

We started with our usual Shan Clan Friday Family Movie and Pizza night - we picked up pizzas from Papa Murphy's, which we haven't had for a LONG time, and watched "Happy Feet 2," which the kids have been dying to see.  Then we put three Littles to bed, and watched "Hugo."  Well, Hunter and I watched Hugo while Randy slept on the couch!  It was a very good movie - had a bit of a slow start, but ended up being quite interesting.  Hunter very much enjoyed it.

Saturday morning, I got the four kiddos up and ready and hauled them to choir rehearsal with me, because Randy had a hair appointment.  We had arranged for a sitter to be there, so the kids had a blast.  After practice, we went home and had lunch and quiet time.  Randy took advantage of the beautiful weather and golfed at Petrifying Springs!  After QT, the kids and I met a friend and her grandchildren, who were visiting from out of state, at a park.  It got quite chilly while we were there, but the kids didn't care!  Saturday night we cooked out for dinner, I put curlers in the girls' hair, and once the Littles were down, the boys watched movies while I worked on the zillion and one things I had to have done before Sunday morning!  I got everything done and was in bed by 1:30, but the Little Man woke me about four times between then and 5:30, when I had to get up.  Thankfully, my wonderful husband got up to feed him at 4:45 so that I could have just a few more minutes of rest before beginning my early day!

The girls got up early and went to my early rehearsal with me, so that Randy would only need to worry about getting the boys ready.  We had two amazing services at RBC - the second service really blew me away.  I know I've said it before, but I have to say it again: I just love our music ministry, and feel so blessed to be a part of it.

After church, we had Easter dinner at my mom's, then came home so the kids could hunt around the house for their Easter baskets.  We had to have K3 back to her foster family by 6:30; while I was taking her into the house, they told me they can tell she is really happy with us.  That made me feel really good.

We won't have her for any visits this week, but she is moving in on Saturday.  I have much to do this week, getting Kaleigh's room ready to be a two-girl room.  I need to put some shelves on the walls for Kaleigh's more valuable things, like dolls and her jewelry box.  I am also going to put in a new toy/book system, so that Kaleigh's things will be up high and K3's things will be down low.  Then they will have a toy box to keep things that belong to both of them.  I HOPE I will be able to keep them organized!  I also have a few other organizational tasks around the house that I am going to TRY to get done before Saturday.  We shall see!

I am thinking about some things I want to do with the yard this year.  I know I want flower gardens in both the front and back yards, and I would like to plant a few veggies and herbs, but that's all I've decided on so far.  I don't know exactly what I want to plant, or where I want to plant it.  We also need to do some more brush-clearing, particularly in the back yard, and that will probably affect the "where."

Well, the Shan Clan is on spring break this week.  Randy is home for three days, so we have a few different kinds of fun planned.

Weekend

Well, we had a very nice - if very busy! - weekend.  Kaleigh and I got up early Saturday morning and headed to church for choir practice.  We were there for a couple of hours, then I met up with a friend for a little while before dashing up to K3's foster home to pick her up for the afternoon.  We hung out at home for a couple of hours, and the girls enjoyed playing together; then we went to my mom's for dinner.  My mom and dad, Kevin, and his girlfriend Hallie, all got to meet K3 for the first time.  Of course, they loved her.

Sunday morning, Kaleigh and I were up and out early again, as we were both singing in both church services.  K2 had a little trio part in one of their songs, and she did a GREAT job!  It was so fun to watch her enjoy singing up there, since I was painfully shy at her age (still am), and you couldn't have convinced me to sing a part like that to save my life!  After church, Randy and I swapped cars (he needed mine in order to bring the baby to church, and I needed it back in order to pick up K3!), and Ty and I went to pick up K3 while Randy took Hunter and Kaleigh to meet the rest of the fam for brunch.

At brunch, Clint, Brittany, and Ava were able to meet K3 for the first time.  I think approval is unanimous.  She is a little shy when first meeting the big people, but seems to warm up pretty quickly.  She is very sweet and I think will be such a joy and blessing as part of our family!

A few days ago, when the forecast was 65 for Sunday, we were planning to find a park after brunch.  But by Sunday morning, the forecast had changed to 40; so we went home and chilled for awhile.  Then Randy took the big boys to the golf store, and I took the Littles to my mom's house to meet up with my cousin for a little visit and so that SHE could meet K3.  Then we had just enough time to dash home, grab the boys, and rush K3 back to her foster home.  Then we stopped at a friend's house so Randy could try to unclog a pipe that had been clogged since Friday morning - which he did quite successfully.  I am married to an awesome man :-).

Both nights, we had to have her back by 6:30 so she had some wind-down time before bed; so it made for two rather short days.  However, we will have her for a longer day tomorrow, another relatively short day Thursday (she gets picked up at 2:30 for a visit), and then Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon Easter weekend.  Then, Lord-willing - and it looks like everything is headed that way - she will be moving in the weekend of the 14th!

Potential

Well, the next phase of the Shan Clan journey begins officially on Thursday.  

The kids and I will pick up K3 (this is what I will call her here; sort of a private joke, and I want to protect her privacy anyway) around 9 Thursday morning, and she will spend the day with us.  We will plan to have a pretty "normal" day - maybe a playground, some playing at home, lunch, reading some books.  She will be picked up around 2:30 for her visit with her bdad, so it will be a relatively short day; I suppose that is best for the first day visit.

Then she will be with us both Saturday and Sunday (no overnight yet).  K2 and I have choir practice Saturday morning, and then we have church Sunday morning; so both days we won't be able to pick her up until about 12:45.  But, we will keep her until after supper; and on Sunday, she will come with us to family brunch and meet everyone.  

The following Tuesday and Thursday, she will come spend the day with us again; we will have a longer day on Tuesday, as I will be taking her back to her foster family around 6, on my way to Milwaukee for a hair appointment.  

The following weekend is Easter weekend, and we will pick her up Friday afternoon, and she will be with us until Sunday evening.  The week following will be spring break both for us and for her foster family, so we will not do any day visits that week.  The other foster family will get to spend some time with K3 before she leaves them, and the Shan Clan will take some time to regroup and do some fun stuff as a family before we grow again.  

Assuming all visits have gone well and K3 seems to be a good fit for our family, she will move in Saturday, April 14.

Three short weeks until our family is potentially one child more blessed!

Update

Yes, I know, it has been ages.  It seems like just as soon as we clear one hurdle, there's another waiting for us!  

Ty got through his withdrawal really well.  We all survived the holidays, and then he got pneumonia.  He got through that, and we had BF (bio family) drama.  And now we're just getting over a round of family illness.  I guess we are a really close family - we share EVERYTHING!  :-)

But, everyone is doing great, overall.  Hunter is SOARING through 6th grade - subjects he was once behind in, he is now plowing ahead in.  My hope of him starting at grade level in 7th grade is beginning to dissipate.  Now I am beginning to hope he will start 7th grade a little ahead of his peers in some subjects, math in particular.  Yes, MATH - the subject he was the most behind in during 4th grade.  He is also doing really well with reading - the little 8 year old boy who hated to read when he came to us now cannot get enough of books!  It makes a Mama's heart so proud :-).  And his comprehension and oral fluency have improved greatly.  I just cannot express how proud I am of how far he has come.  He is not without his challenges - what almost-12-year-old is?? - but we continue to work on those and pray that God will help us guide his heart so that he continues to learn to make right decisions and grow in maturity and responsibility.

Kaleigh is also progressing very well academically.  She began learning to read in the fall, and her reading improves every day.  She sometimes just amazes me with the words she is able to sound out.  She really has gotten the hang of the sounding-out thing very quickly.  She, too, loves to read, both by herself and with others.  She and I always have at least one book that we read through together over a period of time.  Right now, we are reading through the Ramona series; we are nearly finished with Ramona the Brave.  She is also really into American Girl dolls right now, and a couple of weeks ago I pulled out the few books that I collected as a pre-teen; she latched onto those right away.  So now we are also reading Meet Addy.   I was concerned it would be a little too much for her, since it talks somewhat vividly about how slaves were treated; but she took it in really well, and I figured kids are exposed to so much fictional violence these days, that it won't hurt her to understand a little bit of our historical "violence."  And it's geared for 9 year olds, so it isn't TOO graphic.  Kaleigh is also working on writing - she actually has been working on this since preschool, but now that she is learning to read, she is recognizing the correlation to writing and spelling.  She loves to write notes to people, and sometimes I tell her the spelling as she is writing, but sometimes I tell her to sound it out.  It is fun to see what she comes up with, and I just love the way kids learn when they work things out for themselves.

Ty is growing, growing, growing.  He began teething a couple of weeks ago, and since a tooth has not popped through just yet, he is still cranky, cranky, cranky.  In between the cranky times, though, he is such a happy baby.  He is smiling and cooing and giggling all the time, and it is soooooo sweet.  The week before last he started rolling from back to front - I guess it won't be long now before he is on the move!  Yikes!!  

We got a call yesterday about a 3 year old little girl who is currently in foster care.  They are in the TPR (termination of parental rights) process with her right now, but her current foster family is unable to adopt her; so they are looking for a family who would be able to adopt her once TPR is complete.  After talking through it last night, Randy and I agreed that we would like to meet her and set up some pre-placement visits to see what she's like and how she might fit into our family.  We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we begin to move through this process.  

Well, I have a baby who needs fed and a little girl who is turning into a giant raisin in the tub.  Time to run!  Hoping I'll be able to update more regularly now that we have settled into somewhat of a routine!