Boy, it sure has been a long time since I last updated my blog. My apologies. Life had taken a turn toward true and utter chaos with the Taneesha's school play, the holidays, birthdays, the New Year . . . blah blah blah. But now we seem to be settling back into some form of normalcy, whatever that is exactly I am not sure.
Taneesha turned 12 in November. She is having a great year in 6th grade. The transition to middle school has gone very well for her. She got all A's on her report card both 2nd and 3rd marking period. A huge boost of self confidence for her. Piano and her flute continue to be major points of focus for her. And of course her friends! It has been fun to watch her personality develop over the past few months as she becomes more independent and social. T'sha has she has been affectionately nicknamed by Dylan, is a terrific big sister and a true blessing to me.
Lena turned 4 in December. Hard to believe that we have had her for 3 of her 4 birthdays. Her favorite playtime activity continues to be dress-up and thankfully Santa knew just what to bring. Lots of beautiful princess dresses (Halloween costumes found on clearance) and clip-clop shoes (plastic high heels) that make wonderfully loud clip-clop sounds when she stomps across the hardwood floors. She lost her 1st tooth last week. (well the dentist helped it out b/c Lena was very afraid she was going to swallow it). After the tooth fairy made a visit, Lena informed us that she is a very sneaky lady b/c she was super quiet when she "flew" through the stairway. Oh to have the imagination of an innocent child. Lena is struggling with some difficult behaviors and angry outbursts but we are working very closely with a therapist to address those areas.
Dylan has lived with us for 10 months now. He is doing pretty good overall. Dylan definitely is a happy young man full of love and laughter. His speech has improved greatly and he continues to work on personal boundaries with people and animals. Dylan has a great love Katie's twins, Peyton and Paige. And they think that he is just hilarious. Since I last posted about him, there has been some changes to Dylan's plan. After weekend visits started, we were planning that he would be returning to his mom's home in January, but there was a set-back over the holidays. So . . . it could be months before Dylan's mom will be ready to have him at home. And with some newly developed behaviors from him, we have decided that it is time to move Dylan to another foster home. The agency is currently looking for something else. We are sad to have to make this decision but it is in the best interest of Dylan, his mom, and our family. We pray that the new family will be open to us remaining a part of Dylan's life. Our entire extended family has come to love both him and his mom.
This coming spring and summer we hope to get the addition to the back of our house started. We met with the builder on Wednesday and they have begun to work on some drawings for us. The plan is to push the dinette out 6-8 feet to the south, add an entryway to the East and put a room above the dinette on the 2nd story. This is going to be a huge undertaking for us, but are excited we will have more usable living space for our family and the children we hope to love through foster care. I hope to be able to post pictures as the process goes along.
We were able to spend lots of time outside taking walks, and bike and scooter rides around the neighborhood. The kids love to stop to pick up sticks, rocks, pine cones and play in the puddles.
Anna rides her scooter through the rain. I don't think either she or Lamar had ever played in the rain.
Taneesha and Lena with all the neighborhood kids playing in the rain together. It was so fun to watch the older ones dancing and singing just as much as the little ones.
Lamar, T'sha, Lena and Anna
