Big Changes

Well, Bella is now a second grader! I can't believe that first grade went so fast. She had a wonderful teacher and a wonderful year. I loved reading with her class every week and watch them all blossom into such good readers - I will miss the kiddos too. She has a great teacher lined up for next year and her two best friends from kindergarten are in her class this year, so she's very excited about that. The girls loved gymnastics this year and have gotten very strong. Natalie finished her 3's preschool with a great report card. Apparently she's not as naughty for other people as she is for me;) We have started family bike rides, now that Bella is more confident. She's been able to ride since she's four, but she was deathly afraid to do it, so she only road when we made her, but after riding down the street crying "I hate riding bikes - you are so mean", she suddenly got very brave and now asks us to go for rides;)
We were finally certified for foster care/adoption about two weeks ago and in one week, I think we got four calls! It's sad what a need they have for fostering children. We accepted the fourth call and last Friday night, we picked up our two foster sons. They are 8 months old and 19 months old and they are brothers. It's been a challenge, that's for sure. We haven't had a baby in the house for three years, so we had to put the crib back together and get out all the baby clothes and toys and bottels, etc. Luckily I don't have a lot of stuff sitting out for little ones to get into, but we still had to modify things to keep them safe. We have a crawler and a runner! The older one gets into everything, so I am exhausted by the time I go to bed. They told us, that it would be a temporary placement, but I'm starting to wonder how temporary this will be. A bunch of family members had expressed interest in taking them, but no one has called back to get them. Aaron leaves for six weeks next week. Things liking getting groceries and still seeing my friends is worrying me a bit. I'm really juggling with trying to not let my kids slip through the cracks, while I am running around taking care of the little ones. We have only been up three hours and everyone is fed, changed (twice), had coloring time, school work time, computer time and story time. I might tackle taking them out to play in the back yard, but it's so humid out. Luckily the baby is taking his morning nap and the kids are playing well together. Bella of course, is trying to mother him and wants to do everything, which is very helpful and Natalie wants to help, but she' more in the way when she helps. When we got them, we had no instructions on their needs, so we were a little over-whelmed at first, but we have already fallen into a routine, which is great. They are two very happy boys. Please pray for us as we continue to transition. When you parent your own kids, so can be way more layed back. I'm constantly trying to keep them safe and when they are these ages, they are so top heavy, they are constantly hitting their heads. I pray that I will relax more with them! I hope everyone is having a great summer.