Where the Heck Have I Been?

It has been over a year since my last post!! That is pitiful, but I honestly can tell you that a lot has kept me busy. We were so excited to bring our newest addition, “JJ”, home from the hospital just in time for Christmas in 2009, as a foster child. Our deepest prayer and desire is to adopt her and be her family FOREVER. I often say, “She doesn’t belong to us but we belong together.”

My calendar is filled with the kids’ bus stop drop off and pick up times and various appointments with case workers, supervised visitation, pediatricians, allergists, neurologists, occupational therapy, physical therapy, early intervention, W.I.C., preschool, playdates, and ballet, of course. Then at night or on weekends, there is dinner, homework, girl scouts, cub scouts, wrestling, teacher conferences, church activities, family outings, blah, blah, blah. As a foster parent, I also have paperwork to complete each month and 40 hours of continuing education to complete every 2 years. Professionally, I continue to work outside the home one day per week and one weekend day per month, and don’t even know how many hours of continuing education I still need by June to keep my license. On top of all of that, I can’t stand to have the house messy!

I have to admit that the last three years since my Mom’s death, and this past year in particular, have been the most physically exhausting and emotionally demanding, yet blessed years of my life. I love being a parent to these four uniquely cool kids. Yeah, my days are packed but I have a great man to share this chaotic life with. Our “zone defense” parenting skills are being challenged and are improving everyday. Don’t get me wrong. It is not all rainbows and sunshine and at times I contribute to the chaos. More than once, “H” has walked in from work and I have had my head on the counter with tears in my eyes and “J” saying, “Can someone get the crying baby?” He just walks in and asks what needs to be done…and does it. He actually consoled me one day by saying, “Would it help if you went back to work more?” Funny thing is, that he was being nice because my day at work is often times easier and requires less multi-tasking than my days at home.

So what am I doing writing this blog? Honestly, I am probably avoiding doing something more mundane like cleaning toilets or hanging up laundry. But seriously, I enjoy writing and it feels like I am talking to an adult for a few minutes and anyone who knows me knows that I like to talk. (Sorry!) I actually got a kick out of re-reading my old posts. It is like the journal I never kept.

So where have I been? I have been living and surviving a very wonderful year. I am starting to be more hopeful that an adoption will occur in 2011 and I am settling in to the vision of these 4 kids completing our family. I have been smiling, playing, laughing, crying, worrying, and obsessing at times. All the while, I have been trying not to let day to day tasks swallow me up. I love talking to my friends on the phone, checking Facebook more than I should, indulging in some mindless T.V. on DVR, and spending time with friends or my husband whenever possible. Maybe I will continue to write a little too. I hope that you all are having a blessed year as well.