Is their ANY improvement?

Someone asked me the other day if we have seen improvements in our kids since they have entered our home.  She asked because to her it seemed like we were barely making it through our days when the kids first arrived.  And she was right.  And we have seen improvements....drastic improvements.  Here are some of the biggest:

Speech: When they first came all three of the kids main form of communication was to point and grunt.  While we still have this happen at times, particularly after hard visits.  The kids are using there words not only to get what they need from us but to have conversations, to let their desires be known, and to talk others outside of our family.  This is particularly huge for Little Man who was only saying a handful of words after a month of living with us.  Now he speaks in full sentences with us and will occasionally converse with those he doesn't know.

Reading: I remember the first time I tried to read a book to these kids.  Little Man had NO interest, Baby Girl sat through one page, and Big Brother had to be playing with something while listening.  It was a shock to both Tony and my system as we had raised Addilece on books.  That girl could sit for an hour and read, if not more, and she was only 2.  Now, they are almost as thrilled about reading as Addilece is.  The other day I sat Baby Girl down with a pile of books and she contently sat there for 20 minutes flipping through them.  If we sit down to read with one child within seconds we have the rest clamoring around us with a book in hand to read to them.

Socially: Going to a store the first time was awful.  It's still not the thrill of our lives but the kids can make it through a shopping trip with out too much drama and usually walking on their own.  They are also interacting with adults and peers better.  They can function socially.  It's fun to see them make connections with others.

Picture Perfect: Demolation

 We recently start remodeling our downstairs bathroom.  It is nasty!  Addilece has fondly labeled it the "Yucky Bathroom".  We are so excited to finally be able to have a second bathroom.

Picture Perfect: First Day of School

We just had our 4th first day of school.  There was an opening in the afternoon class of the PreK program that Little Man is in.  Sweet Pea happened to be the next one on the list.  This was a super hard decision for us but we decided due to our lives right now that this was a good move for her.  She loves the Princess book bag Daddy bought for her.

Hope

Hope.

As a born again believer it's something I sing about, quote verses about, and pray about.  Hope is powerful.  And I am thankful for the hope I find in Jesus Christ.  I would be no where with out it.

As a foster parent I have begun to see hope in a different light.

My kids are filled with hope.  Hope that their parents will do what they said they would do.  Hope that their parents will be where they want them to be.  Hope that the judge will say "yes" they can go home at the next court date. 

Even when we tell them that their is no hope for something to happen they still have hope.  That is, until they stare what they were hoping for in the face.  Until, they realize that their hope was for nothing.  That indeed what we said would happen actually did.

Those are hard moments, hard days, hard weeks.  To watch the life get squeezed out of child because their hope has completely vanished. 

Yet a few days later their hope is rekindled.  Sometimes hope prevails, many times it does not.

Hope is a powerful weapon.  It has the power to encourage and uplift.  And when it doesn't work out, it has to power to destroy and damage. 

I hope that one day my kids will be able to place their hope in eternal things.  I hope their hearts heal.  I hope they will not completely give up.

Goals

LAST WEEK: 
SELF:
*Complete the 1st week of the Couch to 5K program. (The weather turned out WAY colder than I expected....I was able to run one of the three days.  I'll keep starting the first week until I feel like I can get a consistent work out in)

MINISTRY:
*Work on KC for 3 hours.
*Work on Awana for 3 hours.

FOSTER CARE:
*Fill out paperwork for Big Brother.
*Spend 10 minutes a night filling out behavior journal.

KIDS:
*Work on Awana 4 nights a week with Big Brother (3 days) and Addilece (2 days).
*Do 3 Fine Motor activities with Addilece.
*Do 4 to 6 school activities with Little Man. (5 activities)
*Spend 1 hour doing specific sensory activities.

TONY & I:
*Read the Bible together 4 nights a week.
*Ask Tony what he wants done and do it.

FINANCES:
*Have a bi weekly financial meeting.
*Update the check book

THIS WEEK:
SELF:
*Complete the 1st week of the Couch to 5K program.
*Write a Getting Real Blog post

MINISTRY:
*Work on Awana for 3 hours.
*Work on KC for 3 hours.

FOSTER CARE:
*Complete Big Brother's paperwork.
*Spend 10 minutes a night filling out behavior journal.

KIDS:
*Work on Awana 4 nights a week with Big Brother and Addilece.
*Do 3 to 5 school activities with Big Brother
*Spend 1 hour doing specific sensory activities.

TONY & I:
*Read the Bible together 4 nights a week.
*Ask Tony what he wants done and do it.

FINANCES:
*Update the check book.