This Girl and Her Papa

I have so enjoyed getting to know Olivia these last 8 months.  We learned early on that she is pretty stinking hilarious!  I just love this girl.  She is so funny and makes me laugh out loud all the time.  Her expressions and how she says things and the looks she gives us...such a hoot.

Today during school Livvy was dot painting while I worked with Hannah and Nathan.  I turned around for a minute to do something and when I turned back I let out a huge laugh - she had dot painted herself in a pretty funny way!

Silly girl!

She is also a super talkative little girl.  It's kind of funny that before she came home we were told she only said a couple of words and we were worried about her speech!  Sometimes when it's just me and her she keeps up a steady running commentary for 20+ minutes without taking a break.  I have a cough right now and she is so super sweet - every time I cough (literally every time, all day long) she stops what she's doing and shouts, "You okay, mom?"

She really, really, really loves her Papa.  My Dad was here for Christmas and Livvy was practically glued to his side.  Every time I looked around she was sitting on his lap or following him around.

We are having a birthday party for Nathan this weekend and my parents are coming.  All day long today Livvy kept bursting out with, "My Paaaaaaaaaapppppaaaaaaaaa!"  And I would explain that he's coming soon, which would satisfy her for another half hour or so.

I'm so happy to be mom to this spunky, hilarious, sweet little girl!

Sisters...and friends???

These two girls.  I just adore them.  I seriously could not love them any more than I do.  Hannah is spunky, feisty, opinionated, hilarious, loving, thoughtful....an awesome kid.  Olivia is sweet as pie, easygoing, cuddly, friendly, helpful....such a gift!

It's no secret that Hannah had a pretty rough time accepting Olivia into the family.  I kind of thought that she would, as pretty much anytime I hold or sit near another child other than her she freaks out.  Screaming things like, "She's MY MOMMY!!!!!!!!"

Fun times.

So when Olivia came home, I expected to hear this a lot.  Good news - I was right!  Oh, the screaming.  I cannot even tell you.  I didn't know how to handle it.  I tried sympathy.  I tried giving her extra time alone with me.  I tried reasoning.  I tried time outs and time ins.  Oh my goodness, the screaming.  It just about made me lose my mind.  And worst of all, Livvy was starting to act just the same and was joining in on the screaming!

While I would definitely describe Olivia's adjustment to our family as the easiest we have experienced so far, this was the hardest part for me.  I thought it would never end.

And then suddenly one day, I realized it was actually getting better.  Life was getting easier.  And calmer.  And Hannah was getting more rational :)

One day the girls got up in the morning and I held Olivia and Hannah sat beside me on the couch and didn't scream.

My jaw dropped open.  It had literally not happened before.  Olivia had been home for over 5 months.  

Over the last month or so, it seems we have turned a corner.  The girls play together more often than they fight.  The screaming has almost completely stopped.  Not totally, but almost.  Life is so much more pleasant!  I am so thankful!

Sibling relationships are challenging and take time to develop,  Thankfully I knew this already from my experience with Matthew and Nathan.  I believed they would get to where they are now - I just had no idea how long it would take!  It is a beautiful thing to see.

Sisters and friends.

Christmastime

It's time for a catch-up!  As always life has been busy but good.  The days are full of playing and teaching and laughing and tests of patience.  I wouldn't trade it for anything!

December was a lovely month here.  We finished up school, which continues to go very well, and were all ready for Christmas break.  Two weeks with no school - what a nice break for Mom and students!  

We have had only one snowfall so far this winter (hooray! I really could do without the snow!).  I'm so glad we made the effort to bundle up the kids (getting four ready for snow is quite the event).  They had a blast playing out in the snow.  Olivia wasn't too sure about it and mostly followed me around saying, "Uppy!" and wanting me to pick her up.  

It was kind of crazy how warm it was when we went to cut down our Christmas tree.  Usually it is freezing and we have to hurry.  This time it was not that bad - we are all in our spring jackets!  I laughed so hard when I looked at this picture that someone at the tree farm took of us.  I have always loved Brad's antlers :)

Matthew sang in his first Christmas program at church this year.  What a blessing!  All of the kids loved learning the songs and getting to watch him sing his heart out on stage brought tears to my eyes.  For so many years I watched those programs with an ache in my heart wondering if I would ever be watching my child.  And now here I was - and there was my son!  I am so thankful.

Christmas this year did not go how we expected as Brad got a call in the middle of the night saying he needed to work Christmas Eve and Christmas day because of storms that had come through the state.  He had to go away overnight and the kids were pretty disappointed he couldn't be here with us (I was too!!!!).  Thankfully my parents and youngest sister were here to help me with the kids and we managed to have fun even though it wasn't what we'd hoped for.  We held off on Christmas presents and our big Christmas dinner and had that with Brad on the 26th.  It was busy and wonderful to be altogether.

It was Olivia's first Christmas with us but it really is hard to remember what it was like without her.  She is such a part of us!  We are so glad she's here!

Here We Are

I'm sitting at the kitchen table looking out into the backyard.

Christmas music is playing and there's a fire in the fireplace.  I like to break all the "No Christmas music before Thanksgiving" rules :)

Hannah is pushing Livvy in the swing and all I can see is Livvy's huge smile.  They are the best of friends...for the moment!

The boys are running around screaming as loud as they can.  Our neighbors must love us.

I just finished the 6-month post-placement report for Olivia's adoption.

Six months?!?!  How can it even be that six months have gone by already?

And how can it be that I've only been kissing these cheeks for six months?

School is going well.  Busy.  It's so busy.  But we make a little progress every day and somehow they are learning so many new things!  Nathan is starting to read and he is beyond thrilled about it.  Matthew is trucking along with much less resistance than last year.  Overall...a good year so far.

Brad is doing so well.  He had quite the health scare over the last six months.  It began in China with pain in the night and got progressively worse as the months went on, to the point where he was not able to eat solid foods.  

Stupid gallbladder.  We are glad that's gone and so thankful it was a fixable problem.

We are dating again.  Each other, I mean.  It has been years of not being able to go out without children being newly home and needing us.  We are in a good place, settled, and everyone is just getting older with no new one on the horizon.  It's a nice place to be and I'm quite enjoying it!  Going out with Brad from time to time and getting through the baby phase with the kids is such a blessing.  

Guess what I did this week?  I slept through the night!  It was just once, but....it was once more than usual!  We are slowly but surely moving in the right direction towards more sleep and less wake ups.  It's glorious.

Here we are.  It's a good place to be.

Lame Blogger Award...

There's probably no one out there reading...well, maybe my mom :)  I know I totally get the "Lame Blogger Award" for my lack of posting.  I'm feeling the urge to write and document again so I may be back a little more often.  Life is so full that all my good intentions seemed to get swallowed up in...life!  I'm not going to lie, four littles keeps me pretty busy these days.  It has taken me quite a while to get adjusted to the pace of life and the whole not-having-a-free-moment thing but I am at last feeling like I have my head above water (some of the time) and I am finding some free time (here and there).  

I smile just looking at this picture - can't believe I get to be mom to all of them!  Super fun.  Super exhausting!  Wouldn't trade it for anything.

We have purposefully chosen to have a quieter life right now.  We did not sign up for any of the very good activities we wanted to do this fall (piano lessons, soccer, other things for the kids) and I feel so glad about that choice.  We have spent a ton of time walking in the woods, hanging out in the backyard, reading books...I feel like the days are busy but we have also carved out some much-needed down time with these activities.  There will be time for the other activities down the road, but for now we choose slow.

One of the bonuses (and the challenges) of choosing a slower pace is lots of time together.  Siblings are learning how to share, to think of each other, to play together.  It's good and it's hard.  One in particular has had a hard time with the transition of a new little sibling.  I think my least favorite part of parenting is dealing with sibling fighting (my mom is snickering now because she can totally relate thanks to me and my younger sister!).  

It really feels like Olivia has always been part of us.  When I see pictures of us with three kids now...it's strange!  She has fit so perfectly into our family and I'm amazed with her pretty much every day.

One of my favorite memories from the summer - looking out the kitchen window and seeing these four playing on the swing set.  I remember one day looking out and seeing Livvy chatting away to Matthew and it just struck me: "She is one of us.  She belongs."

There are moments of frustration dealing with sibling issues but there are also so many sweet moments.  I can't imagine these kiddos without each other!  Matthew particularly has a soft spot for Olivia.  He is so gentle with her and takes such good care of her.  The other day I looked outside and the kids were running around laughing.  Olivia tripped and fell, and as I watched all three of the other kids ran up to her, helped her up, asked her if she was okay, brushed her off and then ran off again together.  It brought a smile to my face to see the care they have for each other.

Some days I look at this little girl and feel as though I might burst.  I was pretty terrified of adding another one to the family.  I was scared about her medical needs, scared that she was 2.5 years old and terrified of strangers, scared about the workload.  But every single day I kiss those cheeks and see that smile and REJOICE that we said yes!  She is such a gift and I know just how blessed I am.

The "Back to School" Post

It has obviously been quite a while since my last post!  We have been busy enjoying the beautiful summer days and honestly they have just been flying by.  I can hardly believe it is the end of August already. 

We are a bit ahead with our school schedule this year and have already been back at it for over three weeks.  Why?  Mostly because...we can!  I love the flexibility of homeschooling and for us, it was time to start.  The kids were anxiously asking when we would be starting again, we have the time, and by starting earlier we are able to loosen up the schedule a little throughout the year so that when we have to miss school for appointments or sickness, it doesn't put us behind at all.

I was pretty nervous about how things would go this year with four at home, but after a few weeks we are finding our groove a little.  Some days are pretty overwhelming, some days are easy and laid back and we accomplish everything very quickly.  Some days I think, "Homeschooling = greatest thing ever!!!" and some days I think, "Is it too late to enroll them in school?".  The good outweighs the hard, though, and every time I question if we are doing the right thing, I look at our list of reasons for homeschooling and know this is just the right thing for our kids at this point in time.

The kiddos were so excited for their first day of school!

Little Miss Olivia is not doing any schoolwork, just lots of playing, potty training, snack eating and little activities to enjoy.

Hannah just turned four and is doing preschool at home this year.  She loves to be a big girl and wanted school work like her brothers, so she is working on a couple of beginning writing/coloring books, learning her letters, and counting.  She loves school and asks to do it as soon as we get up!

Nathan is such a hardworking, excited student!  He is a joy to teach with his willing and eager attitude.  He is 5 and started Kindergarten this year!  He has better handwriting than many of the fifth grade students I used to teach and absolutely loves to color and draw.  He is very creative and I can't wait to see him learn to read and write independently. 

Matthew is 6 and is in the First Grade this year.  He is an awesome reader already as that came very quickly and naturally to him last year.  He has already read a few chapter books and I am constantly finding him reading books about sharks, whales, and bugs.  He is very good at math, hates handwriting and coloring (but thankfully does it without a battle this year....so far!), and is a good speller.  He is a joy to teach!

We have joined a homeschool co-op that starts in a few weeks and I am very excited about this.  There are many families in the co-op and the boys will be in a K/1st class together on Wednesday mornings.  Hannah will be in a Preschool class and I will help in the nursery where Livvy will stay.  I think it will be great for all of us!

We're off to a good start and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds!