Just an update...

This post may be a long one. It's been a while since I've set down to post a real update. We have had so much going on that I almost don't even know where to start.

I think I mentioned in my last post that we had taken in 2 new fosters. A 2 year old boy and baby girl. They are siblings. It is one of the worst cases that I've had. Both children need lots of therapy and the baby has lots of medical appointments due to severe abuse. Because I have so much already going on with Blaze and my other 2 fosters (Z and Tiny), we decided that we could not keep both children. I had only agreed to keep them temporarily, because they had no available homes when they came into care. My dear friend Monica opened her home back up to fostering to take "Little J" the 2 year old. At this time, she can not take the baby, so baby girl is still with us. I was very sad to see J go. He was by far one of the best kids I've ever had. But, it is for the best. He needs lots and lots of TLC and undivided attention and he will get that being the baby in Monica's home. As far as "Dimples" the baby girl, she is doing very, very, very well. She is way better than predicted. She is keeping me busy with all of her appointments and she is in therapy twice a week (thankfully at the same time/places as Blaze). I truly believe she is going to fully recover (at least that's what I'm praying for).

Our little Z will turn 5 the last day of this month. I can't believe he is going to be 5 years old. I remember 3 years ago when our adoption fell through and we had to give him back. I remember how brokenhearted we all were. I would have never dreamed he would come back to us. I still can't believe he is here. Next week, he will start kindergarten. We are so proud of our Little Z. His big sister Katie made him these neat shirts and I can't wait to see him wear them.

Blaze has been through some BIG changes. Over the summer, Blaze took part in 5 therapies a week (yes, we were just that busy), as well as regular trips to the autism center, and his normal specialist checkups. It kept me on the road all summer. I got so tired some days that I thought about just giving up. Sweet little Blaze didn't seem to mind at all. Never once did he whine or complain about going. He made HUGE progress. Blaze has continued at the farm working with the PT he has had from birth. We lost his long time OT (due to her health ) so he started at a new therapy center with a new OT and she is fantastic! Then, we dropped our ST because she just didn't seem to have a heart for her job, so we replaced her with a group of SLP/ST at West GA college and we couldn't have been more pleased. They went above and beyond with Blaze over the summer. All the changes paid off and Blaze has amazed us all. Blaze was recently accepted into a 12 week feeding program and a 12 week development program at the Marcus Autism Center, so for the next few months he will be working with them weekly. Due to all of his appointments, we have pulled him out of the deaf preschool. We are not sure if he will go back there once he has completed the programs at Marcus or if we are going to look at other options. We have not been fully satisfied with the school since Blaze first started there. We had a lot of concerns including his health and safety that we felt the school never fully addressed. I think the school is a good school for deaf children, but not such a good school for children with medical special needs. As Blaze gets older, we may put him back there. For now, his plate is full, and with all of his progress we are not taking a chance with him going backwards.

I have nothing new to share on our adoption. It seems to be another long drug out adoption just like Blaze's. It's so frustrating. This time we are dealing with a different county, so I have no idea when we will get to finalize. They just keep telling us it won't be much longer....grrrr  Our case worker is coming out tomorrow and maybe she will bring us some good news. We can't wait to share our adorable little girl with you. She is something else! 

We are getting excited about our final summer vacation that is coming up. We are going back to South Carolina to visit friends. We are looking forward to getting away for some relaxation and family time and a few days with our toes in the sand. Brent loves it so much there that he wants to move there. He actually wants to look at land when we go back. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I just wish I could move the beach here instead of us there or move my whole family with me.

Well, I had planned to write more but that is all I have time for right now. The babies just woke up and are ready to be fed. The boys are ready for some outside time with mom, so I'm out of here.

Have a blessed week! Even if the sun's not shining the SON always is!

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,and he will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6