Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

Since Girl and Little Boy came to live with us, there's been lots of "finding the right words." How do you explain to Girl why she's moved to your home, her 5th house in 10 months, without making everyone else the villain? She herself gave us the words to explain one of her birthparents' problem: "they drink too many adult drinks."  So imagine explaining to Girl why her mommy is in a rehab center - because she needs help not drinking the adult drinks. Or why her daddy's visits were ended - he is drinking adult drinks before he sees them & it's against the rules. And it got worse. How do you tell Girl that it was decided she would be safest away from her mommy? That her hope of living with her again will never happen? There are no suggestions on the Internet, folks, because I Googled it in multiple ways. And even though in the situation, one can totally grasp why it's happening - you can't convince a young girl that it's the best...

The title of the blog, long dormant, has had to change. We are now a family of six, having taken in two foster children about 8 months ago. We had been long expecting it, and even joked about these particular children ending up in our home. Doug and I both feel that we were just waiting... not sure when they would arrive, but knowing in our hearts our family wasn't complete yet. A milestone for the kids has passed, and this past Monday we signed the papers to begin the adoption process. It is definitely not all rainbows and butterflies. Charlie especially is struggling with this change in our family. There are days one or more of us wants the kids to just. go. away. Life had gotten simple, organized, easy even. And while the daily task of raising four kids is sometimes overwhelming now, Doug and I continue to feel that long term we are the best family for them. So now I will have lots more to write about as we navigate this new chapter.