M and baby Y

Baby Y came up in conversation this morning (as he does most days) and I had to break the news to M (and Z) that he was not coming to live with us. As I had expected M broke out in tears and wanted an explanation as to why he wasn't coming. I explained to him that he was going to live with the family he has always lived in. He then wanted to move in with them so that he could see Y all the time! Through his tears he said "now I won't have a brother". I said "yes you do...you have Z!" I did a little more explaining of the situation and told him that we would have more kids (brothers and sisters for him) in our family soon and he calmed down. I'm sure this won't be the last time we talk about this but I'm glad it's out in the open! Where is Mark when we have these conversations?!?! (along with all the other "boy" conversations we have in a week!) I'm ready for him to be home so I can defer the boys to him at times :)

Staffing

Today we were staffed for the boys' one year old brother. We have known about him since we were staffed for the boys and we always thought we would get him when the time came for him to move into an adoptive family. But today they made the decision for him to stay with his current foster home. I am sad for the loss of a little one in our family and I am very sad that the boys won't grow up in the same house as their brother. I can't imagine having a sibling (or more) that lives somewhere else and that I have little to no contact with. I feel like they are missing out on an important piece of themselves. So now we have some decisions to make about how to grow our family (no we are not done!) I am going to start considering foster care placements that come our way (we get them every so often from the local foster care agency) and we are still considering doing IVF when Mark comes home. We have missed out on the boys' little kid years and we very much want to experience that as parents! Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers that were sent to us during the staffing! We are blessed:)

Painting with Z

Twins?!?!

M and his cousin Jacob (also 6 years old) dressed in matching pjs for the night! They thought this was PRETTY cool:)

more family

Zoburt is turning into quiet the family dog! He was loving all the attention he was getting from Jacob and from Zack (I'm fairly certain he misses Mark...brother was filling in for a few minutes!)
The boys are also missing the attention of a male...Zayvion watching some cartoons with Uncle Zack :) (hurry home Mark...we ALL miss you very much!!)

We went to the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS today. It is a super small zoo but they had monkeys and some other fun animals...it was just the right size for the 3 boys to stay interested!

This is why I am getting a 3rd row vehicle when Mark gets home...that and the constant "he's touching me, he's breathing on me, he's (enter whatever) on me" that went on all the way to and from the zoo!

About 2 minutes after meeting Uncle Zack the boys had made a home on his lap (I think it was because they wanted his bowl of cereal!) Mylique was VERY interested in his facial hair (something his dad can't grow...so we don't see a lot of it around our home...well the Army doesn't really allow it either...thank goodness!!!). Mylique kept touching his face and feeling it...quite funny!

Visit from family

The bar stools make a great tunnel to climb through!
TRAINS!!!
Took me 20 mins to build...took Zayvion 2 sec to destroy...

Mylique playing with his cousin Jacob

Z looking adorable!

Superhero Jacob and Mylique racing

Superheroes!

Mom was watching a program about how kids feel safe and brave and less scared when they are superheroes with capes, so she made each of the boys their own cape...and they love them! They were defending our home from bad guys today...so our home is now safe:) Thanks for the wonderful gift Grammy!

Valentines and slippers

Happy Valentines Day (early) to Mylique!
Happy Valentines Day to Zayvion!!

Rescue Heroes in Z's slippers

That is what these are for right?!?

2 months

Today we have had the boys in our home for 2 months. I can honestly say that things are getting much easier and I'm getting to enjoy the boys more now! We still have some testing but for the most part we have found our groove and the boys seem settled. We still miss Mark tremendously and we talk about him everyday (Mylique has MANY plans for him when he comes home!) His favorite saying these days is "When Mark comes home can we... (insert good idea). It is very cute. They have taken to calling me mom or mama (by Zayvion) and I love to hear it (except when it's said 400 times in a row :) We are currently in therapy and the boys love their therapist (and so do I). Mylique is still struggling in school but the teachers at Chapman Elementary are amazing and he is slowing catching on. I am so sad that Mark is missing all of our firsts (Mylique's first birthday with us, conferences, therapy...) and trying not to be mad at the Army for taking him away. I thank God everyday for bringing the boys into our lives (even on days that aren't great!!) I have seen them grow so much in the last 2 months and I am excited to see who they grow into and what they will become!!

Were you planning on reading this?

The boys and I took a trip to Wichita to try to find a trampoline (so that we'd stop jumping and breaking the beds) and when we came home we found that the puppies had done a bit of light reading:) They found one of Mark's old books and decided to rip it to shreds...hope you weren't planning on reading that!!

End of January pics

Dress up at our house usually includes an Army uniform:) Here our good friend Amy Dillman is posing as an Army Officer...I think she missed her calling!
I found out why Zayvion wasn't coming to breakfast...he had a visitor:)

My kids (real and furry) watching a movie

Daisy found a lap that was warm AND surprisingly not moving!