Highs and Lows

It has been a long year. It's hard to believe the last time I posted on my blog was right before my son's adoption.  So much has happened this year.  And yet not a lot at the same time.  If that's not real life, I don't know what is.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I homeschooled my two oldest kids this year.  We started the year in a charter school which turned into a very bad situation very quickly. Then we gave public school a try and that didn't go well either.  Not to the fault of the school necessarily but to the fault of my son just not being emotionally ready for school.  All of my children were born drug-exposed in utero before we adopted them, and while they have met most growth milestones, we knew education could be where we see some side effects of those drugs.  Our daughter was held back to repeat kindergarten. Not a big deal, she is doing great now. My oldest son, however, seems to be struggling more. We started him in kindergarten this year as a 5 almost 6 year old and he was completely unable to do anything the teachers asked of him and this caused great frustration for him and his behavior became out of control.  After pulling him out in October, we just focused on him learning his letters and numbers this year. He has made a lot of improvement at home.  We also got him some therapy and in home treatment and it did amazing things for his emotional struggles.  He is very excited to go back to school in the Fall and he too, will be doing kindergarten again. He will be the oldest in his class I am sure but I know that he needs to be in a class that he can feel successful in.  Our second oldest son is very smart and advanced for his age but his struggle has been speech.  He will be starting speech therapy preschool in the Fall.  Our baby who is now 18 months isn't really talking yet.  I am working with him and I hope the words will come soon.

Having all four kids home every day has been challenging to say the least.  I wake in the morning with hope for a productive and fun day...and then the kids wake up.  The fighting and arguing and messes and tantrums and crying ensues.  Don't get me wrong, there are many sweet moments. A kiss from my toddler, a cuddle with the baby, the sounds of my kids using their wild imaginations with their toys, an encouraging call from my mom.  There are highs and lows each day.  But overall, it has been a very emotionally draining year.

Next school year we are making some changes.  First off, we just bought a house! Well, technically we are in escrow, but Lord willing, we will be moving in June one town over.  It's going to ease up my husbands commute which will help all of us.  We are hoping to enroll our daughter in a private christian school that we love for her 4th grade year and we are going to enroll my son in our local public school. Due to his special needs, public school is the one place we can really get the support we will need. I am SOOOO excited for us all to get a little break from each other.  I'm excited to be able to go shopping during the week again, with only one or two little ones with me. Shopping with the four is out of the question at this point.  I'm also hoping this will help my youngest two sons bond more since they will be together alone more often.  We are excited to get plugged into a new church, make some new friends, and try out some new activities.  Lastly, I am hopeful to get some time for myself, specifically to try to lose weight and get back in shape. I'm horrible at making myself a priority but in order to be the best mom I can be, I need to be healthy.

I would really love to get back to writing on this blog and seeking out the truth of God's Word and share the things He is teaching me through motherhood.  Hopefully, I will be back soon!