Update

Life is busy here with all the kids home and playing all summer.  Sometimes I write about an issue and then I never go back to it.  I will attempt to update everyone.

Larissa had an eye exam and they said that her eye issue is an eye freckle.  There is a more medical term but I don't remember what it was.  Most of the time this is not an issue.  However, in rare instances it can grow into a melanoma so annual eye exams are recommended.  Her vision is 20/20.

Larissa and Michelle did earn the movie.  They got to go see a movie and brought Anthony and Sarah along.  Emma can go to the local movie theater which is small and safe.  However, she can't go into town to the bigger movie theater.   She is not able to sit through the entire movie and spends most of her time in the bathroom.  This movie wasn't showing locally so she stayed home with dad and helped in his garden counting watermelons and pulling weeds.

We haven't had any more problems with Michelle and Larissa sharing a bedroom.  They both have learned to respect each other and don't waken each other.  With the summer hours they are sleeping in a little later and sometimes Larissa comes down before Michelle.  Occasionally I can hear them playing upstairs together in the morning.  It is a nice sound.

Emma continues to be an early riser.  She gets up most mornings at 7 am when I get up with the baby.  Since she is the only downstairs kid she doesn't awaken the entire household.  She seems to enjoy having quiet mornings with just me and the baby so maybe she has found an advantage to not waking the others.

Breakfast in our house is simple and the kids come down and eat whenever they are ready.  Larissa and Michelle like grits while Anthony and Emma go for cereal.  At this time Anthony, Larissa and Michelle are able to operate the microwave.  Emma can't even reach it and isn't really ready to operate it anyways.  All the kids prepare and eat their own breakfasts.

Emma has settled from school ending and is doing well with eating normally again.  She is eating at meal times and is enjoying eating out again.  However, unless it is a restaurant that we regularly eat at it isn't worth the money to order her anything.  She is my pickiest eater and if she is not familiar with the food she will not eat it.  She is better off eating off of my plate.

Emma is also doing well with the dog in the house with supervision.  However, after an incident today she is not ready to be outside with the dog without supervision.

We still have our foster baby.  He is now 5 months old and his case is going very slow.  Mom continues to miss visits.  A family member has stepped forward for a home study so he may be leaning to go with her. 

We have decided that after 12 years of fostering that little man will be our last foster child.  We have several reasons for this decision.  First, we feel that we have had too many kids coming and going.  This is not good for our kids who are still working on attachment.  This last year we had 12 kids come and go in our house.  That is just too many kids.  Second, the system has really deteriorated.  It is difficult to get support and we have had some kids placed in our home who should not have been here.  DSS gets too desperate for a home and disregards the safety of the children in our home.  I just need to learn how to say no and stick with it.  I say no and then they talk me into taking a placement!

We do have an adoption home study that is open and if the right child comes available and they call us we will consider it.  This is another area where we don't want a child to come into our home who can harm our children.  Right now the minor children we have are the 4 little's and one foster child.  Since I don't work this is doable for me.  We could possibly take placement of a sibling pair but that would be our max.  It would also depend on what behaviors are present.

My mom is still living with us.  We have a helper come in 20 hours/week.  This helps me immensely.  The service is free through Long Term Community Health Care.  They provide her diapers and an attendant.

Kassi who left home at 18 so she could do whatever she wanted because she is an adult is struggling.  We paid her utility bill last month and try to help her out.  I suggested Job Corps to her but she doesn't want to be away from her boyfriend that long.  We paid for her to get her license but she never finished that.  We got her a laptop so she could work on her education, she never did.  I am not sure how else I can help her. In her words, being an adult sucks. 

There you go, a quick update.

So, am I missing anything?  Anything that I talked about and then never came back to?