It has been gently brought to my attention that is has been quite some time since I have blogged. Yes. Indeed. It has. I wasn’t my intention to leave you hanging. It’s just that…things happen, life gets BUSY, and TIME FLIES!!
You probably already know the logistical transformations of the last three months: Henry & Landyn started school @ Haw Rive Christian Academy (I cannot say enough about their school - it simply ROCKS!!) the day after Labor Day and I started a new job @ SunTech Medical exactly four school days later (would have liked to take another week or two to catch my breath, but had to strike while the job-iron was hot & am incredibly grateful to have been presented with such an wonderful opportunity in this less-than promising economy).
Henry is in third grade. He is bright & loves school (despite his instance that he would NOT like school & his protests that he only wanted to “play games” all day). And he loves baseball. His biggest academic obstacle is his lack of confidence in himself. He knows WAY more than he thinks he does. He has no idea how bright (& incredibly funny!!) he is! It is my mission to rebuild his self esteem. When I tell him how much I love him, it is obvious he does not have a history of having received this kind of affirmation. But each time he is less surprised & resistant to my showers of love. And he never doesn’t grin from ear-to-ear. And most recently he has started giving it right back J! Yes, indeed, he has settled into having loving parents & extended family & friends very well.
He is certainly not without a challenge here & there but the brightness in his eyes & the promises of the brightness for his future far outshine any challenge we’ve faced thus far. Honestly, at the end of the day, our biggest challenge with Henry is wearing him out physically. He is 100% energy & 200% boy – you know… talks incessantly about boogers & makes repulsive boy noises & smells at the most inopportune times. He is just delightful… I wouldn’t trade a minute of my time with him! J
Landyn is in fifth grade. She loves school & reading & TALKING (loudly!). We’ve had concerns about her eyesight since last year, so it was no surprise when a trip to the eye doctor confirmed she is terribly farsighted & a bit nearsighted. She is enjoying being able to actually see the world with her sassy new glasses! She also had two cavities filled & three rotten baby (thank goodness!) teeth extracted & had a spacer placed (which is a lot like a retainer – crosses the roof of her mouth which isn’t good for a new language learner!) to maintain the positioning between her permanent teeth. It’s been a lot of trips to the dentist & we’re ready for a break!
Landyn has had a more difficult time than Henry settling into our family. There are many layers to this and I’m sure there are many more layers to uncover but the short version is that she was with her biological family for almost 10 years (and she’s only 11). And by all accounts, they lived a very dysfunctional lifestyle (not a news flash – I know, but maybe even more dysfunctional than we can imagine). As a result she is extremely immature, has poor impulse control, and has very little ability to associate cause & effect. Sadly, she is an 11-year-old, physically developing girl with a toddler-to-young-child’s developmental maturity & thought process. Without saying anything else (bc I respect her & am heartbroken by what she has endured prior to us), I will say she is one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever known & we are blessed & grateful to have her in our family. But you can only imagine the minute-by-minute parenting choices we have to make in response to her behaviors. Add on the fact that we have a very astute 9-year-old son watching us & drawing conclusions about how to treat others & what is expected of him and…well…you see why so much time has elapsed since my last blog entry!
In conclusion, we are happy & well. We are blessed in ways we would have never had the audacity to ask of God. My only prayer is for health & happiness for my kids. We are very hopeful for both of them…
Thank you for caring about my family & reading my blog. I cannot promise what the gap will be between this and the next entry. But you can be sure there will be one…J
No comments:
Post a Comment