We're Here and We're Home

It's been a while since I have blogged. I guess I didn't feel like I had much to say. A lot has happened over the last couple of years.

We're back in our home state! Praise God! I'm so much happier here. I'll admit that I was depressed in Washington. I was cut off from the family I knew and I'm too much of an introvert to make friends easily enough for it to not matter that I'm not near family.

The biggest blessing, besides being near family again and finally getting involved in church activities (outside of Sundays) is that we have a home. WE HAVE A HOUSE. No more apartment living in Washington state... the sound of music blasting, the smell of marijuana wafting through the open windows... WE HAVE A HOUSE. 1300 square feet. (Our apartment had just under 900 square feet!) Sky lights! Thank God for sky lights... I get S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) and sunlight is the best therapy.

The kids once again live near family, Anna is beginning to make new friends (although she misses her dear friends Sanaiya and Maggie) and seems much more at ease in her new surroundings. Charlie is happy as a clam because he has a back yard! Sometimes he'll go outside and just dig and dig and dig. I think he might be part dog. ;) Anna has snapped two branches from the trees because of climbing on them. She's part monkey, for sure. ;) Her nickname has been Monkey since she was a baby. Did you know she could cross the monkey bars when she was just three years old? I wish I had gotten a picture of that because it just sounds like a wild story without solid proof! But she did! And nothing's changed... she still rocks the monkey bars! I think the second biggest challenge for her, besides leaving friends behind, was figuring out how to go from Common Core math curriculum to a... erm, regular curriculum. I guess, the silver lining is that now she knows how to do both and can use the CC as a strategy that other kids aren't familiar with. We had a lot of tears over that.

I'm not sure what this blog will evolve into, but if I have my way, it'll become a way to document a foster care journey. That's something that is very much on my heart... FC and adoption. But one step at a time.

In the meantime, I think we're just enjoying being able to live an average and happy life. Back yards, sunshine (Yes, it's sunnier in Oregon than in Washington!), family, smiles... and room to spread our wings a little bit!

8 years old... wants to donate her hair when it's long enough... an absolute sweetheart!

3 years old... this is Charlie with his new-to-him friend he named Shelly the Lion. He loves this thing!

Musical boy!

They love each other! I think they even argue less than the average sibling set! I hope. :)