The End to the Summer.....

The end of this summer has been very bittersweet. I spent this summer staying at home with the kids. It was nice but I'm excited to get back to work. I took a position with one of the best special needs schools in the Houston area as an Assistant Teacher. It was a hard decision, but the experience I will gain there is so priceless. I am working one on one with students in their ABA program for children with autism. Its a great program that I feel so lucky to be a part of. I don't have my teaching certificate just yet but am able to teach because we have a certified teacher who is the "lead" teacher. Since we work one on one with students the tuition would be insane for each student to work with a certified teacher. Its already been such a learning experience & I'm really excited to see what this year has in store for us. Another big change is our file recently went before the permanency committee & we were referred to the adoption unit at DFPS. We still haven't heard from our new adoption worker, but small steps I guess! Though the school I work at is back in session already (we only take a 3 week summer break), regular schools aren't. Tomorrow Tuck starts the first grade & I also go back to class working towards my degree. The girls are both doing so well. D is such a little lady & is growing into quite the ham. At the dinner table every night she sees who she can make laugh. Sissy is growing so fast too & has probably made the most progress. Not too long ago I realized the worker in her daycare class has been babying her. By babying her I mean, holding her when she cries because she doesn't get her way (the toy she wants, or 3rd servings of every meal). I also caught her teaching her to pout out her bottom lip when she's upset. Things kinda came to a head when one day when I was dropping her off she started crying because I got on to her for throwing an open drink in the car. When I had Sissy sitting on the floor until she could stop crying, her teacher walked up & tried to pick her up off the floor & take her from me. After a nice little talk with their Director I am happy to say we have seen a HUGE improvement in her behavior. We were being so consistent & we were having trouble understanding why she was still throwing such huge fits every time she didn't get her way. Now I realize it was because those fits were working at daycare. They were reinforcing her negative behaviors with positive consequences (being held or coddled). She has really started coming into her own & even her personality is brighter & happier. Now when she doesn't get her way, she realizes a fit & pouting won't work & she just goes about her business! Before it would turn into a meltdown, punishment & pouting. The picture above was taken last Sunday, we had a big crawfish & shrimp boil for my 30th Birthday. We all had a really great time & I couldn't ask for better friends or family!

Birthdays!

The kids had their birthday last weekend & everything went great! I was a little stirred up just because

the party was at my parents lake house & the drive was pretty far if we forgot anything at our house. Tuck had a great time & I hope his friends did too. All the kids "camped", well they stayed in the tents for 2 hours then slept inside. We also celebrated little D's first birthday. Shes walking so well now & her personality is developing also. We are still in limbo & there hasn't really been any movement on the adoption front. We are just waiting to get moved to the adoption unit at DFPS (Department of Family & Protective Services). There are lots of big changes coming up for us in the next few months & we're pretty excited. The photos below are of Tuck's party & a little sneak peak of D's birthday also. I obviously can't post much of hers since she is still in protective custody.

So, so, much!

It seems that things are so busy these days! Yesterday was the last day for the girls' parents to file their appeal with the courts. Yesterday came & went with no appeals filed. The girls are both wards of the state with no legal parents & we are one step closer to finalizing their adoption. Tomorrow will be 6 months since we brought our daughters home & the time has gone by so fast. I can't believe the baby will be celebrating her first birthday this week. Its been such a crazy time & I knew it would be over fast but I couldn't imagine how it would fly by. The baby is walking already & talks so much. Our "baby" is turning into such a little lady! We are celebrating her first birthday & our sons 6th birthday this weekend together since their birthdays are only 10 days apart. Tuck is having a camping themed birthday party & he is very excited! In other news I recently signed a lease on a little space at a co-op boutique by our home & will be opening August 1st. It will be nice because I can do everything in my spare time & spend more time with our kids. I will mainly be selling girls hair bows, tutus & kids high end items. I am just so excited to be moving forward with our lives & our beautiful kids. Six months ago I couldn't imagine how far we would come & grow. I'm grateful every day for the strength to do this & take such a risk with our girls.

Trial Date

       Well last week we went to court for the trial to terminate our girls' parental rights. The best part was during cross examination they basically got one of the biological parents to admit they were unable to care for the girls' needs. This is the same parent that has attended every hearing, the other hasn't shown up since last year even though they are apparently living together. The parent that isn't showing up currently has a warrant out for their arrest. Well when it was all said & done the judge terminated their parental rights. The order is scheduled to be entered at the begining of July. The parents each have 20 days from that date to file an appeal. Once we left the court room the girls' CASA worker went & spoke with the bio parent who attended & they asked if we would send updates on the girls, we agreed. The CASA workers seem to think they won't be filing an appeal. For one, they realize they didn't complete the case plan & the appeal would be denied, but also they would have to raise the money to pay their own attorney this time. The state has been supplying them with an attorney up until this point. Now basically what will happen is CPS will assign us an adoption worker & that person will prepare the girls' redacted or "de-identified" files. These are the big files of everything that led to the girls being in care, along with everything that happened since. There are many things about their past we just don't know & now we will hopefully be able to find out a little more about their parents' past also. Once we read the file & agree to the adoption, we are just waiting for the 90 day period to be over. Once a parents rights are terminated in Texas, there is a 90 day period before that child can be legally adopted. We have an attorney lined up & names picked out. So we're really excited to just breathe that giant sigh of relief & start living our lives with our daughters! (The picture above is my little Tuck showing off a fish he caught with his Daddy!).

So Much Going On...

So much has been going on getting time to post updates is pretty much impossible! I had finals for school, along with everything with the kids its been crazy! The last 2 days have been so busy! That little guy right there graduated from Kindergarten yesterday. He makes me so proud every single day. He is such a free spirit & walks to the beat of his own drum. I hope he never changes who he is for anyone. I try to remember everyday that its a BLESSING to be a parent, not a job. He is a gift to me from God, not my possession to try & control. I hope he always knows I love him for who he is, regardless of his choices, and my love is never conditional on him pleasing me. Then today was my wonderful husbands 31st Birthday. We've been together over 10 years and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else! He still makes me laugh until I snort & is the best daddy I could imagine for our 3 kids. Speaking of our kids, everyone is doing really well. Tuck is turning into such a sweet brother. I catch him doing little things like holding Sissy's spare hand in the parking lot or brushing her hair for her after bath time. Sissy is doing well & is still making so much progress. She is becoming much more talkative, she has always talked REALLY well, but now she holds conversations & is more expressive. She is bonding well and is potty trained. Dee is doing good. She is nearly walking & is 10 1/2 months old already. We have court in 2 weeks for the trial to terminate parental rights & we are so ready! We have names picked out for the girls and just want our family to be final!

One Step Closer....

Well, we had court this past week. We had to be there early & it was a little far so we had to get up super early to get everyone to school & daycare before we headed out. When we got t court they did the initial docket call. Initially the girls' CPS worker & us were the only ones there. We ended up waiting quite awhile to see the judge until the girls' attorney or Guardian Ad Litem as well as there CASA worker (Court Appointed Special Advocate) were there. Only one bio parent showed up & it's the same one who has been to every court date so far, the other bio parent hasn't shown since last year. When it was our turn we all went before the judge & the girls' CPS worker requested the judge schedule the trial to terminate parental rights. The judge asked what her basis was & she basically stated because neither parent had met the service plan requirements. The judge asked the GAL & CASA worker whether they approved of the non relative adoption & both stated they did. The judge agreed & set a trial for the 3rd week in June to terminate parental rights. We are super relieved & ready for the trial. it hard facing their bio parents especially since this one seems to really love the girls, but is just unable to provide for them for various reasons. I've realized there is a large gap between love & ability.

The Past Month...

I thought I would do a little update since it's been SOOO long. Things are going really well & the girls have been home almost 3 months. D is 9 months old now & she is growing so fast. She is pulling up & has started using sign language. Sissy has been making so much progress in therapy & is attachment & she is also doing well potty training. We have court coming up & things are looking good. This hearing will be for the girls' permanency plan & we are praying they move forward to terminate their parental rights. In Texas the one year in custody is an important milestone. There has to be a final decision made on the case by this point, either to order the girls to be returned to their parents or to allow the adoption. We also have a nice vacation planned soon & we are really looking forward to getting away with our little family. We're super anxious for court but we have faith that there is a plan for the girls' lives & ours. Not only have we made the journey down this path but we're taking our family with us, which is probably the hardest part . All we can do at this point is pray everyday that we can accept whatever the future holds! ( The photo above is a little sneak at the kids' easter photos).