Monday, September 29, 2008

Dilemma

This was the vocabulary word of the day on some cartoon we were watching...and boy, do we have one. Social Services called on Friday to let us know the boys' biolgoical sister, Anna, has been taken into custody, is in emergancy foster care, and can we take her? PS...want an answer by Monday. Ken and I kinda freaked over the weekend, so conflicted. Deep down, I want her so bad, but we do have to think about some realities - like how the boys would react mainly. I called the social worker today to tell her we really needed a little more time to make a decision, and she said it was fine, and maybe even better. She said Anna (3 months) is in a really good foster home, and that the bio parents will go to court again in 37 days. At that point, we will have a better gauge on whether or not the parents have even made an attempt to get a job/housing. It would be terrible to bring her in the house and her have to go back...bad for us, bad for the boys. In the meantime, we talked to our pastor about it and he gave us some good advice on decision making. According to the social worker, Anna has plumped up (she was 5 pounds at birth). She has a round face like Cooper, light skin (not as light as Nathanael), and light brown hair that is "crazy like Nathanael's".

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Happy One Year Anniversary to the Expanded Moss Family

Let's take a look back one year....Sept 9, 2007...I'd had a good night sleep, woke up around 7...slothed through the morning, had a full day at work, headed to the gym for about an hour, came home and had a bowl of ceral for dinner, watched tv on the couch...then the next day...Sept 10, 2007...my stomach was in knots knowing the boys were coming that day. I left work early to come home and make sure everything was ready. I cooked an actual dinner, and Ken and I welcomed James and Nathanael home. Dinner mostly ended up on the floor, and bath time was more like 'soak the entire bathroom' time, and bedtime, well, I rocked, sang, re-tucked in, etc for at least an hour. Then I held Nate, walked him, bounced him (remembering he was 19 months at this point), gave him a 2nd bottle, tryed to console his blood curdling screams, and finally collapsed at almost midnight. About 2 am I was back up bc James woke up and was scared to death...I ran into the bedroom and he was on his knees sobbing. I held him and rocked him back to sleep.
Fast forward a year...Sept 10, 2008. Cooper wakes at 5:30 with a little whine, I give him a bottle. James and Nathanael crawl into our bed about 6:00 to wake me up. We go through the morning routine of dressing, teeth brushing, getting into the van and to daycare, then me off to work. After work, I came right home and daddy cooked dinner while I built block castles with the 3 boys. Other than the regular reminders toddlers need, dinner was quiet. The boys sat in their seats, didn't try to eat off the floor, said prayers before they started eating, and even asked to be excused. Bed time was us reading books, taking baths (James first, then Nathanael and Cooper), tuck ins, I sang my round of: "Good Night (from camp alleghany), Amazing Grace and Jesus Loves Me. Gave James and Nathanael their good night hugs and kisses. Meanwhile, Cooper fell asleep in the playpin. All is quiet at 8:45 pm.
Don't get me wrong, I now have to get sippy cups and bottles ready for tomorrow, pick out 4 outfits and pack the diaper bag, but that's just part of daily life!
What a difference a year makes!!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Update

The Lord knows just when you need a little lift. When I dropped the boys off at daycare, I got to talking to Betty Lou, who is the director. She told me about the last time the social worker came to visit and how they talked about what a compassionate child Nathanael is. She said he's just so loving and caring and he really worries about things...like if someone's boo-boo is okay. She said they talked about the problems he has now, but that he'll turn out to be just fine.

On James' hand, they said he's a good boy - he listens and does what is told, etc, no behavior problems, but he is not as compassionate or outwardly loving as Nathanael, and it may (or may not) be because James may have memories of his early childhood...maybe not specific memories, but just "feelings" he remembers or associates with certain situations.

Anyway, it was nice to hear Betty Lou's thoughts on Nathanael.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Lord, grant us the patience...

Nothing major to report...just the same ol routine around the Moss circus. But I tell you what, God must have invented 2 year olds so that for the REST OF THEIR LIFE, you can say to yourself, "well, at least he's not two anymore." Our Nate Reid is precious, oh so precious with his giggles and smiles. We've ruled out deafness, so it's definately a case of "I'm not gonna listen, I don't care if I lose my pride, I will do it MYSELF!!"

On the brighter side of life, Cooper is ALMOST walking. He's taken a few steps here and there, but he gets too excited and starts laughin and falls down. It's too cute! James is starting to learn to trace lines, I'm so proud of him, I didn't realize how hard that is when you're 3. Nathanael is definatley picking up on colors. He gets them right about 75% of the time now. The first time he told me the ball was pink, I practically threw myself on him with hugs and kisses and "mommy is so proud of yous". Everytime any of the boys learns something new, I get so excited! It's amazing how much they learn in such a short time.

So, despite the blonde monster ruling the house, we are all hanging in there. Nathanael makes Cooper laugh so hard. Cooper can be fussing about whatever, and Nate will put his face up to Coop's, and laugh, or scream, or just make a funny face, and Cooper will start belly rolling. Those are the moments to live for.