You say crazy, I say fun.

Hello!

Alyssa and Allison have been at their new school for 3 weeks now (they had a week off for Labor Day) and are loving it. They each love their teachers and so far, the uniforms are still a huge hit.

They started learning Mandarin yesterday and it just dawned on me that it won't be long before they are having private conversations behind my back and I won't have a clue as to what they are talking about.

*forehead smack*

Wish me luck as I attempt to piece together a completely unfamiliar language just off of their take-home papers. :)

Madelynn is doing well also. She will be four years old in October and I have noticed her maturing over the last few months. I'm not sure if it is just her age, or maybe the fact that she is now a big sister to the cutest baby EVER. Either way, I'm enjoying this change in her.

She has been my little partner-in-crime through this whole foster care process and has even taken a liking to D's bio dad. I think she looks forward to his visits because she gets to go with me to a new place with new toys and she has my undivided attention while D visits with is dad. She's not a huge fan of D's bio mom and unfortunately, she let her know last week.

AWKWARD!

Baby D is just as perfect as possible.

I started making his baby food two weeks ago and it has been a HUGE hit with D. He started with a little sweet potato mixed with brown rice cereal and loved it. Two days ago we introduced avocado mixed with brown rice cereal and he no longer entertains the idea of sweet potatoes. :)

I made the mistake of telling my social worker last week that things seemed boring with D's case. I felt like I had gotten used to the case and the visits were somewhat consistent. For the first time in 5 months I felt like we had found our groove and things were running smoothly.

That didn't last long.

The next day I received a call from someone who had been mostly MIA throughout the entire process, an email from bio-family and someone else missed a visit for the first time in WEEKS. It has just gotten more crazy since then. I've come to realize that I am on more then just an emotional roller coaster, I'm on someone else's "where are my priorities today?" roller coaster.

I wake up in the morning having no idea what my day will be like. One simple phone call could snowball into 15 phone calls (literally) and the lack of a simple phone call could change ALL of my plans for the following week. It's been difficult, but I am doing really well with this learning process. It's not always easy, but I try my hardest to take it one day at a time.

I'm pretty sure I know how this case will end, but we are just waiting out our time until we go to court in December.

Johnathon has been very busy with work lately.

It's funny, when Johnathon first told me about his orders to CNATT-U, I was excited at the thought of having him home at a decent hour everyday and getting to spend time as a family. I should have known my husband better.

When he sees early hours and an opportunity, he takes full advantage of it. I can't complain. He's usually home by 4PM and is able to have dinner with us, but that is followed by more work at home. To top it all off, he won Senior Sailor of the Quarter a few months ago and his Senior Sailor of the Year board is just days away. He also went up for President of the First Class Association and WON!!

"For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." -- Luke 12:48

Johnathon is still volunteering like the world depends on it and doing much more than what is expected. He has been given so many great opportunities during his career, but they were each earned with great dedication.

He was honored to have the opportunity to do an interview about his dedication to volunteering. You can read about that HERE.

As for me, I'm as busy as ever.

On top of being an active foster parent and attending visits (at least 3 a week), I am an active part in the EPO at my daughters' school, on the Fall Festival committee, a room parent for Alyssa's classroom and attending back rehab 3 times a week.

Some say I'm crazy.

I believe those people! :)

Happy Wednesday. xo