Update

Posted on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 10:10

Hi all my friends,

  I am so sorry I have been neglecting you.  I stop in periodically to read some blogs but never update mine anymore, I am so sorry.

 Well 2 of our 5 children moved in on January 14th, so far it's been a smooth transition with these two.  On Friday the 1st of February the other 3 move in.  That's where it will get interesting for sure.   When we had our 1-2 night visits we have a little trouble with the morning routine.  One of the girls (which isn't here yet) wakes EVERYBODY else up in the house.  She is 5 going on 6 and I do think by that age they should not be doing this?  Yes it's been awhile since we have had this age (except for our 2 grandsons which have no trouble with this)  ANYBODY have any tips to settle her down in the morning??  It will be more of an adjustment for our older 3 and the 2 we have now (they haven't been placed together in 2 1/2 years and complained to the foster mom about "nelllie" waking them up so early.  Any one out there in blog land have the magic cure for this?? I hope someone can help with this.  We have asked her to quietly go to the bathroom and then go back in her room and get a book or color or play with her baby doll quietly NO such luck.  But I know they need to just get into our routine and they are all excited when they are together to just be together.  I know she will grow out of it.

  Well my mother and father just came to visit, so I must make this short.  Any input on the above would be great, I will be posting pictures soon  I promise.  

Blessings to all my friends,

Lisa

Untitled Comment

Posted by Isabella on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 11:52 - Link

It is a period of adjustment. Keep trying. Can you even imagine some of the stuff the children have been through? God Bless. I

checking in on you

Posted by blessedmomof10 on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 01:56 - Link

Dear Lisa ~~

Thank you for taking time to post an update on your new little ones..... I am praying for you & them, that they may feel secure and that the Lord may bless you with the grace to meet their emotional needs as I am sure they have many heartaches to share with you in time.....

The most important thing I would focus on right now is attachment....... and safety...... not knowing what has happened in the past with these precious souls it will be critical to make sure the other kids are kept safe and supervised at *all* times.

Children generally don't act out right away but in time when they begin to feel "safe".......

I would also encourage you to really spend a lot of time holding your new children, rockiing them, reading to them, anything that produces and helps encourage the attachment process.

I will check back again soon.

Blessings ~
gloria

Untitled Comment

Posted by haflinger on Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 02:43 - Link

Hi Lisa nice to see you on.. I know you must be very busy..I'm glad to hear things are working at the moment.. On the early wake up thats a hard one she probably has always done this and knows any other way.. I think I have to agree with Gloria..
Blessings haflinger/Sister Brenda

bad sleeper

Posted by Mary K on Monday, January 28, 2008 at 07:43 - Link

As a mother of notoriously bad sleepers, I can relate. (and my children aren't foster children who have been through who knows what!) For my early risers, I always tell them they can stay up if they don't bother anyone, and of course I am the one who gets up with them. My saying is, "You can lead a child to bed, but you can't make them sleep." Some children just do not need as much sleep as others. You can try setting a later bedtime for a child that wakes up early, but that can backfire, too, as my Abby will wake up around 7:00 am. no matter what time she gets to bed, and then is really cranky, so of course we just try to get her to bed at a decent time.

My 3 1/2 year old does this too.

Posted by MissionaryMom on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 12:48 - Link

We are just firm with her, and she gets scolded by her daddy when she is noisy, which has helped. She is learning and now doesn't do it.

Carol

Just wanted to say hi!

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 02:51 - Link

Hi Lisa,

I found your blog on Homeschool Blogger awhile ago and then stumbled on your blog here. I think that we live fairly close to one another. I've been following the posts about your new little ones joining your family. My dh and I have adopted four children, ages 10, 7, 3, and 1, all of whom are African American. So, I understood what you were talking about when you said that some people in the system gave you a hard time because this area certainly isn't very racially diverse! We adopted all of ours privately, rather than through the foster care system, but we still had more than one SW question us and demand to know how we were going to instill the children's AA heritage.

We belong to a couple of adoption groups for multiracial families. I'd be happy to give you more information, if you're interested. The groups are spread out over the BucksMont area, but we get together when we can, and usually go to Knoebels every summer. We also go to Dutch Wonderland every June, and meet up with a Lancaster adoption group for a barbecue. It's been good for us as parents, and great for our kids to see so many families that look like ours.

Feel free to email me if you'd like more info. My main blog is here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/denisebp/
My email address is denisebp@gmail.com

I'll be praying for a smooth transition for all of you!

Denise