Six Months In

It has been six months since the boys first arrived.  Life is most definitely different in the Hughes home, but everyone has adjusted well.  The big kids are a huge help and love having the kids here (most of the time)! 

It amazes me to think back to those first days they were here and to realize how much they have grown.  We had a hard time getting big brother to go to sleep...especially in a bed.  Now, I can lay him down, kiss him, and tell him I'll be back to check on him in a few minutes, and all the littles are in bed by 8:00!  What???  The first four months it took us 2-3 hours to put them to bed every night and one of us fell asleep with big brother almost every night.  Those nights were difficult, but we are in a good routine now!

Little brother was talking quite a bit when he arrived but mostly like a parrot...repeating words we said.  However, there are a few things we are really missing now that he is starting to talk in sentences:

"some" is what he said as soon as he heard a drive thru bag enter the car (he was rear-facing)
"bite" is what he said ANYTIME someone had food because he wanted some too!

And we could not get that little guy to say his name for anything! He was convinced his name was his brother's.  It was really about three months here before he would finally say HIS name!  We were all so excited.

He was so precious and sweet.  I would tell everyone that he was just as sweet as he was cute...and then he turned TWO!! WOW!  Some kids move through the twos without much notice, but this one jumped in full throttle!  He hits, throws and pitches a tantrum with the best of them!  Now, I have to keep reminding myself of how sweet he really was!  He still has his moments, but they don't call them the Terrible Twos for nothing!

When we got the boys, we knew that mom was pregnant and due in June.  As much as I wanted to take her, my husband just finally put his foot down and said "no".  She was born only two days before I left for Europe for two weeks, and everyone thought she was going to have lots of problems due to the circumstances of the pregnancy.  However, she was born PERFECT!  The boys and I were able to see her at visits every once-in-a-while, but she wasn't always there.

Fast forward to August when the kids' attorney called me and asked if I would be willing to take baby sister temporarily since mom would be getting her back very soon.  I told him we could but only temporarily.  It took weeks for him to make it happen, but the judge eventually approved the move, and we got her mid-September.  It was a nightmare, though, because CPS and my agency were not happy about the judge's orders and tried desperately to have them overturned.  Every day was an adventure as I was getting calls from all those involved, and no one seemed to know what the others were doing.  I told several of them that I just didn't understand why they couldn't all communicate!  Why did they need me to get everyone on the same page?  It was a communication nightmare, and eventually I just told them all that I felt like my parenting was being questioned since they didn't want the baby to come to me.  I told the CPS worker that baby belonged in my house more than anyone else's (except her parents) because I had been praying for her for months before she was born and already loved her family.  In addition, the boys needed to understand that she was really their sister - not just a baby they saw every once-in-a-while.  Finally, I got her, and she is amazing!

I look at her every day and am amazed at how perfect she is after being exposed to so much in utero.  I tell her how precious she is and how much she is wanted and loved!  She coos back at me and gives the best smiles and giggles!  We are having so much fun with her! It is like playing with a baby doll since we know she will only be here a little while longer!  Everyone wants to hold her and help with her.  She barely cries, and smiles ALL the time!

They are a precious sibling group!  I am so happy we have had the opportunity to foster them all.  They will be going home soon, and it will be difficult, but we have covered them in love and prayer!  I am confident that God will protect them and draw him to himself as they grow because I pray, almost every night, that no matter how they are raised, they will always be pulled toward doing the right thing and having a relationship with Him!