I still haven't gotten around to asking how much of the confidentiality factor will play into what I can and can't say about the house here. I will be vague for now and hope I don't cross any lines.
So far so good. I guess. We have had some pretty major issues with several of the boys. I think there are lots of things leading to the issues that we are experiencing. I know that with us coming and other houseparents going, that was a major change for them. We have different rules, habits, ways we want things done, etc. and they are bucking under that somewhat. Also, summer was over and school starting and that is always a hairy situation, even if there aren't 12 people living under the same roof. Lots of changes and these boys isn't exactly the best mix.
So, we have come through several things so far...learned a lot, and at the same time, realized that there is no way for us to always know what to do. There is so much more for us to learn. It never ends.
We have had lots of training so far. Training on the houseparents' jobs, CPR, first aid, and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. We have been prepared for the chairman of the board to do his annual campus walk-through/inspection, we did okay for that. We now have to be prepared for Medicaid to do their inspection sometime this month (supposedly) and for a new boy to come sometime this week.
We have been doing major cleaning...I would call it spring cleaning, but it is like no spring cleaning I have ever done! We have been through the attic and the kitchen and thrown out some trash and broken items and put things in places that make more sense to Adam and me. No one else can organize your house the way that you would, so we are going through the house and putting things in the places that we prefer for them to be. It is a big job. We have replaced toilet seats and shower curtains, blinds, and light bulbs. It is never ending. Sometime this week I have to inspect the mattresses and sheets and write up a report. We also need to clean out a small storage room off the garage to make room for some tools that need to be put there. All of this while keeping the house 15 minutes from clean, getting Aidan's school work done, getting 7 boys off to school on time and picked up from various things in the afternoon, having dinner ready as close to 6:00 as possible, and taking care of our three children. To say the least, we are kept busy.
I keep hoping that "after this" we will be less busy and settle in to a smoother routine, but it hasn't happened yet. I have thank you notes and birthday cards that I haven't sent out yet, I have family and friends who don't have our new phone number or address, and I have bills that I am not sure are getting paid, if they aren't getting forwarded here.
Our house still hasn't sold. We so need this to happen quickly and get a descent offer. We got one offer for $40,000 less than our asking price. We didn't take it, and now I am beginning to wonder if that might have been a bad idea...even though it would hurt to take an offer that low. So far we have had several couples/ people interested, but nothing has happened yet. Hopefully we will get the call we have been waiting for from our realtor this month so we can let go of that bit of stress. Right now we have been dipping into our little bit of savings to pay everything, but I am not sure when that becomes a non issue. Since we have a house, that payment might be the first to go. I pray that it won't come to that, but I have to be prepared for it to happen if our house doesn't sell.
Aidan just turned 7 and he is getting so big. He is so sweet also. We let him pick out one of his presents this year and he is in love with it. A few days after his birthday we had his little family party and I decorated his cake. He was excited about his Batman decorations and came up to me and told me "Momma, if all I had was my birthday cake and no presents, that would be enough present for me. The cake is enough for me!" I just hugged him and smiled at him...it was so sweet.
Alora is adjusting pretty well to our new house. She is yelling a bit more than she was, and we are working with her, but it is slow going. The boys are loud and obnoxious sometimes and she is just struggling with that a bit. Hopefully they will settle down and she will too. She is really loving to most of them and loves them. And they seem to love all our children.
Aralyn is doing pretty well. She is in the potty training stages and it is good most days and others it is so bad. She tries really hard, and sometimes, I think we are just not understanding her and miss her cues. I think it won't be long before she is potty trained though and I look forward to not spending money on diapering her.
That is a really long update, but at least I did it. Please pray for us and for our house to sell...if that could happen it would be so great! I know that we have lots of people on our own prayer list, they are being uplifted daily even if we haven't had the time to call them and write them to let them know how much we have them in our thoughts and prayers. Prayer is a mighty powerful thing! God is awesome!
So far so good. I guess. We have had some pretty major issues with several of the boys. I think there are lots of things leading to the issues that we are experiencing. I know that with us coming and other houseparents going, that was a major change for them. We have different rules, habits, ways we want things done, etc. and they are bucking under that somewhat. Also, summer was over and school starting and that is always a hairy situation, even if there aren't 12 people living under the same roof. Lots of changes and these boys isn't exactly the best mix.
So, we have come through several things so far...learned a lot, and at the same time, realized that there is no way for us to always know what to do. There is so much more for us to learn. It never ends.
We have had lots of training so far. Training on the houseparents' jobs, CPR, first aid, and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. We have been prepared for the chairman of the board to do his annual campus walk-through/inspection, we did okay for that. We now have to be prepared for Medicaid to do their inspection sometime this month (supposedly) and for a new boy to come sometime this week.
We have been doing major cleaning...I would call it spring cleaning, but it is like no spring cleaning I have ever done! We have been through the attic and the kitchen and thrown out some trash and broken items and put things in places that make more sense to Adam and me. No one else can organize your house the way that you would, so we are going through the house and putting things in the places that we prefer for them to be. It is a big job. We have replaced toilet seats and shower curtains, blinds, and light bulbs. It is never ending. Sometime this week I have to inspect the mattresses and sheets and write up a report. We also need to clean out a small storage room off the garage to make room for some tools that need to be put there. All of this while keeping the house 15 minutes from clean, getting Aidan's school work done, getting 7 boys off to school on time and picked up from various things in the afternoon, having dinner ready as close to 6:00 as possible, and taking care of our three children. To say the least, we are kept busy.
I keep hoping that "after this" we will be less busy and settle in to a smoother routine, but it hasn't happened yet. I have thank you notes and birthday cards that I haven't sent out yet, I have family and friends who don't have our new phone number or address, and I have bills that I am not sure are getting paid, if they aren't getting forwarded here.
Our house still hasn't sold. We so need this to happen quickly and get a descent offer. We got one offer for $40,000 less than our asking price. We didn't take it, and now I am beginning to wonder if that might have been a bad idea...even though it would hurt to take an offer that low. So far we have had several couples/ people interested, but nothing has happened yet. Hopefully we will get the call we have been waiting for from our realtor this month so we can let go of that bit of stress. Right now we have been dipping into our little bit of savings to pay everything, but I am not sure when that becomes a non issue. Since we have a house, that payment might be the first to go. I pray that it won't come to that, but I have to be prepared for it to happen if our house doesn't sell.
Aidan just turned 7 and he is getting so big. He is so sweet also. We let him pick out one of his presents this year and he is in love with it. A few days after his birthday we had his little family party and I decorated his cake. He was excited about his Batman decorations and came up to me and told me "Momma, if all I had was my birthday cake and no presents, that would be enough present for me. The cake is enough for me!" I just hugged him and smiled at him...it was so sweet.
Alora is adjusting pretty well to our new house. She is yelling a bit more than she was, and we are working with her, but it is slow going. The boys are loud and obnoxious sometimes and she is just struggling with that a bit. Hopefully they will settle down and she will too. She is really loving to most of them and loves them. And they seem to love all our children.
Aralyn is doing pretty well. She is in the potty training stages and it is good most days and others it is so bad. She tries really hard, and sometimes, I think we are just not understanding her and miss her cues. I think it won't be long before she is potty trained though and I look forward to not spending money on diapering her.
That is a really long update, but at least I did it. Please pray for us and for our house to sell...if that could happen it would be so great! I know that we have lots of people on our own prayer list, they are being uplifted daily even if we haven't had the time to call them and write them to let them know how much we have them in our thoughts and prayers. Prayer is a mighty powerful thing! God is awesome!
1 Comments:
It's so good to get an update from you. We will continue praying for you. If there is anything that we can do to help, please let us know!
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