Goodbye 2011!

I am sitting home on New Years Eve with the boys all tucked in for the night, Don working and thought I should post a long over due post on our year, it has been crazy busy! If you don't know why just read and you will soon find out........

DON - Don received the promotion of a lifetime on October 1st. He was promoted to Battalion Commander of Life Safety (Fire Marshal) of North Naples Fire Control District. We was also accepted in to the master's program at Florida Gulf Coast University and is starting in January. It was a blessing in disguise when he couldn't get registered for classes in August due to an immunization/antibody glitch. He is excited to start on his masters so one day he can become a fulltime faculty member. He continues to teach at Edison State College a couple classes each semester. Too say he is busy is an understatement. He is still an awesome dad and husband!

TANYA - Busy staying home and raising kids. I turned 40 in May and we had a great family cacation at the beach with all the kids! LOVED IT! We had a three year old foster daughter from March until November this year. And, we ended up with J and E coming back to us in early August and they moved to different foster homes the end of October. It was a tough decision to move them but we think the right one for them. E needed much more care than we could give and given the dynamics of our relationship with them and their family it wasn't healthy for the kids to stay. Sad! We had 5 kids for 3 months, for a while they were 5,4,3,2 and 1 years old. I was was tired but did enjoy it! Now we are taking a break from fostering and I am going back to being a guardian ad litem (child advocate in the foster system). Hopefully, it will allow me to give the kids more time while still doing what my heart yearns for.

MICHELLE - Michelle had a very exciting year! In late May her and her boyfriend, Ben moved to Brooklyn, NY. Ben is doing a 5 year residency in orthopaedics there. They are doing really well and have adjusted to big city living. Michelle is working at infertility clinic and enjoying it. She works four 10 hour days each week and has extra time to explore the great city! We hope to venture that way this summer. She is headed home the end of January. I cannot believe we haven't seen her in so long........

STEPHANIE - Steph is doing awesome! She is preparing to graduate in May and looking forward to finding a job that doesn't involve waiting tables. She is also interested in pursuing her masters. She had a great internship in the fall working for a non-profit in Tampa. Her plate was a little full but it worked out in the end. Will be interesting where 2012 takes her. She visited Michelle for Christmas along with their mom and her husband. I keep wondering if she will be drawn to live closer to her sister......

BRYNN - Brynn has had a busy busy year. She didn't return to Stetson in January but instead returned to Edison to continue working on her degree. Part of the draw was her boyfriend here and some uncertainty about where she wanted to be. She was in an apartment for most of the year but moved home in October to prepare for her return to Stetson in January 2012! She has been working at Stir Crazy waiting tables outside of her class schedule. We are confident that she is going to soar at Stetson and do great things!

OLIVER - Oliver has had a busy year! He turned 4 in April and in August he started at Classical Christian Academy on Monday and Wednesday for Pre-K4. I do a homeschool curriculum on Tuesday with him. On Tuesday and Thursday he goes to a 2.5 hour speech class at a local elementary school. He met his goals in November and could be release from the program at anytime. He is learning to read and loves all things school related. His teacher said he is a "teacher's dream"........hard to believe in February we will celebrate four years of loving him......not sure where the years have gone.

MATSON - My holy cow busy boy! He had a wonderful birthday in June, double celebrations in Florida and then in Omaha with all the family. He took his first steps on his birthday! It was so cute. There is no stopping him! He has a mouthful of teeth and can climb anything. Other parents comment at the park at how well he plays and keeps up with the big kids. Having 4 older kids to keep up with this fall did him a world of good. He is an all around toughy and just loves to go!

May you have a wonderful year ahead! We look forward to seeing what 2012 holds for our family!

Tanya

So long my dear sweet boy

So sad and so hard to write about my little sweet boy, Theo. He was hit by a car on Friday night. He spent the night at the animal ER but on Saturday morning I made the hard decision to euthanize him. Brynn and I went together early in the morning and said our goodbyes to him and I held him as he took his last breaths. One of the hardest moments in my life. Nothing compared to rubbing my grandmother's feet as she took her last breaths almost 12 years ago but none the less a tough day. I am struggling with why I didn't put him on a leash but know it was an accident. Time will help me heal. He was buried next to his friend Anna. I must track a picture of the two of them down to post.

I spent Saturday struggling through tears and missing him being with me while I took my thousands of steps around the house. His cleaning up after the kids, his licking the shower walls, his laying at on my ottoman next to my feet, his pawing at my hand to be pet. The list goes on and on. I decided to start thinking about our next Papillon and looking at rescue sites. Most older Paps aren't as good with children, especially if they haven't been raised with kids. Well we are a house of kids and Theo was so good with them. So I started looking at breeders in Florida. I came across http://www.deannasragdolls.com/ and found a lady who breeds Ragdoll cats and Papillon dogs. One of her female Paps is named Cameo. Well, I have an old cat who is named Cameo. She looks to be at least part Ragdoll. And this lady has a male Ragdoll named Romeo, the name of my other cat. Her male Pap looks like my Theo. I decide this must be fate so I email Deanna. For those of you who don't know, I truly believe God gives us signs that we are making the right decisions. He was once again slapping me in the face. Deanna almost immediately emailed me back, Cameo is due in 6 weeks and her pups will be ready in about 14 weeks to go home. Perfect timing as that will be right after our summer vacations come to an end and we will be able to be home with a new puppy for sometime.

Now we have time to grieve our Theo and at the same time I have something to look forward to. It will not be a replacement of our beloved Teedoe (as Oliver calls him) but a new member of our family for us all to love and cherish. Thinking about a female this time around. Rest in peace Theo!!!

She is still here

Miss J is still with us. She is adjusting well and seems to be fitting in pretty nicely. Still lots of ups and downs but pretty darn good for a kid that has been through so much in three short years of life. Oliver likes her and they are learning how to get along. The play together endlessly and seem to be fighting less each day. I have been working hard today on getting her doctor, dentist and speech appointments. All things that should have been done in the 5 months she has been in foster care. Very sad that it didn't happen that way but I won't let grass grow under her feet any longer! Matson is a free man. He saw the craniofacial doctor on the 30th of March and looks wonderful. He has 8 more weeks of physical therapy and then hopefully we can move on to bigger and better stuff. He will be 10 months old tomorrow. So hard to believe!!! Oliver has his 4th birthday coming up. We were at my mom's last weekend so we did a little early celebrating with them. He got a Thomas cake and two floor puzzles. Oh how he loves puzzles. Not sure what I am doing for his birthday. Maybe I should work on it. Brynn is learning the not so wonderful realities of being an adult and living on your own. Work, work and school.....But, overall she seems happier. She has started stopping by more to see her brothers and I enjoy it too. Stephanie is counting down the days in the semester and really working hard on her grades this semester. Hard to believe she will be a senior in the fall.....She has also been working more than she would like but knows to take it and run. Michelle is working and working more. And, sadly it sounds like she may be leaving the sunshine state in August to follow her boyfriend to Brooklyn, NY where he is going to be doing his residency in orthopaedics. I hate to think about it but so want her to experience all this world has to offer. Love my kids more than I think they really know!

A New Little Visitor

On Friday night we got a new little visitor, Miss J. She is three years old and the cutest little thing. She reminds me so much of Brynn in appearance. Brown big curls and brown eyes. She was just supposed to stay until Monday morning but we have been told that the current foster family has asked that she be moved from their home. You can request this for any reason and they have 2 weeks to move her. They were going out of town this weekend thus us taking her. We have talked to the guardian ad litem about her staying with us as she seems to be a good fit for us and us for her so far. Why send her back to her foster home for her only to be moved again in a week or two? I am hoping the case manager and our agency agree on Monday and I can just pick up her stuff and she can stay her time in foster care with us. Poor little thing work up with the stomach flu this morning. Temp of 101 to 102 and throwing up. She has been a real trooper, making it to the bathroom every time so far. Oliver and Matson both have cold and I guess I do too. They both seem to like her fine. She like caring for Matson. Her and Oliver are going to have to work some things out but for the most part we are all doing great! Say a little prayer that the munchkin gets to stay and not add to her trauma by another move in the foster system......

Our Valentine's Gift

Matson Angelo officially became our son on Valentine's Day!!!! I am taking the blog off private and going to start seriously blogging and updating it. Brynn has her own blog brynnl.blogspot.com too!

Prayers have been answered in so many ways!!!

Quick post holiday and doctor appointment updates. Christmas was wonderful! We finally took Matson out to see Santa on Tuesday evening the week of Christmas and then to church on Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful candlelight gathering of friends singing Christmas hymns at Michael's tree after. It was a tough hour for all of us, especially the kids that understood why we were there celebrating Michael's life that was all too short. Made me look at my 4 kids that were with me and rejoice in the Lord's amazing gifts to us. Oliver and our pastor's son chased each other around the tree and I could picture Michael and his good buddy, Joe chasing each other 5 or 6 years ago around a tree as I listened to Joe cry for his best friend..........

Oliver truly loved opening gifts and we kept coming back to the meaning of Christmas being Jesus' birth. We need to work on it hard over the next year, I am determined to never have my kids think Christmas is about Santa. Stephanie was down for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Michelle and my mom and step-dad were down the weekend of the 17th to celebrate a little early. So we had lots of fun and good eating for over a week. Matson enjoyed ripping the paper off his gifts and we had to keep dragging Oliver over to open presents as he just wanted to play with his new toys.

Yesterday was Matson's appointment at Dr. Stelnicki's office. I was prepared for surgery and had gotten my mind to at least research terminology, procedures and doctors in Florida for second opinions. The outpatient nurse at the hospital on Tuesday had pointed out somethings about his headshape that led her to think we may be looking at surgery, without coming right out and saying it to us. Well, Don and I braced as the doctor came in the room yesterday and said "I have good news." and I think I finally let myself breath after that. "No surgery. His sutures haven't closed." I think I quickly said my thanks to God for listening to me and everyone praying for Matson. So, he has torticollis or a tightening of the neck muscles on one side of his neck that is causing positional deformities of the skull. He needs physical therapy at home. I do it 5 times a day for about 2 minutes each time. And he needs a helmet. After a day and half of phone calls, we finally have Children's Network of SW Florida paying for it ($2,650) and we should get it two weeks from now. Matson and I will be traveling back and forth to Ft. Lauderdale every 2 to 3 weeks for the next several months but no surgery! What great news! Thank you so much for praying for Matson.

Brynn.....had decided to leave Stetson and return to Ft. Myers to attend Edison State College and transfer in a year or two to a state university. Not overly excited about it but trying to find acceptance. She is supposed to be moving in to an apartment in a couple of weeks. I am praying that things go well for her.

Tomorrow is Orthodox Christmas. Looking forward to a Russian meal to celebrate. It is important to us to keep Oliver's Russian heritage alive and part of our lives.