Update...

Hi,
Well..how is life, really??
Crazy...busy...but good....mostly.
Summer is super busy for me, which means my whole family.
We started off summer with Sports Camp, which i coordinate...then July 7-11 was VBS which I was one of the Directors. Todd did the music/teaching time and Shanay and Jess were leaders...Shanay was in charge of Markenley's group. Taylor was a helper in the preschool with Solomon. Our VBS was at night this year, due to the construction of our new building. This was great because I didn't have to drag the family to church at 6 am! The boys did pretty good...mostly....
On Wed. night (evangelism night) Markenley LOST it big time. He was doing this screaming thing..over everything! I am trying so hard to teach him to sit on time out. When he is in these moods he is just out of wack...i think it's due to the over-stimulation...i don't know for sure. I had to leave early...I felt horrible. I was in tears the whole night and just emotionally drained. Thank God for my team..they were all supportive.
On Thurs. I was just praying that he would be fine. He was GREAT. I did sorda' bribe him..he wanted a half a piece of licorice and 2 m and m's that i had and i said he could have it after VBS if he was nice to Shanay and was a good boy. That's like 3 hours to wait...and he did. Friday he did great too. I do try to keep tight reigns on him at church and I don't let him just run around and do what he wants...we are still working on boundaries.

I don't know if I have shared this or not..but as we were waiting for the boys I would often think of my love for the boys and our longing for them to be home in relation to God's love and longing for us to be with Him.
As Markenley was having a difficult time fighting me the other night and kicking and screaming and resisting my love...i thought about that...is that what I do to God?? Do I sometimes ignore what he is trying to tell me? Just as I know what Markenley should do...God knows what is best for me. I am thankful that he is always here for me..i hope Markenley will know God's love just as fully.

There are definite times where we feel like we are drowning...next week I am in charge of our Day Camp (it's an ALL day camp for 3-5 graders) and then I am pretty much done with the crazy schedule for a while and can be home all day. Hopefully that will help.

I do feel like the boys are doing good....then we will have little set backs. They are good boys.
Today we were all home and we were in and out of the house. TJ brought Markenley in and I thought he brought Solomon in too....and we were all in the house...after about 7-8 minutes I noticed we were all in the same room, except Solomon...AHHHHH
I freaked out and ran out in the front yard...there was Soly, all by himself on the scooter!!!!
Thank you God for keeping him safe. I can't imagine what he was thinking!! He was probably excited that Markenley wasn't there to take the scooter!

I do worry about attachment. I worry that I am doing the right things. There are times where Markenley will resist eye contact and closeness, other times he is all snuggly. I struggle with not taking it personal and holding back any love towards him..I constantly have to remind myself that this is new, and it will take time.

The boys are sleeping in their own room. They actually go to bed pretty easily now. Markenley is fine as long as he knows what is going on. He will ask if TJ is going to come sleep next to him "later, when he's finished". TJ does have his own bed on the top bunk, but prefers to sleep with Markenley. They went through a period of time where they would both(Markenley and Solomon) look out the window...they aren't allowed to do that!! Now Markenley will say "Markenley no touch window...Solomon touch window". Little tattler!

Markenley does learn fairly quickly. He likes to make us happy. He seems to be happy.

Solomon is a happy little guy...does have his tantrums...when he gets mad he hits, kicks, bites and spits....it doesn't take long to get him calmed down though. Those are just his orphanage survival skills kicking in.

We continue to take one day at a time..asking for God's help and healing. With 6 kids in the house life is crazy..and trying to meet everyones needs is tiring...but we are so blessed.

Hugs,
Renee