Here, There, and Everywhere

It's has been over two weeks now since our family has officially had five children, but there have been very few days that all 7 of us have been together. I was very thankful for my parents for keeping Ellie, Liam, and Annie for the first week with D- to just figure out school drop-offs and pick-ups, go to court, fill out paperwork, have visits from 3 different case workers, etc. Ellie is still on a 10-day adventure with them down south, and I know being spoiled and filled with memories :) There have been a couple of times in the last couple of weeks that my noise limit was being stretched, and I'm still trying to find the balance of supporting the Ninja Warrior training (indoors) and enjoyment of music, with my sanity. We are still thinking and planning for how to get all 7 of us around our kitchen table if J stays with us longer.

Speaking of J, he has had 2 weeks in a row now of good visits with his mom and sisters, the aids at the visits say that her home is clean, she has lots of furnishings for them and had good food this last time. I haven't asked recently what the status is on the new petition to terminate rights, but it is sad to think of them all being separated when things are going well, and frustrating that these cycles have gone on for 4 years.

D seems very comfortable and mostly loves his new siblings :) He is still very quick to get angry, especially when someone else opens the door instead of him. He is getting into a routine but still needs to practice doing things for himself like dressing and cleaning up. The biggest challenge is his slow response time/refusal to comply with requests, which I know we went through with other kids, but the others seemed to be motivated thinking that they would be left behind or watching examples of the older ones, and D is just happy wandering away/being left on his own, and asking any other human he sees for what he wants, so we need to keep looking for motivators and being diligent at keeping track of him when we're out.

Prayer Requests:
- That D's quick temper doesn't rub off on us but that our patience and grace would rub off on him!
- For J's emotions- having good visits with his mom and sisters, while there is still uncertainty about his goal, wisdom for us in what to say/when about D's adoption to be sensitive to J.
- More kids= more noise and opportunities for arguments- prayer for us parents to be calm, loving, and help them solve the problem/work through the situation in a positive way.
- Patience as we wait for the next step of getting "pre-adoptive" status for D.
- Praise- having a high schooler help the kids with their toy/clutter cleanup in the basement was a great success the first week- I didn't get frustrated, had some quiet time upstairs to work, the kids did the work
- Praise- for the many friends that gave us a bed, pillow, meals/gift cards, cookies, babysitting, etc. Our whole family feels like we are not doing this work alone, and have even more opportunities to see God at work and give Him thanks and praise because of all of you!