My New Reality

It's been a week.  A whole week.  In reality, it feels much longer than that, but not because it's been a tough week, but more because it's been an eventful week.  This morning Todd and older brother were outside taking down the trampoline and clearing the weeds.  They worked 45 minutes longer than the required 15 minutes of daily chores.  Course, I pay them, but that incentive has never been too effective in the past.  Now, I've got a cleared area where once stood a broken trampoline with 2 foot weeds protruding from every angle.  Geneva hasn't had nearly the number of mood swings.  Shem and Todd are fighting a whole lot less.  Chris is even chipper than normal.  This has been a great week.  We've been busier than before.  There's a lot more running around that goes on.  We also go through food a lot faster.  The upside, we don't eat out....we aren't even tempted.  Have you ever taken 7 people to a restaurant???  And paid for all of them?  It's not happening.  McDonalds?  Well, we've even skipped that one.  I've noticed a change in one particular brother.  The older one adjusted quickly.  Younger brother cried a lot the first night.  The second night, just a little.  I haven't seen him cry since.  In fact, I hear him laughing into the late hours of the night.  Late last night he heard Shem and Todd talking in their room so he quietly snuck down the stairs and scared them.  I could hear the scream clear in my room.  This wasn't the malicious type of sneak attack--this was the kind you would see at scout camp.  I've been able to see these boys blend and bond with my own children and it has been one of the greatest things I've witnessed.  I had the best talk with younger brother and found out a little more about his history.  We talked about the fact that we're moving and they will go into another home.  I told him that I would LOVE to take him and his brother with us, but I would HATE to take them away from their family.  He told us how awesome our family is (okay, who wouldn't enjoy hearing that?!!) and that his mom really likes me.  I can't help but feel that the reason Chris and I decided to do the foster training when we did (even though we knew we would probably be moving) and to finish what we had started as far as home inspections and all that goes, is because THESE brothers were meant to be in OUR home.  Had we been licensed any earlier, it might not have happened.  If we had decided to only do respite, we would never have met them.  As it is, they are members of our family now.  Their family is our extended family.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.