New Beginnings...

Well, today is bittersweet.  I watched this morning as Orrin drove away to spend a week with dad in Texas before going off to Kansas State University.  I am so proud of everything that he has accomplished and he has grown into such a wonderful young man.  This is also the beginning of the end of our time in North Carolina.

The kids and I were going to stay behind in order for Mack to stay in the same high school and for us to be able to finalize Sydney's adoption.  Well, sometimes we think that we've come up with the best plan possible, only to find out that it's not.  Kenny's still active duty and at the beck and call of the US government.  So, Mack, Sydney and I are going to move back to Clovis.  We'll be a LOT closer to Kenny and be able to visit more often even though we won't be living together in the same house.  This is not something new since we've done it the past six years, but being able to spend time together more than every 6-7 months will be the BEST part.

What a difference a year makes...

Well, as you can all see, the kids have all grown.  Here's hoping that Orrin stops growing up!!  This is the Easter 2012 picture of the kids.  Orrin's two months from graduation and then before we know it he'll be off to Kansas State University.  Mack is enjoying high school and JROTC.  As you can see, he's closing in on his brother's height and is already taller than both Kenny and I.  The boys are still playing baseball for the high school and enjoying it.  We have a lot to do over the next couple of months to get ready for the summer.
Kenny got back just before Easter and made it such a wonderful weekend for all of us to spend together.  He's off to parts unknown at the end of the month.  He has orders for Ft. Hood, but we're sure hoping that something else works out for his last three years of active duty.
Well, Sydney has grown by leaps and bounds, she's talking and we can understand most of what she tells us.  We're still waiting on a decision from the Court of Appeals.  We're sure hoping that by Easter of next year, she will officially and forever more be a "Rice."

Love marching band competitions....

Gotta love listening to the bands...

Oh...I love having my picture taken also...lol

One more step...

Well, August 5th was a very emotional day. It was the day that our family has been looking forward to, but at the same time dreading. In order for us to be able to move forward and adopt Sydney, that means that her biological parents had to lose their parental rights. I've been to every hearing and meeting with the exception of the initial hearing because I was home with her and she wasn't yet 6-weeks old. Regarless of what has happened over the last 18 months, it was still very hard to watch their faces as the judge ruled that their parental rights to all of the girls had been terminated.

I spoke with both of them (alone & together) after the decision was given. The biological mother thought about it and spoke with her court appointed attorney as well as another attorney and has decided not to appeal because it's in the best interests of the girls. So, now we wait to see if the biological father does the same or if we have another long, drawn out court battle on our hands (that we're not technically a part of) before we can petition for adoption.

I'd like for this to be over sooner rather than later. I'd like to know for sure what is to become of her older sisters. Has the foster family changed their mind and are they wanting to adopt them now or will my parents come in and adopt them? They are the two who really need permanency. Sydney doesn't know anyone other than our family as her own. I'm sure that some day she's going to be quite shocked to find out that she was not born into our family and that her middle and last names were not always what she's known them to be. But, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it and deal with the questions and emotions at that time.

Now, I'm dealing with one who is starting high school, another who is staring the end of high school and who will be moving on next summer. Regardless of whether or not we're starting over again with Sydney, it's so hard to think that we're going to be letting go of our first born. We'll always be here for him, but it's about time to let him spread his wings and fly and see if he can handle the world outside of our immediate reach.

April update

Well, another week and month is about over. We started the month preparing for Kenny's move to South Korea and wondering if he was moving and working without the federal government paying him. Well, that was taken care of just before his departure, but not without a TON of heartburn.

Kenny made it safely to Korea and we learned how to use Skype. Sydney thinks that it's really cool to see her daddy on the computer, but she still walks around to the back of the laptop to see if he's sitting there. :-) She'll "talk" to him, waive and blow kisses when he's on Skype. When he's on the phone, she just giggles and waives to the phone not quite sure what to do.

Orrin has been playing baseball and we don't see him much. He's also still involved with the HS band and is currently in D.C. on a trip with the band. They were privileged enough to play in front of the Jefferson Memorial...just wish that I could have been there. But, I'm sure that he wouldn't have had quite as much fun if mom and the younger siblings were tagging along.

Mack isn't playing sports right now, well, if you don't count video games. He still watches any sport in earnest and can tell you almost anything you want to know about any of them. Could I possibly have a future sportscaster in the family?

Overall, the boys are growing up way too quickly and I still have a hard time when I think about the fact that Orrin will be a Senior in HS in the fall. It's hard enough when he goes away for a short period of time on a school trip...what will I do when he goes to college?

Sydney, well, she's still our little princes. She'll be 16 months old on Saturday...so hard to believe that time has passed us by so quickly. We still enjoy every minute with her. Well, I can't say that we totally enjoyed the weeks when she was trying to cut 5 teeth at one time, but we still loved snuggling with and comforting her. She's such a blessing to have in our lives. We are biding our time until the day when we can officially file for adoption of her and finalize it by changing her name to Sydney DeLayne Rice (the middle and last will be new).

The kids and I had a wonderful Easter, although a little lonely without dad. We had an indoor Easter egg hunt for Sydney (plastic eggs of course) and spent the day together. The boys wanted to go to MiYabi for dinner instead of having the traditional ham and fixings. That didn't really bother me because I didn't have to spend all day cooking...just got to enjoy quality time with my kids.

I hope that you and yours had a Happy Easter and you're doing well this spring. We were spared by the tornadoes that came through North Carolina, although they wreaked havoc in all directions around where we live. We continue to keep those who were affected in our prayers, along with all of those who have been affected in the South in the past 24-hours.

Wishing you all a wonderful Spring and reminding you to enjoy every minute that you have with family and friends as life IS TOO SHORT.

How time flies...

It's so hard to believe that a year ago today, a "stork" of sorts put the most beautiful 5-week old baby girl in my arms. She was the smallest baby that I had seen in a long time and she was entrusted to our care.

Kenny was gone and his response was "she's beautiful, but so little." I was worried about the boys and their reaction. Over that weekend we had shopped and I'd tried to tell them how little she'd be, but she was even smaller than I'd expected. They were smitten from the moment they saw her and she quickly wrapped her little finger around all of our hearts.

I have to say that I have the most wonderful husband and sons that a woman could ask for. Kenny would call from Afghanistan to check on his "girls and boys." The boys would almost fight when I'd get home with her after I returned to work on who could get her out of the car. It took a little while for them to hold her because of her size, but once they realized that they wouldn't break her, they were in full big brother mode. They quickly learned (without being asked) how to change diapers and they both learned how to make bottles. And, who would think that two teenage boys would have more photos on their cell phones of this sweet little thing than they do of friends and/or girls.

I wondered how I'd do it being "mom" to an infant again after almost 13 years. Well, the sleep deprivation wasn't as bad as I'd remembered and her little smiles and the snuggles made up for any sleep that I was missing.

Over the past year we've witnessed all of her firsts, been scared when we had to see a cardiologist, but rejoiced months later upon finding out the problem had corrected itself. We've lost sleep, had to learn to carry everything but the kitchen sink every time we leave the house, but all of us walk with a spring in our step because she's brought so much to our lives.

Who would have thought that this little person would bring so much joy into the lives that she has touched. We are the ones who are truly blessed to have her as part of our family and we sincerely hope that she is legally ours soon because she's already ours in our hearts.

Time marches on...

Well, day by day we get closer to Kenny's homecoming and out next court date.

The boys are growing and getting closer and closer to leaving home to lead their own lives. I can hardly believe that in less than two weeks, my baby boy will be a teenager. But, then again, my firstborn is old enough to get his license. And, we're hoping to start all over. Well, we've basically started over since Sydney came to live wiht us when he was 5 weeks old, but her future with us is so uncertain. We do not treat her as if she is with us for a short time, she is one of us. She knows that we are her family, regardless of whether or not we are biologically linked. She looks to us for love, stability and safety and receives it all 10 fold.

I have seen such a change in my boys since she came into our family. They take more time to stop and smell the roses so to speak. They don't immediately lock theirselves in their rooms or the bonus room, they come downstairs just to see what she's doing. They love to make her smile and giggle. They can't wait until she crawls and I tell them not to push because I want to savor every single thing that she does. I know, regardless of whether we get to adopt her or not, this is the last baby that I will raise. After Sydney, I'll just have to wait for grandchildren.

For now, time will continue to march on, we'll get Kenny home, our lives will return somewhat to "normal," whatever that is. And, we'll wait until sometime in September and see what the court says.

More to come...