Back yard

We finally finished the backyard!  It is so enjoyable to go out there now.  We have a nice lighted fountain, solar lights, umbrellas for shade and I finally got a hammock!  I've wanted one for awhile and I think Ryan thought I was crazy, but everyone has been using it a lot :o).

You can see the leaves....so annoying!  The neighbors on both sides have very messy trees and we have to blow once every week or sometimes we can get away with a little longer.  Luckily, it is Reggie's favorite chore :o).  We never minded the mess before because we never used the space, but now it is nice to keep it clean.
We had our first barbecue since we moved in 4 years ago and it was so much fun!  I was a little worried that we couldn't absorb that many kids, but we never saw them...they were in the secret room, playing cornhole, on the trampoline or playing basketball/4 square.  It really worked out great.

Khalif update

Taking a break on one of our Pokemon hunting walks

Found one in the car!

 We signed the adoption paperwork on Sept. 6th!!!  That officially took him out of the foster system, but he is still in limbo until we officially see the judge Friday, Oct. 7th.  It is all happening very quickly now and thankfully, his anxiety has seemed to settle down a bit.
He learned to ride a bike over the 3 day weekend and that was interesting.  Unfortunately, he is so quick to give up and it seems like we have to be really firm and stern in some situations or he never will get out of his comfort zone.  We pretty much said that we weren't leaving until he figured it out!  It was a great learning experience for him and reinforced why we don't give up.  By the end of the session, he went the entire way around the track and was pretty proud of himself!

Teaching the neighbor Noah how to play the piano!

Playing a duet with his teacher:

Khalif has also started swimming with the Blue Dolphins, where Reggie swims.  He was hesitant to do that as well, but we told him we were just trying it for a week or two and he seemed o.k. with that.  We decided to start him out slow, having him go for about 45 min-1 hour, 2 days a week, but last week he was bummed when Reggie was going and he didn't get to, so he asked if he could go the extra day!  I guess he really likes it!  Now he is going for the full hour and a half and it seems to be helping with his sleep issues (we had to wake him up at 7:30 today!!!).  This is a big deal since he has such a hard time falling asleep and wakes up like clock work at 6:30.  Most days I look at him after school and he has that blank, tired stare.  I hope he can catch up on some long lost sleep :o).

Falling apart

Hmmm....where to begin.  Ryan left for Singapore/Hong Kong last Saturday and he has had a difficult time with the time change and food.  He had stomach issues since day 2, but finally today might be turning the corner.  Just in time to deal with his horribly sprained ankle which happened last night when he tripped on a road reflector after watching the Formula one race cars.  It is very swollen and he has been icing, so it must be pretty bad.  These things tend to happen when he travels, but usually to us here, so I guess he can share a bit in the misery.
Ainsley has been having wrist issues for a very long time and we finally took her in at the beginning of school and she has inflammation of the growth plates on both wrists.  This is a very common gymnastics injury and it sounds like this is something we are just going to have to manage, but since then, it has just been getting worse and worse.  She finally had some relief over the 3 day weekend and could do a handstand without pain, but then went back to school and jacked it up playing tetherball (which I think she started playing the 2nd week of school and is likely why she wasn't improving).  Now it has moved to her thumb and she is unable to do bars and she is very disappointed about that.  It has been a month now and she hasn't been doing much at gym, we've been icing and using ibuprofen, saw the hand specialist and the more good we try to do, the worse it seems to get.  She got a brace today and hopefully that will stabilize everything and she can finally feel better.  We have another appointment on Monday with the sports specialist, so hopefully, she has some idea of what is going on.  It is very hard to not be able to do anything and know she can't do what she loves :(.
On to K.  He has been struggling with anxiety lately and we can't seem to find the source.  We have a new therapist and she has been doing new activities with us and it has been really eye opening.  He has some things so deeply rooted and he is totally unaware of what he is feeling.  He is always waiting for something bad to happen :(.  We've had more night time wake-ups the last month than in his whole life.  He also had a rough week at school this week and regressed with the potty.  Hopefully, he will settle soon.
I had my fun a couple weeks ago playing on the trampoline with Ainsley.  Did lots of back drops and back tucks/front tucks and something didn't agree with my body because the next day, my upper back seized and I could hardly turn my head.  I was in some real pain for a few days, but then it got better during the day, but the nights were rough.  Last night was the first night that I felt pretty close to normal!  Yay for me!!!
Reggie has been the lucky one, aside from his normal headaches, he is good.  Grandma is good too....Ryan flew her here to help me out and she's been fixing up the yard, replanting things and planting things.  Its been great!
Please pray for healing for our family!!!