Update on Little One

I haven't been giving many updates on our little one as nothing had really happened.  Social Services are not the fastest moving group.  We have had little E for 10 months now and she is 11 months old.  In someways, the time has flown by.  She is growing like crazy although she is still a tiny little peanut at only 17 pounds.  She has started scooting all over the place and doing cute tricks like waving and giving high fives.  She gets cuter every day with her big blue eyes and silly faces.  To say the least, we are totally in love with her.  So much for guarding my heart.

Her case has begun to move through the court system.....at a snail's pace.  She had a court date a few weeks ago where they changed her "plan" from reunification with her parents to guardianship with a relative.  What this mean is that we have to wait until random relatives come out of the woodwork and take guardianship of her.  If relatives do not show up by the next court date (Jan) we can apply for adoption.  Talk about nerve wracking.  I am torn between attempting to think positively (power of positive though and all) and not getting my hopes up.  She calls me "mama" for goodness sake.  So far, not a single relative has even called to check on her.  That's not to say they won't show up but they havent' been involved so far. 

I have tried to prepare for the fact that she could leave.  I cry every time I think about her little, chubby hand waving goodbye.  She could walk out of our lives and we would never see her again.  Would she think we abandoned her?  Would she been crying for us, confused?  I can't imagine not being there for her when she needed me.  I don't know how I could lose a child.  So if you are reading this please say a prayer, give a positive thought or send us good vibes.  Whatever you do, will work for me.  We need everything we can get. 

Because I can't send photos of her adorable face...

Here she is relaxing with the girls at the after school program.  She sits in her backpack while I teach and joins in social hour when I am finished.  She has quite the following.

Dinner time. *added 1/2019

A Great Day for a Hike

A few weekends ago, we journeyed to Mt. Mitchell State Park.  Oh, what a beautiful place when it is not covered in a dense fog.  Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi and notorious for wicked weather.  We picked a perfect day, sunny and in the low 60s.

We chose to hike the Balsam Nature Trail.  In my mind, this is the most magical trail in the park.  It is full of moss, blown down trees and little hidey holes.  I swear there are fairies if you look close enough.  Well, if they existed, they would live there.

 

 

The boys insisted on wearing camouflage or in Myles case, brown and green.  It proved for hours of entertainment.

 

Baby girl was in her usual position on Josh's back.  Contently watching the world go by.

 

Can you spot the boys?

 

First attempt at a photo on a slippery path....

 

Take two.

 

Mt. Mitchell is home to a variety of salamanders.  The boys were determine to find every one.  They put forth a great effort and found a ton of these slimy little guys.

 

Now you see him, now you don't.

Greenway

I forgot to post these pics this summer.  In the beginning of the summer, Myles learned how to ride his bike without training wheels.  I have to say, this was not an easy process.  There were several times that I wanted to toss his bike in the bushes.  Myles is VERY stubborn and does not like to do anything he isn't good at doing.  He would be riding down the trail perfectly but screaming, "I can't do this".  Every time he crashed he yelled at me and blamed me for him falling.  Usually, I wasn't even close to him yet it was always my fault.  Finally, after much screaming, he got it.  In actuality, it only took a few times to the greenway but it seemed like a lot more.

 

 

He is still very cautious.

 

His brother is quite the opposite.

 

Grady makes me nervous.  He is a great bike rider, doing jumps, wheelies and stands on his seat.  He wants to start racing bikes.  We are going to look into some races.

Aquarium and Cherokee

The aquarium is a must when we come to Gatlinburg.  The boys are very science minded and love the hands-on exhibits at the aquarium.  They are also interested in sea creatures so they really enjoy checking out all of the amazing fish.  Little one tagged along in the backpack and watched in wonder as brightly colored fish swam overhead.  What a great little aquarium.

 

 

 

The boys in one of the exhibits.

Shark Alley

 

Myles has always loved penguins and couldn't wait to see these little birds.

 

In the penguin cave

 

On the way home, we stopped by Cherokee, NC.  We went to the Cherokee Cultural Village and Museum.  The boys were able to see how the Cherokee people use to live.  I wasn't sure how they would like this but they really enjoyed learning about the people. 

 

Of course, Grady was fascinated by their weapons.  They let him hold one of their homemade knives.

 

My boys have no fear.  They volunteered to take part in a traditional dance.  There they are holding hands with perfect strangers.

 

Laughing all the way. 

 

I was really glad we stopped here.  The boys learned a lot about native Americans and no longer think they roam the streets in full headdresses and war paint.  We had a busy weekend but that's how we like it.

Gatlinburg

 

Boy, I behind on the blog.  Every time I am on the computer, I am doing school work.  Not much time for all these photos I have been taking.  Back in September we went to Gatlinburg, TN for a long weekend.  We rented a cabin and visited the usual attractions.  If you  have not been to Gatlinburg, you should check it out just for the people watching.  It has got to be the tackiest place on earth.  A place where air brushed t-shirts and rat tails are still in abundance.  It's pretty amazing.

 

 

This is our little cabin outside of Gatlinburg.

 

The inside

 

The boys were super excited when they saw the jacuzzi tub.  Josh had a brilliant idea to put shampoo in the tub and crank up the jets.  Look what happened.....

 

 

Needless to say, the boys had a blast.

 

 

The bubbles kept coming.  Look at Josh trying to scoop them up with a trash can.

 

The first night there, we went to our favorite donut shop.  This place is awesome and I am a bit of a donut conisour.  Donuts are my weakness.

 

 

The boys chose powered sugar donuts.

 

The next morning we went to Dollywood.  This year, Grady was tall enough to ride all of the rides, even the big roller coasters. Here he is in front of the first big one he went on.  He loved it and I watched on from the ground as I saw his little white head flying all over the place.  I was much more nervous than he was.

 

Cruzin

 

Little one went on her first ride.  She held on as Josh cruised with his best girl.

 

Myles liked the water rides

 

Getting lunch at Reds

 

I snapped this pic of the boys on the white water ride.  They rode this one twice.

Stay tuned for the rest of our vacation......

Quiet Time

As any mother of multiple children knows, life gets hectic.  We are usually running around like crazy, not knowing whether we are coming or going.  This is the routine....and then there are Thursdays.  On Thursday mornings Grady is in school and E has visits with her parents.  Myles and I are on our own to explore and relax.  We walk around town, grab lunch or stay in our jammies until 10.  No plans, just me and my little guy, chillin.

I have thoroughly enjoyed our time together.  Myles is so much more low key than Grady.  He can sit for minutes without talking.  Grady, on the other hand, fills any silence with incessant jabbering.  I love the kid to death but he could talk to a brick wall for hours.  Grady is my social butterfly and is larger than life.  Myles is content to sit and enjoy the silence. 

 

 

 

We decided to grab a cup of coffee (Myles had hot chocolate) and a bagel at a local cafe.

 

What a unique character you are, Myles.

 

Lunch at Lake Susan.

Apples and Fairs

Fall is in the air!!  Fall in the mountains of Western Carolina means apples and the Mtn State Fair.  We went to Granddad's Apples in Hendersonville to pick some apples and get some apple treats (donuts, turnovers and slushies).  There is nothing like an apple straight from the tree.  We each eat an apple a day so the two bags of apples we purchased were gone within the week. 

The following weekend we ventured out to the Mountain State Fair.  You never know what you are going to see at the fair.  The people watching is out of this world, the animals are amazing and the rides are sketchy.  Just as a state fair should be. 

It is still pretty warm around here but I can feel fall slowly creeping in.  We are ready for her to visit.

 

 

 

Apple cider slushies

 

My three little pumpkins

 

I'm not sure why there is a large gorilla at the apple orchard.

 

Getting taller

 

and taller

 

 

The boys jumped right on to the kid roller coaster. 

 

Of course, we had to make our annual visit to the forest service helicopter.

 

The boys favorite part of the fair this year.....the gator show.

 

Dinosaur slide

 

Helicopter pilot, Myles