We're back.........

Hi Everyone! It's great to be back here, writing to you all again, after an almost two year hiatus. As I sit here in my pink panther hat (even though the weather is 78 degrees) , I realize that I sure do have some updates to give you.

 I got a divorce about a year and a half ago, and then the girls and I moved to Florida, which we love. At first we were only renting a tiny house, with only two bedrooms (which really made me realize how few material things we actually need, since not much would fit in there ). We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

 

Now, we have a fabulous house of our very own. The house was built in 1922 and has lots of charm, but it was quite a disaster when we moved in a few months ago. We still have a ways to go with fixing it up. Our yard is one big sand pit, which really cuts down on mowing the grass. 

Elliot moved here too, so it's great to all be together (most of the time anyway). We are really glad to be done with moving for a while. Victoria calls it "the happy house." We love having a front porch too. 

We have been fostering a few four legged friends again. Our foster puppies may come and go, but they always leave reminders forever. Like chewing the couch to pieces. That's ok though, I am going with a minimalist decorating style anyway. And it has really taught the kids to pick up their toys. Most of their Barbies are sporting teeth marks.

Elliot is 20 now and is working at a pizza place and hopefully going to college soon. I am so glad to have all my kids together. He is enjoying all my boxed culinary delights.

 

Isabella has gotten so grown up! She just turned 14. She is a great cook (wayyyyyy better than me) and she is very dedicated to her karate. She and Anastasia are trying to start a babysitting business called "Two Sisters Babysitting". Two for the price of one! Spread the word! They certainly have the job experience from helping out with the little ones. 

 Anastasia is 11 and always keeps us laughing. She is quite the entrepreneur and her latest venture is figuring out how to save enough money to buy an iphone 5s. She loves karate and is quite the artist.

 

Little Catherine, is well, little Catherine. She is 7 now and is so smart; she reads everything. She has her own sense of style and is thrilled to be able to wear her bathing suit year round. She is quite determined and very, very strong willed. Between her and Victoria, I have to be quite creative to figure out how to keep a step ahead of her. She is growing her bangs out. She just started karate and I expect she will be quite good at it. 

Francesca is almost 6! I can't believe it. We still have some issues with toilet training, but she tries. She loves to help me. Her language is really improving too. I think she has short term memory issues and definitely attention problems. She is great in social situations. We discovered that she really has a way with animals.

Victoria is 5 and continues to amaze me. The child who the doctors said would never speak, talks non-stop. She seems to have a photographic memory. She can spell her first name and her last name, and she can count to 100 by 10's. She had a deck of bird flash cards and she can name 50 birds! However, she struggles with social situations. She is more like a three year old socially, which makes sense, since her first two years consisted of total neglect in the orphanage. She gets very frustrated if she can't get what she wants. She kind of has the philosophy that is she sees it, it is hers. One lady even gave Victoria the earrings she had on because Victoria wanted them. She has been known to tell people they are fat, or that their necks are "mushy". Now that she's learned that isn't nice, she will loudly tell them their necks are "not mushy". 

 

 As for me, I am feeling really happy and grateful. I have grown a lot in the past year and a half. I've really come to realize that I am stronger than I thought I was. And that my family is really the best.

So, that's pretty much it......I would love to hear from all of you and I promise to write more soon. I have lots more to say! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!