family updates

[Guest guest]

It has been really interesting to read about each of your families and get

updates!

I am Kym and married to my husband Jon for 18 years. We have five children.

Trevor (17) is our oldest and in 11th grade. He earned his Eagle scout this

past summer. He is also doing GREAT in school (quite an achievement

compared to his grades in recent years and with his ADD). He is such a

smart kid, but like many of us, chooses to put his efforts into other

things, so we are VERY proud of him right now. He is definitely growing up!

With these recent developments, he will surely be getting his driver's

license soon! :0

(14)is next and is growing up too fast! She is a freshman this year.

Yikes! She loves to talk on the phone and is always either on the phone

or doing homework. Aside from the drama of teenage girliness, she is a lot

of fun to be around! ...and even the drama can be very entertaining if you

stay in the right frame of mind....which can take some work sometimes, but

with lots of practice, I am getting better at it!

(11) is doing great in school and growing like a weed! He is a great

help with at school...this is 's last year being at the same

school

as , so we are really feeling grateful to have him here for a little

bit longer. loves to read and is our fun loving book worm! He also

loves to play outside and explore.

(8ds) is just as happy as ever...can't remember who knows and who

doesn't, that he is bald now. They have done lots of testing to find the

cause and

can't find anything, so they have given him the diagnosis of Alopecia

Areata(sp?!). This just means unexplained patchy hair loss. So, we shaved

what was left because it was just coming in patches on his head and he

looked like a chemo patient. We tell him he looks like Vin Diesel, so he

doesn't mind. Every time we see a biker or a tough bald guy, he smiles and

points them out and then says " me " . He is such a doll!! He has learned the

cutest thing lately. When he is doing something he enjoys (taking a shower,

watching a video, etc) and you tell him it is time to finish, he will hold

up his finger at you and say... " just 5 more minutes " . It is really funny.

He uses it in the proper context and you just have to laugh. Just

yesterday, he even upped it to " just TEN more minutes " . hmmmmmm. While our

baby was sick and in the hospital for 5 days over Thanksgiving, he was such

a big " helper " . He tried to do the things that I usually do. DH woke up

one day to the sound of the vacuum, and when he came out, was

vacuuming that living room! hadn't been feeling well, so early in

the morning, he brought her a drink and put it on her bed (spilling it all

over her bed, when she rolled over), so that she would stay hydrated. Just

a couple of examples of his eagerness to be big and to do the right thing.

I know that Heavenly Father smiles down on him when he is trying to hard to

be loving and kind to others and be such a perfect example to all of us

around him. Some times it isn't " convenient " for us, but it is always easy

to see 's good intentions! I am having a hard time deciding what to

do about his school situation. He is currently in the regular 2nd grade

classroom with an aide, but I am getting notes home or phone calls nearly

every day. I went and observed some self contained classroom options and

the level is under him, so I am not sure what to do. Socially, he LOVES his

friends at school and his placement has really helped him in a lot of ways.

Academically, he would probably get more out of a smaller setting, but not

in the classes I have seen. He would be happy to sing and count jelly beans

and not reach higher like he does now. I always like to read your posts

about placements to get ideas!

is our baby. She just turned one year old right before Christmas.

She was a " surprise " baby...in the best way ever! We were told after our

third child that we probably wouldn't be able to get pregnant again. We

tried fertility drugs, time, every method known to man and then finally

decided to adopt. We adopted when he was almost 2 years old, then

went on about our lives and after about 6 years...BOOM! Here comes a baby.

We were thrilled and although I was nervous about how would handle

it, it has been a great blessing and has really helped him to mature! He is

always making sure that she is okay and translating for her so that he makes

sure we know what she wants. I can already see a very strong bond between

the two of them. They have an " understanding " as they go around getting

into mischief In some ways it is hard because she is already catching up

to him in some ways, so it brings us a reality check on his levels, but that

is just something we will have to get used to...and I think as the years go

by and she passes him up, it will help to pull him along?! right?? Those

of you with kids in this situation, please feel free to comment...

I am busy as ever. So is DH Jon...nothing new to report with either of us.

Boring... I do baby-sit an 8 month old baby boy 36 hours a week. So

between him and , it is like having twins. I think it is really good

for both of them, but it is a lot of work. The baby's mom found these

connectors that can hold two umbrella strollers together, so we often go on

" sanity " walks. Both kids (and I), really enjoy this

If you have gotten this far, thanks for all of the support on the list! I

joined when we first adopted and it gave me so much needed

information and support. Then our computer crashed and I was off for a few

years. Now have been back and appreciate all of you!

Sincerely,

Kym...mom to 5 including (8ds)