Wow, over a month!

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I posted.  To be honest, I have not forgotten. Yes, I've been busy, but there is something else that happens with the blog that I just want to address once and for all.
Sometimes, I don't want to write on the blog, because I feel that I must stay positive and upbeat about everything, that I must have pictures and create a scrapbook of all the girls activities and happenings.
Yes, there are things that are happening in our household. There are games, school activities etc.
But a lot of what has happened in the last month is not able to be recorded in a picture or a blog.
Most of the day to day happenings have to do with the continuation of the process of adaptation and integration into our family.  Some things seem little, and some parents might say "This happens at our house all the time".  But the difference for us that we are trying to catch up to years of experiences, developmental stages that the girls have missed.  At times it is easy, they take on to our advice and we can see that they are learning, that they are making progress.  And then there are times that we seem to be going backwards, that everything we have been teaching goes out the window.
Recently I started teaching my Edgewood class again and logically the class asked how things were going and how I would describe my experience so far.  I think I said something like this: "It has been the most emotional, exciting and frustrating thing I have done.  I have cried more than I have ever in my life, yet with all that I feel that I am doing something that has been more rewarding than anything else previous to this."  It's interesting what people will ask you when they know you have adopted four girls.  First, they usually get the number wrong ( I guess after two people loose count), people will say "how are your three girls" or ' how are your six girls'... (amazing!).  Anyway, she asked me if when you adopt you love your kids right a way.  Yes and No, I said.  For me, yes I loved the girls immediately, but the responsibility became so overwhelming so quickly that we had to move soon into a loving 'dictatorship' without much time for relaxation or thinking or reflecting.  When you have a baby it is a similar experience, but usually you have some people that come over, stay with you , feed the baby take care of the mother for a few days etc.  We had some help this summer, but for the most part  Alex and I have learned to take care for each other in a different way.  We take turns taking the girls so the other person will have a break.  We have found a wonderful place for the younger girls called "Kids Junction" and the older girls stayed with a family after school for a few hours the other day.  Now that we have worked with the girls a few months, we feel we can do this more often.  I actually spent the night in Milwaukee on Thursday night.  It was the first night I actually went away without Alex since the girls came home.  I just wish I could have gotten a massage or something!  The WSRA conference was fine...
I promise I will return to the pictures, activities and exciting things going on in our household.
Just a pause to put things into perspective and to let you know, I have not quit this blog.