Well, this is my third blog, and sooo much time has passed since my last. I have now graduated, and I have been teaching for a little more than 6 months. I teach third graders, and I love them. I work with challenged students, and they keep me on my toes.

I still have most of our dogs and both cats. One dog, Coty, passed away from Kidney failure. He was a real tropper. cotybearbaxter.tripod.com

Now, on to the good stuff. We finally got approved, and we were introduced to two children. We have "Bear," our six year old girl. We also have her brother, "Bunter." They are quite a handful. She turned six December 31st. Bunter will be five on the 20th of this month. We had to fight really hard to get them, and we went through several caseworkers in the process. The DFACs journey has not been a pleasant one.

Finally, the kids moved in this past October, and they have had so many mixed emotions. "Bear" went into foster care at 17 months old, and "Bunter" was only 3 months old. She moved six times and he moved five. When the finally came to us, they couldn't control themselves. We nearly lost control, and had it not been for their wonderful fosterparents before us, we probably would have.

About Bear:
She has been diagnosed with several disorders, but they are doing another psych evaluation on the 12th. She is ADHD, ODD, BPD, and maybe BiPolar. She has tantrums, she throws things, she breaks things, she loses it. Who can blame her??? She has been thrown around like a piece of trash her whole life. She doesn't trust anyone, and I understand where she is coming from. She was abused in her biological home and at least one foster home. We are making strides, but I know it will take a long time before she can trust again. She is so smart, and she is absolutely beautiful. She is learning to read, and she loves it! She likes bright, light colors. She is scared of snakes and cops. She has nightmares that cops are shooting her, and snakes are biting her. She loves to talk, and she is 100 percent tomboy!

About Bunter:
He has ADHD, and he loves to get into things. He loves to color, sing, and dance. He stays in trouble at school, and he has already come close to being kicked out of Pre-K. He has the most beautiful blue eyes, and the cutest country accent ever. He isn't violent, but he throws tantrums. He slobbers everywhere when he gets upset, and it's almost like he can't turn it off. He aggravates the dickens out of his sister, and this drives me crazy. He hates to sleep, and he only likes cold baths. When I say cold, I mean ICE COLD!!! When he first moved in, he would scream and cry if you even mentioned using warm water. Finally, he got sick oneday, and I told him it was probably because the cold water didn't kill the "germ bugs" that were living on his skin. Now, he takes a warm bath...but he still hates it!

Tomorrow is a big day for us. They are releasing the kids for adoption. We can finally get an attorney...Wooohooo! I hope this process is much smoother than getting the kids moved in. They were going to release them on Valentine's Day, but the caseworker called, and she informed me that they decided they would just do it tomorrow. Just like that! Go Caseworker! I have the most wonderful caseworker, and I hope she sticks around for a while. When this is over, we want to adopt two more. I would love for her to handle our next adoption! She is so sweet, and she gets along great with the kids.

Well, that is all for tonight! I need to get some sleep! WE had a huge day today, and I am the only one still awake in the house.

Goodnight!