Fun Days

I'm not sure how I've managed to stay so busy despite not working, Daniel says, "It's because you're Lindsey Royal." I think it may be a combination of that and the fact that God was sparing a few things from occurring until I had time for them! Every day I am so thankful for this time to be on leave and focus on enjoying time with Daniel and Anellah while still being able to do everything else that needs to be done.

This morning we were able to have a "Fun Day" and go to San Francisco on the ferry with some friends. All the kids (and Moms) had a great time. I felt privileged to finally be able to participate in a play day!

Riding the ferry and sharing PB & J with Jack

Visiting the Sea Lions

Paige, Penny, Jack, and Anellah

This week I have spent a lot of time meeting with and getting things organized for Anellah to start preschool. It is proving to take a lot more time than I had expected and I know I would not have been able to put in this time if I were still working. Anellah and I really like all the staff at the preschool location she will be attending and today she was even able to play with some of the kids. She absolutely loved it and did not want to leave. I tried to take a photo of her playing but she was too busy to look at the camera.

I have also been in touch with attorneys, advocates, social workers, etc. because the contract which authorizes payments for Anellah's childcare have not been renewed. The person who renews these contracts is the same person whom we have struggled with in the past regarding adoption payments. I have not attempted to contact her directly as in the past she refused to return my phone calls or meet with Daniel or I. It is an unusual case that the county will pay for childcare for a foster child but they were paying for Anellah because there were no other placement options and it was cheaper for her to have childcare subsidized than for her to live anywhere other than our home. In preparation for the transition out of foster care (and therefore becoming our sole financial responsibility) I spent the last 6 months getting her into Early Head Start so that we would only have to pay for HALF day childcare when I return to work and the adoption is finalized. We were not given any warning that the childcare payments would stop nor were we requested to decrease the number of hours (we did that of our own accord) but despite these facts one person has again decided to complicate matters and leave us fighting for what we feel is best for Anellah. Thankfully, as usual, we have a lot of people fighting for us and I have three irons in the fire to remedy the situation. Please pray that it is remedied quickly as we need a solution by the end of December which does not leave many business days. We do not want to have another big transition for Anellah around the time of Baby Boy's birth (which is why we attempted to start preschool as quickly as possible not knowing it would take 6 months!) so please pray that the solution will be for her to stay with her current daycare provider for the half days she is not at preschool.

We are thankful for each of you who support us including the Roths who invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them!

Making our contribution to the Thanksgiving Feast

Loving the piano music 

Notice the festive "pumpkin belly"