Vanessa's Boys

So here are some pictures of the temporary additions to our family.

I guess I'll write a brief summary.

Wednesday morning I got a call from LDSFS saying that Vanessa was in a bad spot, and wanted me to call her about getting temporary guardianship over the boys until she can get a job and a place to live, etc. I called Vanessa and she wanted us to come get the boys as soon as we were able, so we waited for our attourney to draw up the guardianship papers and we were on our way up to Beatty. We were there for a few hours to find out what the kids liked, etc, and to load up their blankies and carseats and books. We got home Wednesday night, and Rachael (bless her amazing heart) had come over and cleaned up my downstairs for me so I could come home to less chaos than I thought. She was also so wonderful to make dinner for us all that night. I wasn't sure what time we would be home. Shelly graciously watched Zack for us while we were gone, and Marcia took some time out of her own hectic schedule to pick Brenden up after school at his bus stop. She also did a WalMart run yesterday for underwear and AA batteries to power up some toys. It was a crazy night, but everyone was in bed by 8:30pm and slept until 7am, with the exception to Deondre who woke up at 4am needing to go potty. (Oh, and me who couldn't fall asleep until nearly 1am because of all the craziness of the day!)

Yesterday was a busy day. Deondre and Zack are either best buddies or practically killing each other. They are only 11 months apart- Deondre being the oldest. Zack has been a bit shell-shocked with the sudden expanditure of our brood. He doesn't like sharing my lap, and he isn't used to sharing everything he owns. I'm stuck between being grateful that we can help these boys, and wondering what I've done! LOL Another great friend of mine, Sandra, brought us dinner. The Relief Society President called and said we would have dinners brought in for 5 nights. I couldn't believe the outpour of support. I didn't think I would need it, but with keeping the boys in line, and with still trying to work, it has been such a blessing to have a warm meal brought in.

I pray multiple times daily to be able to help these boys and give them the love that they need, and to be able to have the strength to parent them. Deondre has some behavioral issues, and although I expected MUCH worse than I have witnessed, it is still pretty exhausting to keep things at bay all day. I'm sure this first week or two will be the hardest.

This is KayDen. He will be 16 months old on the 22nd of September.

This is DeonDre. He will turn 4 on November 12th. (He is 11 months older than Zack) He LOVES getting his picture taken, and is a bit of a ham about it.
Yes, that's Finding Nemo that you see behind him. We've been trying to see what movies he likes. So far he hasn't been able to sit still for even 15 minutes. Church should be entertaining on Sunday! LOL

Well, I'd better run. It sounds like Deondre isn't going down for a nap like he is supposed to. I heard the toilet flush, and I can only pray he went to the bathroom, and didn't try flushing anything interesting down the hole. LOL