I think I'm gonna miss them

Back at home, and my finger is better so that I can type without wincing. How to wrap up a week's worth of thoughts. I guess to start with I can't help but think of what A said as we were pulling out of my parents driveway, "Nina, Nina" yes, A, "I think I'm gonna miss them." Me, too, A, me, too.
We saw Todd's family and then on to my parents. Every family member that A met, she connected with on some level. Every bed she was put on she went right to sleep. She kept going and going with "What's next" constantly being asked. Christmas began for her on the Monday before Christmas when she got to go see her family. If love is measured by the size of the toys one receives than A is loved more than imaginable by her family. Kitchen, table & chairs, huge stuffed dog(you know the kind your kids always want but you think no way because its so big). That's just the beginning of the list. Even better is when she comes in the house, she has Madeline, Lucas & Camille all in her room helping her get out and assemble all of her things. So willing to share, and even better was the fact that there was no jealous remarks by any of the stan clan.
Swimming in the hotel pool was a new experience. Definitely not a swimmer. Thanks, Tanya for lending us the life jacket. Felt a little bad when I had to ask A to suck in her tummy in order to zip it. She stayed close to the steps and that was fine by all. She chimed right in to calling Todd's parents, Grandma & Grandpa. Camille wasn't always thrilled by this.
I sometime wonder if all that we are exposing her to is a good thing or not. Its like how much materialism are we overstimulating her with. We go in and out of stores, grocery stores, etc., without a thought. We stay in a hotel, go to the movies, eat at restaurants. Its a constant motion or worldly activity. She handles it all in stride. I hope that I am able to stay in touch with her as she grows old. Who know what 6 months from now will bring.
We went to my parents, where unfortunately, my aunt taught A to call the hogs. A loves attention, so I think she called the hogs at least 100 times, all to the amusement of a household of Razorsnack fans. She even came home with a hog t-shirt. Ugh. Called the hogs with Aunt Bea, marched with Uncle Stephen, danced with Uncle Chris, sang songs with Aunt Joyce, read with Sophie, ate breakfast with Gramps, and did all of the above with Gram. We will all remember this Christmas and how we saw it thru the eyes of a sweet child who is so thankful for the little things in life. Yes, we will definitely miss them.
Made it to 40 years old without too much drama. A quiet birthday with my fam. A new ipad from my gang, and a beautiful scrapbook from my mom representing all 40 of my years. Ok, I take back asking her why she was starting to scrapbook. If I'd known it was for me, I would have strongly encouraged it. Such fun to look back and see all the friends and family who have played an important role in my life.
For one hour of the six ride home I was bored so I decided to count the number of times A said Nina. Ok, it was 25 times in one hour. So if you take that time 6 hours its 150 times. I failed to keep track of the times Lucas told her to be quiet, or the girls asked her to, or Buddy or myself. I guess if our only complaint is that the kid can't be quiet, we really shouldn't complain at all.
We received our first check from our foster care agency for caring for A. Very strange. Still thinking about what to do with it. It makes me laugh to think of the time a stranger asked me if I was doing foster care for the money. What an idiot. One of the hardest jobs I've had. The hardest being a mom. Mom, foster mom, definitely the most challenging jobs. Hopefully I'm not messing anybody up. I do love my jobs.
Glad to be home. Glad to have my laptop, trying to get a feel for the iPad. Finger is cramping. Looking forward to 3 more days before kiddos go back to school. Then, we'll see if I miss them.