First day as a Stay-at-Home Dad of Three

Will today was my first day alone and caring for three children as my wife has returned to work.  It is a big change not only for myself but also for my other children.  Over all I feel it was a good day other than the fact that everyone has been sick for more than a week.  I am anxious for everyone to settle into the new family dynamics and start a routine that works for everyone.  I think the hardest thing is the fact that before obtaining custody of my niece we had our way of doing things as a family of four.  And you think that adding one more to the mix would be easy to incorporate into the routine we already had.  But we are just learning my nieces way of doing things for herself, along with the way my other children do things.  The fact that she was been in foster care for her whole life makes it hard as she is opposite of my children and the way be have raised them.  My children are very independent and outgoing, while my niece is very clingy and attached to things, like a pacifier, which my children never really took too.  Adjusting has also been a challenge as we just spent a week in Ontario and prior to that had a two week vacation in Newfoundlands.  So over the past month we have been traveling which throws the kids schedules out of whack.  The two little ones have been getting up at 430 AM since we have been back, which has been a hard adjustment for me.  But over the past couple of days they have slowly been sleeping  longer.  I just keep telling myself that things will get better and that we have only been home for a week as I feel very burnout, although being sick does not help.  Life tests you everyday and whenever you over come a challenge or obstacle you only become stronger.  Thanks for reading.

Journey's End and A New Beginning

Well here I am again writing a post after being away for awhile.  This past summer has not only been filled with adventures of our family but also a change in the dynamics of our home.  There is a new addition to our family and she goes by the name of Cheyanna.  She joined our family last week after a long journey to obtain custody of my 16 month old niece, Chey.  My wife has  created a blog, Our Journey to C, with details of the struggles and challenges we over came in our fight to get her in our care.  So after 16 months, she has finally been placed in our lives and we could not be more happy that she is finally here.  Now prior to this I was looking at maybe going back to work but with this addition, I now plan on staying home for the time being to take care of the kids.  Life with three kids is busy and a big change for all of us, but in time we will all develop and routine that will work and make things easier for everyone.  W are just glad that Chey no longer has to be moved from foster home to foster home and that we can provide a loving, safe, and stable environment where she can learn and grow.  Although one Journey has ended, another is just beginning in the lives of the Jacob Family and we are willing to share our story with anyone who is going through what we went through or any similar situation.