Catch up in Life

It’s weird to call this a catch up entry since it is only my second time writing on PB, but I have been craving a place to write and get my rollercoaster emotions out.
It won’t be too much longer until baby girl gets here. In some ways this pregnancy has flown by, and in others it seems never ending. I am trying to cherish this time because I know without a doubt this will be my last pregnancy (I know, I know....I’ve said that before), and let’s be honest, it’s going to be a lot more difficult having four kids when one of them is no longer in utero. She still has no name due to Will’s family drama (last entry). Will wants to name her either Madelyn Olivia or Madison Olivia and we’d call her Maddy. I’m not 100% sold on either Madelyn or Madison.My sister and brother in law have told us if we use the name Olivia in any way, shape, or form they will have no relationship with us. His whole family has pretty much avoided contact with us since all of this went down. My feelings have been hurt lately because my other sister in law had a baby girl at the end of October. This is the second girl in the family, Abby was the first. The other seven grandkids are boys. When Abby was born, my father in law never even held her because he “didn’t feel comfortable holding babies”. Now he is constastly posting pictures on facebook of him with “Pa’s little girl, Savanna”. I’ve seen many of his friends comment on him having his first granddaughter. It makes me so mad because he has had very little to do with Abby. I am trying to work through it, but I am dreading going to visit them over Christmas because I know my feelings will be hurt as he oohs and ahhs over baby Savanna. I should really focus on how blessed I am to have my family who LOVE my kids and are constantly asking to spend time with them. In reality, Will’s whole family lives in Kansas City, so it’s natural his parents would be more connected to the other grandkids, but my heart doesn’t care about my brains rationalization.
The kids are all doing well. Jacob and Gavin are 1000% boy and I get too easily frustrated with the constant tackling, running around the house, and just general inability to be quiet for any extended period of time. I feel like we live in constant chaos. Abby is 2.5 going on sixteen. She is absolutely hilarious, but has such a little attitude. She seems very excited about having a baby sister. She is convinced that we all have babies in our tummies and is constantly rubbing all of our bellies to feel the babies. She had a stomach bug last week and kept pulling up her shirt telling people her baby was making her sick. Silly girl.
My class this year is rough. They are way behind academically, and I have three boys who are out. of. control (2 have oppositional defiance disorder, and 1 has ADHD). One of the boys literally throws himself on the ground crying and kicking when he doesn’t get his way. He cuts text books, throws scissors, crumples up his work and throws it away mid assignment, kicks lockers, and screams at the class. He is making progress, but has a long road ahead of him. His parents and the parents of the other boy who has ODD don’t speak English, so it is hard for me to convey the struggles their kiddos are having. Boy #2 with ODD Is actually from Sierra Leone. He came to visit the U.S with his mom and brother, and has not been able to return home because of the Ebola virus. His dad and one year old brother are still in Sierra Leone. I really feel for him and Im sure part of his difficulty in school has to be with missing his dad, brother, and culture. I still love teaching. I am hoping to move up and work with older kids (4th maybe) when one of the other teachers retires, but there is also a benefit to spending multiple years working in the same grade level. Time will tell, I guess.
Will and I are in a very good place. We love our new house! It will probably be a couple of years before we have it decorated fully/ completely stocked with furniture, but I’d rather choose things I love than rush to have it all put together.
We live about 25-30 minutes from Ferguson but thankfully have not been too affected by the craziness that has been St. Louis. The violence and destruction in areas close by us have been horrible. It’s really sad and I am hoping and praying our community is able to move on and rebuild soon.
So this entry was pretty boring, but maybe now that I’ve put down the basics I can get into more “real” stuff in my next entry. I’ve missed everybody from OD!
I’d love any baby name recommendations. ;)