Sunday July 19, 2009: We went to the adoption picnic today, all four of us.

It was a really lovely day. The girls enjoyed the bouncy castle, face paints and learning circus skills (brilliant).

I enjoyed seeing children I have worked with in the past now happy and settled with their new families.

It’s good to see the happy side of care system stories – the one’s the media aren’t interested in.

It was so lovely to see a lad I worked with once.

I did some evening babysitting and became quite close to the family.

He had a lot of attachment problems and, after moving schools and lots of hard work and commitment from his parents, he has turned into such a lovely lad.

He spent a lot of the picnic strutting around the field on a pair of huge stilts. It was amazing to see.

The lad I worked with two years ago wouldn’t have had the confidence, patience or skill to learn how to do it. It’s really made me smile.

The girls had a lovely time running around the place. They were exhausted but managed to stay awake on the way home. They were fighting like cat and dog when we got in and so ended up in bed at 6pm, immediately after tea.

So a nice long peaceful evening and trying not to worry what time they’ll wake up in the morning.