adoption
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lessons from 2 1/2 years of adoption, part 2.
Happy Friday! I’m here sharing some of the things we’ve learned by growing our family through adoption. You can read Part One here. Here we go … Being in close relationship with a hurt person is emotionally draining. Oh my, do I wish I prepared myself for this. Never mind, there was actually no way to prepare myself for this adoption reality. Some things are better left a mystery until the grace of God helps you bear them, one day at a time. I anticipated a high level of physical exhaustion when we adopted two young children, but the emotional toll was far more difficult. I’m sure you’ve heard the…
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lessons from 2 1/2 years of adoption, part 1.
This month we celebrate 2 1/2 years with Gabe and Noah. If you’ve followed the blog for awhile, I imagine that this length of time has flown by. Remember when there were just four of us Gentino’s? If you’re newer to the blog, you can find the first post about our adoption plans here, the post introducing our boys here, and our fuller adoption story here (which still makes me cry every time). Gabe turned 4 the month after adoption, and has now lived with us a third of his life. And Noah, who was 2 at placement, has been in our life longer than he was without us. We…
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noah two-year adoption interview.
What’s your favorite…? Fruit: Avocado Vegetable: Peppers Dinner: Soup Treat: Chocolate donuts Snack: Ring pops What’s a food you really, really don’t like? Lemons Restaurant: Go eat sushi and then go on a walk What do you like to play outside? Play with the water table, swim in pools What do you like to play inside? Play some toys What is your favorite thing to do at the park? I like climbing up, spinning, and I like eating snacks What’s your favorite book? My favorite book is Harry Potter What do you like about swim practice? Getting out and getting warm and having a snack like Cheerios What don’t you…
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gabriel two-year adoption interview.
What’s your favorite…? Fruit: Watermelon and cantaloupe and pineapple, grapes too Vegetable: That’s a hard question. Broccoli. Dinner: Inside-out pizza (calzones) Treat: Decorations on desserts, all different kinds of decorations on donuts, cake or cookies Snack: Oreos, the cookies you put on your finger like a ring (Fudge round cookies) What’s a food you really, really don’t like? All different kinds of veggies, salad Restaurant: Papa John’s What do you like to play with outside? Ride bikes, play with the chickies What do you like to play inside? Make projects, play with my stuffies (stuffed animals), I like to play games, drink all different kinds of drinks but not grown-up…
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i’m still here!
Hi friends! I’ve been pretty terrible at keeping up with the blog lately, and I feel bad about it. Not that I expect you to be sitting by your computer waiting for a post. It’s so odd, really. For years I wanted to experience a home renovation so that I could take pictures and blog about the process, but I neglected to factor in one very important thing: that during the renovation I may have zero — and I mean zero — energy for blogging or really anything beyond laying on the sofa with glazed eyes and watching Netflix every night. Ah well. I’m sure some of you could’ve told…
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noah is four!!
Dear Noah, On New Year’s Eve we celebrated your fourth birthday and discovered you have grown two whole inches since we adopted you. When you came into our lives 20 months ago, you were simultaneously the most charming child we’d ever met, and you were angry and out of control. You constantly stopped strangers in delight just by your smile and your zest for life. But you also grabbed other kids’ toys and threw them in the trash out of spite. You hit your grandparents if they didn’t give you what you wanted. You knew very few words, but “no” was one of them. You had a smile that lit…
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six things on friday.
Happy Friday, dear friends! Here are six things that are making my life a little happier these days: 1. We have a holiday and birthday cinnamon roll tradition. David’s birthday was October 7, but we had a few busy weekends in a row, so I finally made his cinnamon rolls this week. Homemade cinnamon rolls are something I was intimidated by until my friends in India showed me how very easy they are. Now I’m teaching Amie how to make them. If you’re interested, here’s our tried-and-true recipe. I prepare them the night before and then bake them the next morning and whip up a quick glaze. 2. A monumental…
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adoption: 18 months.
Today marks 18 months since Gabriel and Noah became part of our family. A year and a half. Can you believe we made it? I’ve been looking forward to this adoption update more than any of the others, because things have changed so much in the last three months. I think of a conversation I had with our social worker, Tricia, early on, about some of our struggles. She said, “Behavior modification is relatively simple, if you’re consistent with rules. It’s the heart that takes longest to heal.” She was exactly right. There were so many times I felt the enormous victories we were living, the burgeoning vocabularies and tasting…
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what i’m learning in counseling, take two.
Hello friends! How are you this weekend? I’ve been thinking about this post for awhile, mulling it over in my head. I think when I last talked about my anxiety here, I mentioned looking for a good therapist. This is “Take Two” for me, because I saw a counselor for several years in my twenties when I was first diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It was enormously helpful and a gift from God. She now lives overseas and we transitioned to just being good friends once our official counseling relationship was over. You’d think because I had this wonderful experience, I’d be fine with diving back in this time around.…
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annie comes to columbia.
Hi friends! I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool and hydrated in this sweltering heat. David’s cousin Annie left behind her mild 70-degree weather and flew out from Seattle for a week. We had a wonderful visit with her. She’s a rising high school senior, and so we’re thankful for extra time with her before she becomes a super-busy college student. Annie’s adopted, and is one of the big inspirations for our wanting to adopt children ever since we got married. I’m so thankful for the special bond she’ll always share with Gabe and Noah, and for the way Judah and Amie adore her too. She stayed at Steve…