adoption
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2 months.
Our little boys have been home for two months now. Here are 20 ways that my life has changed since April: 1. One word: laundry. 2. Another word: dishes. 3. I forgot how physical life with small children is, with all the carrying and dressing and wrestling into carseats and putting to bed. Consequently, I feel wrinkled and dirty all the time. I now see why many moms look frumpy. And I’m too tired to care. 4. Our family can easily put away a 9X13 casserole in one sitting. 5. I’m hard-pressed to be able to finish a complete thought, much less a sentence. 6. I forget things. A lot.…
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sunday.
It’s Sunday. The re-set day. The day I look forward to all week. Of all the challenges right now, God has preserved Sunday morning as a joyful time for me. Each of my four children loves church so much and I don’t take that for granted. Not one bit. It’s nothing short of a blessing, because I need to be there so badly. My soul is hungry. I’m neck-deep in my own sin these days, folks. I can’t tell you about any one thing that’s so dreadful. Everyone is sleeping through the night. Friends and family are helpful. I’m getting time out by myself on Friday afternoons. None of our…
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first road trip.
We’ve had my cousin Bekah’s wedding on the calendar for quite awhile, but right after bringing the boys home I thought, There is no way we can go. It was in Franklin, Tennessee, about a 7-hour drive away. I could not even imagine trying to navigate travel and mostly a wedding with our two toddler boys. But Amie was supposed to be a flower girl, and you know I love any chance to be with my extended family. David couldn’t go but my mom offered to make the trip with us and help out. What followed was a month of a roller coaster of indecision, and if you rode that…
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one month in.
. . . we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. I am currently in a place of abundance. An abundance of noise, an abundance of laundry, an abundance of little voices calling, “Mo-om!!!” It’s the oddest feeling . . . first living in what felt like a long season of lack — of waiting, of wondering, of not understanding the story. And then everything changed very, very suddenly. After the desert there is water, but not just a trickle — a full-on waterfall. And I spent that first month just gasping, trying to come up for air. I hardly…
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tuesday.
We are halfway into Week 4, and life is slowly returning to normal. Our new normal, that is. A few firsts for the boys last week: first library visit, first zoo trip. I did the library by myself! With all four kids! It went great and I felt ready to take on the world. However. There is no way I could possibly do the zoo on my own, so Mum Mum came along, which was much more fun anyway. David came home from work at 4 p.m. his first week back and was home every evening, but by now we have transitioned back into his normal work schedule. He comes…
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three weeks home.
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another one about books.
Last night David and I went on a date! To celebrate Mother’s Day! We had a whole hour between the time his parents came over to babysit and our dinner reservation, and the man who has been married to me for 11 years knew without asking exactly where I wanted to spend it: the library. My definition of luxury is wandering rows and rows of books, all by myself, and David enjoys the same thing, and so after returning two bursting-full bags of children’s books, we went our separate ways deep into the vast hushed quiet of the public library at 6:00 p.m. I feel incredibly lucky to live in…
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it’s the best of mother’s days.
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two weeks.
We made it through Week Two and the first post-placement visit from our social worker! She’s been so supportive through this process, and had encouraging things to say about how well the boys are doing. We think she’s right! In the last couple of days the scales seem to be tipping in our favor, and I believe the good moments now outweigh the bad ones. Not bad for just two weeks in! In addition, David gave me 5 hours to myself yesterday afternoon, so I feel like a new woman! Want to know how I spent them? Shopping (work-out clothes for me, summer clothes for J and A, and of…
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how we’re surviving the first month.
Day 11. We’re hanging in there, friends! If the title of Week One was “Shock,” then Week Two is “Reality” (which can be seen on Noah’s pouty face above and my haggard one). Reality includes David returning to work yesterday. Which is both overwhelming and good in that we all needed some normalcy in our lives. Here’s our game plan for this first month with our little guys: 1. Home is a safe place. The wisdom we gleaned on healthy attaching caused us to decide to avoid having visitors to our home this first month. With the exception of limited family visits, we’re trying to communicate to our boys that…