It has been two and a half years since I've written in my blog....too long. Last I wrote, we had just received our court date for our first trip to Ethiopia to meet LindyLou. She came home in May and we completed one of the fastest adoptions in history...not really, but it felt like it. Belle graduated from high school two days after we got home and then we worked at settling into a new normal.
We decided to home school L the first year and she caught on to English much more quickly than we had anticipated. The tricky part is that conversation English has come quickly, but learning the vocabulary and terms used in school and everything else that goes with it is hard and slow. It's amazing how much vocabulary children pick up as they grow.
Chesswava graduated from high school this year, and now, we have three kiddos in college...crazy! Way back when we had 4 kids under 5, I dreamed of all the fun we would have. And we did! Being so close in age, they were so close and always had someone to play with and got along amazingly well. I never knew how easy I had it when it came to siblings getting along until now...which is another story. Anyway, the problem with having our first 4 so close together (and I didn't think of this back then), is that they all "leave the nest" close together. One day they were all here and the next thing I know, I'm wondering when we'll all be together again. I know that's just part of growing up and I'm so proud of them all, but I sure do miss those evenings of dancing around the family room together to "Jock Jams".
Fall is a crazy season for our family. T-mac is still playing football for his school and we'll watch him on TV tomorrow. It's been a hard year of injuries this year but we love seeing him play and thankful he has not had any injuries that have completely kept him out of the game. Belle continues to play the flute in marching band. With a new band director have come several changes and she looks forward to possibly being able to travel to London next year. Chesswava started her first year in college, is playing soccer and loving it. She is at the same school as Belle, and they both are having a wonderful time there. Nice to have both of them not too far away and at the same school. B-man is playing football for his high school again this year. So needless to say, there are many games to attend between the four of them. We decided to home school LindyLou again this year to move more at her pace and make sure she is grasping what she needs to grasp.
And that brings us to our new news of saying "YES". I was on a mailing list through Lifeline Children's Services called Wonderful Waiting Kids. I would get emails every so often and sometimes I would open them and pray over the kiddos that are waiting for a mommy and daddy and sometimes I wouldn't (I was blown away and very saddened with the number of children that are in need of a family and are just waiting...and waiting). In December, I happened to open one of those emails and there in front of me was this sweet, sweet face staring back at me. Our youngest was with me and asked about her. She prayed for this little girl and I just had to inquire. B and I had not even discussed another adoption, but I just had to know more. I received an email back that same day saying that another family had her file on hold. Prayed a prayer of thanksgiving that this sweet child already had a family pursuing her. So we continued on with life as usual and on February 11, received an email which would turn our world upside down. An email asking if we were still interested in looking at A's file. I hadn't even said anything to B about it because I figured I had gotten God's answer with that email in December. B and I started doing a lot of praying and lots of research. This was a different country, different needs, and our plate was already full and overflowing. We still are looking for that "new normal" and maybe ours hasn't come because we are still experiencing so many changes with kiddos going to college. It didn't make sense. Why another adoption? Why another child? We already have six. And that's just it...it doesn't matter the number. B and I love children. Every child is precious and deserves a family. Deserves to know the God who created them and loves them. God called us to this and we are answering that call. We said, "YES!!"
