Our Journey as an Adopted Family: No News is Good News?

Or that's how the old saying goes anyways! Life hasn't been horrible just...different. My friend said it best when she said that it's not hard, it's exhausting. Yes! That's it. It's not extremely hard, don't get me wrong, it's hard but that's not what it is. I'm just so tired! I am very thankful that today is nice outside so the kids can play outside. We will finish school when it gets dark. ;-) And when it's nice outside, mommy can blog!

On Saturday, Eric, Peter, and Andrew went to help my stepmom get their yard cleaned up. My dad hurt his back and will be having surgery this Thursday. So their yard needed some attention. I heard that he did very well which doesn't surprise me. If he has something to focus on and it's outside, that is right up his ally. He was very excited to earn a bit of money. He still will not spend any of it though. ;-) Maybe he's a saver... Time will tell. On Saturday evening D and Caleb C. came over to play video games. Peter was so excited. He now calls Caleb 'Dumbo.' Thanks D! Peter was very excited to tell me he saw Dumbo at church on Sunday. Unfortunately we allowed him to play video games a bit too long and Sunday morning was a bit hard...

This is where I am going to brag on our adoption group Legacy at church. (instead of whining!) I was exhausted mentally on Sunday morning. This group surrounds each family and encourages them in ways that only they can. And this is the best part..not all of them are adoptive parents. There are 4 families in the group who are there to walk beside the families and encourage them. How incredible is that?! Each Sunday I feel so rejuvenated by this group and we cannot give enough thanks to God for them. The video series we are watching right now is exactly what I needed to hear. The encouragement and advice I received was so needed. The prayers offered brought tears to my eyes. The hugs given were just what the Dr. called for. The help offered is appreciated more than they could know. Can you tell that this group is incredible?! If you are an adopted parent, I encourage you to start an adoption group at your church. Ours started small but has grown steadily over the years. It's encouraging to hear how God is working in these families lives and what He's doing in our church body.

We enjoyed some nice relaxing time with at my mom's house after church. It was so nice outside that we visited in the backyard the entire time. I love this weather! We had a sweet Chinese-American woman from church come to our home that evening to help us speak with Peter. And speak he did! She was here for three hours! We learned many things that give us a bit of insight on some of his behavior. (not all!) We are glad to know these things so we can help him with them.

Monday was a good day. A & A had a dentist appointment and Peter did well for having to be there 2 hours! We bought a few games that Peter can learn to play without language (!) and listened to Abi and Peter's concert that evening. Good day! And he's still singing "10,000 Reasons!" And so are we!

Peter riding the tricycle at Nini and Papa's