| 9/1/2006
Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. If you know me very well, you know I am not a "change" person. Changes have always been difficult for me, even as a child. Ironically, we moved every few years while I was growing up...you would think I would be used to change in all of the changes I have encountered in 35 years. But even happy changes are difficult for me. (Ask Mark about our first year of marriage :) And even though we have been eagerly anticipating this latest change in our family for over a year...I cannot say it has been easy (for any of us), but we are getting there! Today has been a good day...of course, we haven't gotten to bedtime yet. Maria has become quite talkative, though I cannot identify the language she is speaking. It is not Spanish and not English. Mayan? Or "Maria-an"? It has been fun to listen to her tell me long and detailed stories about...I am not sure what they are about. But she is very expressive. Of course, then we get around other people (first trip to the grocery store!) and she shuts down on me. But I am seeing glimpses of who she is behind her thumbsucking and ear tugging. Okay, just for fun...here are ten things I have learned or re-learned about 2 year olds in the last week. 1. Two year olds hover between two worlds...independence and complete dependence. I have told Mark several times that I feel like I am playing a game but I don't know what the rules are! 2. Some gestures are universal. Like the wave of the hand to say "give me" or a game of "peekaboo". 3. Toddlers will eat things off of the floor without hesitation...human vacuum cleaners I believe. 4. Closing and opening doors is a game to a toddler. That or an empty box... 5. Eyes are watching...2 year olds are watching what you do and WILL do what you do. Even if the computer armoire was closed...you might still find her sitting at the keyboard typing away and signing onto the Internet. 6. A newly bathed toddler is one of my favorite smells in the world. 7. A 2 year old's motto is "what is mine is mine, what is yours is mine". 8. Everything is a game to a 2 year old. Hmmm, maybe that isn't such a bad philosphy... 9. You canNOT predict the actions of a toddler. Especially when you meet new people. She may cry meeting your co-workers then play peekaboo with your hairdresser. There is no rhyme or reason to it. 10. Thank goodness for Cheerios...they are the key to sitting through anything! I think that list might give you an idea about what life is like at our house. :) My prayer request for today (besides continued prayer for bedtime peace) is for Lauren and Hunter. We are really trying to balance the attention thing. They have been troopers, but I want to continue to be sensitive to their needs even when life is a little crazy. Oh, and a BIG thank you to Joe and Joetta and family for meeting us at the airport. It was nice to have a "welcoming crew" and then such a big help when we were juggling luggage and toddler and exhaustion. You were a blessing to us! |
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| If you return to the Main Page, we hope that you will sign our guestbook. We hope to share the encouragement and kind words with Maria someday. |
| 8/30/2006
We are home! I am so sorry I was not able to update before now...we had Mark's computer in Guatemala City, but apparently I cannot update with it. This one will be short...we are exhausted. Traveling is tiring, and traveling with a 2 year old...that is an experience. :) I cannot wait to share all of our joys and adventures with you though and of course, some pictures. I will say that Maria is doing well. We are starting to see a little more to her personality than ever before (like singing on the plane) as well as a temper (going to bed). Our prayer request right now, besides the praise that we are home, is for Maria to quickly adjust to our family and especially to her new bed. She is a good sleeper, but she is very unhappy to be going to bed in this bed and is letting us know it. And pray for patience for Mommy...it has been a while since I dealt with temper tantrums. As always, thank you for waiting with us!!! |
| 8/31/2006
I will post a full trip update as soon as I can. We are busy getting into our routine, getting my schoolwork done from home, making sure ALL of our children get their attention, etc. It has been a busy 24 hours at home! I am going to add a little "teaser" below. It is a picture of Maria. She was playing with her "snap on" dolls on the floor. I think she is going to enjoy the toys! Many people ask us "Are you so excited to be home?" Mark and I talked about that tonight...we are pretty much past excitement stage. Of course, we were with Maria for five days IN Guatemala before coming home. Now we are more exhausted than excited. And ready to settle into our routine. However, there are so many other emotions we are feeling. I am going to be completely honest...it isn't all "easy". We definitely feel pride that Maria is now our daughter...out of all the families in the world, God chose us. We feel joy watching her play and run around the house. I was just in amazement today watching her play with a baby doll in her room...she is really here. We feel relief that the "adoption" process and all of the waiting is OVER. We feel thankful that God has met our many needs during the process and continues to do so. We feel tired and a little sleep deprived. We feel challenged in our communications with Maria. We feel protective of her; she is very timid and vulnerable and very frightened of the new faces around her. I am also dealing with some guilt...how will I give attention to THREE kids, especially when one needs so much right now? I feel scared...there is so much I don't know about her that I know about the other two...when will I learn it all? And we feel a little overwhelmed...we have this whole new life in our hands...what a responsibility! Thank you for praying with us during this new phase in our lives! |
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