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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. |
| 9/2/2006
"The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23 I am thankful to God for giving me what I need each day. Ironically it sounds like I had a bad day, and instead it was rather good. I think there was one major breakdown...no real cause for it. And a couple of battle of wills. But for the most part, Maria has been delightful. She is talking...we call it her Mayan chants because that is what it sounds like. She is very expressive in whatever she is telling us. She is starting to interact more with others, like Lauren who adores her new sister. However, right now, Mom is the only one who can hold her. We call her my shadow...wherever I am, she is right behind me. Hmmm, I think there is a God correlation there...isn't that how we should be with Him? A couple of toddler things I failed to get on my list...one is that toddlers are a LOT stronger than they appear. In fact, they are one big muscle. Just try to move one to a place she does not want to be. You get a workout. The other is that "No" is the most important word in a toddler's vocabulary. Okay, a couple of little funny tidbits. Maria and I went grocery shopping yesterday for the first time. She liked the cart and was content where she was. But she didn't really seem to notice all the stuff around her. Until we got to the Mexican food aisle that is. Suddenly she pointed up. I followed her little finger...she had spotted pi�atas. It was so cute...kind of like, "Hey, that is like my former home..." The other little tidbit...the kids LOVES taco fixings. Especially salsa, which she eats by the spoonful. I thought that might be a stereotype thing...nope. She truly likes it...at the whole meal without any assistance from me. Okay, I better get off of her. I will post about the trip SOMETIME this week. :) |
| 9/4/2006
Happy Labor Day!
Anyway, all of the many weeks I dreamed of all of us going to church together.. .it finally happened. We kept Maria with us this week, then next week I will be assisting in her class. She was quite silly during church. We just never know how she is going to react. Sometimes she shuts down (and did anytime anybody tried to talk to us), but then during Sunday School and the sermon, she would play, fall backwards, giggle. We just never know what to expect! All in all, it was a fairly good weekend. I will say that this has been a roller coaster ride. :) And I mean that from minute to minute. We get tickled watching her take care of her "baby doll" (which is actually Lauren's), try to sweep out the garage, pretend to wash dishes in the play kitchen, and hop around on both feet when we say "Jump, jump, jump". Those are the greatest moments. Then we have the not so great moments when she is tired or says "no" very ugly to us or arches that back in another tantrum. It is funny now that I thought the adoption was a roller coaster ride...now looking back, it was more like a Tilt-A-Whirl...we just kept spinning round and round not getting anywhere. Now we are on a roller coaster ride with loops and turns and BIG drops. I want to say thank you to some of our church friends who are providing some meals for us this week. We SO appreciate your generosity! Also, a big thank you to the encouraging words and phone calls...I am needing listening ears more now than I did before. Thank you! Okay, prayer requests...yes, we still have those too, if you want to pray. Mark and I are hoping to get back into our 10 o'clock prayer time again...it is so important for us and helps us keep our focus on God. One prayer request is patience for me. Pride comes before the fall...I will think I am doing pretty well holding everything together, and then Maria will cry again or not let anyone hold her but me or try to slap my hand away (2 year olds:)...and I find out how very human I am. Another even more important one is that Maria will start adjusting and attaching to Mark too. She can be very cold with him, not letting him touch her in any way. And he loves her and adores her so much. Today when I worked at the school during naptime, the girls woke up. Mark tried to get Maria to come out of her room, but she refused. They went about doing their own thing...she stayed in her room the entire time! When I came home and she saw I was there, she came out, just talking away like nothing had happened. I know it is good that she is attaching to me...we want her to show some attachment. We just want her to expand her horizons a little bit. :) The final prayer request is a month away, but a big concern for me...daycare. Maria will stay with my mom three days a week; I am not concerned about that. My mom is a kid pro. In fact, Maria may beg my folks to adopt her after she spends some good time with them. They are wonderful grandparents...she is fortunate to have MANY wonderful grandparents. But the other two days a week, Maria will go to day care. I know that time with other children will be important, but I am not anticipating that going well at all. Once again, thank you for listening, praying, and loving our little girl! |
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| 9/5/2006
Just a few quick updates...first of all, today was not one of Maria's better days. She just wasn't quite herself (or maybe it is herself and we didn't know it :). Seriously, I think she might be getting a tooth...she gnawed and gnawed on her finger and just seemed irritable. And sleep deprived...much like I am feeling right now. :) We do have a praise though...once she stops the fussing while getting her hair washed, Maria has started PLAYING in the bathtub. And she is even relaxing during story time, though she knows bedtime is coming. (I must admit though, she starts to cry as soon as she sees me getting her diaper and pj's out) Oh, and Mark has been working alongside me as far as bath time, brushing teeth, etc. She is handling that better. And she is really starting to warm up to Lauren. It may take a while with Hunter. He is a 7 1/2 year old boy...that says a lot right there. As far as me...well, I have two blessings of my own to share. I have told a couple people that I am feeling isolated. I am used to being at school, having adult conversations throughout the day. And right now that is not happening. I just pray for the phone to ring to hear a friend's voice or to see a familiar face. Well, God gave me some answers to that today. First of all, my sister called. She is not just a sister, but beloved friend. And just by sharing with me in the trials and joys of parenthood, I felt so much better. (Her daughter is three days younger than Maria.) I realiazed how much Maria is acting two rather than just adapting. The other is an e-mail from a friend I have never formally met, though we have "met" through e-mail after having adopted from the same agency, same Hogar. I feel like her e-mails today were heaven-sent. I cried as I read her words and felt so understood...and less alone. Thank you so much, Ellen. I know that God had to have impressed upon you to write, and I will FOREVER be grateful for your obedience. |