July 13, 2011

OK, as I sit here about to write this entry I simply cannot believe that we will fly in 2 DAYS!  How is that even possible?  Everyone said that once we were identified with kids that time would go really quickly.  I thought that it would feel even LONGER once we knew about them because we hate to be so far apart.  While I do wish it wouldn't have been as long of a wait, I know that it was the best for all of us.  It really gave the kids time to talk about adoption, a forever family, and how to process it all during therapy. It gave them more time to get to know us and talk with us over the video phone and show that we do what we say we will.  They are building trust and attachment.  It gave us time to get everything cleaned, set up, and ready for when they arrive.  The time feels like it went really quickly and for that I am so thankful.

It is hard to imagine life with kids sometimes.  We are so used to our lives as a married couple with no other responsibilities...While it isn't a bad thing or negative thing that that is about to change, it certainly will be so different!!  People say things like- Oh, your life is about to totally change...You will never be able to do anything you want to ever again... Etc... It makes me sad to think that so many people feel that way about being parents.  Maybe since we are adopting older kids (although they both are much younger emotionally than chronologically) and because we have wanted this for so long- maybe that is why it doesn't feel like such a trapping experience like everyone makes it out to be? 

I am reading Parenting the Hurt Child right now and loving it.  It really gives some good perspective into doing things differently because these kids need a special kind of structure, love, and approaches.  I hope we won't need all of that in the book, but I feel thankful to have a resource that we can use when we need it.  I particularly love that it suggests doing things like painting each others faces, drawing on each other with washable markers, baking... making forts and tents and taking adventures.. These things all make me the happiest and I am so thrilled to see that kids like our THRIVE on this kind of attention :) 

I know this isn't going to be easy, but I also know that it is so worth it and is what I made to do :)  God is GOOD, all the time! :)