Resurfacing

Oh geez.  It's been a long time hasn't it?  Since August.  It's high time I resurface.

I am sure you are wondering.  Are things are alright?  Has the adoption gone sour?  Has she taken on more than she can handle?  Is she incarcerated?  Rehab?  Is she selling pipe cleaner tissue flowers at the airport?

The honest truth is that so much has happened that I don't even know where to start.  I've lost friends; I've gained them.  I've lost a church family; and gained a new one.  Our decisions as a family have come into question only to taste sweet exoneration in the end.  I've reconciled with a Father I thought was lost forever and feel the delightful loss of a burden that was much heavier than I thought it was. As a result, I have not typed one word at all.  I want to be thorough but I just don't have time to write a novel....not today anyway.

I'll hit the important points.

The adoption of my two sweet boys has, by far, been one of the best decisions our family has ever made.  There has not been a day where even the slightest doubt or regret has slipped through my tiny little head.  Antenek and Ephrem are amazing and continue to put me in a state of awe in regards to how resiliant they have proven to be.  I expected this whole adoption thing to be harder and full of moments that were hard won.  We were ready for the toughest cases when we adopted older siblings. Tantrums, lying, stealing, bed wetting and difficulty in bonding, yep, we were expecting at least some of this.  After hearing and reading other's experiences with adopting older children, I have come to the realization that age has less to do with the success of an adoption than I believed.  The ease of this adoption has scared me into thinking we had missed or neglected something.  It took me awhile to accept that it's OK for things to go well.  Thank you, Lord.  You have given us more than we deserved.....like always.  They both excel at soccer and have been given scholarships to play and train with a local Futsal team.  The are in their element when they play and I have no doubt this has helped both of them acclimate quickly after coming home to our family.  They are a little behind in their academic subjects but they are catching up at a quick pace.  Their English speaking.....well, it's amazing.  I almost forget that they came knowing not a lick of English except to say their names and what their favorite subjects were in school.

The speak very little of their former life in Ethiopia.

At first, I was so thirsty to know everything about where they had been and what their prior experiences must have been like.  Silence.  They know I am more than ready to listen....they just aren't ready to share.  They may never be ready to share and I have learned to be ok with this.  I love who they are now and they seem so happy.  Unless it is obvious that their pasts are limiting their ability to live their lives, I will not delve and I will let them be.  It truly seems they have accepted at a very deep level that we are theirs and they are ours.

My little baby Sarah is not so little anymore.  She just turned one and has decided she is the life and reason for any party thrown.  I make no secret of the fact that I consider her my "victory lap" baby since I was nearly 44 when I gave birth to her.  I have enjoyed this child more than I ever thought I could.  The whole family seems to join me in this sentiment and we seem to have unending patience for this charming little girl! 

The rest of my clan are doing really well.  Home schooling is going better than I thought and I am actually a lot more organized than I thought I could be with 12 kids.  How does that work????  God's grace and strength are the only answers I can give on this one.  With my "fly by the seat of my pants" philosophy, I am surprised I am not in a straight jacket and drugged with elephant tranquilizers.  Seriously.

Well, sweet friends, I feel that I could write forever, but I think I've accomplished putting forth the main bullet points of what has been going on.  I look forward to writing more frequently......I just need to.

Good night!