That's right... we have been home for 4 weeks now! If you would have told me 4 weeks ago when we landed in Nashville that things were going to be this good I NEVER would have believed you. I feel VERY STRONGLY that this has gone smoothly because we chose to stay very close to home for this first month and created structure and boundaries for both kids. Is life perfect? NOPE. It actually never has been and never will be BUT we are not only good but we are great! Not great in a bragging sort of way BUT an EVER SO THANKFUL WAY!
Benjamin is showing affection without prompting now. He is showing emotion that we have not seen... he seemed to lack the ability to do so before. He smiles more and is excited about us. Today he shied away from strangers (people I knew but he didn't)... this is good for him. He ran to me and wanted me to hold him. He found security in me and I love it! Benjamin is not devouring his food anymore... he can actually leave food when he is hungry! He speaks more English than Kinyarwandan now and seems to understand a lot of English. He shakes his head with a positive nod to let us know he understands... this communication between us is good. He loves to learn and loves to sing. He is riding his bike so well now. He wants to help do everything and eagerly awaits the next task! He pretends that his wheel barrow has a pull cord so he can start it like daddy does his blower, weedeater and chain saw. He pushes his little mower while Rusty mows with the big one. He is a CLOWN, loves to entertain us! He has noticed and taken care of Hope in the last week. He is jealous of Hope, not bad... just wants to sit in our lap if we are holding her, he never cared before but the funny thing is she will do the same thing too when we have Benjamin in our laps. I think he knows he is staying here and I love it!
Hope is our beautiful daughter. She will end up being spoiled. All 4 older kids take care of her and tend to her if she whimpers. Her language is developing and her curiosity increasing. She sleeps well, cries when she goes down most of the time but is out in no time at all. Hope is a little more picky with the foods she likes... still eats everything but shows preference in what she eats first! She can walk behind a toy you push but doesn't have the balance to walk on her own yet. She has learned to like the stroller and loves to be held more than she did before. She might live in the water if we let her... she loves it and can't get enough! She lays her head on your shoulder when she is tired. And finally she reaches for Rusty to hold her, she has become quite fond of him now! So sweet!
It truly seems that either struggle that we have with Hope or Benjamin are identical to the struggles we had with our biological kids. I can't say that both kids are full bonded to us but I can say they know I am their Mama and Rusty is their Daddy and that we love them.
Andrew continues to do better. Still a little learning to be done but when Benjamin does speak fluent English I might have my hands full.... they are both so curious and I find Benjamin doing the SAME things that Andrew did... turning off the valve to the toilet, stopping up sink to play in the water, flushing the toilet to just watch the water, sticking gum in odd places and the list goes on.
Both kids have had chicken pox... we thought that might be the case. We think Benjamin had them when we picked him up and then passed them onto Hope! Both iron and lead tests came back normal. Benjamin's eye exam was a little abnormal so we are having it redone within 6 months... Andrew's was too!
The laundry has incredibly increased! I was shocked! And the dishes seem to pile up more and more (and we have had meals brought to us)!
All the boys and Aubrey sleep in one room. Hope has the habit or tendency to wake up at 12am, 3am and 5am and cry out for less than a minute but it was waking Aubrey up. Also, if Hope saw Aubrey she would scream for her to come and get her. In a room alone she talks or whispers and cries out for only a moment and then is off to sleep again! Long term plan there... NOT SURE! The boys have trundle beds so Aubrey is loving it, for now!
I think that is all. We had points of weariness and frustration that brought me to tears in Rwanda and Ethiopia and so to be where we are today I am thankful, very thankful. God lives and has redeemed us all and we are blessed to have increased our family # by 2 and pray that God gives us what we need to raise followers of Him!
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Benjamin is showing affection without prompting now. He is showing emotion that we have not seen... he seemed to lack the ability to do so before. He smiles more and is excited about us. Today he shied away from strangers (people I knew but he didn't)... this is good for him. He ran to me and wanted me to hold him. He found security in me and I love it! Benjamin is not devouring his food anymore... he can actually leave food when he is hungry! He speaks more English than Kinyarwandan now and seems to understand a lot of English. He shakes his head with a positive nod to let us know he understands... this communication between us is good. He loves to learn and loves to sing. He is riding his bike so well now. He wants to help do everything and eagerly awaits the next task! He pretends that his wheel barrow has a pull cord so he can start it like daddy does his blower, weedeater and chain saw. He pushes his little mower while Rusty mows with the big one. He is a CLOWN, loves to entertain us! He has noticed and taken care of Hope in the last week. He is jealous of Hope, not bad... just wants to sit in our lap if we are holding her, he never cared before but the funny thing is she will do the same thing too when we have Benjamin in our laps. I think he knows he is staying here and I love it!
Hope is our beautiful daughter. She will end up being spoiled. All 4 older kids take care of her and tend to her if she whimpers. Her language is developing and her curiosity increasing. She sleeps well, cries when she goes down most of the time but is out in no time at all. Hope is a little more picky with the foods she likes... still eats everything but shows preference in what she eats first! She can walk behind a toy you push but doesn't have the balance to walk on her own yet. She has learned to like the stroller and loves to be held more than she did before. She might live in the water if we let her... she loves it and can't get enough! She lays her head on your shoulder when she is tired. And finally she reaches for Rusty to hold her, she has become quite fond of him now! So sweet!
It truly seems that either struggle that we have with Hope or Benjamin are identical to the struggles we had with our biological kids. I can't say that both kids are full bonded to us but I can say they know I am their Mama and Rusty is their Daddy and that we love them.
Andrew continues to do better. Still a little learning to be done but when Benjamin does speak fluent English I might have my hands full.... they are both so curious and I find Benjamin doing the SAME things that Andrew did... turning off the valve to the toilet, stopping up sink to play in the water, flushing the toilet to just watch the water, sticking gum in odd places and the list goes on.
Both kids have had chicken pox... we thought that might be the case. We think Benjamin had them when we picked him up and then passed them onto Hope! Both iron and lead tests came back normal. Benjamin's eye exam was a little abnormal so we are having it redone within 6 months... Andrew's was too!
The laundry has incredibly increased! I was shocked! And the dishes seem to pile up more and more (and we have had meals brought to us)!
All the boys and Aubrey sleep in one room. Hope has the habit or tendency to wake up at 12am, 3am and 5am and cry out for less than a minute but it was waking Aubrey up. Also, if Hope saw Aubrey she would scream for her to come and get her. In a room alone she talks or whispers and cries out for only a moment and then is off to sleep again! Long term plan there... NOT SURE! The boys have trundle beds so Aubrey is loving it, for now!
I think that is all. We had points of weariness and frustration that brought me to tears in Rwanda and Ethiopia and so to be where we are today I am thankful, very thankful. God lives and has redeemed us all and we are blessed to have increased our family # by 2 and pray that God gives us what we need to raise followers of Him!
we tye-dyed some t-shirts with friends last week and the kids love them and want to wear them all at the same time, except Hope doesn't have an opinion, of course! we have had visitors at our home and it goes really well! we plan to stay at home a lot this summer but welcome anyone who wants to stop by and visit!
6 comments:
They look so happy and like they are having so much fun with their new brother and sisters! congratulations and I hope the rest of the summer proves to be just as great!
Thanks for the update and great pix.
Keep up the terrific job you have been doing and have fun as well!!
God is surely blessing you all!
So happy for you guys. You all seem so happy!
i loved this post! every detail!
Thanks for sharing how things are going and the pictures. Your family is so cute! All the green and space in the background is so different than here! :) Many blessings to you! I've read that staying home and limiting things like you said (helping to create structure and boundaries and such) is the best thing to do... I'm glad you wrote about it and that you think it was really key to things going great. Very encouraging!
Thanks for sharing how things are going and the pictures. Your family is so cute! All the green and space in the background is so different than here! :) Many blessings to you! I've read that staying home and limiting things like you said (helping to create structure and boundaries and such) is the best thing to do... I'm glad you wrote about it and that you think it was really key to things going great. Very encouraging!
Post a Comment