It turns out you REALLY like to water the plants in the garden! Whoop! Guess who is getting their own space to grow your own garden?! I read somewhere that a garden can help establish permanency; that in planting, watering, weeding, & harvesting someone needs to be physically and emotionally present. And while I do believe you know you aren't going back to Albania, I have yet to figure out if you realize this house, this family is YOURS forever. For most adoption families the "tipping point" is when you've spent more time with your new family than in the orphanage (for Isaac is was near his 4th birthday and there was a noticeable difference), but that won't happen until you are nearly 27 years old so we've got to get creative here. So a garden it is. A work in progress just for you.
We are also finding more and more ways to spend time outside in ways that make you feel safe...wide open spaces, level ground and water! We walked around Waughop Lake which you thoroughly enjoyed and you spent over an hour happily throwing rocks in the Puget Sound after a picnic lunch.
Your heart is also softening towards your brother; you are letting him in and seeking him out. The love has come softly for you, but I think we may have turned a major corner.
In other news, I taught you how to dip french fries in a frosty and outside of knowing Jesus, this may be the most important thing I ever teach you. You're welcome. <3
Isaac:
Four mornings a week you help me drop off Mila at her classroom and honestly, you've struggled with that transition. I'm embarrassed to say it's taken me five months to figure out that dropping off your beloved sister is, indeed, a major transition during your day---your sister LEAVES you and does things without you, in a different place then she magically appears again at your school in the afternoons. It was the Holy Spirit that prompted me "have them say good-bye" Duh. So now every morning you give Mila a high five and a hug before she goes into her classroom and life has been so much better for you in the mornings! I feel like an idiot for not connecting the dots in a little boy that has struggled with separation anxiety, but I am thankful for the Lord's faithfulness in guiding our family...and protecting your heart, especially when I don't know how.
You put together your first complete verbal sentence---SIX words in order without any prompts! "Momma, I want window up, please" YEAH!!!! We are on a break from speech therapy right now but you have absolutely thrived in feeding off your sister's speech progress. I'm so proud of you!
Me:
We officially became a minivan family this week! This feels like a major transition that will provide for our little family for many years to come. It also meant saying goodbye to one of the last vestiges of Life Before Kids. I don't mourn that life, but it is fun to see how much growth Isaac had in our Jeep:
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