It seems, my dear, that you are a poor looser. You lost a game of air hockey to your brother (several games, if we are honest) and you did NOT handle that well. There was yelling and stomping and throwing...then tears. I stood in the hallway and scratched my head for a moment "huh. Welllll, that is something we definitely need to work on". Once you calmed down, we had a little chat. Yes, my job is to help you feel safe in a family, but also to prepare you for life. In life, we don't always win. In fact, this Momma is going to make sure to put both you and your brother in situations that you DON'T get awarded participation medals. Because that is life, honey. I don't care if you win...Jesus doesn't care if you win, just that we run our race WELL, to the best of our abilities with dedication and accountability and grace. So, the air hockey table is going to be out for a while, honey and Momma is going to pull out some other games that result in a winner & a non winner and we are going to work on this together...and maybe teach you some stellar air hockey skills as well!
You decided to decorate your room! I put your room together as generic as possible so you could have free reign when you decided to take ownership. Recently, I've seen you rearranging drawers and even 'playing' with nail polish and other girly items I stocked in your room. The room has slowly become yours. Then when your Aunt Jessie gave you a big book of FROZEN movie posters....well, that just changed everything. Two rolls of tape later, the garden green walls have been wallpapered with your teen idols...Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and the "Whoo-hoo! Big summer blow out"-guy. I'm particularly moved by the placement of Queen Elsa and Sven the reindeer directly under the crucifix given to you by the Sisters at the orphanage. *facepalm*
The space for your garden has been cleared out and after some back & forth you ultimately decided on planting vegetables instead of flowers. You seem genuinely excited about this little garden! I hope that is it is a fruitful project (the garden fairy may be visiting after hours from time to time!) and helps cement you to your new home.
Isaac:
You've had a rough-ish week. Your school para who has been with you for nearly two years left for a different district and you've had a rotating door of helpers over the last two weeks. It's not ideal for a heart that needs relationship consistency and some of that anxiety is showing. I'm praying the school is able to find a permanent para quickly.
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| Chill-axing in your chair with your Friday night pizza and a cold one (fresh watermelon juice!) |
A couple of weeks ago we said good-bye to the rocking chair in your nursery. I was actually excited to pass it along to a home for unwed mothers...but then I had to drive away without it. Heartbreaking! You and I have spent A LOT of time in that rocker. Last week your dresser/changing table was upgraded to a real big kid dresser with room for your not so little clothes. This week I finally sorted and donated the last of your baby clothes. I'm glad that the vast majority were passed along to other adoption families and foster ministries but oh to see those teeny tiny little shirts from you first came home!
Me:
My Gypsy Man Sandals were the bane of my existence in Albania. They got me from point A to point B, were sturdy and practical but boy did I hate them--and if I'm honest, I just needed something to focus my anger at during our 60 days of seemingly unending bad news. The GMS won that award. After meeting an American missionary couple in Greece, I was sharing the story of my sandals (I had to! Who would wear those things willingly to church!?!) and noted "I think God is trying to keep me humble on this trip." The husband stared at my feet for a moment and quickly responded "Yeah, and single". I nearly fell out of the Anglican pew I was laughing so hard!! Mission accomplished Gypsy Man Sandals, mission accomplished.
Seems outside of getting me from point A to point B, absorbing my emotional outburst, keeping me humble (and single) my GMS also gave me a wicked case of Albanian Plantar Fasciitis, which I can now attest to being WAY worse than it's US counterpart. Since October I've tried every trick in the book and I've finally resorted to injections in my heel and this lovely contraption:
I'm shaking my fist at you, Gyspy Man Sandals! grrrrrrrr.
In other news, I've been challenging myself to stay in my bed as long as possible on Saturday & Sunday mornings. The kids can do relatively well in the mornings without structure and WHAT IF my eyelids didn't open until 7am?!? Saturday I made it to 7:30--how glorious! And no one had burned down the house, even better!
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