Hi Friends, So sorry for the delay in writing. It's been a crazy few weeks, and to be honest, the thought of writing was a little overwhelming to me. BUT here I am on a Monday night, just sitting down for the first time and realizing that if I don't do it now it won't happen, so here we go! Coming home has been challenging to say the least. It's been a harder transition on all of us than we thought, but we are getting better at this whole parenting thing each week. Jordan has been fairly predictable through it all. Even though there is still so much to work through with him, he has been consistent in his behavior, which is comforting in a weird way. With all the variables that have been thrown into the mix, it helps to have something that you just know. Sebastian on the other hand has been a very different kid than we ever knew in Uganda. Don't get me wrong, there are many things that are the same, but he has had a lot of emotional trauma emerging in many areas, and it's been tough for Paul and I to navigate. It seems like we never quite know what will trigger his response, and while we are working hard to be sensitive and aware to his needs, we don't want the emotional regression to get out of hand and become a habit for attention. So every day starts a new day for progression, and it often takes a lot of mental energy! I am definitely feeling both the emotional and physical fatigue of the day to day, and I am struggling to stay healthy and energized. The boys are still not sleeping well or consistently at all, which makes for long nights and even longer days. The transition from parenting with Paul full-time to parenting by myself, with the addition of less sleep and more stimulation has been ROUGH. I have to take every day as it comes, and ask God to help me do what I can't! There have been many big highlights in the last couple weeks (Thanksgiving, first Christmas tree, Sebastian's 4th birthday, etc), but the best parts have been the funny little things that happen during everyday life. Things like: getting SO excited to get in the "motorcar" and see mommy drive, air vents (they are in AWE and GLEE that air is coming out of it!), wanting to watch the microwave "go", asking me to vacuum everyday ("Mommy, machine please!"), always wanting to turn the lights on and off ("I want to take the light!"), staring at the fireplace for what seems like forever ("Mommy fire is there!), loving and hating the garbage disposal, the coffee grinder, and the food processor, and so much more. Every day is a new adventure and it's so humbling to see our lives through their eyes. As for the big events, it's been good overall, but hard to explain to them all that's going on. For Thanksgiving Paul's family came to our house, and while they didn't sleep here, we hosted dinner at our place. Thankfully, Paul's mom, Carol, did most of the cooking (to which I was eternally grateful!), but it was a nice time with family, and exciting to see them interact with Paul's siblings. It was an interesting concept to explain to the boys what Thanksgiving is, why we eat turkey, what the meaning behind it all is, etc. They seemed to embrace it slightly, but in all honesty, it just seemed like another day to them. It doesn't quite feel like the holidays for us yet since we just came from a tropical environment and missed the last few months of our lives, but we're slowly letting it sink in and trying to enjoy all these new firsts with the boys. (Also, be very mad at me because these are the only pictures I took on Thanksgiving. I know I'm a terrible mom, but here's what I got!)
Sebastian holding the Turkey he made with Nana...It said all we were thankful for <3
Paul and his boys
Paul and I had high expectations for getting our first Christmas tree as a family, but it ended up being a bit of a bust :) We drove about 50 minutes to cut down our own tree, and decided on a smaller tree farm to decrease the amount of stimulation for the boys. Well, when we arrived, there were a TON of people, dogs everywhere, and we found only short needle "Christmas bushes" to be cut down. The boys didn't let us put them down almost the entire time because they are PETRIFIED of dogs, and we ended up buying a pre-cut tree that was to our liking instead of cutting one down. It was a bit of a disappointing experience, but we made the best of it and the boys LOVED decorating it once we got home :)
This is before we saw the dogs!
Example of a Christmas bush option :)
Helping Paul cut down Nana and Pops' tree!
Jordan was having no separation due to the dogs :)
Helping Pops drag the tree
Our pre-cut tree :)
Sebastian's 4th birthday was December 5, and we really had a great day! Because we didn't get to celebrate Jordan's birthday in July, we had a joint party, but let Sebastian know that today was his day. When he woke up that morning, I told him it was his birthday and he said, "Mommy, today is my happy birthday!" Insert weepy emoticon :) We did a small party on Saturday in the late morning and invited a few friends to help us celebrate! You could tell the boys understood slightly what was happening, but as for opening presents, blowing out candles or eating cake, they were pretty clueless :) It was fun to see their excitement with every new thing, and they enjoyed meeting new friends to play with. They have also asked for cake everyday since, so I'm guessing they liked it :)
The boys finally met Alvin! Another adopted boy from Uganda who loves less than a mile from our house!
Overall, we are doing well and working hard to lean on others for help and encouragement. We have been busy with doctor's appointments, social work visits, special education meetings and so much more, but my sweet in-laws have been such a HUGE help to me, and I couldn't do it all without them! We are working hard to get Jordan a full developmental assessment ASAP, but we are still waiting for an appointment. There is a lot going on in regards to getting him services for speech, occupational therapy and special education, but we may have to jump through a few hoops before he will be able to begin. In the meantime, I am looking into private services to help get things moving, and will play the rest by ear. I am praying to get them both into a 2-3/week pre-school program in the Spring, but that is also proving difficult as they all have waiting lists with no end. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we navigate the day to day and try to figure out all the logistics of the next year. I'm feeling overwhelmed with the ever-growing checklist, especially when I have very little "alone" time to get it all done. I'm excited to see all that God has for these little ones, and trusting him to put all the pieces together, even when I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. We serve a big, mighty, faithful God, and just as He got us out of Africa, He will guide our steps the rest of the way. Thank you all again for all your love and support. We wouldn't be able to keep going without you. AND a HUGE THANK YOU to anyone who has brought us food! Seriously, you've all saved my life! I can barely get to bedtime, let alone cook dinner yet, so I appreciate all the love you've showed us through food! If you know me at all, you know that's the way to my heart :) We pray you are all doing well and enjoying the Christmas season! Love to you all,
