Striving for a God-honoring daily legacy amid life's beautiful adventure.
Psalm 127: 3-5
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
During a battle not all arrows stay in the quiver. And we don’t know how long each of these arrows will stay with us. Time is never promised. But we’re delighting in our full quiver.
– Adore these dear ones.
6 Little Secrets of a Sleeping Baby | Science of Mom.
This is one of the smartest and most holistic studies of sleep training I have read in a long time. It’s child driven, developmentally appropriate and self-soothing encouraging since all children need to learnt o cope with stress in life.
It is a conglomeration of my personal sleep training parenting as well as allowing the flexibility of a family defining their sleep needs.
Bravo! Well done!
(there are 6 posts in the 3 month research conglomeration study. This one starts the study.)
Last night our oldest began to get teary-eyed when I announced bedtime was nearing. He’s still getting into the swing here, you know, since he was only placed here two days ago. Oh wait… did I forget to mention that?
Oh yeah, two days ago we got a phone call a little after 1p and added two new members to our family by 7p. Yep, 6 hours that I’ll never forget. The day had felt so normal. And when I was given the info over the phone I just knew “yes” was the only answer. It was our step of obedience that we’d been praying about for 1 year and seven months from that first heart-pricking. And in one afternoon we met them… the boys that have made us “never the same” and “never wanting to go back” all in one.
He’d cried himself to sleep the first two nights, missing his Mom. Rightfully so. I just agreed with him. It is not fair. I wish I could tell him when she’d come for him. I wish I knew if she’d ever come for him. I ran my fingers through his hair. Nits don’t hold water to love. He’s worth the risk.
Then last night came. And the story emerged. Too much seen. Violence. An emergency phone call. Fear.
I wish I could take it away from him. I wish I could blot out those images that haunt him… I wish I could replace them with trips to the park and Saturday morning cartoons.
Old words drew more tears to his eyes. His bottom lip quivered as he tried to regain self-control, failing. He confided the source of his nightmares… his anxiety about sleeping. His insecurity in what he should really believe.
I asked him if he felt safe here. He answered quickly with assurance. I wondered if that assurance would hold water right after a nightmare.
We prayed. And I stroked his hair more.
I just wish I could take it all away for him.
But I can’t.
But I know who has sheltered him. Who has guarded as much innocence as can be left after all he’s seen. I know who has stood in the gap, shielding him from so much so that he can lose himself in a bad joke, run in reckless abandonment through the house, and blast helicopters with laser beams right before they catapult to the living room carpet.
And all I can do is say thank you. Thank you, Lord, on his behalf.
And then I can just lead him to Your feet, in prayer.
…
Prayer for a peace beyond our understanding.
– Love that boy.
By the way, this little stinker turned 4 months on the same day that her sister turned 4 years.
Kinda cool huh? That’ll never happen again, but it was fun to have a 4 month old on the same day I had a 4 year old – still…. still have a 4 year old. Oh well, you know what I mean. 😉
– Love her so!
So here’s Rachael’s 4th Birthday cuteness in pictures. =)
my dear friend, Darlene, sent us this wreath to welcome home our Hannah. It has a clip on sign saying “welcome home Hannah” that can be replaced with this “happy birthday” clip on sign. Then the sign also has a clip attached to it and a name tag for each of the girls. SO thoughtful and super cute.
We started the weekend out with our intermediate family fun.
and we let Rachael struggle with Aunt Jes’ tape job. 😉
She didn’t complain once, especially post-gift.
Then on Saturday we had the family over to celebrate with a brunch and festivities:
our chefs.
our fine china via Rachael’s choice.
clown pancakes
making princess party hats (and knights for the boys)
pin the crown on the princess
pinata with strings (no we weren’t going to beat Ariel with a stick – that would have traumatized my kids)
the cutest little onlooker
And caked goodness. =)
with Daddy’s help again this year.
Then came the surprise slumber party with a friend that night. It was the first slumber party for Rachael and Josie both. =)
Watching a movie together WITH POPCORN!!! (simple excitements)
dance breaks during the songs, naturally
And then this happened:
=D
Wonderful time, indeed!
This Christmas I am overwhelmed as usual by my gratefulness for our little family. I am so blessed to delight in our three little girls and this holiday season has given me extra time to say extra thank you’s to God for His gracious gift of our children.
And as I have said my thank you’s and continue to do likewise, there is a small flicker of yearning that draws me to tears as I write this. A flicker of desire… for the little one or little ones God will bring into our family in the future that are currently enduring the hardships that will bring them into the system. They could already be in the system, trying to reunite with a family that cannot keep them for whatever reason. Or worse yet, my precious little one(s) could be enduring the very thing that will bring them to our home. My babies… my babies…
It’s the heart that God has been stitching in us all. It’s the heart of God that presses Rachael to say with full confidence, “we have empty beds, so let’s have kids come stay with us. And if they have Mommies and Daddies to go home to then they can go home later, but if not, we’ll ‘dopt them and they can have us for their family.”
It’s the heart of God that brings tears to my eyes and breaks my heart in the beauty of adoption and the process that’s on the horizon.
It’s not with naivety… it’s going to be really hard. It’s going to have unknown challenges and hurts and loss. It’s going to have unimaginable frustrations with the system and if we see them go home, while we’ll be advocating for their best, it’ll break our hearts to say goodbye. And it’s going to be amazing, delighting in the little steps forward and wrapping a little one in the love of Jesus that they never thought imaginable. It’s going to be like nothing we’ve ever done. Thankless and rewarding all in one. And everything about it will be right for us… because it’ll push us to see this world through God’s eyes as we walk beside the American orphan, even if just for a season.
So, sweet little one(s) out there this Christmas, know that you are on my mind. And amidst the excitement, picture-taking and delight of centering our day around acknowledging the coming of our Savior to this earth, know that my heart yearns for you.
We are waiting, sweet little one(s), and praying for you.
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.