Seven Weeks Home

Our days are so, so fast. After years of staring at the clock, praying & wishing these boys home, I am amazed at how quickly the hours go by. By the time we get dressed, cook & clean up breakfast & read books it's time to start making lunch. Clean that up, nap time, play or run errands & then it's time to start dinner. Bath time. Then bed time. We are settling in to a nice routine and really starting to feel like a family.


We read a LOT. About 2 hours a day when Papa's not home. Our library is pretty small, so the boys have memorized many of their favorite books. They often sing, say the words, or mimic my inflection as I read.


They have really surprised me, in the last few days especially, with their English. They are picking up odd words- like last night when we ate crab and Justin said "butter pot" when I picked up the tiny silver pan used only occasionally for melting butter. I can only recall ever pointing it out to him once.


Peterson's funny little personality is really coming out. He makes us laugh all the time. After a few weeks of persistent whining for everything I was getting pretty frustrated with him, but that has diminished considerably of late. In fact, whole days go by with no whining at all and I only realize it after everyone's asleep. It has been hard to be consistent and not give in to the temptation to overlook poor behavior or make excuses for them because of their difficult pasts. But the more we discipline consistently the less we need to at all. And our home is a happy one.


We have stuck to our guns with healthy foods- mostly fruits & veggies w/ grass fed meats and little sugar. They no longer pick certain things out of mixed dishes like curries, and they've learned to like all their veggies, including asparagus. :) We are starting to see their food preferences more clearly. Peterson is a tater man, through and through. Mashed, baked, fried, whatever. Justin always goes straight for the broccoli or other greenery, and he loves LOVES fish! J has slowed way down with his eating and is actually enjoying his food. The boys no longer ask to eat all day long. They trust us when we tell them another meal will come later. They don't eat stuff off the floor or from the trash any more. I set up a couple of "Cheetos traps" to teach that particular lesson. It may sound mean, but getting food poisoning from an old piece of meat found under a booster seat at home or in a restaurant would be much worse.

About a week ago I loaded mine and the boys' plates and took them to the table for dinner. As I began cutting up their coconut fried chicken I realized I'd put far too much food on all our plates. The chicken had been reheated and would not be good for a third meal, so I decided to make a test of it. We said our prayers of thanks and ate. When it was apparent we'd had our fill I stopped, sat down my fork & Justin's, took his hands and prayed that he would understand he'd had enough and that it was time to stop even though there was still food on his plate. He whimpered a little as I moved his plate away from him, but did not get too upset. I then prayed the same with Peterson, pushing his food to the center of the table as well. He got tears in his eyes for two seconds but did not complain. Rubbing my belly, I exclaimed that that was a good meal but I was too full to eat any more. I got up, took my plate to the kitchen, and scraped my uneaten food in to the trash. I was blown away when both boys brought their plates to the kitchen and did the same. With smiles on their faces!?! I was a happy, praise-filled Mama that night, to be sure!


The boys are starting to play independently a lot more. They still prefer to pile on mama's lap, but they don't cry & cling to me if I have to go move the laundry or unload the dishwasher. I am very encouraged to see them learning to be little men. They fight less and share more than they used to, as well. Their attention spans have increased a ton. When they came home they wouldn't play with toys or even watch a dvd for more than a minute or two. Justin can now focus for a half hour or more and Petey's not far behind him.


My mother came to visit for a few days recently, and the boys just loved her. They still ask for her and enjoy yelling "Gammaw!" while pointing at her photos. We love you, Grandma!


Our utility bills have doubled with all the extra water & electricity. $400 in June alone, ouch! I'm pretty sure this is mainly from washing so many cloth diapers. So much for saving money with cloth! But the boys' skin is too sensitive for disposables. In fact, Justin got a staph infection from scratching at a diaper rash caused by Pull-ups. So we've gotten very serious about potty training lately. A little post-nap chocolate seems to help them "remember" not to wet their beds during nap time. Justin was already trained to use the toilet during the day and Peterson hasn't had a day-time accident in three days! We do lots of praying about using the toilet. It sounds funny to pray out loud about poop and pee, but the Lord is answering! All things are possible with God.


Well, that was long. I plan to start doing shorter, more frequent updates in the next few weeks. But soon I am going to end this blog altogether. This blog was created to tell our adoption story. That story is now complete, and our lives are going in a new direction. So I am praying about starting a new blog. Something in me needs to write. But I'm waffling between private journaling and public blogging. What is best for the boys? What is best for other adoptive families? What will sanctify me? What will bring the most glory to God? Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any thoughts on this.