On the eve of the first day of school, I can't help but reminisce about the happenings of this summer and sit in awe of all the change we've gone through as a family and how we've miraculously come out so much greater. Even though Bob had a choice to take it whenever he wanted, there was no better time for him to take his paternity leave. He was here, 100% present, for every second of the summer, and having the luxury of his undivided attention really helped to bring us all closer together. I am so ecstatic to say that this has been the best summer we've had since my oldest two first joined us back in 2014. I can't even believe these words are our reality right now, because we've notoriously had horrible summers with insurmountable stress in the past. (and that has been from day one, because they were placed at the beginning of the summer that year) Unfortunately, their emotional issues caused them the inability to transition well from the school year to the unpredictability of summer, so we pretty much white knuckled every painstaking day from June to August in summers past. And if that wasn't enough, every year prior to the summer, I would personally spiral downward into a little bit of a depression the closer it got to school letting out, because I dreaded what was in store. I can compare it to a hurricane; gearing and boarding up for the storm to come, and then riding it out, because for us, there was no place to escape to. I wish I could say that I'm just being dramatic, but that is not the case, this has been our reality. However, this time around, I had so much going on with finalizing the adoptions with the three new little's, I was distracted, so that part wasn't as bad, yet in the back of my mind, I was still expecting it to be crazy-town and had some anxiety not knowing what the dynamic was going to be like between the five of them. Much to my delight, as the summer went on, it was shockingly calm and overall really wonderful! Of course we had some minor behavioral issues with each of them, but nothing out of the ordinary or even remotely noteworthy. Bob and I just really enjoyed spending time with our children. We laughed with them and at them, we joked around, we played games, went places, and hung out. Oh, and we even celebrated milestones; like Mylee not having any accidents anymore for the first time, and Noah and Asher going the entire summer WITHOUT getting suspended from Boys and Girls Club for acting out! (Wahoo!! That's a big one.) It's so bizarre when I think about it, though, because we went from having two high needs children, to adding three more high needs children, so we should totally be going through disastrous behavior and transition hell, but we're not; we're just simply not! Experiencing the possibilities of how tempestuous it can be first hand, and it not being anywhere near that crazy, is how I know that our family was ordained by the Lord. Bob and I, reluctantly, just wanted to add one little girl to our family, but God in His infinite ways, knew what we were capable of, knew what we needed, and blessed us with it in the most unmistakable Godlike way. I don't share our story with too many of how our newest children came to be with us, but trust me, it has His workmanship all over it. We are so madly in love with these children as they have brought so much joy to our family. We get asked all the time by people who know our past struggles, how Noah and Asher are taking having new siblings, and its so much fun to see their faces when I tell them how remarkable they are doing with them being here. It has been so easy, and it feels like they were always supposed to be here. Yes, we have had to learn how to be a large family, and make room in our already too small of a home, but it hasn't been a struggle whatsoever, and we are so thankful. Just last night, I was making dinner for my family and felt blessed to be feeding them; hearing them enjoy the food I made, when Asher spoke up and said, "Thanks for cooking dinner..." which promoted the other children to say the same thing. Then I heard Logan quietly say something else under his breath, so I asked him to repeat it, and he said, "Oh I said, thank you for being my mother. Of course I like the food, too, but mostly just thank you for being my mother." 😭Totally blessed me! This morning, Lia was playing with Lego's on the floor while I did some work on my laptop and out of nowhere she said, "Mommy, I'm weally (really) happy that evewyone is my family. You, Datta (that's her name for Bob), Mylee, Loge's, Noah and Asher. It makes me happy this is my family." 💓😍 Listen, I personally don't need gratitude from any of my kids for adopting them, as the way they came to me is marked with so much pain; oh but when their hearts speak things like that, does it ever bless my soul. It shows me that they feel the magnitude of what's taking place in their world. So for the first time in four years, I'm happy to express that I'm sad to see summer come to an end and totally relieved that I won't dread this time of year anymore.
