Well, yesterday was a huge hit for Brad, Nana (my mom), and Joshua... they got home late last night -- tired and all smiles after a great day on water rides, slides, and such. Joshua got my mom on about every water slide, tube, raft, and log ride available. My mom is the ever trooper - especially when it comes to her grandson. They met a family at the park with a daughter adopted from India -- it was one of the blessings of their day. This family was so sweet - and mom said this 4 yr. old little girl was precious and so very tiny....I consider these moments a love note from God saying...."keep hanging on...she's on her way home, all in good time" :) Brad asked for their best advice -- they said, "six month home alone with this little one -- not a lot of visitors, just quiet, intentional family time...and she really bonded well with them" -- I have to confess... I'm the type of gal that loves to shout from the mountains my joy -- about my God-- and about this little girl we will bring home...so staying home for six months alone, really???...without family and friend celebrations, really??...no parties??, not sharing her with church... with neighbors...with strangers at the grocery... I'm that all outgoing passionate mom (I don't do quiet very well)... so, looks like God might have a lesson for me to learn in this one... sometimes I just hate His lessons :) (but I know they are good..because it's less of me and more of Him). Stay tuned on how all that turns out... I'm sure it will be ever present in my thoughts when the time comes :)
Today, Josh and I are off to meet his new teacher, see his room, and take in school supplies. It's crazy when the list of supplies is so large now that you have to take the bags the day before school starts, because clearly they would never fit in the kid's backpack. Oh well, it's a sign of the times, I say.... everything is financially tight, especially schools. So glad my treasures are in heaven....although I do need to remind myself of that from time to time.
We have a count-down going in our imaginary clock for our NOC approval - hoping by mid-September - so we're looking at just about one month. Time is going by so quickly... it will be winter before we know it.... would love nothing better than spending a few weeks this winter in a warm environment - say INDIA???
All for now... the sun is shining and this is my last day with J-man before school starts tomorrow....making it a great day! ~Renae
This blog documents our adoption journey (our daughter is from India). Now that she's home with us and we are a complete family of four (we also have a son, Joshua) this blog serves to share a variety of topics, adoption related, parenting..... just everyday life. Check out our FAQ on adoption questions, along with any other questions commonly asked.
So glad they had such a fun day! What a great way to end the summer.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is good advice that your husband received. What a wise man to ask that question! I have heard similar things about keeping things quiet, and low key for attachment purposes. The Lord will definitely give you wisdom on what to say yes to and what to say no to during that time when she first gets home. :)
Have you read any good adoption books? We just received a list from our agency of books that we are required to read. I have already read one of them (well half of one of them) and have thoroughly enjoyed it. They have such good wisdom on what to do when your little one comes home....and what to expect.
Enjoy your last day of summer vacation!
Mer
Mer- books, books, and more books... I'm not sure about your agency requirements, we had to do a service plan, not sure if that is agency-specific or standard India requirement...anyway, we read and developed all kinds of strategies and plans.. email me offline if you are interested in knowing more on that. We read 10-12 books, as required... I found the best ones for me were "Family of Adoption" by Pavao (this was my favorite) - "Inside Transracial Adoption" was a hard read for me... it's like an encyclopedia that includes SOOO many issues - we did purchase this one after reading the library version - because I'm sure I'll need to look something up at some point - but boy was it a challenging read for me (I wouldn't start with this one). "Toddler Adoption: The Weavers Craft" by Hopkins-Best was good and very practical in the advice, we liked it a lot too. And Gray's "Attaching in Adoption" was very good. One thing that was hard for me, especially through Inside Transracial book was the lack of any kind of spiritual / Christian perspective. I know the books are written based on years of research and by extraordinary people with experience, etc... but I longed for a connection through the book on how God can play a major part in this journey. I even sought out respected Christians and had longs talks about this matter - they advised me to meet all my adoption agency requirements, learn through the process...but not fret too much on doing everything perfect (because that is certain where God will step in).. it was refreshing in one of the books it cautioned on being that parent that worries so much if they are "doing things right"... so that came at the right time for me. Believe it or not, I'm actually seriously thinking of self-publishing a book on adoption (with a Christian slant).. right now it's in the infant stages - and would be a children's book... but that's a whole other story. Going through the process of developing our service plan was very helpful...I wouldn't trade all the hard work for anything...and we've joined an adoption support group that is wonderful in our town, met with a therapist, and have a great physician, who speciality is International Adoption....so we are at least prepared for the initial days of little "Lauren's" arrival. One resource Brad found by accident (not really - it had God all over it) one evening, we have found SOOO wonderful is Dr. Purvis - if you haven't discovered her yet - you are in for a treat! Go to www.empoweredtoconnect.org -- she is fabulous.. on her website at the top she has a serious of 7 insights and 7 gifts for parents of kids from hard places. These 2-3 minute videos are free on her website - and truly are "insights" and "gifts" as she has titled them. Brad and I are going to her upcoming conference in September in Nashville, TN - we can't get enough Purvis -- but that's because she is practical and Christian -- and is so very effective with children - some techniques I've used on our bio child, Joshua and it's been amazing. Let me know if you run across anything that you've enjoyed too... we can never get too much adoption training :) Would love to meet you in Nashville in September...hint, hint :) - I think we're off to putt-putt golf before daddy gets home :) ~Renae
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