Adjusting

We are home from our trip and I am now the proud mother of four daughters and one son! Bubbles (7), Piper (6), and Sunny (4) joined our family last week! Snapper and Pepper are so excited!

Oh my goodness, how I wish I could post photos of my beautiful new girls! I want the whole world to see what a blessed mother I am!

We pulled into town last night at 11:30. The kids woke up enough to meet the kitties, get a quick tour of our home, and then they were sent back to dreamland. Today was chaos! All throughout our training, we heard stories of foster kids moving to a new home with nothing in the world but a trash bag of their few belongings. While that is the sad normal, we are so glad it isn't the case for our girls. Their only foster family was a particularly wonderful family who loved them and provided for them as if they were their own children. The girls came to us loaded down with clothing, toys, and keepsakes. Today I undertook the job of sorting and organizing it all, and trying to fit it into the room the four girls are sharing. When our lease is up next year, a larger house is going to be absolutely mandatory!

Because I'm running on fumes, I only got about halfway into the job today. I ran out of steam at around 1:15 and ordered naps for everyone. To my relief, they all fell asleep right away, except for 7-year-old Bubbles. Her feelings today were just too big for her body when she slowed down enough to be quiet and think, and some tears escaped. I pulled her out of bed and took her into the living room for some snuggle time with me in my big chair. She just kind of melted into me. I held her and let her cry for a while as I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. After the tears subsided, she wrapped her arms around my neck and held on tight. It only took about 3 minutes for her hold to loosen and her breathing to deepen and even out. I closed my eyes and felt the rhythm of her heart, smelled her hair, and memorized the way she felt all snuggled in with me. I wished I'd had the opportunity to hold her like this when she was baby. And then I opened my eyes. It was two hours later, and Sunny was fussing in my room where she had been napping. The spell was broken. I never did get myself together enough to finish unpacking and setting up the bedroom. I need a good sleep first.

If you are a praying person, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for our family over the next few months. Pray that Bubbles, Piper, and Sunny would figure out how they fit in our family, and that they would quickly feel at home with us. It is going really well already, and we would pray that it would continue this way. Pray for Snapper and Pepper as they get used to sharing their home, parents, and lives with three more sisters. And pray for Matt and me. The greatest challenge we face right now is finding the very fine balance between setting boundaries and extending grace to these kids who have been through so much in their short lives. They are precious and beautiful, and we already love them deeply. What a priceless gift they are! I want to do the very best for them. They deserve it.