4 Months and 10 Years

 I really wanted to post an update every month, but this month I am very behind. Mia Grace has been home for a little more than 4 months now. We call her Mia or Mia Grace, but she is starting to refer to herself as Mia Grace. She continues to fill our lives with so much joy.  I just love this picture below, because it shows how she looks so much of the time. She loves life and she loves being part of a family. We are so glad God chose her to be a part of ours.

 She learned to ride a tricycle this month! She can ride her big wheel at home and the tricycle during physical therapy. She continues to amaze us with how far she has come physically. She can do just about anything she sets her mind to.

 In some ways she is growing up so fast and in other ways she is still our little baby. I let her play with her Ethiopian doll last week. She was so excited that the doll had hair like hers. The first thing she did was get her spray bottle, so she could fix her dolls' hair. Then when I wasn't looking she added some oil to the hair. It was super cute, but we put the doll back on the shelf.

 She loves to read books. When she first came home she really wouldn't tolerate me reading to her. I was lucky if I could get through a baby board book. Now every time I read she asks for, "one more." She and her brothers participated in the summer reading program at our library. We try to visit the library at least once a week.

 Mia continues to be my little shadow. She watches and imitates almost everything I do. She likes to help me do laundry, get ready for my day, and cook. Sawyer, my 6 year old, took this picture of us making chocolate chip cookies.

 She loves sweets! She really is a good little eater. Her favorite foods are pizza, ice cream, yogurt, roast, crackers, and french fries.

 Last month we took Mia off of her seizure medication completely. I was really hoping that I could write that she was still seizure free. Unfortunately, she had a seizure last week. It happened while she was asleep and we are not sure if it is the first time it has happened. It didn't last long and she is fine. It just shook us up a little bit. She is now on a new medication and seems to be tolerating it well.  She will also have to have some more tests run soon. I am praying we can get some answers, so that we can get her on the the best treatment plan for her.

Last week was crazy with unexpected illness and doctor appointments. It was a long week! Thankfully, I ended the week by celebrating ten years of marriage with Justin. We were able to go out just the two of us the week before last. Then on Saturday Justin took Mia Grace and I both out to celebrate. I am so thankful God put this amazing man in my life. He is a wonderful husband and father.

 Sweet Mia loved having all of our attention at the Hibachi restaurant. She had her first taste of sushi and seemed to like it.

 I loved spending the evening with two of my favorite people!

I am excited to see what the next 4 months and the next 10 years bring.

Mia's First Fourth of July

This week we celebrated Mia's first 4th of July as a US citizen. I happen to think she looks super cute in red, white, and blue.

 The kids all dressed up for church last Sunday. It is almost impossible to get a picture of the 3 of them where Jax is not kissing Mia. He sure does love his sister!

Wednesday morning we all headed down to my parents' house to celebrate the 4th of July and visit for a few days.

 I didn't get any pics of the 3 kids together, because the boys hit the pool as soon as we arrived. We had fun swimming, grilling out, and doing a few fireworks. Mia was a fan of the sparklers.

 We are enjoying our family time this week!

Master of Disguise

 My friend sent me some pictures she took with her phone when they came over for dinner one night. I just had to laugh at my silly middle child as I looked through these pics. He has on a different outfit in almost all of the pics. During the summer he changes clothes about five times a day. He usually gets dressed in the morning and changes into a costume shortly after. He always has to pick out what he wears and doesn't usually approve of my selections.

He started the evening in his swimsuit at all the kids played outside in the sprinkler and little pool. Here are 5 of the 6 kids going for a ride in the F150.

 Then he switched to his Mario Costume for the water ballon toss.

 Then it was time to come in to cool off with a little bit of Just Dance on the Wii. Most of the kids put on pajamas, but Jax opted for his spiderman costume. Why not??

 This boy cracks me up. He would live in a costume if I let him. On Father's Day I wanted to get a
picture of all 3 kids with Justin after church. Before I could stop him, he had changed out of his church clothes and into his Incredibles costume. He wore this the rest of the day.


My little middle boy is definitely a one of a kind. A few weeks ago we were talking about riding in an airplane. I told Jax that he rode in an airplane when he was a baby, but I was sure he didn't remember it. He replied, " I know I had to ride in an airplane when you adopted me from Ethiopia." I almost laughed out loud. I told him that he wasn't adopted from Ethiopia. I know I have told him before that he came from my tummy, but I guess he just figured all kids must come from Ethiopia.

Belonging

Last week Sawyer and Jaxon spent the week in Texas with their grandparents and Aunt Jessica .  We all missed them, but it was also nice having just one kid for the week. Mia and I went to lunch with Justin and the three of us went to dinner a couple of times. Justin and I even went to dinner just the two of us one night. We had a friend babysit for a couple of hours after she went to sleep. It was our first date night since Mia has been home, so it was nice to get out and enjoy ourselves without kids.

I will say that I think it was hard for Mia having her brothers gone for a week. It was the longest she has been away from any of us and she really missed them. They missed her too. Every time I talked to them on the phone, they asked for her. Every time she asked where they were I told her they were with Lulu and would be home soon. When we picked them up last Friday, she was so excited. In the car on the way home she kept saying, "Sawyer, Jaxon, Mia, Mama, and Daddy." She was just so glad to have us all together in one place.

She does this a lot where she just says our names. She does it in the car or just walking around the house. She likes to repeat the names of her family members and I think it's the sweetest thing. She is finally a part of a family and she is figuring out what that means. Being in a family is something I sometimes take for granted. Seeing how much Mia loves being a part of a family reminds me of just how blessed I am.

Mia Grace is pretty attached to me, but she has really been having some separation anxiety for the last two weeks. I think the boys being gone for a week, may be part of the reason. She gets hysterical if I leave her with Justin even for a few minutes. If she sees me touch my purse, she runs to get her shoes on. She follows me everywhere I go in the house. She loves Justin and he can get her settled down pretty quickly, but  it is hard on her when I initially leave. She has been doing great at therapy, but for the last couple of weeks she screams when I try to put her down. She clings to me as soon as we walk in the door. These behaviors are fairly new and I am hoping they are a faze. We try to calm her by  reminding her that mommy always comes back. I probably should add that I don't leave her very often or for very long. She gets upset even if I am just going to the mailbox or to the bathroom.

One good thing about all of this is that she is attached to me and she knows that I am her mommy. Anytime she meets a new person, she points to me and says, "Mama." She wants everyone to know that I am her Mama.

She knows who she belongs to. Isn't that what adoption is all about?  So many things about our adoption of our daughter remind me of my spiritual adoption. I know that I belong to the Lord and I should want everyone around me to know too. When I get to Heaven I am sure I will walk around saying the name of my Heavenly Father over and over again. I will finally be at Home in Heaven where I belong.

My daughter is part of a family for the first time in her life and it is a wonderful thing! She is a constant reminded of how blessed I am to be a part of my earthly family and the family of God that I was adopted into.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

Father's Day

I wanted to post some pictures from Father's Day. This was Justin's first Father's Day as a daddy to three little ones and Mia's first Father's Day with a Daddy. My husband is an incredible father. I think all three of my children are so blessed to have him in their lives. It warms my heart to see how much my little girl and her daddy love each other. It truly is the sweetest thing. 

Our little girl is adored and protected by the three men in her lives. I'm so thankful we serve a God who sets the lonely in families. Justin is not perfect, nor am I, but He constantly strives to follow the example of His Heavenly Father. He loves, disciplines, and provides for His children. We are so thankful for him. 

 Do you think they like each other or what?

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5

3 Months Home

Yesterday marked three months since we arrived home with our little girl. I thought this would be a good time for a little update on her.

She started going to physical and occupational therapy at the end of April. For the past month she has been going twice a week to therapy. We love her therapists and it has been awesome to see how much she has developed in the past month. Physically she is getting much stronger. Her balance has improved significantly. When she first came home she was falling at least 10 times a day. I was very concerned about how much she was tripping, running into things, etc. Now she rarely falls and I have seen her on more than one occasion catch herself if she is slipping. She is able to walk up stairs alternating feet  and can now ride a tricycle with only a little help. Her therapist said she can throw and catch a ball on a four year old level.  In OT she has gone from being able to stack 3 blocks to now consistently stacking 7 or 8. She can also string fruit loops all by herself. Her fine motor skills are getting so much better. These things may not seem like a big deal, but for us they are reasons to celebrate.

She was afraid to sit on the swing in therapy until her brothers came one week and showed her how fun it is. Now she loves it! She is not afraid of many things these days.

This month Mia met some of her family members for the first time. She also took her first overnight trip. We went to my parents' house for 4 nights. I was a little worried about how she would do being away from home, but she did great.

 While we were there we went to a state park with a beach and a sprayground.  Mia loved every minute of this outing. She had so much fun playing in the sand, finding shells, and playing in the water.

She loves to be outside. She would play outside all day if I let her. I wish we had a swimming pool because it is hot outside in Louisiana. Her favorite thing to do when we go to the park is swing. She loves, loves, loves, to swing!

On the way home from my parents' house we made a stop to visit some very special friends. Mia and Eve Meaza had a little reunion. It took just a minute for them to warm up to each other and then they were playing just like old times. We couldn't get them to pose together, but I did capture a few pics of them playing.

 Eve Meaza is telling Mia how it is. I love how she is pointing that little finger. She is such a cutie!!

I am so thankful our dear friends live only a couple of hours away. Hopefully this is just the first of many reunions. 

So for the most part we are now out of our cocoon. We are doing lots of fun things and life is pretty normal. We even went to VBS some last week. I try to be really sensitive to her when we are away from home and if we need to leave because she is overwhelmed or tired we do. She is attached to me and Justin and clearly knows we are her parents. We still don't like for others to hold her or hug her too much. Although, she knows who mommy and daddy is we know that attachment is a process and we still have a ways to go. 

Mia is enjoying having her brothers home for the summer for the most part. They constantly make her laugh and she just adores them. It has been a bit of an adjustment though, as she has to learn to take turns and share her toys and her mommy's attention. 

 These two are either best buddies or worst enemies. They love each other very much, but they also both like to get their way. It can be tough on this mama at times. They are both such passionate kids. When they are happy they are oh so happy, but when they are upset they know how to show it.

One thing she is still struggling with is the tantrums. Some days she only has one or two and other days it is much more than that. I know it is somewhat normal for a toddlers to throw fits, but I have never heard a child scream the way she does when she does not get her way. It can be so hard to watch and listen to at times. I would really appreciate your prayers for this. I want to always respond in love and grace, but sometimes it's hard.

These three months home have been wonderful, even with the tough moments. The Lord is healing her body and her heart and I can see growth every day. We are so glad the Lord chose us to be this precious girl's parents. 

So, this ended up being much more than a little update. I guess I am making up for all the time that I haven't blogged in the past month. 

Summer is Here

Summer break is here and in full swing. We have been very busy as evident by my lack of posts. I want to post some pictures of Sawyer's Kindergarten graduation.

He was happy to pose for us before the ceremony.

 I am so proud of my big Kindergarten grad!! He has had a great year! I was tearing up this day, because I just can't believe my first born baby is so big. Where did the time go?

 Mia and Daddy at the greduation.

 So far we are enjoying summer. We have been swimming, eating lots of frozen treats, spending time
with family.
                    
Jax is my little fish.

We introduced Miss Mia to the big pool on Memorial Day. She had so much fun playing and splashing in the water. She even decided to be brave and jump off the diving board.