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