As I write this post, my 5 boys (this number includes the daddy and the canine) are in the den watching the season finale of Clone Wars. Savanna has drifted off to sleep and I am putting off the 1000 other things I should be doing right now. (Why ruin a peaceful moment with responsibility?...)
I just spent the last 20 minutes reading the posts we made while in Africa. It brought tears to my eyes, and actually made me a little uneasy as I was reminded how absolutely hard and tiring those 2 weeks were. Meeting your new children for the first time is quite amazing, but the whole process probably sounds more romantic than it actually was - we were tired, hot, unsure of ourselves as we dealt with completely out of the ordinary child-rearing/caring issues, doubting the wisdom of getting 2 preschoolers at once, and stressed out over various paperwork issues that inevitably come up no matter how detailed you are.
But here we are, a family, enjoying things we never dreamed imaginable that first week! (A good reminder that God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!). We have good days and bad days - but who doesn't? There are days I bask in the wonder and joy of being a mother, and days (like yesterday) I'd rather be laying on the beach with a good book! Days I make great parenting decisions and display amazing patience, and days I think my actions or words have screwed my kids up for life!
At then end of the day, you just have to look at the bigger picture - not where you are, but how far you've come, not who you are, but who God can help you become, and not how you'll do, but how much you will trust God to do in spite of you! At least, that's the perspective I'm trying to have these days.....
Blessings!
Shelly,
ReplyDeleteThere's great wisdom in your post, esp. that last paragraph, for all parents. All parenting continues to do for me is humble me and show me my great need for God's love and grace. We count ourselves blessed to have gotten to share these few months with your growing family. Sure gonna miss all of you!
Hi Shelly,
ReplyDeleteI am friends with the Mericles (Lance and Kim). Kim gave me your blog address and told me that you are moving to the Nashville area. We live in Franklin (south of Nashville) and love it! We are in the process of adopting 2 kids from Ethiopia. There is a great African Fellowship group that meets monthly in our area. It is for anyone who has or is in the process of adopting kids from Africa. Our blog is http://therutlandjourney.blogspot.com and the blog address for the fellowship group is http://fellowship686.blogspot.com . I hope to connect in the future :-)
Shelly,
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I adopted our son from Rwanda in 2007. We'd love to connect and compare experiences and our love for such a small, but amazing country. Feel free to contact me at daveosborn1@cox.net if you're interested. We've been fortunate to be able to connect with other adoptive families and "in process" adoptive families in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, who share our love of Rwanda.
Take care,
Dave