Evolution

I recently went back and read old posts and it's funny/interesting to see how this blog has evolved.  It was the "Henry Show" for so long before it evolved into our family journeys and eventually foster care.  It's been a great forum for me to record keep, vent, share my heart and share our story.  I love to write and going back and reading it later is fun, too. It's great to reminisce and reflect for sure.

As excited as we are to have "RJ" home and there's so much I really want to share, I'm going to hold off for now.  Besides, it's her story and I need to protect that.  I will say though, having her home has been an amazing gift. It's been a dream and my own words wouldn't be sufficient enough to describe the experience.  I am amazed by her every morning she gets up and she's in our home, in her room. She's not legally "ours" yet, there's lots of red tape and decision makers to please, but she's ours. She's bonding with us. She fit right into our routine. She's happy here.  She's growing.  She laughs when she sees Henry.  She lights up when Mike comes home from work. She strokes my hair when I feed her. She falls asleep when she's being held. She's amazing. She's beautiful. She's smart. She's perfect. Most importantly, she's home.

"M" is still with us and will stay with us until a judge tells us otherwise.  She's growing like a weed and her personality has really evolved.  When she was placed with us, she was a bit on the anxious side and clingy, to put it mildly.  She was a handful and seemed like a very unhappy little girl at times.  She humbled me, that's for sure.  Thankfully grace and patience reigned and I'm happy to report that she's blossomed into a happy, funny little lady.  Just tonight Mike and I were laughing at her laughing and watching her play with Henry.  She adores him and laughs at all of his crazy antics.  She loves to rough house and be silly.  It's great seeing her have fun.  Before RJ arrived, she and I enjoyed our days together by playing outside, going for walks (she loves the stroller), running errands and doing stuff around the house.  She's very sweet with RJ, even picking up her pacifier or bottle if she throws it down.  She refers to her as "Baby" and loves to say "hi" to her.  Very sweet!

Henry still amazes us through all of this.  He's an incredible big brother who loves to make the girls laugh.  He's great about entertaining them if I ask for his help.  He wants to protect them and he's very proud of them, showing off his sisters to anyone who will listen.  He's learning a lot in the first grade this year, even things like states of matter and historical figures.  He says that math and science are his favorite subjects, only behind recess and lunch.  He just finished his 5th season of baseball and while he's not the most athletically inclined kid on the team, his smile is confirmation that he enjoys the game.  He still LOVES his Legos and his creations blow us away.  He's very creative and a great builder, even building things outside of the instructions (or "constructions" as he calls it).

Mike is doing great at his new job and enjoys the team he works with.  The hours are long sometimes, but as his wife, I take so much pride in his hard work and dedication.  I'm happy he's happy and I'm definitely proud of how he works to provide for our family.  He loves his football, especially Michigan and the Cowboys.  Both teams have been a lot of fun to watch this year, a surprising turn after the last decade+ of disappointment. He and I have been trying to make it a point to spend more time together in the evenings after kids are in bed and chores are done.  We recently hit our 10 year mark which is a pretty cool milestone.  He's still my best friend after all these years and I thank God for using our marriage to do some pretty awesome stuff.  

Aside from the girls keeping me busy during the day, I've been able to focus on other little projects around the house and have started hitting the gym a little more regularly.  I lost a few pounds earlier this summer after I left the corporate world but I need to continue working on my health.  I went to a boot camp session at the gym last month and was quickly humbled and realized just how out of shape I really am.  Like a friend once told me "No one ever regrets a workout." It feels great to get it done.   I am excited to get into the holiday season so we can have more family time together. I am also looking forward to sharing our family traditions with our newest family member and getting to know her better.  

So I guess that's a good snapshot of what's going on with us these days.  We've certainly been blessed more than we deserve. We've been challenged in ways, that frankly, they hurt.  But God's been right there with us, leading the way, forgiving us as we've stumbled and encouraging us to walk the right path.