Friday, July 8, 2016

All things new...One month home with Eden

It seems somewhat shallow to be posting this on a day like today in our country- a day in which our country seems so divided and so broken. But my prayer in sharing this is that the power of God to work in hearts will be seen. God still changes hearts and changes people. He can still bring beauty from ashes and make all things new. I know this because I have seen it in my life, and the life of my children. I have seen the grief and pain that loss can bring, and the power of God to transform that pain and grief into love and joy. It appears from all that is taking place currently in our country that God's healing power and the power of His love living in and through us is what is so desperately needed in this country. God help us.

On July 3 we had been home for one month home with our Eden. One of the meanings of the name "Eden" is delight,  and what a delight she is to our family! We have seen her personality blossom so much in the last month. As I mentioned in my previous post, after giving God the praise for the work He has done in the lives and hearts of Eden and our family, we give a tremendous amount of credit to our three "big kids". Whether it is buckling Eden in her car seat, or helping her wash her hands, or entertaining her while I cook, all of our children have helped out in big and small ways and we are so thankful and proud of them. It has been a beautiful thing to watch them learn more about servant hood and selflessness through serving their sister.



 









Eden is doing great with her new routine in America. She is sleeping well- not perfect, but much better than we expected. Lately she has been getting up multiple times when we first put her to bed, so it is making bed time take quite a while, but once she is asleep, she usually sleeps all night long, which is nice :) She usually always wakes up with a smile on her face, and loves to come into Baba and Mommy's room to tell us "Ooh - yah (using phonetics here :) pee-pee". So we take her to the bathroom, then she will hop in our bed and snuggle for a few minutes. She has a very playful disposition and can be a little ornery sometimes as well- she fits in great! She has not been displaying many signs of grief, though she does like for our entire family to always be together. If either Zack or I are gone for more than a couple hours, she begins to fret a little, but nothing too major. She also loves to go, go, go. She will sometimes begin to seem anxious to go somewhere, anywhere, and will repeat, "mommy's car, mommy's car". This may be some type of grief or transition issue- not quite sure. Her English skills are progressing, and she is beginning to repeat many words and phrases now. We all love to listen to her jabber :)


Eden loves the water- she is a huge fan of the pool, and as we have recently discovered, the ocean as well! She was a little hesitant at first, but after she got used to the feeling of the sand on her feet, she was ready to hit the ground running! She wasn't intimidated at all by the waves, and even wanted to ride the boogie board! Now she just needs to conquer the lake...that will happen soon enough when we visit Kentucky :)




The most amazing thing about Eden is just her sweet heart. Now that she is home, I think she is feeling more and more free to love. She is quick to give a kiss and hug, and just grab your face in the sweetest way. She also says "I love you" in a way that will melt your heart.



It's all very humbling and overwhelming to take in- my family, that is. I am in awe that God would give this family to me. Sometimes at night I worry about something happening to them. An accident, or an illness, or some sort of tragedy. I am sure that part of it this angst can be related to the craziness and uncertainty of the world we live in, But I also recognize (thanks in part to my Godly and wise husband) that I must be careful to not idolize my children, or to place these gifts above the most amazing Giver of all, God. We know from his Word that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father (James 1:17).

This is our first adoption to be so far away from our family, and honestly, after the adjustments to having four kids and a two year old, this has been the hardest part. It is hard to not be able to share these amazing days and experiences God has given us with our parents. We have been so blessed to have had our parents involved in the lives of our other three kids- they are such awesome grandparents! Our parents thankfully were both able to spend some great quality time with our kids and us this past week, celebrating Independence Day with us. It was just the best thing ever to have our entire family together! I am so thankful that they are having the chance to get to know Eden, even if it isn't quite as often as we would like. Eden seems to already love them and had a great visit with them. I think there were some tears when they left....and it wasn't just the grandkids!






I end this post with much more on my mind than adoption and our family, as wonderful as those two things are. My heart is breaking for our Nation, and I wonder how God wants to move in our hearts to care for the hurting and make right the wrongs that have been done. I wonder about, and fear the America that my children may grow up in. I worry that it will be an America full of hate, division, and discord. We must pray, love, and act, to make sure that we overcome evil with good, through the power and love of Jesus.



Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21