I cannot believe the boys have been home for 2 weeks! Life has been a whirlwind, but we are doing well! They have completed 2 weeks of school and we have a long road ahead of us to bring them up to grade level -- should we choose to, but at the same time there is so much that they do understand -- for that we are so grateful! The more time I spend with them I realize how much they do understand in English, but also how much they don't understand. I just wish it could be easy for them!

I never dreamed that my goals for each day would center on only completing school, spending time with the kids, providing enough for everyone to eat, and clean clothes! I use to be so good at multi-tasking! In one sense it is like starting with a very young child whom you must instruct in boundaries/behaviors -- what acceptable and what is not. Yes, there is much they do know, but not necessarily in this context.

We are still amazed that our family is now a family of 8! We still can't believe it - but last night, as we came home from church, and those precious little voices blended together singing praises to our God, I am in awe. I am grateful, I am changed.

For so many years I always heard how much my kids looked just like Rob. Well this little one looks just like me -- I can remember pictures where I looked just like this!

One Of The Great Things About Having Our Family Together!!

...... A FULL TABLE FULL OF LAUGHTER!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Since the end of July, when our adoption file exited MOI our precious daughter has diligently prayed that her brothers would be home for her Birthday! What a Birthday present she received as God brought them home one day before!

It seems like yesterday we held you in our arms for the first time, and now today you are a beautiful young woman. We delight to see you grow, admire your giving heart, and enjoy the beauty you bring to life. Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Update

This last week has been amazing! The boys are doing so well and so far, adjusting quickly to life here in our family! We have done some school everyday this week and I am pleased to see what they have already learned. They cleaned up the kitchen one morning completely unprompted and are pitching in with chores, etc. They love watching Scooby Doo and playing Mario Cart, and I delight to hear their squeals as they play!

I am amazed at the amount of food our family is putting away, but love seeing these boys eat! And the laundry ---- well............... you can imagine!!!

Last night we were all cleaning up after dinner and I had been assigning everyone a specific job to do. I asked what J was responsible for and completely unprompted he says, " J is responsible for eating!" We love his sense of humor!

It is hard to believe it is one week ago today they came home!

We know this journey will never be easy, but we are so blessed!!

So much has happened in the last week, and now I will finally we able to forever close the book on our adoption blog as their lives have now been merged into ours! Blogging began as a way for me to document the journey of God bringing us together. May we never forget all He has taught us!

We arrived home on Friday night-- the boys were quick to check out their rooms, but just kind of sat back and absorbed as much as they could the rest of the night. They slept great (and still do!) and were still pretty quiet Saturday morning.

In the meantime M had an all day conference for school she had to attend and I needed to work on Halloween costumes for a couple kids, and get ready for M's Birthday on Sunday! Fortunately my parents came into town for the boy's homecoming and were such a huge help to us in accomplishing everything while giving us time to focus on the kids.

By Saturday afternoon the boys were riding bikes, loved the park, and had mastered their scooters. They learned to play the Wii while a couple of our kids went trick or treating. One of the churches near us does the "trunk or treat" and every year our kids enjoy this event. The boys wanted to go with them to that, so we slipped on a couple of Bengal's jerseys ( no we really aren't fans) over their coats and off we went. They were delighted to receive so much candy, and their responses to it was delightful!