5 months and counting!

Joshua playing outside

Christopher, Joshua, Daddy and Josiah
sitting together before our Court
appointment for our re-adoption

Josiah

Josiah dressed up as a cowboy for Halloween

Joshua dressed up as a giraffe for Halloween

It is so hard to believe that we've already been home for 5 months. As we get ready to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I am filled with awe, yet once again, that He allowed us the chance to adopt. I am filled with wonder at the way in which He chose to allow our journey to take place. I was reading through our blog and am just filled with amazement for His faithfulness and goodness. This time last year, we were agonizing over the long wait. We'd been waiting 2 months for our court date to be scheuled and at times, it seemed as if it would never happen. While we were groaning (yes, out loud) and complaining, the Lord had it all in His capable hands. Praise God that we traveled when we did. It gave our family the time that we needed in order to adjust to having babies in the house again.

Since it's been SO long since I've updated the blog (PLEASE forgive me), I'll give you a quick update on the boys. They are both thriving and doing extremely well. They have begun taking just 1 nap a day, which isn't as bad as I thought it would be since they average a 2.5 hour nap (thank you Jesus). We've added some new words to their vocabulary, including "outside", and "no-no" (complete with the finger pointing). Did I mention how much they understand?? It is simply unbelievable how much these two comprehend. We are very impressed :)

They get the most joy out of going outside and going bye-bye. While they weren't crazy about their car seats when we first arrived home, they now really enjoy the idea of getting in the car to go somewhere. And getting dressed is a comical event, given that the two of them think that shoes going on their feet equals going bye-bye. They wear their shoes constantly, to give them better traction on the floors. It takes them a few minutes to comprehend that we're just going downstairs to play, not going bye-bye.

Halloween was a hoot! Matthew was out of town, but Jessica and Christopher and I took the twins out in the neighborhood to show off their costumes. Joshua went as a giraffe and Josiah was a cowboy. Of course, they were adorable and took great pleasure in all of the oohing and aahing that took place over them :)

Our social worker came to do our 2nd post-placement report and it went very well. She enjoyed seeing the boys again and seeing how they've grown. The post-placement reports are required by the Ethiopian governement. We will only have one more visit from the social worker, then we will be responsible for submitting the reports on an annual basis, until the boys turn 18. As we get ready to submit the second report, I can't help but wonder about the people who read the reports in Ethiopia. I wonder how they feel when they read about the children that have been adopted. I would imagine that they are filled with so much happiness, but also a sense of sadness that the children were not able to remain with their birth families.

It looks like nap time is over...later~!