It’s been 272 days since we landed on American soil as a new family of four. 2014 is behind us and to say 2014 was a whirlwind for our family would be
a gross understatement. When reflecting on the year, it was
the most traumatic, unnerving, costly, stressful, exhausting yet GLORIOUS year
yet, and I have some unwanted grey hairs to prove it #thankfulforhaircolor.
2014 was truly epic! For the first time in seven years, I was able to cross off my “Become
a Mom” New Year’s Resolution. Hallelujah!!!
I’ve been horrible about writing lately, partly because I’ve
been busy with my jobs, mommy job and accounting job but also because we were
in stage three of adoption bonding, commonly known in the adoption community as
the spaz out/meltdown phase #soexhausting. Well I’m thrilled to announce stage three, the
triage phase, is mostly behind us. We’ve stopped the bleeding and the vitals
are looking good. Stage three was so exhausting. Oops, I already said that. I felt like I was a failure as a
parent and there were times I wondered if our son would ever see past his anger
and grief. Now we are joyfully entering stage four – rehab. God has been good to us and we are seeing the
sun light shine through the clouds and boy, do I love sunshine! We have a ton
of work ahead of us, as we teach them to cope, manage their frustrations, feel
secure, find self-worth and tackle their education, but we feel incredibly
blessed to have made so much progress in the last few months.
Even more exciting, is for the first time in the last 272 days, I feel
content. I don’t feel frustrated or guilty for not meeting my own made-up
fascinations of what type of mom I need to be. For the first time, Andrey has
went off to school with a large smile on his face and gave me a hug and kiss
before leaving. For the first time, I’m not comparing my children to anyone
else, adopted or bio. I can also admit
for the first time, I am extremely proud to parent two creative, witty,
strong-willed, loving, outgoing, determined, brave, caring and joyful children.
I have made a lot of mistakes in the last 272 days, but as I look at the
wide-eyed smiles on my kiddos, I feel content that I must be doing something right.
With God’s help, I have the family I have always dreamed of. I have three people in this world that adore
me more than I deserve, my children’s health has seen phenomenal improvement, I
have my dream job of being a mom and I
live in a country that is safe from warfare. Moments of pure bliss are common
in my home and I have God to thank for that.
God has been with us every step of the way. Taking that first leap of
faith over three years ago has proven to be extremely rewarding. I’m looking
forward to see what God has in store for our family in the coming year and hope
we can make it as memorable as the last.
