One Year Ago on June 10

One year ago on this date, we were at the Inter-Country Adoption Board making our girls legally ours. Wow! A year already!!

Looking back at photos and talking with the girls, we are reminded of things we had already forgotten. Having experienced both childbirth and adoption, I can say that adoption, like childbirth enables you to forget certain things for a reason. Ohhhhh myyyyy, looking back on those very early days with the girls I suddenly remembered how tumultuous those days were. Yet, we all survived them and the girls are thriving. There is much talk lately of going back FOR A VISIT they stress. Someday we all hope to go (back). We'd love to introduce our older daughters to the beautiful country of their sisters' birth. For now though, we continue to work on teaching the girls the innuendos and quirks of the English language and culture and watch them grow and flourish. One year later, they still have not developed inside voices. I am slowly learning to ignore the loud, but there are times still where I grit my teeth in agony. A shushing comment will now often give me a five minute reprieve :o).

It has been fun and interesting to see the girls strengths and gifts develop. Like our older four, they have very distinct personalities. Bella is still trying to find her place. She went from being the oldest to one of the youngest. It's a difficult place to be. However, she is a strong personality. She is aggressive and knows how to get what she wants. It will do her well in the years to come, but can frustrate all of us yet at this point.She has unbelievable energy and loves to run and dance. Bright Eyes is our deep thinker and she is very very bright. She misses nothing. She is also displaying a strong aptitude for music. Peanut is our comic relief. She still just has such a joie de vivre. Everything is embraced with a smile and a giggle.

So many of the things that we learned about adoptive children have not been an issue with our girls (at this point). Aside from mostly typical kid things, we deal with very little baggage and "stuff". I'm sure over the years to come, there will be lots of "stuff" to deal with, but right now they're doing great!! God knew they were a perfect fit for our family.

Blessings!