Well, we were hit with some post-stress, post-travel bug that has had just down ever since we got home two and a half weeks ago. We have had some drainage, some stuffy noses, but mostly just fatigue. Fatigue without many other symptoms. Maybe we have just pushed ourselves for too long and got a bit run down. Maybe it’s just a quiet bug. The weirdest part have been my lymph nodes. I counted seven on each side of the back of my head at one point. Not to mention the ones by my ears and under my jaw. They are all swollen and sore. Yesterday, they changed and got itchy. Something new, hopefully that means I’ll get better soon! Today they are extra hard little knobs.
I confess that the constant fatigue, the startling accumulation of dishes and laundry and the progressively dirty house were starting to worry me. I haven’t brought home my son; why am I struggling? I haven’t been this far behind even after giving birth! And the painful lymph nodes are weird. And the puffy eyes in the morning. Fear has tried to sneak in. What if it’s something serious?
But today has been much better. A young lady came and babysat/housecleaned for me while I housecleaned too. Between the two of us (and Anna and Maggie too), the house is cleaner than it’s been since we disgorged the van with the trail of clutter from our trip. The dishes have even been washed two days in a row! And I might be tired and my neck sore in spots, but I don’t have that mind-deadened blanket of exhaustion hanging on me any more. In short, my hope is returned.
During the times when I have been layed low, I have wondered, “What is God trying to teach me through this?” And it crossed my mind that if I could just figure out what He’s trying to teach us, then I could learn it quick and be done with being sick.
Here are a few things I recognize:
God is my strength.
It is God who makes me able.
The Lord will give and the Lord will take away (even small things)…
and blessed is the name of the Lord!
The insecurities and fears I have about this adoption are no match for God.
If I follow God and seek His will, then I will be able to do what He wants me to do.
And the value of a clean house needs to be put in its place. That’s below my husband and my kids… and even below summertime. We’ve picked blueberries and gone to the park and had fun in the morning before I began to drag every day. The girls didn’t even notice the house was messy.
Funny: Anna asks, “Mom, why do we have to clean the house?”
Ok… my mind is not really running so great right now, just before bedtime. Enjoy the movies! (some may not be here yet – they were taking forever to upload)
Anna helping Maggie on the slide… well, the first time anyway. Maggie didn’t want more help the second time she went down. (See how she folded her arms?):
They were really cute on the 4th of July. This was their first time with little poppers… Maggie didn’t quite get it, which made it all the more cute.:
Maggie on a trampoline at the park… so cute! She is so light (about 20 lbs.) that she doesn’t even really make a dent in the trampoline… or as Anna calls it, the jumpoline:
Something fun and new here: we had a few dollars that I didn’t want to get sucked into the vacuum of the budget… because, you know, we have expenses and savings goals that eat EVERYTHING we throw at them. I looked at Maggie and how fast and crazy she is on her little push bike. And we decided to go to a playgroup for kids who ride Strider bikes. A friend of mind runs the Portland “chapter” of this business and she was happy to have us come for a test drive.
These bikes are two-wheelers with no pedals. That means the kids push with their feet and then lift their feet to glide… if they can balance. They can just stand and walk with the bike between their legs at first. The idea is that kids learn to balance and glide and steer, making it a wonderful pre-bike… a perfect bike to segway into a regular two-wheeler. What’s even better is that it’s small enough for an 18 month old. (Maggie is 21 months old.) This led us to the purchase of TWO glide bikes! Yipes! We have one Strider and one Glide Bike. The Glide Bike is pretty cool – it has a front hand break and different footrests for the advanced glider. The Strider is Maggie’s, the Glide Bike is Anna’s. Well, pretty much. Anna is loving them. Maggie just wants her nice, solid, four-wheeled bike.
Anna on Maggie’s new Strider bike with the seat all the way up:
Maggie on her bike of choice:
Anna on her Glide Bike:
Thanks for the openness! It is always good to hear that people doing “impressive” things are normal like the rest of us. I especially liked your list of things you recognize… as I need to be reminded of those things regardless of whether I am adopting or not! And to challenge myself in thinking of adopting or any other thing outside my comfort zone, those truths are a comfort and encouragement.
Cute videos too! I love to see Maggie’s big ol’ helmet head on such a tiny little girly. Very cute. 🙂 As always, it is fun to see those girls grow!
Your girls are just precious. My first two were girls also- 3 years apart. They are now 35 and 32, I remember the love they had for each other back then,( just like your Anna and Maggie do) just like it was yesterday! :o)
We were going to adopt next (after the girls) but instead had a birth baby boy! God’s plan for us! You’ll love having a boy!