Finally Treading Water

Around the six-month mark of being a family of six, I started to tell people that I felt like we were finally not just completely drowning.

Because let me tell you, those first six months, Josh and I were definitely mostly drowning in life (as you could probably gather from my Four Months Post-Placement post). Going from one to four kids is a huge adjustment!

Don't get me wrong, it was still a sweet time. We reminded each other regularly that yes, this is hard, but it's also wonderful. God would give us glimpses of grace that kept us going in the middle of all of the hard stuff, like one of the girls belting out a hymn when she thought no one was listening, or the little guy actually coming to me for comfort when he got hurt instead of running away. 

I say that we reminded each other of that, but let's be honest, it was probably 75% me reminding Josh. Because God has always given me a desire for a large family and the personality to handle it reasonably well. Josh, on the other hand, really craves peace and order. That's just the personality that God gave him, and it is a wonderful thing in so very many ways. It does mean, however, that this whole four-kids-overnight thing has been a harder transition on him than on me.

So, like I mentioned at the beginning of this, I've been telling people for about a month now that I felt like we were finally starting to tread water instead of just drowning. But just a few days ago, Josh actually said (in different words) that he finally felt the same way. 

It was such a happy moment for me, because I have worried so much about this ride that we've jumped on, and whether the sweet man that God gave me, who has so very much on his plate these days, would survive it without going into cardiac arrest. Seriously.

But God is good and sustains us and grows us through the hard times.

Don't get me wrong, we still have hard days. Really hard days (most notably when our oldest gets ahold of sugary/dye-filled treats that she's not supposed to have because they make her lose all control). We've also all been sick all winter. I am in the middle of my THIRD flu in six months. That's been fun. But overall, lately we've been feeling much more settled and competent and peaceful. Thank you, Lord.

And just for the sake of a small non-update, we are still waiting on an adoption date. We were originally told that their adoption should have come and gone by now, but the kids' social worker (who is great, by the way) has been bombarded with adoption cases and it has taken her longer than expected to finish our paperwork. We are praying that it will be before Josh leaves for Malawi in June, but that is quickly approaching. Will you pray with us?