Day 5: Going Raw

So today marks day five of our raw(ish) diet, and we've survived so far! :)

This has already been quite the experience for me, particularly.  I've been surprised at how in some ways it feels easier than I expected, and yet how in others it is requiring a lot more of me than I thought it would.

The best thing that I am noticing is that my energy level throughout the day is really steady.  I normally get tired and sometimes even weak in the afternoons but for the last few days I have not only not felt a dip in energy, I actually have more.  I spent most of yesterday afternoon organizing my closet and the kids' rooms.  That, my friends, is proof that we're on to something!  ;)

I will say that I don't think my body is really use to the changes yet and I find myself wanting to eat all day long, which was not the case before.  But it feels really good to snack on fresh fruit or some snacks from my new favorite brand, Go Raw.  They have some great things to munch on that are full of super healthy, raw ingredients.  I've been surprised that I have actually found a few items that I truly enjoy because I honestly did not think that would be the case.  I have also found a few that taste like they were dipped in the toilet before they were dehydrated... seriously.  So it really is trial and error.  But to find something that is so surprisingly pleasant can be very exciting, and may even cause you to exclaim, "These are awesome!!!" when you taste them in the store. haha

I definitely still have cravings from time to time, particularly for chocolate ice-cream and occasionally pasta.  (We're only on day 5, though)  I'm hoping that those will get better over time as I retrain my body to crave the natural foods that are good for me instead.  And it is good to see that I can retrain my taste buds as well!

 My focus during this time is on finding healthier alternatives to the normal go-to foods that fill the grocery stores and restaurants.  I've already learned so much just by more closely examining what is in so many of these products and realizing that there is way too much sugar, preservatives, and nasty chemicals that I can't even pronounce in many of the things that I thought were harmless.  We're talking stuff like bread, yogurt, cereal.... basics that have become far from basic when we take a closer look.

On the other hand, I do not want to become a person that obsesses over every tiny little thing.  We should be responsible for our own health without letting fear dictate our decisions.  But for me, that doesn't mean being ignorant either.  The food that our grandparents ate is far from much of the "food" that we eat today, and as a result we are seeing ever increasing numbers of deadly diseases.  When some of the leading causes of death in our generation were so rare just a couple of generations ago, it would be wise for us to take a step back and examine what we are doing.  I didn't realize that so many health issues are directly related to our diet, but it makes sense.  We build our immune system through eating healthy foods and through a healthy lifestyle.  That thought has kept me very encouraged so far to keep going, even when cravings have come up!

I hope to check in sometime next week with more updates.  This is really exciting for us!

The Raw Diet: An experiment

So today marks the first day of a month-long experiment for Stephen and I.  For the next four weeks we will be following a slightly modified version of the Raw Food diet.

What exactly is this?  The Raw Food diet, or as many would say, the Raw Food lifestyle, is one where not only does a person eliminate processed foods from their diet, they also eliminate most cooked foods from their diet and focus mainly on fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.  Cooking a vegetable breaks it down  and less of the nutrients can be absorbed by your body.  However, drying things like fruits does not break it down.  This diet is also for the purpose of eliminating toxins from your body, which are so prevalent in processed foods in the form of preservatives, hormones, pesticides, and even just large amounts of sugar.

Stephen and I are doing a modified version of this.  We are keeping eggs and fish (and occasionally organic chicken) but much of our diet will be things like fresh veggies, fruits, berries, green smoothies, nuts and seeds.  We are also keeping in organic milk, raw organic peanut butter, plain greek yogurt (without sugary additives) and raw honey.

A typical day for us might look something like this:

Breakfast: Eggs with sliced avocado, berries, fresh juice

Lunch:  Apples and peanut butter, green smoothie (Berries, banana, fresh spinach, Perfect Food powder (Super Green formula), greek yogurt, and a little milk)

Snack: Almonds, kiwi/ pomegranate seeds (yum!)

Dinner: Grilled Tilapia (cooked with olive oil, salt and fresh garlic), baby spinach salad with dried cranberries, sliced almonds, and (homemade) balsamic vinaigrette.  


Things we will be giving up for the next month include:

-Coffee (ouch!)
-ice-cream (double ouch for me!)
-pasta
-bread
-processed meats and chicken
-cheese (we normally eat a ton of this)
-regular processed yogurt
-juice (except that which we juice ourselves with fresh fruit)
-condiments like ketchup, mayo etc


What we have been hearing from others on the Raw Food diet is that they have noticed a drastic difference in their health.  Their energy has skyrocketed, they have more mental clarity and focus, their complexion improved, they have lost extra weight that they carried.  Some health issues have gone away and even some diseases have been reversed.

It makes sense to me.  If we are eating fresh healthy foods and avoiding foods that are not good for our bodies we should naturally have much better health, right?  Needless to say, I have high hopes for this little experiment.  I plan to blog a couple of times a week during this process to share what, if any, changes Stephen and I are noticing.  Here we go! :)

Guarding our hearts

Over the past several weeks now I've been contemplating and meditating on Proverbs 4:23. 

   

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

I think each and every one of us knows from some sort of experience the truth of this verse.  It seems like it is so easy for your heart to be affected by the struggles and hurts that we all go through.  This season has been one of overwhelming joy and still quite a bit of hardship for our family.  We have so much to be thankful for and yet we are still hurting as we continue to make our way through different situations.  I think sometimes the natural reaction to being hurt is to become defensive, and yet I know that is not a healthy solution, particularly if you value having real and authentic friendships and community with other people.  If we do not allow ourselves to be vulnerable with others, will we really ever experience the kind of community that the Bible teaches us about? 

One of the things I am learning lately is that when you don't guard your heart it is easy to become cynical because there are always going to be people out there that will hurt you and situations that leave you with the short end of the stick. I think this is why the bible tells us to not let our love grow cold, because in this imperfect world it can easily happen and we must guard our hearts from becoming cynical and defensive. I truly believe that cynicism causes divisiveness and ultimately stifles our joy. But when we are meditating on the goodness of God, on his faithfulness and love and grace, we cannot help but be thankful for all that we have which will produce in us true and lasting joy. When I am dwelling on a frustrating situation or how I was mistreated by someone, I literally can feel the cynicism and bitterness creeping inside of me. I start to forget how good God has been to me and how much I am blessed. But when I choose to reflect on all that I have to be thankful for I am often times overcome with joy and thankfulness even though my circumstances have not changed. Funny how that works. I suppose that's why the bible instructs us to do this. :)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.- Phil 4:8

This is why I think it is so important to speak encouragement to others. When we complain or grumble we breed divisiveness and anger but when we encourage and build others up through sincere love it will produce joy and unity among us. I'm not talking about that fake "Oh, it's so good to see you!" stuff when really you know that you have a grudge against that person. (And they probably know it too.) I'm talking about walking in love, asking God to humble us and change our hearts, so that we see others the way that God sees them. We should fight for this, for unity, joy and sincere love, because we know that this is what Christ wants. Thank you, Jesus, for your grace and patience to lovingly and gently teach us a better way! 

One day at a time...

It seems like our family is ever changing as we continue to bond and adapt to this new life of ours.  I can honestly say that going from two kids to four overnight is not necessarily an easy thing. Go figure! :)  I'm the kind of mom that is very "go with the flow" and tends to be more laid back when it comes to structure and routine.  And while I think I will naturally always be this way to some extent, I am definitely seeing myself change some simply out of necessity.  I mean, I like having my kids play carefree around the house or in the backyard, getting dirty or into mischief usually.  In the past I haven't been quite as strict on bedtimes.  I might have let the laundry go for a few days or *gasp* even closer to a week. (My mom will be mortified to read this) ;)  

But I'm finding that it is necessary with two more children in our home, particularly two that need a little more attention than the average 3 and 5 year olds, to bring a little more structure to our home to keep things moving smoothly.  I've also seen this to be necessary for me, as a person, and for Stephen and I.  For instance, I highly value bedtimes always being between 7 and 7:30 now, not only because I've seen a general improvement in my kids behavior, but because after spending the whole day pouring myself into my four kids, Stephen and I truly need that time after the kids go to bed to connect and unwind.  I pay very close attention to my family's nutrition (which I always have, but even more strictly now) because I know that our boys missed out on healthy eating their first few years.  Since good nutrition, such as eating veggies and fruits and lean protein, is such a huge part of the overall health of a person, this is something that I feel I must work hard to maintain.  And I usually can't just plan to leave the house at the drop of a hat because I know the boys do best if I prepare them and explain things to them in advance.  It's not that they aren't happy when I tell them we need to go somewhere, but they get so excited they literally can't stop asking questions to try to figure out what's going on. "Mom, what doing? What this? Wow! Where going? Ah? Go car? Go store? Ah? What doing??" haha 

With all of the continual changes happening in our family, there is one in particular that I am really enjoying and that is the fact that the boys now speak English well enough to share some of their memories from Ethiopia.  Until more recently, I was unsure of whether or not it would bother them if we talked about Ethiopia so I kind of slowly tested the waters to see if this was something they wanted to talk about or not.  To my surprise, they were very excited to talk about Ethiopia and what they remembered.  The other day, I had pulled out the boys' suitcases to pack for our trip for Thanksgiving (which we are currently in the car driving to).   The boys saw the suitcases and said, "Ohhhh!!! Dis red one. Dis blue one.  Dis in Ethiopia."  So we sat on the floor next to the suitcases talking about some of our experiences in Ethiopia.  I asked the boys, "Do you remember when Daddy brought ice-cream to the hotel in Ethiopia?" The boys' eyes lit up and they talked about what color ice-cream they had eaten and how they got so messy.  I said, "And what did we do after ice-cream?"  Both boys jumped up and said, "Bath! Big BIG bubbles!!" haha

 I just love that we have gotten to the point that we are able to look back together at some of the memories we have already made over the past five months.  And I also really love that the boys are old enough to remember Ethiopia and some of the special people that were in their lives like their nanny, Werkenesh, and our agency's driver, Yitbarek, who was like an uncle to them.  We have talked about them fondly a few times, and the boys seem to be ok with the fact that we don't see them anymore, though this is still a sad reality.  I know, even as orphans in Ethiopia, they still had to give up a lot to be here with us.  Once Jude told me very matter-of-factly, "Mom? Yitbarek... Ethiopia.  Me... here.  Me... America." I kind of froze when he said that and tried to study his face to see how he was feeling about the statement he had just made.  We looked at each other for a moment but then he smiled that beautiful smile of his, and I picked him up and hugged him tightly.  I'm so glad that we are able to share and talk like this, even through their broken, yet oh so adorable English.   

The other day after eating lunch, Liam told me, "Mommy? Liam hurting tummy." We rocked together in the rocking chair in his room, and when Jude came in he said, "What doing?" to which Liam exclaimed, "Jude! Liam tummy boo-boo." This apparently brought back a memory for Jude, and he started telling me about how when he was in Addis Ababa, (or as he says Addis Aba) he had a bad tummy ache and started throwing up, (the hand motion he used for this was pretty cute.) and his nanny had to give him a bath.  I gave him a hug and said, "Oh Jude, I'm so sorry you had a boo-boo in Ethiopia.  Did Werkenesh help you to feel better?" And he said, "Yeah. All better. No boo-boo America. Me good." I love when he shares things like this with me, and I get a little bit of a closer glimpse into what his life was like before we came for him.  

Adopting our boys has been such a huge blessing to us.  So many people have said to us, "Wow, that must be pretty hard, huh?" And our response is always, "You're right.  It is very hard.  But it is so worth it.  There is so much joy to be had in this process.  We've experienced God's love and faithfulness in a deeper way that we wouldn't have otherwise known."  I know that each adoptive family has their own unique joys and struggles, and I truly am not trying to minimize the challenges of adoption.  They are very real.  But I've found that there is such a deep joy in the midst of these challenges if we are seeking God's heart in the midst of our circumstances.  He is so good and so faithful, even in the challenging times! Every time I look into my two precious little boys faces I am reminded of God's deep love for his people.  Every time I hear them giggle I am reminded of his faithfulness to heal our brokenness. There will be brokenness for each of us, but he is good and kind and gentle and faithful to take care of us and to restore us in his perfect timing.  This is the beauty of Jesus.  

"So why did you choose to adopt internationally?"

 This is one of the main questions that Stephen and I have been asked lately. There is so much need, both overseas and right here in our own country and city, that it can be sometimes overwhelming to pinpoint where you want to start. Stephen and I are both incredibly passionate about caring for orphans in general, but as we started to look into the possibility of adopting, we really felt that international adoption was the right choice for our family right now.  Here's why.

Over the past few years especially, Stephen and I have begun to grow more and more passionate about international missions for a few reasons.

1) The extreme poverty in many of these developing countries is unlike anything we see here in America.  36 million people die of malnutrition and the diseases caused by it each year! The leading cause for child mortality worldwide is malnutrition.  And I can tell you, just by walking the streets of Addis Ababa, that this kind of poverty is absolutely horrific... and it's everywhere in Africa particularly.

2) There are literally thousands of people groups that have absolutely no access to the gospel whatsoever.  This is a heartbreaking reality, and we know that as Christians God has called each of us to go make disciples.  While we greatly value reaching out to those that are in our immediate circle, if none of us are willing to go further, then how can others hear? It is for this reason that Christ said to go and make disciples of all nations. Because God actually loves them just as much as he does Americans. That may sound harsh, I know, but I think we sometimes forget that the majority of the world isn't living the American dream, nor anything close to it.  And that many people have never even heard the name of Jesus let alone the hope of salvation that we have through him.

3) We know that we want our family to be a picture of the gospel, not just in terms of adoption (God first adopted us into his family and made us his own), but also as a display of the truth of God's love for every tribe, tongue, and nation.  He loves people no matter their color, ethnicity, or language.  We are all fearfully and wonderfully made!

Our decision also came from a lot of prayer for clarity and direction.  Like almost two years worth.  And from that we began to see God confirm the path for us over and over again through circumstances, people and even dreams.


I will also say that God ALWAYS prepares you for the things he calls you to do.  The biggest comment I've probably heard from people concerning our adoption is, "I could never do that because..."  So many people love the idea of adopting but feel unable to do so.  Here are many statements we've heard.

"I couldn't adopt because we don't make a great income."
"Maybe I would have if I didn't already have kids of my own."
"I just don't know if I could love them enough/like my own kids."
"I'm too busy to adopt."
"I don't have enough patience for that kind of thing."


Let me tell you, as a young couple that makes a very modest income, already had two children biologically, has a very busy life, travels a decent amount of time for Stephen's work, and I am not naturally an organized person, nor do I love laundry or dishes... at all... God prepares and equips each family despite whatever challenges you may face.  I'm not saying it is a breeze.  It takes a lot of hard work!  But I am saying that all things are possible with God if you have a willing heart.  Faith + a willing heart = unlimited possibilities as to what God can do through you (despite yourself.) So many people told us about how hard adoption would be, but few shared about how much joy it would bring us. It far outweighs the challenges!

If you feel that little pull or tug toward adopting, but you have concerns or doubts about it being possible, don't let that concern or fear keep you from pursuing God on this issue.  It is absolutely true that he not only makes a way for it to happen (sometimes just one step at a time like he did with us), but he also provides every little thing that you need in order to do so, not only during the adoption process but also in your new life after you bring your child home.  For those who want to adopt or feel called to adopt take courage that God is so faithful to provide!  I often felt like Moses during our adoption process.  We didn't know the details of how it was going to work but the one thing that we did know is that God said, "Go." Each step of the way, he provided just in time.  Each time we didn't have a solution, he would part the red sea so to speak.  It has been so beautiful and has caused us to fall in love with the Lord even more.  I pray that more families will be blessed in this way, and that they will take courage that where the Lord leads, he absolutely always provides.

As I said earlier, international adoption was the right choice for our family right now.  Meaning, are we going to adopt again? Maybe so. From Ethiopia?  Perhaps. Another country? Possibly.  Do foster care? We're certainly open to it in the future.  Who knows, we many even have another baby biologically.  This is not because we want "tons" of kids necessarily or because we think it would be easy to do so.  (Yeah right!) But we want to let God guide us in what our family will look like and not put limitations on what he has for us.  If there's one thing that I can say we've really learned going through this adoption process, it has been that God will always be faithful no matter the challenges and no matter the circumstances.  This fact has given us an incredible amount of courage and faith because we've seen him provide over and over again even when it seemed impossible.  Certainly he will continue to be faithful, and seeing his faithfulness in our lives brings so much peace and joy!

A little confession

Here's my little confession for the day.  I miss home.  Like, I really really miss my family lately.  I think part of it is because we have our sweet little boys here now, and I so wish we were able to be closer to family for everyone to spend quality time together.  I think about how wonderful it was for my girls to have my parents and sisters be such a part of their daily lives, and how that's just not the case anymore and it hurts my heart.

I'm not saying that I'm not incredibly happy here in Saint Louis.  I love this city.  I love our church, our neighborhood, our wonderful friends here.  And I think about how many times God has confirmed to us that this is exactly where we are suppose to be right now, and I'm filled with joy in knowing that we are here for a purpose and to be used by him, as well as to grow in Him.

Perhaps part of it is that this coming season is so nostalgic for me.  I love the cooler weather, the turning leaves, the fall festivities. Whenever the cooler weather first hits, it always reminds me of a certain memory of when Kinsey was two, and my mom and I would take her, all dressed up in her new fall clothes, to her weekly gymboree music class.  It was such a special season for us.

Anyway, I know I'm just rambling, but for some reason I really wanted to write it down.  I love my family.  I love my home.  And while Austin is always going to feel like home to me, I'm also so grateful for where we are now and how incredibly blessed we are.  It's so comforting to know that God is the one leading us, and we just have to be faithful to follow!

The Miller 6- A new "normal"

The funny thing about life is that it never quite goes as planned. There are always bumps in the road and twists and turns that you didn't expect. With our adoption process we didn't even quite know what to expect. I mean, there are so many unknowns about what life is going to be like once you bring your children home. You can daydream all day long about what you hope it will be like, but the fact of the matter is that there are dozen of different factors that will contribute to what it actually turns out to be like. We have so many friends that have adopted or are going through the adoption process, and really the one thing that we all have in common is that each story is different. Different children, different ages, different countries, different challenges. But the same joy.

Here we are two months after we brought Jude Surafel and Liam Esrael home. I can tell you that what I thought would be a challenge for us has not been, and what I didn't think would be an issue has been. It's funny how that works. We were prepared to bring home two little boys that probably wouldn't eat well, sleep well, play well, or honestly adjust well to a completely new life. At least not at first, right? I mean, if this were happening to me I'd probably be throwing tantrums constantly and freaking out over how much change I was being forced to face all at one time. We read the books that shed light on all of the different possible problems we could encounter, particularly with adopting toddlers that are too young to fully understand what is going on but old enough to be distressed about the many different changes they are going through. We were prepared to deal whatever crazy stuff came our way.

We've definitely been dealing with our fair share of difficulties which I'll mention later, but as far as Jude and Liam are concerned, I've never been so amazed. These kids are resilient to say the least. There are times that I will just stand back and watch in awe as they truly thrive in their new environment. Life is filled with so many precious and often times funny moments. Like how each time Liam will discover a new toy (which is like every 5 minutes) he will exclaim to his brother, "Jude Afafen! Look! Fun! Fun!" Or how no matter what I tell the boys we are going to do, they get excited about it.

Me: "Time to go in the car."

Them: "Yay! Go in car!"

Me: "Come on kids. Time to eat."

Them: "Yay! Come eat! Come eat!"

Me: "Bubble bath time."

Them: "Bubbles! Bubbles! Come on!!"

I also love how Jude really likes to understand what to expect each day and tries to communicate it to me. It goes something like this. (Excitedly) "Mommy? Wake up, eat eggies, clothes, swing, eat banana, tv, sleep, eat, bubbles, books, sleep!" Haha

When it comes to disciplining them, it usually doesn't take much to correct the behavior. Yesterday as we walked through our neighborhood after dropping Keira off for Kindergarten, Jude happily skipped down the sidewalk ahead of me. When he started to get a little too far, I called to him to stop and wait for Liam and me to catch up. He thought for a moment, put his hand over his mouth while giggling, and then turned and kept going full pace until he was out of my sight. Luckily we were already close to our house, but still I knew he had to understand the importance of following the rules especially when we were outside and near the street. I sat him on his bed when we got home and calmly told him in simple words that he could understand that since he didn't stop when I said stop, he had to sit in his room instead of eating his snack right away (A banana, as usual. They act like it's desert or something! haha) He nodded and then cried for a few minutes before I let him join his brother for snack time. What I thought was so interesting is that today he was very careful to not get more than 10 or 15 feet in front of me while we walked to the school. He would skip for a bit and then turn around and look at me as if to say, "Is this ok?" When I would nod, he would continue on for a bit before checking again to make sure he wasn't too far. He really is such a great kid! :)

While I am quite surprised and thankful for how well the boys seem to be adjusting here, I'm certainly not trying to sugar-coat this or make adoption look like an effortless journey that contains no hardship or heartache. Believe me, it contains both. There is plenty of heartache as you navigate through the adoption process, as you wonder where your child is and what he is doing, as you see the faces of many children in need of families, as you pray and hope and wait to bring your child home. And there is plenty of heartache once you bring them home and you spend yourself to the point of exhaustion as you help these children to heal from some of their past trauma. You will shed tears as you see evidence of the pain they have been through. When a misunderstood statement about Stephen going on an airplane leaves them crying and thinking they are going back to Ethiopia. When they get so extremely happy at meal time and it makes you wonder how many meals they missed before coming home. When you look at the one picture you were given of their birth mom who was obviously crying, and you think about the awful reality that millions of children are left without parents to care for them because of disease and extreme poverty. Yes folks, there is still plenty of heartache when it comes to adoption even for the families whose child or children seem to be adjusting pretty well. It is costly. There are days that you will spend every ounce of energy you have and then some to meet your children's physical, emotional, and mental needs. There are days that you will want to cry from being so emotionally drained and yet so happy at the same time. You may literally question your sanity that you can feel so empty yet so full, so heartbroken yet so overjoyed, so confused yet so at peace. God is a good God. He is faithful to care for us as we make our way through this messy thing called life. That is what's so incredible about this adoption process for us. It has been such a picture of the Lord's faithfulness in our lives. I love that I can see him walking with us, hand in hand, each step of the way. He is the one doing this, not us, and that is a very reassuring thought! :)

While our family has had to deal with some health issues, which I'll talk about next, I think we've had it easier than many other families when it comes to the kids adjusting to their new life. I've heard so many stories about other families dealing with attachment issues, behavioral issues, eating and sleeping problems and so forth and sometimes I wonder why the boys aren't exhibiting some of these things too. While we're only a couple of months into it and new things can surface at any time, I honestly think that one of the reasons the boys seem to be doing so well here has to do with the care center that they were in. Like other adopted children, our boys have faced abandonment. They've missed meals. They've been without a mommy and daddy to hold them and play with them and teach them and feed them and tuck them into bed and say prayers at night. But I witnessed the level of care and attention that they received at their care center. I saw the bond that they had with their nanny. I watched as they played with her and she tickled them and made them laugh and kissed their cheeks. I listened as she would excitedly point to us and tell the boys, "Kiss mommy! Kiss daddy! Hug...Say... I love you!" I truly believe that one of the main reasons why our boys have bonded so well with us and have come into this new life full of excitement and happiness is because of the love and sense of security that this woman gave to our boys. For her to be there not only to love on them while they waited to come home, but for her to encourage them that it will be ok when they leave with us. That we will love them and be good to them. That they will be happy. I truly love this woman for what she has done for Jude and Liam. She was like a mother to them when they had none. Thank you, Lord, for putting this woman in their lives!

As I said, though, each adoptive family has a unique set of challenges to face. Our main one for sure has been health related. You see, a few weeks after bringing the boys home, Jude got pretty sick very suddenly. He had a fever and his face started swelling very quickly and significantly. My mind was racing. Let's see, we just brought him home from Africa so this could be... just about anything. I worried for his well-being and prayed that it wouldn't be anything very serious or damaging. After several days in the hospital and a tons and tons of testing, we were finally told that he had contracted the mumps a few days before we picked him up in Ethiopia. In some ways, we were relieved to hear this because the mumps is a relatively harmless virus that passes quickly. However, we were confused to find this out given that you actually contract the mumps 12-25 days before you show any symptoms so his doctor told us he had to have contracted it 2-3 days before we arrived in Ethiopia to pick them up. Remember, this is a child that remained within the walls of a little care center, and there have been no cases of mumps there. We were, however, notified that he received immunizations for all 5 years that he had missed the week before we picked him up. Why they would give a malnourished underweight child five years worth of vaccines at one time is beyond me. I was actually quite horrified to find that out, and even Jude's doctor said that he probably got the mumps from the vaccine. I'm just glad that it was the mumps and not one of the more serious diseases! Anyway, all that to say, because the mumps can take up to 25 days before manifesting symptoms, we've had to remain at home until more recently. The girls even missed the first couple of weeks of school because we needed to be sure that they hadn't gotten it before going to school. But PRAISE THE LORD we are back to normal now!! :)

So we're back to "normal" life as they call it, which is still far from normal. My daily routine includes not only all of the normal stuff for a family with young children, but also some things that are quite unique. Like snuggling on the couch with my two kids from Africa as I try to teach them new words in English. Like trying to explain for the 10th time why, yes, you are going to fall into the toilet if you try to sit on it without the seat down. Like trying to capture pictures of your 5-year-old and 3-year-old riding bikes for the first time, having a birthday party for the first time, or eating a pb&j sandwich for the first time. (They thought a pb&j sandwich was so strange and funny the first time I made it for them! haha)

Life is good. It's not normal, but I wouldn't change one tiny little thing about it. I still can't believe that God allowed us to adopt these two little boys. Like we really got to bring them home. They're really ours forever. We're two months into forever, and I've got to say, it feels pretty good! :)