Tuesday, January 19, 2010

3 months and going strong...

i can't believe it, but we've already had the boys over 3 months!! i'll have to admit though that some days it seems like it's been much longer while other days, it seems like it's gone by in a blink of an eye. one thing is for sure though - both boys have changed so much in the past 3 months! the 2 boys i picked up at the cps office on october 16th are not the same boys who i pick up from school and my mom's house every day. they have both grown and matured, and my feelings for them have also grown and matured in ways that have surprised even me. i don't think words can really express how terrified i was the day i picked them up, and today it terrifies me to think about if we had decided not to accept this placement. i wonder a lot about what type of home they would have gone into and the HUGE life lessons ryan and i would have missed out on.


most days i am just overwhelmed with God's provisions for our family. i think back to how i felt 3 months ago and remember how tired, unprepared and ill-equipped i was to undertake raising 2 kids, much less 2 kids with such a huge age gap and coming from such a rough background. the only way i can explain everything that happened is that God was, and IS, in charge. we should have never even received the call for a placement so far outside of our acceptance scale, yet God saw to it that we were called.

over the last 3 months a lot has changed about the boys:

P has grown soooo much and is now more than busting out of most 12 month outfits. he's also all over the place!! he can crawl faster than any baby i've known and now i know why people say you can't take your eyes off babies even for 2 seconds! he's been pulling up on anything he can reach and much to my dismay, has really taken a liking towards chewing on his crib rails. he still only has his 2 bottom teeth, but that just makes his smile even more endearing. he's not saying a lot of understandable words yet (well, except for "da da da da da, dada") but he makes a large variety of noises. since we got him, he's always made this growling noise but now along with his growls, he also grunts, can make a popping noise with his lips, blows raspberries, and occasionally makes a high pitch noise that sounds like "hi".

R is doing well in school and seriously seems like a different kid. he seems to be way more self-confident and can actually almost take a compliment now. his grades continue to go up and up, and he even got selected to represent his school at the regional science fair this march. he is obedient (for the most part) and listens when we are talking to him, yet still knows how to joke around and have a good time with us. he loves playing games, especially card games, so we play a lot of phase 10 and uno!! he's doing well on the basketball team and has really improved over the season. at first, because he is sooooo much taller than everyone else, he just looked super uncoordinated and had a hard time focusing on what he was supposed to be doing in the games. now, he's much more engaged when he's playing and is not afraid to get aggressive and go after rebounds and such.

we love these boys and can't imagine our lives without them. after 3 months, ryan and i have learned a lot about ourselves, each other, and the God we serve. grace definitely has a new meaning to us and we hope that we will continue growing in our relationships with our Father, each other and these boys.

1 comments:

Trish said...

Lesli,
God has certainly used you and Ryan! I knew you would be great at parenting...we all have the same moments you have experienced on what do I do now??? I am so very proud of you two and you have blessed these boys as much as they have blessed you.
love,
Trish :-)