A Good Weekend

This is how Jason spent most of Saturday . . . 

Cutting down this dead tree in our back yard an another tree in the back yard. It was quite the fun and excitement for the kids. The girls were great help in moving the branches/logs. We are enjoying a more wide-open back yard now, too!

We had a very good weekend. Lots of time outside, good friends over for dinner, rest and play. I thought I would share some things about the kids that happened over the weekend.

Abram: We went to the old Roosevelt School park (the kids call it "crazy park") on Sunday as a family. There were other kids playing there, too, including a little guy about Abram's size. At one point Zoe came and happily told Jason and I about a conversation Abram had with this little boy. Evidently Abram said, "Hi, my name is Abram. This is my sister, Zoe. You are my friend." Oh, my extroverted boy! Zoe thought this little exchange was so hysterical. She was still getting a kick out of it when we talked about it at dinner that night. I'm guessing she thought it was a bit strange her little 3 year old brother initiated a conversation with a stranger . . . something she is probably scared of doing right now. I also love that Abram made sure to tell his little friend who his sister was. I think what I love most is that it shows the brother-sister bond between Zoe and Abram is growing. Their bond has been much slower to grow, so this was pretty sweet for me to see.

Isaiah: We had the Scotts (our friends who have two boys from the same country as us and one of their boys lived in the same foster home as our kids) over for dinner Saturday night. Maria and I try to go to the park together once a week so the kids are very comfortable around them. My boy Isaiah was in the rarest form I have ever seen him. I dare say he was the life of the dinner table. I kept saying  that I couldn't believe Isaiah. He was being so loud and goofy and funny and expressive. He and Owen (who is a year older than him) had a blast together, especially drinking their orange Fanta. Over the past week I have noticed Isaiah has been coming to life even more than the previous weeks. He initiated his very first tackle of Abram. Seriously, he has been SOOOOO passive up until recently. He is even starting to get a little naughty and I LOVE IT! Crazy, I know, but it is evidence that he is healing from his past trauma/neglect and starting to become the boy God created him to be. I cannot praise God enough.

The Girls: Last week some more RADish behavior cycled back through one of my daughter's lives. When RAD is flying high, there is complaining and being mad about almost every. single. little. ridiculous. thing. I try my best to either ignore it or deflect it with random, positive comments. Over the weekend while RAD was flying high my other daughter twice asked me, "mom, why is _____ so mad." The daughter asking this used to have some of this behavior, too, so it was VERY interesting to me that she now noticed it as "not normal" and wondered why it was happening. It was actually very cool because is shows me she is most likely growing/healing out of it. I couldn't really tell her, "your sister is still not fully attached to mom and is fighting it," but that is the core of why she does it. The good news is that Sunday night I commented to Jason that I noticed MUCH LESS RADish behavior that afternoon and evening. There was some significant "normal" behavior. I know "normal" is relative, but when you've experienced RAD you definitely know what NORMAL is and it is a breath of fresh air!

As we approach the six-month mark of the kids being home, I am so thankful for the significant growth toward healing and attachment we have seen lately with each of the three kids. Thank you, Jesus! You are Healer. It still feels like a long haul ahead of us, but God has helped us reach a lifestyle and routine appropriate for the marathon we are in. There is certainly no sprinting to healing.