Well, I am entering into this season of thankfulness with a real heart of gratitude as we have had a good week or so of being back to "normal." Life has flowed along relatively easily, our family is working together and enjoying each other, and I'm happy to report that there is no major trauma going on in our lives. Thank you Lord! And I'm so thankful to those of you who are praying for us . . it truly means more than words can say!!!
There are so many times when I am truly thankful that Aleeya is 11 and able to communicate well with us. We are able to work through difficulties much easier as we talk and figure each other out. We are very honest and talk often about our needs. She can tell me if she's frustrated or hurting, and I can tell her if I'm needing her to work on some areas to help our family function well. We are doing better working together on homework and she doesn't seem near as frustrated, especially since getting that honor roll certificate and a free shaved ice! And I keep reminding her how smart she is and how capable she is to learn. It's kinda funny that we do some things to help her learn (things that really help all of the kids) that she doesn't even realize . . . like listening to books in the car sometimes, or even watching "Little House on the Prairie" together. It helps teach the meaning of words and how people relate and work through difficulties. And she still really loves our family times with God each night . . . I'm amazed at her growth and faith!
This week I did realize that we are having some sibling stuff happening that needed to be addressed. You see, when Aleeya first joined our family, I was so thankful to have three other kids that knew our family dynamics inside and out. They were all old enough to know and share "what we do" and "what we don't do." And at first, that was really helpful . . kinda like positive peer pressure. We encouraged them to nicely help Aleeya to know how to live in our home. But now, she's settled in and knows how things work. And, I could tell she was pretty much over being told what to do. As well, the younger two weren't saying things as nicely as at first and often would act as though she should definitely know by now. On the other hand, Aleeya was feeling quite comfortable and was telling Ashley what to do a little more than she should with a little tattle-taling mixed in as well. And Ashley was not crazy about that . . . yet another person telling her what to do! So . . . both sides were addressed and they all agreed that it was happening and needed to stop. I reminded them that we are family, and family will be together forever. I reminded them that we are on the same team and should show lots of love to one another. We also talked about the Golden Rule (Do unto others what you would have them do unto you), and that they should only come "tell" on someone if they are going to get hurt or if they have truly tried to work it out with them first and the person isn't willing to help. And there are still times that they can encourage their siblings to do the right thing, but it should come out encouraging, not demeaning and trying to be in charge. It's amazing how these issues creep in so quickly!
I've also noticed that since we worked through some issues, our level of intimacy has grown and Aleeya is free to talk and share and be herself once again! She has asked for help with things and wanted to be parented. As a mom of a girl, I realize that this is so needed, and I feel blessed and thankful that God is opening up these doors of relationship for us!
While life is currently good, I realize that we are still in transition and there are many events and issues for us to face. One that is right around the corner is our court date on this Thursday, November 17th at 9am. There is actually a chance that Aleeya may not want to go at this point, but the date has not arrived yet and so we remain waiting for the day. Please pray for God's hand to be strong in leading us through this time. He has done some pretty amazing things this past couple of weeks, and we are in awe! I will blog about those details soon, but for now, we are thankful for each prayer offered on our behalf! We serve a great God who is our Father and know what's best for us! Looking forward to sharing how God shows up in our lives this week!
Our nephew and his wife are currently waiting to adopt a pair of siblings from Ethiopia. They just posted this on their blog ... thought you might find this interesting.
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