Happy Easter!!

What a special Easter this has been...our first as a family of 8.  We had a pretty wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus together.  I can't help but think of the picture the adoption of Daniel and Lydia is of our adoption into the family of God.  I especially look at Daniel when he first arrived.  He so wanted to accept our love but tested us at every turn to see if it was real.  He still tests us but we are pretty confident he is secure with his place in our family.  We are not going anywhere!!  Don't we do the same thing to God.  It is so hard for us to understand how much He loves us and that our inheritance is secure as His child.  We test Him and question His love.  What freedom it is when we finally let go of our insecurity and trust Him as our father!

Now that we can tell attachment is going well, we have started to implement some sleep training.  We set up beds for both of them instead of mattresses on the floor and we are not laying with Daniel anymore.  He doesn't like it very much but we let him know how much we love him and he falls asleep within 20 minutes.  Lydia is out within minutes of hitting the bed.  She is always exhausted and ready to be put down.  It will be freeing to get this routine figured out so we can actually have someone else put them to bed and we can actually go out on a date!!

I know I've talked about my struggle with Daniel before.  We are connecting so much better now.  He still pushes my buttons but God has given me the ability to find joy in him.  Instead of focusing on what bugs me, I am looking for what makes me smile.  He likes things in order and will leave no door left open.  He tries to repeat just about everything we say now.  It's so cool to see the world open up before him.  Lydia still loves to sing.  Her song choice now is "This Old Man".  We are learning phrases now too.  I will say "How are you?" and they will say "How are you? Good, thank you!"  I will say, "What's your name?" and both will answer "name, Daniel"  I have to teach Lydia to say her name.  They associate their colors with Barney characters.  For instance, purple is Barney purple and yellow is BJ yellow and green is Baby Bop green.  We just need a character for red and blue! 

What a blessing this Easter has been!