The New Normal!

So we are settling into a new normal as a family now.  I was even able to get on the treadmill while Daniel and Lydia play at their kitchen.  They bring me things to "eat" but are good about not touching the treadmill.  We do the laundry together, then I take a shower while they play in my room.  All this before 8:30!  It feels like we've put a full day in already!  They love to follow me around while I do household chores and can usually find something harmless to do around me.  I think that's what their life was probably like before.  We had our first "group" experience on Sunday when we celebrated Sally, our cousin George, and Papa (Jay's Dad)'s birthdays at DeAnn and Joe's house.  I have to admit I didn't know how the littles would react, especially Daniel, but they did great!! They interacted with everyone and they weren't overwhelmed.  They checked in with us, but had a great time with everyone else too!

We had some urine and stool testing done on the kids and it looks like they have giardia so we will be getting the meds tomorrow to start on that and Daniel also has blood in his urine so they are doing further blood testing on him.  They think he has a parasite on his liver so we have to do some more blood work and probably see a specialist from Children's Hospital.  Poor little guy!  Hope we can get this figured out and get him healthy!  Please pray for him.  He freaks out every time we go into the clinic now because he has had either a shot or bloodwork every time.

We are starting to figure out their little personalities now.  Daniel is a little more cautious and really tries to figure out how things work.  He is also a little obsessive compulsive about things.  Every closet or cabinet door needs to be shut and he likes to know where his shoes are located at all times.  Lydia doesn't wait for life to come to her, she goes after it!  She is not cautious but jumps right into anything she does.  We will find her singing or doing patty cake spontaneously wherever she is.  She's a go-getter and a lot of fun but very stubborn!  She likes to stuff random things down her onesie.  One night we found 4 block puzzle pieces when we got her undressed and tonight she was putting the tennis balls down her shirt while we were playing.  We snapped a picture of it!  What a riot! 

 Lydia put Sally's headband on and stuffed some tennis balls down her shirt!

 Sisters!!  Happy Birthday, Sally!

 Charlie gives Daniel a ride at the party!

 Lydia in her stained onesie with crumbs in her hair and tennis balls down her shirt!

Daniel is not happy with me.  He can really get that lower lip out pretty far!

Snow!!

I don't have much to write but thought I would share some pictures of Daniel and Lydia's first snowstorm experience.  We had a bit of a rougher day today so after Jay got home we decided to take them out in the snow to get some fresh air and break things up a bit.  After helping Daniel get used to wearing boots, we made it outside.  They were a little bewildered by the snow, but once they saw us enjoying it and making snowballs, etc. they had fun.  Daniel is so funny about his stuff.  Whatever he was given to wear he claims as his and won't give it up.  We were given a jacket for him and that was all we had so he wore it but it is way too small.  I found a jacket on clearance at Kohls in his size and tried to put it on him but he refuses to give up the other one.  We visited Kiki and Papa the second week we were home and she put a pair of gloves on him that were way too big and he doesn't understand the idea of putting his fingers in the finger holes.  Again, I tried to put mittens on him that are his size but he refuses so we just go with it!  Too funny!  I know he'll look back at these pictures some day and we'll get a good laugh!! (I hope) Here are the pics!  Happy snow day!

Room Time

So I am in the middle of our room time where the kids read books and hang out.  The idea is that I don't want them to nap but I want them to have some down time and eventually they will be in their room and I will be out!  I take some time to work on my computer while they are around and it is starting to work out pretty good.  We have been in the room for about 1/2 hour now and I think they really want to nap.  This goes against everything within me to not put them down, but bedtime is so nice at 7:00.  We had probably the best day yet yesterday.  We had a play date in the morning and had a lot of fun together in the afternoon.  They didn't melt down too badly and Daniel was more happy than angry!  He is making great strides, trying to talk more and seeking attention in positive ways.  As I thought about this I realized this change in him came about the same time I committed to God that I would choose joy instead of focusing on the negative.  Hmmm...coincidence?  I think not.  I realized I was probably unintentionally projecting a feeling of insecurity or irritation with Daniel and he was picking up on that.  Now that I am relaxing and focusing on the good, laughing and truly playing with both of the kids, they are responding in kind.  Or maybe I"m just recognizing what I could not see.  Anyway, I think we have turned a corner.  I am  not waking up with a pit in my stomach or dreading the day.  I know I am where God wants me to be! It's still not easy but it's not as daunting. I found a pair of boots on clearance for Daniel so hopefully we'll have some fun playing in the snow tomorrow!  Here's a picture I just took.  They just said "night, night" and laid down with their blankies!! No worries, they did not fall asleep.  We had a good 10 minutes of videoing them doing patty cake and acting silly then watching it.   Blessings dear friends!  Choose joy!

Joy!

So I am continually amazed at the people who are following this blog because it seems kind of self focused to be writing about our life to so much.  I am so grateful for all the support we are receiving from so many people.  The meals people have been providing have been such an incredible blessing.  I really can't thank people enough!!  I am also amazed at how specific prayer has been answered.  When I have asked you all to pray, you have prayed and God has shown up in a big way!!  From getting the kids down when Jay was gone to the social worker affirming their attachment and even for Lydia to sleep!  I am trying to think of some of the milestones lately.  We visited the International Adoption Clinic on Friday and got a good report from the psychologist and nurse practitioner that specializes in international adoption. We do have to have some blood work done and stool samples, but so far it looks like we have healthy kids!  We have been trying to figure out what the best schedule is for our family.  I have been able to get the littles down for a nap during the day but that made bedtime a challenge.  We found ourselves spending so much time getting them down that we were missing the whole evening with our bigs.  So we are foregoing the naps and having some time in the room in the afternoon.  They are sooooo tired in the afternoon.  Lydia fell asleep eating her snack at 3 yesterday and today she was sitting in the back of Daniel's truck while he was motoring around and I saw her nod off.  Yikes!!  Daniel pretty much melts down about everything after 4:00, but when 7:00 comes around, they are begging to go to sleep and we get a good chunk of time with our other kids.  It makes for a long day, but the evenings are worth it.  It was hard having my mom leave on Saturday.  She was such good company!  I have some things scheduled with friends to give me things to look forward to. It's been fun lately to see the excitement Daniel and Lydia have when the older kids come home.  They are so excited to give them a hug. They know their family and love to look at all the pictures around the house and say each of their names.  

I was able to get to church on Sunday and needed to hear the sermon.  I have found myself wallowing in how difficult this is, and forgetting to focus on the character of God and what He has promised me.  He is faithful and I know that He provides just what I need and will continue to do that throughout these little people's lives.  It's easy to have joy when life is not challenging, but so much more difficult to have joy when life is challenging.  God doesn't call us to comfort and that's not the life Jesus lived but He does tell us we can have joy in the midst of difficult circumstances.  I am making a conscious effort to focus on inviting the joy of Jesus into every minute of my day with the little ones and today was a good day.  Not because they were especially good, but because my perspective was different. Pray that I will be reminded to do this every day.  In Jay's words pray that I will be able to "suck it up!"  If you want to hear this inspiring sermon by Troy Loether go to Kettlebrook .org and download it!  It's challenging, but worth it!! 

Every time I sit down to write this I am exhausted so I know it is scattered. I have a few pictures my mom took that are really good so I'll share those with you.  Good night dear friends!

Good Days

 This truck has been passed down from sister to sister for all the little ones in our family. 

 Daniel and Lydia love it as you can see!!

Hello All!  Things are starting to get a little more settled around here.  We are getting into a routine and the kids are really connecting well.  We had our first visit from the social worker on Monday and she thought the kids were doing fantastic. She was very pleased with how attachment was going and allayed a lot of my fears and insecurities. Both kids are really making great strides in their English words and understanding which is huge. Attachment is such a huge deal with adoption.  It has huge ramifications for future development and relationships so we have to take it pretty seriously.  I have to admit it was consuming me and I was feeling completely insecure about my parenting instincts so the visit from the social worker put me at ease and I feel like I can relax and enjoy them a little more.  Just a note about that.  If you should happen to stop by or see us at church in the future, please don't pick them up or try to hold them.  We really need to meet their needs right now and it can be confusing and overwhelming to have strangers trying to hold them.  They have no idea how much everyone has anticipated their arrival!  We love the encouragement and support you all have been to us and believe me, in a few months we will welcome the extra attention!! My mom is here for the week and it has been such a boost for me.  We are being careful about me meeting all the needs of the kids and them coming to me or Jay with their needs, but it's been so nice to have her support and insight.  Today I was able to have a play date with a friend and her two little ones.  She also has bigs and littles so she was a huge encouragement to me.  One huge accomplishment today was that I got them both down for a nap at the same time for two hours!! I'm not holding my breath that it will happen again anytime soon, but it was such a breath of fresh air!  A few funny things around here.  One night when Jay was putting the kids down Lydia yells out Dunde and Daniel responds, "Eh".  Then we heard them doing that once in a while throughout the day.  So now we all will give a little shout out of Dunde and wherever the littles are they will yell Eh!  It's a riot!  Another funny quote of the day...Jay was holding Daniel and had just let Belle (our dog) out and was watching her poop outside when I said I needed to ask him something.  He says back to me, " I've got a lot going on right now, so if you could wait a little while that would be great."  I turned around to see him watching Belle poop and said, "Really?"  We both burst out laughing!  We're trying to figure out meal time because we usually get the little ones food together, pray, then get our food.  By the time we sit down to eat, Daniel has already finished most of his food and is about ready to get down.  I think we need to give him his food last!  He is an eating machine!! We are all getting used to having little hands around too.  Poor Jase left his glasses on the end table and Lydia got ahold of them and broke them.  Huge bummer!  Hopefully we won't have too many more casualties before we figure this out.   That's life at the Mundingers!

LIfe is OK

So, every morning I wake up with a little pit in my stomach remembering that this is still my life and I have to face another day in the grind. But every afternoon I realize, "Hey, life is OK!" We're figuring this out!  It kind of feels like the movie Groundhogs Day.  Daniel and Lydia have really warmed up to the older kids and want to play with them which is really nice. They're getting used to the big kids coming and going and are excited to see them walk in the door when they come home from one of their events.  They absolutely love their play kitchen downstairs.  They play with it for a half hour at a time sometimes. We are also getting a lot of use out of our lower basement.  They will throw and chase balls and ride the tyke bike around.  While Jay and I, Sally and Jack were playing with them Jay was wrestling with Jack and Daniel jumped on top of them.  Daniel had a belly laugh that was so contagious!  I stopped and looked at him and thought to myself, " I wonder if his birth mom ever got to listen to that laugh".  It's hard to believe it was just six months ago that he was found and I don't imagine there was a lot to laugh about.  Thank you, Jesus for giving me your eyes for just a moment.  I pray for both their birth moms and hope that somehow they know that their little ones are safe and loved and well cared for if they are alive.  Maybe I'll meet them in Heaven some day and we can enjoy his laugh together. 
Another thing that has been a blessing in parenting little ones again is that Jay and I have matured so much in our relationship.  I remember when the older kids were little, if Jay got to do something or go out, I wanted my time too.  Or if I got up all night with one of them, I would let him know about it so he would feel guilty for getting a good night's sleep.  Little things that I am ashamed to admit. But this time around, we are both looking out for the other, trying to give each other time to get out or do something with one of the older kids. Recognizing when one needs sleep and offering to get up.  We are on this hard journey together and are both more willing to sacrifice for the other.  God has strengthened us for this difficult time.  No, we don't have the perfect marriage.  We still get irritated with each other, and have different ideas of how we should handle situations, but overall God has blessed us with a nice rhythm together right now.

Here's a few more pictures.  Sally came downstairs today and I was picking things up.  I came across a dirty sock and stuck it in my wasteband so I would remember to bring it upstairs to the laundry.  It did look a little funny and Sally got a good laugh because I was just going about my business thinking nothing of it.  She snapped a picture, so I am humbly sharing it with you along with some good pics of the kiddos.  Good night!

A Good Day...

Today was a good day.  I have decided to write just a little bit because it was a good day and I am working on recognizing the good.  My wonderful friend Bridget reminded me to focus on the good by asking "what are the positives right now?".  I have found myself focusing on how much I miss things or how my life is so different now and all the challenges.  While all of this is very difficult, there are a lot of positives as well.   We had a great evening as a family.  It finally felt like our complete family, not the bigs and littles.  Daniel and Lydia read books and played with Jack and Charlie in the family room while Jay and I sat on the couch.  We had a great family dinner then went downstairs for some play time.  Jack worked on his hitting and Jay put Daniel and Lydia behind the pitching net while he pitched to Jack.  They loved it!!  After Jack hit a bucket we all picked up all the balls and put them back in the bucket, then they proceeded to throw the balls at Jay and I and we picked them all up again!  Good times!  We came upstairs and before you know it, it was bath time!  Daniel allowed me to play with him and interact with him even while Jay was around, which very rarely happens.  Yesterday was a harder day so it was such a blessing to have a good day today.  Praying for tomorrow!  I got an email from my friend in Chad Africa who has a very difficult life to say the least.  She said her prayer for me and for herself was that we would rest in God in the daily grind as well as experience God's rest upon us. Please pray this with us!  Jay has a dinner meeting tomorrow night so I will be handling the bedtime routine alone.  Please pray that it goes smoothly.  Thank you again for your continued support!