Hello!
I know it has been a REALLY long time since I last posted, but our lives have been turned upside down and we are just now finding our way right-side up again :) As the time drew near for us to leave for Colombia, my time on the computer continued to dwindle. I had every intention of (and REALLY wanted to!) posting while we were in Colombia and adjusting as a new family, but those first few weeks were hard and we were exhausted. I praise God that things are now going well. Yes, we have trials and adjustments every day still (we have been home just over 2 weeks), but compared to what it was like in the beginning, it is very good.
One of the major changes in my own life from adding 5 more children to the family is that my time is no longer my own. That sounds really selfish on my part. Before we brought home the 5 we had 4 other children, but because of their ages, they were beginning to do more on their own and care for themselves.
The three oldest (11, 13 and 15) were pretty independent as far as chores, schoolwork, picking out their clothes, cleaning their rooms, etc. I was only really helping Lyric, our daughter from China, who is now 5, so I had that spare time to read, blog, search the internet, facebook... But now, because the youngest just turned 2, the ages of our younger children are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7! My time is no longer my own, and about 95% of the time that feels really good. (The other 5% is my selfishness when I want to do things only for myself. Like stay in bed all day long or watch movies at night until I can no longer keep my eyes open!)
Maybe saying "my time is no longer my own" isn't exactly what I want to get across. "I'm doing more for others (our 9 children) and less for myself" may be more along the lines of what I'm trying to say. Doing for others just feels right. I am so glad that God put adoption on our hearts.
In Christ,
Karen
P.S. I'll try my best to post again really soon - with pictures! For now, I need to go milk our goat, do the laundry, clean up, etc etc...
Thank you for visiting! This blog is a hodgepodge of things that interest me such as writing about our family and our new adventure into soap making, advocating for orphans & adoption, providing links for freezer meals we like etc. etc. We are a Christian, homeschooling family with 9 children: 1 was born in China, 5 in Colombia 3 are biological. Welcome! I hope you find something that interests you :)
Congratulations! We hope to be home soon also. May God Bless your big hearts and beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteHey Karen, I just happened to find your blog and see your update. I'm glad your kiddos are home with you now. I am sure it will be exhausting for quite awhile, but eventually your family will find its new rhythm. Be patient and kind to yourself, too. :)
ReplyDeleteDenise
Hi. We are just starting on our adoption journey from Colombia. We are hoping to connect with others that have done that journey. So we have created a new group in Facebook, called Colombia Adoption Group, and hope you will join and share your wisdom and advice.
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