2013 - Hopeful beginnings!

We spent the first 11 hours of 2013 with our children. It was our first overnight experience, and it went great! They went to bed very nicely and slept until 7:30! We brought them back to their foster family to spend one more day with them, and then we spent the day relaxing.

Today will be an interesting day because we get to bring them home. There is sure to be lots of excitement as we embark upon our new journey, but there will be some tough stuff too. They will have to leave the home they have been in for two years, and they will be in the car for probably 7 hours. When we do get home, they will want to look around and try out the different toys and things. I will have to go grocery shopping, and there are lots of potential melt-down points. It's probably going to be a tough few days, but we will be patient and pray for the best.

Part of what I did yesterday was to do a bit of shopping (we found some water bottles and divided plates) and to work on the kids' journals I have for them. I found all of these ideas on Pinterest, and I decided to combine them into one leather-bound journal I will give them at some point when they are older. The first idea was a quote book to record all of their precious moments. The second idea was a 20 questions to ask each year on their birthdays (favorite color, what they want to be when they grow up, and so on). The final idea was a journal to write them letters each year on their birthday. Well, I figured I could never keep up with three things, so I combined them all. So far, I have written them each their adoption story, told them about our first meeting and Christmas together, and written down some quotes. I have also started their 20 questions. I know it is none of their birthdays right now, but I wanted an initial starting point. I hope that I can keep this up and have something beautiful and wonderful for them when they are older.

Here's to a great year! 2013 is sure to bring lots of challenges (what year doesn't), but our family is complete, and we are hopeful for our new beginnings. As the saying goes, "Nothing worthwhile comes easily."