Settlin' In

The bunk beds are here and put together, the dressers arrived, things have been moved, stuff has been stored, school has begun, sicknesses cured... so it seems we're settling in. It's hard to believe that it's been over two weeks since I've found time to write -- but then again, not so hard to believe.

Christian had a birthday... we celebrated with some family, then took her to her first trip ever to Chuck E Cheese. Fun was had by all! On top of the celebrations, family members from far away sent gifts as well! She had great fun getting all the gifts and mail.

We've taken a trip to the Science Center, to the movie theater, twice to the bowling alley... we've had snowfalls, the puke flu, and strep throat. We've gone to doctor appointments, to school, to homeschool co-op sign up... and still we've found time to get Christian organized into her new shared room with Riana. It's a crazy life, I tell ya! My house is a mess, but we're happy.

The kids are beginning to settle in like siblings. They all get along marvelously (which, I guess, is not so much like siblings)... Barak spends time with Christian helping her with her homework, playing outside, sharing his legos, playing with her horses, and basically getting his social fix every single day. He feels like he died and went to heaven.

Riana is enjoying some alone time, but is going and playing with the other kids when she wants. It's a newfound freedom for her... there isn't anybody constantly harassing her to do things she doesn't want to do, but she's frequently invited to play and always welcome.

Barak and Christian share an energy level that is unequalled by anybody else living in this particular house. I'm sure there are children out there with a higher level of insane play, but this is a new experience for me. They feed off each other and sometimes the noise level in the house gets quite high. I have spent a small (very small) amount of time wondering if earplugs would make me a bad mother.

The reality of it is, there's plenty of work left to do in adjusting to our new family. There are more of us now... more personalities, more quirks, more rambunctiousness... but there is more love, more creativity, more hilarity (yes, you should hear some of the things she will say), and more meaning. I wouldn't take this back for anything in the world -- we love her already and can't imagine not having her.

Now if I could just get the elementary school to start one hour later... I really do love my sleep - and this super-early rising is just... not for me.

Ahhh... yawn... ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz