So happy together....

It was hard to get a good picture with 3 kids, it's nearly impossible to get a good one with 4! This is the best we've got after 2 weeks at home:)

I've been behind in updating the blog, which means that a week from now I'll have no memory of the past two weeks. This blog is mainly for me to remember what my crazy days are like because they're all a blur! Anyway, I'm going to answer a few of the main questions we've been getting.

How are we?

Great! We love being a family of 6. It's crazy here most days and rarely quiet until night, but it's amazing to have all of my children under one roof. Before Melia was home, I didn't sleep much. I was on the computer a lot. It was like I was expecting her to be delivered through the screen. Now I sleep like a normal person and it feels pretty good.

How's Melia adjusting?

She's doing well. That's not to say that her arrival into our family has been seamless. She is really happy for the most part. She loves to eat. She loves her siblings. She loves her parents. Did I mention that she loves to eat? We have been sticking with our attachment parenting plan and it seems to be going well. She's become more and more attached to me. Today there were a few times when she wiggled out of Michael's arms to come to me! Big improvement from our first days together. She's a roly poly ball of laughs and cuddles. She's highly entertained by her brothers and quickly picking up on her sister's new found drama. All in all I think she's doing amazing for only being home 2 weeks!

How are the kids doing?

Caleb has been so incredibly helpful. He's shown so much maturity over the past couple of weeks. He's been very easy-going and self-entertaining, he's been very patient with Nathan (which can be hard to do sometimes), he's loved on Melia Serawit (he often makes up songs for her...."I love you, you're name was Serawit now we call you Melia, I love you"). He's my go-to guy when I need a favor. He's so happy to have our girl home!

Nathan is also doing great. The first few days they were home he would often say, "I can't believe she's here!" He likes to watch Melia play and laugh. He's very gentle and sweet with her. He's always checking up on her. He'll peak his head in the room and just to see what she's up to or ask about her napping. He often doesn't want her to go to bed (she's in agreement usually). He's also been a helper and I'm amazed by how much older he seems to be than when I dropped him off in NC almost a month ago.

Addie also really loves her sister ("Sissy" as she calls her). She's had a little bit of a rougher time adjusting to everything. She was really wonderful for my sister while we were gone. She rarely asked about me and really attached to "Nenny." (I'm so grateful that my sister stopped her life for 11 days to love on my kiddos!) When we picked them up from the airport Addie hugged me then looked at my sister and said "Bye, Nenny." It was like she was saying 'Ok, my mommy's going to be my mommy again.' It was really cute. The last two weeks it seems like she still thinks I'm going to leave her all the time. The few times I've been out of the house without her, she's talked about me the whole time. Today she asked Michael if I was on the plane again (the whole time we were in Addis she said I was on the plane). Anyway, she also has a cold and isn't feeling very well. So she's real clingy. But she loves Melia, sometimes that love turns into a WWF

strangle hold but for the most part she's been gentle. She misses her Sissy when she's sleeping and often tries to sneak upstairs to wake her up (ahh, the joys of a toddler). I'm just praying she starts feeling better soon so she can be happy again!

How's she sleeping?

This has been the hardest part for us all. Not because she doesn't sleep enough or because she's hard to put to sleep but because she's often sad in her sleep. Our agency, AGCI, is great at educating adoptive parents. Before we went to Ethiopia, we spoke with Mindy who informed us that infants grieve in their sleep (she also told us many other things that were so helpful). Our girl can often be heard moaning and crying a really sad cry. Sometimes when she wakes up she's confused about where she is. This has been the hardest thing for me. I hate to think about what

she's dreaming about and to hear her moan and not be able to fix the problem. But this too shall pass.

This week, she's also been fighting going to sleep. But I don't blame her. If I was that stressed out in my sleep I wouldn't want to go to bed either! Please pray that she'll start sleeping peacefully soon.

That was a long update.....

Oh, one more thing, Michael's going back to work on Monday. Then I'll really see what life is like with 4 kids 5 years old and under. I hope I can do it!