Last night, Mercy and Odesco did remarkably well...they both slept on quilts and sleeping bags next to our bed. Each of them woke up once, used the potty and were easily redirected to bed. Odesco did have a short time of sniffling and whimpering when we first put him down but, he finally fell asleep after rubbing his back for a few minutes.
Mercy woke up this morning first ...I brought her downstairs with me and we snuggled on the couch together looking at a Richard Scarry book...she whispered words with her thick Liberian accent as I pointed to pictures on the page...she was opening up a little bit and I was relishing every moment...I even caught a few glimmers of a smile. Later when the rest of the house was in full swing, we began to see a different side to both children. We decided going to church would be a bit too much for them so we spent the day playing , adjusting and visiting with our many eager friends who came to see the newest members of our family. The kids' words were flowing easier and the flat affect/lack of any expression was replaced with smiles and even some giggling. Mercy finally gave us a big smile when Daddy pushed her outside on the swing...she didn't last too long out there though due to the cold air! B3 and Mercy had a ball today making "soup" out of counting bears and colored pegs and Mercy loves "platting " doll hair and embellishing with all sorts of hairsnaps, barettes, ribbons etc. B3 was a bit frustrated that she can't yet braid like Mercy but I think she will catch on soon enough. The girls wore coordinating outfits and at the end of the day B3 told me she couldn't believe that Mercy was her sister and that she was so glad! Odesco and all the boys romped, chased, wrestled and had quite a bit of fun together. He still is not speaking much but occasionally we hear his sweet little voice with the adorable Liberian accent. We spent quite a bit of time today just orienting the 2 of them to life in our home...food in the kitchen area only, say please and thankyou , take plates to sink after eating etc...they seem to be catching on and a few times Mercy said," Please" without prompting. Both of these gifts from the Lord let us know when they don't want to do something! They stubbornly refuse to make eye contact and need firm redirection to encourage obedience but, I must admit, for our first day together, I'd say it went better than expected!! They especially seem to go into "shut down" mode when new people stop by to visit...toward the end of the day though both kids managed to squeak out a glance in our vistors' direction and a soft,"Hello". So, if you do come for a visit, please don't be offended if you get a less than friendly response...I have a feeling this is an area that we will be working with Odesco and Mercy on for quite a while!!
Tonite' Jenkins (our kids say his name so it sounds like "Chickie") came for what we hoped would be a joyous visit but it seemed to evoke sadness in his little heart...it is so hard to know what is going on inside these precious ones as they need to process so many emotions and changes...I look forward to asking them 5 years from now what this trip to America was like for them and what they were feeling!
This evening,when it was time to put Odesco down for the night, he did his quiet definace stance where he just refuses to move...M carried him to the makeshift bed in our room and Odesco began crying loudly (now we know he has lungs to rival Mercy's!!). This wasn't any ordinary cry but a deep gut wailing...at first I thought he was just mad he didn't get his way but then it really did seem like he was very sad...and this made my Mommy heart sad...as I rubbed his back and he wailed, I quietly cried my heart out too. I want to make his heart stop hurting but I don't know the depths or causes of his hurts. The reality is, I can't take back the years of pain for either of our adopted children...but I need to trust their Heavenly father to fill in the gaps and the details we will never know about~
After several minutes of his relentless cries, I finally realized that perhaps Odesco was missing his routine at AOH and his bedmate, Emmett. I asked him if he wanted B4 to sleep next to him and this seemed to quiet him down. So, right now B3 and B4 are curled up next to Odesco beside our bed and B3 and Mercy are sleeping at the foot of our bed. Eventually they will transition into their own rooms but for now this seems to be the best scenerio. Mealtimes today were quite comical as these children have huge appetites and tried everything we gave them. They are not shy about asking for more food and Odesco especially wastes nothing on his plate...we will have to monitor both of their intake though, as they have never had the experience of being "full" and would probably eat continuously if we allowed them to.
Tonite', my heart is overflowing...I still can't believe that our children are finally here. While I know there is so much transitioning that needs to happen, I can already see the Lord grafting and knitting these 2 little ones into the fabric of our family...what a miracle it is ! Thanks for checking in...thanks also for those of you who have lavished us with meals, prayers and just genuinely rejoiced with us in God's goodness to our family. We are so grateful!!
With much love from our buzzing household!
No comments:
Post a Comment