And our day just got brighter!!!

There are some heart wrenching parts about bringing a child from a hard start and everything they have ever known into their new forever.

It is not adorable at all sometimes.

Just hard.

Then there are the other parts of bringing a child into their new forever.

The very adorable parts!

Like the adorable bond between Tate and Eliza already.

Brother and sister forever!

They are SO sweet with one another!

And love to play together!

I am thankful for this blog.

It helps me to reflect on our life here and then to be filled with praise!

I am SO thankful that we were the ones chosen to experience the hard AND the adorable!!

Thank you, Lord, for trusting us with SO much!!

So, about that rough day Tate was having today…..

It got a little worse before it got better.

And left a huge bruise and bump on Tate’s forehead, a bruise on the bridge of his nose, and scrapes around his mouth.

I was RIGHT there, and couldn’t catch him as he fell – his head and face hit the sidewalk.

The only good in all that, was that he wanted ME.

To comfort him.

That was SO GOOD.

Even though it is pretty cool here, we are thankful the sun shone brightly this afternoon after raining for two days!

It is hard to explain to Tate when it rains why we cannot be outside.

So on Tuesday we showed him!

And then we danced and played on the porch for awhile while it poured rain.

School is still going so well.

Tate obviously loved the preschool classes he went to in his orphanage!

He is starting to join Eliza more in her projects too!

We are rowing a new book now, called Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Yesterday, the kiddos watched a video on how crayons are made!

Then we made purple play doh by melting some purple crayons to color it with.

Sometimes, just sometimes, when the littles are set free to go play, they would rather entertain Lane and I while I try to finish up school with him!

Aren’t they quite the pair?

Eliza and Tate do so well together and have not quarreled at all (yet!)!

Yes, they were very loud!

Chad did a science experiment with Lane today.

Chad learns through reading – he is a sponge and can regurgitate a whole book out loud to me.

Lane learns through doing.

How I love that I can cater to their specific needs!!

To bring my thoughts captive to Christ today in the midst of a hard day, I started counting blessings!

*I have a personal shopper good friend who is finding the things the littles need for fall and winter….at clearance prices!
*Kayla is a constant help to us….keeping up with all the correspondence, paperwork, and finances of the farm, AND making sure all the work on the farm is getting done!
*We could be outside today because the rain stopped!
*Eliza was all better on Tuesday morning, and no one else got sick!
*Tate settled down this evening and went to sleep easily at bedtime tonight!
*The garden is overflowing with produce – what a blessing!

*I learned so much through Eliza’s medical appointments…..and so handling Tate’s appointments, insurance approvals, and referrals has been so much easier!
*Tate tested negative for Giardia – we are so thankful! Tummy parasites are not fun!
*We have a door between our main house and back house that Tate cannot open!! :0)
*Kayla ran some errands for me and brought me one of my favorite treats EVER! (if you have never had a Kevita, go get one. NOW!)

*We snuck out of the house yesterday afternoon and went to our small town local library and then to David and Kayla’s place…..it felt so good to get out for awhile!!

My Mom always tells me there is good in everything!

Yes, there is.

Tomorrow’s blessing list has already started – because it will be FRIDAY!!!!

Have a happy Friday everyone!!

Don’t forget to praise the Lord for each and every blessing in your life too!!