Wow... August went by fast...

Well, the month of August was a blur. My blogging took a hit, for sure. There has been very, very little spare time and I have been dealing with the shock and awe of parenting four children, varying in ages from teenager to toddler. Back to school went well. Nolan enjoys kindergarten so far and Garrett is really liking middle school. I can tell he is becoming a little man... he is much more self-sufficient, so I guess that's a sign he's growing up too. Cole is working hard at football and being the manager of the varsity football team. Mia is learning new things everyday. She is a master imitator and we crack up at how she copies everything we do. My mom witnessed her trying to make a key chain into an earring. Mom said that she must be watching me put on jewelry. Funny... She has a had a non-stop runny nose since early August and we discovered last week that she had an ear infection. Bummer... Anyway, the childcare situation was not working out, as Daddy couldn't work and entertain "Little Bee", so we ended up starting her in daycare three days a week. So far she is loving it. Her teacher is a God-send and is in love with Mia. Mia seems to really enjoy playing with the other little ones in her class, so for this I am happy. The other two days Mia is staying with my mom, so this is good too. All in all, we are settling in. We have bedtime routines in place and we are continuing to have family dinners, despite our busy schedules. Mia is learning to eat our food, but is still eating a lot of oatmeal, eggs, grits, yogurt, jello, etc. It is wonderful to finally have her at the table with us, as for so many months we prayed for her as we said grace over the meal. She is a constant reminder of God's faithfulness and a visual answered prayer. I will never be able to thank God for such a gift as Mia. The only sadness I have now is wishing that her birth mother could know where she is now, that she is so loved, that she is safe. I know that her mother probably wished all this for her and I really would love for her to know that her wish came true.
On August 12, we attended the Lifeline China Reunion in Birmingham. It was fun to finally meet a few families that I only have known via the internet. We got to meet another child that was in the same orphanage as Mia, and we know that she was with Mia at her first birthday party. She was adopted in February and Mia seemed happy to see her. We got to see Lily and Rebecca one last time. We really didn't get to say goodbye in China, so we were able to let them see our boys and get a photo of all of us together. God used these two women to unite us with our sweet girl and I will forever love them for that.
I still occasionally have to pinch myself to make sure that we really have made it through this process called adoption. I can't believe that the waiting is over and that she really is here at home with us. I used to lay down every night and think of her and looked forward to the day that she would be home. It is a feeling that words can't describe. I am perpetually exhausted, I look like a truck ran over me and then backed up and ran over me again, and I often have temporary lapses in self-control, but despite all of this I am grateful. Grateful that God saw us through such an amazing faith journey and is continuing to bless us.
August is over, but looking forward to what September brings.

Much love,
Ashley