Most of you will get the Lion King reference in the title, but it was something that we were joking around about this past week. It sure does describe life right now! It has its slimy, exhausting, and painful parts, but at the same time it is beautiful, restorative, and satisfying.
March began pretty “normal” with a trip to Louisville, KY for spring break weekend to visit Ximena’s family. They live in Ohio, so Louisville was the exact middle of the drive for both of us. We were able to spend some great time with family, especially with our niece and nephew who we don’t get to see very often. We all crashed at an Airbnb together and did more cooking than ever! We were able to spend an afternoon at the park and catch up on life. It was short, but we are so grateful for that time!
As spring came upon us, so did the need to get our backyard ready for a summer with the neighborhood kids. That meant 10 yards of mulch! We didn’t realize how much that would be until it showed up, but we had already talked to the neighborhood kids and they were willing to work! We offered a decent hourly rate and they dug in with rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows. We were able to finish in about 7 hours with many of the kids bowing out after an hour. It was really amazing to see two of the kids, Serenity and Jake, who stayed almost the whole time and worked like crazy! They also enjoyed a pizza and movie night that we had afterwards for the ones that stuck it out. We are glad to have the backyard ready to be well-used this summer and even more excited to be able to have kids around!
At the beginning of April, things changed quite a bit for our family! We have been in relationship with M and J since January, spending time with both of them and watching J so that M could have a break at times. At the end of March, she shared that the situation at the apartment she was living in had become more dangerous, as all of her roommates who were women had moved out and one of the roommates had become more violent when he was drunk, threatening to hurt her. We shared that we didn’t feel like it was a safe environment, even though she felt that she could defend herself if needed. We asked if she would be willing to move in with us until after the birth. After considering the offer, she agreed and moved in on Resurrection Sunday. We felt like it was a good decision all around, as we were able to get to know J more so that he would be comfortable while M was at the hospital giving birth. Also, we wanted to be able to walk alongside her the weeks after giving birth, as we knew the emotions of giving up her baby for adoption would be difficult to walk through.
After giving birth, M decided to keep baby C and it has been a much different journey than we expected. This is the first time that we have been on the other side of an adoption journey, walking alongside a mother who desires to care for her babies and grow together as a family. Honestly, most of the time, we have vilified the birth mom, thinking that she wasn’t fit to raise her kids. This journey has changed our view of adoption and what birth moms go through, seeing how it can just take a little support to help them achieve the family they are wanting. We can also say that the opposite end of a birth mom deciding to keep her baby is exhausting! Because of M’s traumatic past, she is more like a 14-year-old than a 22-year-old, so it is like walking alongside a teenage daughter who has 2 small children.
Honestly, we didn’t know how much she would be willing to fight for her decision to keep both of her kids, but we have seen her desire to grow and step up. She is so inquisitive about being a better mom and responds well to advice, taking steps towards changing the way she parents to a healthier model than she has ever experienced. It's been beautiful to show her how to have fun with her kids and just enjoy time with them. She has grown so much! M has been really engaged in our family as well, being open to learning about emotions, reacting vs. reflecting, and gratefulness. It is amazing how fast she has become a part of our family and the huge steps as a young women and mother. There are times where we don't even know if she is paying attention or not, but then she will surprise us by sharing her new found wisdom with others or sharing her opinion later on!
About 2 weeks after she moved in, we received a message from Inti, our 19-year-old, that he was ready to move in with us. We had been talking with Inti since October about him moving in with us as he just finished high school, but he had been waiting to get his driver’s license and everything was delayed with COVID. Well, the license arrived and one week later, Inti arrived in Memphis! It made it for a crazy week, as M was induced on Wednesday and Inti arrived on Thursday. It has been so much fun having one of our babies back with us again full-time. He has been doing some odd jobs around the house and we have been going driving in the afternoons. He just had his first experience on the highway, as he never had anything like that when he drove in the jungle!
From one month to the next, our family went from 4 to 8 members. It has been really fast and the adjustment has been interesting! This is the first time that we have had so many kids come into our home at one time. There have been lots and lots of diapers...baths, baths, and more baths...pediatrician appointments and sleep training...and lots of eating!!! We had forgotten how much teenagers eat and now are just making sure to we have double of everything. Aldi's is definitely our friend and grocery shopping is now a regular pastime. We'd also like to thank the families who took the time to cook for us a few times during that crazy week. It was such a life saver!
We would like to thank y'all so much for your prayers! We just looked over this past month's requests, and every single one was answered in a beautiful way, even if it was different than we were planning. We also had a few members in our Memphis community who stepped up to be the body of Christ to her and it was so beautiful! (You know who you are!) So thank you for those who were praying hard, even if you couldn't be here physically, and for those of you close by being the hands and feet! And here are some new requests too!
Prayer Requests:
Richard, Inti, Santi, and Lani are going to be heading to Belize at the end of the month to spend some time with grandparents. Please pray for safety, negative COVID tests before departure, and a sweet time with family.
Ximena is heading to Ecuador after Richard and the kids leave to visit her grandmothers whose health is declining. Please pray for her travels, especially as the lockdowns and cases of COVID in Ecuador have increased recently.
M is working on a lot of paperwork and applications. It is overwhelming at times, and she has a lot of catching up to do. Please pray that she is able to continue to move forward, even when it is difficult.
Comments