Thanking God for my 4 blessings

I know it's been a while since I last posted---it's hard to get a lot of "extra" things done these days. Everyone is still sleeping this morning (miracles do happen), so I decided to take a moment to update. A few weeks have gone by since my last post---a lot of ups and downs have occurred since then. We had a few tough weeks with Grace---she finally began grieving her loss which caused her behavior to be pretty difficult. By her "loss" I mean the loss of the life she had before--her country; her language; her friends; her "home"; her food; her smells and sounds; etc... It's a completely normal thing for an adopted child of this age to experience--especially one that has completely changed cultures and countries. We were also concerned that she might be exhibiting characteristics of attachment disorder and have been given the name of a therapist that specializes in this. However, at this point, we may have turned a corner. We are now in the second week of a much more pleasant and normal atmosphere. Grace's tantrums have lessened and are more like a pre-school child's would be and she seems to be falling in to a routine with us which has made school and piano go a lot better. It's also been better for the other 3--they were having a hard time dealing with the tantrums and the upheaval for a while there. All of these things are normal and to be expected, but it still makes life difficult at times for everyone. I have had to keep my eyes on the Lord more than ever these days to remain focused on the task before me and I have realized that, DUH, I should be doing that EVERYDAY anyway!! As Mother's Day has just come and gone I am reminded how incredibly blessed I am to be a mother to these four wonderful children. Each child is unique and wonderfully made by the Lord and I am so grateful to have been given the gift of raising them and watching them grow. Happy Mother's Day to all of you and bless you for the awesome job you are all doing!