11 months HOME (what what!!)

This post is pretty late.

Actually, it's very late right now (nearing 2am), but I fear if I don't write this soon, it will not get written and my OCD tendencies would be very angry at me if I missed just ONE month of updates.

We are nearing the end folks... that big 1 year home milestone is coming up at break neck speed!!

It seems like just yesterday I was holding a screaming child ALL day long and wondering if our life would ever look some what normal again.

Normal...

hmmm...

There's a word I don't really know anymore, but we've replaced normal with beautiful and we call it good.

We've accepted that our life will never look like what it did pre adoption and we are SO glad.

Life is so much richer now...

Harder yes, but OH so much richer.

I have been stretched more than I thought humanly possible this past year and as a result I have grown into a better person, a person that I pray, looks a little more like Jesus.

I wouldn't take back the journey for anything, but I am loving this place we have reached.

Far from what the world would consider "normal", but far from where we were a year ago. Redemption is so hard. When you're in the trenches, fighting for every little piece of ground you can get...

Everything seems small and insignificant and.... hard.

So very very hard...

but then you reach milestones like the one we're coming up on and God blesses you with season's of reflection when you can take the time to breath.

The skies clear and you can look back and see that you truly have come so far.

Every struggle,

Every hard day,

Every doubt,

Every forced smile, forced hug, forced kiss,

Every prayer,

MATTERED

Ivan has come so far.

He has changed from a frightened, timid, shell of a little boy into a brave, smart, confident individual who knows who he is and where he belongs.

Love is winning...

God is redeeming a precious little soul and bringing out the world changer that has been smothered down inside of him.

Watch out world!!!

Yeah that's my boy, sitting criss cross unsupported and playing!! We could of never imagined this a year ago!

Playing at the pumpkin patch. He was in sensory heaven swimming around in there.

That smile lights up our world.