Far Too Long

It has been way too long since I have posted. Life is just busy and I find that I am constantly behind on emails, laundry and house work. So I guess I have joined the ranks of many other families. There were several families that adopted around the same time and I used to daily check their blogs to stay in touch. Now I find I go weeks without checking in. Life has actually slowed down just a bit as the major renovations are done in the house. Natalie and I are looking forward to an upcoming vacation to Boston in less than 2 weeks. I consider Boston the start of the adoption process and here we are coming full circle.
We had some touch weeks with behavior issues but Natalie has settled back into a routine and is doing well. Last weekend we worked in the yard and she was such a big help. She is always talking about her birthday which isn't until July. Not only is she smaller than most of her classmates, but she is also younger. Next week she will "graduate" from her More at Four program. It is hard to believe that she has gone through a whole year of school without any major changes. In her first first 6 months home, she was at home for a month and then in 3 different day cares (due to location and aging out.)
Several weeks ago Natalie went to her kindergarten screening. I was really happy to find out that she was only 1 year delayed in her language skills. When I think that she has been speaking English for only 1 year I think she is doing really well. We have started having "school" every day at home for about 15-20 minutes a day. She enjoys this time and hopefully it will help her to catch up a little more. She continues to grow in so many ways. Instead of describing what they are, I think I will just post some pictures of our recent events.




At the museum

On the train

At Ripley's Aquarium

At the beach

At the zoo

Easter Sunday

Just Cute!

9 Lives and the Mercy of God

Its been a while since I have written and we have been nonstop busy. Two weekends ago we went to the zoo and last weekend we went to the beach. What a great time watching Natalie collecting "shesells." We also went to an aquarium and saw "sharps." I will write more about that soon and post some pictures. I have also been continuing my inside renovations and now that all the painting is done, I am trying to put the house back in order.

The last several weeks have been quite emotional. Without going into a lot of details, basically my almost 20 year old cat Selah got sick and just when it seemed like she was getting better, we had to make a 2:00 AM trip to the emergency vet. I was sure I was going to have to make a decision that I did not want to make. Last year about this time, she had lost a lot of weight and was not able to eat. It turned out that she had an abscess tooth. They put her under and were able to pull it and she bounced back. At that time I felt so thankful to the Lord for allowing her to pull through and continue to gain weight and do well. On our trip to the vet, I just kept praying for wisdom to make the best decision and for God to give me peace. I did not want to see her suffer and was willing to let her go if it was in her best interest, even though my heart was breaking. Twenty years is a long time and I have a nephew who is just one month older than Selah. The vet was able to hydrate her and I was able to bring her home. The next several days were touch and go, but she steadily got better. Today she is pretty much back to herself. She is eating and drinking and just doing well. I am so humbled by God's mercy in allowing me to have her even longer.

Our Heavenly Father does care about what is important to us. I am so grateful and want to give the Lord glory and praise for touching my sweet Selah and healing her. He IS good all the time!