Brenna has always referred to being "talked in" instead of being tucked into bed at night. If you have ever had the extreme pleasure of spending this time with her you would know that she has come up with the perfect name for it. She loves to cuddle and read and share her thoughts, hopes, and dreams. I love it - but it is NOT a time that can be rushed! (I have tried and in those instances we both end up frustrated.)
Anyway, tonight we had an especially good chat. She has been reading to me in a Junie B. Jones book. (If you have a K through 2nd grade child you have to read something from the Junie B. series. They are so funny! I seriously laugh out loud!) In tonight's reading, Junie B. is wishing her little brother had never come to live at their house. Brenna did not approve of Junie B.'s thoughts. She said that Junie B should be very happy to have her little brother at her house. We talked abut how hard it is to wait for her little brother to come home. We also talked about how families sometimes bug each other. I have tried to prepare the kids for a rowdy 2 year old to enter their world, and explain that there will be times that he bugs them. Brenna's response was, "True. But I am still glad that I have a family and lots of sisters and brothers. I have a friend that only has a mom and a dad and a dog. That would be boring! I am glad I have so many people to love." What a wise 1st grader I have been blessed with.
Next I climbed into Sierra's bed. It was a night for talking, I guess, because we had a great chat as well. We received 2 new pictures of Joshua G. today and in those pictures he looks like he has grown so much. He looks healthier and stronger. We are thrilled - but Sierra also expressed sadness. She told me how she wants to be able to watch Joshua G. grow. She said, "Mom, I don't want him to get any bigger until he comes home." I had been having those exact same thoughts all night. I am so thankful for the pictures, but I want to be watching him grow! I want to be with my boy!
Sierra also shared how she has been imagining meeting Joshua for the first time. She told me where she will be waiting at the airport when we get off the plane. She described how she pictures her little brother smiling at her, how good it will be to hug him. We were both teary at that point. I told her I had pictured the same thing a million times. When Chad and I returned from Mexico I had to distract myself as I walked through the doors of the airport into the public waiting area because the image of walking through those doors with our son in my arms and the rest of my family waiting just outside was so powerful. The longing is HUGE!
In the end we hugged and prayed together. Our prayer went something like this:
"Dear God, thank you that G. is safe and growing in Ethiopia. Thank you that we hear such wonderful things about the care he is receiving there. God we really want G. Joshua to be home. We want to witness him growing, getting stronger, sleeping, eating, gigging, crying, playing, and snuggling. Please bring him home soon. Please continue to watch over all of us while we wait. Amen"
Then Sierra told me that she can hardly wait for Joshua G to sneak into her new room and mess it all up. " That will be the best, Mom. And we have to take lots of pictures of the mess he makes cuz you know 2-year-olds are supposed to get into everything. I just can't wait for that!"
I AGREE!
**We ordered carpet for Sierra's new room tonight. Chad will lay it this weekend. So we will have Sierra's new room ready for her little brother to mess up before you know it.
**Tomorrow is Friday! I love Fridays!
