Too Still

Out of nowhere I have found myself in a lull. For at least 8 months since Justin came home (not to mention the months of travel before that) we have been in a whirlwind. With Ty and Jacob reaching 6 months home seemed to really bring a calm. Everything just kind of settled. When month six home with Justin flew by with no sign of slowing I wondered if we were just going to live in a perpetual state of chaos forever. But life has taught me that nothing ever stays the same. And here we are. Out of the clear blue sky peace has returned.

All of the post-paperwork craziness has stopped. No more running from office to office trying to get things done. The check-marks have all finally been made on the long list of paper work to-do's after adoption. Justin's list was a bit longer than the first two times through because of his age. I am so glad to finally have all of that done.

Schedules and activities have finally settled into a nice manageable routine. (Just in time for summer break of course) The kids all finally know who is going to be where when and why so the crazy 'running' feeling has subsided. In fact, most of them know the schedule better than me which takes the questions out of everything (FINALLY!). When adding new family members with complex backgrounds we always have a time of questioning from our less-secure kiddos. It is just a security issue and the fact that the questions are subsiding tells me they are finally trusting that everyone is permanent and all is well.

Each of our kids are making such huge strides in school this year. This is usually the smooth time of year regarding school after the holidays before the summer break. But this year is particularly noticeable with 3 of our kiddos. Smoothing out the rocky ride of school challenges has been a huge relief.

And we have finally gotten back into the swing of family participation in chores. They (kids and dad included) have been consistently involved in the daily chores like dishes, laundry and living area cleanup which has taken a huge burden off of mom's shoulders.

So, here I bask in my moment of calm. 'Cause remember, nothing stays the same forever...