A Change of Seasons...

We have been home with Desalee for almost 5 weeks now! It's pretty hard for me to believe it! But the calendar doesn't lie. Summer is fading into fall and a new season is on the horizon. Something about the change from summer to autumn really inspires and invigorates me. I love how everything changes and kind of starts over, the world changes color, temperatures cool off, breezes start blowing. I love putting away all the summer clothes that I am so sick of wearing and getting out the snuggly warm stuff. Fall is my favorite season! I'm ready to cook chili and vegetable soup! Ready to watch football games with friends on Sunday afternoons! I want pumpkins in my yard and earthy, spicy candles burning on my mantle!

This summer was hurried by anticipation and it flew by for our family, it's really almost feels like it didn't happen! But that's okay with me. It's good to have it behind us. I always look forward to fall!

I'm starting to feel the seasons change in my life too. this "summer" has been uncomfortable...[you catch my drift?] I'm ready to be done with it. I'm starting to feel the next season moving in and I'm ready! I feel like I've been out of town for a really long time and am finally home! And home is definitely where my heart is! It's a good feeling to feel like yourself again.

I can tell you why it's getting easier and I'm feeling so much better....SLEEP! And I'm getting a lot more of it now! In the last week we've really turned a corner around here when it comes to sleeping! Desi's doing much better at night and we moved Emily back in to her bed. [that puts me on the trundle mattress on the floor in the girls' room.] We have our little slumber party every night...girls only! Hopefully as the girls get used to sleeping in the room with each other, it will provide me with the opportunity to get out of there and back to my bed!

Our nap time routine has improved as well. I am no longer rocking! I'm now able to put Desi down fully awake and wait for her to fall asleep. In fact, today, I stood in the hallway wit the door open a crack so that she could see me. She didn't cry. I was really proud of her!

It's really interesting for me to look back on the last few weeks...on one hand it feels like we're still right in the thick of the transition...we still have our share of daily challenges. But when I think of where we started, I can see how far we've come and it's pretty amazing. Honestly, I didn't know if I was going to make it there for a while! It seemed impossible! But now I realize that we did make it through what I think is the hardest part. [Thank goodness for the prayers of our friends and family!] She is such a different child than the one we met in an orphanage not so long ago...she's even a different child than the one we brought home to Indy.

Up next? Words. This kid needs to learn some ENGLISH! So, that's what we are going to work on. Sometimes I think working on something with measurable progress keeps me sane. So, here's hoping I'm blogging about all the words she's picking up very soon!

[hey if you like this hat, you can get one HERE. Proceeds support a family's Ethiopian adoption.]