A LONG Overdue Post...

Well folks, it's true. I am the worlds WORST blogger! It has been two years and 13 days since I posted anything on this blog! (See my last post on baseball.) "But wait!", you say. "It's been nearly 4 years since you adopted Marc, so why worry about blogging anymore?" Well, on the one hand you'd be right in thinking that. But on the other hand...I have learned SO much since we started our journey to adoption, that it still seems right to share every once in a while.

There's absolutely NO way I can encapsulate the past two years of our lives into a short blog post. So I won't even try. What I DO want to share with you are some of the key things God has been teaching me over these past few years. Here they are in a nutshell. (I reserve the right to share more in-depth at another time.)

1. Although I thought the weeks and months BEFORE Marc's adoption were hard, they were NOT the hardest part of the adoption process. The weeks, months, and yes even years AFTER the adoption was finalized have actually been the hardest. Not necessarily in a bad way. Just not always as "easy" as I'd hoped they'd be. (This is something most people won't tell you ahead of time. LOL!)

2. As we near the 4th anniversary of our "Gotcha Day", we marvel at the ups and downs we've had...especially over these past two years. As Marc continues to improve in general speech and learning English, he's also growing into a young man right before our eyes. (I measured him again this morning, and our not-quite-12-year-old son is now only 4 inches shorter than his 5' 9 1/2" mother!)

Along with his growth spurts has come his desire for independence. So normal struggles ensue. (Again, something most people don't talk about before adoption!)

3. I've found out just how very selfish I am. It's true! Parenting HAS to be a selfless job if it is to benefit your child or children. In order to show Christ's love, or God's desire for HIS children, we as parents must act out of selflessness, not selfishness. I confess, I've failed in this area many times. However, I am grateful for Gods forgiveness, and for Marc's forgiveness as well. I'm learning...and hopefully growing...in this area.

4. I'm learning to like sports! Haha! Well, at least I'm learning to like WATCHING sports.

Marc's team at the beginning of the season. (Marc is 2nd from left.)

Marc absolutely LOVES sports. Most especially soccer. I was never much of a sports fanatic. I never played sports in school. I was the music and drama person. I had no desire to be outside sweating it out and (possibly) injuring myself. But our son is all boy. He loves running, jumping, kicking a ball, hitting a ball, breaking things with a ball (oh, did I actually type that out???). 

After the last game of the season. (Back row - 2nd from left.)

Marc just finished up his second season of soccer. He's learned a lot, and has decided he'd like to continue to play soccer for some time to come. We're fine with that...especially since soccer is such a great team sport. It's helped him learn to work together with other players to score a goal. And he definitely shows a natural ability for the game. But what that means for me as a parent is that I need to find a comfortable folding chair to use when I'm sitting watching his practices or games. (The ones we have now are not the greatest!) 

5.  One more thing I've learned over these past few years (and there are literally hundreds more things I could share)...God has given each one of us as parents a very unique opportunity to speak truth and life into our children. Some days we go to bed feeling as if we've done a great job doing just that (sharing God's Word, encouraging them to think of others more than themselves, helping them understand Christ's sacrifice for them when He died on the cross and rose again...).  And then there are days (more often than I'd like to admit) when we go to bed and cry into our pillows. Allowing the negative thoughts to cloud our mind. "I can't do this parenting thing." "What was I thinking?" "He'd be better off with someone else to be his mother."

Parenting is NOT easy! But I have learned that with God....ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! He gives us everything we need to be a parent. He enables us to get up every morning and empower us to lead our children in the way they should go. And He promises to never leave or forsake us.

SO....even though the past two years (since my last blog post) have not been "easy"...they have been WONDERFUL! Filled with laughter (and some tears), and many fantastic memories. I wouldn't trade being a mom for all the money in the world! And even if I'd known four years ago what I know now, I wouldn't change a thing. I love being a mom, and I thank God every day for our wonderful boy!

   It warms this mother's heart to hear our sports-loving son learning to play the piano!