Christmas Recap

I’m hoping my coffee kicks in soon. I’ve been getting up at 5:00AM to swim. I swim 4-5 miles a week. The kids are on break, so I have to find time while Tom is home. Bear with me; I’ll try to put coherent thoughts together. This is only one part of our completely altered schedule over Christmas break. I’m itching to have school routine. I’m going to print off a calendar for Sidney and X off the days.

I have to comment on proud I am. She’s doing amazingly well all things considered. She’s been thrown into loads of people, eating in noisy places, and the generally over stimulating nature of the holidays, and there is a noticeable improvement over last year. If I tell her it’s important to eat, she’s sitting down in a noisy room and doing so. If I tell her, we’re going to grandma’s house for a little while, eating, opening gifts, and coming home after a while, she’s content with the answer. It doesn’t mean it’s easy in between, but I can tell her anxiety in over stimulating situations is easing somewhat. There are moments of anxiety rather than a constant state of flittering around.

Meanwhile, Eli is relishing the time away from school. He cracks me up. We went down to our good friend’s house the other night and played the Wii dance game. Jill, my BFF (I only use this phrase, because it’s hilarious) and I were amazed at his outgoing nature. He’s typically quiet and reserved in school. At home, he’s the polar opposite. He put his whole self into the routine. That was only after the kids came downstairs to find the adults playing the game. Land of 1000 Dances will never be the same. Tom can do quite an alligator. Did I say we are slightly uninhibited in our family?  There’s incriminating video of yours truly floating around somewhere.

As I write about the joy in our season, my thoughts constantly go back to Sidney’s “brothers and sisters” in Chenzhou. I’m talking about the kids she left behind in the orphanage. Their wellbeing never leaves me completely, and it shouldn’t. That’s the part about being an adoptive parent that’s not written in the books you read beforehand. If you think of the kids still waiting to come home, include them in your prayers. I can’t look at the abundance around me without thinking of them. My future plans include doing some kind of fundraiser for Half the Sky, but I need to put it together. I know I can choose where to direct the funds, and I will send them directly to Sidney’s orphanage. Look for upcoming information.

Okay, I’m off to my day which includes more work, prepping for the next Christmas and finding a couple of items I’ve never heard of. We are off to BobBob and JeanJean’s this weekend. According to Sidney Grandpa BobBob is one of the funniest people she knows. One day we were randomly getting into the car before school, and she announced to no one in particular, “Grandpa BobBob’s funny!” Notice the double use of my parent’s names. She’s done this since she came home, and it stuck. My nephew Finn even uses a double name for Grandpa BobBob and Grandma JeanJean.