The girls overall have done exceptional!! The first week we just tried to lay low- give the girls time to adjust to their new home & rooms. They love their room and they love being at home. We were blessed with some wonderful meals that week from friends-Huge blessing! Right now one of the biggest challenges for me is feeding them all- figuring out what everyone likes...the girls were able to try Taco Bell, Chickfila & Zaxby's the first week. It is really funny to watch them try "new things"....their reactions are priceless! They liked soft and hard tacos, Jada ate 14 chick-fil-a nuggets & Izzy ate 10 (yes they you could say they loved them!lol) and they ate quite a few chicken fingers from Zaxby's:) Izzy starts cheering when we pass Zaxby's now! So as of now- chicken is the winner for everyone!
The biggest adjustment for the first couple of weeks has been unfamiliar surroundings when we are out and meeting a lot of new faces. They were quite overwhelmed by the amount of precious people who knew them and loved on them verbally. Jada was most skiddish with this but is doing much better. They are both very quiet & shy when you first meet them...BUT do not be confused...they are not QUIET!!!LOL! Jada for sure is the life of the party! She is quite the little comedian between her funny expressions and when she is trying to communicate but not real sure of what she needs to say. She keeps us laughing often! Izzy is coming out of her little quiet, reserved shell day by day. She is smart and keeps me on my toes....Tommy calls her "La Hefa" which means "boss or teacher"....she keeps Jada and all of us in line!
The first weekend we were home we went to the lake. That was one of the 1st things my kiddos here wanted the girls to experience. On the way, Izzy asked "mama, what is a lake?". She is used to seeing the ocean but not a lake:) We are blessed to have wonderful friends who so graciously share their lake home with us! The lake is the "One" thing we ALL love....I love the memories it creates for us as a family! The girls loved it all...they had a blast on the inner tube and boat and it was so fun to watch them all play together! I am still amazed at how God can knit a family together so sweetly when only in each other's presence for such a short time.
The second week.... the girls were able to start shadowing at school. This is where they just walk through the schedules of the classes they will most likely be in and just acclamate to the environment, people & schedule. As of now...Izzy will be in the 8th grade and Jada will be in the 4th. Hope, my niece is in the 8th and Jada & Brayden will be together. The girls have absolutely LOVED school- Praise the Lord!! They are so eager to learn and have loved all of the sweet kids at DHCA. As of now they will attend Decatur Heritage....there are so many unknowns that we will have to figure out along the way- but we have come up with a tentative schedule for both of the girls to, Lord willing, get them on track and caught up to where they need to be. It will be a process but I am very encouraged with their progress so far! The teachers and administration have been so helpful.
We are in process of trying to get the girl's birth certificates amended.... Their birth certificates state that Izzy is 15 ( turning 16 in February)...Jada 13 (turning 14 in December)....we have known that these were not correct but we could not fight this in the DR or it would have taken even longer to complete the adoption. We have had bone scans of their hands done, dental x-rays and physicals to get professional opinions of their ages and all concurred that Jada is most likely 10 (turning 11 in Dec.) and Izzy is 14 (turning 15 in Feb.). We are in process now of finding a court to submit our documents so that a judge can rule on this matter. We covet your prayers on this matter! This will be a great blessing for the girl's ages to concur with the grades they will be in & to have accurate documents for the future.
Izzy is for the most part fluent in speaking English and reading. She is so smart. She is so diligent in her work. Jada's english is coming along...a little better each week. She is working really hard to learn her letters, sounds and to read. We have a precious friend who is coming 2 days a week to tutor them after school as a support and We are truly BLESSED by this !!! The girls love her and are doing great!
This last week has been good...Work is kicking up a notch for Tommy so I am trying to prepare for his absence coming up. I can truly say...I cannot do this....(parent 6 children) apart from the Lord's help and without Tommy Kyle. I am shown daily just how inadequate I am and how much I need the Lord's help and Tommy by my side. Tommy is amazing to me in so many ways....He is so unselfish and almost kills himself trying to take care of all of us....especially me! I have had a bit of a hard adjustment over these last 3 weeks...its been a "good hard" but hard, but I know the Lord is with us and I have to focus in on one day at a time....when I start to think forward anxiety rears it's ugly head and then I have to take my thoughts captive to what I KNOW....God is faithful, He is sovereign and if He calls you to it He will empower you to do it!! Praise God for this!
I do now see "Fully" the benefit of spending the 6 weeks in the DR with the whole family. The family bonding that took place has made this transition much easier than it would have been if we had not spent that time together. It truly would have been overwhelming for the girls to adjust to the family AND the culture. At least they knew we were crazy BEFORE they got here- LOL!! We also knew their little quirks as well:)) So again I say...God knows what He is doing and has walked us through each step. There are so many more things I could say and I will but this is way to much information already!! Thank you all for your texts, prayers, gifts and love to and for us. We are sustained by the Lord and the people He has placed in our lives that we get to call our friends!
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he WILL flee from you. Draw near to God, and He WILL draw near to you." -James 4:7-8
Much Love
Heather
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