Joy has been home with us for 11 months now and it has been an incredible journey so far. I have to say these past several weeks have been the most rewarding. Joy has just blossomed and she is so happy these days. She seems to have found her place in our family and be very settled. One of the ladies at church told me on Sunday that she was amazed at the changes in Joy. She told me it made her smile how Joy just "glows" with happiness now. She is not the same scared little girl we brought home almost a year ago and she is living up to her name! Joy is still struggling with school and learning how to read and do math, but I am confident we will be able to help her in these areas with time.
One of the things I love about Joy is her sense of humor. She constantly has us laughing and the whole family likes to quote her funny sayings! The more she learns to say things, the more her sense of humor comes out. At night when I tuck Joy in, I often encourage her to do her best at school the next day. Last night after our prayers, she took my chin in her hand and turned my face to her and said, "Look at me, Mom! Now you do your very best at work tomorrow!" She also had a very funny prayer last night. She prayed that she would get shampoo and make up for her birthday!
I can hardly believe she has been home almost a whole year! In just a couple weeks we will celebrate Joy's first birthday with us as a family. She will turn 8. Last year at this time, we were anxiously awaiting to receive word of our travel approval and we were so disappointed to have missed her birthday. I think God knew that she needed one more birthday with her "family" at the orphanage who loved and cared for her so much. They had a birthday party for her on her birthday every year. I am so thankful Joy was in a wonderful orphanage where she was so loved. It truly has helped her become the amazing little girl she is today and we are so blessed God put her in our family!
Those of you wondering if you can adopt an older child, I want to encourage you. It is not always easy. There can be many challenges; however, there are so many blessings! If God is speaking to you about adopting an older child or a child who is waiting and longing for a home, please listen to His voice. You will be so glad you did! I don't want to sugarcoat things. There will be difficulties. There will be days you will wonder what you are doing. There may be days you want to quit. Following Christ isn't always easy, but there are always great rewards when you obey the voice of the Father. I am so glad we took the step of faith to adopt our little girl. I cannot imagine our family without her!
Monday, September 9, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
We survived-Week 1 of school!
We at the Lewis household survived week one of the back-to school routine! This year the transition has been more difficult than past years because my oldest daughter started middle school and Joy is having a very difficult time with the transition and leaving Momma all day. Thankfully, my son loves school and his transition has been very easy. He is excited about school and even said, "I forgot how much I like school!"
Joy has been through so much change in this past year. I totally understand her apprehension, but it is difficult for me to see her struggle to go to school each day. She did very well this first week behavior-wise, but every night she told me she wants to go to Momma Tine. She hasn't talked about missing Momma Tine in months, so I know it is the fear of the unknown making her feel insecure and long for the "comforts" of her first 7 years. Yesterday she also told me, "School is REALLY hard, Momma. I just want to go home and go to bed." I have never had a child until now that struggled with school-and it breaks my heart. I tried to work with Joy some over the summer on her sight words and learning to read. She did make some progress, but not near what I was hoping. I feel guilty because I know I didn't spend as much time working with her as I should have. So, my new routine will include spending time reading and working on sight words every night with Joy. Please continue to pray for Joy that she will be able to learn to read and do math, and it won't be so difficult for her.
When I told Joy Friday was the last day of school for the week, she exclaimed, "Hallelujah!" I guess that pretty much sums up how Joy feels about school!
This morning, Joy was excited to sleep in and spend time with me. She gave me "lots of big hugs" and said, "I miss you, Momma." I said, "But I am here, how can you miss me?" She replied, "At school, I miss you and Momma Tine." Hey, it's progress, right? At least she misses me and Momma Tine now!
So, we survived week one. There are so many more weeks to go, but I am thankful the first week went better than I expected! Even though Joy is not really excited about school, she is making friends and she likes her teacher and she is behaving well! Micah loves his teacher and is excited and Natalie enjoyed her first week of middle school (everything except for getting up so early!) I think it will be a good year and I am praying for all of my kiddos that they will learn and do their best.
Joy has been through so much change in this past year. I totally understand her apprehension, but it is difficult for me to see her struggle to go to school each day. She did very well this first week behavior-wise, but every night she told me she wants to go to Momma Tine. She hasn't talked about missing Momma Tine in months, so I know it is the fear of the unknown making her feel insecure and long for the "comforts" of her first 7 years. Yesterday she also told me, "School is REALLY hard, Momma. I just want to go home and go to bed." I have never had a child until now that struggled with school-and it breaks my heart. I tried to work with Joy some over the summer on her sight words and learning to read. She did make some progress, but not near what I was hoping. I feel guilty because I know I didn't spend as much time working with her as I should have. So, my new routine will include spending time reading and working on sight words every night with Joy. Please continue to pray for Joy that she will be able to learn to read and do math, and it won't be so difficult for her.
When I told Joy Friday was the last day of school for the week, she exclaimed, "Hallelujah!" I guess that pretty much sums up how Joy feels about school!
This morning, Joy was excited to sleep in and spend time with me. She gave me "lots of big hugs" and said, "I miss you, Momma." I said, "But I am here, how can you miss me?" She replied, "At school, I miss you and Momma Tine." Hey, it's progress, right? At least she misses me and Momma Tine now!
So, we survived week one. There are so many more weeks to go, but I am thankful the first week went better than I expected! Even though Joy is not really excited about school, she is making friends and she likes her teacher and she is behaving well! Micah loves his teacher and is excited and Natalie enjoyed her first week of middle school (everything except for getting up so early!) I think it will be a good year and I am praying for all of my kiddos that they will learn and do their best.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
It's been awhile....Update on Joy!
Oh, my! I cannot BELIEVE I have not made a post on here since APRIL!! Life has a way of doing that, I guess-especially with my busy summer schedule. I am home from church tonight with a sick little one-no fun, but I decided now was a perfect time to do a little update on my blog.
Here's what is going on: We FINALLY received the "official" consent to adopt Joy from the I.C.A.B! (Hallelujah. Bless the Lord-as Joy likes to say!) We just today sent in our retainer to our lawyer to get the paperwork finished. I have no idea how long it will take before we are able to finalize the paperwork and officially change Joy's name to Joy Noelle Lewis. I would have loved to complete it before school starts, but that isn't going to happen. Oh well-she is a part of our family and truly our daughter-I don't need the paperwork to tell me that!
Emotionally: Joy is doing AMAZINGLY well. The changes in her even in the last couple months are incredible. She still misses Mama Tine and Papa Aschi (the directors at the orphanage) and prays for them nearly every night-but she rarely cries for them anymore. She will probably always miss them and her Ate's (caregivers) at the orphanage; they were an important part of her life and always will be. She was so blessed to be in a home with so many people who loved her and cared for her! Joy has come to a place where she enjoys being a part of our family and she feels much more secure in her place as our daughter. Seeing the changes and growth in her have been some of the most rewarding parts of this adoption journey.
Language: Joy is doing well with the English language. She is doing speech therapy every week and will go back to speech therapy several times a week once school starts. She is very behind in her language skills, but we have seen huge improvements! She makes us laugh often with the funny things she says. It amazes me how much she is learning on a daily basis.
Academically: Please pray for Joy as we get ready to start back to school in the next few weeks! She is very nervous about going back to school and meeting her new teacher and new classmates. The transition will be tough on her as she has been with Mommy and Daddy all summer. Natalie will also not be at the same school with Joy, since Natalie starts Middle School this year. (Pray for me-the mother of a middle school girl!!!) Please pray with me that the transition will go well and Joy will love her teacher and her classmates. Also pray that she will make leaps and bounds in reading, writing and math this year. It is difficult for this Momma to see her so far behind because I don't want her to ever feel like she is not good enough or not smart enough. I want her to do her best and not get discouraged!
Thank you to everyone for their continued prayers and support! Hopefully, it will not be so long until my next blog update!! :) And hopefully, soon, I can post the pictures of Joy Noelle Lewis at the finalization of her adoption!!! I cannot wait!
Here's what is going on: We FINALLY received the "official" consent to adopt Joy from the I.C.A.B! (Hallelujah. Bless the Lord-as Joy likes to say!) We just today sent in our retainer to our lawyer to get the paperwork finished. I have no idea how long it will take before we are able to finalize the paperwork and officially change Joy's name to Joy Noelle Lewis. I would have loved to complete it before school starts, but that isn't going to happen. Oh well-she is a part of our family and truly our daughter-I don't need the paperwork to tell me that!
Emotionally: Joy is doing AMAZINGLY well. The changes in her even in the last couple months are incredible. She still misses Mama Tine and Papa Aschi (the directors at the orphanage) and prays for them nearly every night-but she rarely cries for them anymore. She will probably always miss them and her Ate's (caregivers) at the orphanage; they were an important part of her life and always will be. She was so blessed to be in a home with so many people who loved her and cared for her! Joy has come to a place where she enjoys being a part of our family and she feels much more secure in her place as our daughter. Seeing the changes and growth in her have been some of the most rewarding parts of this adoption journey.
Language: Joy is doing well with the English language. She is doing speech therapy every week and will go back to speech therapy several times a week once school starts. She is very behind in her language skills, but we have seen huge improvements! She makes us laugh often with the funny things she says. It amazes me how much she is learning on a daily basis.
Academically: Please pray for Joy as we get ready to start back to school in the next few weeks! She is very nervous about going back to school and meeting her new teacher and new classmates. The transition will be tough on her as she has been with Mommy and Daddy all summer. Natalie will also not be at the same school with Joy, since Natalie starts Middle School this year. (Pray for me-the mother of a middle school girl!!!) Please pray with me that the transition will go well and Joy will love her teacher and her classmates. Also pray that she will make leaps and bounds in reading, writing and math this year. It is difficult for this Momma to see her so far behind because I don't want her to ever feel like she is not good enough or not smart enough. I want her to do her best and not get discouraged!
Thank you to everyone for their continued prayers and support! Hopefully, it will not be so long until my next blog update!! :) And hopefully, soon, I can post the pictures of Joy Noelle Lewis at the finalization of her adoption!!! I cannot wait!
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