Living with the Lawsons: September 2014

Parenting isn't always fun. There. I said it. I think for most parents, this isn't a new thing. But for me, it is. I'm going to be blunt and honest, so if you don't want to read the facts, then I just suggest you stop reading now. I think some people like to put on a facade that parenting/fostering/adoption is just all fun all the time. Well, it's not. It's hard to believe that six months ago, two little children were dropped off at our house and we embarked on our greatest adventure yet. Parenting.

In six months, we've learned all kinds of things. Letters, numbers, colors, animals, words, coloring, potty rules, manners, the list goes on. Laiken and Issak have each grown almost three sizes in clothing. We've learned about everyone's personalities. Brandon is the peacemaker and funny guy, I tend to be the stricter one, Issak is the silly and lovable hugging buddy, while Laiken is gaining an entire new personality. She's gone from "momma bird" as they named her at her old preschool to a sweet, witty, clever young girl. We've learned even more about depending on each other as spouses than I think we've ever had to. My love for Brandon has grown even more than I ever imagined. I'm sure that our faith has grown immensely through everything we've seen, experienced, and learned from the kids' former lives. God is so good to take care of us and I'm sure that we are following His plan for our family.

But it's still hard. It's hard to hear the old stories about the "old house" and "old mom and dad". It's tough to relive their heartache and trauma every time they want to talk about it. Honestly, it breaks my heart. Not much surprises us anymore. I hate that Brandon and I have become so jaded. Our two kids have experienced more life than a grown adult in their short childhood. And it breaks my heart. Tonight I laid in bed with Laiken until she fell asleep and just cried and prayed over her. I prayed about how she must feel in such a new surrounding. She knows she's got a different family situation; she's not in the dark at all. Issak is figuring it out too. He told his pre-k teacher the other day, "well, my daddy is actually my uncle." They have so many little thoughts running through their brains daily, and I wish I could just take all of the pain, worry, trauma, and grief away. But I can't. My heart is broken.

So we pray. We pray for renewed strength in our time of trouble. We teach the kids that Jesus loves us no matter what and we promise to love them forever. We pray for energy even on the longest, most exhausting days. We pray for wisdom and patience when we've heard "Momma/Aunt Kira" one time too many. We pray that whatever emotional trauma has occurred, we can heal with bonding and love. Mostly, we pray that the kids will see Jesus through us and know how much He and we love them.

Six months. I cannot believe it. We don't have a six month old baby, we have a four and six year old! We know God has big plans for our family, so we wait and pray for His wisdom. Until the next move, we will be loving on kids and showing them what life is all about. The latest craze is Halloween. Heyyy if anyone wants to go trick-or-treat together, holla! We'll have Elsa and Batman with us. This will be a new adventure for them. They're stoked! Until next time, please join us in praying for the kids and God's plan for our lives. We love you all and you know where we are if you ever want to come join our wild crazy house for dinner!

Six months ago! Our first night together.

Around one month into fatherhood.

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

A few more recent ones for the road!

The boys cheering on Laiken and the bobcats

Chloe and Laiken. Besties!

Laiken as flyer with the big girls at CHS cheer clinic.

Kate and Laiken. She just looks up to her so much!

One of our besties got married last weekend too. Here are a few pics from Jessica's wedding! It was gorgeous and she was a beautiful bride. Congrats again to the newly weds!