Snowed In...Day 738

As you can tell from my slightly exaggerated (although not by much) title, we have been having a lot of, umm...we'll call it "bonding time," thanks to the weather.

The first few days that we had cancelled, I was determined that my kids would use this time to be creative. And I would be fabulous. And my house would be clean. And they would not rot their minds on television. And we would make snow ice cream...

Well, you get the picture.

We have done some of that! (Snow ice cream is delish, by the way).

In other news, all my kids have practically memorized all of Bugs Bunny's most famous lines, since they have been watching it non-stop for no more than an hour a day.

And I have been glued to any information that I can find about the situation in Ukraine. Ugh. Heart breaking there. I am just so incredibly grateful that we did things when we did them. Because there are families in the midst of adopting now who are going to have to wade through this mess. Prayers for them.

I will probably devote a post at a later date to the situation in Ukraine, but right now, my heart is just too full and I would probably type my fingers off if I were to even scratch the surface.

Back to light hearted happenings in the Sponseller home.

Daniel is finally learning to cooperate with chores. I hear about some adopted kids being really eager to help. That was not our case. Ha. Daniel would throw an outright tantrum to avoid cleaning up after himself, let alone helping with household chores. Now he does so willingly. I think it helped him to see that we do all, in fact, pitch in.

So, we literally are on day eight of cancellations due to weather. This following Christmas break. 

As much as I am READY (and so are the kids) for school to resume, uninterrupted, I am really, truly thankful for this time. I have seen the kids bond in new ways, play nicely together, watch out for each other, get creative with Rainbow Looms and Legos. I feel like having school be a non-issue for this stretch of time has been a gift. I have seen Daniel's confidence blossom even more. I have gained confidence in myself that having all four at home can be peaceful. 

Play has been embraced. I bought a little trampoline for the kids to jump on and we go swimming two to three times a week. I am seeing all the kids improve their skills and can finally say "Wow!" when Daniel shows me his muscles. Because he finally has some definition. In fact, with all the swimming, he is getting down right muscular. He is a strong kid. Garth jokes that his last, great hope for an athletic child might reside in Daniel, since Daniel isn't corrupted by my genes.

So, Dear Reader, things are going well. I am enjoying a warm and peaceful home, thankful that we can shelter from the elements.

Stay warm!

I will leave you with a bit of humor on this snowy day. 

Give1Save1 - Duvall Family

If you are a faithful reader of my blog and have followed our adoption, you may remember that we were blessed by being a featured family on Give1Save1.

The basic premise is that for the price of a McDonald's coffee, you can help a family with their adoption.

Seriously. One dollar.

So, go on over and support the Duvall family as they are featured this week. And, you know what?! Save the link to Give1Save1 to your browser and bless a family every week! 

One dollar.

Or, go crazy, give FIVE dollars.

You can afford it, you Big Spender, you.

If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!

Five months!

I think about it and I smile. 

I smile because I can see how far we have come. I smile when I see our family's cogs slipping into place. I smile when I see my children dancing in the snow. I smile.

On a serious note, I have had the recurring thought of "How did I really expect this to go?" I honestly can't remember how I thought it would be. I know that I was scared and worried, but I totally underestimated what the experience would be. I think many of us have scenarios like that. Scenarios that we find ourselves in the middle of that we wonder how we got there.

And, I mean, REALLY, who wants the hard? No one. Not even Christ. He prayed for the cup to pass. But somehow, when we submit our will to Him and decide to follow His plan for redemption, we plod through, with our heads down; through the adoption hiccups, through the surprises that aren't the good kind, through, through, through. And when we lift our eyes up we can see bits and pieces of the story that God is weaving using our willingness and our brokenness. 

This was Данило five months ago (and about 12 pounds heavier due to unnecessary medications). He was terrified to ride in the car. He liked borscht, kielbasa, chupa chubs and any kind of fruit that he could forage from the fruit trees that grew around his orphanage. He would sweat profusely and shake inexplicably. His hair was thin and coarse.  He was terrified. Of everything. The word that he said that most was "Buy-oos!" (Meaning: "I am scared!!!") Tantrums were an all day event. When he was bathed he would shriek like we were using acid to clean him. And the smell... ugh.

This is Daniel today. He loves all sorts of adventures. He likes hamburgers, french fries, chili, roast beef, hash browns, peanut butter... and the list goes on. He talks non-stop. He says he is scared if he is being silly. Tantrums may be once a week. Or not at all. And they last for ten minutes. He loves to be in the shower. He smells like a Sponseller. His hair has grown in thick and soft. He loves Superman and Batman. He loves to pray. And his prayers are always full of thanksgiving for his family and petition for Ukraine. He begs me every week to say the closing prayer at church.

So, are things perfect? Nope. But are they wonderful? Oh yeah!

I can honestly say that I am so happy with our decision to expand our family following God's leading. We have no regrets. 

If I could encourage anyone on the journey, I would just say that I am happy. We are happy. The other children are happy. We have our bumps and they are different bumps than we would have had if we only had 2.5 children. 

And our hands are full. 

My hands are full. 

But you should see my heart.