Our First Month Together!

We've been home as a family of three for just over a month. The time sure has flown by! We're enjoying having Bereket here with us very much and are amazed at how well he's doing so far. The first week home was rough because all three of us were sick and exhausted from the trip. No one got much sleep that first week. We all went to the doctor though and by week two, we were starting to feel better.

Bereket is fascinated by the cats (Stranger and Bella) and loves to play with them or shall we say chase them around the house all day. They aren't as fascinated with him, but they're doing really well and being very patient.

He loves to explore the house and see and touch everything he can. It's all so new to him and it's been fun watching him discover things. He crawls around so fast and pulls himself up on everything. He "cruises" around holding onto furniture and walls. He loves to stand and push his toy lion around the house. His eyes get so big with excitement as he walks across the floor pushing it. It's so funny!













He loves to be outside in the grass. We spend time outside everyday and he loves to find leaves and sticks. Of course everything has to be tasted by him! We found a caterpillar one day that he thought was pretty cool.















The boy loves technology! The first day we met him he wanted Ben's phone and every day since then, any phone, remote, computer, cable...he wants it! He's learning to hold a phone to his ear and say "hello". Well it's not really hello yet, more like a grunt, but the idea is there.

We got to celebrate his first birthday here at home and that was very special for us. He's got tooth number 7 coming in in just this past week. That's been a cool first experience for us, seeing how that happens. He doesn't say any words yet except "na" with means come in Amharic. He says da or ada a lot as well. Not mama yet, but we're working on that!
















Bear is definitely a water baby! He LOVE'S baths!! He gets so excited about bath time that he tries to get in the tub with all of his clothes on. He loves splashing around in the tub and in the swimming pool. Even the sprinkler or water hose splashing on him makes him so excited!! I love that about him because I love the water so much too! We're gonna have lots of fun as he grows up!
















We're still adjusting, most days he doesn't want to be put down and screams if he is. He's still not sleeping through the night and neither are we. Not getting very much sleep has been a challenge for me for sure. When he's screaming and fussy I feel so unprepared and like a complete failure. I understand it's going to take time. Time for him to get comfortable and feel secure and time for us to bond with him and understand him more. I also know that I can't parent him without Christ. He is the only one who can guide me and teach me to be the woman, wife and mom He desires for me to be. This adoption is His plan for us and for Bereket and I realize that we're all going to be under attack from the enemy as well because he doesn't want this to succeed. He doesn't want God to be glorified through this journey but we will fight for Christ and His glory to shine!















Bear is doing better about not going to just anybody anytime now. He'll look for us whenever anyone else is holding him and he'll want to come back to us pretty quickly now. We get the best smiles from him! I especially love the ones first thing in the morning when we come into his room to greet him and get him out of bed. He has a laugh that warms my heart. His slobbery kisses are like heaven! Afternoons are his hardest time of day it seems. He really doesn't want to be put down at all in the afternoon. That's my hardest time of the day too.

This first month has been full of ups and downs, hi's and low's, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We know without a doubt that Bereket is the perfect child for our family and we love him so so much. We are so trilled to have him here after all these years of prayer and waiting. We thank God every day for this precious blessing! We can't wait to see what the next month has in store!