We are still here & a court date!!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated.  The time has been flying by and we've been keeping incredibly busy gathering our final paperwork for court!  We leave very soon, and because of the new adoption treaty there have been numerous changes in the requirements for our adoption.  We have had to get new physical exams, and complete 70 HOURS of additional parent training, among other things.  As you can imagine, that has been our new life the past few weeks, lots and lots of reading and test-taking.  It has all been very good though, albeit daunting to think of all the possible challenges Gabriel might face.  But when I stop to think about it, I'm sure I would be just as daunted reading the life story of my biological children at their birth!  Honestly, every child comes with challenges, some completely overwhelming, and if we knew about them ahead of time no one would ever have children!  I am grateful for the additional training I've had because it makes me feel much more confident about bringing Gabriel into our home and lives.  I have tools and skills to take what comes, and we will learn about each other as we go and develop a new rhythm in our home.

What other things have we been up to lately?    Hmmm...let me think about that...

We asked Leah if she wanted to try riding Kennedy's old pedal bike.  She had been riding Jake's balance bike (pictured here) for a while and could balance really well for long distances.  So she took the challenge without ever thinking twice about it.

And just like that, she took off!  My big 3-year-old knows how to ride a bike.  She must have rode around our culdesac fifty times or more.  She, Jake & our neighbor boy rode from our driveway across the culdesac to a friend's house over and over and over.  It was the best thing ever to watch Leah's face as she became more and more confident.  I love being a mom in those moments!

Kennedy finished up her soccer season.  This was Brian's first year as her coach and he loved it!  It has always been a wish of his to coach his kids' soccer teams.  Next season I think we'll sign Leah up because she seems really interested in it.  We've asked Jake if he wants to and he's still on the fence about it.  We'll probably sign him up for some kind of sport because he likes to run and be active too.  We've heard about a great baseball program for kids with special needs that we're going to look into.  I love that we live in a community that has all kinds of options for all kinds of kids.

  

The fall days are beginning to come to a close, but not before some spectacular light and shadow shows from mother nature.  I have to admit that Idaho has some beautiful skies.

Of course there was Halloween, one of the kids' favorite holidays.  This was at our church's "Trunk-or-Treat", where they scored their first big cache of candy.  Brian and two other dads & their kids took all the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood later that night.  Needless to say, they had a great time, and I am STILL eating their candy.  I mean, ahem, they are still eating their candy.

I sure love these kids.  I can't imagine my life without them.  They are my greatest joy, and these days, my source of the best entertainment as well.  You should hear the conversations between Jake and Leah.  Leah calls Jake "Jakie buddy" now, it is so cute.  As soon as Jake gets home from school they pick up right where they left off the day before, playing pretend.  I think Leah will love having Gabriel here with her during the day.  I am betting they become quite the little buddies themselves.