victories

I think everyone knows I'm a glass 1/2 full girl, but I would never say the journey of adoption comes with no difficulty or adjustments.  I'm pretty certain that anything that is easy isn't really worth doing.  [It actually scares me when I get all comfy and content right where I am.]  I do try to focus on the moments here instead of the technical terms of bonding and attaching.  Obviously, though, it all goes together and we've had some more victories lately that I wanted to share!

Last week, Clay laid his head down on my shoulder as I was holding him at his crib and saying our prayers.  That kind of relaxation and trust has been hard for him.  He tended to want to push us away and jump instantly into his crib.  He's trusting us.

We took all the kids into a candy factory for last week's family fun night.  Clay waited SO patiently.  He tried the 2 samples that he was given.  He pointed to which one he wanted for his little bag.  Then?  He waited.  Just like the rest of the kids, he waited until we got back to the car to eat them!  If we had done this even 2 weeks ago it would have resulted in SCREAMING from the time we entered the place until the time we left and gave him his bag.  He's trusting us.


He dances!  We have dance parties here at least once a day.  We clear everything out of the way and turn the music up.  At first, Clayton would look at us like we were crazy.  Even if I was holding him and dancing, he would just suck his thumb and watch us.  Now?  He bops up and down and his face is filled with JOY.  He's trusting us.


We love him so very much and, overall, Clay has had a relatively easy adjustment.  I think that has to do with a lot of His grace and a lot of Clayton's easy-going personality.  He is well bonded to us, but there will continue to be these little victories that we are so thankful for!

[And while we're keeping it real, how about a new favorite, but no make-up and my hair-hasn't-been-washed-in-too-long-because-the-shower-is-broken-and-i-have-18-kids picture of me and my boy?]