CHOSEN: Settling In...

Time is flying by! I can't believe we were actually in China a few weeks ago! Aaron has settled in with our family so nicely, almost like he has been with us for months. We got back into the swing of our routine last week with homeschool and I was wondering how Aaron was going to do while we were schooling. He has been great, he plays and comes and sits in my lap and listens as I teach the kids, or he draws and colors. Then when Connor is done with school, he and Connor are ready to play while the two big kids finish. So, no worries for mom, things are still moving smoothly with school :)
Aaron loves to cuddle with Mom, this may be our only area that he gets bugged by, he doesn't really like to share mom with Connor! But we are working on sharing mom :)
We have slowed our schedule down a bit and are staying home more to give Aaron time to continue to adjust. No complaints here! It has been nice to be able to be home with our family. We did go to church last Saturday, but his little class was a bit much yet, so he just stayed with Ryan and I. This week Averi went with him to his class, and he did great! We are going to work on slowly transitioning him into his class at church, he is so social, I am sure he is going to love his time in there with the other kiddos :)
Averi, Nathan, and Connor are really doing good, too. They all love to play with him and make him laugh (which isn't hard - he is a funny kiddo). I was most concerned about Connor with him being the youngest, but he tells me often how he loves Aaron. When Aaron acts like he doesn't want Connor to sit with mom, Connor thinks it's funny. But I do spend extra time cuddling with just Connor and reminding him what a great big brother he is to Aaron - and he really is great with him :)
We will continue to adjust and blend together as a family. We have been totally blessed with our transition so far, but even so, change is never easy. Adoption is a beautiful thing, but also work. Working to make sure Aaron feels loved and part of our family, working to make sure our other 3 feel loved and not left out, working to still have time for Ryan and I, working to keep the house running and in some sort of order with meals ready that we all will like to eat - but all of it is so worth it. God placed this special little one in our family for a purpose, and we are so thankful. Aaron has had a tough little life in his 3 years, but God was with him the whole time and placed him in just the right hands to bring him to our family. God is absolutely amazing, that he cares for us and about us as individuals blows my mind!

"May what God grants us be used amplify the lives of others." Cindy Martinusen