17 Months Post Gotcha Day…How Are Things REALLY?

Friends, it has been a long 17 months. I can’t remember our old “normal” anymore. I don’t know what new “normal'” actually looks like either; but I am getting glimpses of it and it is GRAND! It is with a lighter heart that I blog today because, by in large things are actually going well for the Williamsons. God has walked with us through the fire and led us out. Sure, we still have our fiery days, we always will I believe, however, we are better equipped to handle them now 17 months later. I read a blog the other day by Jen the Hatmaker, she is brilliant. It talked about this very thing and how a year and a half later life was just as hard as the first 6 months home, but in different ways. I totally agree. It is just as hard, but now I have tools to help navigate these difficult times. Our family has been blessed with so many amazing professionals that have worked so hard on behalf of our daughters and son and have trained us how to best parent them. I don’t know where we would be without these amazing ladies.

We have had many victories here in 2013:

1. Successfully repaired Yaya’s palate,
2. Got Yaya to eat solid foods,
3. Won Eden back to being the affectionate little girl she used to be, 
4. Started speech and are seeing great progress in communication,
5. No more diapers!
6. Both girls are happily in preschool,
7. Found a fantastic church in our neighborhood,
8. All children are happily in church classes and Eric and I get to worship,
9. Noah started and loves homeschool,
10. God has done a huge sanctifying work in Mama’s life,
11. Yaya and Noah both are in their own beds upstairs!
12. We have reclaimed our marriage (cross reference back to: no more kids in our bedroom at night!)

There is a list of just a dozen wonderful things God has brought to our family. Yaya is really doing well, she is back in a season of anxiousness, most of which we believe is related to starting preschool. She loves preschool mind you, but it is still stressful for her. Also, with Eric haven been on furlough (thanks Congress and Obama) he is home and Mama had to go back to work.  I was gone a lot. This has been hard on all the children, especially Eden. We are seeing some anger out of her again but it isn’t anything we can’t manage. Noah doesn’t work as well with Eric in the homeschool arena but they are worked it out and I believe they  found a way to do school “cool”. I missed being at home with Noah and doing homeschool with him.  Praise the Lord for homeschool though, it is such a gift to our family, especially during the time of uncertainty with Eric’s job.

As we enter the fall season, we know life will settle back down as Eric has returned to work and I have return home. We are in a complicated season, but it is filled with much more joy, freedom and hope than ever before. Keep us in your prayers and God continues to mold and shape the hearts of our family, making us into the people he created us to be, to serve him, serve others and give him all the glory.