And Down it Comes...

I took the tree down today. That always makes me sad. I love how my house looks at Christmas and I love the tree, all the decorations, my nativity set, all of that. I had to think really hard about leaving it up until our boy comes home, but since that will probably be another two months, the neighbors might think I was insane.

We had our home study update done yesterday! The state of MN requires an in-home visit for the update, so our social worker had to drive all the way from Minneapolis (about four hours) in not the best of weather, but everything went fine. We talked about our new jobs, our new dog, and she asked about our reactions to some of the difficulties that other families are going through.

I know this will be hard. Since I'm not a first-time parent, I know a bit about what to expect on the physical end, and since I'm adopted myself, I can imagine some of the things that will go on in his head. Of course, there will be things that he might remember that I have no experience with...I have never lacked for food, or shelter, or love. Never. And he has, which breaks my heart. I know from the day he came to the orphanage, he has not lacked for food, shelter, or love for that matter, but there was a time.

Church mentioned adoption today, with a reading from Ephesians. God called us to do this, to adopt a little boy into our family, just as he has adopted every one of us into his. And it feels good to follow that call, even though we know there are hardships ahead.