September in our Home

September started off and ended with weekend trips.  First, over Labor Day weekend we had a fun overnight camping trip to San Onofre Beach.  This was our first time camping with Esther and she did pretty well.  Lots of dirt eating and of course a later than normal bedtime but a fun memory for all of us.

The last weekend of September we flew to Connecticut to celebrate Esther's birthday with her cousin, who is one day older than her.  It was good to see Alex's family there, as we have not spent time with them since before we moved to California.

In mid-September, we welcomed a new foster baby boy into our home.  To be honest, it has been a rough transition.  The past few weeks have been some of the roughest in my life.  He is definitely the most difficult baby we have ever had (and that is coming from a family who has had 4 babies in the past 3 years) because he is very fussy and doesn't sleep well.  His nighttime sleep is getting better over time, but day time naps and fussiness are about the same.  Its not surprising, as we don't know much about his history but can piece together that it was probably pretty inconsistent (sleep/eating-wise) and possibly stressful.  He is likely very anxious and unable to express it any other way than crying.  But even from all the cases our social worker has seen (and she's seen a lot in her 10+ years), he is among the most difficult.

To top it off, my nausea hasn't gotten better as we were hoping, and has actually gotten worse from lack of sleep.  Feeling sick makes everything much more difficult to deal with, and has really exposed my sin in an unpleasant way. Furthermore, Esther has had a much rougher adjustment to little man than she did when we got baby girl about a year ago.  Right now, my activity is cut down to just the essentials, and somedays its hard to even do the essentials.  So please pray for me and for us.  The biggest thing that would be a game-changer is if my nausea went away.  Pray that that will happen soon.  And until it goes away, please pray that I would be filled with the Holy Spirit, and overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in my interactions with my family.

At this point, things are very unclear with his family situation.  On one hand, his parents have shown little effort to being reunited with him.  On the other hand, there is a cousin who has expressed interest in getting custody of him, and has already competed some of what she needs to do to make it happen.  Things move slowly around DCFS, so we're not sure how long it will be until we know more.  Until then, he is in a safe and loving home with us.  Please pray that God will direct him to the best home for him, and that above all else, that he will know God and walk with God.