I can't believe it has been 10 years since I had my first precious baby. You have to give credit to the poor, unfortunate, first-born children. They have to break in the new parents -- and not just to being parents but forever. He was my first baby, my first toddler, my first preschooler, my first homeschooling student, and my first 10 year-old. With him, I will have to figure out how to parent a teen, homeschool high school, prepare for college, teach him to drive, let him date, and let him go. Wow! If a baby book is meant to be a record of firsts, it really should document every second of the firstborn's life! He has to survive parents who don't truly KNOW what they are doing. Every child that follows has a parent with a little experience.
Thank you, Colton, for being patient when we mess up. Thanks for giving us a starting place for how to parent the rest of the kids. You're a great son and a great big brother.
On the adoption, our fundraising is progressing. At this point we have raised about $2400 out of the $13,500 we need before the first trip. I've already applied for 3 grants. It is my prayer that fundraising will get us through the first trip, and grants will get us through the second. I'm taking the weekend off to celebrate Colton's birthday and to let my brain cool off. I was really close to overheating from so much processing. I'm still making lists of things to take on our trip, how to travel, what needs to be done before we go, what needs to be done between trips, etc. -- not to mention the usual whirlwind of doing school, church, and other activities.
We have really gained support since receiving our referral. It's true that the process becomes more real to others when there are cute little faces looking back at you. I'm already getting concerned about meeting them. Will they like me? I know they will like Tim -- everyone does! Will they WANT to be in our family? What gifts would they enjoy at their age? What will we do together for our visits? What if I forget to say something important to them. How bad is it going to hurt to leave them there and come home? Whew! Makes my head spin.
