the rocking chair

I'm going to be really careful here to share some strategies that seem to be helping one of our adopted children, without compromising that child's identity and/or privacy. So many things go unspoken on adoption blogs, especially the truth when a family or child is struggling. I know the reason behind this- adoptive parents don't want to discourage others from adopting. We all know what a blessing it is, and we've seen the thousands of children waiting for homes. However, the truth is these beautiful, wonderful, children come from the hardest of hard places and many will struggle when they come home. They have lived through the worst experiences one could imagine (our kids's stories would amaze you) and they need the love of a family to deal with these things. Our road has been VERY easy compared to a lot of families, (for that we are forever thankful to God) but there are still a few bumps in the road.

Our wonderful social worker suggested something this weekend that I had read on another family's blog, using the rocking chair as a place for attachment. WOW is all I can say- two nights of rocking in the rocking chair, singing songs that would have been sung to any infant in my house, and we seem to have a new child in our home. I was even told, "Thank you Mom, that is nice when you sing to me," as this child went to bed. Adoptive families, please don't dismiss the articles that talk about taking the child back a few years and work on bonding as you would if that child had been an infant in your home. Holding and rocking any child does wonders for your own heart too.

Thank you for all of you who pray for our family. We know without a doubt, that this is why our kids are doing so well- they have an army of prayer warriors faithfully lifting them and us up. We also know that is why our kids who were here before are doing so well with all of the transition they've had. Rolling with the punches has become a way of life for them and they are rolling like champions. I can't wait to see how God uses these experiences in their lives!

Finally, we have the best social worker, who is available any time we have questions and always has suggestions for us to help us grow into the family that we all desire. She is such an encouragement along the way and helps us to encourage other families to adopt (which isn't hard, because we would love to see all good capable Christian families adopt and more children find forever families). Thank you, Lisa, if you're reading this- you make our jobs as parents, much, much easier.