Our new normal. The joys, challenges and blessings.

We had our first Family Fun Day as a family of 9 on Saturday. We took the kids swimming.
Steve with his two littlest girls.
This was Hana and Andy's very first time in a pool and swimming. They completely enjoyed their first experience.
I took all the kids to the grocery store. This was Andy and Hana's first time in a grocery store too. They looked like they were in Disneyland it was so exciting for them. The best part was watching Andy's thrill over the automatic sliding doors at the entrance. I wish I had gotten video of that!
Andy wearing his mustache. :) (He's beginning to amuse me and smile for the camera!) When he was in the car and we were parked, he rolled down the window and randomly shouted at some people walking by "My car!" Then he pretended to drive away. Too funny.
I drove the kids up the canyon for a picnic and fire.
This photo below was the moment I heard Hana shout to me for the very first time "I love you! Thank you Mom!" I've heard her say "Thank you Mom" lots of times, but I've never heard her say "I love you" in English before. Another one of those moments and feelings I never want to forget.

See that river in the background? When we arrived I explained to the kids that I didn't want any children near the river or too close to our fire, and why it scared me. Celeste, Eden, Becca and Jonah were super protective of Hana, Charity and Andy while we were there as a result. They were so helpful and careful to make sure nobody got dangerously close to the water or fire. It was so sweet.
Roasting marshmallows.



Hana enjoying her first ever smore.
Andy enjoying his first ever smore.
Seeing the beautiful waterfall. They were impressed.
And the snow-capped mountains.
We have settled in to our new norm. The first couple of days it kind of felt to me that I was just watching a couple of extra kids temporarily. But now it feels normal to have our 7 children. We have a good routine going and everyone seems adjusted and use to things the way they are now. In fact it feels like we've been doing this for months.
The hardest part for me is that I feel really super tired most of the time. Sometimes I have to just get on my knees and pray for strength to keep moving. And that has helped. Being pregnant is physically so hard! But add that to having 7 children home all day, and it's even harder. Andy and Hana almost feel more difficult than having newborns at times. I need to watch them almost constantly because they are capable of doing so much more than a newborn can do. At least a newborn will take a nap and you don't really need to worry too much about them running away or catching the house on fire or something. Andy and Hana are very curious and everything is so new and unfamiliar that they are learning how to do things that other kids their age should already know how to do, (or not to do entirely). Like use a microwave, or put something in the freezer that should never be in a freezer. They also eat soooooo much! Our grocery bill has gone way up! I hope the novelty will wear off soon. I don't want to deny them food at this point because of what I've read and learned about orphans coming home to abundance. But at the same time, they literally eat about 6 full meals a day plus plenty of snacks in-between all those meals. And they need to be helped getting all these meals. So it's lots of work. On Sunday when we went to church, I was actually so excited to go, just for the reason that I would get a 3 hour break from the kitchen and feeding kids. The ramifications in the bathroom with kids digesting that much food and being new to a real toilet and bathroom, is a whole other post that I think I will spare you all. But it's another minor concern to say the least.

The best part of our new life though, is I feel so in love with all of our children and wouldn't want to be doing anything else. I have no regrets and am so glad we are where we are at today. It's a miracle and better than I ever imagined. I have thought several times over the last couple of weeks about Hana and Andy's birth parents. I know they loved them. I have tried to imagine what it would have been like for them to know that they were dying and would be leaving behind their very young children with nobody really capable to care for them. That must have been more painful to them than the deaths they suffered themselves. I feel like their parents are watching over us and it makes me feel both grateful that we are the ones to have these children and give them their new life. But it also makes me want to love and embrace these children with the kind of love and care that would be very pleasing to them if they were watching. I love all of our children so very very very much! I feel so blessed.