Bella, Post-Adoption: 2 Years Later

Dear God, 

Thank you. 

Amen. 
__________

Two years ago, we met our daughter, the missing piece of our family, the one who God knew was ours from the instant she was conceived. He held His hands over her: protected her from the moment she was found as a newborn to the moment we were finally able to sweep her up and into our arms 26 months later. 

When we met our daughter, she was hidden away inside of herself. A shell of who she would become. We knew she was in there, knew God had protected her heart, but we waited for her light to shine. And my oh my, shine she does. <3

Bella brings joy wherever she goes. She truly is LIGHT. 

Bella is also fighter. She is now 4 years old. Yet, she has had to fight for everything she has accomplished over the last two years. When she came home, she was 2 years, 2 months old. She couldn't walk. In fact, she was far from it. She couldn't crawl up stairs. She couldn't stand. Her legs turned out completely to the sides. Bella also couldn't speak. She could babble a few sounds and that was it. She had never heard a word of English; so, not only could she not speak, she could not understand a word of this new language that was suddenly all around her. She struggled to grip things between her fingers. She didn't know how to scribble or manipulate small objects. She didn't know how to play - she would simply bang toys together. In some developmental domains, she had the age equivalent of a 1-month-old. In all developmental domains, her abilities were below that of a 1-year-old. 

Over the last two years, Bella has received one-on-one speech, physical, and occupational therapies every week. This has increased even more since she started preschool last Fall, as she now not only receives these therapies at home (one hour each per week) but also at school. She now has a hearing aid to address hearing loss in her right ear. She wears ankle-foot-orthotics. She has had surgery on her spinal cord. She has undergone ear tube placement; had a full cardiac work-up, ultrasound of her kidneys, genetic testing, allergy testing, multiple sedations and neuroimaging scans, and so much more. She is now on a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free diet secondary to autoimmune and gut issues. I have lost count of the number of specialists she's seen and tests she's undergone. She has been poked and prodded and has fought and battled for every milestone she has achieved. She has worked harder than any 4-year-old should ever have to, just to do things the rest of us take for granted that our kiddos will naturally achieve. And yet: she shines. Our girl is hard work and perseverance and resilience. She is strength and determination and courage. She is LIGHT. 

Bella has changed my life. She has helped me re-prioritize my world, taught me to persevere, focus on gratitude, and expunge negativity and comparison from my life. She has been the impetus for my new motto: Be where your feet are. She has reinvigorated my purpose on this earth: to be the LIGHT for others. In fact, she is the reason I now wear a bracelet every day that says, Be The Light. Because she is LIGHT. 

I don't know what we ever did without her. 

When we met Bella, she could only babble a few sounds. Now? Every night before bed, she  carefully clasps her hands and says, in her precious, joyful, light-filled voice: 

Dear God, 

Thank you. 

Amen. 
__________

Bella Elizabeth, thank you for changing my life, for changing all of our lives. Thank you for bringing clarity to what truly matters in this world. Thank you for inspiring me to be better, to do better. Thank you for the twinkle in your eyes, the belly laughs you share, the resilience and grace you embody. Thank you for being exactly who God designed you to be. You are LIGHT, my precious girl, and I cannot wait to continue to watch you shine. 

With All My Heart, 

Momma 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

(For a look at Year 2 with our Bellaboo, check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQQ1T2l4go0) 

(Year 1 video posted here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDaIREXM-Fk)

(Gotcha Day video posted here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJzWYI_rjwo)

(Adoption Journey video posted here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33Be7meJSk)

Mid-July Check-In

Summer 2019 is just WHIZZING by, I swear! I think the fact that swim team and All-Stars baseball collided in June, it just made it go by lickity split. And so, here we are, somehow more than halfway through July. Crazy, I tell ya! I thought I'd pop in and document a few more of the memories we've been making as the summer races past at lightening speed: 

Camp fun. One of the reasons I love summer so very much is because I get so much extra time with kiddos. I miss them during the school year and truly relish the time I get to spend with them in the summer. Do they drive me mad some days? Absolutely. But I wouldn't trade this time with them for the world. Nonetheless, I let each of them choose a couple camps each summer, and some of them have already come and gone! 

Banks and Raleigh participated in Junior Police Camp one week and loved it! They learned fingerprinting, met the K9 unit, got to ride the police horse, walked two miles to the fire station, and just had a blast the entire week! The same week, Harrison did an outdoor camp called "Tiny Timbers," and while he was so nervous he ended up leaving early the first day, he was a brand new, excited kiddo the following day and had a ball the rest of the week! 

 

Harrison also participated in VBS last week...and so did Banks! Although I had only signed up Harrison, Banks and Raleigh decided Monday morning that they, too, wanted to go. And while sadly there wasn't an opening available in Raleigh's age group, there was in Banks'; so, he joined Harrison for the VBS fun! 

And this week marked the last week of summer camps for my kiddos: Raleigh attended  a church music camp and had the BEST time! It was totally worth the 25-minute Charlotte commute to take her there, she loved it so much. 

And Banks is currently at his second year of Camp Rock, the overnight camp our church hosts for rising 3rd-5th graders. Last year, he made the decision to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior and when he came home, asked to be baptized (which he was, earlier this year). We LOVE Camp Rock! Although we aren't allowed any contact with our camper from the time he is dropped off on Tuesday until we pick him up tomorrow, there are Facebook Live viewings every night so we parents can watch the nightly Bible study, worship, and thematic script. And we receive hundreds of photos every day of all the campers (which you know this momma scours through, pic by pic, in search of my Banks). We have missed him like crazy this week and can't wait to see him tomorrow! And the kid is having a BLAST!

Father's Day fun. We loved celebrating our Daddy several weeks back. That Saturday, he and 120 other dads from our neighborhood participated in the annual Father's Day Golf Tourney, which is always an absolute BALL. Meanwhile, we mommas hang with the kiddos all day before meeting up with the dads at the neighborhood pool when they are done. This year, there was a band and food truck awaiting their arrival at the 'hood pool. Before that, though, one of my sweet friends hosted several of us mommas and our boatloads of kiddos at her pool so we could enjoy each others' company and let the kiddos enjoy time with each other. Such a great day and weekend!

Friend Fun. Hardly a day goes by without at least one of my kiddos running out the door for an impromptu play date, or my doorbell ringing with any number of neighborhood kiddos asking if mine can play. But the kids don't get all the fun! My hub and I have managed some fun double date nights and friend get togethers with people we love with a few more on the horizon before summer comes to a close. Summertime is the best time.

So long, summer sports. We closed out swim team at the end of June, and I was so proud to learn that Banks had been one of the team members honored with a sportsmanship award. <3 Both he and Raleigh had great seasons, and I can't wait for next year...especially since, now that Harrison can swim, he will hopefully be a Greenwave swimmer, too! 

And All-Stars baseball has now ended as well. Banks missed the first two days of our BLOMPS Beach Trip, as it coincided with the district tourney. We are so thankful to have an AMAZING Nana and Pop who drove into town to stay with him and take him to his games, and amazing friends who took the reigns when Nana and Pop had to head home Sunday. While I won't miss the three-practices-per-week summer night sessions, I am thankful that Banks got to spend extra time in his favorite place: a sports field. 

Family fun. We've been starting to check things off our Lu Crew Family Summer Bucket List and are excited for the plans to come in the remaining weeks of summer. Time with these people is my favorite <3

And with that, I'm off again to soak in time with my peeps. Be back soon-ish. ;)