6 Months as a Family of Five

My [creative, beautiful, talented, newlywed] friend Saskia was in the area recently and came by for a visit.  It was fantastic to see her!!  And she did a photo shoot around our yard that I am thrilled to share with you all.  It's not an easy task to get a good picture with 3 little ones, but the kids loved her and we had a great time.  It was the perfect way to help commemorate our 6-month Adoption Anniversary! If any of my friends in the Seattle area are looking for a great photographer, look Sas up!  

https://www.facebook.com/saskiapotterphotography 

We love our kids to pieces!!  I just keep thanking God for my family, and for allowing Violet to be a part of it!!

As far as updates go, we recently had our social worker visit to do Violet's 6-month report.  China requires them at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 5 years after adoption.  The report covers 10 areas of her development and adjustment, but the bottom line is that she is a happy & loved little girl!

We've enjoyed sharing a lot of "firsts" with her over the past several months.  While we may have missed milestones like her first tooth or her first steps, we are cherishing things like her first time: eating corn on the cob, trying out the swing, bowling, licking a popsicle, seeing the penguins at the zoo, or running through the sprinkler.

But I will admit for the sake of being transparent that it's not all sunshine and rainbows around here!  Our kids adore each other, but there's a fair share of fighting that goes on...just like a normal family.  Violet has also reached her "terrible twos", but thankfully it seems we only have one kid at a time going through a stage like that.  And up next?  Potty Training.  Yay.  It's probably my least favorite thing ever, but on the bright side, once it's done I will be done with diapers!  (And after SEVEN years of motherhood with NO break in the diaper changing routine, I'm looking forward to that day!!)

God is my strength on the tough days, but I definitely find joy even in the crazy moments.  I also found a great podcast called "God Centered Mom" that has given me so much encouragement and helped me to know that I don't have to be perfect all the time to be a godly mom.  What a relief.  LOL!!  If you're interested, check it out here or on iTunes: http://godcenteredmom.com/

I will share more photos from this shoot on my facebook page.  Thanks for continuing to share in this journey with us!  Have a great summer!