Sibling Love...

My blog has quite the mix of readers (especially a certain special 12 year old that lives in my house) and so I'm pretty careful with the topics I decide to write about. When we first came home with Josie, it wasn't all roses. We were struggling with severe medical issues, crazy night terrors and sibling rivalry that was downright heart breaking.

Last night after the girls were in bed, Chris and I were discussing just how wonderful things really are between our our two girls. It's exactly what I used to dream about when I pictured finally having two daughters and being a family of four.

For the most part, Josie has always been obsessed with her big sister.

She bonded with Emma immediately in China and I still believe that taking her out of school and bringing her with us, was the best thing we could have ever done.

That being said, our first year home wasn't smooth. We're now on year two and I can honestly say that their relationship has elevated to a whole different level.

Without being asked, Emma often plays with her much younger sister, offers to let her wiggly/noisy little sister sleep in her new pre-teen bedroom, and always makes good on reading a few bedtime stories (especially when her little sister isn't feeling well). She has learned to be patient and share the spotlight (which isn't an easy thing to do when you are an only child for nearly 10 years).

Believe me it's not always perfect, but it's magical and we're so proud of Emma.

Thank you for being such a good role model and big sister to Josie.
We love you very much!

Wordless Wednesday

Equal Time

Going through an adoption is extremely exhausting and emotionally consuming. We spent over two years preparing for Josie’s arrival and then once we got home from China, we were dealing with all kinds of heart specialists and her open-heart surgery/recovery. For the last three months, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions in our house. As much as I’ve tried to provide equal time for both girls, it just isn’t perfect. God bless my friends who have multiple children and can find a way to make every child feel special.

Today was an Emma and Mommy day. Josie stayed home with Chris and the two of us attended the new American Girl movie and then did a bit of shopping at the mall. Seeing the smile on Emma’s face and hearing her thank me for the alone time, reminds me that I need to do this more often. I especially need to remember this once I return to full-time work and the pace gets even more insane.