Gabriel has been independent for so long and he likes to be in control. Adam and I have made some very intentional decisions about how we are parenting him and it looks very different from our other children. We have given him control over some things so that we can establish control in others. It seems to be working out pretty well for the most part. We have a long way to go but progress has been steady. Yesterday was the first day in the past 2 weeks that he did not cook his own meals. Even if I make him things EXACTLY like he made them, he will not eat them unless he made them. He will find something wrong with them. Yesterday he ate eggs and sausage made by dad and banku and pepe made by me. He is pretty resistant to all the new foods but it's only day 5. Slow and steady.....
On the note of control, he has requested 2 things: to play soccer and to go to school. As I signed him up for soccer at the local YMCA on Tuesday I felt very nervous. He is not exactly "easy" to handle and I had no idea how he would do on a team. Well....last night was his first practice and he was a ROCK STAR!!! Granny and I sat on the sidelines with Debo Grace and Cael and we had to pick our jaws up off the floor. The coach talked A LOT and was hard on the boys asking them to nod if they were listening. Sweet Gabe stood there with wide eyes nodding his little head up and down, over and over again. He played so well and really enjoyed himself. When he got in the car, he was very excited and happy. Then he said, "That coach talked a lot and I don't know what he was saying at all, I just nodded." LOL!!! It was awesome!!! We really needed that victory with him yesterday and it felt so good to watch him enjoy himself and succeed. He has a game on Saturday and he is super excited.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwsQeaAWq0jjwdfta8erNpGyQykWmudKcW6RVyuUvEmHlRKovDokRij5EBAgvcey4by1NODqQmFF3ytwfV2Unvo3661sYgdEqvNGLuEBl53lKuaQ3zsU_uJZ2K344UACoDWvtMeY77is/s1600/IMG_3736.jpg)
Both children love playing outside and they love our neighborhood and all the children. I think it feels natural to them after being at an orphanage with 23 children running around. They are doing great establishing new friends and learning new things. I am so grateful for our little street and all the sweet kids who are doing their best to make Gabriel and Debo Grace feel welcome.
Heavenly Father, Thank you for providing the most perfect example of parenting in your love for us. Thank you for showing us grace everyday and for providing a way for us to make things right when we mess up time and time again. Help us not just survive but really impact people around us for the better, especially our children right now. I pray that Your love overflows from our hearts and mouths. I pray for divine patience and wisdom and peace and joy. Thank you for all the many blessings! We are overwhelmed with your goodness to us! Amen
To those of you who aren't on facebook, please enjoy this link to a slideshow of photos from our time in Ghana and our homecoming. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp55vQPbmFA
Debo Grace with our sweet neighbor, Noah |
Neighborhood soccer |
Brother bonding |
![]() |
First haircut in the States |
Jill, I happened upon your blog after hearing about G4G today. I just wanted to congratulate you on the homecoming of your children and being a family of six! [I like that six number as my family is a "six" family as well, two from Ghana!] I also just wanted to encourage you that it seems like you have an amazing understanding of exactly what your kids need in order to attach. I hope that doesn't sound condescending--I'm just saying that from the standpoint of someone who first adopted 13 years ago and made a LOT of mistakes along the way, hopefully doing better as I went along!
ReplyDeleteI happen to do ministry work in Ghana with Eban Project (ebanproject.org) and was excited to hear about G4G. Would love to hear about your personal experience with this group, as our missions seem similar and we love to build up and encourage other like-minded organizations.
Blessings,
Anita (anita.gillispie@gmail.com)