Thanks to all for their many words of congratulations on our finalization! It’s been a whirlwind, and I’d love to say that today, a full week after arriving home, we’ve settled into a routine. I say, ‘I’d like to say that’, but I can’t!

Things are still somewhat chaotic in transitioning from one child to three overnight. All three are in very different and distinct developmental stages, so each has his or her own needs in adapting. This is not to say they aren’t adapting well. For the most part they are. They clearly still love each other very much. And, though they have their verbal sparring, I have to say it’s refreshing to know this is nothing out of the ordinary! My friends who have more than one child report tussles over the same exact things as my three: “He looked at me!” “She made a face at me!” “He touched my toy!”

On the other hand, some things are not so typical, some of which I will expand upon tomorrow. Suffice it to say that some issues run deeper than just being adopted and moving five states away. It’s obvious additional mental health assistance and intervention is needed. This additional layer has sometimes taken a toll on normal transitioning and post-adoptive adjustment.

Add to that, our plans to slowly re-introduce our children’s birth family. So far, they have responded favorably to the e-mails sent to them by their birth grandmother. They fondly remember her and their grandfather, and the time spent with them. Their grandmother is compiling pictures of the family to send to the children, and we are hoping to begin phone calls soon.

Our children are also staying in contact with their foster family. Prior to our adoption, we would call the children each Sunday. We’ve kept up this tradition by continuing to call the foster family. They took some pictures with the kids before the children left and have e-mailed them to us, so the kids can have the pictures in their rooms. That transition has gone very, very smoothly. Though the children miss their foster parents tremendously, they reiterate often how happy they are to be here with us, and are enjoying being a family together.

They are meeting new people in intervals as well. They’ve met my mom and our closest family friend. They’ve met folks at church. Depending on how tomorrow shapes up, we may go to the weekly “Park Day” held by one of our local homeschool groups.

We’ve been on some limited outings – restaurants, getting new library cards for the kids, check-ups with their new pediatrician.

Overall, it’s gone well and we’re happy to have this new family configuration!