These past six months have been full of joy, challenges, sleepless nights, laughter, growing, learning and so much more. Overall, Lanie has blessed our family with her constant smiles and happy, spunky spirit that loves people. Her addition to our family has most definutely changed our life. We are gradually adjusting.
How’s Lanie?
Most days, Lanie is full of life and joy. She has livened up our household for sure! Lanie LOVES to learn and is eager to do school at home with mommy in addition to the couple of days she attends a preschool. She is steadily picking up English, has become enamored by the alphabet, letters, numbers and learning so much about the world around her. Since she is so social, she desperately desires to talk and communicate. Therefore, she works at learning speech and language with diligence. She’s a fun student to work with for sure!
More importantly, God is growing her heart and helping her feel more secure and connected. She’s gone from not wanting to leave my side to playing by herself for 1 1/2 hours (Yippee!) She is learning the ways around here and that we love her. After almost 3 months of constantly waking up in the night, she is finally sleeping most nights!!! Did you hear me singing the Halleluia chorus over that one! This momma is a bit old for constant sleepless nights.
How’s Mommy?
I’m so glad Lanie has joined our family. My heart is in love with our precious little girl. She is a delight to teach, hang with and be mom to. At the same time, our new journey has been full of challenges. This full time mommy gig with some significant life changes for all is the hardest job I’ve ever had! The days are full of intense teaching and training, managing a variety of emotions from everyone, cooking, cleaning, researching how to guide all of the constant challenges in the house as well as how to teach speech, OT and a variety of other developmental delays. My to-do list continues to be fluid at best and you know how I like to check things off! However, incredible progress is happening in the hearts and life of our family. Helping our family work though so many changes and inward challenges keeps me begging God for direction which is a good place to be. I am looking forward to gradually getting back to some work very soon.
How’s Alli?
Our sweet little Alli is growing so much through all of this. She is loving being a big sister and has taken that role on very well. God is growing her servant heart as she learns to sacrifice, share with and serve her little sister. Lanie adores her as well. Alli is doing well in school this year with some wonderful teachers. She continues to enjoy her sports, reading and friends, but really… she still loves just being at home with us the most! I love that!
How’s Scott?
Scottie loves his girls. When he’s not gone on business, he is often found outside playing sports, riding bikes and other fun activities with the girls. He has been a great support to this whole process and even gave me a night away at the Westin ALONE! (He scored many husband points for that one!)
At the end of it all, it hasn’t been the easiest road we could have taken, but our lives have become much richer, our family more connected and our character much stronger because of this journey. We have had many wonderful family chats, game nights and just hang time together which is priceless. We are blessed to walk this road as a family of four now.
Lanie’s favorite things to do:
-
- Puzzles
- Cuddle/ Hug
- Talk
- Talk
- Explore her new world
- Talk
- Play with friends big and small
- Work with letters, write letters
- Draw
- Talk
- Read books
- Did I mention she likes to talk?
Favorite Lanie saying and antics:
- “Mommy, I sad. I want to hug … (Daddy, Mommy, Alli)”
- “Mommy, Jesus is with me he’s…” (points to air vents where she believes he lives)
- Lanie has discovered the word, “Why?” as many toddlers do. For her, it is the magic word that makes people have to keep talking to her! She craves people’s attention.