Update: Part 2

Today marks one week that we've had Lola. I can't believe it! God has surely blessed us!

We were welcomed home at the Paducah airport by our family and friends and what a welcome it was!!!

 

 

 

Lola has been doing fantastic here at home. Henry and Charlie are completely smitten with her and she is equally as crazy about her brothers. To see the love they have for each other...for someone that they just met....that just gets to me like nothing else. How could you not see Gods love in that?

As far as adjusting Lola is doing great. We are no longer giving her formula (we are giving her whole milk now) AND we are only giving her one bottle/day  (as opposed to the 6/day she was getting). 

Here is how she is doing with sleep: Sunday night -she was up for four hours in the middle of the night crying inconsolably and it was tearing me up because nothing I did would calm her down. She ended up sleeping until noon that day because she was up so long during the night.

Monday night -she was up from about 1-2:15am but I was able to get her back down and she slept until 11am

Tuesday night -she slept all night!! 8:30-10:30pm and then went back down from 10:45pm-10am!!!! 

I put her down tonight at 9pm tonight and I'm hoping and praying for another good night. 

 This little girl has unified our family in so many ways. Sadly, we were unable to take the boys to Seoul with us. However, God blessed us by allowing our return to fall on spring break. As a result, we have been able to be home together as a family and the boys have been able to bond with Lola. Typically, I am a get up and go kind of girl who gets stir crazy very easily. I honestly thought the hardest part of adopting was going to be "cocooning", which basically means keeping your world very small, predictable, and simple for the adopted child. There is already so much new stuff for them to process, so going new places and meeting a bunch of new people continuously can be a sensory overload. A child is able to attach to new parents so much better when there is no one else around to bond with. For that reason, we have chosen to hang out at home for a while. We welcome visitors but just ask that you let us be the ones to hold, cuddle, soothe, and feed our daughter so that she understands that we are her parents. 

Anyhow, being at home has been wonderful. Although Casey has been working during the day, the boys have been home with me and we are starting to set up some consistent routines and that is very comforting to Lola. I am already seeing her start to attach to me. She reaches for me, wants me to comfort her, and even pooches her lips out wanting a kiss from me. 

Furthermore, our girl is eating like a champ. She will eat any and everything you feed her. Last night we gave her corn on the cob and she even tried to eat the cob!!! She bit off a chunk of it and got mad when we took it away from her. The girl is sassy!!!! 

This sweet and sassy little lady has found her way into our hearts and forever changed our lives. I thought there would never be an experience as incredible as the birth of my children and holding them in my arms for the very first time, BUT I was wrong. Lola's "gotcha day" was every bit as amazing! Furthermore, my love for Lola is equally as strong as it is for Henry and Charlie, who grew inside me for 10 months. Tell me....how can you not see Gods love in that??? God is sooo good!!!!

In conclusion, I want to say thank you to everyone. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for lifting us up. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING. I have been so humbled by all the incredibly kind words you've said to us. People have told us that they've been touched by us, touched by our story, and touched by Lola. To HIM be the glory for it all. South Korean pastor Lee Jong-Rak, founder of the "baby box" and inspiration of the film "The Drop Box" says this:

"Adoption is the closest human relationship that can resemble Gods love for us, and our precious adopted identity as Gods beloved children." While I will never fully grasp Gods love for us in this life, I think we've gotten a small glimpse of it. I long for heaven and life with our Heavenly Father when I can fully comprehend the depth of his beautiful and perfect love.