2 months home today

It's so hard to believe that we've been home with Justus Derero for two months....It was a cold January 21st snowy day....when we finally made it off the airplane of that final flight.....

In some ways, it seems like yesterday and most days I can't imagine life without him. He is a joyful soul full of life...very passionate and excited about anything. It is so refreshing!! It is fun having a little one in the house again and seeing the relationships grow between Justus and Natalie and between Justus and Spencer....It has realigned our family, increased our focus on what really matters, given us more intensity.....I LOVE my little boy (and my big kids too of course.;))

Justus is talking so much more now...We had a conversation the other day at lunch...just him and me....
"ice cream, I like. pizza, I like. Daddy, I like. Cars, I like. Bicycle I like"...and on and on.....

He's got his pronouns in reverse order now, but referring to himself as "I" now instead of "Justus" or "Derero" was a welcomed change. I have learned how confusing our language must be...Like for instance...We'll say, "Be careful or it'll break" and then tell him to "hit the brakes" when he's driving his bike....He looks at me like, What in the world are you talking about?

He is so funny! He cracks us up and wears us out. We love him so much...

Yesterday, he had his 2nd big biking accident. The first one was about 4 weeks after we got home...HUGE goose egg on his forehead....Did the exact same thing yesterday...I couldn't believe it in the exact same spot. Now, he did fall on the sidewalk as opposed to someone's driveway. The boy is CRAZY about his bike though and would have jumped back on the thing an hour later if we had let him. He was terribly upset I wouldn't let him ride it today. I'm like, "Dude...your going to get brain damage if you land on that same spot again." Yes, he's wearing a helmet..This is the 2nd type of helmet and neither one protect your forehead when you fall face first. What's up with that?

Anyway, today is Spring Break for the big kids and we are just doing fun things around town. We went to the Adventure Science Center and the kids had a blast. Spencer and Natalie wanted to show him absolutely everything in there all at once.

A few weeks ago, Trevis and I took Justus to the zoo while the big kids were at school...There were no field trips that day. It was a miracle and all the animals were out....another first for Justus.

I really don't think about all the things we've missed out on Justus. I just think about all the 1st's he's having now and how it's so great to watch his eyes light up with things most kids take for granted like it's no big deal....

We have our post adoption visit this Friday so I had to get some pics together.....These two I really like...

Then, there's this one where he's cooking. Anytime Trevis and I are cooking, he's wanting to be right in the middle of the action...I hope this continues, b/c I'm hear to tell ya..cooking is not my favorite thing. I do like to eat though...haha.

The one thing my little boy loves more than anything in the world is his Daddy. He squeals when he pulls up in the driveway in the afternoons from work and is stuck to him like glue ANY time he's home. He likes taking Trevis' ties off and hanging them up when he comes home from work...He saw a tie that a friend of mine had given me for him (Justus) and went crazy. He was adamant that he wear it...I went looking. I've never seen a kid want to wear a tie so bad, so I found a great shirt and tie at Marshall's for $8 and a shirt and tie at Once Upon a child....He's delighted that he even has options and he'd probably wear one every day if I'd let him (but he's way to energetic and rough for that.)

This was him about a week and a half ago wearing the tie my friend gave him...

This pic is from yesterday with all three kids. It was so sunny so Spencer is squinting, but we're rolling with it...

And one last pic with Daddy....Did I mention he's crazy about his Daddy?

Adoption is awesome...After all, God loved us so much that he adopted us....We get just a tiny glimpse into that love when we take the plunge, dive in, and dare to set out on a journey to bring a new child into our families that will call us "mama" and "daddy". God is so good and faithful....

With Much Love,