By way of catching up, the past few months have flown by and have been hard and full and all of the things. First of all, we found out some tough news in May - some legal business that has nothing to do with us or the girls, but will undoubtedly delay their adoption by quite a bit. They are not going anywhere, and we won't be sharing any other details, but in short, we are looking at many months before we can finalize their adoption. At first this news was devastating and scary. Now it's mostly just another hurdle to overcome and something so completely out of our control that our only two options are to freak out or let go. We've chosen to let go, not because we're good at that, but because we like our sanity and will lose it otherwise.
I've wanted to write here, regularly and memorably about this whole messy process, but this news took the wind out of my sails and left far less emotional energy than I was hoping for. I have so many stories, questions, struggles, insights into this world of adoption and parenthood that I don't know where to begin. I stare at blank pages, take my kids to swim lessons, and tell everyone it's going good when that doesn't even begin to cover it.
May was bad news, Mr. Ladd settling into a new job, two weeks of terrible two's, a first Mother's Day for me, and a second birthday for J but the first one we got to celebrate with her and all the emotional mixed-upness that comes with that. The girls also met Mr. Ladd's side of the extended family for the first time at his brother's wedding in El Paso. There was good, but it was all exhausting and I wasn't sad to flip the calendar page.
June was swim lessons, a first Father's Day for Mr. Ladd, and catching our breath a bit. We started counseling because we'll take all the help we can get navigating this whole thing, and we consciously found ways to slow down our schedule and expectations to find a sustainable rhythm as a family.
July was a fun 4th with the girls, eye surgery and new glasses for V, first trip to the dentist, and lots of swimming to survive the long summer afternoons here in the desert. I've blinked, and now July is on its way out too. The girls have been in our lives for almost 5 months and I can't believe how fast it has gone, but also how certain days have dragged along. Those months fly by so fast while you're busy counting the minutes until bedtime.
