2019

2019 Has Arrived!!! AND is Now Almost Gone!!!

I was reminded last night how quickly time moves on. Lying in bed I had a moment to glance at my Facebook quick before turning out the light. One of the memories listed at the top was a link to our last blog post. It warmed my heart to see the adorable update, and then I noticed the date! Many years have passed since I wrote a true blog! How on earth can that be? I suppose that it is because life is occurring at breakneck pace. We are running from sunup to sundown. I truly believe that every year goes faster than the one previously. All the more reason to keep tabs on the happenings in this crazy household.

I know our Christmas letters have been included on our blog to keep everyone updated on the main highlights of the year. So the basics are in the books...but truly...how is life? How is everyone doing with the overall transition to a crazy family of seven? We are now five+ years in...and we are doing well! We have had ups and downs along the way...but way more ups than downs. And believe it or not, but we decided a year ago that we needed even a little more excitement around the DeWit house! We added a sweet English Cream Golden Retriever, Archer, to our family! Now we have seven + 2 dogs! The kids have been amazing helping take care of the newest DeWit boy.

We had the joy of watching Elijah and Judah graduate from Kindergarten and first grades! We are now well into 2nd grade! Hard to believe that all of our kids are in school now and doing well. The school decided for the twins to be in separate classes, and I truly think that this was a blessing! They have their own friend groups and have been having fun becoming more independent of each other.

They are still so opposite of each other...Eli is very aware of the details...focused and a defender of the rules...even to the point of annoyance at times. We have been trying to teach him that no one likes a tattle tale and the importance of being understanding. Judah is independent in his own way as well. Loves to play alone and has an incredible imagination. He is strong and tender at the same time. I think that we are going to have a couple of athletes on our hands and have had fun watching them play baseball and football.

Both boys did a fund raiser at their school and Craig was able to volunteer and test them on their knowledge of over 50 facts. They did really well and these photos were taken at the event. We were very proud of them. It has been amazing watching their English progress...to the point that no one would even know that English is their second language. Too bad we didn't know enough Creole to keep them fluent in that as well.

We took the boys to their school carnival and it was so fun watching them interact with the other students. It was also exciting watching them play the games at the carnival. Their zest for life is truly a blessing.

We have made a lot of memories at school and at home with our family. We continue to wrestle behaviors at times...and if I let myself over analyze it, I sometimes wonder if their need for praise or over the top frustrations that they experience could be adoption related. We are still working through all of that and will likely be working on this for the rest of time...but they are such a joy! There is nothing more special than Eli's smile and Judah's belly laughs! We praise God above that he decided to create this crazy family that we call our own!

Each year the kids grow closer and closer to each other and we are able to navigate life with slowly decreasing drama. I know that sounds silly but navigating the grocery store alone is a challenge where the boys spend half of their time on the floor searching for lost coins and treasures. Doesn't sound like a big deal until you are in the aisle or checkout and your kids are literally army crawling around the legs of strangers. LOL.

When we began our adoption process, we were told that this would be a difficult journey. We knew that and felt up for the challenge. By God's grace we have come through as a beautiful family that is growing stronger every day. We have gotten a little smarter over the last couple of years too and have networked with several other adoptive families We have learned that the trauma of adoption and life in an orphanage has affected these sweet boys in ways that we need to address and process through with them. We are receiving special support in their classes at school, are seeing a counselor, have gone through a Brain Paint neurofeedback program and have even identified a couple of helpful medications.

 The extreme love that these boys feel in our family, church family and friend group and these outside supports have helped our boys to find joy in ways that were difficult to envision. It is a beautiful thing watching them grow like weeds physically and to blossom cognitively as they pour over books. Every year they accomplish so much, and we could not be more proud of them!

We are so grateful for the love and encouragement that we have received over the years! I truly know that without the prayer support, we would not have gotten through. We rely on the Lord absolutely every day!

We hope and pray that the Lord is working in your life as well! Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to navigate this path. Hopefully my next letter will not be so long in coming!

Many blessings,
 (Safely on the sand)

Rebecca

PS It literally took me five attempts to finally post this....so the pictures are a bit outdated....but a new Christmas letter will be coming soon!