March 3rd - Little Ones

not these little ones, rather the ones below

     There is an aspect of adoption that probably could get lost in the shuffle of all the paperwork, meetings, excitement, finance, travel etc... and that is the fact that a little one is now part of the equation. It sounds elementary I'm sure but you know that having a newborn, infant, toddler, school age or teenager around changes pretty much everything. For us we have had much experience in not having children around and we have also been overly blessed to have had so much interaction with kids of all ages. Whether that be Rebecca's nine years as a kindergarten teacher or Earl's time with the 2nd, 3rd and 6th graders along with all other grades as a sub. Or maybe it was our 8 years working with teenagers from our church, traveling here there and everywhere, along with loads of teens from other churches as well. It feels as though we have had much opportunity with kids all over the place, from so many families, schools, churches, and many of our friends have had kids as well. Probably the ages that we have not had as much time with is with the little little ones, we're talking the newborn-toddlers. That has all been changing though, and of course it will change big time in the future.

the Good household

     As we reflect back on our great trip to Indiana there are many things that stand out, the amazing Mexican food on various occasions, high school bball,  seeing so many friends, the generosity of people that we've seen in action, but maybe one of our favorite and most life-giving times have spent with little ones. Alot of our friends have children now and that has been part of our experience that we hang out with them and their children. On this trip there seemed to be kids everywhere and whether it was playing games, building blocks, shooting hoops, choo-choos, popsicle stands, jumping like a superhero, puzzles, and who knows what else it was a blast. There is such vibrancy in their speech, often a bit louder than expected, sometimes taking everyone by surprise. There are the huge smiles while playing or running around, there are the often short stories of what happened to cause the latest ouchie. Maybe a joke here or there that sometimes is funny but always makes you laugh. Meal times which usually are interesting for one reason or another, very rarely to do with the actual food. As our trip winds down we have to give a shout out to some of the little people who have made this trip so enjoyable and might we add preparatory in more ways than simply our adoption meetings and paperwork.

Earl and Sydney

     Real world experience is the best, and we had a taste thanks to (if we left one out we're sorry) Myles, Sydney, Joelle, Jaycie, Jarvina, Graysen, Bo, Asher, Klyvlnd, Kaylen, Judah, Elijah, Levi, and there were others around here and there that bring such a vibrancy to life. This is part of the adoption process which is so much fun, the kids, the joy they bring into everyone's lives. Of course we look forward to our own stories from our family, until that time we'll continue to enjoy those around us who bring so many smiles to our faces.