Catching up........

That's me, always in a state of "catching up"... never quite caught up because life is always adding on to my "to do" list... My first thought when I get to my blog is always "where in the middle of all this craziness do I begin"????? Where I last left off would take more time then this busy wife, and mom of 5 has... so how about what's on my heart... As you know we're adopting 3 little ones... we feel incredibly blessed the Lord led them into our lives, and then some days we are simply overwhelmed with the responsibility that entails. This has been such a journey, such an incredible journey, and we are still in the very beginning of it. It's been such a HUGE learning curve for all of us, and honestly, a lot of the time we feel like we are "first time" parents all over again. Children who come from homes where they've dealt with severe abuse, neglect, and abandonment are damaged, broken and hurt no matter how much you love them. That's something that we've been trying to wrap our brains around... it was so easy to wrap our hearts around them, to love them, nurture them, provide for them... but it's an entirely different thing to "fix them", "heal them", and teach them how to react to life in a whole new way then what they've learned up until now. Adoption is hard, maybe we were naive... but maybe you almost have to be in order to engage? How many people truly understand when they take on damaged children, that just loving them isn't always enough? There are generational curses, negative behaviors, attachment issues, and hardened attitudes already in place... even in young toddlers! Then you get into what the "system" puts you through in order to add these children to your family. It takes a HUGE amount of money that goes into everyone's pockets, BUT the people who will actually be taking on the financial, spiritual, and physical well being of the children for the rest of their lives. Do you know in the State of Missouri, that if a bio-parent decides to fight the adoption, the adopting family has to PAY FOR THEIR ATTORNEY!!?? How crazy is that! Somedays it's sooooooo stressful trying make ends meet and raise such a large sum of money to "legalize" children we've already made a part of our family. Then other days when we've managed to make everything right in their little worlds, and their smiles light up, they snuggle us just a little tighter, and their laughter sounds through the house... I just let it all go... and know that He is working behind the scenes, and all we need to concentrate on is being a family to these little ones who never really had one. Please, please, PLEASE... pray for us... we have such a long road ahead and there are days we are truly weary. We love and miss all our friends, we wish we could see you more and fellowship with you... but we are fully engaged in the BIGGEST act of love and patience that we've ever encountered and it's really all that we can do right now just to get through each day. Blessings, The Corbett Family <(((>< Charles & Sherri, Nathaniel (18), Keegan (16), Micah (6), Noah (6), Chloe (1)