Week 9 & 10: Firsts

A couple of weeks of sweet firsts:)

First time we got to take Grace out of the facility! We went out for lunch and her Christmas shopping for her siblings. It went well:)

First time Faith told me about a school event and asked me to participate in it with her!!!!!!!

First time Superman started in a basketball game - and he did amazing!!!!!! He had a play that was just amazing! Did I mention that he is, and played, amazing? :)

First basketball game for JJ. He played 3 games on Saturday in a tournament. They played against older kids so lost by a lot all 3 times, but he got out there in front of a crowd and seemed to know more or less what he was doing (for a first year basketball player. He sure knows more about it than I do lol!!).

First time that my emotions have been present for so many years. I cry pretty easily now - not in sadness or depression but just in feeling. It is so utterly unusual for me. I cried like crazy during a commercial during a football game last weekend. My family all looked at me like I was losing it as I was trying to describe what was going on. Uff da.

First time that Faith came to me at night saying she was afraid. It was clear that she was very afraid. I did 5 minutes of EMDR with her, she calmed down, hugged me (HUGGED ME!!!!), and she went to sleep. In the morning she said she slept well, and she thanked me again for helping her the previous night. I told her that I was so glad that she asked for help!

The first time that I had my Christmas cards out the first week of December!

First time that Faith had an angry time and bounced back from it without the grudge toward us lasting days or weeks. The same day she was back to normal. :)

The first time I got almost all of our Christmas shopping done by online Black Friday shopping lol! Boxes kept coming and coming all week and my husband keeps giving me grief. After all he is the "get up at 4 and Black Friday shop in person" guy lol! But, shopping is done. Yay!  AND the gifts are mostly fun gifts - not practical things like clothes like I usually do - Yay Yay!

First time I attended our church Christmas Tea. I hosted a table (Beautiful decorated it gorgeous!!), didn't spill hot tea on anyone, and had a good time! Faith came with me and swapped her tea with me because she didn't like what she chose;) I think that maybe we will experiment with some teas:)

It has been a good couple of weeks. We are thankful for the progress we are seeing in Grace and all of the kids. We are praying that Grace is accepted into the long term group home and that can sustain there. She needs time to make the skills she is learning into habit.

Thanks for your prayers for our family. God is good. Always. But right now there is a sweetness in the feeling of healing instead of the helplessness and hopelessness of waiting for it:)