Prayer, please!

Well, we have been here almost three weeks now. I can’t believe it. Time has flown by! We’ve had so many amazing experiences. I can’t wait until we get internet, so I can keep you up to date on all that the Lord is doing. I don’t have too much time, but I wanted to write a little about how the boys are doing in school. I’d really like to ask you to pray for us in this. I’m not exactly sure what to do… but, God knows. He’s in control, and He’s sovereign!

Weston has really adjusted very well. I’m amazed at the PERFECT placement the Lord had for him. He has made many new friends, and he is enjoying school. He told me the other day that he is beginning to understand his teacher. Man, I wish my brain worked like that. I love that my kids are already beginning to mix English and Spanish. Weston told me the other day that his hands were “very frio.” (Frio is Spanish for cold.) It was cute. So, Weston seems to be adjusting. We still have days (or, usually nights… at bedtime everything seems more dramatic, somehow.) that Weston cries and doesn’t want to go to school the next day, but they are very few. I’m thankful for how well Weston seems to be doing.

But, for my younger boys… it almost seems like it’s gotten harder as time has gone on. In the past, we’ve always had trouble with Jonathan leaving us. Many of you may remember our time at FPO and how hard that was. So, we expected a difficult time with Jonathan. What I really, really didn’t expect was a difficult time with Nathan. Nathan has always been such a people person and so laid back. He’s always just rolled with the punches. He has loved school in the past, and was so looking forward to it here.

As the days go on, I keep expecting it to get better, but it seems harder with Nathan. I’m not sure why. His legs have been hurting him, so he’s not walking really well lately. He has also begun to crawl more at home… which is really odd. I keep thinking that maybe he’s walking more at school than normal, so maybe he’s sore. But, I’m also wondering if he’s regressing… if things are harder on him than we know. He is crying everyday at school, clinging to me and not wanting me to go. It’s just so NOT Nathan. When I try to ask him why he doesn’t want to go to school, he always tells me something different. School is boring; he’s afraid we won’t come back and get him; he’s afraid that he’ll choke while he’s at school. (He has been sick and he has a bad cough… in the past he has coughed so hard he almost threw up, so I think that’s what he’s talking about.)

His teacher doesn’t speak English, so it’s hard to communicate. She is SO kind and loving, though. I’m very thankful for that. We do charades, trying to communicate, and she tells me he is doing ok. He only really cries in the beginning, and then he’s fine. It’s just hard on a momma’s heart. I know many of you can relate.

I made photo albums for each of the boys before we left the States. I thought it might be helpful for them to have their favorite people all in one place. So, we bring Nathan’s to school everyday, and he frantically turns to the page of Wes and I, so that he has our picture before I leave him. It just breaks my heart… I think it’s harder on me than anything else is.

Jonathan seems to be doing a little bit better than Nathan, surprisingly. He is sleepwalking at night, which he does when he gets stressed. He is crying sometimes at night and in the morning. But, he will at least leave my side and go with is teacher without a huge rigmarole. He cries, but he seems ok.

I have a meeting scheduled with Nathan’s teacher on Thursday, so maybe that will help… I’m hoping we can find someone to translate for us, so we can actually talk. ☺ I do wonder if it’s hard on Nathan b/c he is such a communicator. He is SO talkative, and I think words have been his strength, since he can’t really maneuver very well. I have asked him if it bothers him that he can’t talk with people, but he says it doesn’t… in fact, he looked at me like I was crazy for asking. ☺ Who knows.

So, please do pray for Nathan… and for Wes and I as we try to do what we can to help him through this transition. We are still looking into a pediatric physical therapist for him, so please also pray for wisdom and direction in that. We miss you all!