grace led in life

Today marks two months since the day we stepped off that flight from China with our little boy.
That moment when little Zeke Shuo Sindelar became a U.S. Citizen and got to come home for the first time with us...family! :)
I am fairly certain I have said the words "whirlwind" and "rollercoaster" so many times in these last couple of months. Those words still ring very true today...

We are incredibly proud of our boy in all he has gone through these last couple of months...

SO, VERY MUCH.

We had Zeke's post operation appointment yesterday (I will eventually blog more about his cleft palate surgery another time) He is healing great! He still has many stitches that will dissolve eventually. He was able to be upgraded to adding soft foods to his pureed diet. We were able to take off the mitts that he had to wear at all times once out of surgery! As much as it was good news and a celebration to take those mitts off (so incredibly wonderful)...it was, and still is, all "change & transition" taking place and difficult for Zeke to understand it all.

What a brave boy...so much change, so many new things to take in each day.

We have experienced an incredible amount of bonding during this surgery/recovery time. There were (and are!) such sweet little miracles taking place (again, will blog more about that another time ;) This is something we have prayed for, and so many others had prayed for too!
THANK YOU!

It really is amazing.

thankful

We also, have seen some regression for Zeke in his emotions and behaviors due to the changes.

This little guy amazes us...on the tough days we have to take a step back, out of the situation, and remember how much he has experienced these last two months. We continue to recognize the need for quiet family time for Justin, Zeke, and I...the times of bonding, the times of "normal" for Zeke...being around the things that he knows as normal and comfortable. Continuing to build trust, build safety for him, build love, and build laughter, allow Zeke the time to flourish. We praise the Lord, that even on the tough days...the challenging days, this little guy shows such progress and continues to connect with us.

Such a little trooper!

Today was a challenging day. Zeke didn't want much to do with his Mama...

totally have to admit...it breaks my heart. I know... I shouldn't take it personally...but hard not to have my heart hurt a bit :) I don't blame him, just a stinky situation. He fought me a lot today...but like I said, it never fails, there is always a light that shines through the tough...

Those big brown eyes staring straight at me while we sing songs at bed time, the little smiles that break out during bed time stories, those cute chubby cheeks coming at my face with puckered up lips wanting to share kisses, and the little wave and blown kisses when we say "night, night". Praising the Lord for that kind of ending to the tough days...never fails...it always happens that way :)

That is progress...

We keep praying for Zeke to "want/accept" us (not just looking for a typical 19 month old to constantly want cuddles here peeps...talking about a child that is still figuring out what a Mama and Dada is) to know we will always be there for him, to understand our love for him, to feel completely safe with us, our home, our surroundings.
It all is such a great reminder of our heavenly Father...
God is always right there for us...and wants us to feel those things as well.
He is faithful, He is loving...
Through changes in life, I can feel it is chaotic and overwhelming, but God is a constant peace.
Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you...
(Hebrews 13:5)
That is the example we want to be for Zeke.
We are in awe of how blessed we are with this little boy.
Just the other night Justin and I were sitting in silence (seriously hoping our little guy would sleep through the night ;) hehe) and Justin looked over at me and said... "can you believe how blessed we are...we have a son!" That is exactly how we feel.
We are still in processing mode of all of this.
These two months have been the BEST...
through challenges...it still is the BEST most BLESSED time of our lives.

What a gift we have been given! We are so grateful <3
We continue to strive for patience, endurance, teaching/learning, and fun as we take each day as it comes.
 

During these last couple of weeks through Zeke's recovery time...we have tried to do what we could to bring some "light" to Zeke's days. The days were tough to get through, especially with little to no sleep at night. He loves "wa, wa" (water) so we took a few drives/outings to show him a lot of "wa wa" . He loved it so much and his eyes are always huge with excitement :) Too cute! Soakin' up family time...