3 Months

Three months ago today, we became a family. It's amazing to think of all that Ethan has learned, and all that he has adjusted to in that short amount of time. Miraculous, really. He spouts out English words and phrases, loves tickle time, working puzzles, and driving his little car.

Sorry we have been missing from blog world for awhile. Two weeks ago, Ethan had his first surgery. I'm not going to go into the details, other than to say that they did 4 separate procedures to correct some abdominal "piping" issues, and he will need more surgeries in the future to finish the repairs and give him a happy, healthy life. 

We took pictures that day, but honestly I just can't look at them without feeling sick. Watching my baby suffer in pain after surgery was certainly the worst experience of my life, and the thought of having to do it again is just more than I can handle right now. A precious friend reminded me, though, that I need to think in the long term. "You are changing his life with these surgeries. It will be horrible in the short term, but the long term effects will more than make up for it," she said. And she is right. Without surgery, he would never have a healthy quality of life.

The Lord has brought 1 Peter 5 to mind a lot this week, in relation to Ethan's recovery:

"And the God of all grace, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast." 

How God must mourn over the ways His children suffer on this earth. I am certain that He cries tears of agony over us as we go through family turmoil, sickness, difficult decisions, and heartbreak. But how He must rejoice over the restoration He pours into us afterwards.

I knew Ethan was headed for healing this week when his hilarious sense of humor popped out as we were working a farm puzzle. I grabbed a piece and told him it was a chicken, and he immediately got a silly gleam in his eye and pretended to "munch" on it. Here's the proof:

Restoration is so sweet.........