My Life- it's as fun as puttin' lipstick on a squirrel

Here we are in our third official hurricane season at the Niles household. Well sort of, this is our third summer of being a growing adoptive family. So our normal...is not your normal. you would think by now that we would have this drill memorized. However, just like the pains of childbirth...you forget.  First read this old post and then we will go Back to the Future   Flashback  to July 2012 What does our hurricane season look like you ask? Well, let me tell you the necessary components of a perfect storm in our house. new school year, different school, new outpatient therapist, new med check doctor, braces, fun with family, upcoming trip out of town for Mom, upcoming trip out of town for Mom and Dad and then add a bit of PMDD and yep. there ya go . category 5. So if you read the post I linked into the beginning of this one you see both excitement and trepidation that I felt with the thought of adding a new child into our family. A week ago we were...

Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride. - Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950) So it has REALLY been 3 months since my last blog. I have a great excuse. We have been growing a child. Adopting an orphan. But most of all we have been walking with the Lord. We were called and we showed up. We have learned that we are ENOUGH. We are REDEEMED. We cannot change Ambriel, BUT we can change the way we react to Ambriel. So I will break it down a tiny bit so you can understand what it has been like in the Niles household for the last three months. First some photos...so you really get the picture! Yes. When you parent a hurt child you pull your hair out a LOT...sometimes they pull your hair out. But most of all at the end of the day...you feel like a tornado hit your hometown. Where do you start. Where do you start? I am not a professional....but I play one every day in my very own home. Here is where I start: Cry out to Jesus. Yes. I do NOT call my Mom. I do NO...