Anya has turned a corner

The testing has subsided considerably.  Anya has really started to figure out her routine in the Moore household.  She has been listening and trusting our judgement, which is just an amazing change.  You can see the trust of self fading away right now, and she is recognizing she is a Moore.  On the trip back from Oklahoma, one of the kids and I were talking about Anya, and I was teasing him that I remember way back when Anya was a baby.  My child says, "that's not possible, she is adopted".  I know this, but I don't want Anya to feel like an outsider, and the label, "the adopted one" just rubs me the wrong way.  Want to know what I think?  Our Heavenly Father, in his perfect wisdom, grafted us as a family from before the foundation of the earth.  He knew what would happen, but he still created Adam anyway.  Anya was biologically born to other parents, but she is where she is supposed to be.  I have no doubt about it.  She is a Moore, so I think of her as always having been with us. 

The above photo is at the Robbinsdale Whiz Bang days parade.  We love this parade, and it was an excellent parade again this year.  Lots of free candy for the kids, and fun interactions with the parade goers.

Lots of smiles all around on this day.  Did I mention the trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma?  My daughter Hannah, age 22, married Gabriel Presley.  Hannah is now Hannah Presley.  Both Anya and Samuel were really good sports, especially with such a long car ride.  There were some strident moments in restaurants.  Whatever you order is what Samuel and Anya will want.  Even if Anya points to a menu item, jumps up and down and squeals with excitement at the order, when it comes, she doesn't want it.  Very odd.  But that was the worst of their behavior the whole trip.

The new minivan with the leather seats, and DVD player were a monster hit with the kids.  Anya was completely entertained.  Samuel doesn't really follow shows.  He is much more a social little guy, so on the return trip, he spent a lot of time riding in my sisters car with Nellie, enjoying time with a new slinky mom bought him at the Dollar Store. 

Things are going well, and we are grateful to the Lord for these children. 

We will most likely miss the ECAS picnic coming up on August 7th.  There is a Baptism service for our Church the same day, and Matthias and Josiah are getting baptized.  That is a big deal.  The $40.00 charge for the picnic will be tough to handle if we can only make it for 90 minutes.  So we'll have to pass this year.

Almost forgot to mention that Anya's english is very good.  She can converse quite well with any of us.  She speaks to Samuel nearly entirely in English now, which we hoped she would do.  Samuel also speaks nearly 100% English (what he does say).  I had to explain to Anya why Samuel got a new first name and she did not.  I'll save that post for another day.