It’s been a while…… in fact it’s been bloody ages.

Life has kind of taken over a bit over the last few months and there has been no time to sit, reflect and get any decent screen time to write an update. We have been busy building our family, busy creating memories and busy making every moment count.  Life is too short and boy have we been reminded of that recently and it has felt almost like a misuse of time to write anything, with me wanting to use the time living life.

So here we are, nearly one year since the boys had their first sleepover in our house and one and half years since we first met.  Where has this time gone?

At times I can’t believe it has been a year already whilst at other times it feels like they have been a part of lives forever.  Sometimes I just sit back and watch them playing and this internal smile just grows and grows.  I am so proud of how far they have come in a short space of time.  So proud of all they are achieving in life and so smitten with their little nuances – even if this means a 5 am wake up with me not getting back to sleep!

Youngest is writing his name and has started to now read words, books and blend out full sentences.  He is going through his determined phase and boy does he know what he wants when he wants it!. Eldest is reading most nights now, enjoying putting on funny voices for the characters in his books and you can see his imagination running wild.  To think that he could hardly read when he first moved in is a massive achievement on him.

The journey as you can expect has not been an easy one. Yes we still have days when it feels like we have jumped back six months.  Yes we still have days when as a new parent you wonder just what you are doing and why. Certainly we have all had days that feel like they are never going to end but when you get down to the bare bones of it we all just have to stop, think, reflect, regroup and realise just how far we have all progressed.

The adoption order was passed recently and this was a special moment.  Telling both of the boys that the wise judge had made his decision about us becoming a family was a moment I will never ever forget.  Eldest son’s face had a mixed reaction of both joy and happiness combined with relief and a sense of belonging.  You couldn’t predict that reaction if you tried.  He even looked up and said “About time, the wise judge has taken ages!”. Yes he had son, but he made the right decision in the end.

We are busy planning our Family Celebration Day at the court, hoping that as many people who have been part of this journey to become a family can make the special day.  It is going to be an emotional day to say the least – ( note to self – remember tissues!).

As I reflect on where we are, where we have all come from and more importantly, where we are going, I can’t help but feel like shouting from the rooftops how bloody amazing these boys are.  At times it’s easy to forget the impact of their backgrounds, the tainted influence that being moved so many times in their short little lives has had on them. Only to then see them developing into becoming wonderful, loving and caring little souls as we gradually build up a sense or permanency and a family unit.

Who know what the future will bring any of us.  What I do is that our lives have been changed for good, for the better,  and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have many wishes for our sons, many hopes and a strong sense of pride for the future.  In future posts I will share these – documenting these for them to read one day.

For now it’s all about continuing the journey, building on the solid foundation of the last 12 months and most of all living life to the full!