It's not all a bed of roses

Let the MELTDOWN'S begin!!!!

We have been noticing a lot of meltdown's by Aidan lately. They occur primarily at dinner time; when he doesn't get his way; when he's tired; when he is frustrated because he can't communicate what he wants; when Daddy isn't home; when we have to go to Day Care; when Mommy doesn't play longer; you get my drift! These are not fun. . .I have started tracking when they happen and what is going on so I can try and figure out how to stop them from happening, or at least know what has triggered it. I haven't been too alarmed until yesterday when I was told he had a complete meltdown at lunch time. . .this was followed by another one at dinner time. . .the What to Expect during the Toddler Years book has restaked it's claim on my nightstand and will now commence to be Mommy's bedtime reading for the duration. sigh. . .

Pat and I have already begun to think about our tithe for the church for next year. The annual stewardship campaign generally begins in the fall with the expectation that your pledge be in by Thanksgiving so the Vestry can prepare a budget for the following year before this year ends. However, this year our church is starting a Capital Campaign in order to do some renovations and to pay down some debt on buildings that have recently been purchased. Not exactly the best of timing with the way the economy is these days. Anyway, Pat and I had discussed it and had already decided to not increase our regular pledge citing child care expenses and increased gas expenses. We haven't totally decided what to do about the Capital Campaign yet. We're still thinking and praying on this one. Anyway, during the discussion, we had started talking about sending money, on a regular basis, to the orphanage that Aidan came from. We would like to do this because the need is great and it feels, to us, like a bit of a thanksgiving for the gift of our son. So, I contacted our agency about this and added that we would love to send a picture of Aidan for the orphanage--there is a wall with pictures of children adopted that is too cute! Well, we received a response that we would need to coordinate this with someone who is going to Russia and were given a contact in order to get this to them and we need to be sure to let the agency know so that they can let Dr. D know. In other words, it would be a one time thing. Not exactly what we had in mind! In addition, we were told that it would be good for us to have this contact in order to discuss our experiences. . .they are returning for a sibling to a prior adoption. . .I guess I didn't realize we needed additional people to discuss this with!

But, I gotta tell you, when my son looks at me, and there is that light in his eyes and the smile on his face, I just melt and know I would do anything for him. He is making me who I am today. Thanks be to God!