In the Trenches

We are in Oklahoma and as of today, our new son is with us full-time. We spent a few hours with him yesterday, and the word that immediately came to mind was, “winsome.” Followed very closely by “hyper,” “afraid,” and “confused.” And we’re not talking about a kid who’s just active. We’re talking about a child that moves pretty much non-stop – literally. At the moment, it’s beginning to look like this could continue around the clock.

Today has been full of sweet moments — a few spontaneous kisses, genuine attempts to understand and obey new rules, giggles. But also many tough moments. It takes both of us remaining alert and in motion constantly to stay on top of him, and we are exhausted. It really does look like he may not sleep at all tonight, although he is quiet now and moving a little bit less in bed.

Please don’t stop praying for us. It really is very hard right now. Harder than we expected in some ways, but not as hard as we expected in other ways. But we need an abundance of wisdom and patience, and an incredible amount of supernatural energy at the moment. We are praying that, as he slowly begins to adjust to us and moves past this initial very scary (for him) phase, some of these issues will diminish.

That’s about all for now. He is precious and charming, and in ways that we understand but can’t fully explain, agonizingly tortured from inside. Please pray for peace for our little boy. And you can pray for him by name now! Meet Nolan David Rosenow. His name means, “noble champion, well-beloved.” Our hearts long to reach him and help him through his challenges, and we already feel like he’s a champion to be doing as well as he is.

We both had our hands so full all day, that taking pictures was almost impossible, but here are few from our first full day together. Thank you so much for being on this path with us.