"Anna not touch my...."

This is how Lucy begins nearly every sentence.  "Anna not touch my..." fill in the blank.  Lucy does not want Anna touching anything that might possibly belong to Lucy.  Lucy and Anna even had a throw-down yesterday, with Anna doing the chihuahua chew, where she bares her little teeth and growls, and Lucy doing her best gorilla imitation, where she towered over Anna, puffed out her chest and growled back.  It was comical and yet a little sad.  Lucy is very seldom angry, so it's a little unnerving to see her react this way.  Even so, I know it's normal two-year old business when she sees someone honing in on her still-recently-established territory.

We have commandeered Lucy's stroller for Anna.  Lucy is heavier to carry, but she is less squirmy, and she knows how to latch on (boy, does she!), so she's easier to maneuver being carried than Anna is.  Lucy has also lost some of her wardrobe to Anna since Anna is much smaller than we anticipated.
Most of what we brought for Anna (sizes 4 and 5) is too big.  Anna is a little taller than Lucy, but she's extremely thin.  I have cinched the size 4 shorts down as far as they will go.  Even 4T bike shorts hang on Anna's skinny frame.  Yesterday, I sent over some of Lucy's 3Ts to my mom for Anna.  Today, when we arrived to breakfast, Anna was sporting one of Lucy's shirts.  I figured Lucy would never know the difference, but Lucy is paying attention!  She spoke right up -- "That's MINE!"

Our day was downhill from there....Anna testing EVERY limit placed on her, and our usually easy-going Lucy sobbing over the tiniest of slights.  Add one overly-helpful Amelia AiChun trying to set things right among the younger set, and well, you have the picture.  The good news is that this time around, I am not letting any of it rock me.  I know this is normal, and I know it will get better. 

This time, I am the one assuring my mother and father that all WILL be well -- maybe not immediately, but eventually.  The LORD did not bring us this far to do anything except to cause us good things.  He intends to prosper us, not harm us.  His plans for us a good plans.  These good plans are for all of us, the children already in our lives and this precious waif who has just joined our family.

I wrote the beginning of this post earlier in the day.  Later in the day, we were telling Lucy about how Anna can't hear and how we need to be kind to Anna.  Lucy looked lovingly and her treasured stuffed kitty, then tentatively made her way toward Anna, where she pushed kitty into Anna's arms as a peace offering.  It was the most precious, beautiful thing!  My mother cried.

Later in the day, I lost my confidence about our ability to handle all of Anna's needs and found myself in tears at the thought of trying to properly integrate Anna into the family and being able to give her everything she needs.  She is so behind in every way, especially just in daily life business.  We have not seen positive signs yet even about her ability to bond.  Still, we TRUST the one who showed us Anna's face, who brought her into our lives, and who has numbered our steps.  It seems SO completely overwhelming at the moment, but greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world.  Anna will make it, and so will we.  We cannot fail -- too many lives are at stake.  Amelia, Anna, and Lucy are gifts that our family never even knew to ask for, and yet, our Father, in His infinite wisdom, has called us out and chosen us to shepherd these little hearts.  Their souls are important to Him.  They have purpose in His kingdom.  We will prevail.  It may just be a long, bumpy road.

Please pray for us all.  Prayer makes the biggest difference.  We beg for your prayers.

Here are some photos from today.