Surprises

A lot has happened in our life the last week. We've decided to add another child to our family... but not the usual way. My oldest sister suffers from Bi-polar and a few other mental illnesses. She has a son, Dallin, who is 8 and has been living with her. On Saturday she realized that she couldn't care for him anymore and asked Jon and I to adopt him. We, of course, agreed and have been in a whirlwind of preparations since. (As I type this Jon is putting together a dresser for him.)

So we are about to become the parents of a talented, sweet, smart little boy. I have had a mixture of feelings as we have been going through this. Relief that he will be somewhere safe, overwhelmed, mainly overwhelmed, upset, stressed, torn, selfish, excitement. I've asked myself a lot of questions. How will I be a cubscout mom? Can I really be the mother of an 8 year old? How do I best teach him the gospel? How can I make this transition as smooth as possible, both for him and the rest of us?

Many of these questions I don't have an answer to. All I know is that there is a little boy who needs love and guidance. We're excited for this new adventure. He leaves with my Dad tomorrow and will be arriving on Sunday afternoon.

It amazes me how fast life can change, and how little you know about what Heavenly Father has in store for you. I'm scared and excited. It's almost like we went from finding out we were pregnant to giving birth to an eight year old in the space of a week. We never know what is in store for us and it can change faster than a blink of an eye.