progress

I am a couple of hours away from my babies tonight and missing them and Mason more than I can say! Truth be told, I don't quite yet see Kamelia as one of my sweet babes. But I should take this opportunity to tell you, and moreover to tell myself, about the progress that she has made since coming home.

Although we feel like we have already trudged through a painful eternity since her homecoming, she has only been in this country for 16 days! In those 16 days since leaving Bulgaria, she has gone from Florida to Louisiana to Alabama. This is not the ideal adjustment period for the typical adopted child, but this is the way it necessarily unfolded for her. Now I'm in Georgia. This also may not have been the ideal time for me to leave a new child for two days, but I was not about to miss this wedding, and many people told me that I could use this break and should enjoy it so I am doing my best to do that.

This has been a time of unparalleled upheaval for Kami, but here is a list of the noticeable changes we've seen in her since pickup day July 28:

- She no longer cowers and freaks out in a warm shower
- She can speak or sing the following words in English: more, please, drink, water, nut, fishy, "banan" (banana), Jesus, Isaiah, Daddy, Momma, wash, calm, "opposie" (opposites), open, close, push, pull, eat, me, all done, "musa" (music), shower, fun, gentle, potty, poop. That's 28 words. [in the two days since writing this she has said several more, including book, Bible, apple, trash, etc.]
- She is drinking enough water for the first time in her life
- She is learning to throw away trash on her own
- Her two rotten front baby teeth have come out
- She is slowly learning that her wild tantrums and self harm don't get her anything that she wants and is gradually tapering them down in intensity and frequency, though we see it as a yo-yo effect and would certainly prefer that they stop immediately and forever!
- she is accepting the answer "no" better and starting to use the self-regulating techniques we have shown her (a special, safe, soft place to calm down where she can't hurt anyone or herself, etc.)

It helps me immensely to document and see this progress. It's going to take time for her to become a functioning and healthy member of our family, but I want to believe that it will happen and that within a few months time she will be a different child. We've gotten a few glimpses of the real girl inside all of the hurt, isolation and deprivation. Those glimpses are encouraging. I'll keep it short for now, but I want to do my best to update those faithful prayer warriors who continue to intercede for the life of this little girl who is just as precious to Jesus as any of our children by birth! And there are countless others like her in Bulgaria and around the world.