Remember me?

Hello again my friends! Yes, I know it's been a while. It's harder to find the time or the energy to write these days, now that "real life" has begun. We have been home 2 weeks today. In some ways it seems like yesterday when we got off that plane, but in other ways it seems like forever ago. Slowly but surely we are settling back in and seeing glimpses of our "new normal". I'll be honest, there have been times when I really miss my "old normal". There are other times when I enjoy the new. There are a few things that I have found to be 100% true all the time with four kids:
-Someone is always hungry
-There are always more clothes that are dirty than are clean
-My house is not as tidy as I would like it to be
-There is not enough of me to be everything everyone needs all the time
I have been physically tired, but I think now the mental exhaustion is the hardest. It's frustrating not having the laundry done, knowing the house is a mess and not having the energy to clean it up and knowing I have to choose which child needs the most attention at any given moment. I know once we get into a new routine these things will get easier.
As far as how Lila is doing, I really think things are going as good as they can. The language barrier has been hard. She is understanding some things we say, but not offering to say much in English. When we were in China, she never really communicated with anyone. She mostly just laughed and made sounds which of course we didn't understand. Since we have been home, she has actually started talking in more understandable Chinese, if that makes sense. We still don't know what she is saying, but we recognize that she is speaking in Mandarin. Lynn had some fun with her tonight. He was on a website that said phrases in Mandarin and she was repeating what it would say and seemed to understand it. We had quite a few laughs with it. As aggravating as it is sometimes not knowing what she needs or wants, I know we will miss the sound of her speaking in her language when she switches to English.
I think for now, this is all I've got. Maybe soon I can write about some of the many things I have filed away in my head to revisit later. Right now, I am focused on helping her find her place in our family and making sure she is having her needs met. The scripture that pretty much gets me thru the day right now is Lamentations 3:22-23-

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness

I am so thankful his mercies are new each day. No matter how many times I mess up today, and sometimes it's a lot, I can begin tomorrow with a clean slate. Thru it all, He has been faithful and He always will be, even when I don't deserve it!