First Family Vacation!!

We were very blessed last week to be able to take our first family vacation with Naomi and Joanna.  We have been waiting for a LONG time to be able to stuff our Suburban full of kids and luggage and head off to one of our favorite vacation destinations:  The Outer Banks
Over the years we have enjoyed many family vacations with our siblings and cousins and parents at the beach.  It is one of our favorite ways to spend time with the extended family and we had looked forward to the time when we could teach the girls all of the fun traditions that have formed.  Though we were unable to get to the beach with all of the extended family, we did rope the 4 grandparents into joining us for the week.  We looked forward to them getting to know the girls better, to the kids all having fun making memories as siblings, and to a week just to play together without the pressures of normal life.  Our week did not disappoint us in any way.
The week could not have been more fun or relaxing.  We loved every moment of introducing the girls to the ocean.  Naomi had no fear of the water and spent hours digging in the sand. She fit right in with the crew whether they were jumping waves or digging tunnels.  Joanna preferred to sit neatly on a blanket and have snacks fed to her, but after a bit of coercion she was happy to run in the shallow waves and dig for hidden dinosaurs in the sand.  Though she might have preferred to be other places, she was a happy little camper as long as she was with the family.

The pool in the backyard provided hours of fun as well.  Joanna and Noami have become water bugs this summer and even though the water and air temperatures were a little on the cool side, they both loved being able to be in the water any time we were back at the house.  We even got them to enjoy time in the hot tub (or, as Joanna likes to call it, the "hot pool!")

Another favorite family tradition is running on the dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park.  The cool weather made this a very enjoyable outing for all of us.  Though the climb is a daunting, the run back down the dunes is always worth the work!  We were treated this time to a unique experience.  The rains from the night before created ankle-deep pools that we were able to wade through on the way back to our shoes!

Our week was a great way to learn even more about each other, build trust, and just have fun together, There were shared experiences which helped Naomi, especially, to feel even more a part of this family.  One of the hardest things about adopting an older child (in  my limited experience) is that you want so badly for your child to jump in and feel loved and feel a part of the family.  You want them to  embrace the family right away.  However, that takes time and it takes shared experiences.  We needed to grow together through making memories and creating things in common.  The beach was the perfect place to work on trust and also to build common memories.

We are grateful to the grandparents who came along to spend the week with us all.  We enjoyed watching the kids enjoy their grandparents and we also benefited greatly from the help they provided as we ferried wagons full of chairs, boogie boards, and toys to the beach each day.  We loved playing Hide and Seek in the house, several rounds of UNO with whoever was willing to play, mini-golfing in the side yard and also watching the Washington Nationals play each night.  Thank you for watching movies with us,  finding ways to engage with 6 differently
personalitied children in a way that was meaningful to them, and for helping us fly kites.   Thank you for loving our family exactly as it is right now.  Thank you for taking the time our of your schedules to show Naomi and Joanna what being in a family feels like. Thank you for allowing us to parent in the way we feel is best and for supporting us in this journey.  We are blessed to have you as role models in our lives and I know that our children will be blessed through your Godly example in their lives.