Thick Skin

Some bloggers quote Bible verses, and someday, I hope to be one of those bloggers, but today, I quote my fortune cookie.
"Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it."
Alright, so all is truly going very well. We are having so much fun with our new, big family, as I have mentioned before. But, so much of it is a matter of perspective, I think.

For example, Halie has said the following to me in the last week:

"I will hide in a place where you will never find me and I won't have to go home with you."

said to Grandma Nancy "I don't want them to be my Mommy and Daddy."

"I want my Mommy...and it's NOT you."

Normally, I think that those comments might hurt a little bit. Instead of letting it hurt me, or even feel like it has anything to do with me, I am grateful that she feels comfortable enough to express her feelings openly and honestly. We sit together, Halie and I,  and talk about how much "we" miss Grandma and how "we" think that it would be nice to go there every day. We often look at her picture book from the past year as well as the pictures from the "send off party" that we had there last Friday.

For years I have prayed for God to be working in my heart, helping to prepare me for our adoption journey. I prayed that he would mold me into the foster/adoptive mom that He needed me to be for whatever kids he had planned for us. Now, I thank God that he did just that. He has given me an abundance of little hugs and kisses and "Mommy, you're the best!"s to help thicken my skin for the "You're not my Mommy!"s.

I am so grateful for the process and the faith that I have that God is using it all for good.