Straight from the (little) horses mouths...

Wondering if I should add something about the kids' perspective to what I'm going to share at the retreat, I asked each of the kids, one by one, in private 2 questions: 

1) How has adoption affected you?
2) How do you think it has affected your parents?

I typed their answers, verbatim and made no adjustments whatsoever, despite my wildly compelling urge to polish their remarks, especially the ones about me...(eek!)

This is what they had to say:

Jayla ~ It's good to give kids a home and things of their own, but they should be with their own parents if their parents are still alive. 

I have a sister that is close to me in age and is my best friend. 

I think you spend a lot of time with M&F's problems. I know that they have had a hard life and it's taken a toll on them, but you spend a lot of time time trying to help them. 

Tyden ~ I think that M&F are, like I love to play with Flint, but I don't like the lying. And, I like to play with Meadow a lot, like we play outside and go to the lake and lots of things, but she lies too and I don't like how rude she is to people and really bossy, but she used to be more bossy. 

I think it stresses you (mom) out a lot because they lie so much.

For dad, I think it stresses him out a lot because they're stressing you out and that stresses him out.

Stryder ~ Flint started to get rude, so that's "infecting" (he means affecting, oh.my.heart!) me. Meadow, she doesn't do anything that bothers me.

It takes mom and dad a lot of work with Meadow and Flint.

Onyx ~ Well, it's been hard because M&F have had trouble with a lot of lying and you can't really believe them and so it's been hard for everybody because of that. It's made my life harder along with everybody else.

It has made you stressed out a lot more and it makes you be mad more, so I don't really like that part.

Clover ~ Uh, Flint likes to play with Stryder. Like when he first came here he didn't play with Stryder or me. But then he and Stryder became buddies, like they share candy and they did stuff together, but then Flint and I were buddies and Stryder gets really mad when Flint plays with me so Flint just changes and be's with him.

I think it did it to dad a little bit and to you (mom) but um, I don't think Meadow and Flint care. If Flint and Meadow want to stop lying, they can. 

Meadow ~  I think that I just don't really think about it a lot but, I'm just trying to be different than I was while I was in Ethiopia then it just ends up being kind of the same but I end up doing lots of things I shouldn't do and things that I don't want to do either. But I have liked having a bunch of siblings to play with and plenty of things to eat and drink and wear and I really have liked being here with a lot of things to do and things that can keep me healthy and stuff. 

I think that I stress you out a lot and when you get stressed out and dad hears about it he gets stressed out a lot too and you both try to help Flint and I doing all the stuff we are doing and I want to stop too. I don't want to stress you out or make you mad or sad. And I want you to be happy and not have to work with me so much. 

Flint ~ Sometimes Stryder likes to, like when I popped my ball and made it into a hat he pulled it off and I didn't really like that. Since I got adopted I have a lot more food and I don't have bugs in my hair anymore.

Bad, cuz I lie to you and I keep doing things that I know I should not do but I do them anyway.