It seems hard to believe that Mukhtar Grace, our newest child (and our first daughter!), has been with us for three months now. 

She is slowly starting to fit in; as for our boys (David Ezekial, 15, Paul Joseph, 12, and Canaan Daniel, 2), they are all getting used to having another girl hanging around their house (besides their mom, of course!).  We are, at long last, becoming a family.

Mukhtar continues to have speech, physical, and occupational therapies, so she can catch up to her peers.  It is too soon to tell if it is making any difference (plus she cries when she has to have therapy), but we remain hopeful.  (Mukhtar is "developmentally delayed".)

We have decided to keep her original given name.  We tried different names, but none seemed to fit this tiny, dark peanut; Mukhtar seems more suited for her.  We decided to give her an American middle name:  that way, she has the best of both worlds -- her former home back in India, and her new home here in America; that way, she can identify with both places.

Mukhtar is going to church with us every Sunday.  She isn't sure what to make of this strange new custom, but she is ready (and willing) to accept each new experience that comes her way (it's just going to take some time is all; we will have to learn to be patient with her and follow her lead instead of having her conform to ours).

Learning about "Jee-zuz" is confusing to her, but she has decided that He seems nice, so she doesn't mind.  Maybe she will end up having Christ in her life, as does my wife and myself (and our two oldest boys).  Little Canaan, meanwhile, is too little to know of Christ, but he does go to the church preschool every Sunday and Wednesday; there, the little ones learn about Jesus via simple songs, puppet shows, and games geared to their level.  So even he is learning about Jesus.

Like Mukhtar, we hope that Canaan will come to the saving grace of Christ some day. 

Church is an integral part of our lives, as our two youngest will (are) finding out.  My daddy was a Nazarene street preacher in his younger days; when he was in his forties, he had his own church and pastored it until his death two years ago.  Now my mom follows in his stead; she's now the pastor.  We help out at their church every Sunday; this is where we (and the kids) go and worship every Sunday.

Mukhtar has become a popular fixture among the church congregants and staff.  She is getting to know our friends and church family; she is shy now, but we hope that it will wear off once she gets used to us (and her new life).

She still doesn't eat hot dogs, hamburgers, or other meats:  veggies remain her food of choice.  It's no wonder she is so thin and healthy, even with her developmental problems.  She still throws her meat onto the floor (much to our dismay)!  LOL

Mukhtar is also learning how to play and interact with her brothers (and her new friends at church).  She will get angry if frustrated, but we have to teach her the concept of sharing and getting along with others.  It is an ongoing process, one that requires a lot of time and patience (on all our parts).

We have since gotten a cat:  a little Ragdoll kitten that Mukhtar has taken to.  She's named him already. "Ghandi".  She carries him everywhere, like a doll, and "Ghandi" tolerates it quite well.  He is constantly purring; he has such a happy, laid-back personality.  Our youngest boy loves playing with him, too, but he can get rough with him, much to our dismay.

We have our work cut out for us as parents:  teach Canaan how to treat the kitty nicely and to teach Mukhtar about "Jee-zuz".  Also sharing and getting along with other kids her age.

Well, Canaan is howling, so I'd best see what is going on.  I will write in here again soon with another update; until then, this is Greg Kinney saying so long and God bless!

~Greg.  :)

*to be continued.*