Firsts and one year ago today

I'm sure there will be many "firsts" in this new journey we are on. Some will be easy, some will be hard. But, all will be a step in getting our new "normal" figured out. So today, we went to a restaurant for lunch. Nothing fancy, just Maia's favorite fast food place. When we pulled in, she seemed to look happy but it was difficult to tell if she really recognized it or not.
Didn't feel that much different than usual, although in many ways it was. We negotiated the restaurant with Maia's wheelchair without difficulty even though I don't think that they are well equipped for that situation. I'm not sure it would have been possible with an adult wheelchair. Whether it was coincidence or not, an older gentleman and his disabled daughter came and sat at the table next to ours. When they left, another visually impaired couple sat at that table. I was very impressed with how the restaurant staff took care of them. Would I have noticed that type of thing before? I'm not sure.
We had a pretty good day. Ran a couple of errands while Mark took the kids over to Nana and Papa's. After everyone was home, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the backyard. Water wars for Matthew, Mark, and me while Maia supervised from her spot on a blanket in the shade. Had a good time, although we had to call it quits after Matthew decided to get Maia wet (after he had been advised not to - lol).  While I was relaxing with Maia, it occurred to me that an afternoon like this may have been less likely to happen if she hadn't gotten sick. I tend to be one of those people who always feels like I should be doing "something" even when I am burnt out and in need of rest/recovery. Perhaps God will use this time to slow me down a bit and teach me that I don't have to be on the go 24/7. Anyway... it was wonderful to just have fun, enjoy a little bit cooler weather (sad when 85 degrees feels cool), and be together.
Kids both had an early night. Matthew was in bed before 7pm because of a bit lot of attitude and defiance. I think he was exhausted because he was asleep within a few minutes. Maia was in bed and asleep around 7:30pm - she didn't have a nap today so she was tired, too. May regret this when they are both awake at 4:30am - lol!  It was nice to have a a few hours of quiet time with Mark. Steaks on the grill (Gaye - we are saving your Subway giftcard for a day that I am working) and corn on the cob (way too early in the season for it to be good). Now, we're watching video from about 20 years ago taken at Mark's parents' place in Canada and just relaxing. What a blessing!

And speaking of blessings... one year ago today, we stood before a judge in Sevastopol, Ukraine and were given the gift of parenthood a second time. Dima became Matthew Dmitriy Hansen - a wanted child, much loved son/grandson/nephew/friend! Today is a special day, indeed!!

 The courthouse

Then

Now - I love you precious boy!