The Goza Family: Anna and her "guys"

I have been meaning for some time to post about Anna's interactions with her brothers. I have to say that leading up to the trip to China to get Anna I was concerned about how it would impact them. It is a big adjustment, after all, for the arrival of a new child in a family - and knowing that sweet Anna would need a lot of therapy and medical attention made me a little worried about how the boys would respond. As I look back over the past year, I am so thankful for what an amazing job they have done with their baby sister. The one I was most worried about (since he was losing his "baby status" in the family) was Will - and I can't keep Will away from Anna! I am constantly having to tell Will that Anna needs some space, let's not hug Anna so much right now, etc...as Will is constantly hugging and interacting with her. A month or two after Anna came home, Will started to make up his own birth story to match Anna's...so he would tell us something like this: "When I was a baby girl in China, and my name was Josh Hamilton, and I lived in an orphanage, you came and got me and took me to Dallas and named me Will!" The older boys thought that was absolutely hilarious and love to tell that story over and over again - and we've finally convinced Will that he was never a Chinese baby girl with a major league baseball player's name - that God brought children to our home in different ways! A few weeks ago Will's class worked on a project in Sunday school. They were talking about how God provides for them, and the teachers had the kids tell them what they would ask God to provide them. Here's Will's list: "house, clothes, tent, water, food, baby sister, and a Bible". Now, that is a very nice list - he even threw in the Bible - but a couple of items are noticeably absent. I guess David, Nate, Alex and I won't take it too personally.
Alex and Nate have been so kind with their sister as well. Alex has such a tender heart and will tell me frequently that he thinks we should adopt another baby since there are so many orphans (sigh - what a kind heart - but no plans for that at this time!) Nate gets Anna out of her crib almost every morning, and he loves to carry her around and laugh with her. Certainly my boys have their moments, and they aren't always joyful to attend Anna's doctor or therapy visits and wait - but I am grateful that they have adjusted so well. I hear some version of this phrase frequently in our home from all 3 of the boys (with no prompting from me or David), "I am so glad Anna is a part of our family!" Me too, boys...me too!