The (Little known) 8th day of Creation.

The (Little known) 8th day of Creation.

Then God said: Let the Avocado (created on the 3rd day) be smashed and blended with other gifts. And so it happened, the fruit from the tree, was smashed an blended with the spices and fruits of all the best trees and plants.

God called the creation, Guacamole. And saw that it was Good. Very good.

Evening came, and morning followed—the eighth day

The NEW normal

It has been almost 2 weeks since we arrived home and it feels like the chaos is actually starting to die down. The school routine is back on track (sorry about the late payment daycare! oops!) and the kids are settling down to the routine. Things are back in swing at work and the house isn't totally a disaster area. Given this, I wanted to do a post of a few things from the last few weeks:
1. I proved that it takes 6 weeks of speaking a foreign language to start dreaming in that language. A couple of nights after getting home, E2 came in our room and woke me out of my Spanish dream, I continued half asleep speaking to him and calling in a girl none the less in Spanish before i woke up and realized what I was doing.
2. 4 kids is a LOT of kids. I don't know for sure why going from 3 to 4 made it seem like they are everywhere, but every time I turn around, someone's calling "mama, mama" or I am tripping on them under my feet. Going anywhere is like herding cats as they scatter in ever which direction and sitting in the gaz-bo at night watching them on the jumper make me think the neighbors must be wondering if we are running a daycare. Its all good though because I am also getting 4 x's as many hugs!
3. The dishes, the laundry, need I say more? I have never seen so many skid marks in my life and if we could all stop throwing our tp in the garbage can, that would help also, we arn't in Colombia anymore people!
4. Speaking of Spanish, in my infintate wisdom, I decided to share some of the Catholic doctrine with our new daughter last week at church not remembering that i really don't speak Spanish well enough to explain Catholic doctrine to a 5 yr old, I am pretty sure she now thinks we are all vampires and are going to try and drain her blood.
5. We have been busy also channeling Uncle Buck. With N's picky eatting, we have been sending her to school with some unusual lunches which usually include a halved avocado. T is having fun imaging her opening her lunch to the gasps of the kids around her who are probably wondering what her parents were thinking when they packed her lunch that morning.
Thats it for now from the home front! Just sitting back and enjoying family life and working on getting 4 kids loaded into the car in less than 20 mins! Boo-yah!

Family of 6

Hard to believe we have been home from Colombia for just over a week. So much has been going on, it has been hard to keep track: transitions to school, transitions to work, catching up on everything for the last 6 weeks, my head is spinning and I keep forgetting school drop off locations or to sign kids in and out. I don't want to jinx it, but N has been doing amazing. It was summed up by the administrator at school yesterday when she looked at me and said "You guys are really bless, she is incredible!". I just replied "I know". When I think about all she has been through in the 5 years of her life, I am in awe of her. I have to credit the amazing foster family that cared for her over the past 3 years. We will forever be grateful to them for their unconditional love. I pray pray pray, when N turns 18 that we will be able to find them and thank them in person.
I will say, after bringing home our 3 yr old from Congo and the developmental and behavioral issues we are working through with her, even though I knew N was our daughter from the min. I saw her name, I was terrified that we would have difficult emotional and developmental issues to overcome. It is true that God only gives you what you can handle (and I think God knows we can only handle one K!). He knew N would be perfect in our family as an older sister to K and someone that could show her the joy of playing dolls and just plain goofing around. It warms my heart when I see N grab K's hand and yammer something to her in Spanish and lead her off to some sort of adventure! Not sure why God chose us to raise these amazing kiddos, but I am humbled, truely humbled that he did.
It is hard to believe that we have spent the last 7 yrs of our marriage (over half the time we have been married) working on the adoption of our kiddos. That is planning, research, paperwork (oh the paperwork), doctors appointment, social worker appointments, more paperwork, travel, bonding, saving $$saving $$saving, praying praying praying then waiting waiting waiting....I am exhausted just typing it. It is almost like the end of an era. As an engineer, I am an obsessed timeline tracker, and because of that, our adoptions have been incredibly emotionally draining to me. It is an amazing feeling to know our family is complete. And when I tell people that, I always preface it by saying that if God doesn't think so, he better scream pretty loud because my hands are now permanently over my ears and I am yelling "I can't hear you!!"

Adoption - A story behind the story

This article was shared with J & I be an awesome "Therapeutic Mom".  If you are wondering what in the world is a Therapeutic Mom, when sorry, but that will have to be a post for another time.  Try searching google, for "therapeutic parenting".   Anyway, as we are adjusting to life as a bigger family, and trying to get "into" school. We are faced with some challenges.  Quite honestly, we don't know what the solution is or where the road we are no on is taking us.  We have one of two "leads" to follow up on, so we are not without Hope yet.  Its unlikely to be a friendly and fun journey either, heck not that it has been thus far.  I know that I found this article to be particularly.... interesting.  It doesn't offer tools, or solutions.  But it does put into light some perspectives that Adoptive Parents have a very difficult time trying to share with family and friends.

http://nysccc.org/adoption/realities-of-adoption/

Boys! Mama is Coming HOME!

God was with us yesterday when we stopped in the ICBF office for a Hague required last paper and the director had left her cell phone in a cab and was no where to be found. Just as we were about to leave, she ran in multitasking like crazy and signed the paper! We headed in terrible traffic to the embassy and because it was Friday before a holiday, they we taking visa applications and we were the only family there! Courrier from the lab with the doctors report hadn't arrived yet...bummer, but we were able to call on my cell because it didn't have a camera so it wasn't confiscated and found out hte lady was also stuck in traffic but had just arrived at the gate! Another blessing! N was interviewed and it was quite cute. He asked her her name, and who was with her to which she responded "mama". Then he asked her where she wanted to go and she said "yo quiero ir a Los Estados Unidos!" and he asked what she was going to do there and she said "jugar! (play)". He asked if she ws going to go to school and she relpied "No!". We both laughed. Visa will be ready after the holiday and we have rebooked our tickets! Boys! Mama is coming home and there better not be a pile of laundry waiting for me when I get there!

Just Buy Another Pair of Shoes

So your in Colombia and find out the immigration requirements just changed on August 15th regarding turburculin testing and you are the trail blazing family that has to be the first to figure out the new system.....just go and buy another pair of shoes

Yah, you arrive at the only embassy approved lab at 7:00 in the morning after a 45 min. taxi ride, stand in line to get in only to find out the only lab approved by the embassy doesn't do the new test that is required....just go and buy another pair of shoes

Sure, the new policy requires you to hold your daughter down while a tube is stuffed down her throat even after the x-ray is clear.....of course, just go and buy yourself another pair of shoes.

And the lab thinks the sample MUST be for a culture because who in their right mind would order this test for someone who is asymptomatic so they ignore the order voiding the first nose tube torture on your daughter who screamed and cried the whole time....just go and buy another pair of shoes

And after 4 days of tortuous forced coughing, sampling, poking and proding after the doctor suggests that the testing must be easy by now and you feel like punching him in the face....cry your eyes out when they tell you the last sample is sufficient so the entire hospital staff can see you, your daughter can wonder why you can't stop crying and the cab driver will think you are crazy...and go buy yourself another pair of shoes......but not just any pair of shoes, a pair of shoes that will be good for kick ass!!!!!

Justice is a dish best served... On wheat?

As if the family didnt have enough going on. I got a jury summons. Repeated calls to ask to be deferred fell on deaf ears. Spent the morning with 150ish of my closest new friends trying to avoid falling asleep while waiting and waiting and waiting, and oh yeah. Waiting some more. In the end, they did not need many jurors, so many of us were sent home. But not before being told we could still go down into the dinning hall to pickup our "jury" sandwiches.

So there you have it. $10 and a turkey on wheat for a 1/2 of day of sitting around.

Whats in a Basement...

Its been on the todo list for gosh. over a year I guess. But I was always curious as to what a basement remodel, a whole heck of a lot of sweat equity, and some necessities would run. I finally tallied up the costs for our basement remodel.

$4,224.25 Was the total. I must admit that I'm pretty impressed. Considering the extras, and some issues that came about. Now I'll have to admit. The costs of the paint and the super discounted area rugs are not included. So I dunno. Tack on another $100 to $150 tops.

Some breakdowns. about $1786.91 of this cost was the flooring and underlayment. 42% of the overall project costs. Ouch! But we wanted the nicer faux stone laminate flooring. Its looks great!

The ceiling cost about 781.56, or about 19% of the overall costs.

The cost of new tools (heck what would be project be if you can't land yourself some new tools. For me the biggest was biscuit jointer. LOVE IT!!) was only $156.16. Even Jodie can't complain about that.

The rest was for 2x4 lumber for framing, the can lights, electrical supplies, etc etc.

Oh yeah, one of the most important breakdown. about $10 in candy. Mostly Spree and Twizzlers as the checkout aisle in Menards. Hey a man has to eat!!

Whats in store? A master bathroom remodel. Something tells me that $4224 is not gonna cut it, but you never know. We got J, the master tile layer on board. So except for new fixtures, its just some basic rewiring, the extend of the new drywall will be determined. Cost for a dumpster, and possibly a plumber thrown in for final hookups. Stay tuned in 2012!

Court Report

N and I flew back to Bucha last week for our big day in court. I expected some big Peary Mason type court room with a judge in a robe and huge bench with a gaval, but in reality, it was an office in the court room so there was no shock and awe. I was suppose to have an official translator there as i kept hearin T in the back of my head saying "don't be stupid J, ask for a translator, what are you going to do if he asks you something and you can't answer?". Well the translator never showed up and the attorney said the case would have to be postponed unless I could prove to them I understood Spanish. Oh poo! Our translator assured the attorney that I understand Spanish PERFECTLY! I thought I was going to have a panic attach right there in the middle of the floor. Sure, I had on my cute red Colombian shoes and sure I can understand my 5 yr old, but a judge and legal munbo jumbo? That is a whole new ball game. So they hand me the documents and ask me to start reading out loud at the counter. Ok ok, all looks good, names spell right, I understand.....first test passed, next onto the judges room. N is so undone, she hates any kind of office buildings and freaks out. I tell the attorny if she throws a raging fit, i wouldnt be able to focus on the translation, luckly, they buy her some snacks and when we are called into the judge's office, she is content to sit in the chair and chomp on her snack. Window is open and noise from the street and the door is open with noise from the office, I pull the chair right up to the judge's desk and lean way in, direct eye contact and listening intently to every word....he says he will speak slowly so it is easier for me to understand him, good I am thinking. He goes through our responsibiities toward our daughter quickly and they starts talking about how young and pretty I am???? Hands me the paper to sign and we are done. The attorney cant believe it and makes it sound to the translator that i bewitched him or something crazy. I am turning a hundred shades of red while she is talking afterwards. Telling the story afterwards I realized that in my intent to make sure I was clear on everything he was saying, my body language could have been sending a WHOLE different message...OOPS! Must have been those hot little Colombian red shoes! That's my story and I'm sticking to it! We are officially a family of 6! Now we just need to figure out how to get her back into the US!

Reading of the Day

Shared with my from E1's Godmother.

Reading of the Day ...

Psalm 116:1-2 “I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.”

Peace