Slacking - Sort Of

Kind of feel like a slacker in the blogging department. It was a pretty busy with the big boys out of town last week. And yet behind the scenes, (in other words - what's happening in real life) I was hoofin' it on the adoption front. Big time.

I've been going along with getting paperwork done, a little bit here and a little bit there. Small doses is good because adoption requires a mountain of paper and oh so much courage to bare your soul, your closet, and pretty much everything else in between. 

And then, our homestudy was approved in unprecedented record time. The gun sounded and the race was on for a sweet little girl who NEEDS her family.

We combined a doctor trip and swung south to pick up our homestudy and take it to the State House to be certified.

Welcome we were but not for very long. It took about 15 minutes to certify three documents. While we were waiting we went down the hall to watch the House in session.

Posthaste, we headed straight to FED*EX where I stood in front of a photocopier for an hour. Copy, flip, turn, copy. We sent our certified documents to be authenticated at the Chinese Embassy in New York and a second package flew to the USCIS lockbox in Texas. Phew! I said a little prayer and off they went.

 Five days later, our dossier is complete. 

I highly recommend reusing a dossier from a previous adoption.

My mind was not QUITE as boggled as the first time around!

 No understatement here. 

A child is waiting for her mommy and daddy to come pick her up.

 My special helper today...

 couldn't quite figure out how to handle with care AND open the door.

The nice thing about living in a small town is the peeps at the post office are INTO it. They have seen me a lot and are ever so gracious about getting my stuff where it needs to go as quickly and $$efficiently$$ as possible. 

Paperwork is gone. All I have left is one neat pile. 

Now we wait.

And pray.

A lot.
 

I Might Be Tired

I was perusing my pictures trying to think of a blog topic.

I got nothing.

It's been a long week.

Single parenting is tough stuff.

Especially when you have kids that do NOT like change.

And for the umpteenth time, you forget to prepare everyone better.

But we survived by taking it one day at a time and doing some fun things together. Ice cream, swimming, and the ocean cover a multitude of mommy sins.

The big boys will drive home tomorrow and we will happily all be under one roof. 

Wednesday, I left at 7:45am and by 5:00pm, clearly I was pretty tired. I came out of the store and had a laugh at my own expense over my poor parking skills.

Except that today I did it again.

The crowning blow was when I was loading my pictures just now and glanced over at the arm of the couch where I had set my earrings that I wore all day. Notice anything? Yes, I wore two completely different earrings all day long. I am now wondering if the psychologist I met with this morning thought I was crazy or just a little Bohemian.

Oh dear.

I am going to bed now.

Our China Hearts X 2

We had our six month Pediatric Cardiology appointment this week.

We were supposed to go to Boston last week for a second opinion but the scheduler made a mistake and we are rescheduled for May. At the time of the change I was perturbed because I was hoping to go over the results with our regular cardiologist and get his feedback.

Clearly God has my back. After this visit to our regular doctor I feel 100% more prepared to go to Boston and ask the right questions. If we had gone to Boston mid-April, we would have walking in blind. I also have a better understanding of why we are not treating Joshua's pulmonary hypertension more aggressively. That darn leaky valve. Besides having only two pumping chambers, he has a valve that is not holding up and making it difficult to create a treatment plan. We found out some of our options down the road as Joshua's heart disease progresses. 

Now if I can get the nurses to treat him like an eight year old that speaks perfect English instead of thinking he is a 4 year old who can't understand anything...I mean if I can do that with grace, then I will be a better person.

 We couldn't ask for a happier kid.

The big treat was having our appointment at the brand new office space. The best part? I parked within 10 feet of the front door. No elevators. No walking around the block in downtown Portland on windy streets. No problem finding a parking space. Hallelujah!

So while we were there, I whipped out our other China honey's picture and information. Our Doctor is the best. He didn't miss a beat and gave us his thoughts on what to expect when we bring little miss five year old home. 

Because you see, she's a heart gal too. That is her special need, an extra special heart that's waiting for a Mommy and a Daddy and a family to call her own.

The Placenta Pants - A True Story

With Bob and the big boys gone to West Virginia on a mission trip, I was grateful that Lindsey was around this weekend (into between milking cow shifts) for some adult interaction. She provided quite a bit of entertainment and giggles with her stories. Here is one of them.

I believe I've arrived as a decent parent of an adult child when she tells me she got pulled over by the police, like the same day. 'Cause you KNOW parents always find out anyway, right?  

Turns out she did NOT complete the required sit-back stop at the end of the off ramp and got pulled over on a very PUBLIC road. Who pulled her over? (Well, could it be there was a little blonde-Honda racial profiling going on here? I wonder, but I'm just the mom.) As she rolled her car window down, a somewhat cute (that's all I could get out of her) very young police officer came strolling up to the driver's side of the car. 

THE Placenta Pants

Wish I could have been a fly in the car when he caught a whiff and a look-see and immediately took two steps back. What was so odious? The works pants covered with bits of placenta from the unpacking of a uterus along with some serious cow fecal material. Science 101 anybody? I'm thinking that young man got a bit more than he bargained for. He recovered enough to ask her where she was going (duh - to work at a dairy farm), gave her a warning, and proceeded to follow her five LONG miles to the border. 

By the way, he didn't have a wedding ring. She checked.

Thanks for the giggle and the story.

On Monday, big sister got home from work (after getting up at 4:00am) to find out her little bro was still sleeping. Guess even a toddler bed looked pretty good.

 Apparently dairy farmers sleep whenever and wherever they can.

 Okay, she was faking for the pictures.

 But he totally wasn't.

There you have it. 

More real life in these parts. 

I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Truly.

Pictures of the Week 4/15-4/21

All my pictures this week were taken with my dying Nikon D80. Automatic settings. I am participating in the Sunday Snap Shot for fun this week.

Brother and Sister

106 / 365

We treasure the time we have together. 

Sometimes they look a lot alike.

School on the Lawn

107 / 365

That's what I'm talkin' about.

Egg Eyes

108 / 365

After one had the idea, all were sure to follow.

Is This What Happens When You Have No TV?

109 / 365

Playing dress up with whatever he finds on the floor of the van. 

A character in the making, for sure.

No Words

110 / 365

This is what sister love looks like.

What I Wish I Believed

111 / 365

As a teenager, I am pretty sure I knew this but didn't believe it. Now that I am a parent, I believe.

Murphy's Law

112 / 365

Husband left on mission trip. Big Red died. 

All About Boys

Let's face it, the boys provide much of the entertainment around here.

No three year old was harmed in the taking of this picture. 

He was all cuddled up with his stuffed animal and a blankie, happy as a clam.

When I asked, all I got was: "We're playing, Mom."

They were so proud of themselves for picking out matching 

 clothes and to my amazement they even color coordinated.

King Tut's got nothing on my boy.

One of these was my picture of the week 

but I couldn't resist showing you a few more.

A four cart week, mostly because everyone was compelled to drive their own.

Love the ERGO. The boys top out a little over and a little under 30 pounds but I can still carry them around the grocery store if they are feeling a bit on the vulnerable side. Which happens from time to time.

I admit we have a hard time disciplining our youngest. 

He's got the cute factor down pat.

Give a boy some wheels and away he goes.

The faster the better.

Not real clear on whose idea this was but there was a lot of laughing.

We arrived just in time to see Jerrod get ready to run his race

at the home meet this week.

He's not a fast starter but once he is halfway through, he really pours it on.

Watching big brother do his sport often means a fun playground.

No complaining here.

If I wasn't such a wuss, I would now be showing you a picture of my three guys heading off to West Virginia on a World Vision mission trip. They left at 4:30 this morning and as of 8:00 tonight, they were getting close. Bob is a great dad to share this experience with his sons, leading by example and serving those in need.

What They Do Know...

Our kids are absolute heroes. Each one has a story to tell that would rival just about anything you could even think up. They have overcome huge obstacles in their lives but even more importantly, each one has grasped what was offered. They know God and love Jesus because He represents the only hope of healing their bruised and battered hearts. So while there was much they did not know when they came into our home and changed our hearts forever, there is something very important that they do know, right here and now.

W
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                          R
                              E
                                 G
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                                                                     10

ON PAPER.

And it's a...

 GIRL.

March 19,2012
BAY AREA ADOPTION SERVICES:

The application of ROBERT PETERSON and JENNIFER PETERSON for adoption of XXX XXX XX  of Guangdong province that you submitted was received. It is hereby advised that with a review of the basic family situation and the Rehabilitation and Nurture Plan for the Child made by the family, the China Centre of Adoption Affairs agrees to handle and process the case as an adoption of a special-need child after the application file arrives (deadline September 19,2012, that day inclusive).

China Centre of Adoption Affairs

Details to follow.

Hoops to jump through.

Approvals to obtain.

Prayers appreciated.

Out of Doors

Now that the weather has moderated in this neck of the woods, we are enjoying nature as much as possible. It makes for a much calmer inside if all the bodies expend energy outside.

Little boys with their jeans rolled up are soooooo cute!

He wants to try everything. More power to him. I am grateful that he feels good enough to be able to do most activities.

Monkey bars have many uses.

Very fun when they think they will get a rise out of me and I enjoy their antics.

A very beautiful spot with a mountainous backdrop of unspoiled scenery.

Joshua couldn't decided if he was hot or cold. 

That is a REAL smile.

This is what I'm talkin' about. School outside. Why not?

Joshua has been the best thing for Trey and Micah's learning curve. His interest in school (thank you China) is contagious.

So school on the lawn was going well except for one little problem.....

Our extremely cute distraction.

We live in the land of lakes so on Monday when the thermometer said ninety, there was really no option except to go find water. Like I said, boys and puddles, don't bother trying.

Erika is the ultimate drip sand castle creator.

Do you suppose she knows how beautiful she is?

Here's to summer.

Bring it on!