Little Elves

"Micah, hold the flower up so I can see it."

"Ok Micah, now hold it up AND look at the camera."
Big sisters get bored and dress up little people.

Props:Homemade flower, purse, old cell phone,
swimsuit cover up, hat.

Full view.

"Hello there, I've been finger painting today."

Camera out? Brother getting attention? My turn!
They are practically twins after all.

"Oh, yes!"

"Hi, I'm the cute one."

"Yet sometimes I contemplate..."

"The rest of the time, I am non-stop on the go."

"My Mom wouldn't have it any other way!!!"

GUARANTEED!

Where Did That Come From

I am weepy.

Where did that come from.

I am not an overly emotional person.

Sure, I have a good cry every once in awhile.

But I like an orderly, controlled, even keel life.

Who doesn't?

I can only guess that my heart is with our "baby" in China.

An interesting point that our social worker made is that we have never "gone after" a child.

Her words.

We have adopted five children but they came to us providentially. We never had to advocate for ourselves, the child, the process to any large extent.

Maybe it was the update and medical report we got on Monday...

making his special needs more real, each moment of his life incredibly precious.

Waiting is not my forte.

I am a get-it-done-now kind of gal.

The adoption process is a challenge for me.

Thanking God that all things work for His Glory.

Isaiah 55:8-9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Gourmet Dessert

"Mom, can I make this?"

Yum-a-licious!

Apple compote, crumble, French vanilla ice cream, caramel drizzle.

Pint-sized portion.

The chef.

Thank you, Erika!!!

Hugs and Boundaries

I liked Courtney's post about attachment issues.

It's a continuum.

Attachment comes in all shapes and forms.

Storing Up Treasures: Lots of hugs and kisses

Attachment can also be unpredictable:

Like prickly pears or...

lovey dovies.

We have been there with kids who are too affectionate.

Hard to convince people that cute little kids can be inappropriate with their affections and especially difficult when the kids are still in the "needing to be held" stage under age 3.

But cutie pie toddlers turn into precocious preschoolers really quick.

Sometimes I think the hardest part about RAD issues is the education of other people in our life.

We have had our share of kids who went over the top when seeking attention.

Some of our friends were heartbroken when we had to ask them to high-five our kids instead of hugging them.

One little girl we had would climb on any lap available. Our therapist explained that she was trying to endear herself to others before they could reject her. That was heartbreaking. I can't imagine feeling so lost that I needed to seek that kind of approval.

Oh, to walk in those shoes for a day.

We constantly work on appropriate boundaries. No cling-ons allowed.

Don't get me wrong, everybody gets their hugs and plenty of 'em.

But like the post above pointed out, we try to give as many as we get.

All good relationships have balance along with the give and take.

When you don't learn that stuff in the beginning of your life, it takes some intentional learning to catch up.

My two cents.

China Feels Closer

China feels closer today.

We got an update within a week.
This boy needs to come HOME!

He is stable but there are restrictions and some medication.

And he is TINY!

LABOR PAINS TODAY.

Breathe, breathe, breathe...

Boston Bound

The great part of having a big car is that you can take lots of people on a field trip.
I know the van is filthy but it is winter in New England. Part of the problem is that usually we have a roof rack and a Thule on top, not conducive to automatic car washes.
In readiness to go to the big city, Erik took the paraphernalia off the roof. We knew for sure that we weren't going to fit in a parking garage with all that on top.

Off to the Aquarium in Boston we went with 2 adults and 10 kids. If you are going to go to the big city, you might as well sell out the bus, every seat was full.

Alas, I had to recruit a friend to drive over the Tobin Bridge because I had a panic attack last summer in Louisville, KY going over a bridge. It was scary and completely out of my control.

I was thrilled to have company and I can report she is an excellent city driver. We made it to Boston with no problems.

BUT.....guess what? 12 passenger vans do not fit in Bostonian parking garages. We went up to one and got out and looked. Nope, not gonna fit. Backed up into traffic. Tried another garage, then another.....we caused quite a scene. Okay, no choice but to look for on street parking in downtown Boston at 9:50 am with a 12 passenger van. Not so easy to parallel park, right?

God is good, we came around a corner and there it was. A metered space on the end, just waiting for us. We had less than a 5 minute walk to the Aquarium. We bundled up and hustled over. It was raw and windy right on the water. Hats and mittens were a must.

Now you get to see all the pictures of our wonderful time at the Aquarium.

Then at the end, you will learn why no trip is allowed adventurous immunity.

Touch tank. Kloey's favorite. Trey, not so sure.

Cartwright has a winner smile.

I could get lost in those eyes. LOVE him.

We brought a friend along. She proved to be an
invaluable extra pair of hands.

Big kids, little kids, some in between.

I made them pose on the deck right after we went to the IMAX 3D Whales and Dolphins. We had never been to a 3D show before. Poor Micah FREAKED out and eventually buried his face in my chest and went to sleep. When he woke up, he said, "Me not like that."

Part of the field trip was a class on penguins
provided by an educator.

This is the part I love about homeschooling.
Everyone gets to participate, even 2 and 3 year olds.

Cora is a bit taller than an Emperor penguin.

Wanted their picture sitting on the dolphins.

The Shark.
Love the reflection of the kids looking.

By the end of the afternoon, one of our 3 year olds was all done. She made herself comfy while we were all looking at the big tank. She did great in spite of battling ear infections. But when you're done, you are done!

At the end of a great day, not ONE but TWO parking tickets.

Thus the adventure.

One ticket was legimate. We missed the meter by 5 minutes. How do they do that? The other ticket was because apparently you can only park on any given street for two hours in Boston. There was a tiny little written line on the meter about that.

I doth protest.

Recap? Parking garage that we didn't fit into: $35. Parking tickets: $50. Not bad.

So worth the trip. The kids did well and I am very happy to be at the mobile stage again.

Where will go we next...

Progress Equals Excitement

We continue to walk the road to China.

Trying not to run,
but it is hard
when you know a little boy is
waiting on the other side of the world.

Wow, is it time to get excited yet?

Our home study is wrapping up this week.

We then apply to the state for a waiver.

My passport came back in 3 weeks, check.

Local police clearances, check.

Medical exam forms completed, (took a few tries), check.

Certified birth certificates from other states, check.

Marriage license, check.

I have a few letters I have to sit down, grunt it out, and write. We have one last form that we need another person's participation in. We are stepping out in faith and working on several processes concurrently.

Praying for favor across every desk this paperwork goes.

A little boy is waiting.

I believe in the Red Thread: Everything is interconnected. Exciting to see what "coincidence" will show up next.

Today, I talked to someone about contacting the local private high school that has a high number of foreign students. I am hopeful that next fall we can get a Chinese student to come over once a week for a Saturday afternoon to help our boy integrate into our family. It would be great to know that we could have a translator initially to allow him to voice his fears, likes, and dislikes outside of sign language and emotions.

We need to be a little further down the road before I can tell the whole story, but doors continue to swing open with this adoption.

Amazing.

God.

The Nemesis of Change

When will I ever learn?

How come I can't see it when I am in it?

I took a kid to a med check and mentioned that the ante was upped lately. Behavior changes, old patterns emerging, mood swings, all that good stuff that makes us remember that we are parenting attachment challenged kids.

My practitioner looked back through the records and said, "Huh, you said the same thing this time last year."

I did?

I also took a class last month: Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma. Kids who have experienced trauma cyclically revisit their trauma. Multiple traumas? Lots of ups and downs. How do they know, when these things happened years ago? The length of the day, angle of the sun, time of year? Their bodies and brains just seem to know.

Any kid who was 1) removed from their birth parents and 2) placed with strangers has already got two trauma experiences on their resume. Never mind whatever precipitated the removals.

Back to the kid. I started naming the changes we had going on in December and January.

1) Change of season - schedule change/activity change
2) New bedroom
3) Weather changes - more clothes, hats, and mittens
4) People change - sending a sister home
5) Deciding to add a new brother
6) Date of original placement in our family
7) College sister home and then leaving again

Ok, that is a little bit of change.

Some major, some minor but still change to a child who is sensitive to anything different in their surroundings.

Once again, I am reminded of the need for structure for this child.

I try, but sometimes I run out of energy trying to keep life perpetually on track.

Then we all pay.

These kids have taught me that I still have much to learn.

I am a better person because of them.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thank you, God, for putting my life on the narrow path.

Marching Lions

Plenty of winter left here in the North country.

Snowbanks that will be around for awhile.

Um, that snowball hit it's mark, I'm afraid.

That's why they wouldn't eat their dinner, too much snow.

Never too early for bikes.

Cora was determined to find the pavement.

Kloey is a pretty good supervisor.

Lots of white, very pretty.

Oh bush, oh bush, where art thou?

Erika took all these outdoor pictures.
She is getting good.

In like a lion......

Pippi?