back to reality

After a week off, Eustace returns to work tomorrow. We made good use of his vacation time, traveling to Mackinac Island with friends. Some other good friends actually have a home there, which is where we stayed. It was beautiful, relaxing, and way too much fun. You can't beat fresh air, gorgeous scenery, great conversation, built-in babysitters (our friends have a very sweet 12-year-old, who brought along her 14-year-old friend), and a few bottles of wine. Seriously, by the end, I was feeling pretty spoiled.

We also had a chance to visit my sister and her kids and take in a minor league baseball game with my parents at our city's new stadium this weekend.

Tomorrow, we're back to normal activities, work, etc. It's always nice to have Daddy around, and we'll all have to suffer through a bit of withdrawal.

Reality is, somebody's got to bring home the bacon.

Speaking of reality, or lack thereof, at the pool this afternoon, I heard my 7-year-old suggest to her friend that they have an underwater tea party. I'm thinking all this fun is altering our family's brain function.

So, it's good to be home.

Good News!

After a scary bout of pre-trem labor at 25 weeks followed by several weeks of bedrest, my sister-in-law and nephew (in utero) are doing great! They have reached the 33-week mark. Here are a few pictures from their baby shower last weekend. Doesn't Sara look terrific?

 

This is the cutest idea: We all brought onesies that were to give a clue about our personalities, and she had to guess whom each was from. Mine said, "I'll have the domestic white," (which could either mean that I support breastfeeding or that I like cheap fruity wine).

 

Here are a few of the party-goers (My niece, my daughter, my mom - what lovely ladies!).

 

Now There's an Idea

Boy's solution to crafting dilemma: "Why don't we just put some tape balls in my rifle and shoot them at it!"

First Soccer Practice

 

 

 

Fashion Sense

 
 
 
 

Waiting

I've heard it said that adoption is more difficult than pregnancy. I think that's a leap in many ways, especially because every experience of pregnancy and adoption is so unique. However, for myself, the adoption process so far has been a serious exercise in patience and perseverance. My pregnancies have been relatively easy and, obviously, limited to 9 months. If adoption operated on a similar timeline, we'd have our new son home by now.

As it is, we're waiting. Right now, I'm trying to distract myself from checking email every twenty minutes. We're hopeful that sometime this week, our package of letters and gifts will reach the orphanage and his reaction to the news will come back to us, thanks to modern technology.

Our agency has often warned us about setbacks, lack of predictability, and staying flexible. I, completely out of character, am always assuming that our case will run more smoothly than the average international adoption. This is not based on our experience so far by any stretch of the imagination. I think, by the grace of God, I have an unusual spirit of optimism in this circumstance.

So, I'm hoping for a miraculously quick application of the mail delivery system.

In the meantime, I noticed that Felicity has almost reached the 20-month mark. That always seems like the right time to start using the 'almost 2' designation. Is that possible? Where has the time gone?

How can time pass at different speeds for different experiences simultaneously? The lives of both children are passing so quickly. One, I have the opportunity to relish each day. Another, on the other side of the globe, we only see in snippets. So, with every obstacle, he grows and develops even longer without us.

He's in a happy, nurturing place, though, which is different than the experience of many children around the world in orphanages. Still, it seems this whole thing is taking forever. And then, sometimes, I feel I'll never have enough time to
get completely prepared.

What does that mean, anyway? 'Completely prepared?' Is anyone ever 100% ready for anything? (that is, aside from Martha Stewart, my mom, and the international head of boy scouts)

I've never been very good at waiting. So, I guess, this is my chance to rise to the occasion. It is excruciating. God knows what He's doing. :)

I'm trying not to freak out

This cannot be what America really wants. It's scary stuff, cleverly packaged. Here's a post about Obama's next move. Please keep praying for our country, our leaders, and especially our children.

On Ergos and Children

When Victor was about 10 months old, I discovered my favorite baby carrier. Click here to check it out. It is comfortable, durable, flexible (can be worn on the front, back, or side), and can be used as a backpack until the child weighs about 40 pounds (or until his legs are so long that they take out passersby innocently attempting to share a sidewalk).

Seriously, Victor would ride all day long in that thing. He still would, if I would let him. Remember this?

Then, Felicity came along.

I still love this carrier, but she is not nearly as willing to be lugged around as her big brother was (I should say, is).

Case in point, yesterday at the zoo I stuck her in the backpack so she could better see the animals, stay out of trouble, and be happy (that was my goal, anyway). As long as I kept moving at a brisk pace, my plan was fairly successful.

Otherwise, she was arching, wiggling, pushing, trying to escape. My sister observed, "aren't third kids supposed to be mellow?" haha.

Well, if I've learned anything in 7 1/2 years of parenting, it's that it's best to banish phrases such as 'supposed to' and 'always does' from your vocabulary.

In so keeping, I think I"ll keep the carrier because she may decide she likes it tomorrow.

It's only 7:40 AM

The kids and I are generally not known for our early-rising abilities. Most days everyone is a little crabby and slow to emerge, and by the time we're downstairs and moving, daddy has been long gone for a couple of hours.

With the summer sunlight and a string of morning activities, we've been forced to change our habits a bit. The only trouble is, the person most consistent with rising early is number three.

My body may be out of bed at 6:30 (only because my toddler sleeping buddy decided to be awake), but my brain is still snuggled under the covers.

So, this morning, as I fumble around for the coffee, Miss Felicity has already done the following:

-dumped the entire contents of the junk drawer.

-emptied my diaper bag / purse and eaten something unrecognizable from the front pocket.

-knocked a big pile of books off the table in our prayer corner.

-pulled some fur out of poor pixie.

I think it's time to go back to bed.

future meteorologist

boy, this morning: "why does it rain? Is it because some people like to jump in puddles? I guess that's why God makes it rain."

Go See This

There aren't many movies coming out these days that are worth the full price of theatre tickets. This is one of the rare exceptions. The kids and I saw it last evening at the drive in, and I could easily be convinced to go back again. Maybe even today.

Announcing...

...something big.

(Although, since many of the people who read this blog have known about this for some time, it's not much of an announcement.)

I've been dying to make an official proclamation on my blog, though, so here it is:

We are in the process of adopting a little boy. And, all our paperwork (dossier) is finally in his home country.

I'm not allowed to share details on my blog for safety and privacy reasons. But, because gathering the documentation required for an international adoption has consumed much of my mental and physical energy for the past 9 months, I wanted to share this huge milestone.

It is a relief that we've jumped through all the hoops from our end, and now the waiting game begins.

He (our son-to-be) doesn't yet know about us. We just mailed letters and pictures to him, introducing ourselves as his family.

We're praying his response will be positive. If you'd like to join us in this prayer, we'd be most appreciative.

We're kicking off the summer with a 2-night sleep over with cousin James. Better go check on the mayhem upstairs.

Have a blessed day.