Sick House

Well, the illness has progressed and this is going to be a short post. Just got back from the MD and Joshua as strep throat and pneumonia, and I have strep but no pneumonia...yet. They let Josh come home tonight but if he is not better tomorrow then he will be hospitalized. We are going to be on antibiotics and they even gave him an antibiotic injection too, as well as prednisone and nebulizer in an effort to lick this thing. I so don't want him in hospital, so we are praying the drugs kick in and he starts responding quickly.

Imagine your house Christmas afternoon with all the mess not yet picked up from the morning, and sick bed stuff everywhere with blankets strewn on every surface...and Daddy trying hard to take care of everything else while still coming down with it a little himself. And at the moment, I feel so lousy, I could care less.

Think I'll go crawl back to bed. I don't have the energy to be deep, witty or interesting.

Feverish Christmas Ramblings

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
The coughing and hacking
Had mom on the couch!

With Josh and his blankie
And mom under hers
The big boys went out
To celebrate Jesus' birth

In our feverish state
We sat so enthralled
Watching old Christmas reruns
Trying hard to recall

The vision of Christmas
We had planned for weeks
For our new son's first holiday
Was not all we had dreamed

But this is "real life"
Things aren't always as planned
Perfect only exists
In sitcoms that are canned

So although it may not
End up as we'd wished
With cookies and fudge
And a great tasty dish

There is love in this house
Of that rest assured
Forever a family
A love that endures

And on this special night
With Santa and Elves
It is about much more
We remind ourselves

So from Mommy and Daddy
And Kenny and Matt
From Joshie and others
LaJoy's, that's a fact

May you have peace tomorrow
As you look round your table
And remember that Christ
Is more than a fable.

Merry, Merry Christmas to All

A Unique Christmas

Sorry I haven't been more prolific this week, with the great news you would think I would be filled with things to share! The fact is, the LaJoy house is under seige...4 out of 5 of us have been very sick with some sort of bug. Matthew was out of school all week (2 kids from his class ended up hospitalized with it, 9 were out in one day!), Kenny only battled one day thankfully, and Josh and I are in it full steam with fevers of 102 that keep returning, coughs, chills, you name it. I am sort of bummed because I was so looking forward to Kenny's first Christmas home and I was actually well prepared and now I am feeling way behind...presents aren't wrapped, baking not done. It's just not happening the way I had hoped for, but we are all going to just go with the flow. I was most happy to hear Matthew, who is now pretty much fully recovered, ask me "Are we still going to church Christmas Eve? That's the special part!". No questions about presents or cookies, just wanting to know if we get to go to that quiet candlelight service. I promised that even if Josh and I can't go, Dominick, Kenny and he would go without us. Huge grin and an upward thrust of the fist "All Right!" at that one!

As we have moved through this unreal week, with illness and great joy, I have often contemplated this little family of mine. I KNOW you all must be sick of hearing about how much I love them all, but you know what? This blog is really written for them, so keeping that always in mind I prefer to ere on the side of reminding them often how profoundly blessed I feel on a daily basis. If you all can read between the "love letter" that is this blog and glean something from it, terrific, if not, I guess I'll be pulled off your favorites list! So, back to the topic at hand, this hodge pedge group of unrelated people is a real family, a real, caring, deeply committed and connected family. Every single one of us has offered comfort in one form or another to the other one during this week, Joshie walking by even in his feverish state putting his hand on my forehead saying "I think you'll be ok, Mommmy", Kenny snuggling in bed with Matthew asking him how he feels, kids telling me "It's ok mom, we'll help" without even being asked. There is this sense of unity among us, pulling around a common goal of keeping this family moving. I'll be the first to admit that Kenny has really enhanced this with his helpful and giving spirit, and there are days when I catch myself smugly thinking "Man, someone missed out on a super son by passing him by!!", which is not at all appropriate but honest.

And now we come to our new additions...yes, it will be two. Some of you have already deduced what is going on and emailed me privately, and others who are long time followers can simply look at what is now missing from the blog and figure it out. Enough said.

I am scared. Yup, scared.

I'd be stupid not to be, wouldn't I? Dreams come true are awesome! I think God is going to use this particular experience in extraordinary ways to show what His people can do when they pull together to make something happen, to show that He is indeed Almighty. I know that saying the past year has had a powerful affect on me is quite the understatement.

But there is the reality of once again upsetting the apple cart, of taking a risk times two in this case. There is the truth of children from these backgrounds being profoundly affected by their beginnings and testing their new parents to the limits. There is the fact that we are doing this so very soon after Kenny coming home...I mean, I am not even done with his paperwork yet and here I am embarking on another paperwork nightmare!!! There is the fear that the balance of joy, peace and harmony in our home will be forever altered by this move.

Being the mother of 5 children is something I never really internalized as a possibility before.

So why do it? If I am scared and admit it, why move forward?

Because I am certain beyond all doubt, truly, that this is meant to be...that this is God's plan. If there are tough times down the road, then we are meant to walk through them. You know God really does speak, we just sometimes elect to ignore Him or to take a different path. I am convinced, in all my ignorance, that our lives are not nearly as blessed if we decide to take different paths than the ones He intends for us.

I also know that we will be subject to ridicule, people saying "Don't you have enough?", "What if they are screwed up?", "Why are you tempting fate yet again?", "Do you REALLY know what you are doing?", "Are you going to be one of those families with 20 adopted kids?" (NOT), "How can you afford to raise them?", "You'll never pay for college?", "Why don't you just quit while you are ahead?".

Many people will simply not understand why. They are not approaching this from the same life experience as we are, they have not looked into the eyes of orphaned children whose futures are dismal. They won't be capable of feeling this to the depth that we do, as they haven't held these kids in their own arms as they sob wanting a mommy and daddy and you pull back and realize you are looking into the face of your own child. They will never understand in a million years because they have not seen it with their own eyes, that a life living in an American lower middle class family or even the US's version of poverty would be preferable to what they face as teenagers when they are released from State care with nothing but the clothes on their back, an inadequte education, and destroyed souls due to lack of human goodness and love in their lives. Here there will be love, opportunity and a future.

Before our "Adoption Angels" stepped forward, we had discussed selling our house to make this a possibility should the chance ever arise someday, that is how serious we were about this. We quickly realized that would not net nearly enough. But God touched someone's heart, and for that we are profoundly, forever grateful. It was unexpected, out of the blue, and is a pairing of two families whose hearts will be forever bound by their belief in Him and the experience of looking into the eyes of the parentless.

You know too, this isn't a "passion" of mine, it is not something I preach incessently to others. I share when asked, I of course wax poetic here on the blog, but basically it is simply my life, it is fact that my kids come from elsewhere. No biggie. And yet I realize that it is a "biggie" in so many ways.

So the fact is I may have to turn to you, my readers, for support. When others ridicule or call us crazy, when others just don't understand, it will be to you that I turn for words of encouragement. For most of you, in one way or another, have walked or are walking this unique path yourselves.

And most importantly I will trust that God has spoken and we will listen, knowing He certainly knows better than we what is best for everyone. He has already given us some unique signs along the way about this, and I have come to the conlusion that it was only because He knew Kenny was out there and needed his perfect family too, which never would have happened had this fallen into place at an earlier time.

2008 will no doubt be a remarkable year for us all.

A Christmas Miracle - How Big is Your God?

"Never place a period where God places a comma." - Gracie Allen, adopted by the United Church of Christ.

Never has a phrase become so appropriate as in our lives this week. Your prayers and ours were answered in such a way as to leave no doubt what we are to do. Thank you to everyone who took a moment to pray for us when asked to do so, it made a difference, I am absolutely sure.

Folks, do you have any idea just how big our God is? I do, and I think I "get it" now in a way I never did before. I want to shout it from the rooftops!! He has made the impossible possible, and in record time. He has shown Himself to us, and hopefully to others through this blog and our life experience. What I once did not understand now has become very clear to me, and I admit to being ashamed of my own lack of faith in His ability to move mountains.

He has dictated that Kenny was not a period, that he was merely a comma.

With tears streaming down my cheeks, and with the help of our "Adoption Angels", we begin another journey.

I hope you will all continue to join us on this incredible ride.

He Gets It

I had a long call with someone last night who is struggling with attachment issues with their child. It brought up such sharp, clear memories of the emotions that accompanied Joshie's first months home, the fears and the turmoil, the internal conflict. This is sharply contrasted with our experiences in bringing Kenny home, and today was one of the good days, the kind of day that drives home the fact that taking a risk now and then is good for the soul.

First off, I was stopped by his teacher after Cub Scouts and we had a short conversation in which she relayed that Kenny has "turned the corner" in many ways, and he is doing so well in all his classes, behaving appropriately, being very kind to others, and listening in class the way he should. His beaming face said it all as he stood nearby listening in. We walked away and he said "See mom? I told you I be good boy!!". Both Dominick and I are inordinately proud of him, for working so hard at everything and making all the adjustments that we asked of him. We know it is not easy, and we still have many minor things to work on, but this was a big milestone for him.

Later on, we sat around the TV watching a show I had never seen before on NBC named "Clash of the Choirs" in which choirs led by music celebrity directors compete for a large donation to a specific charity. We really enjoyed this show, and at one point Kenny snuggled in next to me on the couch warming ourselves under a blanket (It's Colorado folks, we are always under a blanket...either a down blanket or a snow blanket!). One of the choirs sang a song "I'll Stand By You" that many of you that are roughly...ahem...my age...might remember being recorded by The Pretenders. So here we are, this little 9 year old boy and I, barely 6 months into being mother and son together, and he looks up at me in all seriousness and quietly says "Hey cool mom! I stand by you. I like that. We family, I stand by you forever."

WOW. Dumbstruck.

Loyalty & Love.

The abstract concepts of loyalty and togetherness and family are things that many adults in this world seem not to understand. Or if they understand it, they can not act on it. Here is this little boy, institutionalized his entire life with no real reason at all to even have a basic understanding of these things. They were not modeled for him, they were not experienced by him, they were not part of his daily life. How did the seeds get planted? Where did it come from?

"I stand by you forever". Daily, I am humbled.

It was Kenny who reminded us (as if I needed reminding) that tonight was a night for special prayer. So off went the lights, out came the candle, and by it's flickering light we all held hands as each one asked for God's guidance and blessing.

Regardless of the outcome, Kenny put it beautifully.

"I stand by you forever".

Changes and Polls

So I was bored this evening and started playing around a bit with the blog. It needed freshening up, and I might make further changes later, after I've slept and decided this looks awful. I saw that Blogger added a poll function, so just for grins I thought I'd give it a try so check out to the right of the page and try it out. If I find you all actually use it, I might put something serious there to address adoption oriented topics and create further dialogue for the blog.

I really need to get a life, don't I?

Moments

There are moments that alter the course of the remainder of our lives. Very often these moments are comprised of events over which we have no control. Sometimes they arrive suddenly, forever changing our futures. Sometimes these moments are pregnant with anticipation and wonder. They can foretell a future that is bright and shiny, or they can fill our hearts with dread and a lingering sense of sorrow.

Our lives are filled with smaller moments as well, the ones we tuck away in the envelope that is our heart, sealed with love. You know the ones I am talking about, those "Kodak" moments which in today's world are no longer memories captured on imaginary film but instead are on digital media which can be easily manipulated to appear even better than the real thing.

A couple of Kodak moments for me the past couple of days:

1) Working together as a family until mid-evening in our restaurant in Gunnison, preparing it for opening day today. Three little boys all happily pitched in vacuuming, stocking, cleaning. Team LaJoy was on the move! Matthew calling Joshie "Speed Racer" as he encouraged him to push potato chip boxes around to various locations...Kenny diligently cleaning stairs. This threesome of mine is so generous of spirit, so giving of themselves, so cheerful in their work. Somehow, and I have no idea how it was created, there exists among us all this sense of unity, of working together to achieve a common goal.

2) Matthew was home sick today with a fever and cough, and this evening Josh came up to him and gave him his precious "blankie" and tucked it under his chin saying "Here Matthew, this will make you feel better". An envelope arrived for all 3 boys and Kenny said "Matthew gets to open because he is sick!". Matthew sitting with his two brothers curled around him as he quietly read to them.

3) Having Kenny take it upon himself to dedicate a light at church to a family friend there who has helped him with his English and been very supportive of us throughout the adoption process to bring him home. It was all his idea and he used some of his birthday money to express his appreciation for her kindness during this fundraiser. Once again, I caught a glimpse of the thoughtful man he will one day be.

4) Sitting together on the couch in front of our Christmas tree saying prayers for those we love, for those we know are experiencing fear and difficulty at the moment, each one of them coming up with things that had touched their heart to pray for.

Those are the smaller moments. They build upon one another to make a happy life, to create peace in your heart.

Then there are the bigger ones, the life altering moments spoken of earlier. Hearing the news that someone you love is very ill, that phone call in the middle of the night. How we dread those!! The lost job, the lost love...the world stops spinning for a moment, all is at a standstill as we try and digest it, to understand it, to question why.

There are the happier big moments as well, the moment you realize the person you are with is the person you want to never let go of for the rest of your life. The first cry of your newborn child, the first photo of your child-to-be that arrives via email. Or perhaps it is stepping into your own home for the first time, envisioning the many gatherings and joyful times that are to come that will be contained within those walls.

We have all had those moments when we have crossed paths with someone whom we inexplicably knew was put before us for a reason. We later learn the reasons why, the lessons they had to teach us.

Tonight our entire family is laying in wait for news, news that has the potential to change our lives forever. In recent previous posts on the blog I have alluded to the fact that something was going on in the background, something that has been carried in our hearts for a very long time. I am still not at liberty to share this, and might not be for a long time...but should the outcome be positive, in due time I will write at great length about it. We are at a culminating point as of tomorrow evening, and I am asking all of you who read this, who have come to care enough about our family to continue visiting this blog to pray for us tomorrow night, or if you are not praying folk to send your thoughts our way. It is important to me that this turn of events be what God wants, not what we think we want, so I guess I am asking mainly for prayer that we hear God speak clearly.

I am not trying to talk in riddles here, to purposely be obtuse about the whole thing. There is no attempt on my part here to create some "Big Literary Build Up". But I am convinced of the power of prayer, I have seen it work in my life in numerous ways particularly this past year. There is no way Kenny's adoption should have been as smooth and his transition as easy as it has been. It is only because so many of you carried us around in your hearts for so long. I know God will hear you. That doesn't mean we will have an outcome we prefer, but we will have the outcome that is best and that is what is important to us.

I also want to apologize for not writing more often. This is a very hectic time of year for us, one that in many ways we just try our best to muddle through. I am honored that so many of you hit the blog daily just to check in, and I will try to be faithful about continuing to write as often as possible. We are actually at an interesting time with Kenny as just the past few weeks his language skills have caught up enough for him to be able to express himself better, and he seems to have a strong desire to talk about his life in the orphanage and his feelings about it. While he is genuinely a very happy little boy, there are times when we are talking about his past when he seems struck with a bit of melancholy and yet also strongly voices that he is very happy he has a family. I am sure that over the next few months I will be able to share with you many more of his thoughts and experiences. Maybe this will help others adopting older children to better understand what their life is like pre-adoption.

And so tomorrow begins a new day. Our lives are filled with "moments" big and small. Perhaps tomorrow we will find ourselves at the precipice of another.

Boxes Everywhere, Music in the Air!

Christmas time is an interesting, frazzled time at our house. We have gift shops/gift kiosks at our two airport restaurants (restaurant actually gives more credit than should be due...think of it as a step above a snack bar!), and with ski season kicking in we have to order lots of giftware and souvenirs. All of this begins to arrive via UPS after Thanksgiving along with Christmas presents from grandma's and friends and "Santa's" online ordering. It is not an exaggeration to say that our UPS driver is on a first name basis with us and the poor guy ends up delivering 4-8 boxes every single day to our house for weeks! You know you have too many deliveries when your UPS driver knows to deliver Christmas looking packages to your work address, even when you have forgotten and had it sent to your home address. One of the benefits of living in a smaller town :-)

Although I am so grateful for our work opportunities here, which through incredibly long hours put in by my husband make it possible to live in our version of "paradise" here in Colorado, the one thing I wish was different is that ski season preparations didn't take the fun out of Christmas at times. It is hard to focus on the real Season when we are gearing up for 4 long months of hard work with all the planning that goes with it.

But here I sit, typing on my laptop in front of a truly blazing fire in our woodstove, my bottom settled in a cushy couch, the sounds of my children and husband laughing in the background, and I have not a thing to complain about. I have several friends who love me and show me often in actions and in words, friends near and far who really care about us.  I have a blanket of snow covering the land surrounding us, something that as a child growing up in Southern California I never dared dream of (3 acres of my own open space OR snow!).

This will be my first Christmas as the mother of 3. Our house feels fuller now, it doesn't feel as much like we are all rattling around in it. There are memories being created here right now that will carry on well into the future, that will be handed down to my grandchildren someday...traditions like setting up the creche my own grandpa built for my mom when she got married and quietly setting baby Jesus down in it, having Mexican food on Christmas Eve which I remember from my own childhood and don't really know why we HAD to have Mexican food...but we did. Then there are new traditions that are unique to our own little family such as attending church for the candlelight service on Christmas Eve, saying prayers for birth families we will never meet, and looking at "Waiting for You" ornaments hanging from our tree which commemorate the "pregnancy" period of each of our children.

Then, there are the harder things that come with Christmas, like thinking about my Dad's death in December 16 years ago...it can not be possible that he has been gone that long, but he has. How I wish he had met my sons!! I have always been glad that I married young, married someone he approved of very much, in fact someone who was very much like him. He had years to get to know my husband, to know I would be well cared for. I like to think he is looking down on us, smiling at their antics and Matthew's love of military and airplanes. I feel sad that he was cheated out of finally having someone to enthusiastically share his love of aircraft with. What a wonderful grandpa he would have been, and never had the chance to be. And yet I remind myself often that part of him is with his grandsons every time I hug them, every time I repeat something he preached when I was a kid. There have been moments when Matthew was particularly very young, maybe 2 1/2, when he would mention his Grandpa Rock in such a way that I almost felt Dad's presence right there with me...and maybe that is not so far fetched considering Matthew is the child whose interests are most like his.

There are also the questions I am asked, like recently when Kenny asked "Why did Santa Claus not come see me in Kyrgyzstan?". How do you answer that one without tears in your eyes? How does one explain that there are children in this world who are forgotten? And how does one explain to one of those forgotten children that Santa Claus only exists for those children who are held close to someone's heart? Instead I elect to explain that although Santa may have forgotten some children, God has never forgotten them.

We all attended a wonderful Christmas concert this past Sunday, compliments of two friends who performed who kindly gave us free tickets. I was so surprised that all 3 boys expressed how much they really enjoyed the 2 hour long event, and how they all sat enraptured by the live music and the large choir. Perhaps it will be a new tradition we will add to our repetoire.

Friendships are weighing heavily on my mind this Christmas, for many reasons. They sustain me, they fill the gaps, they restore me, they provide me with opportunities to accept love and to offer love back. They make us feel secure, cared for, nurtured. They laugh with us, but never at us. They tease us about long running jokes that only they know about, like ending up in Salt Lake City somehow when you are on your way home from Vegas, or hearing a cat meow at your rahcning friends house and saying "Is that a duck I hear???" like an idiot!!! Friends show us in extraordinary ways that they care about us....they do our laundry and leave it folded on our front door step, they stand in 20 degree weather for an hour with no gloves on holding up broken garage doors as you try and fail to fix it, they amaze you by laying your entire Pergo floor staying awake until 2:00 AM to finish the job, they live hundreds of miles away and yet say "I will help you, let me shop for you and take a load off your mind" as you are beginning to slowly come unraveled at the thought of traveling halfway around the world with 2 kids in tow to bring home another. They don't all express their love for you in the same way, and that is what makes it special...they each have their own love language. There are many times when I feel inadequate at friendship, as if I receive far, far more than I can ever repay. Then I am reminded that it comes and goes in seasons, sometimes it is the season to give, and sometimes it is the season to be on the receiving end. Ther receiving end is a hard palce for me to be. I have had friendships that have broken my heart, and will no doubt have that happen again in the future. But I will never, ever regret a single relationship, they all add such dimension to our lives. And I am blessed with friends that are without a doubt, the very, very best.

Then there is my friendship with God, my greatest friendship. He is all that I have mentioned above and more. When I am alone, afraid, uncertain, sad or feeling deflated and defeated, He takes my hand in His and walks with me. He has given me a spectacular and unique life filled with experiences I never would have anticipated. He has given me strength to express love unequivically, to show emotions when they are deeply felt, to not run and hide when it hurts. I wasn't always like that but as I have grown closer in my friendship with my God, I have seen inside my heart better and I understand on a very basic level that certain things need to be expressed. Perhaps much of this comes from the loss of my father at a younger age (I was 25), but it hit home very strongly that saying "I love you" is never something to be ashamed of, to be feared. You may never have the chance to say it again if you don't do it when you should. Of course, I don't walk around saying "I love you" to my friends all the time, that would simply feel awkward and weird! But there are times when it needs to be said, to be proclaimed loudly and boldly, fearlessly. I have given up looking "cool", being detached. When I love someone, they will never have to guess it. When I have a friend, be they young or old, I will give them my all, no one I love will ever have to question in their minds if I care for them. And I hope that no one who meets me will ever question whether God is my friend or not.

So tonight, as I finish this after sending out some private emails about an issue close to my heart, the fire has died down to mere embers, the boys are all asleep in bed, including Dominick, and my rambling here is near finished. The day to day life I lead is unremarkable, at best. It is the life of a soccer mom, a minivan mom, a Cub Scout mom, a choir mom. I yell at my kids over lost jackets and forgotten homework, I lose my cool over stepping on Legos AGAIN. I get frustrated over not having enough money or "honey-do lists" that never quite seem to be gotten to. I am not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, nor is my life perfect. If so, my yard would look as if it was from House Beautiful magazine, and I would have no grape juice stains on my carpet. Yet I have been chosen to be the mother to 3 of the most incredible children a mother could ever ask for, I have been given the gift of a husband who has walked through this life with me hand in hand since we were children, I have been given the friendships I needed just when I needed them most. All I want for Christmas is love, love for my family, love for my friends, love for children who are not loved. I don't need pretty packages wrapped with glittering bows, I don't need crass drunken office parties, I don't need images of perfect families on TV specials showing me all that I should have yet don't.

I have it all, I really, really do. And I hope you do too, with all my heart I hope you do.

They Liked Me! They Really Liked Me!

Hahahaha! Couldn't resist that posting title! :-) I just received a comment on the blog that I'll share here:


Cindy,

My husband Ken and I attended the Adoption Alliance classes Friday & Saturday and I wanted to tell you that your presentation and your story were absolutely invaluable to us. I'm surprised to read that you were a little nervous - you didn't seem to be at all! We really thought you must do these all the time! Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to put together such a thoughtful, informative and emotion-filled presentation. I'll now be a loyal reader of your blog!

Kelly Arnold

So guys, we all did it together! Your suggestions were so helpful and I felt I would be lucky if I walked out of there having helped one couple with the story of our goofy little family. It really was more of a challenge than I expected to turn back the hands of time to when I was a "newbie" myself...so many of the fearswe had the first time around are now ones I laugh at ever worrying about! It is not that they are not valid, it's just that we have now done it 3 times and they have proven to be without merit. Having those of you who are new to all of this offer suggestions about the things that you are most concerned about, and the things I have blogged about that have been the most helpful helped me go backwards in time, and I thank you all.

I ended up spending a good portion of the time discussing attachment disorder, and read most of my blog post response to Amanda's question that she asked awhile back, as there was a good mix of domestic and international adoptive families present and a surprising number who were considering older child adoption (Yea!!!). My only wish now was they they all could have seen the little boy Josh turned into after hearing about the struggles. No words can express who he is today, the wonderful, sweet, tender, no-training-wheels boy he has grown to be.

Darn it if I don't love my kids to death!!

Anyway, Kelly thanks for your comment. I walked out of there feeling uncertain about how it went on the receiving end of it all...and like I was a Big Goof. Your entire group asked some terrific questions!

Spare Digital Camera's Anyone?

Hi Guys! This is a quickie but John Wright over at www.actofkindness.blogspot.com has a phenomenal idea and I am going to see if we can help. He and his family are taking a missionary trip to Kyrgyzstan starting in February, and he had the idea to bring over a few digital cameras and a printer to leave with the orphanages so that they could make photo albums for the kids. AWESOME! You don't realize how important this is until you have adoptred an odler child and they come to you with almost no history...but you are blessed enough to have a few photos of them at younger ages that someone shares with you. Kenny LOVES looking at the pictures of himself and his friends, it conencts him with who he is and his past, and is very much a part of his life and figuring all of this out.

You can read more about the idea over at John's blog, but if any of you are upgrading cameras for the holidays or have a spare lower pixel count camera laying around that you aren't using anymore...or a printer or battery charger, can you consider donating it to John?? The address is alos on his blog as well. If you do, tell him Cindy sent you! Hahahaha!

Snowbound!

Matthew and I are finally home after our overnight trip that was extended by a day after we got caught in the winter storm that hit the Denver area. We might have made it home ok, but it was getting dark, cars were stuck in the snow all over the place, we drove at 4 miles per hour for about 40 minutes of it, and the last straw was seeing the minivan right in front of us slide into the guard rail! I figured it was better to be safe than sorry, so we made a beeline for the nearest off ramp along with about a dozen others right behind us and checked into a motel.

We had a wonderful time spending the night before visiting our friends. I had the chance to have a nice long "girl talk" and we got caught up on everything we have missed not seeing one another in several months. We have been friends since their son and Matthew were 3 years old, and it has been cool to watch both of the boys as they grow up.

We arrived at Adoption Alliance's office where the training session was being held, and there were a lot of people there...close to thirty I think. I took a deep breath, and started...and spewed and made a total fool of myself. I decided I wasn't going to be anything other than completely and totally honest, just as I am here on the blog...as that is simply who I am. I am not a pro at this kind of thing and I am sure I won the "Geek of the Week" award for this one, but maybe someone's heart was touched or prepared by something I shared...you just never know. Matthew was scared but got up there and did his best, and had everyone laughing when I asked him "What did it feel like when Josh came home?" and he replied "Like it was the Army!" which I didn't quite get until he added "There was so much screaming going on!!" he likened it to Boot Camp programs he has seen on TV! I shared a few photos and then had a second shorter session with families only adopting internationally, and as I sat there with Matthew sitting there on the arm of his chair next to mine with his arm thrown over my shoulder I grinned to myself as I thought "These poor people, they have no idea how their hearts are about to be invaded forever by some little person!". I also thought I was so glad that we were done with all of that mandatory training and never have to do it again!!

Matthew and I had a very special weekend together, and he loved our "adventure" of getting snowed in (It was worth the hundred bucks for the hotel room! Ski areas are EXPENSIVE!). I asked if he wanted to go out to eat but he said he would prefer to get something and bring it back to the hotel so we could snuggle in. So we went to the grocery store where we had TV dinners and watched a movie, giggling under the covers together. It was so cute to hear he and Kenny on the phone together as Dominick was trying to arrange a hotel room for us while we were on the road, and they were occupying themselves while I was driving and Dominick was "driving" the computer at home. Matthew was sweetly trying to explain to Kenny that we couldn't come home that night because the snow was so bad...but we would be home the next day so don't worry! Dominick said that Josh cried this morning when he got up and I wasn't home, and once again I am reminded that my little guy is still kind of insecure about me being out of his sight for too long.

When we arrived home I had the blessing of hearing first, then seeing, Kenny and Joshie come bursting out of the front door yelling "Mommy! Matthew!" over and over again...and then as Matthew stepped out of the car both of his brothers embraced him in a big bear hug...and Matthew shared his McDonald's toys he had saved for them from the road trip. And I thought to myself "What a wonderful world...".

Then, for the grand finale, the boys spent the late afternoon riding their bikes and Dominick took Joshie's training wheels off...and he was off riding with no help at all! Josh and Matthew both came running in the house screaming "Mommy! Mommy! Come look at Joshie!" so we all went out and watched him rip along on his little Tonka bike, feet peddling furiously and the biggest grin you can imagine on his face! 2 down, one to go...gotta get Kenny riding on only 2 wheels, but that will take more time I think as he is still very tentative on his bike.

The weekend is over too quickly and another week begins. I have been called for Jury Duty, and have to go to Gunnison 3 days so my days of being a stay-at-home mom are pretty much coming to an end now, even if unofficially as we don't open over there for another 2 weeks or so. And that will bring with it a new set of adventures!

Big Boy is Back!

Ahhh...I may have been "Mean Mommy Extraordinaire" but I got my Big Boy back! Kenny has been wonderful the past few days, and I am relieved that our tough time in Salt Lake City was the end of it for a bit. We had the most wonderful conversation with Kenny last evening as we were preparing Matthew for speaking in front of a room full of people. I did not ask Matthew any adoption related questions, just some goofy questions to get him used to providing more information than just "yes" or "no". After a few minutes Kenny said "Momma...do me!" so I started asking him questions that turned into an adoption oriented discussion. My, what depth this little boy has, what maturity lurks beneath the surface...and how fortunate we re that we ended up being his parents. He often acts so young, so silly and toddler-like that we forget that there really is a 9 year old in there and he just feels safe enough to regress and relive his younger unparented years with us.

We ended up talking about what it was like for him to learn he was going to America and going to be adopted. He had told us earlier that he overheard a conversation in the Director's office and he and Turat, his buddy, listened at the door and heard he was being adopted. Last night I asked him what he had thought about it as now his language skills are so good he can really express himself well. He said he was very scared as he had never heard of America and he didn't know what to expect. He also was excited. We talked about the photo album we sent and I asked him what he thought when he first received it and was surprised when he said "I cried, I so happy!" and he said that everyone even the adults looked at it and was disturbed that one adult ripped a page. Then he added "I scared of Matthew though, he look big and like he fight me!" and then we laughed as we realized it was because we included a photo of Matt and Josh doing pretend karate chops! So, word to the wise...even if it is funny not karate pictures in your albums! Hahahaha! But when I asked him what he thought of Matthew when he met him he said "Oh, he nice nice brother, not mean...but he's bigger than me!". He said Turat was happy for him, and now he was happy that Turat had a family too :-) I am as well as now I don't have his face haunting my nights.

What a mix of emotions for a very little boy. Can you imagine being in his shoes, or any other older child's shoes who leaves behind the known albeit sheltered environment for the big old world hand in hand with complete strangers? And Kenny did it with such gusto, such zest. I am continually amazed at all our sons but particularly with Kenny's courage.

When I put him to bed not much later after our conversation he gave me a long hug and whispered in my ear "Thank you mamma" and I said "Thank you for what?" and he said "Just thank you..." with a gentle kiss. Reliving those days from 6 months ago (can you believe it has already been 6 months??) obviously brought back some emotions.

Sitting there watching him on the couch as he spoke, I was thrilled as I caught a glimpse of the deep, intelligent child that will eventually emerge. He was so adult as he spoke with us, so serious and thoughtful. Interestingly, af all 3 of my sons, I think it is easiest for me to picture the man Kenny will one day be which is really odd as currently he is the least mature of all 3! Perhaps it is because I see so much of Dominick in him and I know how Dominick turned out :-) Even at this age Kenny is the Protector, he is the Do-er, he is the Fixer. He has more confidence than he has a right to have at this stage :-) He will be a wonderful and loving father, a caring and connected son even as an adult. What an incredible blessing he is to our family!! I am making a prediction that within 2 years we see a much more mature child who is pretty close to age appropriate.

I also sat there in the lowered light of our cozy living room and watched him, and I thought to myself "Kenny is so beautiful!". Of course, I know every mom thinks this about her kids, be they boys or girls, but I was struck by the softness of his features, of his relaxed smile and realized I was falling a little more in love with him every day.

Bringing a stranger into your home, even though they are a child, doesn't mean you instantly love them. That love takes time to grow and it must be nurtured. Now, I have loved Kenny for a long time now but there are still things I am discovering, and to add to that he continues to morph and change rapidly with the love from a family. Just as I get used to one Kenny, a new one replaces him! We go through rough times like this weekend when his behavior isn't so lovable and you get frustrated and angry, and then you come out of it and tell yourself he has taken another tiny step towards learning and growing. Funny, as we drove yesterday to the orthodontist 2 1/2 hours away wee had time for conversation and he spoke about this weekend and said "I no like sleeping while Matthew and Joshie play, I not be bad again!" so perhaps we have found a perfect weapon to add to our discipline arsenal should things backslide again...hahahaha~!

Despite the challenges, which in our case have really been relatively few (or perhaps it is just that Joshie was such a proving ground that Kenny seems easy in comparison!) older child adoption has been a tremendous success for us, something we are filled with gratitude for having God give us the courage to do, He had a terrific reward for us in Kenny!

And now I am off for the weekend with Matthew, who the past three days has quietly looked at me and whispered "Only 2 more days! Only 1 more day!" so someone is very excited about our "Mom and Matt" overnighter. I am so blessed to have children who enjoy being with their mom. I now it won't last as they all grow older but for now I am wallowing in it and enjoying every single moment. We will be visiting close friends of ours who moved to Denver this summer and who we have missed very much, so Matthew gets to visit his buddy as well and they are kindly putting us up for the night. We are facing driving in blizzard warning conditions for 5 hours to get to Denver, so we are hoping we don't get hit too hard. I am a bit nervous about speaking tomorrow at Adoption Alliance's training class, but hopefully I will do well and I pray that someone present there needs to hear what I have to say, that it touches someones heart. Thanks to all for your suggestions, I incorporated almost all of them! Your comments both on the blog and via email really touched me, and let me know that this blog has touched many of you in ways I never would have imagined. It is why I am keeping it up rather than quitting writing it. Thanks again!

Any Suggestions Anyone??

I am going to be a guest speaker at Adoption Alliances training this weekend, and I am putting together some ideas for what I will be talking about. Matthew will be going with me so we have a special Mommy and Matthew weekend ahead of us, which I am really looking forward to. I know he is only 8 but he is such a neat, interesting, intelligent little guy and is great fun to be with. Matthew also wanted to speak a little at the training so it will be very interesting to see what he has to ay from an 8 year old perspective. I am very proud of him wanting to do it and figured it would be best if I did it in question and answer format for him with me asking questions and him responding.

So as I put this together I realized I have the best people to bounce this off of right here who are my blog readers! Do any of you have any suggestions for topics that would interest you if you were attending? What do you think I should absolutely include? Do you have any ideas for questions for Matthew that you would be curious to learn what his response was? If you are a waiting parent, what is your biggest fear or concern? I realized as I was writing some material that with this having been our 3rd adoption many of those initial fears have receded and I am trying to dredge them up...maybe you can give me some reminders. After all, for us at this stage it is more like "OK...so let's see...we'll hop the plane and go get our son!" and not "Oh My Gosh! I can not believe we are really really going to do this strange thing!!!!"..we were there the first time around but not for time #2 or #3 :-)

Please give me your input, I am really anxious to see what you all think! You can comment on the blog or via email to CyndiLJ@aol.com . Thanks so much!!

Time4Learning

"akindofmagick said...
Cindy: so, how's time4learning working? Enquiring minds want to know!!"

I thought that I would respond with a post rather than burying my response in the comments section.

time4Learning.com has proven to be a terrific tool in our house, and one of the kids' favorite activities! This is NOT a paid endorsement at this stage, but this is real learning and reinforcement of educational material. I can see how someone could easily use this as the basis of their homeschooling curriculum and then supplement as desired.

Joshie loves doing anything on the computer and thus far has not been very interested in many learning activities otherwise. He can easily do most of it by himself with little intervention from me, and he actually enjoys it and doesn't really see it as learning.

Matthew, well he is my real book worm and school lover and this is one of his very favorite things to do, go to "online school". He loves the history and science portions and has blown through several of the language arts activities as he can go at his own pace, so he isn't slowed down as he is during the day at school. There are tons of activities though, so he is not in danger of finishing them any time soon...and thre are printable worksheets that are provided and can be used to reinforce the subjects learned online. Everything is so interactive that it keeps the momentum and interest way up.

For Kenny this has been an awesome tool to work on the basics that he is having to get in a hit or miss fashion at school, and it has had another added advantage of helping us see where hie defecits really are. As the parent you can print out reports of their activity and scores, so you can see if an arad needs more review or not. Sometimes with the language issues we have, we (and he) think he knows something and it turns out he has only understood a portion of it, so this helps us spot problems so we can correct it.

So overall, we feel this is one of the best tools we have come across for our kids and their education...we will no doubt continue to use the program for years to come. Those with older kids coming home (4 or 5 on up) from another country would find this to be an excellent resource to use to help them learn but have fun at the same time.

Hope this helps those who were wondering!

Salt Lake City or Bust!

We had a wonderful week last week, beginning our holiday with an early Thanksgiving dinner with friends and then moving on to our 5 1/2 hour drive to Salt Lake City Thanksgiving morning. We woke up to a VERY cold crisp 20 degree morning with no snow and hot air balloons flying overhead. We have a hot air balloon festival in our town over Thanksgiving weekend and often they fly right over our home, as was the case this weekend. As we loaded up the car we waved to the balloon pilots and yelled out "Happy Thanksgiving"!, and aside from our yells the only sound was their heaters huffing and chuffing as they silently drifted right over our house.
After a few "pit stops" along the way we arrived in Salt Lake City and our crew of 10 looked as if we were a traveling band of gypsies as we unloaded our cars in front of the Marriot (Super inexpensive thanks to Priceline!) and traipsed through the lobby with board games, swimming noodles and Walmart bags in tow. We spent the weekend swimming, walking around Temple Square with thousands of other people to view the glorious display of lights, and doing a little bit of clothes shopping for Matthew who really needed some long sleeved shirts.

That hour spent shopping with him for clothes was a very sweet time for me, as it was the first time he has shown an interest in his own clothing, and I was reminded that he is really growing up so quickly. We had such fun standing among the piles of clothing that others had pulled off racks in a Black Friday frenzy, and finding just the right things for him at huge discounted prices. At one point when he found a really cool black shirt with red trim and words in white that said things like "Honor" and "Courage", he giggled, jumped up and down and said through a huge grin "Mommy, I think we hit the jackpot this time!".

The evening we spent at Temple Square was so beautiful with everyone milling around in great spirits, politely enjoying the scene. We are not Mormon and I'll bet more than half of the people there were not as well, but we all came away with a renewed respect for those of different religious traditions and backgrounds. There were helicopters flying overhead capturing the scene for the evening news, projected snowflakes high above the city on sides of buildings, reflections of the lighted trees in beautiful pools, it is a site to behold and anyone within driving distance should put this on their "Life List" as a must-see at least once. While I had hoped to hear the magnificent organ played that accompanies the Tabernacle choir, we missed the brief window of opportunity on Friday so maybe one day I can go back and hear it and the choir as well. I well remember the recording my parents used to play of Christmas carols performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when I was a kid and it would be awesome to hear them in person some day.






The one thing that marred the weekend was Kenny's behavior. He has been steadily sliding downhill since his birthday, and we had a few struggles this past week with things culminating over the weekend. Don't get me wrong, it was not over the top awful, but definitely backsliding from the great gains we have made over the fall, and it was a little disappointing...and somewhat expected, honestly...to see Baby Kenny emerge and Big Boy Kenny recede for several days. We have several things we still are working on with him, things like grabbing things out of people's hands and speaking far too loudly (we've checked his hearing, it is fine), as well as his need to be in control and run the show. These behaviors are slowly improving, but over the weekend they returned with a vengeance and then some. We also had a real problem with him walking way ahead of our group and getting lost in the crowd. He simply refused to stay with us, and it was not out of excitement but out of a desire to control what he did. A couple of times we kept him in sight and let him wander off until he couldn't see us, and then he was scared when he couldn't find us...but he went right back to doing it again 5 minutes later.

By the end of the evening Friday night we had reached our limit as he continued trying to control the situation, complained about it being too cold, that he was too tired (after walking only 10 minutes), that his tummy hurt, etc. all not real complaints but his subtle way of gaining the upper hand. So when we returned back to the hotel, we played it up and said "Poor Kenny, he is not feeling well, and he is tired and his tummy hurts...so he has to go to bed..." and it was only 7:30 PM. While we had hamburgers we grilled in our room (the only way we can afford to do things like this is to go "on the cheap" and not eat out, so we had "cooler meals" and used our George Foreman Grill the entire weekend!) he had a cup of instant soup. After all, we didn't want to make his tummy worse ;-) . Then while I took Matthew and Josh down to the pool with our friends Kenny had to stay in bed while Daddy remained in the room. Once or twice he tried to ask for something more to eat, but we said "No, your tummy was really bothering you while we were seeing the lights, so you must be sick and we can't give you anything else until you feel better."

Did I feel awful? Yes...like a Mean Mommy Extraordinaire. Thankfully I was with friends who totally "get it", went right along with us on it, and were very supportive after I left the room saying "You are not a bad mom, it won't kill him!". Having that kind of support is worth it's weight in gold when you are not feeling so hot about yourself at the moment. It helped keep it all more lighthearted and kept the spotlight off of my own reaction and more on correcting Kenny's behavior. We also are so blessed to have friends who understand that this is a long road, not an overnight express train to having a son who eventually will mature and be the boy we know he can be. There are great moments and there are set backs, and it will be a couple of years before we are where I know we will ultimately end up with Kenny.

For me, the most frustrating part is having 9 year old Kenny sometimes, and then he disappears and 2 year old Kenny appears!! There were moments during this weekend when I looked at 4 year old Joshua and saw a boy far more mature than Kenny. Then there were also moments when I looked at 4 year old Joshua and remembered him at 2 and realized we have come so far, and have much to be thankful for...and I am utterly confident Kenny will be there too one day.

Then there were the moments when I looked at Matthew, who was hanging out with his 15 year old special friend, going to the gym and "working out", walking around the hotel together just the two of them, and I realized my little boy is long gone, and my older son has arrived, his body is growing and changing, his face is no longer little boyish, his interests are growing and widening. Matthew has a rare gift in his friend, a young man who has created a trickle down effect in our family without even knowing it, leading the way by taking Matthew under his wing and Matthew then sets the example for his younger brothers (ok, younger in actions not age!).

All in all, despite the challenges with Kenny, we had an awesome weekend. We needed the time together as a family as we head into our family's busy season with me returning to work full-time for ski season and the long winter daily drives I have to look forward to. I will begin in about 3 weeks, and then we all rarely have time like this together until the beginning of April. It is worth it for the 8 months I am home the rest of the year, but the 1.25 hour drives one way along totally deserted roads the entire time gets a little lonely. However, I am priviledged to see things on a daily basis that others pay thousands of dollars to come see. Eagles soaring overhead, herds of deer foraging on mountainsides, big horn sheep blocking my path on the road, snowy pristine mountains as far as the eye can see, and miles spent driving along Blue Mesa Reservoir, going from rippling waters to a frozen slab and then back again during the course of my time working in Gunnison. Each day brings a new surprise, a new and ever changing scene, so I guess I can't complain too much.

It also gives me long hours for private conversations with myself and God, and right now I need that more than ever. Things are brewing for our family, changes may happen in the coming year that would require walking with God in an even more powerful and connected way than ever before. I am not at liberty yet to share anything about it, and it may not come to pass, but I would ask all of you who read this who feel called to do so to pray that God's will would be revealed in a clear and unequivical way for us. I'd also ask that you pray for a speedy resolution to this circumstance, whatever that final resolution may be...and that if it is His will, that it falls into place easily and smoothly leaving us no doubts at all. I apologize for not revealing more, but there may ultimately be nothing to reveal so I will keep quiet until we know more. However, I fully realize the power of others speaking with God on our behalf, and feel a strong need to put this out there right now for all of you who might be willing to carry us around for awhile in your hearts.

And with that small request I leave you to go try and do my budget Christmas shopping! We have Joshie's birthday the day after Christmas as well, so we need to keep it all very strictly controlled in terms of cost. Luckily when they are his age it takes very little to make them happy and the things they enjoy are not very costly. Target's dollar bins are awesome for stocking stuffers!! We finally have a Target in town as a lone alternative to Walmart and I am thrilled to shop this year!

Happy First Birthday Kenny!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to post folks, we had a busy weekend here and I didn't have time to sit down for long enough to think and write.

As everyone knows from my last post, Kenny had a birthday...his first real birthday...last week. We were surprised that the night before he did actually manage to fall asleep reasonably early but he sure popped right up out of bed quickly Thursday morning! I lucked out and all 3 boys went to school with Dominick early for "Donuts with Dad" in the library, so I was able to easily sneak into his classroom and decorate his desk. I later learned from his teacher that ALL the kids were excited about that and wondered who had done it. He went to school wearing his "Birthday Boy" ribbon so everyone would know it was his special day...not that he didn't end up telling every single person in sight :-) This was such a big deal to him, and the night before just as he was falling asleep he asked me to pick out "church clothes" for him to wear to school so he could look sharp for his birthday.

Later that afternoon I went to school with a store bought cake with a "Cars" theme and we celebrated with his class. He then got a birthday spanking from his teacher with Joshie holding his feet. His teacher and I laughed as my natural born leader directed the entire event, telling the class when to sing, then directing them to sing to him in Spanish as well, then organizing the helpers to get the plates and hats distributed. It was a total riot and I realized even more just how similar he is to his Daddy, and that he will have to be self-employed someday or he will never be able to keep a job because he'll be canned for telling people what to do all the time!! Hahahaha! They then all played "Heads Up Seven Up" which I still remember from my school days, and I was allowed to play as well.

A moment I will never forget my entire life came when Kenny was sitting giggling in the desk in front of me as we waited to begin the next round, and he turned to me held my hand and said "Momma...thank you so much for my Happy Birthday...thank you for come to school for me.." and then he gently kissed the palm of my hand and carressed his cheek with it...

And that, my dear friends, is one of the many, many rewards of older child adoption. Yes, you miss first words and first steps, but you sure get to witness other remarkable firsts that touch you to the core.

On to Party #2 at home, and at this stage Kenny had a hard time holding it all together and we had a couple of pushy moments and he was sent to his room to mellow out. He had been awesome at school all day, much to all of our surprise, but the excitement was just too much. After a little down time we all decorated and got ready for our friends to arrive. We had a houseful, probably more than I have ever had in my house at once before. We had about 25 people with kids of all ages running around and parents visiting while we ate Kenny's ideal meal, spaghetti. I bought some of those small plaster cars and animals and had a Paint Station set up and then we all played a memory game, had a jelly bean hunt, and then the big moment arrived...presents! I kid you not, within 5 minutes every package had been ripped open, ooohed and aaahed over and then cast aside to move on to the next colorful package. I am grateful that everyone present understood that this was not a sign of ingratitude (Indeed not, as I didn't even have to prompt him to say thanks to each person as he opened their gift) but was mere excitement at the first time of ever having presents that were all his. I don't think he stopped smiling the entire night!

Cake time came and our family has a young special friend who is our Cake Expert and she made Kenny two cakes...a chocolate cake and a Superman cake!! We sang in English and Afrikaans (I know it makes no sense as it should have been Russian, but who cares? It's our party and we'll sing what we want to!) to him which he loved and then it was time for blowing out the candles and consuming it with great gusto.

Slowly everyone left and the whirlwind receded, and it was time for bed... and I was surprised to have tears out of Kenny. When I asked him why he was crying he replied "Because my Happy Birthday all over!!!". I explained to him that he would have another one next year, that this was only the first of many Happy Birthdays to come, which seemed to do the trick and he then drifted off happily to sleep, no doubt reliving his very special day.

I was also very proud of Matthew and Joshua, who throughout the day never showed any signs of jealousy or envy despite all the attention being paid their brother.

Birthday still wasn't technically over as we still had to go pick out a brand new bike that Grandma Alice sent money for and buy a few toys with money that Grandma Toni and Auntie Liz had sent.

All in all, I think Kenny had a spectacular birthday, and now maybe mom can have some peace and won't have to keep doing the coundown...at least not until June next year when he will start thinking about it again!!

And now it is time to look forward to Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays of the year. Christmas I could actually take or leave, as I join others in the lament of how commercialized it is. I had a conversation with a friend just last night about Christmas, and how our modern culture and media presents us with this image of what the perfect Christmas should look like, and how in real life it never lives up to that unrealistic expectation. Families are scattered and shattered, our houses are never decorated to the degree that we are shown on TV, people go in debt to a ridiculous extent thinking they have to show their love for others with things rather than time spent with them. It is so sad, and has ruined a wonderful time of the year. One of the biggest annoyances to me is seeing Christmas items in stores in September and hearing Chirstmas Muzak in October. Ugh!

But Thanksgiving, that is another matter...other than spending money on a turkey and some spuds, it is about loving one another, stopping to think of our blessings rather than dwelling on all we think we need but don't have. It is a day when we all stop our harried lives for just the briefest of moments to relax, visit, eat and say "I love you". Thanksgiving is a day that reminds us of how we should live our lives every day of the year, with a thankful heart surrounded by loving friends and family...for isn't that what is really what makes life worthwhile?

I was reminded of this quite well when during our church service yesterday members of our Congregation were asked to write on a slip of paper what they are thankful for. The overwhelming response was "My Family" from young and old alike (I'll admit I said "Macaroni and Cheese" as I have an overdose of expressing my gratitude for my family on this blog!!! Hahaha!). Funny...it wasn't "My new car", "my big beautiful home", "my bank account"...it was parents grateful for their children and children thankful for their parents. Why do we lose that in every day life, if that is what is really the single most important thing we are thankful for? Why do our families often get relegated to the back seat behind work, golf, new vehicles, etc.? Why does our pursuit of financial and material gain cause us to spend less time with those who really are what give our life purpose and meaning? It is when I contemplate that very thing that I am extraordinarily grateful for my husband who works hard for me to be home with our kids to be a mom most of the year, a man who leaves work to lead Cub Scouts, a man who cancels appointments to go to his son's class for an event. I may not have a beautifully appointed bedroom, granite counter tops or a brand new car, but I have a happy home and family, I have a husband who nurtures his children and wife, and I have the gift of time to give my kids as they grow up. To me, that's what Thanksgiving is all about.

We will actually not be celebrating with a turkey and trimmings on Thursday, but will instead be having our traditional meal on Wednesday with friends and then along with them will make the trek to Salt Lake City where we will stay for a couple of nights so we can see the beautifully lit city and Temple Square, hear the street musicians and with any luck I will be able to hear the pipe organ at the Mormon Tabernacle for the first time, something I have always wanted to do. We are doing this "on the cheap" planning on eating out of coolers the entire time but we wanted Kenny's first experience to see Christmas lights to be a special one, and I have never in my life seen a display like Salt Lake City puts on. We went two years ago and it was the one thing that has gotten me quickly into the spirit of the season, as I hope it does this year as well.

If I don't get to the blog before Thanksgiving arrives, I wish every single person reading this a very memorable and special day. Some of you may spend the day dreaming of children awaiting you, others like our family may be celebrating first Thanksgivings with newly arrived sons and daughters. Still others may have nothing to do with adoption but read this blog regularly and have spent the past year praying for us and holding us in your hearts. We are thankful for each and every one of you and wish you a love-filled Thanksgiving.

Will He Sleep???

Tomorrow is the Big Day...Kenny's birthday. Man, is he over-the-top excited and I am sure he will be wide awake most of the night. We have a few friends coming over tomorrow evening for the little party but if Kenny had his way we would have invited the entire world! He is so cute as he says "My Happy Birthday tomorrow!!". I am going to surprise him and sneak into his classroom before he goes in and decorate a little around his desk. I will bring his cake to share with his classroom late in the day. He selected a Cars themed cake for school, so we bought the plates and hats to match for everyone. I don't normally spend that much (those character plates are expensive!) but this is a special one for him so we went ahead and did it. For at home later that night we went with generic birthday plates.

I got the giggles myself as I was on the phone with my friend sharing Kenny's antics tonight. This is such a precious time for us as a family, even Matthew and Joshie are very happy for him and excited without a hint of jealousy. Joshie wanted to know if he could sing Happy Birthday to Kenny tonight to be the first, but I told him it wouldn't count until tomorrow when he was really 9 years old. Matthew took some money he had been saving that had been a gift to him and decide he wanted to buy his brother a really nice gift and spent it all on him. Now he is anxiosuly awaiting tomorrow so he can give it to him. For those of you reading this who have bio children or adopted infants, imagine for a moment that your child was almost 9 and had never in his or her life had their special day marked by anything...not by a gift or a cake. To most of us that is unfathomable, but to almost every child in an orphanage this is reality. Kenny may be the one getting the gifts tomorrow, but for the rest of us LaJoy's witnessing his glee it will feel like Christmas has arrived a month early.

You know, Kenny's birthday brings up thoughts in my mind of his birth mother and birth father. I don't think of birth parents every year on the boys' birthdays, but this first one with his new family is significant for Kenny and perhaps that has triggered my thoughts. I sometimes wonder if they mark the date in their minds, if when they see November 15th, June 12th or December 26th roll around do they pause for a moment and wonder about the fates of their children. Do they try and create a picture in their mind of what their son would look like as a 9 year old boy versus the infant they elected to relinquish? Do they call their lost sons by a secret birth name known only to them rather than the false birth name assigned each of my three sons by strangers at police stations or hospitals? Do they ever regret making the choice not to parent, reagardless of their reasons? It is often hard when I think of them, knowing that my greatest joy in life which has been parenting these three little boys has been served to me on a platter of sorrow from someone else. A quick little prayer of thanks is given that at the very least, they can contemplate their son's unknown future on his birthday rather than considering his abortion date.

Kenny's presence in our family also brings up other interesting thoughts at quiet moments...like what would Matthew and Joshua be like had they not been adopted at such young ages and instead had been institutionalized until they were 8 years old. Would they have come out of it with the same resilience that Kenny has shown? Would they be hardened to the point of no return?

And what would our lives have been like without them the past 7 1/2 years?

On a lighter note, (OK...maybe not!!) Matthew had an accident at the end of last week, and we are very blessed it wasn't worse. You'll see in photos I'll take tomorrow that he injured his left cheek just barely below his eye. He ran into a metal handicapped parking sign that easily could have taken his eye out. We are amazed that it is healing so quickly as it was quite a gash. At school kids kept asking me what had happened to him and Matthew grinned as I told them straight faced that he had been bitten by a shark. Evidently Matthew didn't use his injury for bragging rights as no one seemed to know what had happened. While not quite on par with the "Q-Tip" incident that my older Blog readers are familiar with, this one was at least self-inflicted and thankfully didn't require an ER visit. We had a brief converstion about his skin and what it would look like when it heals. You see, with his much darker skin color the pigment changes, often for years afterwards, after he gets banged up. He has a spot on his forehead that he rubbed raw when he was little and still self-soothing by rocking himself to sleep that has only recently faded close enough back to his natural skin color that one has to look very closely to notice it. I think we will find this injured area looks much lighter for a long time to come. He didn't say much about that but I think it bothered him a little bit. Maybe it will "turn color" more quickly than other injuries have, we'll just have to wait and see.

I promised an update on the Time4Learning web site and response from the boys (and this is unsolicited and unpaid now). We have been using it for a few days now, and I can honestly say that this is a phenomenal learning tool, and if you have kids at home and haven't checked it out I urge you to do so without delay. Yesterday Matthew rushed in from school begging for "computer school". He sat there easily for over an hour. Kenny spent an hour on it as well the past two days and Matthew would have gone for 2 or 3 hours tonight if I had let him. Josh even at not yet 5 years old easily understands how to progress within the program and how to operate it himself with almost no assistance from me, it is that user friendly...and this is the one thing I have found that will keep him motivated and interested in pre-school readiness activities. All 3 boys adore this, and although there is a "playground" option that can be used after studies are completed which contains over 100 games, they have spent relatively little time there and almost all their time on actual learning activities. This is far more intensive study than I had at first imagined...if you are comparing it to the standard old learning software out there, think again. This is challenging, serious educational material presented in unique and creative ways that keep kids coming back for more. Matthew's third grade subjects and activities are real learning, and cover far more than he would get it in school and in more depth. To say that Dominick and I are impressed is a little of an understatement...we are thrilled with what have found. It is the perfect tool for all three of our kids, but especially Kenny with us unique set of learning issues and gaps. We took him down to 1st grade math although he has functioned fairly well in Math this year at the second grade level...and already in 3 days we found an area that was an obvious gap and was important for him to understand...and have easily brought him up to speed. We literally had to rip the kids off the computer tonight so we may find that we have another problem that arises, too much screen time!!

Well, I guess it is time for mommy to go to bed too as I have a lot to do for our busy day tomorrow! I have my oldest son's First Birthday Party to host!!

To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool

I have had this ongoing internal conflict since Matthew started school...should we be homeschooling? We happen to have a wonderful school environment where our kids go to school, it is warm, inviting, has a caring and involved staff, very welcoming to parental involvement, etc. Thus far Matthew has had excellent teachers who do a great job...with the curriculum they are forced to teach. Therein lies part of the problem, the curriculum is far too heavy on reading and language arts and other subjects lag behind due to this emphasis on "No Child Left Behind" . Additionally, the wide range of skill levels in the classroom leaves many kids bored because the work is too easy or moving along too slowly, and other kids bored because it is way over their head. There is almost no time at all for teachers to involve more creative learning, more hands on experiences, no exploration of subjects that interest particular kids. It is a standard public school, better than some, but still it is a public school with all the limitations inherent to this kind of education.

Matthew is not a genius, but he is an above average student who is gifted in a couple of areas (as I think every child is). He has an ability to think logically that most kids his age do not, his curiousity is piqued by history and science (both virtually ignored in many respects in public school..or glossed over quickly), and he is a good reader...not the best in the class but near the top. He does well in math and can think outside the box when it comes to building and putting things together. And he is often bored in class. It is not that the work is too easy, but that it is presented too slowly and there is not enough variety. He also is a very self-motivated person who can stay on task for hours when involved in something, so luckily his boredom at times is not causing behavioral problems in school...but when he comes home with pages and pages of various aircraft he has drawn during class because he has finished his work so early you begin to get a little frustrated at the pre-packaged way in which our kids are taught.

Then there is Kenny. He is in ESL (English as a Secong Language) for about an hour and a half each day and then with the rest of the class the remainder of the day. His ESL teacher is great but is often stifled herself by the curriculum requirements placed on her. Also, he was placed, rightfully so considering all factors, in second grade. But what about all the material he missed that was covered in Kindergarten and 1st Grade? Let alone all the material that he is missing due to langauge issues that is presented in 2nd Grade? Although ESL is doing a good job with the time they have, they simply don't have him immersed in it all day long. I know he is learning some things when back in his regular classroom too, but without any doubt we are looking at some huge gaps in his education that we need to be proactive about catching him up on, and my fear is that we won't know what he doesn't know...if you can understand that circular sentance :-).

At various times I have spent hundreds of hours over the past several years looking at online homeschooling web sites, curriculum, etc. I know I could teach my kids at this level, that is not the problem. I know I could do it better than the public school in some regards, that also is not the problem. The way I see it, there IS no perfect solution...the kids will miss out on the socialization aspects that I think are important, the other activities such as PE and music and art that I am NOT inclined to teach or feel competent to do so. There is the day to day learning of how to get along well with other kids, teachers, etc. who view the world differently and have different personalities. Our home would be a wonderful place to learn, and we still may do it in the future when those outside influences become more challenging but for now, it feels more "right" for us to supplement our public schooling with other educational opportunities...and something beyond the standard old workbooks which mimics too closely how they are spending their time all day. We don't need to add to the boredem factor, my goal has always been to make learning a natural part of our daily living, because frankly learning IS fun! We're the kind of family that when questions come up we tell the kids to go grab the globe, or we look it upon online or reach for the dictionary.

Well, as Dominick and I have again revisited this discussion this past week, we purchased a software program at Target for Elementary School, which was a bomb. Miserable interface, didn't hold any interest and was in my own words "lame". I feel like I wasted the money on it. We do have a commonly used homeschool book called The Story of the World Volume 1, which has activities to go along with stories about the segment of history being studied and I think we might start attacking that a project at a time. But I was really looking for some way to work with the kids that would be fun, sequential in order so we don't miss anything for Kenny particularly, and that would allow us to step back to Kindergarten for him if we could...which then might be able to be used for Joshie too.

I stumbled on a possible solution when I found the Time 4 Learning web site www.time4learning.com. It is an online curriculum for Pre-K through 8th grade which includes math, language arts, science, social studies and other activities. It is not just a copied work book presented onscreen, it is interactive cartoon movies, games, activities and even worksheets with more activity suggestions to supplement the online learning experience. It can be totally customized by subject for each child, for example Kenny is working at 2nd grade math level but I already know a couple of key concepts that he doesn't quite "get". So even though he is in 2nd grade we can set the program to present 1st grade math concepts and Kindergarten langauge activities and he can progress through them at his own pace, eventually catching up we hope. Matthew can work ahead on the areas he enjoys and we can then supplement the subjects with outside books from the library, etc. And we can do all of this on our "free" time outside of school hours. We may have just hit the jackpot!

Today we got it set up and tried it with Joshie this morning. Josh is my more reluctant learner. I am not at all certain we may not have some learning issues there as well but, time will tell us that. This morning he spent over an hour actively engaged with the preschool and kindergarten activities. He was eager to do it! I was surprised as even the other prepackaged software programs we have used like Reader Rabbit and others just don't seem to hold any appeal for him. And even at this level, it was fun but the real deal. He learned about books, what a title page is, what an author and illustrator are, where to find their names, what a table of contents is, and started working on familiarity with the alphabet through various other activities. Now, we have worked on the alphabet for 2 years with him and he just hasn't cared at all about making it stick in his brain. After a few activities, as he ended each one the characters popped up that worked with the stories and he waved and said "Good Bye Friends!".

From the sample programs for other levels it is obvious this is not just "fluff" but real subjects are being taught in a step by step fashion, in logical order, and reinforced continually. After only one day and one child I am very impressed, and can't wait to see how Matthew and Kenny take to it this afternoon. Matthew was looking over our shoulder yesterday begging to use the sample programs, and in the middle looked up and said "Mommy, this is really good...I hope you get it!". They offer a two week trial period, so there is nothing really to lose if we find it doesn't work in the long run, but I have a feeling that with this program we may have come up with a solution for our immediate concerns.

I want you all to know that as I write this, I am hopefully going to receive one month free from them. I also hope that all of you know me well enough by now to know that if it stinks, I will be honest about it. I am NOT posting about Time 4 Learning for the free month (but since they are offering it, why not??), I am posting because I know there are other adoptive families out there who have brought home or are bringing home kiddos like Kenny who really need access to all the help they can get. I know that personally I have been a little overwhelmed when I let my mind wander to try and wrap around all that Kenny has missed and will continue to push further past if we don't find a way to catch him up in those areas. I feel time slipping away and it would be easy to just let the school do it all, as best they can, and assume all the bases are covered. It is obvious that those bases simply can't be covered with the constraints they have. I am praying we have found something that might allow him to go back and get those basics without the inappropriate social placement of stepping back to kindergarten where he really needs to be educationally.

I will keep you all posted about how this is working for our family, and if I see that it is a temporary interest rather than a long term tool I'll let you know that as well. If I see that activites are too easy, simplified or too difficult I'll also share that. But from the research I did before we signed up for it, and from what I have seen so far, this is the single best thing I have found short of fully homeschooling our kids. If you have a young English Language Learner at home, this goes letter by letter working on sounds, etc. if you step back to the Kindergarten level, which is really what Kenny needs.

And if any of you are using something that works well, kick in on the comments section and share it with me!

Halloween and Other Holidays

Dominick and I returned Sunday night from our little getaway weekend. We spent the weekend exploring Boulder, where we had never been before, sleeping in late, and pretty much doing as little as possible. The kids had a blast spending the weekend at our friends' house and we were able to escape completely worry free, knowing they were happy and well cared for. We haven't been alone together like that with one exception in over 7 years, and it was wonderful. This past year, heck, the past 7 years, have been pretty stressful in many ways. It was nice to have a conversation without having one or another boy tugging at our sleeves, to talk about our future and reminisce about how much our lives have changed. We actually managed to spend much of the weekend talking about something other than 3 little boys, although I'll admit to feeling a little bit too footloose. It is hard to believe we were married for 13 years without children and we spent that much time alone...and quiet!! Well, with me around, I guess it is probably never really quiet...hahahaha!

While in Boulder we visited an artist co-op where I fell in love with the most expensive yet expressive furniture! It is nothing I could ever afford in a million years, yet would die to have. It is a line called "Sticks" and you can see it at www.sticks.com . What I loved about it was that it was colorful, whimsical, could be personalized, and had phrases on many pieces that describe our lives to a "T". Tables and wall mirrors carved with sayings like "Be Creative", "Cherish Family", "Give of Yourself", "Seek Knowledge" and many others that support our notion of what a good life is all about. As I have often discussed in this blog, I am not anyone's image of a Martha Stewart-type, and the last thing on earth I am likely to ever take an interest in is furniture, but these pieces blend a folk art feel with sentiments that mean something to me, and although I will never be able to afford any of it (Not at $1200 and up for wall mirrors!!) it is one of the few things I have ever seen that has grabbed me that way and held my thoughts long afterward. If I ever have a spare $2000 sitting around (don't laugh too hard at that one) one of the huge wooden carved wall calendars will be mine!!

We have spent the past month in countdown mode for Kenny's birthday, which is next Thursday (the 15th). You have no idea how many times I have answered the question "Mom, how many days my birthday???"! I know most kids his age are excited about the arrival of their birthday, but though this is technically Kenny's ninth birthday, it is really his first birthday...his first ever celebrated with a cake and presents and party hats, the whole nine yards. It will also be the first ever celebrated with his family beside him. Matthew's eighth birthday was only a week after we returned home with Kenny, and Kenny's understanding of what was going on was evident and thereafter his desire to have his very own birthday was neverending!

We will have a cake at school, and then a small party at home with friends. I had to explain to him that the kids at school would NOT be bringing him presents, that they would celebrate by eating cake and singing to him. Surprisingly, we are having a hard time coming up with ideas for birthday and Christmas gifts for him. You would think it would be so easy...this child who has had nothing for his entire life, shouldn't this be simple? But he will be nine years old, he is developmentally in many ways closer to 6 (but also surprisingly mature in other ways), he has no reading skills yet, he doesn't much care for cars or sports, and he has shown no strong desires yet as everything is so new. Then throw in the mix that I am fairly particular about what we spend on our money on...wanting it to be something substantial and durable that will last and is not necessarily the latest Walmart plastic toy that will break in 5 minutes and we have a real conundrum.

And then...and then...here is where some of you might chide me...I don't want him to develop a less-than-grateful heart. There is this balancing act with older adopted children, one that requires that you walk that tightrope carefully or your decisions will lead to years of "undoing" what you initially did out of compassion (and, let's face it, the desire to prove how much you love your new child by giving them everything they have never had!). With Kenny, right away it was apparent that he had no concept of what things cost, and as expected had a distorted view of how "rich" we were. The first couple of weeks we had him while still in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, he asked us for EVERYTHING he saw. He threw tantrums in stores, picked up everything thinking we would buy it for him, and had to have several firm sit-downs to "get it", that his new family did not have loads of money. Our young Kazakh friends did us a favor and had it out with him at one point, offering explanations and probably telling him a few choice things they didn't translate for us :-) After we returned home, a friend of ours gave all three kids each a dollar and Kenny looked at it with a bit of disdain and said "Only one dollar?" which mortified me and surprised both Matthew and Joshua. With much consistency, that beast has now been somewhat tamed, and I fear that buying too much for his birthday will not only set a precedent we are not wealthy enough to maintain, but will undo much of the work of the past several months as we have focused on helping to create a grateful heart in him.

I know, I know, it is his first birthday and I should just let go of all of it for awhile, right? After all, what harm could come from a little spoiling? I find myself see-sawing back and forth on this one, all the while knowing that my more practical self will win out and we will keep it well under control even if there is that Fairy Godmother part of me that wants to hand him over several hundred dollars and turn him loose in a Toys R Us! But his spirit is worth far more than the short term pleasure we would get. Not everyone understands what we are trying to do with him, actually with all 3 of our sons, but that is ok. I want them to see that real joy comes from relationships and shared love, not things or monetary rewards. Dominick and I together have had times in our lives when we have had more, and times when we have had less and we could never look at the times when we could be freer with money and call them happier. Often it is the anticipation of something long yearned for that brings one happiness, while the realization of that dream is often a little lackluster. We are in lean times now, and yet we want for very little. It is my heartfelt desire that Kenny somehow takes that in and can use it to sustain himself later in life when the going gets rough.

We left the day after Halloween and I didn't get to post about Kenny's first Trick Or Treating extravaganza! I spent the day at school, carving pumpkins and dancing back and forth between parties in 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. It was so much fun to see the kids all wound up, costumes on, smiles wide. That evening we went into town for trick or treating with friends, and within the first house or two Kenny was WAY into it and there was no stopping him. As it often has been with him, we find that he blends in so easily and handles new experiences so well that we have to remind ourselves that he is "new". At the end of the night with candy spread from one end of the floor to the other, all the kids started haggling for things they wanted to trade...Smarties for Twix bars, Tootsie Rolls for M & M's. The silly part of the evening was watching all of us make sour faces after popping a "Warhead" into our mouths! My camera battery decided to suddenly stop holding a charge, so I had to rely on my friend to snap pictures for me of the kids in their costumes, as you can see from the photos shown here. My Superman, Power Ranger, and Pilot all kept me safe for the evening!

I had a special "Mommy Reward" yesterday when a friend called me up to share what had happened at school between Matthew and her son, who had broken his arm this weekend. Matthew's buddy was concerned about how he was going to use the restroom because he couldn't maneuver well enough to work with pants! We had a talk the night before and Matthew said he would help...but you always wonder if something like that will be too embarassing for an 8 year old boy. Well, on the phone the mom told me that you always hope your children will find special friends who will really stick by them, and she felt very fortunate that Matthew was her son's friend, that he helped make his buddy feel much more comfortable at school that day. And there, once again, my quieter less flashy son works his special magic, and I prayerfully give thanks for him, that he is the "older" child in our family and sets such a wonderful example of kindness, diligence, and obedience to both Kenny and Joshua, who also have their own special magic they work in our lives.