Friday, August 31, 2007

The invisible women

I received this story from my Bloggin' friend Buffi. I have been reading and re-reading it since she sent it to me. I figured I might as well post it here. I think it's absolutely beautiful. I feel like someone just touched a raw nerve in me. How often do I tell my kids "I'm not the cleaning lady around here!!" or answer the question about missing shoes with "I didn't wear them". They are not the kindest answers, I know, but sometimes the daily grind just wears me out. As much as I love them, as happy as I am to be a Mom - it sure is hard some days.
That's why I love this story so much.
************
I'm invisible..... It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Pick me up right around 5:30, please.
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going she's going . she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style mess; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work.
No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.' I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Hmm, was it a good idea??


Our big cat is very interested in Anya's two Gerbils, Oki and Muffin. But he has the patience of a hunter, and I think he is just waiting for the right time to make his move. After all, he eventually got what he wanted with our Love bird, too :-((.
Midnight is a different story. She has the HOTS for these 2 unsuspecting little critters, and prances around them with the excitement of an inexperienced kitten. She might get her way with them too, but let's hope not....

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

First Day of SCHOOL!

Even in Wyoming school has started up for the year.
Here is my school crew. We have been taking pictures on this rock wall every year now - it will be so fun to compare them some day!
Nico will stay home this year, and he will do the "virtual school" that is being offered through our school district. We don't have everything set up yet (Mike and I worked on it tonight), so he just did some reading and writing today and lots of PE and recess *LOL*. He is in 4th grade.
Anya started 3rd and Alex 1st grade.
Elia will start preschool next week, but only 3 mornings a week.
Nina did well with the changes. She told Mike on the phone that "Anya, Azez (=Alex) yennow Bus", and she was sooo happy when they came home this afternoon.

Bye bye, yennow Bus!

Ready to adopt again...

We've added yet another family member.
It's another GIRL.
She was adopted domestically.
She is 12 weeks old.
She was free.
Her name is MIDNIGHT. Elia could not remember her name, so he called her "nightmare" *LOL*
She miaows.
She is cute and still pretty shy.
Our other cat, Wooley, is NOT impressed :-))
The kids are so excited. We had to put Nico's "teenage cat" Speedo to sleep in December of last year because he had cancer (even though he was just a little over one year old), and I had halfway promised them that we would get a new kitten in the summer. And you know how kids are - they don't forget a promise like that!
Yesterday we heard of 2 available kittens, and so when Mike got home from work, we had a SURPRISE for him *ha*.
Yep, he WAS VERY surprised!!!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I know it's pathetic, but....

...today has been a big day: I finally finished unpacking our suitcases that we brought home from CHINA! Better late than never, right?
I had many flashbacks and sweet memories - receipts from the Embroidery Factory, 2 pieces of the candy Nina had with her on "Nina Day", the little fold-up spoons from the Ramen noodles, Chopsticks from the Dolton Hotel in Changsha and from China Southern, chinese dresses that will fit Nina in the years to come, items that we sent her in her care packages, and on and on...
It seems like SOOOO long ago.
I'm at a point now where I cannot imagine NOT having her in our family. She is so comfortable most of the time and happy and silly and loving. She is very special!
They all are. All five of them...

THANK YOU!

I just received word that Bob and Linda were able to get a consulate appointment on Sept 18th!!! Wohoooooo!
I'm not sure who ended up coming through for them, but it's so wonderful that Joanna won't have to wait much longer!!
Thank you for praying!

A day out with THOMAS!


On Sunday, we were treated to a "Day out with Thomas" (thanks, Mom and Dad!). It doesn't happen very often that attractions like this one are even remotely in our area. Except for this time - Yeah!. So we trekked over to the beautiful Black Hills and enjoyed a Family Day! It was the last day of the event, and we didn't get there until later in the afternoon, so it wasn't crowded, no wait times anywhere, and we even got free Corn Dogs, as they had to get rid of them!
Alex and Elia were VERY excited, Nico and Anya thought it was pretty much Baby stuff (after all, we're EIGHT and NINE! years old). Nina was just happy to be out and about with her favorite people :-)
Here we are with THOMAS!
"All Aboard!!"
Nina is hanging out with Elia and "Yopa" (=Grandpa)
After the train ride we visited the Magic Show. Elia and Anya got to help with some tricks!
Nope, they didn't have any fun at all!! :-))
Then they played with these train sets
And you can see that Nico STILL didn't have any fun *ha*
The girls got their faces painted (the boys did too, but a bit later)
And we went to see Sir Topham Hat. Nina didn't even want to get CLOSE to that guy!!
This was Alex' favorite part!

We were literally the last ones to leave. We heard that earlier in the week it had been so crowded, and as you can see, there was hardly anybody left when we were there. It was perfect!
We didn't get home until very late that night, and even though the kids slept, Monday was not exactly a harmonious day around our house.
It was one of those days when God's mercies that are new every morning seem to have run out by about 10am and are not renewed until everyone is asleep *sigh*.
Today is a new day, and our last day before school starts tomorrow. The kids are happily playing right now while I'm posting this.
I'm counting on his grace being enough for me today. And the kids, too ;-))
Off to eat breakfast!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

"Hock-a-noogy"

We had a WILD weekend. Good, but very busy. I'm so glad to be home!
I have lots of great pictures to share, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.
This little story though is TOO FUNNY to wait!
Nina has been clearing her throat a lot lately. It sounds like she has something scratchy that is bothering her. I have asked her a few times if she was going to "hack a loogey" (how in all the world do you spell that?? We love that expression ever since the "Nemo" movie!). This afternoon, as we were out and about she started doing her "noises" again, and then she looked at me and said: "Nina hock a noogy". I just about fell over laughing. Here is my funny little girl with her cute chinese accent learning the most profound english statement. Oh my word.... she cracks me up!
I have this feeling that as soon as she has this language thing mastered, she will be talking non-stop, bossing everyone around. Mercy! Lots of it :-))))
Good night and have a blessed week, friends!

Please help pray Joanna home!

One more thing tonight.
If you believe in the power of prayer, I would like you to pray for Joanna's family. You can read about them on this blog: Linda's children.
They need divine intervention on getting a CA as soon as possible to bring their new daughter Joanna home.
Joanna is a beautiful 8 year old girl who holds a very special place in my heart.
Last fall I came across her file on an agency's WC list, and she immediately captured my heart. By that I mean to the point of sitting in front of the computer and crying my eyes out kind of emotion. I really really wanted to adopt her, but as most of you know, it is not possible anymore to adopt from a different agency's list. I was very, very sad. We were not willing to start all over with a different agency, as our dossier was about half way done by then. We prayed that if we were supposed to be her family, no one would be interested in her, and that our agency could eventually request her file.
A couple of weeks later, her profile changed to "matched".
I lost a little piece of my heart that day.
I kept praying for Niu Niu, and I kept checking blogs and yahoo groups to see if I would find out who her family was going to be.
Spring came. We knew who our daughter was going to be, it was time for taxes, and we were DTC.
Then, one Sunday a message touched my heart. It was about bringing all our desires to the Lord, and ASKING him for things that are important to us, even if they seem little. We were challenged to ask God for one thing we would really like. Knowing that our finances were tight with all the adoption expenses, I asked for money. That night - and I had not even thought about that when I prayed my prayer in church - we did our taxes, and our refund ended up being MUCH bigger than I would have expected. I was in AWE. God had answered my prayer the same day!
And because he loves to give, he added an extra surprise the next day: On a Yahoo group, I came across a lady who ended her post with "Waiting for Joanna, who will be 8 on April 30th".
My heart stopped.
Could it be her?
I emailed her right away, and sure enough. Linda and Bob had been approved to adopt Niu Niu.
Ever since then Linda and I have been in contact, and she has been very gracious about sharing her journey to Joanna with me. I'm so happy to know that this little girl with the puppet will have a wonderful family! And they don't even live that far from us!!!
Don't get me wrong - I have no regrets, no second thoughts, no "if's" in my heart. I know that God has formed both of our families perfectly. He has used Joanna though to soften my heart towards older children. Even though Nina is only 3 1/2, she really is older than we had originally "planned" for our adopted child. It was because of her that we changed our age range for our Checklist, and were ultimately matched with Nina BoBo.

She really, really needs to come home now. So please join me in praying for her family. They mean a lot to me!
Thanks!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

We tried...

We have been home for I think almost 7 weeks, and we have NO picture with all of us in it. How sad is that!!
Tonight we tried - after coming home from the ranch, we had to get ready to go to the "Peace officers banquet" that our church hosts every year. All police, highway patrol and sheriff's deputies are invited to a steak dinner as a way to thank them for their service.
Since Mike is on the Sheriff's posse, a volunteer search and rescue unit, we were invited too. Wohoo, no cooking for me tonight - serve me steak, baby!
We cleaned up and dressed up just a bit, but by that time a general crankiness had descended upon us, and the pictures certainly are nothing to brag about. But hey, this is the real us.

Can you believe they're all mine??


I always assumed that going from 4 to 5 kids was not going to be a big change. Wrong. I don't think I have my mind fully wrapped around the fact that I have FIVE children! All of a sudden my family seems HUGE! We're our own little tribe! Half a village ;-)) We had a friend tell us tonight that he would volunteer to be the quarterback once we're ready to start our own football team *ha*. I think we'll have a soccer team first, as we're quite a soccer fanatic family!
In the above picure, from left to right, you see Anya, Elia, Nico and Alex on the horses, Nina and myself below.
And if you are wondering what the wide open spaces in Wyoming look like, check out the last picture below!
Home, home on the range,
where the deer and the antelope play,
where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
and the skies are not cloudy all day....

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Another Nina picture *revised*


I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I cannot upload any pictures to the side bar. And it drives me crazy!!
So, here is one that I tried to add as a "permanent" one, but blogger won't let me *cry*

****Update: IT WORKED!! You can see the picture on the left now, it is the b/w one with the August 2007 caption!*****

(The secret seems to be that I can do it on the PC, but not on the Mac.... go figure!)

Winter is going to be COLD!


We had quite a hail storm this afternoon. After it passed, we had lots of hail laying in our yard. I took Nina outside to show her the cold surprise.
She was not impressed!
Oh, Baby, you will be surprised when the snow starts flying in October or November at the latest. And go on. And on. And on.
THAT will definitely be a first for her, I think :-))

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Accepted into the family

We had a family reunion last weekend. Nina met several relatives for the first time, and overall she did pretty well. On Saturday she went just with Mike and the boys, since Anya was sick and I stayed home with her. Mike said that he was in the doghouse for a while because he left her with his Mom (who Nina LOVES!) while he rode the 4wheeler with the boys, but that she came around pretty quickly.
On Sunday I was able to go too, even though Anya was not 100% yet, but better.
Mike's family is pretty amazing. They really embraced Nina and welcomed her with open arms. They have been very supportive with all of our kiddos, which is so nice! And so appreciated!
One thing I found very interesting: Saturday night, after Mike brought Nina home, she started with a fever, and she was coughing. On sunday she still had a slight fever, and on Monday it was completely gone. At first I thought she might be getting what Anya had, but now I'm wondering if the reunion stressed her out too much, and that's how her body responded.
Of course I can't prove that was the reason for her very short bout of sickness, but the timing strikes me as a bit odd.
Again, it reminds me of the "overdrive" her entire little being has to be in still, and that we have to continue to nurture her in a special way to lay a solid foundation of trust and an ability to cope with life's changes.
The following picture captures the way Mike's family has responded to Nina... with caring, open hearts. Willing to love her because she is ours. What a blessing!

Monday, August 20, 2007

"THE look", and she DOES get tired of having her picture taken!

Miss Nina looked so cute on Saturday, I just HAD to take some pictures! I really want to make them into a collage, but have yet to figure out how to do that. In the meantime I wanted to share the funniest ones out of that "shoot".
This one is Nina's "look" - the observant, borderline annoyed, not-getting-my-way or no-idea-what's-going-on-in-her-little-head look. I find it so interesting to see how we are learning to 'read' her more and more, and how she is becoming more 'detailed' to us. Kind of like one of those pictures that looks like a regular picture from a distance, but when you look at it close up, you notice that it is made up from individual little pictures. Do you know what I mean?
And then, for the first time ever, she got TIRED of me taking pictures of her. I thought that was just too funny! I said "Nina, look at Mama!", and she kept her head down and muttered: "No! Go see Baba" (=Daddy). What a little character she is!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Girl in a box



Aren't cardboard boxes the BEST? The kids seriously fought over the 2 boxes I had....
Nina was so content in her little hide-out playing with her brother's Leap Pad. Nothing like a little bit of ME time, right?

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Sisters


It doesn't get much better than this!
Anya has been sick, and yesterday afternoon I found the girls snuggled up outside, whispering little girl secrets to each other!
Anya has been SO GOOD with her little sister. By her own choosing she has sacrified a lot of her own interests during the last few weeks in order to tend to Nina. Sometimes she gets frustrated with her getting into her stuff and following her around all the time, but for the most part she is enjoying her new sister. She still prays for her every night.
Her prayers have amazed me for a long time.
When she was a bit younger and she prayed for something or someone, she always included the "Thank you" in her prayers. The way she prayed was that she was fully expecting it to happen and that in fact it had already happened.
My first daughter continues to amaze me!
She is such a precious jewel in our family!
Anya, I love you!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Bed time bonding :-)


Here is our "Sleeping Beauty" :-))
I do like bedtime. For the most part, anyway. I don't like telling the kids 5 times to brush their teeth or to pick up their dirty clothes. So yes, sometimes it feels more like running around in circles, and by the time the snuggling and reading and kissing and praying and tucking in part starts, I'm exhausted. And maybe, just maybe a bit cranky, too.
Motherhood...
I want to share some of our bedtime routines with Nina. Whenever she naps, she goes to bed pretty late (10ish...). I don't like that, it's too late for me, but for our bonding, it's been a good thing.
Sometimes we go outside and water the flowers together, with her in the sling. We have watched a movie together, that no one else will watch (like Pooh sing-alongs - she loves it!). We snuggle on the couch while she drinks her bottle of warm milk.
These times remind my of my late nights with my teeny tiny babies, and they are just as precious to me. It relaxes her, because our days are usually pretty crazy and wild and busy.
In the beginning, I always layed down with her in our bed when it was time to sleep. She is so funny... she rolls around, talks and talks and talks, and likes to hum and sing. She loves "The Busy Spider" (Eric Carle) and "Goodnight moon". She started this little game, where she snuggles up really close and then it goes like that"
N: "Mama"
Me: "What?"
N: gibber, gibber, gibber, gibber (no clue if she makes it up or if it's chinese", and then she starts to giggle.
Then silence
N: "Mama"
Me: "What?"
N: gibber, gibber...... you get the picture.
We can go on like that for a LONG time, and she doesn't get tired of it! The first time she did this I just laughed and laughed. It was so cute!
Eventually, she rolls over, hanging on to her blanket, and goes to sleep.
She also loves to pray with me, and folds her little hand so sincerely. Tonight it really sounded like she was praying. She was saying all the kids' names and then something I did not understand. It was so sweet. I'm sure God knew exactly what she meant!
Lately we have started to put her to bed and then leave her. She still sleeps in our bed, so she is just around the corner from the living room. I leave the door open, and she usually has to make sure I'm there. That goes like that:
N: "Mama!"
Me: "Mama is right here, Nina!"
N: "Oh!"
And that can go on for quite a while too, sometimes she asks every minute, sometimes its 5 or 10 minutes, and then she falls asleep. Tonight she was not impressed with me leaving her in there, but she settled down quickly. She still does her sad little sobbing thing every so often, and it's so hard to know what she is sad about.
She loves to give hugs and kisses at bedtime with the cutest pursed lips, and we always exchange lots of "Lob'you's" (=love you).
I'm so thankful that she has known love and affection before we met her. It's obvious in her behavior.
She is so sweet.
And fiesty sometimes.
Good for her...

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Friends


This is Laney.
Well, and of course, Nina, but I'm sure that by now you know that ;-))))
Laney was born in China too, and she joined her family 1 1/2 years ago. She is one year younger than Nina.
Kevin and Tina have been a wonderful source of reassurance and encouragment during our adoption, and we are so blessed to have them as friends. Thank you guys - we love you!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

14 years


Yesterday was our "official" anniversary, and 14 years ago today we were married in our church in Bern, Switzerland.
14 years!!!
The 14th is kind of a "magic" number for us, as we started dating on June 14th, got engaged on Feb. 14th the following year and married on the 14th of August of the same year. And now it's been 14 years.
We are just shaking our heads in disbelief.... no way did we picture ourselves with five children 14 years ago, and here we are, blessed beyond our wildest imagination!
The nice thing is, I would marry Mike again in a heartbeat. It is such a God thing how we complement each other.
HE - the free spirited dreamer, outgoing, always "on the move", supportive, loving, super-Dad kind of guy...
ME - the more introverted, organized, efficient, loving-to-cook-and-bake-for-everyone kind of gal...

We have both changed over the years - I have gotten more adventurous and he has gotten more grounded - but we remain an awesome team.
The kids know our differences too - if you want a Slushy, ask Daddy. If you want to go sledding or swimming, Mama is the better bet.

"Our" verse for our wedding was this:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.... though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
(Ecc. 4)

So, so true.

Has it always been easy? I would be lying if I said it has.... we've gone through difficult transitions (moving on the other side of the world would be the most dramatic one for me), we've gone through the heartbreak of infertility, scraping by on a student's salary, dealing with the - of course unexpected- disabilities in our son or travelling to China to adopt our daughter, just to name a few. But the Lord has been gracious, and we have come out of these situations stronger, more united.

Mike, I love you! Now more than 14 years ago!

I will try to post one of our wedding pictures, but I'll have Mike scan one in first (Can you believe that I'm almost sure that I have lost all the negatives of our wedding pictures???). So for now I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures of the two of us. It was taken last year, and it was also part of our dossier.

Way out west

Last night, Aunt Jo and Uncle Ronnie dropped by after a trip into town. Not only did they bring Sarah along (so good to see you, Sarah!), but also two horses that they had taken to the vet. After visiting for a while, the kids wanted to see the horses, and - bless their hearts - talked them into taking them out of the trailer. It wasn't long and they were all riding the horses - right by our front yard. It was so much fun, and Nina liked the horses very much. In fact, she liked the real ones so much better than the stick horse that wiggles its head while playing "lone ranger" - THAT freaked her out ;-))

                                              Listening to the cowboy's instructions :-)

                                           Sarah leading the girls

                                            Yeeee-haaaaawww, this is fun!

                                             Aunt Jo leading the boys

                                            Nico and Elia

                                            Nico and Alex

                                            Time to say goodbye

                                             Bye, Sarah!

                                             See you later, Paint! (aka "Rain" from the movie "Spirit")

Monday, August 13, 2007

Us, the "chinese" girls


Here we are, the girls, in our chinese dresses. I had mine custom made in Guangzhou, and it's probably one of my favorite souvenirs.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Planting the seed

I just have to show you this video clip. The kids LOVE to teach Nina new words, and she tries to repeat pretty much everything they tell her.
I have to add that this was their idea, and we're not brainwashing our new daughter ;-))
We feel privileged to be able to teach her about the essence of our life, and right now these are just words to her. It is our prayer that it will go deeper, and that she will grab on to what Jesus did for her. And to what he has in store for her. I can't wait to see it unfold...

You make everything glorious...

A few days ago we had "one of those" days... kids bouncing off the walls, a tired Mama, and I have buried the other details of it deep in my subconscience. All I remember is that I had to run an errand, and Mike was wondering if I wanted to take any of the kids with me.
I declined.
I just needed a few minutes by myself.
Can anyone relate?
So I got in the van, turned on the christian radio station, and there it was: A beautiful song I had never heard before, and the main line of the song is "You make everything glorious, and I am yours..."
I did not feel the "glorious" right at that moment, but it was so comforting to hear those words from someone who obviously did not know about my day. There are things that never change, and this is one of them: That God makes everything glorious, and that I'm his if I choose so.
Everything.
My children who drove me up the wall that day.
My marriage.
My life.
My inadequacies
I was in awe of the way the Lord reached down and ministered to me when I needed it most.

The song is by the David Crowder band, and I found it on youtube - it's probably not a legal copy of it, so please forgive me...

Friday, August 10, 2007

My wild side... and will Mama come back?

Like I mentioned earlier, we had the fair last week, and as you know, the fair brings the carnival. I usually try to overlook the carnival when it's in town, but of course since we were at the fair daily, there was no way around it.
Friday night came, and we decided to bite the bullet and take the kids to the carnival. I was going to meet everyone there, since I had to work at my booth for a couple of hours. When I left the house, I did just that... I walked out and never told Nina I was leaving AND GOING TO COME BACK....
I also have to add that this was the first time I had left her at home with Mike.
Fast forward a couple of hours. I arrive at the Carnival, and my older kids are excited to see me. Nina on the other hand had my Mother-in-law's hand clutched tightly, and when I asked her to come see Mama, she shook her head "no".
WHOA!!! That stung. A bit.
I'm wondering what went on in her little head. Was she ready to settle for Grandma, since Mama had walked out on her? Now she has definitely the coolest Grandma in town, there is no question about that. It was just so sad to see her disappointed and unsure of her new life. Again, what was I THINKING!?
I scooped her up in my arms even after she clearly answered my question, because I just don't take that kind of NO for an answer. She seemed fine after that, but it was again such an eye opener moment. She is doing wonderful and is adjusting so well, better than we would have ever expected, but we cannot take it for granted. Her foundation is still wobbly and needs to settle and get stronger!

Well, she LOVED the carnival. She actually wanted to go on the wildest rides, and Mike finally took her. The older kids HATED the "spider" (and I'm going to leave it at that since I don't want to embarrass them), but Nina was happy and content and wanted to go AGAIN. No dice, no takers for that one. I was so surprised, and it confirmed that somewhere deep inside our little girl there is a wild side of her yet to come out ;-))

                                              Anya and Nina in line for Nina's first carnival ride

                                             Enjoying the little kiddie ferries wheel

                                             Another ride with Anya and Alex

                                             And then THE "spider"

Thursday, August 9, 2007

American Girl

Tonight, Nina received her first letter! And an important piece of mail it was... her CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICATE!! Yeah! That makes two of us with one of those. Although I'm very pleasantly surprised how fast CIS worked! What happened????
Yep, you're right, you are hearing some sarcasm. It took me TWO years to get my US citizenship! But then, to their defense I have to add that I was not eligible to apply for three years, then I procrastinated for 9, and then it took 2 to get it done. So it was not ALL their fault *ha*
Anyways, it's official, and as soon as we get her SSN she will get a passport! Yeah! It always makes me feel better if everybody in the family is ready to travel at any time. You just never know...

                    And here are my two beautiful ladybug girls! They just love their matching nightgowns!

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Cool kids...


Here they are, playing "Elvis" (how do they even know who Elvis was?????). Nico started it, and after they were done fighting over sunglasses (and by golly, we have plenty of those!) and were all situated with their blankets, they felt so cool!
I have to agree, they are cool kids! And I love it when they are creative and work together to get something done!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

I give up...

I really, really, really wanted to capture Nina's new words every week to see how she progresses. The first time it was still pretty easy. But now it's impossible to remember everything she says, because her vocabulary is just exploding.
Yep, I'm a proud Mama.
Her pronounciation is not perfect by any means, and I'm sure that's perfectly normal, but she can get her point across pretty darn well. She is using more and more 2 - 3 word sentences like "Go see Daddy" or "more please apple", "come here, Nico" (or any other name), or "no go sleeping". This little girl continues to amaze me! I'm really thinking about starting to teach her Swiss German too, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. If anyone has any experience with raising a bilingual adopted toddler, I would love to hear about it!
It also seems like she understands so much already! Her little brain must be on constant overdrive learning all this new stuff! No wonder she's asleep in 2 seconds if she doesn't nap.
Which brings me to a different issue.... we have absolutely NO schedule. It drives me crazy! If she naps, even if it's just for a short time, she doesn't go to sleep until 10pm. THAT doesn't work, although the cuddling on the couch is awfully cute! If she doesn't nap, she tends to get very cranky later on in the afternoon, or just ends up falling asleep at 4 or 5pm, and then we're back to scenario 1. I just haven't figured out what the best solution for everyone involved is.
But hey, it's okay, isn't it? Everything is still so new, and she is happy and amazingly well adjusted, so that's the most important, right? Wow, that was quite a self-pep-talk *ha*.
Anyway, I totally got off the subject here, but oh well. I read my posts from our time in China the other day, and there were so many things I had already forgotten. I'm so glad I wrote them down, so my ramblings now may mean something someday!!
Good night out there!
God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good!

Monday, August 6, 2007

My Great Grandma

Last week, Nina got to meet her Great-Grandma Ila and Mike's very fun-loving and special Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Jo!
She warmed up to them right away, except when Uncle Ronnie tried to play his wild games with her that our other kids absolutely LOVE. I know it won't be long and she will be right in the middle of it all.
Later on in the week I spoke with Great-Grandma, and she said that Nina "had completely captured her heart". How sweet. We are very blessed to have an extended family here that just has the biggest heart!
A huge THANK YOU to all of you for welcoming Nina to the "pile" (we always joke about our family - my in-laws - just loving to live in a great big pile - the closer, the better)