Archive for May, 2009


It’s raining now… 

It’s going to rain… 

It just stopped raining.

Yikes, I’ve never seen a black bear that close before!

Wow, those (mountains, rocks, trees, rapids, etc…) are beautiful!

Who wants to sit on the front porch with Mama and watch the clouds go by?

Ellie, are there anymore snails in your pocket?

No, Daddy didn’t catch any fish.

Wait, smile, that is a great shot.

Time for S’mores…Yes, you can have more chocolate.

Hannah, go put on dry socks and shoes.

Did you see the triplet baby lambs that were born last night?

Daddy’s taking a nap.

Yes, Hannah, you can ride your bike up and down the road.

Who wants to go on a hike with Mommy?

Do we have to leave already?

http://www.avalancheranch.com/index.html

The one thing that was not heard was an earnest mom chasing her kids around trying to keep them bug sprayed.  Yep, no bugs, no mosquitoes which was amazing considering how much rain we had…there was one tiny daddy long leg who showed up while Hannah was having a shower one day

E.T.

We watched E.T. last night with the girls.

I was pretty much exactly Hannah’s age when the movie came out (1982).

What an amazing movie.

The last thing both girls did last night as I tucked them in was stick out their fingers and touch mine saying, “Oouuccchh.”

Love is timeless, afterall.

(Ellie said E.T. is brown like her.  Sometimes it is hard to keep a straight face when she comes up with stuff like that!)

Big and Little

Hannah is 8 1/2.  She is doing a lot of growing up these days. 

Sometimes it just smacks me in the forehead how much she is changing. 

Ryan was traveling all last week and when he got home I was filling him in on how challenging it had been all week to understand where Hannah was coming from…sometimes she is independent and mature and sometimes she curls up on my lap and wants to be held.  Its hard to be sure if little kid Hannah is responding or pre-pubescent Hannah is there…the cute face is the same.

The morning after Ryan returned from his trip we went to IHOP for breakfast.  Hannah said to her dad, “You know, Dad, I am tall for my age and I am getting older, so I don’t think I am going to take a coloring sheet when we go to a restaurant anymore.”

Smack!  My jaw dropped.  Glad Dad was there to respond to that one.

When she sits down on the sofa to chat or hang out, she crosses her long legs like a young lady.

Smack!

Both of her Grandma’s have commented on the fact that she carries on real and informative conversations over the phone with them.

Smack!…Hope those conversations aren’t too informative and Mom gets told on…

Tonight at dinner, I almost choked over my pasta when she looked over at Ryan and said, “So, Dad, how was work today?”

Smack!

Oh, then she went out and rode her bicycle all evening and played in the mud with her sister.

Phew, I still have a little more time…

No Bugs

A few weeks ago I heard that there are no bugs in Colorado.  For several days I asked whomever I was talking to  – polling them really – to be sure before I “whooped” in excitement.

It’s been my favorite topic of conversation lately.

It’s true.

You can leave the doors open with no screens.
You don’t have to spray down your children with insect repellent when they go outside.

No flies.  No mosquitoes.  Yellow jackets can be a bother, but they are managed nicely by those yellow jacket traps.

I’ve been watching and have yet to see any.

Last night we were sitting outside way past dusk.  The kids ran and played.  No bugs.  I flipped on the outside light.  No bugs.

I’ll tell you – I should start working for Colorado’s public relations department.  I love this state.

USPS?

Ellie made a craft for our next door neighbor, Ian, this morning.

The next thing I knew, I glanced out the window and she was at the mailbox trying to figure out how to reach the handle to put her craft inside.  (I know, I should have been paying more attention, but Hannah and I were absorbed in typing up butterfly lifecycle observations…)

She got part of the process right – you put it in the box and it shows up at another person’s box.  Never mind it wasn’t in an envelope, addressed, and the kid lives one door down.

At least she put on her shoes before she went to the mailbox.

Morning in the Park

What could be a better thing to look forward to than spending a sunny morning in the park with a lovely view of the mountains with new friends?

Sure beats math and grammar by a mile!

Actually, since we are spending the morning in the park, we will be spending the afternoon with math and grammar and etc.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for this school year and I am “going toward the light”.

Birthmother's Day

I bet you know that Mother’s Day is tomorrow.

A lesser known fact, outside of the adoption community, is that the Saturday before Mother’s Day is set aside to honor birthmothers.  Circumstances that surround the decision to make an adoption plan are diverse and innumerable -youth, poverty, sickness, oppression.  It is a valiant decision – one of the most selfless, brave, loving decisions that a human should never have to make.  Oftentimes, it isn’t even a choice but a fact for women living in oppressive cultures.

Our family has been touched, so immeasurably, by a woman called “Birthmother”.  We also call her “China Mommy” sometimes.  I always talk to Ellie about her birthfather as well, her birthparents, to give her better context.  The other day, she even, wondered aloud if she has any “BirthHannah’s”.

Because of the circumstances in a Chinese adoption, we don’t know any of her story before she was found by a Chinese citizen on the very day she was born.  I don’t make guesses aloud to her about who, how, or why as those concepts will be for Ellie to develop and process and accept as she grows.  I don’t make my guesses about how my precious Ellie landed alone, hours after her birth, waiting to be found.  I don’t make any guesses about how a woman felt in relinquishing her infant and her extreme emptiness – in her womb and in her arms at having to make this decision.

I wondered last night how this woman looks, does she have other children?  Do they look/act like Ellie?  What features in Ellie would I find if I were to ever meet her birthmother?  What would I ever say to this woman if ever the circumstances allowed me to meet her?

I would say, “I am sorry.  I am so sorry that life did not allow you to know this precious person.  She is so strong, and smart, and beautiful.  She has made our lives so rich by being in it.  I wish you could have mothered her, held her, cradled her, heard her voice, watched her grow.  I admire your courage and strength in carrying her and in relinquishing her, and moving on in your life without her.  I see your courage and strength in Ellie.  You are honored in our family.  I will always teach Ellie to respect you as her birthmother and communicate to her the love that you had for her by giving her life and making this heartbreaking decision.”

I would say all of these things to her because, “thank you” would simply not be enough.

Bribery or Positive Reinforcement?

….really, it is just how you think about it.

I weighed this situation very carefully – great, worthwhile field trip for Hannah vs. potential irritability, whininess out of Ellie….I decided to be pro-active with a promise of a treat.

So, in the end, I got the behavior I wanted out of my three year old on a field trip today that was very long and uninteresting for said three-year old.

So, what was the “reward” you might ask?

A princess whistle/bubbleblower…

…that didn’t work…and is really irritating…

Busy Week in Addis

There were a couple of referrals last week for bitty, baby boys.  It was suprising to everyone since it hasn’t been a whole month since the last referrals.  There were also some successful court dates, some upcoming court date notifications, and several families who were in-country meeting their newest family members!

What a busy week!  No wonder I had that dream…I have caught myself fantasizing quite a lot and trying to imagine the face of my newest child.

I remember being in tears as we boarded the bus to go to the Civil Affairs building to meet our babies in China – my one thought was “I finally get to meet her – this person whom I will love for the rest of my life.”  It was exactly the same thought that struck me as Hannah looked up at me with her bright blue eyes in her first few moments.

Here we go again- waiting for our newest family member.

Treasure

I like to record the date of when I have significant thoughts of Treasure:

I awoke very early this morning after having dreamed of Treasure.  I could have sworn “*he” was in bed sleeping between Ryan and me.  Our new fuzzy headed, diapered-bottom, blankie-grasping, footy-pajamaed, softly snoring little treasure.

That would really be something because we’ve never been a c0-sleeping sort of family.

*I’m not saying that I care if Treasure is a he or a she, I just don’t like to use “it” to describe a person.

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