A typical Saturday at the soccer fields

Moms all around me thought I was clever at the soccer games yesterday for bringing this portable sandbox. I wish I could take credit for the great idea but it was actually from Family Fun magazine, I think. Sure beats chasing toddlers all over the soccer field in the middle of the games. Turns out even 6 year old boys like it too. Hope found a little caterpillar that she named "Wormey Girl" that kept her entertained for the afternoon. But then tragically we lost Wormey Girl. Another clever mom told her maybe Wormey Girl had turned into a butterfly and flew away, and that seemed more satisfying to her than my answer of, "She must have missed her family".

Simeon asked his coach if he could play goalie yesterday. It was his first time, and he really did a fabulous job!

And lastly, here is a cheapskate's version of soccer photos. While parents were filling out checks and forms and ordering plaques, plates, mugs, keychains, I was by a tree with my digital camera with the intent of putting this photo on the blog or emailing it to family and friends! Hey, that is one less piece of clutter I'll have to deal with in a few years. :) With my first child I would have bought the deluxe package, and mailed wallet prints to every family member!

We are approved!

Our checklist for adoption:

1. Choose child-DONE
2. Get passports-DONE
3. Complete I-600A (orphan petition through Immigration)- DONE
4. Complete home study- DONE
5. Federal fingerprints- DONE
6. Complete dossier (all the collected forms and paperwork, plus official application to the foreign government)-DONE
7. INS approval-RECEIVED TODAY!!!!! (This means we have passed the test, and we have been approved to adopt internationally)
8. Apostille (fancy term for official certification) dossier, and mail overseas
9. Wait for in-country appointment date
10. Travel to meet our Ava!

Show and Tell

Friday is show-and-tell day in kindergarten. Each week the kindergartners bring something that starts with the letter of the week. Jude brought a helicopter for "H", a teddy bear for "B", his dog named Matthew for "M". This morning as we were rushing out the door we were frantically brainstorming for an A-item. I started naming things: airplane, apple, alligator, Ava. Jude marched over to the refrigerator, pulled down Ava's picture, and said, "I'm taking Ava". He didn't want to put the picture in his backpack, he wanted to carry her to school. He is already a proud brother!

Ten really great things to say to an adoptive parent

1. That's great!

2. You must be thrilled!

3. Congratulations! When will this special event take place?

4. She is beautiful.

5. You are so lucky.

6. I'm happy for you.

7. Tell me about this special child.

8. I'll be praying for her and you.

9. Tell me more about how adoption works.

10. Do you have a picture?

My thoughts on adoption

Our journey to adoption has been very exciting, emotional, educational, enlightening, and spiritually challenging.

I have always struggled inwardly with being a people pleaser. It became painfully obvious that I needed to let the Lord change my heart when I read "Search for Significance" by Robert S. McGee. For the first time in my life I realized that my addiction to people pleasing was preventing me from being a God-pleaser.

I had hoped everybody would be excited with us for this new child we will be adding to our family. I wish everybody could see that children are indeed a blessing from God, even after #2, and #3, and #4. I wish everyone agreed that a child is special, no matter what their birth order, or gender, or age, or ability, or history. I wish everyone understood that some people want to adopt for reasons other than infertility. I wish, when people ask "WHY", I could explain in words to them how I cannot go through my life, knowing the call God placed on my heart, and someday look back over my life with the regret of not doing what He called me to do. I wish I could make people understand that in our hearts we feel that Jesus has done so much for us, and we just cannot help but be obedient by welcoming a little forsaken child in His name. This is such a great privilege. It's the absolute least we can do for Him and for her!!

My friend Jill said this profound statement the other day: "Our God is efficient. Yes, He wants Ava in your family, but in the process He will be working to refine your heart. So don't be surprised by troubles and worries. God is working to strengthen your faith. Those troubles are simply tools in God's hands."

So the Lord continues to challenge me every now and then. I am learning not to be defensive. A gradual change is taking place in my heart. I wish it would happen overnight. But in the meantime I will expect tests and challenges, and questions, and I thank Him that he is growing me through them. And I hope our family, including Ava, will be an instrument that God will use to change some views on disability, adoption, children, and the value of life in general, in the process.

Miss Fancy

Poor Hope is so bored since her brothers and sisters have been in school. While I have been thoroughly enjoying my time with her, I have also realized how nice it is to have siblings for her to play with. Bless her heart, every day she wants me to play hide and seek, take care of baby dolls, and we even dress up together. Today she draped me with her fancy queen necklace with big purple jewels and she dragged out my fanciest earrings and put them on me. Have you ever noticed that after you wear something for awhile, you forget it's there? Well, we went walking down the street to see if our little neighbor girl could play, and it wasn't until I was home that I realized I was still wearing the fancy jewel necklace and long dangly red earrings. This is with my jeans, t-shirt and no make-up mind you!

Reminded me of the story of my dad looking for a job in college. On his drive to his interview he found a rubberband in his car. He hung it on his ear---Don't ask me why he did this but he did! On his way back home after the interview, he glanced in his rearview mirror and realized the rubber band was still there. I will let you wonder whether he got the job or not.....

The Ultimate Catch 22

One of the steps that must be taken in order to adopt a child, is to have a thorough medical exam by a physician. This exam has to be notarized. So what would you do if you found out, after completing this exam, that the doctor's office does not have a notary public, and refuses to meet you at a bank to have it notarized. And no notary at the bank will travel to the doctor's office to witness the doctor's original signature, then what do you do? Hmmmm.....If anybody has any suggestions, please give them, because we are in a pickle!!

Boys and Forts

Like father like son. While John is building a fort bed for the boys room, Simeon is in the back yard digging a hole and making his own fort. (He is supposed to be handing his father nails and bolts....BUSTED!!)

Cousins

What fun it has been for Liesel and her cousin Evi to play on the same soccer team for 3 seasons in a row! They had a rare win today!!! 11-7. Both Evi and Liesel scored.....Liesel scored 3! I had told her that if she scored 2 goals today I would buy her a Webkin (I knew I would be safe, since she never scored a single goal this season OR last.) So imagine my surprise when she scored 3 today! She told me later it had absolutely nothing to do with the promise of a Webkin, that she wasn't even thinking about Webkinz. (Yeah, right!)

These are a few of my favorite things

This is a towel sling


The girls are making tiny beds for their tiny little teddy bears


The boys are playing Webkinz

Kitty cat kisses

Hope was licking my face. Yes, licking. I said, "STOP licking me!" She said, "But mommy, I'm a kitty cat and I'm giving you kisses!"

Towel swings

We laughed as we thought about how much Ava will love towel swings. John started this when Simeon was a baby. The towel wraps in front under the armpits, and the corners meet in back. The parent grabs both top and bottom corners together in the back, swings the kid all around, airplane style, then throws him or her on the bed, towel and all. I would include a picture, except I don't think we have ever taken a picture, (now that I'm looking for one). I'll grab the camera next time. The kids learned, pretty early on, that you DO NOT want MOM to give you a towel swing, especially over the tile floors, because Mom is neither coordinated or strong enough to hold both ends of the towel together at the same time. Oooops!

This is a test....

I have a suspicion my husband is not reading my blog, even though he SAYS he does....occasionally. Now I will know for sure! The story behind this picture, is that he only got 3 hours of sleep last night. That is 2 hours less than his usual 5 hours of sleep. He laid on the floor to pop his back while Simeon read to him, and 30 seconds later he was asleep. Simeon and I had a good laugh, and then I ran and grabbed the camera!

I saw on some magazine cover, or website recently, that Brad Pitt was considered the "SEXIEST DAD ALIVE". I would have to disagree. I think the man you see above is....without a doubt.... the sexiest dad alive.

We had so much fun today, just the two of us going to get our fingerprints. It really did seem like an extended date, and we got to talk about all kinds of things that we don't normally have a chance to squeeze in with 4 kids constantly interrupting and needing attention. One of the things that came up in conversation was the fact that we really don't want to focus on the fact that Ava will have Down Syndrome. We want to treat her just like any other child. In fact we might want to rename it, "Princess Syndrome", or "Angel Syndrome". I realize Mr. Down discovered this chromosomal disorder, but why did it have to be named after him?!! DOWN syndrome!?

One step closer

We had our fingerprints scanned today at the USCIS office. That stands for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services...I think? Something having to do with immigration anyway. I asked John why we had to do this. Neither one of us have any idea. I guess they have to make sure we are not criminals or terrorists or something? Who knows. I never thought to ask. But it is done anyway. Typically it would take 6 weeks to receive our approval. With "proof" of a medical condition, they can speed it up to 2 weeks or so. It's very difficult to get proof of anything regarding a child we have never seen before, but thankfully we did remember to bring a copy of the letter my doctor wrote, stating that we "hope" to adopt a child that "apparently" has a heart condition that will "apparently" need surgery. That doesn't sound too official, but maybe they will reward our efforts at least! We can pray anyway. :)

Speaking of praying, I have been praying for all kinds of silly things lately. I hope the Lord doesn't mind. I pray that all the forms will get into the hands of very emotionally sensitive women, who are very compassionate and cry at the drop of a hat....and those women will put our papers at the top of the pile! My kids are praying to have Ava home by Christmas, and as we get farther and farther into this adoption, the more realize how unrealistic that really is. Yet the way I see it, it doesn't hurt to ask. After reading a biography about George Mueller as a family about 6 months ago, I have more confidence asking the Lord for things. George Mueller was a man who lived as a missionary to orphans in England in the 1800s. He had such trust in God for every little thing in life, not just for himself and his family but for the orphans in his care as well. Once he sat all the orphans down at the breakfast table, even though there was no food for breakfast that day, and they prayed and thanked the Lord for the food that they were about to receive. Just as they finished praying there was a knock at the door, with loads of freshly baked bread and fresh milk!!

The God George Mueller served is the same God we serve, so why not ask to have Ava home by Christmas! Of course, Andrea reminded me that they don't celebrate Christmas in "Eastern Europe" until the end of January! So maybe we will have her home for "Christmas" after all!

Strange love

It's hard to explain to people how much I already love this daughter whom I have never met. Of course, the question everyone asks, is, "Have you been out there to see her?" Not actually, no. But in my thoughts and dreams I have already held and kissed her a thousand times. I go to bed praying for her every night and wake up every morning wondering whether someone is holding her or whether she is eating or napping (7 hours ahead of us). I realized yesterday that I am not the only one. On our way to church, Simeon said, "Mom I had a dream last night that Ava was at our table eating applesauce." Then Liesel said, "I had a dream about Ava too. I dreamed she ran and fell down and got a big purple bump, but she wasn't crying." Yesterday Hope drew me a picture. She said it was a picture of "Ava in mommy's tummy".

John and I have imagined meeting her for the first time. We will have butterflies for days before, and we know we will cry as we pick her up for the first time. We laugh about the fact that we will be sobbing and laughing at the same time, and she will be thinking, "Who are these strange people and what is wrong with them?!"

Three!

Can she be three already? How well I remember that Friday night 3 years ago. It was a beautiful home birth. She was a beautiful and healthy baby...girl. We had a midwife and no ultrasound, so all of our babies were a "surprise". What a beautiful night that was. And here she is now, all girl, 3 years later!

I did find that pink clown. Here she is, Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea is 20 years old and today was her first real clown gig. She was perfect!

Cheap entertainment (very cheap)!

It was a fun evening with the cousins. They stayed the night so their parents could have the night to themselves. After watching Napoleon Dynamite for the 37th time, they all did their impressions of Napoleon's dance, then we had fun with scotch tape. Who ever thought scotch tape could provide so much entertainment?

Baby Hope and Baby Ava

Here is the picture Hope drew for me. It is "Big Mommy" holding "Baby Hope' and "Baby Ava". I look like I have some sort of thyroid disorder, not to mention I'm balding on top, but I think it is a beautiful picture anyway!

"Making art"

This is the conversation I had with Hope tonight:

Hope: "Mommy, at my 'chool some boys laughed at me."
Me: "Really? And what did you do?"
Hope: "I just laughed at them too"
Me: "Then what happened?"
Hope: "We made out."
Me: "YOU WHAT?!"
Hope: "We made out."
Me: "You made out?!"
Hope: "NO! We made OUT."
Me: "You made art?"
Hope: "Yeah, we made out (art)"

Whew!!!!

A new bed for Ava

I rearranged the girls' room and made a space for Ava with a toddler bed I found at a garage sale this morning. It looks so cute with the blanket you made for her, Oma! Thank you! It fits perfect and matches too. I'm not sure if she'll be able to sleep in it right away but it's nice to know she has her "own" space now. In case you were wondering, our bedrooms are always this clean! :)

The other night during our family devotions we were talking about how things will change when Ava is part of our family. Jude got pretty defensive, and said, "But Mom, Ava ALREADY IS part of our family!"