Christmas 2011

What a blessed day we had!  Things ran a little differently this year than in years past as far as our Christmas celebration goes- and it all went very smoothly.  Before I start into Christmas Day, I want to share pics from our church's Live Nativity the week before in which Kaylin participated as a shepherd. :)

 Shepherds keeping warm around the campfire, waiting for their entrance.  Kaylin is 5th from the left.

It was a frigid day, so she was bundled in her winter coat and gloves under her costume- making her look a little extra fluffy. ;)

Kaylin is to the far left in the pic above

And the supporting actors:

 donkey

 2 day old calf- so tiny and precious!

 sheep

...and goats

And on to Christmas Eve and Day....  My parents came up Christmas Eve as usual- they spend the night so they can be here bright and early to watch the kids open their presents from Santa.  In the past we have always attended church on Christmas Eve, but the men were having issues with the conflicting Ravens game that afternoon- the game started at 1:00 and church was at 3:30- the only other service Christmas Eve is at 10:00 pm which is way too late for the little ones.  So, for the sake of my own sanity, we went to church Christmas Day instead.  Mom, Kaylin, and I baked some cookies while the guys watched the game Christmas Eve, and then kids were up at their usual 6:30 AM Christmas Day.

Evan did a little better opening his presents- he had absolutely no interest on his birthday a couple months ago, and he had a little interest on Christmas.  We could bribe him with toys that made noise or played music- those were the ones he was interested in seeing what was inside. :)

Evan's favorite present- his Learning Vacuum!  Ok ok, there is some background info required here. ;)

Evan has an obsession with the vacuum.  Sure, many small children are frightened by the loud noise, but when Evan hears a vacuum he comes RACING over to see the action.  When the vacuum shuts off, he bursts into tears and cries hysterically.  Seriously.  So imagine my... err... Santa's surprise when he came across a Learning Vacuum!!  Who knew there would be such a toy??  Definitely perfect for Evan.  He also scored a little hand held children's Dirt Devil vacuum which really picks up stuff off the floor- I was using it to clean up some of the pine needles from the tree. ;)

The top item on Justin's wish list this year: a robot.  No specifics, just a robot.  He seemed content with what Santa provided even though at the last minute he added that he wanted a robot with a remote control.  This robot doesn't have a remote control.  He didn't seem too bothered by that. :)

 

The kids were pretty easy to shop for this year- nothing big and outrageous on their wish lists as opposed to last Christmas.  Kaylin only requested one Wii game, but did score with a surprise karaoke machine which was a big hit. :) Of course I didn't get any pics of it yet... Oops.  I'm sure I have it on video somewhere...

MomMom made each of the kids a snuggly blanket accompanied by a matching pillow pet- huge hit with the kids!  Evan was snuggling with me just this morning with his new blankey. :)  You can see part of Evan's monkey blankey at the top of the photo.

And our lovely photo shoot after church while everyone was fancied up ;)

The photo with MomMom and PopPop was a little later in the day- note Evan's bare feet, and neither of the two boys cared to cooperate for the photo.  Justin was getting ready to cry from being scolded for not listening, but Daddy coaxed some giggles at the last minute. ;) WHEW!! 

Merry Christmas, everyone!!  We wish you all the best in the New Year!! <3

Heart full of gratitude

Just yesterday I made another plea to my Facebook friends to donate to sweet Jessa's Angel Tree fund- I've been trying not to pester too much, especially since I have already been posting about our latest adoption fundraiser, but I've also had much guilt about not working hard enough to get Jessa to her Angel Tree goal of $1,000.  I've seen a couple good friends of mine bust their butts and achieved that goal for their cherubs, yet poor Jessa was hanging out at the halfway mark.

So I did the math- Jessa was at $535, and needed 93 people to donate $5 to get her to her goal.  I have 293 Facebook friends so figured this could be doable!

Seriously, this sweet little face?? $5 is easy peasy! ;)  First two friends who donated- gave $10 instead of just $5. :)  I checked her page this morning- she was up to $585.  Up $50 from the day before. :) Not too bad!

So my annoying pestering self made another post on Facebook thanking my sweet friends who donated, and commented that the sooner we reach Jessa's goal, the sooner I would stop bugging people about it. ;) Well let me tell you- I certainly didn't think that would happen TODAY!!

I go back to Jessa's page this evening- her Angel Tree fund is at $1,030!! I did a double take.  I did a triple take.  I did a quadruple take.  I refreshed the page a couple times to be sure it wasn't a mistake.  I checked back again a few hours later- it is still the same.  It must be real!!  I have no idea who donated to Jessa's fund- I do not have access to her account whatsoever.  I wish I did- I would so love to thank the generous soul who gave so much- I'm assuming it was one large donation to put her over the top.  I just can't get over it!  I feel like I'm on cloud nine- SO thankful we got Jessa to her goal amount.  So glad I wasn't a failure as her Christmas Warrior and didn't let her down.  I honestly wasn't sure if I would be able to get her to her goal amount and was hesitant to sign up to be a Christmas Warrior.  Knowing we are raising money for our own adoption, I felt that there were probably other people out there who could do a better job raising money for her.  She deserved better.  But we got her there.  YOU got her there.  I pray Jessa will find her way under someone's Christmas tree next year.  She looks absolutely adorable on my tree, but she deserves to be under a tree, opening gifts of her own, surrounded by a loving family.

Merry Christmas, sweet Jessa... I pray your family finds you VERY soon!!

Progress

Lots of progress being made around here!  I had two meetings today- the first with all of Evan's therapists for his annual review to see where he is with meeting his goals.  The second was at school for Justin since he is graduating from receiving speech services. Yay! :)

Evan's therapists have been happy with his progress, too!  Even though he is charting at around a 16 month level in most areas, he has definitely made good strides in the right direction in each of his areas of development. Go, Evan!  It is around now at two years old that we really see a difference in the pace of development as far as comparing a "typical" child to a child sporting designer genes.  And Evan would have scored higher in different areas had he been able to achieve a specific task here or there such as walking or stacking 1" cubes (which he did quickly after the therapist was finished working with him and we were discussing adoption stuff! Little stinker).

For the past several months, he had been receiving physical therapy twice a month, his occupational therapist and speech therapist were coming together three times a month- once being specifically for feeding, and his general educator was coming once a month.  Upon their recommendation, we are bumping back to just once a month for everyone.  I have to say I'm a little nervous about backing down, but I trust their judgement and understand their opinion.  At this point in Evan's development, he has learned a lot of skills and is learning mostly from imitation.  He is going to learn that from us (me mostly since I'm home with him all day) and from participating in activities out and about, such as going to playgroup which we've been doing once a week, and going to the library etc.  His speech therapist even recommended we meet at the library or McDonald's for therapy sessions now and then to increase his socialization opportunities with other kids.  This should be fun! :)

Evan's main goals:

Physical therapy- walking.  Plain and simple!  He is getting closer and closer- he is able to stand up by himself in the middle of the room and take a few steps- maybe 4 or 5 at a time, and then he goes down.

Occupational therapy/feeding- self-feeding with a spoon, controlled bite (being able to take a bite off something instead of everything being cut into small pieces), drinking from an open cup.

Speech therapy- working on getting Evan to TALK- so far he has over 50 signs that he knows but he really doesn't say any words.  He also doesn't use many signs spontaneously for conversation/requesting- he will give a sign if you ask him a word and that's the majority of his signing.  He will sign "baby" to request his Baby Signing Time/Signing Time videos, he will sign "eat" occasionally if he's hungry, and he will sign "all done" if he's finished.  The rest is simply producing a sign when given a word.

Cognitive development- imitating play like pretending to feed a doll/animal, imitating cars driving on a road, imitating cleaning etc.; pointing to pictures (touch the horse, etc), matching shapes.

Overall, Evan's goal is to increase his independence to prepare him for preschool.  My plan is for him to begin in August, and my intention is for him to attend a "regular" preschool twice a week and a special ed preschool a couple days a week.  Fingers crossed that my plan will be achievable and all will go smoothly!

My new love

Evan in plaid. <3 Is he not the cutest or what??

 I so love that he has learned how to give a fake smile! LOL

 Whatchu talkin bout, Willis?

 Major fake smile! Love it! LOL

30 Days of Giving Thanks

I saw many of my Facebook Friends posting something they are thankful for during the entire month of November, and I loved this!  Unfortunately, I had entirely too much going on around here to focus and participate, especially since we were out of the country for a week.  So, I decided to compile a list right here! :) In no particular order...

I am thankful for living in a place full of opportunity.  We are SO blessed to live in this country we call home- you often don't realize what all we take for granted until you leave the country and see the poor conditions others live in every single day for their entire lives.  I will be able to share more on this after we get our Lina home.  Here we have all sorts of programs to assist people with disabilities as well as people living on lower incomes to help them keep a roof over their head, heat pumping through the pipes, and food on the table.  Blessings so many of us take for granted every single day.

I am thankful for our troops and servicemen and women who work round the clock to keep us safe and well-cared for, giving us the opportunity to celebrate this favorite holiday of mine.  Thank you for sacrificing time with your families so that the rest of us have this chance to be with ours.

I am thankful for my loving husband who works hard to provide for us, who is an amazing father to our children, and who is just as excited about bringing home our Lina as I am!  He spoils me rotten day in and day out, and I love him to pieces.

I am thankful for my children at home- thankful they are healthy and happy, thankful that they are growing up to be respectful and caring individuals, thankful they are also super excited about gaining another sibling! :)

I am thankful for our friends and extended family- my parents who sacrificed their time to come care for the kids while we traveled.... thankful for the love and support shone to us by all others as we go down this adoption journey.  Simply asking us where we are in the process or how things are going- showing an interest and excitement really means so much.  It may not seem like much but it really, truly is.  Some very generous friends and family has gone as far as to give us beautiful furniture for Lina's room and others are going through clothing to give as well.  Others have donated generously to our adoption grant.  Thank you thank you thank you!!!  Your generosity means so very much.

I am thankful to live in close proximity to grocery and retail establishments as well as good quality medical facilities.  Again, something we take for granted but not everyone has this luxury.

I am thankful to have a car to get me everywhere I need to be, from doctor appointments to extra-curricular activities for the kids, to visiting friends and family.

I am thankful for modern technology- the internet providing a massive wealth of information and resources as well as online shopping ;) to the amazing medical technology- I probably would have died during childbirth with Kaylin had it not been for medical intervention providing the emergency c-section since she was stuck in my pelvis.  Justin wouldn't have lived long at all without all the interventions he received during his 65-day NICU stay, and Evan also needed medical treatment at birth.

I am thankful for extra chromosomes.  Without them, I wouldn't have been blessed with my precious Evan, and most likely would have never found this path leading us to sweet Lina.  God's plan.  It's never been more clear to me, and my faith has never been as strong as it has grown to be throughout this adoption process.

Thank you, God, for ALL the riches you have blessed me with, both tangible and intangible.  I am one of the luckiest girls in the world all because of You.  I don't know what I did to deserve the awesome life that I have, but I will continue to count my blessings each and every day throughout the rest of my life, and continue trying to help others to the best of my ability.

New photo of Jessa!!

Such a doll baby- still SO adorable!! 

And still waiting on her family to scoop her up.  Praying her family finds her soon!!  Please keep spreading the word, and donate when you can.  If you donate $35 you will receive a beautiful ornament with Jessa's sweet photo- it will be the original photo on my side bar in which she is wearing bright pink. :) I'm off to order mine right NOW while I'm thinking about it!  So far $215 has been raised toward her Angel Tree goal of $1,000- a good dent, but still a ways to go!  Keep sharing please!! <3

Photos from our trip!

I will keep the photos of our *Lina* on our adoption blog and share our sight-seeing photos over here. :)  We left Dulles International at around 5:45 PM Thursday evening (our flight departed almost an hour late even though we began boarding on time. Ugh.) and had a non-stop flight to our destination in Eastern Europe which took about ten hours.  So, by the time we landed, had our hour and a half or so drive to our hotel- it was about 2:30 PM local time Friday when we checked in- which would be 5:30 AM back home.  We. Were. TIRED.  Our seats were super cramped on the plane and it was no use trying to get comfortable and sleep.  I was dying to take a nap at the hotel but Mike insisted we stay up or we wouldn't sleep at night.  We grabbed an early dinner at the hotel restaurant- some soup and bread, skyped with the kids, and finally turned in to get some sleep at 7:00 PM.  Come 9:00 PM- we were wide awake.  YIKES!!  Didn't get much sleep at all after that point- I think we finally crashed around 2:00 AM and were rudely awaken by my alarm at 6:00- we wanted to eat and get our sight-seeing in before it was time to check out of the hotel by noon.  Of course I didn't take into consideration that it doesn't get light outside here until 9:00 AM! We could have squeezed in another hour or so of sleep. *sigh* Oh well- places to go and people to see!

Walking around town- the city is HUGE, and the buildings are so big they don't fit in the picture!  Lots of statues in front of buildings as well.  We also noticed right away that the city is very clean- not a speck of garbage to be found on the ground... no cigarette butts- which is impressive since a large percentage of people here smoke.

Notice the pillars all down the sidewalk- the purpose is to keep people from parking up on the sidewalk! Yes, we saw plenty people park their cars with the front two wheels up on the curb to fit in.  Parking is EXTREMELY scarce, and it appears that the rule around here is that if any part or corner of your car is toward the curb- it's all good.  Crazy stuff!

All traffic lights have the sign posted above- which reads "STOP".  Their lights will show red and yellow together just before turning green, and the green will blink just before turning yellow.

Mike standing next to the entrance to the underground walkway to cross the street- drivers are extremely aggressive around here, so it is very dangerous to try to cross a busy street.  These underground walkways are all over the city.

 Looking over toward the city's kremlin.

Entrance to the tunnel- I was a bit nervous, but again the tunnels are clean and well lit- some even have vendors inside with teeny shops built into the walls- you mustn't be claustrophobic to work inside these teeny shops- it's almost like sitting inside a vending machine!  Wish I got a picture... we were too cold trying to hurry along.  Temperatures were in the upper 20's- very windy with snow flurries blowing around off and on.

When we exited the tunnel, we came upon this long row of water fountains- they appeared to be characters from folk tales or fables- the floors were beautifully tiled- wishing we could see this in the warmer weather when the fountains are running.

Tomb of the unknown soldier

The architecture was amazing- and again, extremely difficult to fit many buildings into a photo.

Vendors lined up selling hats, matroishka dolls, and other souvenirs... some police officers standing around toward the right

When we first walked by this GORGEOUS church, the bells were playing a beautiful song.  When we walked back we could hear a men's choir singing- it was truly amazing.

 This appeared to be a fancy shopping mall- we didn't get over there due to time constraints and all the construction along the front.

 Absolutely STUNNING.

 Do we look cold or what?? ;)

 Some familiar signs- Hyundai above and Samsung below along with sbarro

 We also saw signs for Subway, Wendy's, and of course McDonald's. :)

Two men striking these metal plates, playing beautiful music on the street

That was about all for our day in the big city- we then took an overnight train (12 1/2 hours) into Lina's region, and there our adventures really began. :)  I can't share the photos of her region yet, but will share after we get her home. :)