Journey to Eliana Grace and Beyond

The Many Faces of Ellie

2009-05-06T22:58:00.007-06:00

I just have to post a few photos of Eliana at the park (and on the way home from the park) last week. They are a good sampling for you the many faces of Ellie...
Curious face...

Cracking up face...

Pretty girl face...

I'm so funny face...

Pouty Face

Spring Has Sprung

2009-05-06T22:36:00.009-06:00

It is finally beginning to feel like spring around here. We have had lots of rain- which we desperately need and the flowers are starting to bloom. We took a little walk down by the creek today and got some pictures.

These mushrooms were huge!

I just love the sights and smells of spring- even if they do kill my allergies.
Then we came home and had wrestle-mania on the front lawn.
Eliana got in on the wrestling too!

I haven't posted pictures of Elijah's great new smile. So, here goes. He is missing those two front teeth and his tongue keeps peeking through when he talks. It is so stinking cute, it is ridiculous.

Not much new to report. All went well over the weekend up in Cheyenne. The church is really a great group of people. It was kind of a rainy-blah day, so we didn't get to see much of the city, but we will tour a bit more of this weekend. We did enjoy driving back home through Boulder and walking around. We always enjoy spending time up there. It was Noah's birthday, the big 9, so we had some fun and went to dinner at his favorite place, the Elephant Bar.

Easter Pictures

2009-04-28T18:33:00.003-06:00

The Latest

2009-04-25T21:09:00.002-06:00

So, here we are nearing May and I haven't written in ages. We have been working hard to wrap up school for the year. We are scheduled to finish in mid May and we are all looking forward to a nice long summer. The past few years, I have only given the kids a month off before starting the next school year. We all have earned a break and we are taking it. Hopefully, we will be settled in somewhere new by fall and the kids may even be able to get back into traditional school if we can find a good one near our new home.

Milan has now interviewed in both San Antonio, TX and Volant, PA. We are really hopeful about the latter, but we believe that either position would be a good fit. Of course, there are no guarantees and we are continuing to look. The reality is that we may not even know about the position he will end up in yet. For the month of May, Milan will be traveling up to Cheyenne, Wyoming to fill in preaching on Sunday mornings while the pastor of that church takes a sabbatical. I am glad that he will be able to help that church out as well as to get back to preaching. I know he misses teaching. It is about an hour-and-a-half drive up to Cheyenne from here, so we are going to see how it goes with the whole family. Yes, we will putting the DVD player on for the drive. If it is just too crazy, we will figure something else out. I just don't really like the idea of not going to worship as a family on Sundays, so I am sure we will make it work somehow.

There has been no news on our house. We really need to find a more aggressive real estate agent. That is on the agenda for the next few weeks. Hopefully, we will find someone that does more than just slap the listing on the MLS. It is crazy to think how much commission someone would be getting paid for how little they really have been doing. It just seems like you should be getting a lot more for your money. Hmmmm... Fortunately, as I have said before, we don't have anywhere to go yet, so it isn't really a problem at this point. We just want to be ready when the time comes. I am sure that God has the perfect timing planned out- it will all work out one way or another.

The weather here has been beautiful this week after over two feet of snow last week. I am so happy to see the sun and to watch everything start to green up. It just makes everything seem better. Colorado really is a beautiful place to live. I am so glad that we have had the chance to experience it.

Eliana has really been doing pretty well with attachment lately. We still have our moments, but she is able to verbalize so much more and to talk through things with us. She was laying in bed tonight when I went to put some clothes away in her room and she spontaneously said, "Mama, I love Daddy." It gives me such hope that her little mind and heart are starting to open up to him and that we will someday look back on all of the struggles we have had with disbelief. She is a precious little girl and we love her dearly. I continue to pray for a close and special relationship between her and her daddy. He so desires for that to be true. Thankfully, she really does great when it is just the two of them now and is continuing to improve when I am around. We have been trying some new tactics and are starting to see some change. We pray that those changes will continue. Thank you to all of you who continue to pray for us in this area. It is still a need and we so appreciate your faithfulness.

Well, that is about it for now. We are well, but desire to reestablish ourselves in a new church community. It is so difficult being in the in-between-time. Living far from family, these last few months have only emphasized how important the church family is to us. Having that basically removed, has been painful and lonely at times, but we trust that God will move us on into a new family soon. Until next time...

No News is ... Well, No News

2009-02-21T11:43:00.004-07:00

Well, this has been a pretty quiet and uneventful week. I would have loved it to be a little more eventful with showings... it is ridiculous how slow this market is right now. We don't even have a destination yet, so it isn't like there is a big hurry to sell the house, but it is a bit disconcerting. I am trying to remember that God is sovereign in all of this and I don't need to stress out. Hopefully, we will start to get more action on the house as far as showings go and the rest will take care of itself.
Noah has his final recital and graduation tonight from Children's Music Academy. I am looking forward to him being done with the program... not nearly as much as he is, but I am proud of him for sticking with it to the end. Since Elijah will not be here for another year + to graduate, he would like to stop as well. It makes me a bit sad that he won't finish, but these are battles that I don't care to fight. I will save my ammunition for another day. I will try to post pictures from tonight in the next few days.
Our little Elf, Ellie, is doing well. She is a bit of roller-coaster with attachment lately, but she is doing some pretty funny stuff to keep us laughing. While none of our kids have seen the Lord of the Rings movies... too scary... they have read through some of the trilogy and enjoy doing their best "orc" voices. Ellie has mastered, "I smell Man Flesh!" in a pretty hysterical voice. We like to pull it out in restaurants. I must say it is a crack up.
On the job front, Milan is still in the process with a church in San Antonio as well as another near Grove City, PA. He is planning to send more applications out as well, but I don't think that has happened yet for more than these two. Thankfully, they have reciprocated interest and we will see where the process leads. Both actually seem to be a really good fit for Milan's skill set, philosophy of ministry and desires.
Church is rather strange on the weekends. Going from being the pastor and his family to temporary attenders at a church where we don't know many people and aren't planning to get too involved due to our circumstances, is bizaaarrrreeeee to say the least. Church is what brought us to Colorado and pretty much has consumed our time and lives since we arrived. All of the sudden, we are worshipping somewhere else and we are not seeing the people with whom we have served and cared for regularly, if at all. It feels a little isolating and I am looking forward to moving on and getting plugged back into a community. We still have dear friends here, but people are busy with work, family, their lives, etc and not having that standing time together once a week kind of stinks. Oh well, life changes and there is nothing to be done about it. I am looking forward to a fun evening with two of the best girlie-friends ever tomorrow night. It's a surprise, so I will have to fill in the details later.
Now that I have rambled a while on the oh-so-exciting details of my life of late, I will sign off. You'll just have to wait on pins and needles until next time.

Weekend Update

2009-02-14T11:57:00.003-07:00

So, today we had our first showing on the house. We just got back, so no feedback yet. I am just sort of glad to have the first one out of the way. It feels more like we are actually in the process now. I expect we may have more tomorrow, we'll see. Sundays seem to be the big day for looking according to our realtor.
I have to share this picture of Ellie. I was making lunch a few days ago and turned around to see she had climbed into my boots. It was hysterically funny... the picture doesn't quite capture it. It was like she was a Weeble sitting atop my boots.

I also had her haircut again on Thursday. It is looking more and more like an actual little hairstyle. I am posting another photo here of her little "bob." Her bangs have a ways to go, but it is really looking cute.

Things have been pretty good these past few weeks with Ellie and her attachment issues. She still has her daily meltdowns, but they are shorter and more infrequent. She even has said, "Sorry Daddy" afterwards meaning that she wants to go say that she is sorry to Milan for crying when he talked to her, picked her up, etc. She will go say, "Sorry" and pretty much settle down. I pray that these next months of all of us being together so much will hasten us along in this journey.
Our thanks continue to those of you that have been praying for us in this transition time. For the most part, all is truly well. Strange, but by God's grace, well.
Until next time...

I See the Signs

2009-02-09T18:01:00.002-07:00

Okay, not signs, but sign. The sign that is now actually planted in the front yard. Our house will be listed tonight and we just sit back and wait for the bidding wars to begin. The house looks fantastic and it should for all the work we have done in the past month or so. Yikes. I have to admit, I got a bit teary when our realtor planted the sign, but it had to happen. I liken it to childbirth, you know it is coming, but until it actually happens, you don't think about the pain. Hopefully, the analogy will continue with the excitement and joy of the new home somewhere that will be the result of the killing we will make in this awesome market. It is beyond bizarre to think that our house could potentially sell anytime and we will have no idea where we will be moving. An out-of-state move is a big deal, we have already done it twice, but we have never been so up in the air about things. Strrraaaaahhhhhhhnnnnnnjjjjjeee (that's is "strange" with a sort of Frank-from-Father-of-the-Bride-like-accent)
I took a bunch of photos of the house today. Of course, we need photos for marketing, but I also just feel like I need to capture it all so we don't forget what it was like. I love this house. When we moved in, I thought we would spend the next 30+ years here, so it definitely is the first place we have lived that had that deep sense of home. ANYWAY, boo hoo hoo, wah, wah, wah, enough already.
As for things on the job front, Milan is still researching openings. For all we know, the job he gets isn't even posted yet. But, we have heard a bit from the church in San Antonio. They are looking over Milan's stuff tonight. Hopefully, they will get a good sense of who he is and whether or not he would be a good fit. We are truly praying for the right job, not just a job. With church ministry, that makes all the difference. AND I certainly don't want to find myself doing all of this again in a few years... Lord willing. I will keep the blog updated as we get feedback or make application to different places. I know a lot of you are wondering what is going on with us crazy Norgauers. At least, that is the case by the looks of my inbox. Thanks to all of you who truly have shown us tremendous support, by the way, it is appreciated.
The kids have the week off of school this week, so I am hoping to take Eli for his first day of skiing. We'll see if it all comes together, but I want to get him out there before we move to a state with a total elevation change of 10 feet and a low temperature of 65 degrees F. We'll see.
Well, I am going to sign off for now. I would like to point out that it has only been a few weeks since I posted last. I told you I would try. And now that the house is ready for market, I should be a little better as well.

Our House

Newsflash from the Cave

2009-01-28T10:20:00.003-07:00

Okay, I know I have been in a bit of a cave lately. No, I haven't moved to Afghanistan, been abducted by aliens or joined up with any bizarro cult. Life has been a bit of a roller coaster. So, let me give you the reader's digest version.
The fall and early winter have been very difficult for our family. Without needing to bore you with the details, my husband has decided to resign from his position as pastor of our church here. It has been a difficult and painful decision, but we believe it is what is best for our family (and believe it or not, for the church). So.... what that means, unfortunately, is that we will be looking for a new call (that's what they call it when a pastor gets a job at a new church), and will be selling the house, and moving who knows where. Now that I am over the initial bummed out stage, the reality of all that needs to be done has set in. We have a great house, but this market can be scary. So, we are doing every last little thing possible to get the house in tip top shape and staged to sell. I actually enjoy some of this type of work, but it is hard to get done with three kids- two of which I am homeschooling. Once my hubby is all finished up with what needs to be finished up with church and sorting through his office- hopefully this week- he can help with school and the tasks at hand.
While all of this is sprinkled with a healthy dose of sadness, I am looking forward to my husband having some time to de-stress and to having an unprecedented number of consecutive Sundays where he will be sitting with us in church rather than standing up in front of us. I am relishing in the fact that I will have him there to worship with and to help in training our children in the pews. This is not an easy task. If your pastor's wife has small children, do her a favor and watch for ways to help her out. Trust me, it is greatly appreciated.
As for where we will move, who knows? Almost surely not here in Colorado as there are not many open positions here in our denomination. There certainly is a job out there for him.
We will be looking very carefully at the "fit" in deciding where it will be best to apply and pursue. This process is not known for being a quick one. We know it will take time, and don't know how all of the timing will work out with selling the house. BUT, it will work out. We are trying to approach it as an adventure. Thankfully, homeschooling will make the process and transition to our next home fairly seamless. While it hasn't been easy, I am glad we won't be juggling the stress of questioning where we will be finishing the school year. That question won't need to be addressed at all until fall when we determining what to do for the 09-10 school year.
So, for those of you who have been asking, emailing, or otherwise haranguing me about why I haven't been blogging, now you have a better idea. I will try to be better about it. The fog is lifting and hopefully, in a week or two, I will actually have some more time on my hands.

A Few More Photos from Yesterday

2008-11-30T15:33:00.005-07:00

She was fascinated by the reflector to her right, so I just snapped her looking at it and thought her expression was sweet.

This was the one that I loved, but this was as good as I could repair the botched exposure. It was like a white ghost photo to begin with...

Pictures in the Snow

2008-11-29T15:42:00.008-07:00

Today we awoke to a beautiful blanket of snow, which of course made me think... PICTURES!! Yes, I am slightly obsessed with photographing my children, but it is just because they are so darn cute. I have been experimenting with some different types of shots lately in my quest to become a decent photographer and today was no different. Unfortunately, my favorite shot of the kids expressions didn't turn out so well, but these were a few that I am fairly happy with. You know what they say, practice makes perfect. I guess I will just need a bit more practice.

Thankfully, Ellie is always up for letting Mommy get in a little practice, so we took a few more once we got home. Our dog Cooper joined in before too long. She loves that little beast!

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Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:05:00.004-07:00

Well, I guess it is time to come out of hiding. For reasons I don't care to express here, October and November 2008 will not go down in my records as the best of times, but as the fog seems to be lifting, I figured I would post. I am sitting at the computer with my little peanut in my lap smelling the smells of thanksgiving bubbling away in the kitchen. It is very quiet... something I have grown accustomed to not having at home very often. All of my boys are off playing flag football with a sister church of ours in Parker. And, for I believe only the second time in our 15 years of marriage, and I believe the first time since having had children, we will be spending Thanksgiving just us. I guess it is a good time to just stop and be thankful for just that... our little family. God has been good to us through all of life's difficulties and has continued to knit our hearts together. While we are not where we want to be yet, Ellie has come such a long way in her attachment since last Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for that. I am also thankful for three healthy and growing children with incredible individual gifts and personalities. They are a blessing that I still cannot truly believe that I we have been given. I am also so very thankful for my husband, Milan. He is a good man, an amazing father, such a hard worker, and has such a big heart- far bigger than many people know or appreciate. I am lucky to be his partner. While we will not be together today, I am also so thankful for our extended families and for the never ending support and love that they give us. We are blessed beyond measure. Friends like the Gritters, the Finleys, the Gesses and others are also precious beyond measure to us and we again thank God for their friendship.
I hope that today finds you all thankful for those in your life that love you, extend grace to you, and hold you up through the good and bad. We all have much to be thankful for regardless of our circumstances. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

I Loved This...

2008-11-02T22:20:00.002-07:00

I am hoping to get the kids to the Palin rally tomorrow in Colorado Springs... should be a great educational experience for them. I must admit, I wish she were on the top of the ticket. Anyway, I loved this video from SNL on Saturday.

Reformation Day Party

2008-11-02T09:28:00.002-07:00

Last night was the Reformation Day Party for our church. Stefany Gess planned and basically implemented nearly all of it herself. She is amazing and did a fantastic job. The kids had a great time. Elijah's comment was that it was the most fun he has had in his entire life. The kids looked great in their costumes (I am sure glad to be done sewing for a while) and they learned about the reformers and what happened at the time of the Reformation through games and characters. I have loaded some pictures in the album below. Milan was Martin Luther and I was his later wife, Katharina Von Bora.

Reformation Day Party

Halloween Trick or Treating

2008-11-01T13:37:00.003-06:00

We went trick or treating with the kids last night. Ellie was a lady bug, Elijah decided last minute on Darth Vader and Noah went in his Reformation Day costume. We will have our Reformation Day party tonight which they will all dress up for in period costumes. They sure look cute.

Big Day

2008-10-18T10:42:00.007-06:00

Friday was a big day this week. It began with Elijah getting his cast off... after 6 weeks, I was more than ready for that. Note to self: ALWAYS get a waterproof cast in future- call ahead to be sure.
All looked good, but we were told that he needed to take it easy for another two weeks- even given the choice of casting for another two weeks. We opted for take it easy. Pray that my energetic little boy understands that concept.
The afternoon started with Eliana's final hearing for validation of her adoption. All went well and she is officially in the eyes of both China, the US and Colorado our little girl. We will actually get a birth cirtificate with our names as her parents on it... pretty cool.

Waiting for the hearing to begin... Ellie played peek-a-boo to pass the time.

Being questioned by the judge

Almost done...

Ellie on the way home

This has been a wild few weeks even by Norgauer standards, and it was nice to end this week on that note. There are still a few dips and turns on the radar so we are bracing for those. In the immediate future, we are looking forward to a nice time this afternoon celebrating the graduation of our dear friends the Gesses. They have both worked so hard to finish their degrees with such busy schedules. I think they even put us to shame.

Nana's Little Chefs

2008-10-10T20:28:00.002-06:00

The kids got a package from Nana today that was lots of fun. She made them chef hats and aprons and sent a Cooking with Grandma cookbook for kids. She always has a way of making things special with the kids. They looked really cute and can't wait to cook something fun!
Thanks Nana!

Fall Colors

2008-10-06T15:21:00.002-06:00

We love to drive up into the local mountains and see the beautiful fall colors each year. Colorado is such a beautiful place to live. I sometimes can't believe that we have such easy access to these kinds of views. It was a great little break after a bit of a stressful week.

Fall Colors

One of this weeks new stresses has to do with Eliana's possible exposure to that Chinese tainted milk you may have heard about in the news. She seems perfectly healthy, so I am not too panicked, more angry. Some children who have been fed the tainted milk and are otherwise asymptomatic, have been found to still have kidney stones. The kidney stones are actually made of melamine- you know like your old cheap college furniture. I just can't believe that people would knowingly put such a dangerous chemical into milk for human consumption just to make a buck. Unfortunately, the formula brand that Ellie was fed in China is among the tainted brands. While it has been confirmed to be happening in 2008, it is now suspected to have gone back as far as 2006. That is where we come in. So, at this point, we have an appointment with Ellie's doctor and we will discuss where to proceed from there. For those of you that faithfully pray for her and our family, please add this issue to the list. We pray that all will be normal, but of course dread the possibility that she may have yet another obstacle to overcome.
A new development on the more positive side of things is that we finally had our last appointment with our social worker and are therefore finished with sending reports back to China. We also have Ellie's final court date here in Colorado to validate her adoption on next Friday. The end of the nearly four years of paper chasing is almost over. YEAH!! She will be officially and every way ours in the eyes of China, the U.S. and the state of Colorado- it will even say so on her birth certificate. How cool is that?

Eliana is Two!

2008-09-23T22:06:00.005-06:00

Today is Eliana's second birthday and we spent the day celebrating her young life. She awoke without a clue as to what this "Happy Birthday!" thing was all about, but shortly got into the swing of things as she was showered with attention and gifts. I don't think she ever dreamed of something as exciting as blowing out candles, let me tell you.
We ended the evening with a few close friends coming over to share Ellie's Elmo cake. It was really nice to have them join us as they have all been so important in supporting us through this past challenging year.

It is hard to believe that she is actually two. She is more and more the tiny little peanut every day. It cracks me up that she was called "pang pang" or "chubby baby" in the orphanage just a bit over a year ago. We really do feed her, she just chooses not to eat a whole lot. Her personality is growing all the time and we are holding onto new hope that her attachment issues are starting to improve. Her physical therapist is great and seems to be helping on that front as well. It has been a busy second year of life, but I trust a good one for her in many ways. I also hope and pray that Ellie's third birthday puts a great deal more distance between us and these struggles. God has been good- then again, He is always good. Perhaps I should say, we have seen His goodness and trust that He will continue to sustain us and to walk this path with us.
Finally, as I reflected today on Eliana and her first years, I couldn't help but wonder if her birthparents were thinking of her today as well. My heart goes out to them. Even though I don't know the specific circumstances that led to her abandonment, I can't imagine it was an easy choice. I appreciate knowing that they took on the risk of leaving her in front of the orphanage where she was sure to be found- it is the most loving choice they could have made if they knew that they could not keep her. Also this "chubby" baby (as the reports say) had obviously been cared for not only before birth, but in those first two weeks of life spent with her birthfamily. So, my conclusion is that they are thinking and wondering today, and I pray that somehow they will be comforted and that they will know that she is safe and loved and being celebrated somewhere out in the world today. While I never would have wished abandonment on this or any precious little girl, I am thankful that she found her way into our family.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Cheeks!

New Album 9/23/08 10:35 PM

Knock On Wood

2008-09-19T22:08:00.002-06:00

Okay, I haven't posted this past week for fear that saying it out loud might somehow spoil it. We had the best week we have ever had with Ellie. We have a long way to go still, I realize, but she was markedly better with Milan. She actually went to him to kiss a boo boo instead of me- UNHEARD OF! She also has been asking about him more often, wanting to go and model her morning outfits for him and even allowed quite a few non-crying pick-her-ups. Now there were still moments of UGH, but it was so great to see some potential cracks in our proverbial ceiling. For those of you praying, don't quit! We need them, but I thought I had better pass on that there has been some truly great moments this week. I have had the mantra of "baby steps", but this felt like a real step in the right direction this week. Now if we can just avoid the 2 steps back.

Finally Posting the New Goods

2008-09-19T22:04:00.001-06:00

Here is a picture of our little soccer stud sporting his new goods. Unfortunately red with flames turned out not to be an option. There is always next time.

Break a Leg, Boys... or Perhaps an Arm

2008-09-06T20:05:00.002-06:00

Today marked the official beginning to soccer season with the first games for both of our boys. They played their hearts out. Noah had a goal in the first half and make 7 saves as goalie in the second half. Bravo! Elijah was tearing up the field when he took a bump from behind and (to borrow from the early Batman series) KABLAMO! He was down for the count. He had landed on his hand/wrist and we weren't sure exactly how bad it was. Of course, after about 5 minutes of crying, he wanted to go back in. He lasted about 30 seconds before he completed melted into tears. After our little trip to the urgent care, we found he had indeed broken his arm just above the wrist. Ouch! Thankfully, this shouldn't even warm up the broken foot episode of last year, but it is painful all the same. I will post pictures once he has his new cool cast- he is planning on red. How appropriate. Perhaps they have them with flames going up the sides as well.

Little Red Smiling Good

2008-09-02T17:13:00.003-06:00

This is just a recent photo of Ellie before church. She still loves her hats. She wore this dress for her 1 year old pictures... it still fits. Let's just say she isn't going to be a large woman. It looks even better now that she has hair.

Gotcha Day

2008-09-02T16:56:00.003-06:00

Eliana, August 2007 in China

Eliana, August 2008 in Chelan, WA

We celebrated Eliana's Gotcha Day, August 19, at Lake Chelan with my family. I am finally getting a few shots from that day up. It is hard to believe she is the same child. One year later, we have a long way to go, but I know more each day that she is our little girl and that one day we will look back on these difficult months and not be able to imagine not having persevered through them.
I remember the day we got that pathetic picture above and how it tore my heart up inside of me. I often try to think back to that day when we are having a particularly difficult time with attachment, and I remember knowing that we had to bring her home. It broke my heart to imagine that sweet child alone in that hard empty crib with no Mommy to rock her to sleep and no Daddy to give her kisses. She was then and is now our little Ellie and we are thankful that God chose her for our family.

All Good Things Come to an End

2008-08-21T22:04:00.007-06:00

We have enjoyed 10 great days here at my parents home in Chelan, WA and tomorrow we go home. It is always so nice to get out of the normal go, go , go of life with homeschooling, church commitments, parenting, maintaining our home, work, etc. I really needed a rest. Unfortunately, I am not convinced that I don't still need a rest, but I am still hopeful that I will be winning the Publisher's Clearing House $5000 per week for the rest of my life. Then, I will hire a housekeeper, hire a personal trainer, hire the perfect headmaster to begin an amazing Classical Christian Academy in our home town, and of course hire a personal assistant to keep me from losing my head. Just a few more months and I should be rolling in the dough so that I can not only do all of that, but have tons leftover to support all of the amazing non-profits that get me so jazzed. How cool would that be?
Ok, back to reality. I will be heading home and hitting the ground running. We get back to school, music academy, soccer and enrichment classes in the next 10 days. Gulp. We have had a great time here though. There has been lots of fun on the boat, tubing, fishing, swimming, bowling, miniature golf, water slides, hanging out with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and eating far too many yummy treats. It really stinks that we live so far from family, but I guess it makes time together more precious.

The Koldes

2008-08-17T19:55:00.002-06:00

Here we are enjoying time with the whole Kolde family (my maiden name) at my parents place in Chelan, WA. It is really a beautiful place. We had plans to take pix out in nature somewhere, but the fact that it has been in the high 90s and 100s makes it a bit difficult to be out in the sun when you aren't on the boat. I will load more pix from our trip soon, but this sums up my side pretty well.

Douglas County Foster Care Backpacks

2008-08-11T13:18:00.005-06:00

Well, we have had a great morning today. Our project to assemble backpacks full of basic necessities to the Douglas County Child Welfare division culminated in its first delivery of 32 backpacks this morning. Children removed from their homes in emergency situations, particularly when their is meth use in the home, are not able to take anything with them upon removal. This is done for their safety, but it makes for a difficult and potentially humiliating experience for the child as they are placed with their temporary caregivers in foster care. Our orphan care and adoption ministry at church (Cornerstone Presbyterian Church) wanted to do something to help these kids in such a difficult circumstance. These backpacks will give them a little something to call their own and provide basic necessities (underwear, pajamas, school supplies, toiletries, etc.) and a little something extra like a toy or stuffed animal. I was so grateful to be able to deliver them this morning and the child welfare office was so gracious and appreciative. They work so hard with so few resources and we hope this gives them a little boost as well. We hope to continue the project as the backpacks are depleted and would love to see other churches get involved similarly in their own communities. Thanks so much to everyone who participated in this and I pray God will use it to reach out to these kids and their families.

Project 1:27 Table Sponsorship

2008-08-09T10:32:00.004-06:00

Okay, here is the deal. There is this amazing non-profit organization here in Colorado called Project 1:27 . Their goal is to empty out Colorado's waiting children into adoptive families. Each year they have a fundraiser to raise awareness and funds for their services. They only charge families $50 for all the training, home studies, support services and assistance through the process (it cost them about $5000 per adoption). So, their next fundraiser is in early October. I would love to be able to get people together to sponsor a table (10 people per table, $500 per table). Obviously, some of you reading this have don't know me personally and wouldn't be interested in that necessarily. Others of you, however, do. So, if anyone is interested in pitching in on a table and/or coming to the event, let me know. It is such a great organization. Either way, if you aren't familiar with Project 1:27, check out their website.

Friday, October 3rd, 2008
6:00pm

Colorado Community Church

3651 S Colorado Blvd.

Englewood, CO 80113

Bad Haircuts and Bad Attitudes

2008-08-09T10:19:00.002-06:00

I think that the title sums up my last week. I am having a doozer. Do you ever have one of those weeks where you just feel like you can't quite get out of that crazy woke up on the wrong side of the bed funk? Unfortunately, the funk wasn't stored in the bottom 3-5 inches or so of my hair, otherwise, it would most definitely have been lost a few days ago. My new hair stylist (aka- former new hair stylist/Edward Scissorhands)
was apparently thinking of other things while cutting my hair and decided that lots and lots of short layers would be a nice surprise. So, here is my tip for the day. Under no circumstances whatsoever, consider closing your eyes and relaxing during a haircut. Consider attaching rearview mirrors to the seat and perhaps mark with spray paint or yellow caution tape the "do not go beyond this line" point on your head. You must also take at least 5 photos of the style you want, even if it is just a trim of the same style that you are asking for. Also, you may want to bring along a court appointed advocate to be sure that the hair stylist is truly adhering to the contracted haircut. Videos and powerpoint may be advisable as well. If all else fails, Sally Beauty sells hair extensions, but I will likely have to cut off my remaining hair in order to pay for them. Ahhhh.... well now, I think that I may be feeling just a little bit better.

Photo Courtesy of Logan

2008-07-25T21:26:00.003-06:00

Eliana got to meet little Logan and his Daddy snapped this photo of us. Ellie usually doesn't like me to hold other babies- or her own brothers for that matter- but she didn't mind my holding Logan at all. I look forward to them growing up together.

Important Note:

2008-07-22T18:02:00.004-06:00

Okay, after a barrage of emails from my long-distance friends and blog readers, it has come to my attention that my last post caused some confusion. No, I did not give birth yesterday. Logan Finley is the precious son of our dear friends, Geoff and Grace. So, while I was blessed to be a part of the day with them, I am looking forward to only the title of Aunt, not Mommy. He is a sweetie and I think I am nearly as excited about his birth as I was about my own kiddos.

Logan Finley Has Arrived!!

2008-07-21T23:42:00.003-06:00

Today was the day! After a long hard day for Mommy, Logan David Finley entered the world and brought indescribable joy into the lives of his family. He is a perfect little man at 7 pounds 14 ounces, 21 inches long. We couldn't be more thankful to the Lord for his faithfulness in this journey. We love you Logan

The Sound of Silence

2008-07-19T22:05:00.002-06:00

Well, around our house there is never much in the way of silence, but my blog can be a different story. The past few weeks have been pretty rough again with Ellie and her attachment issues. The fact that she is cutting a tooth is always a fun ingredient to add to the mix. But... we are going to meet with our attachment counselor again this week to try to get some new ideas and will most likely be meeting regularly with her for a while. For those of you out there that are praying for our family, let me first say, "Thank You!" and then let me ask you to continue to pray for our entire family. We need encouragement and perseverence. We all need to grow in our bonds with Eliana and we so greatly desire that she would open her heart more to her wonderful Daddy and stop seeing her brothers as a threat to her relationship with me. We are coming up on a year of placement in August and in some ways it feels like 5 years, but we have so much work yet to be done before we settle into a happy normal. Baby steps... more baby steps.

Camping Shmamping

2008-07-12T14:38:00.002-06:00

Well, call me a regular old stick in the mud, but I say, "Camping shmamping." We took the kids to Mueller State Park Thursday night for a campout. It is a beautiful park and I would love to spend more time there, BUT next time around, I am up for one of their beautiful cabins. We decided to go last minute, so we had to take our trusty pooch, Cooper, along. Let's just say he isn't exactly the bravest of beasts. He spent much of the night shaking and growling under his breath at the footsteps and noises we heard out and about the campsite. He ended up in my sleeping bag, under my arm, and finally settled down after a few hours of yips and grrrs. We'll call this mistake #1. We decided not to bring the pack and play along for Ellie as well. I mean, it is camping, right? You don't take a crib. Do you? Mistake #2. She wanted nothing to do with going to sleep, but was rolling all over the tent playing around. Milan finally got her to sleep, but then she kept being awakened by Cooper's outbursts. So, she ended up in my sleeping bag under the other arm. Let's just say I didn't get the best night of sleep that I have ever had. The following morning was crisp and beautiful (through my blurred vision) and would have possibly erased the memories of the restless night before, had I not failed to pack any coffee...mistake #3. If you know me very well, you know that the lack of coffee alone can be dangerous for me- and those around me for that matter. So, let's just say that not all of us are meant to be campers; at least, not with children in tow. While I love to spend time with my family, I feel it is safe to say that it will be a while before I venture out for another night of bliss under the stars.

And So We Begin Again...

2008-07-07T14:51:00.002-06:00

So where have the past 6 weeks gone? I am not exactly sure, but I can tell you how they have gone... TOO QUICKLY! We began our second year of homeschooling today. It went well overall, but it was an adjustment to having two kids with a full day of curriculum rather than just one full day with a kindergartner on the side. Ellie spent part of the morning with Daddy which made it easier for me as well. It is difficult to get my mind back around school, but I know I will be glad we started early when we get to take that week off every month. It is only three days a week until September, but it does man a change of pace around here.
I remember when I was a kid that we celebrated the beginning of each school year and went shopping for school clothes. The boys hate to shop for anything other than toys, so that wouldn't be very fun for them, BUT me on the other hand.... Hmmmm.??? We'll have to see about that idea.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-04T10:16:00.003-06:00

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Today is always a favorite around here. We all love the fireworks and it is great to come out and spend time with neighbors and friends. Our community is pretty great about activities in the parks, so we enjoyed that for a few hours- the kids had balloon swords, hats and belts made. Even Ellie got in on the action there as evidenced in the pictures below.
It was Ellie's first July 4th as a U.S. Citizen and a part of our family. She loved seeing the fireworks tonight, but unfortunately the show was cut short due to the face that the professional display started a brush fire up on the hillside. It is really dry around here and went pretty quickly. I don't know the current status on the fire, but it doesn't seem to be smoky outside, so that is a good sign. I am all for a big finale, but that was a bit ridiculous.

Fourth of July 08

Snakes on a Pane!

2008-07-04T09:58:00.002-06:00

Okay, a little too much excitement for me. Unlike my two boys, I am not a snake fan. Last week, on a hike in a nearby canyon, we came home with a snake (2 others had been released soon after capture due to their large size), a turtle (released yesterday) and 2 crayfish (now living in our neighbors pond). Well, last night my dear Noah came up and said those four dreaded words... "The snake is gone." Now, I don't mean gone safely back into the wild, I mean gone... in my basement... in MY house... ready to jump out at my unsuspecting snake-o-phobic self. So, after a lot of searching last night, we yielded nothing. The hours dragged on last night as I was sure to awaken to him perched on my chest slithering and spitting his forked little tongue at me. This morning, a new light has dawned... he has been found!! No doubt trying to get into the sun coming in through the window, Noah spotted him. Elijah pounced and grabbed his tail and I swooped the habitat underneath him. I am hopeful that our little adventure will induce his release back into the wild, but I may be hoping in vain at the moment.

Patriotic Princess

2008-06-30T09:02:00.004-06:00

Ellie is getting ready for Friday. She has a few cute little fourth of July dresses that I have picked up along the way... still a little roomy. She is a little peanut of a thing. I figure we'll have our little patriotic princess making her appearances all week. The boys always look forward to Friday because they get to stay up later than any other night of the year.

A Visit from Leah

2008-06-27T19:37:00.003-06:00

My dear friend Leah graced us again with a brief, but refreshing visit this week. Ellie enjoyed getting to know Leah a little better and the boys revelled in th extra attention from her. It isn't often that someone plays hide and seek with them while I make dinner. As always, time with Leah is precious to me. I am so thankful for it even when it is only for a day.

Leah-June

CCAI Carnival

2008-06-21T10:42:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we went to the CCAI annual carnival and we were able to visit with two of the other families from our travel group. Lynnae brought little Lydia and Carrie brought little Emilie and her older daughter Sophie. The girls are beautiful and doing well, but we all have had our difficulties in making the adjustment this last year. I sell t-shirts at church for Project 1:27 that say "Adoption's Not for Wimps" and I believe that is one of the truest statements I know. It is also a great blessing to which all of us would also attest. It was great to see everyone and it is always fun to see so many beautiful children from China that have been here for many years. CCAI is a great agency and while I would have appreciated a few things done differently, I would recommend them to anybody.

ccai carnival 2008

The Kolde Clan

2008-06-18T14:01:00.004-06:00

It was such a great week having my brother and his family here. Their children are amazing young people and I am just sad that I don't get to be with them more. We enjoyed time together around town and at home. The kids were able to play and get to know each other a little better and I was able to spend time with my incredible sister (we Koldes try to stay away from the term "in-law") and brother. I am so thankful that they took the time to come and stay. We even got to celebrate Elijah's 6th birthday together. What a treat. I have loaded a few of my favorite pictures from the week in the album below.

Koldes

Family Fun

2008-06-10T11:01:00.003-06:00

We are all looking forward to our visit with my brother and his family this week as they travel from Washington. This will be their first time to meet Ellie and we will also be celebrating Elijah's sixth birthday. Fun! Fun! I am excited to get to play Auntie... a role I don't often enough get to play. My niece and nephew are precious.

This photo was taken of Ellie at her "Auntie" Grace's baby shower. It was just too cute not to post. Ellie continues to improve in her walking, but we are still concerned about the development of her feet. We had our last appointment with Children's hospital yesterday as we will be working with an in-home therapist available until Ellie turns three. Hopefully, we will have resolved her issues before then, but it is so much easier to do it in home.
We continue to pray for bonding between Ellie and Milan and the roller coaster of ups and down continues. The Lord has a purpose in this for us. In Genesis, Joseph says that the Lord brought him to Egypt, even though it was his brothers who sold him into slavery there. Even the hard things are purposed by Him, and while I don't believe that our purpose is to save the country from famine, I pray that we will be faithful to persevere and see His purposes fulfilled.

Elijah's First Lost Tooth

2008-06-02T14:17:00.003-06:00

Elijah lost his first tooth yesterday. He was so excited. We didn't even realize that it was loose. He just said his tooth felt weird. Of course, upon further examination, we saw it had a serious case of the wiggles. Five minutes later, he had it out. Now, the one next to it is loose. I give it 2 days tops at his rate. Anyway, I had to post his new grin.

National Foster Care Month

2008-05-30T12:23:00.004-06:00

May is National Foster Care Month. Churches around our nation, along with Family Life’s Hope for Orphans, Focus on the Family, and Shaohannah’s Hope are prahttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifying May 26-30 for the 500,000 children in our nation’s foster care system. Colorado has 14,000 children in foster care and that number includes the 775 children waiting for adoption.

One of the organizations I am involved with, Project 1.27 has sent out a schedule for prayer to all of the orphan ministries and partners here in Colorado. While it is already Thursday, I thought I would post it and encourage any of you reading this to pray as well.

Monday—The Word
Tuesday—The Workers
Wednesday—The Families (Birth families, foster families, adoptive families)
Thursday—The Children
Friday--The Church

There is also more information at www.fostercareprayervigil.org. Tonight, the women of our church will be gathering together for prayer. I am so thankful to be part of a church that cares about the fatherless. Take some time today to pray for these children and others who so desperately need the love and security of a forever family.

Summer Has Officially Begun

2008-05-24T13:44:00.004-06:00

Here we are at Memorial Day weekend yet again, our official beginning of summer. Our neighborhood pool has opened and the daily trek to swim began this morning. Unfortunately, it is not quite the mid to upper 80 degrees that we grew accustomed to in Hawaii. As we went into the pool today it was a sweltering 59 degrees. Of course, the pool was warmer, but with the cool breeze we were all pretty chilly. Ellie was splashing and having fun, but her little lips were shivering and turning an interesting shade of blue. Needless to say, I got her out and warmed up. Let's hope we will see some warmer weather soon to go with our new-found summer freedom. My little water babies must swim!

The Chapman's Littlest Cinderella

2008-05-22T12:38:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to write to express my sadness and prayers for the tragic loss of little Maria Sue Chapman last night. I pray that her family is comforted by the immeasurable grace and mercy of our Lord. This video tells about the Chapmans and the song he wrote recently for Maria and Stevie Joy, their two youngest adopted daughters.

Tonight, she dances with her Heavenly Father.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hCX0xYfGnwKXZ56bJKPQoZGnyBKgD90QGLL80

Nearly There...

2008-05-20T21:51:00.003-06:00

I feel a bit like the Little Blue Engine right now trying to make it up that last stretch of hill. We are now two days away from finishing the year of homeschooling. My kids have done really well and I am proud of them. For some reason, I have been a bit daunted by the fact that this is only year one of what will be years to come of this task. We haven't made any decisions beyond elementary school for the kids yet, but even that puts me into the double digits of schooling by the time we get Ellie that far. Hmmm... I am sure that it gets easier, right? It still boggles my mind how often my 2 boys seem to give me a bigger run for my money than a few hundred middle schoolers. Of course, I wasn't chasing a baby around in my classroom back then.

After school today, I got to spend the entire afternoon cooking. Normally, I really like to cook, but this was the result of our freezer get turned off yesterday afternoon unbeknown to us. The draining water out the bottom was our big clue today. So, with about 25 pounds of meat already beginning to thaw, I have been a busy gal. Tomorrow will be more of the same. We will be eating like kings for this next week. I am trying to go along with that old adage, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade..." Unfortunately, having been a vegetarian in the past for 6 years or so, meat isn't exactly my drink of choice. My family will be happy though and I will just keep offering food to the neighbors. So, if anybody is hungry...

First Steps

2008-05-14T14:00:00.002-06:00

Ellie took her first steps yesterday... May 13. I was sitting with the boys doing Legos when she turned away from holding the couch and took two steps to Noah. We looked at each other in disbelief and then we all started screaming. Ellie was so excited that she took several more trips back and forth before tiring out. She still doesn't protect herself when she starts to fall, she just face plants. So, we have a long way to go, but it was a pretty big deal seeing her take those steps here at almost 20 months old.
We will begin working with a second physical therapist in the next month or so that will be focusing on her walking and progressing her through to running and manipulating different kids of terrain. This therapist will actually be coming to our home for therapy so that will be great for me! We will continue to see the original therapist at Children's Hospital as we try to get Ellie's foot position corrected. My biggest prayer on that subject right now is that we don't have to get the more advanced orthotics for Ellie... big bucks. She is definitely getting stronger, but those flat feet of hers need to arch up and line up correctly. We will continue with the current orthotics and doing her little exercises at home over the next few weeks to see what happens.
We continue to work through Ellie's attachment issues. Here we are about a month into our new plan. We have a long way to go, but I do feel like I have seen a few unexpected and pleasant moments of improvement. In the past week or so, she has been much more relaxed about crawling over to her daddy to give him a requested kiss or hug. She actually has done it with a giggle or a smile at least 3 or 4 times. Of course, she turns right back around to me, but perhaps the fact that she knows she will be able to come back to me is relaxing her in the thought of moving away from me. That aspect of the therapy seems to be showing some small results already. Others at church have also noticed a change in her with me... she is more snuggly with me or she seems more relaxed with me than before. I hope that is true and not just wishful thinking. The sooner she is secure in my permanence, the better for everyone. I will continue to update the blog on this issue as we see more prominent improvement, but as I have been starting to get the "How's it working?" questions, I thought I had better give the latest. Thanks for asking and for your continued prayers.
Sounds like nap-time is over....

More Photos from Hawaii

2008-05-09T23:23:00.004-06:00

I have added another album of photos from our trip. I still have one more camera of photos to go through. We had such a great time and it is fun to look back at these pictures. I sure do have some cute kiddos.

Hawaii Part 2

ALOHA

2008-05-08T00:10:00.006-06:00

Well, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth in the past three weeks, but we did escape to paradise for a few weeks. We spent 16 days in Hawaii and had a fantastic time. We went to Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii and saw some pretty amazing sights. Snorkeling was great and the kids loved it. We raced with Dolphins on one of our boat rides, explored Pearl Harbor's Bowfin Submarine, Battleship Missouri and Arizona Memorial, snorkeled in one amazing spot after another, saw Saturn with its rings and moon as well as some other incredible constellations through telescopes atop Mauna Kea, swam with sea turtles and experienced Kiluea's volcanic activity. It was a trip to remember and the kids were really great. Ellie wasn't really any better with Milan, but she did take to the water like a fish. She actually throws herself off the side of the pool and dives under the water. She can't swim, but she thinks she can-- dangerous, but great in the sense that she has no fear of the water. She would say "Dunk," "Mahnee" (swimming), and "Fly" (translation = throw me up in the air and let me drop into and under the water). It was entertaining for most everyone at the pool. I was often stopped in the hotels and asked, "Is this the baby from the pool?"

We took close to 900 pictures (that is actually after editing), obviously I wont be posting them all, but I will add some over a few days. I really enjoyed taking pictures. It is hard to take bad pictures when the subject matter is so beautiful.

Hawaii Part 1

We have really been recovering from the jet lag slowly this week. It is only 4 hours difference, but we did a red-eye on the way home... not much sleeping. We have also had a busy few days since we have returned. I had planned on starting school again Monday, but we have had appointments for Ellie and have been fighting colds...airplanes, ugh! We will just extend our year a few days and give ourselves a few more days of recovery time. It just isn't worth the struggle. The boys do finish their enrichment classes this week for the summer. It will be nice to start cutting back on commitments for a few months. I am hoping that when fall rolls around and schedules amp up again, things will be a little better with Ellie. I guess I am not banking on it, but it would be really great.

And Now the Real Fun Begins...

2008-04-15T12:57:00.002-06:00

So, as you probably already know, yesterday was a big day for us. In the morning, we went to Children's Hospital Specialty Care Center and had Ellie's "Magic Shoes" made. Actually, they are more like magic socks that fit into her shoes. She isn't wild about them, but is beginning to accept them. She screamed the whole time they were working on her little tootsies... big fun. It was really great when we had to go back about 6 hours later for an adjustment due to a mark being left on her instep. Hopefully, we will get her feet squared away with these... the next step, if they don't work, is an $800 pair of shoe/boots. FUN!! Let's hope that we don't have to get to that. She will continue with physical therapy for about a year and work on strengthening her foot and ankle muscles, getting her heel bones in the right position and stopping her pronation. Somewhere on that continuum she will learn to walk. She really wants to do it, so these new shoes may do the trick.

Our second appointment for the day was with the therapist to discuss our issues with Eliana's attachment and difficulty accepting Milan. It was a really good appointment, but I am a bit overwelmed by the prescribed therapy. Even though I am intimidated by the task before me, I at least feel good that we have a plan, we understand what is happening and the likely reasons for why, and that our therapist has been in our very shoes in her own family. When we got Eliana at nearly 11 months old, she was not able to roll over, sit up very well, feed herself, or even pick up and grasp a toy. Within days, she made incredible progress. She also had severe scarring on her legs and bottom from diapers not being changed or being tied on and left for too long. Ellie had four separate losses being in four different care situations before coming to us. In a nutshell, our therapist put her in the top 30% of kids who experience early trauma. She is incredibly insecure and just waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under her. The fact that she chose to begin attaching to me rather than Milan is a random choice, nothing about Milan caused this issue to develop. Ellie began trying to attach to me, but she is incredibly insecure in that relationship. She pretty much is expecting me to leave her. So, she sees Milan as a threat to that relationship. We have sort of reinforced her fears by forcing the situation. We were told that because of her history and her obvious reaction to that history, we need to look at Eliana at her emotional age rather than her chronological age. Basically, if she were 4-6 months old, how would we treat her and what would we expect from her. The course of action that we are to take for at least the next 3 months or so is pretty dramatic and is completely counter-intuitive. Our therapist basically said, "You will be doing about the opposite of what you feel like you should do or what you would have done with your biological boys." YIKES! Anyway, we need to pull back from letting anyone else care for her, hold her, feed her, comfort her, etc. Also, because she is trying to attach to me, but not secure in it, I need to treat her like a newborn. If she cries, pick her up, etc. When my boys were babies, I did most of the caregiving...comforting, all the feeding, getting up, etc. That bond was established and they felt safe. Then they were more able to bond to their dad. Well, it is Mommy boot camp for the next few months. Milan can (and should) continue and expand on anything that she will tolerate. So, if she is ok with him when I am gone completely- they need to extend that time. If she will let him feed her sweets, do it more often, etc. If, however, he tries to be with her or comfort her and it intensifies rather than wanes quickly, I need to step in immediately and reinforce that I am always going to be there for her. Once she is more assured of my permanence, Milan will not be such a threat. Our therapist believes if we intensely intervene at this point we will see a dramatic change in her behavior toward Milan within a few months. I pray that is true. I pray that I can handle doing so much on my own. I do have other kids, you know? I know it will also be hard for Milan to step back and be very casual in his efforts with her. The therapist basically said that he should walk in and say hi, but not to get to close or try to engage to intensely with her. It sort of struck me as being around and friendly, but not moving into her "space" without her permission so to speak.
The other issue we have struggled with is her constant offering of herself to other adults that are either strangers or little known to her. While she does this more commonly when she is with Milan, she has done it fairly regularly with me as well. Apparently this is very common with kids like Eliana. She spent 11 months being pretty seriously neglected. She still expects not to have her needs met, so when she is constantly feeling stressed or insecure, she will reach out to pretty much anyone as a knee-jerk reaction. This is another reason that we have to sort of isolate her from the care of others. She needs to learn to fill those needs with the love and care of her parents. Over time, her reactionary "reach" will diminish.
This may sound like a lot of psycho-babble or extreme overindulgence, and a year ago, I may even have agreed with you. Having lived this crazy roller-coaster ride, however, I can say that this makes complete sense to me, and I have seen that seemingly unexplainable panic in Eliana. God never intended babies to experience the things Ellie has experienced. Those first months and year of life are designed to build trust and safety and security. When that doesn't happen, it takes time- sometimes more than you would like- to heal those hidden wounds. We are confident that there will be a change in the future, and I am pretty sure that some people will not understand or think we are crazy along the way... C'est la vie! I am thankful we have a better understanding of our daughter and her needs. I am thankful that we can have a plan of attack, as exhausting as it may be. I am grateful that we have friends and family who will continue to pray for us. Most of all, I thankful that this path set before us was not unknown to God who knows what we can handle when we depend on Him. May he grant us the perseverance and strength that we need for what could yet be a few years of healing the hurts.

One down, ..... to go?

2008-04-07T12:20:00.002-06:00

I just got home from Eliana's Physical Therapy evaluation with Children's Hospital. They were really nice and did a great job with getting Ellie to warm up to them. The appointment took about an hour and the conclusion was that she is actually incredibly strong, particularly in her arms. Milan asked if that means she is going to be a shotputter. That is a question for another day. Anyway, the problem is in her feet and ankles as we thought. She pushes her heel bones out and rolls her feet over on the inside. We will have another appointment next week where the therapist will make an orthotic insert for her shoes. We will try those out for a while and have therapy about every other week. Depending on how she does with the inserts, we may need to have an orthotic specialist design a shoe for her. The therapists said it is actually good that she has not started walking on her feet as they are because she would develop improper bone growth in the bottoms of her legs and feet over time by walking on them as they are. The therapist expects that we will need to work fairly deliberately over the next year or so to properly develop the muscles in her feet, but that ultimately she should not have any long-term problems. That is good news, but a little intimidating as well. I just want to be sure that we get her the treatment and therapy she needs in order to have normal feet and to be able to walk and run normally without pain.
So, one down on the appointment front. I have left a few messages now trying to reach the therapist that we want to meet with regarding Eliana's attachment issues. Again, I am hoping to get in before our family vacation. Let's hope I get a call back in the next day or two with good news on that front. The other evaluations thata we are having done were moved up a week, so we should have answers there in the first week of May. One step at a time.... One step at a time....

Spring Soccer has Sprung

2008-04-06T22:19:00.003-06:00

The boys had their first soccer games of the Spring season this weekend. They both played their little hearts out. Elijah felt sad after his game that he didn't get to play more... the unfortunate side of having 9 kids on your team in a 4 on 4 league. Some days you just don't play as much as you would like. Eliana was comforting him after the game, patting him on the back and shoulder as well as rubbing the back of his head. It was too precious. It also got half a smile out of him eventually.
I have linked to a few shots from their games and one of our little comforter. It is so great to have the weather warming back up so we can get these two boys outside and running off some of that endless supply of energy. They just love it!

Spring Soccer 4/5/08 9:14 PM

Good News on the Grant Front

2008-04-04T21:54:00.002-06:00

We recieved word today that we were awarded the full amount of money we requested to begin working with an attachment specialist. That is great news. Now, the question is when we will be able to schedule appointments. We are going on a family trip soon and it would be great to get in with her before we leave so that we could really use that intense family time to the greatest advantage. Either way, we all need a vacation around here and how could a few weeks on the beach not make EVERY situation a little better?
Ellie has her physical therapy evaluation on Monday with Children's Hospital and then we will have some other evaluations done in mid-May for occupational therapy among a few other things. I believe that by early summer, we will have evaluated, therapeuticized (like that one?), and otherwise analyzed most every possible part of our little peanut. I am thinking about have her colors done, just for good measure. Ok, I am kidding about that one. Anyway, we are still trying to piece together our little 21 pound puzzle, and I am hopeful that we will begin to get a better idea of the picture on which we have been working. I know that ultimately it will be a masterpiece of God's own design, but it sure would have been easier if he had included the box.

18 Months Old``

2008-04-02T16:41:00.003-06:00

Eliana had her 18 month appointment today... it is hard to believe that she is already that old. Partly, my boys have gotten me accustomed to large kiddos. By my estimation, size-wise, Ellie should be about 9 months old! Seriously though, she is quite a little peanut. Her size percentile-wise had spiked up quite a bit in height at her last appointment, but she is back down to close to where she started at 12 months. Obviously, she is growing, but I believe that she will be a petite little thing, and not as tall as we thought she might be with the trend at 15 months. Anyway, she is now 21 lb, 5oz and 31 1/4 inches tall. She is healthy and growing and we are thankful for that. Unfortunately, our doctor did say it was important for us to get her evaluated and treated at Children's Hospital for physical therapy. She still isn't walking and her feet do some foooonky stuff. Most likely, she will need some "magic shoes" like Forrest and some physical therapy that should correct the problems completely over time. We have our evaluation on Monday, so stay tuned...
I will also be having some assessment done with her fine motor skills to see if she might benefit from some occupational therapy as well. Man, between the physical therapy, occupational therapy and attachment therapy we need- sounds pretty grim! I am not so concerned about the first two... they will work out with time and work without too much pain... the painful part continues to be our attachment issues. For those of you who have been praying, please continue diligently. We greatly need it. We will be vacationing as a family soon and I am hopeful that we will see some progress and make some good lasting memories as an entire family.
Until next time, remember

Shanequa's Shower

2008-03-30T22:42:00.002-06:00

We had a great time on Saturday celebrating the newest Baker Beauty to be born in April. With so many boys being born in our church in the past year, we all had a little extra fun with the fact that Shanequa is having a girl. Obviously, we two beautiful big sisters, we anticipate she will be a healthy and adorable little one.

Thanks Emmy for the great game... it was truly disgusting, and even more hilarious. She melted different chocolate bars into diapers and we had to examine the evidence in order to guess which diaper was which candy. Gross, but highly entertaining. Thanks to Grace, Nikki and Stefany for all the help. I know Shanequa appreciated it.

Shanequa Shower 3/30/08 10:09 PM

Easter

2008-03-30T22:08:00.005-06:00

I am about a week late, but better late than never on getting pictures up from Easter. Ellie looked adorable in her little dress- thanks Cece! Eliana's favorite part was that the dress allowed her to examine her belly button... a new favorite pasttime. She calls it her "butty." We had a really nice day together. We had a few families from church over for a late lunch/early dinner- we dubbed it "dunch"- before heading over to worship for the evening. It was really nice to have them and to spend the day with our larger church family.
After church, Noah laid down to read the Bible for a while on the platform. He loves to read and has begun reading through the Bible on his own. Wow... I wish I had that discipline when I was in 2nd grade. We are really proud of him. He didn't know I was taking pictures of him until later when I took a few with Elijah and Jonah who had joined him. What a bunch of cuties. Once it was known I was taking pictures, Eli was more than happy to pose as long as he could be "crazy." He is such a character.

Easter 3/30/08 10:19 PM

Time with Nana

2008-03-19T23:25:00.005-06:00

We had the privilege of spending last week with Nana, my mom. Milan was in Orlando for a conference and she came to visit and lend a hand with my little brood. We had a great time and she helped me play catch up on several of the projects that I have gotten woefully behind on. Scrapbooking seemed like such a good idea when I began (5 years prior to becoming a parent). Now that I am into the commitment by like 15+ albums it is hard to stop, but I just don't have the time

to stay on top of it. Mom graciously spent several nights burning the midnight oil with me doing page after page. While I am not quite caught up, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, it will probably be short-lived as we are heading out on vacation in about a month. C'est la vie. At any rate, it was fun to have her here and to see my kiddos with her. I only wish that they were able to spend more regular time with both Nana and Papa. We are blessed to have the problem of terrific grandparents- that live at a distance :0( . That goes for you too, Baba!
Eliana decided to cut molars at record-breaking pace last week, so Nana didn't exactly get to see her best side. Unfortunately, Ellie was up almost every night and was pretty fussy. She is still working on both bottom molars... they have been swollen and ready since last week, but just haven't finished the job. Thankfully, the top molars seem to be done giving her trouble. Hopefully, she will sleep tonight. (Code for "I am tired and I hope I can sleep through the night as well!") She sure is cute though, if you can get past the drool.
She is speaking more and more all the time. Her list of words grows daily, but she is still not really stringing much of anything together. I guess that the one exception is "more that." Not bad for starters. Walking is still not happening on her own. She does push around a little walker and loves it, but she has to have something to hold on to to keep her balance. Those little ankles still have a mind of their own as well. She has finally discovered her squeaky shoes, though. We bought several pair in China and she has just recently come to understand that she controls the squeak herself, by getting up and cruising around. She really lights up when she gets moving quickly. It is really a crack-up. I only wish I would have bought another 10 pair.

New Album 3/19/08 9:40 PM

Papa Would Be Proud...

2008-03-06T20:49:00.002-07:00

Those of you that know much of my family, would know that my father is a veterinarian (actually the best veterinarian, ever). Well, today, the boys had a veterinarian visit their science enrichment classes to talk about animals and veterinary medicine. While he was a lesser man than their Papa, the boys loved it. They came home with some serious "veterinarian" gear and Elijah has been wearing it for hours. I actually had to pry it off of him for music class- kind of hard to sing and play piano with a mask and rubber gloves on. This evening, they got out a bunch of their stuffed animals and played vet all night. I don't think that the stuffed animals have seen action in years. Anyway, it was adorable and Papa would be proud.

The Fam from Snowy River

2008-03-04T00:50:00.002-07:00

These pictures were taken on Saturday when we decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm and beautiful day by driving out to the South Platte River near our home. We are constantly amazed at how beautiful it is here in Colorado and are so thankful that within half an hours drive we can enjoy such incredible beauty. Elijah insisted upon wearing his Superman costume as he said we were going on an adventure (I think that the socks over the legging parts are supposed make his shoes more bootlike). He found a little "fishing rod" sans the hook- aka a stick with some line and a rock tied to the end- and enjoyed some impromptu fishing in the river as well as a large puddle. Noah took to trying to skip rocks and explore the river's edge. Eliana was fascinated by the gravel and the snow... we aim to impress. Milan and I were just enjoying the weather as we knew something wicked this way was coming.
On Sunday, the day after our lovely expedition, our little town was under a Winter Storm Warning and we even cancelled our church service due to the blowing snow and icy road conditions. Welcome to Colorado. When we moved here, people said, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes." It has proved to be pretty accurate.
There are also a few pictures here of Eliana. She picked up Noah's recorder today and actually started blowing on it and making sound. She had just been watching him and figured out how to do it. She also loves to play the piano. She plays one note at a time and really listens intently to the sound. I figured I better snap a few shots now as she will probably be a world-famous musician someday.
Anyway, I am off to start wrapping up from the day. Enjoy the pix!

South Platte River 3/4/08 12:39 AM

Brighter Days

2008-02-29T13:57:00.004-07:00

We have had some brighter days of late. Not only has it been sunny and beautiful, which was much needed for the cabin fever having ravaged my children, but life with our Ellie has been a little brighter as well. Thank you to all of you who have been praying, emailing, calling, etc. with encouragement. The night out with Milan, courtesy of Auntie Grace and Uncle Geoff was a huge shot in the arm. Thank you!
Please continue praying, but know that we are seeing the results of your supplication in little ways. Eliana actually put her arms up for Milan to pick her up for the first time ever last week. It didn't last long, but was a great encouragement to us both. We have found the name of a Christian therapist that works with adoptive children and attachment issues, but we haven't made an appointment yet. We are also waiting to see if we might qualify for a mini-grant that is intended to help defray costs of this kind of help. As it is, I am feeling better just knowing that we have the name of someone to contact if we dont see this improvement continue.
I am very happy to say that it is Friday and the kids are just about finished with school for the week. Eliana is sleeping soundly and I actually have a few minutes to blabber on here in peace. It is amazing how the little snatches of quiet time- even five minutes- can be so precious. I am thankful for these times, but also so very thankful to be Mom to my children. I know these years and even the stressful times will pass on seemingly too quickly in retrospect. I am also so fortunate to have family and friends praying for my family and sharing our burdens.
I am attaching some cute photos here of the kids. Love the first attempt at a pony tail for Ellie (above). Too Funny! It is like a little horn shooting out the center of her head. Also, there are some really cute pictures of the kids on a little hike up Castle Rock as well as a few random shots from the past 2 weeks. They are a bunch of cuties.

New Album 2/29/08 2:21 PM

Truth Talking

2008-02-16T19:12:00.002-07:00

Okay, I am at the end of that proverbial rope... time for some truth talking. This is really stinking hard. We thought we were seeing some progress with Eliana and her acceptance of Milan, but all that seems to have flown out the window. It is really discouraging at the moment. How come this little person can't see that her brothers think the world of her daddy? How come she can't see that he keeps putting himself out there day after day just wanting to love on her- get to know her- take care of her? Sometimes I just want to scream... okay we are being truthful... sometimes I do scream. It is like nobody else really knows what is happening because she can be so different when we are out or with other people. She seems to be just happy-go-lucky, but then we get home and she goes nutso. We really need prayer- seriously, consistent and ardent prayers. I know that nothing happens by accident. I know that the Lord knew what he was doing when he chose her for our family. I know that He doesn't promise an easy road. However, I am tired. Our family is weary and we need a bit of a breather. It just breaks my heart in ways I didn't really know possible. A friend reminded me the other day that sometimes we go through hard times so that we can truly understand the suffering and pain of others- I know that has been true in our struggles with miscarriage. I just wish that God would trust us to be compassionate without first hand knowledge in this case. Anyway, I am praying for perseverance, for peace in my home, for the brokenness in our little girl and for the grace to get through this in one piece. I think we are at the point of needing to seek some extra professional help, so there begins another task. Hopefully, we will be able to get some answers (and find the time to get the help we need). Keep us in your prayers.

Keep on Groovin...

2008-02-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so there I was like so many other weekdays, waiting to check out books at the library with my little posse, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. Vicki Lovine (author of the Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy- which I love and use as a frequent gift for the "I'm finally preggers!" crowd) has another book called Getting Your Groove Back: Loving your family without losing it. Well, it is pretty obvious that I am not so groovy anymore. So, I picked it up. I am only about 1/4 of the way through it, but so far I feel as though Ms. Lovine has had hidden cameras set up in my home and somewhere in the back pocket of my mom-jeans. I highly recommend it to any of you other "girlfriends" out there who feel like their groove has been lost somewhere between early marriage and Kindergarten orientation. She is hysterical and calls it like she sees it- like any true girlfriend does. Now, I am not saying that my groove is going to be resurrected anytime in the near future. The task is still quite daunting for me, but I will say that I am serious considering getting some highlights. So, if you are looking for a quick read and a few good laughs, pick up a copy.

Speaking of where my groove has gone, the kids are doing really well. Somehow, the boys have really been getting into their own "groove" with school lately. That makes my job much easier. We moved our "classroom" out of my kitchen and into our front room which allows me a little it more sanity. The clutter of school when I was trying to prepare meals as well as the take-it-out/put-it-back every day nature of my classroom was making my recovering type-
A personality a bit crazy. Now, the trick will be keeping that front room from becoming a Just-leave-it-out-until-next-time disaster. So far so good, but I am a firm believer in Newtons Laws- You know that whole part about order moving into chaos and not visa versa.

Eliana is continuing to cruise around on the furniture. She is still far from walking on her own in my opinion as her feet sort of behave like pill bugs. She curls them up into little balls and rolls around on them. She is getting pretty efficient at crawling which makes life a lot more interesting - not to mention dangerous. She made her first ever attempt at stair-climbing when I ran upstairs to switch loads of laundry. Unfortunately, the attempt was unaided and had been initially successful-- in other words, the little stinker made it up a few stairs before somersaulting back down right as I hit the top of the staircase and was hurtling down to grab her. Bad mommy! No permanent damage done, but I am secretly hoping it scared her enough to keep her from trying it again in the near future. Gates are so tricky when you have other kids that are too small to get over them to get where they need to go... still figuring that one out.

I have a few pictures today. Eliana's new favorite place is the rack we use for magazines (intended to be for firewood, but we have a gas fireplace). She climbs in and hangs on like it is her own little sled. In one of the pictures, I sort of imagine our dog Cooper pulling her alone. I also just loved the little red outfit especially because her tiny little shoes peek out from under it.

Untitled Album

Anyway, until I can groovy enough to post again...

Noah's First Recital

2008-02-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

Noah had his first recital at the Children's Music Academy this morning. We were really proud of him and he truly rose to the occassion. He even sang! I could hardly believe it. The program lasted an hour and the class showed off their keyboard skills, ear-training, theory skills and even performed two ensemble pieces. They really have worked hard this past year and a half. Noah will graduate from the program in just another year from now. It was neat because after a rocky start to the classes, he said today that he would like to do more CMA after this course of study is finished. I about fell off my chair. Anyway, we are just really proud of him for persevering and working hard. Auntie Grace and Uncle Geoff joined us for the recital as well and that really meant a lot to Noah -and me :0) Thanks guys!

January08 1:39 PM

This album also has a few recent cute pictures of Eliana and Elijah in it.

Babies, Yogurt and Spoons

2008-02-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ellie is determined to use utensils... she loves to hold her own spoon or fork. Oh, the joy that rushes across her little face. However, her ability to use them in a dainty and lady-like manner is long off. I decided to just totally give in here in these pictures and let her go for it. She loves lemon yogurt. Although, I am not sure how much actually made it in her mouth. Oh well. The tough part is that her less than tidy eating makes several other members of the family a bit squeamish.

Shameless Plug

2008-01-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

A friend from college has her own letterpress business and she really makes beautiful stationary, announcements, etc. This is just a shameless little plug to get you to check out her site. She uses machines from the 1800s because they don't make modern ones that do the same job. It is worth a peak... Jill Cate Design

Ellie Loves Her Big Bubba, Noah

2008-01-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ellie has two great big brothers and she is well taken care of by them both. However, she really gets lots of extra loving from her big "Bubba" as she calls him, Noah. Two days in a row, she has fallen asleep right before her naptime on her "Bubba's" lap. It is so precious, and he eats it up. I caught a picture of it today. (No comments on the fact that pajamas were still being worn by Bubba at lunchtime today... It's a Saturday- Give us a break!)

I'm SOOOO big!

2008-01-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Eliana had her fifteen month check up this week and she is growing and developing right along. The doctor says we are seeing some catch up growth... Her little nugget (head) went from the 18th percentile when we brought her home to the 25th. Her height has shot up from the 50th to the 75th - now at a towering 31 inches. Her weight remains the same at 25th percentile, but she is now up to 21 pounds. She hasn't gained like a lot of the kids in our group, but then again, she was chubbier to begin with than most in our group. Our doctor expects we might see a jump in percentile on weight in the next 6 months or so. We'll see. I think that she is planning on having that supermodel, long, lanky and thin body, just like me. Hah! We are just so glad that she is healthy. Develomentally, she seems all caught up with the exception of walking, but hey, Michael Jordan didn't walk until 17 months. So, no big deal!

The Cats Meow...

2008-01-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have decided (along with several of our good friends) that it is our job to hand-select a pool of perspective future spouses for our children. No, we are not talking about that cultish child-bride stuff, but just to keep them in regular contact with choice candidates... namely our friends' sons and daughters. A current front-runner with the boys is our dear little Annika (Ani) and I must say she would fit right in.
On this particular day, Elijah woke us up in bed, dressed in his leopard costume and proceeded to do his morning school in it. Note to self: distinct advantage of homeschooling is not having to die on the bridge of "what you are allowed to wear today." Anyway, my friend Kari called from Starbucks asking if she could make the quick drive and drop. Of course, anyone who knows me can tell you I never pass up a good cup o' joe, so she came over. Little did I know that her daughter, Ani, had spent the morning in her Tom (of the one and only Tom and Jerry) costume including on her little trip to Starbucks. So, lets just say we are seeing some compatibility here. Just think what adorable grand-kittens we would have. Oh, the joys of parenting imaginative children.

Pucker Up!

2008-01-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

Kisses for Daddy

2008-01-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

It has been a banner week this week at the Norgauer house. If you have followed the blog (or are friends of ours) you will know that things haven't exactly gone seamlessly with between our little sweet cheeks (Eliana) and her faithful daddy. She has given him a hard time to say the least since being home these past several months. This week, however, we had a few banner moments. Milan has been trying to get Eliana up in the morning before she sees me and begins her "I want Mommy" routine. While she still cries at first, she has offered him kisses a few times and is finally taking a bottle from him. I won't say she isn't protesting at first, but she has given in to his feeding her at least a few times, which is a huge step. So, for now, we see some progress, but know we have a long way to go. We will keep taking it one day at a time and continue to pray for a speedy transition through this season.

'Twas Merry Indeed

2007-12-28T14:51:00.001-07:00

This past week has been truly merry as we have spent it here in beautiful Colorado with my parents. It is always so great to have them visit, especially at the holidays. There was no need for "Dreaming of a White Christmas," as it snowed the entire day. It was beautiful and the day after Christmas was sunny and clear. We are truly privlidged to live in such a beautiful place.
Eliana's first Christmas home with us was wonderful. She mostly observed her brothers and played with the wrapping. All of our kiddos were very blessed to receive so many wonderful gifts, but having her here was the best in my mind. All I am hoping for the new year is that she will settle in and attach closely to her daddy. He just wants to pick her up and hug her and love on her. It is hard for me to understand what is happening in her little mind that is keeping her from allowing him to do that. I know her short life has been full of uncertainty, but resisting his attempts to just be her daddy are really tough to take. One of these days, she will realize how good she has it.

I am posting a few pictures from our week. I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and truly could celebrate it for what it is... Christ's birthday. Also, if I don't get back to the computer before Tuesday, I wish you a very Happy 2008!

Coming Up for Air

2007-12-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Well, this week has been a doozy and I feel like I am just coming up for air. Poor Milan was sick with the flu until Saturday and then guess what happened to me in the middle of the night on Saturday. You guessed it- UGH! I am hoping and praying that none of the kids have little latent flu bug guerrillas hiding in the hills. Anyway, feeling much better today and trying to get caught up on the mile long to do list. Here I am four months later, ordering pictures from our trip to China. I have looked at them on the computer so many times, it seems that surely I would have done that by now. Well, don't be so sure my friends. That third baby really does throw a bit of curveball at you as far as time and memory.

On that subject, I truly believe that I left about 3/4 of my brain back in China. Anyone who knows me, or my side of the family for that matter, is probably aware of our love affair with list-making. Yes, we are the types who have been known to add items to the list even after their are completed, just so that we can check them off and note that they were accomplished. Sad, I know. Anyway, at this point, I need a list to keep track of my lists. I keep finding little notes to myself, but the scary part is that I don't even remember what half of them are supposed to remind me to do. (Note to self: make more detailed notes to self.) I am also finding that I keep making the same lists over again. Translated: I am not getting very much done! I should be a little gracious to myself, I guess, in that I am getting the kids school done, but there are just so many other details in life. (Note to self: win lottery and hire personal assistant) Oh yeah (Note to self: Must actually play lottery in order to win- Need personal assistant to remind me to buy lottery tickets so that I can pay her) You see my dilemma.

The good news is, that even with lists longer than Marley's chains, I have three beautiful children, a great hubby/daddy, great friends and family and we are all, for the moment, healthy. Speaking of great family, I am really looking forward to my parents visiting for Christmas. Thankfully, the snow isn't supposed to hit until a day after they arrive, so we should not be reliving the horror of Colorado 2006 which twice delayed their trip last Christmas. So, for now, I will choose to look at my glass as half-full. (Note to self: Make it half-full of Margarita. Things are looking better all the time!)

Until next time when I am uploading photos for development at 1:30 in the morning and therefore find the time to blog... Merry Christmas.

San Frantastic

2007-12-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate enough to spend last week in the San Francisco area with Milan's family. Eliana did really well- loved her Baba (grandmother) and her Auntie Lilana. Her little cousins were great with her and our boys and we all had a great time.
I will post a few highlights here...

1) Within about 2 hours of landing, Elijah was in the bay. Completely. Over his head, fully clothed, shoes and all. Mind you there was an oil spill just a few weeks ago. Lets just say the sand was still a bit more sticky than usual. Of course, his going in was not part of our plan. I wouldn't exactly call it safe swimming conditions. But, if you know our Elijah, you know that he marches to the beat of his own drummer. A really, really, really fast drummer.

2) As always, we enjoyed taking in the sights of the city. We were blessed with a beautifully clear day and we spent some time learning about the history of the defense of the bay.

3) We were fortunate enough to spend an afternoon at the Nuttree with good friends recently moved from Colorado. It was so great to see them and their three beautiful children.

Nuttree

4) Time with Milan's sister's family was great. The kids loved each other and had a great time. Milan's sister is an incredible woman and he especially enjoyed the treat of playing tennis with her most every day.

San Fran 07

This is TOOO Funny!!!

2007-12-05T19:27:00.001-07:00

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1186088488

Thanks for the tip Margaret!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2007-11-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!! We celebrated Eliana's first Thanksgiving today with some very gracious friends. Thanks to the Starr family... you rock. We had a wonderful dinner... Eliana loved feeding herself the mashed potatoes and then she loved stealing bites of my dessert even more. She was interested in eating and then just hanging out watching her big brothers play. There was much to watch as their activity level was amped up about three extra notches... apologies now to the that same VERY gracious Starr family. Anyway, it is always nice to be with good friends when you can't be with family. So, now that it is time to tear down my very few fall decorations and begin my annual "Cover every square inch of the house with Christmas trees and decorations" routine, I will have to decide exactly how much Eliana is really crawling. I will need to calculate her maximum speed taking into account wind velocity, diaper-drag, slippage due to clothing, hip-droppage and doggie interference in order to decide how low on the trees I can put decorations as well as how many things need better anchoring. Working out the formula may take some time. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving and try not to let your feelings of thankfulness be overrun by the need to master the After-Thanksgiving-Day sales in search of all that stuff that you don't have.

I Just Love My Little Monkeys!

2007-11-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post a few pictures from today. My three kiddos are all so precious. Elijah read to Eliana this morning while I made breakfast. He is so cute. Lately, he is taking the initiative to find ways to help me when Eliana is fussing- which is pretty much most of the time when I am not holding her. She really enjoyed his reading though. It was just so sweet... and he is becoming such a great little reader. Maybe there is something to this homeschooling thing after all.

Noah, my oldest, has been just adorable lately as well. He is so into football. He just runs through the house running plays on his own... rushing for unbelievable yardage and thwarting defenders left and right. I have to look both ways before crossing the kitchen from the sink to the refrigerator. He is posing in a picture here with his favorite nerf football.

Eliana loves rocking out on her rocking horse. Of course, when I ask her if she is rocking, she starts playing rock, paper scissors. She gets the "rock" part and goes with it. I snapped some pictures of her today in her new outfit from Aunt Kathy... Thank you, Kathy. It is just too cute. The fact that it is the "Snow Princess" line is too perfect. We are expecting snow later this week and she is definitely our little princess.

New Album 11/20/07 10:23 PM

Well, not much excitement around here today other than the fact that I adore my babies. I am really a blessed Mommy, in spite of the fatigue and intermitant frustrations of parenthood... God has been very good to me.

Starlighting

2007-11-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Eliana's first Starlighting here in Castle Rock. She pretty much slept though much of it, but she did catch the fireworks in the end. It is nice to live in a small town where there is such a sense of community at these types of events. We are always sure to bump into friends that we haven't seen in a while and it is good to catch up. My only complaint is that it seemed that there wasn't as much to do downtown with the kids as in the past. Maybe I am wrong, but all the lines to do anything were so long, it certainly seemed that way with three kiddos in tow. The star does look great as ever, Crowfoot Coffee always hits the spot and the fireworks are a favorite with the kids. Eliana took them in with quiet curiosity- as she does all of her first-time experiences. I hope that our kids look back on these little family traditions someday fondly. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures this year. I was too concerned about keeping my 2 eyes on 3 kids. Next time, I will have to make Milan the official photographer. While it seems a bit weird to be celebrating Starlighting here when Thanksgiving has yet to come and pass, I enjoyed kicking off the Christmas season.

Attachment... not just a techno- buzz-word

2007-11-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

Well, My Leah has come and gone and I can't believe how quickly the time past. It was a joy to have her here and I look forward to our next visit... I refuse to wait another 2 years before that happens.

On the home front, we are continuing to work with our "Velcro Baby" as our agency has dubbed her. She is becoming more demanding as far as how much she wants to be carried and how little space I am allowed to give her. I really want to do all I can to help her to be secure in her attachment to me, but I could really use a good back massage about now. She has such a sweet little smile and it breaks my heart to think about the fears and insecurities that still lurk behind it. Milan is hanging in there, but it is tough for him not to be able to be really close to her yet. She will play games and smile with him as long as I am holding her, but she is still really giving him a hard time if he tries to hold her. He is such an amazing father to our boys and I know that she will figure out what a good thing she has going sooner or later. In the meantime, we covet your prayers for all of us for perseverance, patience and wisdom to help Eliana (and all of us) through this time.
Anyone else out there (maybe one of my RQ buddies) have a velcro baby? We would love any advice on resources, etc. that might be helpful.
Until next time...

My Leah is Coming!!

2007-11-06T22:30:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is the day!! "My Leah" is coming to visit from Michigan. Why do I say "My Leah?" Well, that is the question my boys asked recently. My first response was because... because... she's mine... allll mine and NOBODy else can share her!! The real reason she is "My Leah" is because she is my dear friend and my encourager and my "talk me down" sister. She is an amazing woman and I can't wait for her to meet little Eliana as well as for Eliana to get to know her. It has been three years since the boys have had an in person visit and they are excited as well. We will, however, be hoping to spend some serious girl time in the next few days. You know... Jane Austen... chocolate... late nights and good coffee. It should balance out the "boy stuff" that Elijah says he and Noah have been doing with Daddy lately. Tonight, they went on a night hike nearby wearing all of their spy-gear. Of course, Daddy took along the hot chocolate and Marshwiggles (Chronicles of Narnia reference). "Boy stuff" is pretty cool around here and I doubt if I will be missed around the Foos ball table.
I am posting a few recent pictures. The boys love their Mei Mei and she loves both of her ge ge. Noah took the picture of me with Eliana. Not too bad for a seven year old, if I do say so myself!

Beautiful Babies!

2007-11-03T15:01:00.000-06:00

So today was the day. I got them all dressed up and took them out for some pictures. I am so pleased. Many of them turned out really well, unfortunately none of the pictures of all 5 of us. I really wanted to avoid the studio backdrop type pictures this year and I think we have done it. It really can"t be too hard when you have such beautiful children to photograph. Anyway, I have posted a few of my favorites. Dont worry Nana, you will be getting some really soon!

To clean or not to clean? That is the question...

2007-11-02T14:48:00.000-06:00

So yesterday, a shamefully overdue house cleaning took place. I think about that family in the midwest somewhere with 16+ children and I don't know how their home hasn't been condemned. I am not quite sure how I am going to keep house around here between homeschooling the boys and taking care of my little "Cling-on." Not that she has been watching much Star Trek or anything, but she has become more needy of late. That is code for "I want Mommy NOW!" Short of hiring a house-keeper (which is about as likely as me voting for Hillary Clinton for President), I am not sure what to do about keeping our crib clean. Putting cleaning agents into the hands of young boys sounds like a ticket to the eye doctor for a thorough flushing and they don't seem to understand that the bottom of the vacuum needs to actually run flat to the floor. They prefer to drive it around in "wheelie" mode. It is faster, I admit. Yesterday, Milan took the boys to music classes for me so I could clean while Eliana napped. That lasted about 45 minutes and then the next several hours were spent dusting and vacuuming one-handed. Oy Vay! My back is not my friend today, but at least my daughter is.
So, I am open for comments, suggestions, etc. from any of you neat-nicks out there with a house full of kiddos and barely enough spare time in your life to microwave dinner, let alone clean out the inside of that horrible little nuclear reactor. Until next time...

Holiday Sneak Preview

2007-10-31T21:39:00.000-06:00

Eliana's Sneak Preview

I had to post these pictures because they are so unbelievably cute. This is a sneak preview of Eliana's Christmas dress. I am trying to get my act together early to get pictures of the kids all together. This was just a dress rehearsal to be sure that everything fit. The boys, of course, are handsome little devils in their attire as well, but you will have to wait for the real thing to see them. Oh, and yes, she is wearing another hat. She is getting hair by the way, but the hats are too cute to resist.

We have been home 2 months today and Eliana is beginning to do more and more each day. Her words are definitely still more like beginning sounds with intonation, but there are different and distinct sounds for particular things. She waves and says Ba Ba for bye bye and she puts her hands out to her sides when she is done eating and says Ah duuu (all done). We are sure she is brilliant and expect that she will be doing quantum physics by the new year. Teeth numbers 5 and 6 are rapidly breaking through and according to my back she is continuing to gain weight. She is trying to crawl still, but hasn't mastered the art of that what to do with that second leg and ends in a flop. We are continuing to see progress with her strength as she can stand for longer periods of time before flopping down and is trying to pull up (though still unsuccessfully). She is a joy and it is a privilege to witness so many little milestones.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T21:02:00.000-06:00

New Album 10/31/07 9:15 PM

We just got all our little goblins into bed after a night of trick-or-treating and excitement. The kids were adorable, of course. Eliana- our "plumpkin" was too cute. Her fellow squash, Cooper (our Cairn Terrier) was so excited that he could hardly contain himself. Cooper stayed back with Eliana as she cozied up in her super snuggly stroller while the boys went to the doors. Noah was Jack Sparrow and Elijah was a cowboy on horseback. Elijah won best costume of the night at one of the houses and received a massive amount of candy. Needless to say, he was thrilled. Milan went as Martin Luther and I was Katerina Von Bora (his nun wife). It was fun. In truth, I am perhaps most excited about the fact that I don't have any more costumes to sew for at least another year. Hurrah!!

The weather here is turning colder... tonight was a chilly one. Current temps are 37 degrees (F) with windchill bringing it down about another 5 or 6 degrees. It beats last years freezing rain, but it was still mighty cold. I do believe I am ready for fall weather... and baking... and soup... not so ready for winter yet though. Hopefully, it will keep itself at bay for a little while longer. I had to run out for a few things today and couldn't believe that the Christmas decorations were everywhere. Wow. Where did this year go?

Three Peas in a Pod

2007-10-29T21:39:00.000-06:00

Well, here are my three little peas in a pod. The boys continue to argue over who gets to sit next to Eliana... it is hard to discipline them for that . She adores them and they are smitten. It is such a blessing to see them play with and hear the loving words that her big brothers shower her with. She is a blessed little girl.
Everyone is excited about costumes and trick-or-treating just a few days away. I will be sure to post pictures of the cuties. Eliana and Cooper (our little Cairn terrier) will be matching pumpkins, Noah will be a pirate of the Jack Sparrow variety and Elijah will saddle up as a cowboy. Milan and I are supposed to be dressing up as a monk and a nun, but the costumes aren't finished yet. We'll see if I can finish up by Wednesday evening... Argh... (no reference to the pirate). Where does my time go? Oh yeah, see exhibits A,B, and C posted in the picture above.

Absentee Blogger

2007-10-17T10:55:00.000-06:00

Well, I am officially the absentee blogger. Life with baby has taken over those last few spare moments that I think I had in my possession. I also find myself to be somewhat useless after about 9pm. As was true with my first two children, this season of fatigue for me will pass. I am sorry, however, that I haven't been better about posting pictures... especially for family. I pledge to attempt to do better.

The pictures in the album below show Eliana's first trip to the zoo. We went with the Survance family a few weeks ago. Also there are post-bath pictures with our crazy-haired little pumpkin. Finally, there are a few pictures of Elijah's completed Halloween costume (please dont ask about the other three that are still unfinished-- two aren't even started... Ugh!) and a few pictures of our trip to Barnum and Bailey's Ringling Brothers Circus. The circus was a blast. Eliana was enthralled. I must say that it may be worthy of their billing as the "Best Show on Earth."

Eliana continues to grow and truly is thriving. She is growing out of some of the 9 month clothing she had and is actually filling in some of the 12 month things. Sleeves and legs are still a little long, but not everything needs to be rolled anymore. She is cracking us up as she tries to comb her hair- I will have to catch a picture of it- as well as pretending to talk on the phone. It is very funny. We just sit her in the middle of the kitchen table with the phone and she provides a good 15 minutes worth of free entertainment. She hasn't yet made the leap into mobility, but she really is wanting to crawl. She gets up on one knee, but that other leg just gets in her way. She will figure it out and then we will all be in trouble.

We are so thankful for all of our beautiful children and we continue to pray that Eliana will come to know and trust us as they do. She does continue to be a "Mama's Girl" as our agency refers to her. Milan is being so patient and is making every effort to love on and play with her. For those of you who are praying for us, that would be our request... that she would bond more closely with Milan and stop giving him such a difficult time. I trust that she will and that this season will pass, but it is easier for me to believe that than Milan as I am not bearing the brunt of it.

Well, Eliana just fell asleep on my shoulder while I have been typing with one hand. So, off to bed for her and I will finish up and get back to schooling with the boys. Just another day in the life at the Norgauer home. I will try to get back to the keyboard soon!

New Album 10/17/07 10:43 AM

Too Funny!!

2007-10-17T10:54:00.000-06:00

Story Time

2007-10-02T20:52:00.000-06:00

Today, Debbie and I met for coffee and then took the girls to storytime at the library. While it is designed for babies and early toddlers, it was a little hard for Eliana to get into because it was so crowded. Hopefully, it will thin out a bit and she will be able to engage in it a bit more. It was fun to get together with Debbie and Nora and to see the girls together. Nora is such a cutie and she is just all over the place- walking, climbing, crawling, you name it. Hopefully, she can give Eliana some pointers. I am so glad that the girls live so close to one another and that they can be friends.

For Entertainment Purposes Only

2007-09-30T10:20:00.000-06:00

I just had to upload a few pix of our little Cairn Terrier Cooper. He is such a sweet little dog- much loved by his new little sister. These are going out to my dear friend- you know who you are- to give you a smile for the day. After these were taken, Cooper destroyed one of the little leg cuffs that go with the triceratops. I guess it was his right.
Eliana will be a pumpkin this Halloween, you can guess which costume Coop will be wearing. Have a great day everyone!

Cooper

Happy First Birthday!

2007-09-26T10:13:00.000-06:00

Eliana's Birthday

We celebrated Eliana's first birthday on Sunday... Happy Birthday to little Maryn Feehs from our travel group as well. It was so great to be able to share Eliana's first birthday with all of the Norgauer traditions. We had pancakes with candles for breakfast, presents, cake and good friends. She is a little joy and we truly feel blessed to have this precious girl in our family.

I am including pictures from her birthday here as well as a few snaps from the last few days. You will notice many hats in the pix. She lets me put all of them on her without a fuss and she leaves them on!! She is so cute in them, I think that you will see many of them in future photos as well.

Happy Birthday big girl!!

The Life and Times of Us...

2007-09-21T22:28:00.000-06:00

First month home

I have finally uploaded a few new pictures of the kids, sorry that I have been a bit lax on getting to the blog. I can't imagine why I wouldn't be sitting in front of a computer checking email and loading pictures... where does my time go?

Today took us to the doctor for our little Elijah. It has been rough for the poor little guy. The cold that has been plaguing him just wasn't getting any better. Well, that is because he has a sinus infection and two ear infections. How that boy doesn't complain more about pain, I will never know. Hopefully, he will be on the mend quickly as he is now taking three different meds daily. He is a trooper. I am really praying he returns to his normal happy self soon. It has been a hard few weeks for him in many ways.

Both of the boys continue to bond well with Eliana. She just loves them both to death and I tell you it melts our hearts to hear the things they say about and to her. She is one lucky little girl and we continue to be amazed that she is actually ours. Milan and I were talking yet again tonight about how we just can't believe she is here after such a long wait. He is rapidly being wrapped around her little finger as she coos and "da da das" at him. I don't tell him that she da da das at a lot of things... I am sure she is just thinking about him when she does that.

We went to the fire safety presentation at the library this past week with the kid and they enjoyed trying on the equipment. Eliana just looked on with her "serious" face. We haven't exactly covered "fire truck" yet in our reading and vocabulary. We did get some cute pictures of her brothers though. Speaking of Eliana's serious face, she has truly become the lady of many faces. She makes the funniest expressions and almost poses for the camera with them. I don't know if it is her new varied diet taking its toll on her digestive system or if she is truly clowning around, but we are thoroughly enjoying it. You will see a few of them in the pictures I posted today.

Homeschooling in earnest began again this week, and much to my surprise, it went really well. I was nervous about how I was going to do it all, but we managed to get it done. The boys enrichment program is really great. It gives me a little break on Tuesdays and Thursdays to spend time with Eliana (or if she is napping... time for myself... Gasps and Horror). It also breaks the week up nicely for a change of pace for the boys. I am really thankful for it. While I am really thankful for it, Elijah has had a bit of a rough time. He was out for a week sick and this week just wasn't feeling himself either. (Duh, genious- see paragraph 2 above) I am hoping next week goes better for him and that he isn't missing me quite so much.

Well, it has been fabulous sitting here rambling on about my very exciting and cutting edge life, but there is laundry to fold, a checkbook to balance and an entire list of things that I was supposed to finish yesterday that is yet untouched. Until next time...

A Question for Scientists to Ponder...

2007-09-11T15:14:00.000-06:00

So, what is it that causes a baby's face to look clean one minute and then to have dried oatmeal seeping out of her pores ten minutes later... Maybe the discovery channel can tackle that one. Anyway, here is a my little co-blogger playing with one of her favorite high-tech toys. "Glad"ware is an appropriate name. For the record, she is a "Mac" lover already.

We are fighting an ear infection (actually two) which our doc said is common when babies move to our high altitude. Who would have thunk it? She was fine in China and we get her sick by bringing her home. She has been only slightly more fussy. She is one tough little cookie. Our little Elijah is still fighting his cold. His fever seems to be gone, but the cough and yuck is still hanging around. Hopefully tomorrow will be cleared up. There is always hope right?

Well, I hope all is well with our fellow group 1214 ers and congrats and speedy returns to all of you who have just received referrals or are ready to travel. The time travels quickly between match and travel- start preparing now. As for the time in China, my assessment is that it creeps by if you have children back at home or if you get sick. Otherwise, it goes by pretty quickly as well. That's all for now!

The Inn is Empty

2007-09-10T19:24:00.000-06:00

Today was Eliana's first "real" doctor appointment and for the most part all went well. She does have ear infections in both ears- ugh. She has been pulling and rubbing at her ears, but really she hasn't fussed about them much. We go back in a few weeks for some more tests, shots, etc. Fun.

Milan's mom left today after a nice visit, and so it is just us again. I am sort of going around the house tonight taking inventory of where things are, what needs to be cleaned, what is ahead this week, etc. I am feeling greatly in need of settling into a routine. I am such a creature of habit. It is the only method to my madness. Must have plan.... must stick to schedule... must buy new whip- I mean, must get kids on board with new routine... You get the idea. One thing that is soooo great, is that our church is still providing meals for us this coming week. It is so nice not to have to plan for that every day. Thanks you guys!!! You are awesome.

I do have a few new pictures to put here of Eliana taken this week. We just love that toothy smile... getting toothier all the time.

Good Night for Now...

2007-09-08T21:51:00.000-06:00

Okay, missing a cable somewhere for now... so no new pictures today. I will have to get on that tomorrow when Milan is awake and I can interrogate him... just kidding. I will try to get pictures up soon though. Eliana seems to be changing every day. We are finally sleeping for the most part. She seems to get up once for a diaper change, but goes down again pretty easily. Knock on wood. Poor little Elijah has a high fever and cold though so he is taking over night duty. While I would love an uninterrupted night of sleep, I wouldn't change it. I can't imagine having it any other way. These are my babies and they need me. The day will come all too soon when they won't want or need their mommy to kiss away the bad dreams, hug away the sniffles or snuggle up next to them so that they can fall asleep. It is a good reminder to me just to write it here. These are the years I know that I will look back on someday with fondness. There is no gift like children and there is no job like being a mommy. I am so thankful for all three of my little ones. By the way, who invented the caffienated beverage? I need to send him/her a thank you note.

Time Keeps Ticking Away...

2007-09-05T06:18:00.000-06:00

Tick Tick Tick Tick... is that the clock or my brain making that sound in the middle of the night? It has been a great but exhausting week. Eliana finally slept through the night last night. Unfortunately, since I have been up with her for 3-5 hours every other night this week, my body clock is screwy and I still woke up at 2:30 even though she slept until 5:30. I tell you though, staying in bed even though you are up makes for much easier sunrise. I am hopeful that she has turned a corner and will be back to her sleep champion status (in China) soon.

It has been really great having my parents here this week. While it was a different sort of visit (since I felt partially comatose much of the time), it is always a comfort and joy to have them around. I only wish it could be more often. They are truly amazing people and my kids are lucky to have them for grandparents. We will get to enjoy a few more days with Milan's mom and I am thankful for the extra help and time spent with the kids. We truly are blessed to have so much support from family.

Home Sweet Home

2007-09-01T06:40:00.000-06:00

We arrived home after about 28 hours of travel... only about 2 of which did Eliana close her eyes. It was rough, but we were so glad to be home and to see our boys. All is right in the world again as our family is all together. The boys have been loving on their little sister and my parents as well as Milan's mom have been enjoying time with their newest grandbaby. She really has been amazing. After all of those wakeful hours, our serious little one was full of smiles for everyone. She didn't utter a peep of a cry during the reunion and then went down well once we were finally home and willing to put her down.

Last night was our roughest so far as Eliana was up much of the night with an upset tummy... I think. So after a few hours of trying to settle her, she fell back to sleep and I was wired with 15,000 things on my mind. So, up and to the computer to check the umpteen emails I haven't seen in the past week. I am really trying not to spend time one the computer while the kiddos are awake right now, so I will have to see how much energy I have for emails and blogging in the next few days. Don't take it personally if you don't get quick responses for a while. Hopefully, the jet lag will fade quickly for all of us and we will get onto a "normal" schedule- whatever that is with three little ones.
We are just so thankful for our family... for our parents, our friends, our church. It has been a long road waiting for this little bundle of joy and I really don't want to miss a minute of it with stressing out over this or that. Your continued prayers for our transition and for my ability not to be the queen of stress that I can be are coveted. Thank you for the many prayers while we were gone. We felt them all.

Last Day

2007-08-28T21:25:00.000-06:00

Today is our last day in Guangzhou- thank you!! We are beyond ready to come home. The trip has been amazing and exhausting and special and eye-opening and hard and great. I cant really explain it all, but we do miss our boys. Eliana is such an integral part of our family and it just doesnt feel right that she still hasnt met her brothers. One more day- very long day- of travel and we will rectify that. Please pray for our travel. Eliana is really a good baby, but she has trouble falling asleep- and especially staying asleep- when she isnt in her bed. We are hoping for alot of rest for her and us on the plane.

We had Eliana's medical exam for her visa on Monday and she weighed 18.4 pounds. She is quite a chubber, but for the record- not the heaviest in our group. I have included a picture of her exam in the album below. We are so thankful for how healthy she is and for her (and our) health on this trip. Babies are battling tonselitus (sp?) and all manor of colds and rashes. She has not had so much as a sniffle and her rashes are all cleared up. We are trying to keep clear of any illness to keep it that way. Unfortunately, some good friends have really been battling illness for the entire last week. The Deyoe family can use your prayers as they have been hit hard by illness. Mom is doing better today, but their oldest daughter is still quite sick and the baby has had some very disconcerting health issues as well. Keep them in prayer as they prepare to go home on Friday.

Eliana is thriving and we are starting to figure out more of her "rhythms"- naps, etc. She is such a little character with us when we are alone, but she continues to be quite serious with others. She has warmed up a little to Debbie Vair and to Sherry- another mom from our group. That has been fun to see as her smile just lights up her face.

This afternoon, we will go to the consulate to take the "oath." I am not exactly sure what we are promising, but I believe it has to do with swearing to care for and keep Eliana once we are home. Milan and I were already saying that we already can't imagine our lives without her, so I will promise whatever they want me to promise. She is my baby and nothing will ever change that.

We look forward to posting pictures from home and for catching those smiles with her big brothers. I am sure it will be love at first sight. So, I am unsure if we will post from the Hong Kong airport tomorrow. We leave Guangzhou quite early. For those of you who have been emailing, I apologize. I havent even checked them in about 5-6 days. We have been stealing time on the internet when we have had the chance to call the boys or post here. I will try to catch up when I get home. Thanks to all of you who have been helping out with our boys as well. I know that it has been enjoyed by them and appreciated by my mom. We are blessed with incredible friends and as for you, Mom, we can never express how truly thankful we are to have you and for the love and care you have shown for our precious boys.
Love to you all,
Heather

Eliana Day 9-11

Fantasy Island

2007-08-26T21:11:00.000-06:00

Hello friends and family! We are alive and well in Guangzhou, China. Sorry for the few days without any posts, but we have been traveling, settling into a new place, and looking for "cheap" internet access. This is quite a place. Smack dab in the middle of this huge Chinese city of 12 million, there is this little island in the Pearl River, which feels more like a European city, or maybe a southern U.S. city like Savannah or Charleston. It is hot and steamy (think Miami on steroids), and quite lovely. Our hotel (the White Swan) is one of the "Leading Hotels of the World" and for good reason. It is quite elegant, the breakfast buffet is amazing, and the service is top notch. They "make up" our room twice a day, change our bedspreads to down comforters, turn down our sheets...and most important, leave a chocolate by the bed for bedtime. There is incredible artwork on display all throughout the hotel lobby...the most amazing examples are the incredible jade sculptures, some of which are more then ten feet tall...absolutely stunning. There are two beautiful swimming pools, and yesterday we saw two workers, literally, drying and polishing the plants outside...and considering how much rain they get here, that is a big job!!

Well, on to more important things. We are healthy, content, and ready to come home. Eliana is growing in every way...muscles are getting stronger, smiles and laughs more, loves to eat anything (last night Daddy introduced her to chicken and sweet and sour sauce while Mommy wasn't looking). By the way, we ate dinner at this wonderful Thai restaurant, and the food was incredible, but cost us 140...actually divide that by seven and a half...such a deal. It's called the Cow and Bridge, for those of you who are familiar with the restaurants here that are frequented by adopting families.

Guangzhou is where the U.S. consulate is located...that's why we all have to go through here on our way home. It seems as if there have also been a number of other Western consulates and offices here over the years, as Shamian Island (where we are staying) has a distinctly different feel in terms of its streets, architecture, food, etc. compared with other Chinese cities. I think they tried to make it "feel" European/American, and they definitely succeeded. As we write, we are in the outside cafe of a new Starbucks, that offers free WiFi. It is truly different here than where we were last, in Nanchang, where we picked up our little Pang Pang. That is a large city, further in the interior of the country, and is more "real" China. Which is, of course, a wonderful thing, as we have come to love and appreciate so many things about this great country, but we were definitely ready to move along on our trip. Hazards in Nanchang essentially are limited to the roadways (and sidewalks) if people are REALLY in a hurry, and we generally found enough good food to eat that our bodies could tolerate.

Our boys back home will be happy to know that Eliana seems like she will be a good little swimmer. We have taken her to the pool twice, and she seems to really like it. Of course, if the water gets anywhere near her little chin, she sticks out her tongue (which is currently functioning as a fifth limb), and tries to "lap up" the water. It's quite funny, and probably a result of trying to eat everything that comes near her little mouth, including the leaf I lifted out of the water to show her!

We thank you for your prayers, and we know that our God has been with us in every way. He has been before us and behind us and has hemmed us in and has put his gracious hand upon us. We love our new daughter, and we know you all will too. We head home in three days, and we can't wait to see all of you soon!

Milan

Pics from Guangzhou

Past the Half-Way Mark...

2007-08-24T06:31:00.000-06:00

Today is our last full day in Nanchang. We have received all of the notarized documents that we needed from China as well as Eliana's passport. Poor baby is screaming in her passport photo- it was taken about 20 minutes after we first met. Tomorrow afternoon, we will fly to Guangzhou for the final stages of the trip... our appointment with the US consulate on the 28th, our US consulate oath ceremony on the 29th and home on the 30th.

This morning we went to the "porcelin street" here in Nanchang to find a small tea set for Eliana. Nanchang and this area is known for its porcelin, so we thought it an appropriate gift from Eliana's native province. After checking several shops, we decided on one- of course I had way to much of an idea as to what I was looking for and the shopkeepers probably thought I was nuts. We also toured the Buddhist temple and visited a Christian church being constructed in Nanchang. It was so interesting to see the contrast. The temple was brightly paintted and incredibly ornate with several massive copper Buddhas inside. You entered one temple followed by a courtyard, followed by a temple, by another courtyard and so on and so on. It just kept going and going and was heavy with the smell of incense. The Christian church was not yet finished and was in need of a cleaning due to the construction, but it was simple and modest. Milan and I were struck by the fact that all of the glory and splendor of the Buddhist temple ended with the building and the statues. For all their "beauty," they were empty of power and truth. The Christian church in its humility reminded us that the earthly building is somewhat insignificant because it is in God Himself, His Word and the praise in the hearts of His people that there is true glory. We are so often reminded of God's goodness and his boundless grace for calling us to Himself. We pray that more of the Chinese people will have their eyes opened to the truth of the gospel and the emptiness of Buddhism.

After several days of experimenting with new Chinese dishes, Milan and I (along with another family, the Feehs) opted out of the group lunch today and headed for Pizza Hut. Sweet mothers milk. I realize it was just an average generic old pepperoni pizza- "The American Special" but it tasted like the best pizza I have ever had. It has been over a week now since we had "home" tasting food, and it was both needed and appreciated. I am craving salad like you can't believe as well... another week before I can satisfy that one. If you can't peel it here, you don't eat it- too risky as far as the stomach goes... if you know what I am saying.

This afternoon, we took Eliana to the pool for the first time. It was a little cold, but she dangled her toes for a while and seemed to acclimate. She actually loved being in the water and was full of giggles and smiles. We took some video and pictures with a friends camera, but I haven't loaded them onto our computer yet. I will post when I do. It was fun to see Eliana having such a good time in the water. That will be very important to her big brothers!

This pictures I am loading today are from this morning and the outings today. Eliana seems to be cuter each day. We certainly are falling more in love with her sweet little heart each day. She is such a gift. As much as we want to be back home now, we can't imagine not making this trip to bring her home. She is already so much a part of our family and she has yet to meet our entire family. With her quiet and timid nature, she is going to appreciate having two big brothers who will be ready to love on her, help her and protect her. She is a blessed little girl to have them, just as we are very blessed parents to have our three dear ones.

Eliana Day 6

Not your average day in the country...

2007-08-23T00:46:00.000-06:00

Today our group took a trip out into the countryside near Nanchang. People in the countryside are very poor and make a living growing rice. Our guide explained that China is shaped like a chicken and Jiangxi province is in the chicken's stomach... she said that is why most of the rice in China is grown there. The fields were green and lush with the wet rice paddies, but the living conditions were startling. As we walked down the village street, the children rushed the group. We were recommended to bring candy and the children had expectation in their eyes. Before long, children were climbing out of the woodwork. The people of the village were very friendly and obviously curious about us strange looking people walking down their street carrying Chinese babies. They came and tried to communciate with us, friendly and curious. Eliana's cheeks were stroked and pinched as ladies asked me questions I couldn't answer. We continued deeper into the village and were confronted with the smells that so often accompany such poor living conditions. A small girl walked behind us, bare footed with a look of cautious curiosity. I couldn't help but think of Eliana living in these conditions... it is heartbreaking.
Likely the children from our group were from a village such as this. Our guide gave the impression of "seen one village, you've seen them all." While Eliana almost certainly didn't come from this specific village, it is likely that she was born to parents that lived in another very similar to this. My heart went out to the women we past as I wondered how many of them had been forced to give up one or more of their children due to poverty and government policies, penalties and fines. People can be fined a years wages, have their salaries cut in half or even lose their jobs completely for having more than their allotted number of children. Furthermore, with no way to financially support themselves in their old age and no way to maintain use of the land they work without a son (the government won't renew their land leases), they are put into impossible situations. There is no way for us to understand what it must be like for them.
After our visit, we left the heat and odors of the street and got back onto our air condidtioned bus to ride comfortably to a very nice restaurant in Nanchang. It was certainly a lesson in contrast. We had yet another meal of new chinese dishes... no cashew chicken around these part it seems. Some were good, some not so good, but at least today everything seemed to be identifiable. I was sorry to see all of the leftover food on the tables as I wondered how many of the children we had seen earlier wouldn't have enough today.
We headed back to the hotel for the afternoon. Right now Eliana is napping, Milan is taking a swim with a few boys from the group. I know he is wishing our boys were down there with him. The pool is beautiful... it is completely tiled like a huge shower, no plaster can be found. The pool room is also beautifully painted. I am sure our boys would love it.
I am including some cute pictures of Eliana here. She is so serious when other people are around. Our group has sort of dubbed her the serious one. She doesn't easily give up a smile for anyone else. Alone in our room however, or at the breakfast table, she is all smiles. Her giggles are the kind that are almost silent with a squeak at the end. She is so very precious as you can see. When you all meet her back home, you may not see the smiles right away, but you will have seen proof that she does have a sweet little disposition regardless of the serious exterior. We are more in love with her each day and are convinced that she was meant for our family.

Day 5- Eliana

Touring Nanchang

2007-08-22T01:25:00.000-06:00

Today we spent the morning touring new Nanchang and Tengwang Pavillion. It was amazing to see all of the new skyscrapers. The area of "new" Nanchang was completely empty just five years ago. Today, it is a fast growing and impressive area of contemporary architecture and culture. Our guide explained that the apartments which are being built there cost about $1000 per square meter of apartments space. So for an empty shell, of up to about 1000 square feet they would cost about $100,000. The average monthly salary here is about 200-300 $US per month, so this tiny bit of real estate would take a lifetime to pay off. With more young men than women here now, families feel that it is their duty to save to buy apartments for their sons so that they can find a wife. Without an apartment, nobody will marry them. The ramifications of the government policies over the year run far and wide. We enjoyed learning more about the contemporary culture of this area and it was fascinating to learn more about the people's practical realities of life.

We have been seeing some great steps with Eliana today. She is rolling over now from her back to her tummy. It still takes her some work, but she wasnt rolling over at all just 2 days ago. I imagine that there isnt much motivation to be on your stomach in a wooden crib and a rough mat. She is rolling all over on the bed and it is awesome to see. She also is getting more stable sitting up. We try to keep a pillow behind her still for the occassional loss of balance, but we are amazed at how quickly she is improving. Also, she is reaching for toys and picking things up with more dexterity. At lunch, we put rice all over her hands and she actually brought it to her mouth and sucked it off her fingers. She is fascinated by the texture of everything and squishes it curiously between her fingers. Later, she picked up a cheerio and put it in her mouth. It took her a few seconds to figure out how to keep it in there rather than bringing it back out, but she did it. We have been playing a little game with her where she puts her arms up and we tickle her tummy. She loves it and now puts her arms up on her own waiting for us to tickle her. Her little laugh is priceless and we are enjoying the fact that her smile is getting easier to bring out. She does seem to have a very serious and contemplative side. We are trying to figure out her routines as they seem to be different than what the orphanage had explained, but we have discovered that screaming bloody murder means I am tired. She has been almost exclusively bottle fed and we are trying to cut back the bottles a little bit and get her to eat some solids. Unfortunately, we couldnt get enough of the formula she was on to last her until we get home at the rate she was going either. They sent some up from Xinyu- 3 hours away- because our rep couldn't find any around in the local stores here. She seems to like most of what we have given her, but falling asleep without a bottle in her mouth is a challenge. So, I am trying to figure out how best to ration what she has being sure to get her all she wants and needs to eat. I tell you, bottle feeding is a lot different that nursing and trying to keep yourself organized and on some sort of routine is challenging away from home.
Well, that is the low down on how things are going. We are still trying to clear up Ella's eyes, but they seem to be improving a little. They dont seem to bother her which is good. Her rash is almost gone, but her tummy has been a little bit upset. Not too surprising I guess. It is amazing how much we love this precious little one already. I can't imagine loving her more had she been born to me like one of my boys. She is our precious gift and I am in awe of the fact that she is ours. Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord.

And to our dear boys... Mommy and Daddy send hugs and kisses, and Eliana continues to look at your pictures each day. We love you to bits!!!!

Day 4 - Eliana