Time with Nana

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...

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

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

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

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...

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

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.