Family Pictures

We got our pictures back over the weekend. I think they turned out pretty good. We had a lot of fun doing them anyway.

Soccer is finally over as of last night. In the recreational league, Noah's U-6 team came in 3rd in his division and Lucas' U-14 team battled it out to come in 1st place. Caleb's team came in 3rd in the state in the division 2 league. We are so proud of them all.

We are all battling the sniffles after being out in the breezy fall weather for days and nights on end. Fortunately, with the drought we are still having, the weather was beautiful. I am not a sports lover until it's one of my kids out there and then I can scream and cheer with the best of them. I guess it's part of being a mom.

Soccer Season

Caleb taking a breather

Noah taking a break between quarters.

Lucas, a goalie, in action!

The fall is exciting for many reasons and one of them, for our family, is soccer season. All of our kids play recreational soccer. We practice twice a week and games on Saturday. It's great exercise for them and an excuse for me to socialize with friends I don't always have time for. By this time of the season, though, I am growing weary of all the going back and forth( remember we live out in the country) and I am ready to have my weekends back. Normally we have 4 kids playing so it makes for a looong Saturday. Lexi was asked to assistant coach an under-8 team (her brother's) so we only had games x's three this year.

Fortunately, we are in the midst of tournament week. Hooray! It's double elimination. Lucas' team won by a landslide - 11 to 0. Being the compassionate woman I am, I felt they needed to stop scoring. My husband says I just don't understand. Noah's team won by three points and he made one of the goals. Excellent beginning games. Caleb was recruited from his team by a "traveling team" a few weeks ago to be a guest player for their tournament. He will be heading out Friday with Scott for an intense tournament weekend a few hours away.

No matter how the scores end up, it has been a fun season. It's almost over and our Saturdays will be our own again.

Ahhh Sunday

It's Sunday. I am trying to imagine when Rose Carly is thrown into this equation.I hit the floor running if I want to make sure the family gets to Sunday school on time. The five chihuahuas go out first then the kids are encouraged to "rise and shine" as I turn their lights on in their eyes. While I am doing a quick breakfast, the older boys let the chickens out of coop, feed them, and give the goats hay while Lexi takes over the chi's. Noah feeds the cats and the our outside dog. Scott puts his pillow over his head and tries to snatch a few more minutes of sleep in all the commotion. He realizes it is futile and drags himself to shower and then starts ironing his and Noah's clothes. I always plan to give Noah his bath and wash his hair the night before but somehow it usually doesn't happen so I herd him to the bath when I can find it empty. Scott and I fight over the last half hour in our bathroom. It's usually a family competition to see who is the last one ready and making us late. I have to admit it's usually me but I always remind everyone I was up first and had to help everyone else. Today, added pressure - we had an appointment with this terrific photographer we go to church with to do family portraits. Our last family portrait without our Rose Carly I might add. We have a great service and head off to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant before our appointment. The session went great. I'll add the pics next week since he puts them all on a cd. Finally home. Scott and Lexi head off for naps, Lucas to the tv for football games, Caleb to play around on his electric guitar, and Noah outside to play cowboys with my niece Molly Grace. I of course make a beeline for the computer to check my PAC emails and write in my blog. I try to imagine Rose Carly fitting into this kind of day. It will be more hectic that's for sure... and I can hardly wait.

New Pictures!!!

LOOK AT THOSE SMILES!

Amy P and Laura B just got home from visiting their little ones. I sent an outfit with Laura for Rose Carly. She gave it to Dada and she dressed her for pictures. I am ecstatic! I love to think about holding those clothes and knowing my baby has them on so many miles away. Another first for our family is getting to see a smile. When Addie was there last week, Rose Carly was sick so there weren't any smiley pics. We are so thankful for all these thoughtful moms.

My friend, Jenny, has just recently gotten home from Haiti with her little angel Jeff. She gave me my first report about Rose Carly and I have several pictures of her holding my baby girl. When she came home she brought with her a copy of Rose Carly's birth certificate and lab report. I received that in the mail this weekend. I just held that birth certificate to my heart in wonder. I can't really explain how I felt. This piece of paper made her and this adoption seem more real than even the pictures have. I could not read it but it was a very personal part of my new daughter's life. Fortunately, our minister of foreign students is from french speaking Togo, Africa. When I showed it to him at church yesterday he offered to translate it for me. I can hardly wait to get both back in my possession.
My friend Addie just returned from visiting her two angels Loveline and Davidson. When she returned home she called to share her trip. She gave me the sad news that my little one had been very sick during her visit. Being the compassionate person she is, she kept her at the guesthouse with her and bathed her until her fever broke. She cleaned her stuffed up nose the best she could and fed her a bottle. When she took her back to the O Marie was home and she immediately medicated her. I could not be there to take care of my baby girl but it meant so much to me to hear how well she was taken care of in my stead. Thank you Addie for loving my little one and sharing that story.
I know this will not be the last time I mention the wonderful adopting parents from PAC.

Wonderful Adopting Moms

When we began to consider adopting from Haiti, I joined an incredible online support group. Most everyone on there is adopting from our orphanage PAC. I was impressed from the beginning by these incredible women. They are so informative and caring. When I decided to go to visit Kaflaure over Mother's Day, there were at least a dozen other moms from the group planning to be there on that day. Some left the day after and some of us planned our stay for the week after. I met some amazing ladies and made some friendships, I believe, that will continue on long after our adoption is final. When we found out about Kaflaure's health issues, many of the women contacted me personally with info or put me in touch with someone they thought could help me. When we lost Kaflaure, I was so impressed with the compassion in all the emails.
One mom I have never met but I speak to her on the phone on a fairly regular basis. She has recently brought her child home but continues to offer her support. When we were waiting on a referral for a baby girl, one of the U.S. moms contacted one of the Canadian moms whom she knew was going to visit her children. She asked her to be on the lookout for our baby while she was visiting. My phone buddy was also there to pick her little boy. She said everytime someone brought a child to the orphanage, she prayed that it might be our baby girl. I'll say it again - these women are INCREDIBLE. There are many I have yet to meet. I can only hope to have the honor of crossing paths with them one day too.

Tinkerbell

It's Breakfast!

The day we got Tinkerbell

My son Noah and I head out every morning to the sound of Tinkerbell crying for her morning bottle. Tinkerbell is a Nigerian Dwarf goat unlike the Pygmy goats we raise. She came to be a part of our family under strange circumstances. While we live out in the country, we go to church in "town". Our church is bordered by a large baseball complex, woods, another church and a busy road. One afternoon while checking my emails ( the PAC group) my sister calls on my cell phone. She says with a giggle "The church is trying to get in touch with you- there was a baby goat crying at the back door and they want you to come and get it." What?! I called the church back and my pastor answered the phone. He is prone to practical jokes so I was waiting for the punch line. He was serious so my husband dropped by on the way home from the office. She was tiny and looked to be about a week old. Poor baby - it took 2 1/2 days of patiently working with her ( and some force feeding with a syringe) to get her to take a bottle. Now it takes all of 60 seconds for her to inhale it. She is a real sweetheart. For the first several weeks she didn't walk she flitted and bounced hence the name Tinkerbell. We are coming to the end of her bottle days and I feel a little bittersweet. Like our children they have to grow up sometime.