GOTCHA DAY - One Year Ago Today!

Christmas 2010

The Brothers Are Home!

Jesus and Victor are at home in the U.S. with their forever family.  It is so amazing to see how God has worked in the lives of these children to bring them to a better place and to reunite them.  We, their parents, are committed to keeping them connected throughout thier lives.  I especially know the importance of keeping siblings together.  My own adoption journey involves being separated from my siblings.  I am so very blessed to be apart of what God is doing in the lives of these precious siblings from Colombia.

Brothers' Gotcha Day

Diana and Nicolas' brothers are going to meet their adoptive parents on Wednesday the 27th of Oct. This has been a wonderful and exciting journey which began way back in early 2009.  We were waiting to be matched with our children while another family was also waiting to be matched with their children.  Nicole from Children's Hope International called us and asked us if we would like to have a boy and a girl rather than the two girls we were asking for.  We said, "Yes, we would consider that if they felt that the children would be a good match for us."  A few months later, Nicole called and told us about Diana and Nicolas.  There were a few things that made their situtation unique. The first thing is that they are part of a sibling group of six that are being separated into three groups.  The second thing is that the three families that adopt these children must agree to let the children keep in touch.  The third thing is that they have one family that will take the two younger girls, and if we would take Diana and Nicolas, they still did not have a family for the other two boys.  They would not release any of them until they had families for all of them.  So, we began to pray.  The Vanderveen family had agreed to take the two younger sisters and they were also praying along with their family members.  This is were the brothers' parents come in.  Mrs. Vanderveen's brother and his wife were praying and God began to speak to them about adopting the two brothers.  They began the paper work requesting the boys and the other children were released to be adopted to their families.  Both the Vanderveens and us traveled to Colombia at the same time in January 2010.  We both stayed about three weeks in Colombia, which is record time.  We hoped it would not take so long but here we are awaiting the boys arrival in the U.S. nearly one year after bringing Diana and Nicolas home.  God is a creative God and has creative ways of making things work out for the best.  

Prayers Answered....Brothers Coming Home

Today Diana and Nicolas are very excited because their brothers new adoptive family is flying to Bogota and will meet the boys on Wednesday.  This has been a long time coming.  I'll fill you in more as the story unfolds.

Can it be Nine Months Already?

I cannot believe it has been nine months since we had our "gotcha day." Mary and I talk about it all the time. On the one hand it seems as if they have always been a part of our family, on the other hand, they have come so far in just nine months! Imagine spending the first ten years of your life without parental instruction - no rules, no talking about the way you should treat people, learning life's most important lessons from other kids who also had no parental instruction, etc. Then, you suddenly are thrust into a new country, with a new language, and lots of rules about how to act. I cannot believe they have learned the language so quickly. But, they are starting to really settle into how to act. Nicolas does not greet men by kicking them in the crotch or stomping their toes anymore. That's a big improvement.
They also can go to a restaraunt now without acting like banshees. Sunday, we went to Olive Garden with some friends and they acted like normal kids. They didn't eat off others' plates, they didn't eat so fast, or with their mouths open. It was nice.
They have a long way to go. Nicolas still does not like to be told no, and he does still throw a fit if you give him some consequence for his wrong actions. Diana occasionally still will resist and throw a fit, but neither of them last as long or are as frequent as they were. Diana is starting to think about what she is doing. She will start to have problems, then rethink her actions, weighing out the consequences, and then decide to calm down and do what her Mother asked of her. Nico is still learning this process.
In nine months, they have come a long way. I can 't wait to see what happens in the next nine months.
A bit of advice - if you are adopting, or have just adopted, it is going to be tough. Don't kid yourself. But, it won't last forever. They do change! They do grow and mature. It just takes awhile. Be patient.

Opening Up

In the past few months the kids have been opening up and sharing bits and pieces of the their past.  There are many things that trigger these little memories, like a storm in the early morning with thunder and lighting or a picture of their siblings.  They come out when your walking along, lying on the trampoline resting or eating food that reminds them of someone.  Each little tidbit is a piece of their past and makes them who they are.

Nicolas' front tooth has been loose for a month

and was just barely hanging on. 

Today on the trampoline the tooth came down on

Chris' wedding ring and out it came. 

How cute is this picture?

Summer Daze

The kids are enjoying summer. We have traveled quite a bit and done alot of fun things - swimming is their #1 fun thing to do. They are adjusting and attaching more and more every day. One of the amazing things is how quickly they are learning English. They almost always speak full English sentences to us. In fact, Diana does not want us to speak Spanish to her in public. And the funniest thing to me happened on Mother's Day. I took them to Kroger to get some flowers for Mary. We stood looking at boxes full of Roses, and I realized that like most flowers sold in the US they were all from Colombia. I thought that would be special for them. I asked Diana, "Where are you from?" I figured she would say "Colombia" and I was going to pull out some flowers and let her see the Colombia on the tag. I said "Where are you from?" and she answered "Mississippi." There you go.
The pictures are of their recent trip to Indiana.

MOTHERHOOD

What does motherhood feel like? I don't know. Is it a wave of exhaustion at the end of the day? Is it a well of emotion when you least expect it? Is it a shared joy of a new skill being mastered? Is it the pain of achy muscles? Is it the joy serving a meal that is devoured in minutes with pleas for more (even if it is noodles)? Is it seeing little people enjoy the simplest things in life? Is it feeling like you are an employee at a laundry service? Is it feeling like a motivational speaker who is substituting in an elementary school class? I wonder often if I feel like a mother. I don't know what other mothers feel like. Is it a constant feeling or does it come and go? Can you forget that you are a mother? I think some people do. I have become very observant of other mothers lately. How do they respond to their kids? What do they consider to be important things to teach their kids? How do they teach those things? Do all mothers have the same fears, failures and shortcomings? Is it ok to make mistakes? These are the things the fill my thoughts lately as I approach my first official Mother's Day. Will I feel different that day? I hope so. It is hard to say what I will feel like. I can only imagine how other mothers feel. I know that on that day I will have something to celebrate. I will celebrate the fact that my two ninos are safe and sound and loved. They are precious gifts that I cherish and thank God for every day. I nearly cry when I think of what they have lived through and experienced in their lives. I want to make every day a joyous celebration of life for them. They are my joy, my reward, my life!