Loving my life !

I miss my boys. I have been fine until last night my mom said my baby boy wanted to talk to me. It dawned on me, my baby boy is 10 now and since moved from his ranks.

Having daughters is a whole new world for me. "Fix my hair bows, Mommy" "Paint my fingers and toes, Mommy." I LOVE IT. They're both so sweet. Emalee wants to go "wis Daddy" everywhere he goes. Jaida says Hi to everyone everywhere. We're having a great time. We're tired, but having a great time. Nicholas is precious too and if you read the last post you'll see what a doll he is. Emalee has been very motherly to the others their whole life so she is quick to tell me how to do things and I appreciate it, but I want her to enjoy being a little girl and relieve her of her responsibilities. We've let her stay up a little later than the babies and she thinks she's all that now. She seems to have never been entitled to her privilege of being the oldest. Though she won't be in our home, she is of these siblings and there's something special about that. Jaida- well, she's a princess in all ways. She has attitude and is not afraid to use it. She's a bright eyed little thing with a walk that is soooo cute!

Yesterday and today we had visits with the Foster parents. Whew, the last final goodbye is at 8am. We're feeling like all these meetings aren't really the best thing because the kids are getting a little confused, but we also have to put forth the effort to make this transition smooth.

Post later....

My Only Sunshine...

This will be the first of a series tonight as I try to catch up on current events here. I had hoped to post each night and add pictures to our album, but having toddlers and laptops in a small hotel room is a recipe for disaster any way you slice it. I hope to add a video to this if my technological side will kick in and I can figure out how.

Nicholas is our 3 year old who is "supposedly" diagnosed with autism. I say this because we've yet to witness autistic characteristics in him. He is precious. My first close moment with him happened shortly after we got to the hotel our first day meeting them. We had played and laughed together, but this moment was the moment that holds our future in place. Nicholas fell and bumped his head and I ran to his aid like Mommy's do. Instinct #1, kiss the bo0-boo. #2, sing a song. I sang You are my Sunshine and his stiffened body molded to mine, his head went on my shoulder and we were connected....just like that. Now, every time a boo-boo happens or a "moment" when he is upset and nothing works, no matter where or what or who is around, it I sing You are my Sunshine, Nicholas melts. That isn't the best part if you can imagine. He now takes my face in his hands and starts the song himself. And I melt. This little guy has been locked inside himself waiting for someone to connect. They call what he speaks 'his own little world', but D and I understand him; comprehend him. He knows we do and we connect. Sure he's babbling in both English and Spanish and some gibberish to boot, but we speak the universal language of love and we've got this thang! I had D video it. You have to see it...

Dad's eye view

Today started out with great anticipation, we really didn't know what to expect. We were so excited just knowing that we were finally going to get the chance to meet our children. We prayed that all would go well.

We left our hotel following the caseworker to the their house, which is just a few blocks from the hotel. When we arrived, we made our way in to the kitchen and sat at the table with the foster parents. The girls were in the living room and seemed shy at first. As we began to speak with the girls and break the ice, I noticed that Nicholas was playing outside by himself. We had brought each of the children a small travel size Magna Doodle, so I decided to go outside and bring Nicholas his and build a rapport.

The first thing that I did as I observed Nicholas playing was pray. I asked God to heal Nicholas and allow him to open up to me and trust me. I began playing with him and he seemed to warm up to me quickly. I then held my hand out and he placed his hand in mine at first, then began to rub my arm. I thanked God for this wonderful opportunity that we have been given.

A few moments later, K came out with E and J and E allowed me to hold her. J was still a little shy, so I figured that I would just give her some time. After about an hour or so at the house, we decided to take the children to the park. We loaded the three of them up in their new car seats and off we went, two proud parents with 3 new little angels. We spent a short time with them at the park, then a fun trip to McDonald's. They all did great.

We decided to come back to the hotel and watch a movie or something and just spend some quality time and get some photos as well. It was recommended by the caseworker that K and I refer to one another as Mommy and Daddy and see how the children adapted. Soon E was calling me Daddy and I must tell you, there is something very different about a little girl calling you Daddy, than a boy calling you Dad. The word "Daddy" when spoken from the lips of a cute little angel like E makes your heart melt and instantly makes you see how it would be easy to give in at times. This is unfamiliar to me but I already love it.

N allowed me to hold him and play with him more and more as the day went on. J finally allowed me to carry her and play with her, she is a fearless little sweetie when it comes to climbing and jumping. We then decided to take a trip to Wal-Mart and they all sat in the buggies and did great. I know that things will be even easier when we get home and have B and R to help out.

It was then time to bring the children back to their home. E was very upset and said that she wanted to stay with us. When we arrived the foster families home, E didn't want to get out, J was ok gettng out, but N blocked both buckles of his car seat when I opened the side door and didn't want to get out. I finally got him to unbuckle.

As we went to the door the children began to cry and would not let go of us. We decided to go inside for a few minutes and help them calm down. N ran around the house crying and refused to let his foster mother give him a tablespoon of his medicine. I then picked N up and he immediately stopped crying, at which time the foster mother handed me the tablespoon and N allowed me to give it to him. We left the house heart broken as the children were taken to their rooms crying. It was very very difficult to leave them.

We are looking forward to more time with them tomorrow and plan on having them stay with us here at the hotel. I can't wait to hug them again!

Well, that is a synopsis of our first day, there will be much more to follow.

God Bless,
-D

Mom's Eye View!

Well, today ranks among the top 5 most wonderful days of my life! We met the kiddos and they warmed up to us like sunshine on the hood of car. We are officially Mommy and Daddy. We arrived at the foster home around 10 am PST and saw them for the first time. They are so much more beautiful than their pictures! The girls immediately shyed away and I began the silent prayers that would fill the entirety of my day. I brought along with me some travel magna doodles that my mom picked up on clearance at Target. Today's value: priceless. I started my dialouge with E, addressing her love for drawing and opened hers up. I said, "Hi E, I hear you like to draw." She said yes, I handed her the magna doodle and our relationship began. I scanned the room for other opportunities to interact and there was a baby doll lying on a table. I waited til the time was right to use that. Meanwhile, J nosily reached for E's new toy and I intervened with one for her. She smiled. D made his way to the backyard to meet N with his also. E showed me smiley faces, flowers and a sunshine she drew. She walked over to SW sitting beside me and I made my move, asking, "Is that your doll?" She shyly said yes and ran and hid it saying You can't see her. I whispered then, oh is she sleeping... she caught on quickly and whispered back that she was. Two minutes later invited me over to see her baby who had no name. We played with her a bit and then went to check out how D and N were hitting it off in the backyard. E asked me to pick her up, I did and J wanted up too. So with a kiddo on each hip I walked outside to what was the most amazing thing... N and D were playing. Not D playing and N watching but a full blown interaction. I reached out to him and he reached back. We rolled cars back and forth, he asked up as soon as E and J went down.

A last minute doctors appointment Foster Mom had caused us to be able to take them and leave for the whole day! And what a day it was. We went to a park and played on the jungle gym for awhile, then to McD's for french fries and E an icecream cone. We were warned that if N saw the playground it would all be over... we tested the theroy and it's busted. He not only saw it, but did not play on it, cry when we said we weren't staying to play and he buckled himself into his carseat to leave McD's without a fuss. The three waved and said "Bye Bye playground" at my prompt and there were no hurt feelings. We came back to the hotel for an action packed afternoon. We took lots of pictures but the cutest thing is E wanting to talk on the phone to everyone. I started calling D Dad and he called me Mom and they picked up quickly. First in name only I suppose but I started telling E the truth about everything. We are adopting you. We are going to leave and fly on a plane far away to Florida and Mama (FM) and Dada (FF) are not coming. We are Mommy and Daddy now... she said forever? I said FOREVER.

We brought them "home" tonight and they all freaked out. N covered his carseat buckles and did not want out, E cried from the moment I said shoes on and J wouldn't let me put her down. We left there teary eyed and upset but tomorrow we plan to keep them from here on...

I'm exhausted so more later. Pics are uploading now.... love to all

~K

Final preparations

I spent yesterday afternoon cutting the grass so that it wouldn't look like a jungle when we get home. I also installed chain locks on the front and back doors to keep the little ones from wandering outside. Then I installed those cabinet locks on all of the kitchen cabinets and the silverware drawer around 9:30pm.

Today we will be cleaning a condo to make some extra money before the trip. We still need to pack clothes and all of our electronics, such as digital cameras, video camera, laptops and mp3 players. It is so hard to pack, I am always afraid that I will forget something and I usually do. I will work tonight from 6pm-6am and then work tomorrow night 6pm-6am and our plane leaves at 6:05am. One of the Officers that I work with has agreed to come in early so that I can change clothes at work and jump on the plane. I can't wait to meet the children!

We will be sending out emails with plenty of photos of the children when we get there.

God Bless,
-D

Braxton Hicks

That's the name of those pesky contractions you get when it's "almost" time, but not quite yet. I remember them well with B and R. A few disappointing visits to the ER quickly proved they were only there to annoy. Well, they are really there to practice the uterus for the real deal. I'm in the Braxton-Hicks stages in this adoption. I am feelin it everyday. I know delivery is iminent and I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

You truly do experience some of the same emotions as pregnancy. My hormones aren't outta whack but I'm feeling it. I have bits of anxious tears and overwhelming joy, fear...can't forget fear, I day dream, I hope... I pray and mostly I wait.

We continue to find tiny details we haven't thought of yet. Big one this morning was when Mom and I realized we need to child proof her house too. BIG DEAL. Lots to do. The pool is secure as it seems but we have a very inquisitive 3 year old who seeks out gates... New gate locks will be installed while we're in Oregon. A pool alarm too I think. The inside of the house is kinda tested already. We will see. Gotta run, lots to do!

K

Final days before takeoff

There seems like so many little things that still need to get done before we leave. I will be working Wednesday and Thursday night, off Friday night, then work Saturday and Sunday night and will fly out Monday morning at 6am. I will already be at work and will just change clothes and jump on the plane since I work at the airport.

I sure hope that I don't fall asleep on the plane because if you have ever heard me snore, you know that it's not a pretty thing. I'm sure that I would wake up with several angry passenger staring at me with their angry eyes.

I'm sure that I won't be sleeping because K will have a tight grip on my arm. It is going to be such a great trip. I can't wait!

-D

Time is sure dragging by!

It really seems like the time is just going so slow when I think about meeting the children. I can't wait to meet them! The bedrooms are ready, just waiting for the little ones to settle in. We have been researching fun activities and places to visit while we are in Oregon.

We will be updating friends and family daily while in Oregon via Twitter, Facebook and our blog.

7 days, 21 hours, 51 minutes, and 11 seconds....

I'm counting seconds now. Seriously. I haven't slept much since our phone call, but I'm not tired. I'm too excited to sleep. So many plans to make; so much preparation. We realized how much is not done right now with the children coming home very very soon. Nevertheless, it will be ready.

I want to add a correction to my last post. I said it took 2 weeks for our ICPC. It did not. It took 1 (one, uno, O N E) day. My SW said she checked and re-checked the dates because Florida recieved and signed off on June 10th and Oregon got it back and signed it on June 11. It took longer to get there through the mail than it did to be processed. I say Praise the Lord and if you can't call that a blessing and highly favored, what can you?

Yesterday, God moved yet again for us. Our clothes dryer has taken ill and it was a monumental problem as we are about to aquire more laundry with the kiddos. I've been shopping on Craigslist and looking in the paper and praying. Well, CL is full of junk, the classifieds are full of ads where folks are tryin to get rich off the sale of their used dryer and if you know us, you know we won't buy one on credit... so the prayer paid off again. My aunt Pam heard about our dryer and quickly called to say we can have the perfectly good one she has in her rental house. AMEN. So we'll be bringing it home soon and we can take ours to the appliance graveyard for proper burial. Good deal!

The boys are sooo excited. Last night I made a countdown clock that literally goes down by the second. Here it is... I've been trying to decide what to pack. Living in Florida, it is in the 90's here right now. We're heading to daily highs in the mid 70s. Nights are cool and I can bet the humidity there is nothing like the sauna we have here. So, I'm packing a little of everything including my jacket... in June. Jackets and June is comical in Florida :-)

I've been looking for things to do with the kids in Oregon and so far I have only a couple of ideas. I am hoping to talk to J's bio grandmother today and get some more suggestions because she has been there with them before. The public library has an interactive story time happening while we're there so if we can I'd love to do that. It may be too much for them, but I want them to have some fun with us. We'll be going to the park for sure and hopefully have a picnic and run around. Just keep praying we make a quick connection. You see, right now, in addition to the move across the country they're about to face, in their foster home they are experiencing their foster Mom being sick. Their SW said it has been stressful for them and I'm sure it is changing their routines a lot. That part could be a benefit in the long run because routine is about to be interrupted drastically. Pray also for Foster Mom. She's going through a lot. She and her husband have had our 3 and another foster child in their home for years now and they're all leaving at the same time. Yay for the kids, pray for the parents. I applaud foster parents for their gift. I don't think I could do it. Many Blessings to them!!!

Ok, I have to get ready for church or I'll have a class full of upset children wondering where I am, so until we blog again... have a wonderful day!

Much Love, ~K

Things are really moving fast now!

Well, we just received news that the paperwork which normally takes at least 60 days to complete has been completed in about 2 weeks! This means that we will be able to take the children home with us while we are there.

I give God all of the Glory for the speed in which this paperwork has been completed and I also thank our case workers for their great work! I know that God is able to do all things if we will only humble ourselves and ask him. As a father, I can relate wanting to do all that I can to provide and help my children.

More later, I am exhausted!

-D

Getting Closer...

Wow! 12 days until we travel! I cannot wait. We've asked a lot of questions and know a few things about the kids. We also asked what our role will be while we are there and we are taking things sssslllllooooowwwww. E doesn't know about us yet. I don't think she's understanding the whole adoption thing at all. She's 4. It has to be hard and we understand that. We kinda hoped we could be Mommy and Daddy while we are there, and it may happen during the visit, but for now, we are family friends. We are ok with that.

The paperwork is going smoothly as far as we know. Our SW will be sending us some info any day now. She got it and mailed it to the other office and they are supposed to mail it to us. I stink at waiting, but what do you do when you have no choice? Aggghhh. LOL.

We are going to have a picnic today at the State Park. I think we'll go to Pier Park, too. R is growing like a weed and barely fits in any of his clothes. He's needing some new ones pretty quick, so Old Navy and Bealls Outlet will definately be a part of our day.

I only have a sec, so I'll post later. Much love.

~K

Getting ready for the big trip!

Well, we finally were able to find some tickets that were not outrageous. We just realized why it has been so hard to find flights and so expensive, the week that we are traveling is the World Track & Field competitions! That really explains a lot, we have been going out of our minds trying to find tickets, but it will all be worth it when we get to meet the children.

It is going to be quite an adventure to travel 3000 miles across the country, especially since K has never flown before. (he he he) I hope that she won't need the little paper bag! I have never been out west anywhere, so i told K that we will definitely be driving to the coast to put our feet in the Pacific Ocean, just to create another memory for the two of us.

I'm sure that the next few weeks will drag by so slow, but on the bright side, we will have plenty of time to pack. Plus, having worked at the airport for the past 7 months, at least I know what NOT to bring. I am so excited about meeting the children, I'm sure that everything is going to work out great.

God Bless, D

A travelin we will go...

We got our tickets today! It's official- we are going to meet the little ones. June 22 - 29 we will be in total... choas. We are meeting our children whom we love through a photograph and they know nothing about us. Not who we are. Not what is happening. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Ok, you get it. I, for one, am kinda freakin' out a little. I've tried to imagine an absolutely unpredictable situation and it isn't possible.

Anywho... back to travel info. We had planned to go earlier but the time wasn't good for Foster Mom. Understandable, but the plane tickets doubled and a half!!! Yikes! We found some halfway reasonable ones though we're over budget so needless to say our Fundraising efforts are in high gear again.