American Citizenship

We live in a very rural community. The little village close to us, where the fire department Tim volunteers is at, is having their community days this weekend. Elisha and I went down today and joined Tim's sister and her family and friends in watching the parade they had.

It seemed to take a long time to get started- and the kids were beginning to get a little antsy. I noticed most of the children were carrying their plastic grocery sacks. I had forgotten for a moment about the candy being tossed out. It's been a while since I've been to a parade.

Then, we began to hear the marching band drums sound- and maybe the Medic siren. My brother-in-law was holding Elisha so he could see over everyone's heads and I was describing what was happening in the parade to him. I don't know if it is because today is our 6 month anniversary of coming home, or if I have just become so much more of an emotional person, but as I saw the Veterans coming by, starting the parade, I was choked up.

I looked over to Elisha and pointed them out- "Look, Honey," I said. "Do you see the men carrying the flags? They are very brave men that fought for us so we could have our freedom and live in America." I was battling my emotions so strongly at this point I couldn't say anything for a few seconds. I was afraid I'd dissolve in tears!! "Want to clap for them?" And my little boy, 6 months a citizen, clapped for these brave men.

I pointed to the American Flag-"Do you see that flag? It is the flag of our country- the flag that represents all they fought for and died for. The next flag...."I paused for a second- it was a black flag- and I couldn't see what was on it. My Brother-in-law, who served as a Marine, gently whispered back,"It's the POW/MIA flag." Gritting my teeth to stop the emotion about to overwhelm me, I said to Elisha, "and that black flag represents all the friends those brave men had who didn't make it home. " I had to pause, cause I knew I couldn't continue for a moment.

I began thinking about all the brave men and women fighting in other countries. Imagine. Some day, a mother in another country will have the freedom to hold her little boy next to her and tell him about how some very brave people came and fought so valiantly for them, so they could also be free.

As the parade continued, there was a float that went by passing out American flags. Now I couldn't contain my tears. I looked over at my Sister-in-law, eyes red rimmed (I'm sure) and spilling over tears as I said,"Do you realize Elisha has been a citizen for 6 months- TODAY!!!! And he has been given an American flag. How appropriate for our celebration!!"

So- I thank you- all you who serve our country so proudly (and I include the wives, children, parents- all those who are left behind, praying, worrying, missing your sons, daughters, spouses, moms and dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents- and I pray that all we as Americans, together, will remember to thank you- to show you the respect you deserve and make you feel the honor we should be giving you. Thank you for your sacrifices to make our country safe and allow us all the freedoms we have. Thank you for making this a place that we can raise our son in.

And thank you, GOD, for being with us every step of the way. Without you, we could do nothing. Thank you for your watch over us and your blessing. May we all continue to look to you, the author and perfecter of our faith!!

Thank you for this dream that seemed to take so long- but now seems a blur- that you have answered in so magnificent a way- thank you for our son. WOW- can you believe that six months ago was the first night Elisha slept in his crib- the day that God knew about all along!! Thank you, GOD!!!

Pictures !!

At long last- some pics......... These are of Elisha getting ready for vacation....


He's got the floppy beach hat down.....

Now he's ready for some time in the sun.... and look- drinking out of a big boy cup!! No sippie!!

Can't you see how much fun he's having??? (this was lesson number 2- he cried most of the lesson- unless he was told to do something, which he did and then started crying again. )

Here he is getting ready to swim toward the wall.

As I mentioned before, by the end of the 4 weeks of lessons, he was having a blast and laughing and enjoying every minute of it. He was so proud that he could get his "air wet" meaning his hair. Tim and I are hoping for great weather as we travel south so Elisha can get his first view of the ocean.... and the sand.....And Tim and I will see how much we've learned about caring for our little guy if we get rained in all week.... another hotel room for a week.... but everyone speaks English here... including Elisha now :0)

swimming, ninging and life lessons

It has been a while- so much stuff going on- feeling like I'm packing everything for a summer into the last few weeks.....

My first Mops meeting officially as a mom and not a nursery worker- Elisha did great and loved it, too!! Play dates with my best friend, meeting new moms, gathering our final produce from the garden, clean up after our wind storm..... Ahhh the joys of summer- here are some details:

Well, swimming lessons are officially over. By the last night, as you all have already guessed, I'm sure, he was cool with all of it. He went under water, he blew bubbles, he got his hair wet, jumped in, kicked his feet, and, over all, had a blast.

Tim and his dad were able to go with us to swimming lessons on Tuesday. Elisha did well that night, also, and it was so much fun to watch these 3 generations all taking it in together.

Sunday was a pretty amazing day. Elisha actually didn't cry as we entered the nursery and had a great time playing with all his friends there. I had the lovely lady in charge of the nursery sign him in, since that seems to be when he starts crying. We went in to use the "little" potty in the nursery, and as I was getting his snack out and his drink ready, she patted him on the back... Tada.... name tag in place. My friend Dennis was there watching and laughing... telling us how "smooth" we were :) Lol!

Sunday evening was pretty amazing. We got the remnants of the hurricane. Wow! The huge trees behind our house were truly singing and praising God in a very, very, very charismatic way!! almost touching ground on either side!! I went out to get the little doggie in at one point, and we heard a loud snap, crash and then a big house shaking boom as an elderly elm came crashing down. Thank you, God, for guiding its fall. It took out a couple of other limbs in our woods out back, but didn't come near the house and was able to fall down to the ground right where we would have tried to place it if we were dropping it- the tree is longer than our house!! So, Elisha has been going around telling everyone this week, "big tree fall down- go BOOMM!!"

He was pretty scared, but calmed down as I held him and began talking about the trees dancing and singing in the wind for God. Tim's parents and sister and her family came over and we watched this bizarre dance take place behind our house from our back porch. It is quite awe inspiring, and I am sooo thankful that we were able to come away with minimal damage.

The power was knocked out, as it seems to be for sooo many areas right now. I was so thankful for Tim's preparedness and foresight in getting us an automatic starting natural gas generator. It's not big enough to run everything in the house- but it made it very easy and nice for us- and we were able to hook up his sister's fridge to it, also.

I am learning more and more every day how important family is. I grew up in PA with just my parents and siblings and our church family- so it is very different for me to have all my neighbors be Tim's (and now my) family. In fact- of the 4 houses we can see easily from our front porch, only 1 belongs to someone outside the family. I was so glad that my wonderful hubby was home and able to take care of all us womenfolk on the "ranch".

We had Tim's parents over for dinner Monday evening. Tim's sister and her 2 children came over later, after their lessons in town were complete so they could have a hot shower- and some yummy chili with us, too!! They arrived just as we put Elisha to bed. I was so amazed and proud of how quiet my niece and nephew were.

But at one point Elisha heard a sound and started crying. I went up to get him and took him potty. I was sooo hoping he wouldn't guess his cousins were downstairs- then, I feared, he would not go back to sleep. We could hear the spoons hitting and scraping the bowls- Elisha said, "Papa eat cake?" I said, chuckling to myself, "Does that sound like Papa eating cake?" "Da," he said. "Lisha eat cake?" "Maybe tomorrow," I said.

Phew, he went right back to sleep, and we had quite a laugh about it.

The power came back to us on Tuesday evening- Yeah for us!! I feel much compassion for the many around us who are still without power. Though the weather has been wonderful and negated the need for air conditioning or heat, the food stuffs have not been so happy.

We found out Monday that my best friend when I had lived in New Concord lost her mother suddenly. I was sooo grieved by this. My friend and I had lost touch with each other- I guess I should also mention, she is now my cousin by marriage, too- and hadn't really spoken much lately. She, newly married, me newly a mom. So, Elisha and I went over Wed morning early to get a chance to express our love and condolences to her and her family before the funeral. I am so glad we did.

We arrived an hour early- even before most of the family. I went up to see Helen and say goodbye one final time. Elisha was in my arms, and for a few minutes was very still. Unusual for my busy little boy. He just looked and looked at Helen and then at me, and I could see a question in his eyes, like- hmmm what's going on here- something doesn't seem quite right.

I looked at him and said this is just Helen's body- everything she is and that we know about her is in Heaven with Jesus right now- just her body has been left behind. Pretty complex stuff for a 2 year old!! He looked at me for a second, as if processing what I had just said. Then he smiled and said, "Ninging?" I said, "What?" He repeated, "Ninging Jeejee?" Oh my!! I almost cried. "Yes, honey," I said. "I'm sure she is singing with Jesus and all the angels right now." So he repeated it again- "Ninging" as if that explained everything. Ahh, the faith of a child. I am seeing it more clearly each day.

Well, I've rambled enough. Hopefully soon we'll be able to update the pictures- just wanted to get a post up while I had a second so I could get all this down before I forget it.

I covet your prayers for a young friend of mine. She is a fellow adoptive mom of a little guy from the same orphanage we adopted our son from. She has done an amazing amount of work with our adoption agency's chat group to inform all of us what the journey is like- and was able to help us sooo much in our own journey to bring Elisha home. She and her husband have gone on to adopt 2 more from Korea or Vietnam. As I type this she is in surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed from her kidney. She has several other sites that the cancer has metastasized to, making the medical diagnosis pretty bleak. She is such an amazing woman, and is constantly glorifying God even through this dark valley. I'd ask you to join us in praying for this family.

Thank you God for the time you give us here on earth. Thank you for our friends and family and for forming families in so many unique ways. Thank you for the health you give us and the comfort you give when we no longer have that health. Thank you for peace and for the hope that goes beyond anything we can ever dream or imagine- the hope we have in you!!

6 month Mama initiation

Seems so hard to believe that 6 months ago was my first day as a mom. The first clothes change, the first car ride, the first puking, the first bath, the first meal, the first night to get to watch him as he slept so peacefully. What a profoundly amazing night of moments!!

I remember the catch in our breaths as we stood there together at the side of his crib, me slowly reaching over and placing my hand in Tim's, watching his chest slowly rising and falling and the realization hit. We have a son. We have become a family :0)

Ohhhh, but the possibilities for his life. I spent so much time praying for our son, our family, Tim and myself and all that we would need to do to give Elisha the best possible home to grow up in. How amazing to watch him and realize the possibilities are limitless.

It has been such a joy to watch him as he grows and changes soo much every day. Of course there are difficult moments- if there weren't, this would be a storybook instead of real life. Learning to keep the boundaries we have to set, even when we are too tired to care, loving through the difficult moments- these and many other things we are learning are the backbones of being parents, giving Elisha the security to grow and spread his wings wide and take off... when the time is right.

But, as a very good friend once pointed out, all those challenging moments fade, and the joy of the childhood is what you remember. So, I figure- I'll try to find all the joy I can now and maybe leave some of the "challenging" moments behind. Laugh now... and later, instead of just later. Remember that these days when he needs and wants me are quite limited as far as a lifetime goes- so I am trying to savor each and every moment. Thank you for sharing them with me.

Swimming lesson update

Swimming lesson number 4 was tonight.

Swimming lesson number 1- he began to cry for Mama after about 25 minutes.

Swimming lesson number 2- Tim came with us- he began crying for me as I'm handing him over to go in the water. He cried almost the entire time- only pausing to blow bubbles when instructed.

Swimming lesson number 3- he begins say, "No, no, no, nooo," as we are walking through the double doors, and cries the ENTIRE time- again, only pausing for brief periods as he is instructed to blow bubbles. Only he and a little girl are there this night- she is 4 and is also crying for the last 1/2 of the lesson. His brave swimming instructor!!

Swimming lesson number 4- tonight. He begins to say, "No, no, Nooooo, Mama," as we turn from the main road and begin to drive up the hill toward the school where the lessons are. By the time we turn into the school, he is crying in earnest. He pretty much cried the entire time we were waiting to go in.

Then Theresa pulled out a ball and 2 dolphins (small plastic toys). After a short period of time, Elisha was having so much fun playing with the ball and dolphins with the other children, he forgot he was not having fun- 'cause he was having a blast!! He ended the lesson in flying colors. Hoping this is a harbinger of things to come :0) Yeah, Theresa!!! Yeah, Elisha!!

Funny note- the other 2 year old little guy was back. He loves the water- and cameras- every time we take pics he looks up and says, "CHEESE!!" He decided to squeeze the ball over Elisha's head and get him wet. Eli wasn't too sure about this, kinda just looked at him- chuckled a little bit- Theresa began getting them all wet that way- Elisha was cracking up!! It was great to trade in the sorrow and put on the joy :)

Mama is now looking forward to lesson number 5!!

PS- he loves the water and is fine when he is with me in the water. (We've been practicing :0))

6 month DA

I can't believe that 6 months ago today the judge said, "Da," and we became, after a 10 more day wait, official parents to our precious little boy. Wow. 6 months. It is amazing to me how being a parent of a young child really messes with my perception of time. Each day seems to take forever. (Mostly at the beginning. The days are beginning to flow now.) There is amazement with each week that passes, as we count hours and days.

Now it seems we are counting weeks, and months.

I know all you with older children out there are shaking your heads, thinking, "If she only knew...." If it goes this fast now- what will it be like when he is in school....on his first date....going away to college.....getting married....OOOOOHHHH then I get to experience it all again..... as a grand-parent :)

I have thought a lot about our court since we got home. Especially the few moments when we were waiting in the hallway for the judge to review our case. One of the ladies there- I think the director -said something and the interpreter came over and asked Tim what he did to get such a wonderful and friendly wife. I'm afraid I was basking in the glow of court and approval too much to say what I should have. I've thought about it A LOT since we got home.

This is along the lines of what I wish I would have said, though for the life of me I can't remember what I actually did say:

He may have been lucky to find me, but I was blessed the day I met him and I truly believe it was God that brought us together. He helps to center me and keep me focused, to calm me when my overactive imagination takes over. He blesses me in ways I don't know if I'll ever be able to express, but I wish I could, just so he would know how dear and special he is to me. He is the best friend I've ever had and if I could have one more thing it would be to be able to do more stuff with him and have time to just go out and have fun together.

When he smiles, the room lights up for me- when I hear him laughing across the room with friends, I long to be part of the laughter... I'm drawn to it, like a bee to honey.

As I watch him now with our son, I see the twinkle in his eye and the bond growing between them and it makes me tear up- it is such a blessing to see and experience this joy of parenthood.
(of course I couldn't have said that at the time...... I guess this would have been more appropriate at court: )

Tim is such an amazing individual and has soo many talents and abilities, I can't wait to see him with our son at home, teaching him all these things he has learned. I long to be a fly on the wall to watch as our son sits at his Papa's knee and learns all he has to tell.

I may be able to love him with all my heart, teach him how to cook and keep clean- how to read and write- but his Papa will show him how to be a MAN after God's own heart- how to treat a lady, how to be a Papa- so that one day, hopefully and prayerfully, he(Elisha) will choose to follow God's leading in his life as his Mama and Papa try so hard to do.