Pop Quiz

Q: What is white and green and red all over?

A: The flag of the birth country of our next child (or two) - Bulgaria. 

Eric and I officially started the process to adopt from Bulgaria at the end of last week (i.e. we sent off the first payment - ouch!)  Hopefully our homestudy packet will arrive today and I can get going on that.  Now that we are out of the waiting phase I'm ready to just get moving and get that referral as fast as possible.  You know me - very little patience when it comes to getting my kiddos home!  I'm not sure what to expect from this adventure.  I should really stop reading the blogs - they only confuse me; such different information and experiences.  The good thing is, we have complete trust in our agency and their staff.  I know they will make this process as painless as possible - love them!!

Not so great news

A few weeks ago we got an update on the registration of the other 4 children we were hoping to add to our family. The news is - they aren't registered yet. The judge apparently wanted some more information and it has slowed the process down considerably. The bottom line is that by the time the kids are available for adoption the oldest one will be 14 years old. I hate saying it but that puts a whole different spin on things. I know the hormones are going to be out of control with 4 girls all within 4 years of each other anyway but the reason it was doable was because they would have been with our family for a couple of years before things really kicked into high gear. We're not sure it's smart to add 4 of that age when we will be dealing with another 4 that are only slightly younger than that. We won't be able to give anyone the attention they need and I'm afraid it is a recipe for disaster. Technically we don't have to make any real decisions on this issue since they were never truly "ours" but it feels like a loss all the same. I feel really bad for the kids. They didn't have a great shot at finding families before but now their situation has just gotten worse. Please pray for these poor babies. Pray that God will open the hearts of their forever family (I really thought we were that family) and they would obey the call and go get their kids. As for us, stay tuned....

Odds and Ends

I've kept you, my lovely readers, up to date for the most part over the past couple of weeks but I do have a few fun pics that haven't had any place in any of my other posts. So, in no particular order here we go:


Michael is in his first year of 4-H. This morning they had an electric workshop for 1st year members and they actually worked on their projects. My step-dad provided MJ with the board for his circuit-board (beautiful piece of walnut) but Michael had to stain/polyurethane it. Go WITH the grain Michael, with the grain. The workshop was a success. Michael and Eric worked hard and took their time and it looks nice. Hopefully the judge agrees. Most important is the fact that Michael did the work and understands the ins and outs of his project. I'll admit I was NOT saying that when they came home - in fact I did a pretty good impression of the Wicked Witch because the wires aren't perfectly straight, they don't have crisp corners, etc. But I'll just keep telling myself - he did it himself and he's 9 years old. For now we will strive "To Make the Best Better", perfection will come in time :)


Another Michael 4-H picture. He is mixing up feed for his pig - Hank.


Meet Hank.


This is not something I see a lot of out of this kid. He is SO active - getting him to sit still and read is torture. Reading is also still on the difficult side. I mean, he's only been in this country for 18 months! He's close to reading on level so hopefully a few more moments like above will bring him closer to that goal.


Our neighbors are hosting a Ukranian girl this summer (in fact, she comes tomorrow!) We are all excited but Charity especially is beside herself. This family has 4 boys and the kids pretty much run back and forth between our 2 houses all day long. Adding a girl to the mix for a few weeks will be like heaven for Charity. She went over to help set up girl toys in the guest bedroom for her yesterday.


Yet another boy in our neighborhood! He was in Charity's class for the past 2 years and he and my daughter are good buddies. He has more freedom than my kids (I watch too much crime-drama on TV to let my kids run around unsupervised) and will show up often to play with our yahoos.

WHAT'S COOKING?
I had kind of forgotten about this feature but since I looked back at my blog I realized that I kind of like it and will try to remember to keep it up.

On the menu for today - Smothered Pork Chops. My kids got me The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook for my birthday. I love that show and have a great time reading the cookbook and all their magazines. We will be trying this recipe for the first time tonight but I know it will be a success because the ATK staff has already tried it dozens of times!

Pool!

So my mom has one of those pools that you take down every year (we affectionately call them hillbilly pools and love swimming in it!) but she decided not to put it up this year. Instead she decided to send it to my house. I'm sure our neighbors LOVE us (the kids actually do) but we set it up in the backyard the other night and the kids have been dying to use it ever since. Yesterday the pH leveled off so Eric let Charity take the inaugural swim. It is still cloudy and probably 68-70 degrees but in she went.

First she had to check her goggles to make sure they don't leak...


And jumped right in!!




And this is today:



The neighbor kids have been as antsy to get in as my own 4 were. They don't care that it isn't pretty (or warm) yet. Just like everything else at our house (myself included) it is a work in progress....

Slip Slidin' Away

Today is another beautiful day! We've had a few pop-up thunderstorms this week but it's pretty much been sunny and mid 80's all week. What a perfect way to start summer break! Yesterday the boys decided to play on the slip-n-slide in our yard with the neighbor boys. This is apparently one of those activities that you never grow too old for. I was really wishing I was a little less reserved (and about 20 years younger) so that I could join in the fun without injury - to my body or my pride :)!




Apparently the problem isn't that you outgrow them mentally - but physically. My "big" boys were sliding off the end of it so what do they do - add another one of course!!



My poor grass! An afternoon of the watery playground has completely destroyed it. Hopefully it will bounce back in a few days :) but even if it doesn't - it was SO worth it. They had so much fun!



In other news, with the start of June comes the start of the SUPER SUMMER CHALLENGE!!



Since it's the first week, the kids are still pretty motivated so I'm getting quite a bit of work out of them - without argument. Joseph especially has been racking up the points today. He even power-washed the front porch for me. It was a dirty job but it looks great now. Amazing what a little water will do!


The safety glasses were HIS idea!

RACE DAY!!!!

Growing up in this area has made Eric and I natural race fans. He enjoys it more than I do and definitely knows more about Indy Cars than I do but I DO like it and have enjoyed going to the race the past two years (and listening to it for the 31 years prior to that.) This year was hotter than most (record breaking temperatures actually) but me and my SPF 50 sunscreen made it through the day and had a wonderful time. The kids hung out with my mom and step-dad and were happy with the t-shirts that we brought home for them. Eric is already figuring out where he wants to sit next year (I request shade and pit-action, but we'll see what he decides on). We were in the Northwest Vista this year, right as you enter turn 4. If you watched the race and saw that huge crash on the final lap - that was just a few yards down from our seats. I saw it happen - Eric was watching the finish line and hoping Dario would run out of fuel. We aren't huge Target-Chip Ganassi fans. But they do have one thing going for them - they aren't Penske. (We like Andretti Auto Sports.) Anyway, here are some pictures of the day. We tailgated with my brothers, my cousin, and some of their friends. It was HOT and so the pictures will embarrass the daylights out of them but, oh well. That's what you get when you hang out with a blogger :)


Oh my word - my husband is actually smiling. I'm pretty sure it was something somebody said. The cantaloupe WAS pretty good though!


Amanda was the main chef for the day - excellent marinated pork loin and yummy veggie packets. Eric and I snitched some of her food as well as our buffalo chicken. It was really too hot to eat much but it was soooo good.


My brothers and I. There aren't many pictures of us together over the age of about 9 years old. I'm sure my mom will be pleased to see this one - maybe I should have photo-shopped out the beer can. He's legal, just still her baby. :)


The guys playing a rousing game of corn hole. I'm pretty sure my husband was victorious - that's because he kept his shirt on. The glare off of the other 3's pale white bellies was distracting them.


This was the view from our seats. The only time they were slow enough for me to get a decent shot was during cautions and of course the stupid truck got in my shot. Grrr...


This shot is of a group of my friends from high school who have been getting together at my friend Billy's parent's house to celebrate the race for about 16 or 17 years. How can I possibly be that old and who keeps having all these kids? P.S. photo credit for this goes to my friend Corie - although actually I think it was Beth who took it since Corie is in the shot but I stole it off of her fa.ce.bo.ok page....

How We Know Summer Has Arrived

Summer always comes in with a bang at our house. The last day of school, my birthday, Charity's birthday and a little event called the Indy 500 all happen within the same week and all are noteworthy events worth celebrating. I will post race-day pictures later but here are a few from the rest of the week.


Charity doing barn "chores" when we went out to the barn to walk Michael's 4-H calf.


Michael walking his calf for the first time. Her name is Hot Fudge. Isn't she cute. I love Jersey calves. They are so pretty!


My two favorite second graders - oops - they are third graders now.


I'm really surprised Jonathan didn't take off on this thing. The keys were in it but he was mature and just sat there pretending to drive.


Picking cherries in the neighbor's tree with the neighbor's kid (6th grade), niece (2nd grade) and grandson (3rd grade) - confusing mixture in that family but so very nice to play with!


Charity invited her class over for her birthday party. The kids had a great time playing kickball, eating party food, and throwing water balloons. She has had such a great class these past two years. I can't imagine it ever being any better. It was very hard to say good-bye on Thursday. Poor babies.


The girls stayed for a sleep-over. Charity was exhausted after all the excitement and just wanted to snuggle with her BFF and watch a movie. Fine with me - nice and quiet activity.


They didn't stay quiet for long. The girls finally fell asleep around 1:00 or so (I was already out cold) and were up around 6:30. Needless to say, they were dragging the next morning. They played Beatle's Rock Band and just vegged out. I could almost bet that Charity was singing Revolution in this picture - it is her favorite!

Can I just say - I HATE LAUNDRY! I was feeling all good because I had washed and dried 7 loads of laundry yesterday and was all "caught up". Now, they aren't folded yet but at least everything was clean. I wake up this morning to find two more stinkin' loads of clothes. I don't know why I'm surprised. You would think after 18 months of having 4 kids I would just embrace the fact that we are a 2 loads/day family but I apparently love living in denial! I also decided that since the forecast for this week is high 80's with lots of humidity, I should probably get my summer clothes out of storage and put away the sweaters. WHY?!!! As if I don't have enough to do I had to start another project. My living room is a mess and everything else is falling apart because I'm too busy sorting clothes (and watching Mansfield Park while I work) to keep on top of it. Some day I will be organized, some day I will be organized, some day I will be organized....

So, as previously stated - May is a crazy month around our house. The kiddos have 3 days left of school and I have never been so thankful for a year to wind down in my whole life - although I probably said that last year too, and the year before that, and the year before that....

My next door neighbor and I were finally able to get some of the garden put in this evening after soccer practice. We decided to put one out together and I have to tell you, working in it was a lot more fun with her out there to chat with. We'll see if we can make it through the summer still feeling that way. The thing is monstrous! I'll have to post a picture or two once we get it looking pretty. There hasn't been a garden in this spot anytime in the recent past (in fact there used to be a tree standing in the middle of it) so we are dealing with sod as well as your normal weeds. I've got all kinds of tricks up my sleeve to get rid of the grass before next spring but since we moved in in January - it was a little late to get that rolling for this year. We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way - send the kids out to pull it up!!!

These are the only pictures I have taken this whole month! Bad paparazzi mom!! I'll have to remedy that this weekend. We have Charity's birthday parties on Friday/Saturday and the race on Sunday so surely I can find something to take pictures of!


Joseph and cousin Hallie as we wait to pick up Jonathan from therapy. Fun times, fun times.


Alida was the "popular" one that day since she had brought her DS. All the kids wanted to sit beside her and watch her play. I have never understood that - IT IS NOT FUN TO WATCH SOMEONE ELSE PLAY VIDEO GAMES!!!


Jonathan and his classmate getting as up close and personal as you can safely get with the walrus on their field trip. This guy (and yes, I know it's a guy - I've seen proof on previous visits) is always coming up to the window to play with the kids. They love it and it makes for some fun pictures.


This would be the "toothless wonder" in all his glory. (We also call him our resident meth-head but that's not very PC is it?) Six teeth missing out of the front of his mouth. The four middle ones on top and two lower. He'd better hope they come in soon - it is almost corn on the cob season. Plus, I'm really sick of cutting up his apples.

April

Just a quick post to catch us up on the kids. These are April pics.

Went to the local Children's Museum on a teacher-in-service day. The kids were able to work together to build the arch with minimal assistance from mom - just another reminder that they are getting older - and taller :)

Jonathan pretending to be a bump on a log.

I have no idea what our crazy girl was doing here. We were on a field trip and she was all wound up. Let's pretend they were doing a trust fall. Yeah, I bet that was it.

I mentioned in a previous post that the older kids were doing PS119 with our church. This is Michael and Joseph with our next door neighbors and good friends on the morning they showed off their "mad skills" in "big church". It was really cute. I'll have to see if I can post the video once I get it. They amaze me with how quickly they get the scripture memorized. This year the script had motions and a rhythm to it - super fun!

We all took a Sunday afternoon to tour the State Museum after church. They had an Abraham Lincoln exhibit - Michael's favorite president - and so we took the whole crew to tour the museum. This was as we were leaving. Where is Michael you ask? He is a history dork - oops I mean buff - and decided he would stay with my mom and step-dad and look at more stuff when the rest of us were ready to leave. I love that kid! He is a teacher's dream - motivated to learn, well-behaved but fun and funny as well.

So I've been putting this off...

I don't know why I've been so reluctant to put this news out there - actually I do. It's because I know we are slightly on the nutty side and by putting our news out there for everyone to read I will just be confirming it. We have decided to go back to Ukraine to get some more crazy kids to add to our family. Charity has been begging us for sisters and since we do everything our little princess asks us to - we caved. Not really - we are hoping to get her some sisters, but not because she asked us to. In fact I think the only reason we would be doing this is because God asked us to. My friend Lydia (and also our adoption guru) went to Ukraine to pick up her son at the end of last year. During that process she met a girl at his orphanage who touched her heart and wrote about her on her blog. Her post touched my heart and I even mentioned her in my Christmas letter hoping to drum up some interest and find this girl a family - never dreaming that family might be us. If you clicked on Lydia's post then you will see why I never even considered it - okay, I considered it, but only for a second. The fact that it was a sibling group of 5 (actually it is 4) when we already have 4 completely stopped me from spending much time in that field of thought. Eric, however, set up camp in that field and decided that we might be the family for these kids. He tells Lydia that if she can't find another family for them then he knows someone who might be interested. Hmmm, who could that be Mr. Eric? So, then the group of kids being hosted for Christmas comes over. Yulia is one of them and we think, great! Her host family will fall in love with her and so will everyone who meets her and she'll find a family and we will support them as they go through the process. Well, everyone who met her (host family included) DID fall in love with her but they were also all scared off by the fact that there are 4 of them. So...here we are. We are waiting to find out exactly when they will be available for adoption. Once we figure that out we will start our paperwork. I'm pretty fast at it (since I'm very impatient) and our homestudy lady is amazing so it shouldn't be much of an issue. There is a chance that it won't work out and the kids won't get registered (their paperwork was supposed to have been filed in January or something but you never know) but if everything goes as hoped then we should have some new additions to our family in a year or so - hopefully sooner - that whole impatience thing!

I thought it was supposed to be MARCH madness...

I think the hardest part about this blog thing is deciding how to come back after taking so many weeks off. Obviously life begins to get in the way of my computer time and so while there are many things going on that I would like to share - I just don't have time to devote to posting them. As bad as the celebration "cluster" is in Dec/Jan (Christmas, New Year's, anniversary, and 4 birthdays) - May is always the worst month for me. Between end of the school year events, field trips, soccer, baseball and birthdays I'm pretty much a raving lunatic for the whole month. Eric has decided that we are going to The Race again this year and he wants to take Joseph to the track for practice one day too. Throw in new wheelchair fittings and evaluations for Jonathan's medicaid waiver stuff and we've added just a couple more things to an already full calendar. For now I will content myself with putting up snippets about our life (at the risk of sounding self-absorbed) and hope that one day soon I can post more pictures and tell better stories.

M is for March and Michael

I'm not sure how it happened but my camera is telling me that Michael is the "child of the month". He has had several camera worthy events in the past few weeks. The other 3 kids will all get their turn as the spring wears on and we have field trips, baseball and soccer to post. I'll eventually get around to posting spring break and easter as well. Fun times - just no time to write about them.

Our school had their 3rd grade music program a few weeks ago. What an event - 200 3rd graders, their siblings, parents, and grandparents, and their RECORDERS! What joy - anyone who can make one of those things actually sound pretty has accomplished a feat. A feat I have yet to witness. The kids were cute as all get out, they sang very nicely, and showed off quite well. But really - 200 3rd graders with recorders....


Michael was excited to go to his very first lock-in early in March. Being the paparazzi mom that I am (and not wanting to miss out on any of the fun) I volunteered to help out even though it meant giving up a night of sleep. Michael was prepared to sleep (for a couple of hours anyway) and was the 1st boy in his room so he got to lay out his stuff in the prime tv-watching spot.


He thought it was so cool to be eating pizza at 10:00 pm and all of the 3rd and 4th graders were amazed at the amount of caffeine that they were allowed (or shall we say - even encouraged) to consume.


Michael and a couple of his friends posing at the photo booth. They are such dorks - but so much fun!

There were about 10-15 blow-ups stationed in the 2 gyms at the church for the kids to spend hours on. All night I kept thinking how much this lock-in reminded me of post-proms in High School. How sad - the things that amused me as a 17 year old, amuse my 9 year old!


Roller skating at 1:30 a.m. - and Michael had never been on skates before. He and the wall were good buddies but by the end he was getting a little braver.


This is how he and his friends spent a large chunk of their time at the rink - hanging out and drinking caffeinated beverages. His momma on the other hand was reliving her youth out on the floor.

The next morning - after 3 hours of sleep. They were sooooo tired!

The next day the famous Aunt Teri had invited us over to meet her friend and room helper - Natasha. She is from Ukraine and had been coerced into teaching us how to make Varenky - very similar to perogies. These are by far the favorite dish I ate in Ukraine - especially the cherry ones - and I was super excited to learn how to make them.

Charity and Jonathan got right in on the action.


Joseph, on the other hand, really wants nothing to do with anything Ukrainian and took a little bit to warm up. The funny thing is - the kid LOVES Ukrainian food and would eat borsht every day if his mom would make it for him.


Last but not least - I just think this picture is funny - my 2 favorite 2nd graders hanging out and enjoying the sunshine. Neither of them sits still for long - so to catch a moment with both of them relaxing is a rare treasure!

WHAT'S COOKING?
My favorite recipe for using up leftover ham is on the menu for tonight! Yum - straight up comfort food! If you are watching your weight - save up your calories for this one - I ALWAYS go back for seconds on it! Homemade chocolate pudding for dessert.