Happy Anniversary, Granny and Grandpa!

Big hugs and kisses

 to Granny and Grandpa

 on your special day! 

 Love R, HA, HW, and S 

Getting Back on Track

It's time to whip my crew into shape and get us back on schedule!  I am greatly missing my Managers of Their Homes schedule and my Managers of Their Chores ChorePacks. We kind of slid into our holiday schedule (read really fun lack of schedule) around the first of December. Then in January we started up again with a unique daily schedule so we could work through a special study with the children that we entitled Real Life University (another post on RLU later.) We are finishing up RLU this week and although we've really enjoyed our break from the norm,  I can't wait to get back to MOTH!

The kids are excited, too. Even though it is technically more work for them when we implement the ChorePacks and schedule, it doesn't really feel like it. And I've figured out how to make the schedule my tool, not my master, so it really helps us get things done more quickly and efficiently each day, while allowing for tweaks and changes as needed.

I'm also making another change for the better. I'm going to bed earlier starting tonight. I've been trying to get stuff done after the kids are down, and then Baby S has been waking up to snuggle during the night, and while I love those special snuggles, it's all added up to too little sleep for Mama. I can feel it in my bones when I wake up after a poor night's rest, and I don't like that crummy feeling. So, starting tonight it's early to bed, early to rise for me.

Certificate of Citizenship

Here is an article in the Houston Chronicle about a very sad incident. A man was arrested and then he was deported to Mexico, simply because the system didn't recognize him as a citizen of the U.S. Even though he was legally adopted by parents in Texas, he is now stuck in a kind of limbo ~ a citizen of nowhere.

Now, I realize that this tangled mess started for him due to his illegal activity as an adult.  It is certainly my prayer and expectation that such criminal circumstances will never involve any of my children. But, I've heard of other odd ball situations that don't stem from any crimes being committed,  that still resulted in this kind of immigration mess for an adoptee. These kinds of hassles can arise for any international adoptee who does not have proof of their  U.S. citizenship. So, as parents, it is our responsibility to dot every i and cross every t for the sake of our children.

As our family prepares to take this "journey to documentation" for the third time, I did a little interview with myself about this issue.

How do you make sure your children are recognized by the U.S. government as citizens of the United States of America? 

We get them their very own official Certificate of Citizenship through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. 

How do you do that?

We apply through the USCIS, pay a boatload of money, then wait for weeks or months for an invitation to do some more stuff.

That sounds like a big pain. Is it?

Of course it is. We have to work through a government agency, remember?

Is that all there is to it?

No wait, there's more! After all that waiting and expenditure, we get to load up our whole family and drive over 8 hours round trip to the USCIS office where we go through security, wait an inordinate amount of time in a poorly ventilated and packed waiting room, then have our baby "interviewed" by a staff member who will hopefully approve our child to get that coveted COC.

You said this costs your family a boatload of money. Are you kidding? Do you really have to pay for this, since your child is already legally yours and is already entitled to American citizenship as an adoptee?

Yes. And by "boatload" I mean $460 per certificate. Plus we get to add in the cost of that great family vacation across the state to that lovely USCIS office waiting room. Our child is already legally ours, we have the birth certificate to prove it, and we have legally completed the adoption in every way. But we still have to get the COC.

You seem a bit frustrated by the whole thing. Why?

Because the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 provides that children who are adopted by American citizens will automatically receive citizenship. It's the child's right, it's fair, and it's the law. But the system just doesn't work that way for many children who are adopted from abroad. And because we can't trust that all agencies in the U.S. government will EVER work from the same playbook of laws, we have to take this extra step to secure our child's PROOF of citizenship.  Yes, It's thoroughly aggravating. 

Well, then, why do you keep doing it? Why not just roll the dice and hope your child never gets caught in a messy government web of foolishness? We keep doing it because we love our kids too much to take that chance. And we don't trust the government any further than we can toss it.

Sunday Smile

Thanks for making us smile, HW!

Smart Bib Tip

Every time I do baby S's hair I have to really, really saturate it before I detangle. And it takes a while for the water and product to soak into her hair. So, she always ends up with drips of conditioner and water running down her back. I've tried tucking a cloth into the neck of her shirt, but that usually doesn't stay tucked with all the wiggling. And then sometimes I detangle with her shirt off, in front of the wood stove, so there is nowhere to tuck a cloth.

Yesterday I sat down for S's Hair Time and commented on how I hate for those cold drips to bother her. I was contemplating rigging something with clothes pins, but I knew baby S wouldn't leave those alone for long. Hmmmm.

Big sissy R brought me a bib and said, "Why don't you just put this on her backwards?"

Voila! Works like a charm. Thanks for the great idea, Sissy. Baby S thanks you, too!

Happy Homecoming R!

Happy Homecoming, our precious R!

Twelve years ago we came home as a family of 3 for the very first time, and what a joyous day that was! Your Daddy was amazed at how tiny you were, and I couldn't quit snuggling your soft baby face. You had 10 perfect fingers and 10 perfect toes, rosy skin, big dark eyes, and an adorable kissy mouth. We used to sit and watch you sleep, while recording it on video. You were just that precious.

Today you are our amazing, beautiful young lady, and we thank God every day that you are in our lives. You are always cheerful, ever helpful, and you make the people around you feel good. You face each day ready to serve and be joyful. You crack your Daddy up like no one else can, and I love spending girl time with you. HW and HA and Baby S are so very, very blessed to have your for their Big Sissy!

Thank you for being our wonderful daughter, and thank the Lord for bringing us together. We love you!

Sweet Baby S Update

It's hard to believe that this time last year we were just getting to know our sweet youngest. We were feeling the jet lag, and figuring out her routine, and adjusting to being a family of six. She couldn't yet hold her head up or roll over. She smiled a lot, and that hasn't changed!

Today, Little Miss is 17 months old and is just doing great. She giggles and runs and climbs and rolls and teases her brothers and sister and plays peek-a-boo. She heads straight for the dirt and mud outdoors. Anything that fits goes straight into her mouth. Outdoors someone has to stay with her every moment, because bugs of all kinds and dandelion flowers and pecans in the shell will fit in her mouth just fine, so in they go. She makes silly faces and sleeps great and eats great and just generally is a joy to be around. She is very, very, very busy.

Here is a list of some of the sign language she uses to talk with us: more, please, thank you, help, eat, drink, thirsty, hungry, ball, play, sleep, excited, happy, shoes, socks, coat, hat, hair, head, wash hands, brush teeth, hold  me, like, don't like, love, sit, swing, car, airplane, dog, cat, cow, elephant, fish, bird, goat, much of the alphabet, bread, milk, juice, strawberry, grape, pear, book, read, cracker, cheese, ice cream, cereal, cookie, monkey, butterfly, share, music, potty, ten, blue, red, orange, and I love you.

Here is a list of some of the adorable (and unusual) words she can say now: mama, daddy, bubba, sissy, rhino (nino), banana (nana), go, stop (op), one two three (un, tee, tee), bassoon (ah soon), cookie (gook ee), A, B, C, D, M, L, O, Z (and all the sounds that go with those letters, thanks to big sissy), cat (got), cereal (seal), apple (ah pul), read (mees), blue (boo), hello (ha-ow), bye-bye, and hi. She can also make lots of farm animal and wild animal sounds.

As you can see she is a chatty one. She also loves to play ball in the hall. She loves to run and hide. She likes to ride in her little push car, and she likes to talk to the cows. She loves most veggies (including broccoli) and likes to eat everything with her fingers. Eggs were not a favorite, but they are growing on her. Salad greens are still a no-go.

She is extremely attached to two particular burp cloths, which have now become her favorite sleepytime blankies. She calls them her puppies (buppies.)

She rarely sits still (therefore worship services are exhausting for Mama and Daddy.) And, can she ever cut a rug with her chubby little feet! She does some hilarious jigging, and we get such a kick out of watching her while R plays the violin for her. Another little quirk~ when R plays violin, in between jigs, baby S bends down and bites R's toes. Seriously.

What an amazing, fun, beautiful baby girl. We are so blessed.