The Cole Family

OUR BLOG IS MOVING!!!

2009-03-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have created a new blog. I plan to post exclusively in the new blog, but I will leave the link up on here for a while.

Here's our new site:

www.ameriguatopia.blogspot.com

Come on over and see us!!!

Julie

PS It appears you will have to cut and paste the new site, but you can do it! Go on, do it now before you forget........

The Story Behind the Craziness!

2009-02-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a moment to explain how Ryan and I came to our decision to adopt again.....

While we were going through the adoption of Anna and Gee we very much considered that "it" for us. 5 was a good number and we agreed on that. About month or so after Gee came home I mentioned to Ryan that I thought it would be cool to do it again. You should have seen the look he shot me. As amazing as our adoption experience was, the previous 3 or 4 years had been pretty rough on us. We had to work harder than the norm to build our family and we were both exhausted. So, after bringing it up a few times over a few months, we decided to pray about it.

We prayed about the possibility for 7 or 8 months before any decision was even made. It seemed like every time Ryan and I would discuss it, we'd hit a brick wall in some way or another. After a while I started to think that it just wasn't going to happen. Adoption is obviously a major decision and I 100% believe that Ryan and I both needed to feel God move us that way or we ought not do it. Well, pretty much "ought not doing it" became where we were at and I just decided we needed to be done with it and accept it was not going to happen. Well, about a week after that conclusion was made, Ryan came up to me and said "he was really considering adopting again." I tried not to get my hopes up, but that was really cool. From then on out it just seemed our conversations led more toward another adoption than away.

We have had some big issues to consider, but we finally got to the spot where we were ready to dive in. To be honest, I sit here amazed we are even at this point. It is a beautiful thing to arrive in this spot, where I feel like both Ryan and I 100% want this. We are just so excited!

Julie

Out of the mouth of babes........

2009-02-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is totally unrelated to our big adoption news, and I will post about that later, but.....

The three little ones were watching some cartoons this morning and it was on Nogin (pretty much the only cartoon station we watch). Well, Nogin does this little blip about Barack Obama All. The. Time. About how he is the first AA President and how historic that is and then it goes in to what kind of music, food, etc. he likes. Well, this morning our dish reception got briefly interrupted and it "paused" the T.V. during the Obama blip. I walked in and Madeline said "Brock Bama Broken." Hmmmmm, I think I have a wise 3 year.......

Julie

Big Announcement.........

2009-02-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

Well, Ryan and I have some exciting news to share for those who actually still check in on us here ............

We are adopting again! I don't have the time to go into all the details right now, but we are excited! We are headed to Ethiopia this time. Right now we are pulling together our massive piles of paperwork and we hope to have all that done in the next 6 to 8 weeks.

In the near future I will add some more details about how we got to this point and what kid of process we are looking at.

For now though, you know more than most of the people we know in real life. :)

Keep us in your prayers!

Julie

Gideon update

2009-02-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

We took Gee to the Dr. today for a well child visit and I was pretty happy with his stats. His weight (fully clothed) was 26.6 lbs. That's not too bad and it put him right at the 10th percentile for weight. I can take that. I was happy with his weight, but I was very pleasantly surprised with his height. I know he has gotten taller, but he is in the 60th percentile for height. It was a pretty accurate height check also. He had very low profile shoes on and I even thought the nurse was measuring him a little short when she was actually doing it. Our Dr. agrees that Gee probably has some sort of food intolerance/sensitivity due to his frequent, nasty smelling poop, but that is a very hard thing to figure out and sense he seems to be growing well, I think we are just going to continue watching it.

Ahhh, my little man Gee. He really is growing up. He was so good for the Dr. today. I remember when he use to whine when he even saw a Dr. He let the Dr. check all he needed to check and even almost smiled a few times. Which reminds me..... Gee does the cutest little "I am not going to smile," smile. He can be so stubborn, but you can just tell he wants to smile sometimes, but won't for whatever reason. That is what he was doing today. So cute!

Julie

Madeline is bilingual!!!

2009-02-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

Actually, she is trilingual (is that a word) if you count the dozen or so words she knows in Spanish. Anyways, she speak English and Annerish. Anna talks A LOT. I can understand probably 80% of what she says, but that other 20% has me baffled. That poor girl, I will have to ask her over and over again to repeat herself and then I still usually can't get it. Well, it seems now that Madeline has become her interpreter of sorts. Now Madeline will chime in and say "no mommy she wants X." This is happening more and more and it is just funny to watch. It is also very sweet to see my girls so close!

A potty update....... Gee is doing not too bad. To be honest, I have had to run lots of errands the last couple days, so we haven't been all that focused on it. While when been home he's only had one big accident and he has pee'd on the potty a few different times. So, all in all he is doing good. It is way to early to tell if he knows he needs to sit on the potty BEFORE he actually goes, but at least he's not afraid of the potty. And, he is learning how being a big boy works.

Julie

Potty time????

2009-02-16T06:48:00.000-08:00

So Gee is my only one not potty trained yet. I feel pretty fortunate that my other 4 were pretty "easy." I hate to use that word because I all too quickly remember the times when I unknowingly stepped in a puddle of pee or had to clean up poop smear. I have had my share of messes (i.e. see last post). In hindsight though, things went pretty good. Right now Gideon is the only one draining our budget of diaper/pull up money. :)

At one time I would have stressed about having a 2 1/2 yr old that cared nothing about using the potty. I stressed a lot when Leah was small, I stressed a little with Logan but then I came to realize that I was working way too hard at it. I think I had gotten caught up in the whole idea that people are just lazy if their 2 yr old cannot completely go diaper free. A little judgemental, I know. Now I am more laid back about it. I really do try and look for signs that the kids are ready first. Fortunately all the kids have done really well and have all been trained (through the night and all) by 2 1/2 ish. I guess Gee is the exception to that rule.

I am still not seeing the "signs" I would like to see with Gee to get him started. Although, he is seeming to know when he poo's better. I am just sooooo tired of the poop. No exaggeration, Ryan and I have probably changed 3 to 4 poopie diapers a day for the last week and a half. That is NOT normal (but I will not go there). That fact and the fact that he is "old enough" to be using a potty, has prompted me to get our little potty chair out and give it a try. We now have a potty station for him, all prepped with reading material and a jar of M & M's. I took his diaper off about an hour ago and I am going to sit him on it every 20 minutes or so. We will see how it goes. I hope he is more ready than I am thinking. I am going to give it a few days and if at the end of that time I have cleaned up more poo and pee than I care to mention, back to diapers it is. I will try to not feel like a failure and move on with life.

Wish us luck!

Julie

OH. MY. GOODNESS..........

2009-02-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

So the kids have not been sleeping all that great. Fevers are gone, but the coughs and runny noses are still there. Well, by 12:30 this afternoon I was ready to put the little ones to bed. They were ready also. Or so I thought. Madeline and Gee went right to sleep (which is not normal, so they had to be tired).

Anna has been a little testy these last few days. She's been feeling pretty good, but she has just been kind of a spitfire. Being purposely naughty and doing the opposite of what I tell her to do. She has been in time out a lot. So, I put all the kids down and tuck them in and kind of forget about them. Leah, Logan and I were doing some cleaning and we had music going. At about 2:30 or so I hear a loud "thud" from upstairs. Immediately I think "Anna." She has been known to goof around in her room a little before nap time, to which she always gets punished. But my goodness, it was over 2 hours since I laid her down. So I get to the top of the stairs and I immediately see that her door is shut. She hates her door shut when she is sleeping, she only closes it when she is playing and doesn't want to be seen. So, I open my door and the first thing I notice is that the room smells terrible. Then I see Anna, standing on her bed with no pants or underwear on (she went to bed with them). Upon closer inspection, I see poop smeared all over her sheets. It was very clear that she had not napped. She has torn out every single toy in the room and had arranged them all around her bed. Apparently she decided to play and didn't know what to do with herself when she had to go potty because she was suppose to be asleep. Anna has been very successfully potty trained for over 6 months now (nights too). She rarely has an accident. Also, which is probably the only humor I found in all this (and only now as I am reflecting) was that Anna tried to hide the evidence. Her very poopy underwear were hidden in the bottom over her doll crib with all their dress up clothes thrown on top and a bunch of toys. I guess she thought I'd miss the poop smeared everywhere, the stinch and a half naked Anna.

What a mess. My disinfectants got a workout and the poop infested clothes/sheets/blankets are awaiting their turn at the washer. Anna, well, Anna is kind of a sad little girl right now because she is lying on a bare mattress supposidly "taking a nap." To top it all off, I have been upstairs twice this writing this post to take toys away from her that she has gotten out of bed to get. What is her deal? Oiy.

Well, I am off to go and see if she is actually obeying yet and staying in her bed. Wish me luck!

Julie

Just a little update....

2009-02-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

So life has pretty much gotten back to normal, which I like. Saturday we celebrated my Grandma's 8oth birthday. We had a big party for her and she was so surprised (a tuckered) by all the family and friends that travelled in. It was a good time. The kids seemed to have fun. Most of the afternoon was spent running around like hooligans. What kid wouldn't have fun doing that? Leah did Gideon's hair and he ended up with a fauxhawk. It was so stinking cute! We may have to do that again.

We have had some sort of bug going through the kids. Leah was sick a couple weeks ago, with a very high fever and just lying around and sleeping. Then it seems Maddie got it a few days ago and then Annie came down with it on Monday. It seems like it is all a little different for them. Leah didn't really have much of a cold, just the headache, high fever and achiness. Madeline said her legs hurt, plus she had a fever (not near as high as Leah's), along with sneezing and some coughing. I thought Madeline was over it over the weekend, but she had a fever again yesterday and was complaining about her legs again. She is also being a bear, oh my, she is a whiney mess. Anna had a high fever Monday and just kind of laid around. She was quite pathetic, but now she is doing much better and it eating and acting pretty normal.

I have got to say, Anna is the best little sick thing ever. Even when her fever was 103.5, she was smiling at us and trying to be silly. Anna has kind of become my breath of fresh air. She is still the queen of drama (the girl should seriously be an actress), but she is just such an easy person to be around. She is full of energy and happiness and I can always count on her for a smile or a silly dance. Anna is still extremely perceptive of everything. Directions, a hard to see star, her sister from across the church foyer. I call her my little eagle eye.

Anna is starting to say some of the funniest/cutest stuff. Like right now her and Gideon are eating breakfast right behind me. They are carrying on and Anna's new phrase is "ha ha." I am sorry to say, but it is from the "Simpson's". No, we do not watch the "Simpson's" nor do we let the kids watch it. However, back in the high school days, we were know to watch an episode or two and I guess some of the phrases have lingered. So, now my 2 yr old runs around telling the other kids "ha ha" in the appropriate voice. While I am a little appalled that she does it, I more so find it totally hilarious. Let's see, Anna also says prayers with us, which is just precious. Right now she is really into wearing little sleeveless undershirts under her clothes. After her bath the other day I stuck one on her and she said "perfect!" :) :) So cute! Oh yeah, this morning I told her and Madeline to go upstairs and wake up their sleepy head brothers. Anna goes upstairs into their room and says "wake up, wake up, buenos dias, wake up." It was soooo cute. I love that she uses a little bit of Spanish. Yes, thank you Dora the Explorer. The only Spanish that I actively work with them on is counting from 1 to 10. But I encourage them to use any new words they pick up or any of the few words they already know.

As for Gideon, he is doing pretty good. He has avoided being sick, he just has a cough. He has yet to start gaining much weight, but at this point I guess that is just going to be his way. He is growing, just not all that fast. He acts healthy, so that is the important thing. He still has poo issues. Like over the weekend Ryan and I probably changed a dozen poopie diapers (no exaggeration). They were all stinky and nasty also. Ugh..... I am so tired of poop! At some point we are going to potty train him. He just seems to not care at all about whether he or poopie or wet, or about using the potty. I guess I am just dreading the battle. I usually like to get a feel from the kids first that they are ready to start learning. I don't get that from Gee, but maybe I'd be surprised if I started trying.

Gideon is developing into the quirkiest little guys. Not in a bad way at all, but in a funny way. He has this laugh/cackle that will make even the most somber person smile. Something will tickle him and he will just break out cackling. It is very loud and extremely funny. It usually comes in fits also. He could be cackling about something for minutes at a time. All Ryan and I can do it look at each other and laugh. Gee is a very scrappy little dude and he is FAST. Oh my, I never going to be able to keep up with him. The other day, the three little ones were walking around like crabs, I swear Gee could walk like a crab as fast as he could walk normally. Gee talks a lot and I really haven't noticed much delay in either of our two Guatlings at this point when it comes to speech. Gee is a little more selective with his words than Anna, but they are both doing so well.

All in all, life is good, normal. Our days are spent homeschooling, running around a bit, and just doing all the things you'd expect us to be doing.

Until later.....

Julie

Being Dedicated

2009-01-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

Last night at church (we go to church on Sat. evenings) we had our Madeline, Anna and Gideon dedicated to the Lord. We do not believe in baptizing babies, but we do believe in publicly committing ourselves to raising our children to love the Lord. We recognize that each of our kids have their own free will and ultimately it will be their decision to choose God or not. Ryan and I though, will do everything in our power to raise our children to know God and to have a personal relationship with him. Prayerfully, they will desire God and will accept Him into their hearts and then at some point being baptized will come into play. But, that will also be their own decision.

Now that our little theology lesson is over, last night was really a nice time. We go to the same church Ryan's family goes to. His siblings also had some of their children dedicated. So, we had all four of the siblings on stage with 8 out of the 12 grandkids up there. We also all had some family there, so we were quite a large group. We all went out to eat afterwards, which was a little chaotic, but still fun. The food was really yummy and all in all it was a good time. I left the evening feeling grateful for family and friends, but mostly I felt a deep sense of joy for our five beautiful blessings that God has entrusted us with. May we do him proud!

Julie

Finally some pictures!

2009-01-24T09:47:00.001-08:00

Opening presents...

The kids in Leah's bed getting ready to come downstairs Christmas morning.

Gee and Papa from Christmas Eve.

Gee, he's the cheesiest!

This is what happens when a bad hair twist habit gets out of hand.

The kids pretending to sleep on the stairs.

This is daddy's version of a bath.

From now on we will just have to a little matching game when it comes to what picture goes with what saying. That is fun, huh?.

Also, I will add Florida pics later because this post has gotten crazy long!

Julie

So much more...

2009-01-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

You know I have been thinking a lot lately about our adoptions. We first looked in to adopting in 2003. At that point we were experiencing secondary infertility and we really wanted to grow our family. We felt blessed to have experienced to two great pregnancies and births and we were ready to embark on a new journey to complete our family. At that point it was a means to an end. Sure, we liked the idea of giving a child a home that did not have one, but honestly, we just wanted more kids. Over the last 5 to 6 years though, adoption has become much more to me than that.

From a practical standpoint, it was our means to complete our family. From an emotional standpoint, well, words can't even describe the beauty of the experience. We have been through a lot to get our family to where it is today. All five of my kids are a beautiful gift from God and I deeply treasure the way each of them came into our lives. That being said, on an emotional level, our adoption experience has far exceeded my expectations. I knew Ryan and I would love and accept any adopted child as our own, but to actually watch that process happen is amazing.

Every day I witness 3 little ones playing together and loving one another as if it had always been. I see two big kids melt when Anna cries or Gee falls down. I see a little boy completely enamored with a daddy that I have no doubt he thinks the world revolves around. I see all these beautiful things and I then I think, a year and a half ago we were nothing to these two children. Now they are our lives, we are their lives. It truly overwhelms me.

Over time a new aspect of adoption has sprung in me and that is the spiritual aspect. Of course it is a good thing to take in an orphan, but I never really paid attention to how much the Bible really says about orphans. Over and over again God calls us to be instruments of justice for orphans and to care for them. Isaiah tells us to "Learn to do right, seek justice, encouraged the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." This is just one of many verses I found. I don't mean to sound preachy, but I really feel like part of God's heart is caring for orphans. I guess I just feel so blessed to be able to love and raise two of those fatherless that God cares so much about. And really it affects me more than that. I think adoption is something I am pretty passionate about now. Not for us to necessarily go out and adopt more kids, but I think a seed has been planted in me. It is hard to explain, but I am hopeful that at some point in my life I can use this passion in a way that will please God.

You know, as I sit and type this post, I am just amazed at what God has done in our lives over the past few years. This time, almost 4 years ago, was probably about the lowest point in my life. We had just gotten back from Russia without our twins and my heart was broken. It had been a rough couple years before that, but that was a pretty severe blow. Soon after we got home we did some high tech infertility treatments and were able to get pregnant. By early March we were told that our new found pregnancy would end in miscarriage. To be honest, at this point I thought God had completely forgotten I existed (there's some weak faith for you). I was so bitter with him. Well, that miscarriage became our little Madeline and when she was a year old we found our Anna and Gee and you know the rest. I still have no clue why God allowed us to experience the losses we endured, but I am finally to a place where I don't have to know. God never abandoned me and I can honestly say I am a stronger and better person having been through those struggles. Praise God for allowing me to see this side and praise Him even more for bringing me through this with a newfound passion.

Thanks for reading and allowing me to share.

Julie

Sharing a praise and update.

2009-01-21T05:52:00.000-08:00

Something happened in Florida that I want to publicly praise God for. We stayed at two different houses while there and they both had pools. That is very typical for the houses in that area. So, we spend lots of time by the pool, even if we are not swimming. I am a weinie about being cold, so when it is 70 something outside, I do not get in. The kids however would swim if it were in the 50's. The four oldest do great in the water. Last summer Madeline and Anna mastered swimming by themselves with just arm swimmies on. At first I was scared, then I became very proud that at 2 years old they were doing that by themselves. So the two little girls did lots of swimming with just their swimmies and we just kept a close eye one them. The pool was not that big, so that was pretty easy. Well, one day we did not see Anna. Ryan and I asked each other and neither saw her. All of the sudden we see Anne flapping her arms with only one swimmie on, swimming to the side of the pool. It was obvious she had been under (the little ones couldn't touch anywhere in the pool, but the steps) the water and had brought herself back up and swam to the side of the pool with one swimmie. I got to her just as she was reaching the side. The poor thing was panicked and I pulled her out and cuddled her. I was petrified at first, but then I was so proud of her. She did an amazing job and God really protected her.

In general, the kids are just doing so beautifully. We still have a few minor issues. Anna still wakes up 4 or 5 times a month yelling out, like she is having a nightmare. Gideon is having pretty major bath issues and he has for a few months now. He hates having the water poured over his head. He will literally scream and panic every time. He did better his last bath, but I had to go extremely slow, hold his hand and talk him through every step. Once his hair is washed he is happy and enjoys the rest of the bath. It is crazy because he will start to audibly whine when I even mention a bath and he gets real sullen until the hair washing is done.

Speaking of Gideon, he is still very much a daddy's boy. I know he loves his mama, but when daddy is around he doesn't really care to go to anyone else. He still pretty much prefers men. He goes to them more easily. Gee still is not gaining weight very fast at all. Way too slowly for my tastes, but the Dr.'s say he is fine, so we will just leave it at that. He acts healthy, so that's whats important I guess. His is moody though. Probably my moodiest kid yet. If he is tired, he gets very grumpy and irritable. He is the same way if his feelings get hurt, like if he gets scolded. He is just funny because sometimes he can be goofy and be ok with people egging him on watching him, but then sometimes he gets all quiet and doesn't want people to pay a bit of attention to him. It is strange.

I still plan to add pics from Florida, but they need to loaded when Ryan is home off of his laptop. So maybe this weekend? Anyways, until later......

Julie

No, we did not drop off the face of the earth!

2009-01-15T14:44:00.001-08:00

Oh, I hate that I am not getting to blog as much as I would like. So, how fast can I type, as we are leaving in like 10 minutes to run and get dinner (no kids, woohoo).

Anyways, here is a very short version of life the last month. BUSY, BUSY, BUSY.

The End

Ha ha, you know I can't say anything that short. :)

I was busier than I think I have ever been the two weeks before Christmas. Like couldn't sleep, out of my wits busy. I am not sure how things got so out of hand, but they did. We left for Florida the day after Christmas and we just got back Sunday night. I have been reclaiming my house this week and I think I am winning. I think I will be sweeping up pine needles from our very dead tree until next Christmas.

Florida was super great. It was however very sickly. We had pink eye, throwing up, a UTI, cough and colds and ear infections, all in one week. I think I spent over 18 hours in hospitals and pharmacies in the last 3 weeks. We seriously do not have that much sickness in a year around here. Yuck!

Well, my 10 minutes is up (guess I am a slow typer, although I did get the crescents out of the oven!). I will blog more later with pictures. I just didn't want you all to think I forgot about you all!

Julie

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Well, we took our annual "by the tree" pics yesterday. I was so proud of the kids. They did really well. They were very tolerant and patient. Madeline seemed to be the most troublesome. She was being good, but she just kept smiling at the wrong time or when she was looking somewhere other than at me.

I must say here, what a beautiful bunch of kiddos!! I am just so proud of all five of my babies!

Julie

Long Time, no blog........

2008-12-10T02:34:00.001-08:00

Well, it has been a while, sorry about that. I normally try and blog more often, but we have been busy and really nothing too new is going on. Christmas is rapidly approaching and we are very busy pulling everything together. Not to mention, we are leaving the day after Christmas for a two week jaunt in Florida (yes, I know, life is rough). Actually, as great as this Florida trip is (and trust me, we love it), is does make things a little harder. It is always very time consuming to pack for all of us, let alone being busy with holiday stuff. The good thing is that most are clothes we bring are summery, so I am can start packing now. Well, not actually now because I have no where near that much for-thought, but you get the idea.

I will post some new pictures soon. We are going to take our annual pictures around the tree today and while I am loading them up I will load some candid ones I have taken over the last few weeks.

I thought it might be nice to post what a typical day is like. I do plan to eventually save and print this blog and having a record of a day in the life would be fun. So, I must say, we are pretty boring. We are all up by 8:00 and from 8 to 10 I get the little kids breakfast and changed/bathed. The older kids have chores to do which include their household chores, plus practice piano and getting themselves ready for the day. After things settle down a bit I let the little three watch cartoons while I find my spot at the kitchen bar. This is pretty much my throne off and on for the next few hours. I check homeschooling and get the kids' school work ready for another day. We start homeschooling at 10:00. From 10 to noon I check school work, do laundry, do dishes (yes, our dishwasher is still broke after over 9 months--can you tell I am SO bitter?) and just interact with the kids. Often times one of the little ones sit beside me and "help" me do my work. Lunch is at 12:00. Leah and Logan eat at the bar and the 3 little one's either eat at their little table in the kitchen or I feed them. Nap time is from 12:30/1:00 to about 2:30/3:00. Also, the older two go back to work at 1:00. Gee still sleeps in his crib and Anna sleeps in her big girl bed. Madeline is still in her pack n play in our room because she is so untrustworthy unsupervised. While the kids naps I usually have some free time (in between homeschool questions). I will often times catch up on line or cut coupons. These days I am sewing because I have lots to do before Christmas. All 5 of the kids have an afternoon snack (if they ate lunch well) around 3:00/3:30. Most days the older kids are done with homeschooling by that time and the younger ones are running around like hooligans after a nice snooze. Dinner is around 5:30/6:00 which is about (I use that term pretty loosely) the time Ryan gets home. Daddy getting home is a pretty big event and the 3 little one's get very excited. "Daddy's home, daddy's home......" The rest of the evening is spent eating dinner, cleaning up after dinner and just being together. The little ones go to bed around 8:00, although they don't always go right to sleep. We will often times chill around the tv then. We tivo various shows like "Dirty Jobs," "Survivorman," "Man vs. Wild," "Planet Earth," etc. We will usually pop one of those on, I will eat me daily bowl of oats and Ryan will catch up online. The older kids go to bed at 9:30 and Ryan and I hit the pillows around 10:30. That is pretty much it. I totally realize that by now you are bored stiff, but this is my life and as boring as it may seem, it is pretty exciting and wonderful in my eyes. Oh and this is really only how it goes 3 to 4 days a week. We are gone pretty much every Wednesday from 12:30 to 8:30 (piano, Awanas, etc) Saturdays are church days and we leave for that around 4:00. And, we usually have another day or two interrupted by a trip to the store or some sort of get together.

More specifically, Anna and Gee are doing well. I think Gee was struggling with something for about 3 to 4 days. He was super moody and just not himself. He also had pretty bad diarreha. All 3 of the little ones have had the poo's lately, but Anna and Madeline have been acting fine. Gideon was better yesterday, so I am hoping he is over whatever was bothering him.

Anna would probably be classified as my most low maintenance child right now. At least out of the three littlest. She is still a drama queen, but she is really just a sweet kid. She's a little sneaky about stuff (getting into things), but Madeline is no help there, as Anna tends to do what Maddie does and Maddie can be just down right ornery. Anna is extremely perceptive of her surroundings, probably more so than any of the kids. She notices things like the "lit up moon"and the cat crossing the road. She also has a great sense of direction. She knows we are going to drive by the "poopie water" (the local sewage plant we sometimes pass going into town) roads before we do. She can see daddy's truck coming from a mile away, just stuff like that. Anna has the most tender heart ever (very similar to Logan). She is easy to cry and make the most pathetic face when she is upset. She is also very sensitive to loud noises, scary images or potentially scary situations. For the first time on Sunday she got scared by something on tv. I was watching a show and a scary image came on and the poor girl coward to the corner of the room. I felt so bad and I comforted her, but there she remained for like 10 minutes, even though the image was gone. I didn't even know she was watching tv. I was watching a movie while wrapping presents and apparently she was paying attention. Anna's speech continues to improve. Her favorite sayings are "I wuv you" and "I miss you." She pretty much uses them interchangably which is super cute.

Gideon is chugging right along. He is very good kiddo also, but he is a little more high maintenance than Anna. He is more stubborn strong headed. Both of those are characteristics I know and love, so that is fine, it just makes for a harder upbringing. Gee is very funny, and pretty easy going most of the time. In some ways he is pretty sensitive (somewhat emotionally and very much physically), but in other ways he is very rough and tumbly. He is so wired up at times, it is actually pretty fun to watch him. He jumps, runs, hangs off things, he is my little monkey. Gideon is saying "no" to us more often than I'd like, but I know that is just part of being a stubborn toddler. He is funny though because he doesn't just shout it out, he kind of says it under his breath and then doesn't do what he is told to do. Don't get me wrong, on an everyday basis, he is pretty obedient and easy to get along with. But, there are those times, usually when he is upset about something (like telling him "no" or scolding him for some reason) and he will not cooperate. Example: Yesterday he was done napping and yelling from his bed. He knows he is not aloud to yell because it will wake Anna up. So I go upstairs and go over to his crib and tell him he may not yell. I wasn't overly forceful when I said it and he didn't get punished, I just stated firmly "Gideon, you may not yell." Well, he then says "no mommy." That starts like a 3 minute dialogue trying to get him to say "yes, mommy." He is so stubborn it took forever to get him to say it. This is a pretty typical situation with him. First off, he does not like any attention that he perceives as negative. Even if he is doing something cute and he thinks people are paying attention for the wrong reasons he gets real reclusive and won't even look at people. So, I think when he gets scolded he internally panics at the negative attention and then his stubborness spews out "no's." One last thing I would like to add about Gee is that is is such a daddy's boy. He would choose Ryan over me any given day. I am mostly fine with that because I get tons of love from him on a daily basis, but sometimes it is difficult. I tend to be the disciplinarian with the little ones and Ryan is way more laid back with them. That is tough when he wants to let things slide and I do not. Then, I become the mean one. Ryan doesn't make me look mean and he is supportive of me disciplining the kids, but I still often times look like the bad guy. Ryan disciplines some (he expertise is the older ones though), but when he gets home and hasn't seen the kids all day, the last thing he wants to do is make them stand in the corner. For some reason, Ryan tends to let things slide with Gee more than any of the little ones, and for the most part, I do not.

Ok, this post was way longer than I expected. I guess that's what happens when you don't post for so long. In summery, life is good and we are continually blessed. Sometimes things seem very mundane and boring, sometimes things are way more "exciting" than I'd like them to be, but through it all, I feel so blessed and I love my little life.

Julie

A very sad weekend......

2008-11-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday Ryan's grandmother passed away. I almost hate to say "Ryan's" grandma because I certainly claimed her if you will, as my own. She was the most wonderful, Godly woman I have ever met and she is going to be severely missed. She loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren dearly. We were very fortunate to spend some additional time with her and grandpa this past year. They went on all our camping trips with us and we loved getting to see them both more often. When we got home with Gideon last fall, within days we went on a camping trip and they were there. They celebrated all our children with us and Anna and Gideon were no exception. I remember being at their house in Cincy and both grandma and grandpa prayed over them, specifically asking God to bless their health and to keep any past evilness from touching them. At that time we were still really struggling with Gideon's health and Anna was still waking often at night screaming out. I know those prayers were one of many that went out on behalf of my kids.

Grandma was truly unique and had this way of making every single person she encountered feel special. I miss her already, but I find great comfort in knowing that she is with her best friend, our Jesus.

So, this weekend was spent with family, remembering her life. The viewing was on Friday and the funeral was on Saturday.

Julie

Just a little election commentary.......

2008-11-05T04:41:00.000-08:00

I am SO glad my hope is in the Lord, not in Obama and the steady downfall of our culture. I am saddened and disappointed (although not surprised) that the US has chosen a leader that morally has no conscious. I love my US of A, but it is making decisions based on man's selfishness. Nothing good will ever come of that. Ahhhh, but such is life. I will rest in the fact that the true King of this life is still in control, nothing happens outside of his will.

Julie

The last couple weeks......

2008-11-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

So, I cut Annie's hair. I really like it although I was skeptical at first. I usually prefer long hair on the girls, but I was cutting Logan and Gee's hair and Anna wanted hers cut also. I was going to just trim it, but I ended up cutting like 3 inches off. It is adorable on her (although it looks a little wonky in the pics). Ryan said that now she really looks like Dora. Tis true.

We also went trick or treating last Thursday. We went to my Grandma's nursing home and that was lots of fun. The kids got way more candy than they will ever eat. Anna was a pumpkin, Gideon was a monkey and Madeline was a frog. Logan went at George Bush and Leah and my two nephews went as hie secret service.

A cute picture of the girls. They really are best buds.

Making funny faces.

Apparently baby had to go potty also.

Anna's hair, pre-cut.

Gideon loves his Papa.

We keep busy these days. Home schooling takes quite a bit of time and man, my days just seem to fly by. The three little ones are getting more independant and are getting to do more things. Like go up and down the stairs freely, climbing up on the bars stools, stuff like that. They even have their own coat hooks and shoe basket in the laundry. They are learning to hang thier own coats up and to put things away. The don't totally have the hang of it, but they are picking it up quick.

Until later.........

Julie

Reflecting on a year ago....

2008-10-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about Gideon these last few days because a year ago this time we were bringing him home. I was so anxious to get back to Guatemala. I thought having Anna home would keep me too busy to think too much about Gideon being away, but it didn't. Don't get me wrong, it was so precious to have Anna home, but Gideon was definitely missing in our family picture. I seriously felt like I had a hole in my heart. I kept trying to convince Ryan to let me go over and foster, but it was not happening. Having him in my arms was a dream come true. It just seemed to take so long. I still praise God for his amazing foster family! At least I know Gideon was clueless as to my agony. He was living with his beautiful family and loving life.

In the last year I have seen Gideon grow in so many ways. He is so funny and loving. Ryan and I call him our monkey. He climbs and dangles off of anything ha can. He is a loving brother and son and everyone ADORES him.

I will never be able to comprehend why God allowed our family to be blessed in such a way. I have seen great Christian woman/families who's hearts ache for a child, even just one. I have 5 amazing children who uniquely bless us and fulfill our lives. I feel so honored.

Julie

Stunning picture of Anna.

2008-10-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

I just think this picture of Anna is so beautiful....

Camping Pictures!

2008-10-09T08:16:00.001-07:00

Some of the pics are grainy (not sure why). Most are self explanatory, except the snake one. Leah walked right beside it on one of the trails and we were all getting ready to walk beside it also (including the 3 little ones) when Leah noticed it. I hate snakes and I freaked when I saw this one because it was so big. We got the other kids back and Ryan leaned my camera over the snake and snapped the pic. When we got home we looked it up and yes, it is a copperhead. I guess they are pretty common in the Smokies. We were literally 2 feet from it.

Who owns this house anyways??

2008-09-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

Madeline has been sleeping in a pack n play in our bedroom for months now. This stems from her inability to obey and sleep when told and her ability to climb out and over anything put in her path. Her and Anna share a bedroom and months ago I got it all ready with new toddler beds, I made them quilts, and just got Leah's old room (the biggest one upstairs) ready just for them. Well, it was very clear from the get go that Anna and Madeline were not going to go to sleep in the same room. So we moved Madeline to a pack and play in Leah's room (Leah really loved that). Then Madeline started having her "issues" and the rest is history. Last night I decided to try and let the girls sleep together again. Madleine really wanted to sleep in her big girl bed and she has been doing much better at not climbing out of her packie (thanks to Leah's inventive sticker chart). So, I gave it a go. Within about 10 minutes Madeline was yelling for me telling me that Anna wouldn't quit talking. I know this is true because that is how Anna is (very chatty like her mama) and I had heard her carrying on. So I went upstairs a couple different times and settled things down and then, get this........they fell asleep. I was so proud. Well, that was until I heard some pitter patter at 5:00 am in the morning! Thelma and Loise had obviously be up for a while. They were just walking around the kitchen, maybe looking for a snack? They each had a pair of shoes on, a purse and just acted like this was normal every day activity. They didn't even come to Ryan and I's room. I wonder if I hadn't heard them if we just would have woken up in the morning to them lounging on the couch, watching Dora, chugging their sippy cups and helping themselves to some snack bars. After further investigation, I saw that their light was on (I am amazed it did not wake their 3 siblings up, the rooms up there are close) and their upstair toys had been well played with. Who knows how long they had been up. The good news is that the girls went back to sleep, the bad news is, I did not. Yawn. Off to check those grey hairs.

I just wanted to say thank you to anyone who prayed I would find the kids' baby books. They have been found! I was so thrilled. About 6 weeks ago I reorganized my closet and really sorted through a lot of the pictures/adoption stuff that had been stuffed in there over the last year. Those two books had been sorted and put in a bin under our bed. In my feverish hunt, I had looked there first, but aparently not well enough. Or maybe God did His thing and in response to your prayers made my precious lost items found!

Julie

My first grey hair!

2008-09-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

So, it has begun. I was just looking in the mirror at how outgrown my highlights were looking and staring back at me was the greyist hair I have ever seen. I have seriously never yet had one. So, either I accept this new stage in life or I get to my hair lady quick and have her re-highlight me. Anne, here I come!

Hmmm, maybe this is what happens when you have 5 kids, 3 of which are in the terrible, I mean terrific twos......

Julie

PS You know I wouldn't trade it for anything!

You stuck what up your nose?!?!

2008-09-27T00:27:00.000-07:00

So, I was putting the kids to bed Wednesday night and I told Anna and Gideon to go on upstairs. After a couple seconds I followed. I went to go into Anna's room and she was pointing at the floor and saying "icky." Well, icky indeed, it was 2 dime sized drops of blood. After looking Anna over and laying her down I went into Gideon's room and he was standing by his crib with blood literally pouring out of his nose. It was quite eerie. No crying, just looking at me like "what are you looking at?" As I got closer I noticed a piece of wood clutched in his hand. I kid you not, it was probably 2 inches long and maybe a 1/4 inch wide. Maybe like a huge splinter? It was of course covered in blood, as was everything else. So I bring him downstairs, wipe all the blood off and give him a good looksie. The blood stopped pretty quickly and although it started back up briefly, by the time Ryan came home 20 minutes later, he was good to go. You know I always wonder whether we should go to the ER, but since the bleeding stopped quickly and he seemed fine, we decided to just wait and see how he did. He slept in our room just so we could keep and eye on him. You know, I think he had that piece of wood in their for at least a few hours. When I changed his diaper like 3 or 4 hours earlier, I thought I heard some wheezing, but I got distracted and the wheezing slipped my mind. I have been watching him for any signs of infection also. You know, I just can't believe he had that big of a piece of wood up his nose and I couldn't even see it. I think it was all the way up there and him bouncing up the stairs dislodged it. Never a dull moment!

Besides bloody noses, things are going well. Gideon had his surgery this past Tuesday and he did amazingly. I was pretty happy with our experience at Nationwide Children's hospital (formally Columbus Children's). I admit, the whole process was a little scary, I am sure especially so for Gideon. It took about 45 minutes to an hour for him to really wake up afterwards, but then it was like a light switch coming on. He popped off of Ryan's lap and started dancing and playing. He was even doing his "pretend" fall, to which we were a bit horrified, fearing he would "break" something. He has pretty much been on Tylenol all week just to keep him comfy.

Anna is doing really well with her potty training still. She's only had a few accidents and those are mostly because she was playing outside and preoccupied. She is telling me know when she has to go and she is in undies full time (except at night). So 2 toddlers down, 1 to go.

Speaking of Anna, she has an uncanny sense of direction. She has predicted where we were going on more than one occasion. We probably go into Urbana once or twice a week and maybe half that time I drive the "back" way, by the West Liberty sewage plant. The kids and I refer to it as "poopy water." I was going down the road before the road the plant is on an Annie points toward the sewage plant and says "poopy water." You couldn't even see the plant at that point (maybe she just has a really good sense of smell :)).

Something somewhat small I could use your prayers on, I have misplaced Anna and Gideon's baby books. I can't imagine they are truly lost, but I cannot find them and I am pretty heartbroken about it. I hadn't added a bunch of pictures or anything, so technically I could buy two new books and fill them out, but I journel in my baby's books and I had wrote a lot of personal stuff in them that I cannot replicate. Fortunately this blog has served as some sort of journel for me, but not liked the book did. So, if you could send a little request up for me that would be great!

Julie

PS I have tons of pics to load, but we are experiencing some computer issues (what's new, eh?). The only computer right now with internet access is our old laptop and I really do not want to load pics on here.

Anna is hitting the potty train (and Dr.'s appt.'s)!

2008-09-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

So Anna has been potty training for a few days now. She is really doing well. I haven't been brave enough yet to take her out in undies, but that will come. She has yet to tell me she has to go, I've just been sitting her on the potty frequently. I am not sure she gets that she needs to catch herself and tell me she has to go before she has an accident. At any rate, I am so far really proud of her and don't be surprised if you stop by our house and see a half nakie Annie!

I took all three of the little ones to well child visits yesterday. They all looked good. Annie is right around the 50th percentile for height and weight (a little above for the weight and a little under for the height). Gideon weighed 24 lbs 11 oz. He was in the 3rd percentile for weight and the 25th for height. We are taking Gee back to the GI specialist in December as a follow up and he had requested that a mid 6 month weight be done. A three of the little ones really looked great though. I left that Dr. appt. feeling so blessed for the 5 healthy kids I have!

A couple "funnies."

-Ryan came home Sunday afternoon after cutting some wood and as usual all the kids ran up to him saying "Daddy home, daddy home." Well, Ryan just happen to ask Anna to come sit in his lap and as she walked over to him she tripped a little bit and whined. Ryan held her babied her a bit. So Gideon, not missing a beat stands up and pretends to fall and than whines. It was so funny and Ryan was just cackling. We where both like "we can't believe he just did that." I guess Gee was needing some lovings also!

-The 3 toddlers new phrase is "No mommy, I talk'in to ______." Madeline started it and now all three say it. A typical situation goes like this: One of the little one is rambling on about something and I will say "Anna what do you need?" or I will answer their question if they asked one, to this I get (in a very frustrated voice), "No mommy, I talk'in to Madeline." I feel like sarcastically saying "gesh, sorry!"

-Anna is very big into "why" right now. Ugh, if I never heard that word again it would be fine by me.

Oh yeah, our camping trip last week was tons of funs. I have lots of pictures and as soon as they are uploaded I will post them. We hiked quite a bit and the kids did really well. It was great to get some family time!

Well, until later....

Julie

"Poopy, wet"

2008-09-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

So this is often times Anna's phrase when she has pooped (yes, potty training is right around the corner). Earlier today this is the conversation I hear:

Anna - "Poopy, wet......poopy, wet"

Madeline - "Ok, Anna, let me see"

So Madeline proceeds to check Anna's diaper like I do, by pulling it out at the back.

Madeline - "Ohhhhhhh.....Anna, you poopy"

This is funny to me because she said it exactly like I say it, she even had a look of disgust on her face. Yes, sometimes I get tired of changing literally 6 to 8 poopy diapers a day (Maddie is potty trained and Gee and Anna have poop issues) and I act disgusted that I am changing yet another on.

So I lay Anna down and change her and Madeline and Gideon gather around. Maddie says "that's disgusting" and Gee chimes in with "dis-gut-ing."

Poor, poor Anna. Fortunately she was not phased by the whole incident and she seriously cackled the whole time.

Julie

Finally, some Gideon birthday pics!

2008-08-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Gideon had 4 different birthday celebrations this year. Hey, we barely missed his first birthday, so I don't feel too badly for going a little overboard. We celebrated with my whole family the day before his birthday and then of course we had to have a little party on his actual birthday. Then, we had a big pirate pool party for all his cousins and finally we celebrated with Ryan's family while camping. Gideon and my niece are two days apart, so they partied together this year.

The pictures are nutty as usual, but there are pics of his pirate pool party and his joined party (while camping) with my niece.

PS. I am so frustrated with my picture issues on this blog. I have tried to remedy the problem in the few ways I know how (I am not computer savvy). I wonder if it's not just a weird "Apple Computer" thing. It seems I have a lot of issues with this computer not recognizing typical programs. But, I have loaded pictures normally on here before. **Sigh**

Julie

Oh dear gussy........

2008-08-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I asked for it. A blog is indeed very public, meaning anyone can read and obviously post a comment. Which truly is fine, but now I find it necessary to respond to such comments......

Please do not assume that we are uneducated or unenlightened on the pros and cons of circumcision simple because we do not share your opinion on the subject. We have done our research, prayed about it and we have come to a conclusion that we feel is best for our son and our family. I do not feel obligated to share those views on a public blog which is why they will remain our personal convictions. As Gideon's parents we will always have his best interests at heart. We don't get overly concerned with strangers opinions.

Julie

Just Checking in.

2008-08-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

I had a minute so I thought I would post and ramble on a bit.

The summer is flying by. I mean seriously, where did it go? I love fall and winter (until about early March) so the upcoming season change is just fine, but along with fall comes homeschooling, piano lessons, just more stuff.

We are leaving later today to go camping again. It should be lots of fun and the weather is suppose to be really nice, not too hot. A couple weeks after we get back, Ryan and I are taking the kids to Gatlinburg to camp for a week. That will be tons of fun! We have never gone on a week long vacation with just our family, so this will be cool/interesting. I reserved our campsite, but I haven't put too much thought into what our week will hold. I am sure lots of trails, bike riding and relaxing. Can you tell we are really enjoying our new camper?

Anna and Gee are really doing great. Anna is started to get really upset when we leave her (like at the church nursery or with the babysitter). She often will cry when we leave her, but lately she will literally scream and throw a fit. Within 5 minutes she is completely calm and fine, but it sure puts on a show. Besides that Anna is really doing well. We had/have a problem with her putting her fingers in her mouth. She never had any fingernails when it was nail clipping time, well I am happy to say that this has gotten better. I actually clipped her fingernails the other day. I am proud of her because she got into a bad habit and now she just does so much better. She still does it occasionally, especially when she needs comfort, but we are making strides.

Gideon is talking more also. He is just repeating everything now. I think he is just getting to the point where he can form word properly. I actually think he speaks more clearly than Anna, but Anna knows more words and it putting words together better. Gideon's circumcision is scheduled for late September (maybe the 23rd?). Poor guy. I do feel bad for him but I am sure he will heal quickly and be better in no time. Ryan and I did debate a little about circumcision and whether or not we felt it was necessary. We did some research and came to slightly different conclusions, but in the end I really feel like we are doing the right thing for our family and for Gideon.

Oh, all three of the kids have discovered cartoons. I guess I realized a couple months ago that the kids never really watched cartoons. I think that is just fine because I am sure many kids these days over watch the tv, but it has become a good distraction for them if I need to go do other things around the house. Right now their favorites are "Go Diego, Go," "Dora the Explorer," the "Backyardians" and "Yo Gaba Gaba." Let me just say that "Yo Gaba Gaba" is probably the most annoying show I have ever watched. I think it even tops "Barney." But, the kids love it. If your kids have yet to see this show, keep them far, far away. It came on after Dora one day and our kids were hooked!

Well, until next time!

Julie

"Mommy, that my brother and sister!"

2008-08-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

For the last week or so Madeline has been learning about siblings and cousins. It all started when she said one of her cousins was her "sister." So we have gone over with her a couple times what a sister/brother/cousin was. So I was cleaning out in the garage today and the 3 little ones were out there playing. They were actually playing really nicely with very few fights. Out of the blue Maddie says "mommy, that my brother and sister." She has finally "got it." Obviously, this comment was especially sentimental for me. My heart just swells when I see how close the little three are getting. I just love that we can bring two strangers into our family and within a very short period of time they can become siblings in every sense of the word.

Maddie is kind of the bossy one out of the three, but I do believe she genuinely tries to keep the smaller two out of trouble. She may be the first to yank a toy from them, but she is also the first to comfort them and tell them "it's ok" if they are sad. Gideon loves to stick things in his mouth, you really have to watch him. Out in the garage Madeline yanked something from his hand and of course he screamed (and said "Madeline, no!"). She had taken a little golf marker (like the thing you put on the green to mark your ball) from him. I gave it back to him and then realized he probably ought not have it and I threw it away. Madeline then said "I tell Gideon, don't choke on it." Maybe she wasn't being as selfish as I originally thought. I think she was watching out for her little brother.

Also, I wanted to add that Anna is speaking more clearly lately. I still can't understand 1/2 of what she says, but a lot of things are becoming more clear and she is saying lots of new words. I was a little concerned about her for a while. Not overly worried or anything because I think she is doing great for not hearing English for over 1/2 her life, but I guess I have felt she doesn't speak as well as other kids her age. Now, I don't normally worry about what every other kid does because I know first hand that each kid can be extremely different in how they develop. But, when it comes to language with our two little Guatlings, I feel I need to be more diligent than I would normally be.

Julie

Happy Birthday Gee!!!!

2008-07-31T20:20:00.001-07:00

Well, Gideon isn't officially 2 yet, but in less than 1/2 an hour he will be. I will not have time to blog tomorrow as we are leaving to go camp and I have a lot to do and for some reason I have extra energy right now.

This time last year I was feeling a range of mixed emotions. I had just dropped Gee of with his foster family. I needed to take Anna home, but I missed his first birthday by a day. I remember that we bought him a USA airplane backpack (hoping his foster family would send it home with him when we came back, which they did), filled with toys and stuff and a chocolate bar from Marie's candy. We also bought him a birthday balloon. It was so sad to leave him, although I was grateful to have Anna and to be so close to bringing him home.

I have pictures of his first birthday party and him eating his chocolate bar thanks to his wonderful foster family!

Now that Gee is home, where has the time gone? Gideon is growing into a strong funny little man. Yes, he still can cry at the drop of a hat, but I just know there's a little ham working it's way out. Boys are just fun. I love that God made boys and girls so different. Gee does all the typical boy stuff. He loves wheels and balls and he hangs like a monkey off of our table (he is a strong little guy). His newest trick is taking the girls' things and throwing them over the gate in the kitchen (where they can't reach them). It is seriously a hoot. The girls' get in such an uproar about it and Gee just thinks it is sooo funny.

I love my little boy. From the minute I saw his picture at 3 months I knew he needed to be our son. How wonderful blessed we are the God allowed my dream to come true. As I said earlier with Anna, I cannot share in this blog all that Gideon means to us, but we could not love him more.

Happy Birthday Gee!!

As for the pictures, the first two were taken within a couple days of his first birthday when we were picking up Gideon. That last 3 are recent.

**Could you please pray that the package we sent to his foster family arrives soon. We sent it over a month ago and they have yet to receive it. It had some irreplaceable things in it and it would really be sad if they don't get it. Also, I am sure they (as well as his birhtmom) are thinking of him on his birthday. May they both be blessed with sweet memories!

Julie

Gotcha Anna!!

2008-07-27T13:23:00.001-07:00

Well, one year ago today Annie and I were sitting at the US Embassy in Guatemala. We waited for about 3 hours to get Anna's visa, so we could come home. We left the next morning. The embassy was full of little Guatlings and parents dying to take their little ones home. Anna was so good and spent most of the time in my baby carrier, right on my chest. I was so excited to finally complete out last hurdle!!

It is hard to believe it has been a year. Anna has changed so very much. She has put on about 10 lbs and has really come out of her shell. She is still the sensitive little sweatheart she was back then, but she definitely has a spunky side now that she isn't afraid to show. I am totally in awe that God has intrusted this precious baby girl to us. There is no way that I can express in this blog all that Anna means to us. We are so incredibly blessed. We love our little Anna and on this 1 yr "Gotcha Day" we are especially thoughtful about all she means to us. We love you baby girl!!

Again, the pictures have issues, but I will do the best I can..........

The first 3 pictures are recent ones of Anna:

These last two pictures were taken a year ago. The one of Anna and I was taken on Embassy day (so exactly one year ago). She had just woken up from the car ride home and I wanted to get a picture before we changed our clothes. This other picture is the first time Leah and Logan met their little sister!

Just a little rondomness....

2008-07-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have no clue why my pictures are so wonky. Sorry, but I am too lazy to try and figure what the problem is.

Anymore when I go to take a picture, Gideon totally cheeses it up. It is so funny. Half the time I am not even planning on taking his picture, but I do anyways because he is cracking me up so much. In this first little clump of pics, I was trying to get a picture of the girls' kinky hair. I braided both the girls' hair into tiny braids and when I took it out yesterday, well it looked so funny I went to get my camara.

Also in this clump is Madeline sleeping in the high chair (insert major frustrations right here). We have been having major issues with Maddie sleeping where and when she should (please pray for this situation if you think of it). Madeline can, will and does climb out of EVERYTHING. Don't want to nap? No problem, just climb out of the pack -n- play and bother Anna who is being a good girl and is trying to go to sleep. Don't want to stay in the play area? No worries, just hop over the gate and go upstairs and try on all your flip flops. Our normal discipline methods are completely uneffective here. In the last day or so we have discovered "the chair." She hasn't figured out how to get out of this yet. So, we had the typical nap time experience and Maddie ended up in her chair, where she fell alseep (I knew she was tired!).

How funny is this picture of Gee (above obviously, ugh, why do I have to be so technically ignorant?)! He is the man of many faces! He does these kinds of looks all the time, I was just lucky I caught one.

Ok, these 2 pics are so funny to me. A little back story first. About a month ago I saw Annie doing this to her baby. I said "are you feeding your baby?" and she said yes. I thought is was adorable, but I wasn't really sure if she realized what she was doing. Then on vacation she did it a couple more times and now her and Maddie frequently nurse their babies. I am happy to see both my little girls share my passion for nursing, but I am a little confused as to where they picked it up, especially Anna. It has been quite some time Madeline has been nursed and while I have 2 sil's who nurse they don't see that all that often. Oh well, it is what it is and I think it is quite adorable.

CHEEEEEESE!

Vacation cont......

2008-07-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

This will probably be shorter than my original vacation post, but here it is....

Vacation was super! We had an awesome time. We went to the 4X4 beach in the Outer Banks (Corolla). We had a big house and had tons of room for our family and our extended family on Ryan's side. It was relaxing and exciting all at once. The beach was wonderful and the 4X4 beaches added a little "excitement."

The kids did great. Leah and Logan loved the ocean and the sand. Logie became quite the boogie boarder. The 3 little ones loved the sand and liked the water to varying degrees. Madeline loved the water if I was right there with her. She would ride the waves all day if I were holding her hand. Anna did not care for the water. I was impressed that she had no problem heading into the water at first, so I don't think she was so much scared of it, I just don't think she liked it. She'd usually go into the water whenever we asked her, but she'd always want right back out. I think Gee liked the water, but he never voluntarily headed into it.

I noticed something about Annie this past week. She is such a lover and really seems to have a big heart. I noticed her going out of her way more than once this past weekend to help a cousin/sibling, even if it took her out of her comfort zone. Like running into the waves to get Gee the shovel he dropped. She just hops right up, like it is second nature. Another thing Annie does these days is say she's sorry. "I sorry mommy," "I sorry Dami" (to be interpreted as "I sorry Jami (aunt)"), she apologizes for just bumping into you or walking by you, anything really. Very cute and funny.

So, that's about it when it comes to vacation. Great fellowship, great beach, great food, great house, what more can you ask for?

Julie

I HATE junebugs!

2008-07-08T05:53:00.000-07:00

Let me preface by saying I HATE junebugs!!! You know those noisy little beetle like bugs that fly at your windows and crunch when smushed. I think my issues here date back to when I lived at home and they always seemed to get into the house and bang up against our windows at night. I would lay in bed petrified that one would attack me. So, they just bug me (no pun intended :)).

Well, just a few minutes ago Gideon was putting something in his mouth (can you tell where this is going?). I said "Gideon, come here and let mommy see what you are putting in your mouth." So, he proceeded to hand me a half eaten junebug. He laid it in my hand and I screamed and dropped it. The two girls looked at me like I was crazy and my dear, dear boy started to hysterically laugh (no kidding). In hindsight it was very funny, but maybe that is because the junebug is safely in the trash!

FYI - we have our post placement visit tonight with a social worker. This is a required follow up to check on Anna and Gee.

Also FYI - I weighed Gee last night and he was 25 lbs even. I was so excited, we cheered. Now, he is normally higher in the evenings, but regardless of when we weigh him, he has never seen 25 lbs!

Julie

Hello Again

2008-07-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, we are back from vacation and I just wrote a 5 paragraph post and it is gone now. I will have to repost vacation info later because I don't have time to now. Here are the pics though:

Madeline, my niece Kayla and and Anna chilling on a beach chair.

Four little princess' and one prince (ummm, that is a Kilt on Gee).

Annie initially enjoying the water with papa.

Gee and his "best buddy." My poor little niece (her and Gee are 2 days apart), she is always s excited to see Gee and he is usually less than enthusiastic. Also, this pic is pre hair cut.

Eating dinner at a local spot by the beach.

The wild horses that run freely on the 4X4 beaches of the Outer Banks.

Gee post hair cut, by the pool.

Annie and Katelyn strolling the beach.

Gee and his beach hat.

Some picture!!

2008-06-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back from camping and gearing up for our next trip. We leave for that one next Thursday. We are going to the Outer Banks and I am very much looking forward to it. We are leaving a day early so we can check out Williamsburg.

Here are some pictures from our fishing trip to Canada:

Gee is so funny. Sometimes when you ask him to smile he goes into a panick coma and just stares at you, other times he does this:

The 3 amigos in their boat gear!

A very unhappy Annie. She was in time out under the boat glove box. Pretty pathetic looking eh?

Ryan's mondo catfish!

Gee and mommy. He LOVED the boat, although this picture certainly does not show it!

The 3 little ones playing under the glove box. I set up a "tent" for them that you can't see.

Daddy and Gee. This was Gee's absolute favorite spot!

My little life vest beauty!

Until later!

Julie

Home and leaving again, plus a Gee update

2008-06-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back from our trip to Canada. We had a really great time and the kids were amazing! They all loved the boat after they got the hang of walking around in it without falling. The weather was good, although we had a 25 degree temperature swing from the beginning of the week to the end of the week. The fishing was the best ever! Our boat alone caught around 115 fish and that is mainly just Ryan fishing. As always we enjoyed being with our extended and immediate family, but it is good to be home.

We leave this Wednesday afternoon for another camping trip. Yes, I am feeling a tad overwhelmed, but it's all good. Things might be a little crazy between now and when we leave, but once we get there I am sure I will have time to chill. Right now I am washing tons of laundry and trying to get the camper packed.

We took Gee to the GI specialist again today. Ryan went with me. Pretty much we are just going to let things be with Gideon right now. I am not sure how I feel about this. I mean I am happy that there are no major problems staring us in the face, but I still feel something is off. They are going to get his stool one more time and do 4 or 5 different tests on that and they are going to start some sort of meds to help with his constant poo-ing. The Dr. wants his weight monitored for the net 6 months. His weight is in the 5th to 10th percentile and his height is in the 5th. The Dr. said he was glad to see Gee follow a growth curve, even if it is at the bottom of the scale. He said the Gee seems very happy and healthy and for now I think he is just willing to except that this is just who Gee is. I want to accept that also, but I guess I am just a bit skeptical. But I am content enough to just do what the doctor says and see how things go.

I want to add some vacation pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet. Here are some ones from the last few weeks:

Gee's new hat.

Anna cheesing. Do you see her boo boo on her chin?

Anna and Madeline "loving on" Gideon.

This was taken right after he got up. I don't think he was feeling the love.

Until later......

Julie

Off we go again.

2008-05-29T19:56:00.001-07:00

Ok this is going to be brief. I just wanted to pop in and let you guys know we are heading out on vacation the day after tomorrow. We are going to Canada to fish. We do this every year and while I do not pride myself on being a fisherwoman (although it can be fun), I love the lake we go to and the water and it is always relaxing. This year will probably be a little less relaxing, but fun nonetheless. I just hope the 3 little ones don't wig out about being on the boat for 3 or 4 hours at a time. Oh well, we shall see......

Quick Kiddo Updates:

Anna

She got a good sized booboo on her chin Memorial Day. It was a gash that could have probably used a stitch or two. I have been putting a couple butterfly strips on it and a bandaid and it looking pretty good. It is all bruised and stuff, the poor thing, she hit it hard. She also got stung by a bee on her finger today, in our house of all places. She kept saying "ladybug give me booboo." This was very much the wrong thing to say because I had just convinced Madeline that ladybugs (i.e. any bug, fly or spider) we nice and liked Madeline.

Other than her booboo's, Anna is doing pretty well. Something odd about her though right now are these scars she has on her tongue. They are a new thing (last 6 months or so) and the run down the left side of her tongue. I am a little concerned about them, but I assume she must be knawing on her tongue or something while she sleeps. I don't know, very odd indeed and I will ask the dr about it the next time we see one.

Gideon

Well, his u/s came back good, so that is good news. We see the GI specialists June 9th and Ryan is going to go with me so that we can both ask everything we need to ask. I really want to get some answers. Gee seems to have gained some weight, but it is so hard to tell because I feel like he fluctuates so much. He poo is still aweful. Very frequent and about 1/3 of the time it is a blowout. Yuck! I told Ryan today that I am all pooped out! He gets to change all the poopie diapers on vacation. I need a break.

Besides the poo issue, Gee seems to be doing well. Kind of whiney, but maybe that is a personality trait. He is really a funny guy that like to be silly. He also like to annoy his sisters, usually by laying on them or pulling on some article of their clothing. I think he is a little "shy" (for lack a better words) also. If he realizes people are looking at him his face gets all expressionless and he looks like a deer in the headlights. It is really funny because he won't even crack a smile.

Ok, well I must go. I have loads of packing to do!

Julie

Camping!

2008-05-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

So we went camping at General Butler State Park (in Kentucky) this past weekend. It was lots of fun! It poured the whole first day, but the rest of the weekend was really nice. The campground had a lot of mature trees and we kind of had a whole section to ourselves. The kids rode their "ride bikes" around and around. We played some corn hole and rode the big kid bikes and pretty much just relaxed as much as we could.

We just recently got a new camper and that made camping much more feasible for a family of 7. The 3 little ones had a little bit of a tough time getting a sleep routine down, but all in all it wasn't too bad. We hope to get plenty of camping trips in this summer/fall.

This park had a choo choo that the kids got to ride. All 5 seemed to think it was fun, even though I am sure it was boring for the oldest 2.

Anna and Gideon eating Anna's birthday cupcake (yes, her 4th birthday celebration). Her and mama shared a little party. It was cute and the cupcakes were a hit with the kiddos.

Anna and Madeline riding in the pull behind on daddy's bike.

Gideon and cousin Katelyn "enjoying" their ride on the back of Uncle Adam's bike (they are only 2 days apart).

Anna and Leah on the choo choo.

Gideon on the choo choo.

FYI, Gideon had an ultrasound this morning. They checked his kidneys and bladder. We should know the results in a few days.

Julie

An update and WooHoo!

2008-05-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, the "woohoo" is for Anna. Her new little thing is saying "woohoo" and raising both her hands in the air. It is so funny and cute. Like she will say "woohoo, daddy's home" and put her arms up. I do not know where she gets this stuff at, but it is a hoot! Oh and something else I wanted to add about Annie is that she is super observant, probably more so than any of the other kids. Like, she will see our house from far away and say "our home." Or she will see Ryan's truck through our house window when he is barely in sight. It is fun to try and figure that girl out. Sometimes I think she is really a lovey dovey softy (which she is), but other times she just seems to be such a thinker and you can tell she really studies stuff. I guess maybe she will be well balanced and both!

We too Gee to Children's again on Monday. We took him to a urologist so that we can get his circumcision done. The Dr. was super nice. He thinks that we should hold off on circ'ing him until we find out what his issues are. He said that since the circ is elective and it won't really matter whether we do it now or a year from now, he thought it best to figure out what is going on with his body first. That is fine with me. I'd like to get his circumcision over with, but whatever the Dr. think is best is fine. The Dr. also wants to do an u/s of Gee's kidneys (scheduled for next week). He said he mostly wants to do it just to rule out an issue there. We are also suppose to take Gee in to get a urine sample done the next time he is fevering. Gideon hasn't been sick in a couple weeks which is good. His is still having some stool issues though and hasn't gained any notable weight.

We are leaving to go camping this afternoon and everyone is super excited. Even the little ones are excited and they have no clue what "going camping" even means. We are heading to Kentucky, so it will be about a 3 hour drive. We are going with Ryan's family, so it will be quite the crew. It is nice though because the kids play well together and we always enjoy visiting with each other. Plus, it really helps on meals when everyone pitches in! We will be back on Sunday.

Julie

Happy Birthday Anna!!!

2008-05-09T01:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but for some reason, I can't get the pictures to go in after my blogging, so here they are first.

The kids eating lunch on Anna's new picnic table.

Here's her cake. It was strawberry, which I don't normally do, but it was pink and she picked it out. I actually thought is was pretty yummy. The frosting was just regular buttercream and tinted pink. It was 4 layers with fresh strawberries. Very rich!

Anna, being silly. She gets all goofy now when we ask her to smile.

Oh, dear heavens, Uncle Tim gave her a bowl of salsa and she went to town. She loved it!

Eating her yummy cake!

Well, at 8:25 pm Anna will be "2." I wasn't really sure at what time of day she was born, but Leah and Logan were asking me, so yesterday I checked. We kind of make a big deal around here about the exact time of birth. Anna's birth mom was probably in labour about now. I think my overwhelming feeling right now is gratefulness. I am mostly grateful to God for allowing Anna to become our daughter, but I am also incredibly grateful to Anna's birth mom, especially today. In Anna's first 6 months of life, her birth mom had to make decisions that I am sure were completely heartbreaking. But, those heartbreaking decisions gave us this wonderful gift of our beautiful, bright Anna Maria.

Last night we got together with my family and celebrated. It was a little chaotic, but lots of fun. My extended family went together and bought a really fun outdoor climber for both Anna's and Gideon's (upcoming) birthday. We already have the climber outside and the kiddos LOVE it. We bought Anna a picnic table from us and the kids already ate lunch on it early this week (the one day we didn't have rain). Tonight we are taking Anna out with just our immediate family. Leah and Logan got her a little gift and we also bought her a princess outfit. I really treasure getting to take the kids out on their actual birthdays with just us. I know it won't always work out this way, but when it does, it is my favorite. Tomorrow is Anna's princess party. All the girl cousins on both sides are invited over and we are going to celebrate in true princess style!

So, Anna will be celebrating for 3 days in a row, but hey, why not? Also, we are going to celebrate next week with Ryan family (when we go camping). So, Anna is going to have her share of partying!

Anna and sleep.....

2008-05-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

The main thing Anna has struggled with since she's been home is sleep. She has gotten much better over the months. She falls asleep fine, but she wakes up in the middle of the night crying out. Sometimes she even wakes up in the middle of her nap crying. She is getting increasingly better, she maybe only wakes 2 to 3 times a week now. The reason I am writing this is because she woke up in the middle of her nap today crying out and it was soooo sad. I heard her crying "mama, mama" and when I got upstairs she was lying in her bed, half asleep with her arms reaching straight up in the air. She was calling for me and I went over to her, she looked at me and threw her arms around my neck and squeezed hard. Bless her heart. It was sweet and sad at the same time.

We have been praying for Anna about this issue for a while. I am glad it is better, I hope she is totally over it soon though.

Tomorrow is Anna's 2nd birthday, so I will post again then!

Julie

I got a buddy......

2008-04-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is Madeline's new phrase. She is actually saying it right now. "I got buddy, I like buddy." Gideon is he little buddy. It is so cute. She will sit by him or let him sit by her. She will pat his head or back. Madeline was already downstairs when I brought Gideon down yesterday and the minute we came down she yells "that my buddy, he's a cutie." Sometimes when she calls him her buddy, Gideon will look at me and say "buddy!" It is very endearing. Madeline is also pretty attentive to Gee when he is hurt (even if she causes the booboo). She will pat him or rub his head and say "it ok."

Speaking of buddies, we kind of have a buddy system when we go out. Anna is Leah's buddy and Madeline is Logan's. Gee is mine. It works pretty well when the kids need to hold hands in the parking lot. We tried different "buddies" and this works best. It is kind of funny to me because Leah and Logan are pretty opposite and fight about those differences all the time. Well, Anna is way more like Logan and Madeline is way more like Leah, I guess I thought Leah/Madeline and Logan/Anna would be more of natural match. But, Madeline really doesn't listen to Leah very well and while she doesn't listen to Logan well either, he is more gentle with her and she responds well to that. Anna pretty much likes everyone, but I think her and Leah have a little something special going. For some reason Leah has a lot of patience for Anna. She is always grabbing her to snuggle and stuff. It is really very cute. Annie just loves it and is getting quite close to Leah. Annie was feeling badly yesterday and her and Leah snuggled most of the morning. Anna even fell asleep on her.

Gideon is feeling better and sounding better. Thank goodness. I think though all of the kids have caught something over the weekend. Annie felt bad all day yesterday and she just laid around, she also had a low grade fever. Both her and Madeline woke up coughing in the middle of the night and I had to give them something. We seem to be fever free today, but now all 5 kids have coughs to varying degrees. Yuck!

We are kind of gearing for a busy couple months. We have graduations, a birthday party, camping trips and vacations coming up in the near future. I love that kind of stuff, so it will be fun, but it will keep us hopping!

Julie

Xray results......

2008-04-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Well, he's got pneumonia. Rats! The Dr. said that his antibiotic should take care of it, along with the nebulizer treatments. He wants to see him back in 2 weeks to recheck him and probably do a repeat xray.

Poor guys, his cough is just so frequent and unproductive. He slept ok last night. I got up around 3:00 to check on him and he was coughing and his fever was up again. So, I gave him some more fever meds and cough syrup. I have got to tell you a funny about that 3:00 am wake up. I went upstairs and I didn't even know Gee was awake. I heard him coughing, but he's been doing that all the time. So, I sneak into his room and out of the blue he yelled "WHAT?!" It scared the pee out of me, I screamed. I guess he was totally awake and heard me coming in. I still kind of laugh about that. Gideon is still being a real trooper. I mean his cough is awful, but for the most part he is playing and being goofy like normal. I mean you can tell he is a little off, but not too bad at all.

Ugh, sick again......

2008-04-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, Gee is sick ............ again. It was just 6 weeks ago that he had bronchitis and was pretty miserable. Well, about 3 weeks ago he was sick with a cough and fever for 2 or 3 days. He also had the yellow crud coming out of his nose. Well, we just kept him on fever meds and he got better. Well, except for the cough. It got a little better but here in the last few days it has gotten much worse. Even in the last 24 hours has gotten increasingly bad. So, we took him to the Dr. today and he's kind of a mess. His lungs are 'wet" and his lymphnodes are swollen. He has a fever again (102.6) and his nose is a little bit yucky again. His cough is completely awful. He is coughing so hard on a regular basis that he is gaging. He has literally coughed all day today. So, that Dr. prescribed him an antibiotic, a cough syrup and some asthma meds (along with a nebulizer). He also ordered an xray (we should get those results tomorrow). And btw, Gee had gained zero weight on the Dr.'s scales since he was there 6 weeks ago.

I am just sad that Gideon seems to spend so much time sick. I tell you what though, he is a trooper. For as sensitive as he can be when he is well you'd almost expect him to be high maintenance when he's sick. He is not at all. He still smiles and acts sweet even when he's hacking like crazy.

We are no closer to finding what Gideon's long term issues might be than what we were in my last post. He has another appt. at Columbus children's with his GI guy in June (the first available they had). Actually, he has an appointment sooner than that (May 12th) with the pediatric urologist. It is time for Gee to get circumcised and since he is older it will be an outpatient surgery.

Everything else is going well. I finally got the girl's room's switched around and the little girls are doing pretty good in their new beds. It has been a little tough, but I think they are finally starting to get the hang of sleeping in their beds and not playing in their room (maybe). They love their new big girl beds and special blankies though. It is really cute to see how excited they are about them. When we first got the room/beds ready I took all 3 little ones upstairs to see. I showed the girls thier beds and they of course hopped right on. Gideon walked in between the beds and turned and looked at me and did his "hands up, shoulder shrug" thing and said "My bed?" It was sooo funny and pathetic I just had to laugh!

Ok, here's some recent pics:

Doesn't he look great in that blue? He has such a beautiful smile!

Annie in her new bed!

Maddie in her new bed!

That cannot be comfortable!

We took this right before I cut Gee's hair. This is his new "scrunchy" look.

Ok, so he didn't love the swing...........

My little girls LOVED the slide (it took like 5 minutes of bribing to even get this picture, they just wanted to "go")

Enjoying the beautiful day at the park.

Until later.........

Julie

Just checking in........

2008-04-13T18:19:00.001-07:00

Nothing terribly new to report, so basically I am just checking in.

Gideon news:

Well, he got a hair cut tonight and he looks super cute. I cut about an inch or so off and it needed it. Right now his hair is super stringy. I think his baby hair is just growing out, but I just don't see lots of new hair growing in. I will post pictures sometime this week!

Health wise he is doing ok. He spiked a fever again this last week, but it never got near as high as I've seen it (102.5 is about what he was running). He has a cough and definite head cold that seems to be on the upswing. He broke out in hives again tonight after his bath. They were pretty bad and covered his arms and legs. Some bynadryl cleared them up pretty quickly, but they looked very uncomfortable. We have been introducing dairy back into his diet so I guess it could be that, but we've been giving the dairy for a week now (off and on) and I would think we'd of seen more hives if the dairy was the problem (although he did have a couple hives on his tushy yesterday). He just needs to have a full allergy panel done. I am going to call his gastro Dr. tomorrow and set up an another appointment. Ryan wants to go with me this time, which will be a welcome change. Weight wise, Gideon has gained a few ounces in the past few weeks, but over the last week, he lost a couple. But, his poo's seems to be better.

Anna update:

Anna is really just doing great! I praise God for that. Her and Gee are like 3 months into their 9 month TB meds and they take them with ease. Annie is gained weight beautifully and she is even getting some chunk to her (which I love). Annie is talking much more now and repeats anything. She is very orny and out of the 3 I think she pushes the most buttons. She will swipe a toy just to tick Gee or Madeline off. She is also my whiney one, but I have been impressed lately that she is getting better at that. She is still little miss cuddly and she loves to snuggle.

Anna and Madeline are getting ready to change rooms (probably this week) and move to toddler beds. I am excited for them, but personally dreading it. They will both be tough to transition, but Anna will be the hardest. She is just such a busy body, we will see though, maybe I will be suprised!

Well, until next time, talk to you later!

Julie

We are good!

2008-04-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am very happy to report that Gideon's labs came back all negative (the soy and milk allergy and most importantly the CF bloodwork)! I am so happy and relieved. I know that test isn't 100%, especially for his ethnicity, but unless we see more symptoms, I am not going to worry about it!!!

Thank you God that our boy does not have that dibilitating disease........

Well, sorry to be so short, but I wanted to at least update!

Julie

Still waiting.......

2008-03-31T19:58:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

Well, we haven't heard anything yet about the bloodwork. I am going to call on Thursday though if we still have not gotten any news. We have found out that the test they are running tests like 80 or 90 most common strains if CF (there are over 1500 strains). This catches approx. 90% of CF in caucasions. Well ,since Gee is hispanic, it will only catch CF 57% of the time. So, not real conclusive, but I will definetly feel better if it is negative.

You know I go back and forth so much with this. Sometimes I just know he does not have it, others times I worry enough about it I get scared for him. Right now I am feeling pretty confident he is ok. He just seems to be doing so well. According to our scales, he has gained some weight (like 6 or 7 oz.) and he just seems to be pretty happy (for the most part). His hasn't had a fever in a few weeks (since he had bronchitis) and his poo hasn't been too terribly outragous. We even gave him some milk the other day and I never noticed any ill effects. So, maybe is just totally ok?

I wanted to put in this blog that we still keep in contact with Gee's foster family. Their oldest son (he is a super smart kid) speaks fluent English and we e-mail him and he passes it on to the family. They are such good people. Gee's foster sister sent him/me a hand colored card a few weeks ago that was sooooo precious. We are getting a box of pictures and goodies together to send to them right now. I wanted to share with you all the e-mail I got just today from the foster brother:

Cole Family,

Hello, how are you all? We really appreciate that we are available to keep in touch!
My mom says: "I think we all yearn for a child who will become a good, kind and candid man, and who will fulfill my heart with pride. Just like the tree that prepares itself for many seasons for giving life to a perfect fruit, every parents see their children as a beautiful dream come true. Although Gideon is far from here, he is always in my mind and every beat of my heart and I will be by his side because I pray every single day for him".

Take care!God bless you!

How beautiful is that? I cried when I first read it. I want so badly to go back to Guatemala to see them again. I want them to see how beautiful and smart Gee is!!!

I don't have much to update on Miss Anna. Right now the poor girl is fighting a cold that seems to have settled in her eyes. She's been goopey for a while, but it now seems to be getting better. Anna is saying more and more words. It seems she went for a while without adding any new vocabulary, but now, she is really taking off. I am so proud of and amazed by her. He and Gideon both really!

Anna still want to be just like Madeline. She is always asking to go potty and for a "chockie (an m & m)." We let her sit on the potty, but I don't think she quite gets it yet. Although Ryan said this even she spread her legs (with a diapie on of course) and said "go potty" and she pooped (was that TMI?). Soooo, maybe just maybe she gets it after all?

Right now we are working on switching Anna and Madeline to Leah's bigger bedroom and Leah to their smaller one. We are painting and I am making the girls quilts for their new big girl beds. Yes, they are both moving to toddler beds very soon. Oiy. That will be stressful. But, I am sure they will do great! I hope they will at least.

Well, here are some recent pics of the kiddos:

Our very cold Easter egg hunt with my side of the family:

Annie and her lovely morning "doo." She loved her Easter basket, as did all the kids.

The whole family Easter Day.

Oh my goodness I love this picture of Gee. He looks like Oliver asking for more porraige (that totally dates me right?). He is actually saying "I don't know," which is his new favorite phrase. We asked him where the Easter eggs were at and he gave us this look and said "I don't know."

PawPaw and 3 of his little ones.

Logan playing ring around the rosie with the kids.

Two of my beauties!

These get ups lastest for maybe 30 seconds. They beg me to put them on and then the rip them right off. I had to redress Madeline just to get a picture.

The kiddos at Dave and Buster's eating some ever so healthy french fries. Hey, it was a party (Logie's birthday), you don't have to be healthy at a party, right?

Boy, do they love their Ketsup! (does Annie look way big here, or am I just in denial?)

That's all folks!

Julie

Columbus Children's today

2008-03-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got Gideon's bloodowork done. Than took blood for his cystic fibrosis test and for milk/soy allergies. He did amazingly! He fussed when the lap tech put the band around his arm, but didn't cry or fuss when they put the needle in his arm or for the whole minute or so it took to get the blood. I was so proud of my little guy! We should know something in a couple weeks. Please pray for him if you think of it. My gut still says he just has some sort of allergy/intolerance. But CF is very scary and I am obviously a little worried. His weight today at the hospital was 22.6 lbs. I think that is up a couple oz. from 2 months ago.

The kiddos have been home long enough now that we have to have their 6 month post placements done. This is just a follow up that our home study agency does per a government/adoption country requirement. Pretty much a social worker will come to our house and make sure things are going well. We also need to take both kids back to Cincinatti Children's hospital to have their 6 month follow ups there. Oh, and I need to add re-adopt the kids to the list. Ohio recognizes Anna and Gideon as our legal children, but we need to legally change their names and get them US birth certificates and social security cards. They are legally Ana Maria Cole and Jose Alexander Cole right now and we'd like to get those first names fixed. Gesh, we need to get on the ball!

Julie

We are heading back to Children's next week.

2008-03-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

So we have been getting a little frustrated with Gee's lack of progress when it comes to some sort of diagnosis (or eventually a lack thereof). We pretty much went to Columbus Children's to look for an answer regarding Gee's allergies (if he indeed has them). During our initial appointment with the specialist there I think our doctor became concerned that there was something worse than allergies wrong with Gee. So, we are testing for those things. I think we should test for any potential problems, but it seems that his potential allergies have been totally forgotten and our calls to the nurse were not being returned.

So I called back up to Cincinnati to talk to our adoption doctor (or at least our sweet nurse up there) and told her of our lack of progress. She suggested we call back up there and be more forceful. So I called up there and finally got a call back. Our doctor there ordered bloodwork that tests for cystic fybrosis and blookwork that tests for milk and soy allergies. So next week we are heading back to Columbus for Gee to give more blood (poor guy). Plus our Dr. wants him weighed again.

Overall I feel Gideon was doing better until he got sick last week. His stools were a little better and he had even put on a few ounces. But after he was sick we weighed him again and he had lost almost a whole pound. He did not need that! Now his stools are all wonky again. I guess another reason I feel he has some sort of allergy is because of his stools. Like, he ate very little for 4 days and his stools were fine (and infrequent) and now that he is eating normally again, they can get wacky. Like he will be "normal" for a couple days and then "bam" he will poo all day long.

Ugh, it will just be nice to have a finality to all this. Could you continue to pray for him? We are obviously praying very hard that there is nothing seriously wrong with him, but I am just ready to figure out what the problem is.

Also remember Anna if you will. She went to bed with a fever (and tylenol) and has just been cranky all day.......

Julie

Anna sit and talk with me......

2008-03-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

We have been potty training Madeline and we have her potty chair sitting on the other side of the baby gate in the living room. I noticed the other day that while Madeline was sitting on her potty, Anna was on the other side of the gate in her chair just chatting with Madeline. It was cute. Well a couple days ago I sat Madeline on her potty and she says "Anna sit right there (pointing at her chair on the other side of the gate) and talk to me." I just smiled and asked Anna if she wanted to sit and talk to Madeline. She said yes and plopped down on her chair and they "chatted." It was so cute. I was cute that Maddie asked for her and cute that Annie hopped right to it.

I think what touches me the most about all this is how close Madeline and Anna are getting. If Maddie gets up from her nap first she always asks where Anna is at. I feel like I am seeing the beginning of a really sweet relationship!

Julie

Fun in the Snow!!!

2008-03-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

So Madeline pretty much ate snow the entire time, it was a hoot!

Gesh, look how old (and beautiful) my big 10 yr old looks!

Poor Gee, that snow suit kept him warm, but it was very fluffy! He liked the snow, but grew tired of it (or at least not being able to walk) after 20 or 30 minutes.

Annie enjoyed the snow a little more than Gee, but she too only lasted about 1/2 hour. She looks so stink'in cute!!

Me with Madeline and Gee.

Daddy taking the 3 little ones for a ride!

Also, there's no new news on Gideon, but I will update when I know something. I will say though that the poor boy is sick right now (and miserable) with asthmatic broncitis.

Julie

A funny Picture of Anna!

2008-02-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Leah did this to poor Annie. At first she thought it was cool, but she was getting ticked by the time I got my camera out. Seeing her getting ticked all wrapped up like that, well, I haven't laughed that hard in a looooong time. It was just so funny. Leah was cracking up also. Annie was just getting more and more angry and we were just laughing more and more. The poor girl. Good thing daddy saved her!

Julie

Some Pictures (and a small update)

2008-02-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I thought I'd put some pictures up from our Florida vacation and give a little update. Update 1st........ Gideon's stool and urine samples from a couple weeks ago came back clean. Not terribly suprising for me though. I thought they were doing something different with the stool, but they ran another bacteria test on it and we have already done that. It was negative. As for the urine, they were checking that for a UTI. We go back to Children's tomorrow to repeat the sweat test. Hopefully we get it this time!

Well, here are our FLorida pics, or at least a few of them.

Here's Gideon in a look we occasionally see from him. You know like he is just way too cool for a picture.

Here are all the grandkids lined up in order. A pretty good picture for so many kids! The ages range from 10 (Leah) to 3 weeks (my niece Ava). 3 boys and 7 girls (one more girl on the way also).

The kids (especially the little ones) LOVED the little robot seagulls at the Finding Nemo exhibit. Water would shoot out and they would carry on with "mine, mine, mine." It was pretty funny.

These stingrays were at the entrance to the "Crush" interactive show (which was hilarious). The kids thought they were really cool and they didn't get scared by them.

Awwwww, I love pictures like this! Sweet little buddies

The whole family with Nemo!

Well, that's all folks!

Julie

Just Updating!

2008-02-10T18:54:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I just thought I would take a few minutes to let everyone know how things are going.

We spent about a week and a half gone to Orlando. We just got back a week ago. We had an excellent time! The weather was gorgeous and I really couldn't get enough of the sun. The kids we so good and I really think they had a good time. I will put some pictures up when I get them loaded.

Gideon and I went back to Children's last Thursday for his sweat test and some various samples. The sweat test was simple, but they were unable to collect enough. So, either they will redo the sweat test or run another blood test that is labor and cost intensive. We should find out this week. We were able however to get the urine and stool sample which was good. I killed time in Columbus waiting for the poor boy to poo for 4 hours! But alas, we got it.

Gideon seems to be in better spirits lately and hasn't had a fever in a few weeks. He can be so goofy and just plain silly these days. He is saying lots of new words like "work" and "hat." He even said "Chrissy" the other day. We are really proud of him!

Annie is doing well also. She is gaining weight and starting to look a little chubby. I love it! Out of the 3 little ones, Annie is the swiper of the group. I swear she does it just to tick Maddie and Gideon off (usually Maddie who is too possessive of her toys anyways). She is still our little snugglier. She loves to give and take physical attention. It is really adorable. When we go places, Annie is always the one I put in the baby carrier because she could just ride like that all day if I'd let her.

All in all, we are just growing together as a family. As it should be. It is a beautiful thing and I just feel so blessed.

Julie

Saw a GI Specialist Friday For Gideon....

2008-01-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

So, went went over to Columbus Children's Hospital on Friday to look more deeply into Gideon's possible allergy issues. Let me say up front, I left the office more concerned than I was when I went in.

We have been monitoring Gee (our new nickname for Gideon, started by Madeline and made an everyday word by Leah and Logan) pretty much since he's been home. He seems to have an issue with dairy. He broke out with hives and his poo got really frequent and awful when we had him on dairy. But, he does have foods with dairy in them sometimes. I don't know, I just don't know much about food allergies/intolerances. That is the main thing I was hoping to gather from this appontment was information. Also, we have come to the realization the last couple weeks that Gee has only gained 3 to 4 oz since he has been home. To compare, Annie has gained 6 lbs since she has been home. Now, she has been home 3 months longer, but you get the idea.

So, the doctor comes in and I pretty tell him Gideon's story up to this point and share our concerns (little to no wieght gain, frequent stools and dairy issues). The doctor is super nice (he is the director of that pediatric department) and once I explain things he prys a little deeper. He asked about fevers. Well, Gee has had 3 to 4 high grade fevers since he's home (103 plus) and I always thought that was odd, but you just never know. I just thought, like many other things, maybe it's just the way he is. The Dr. also asked if Gee seemed irritable, well, my immediate response to that is "yes." He does seem irritable and whiney to me much of the time. But, maybe he's just a whiney kid and still adjusting to his new life. I just don't know.

So, the Dr. feels that their might be more to Gee's problems than just an intolerance. He said the intolerance/allergy could very well be just a syptom of a larger problem. So, there are tons of tests he wants to run on Gee, the problem could be no big deal, or it could be something bigger, we just don't know at this point. The Dr. is thinking maybe something genetic? We are starting with the least invasive tests and will go from there. He gave blood on Friday and we go back on Feb. 7th to do a sweat test and give urine and stool samples. Some of the things Gee is being tested for is Cystic Fibrosis and Chrones disease. I don't think Gee has CF, but just knowing it is a possibility is very scary for us.

The Dr. said something toward the end of our time together that for some reason is haunting me a bit. He said that he had only been with Gee for like 10 minutes, but he doesn't act like a normal kid his age should act. This Dr. sees kids Gee's age all the time and he said that Gee just seemed sickly to him. I hated to hear that. I obviously appreciate his opinion a lot, but no one wants to hear thier child "seems sickly."

Could you all just pray for Gideon? I am not convinced at this point that he has something major wrong with him, but I am certianly concerned.

Julie

Mark this day in history folks.........

2008-01-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

................Gideon took his first bath without, get this, freaking out. Baths have been a MAJOR struggle for Gideon since we've been home. I mean, if I didn't laugh about it I would have cried. Gideon would literally scream bloody murder the whole time. And when you poured the water over his head to wrinse out the shampoo, well he sounded like he was being killed. I kid you not. I tried bathing with him, I tried going really slow and just letting him watch the girls take their bath, nothing helped. Ryan was home for a week and a half over the holidays and I had Gideon bath with him and you could tell he was doing better. Well, today I tried a regular bath again and here are the results.......

Oh my goodness, he was a changed man. He was happy and smiling, he freaked a little bit when I washed the shampoo out, but no worse than Maddie does. It was great!

Things are going well. Gideon has an appointment with a GI specialist next Friday in Columbus. We are going to try and get to the bottom of his allergy issues. We are still pretty much keeping him away from diary, but I suspect we are not doing enough. He has only gained 2 oz in the last 2 months and that is very concerning to me. To compare, Annie has gained 6 lbs since she has been home for 6 months. It is very common for kiddos when they come home to really plump up. Gideon has not, although he looks pretty healthy.

Gideon is starting to hit his sisters with blocks and stuff. Of course he gets appropriately disciplined, but I find it kind of funny that he is finally asserting himself. His is just being ornry. He will just be sitting and playing nicely and then all of the sudden "whack." You should have seen the look on Madeline's face the first time he got her!

Annie is doing great also. She is very much "the streak" these days. Sometimes I feel like duct taping her clothes to her! She is stripped down to her diaper almost every morning. Annie has also become very loud, and her low voice carries. I am trying to teach her what speaking quietly means. In the mornings, Annie often gets up first and will just yell "mama, mamaaaa," let's just say she is like an alarm clock for the whole upstairs. Annie is still probably my most lovey kid right now. She would probably let you hold her all day if you could. She is my backpack buddy. When we go somewhere she is the one who goes in the backpack carrier. She loves it and does really well in it.

Well, until later....
Julie

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-20T04:05:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!! We are so excited this year to have all of our babies with us! I love this time of year anyways, but this year is just extra special.

I want to take a minute to thank everyone so much for all your prayers this year! I don't know how we would have made it through without them.

So, here's our Christmas picture this year..... Not bad for 5 kiddos, 3 particularly squirmy.

Some pics that didn't quite make the cut...........

We hope you all have a great holiday, full of joy and gratefulness to God!

Julie

He's such a little smarty pants!!!

2007-12-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

Last night we were at church and Ryan took Gideon with him to pick up Leah and Logan from their classes. He was walking down the hall with him and pointing out the purple and orange circles on the walls. Well, our little genius said "purple." I guess a passerby heard him and asked how old he was. Ryan, being the good daddy he is, actually knew his age and the lady was very impressed with our little guy. Little did she know that he has only been hearing English for less than 2 months. And, to be truthful, that is the only word he has ever said besides "mama," "dada,""bye-bye" and "baba." Anyways, just had to share about my genius!

Julie

Some new pictures!

2007-11-28T20:17:00.001-08:00

Here's Annie loving on her baby that Aunt Sue got for her (she got Maddie and Annie one and they LOVE them).

Ok, so the boy actually likes hats. He wore this for a couple hours.

Annie cheesing it up wearing her baby in my mei tai (no worries though because I made her one in her size for Christmas!)

So, we went to Chuck E Cheese fo Maddie's 2nd birthday and Annie was NOT impressed with any of the rides. The poor girl still panics if we drive over a bump too fast!

The kiddos just chill'in with their peanut butter sandwiches and drinks!

Gideon LOVES his chair. He sits in it at least every morning. It is funny though because he can't get out on his own without flipping it. So, he just whines when he wants out. (Look at the poor boy's rosey checks, he's not use to Ohio weather).

Just Checking in!

2007-11-27T18:22:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, I figured I'd drop a line here at the blog since it has been a while.

Things are really going pretty well. Gideon had to go to the lab and radiology yesterday. Fortunately we just went to our local hospital, so it really didn't take too terribly long. He had a chest xray as a follow up to his TB test. He also had more blood taken seeing they didn't get enough while we were in Cincy. The blood draw was a nightmere. The poor boy tenses up when we even just set foot in a dr.'s office, let alone having someone poke him. And the lab tech was aweful!! Don't get me wrong, she was very nice, but she could not hit his vein. He was so worked up he was literally sweating. The thing is, she just kept digging and digging. Finally I told her that he had enough and needed a break. So, I consoled him for a bit and then she tried his other arm. She only had to dig a bit and finally she hit it. It was very tramatic...for us all!

Annie is still doing well, although she is still struggling a bit with sleep stuff. Gideon has a hard time with sleep also, but he seems to be getting better, Annie, not so much. Regardless of the sleep stuff, the kids are a pure joy! I can tell Gideon is loosening up and if giggly more often and that is lots of fun. He still detests baths, although he loved the pool in Guatemala. He screams bloody murder!

All three little ones here "no" about 20 times a day and they all respond differently. Madeline takes it in stride and goes along her merry way. Annie cries for like 10 seconds and looks at you like you have completely broken her heart. But then she is over it just as fast. And Gideon, well, he will just break down and one "no" can often times start an hour long whine. I will say though, Gideon is the least high maintenance though when it comes to such things. You tell him "no" 2 or 3 times and he's pretty good about staying away, at least for a while. Annie and Maddie on the other hand they will push your buttons all day. They are little stinkers!

Thanksgiving was great! We really enjoyed being with our families. I personally just loved having all my kids with me. Last year this time, Annie and Gideon were just a glimmer on our eyes, a hope. And now, well, they are our children in every sense of the word. Indeed, we have so much to be thankful for.

Well, I will post more later, but it is time for me to be off!

Until later,

Julie

Welcome Home Party!

2007-11-11T05:23:00.000-08:00

So last Saturday we had a "Welcome Home" party for the kiddos. It was a lot of fun. It was pretty cool to finally be celebrating our newest little ones and our completed family! It was especially great to see our family and friends show up to help us celebrate!

Here's a picture in front of our house before the party.

The yummy, yummy cake.

Gideon, a little wiped out.

My brother Nick getting some grub.

Sweet Annie!

Opening a few gifts.

First Snow!

2007-11-07T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, Annie and Gideon got their first look at snow today. Although it was pretty sparce (ok, ok, you could barely see it) it made an impression on me as their first snow. It will be fun to see what all 3 of the little ones think of the snow this winter!

Also, I need to post pictures and tell you about the kids' welcome home party. I just don't have the time right now.

Julie

Some more misc. pictures,

2007-10-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Annie in her "cage." Check out her cool hair do!

Maddie wrking hard on that apple.

Dirty faced Gideon.

Our pretty "big" girl again.

Julie

We've been home 1 week (kind of).

2007-10-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, today marks 1 week that we've been home with sweet Gideon. All in all he is doing well. He struggles a little to go to sleep and he gets pretty whiney at times, but those are minor issues in the grand scheme of things. He also seems to be attaching pretty well to me. He prefers me over anyone else, but he goes pretty easily to Ryan, Leah, Logan and Rick. He seems to like men. It is so funny because if someone comes up to him he will shake his head "no" if he doesn't want to go to them. Even if they are just talking to them. He will also shake his head "yes" appropriately. For some reason Gideon and Annie do the same head shake. They both will get a really serious look on their face and their eyes get real big and they shake their heads "yes." For some reason it cracks me up!

Gideon seems to be pretty healthy. He eats well and drinks like 3 or 4 bottles of formula a day. He only has 7 front teeth so he is unable to eat some of the things the girls can. When I am feeding them I have to cut things into 3 sizes for each of the little ones. Gideon has his big appointment with Dr. Staat next Wednasday, so we will find out more when all those tests come back. Poor Annie, she is going to go back to Cincy with us and she has to get more blood drawn. They couldn't milk enough from the poor girl the first time. We also have to look into getting her started on her TB meds.

In general things are great, even though I am kind of exhausted. I have been struggling with some bug since we came home and I think it is kind wearing me out. Also, we went camping last weekend. Crazy? Yes, but lots of fun and we had a beautiful weekend. I do feel though that we are just now getting to relax and settle into a routine.

Here are some pictures:

A cute picture of sweet Maddie.

Leah, looking so old (and beautiful)!

Ok, Annie seriously looks way too old in this picture!

Ok, this is like our 4th attempt at a good family picture..... Oh well.

Annie listening to daddy's I phone on the plane

Maddie taking a little snooze on the way home!

Mommy and Gideon.

All the kids in their OSU shirts!

Logie and Gideon wrestling at the airport in Guatemala.

We are home!

2007-10-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

We flew into Columbus about 1/2 hour early yesterday, arriving around 5:00. The flights were pretty good. The first leg was great because the flirght was only about 1/2 full and we had our pick of seats. The second leg was packed, but we had the bulkhead seats and that was helpful. My mom and niece and brother met us at the airport. When then went to a local restaurant to eat and met my aunt and uncle, my grandma and some cousins. It was great to see everyone! We were all pretty tired though and about 1/2 way through the dinner the 3 little ones started breaking down. It had just been a long day.

The ride home was miserable. We only had the two car seats in because I originally thought I would just hold Gideon on the way home. Well, I was feeling increasingly worse all day and I didn't want to sit in the back where I knew I'd get car sick. Oh and to add here, Ryan was/is sick also. We both have some sort of yucky cold and just plain exhaustion. So anyways, I put Gideon and Annie in a car seat and Maddie in the back with just a regular seat belt. She did fine staying put, but she literally cried and called for me the whole 45 min. ride home. It was sooo frustrating, but she had just reached her max. And then we heard from Leah and Logan about 20 times "mom, can you make Maddie be quiet, we are trying to watch a movie." (Gesh, if I could "make" a child be quiet I think I'd be a millionaire right now). Gideon fell asleep in his car seat pretty quickly and Annie just sat there in some sort of exhaustion coma. About 1/3 of the way home Gideon threw up all over the place. It was a total mess. He doesn't have a fever or anything anymore, I just think his little belly had too much for the day. A lot of new foods and he even got some whole milk instead of formula. So I striped him down to his diaper and sat in between the two bucket seats with him. Of course I got car sick and the smell of throw up did not help any. I was so glad to get home, as I am sure everyone was.

Sleep wise everyone did great. I can't remember the last time I was that tired. Fortunately the kids slept great. Maddie woke up about 7:15 and Gideon and Annie slept until about 8:00. All three of the little ones are running around munching on a highly nutritous pop tart. I am going to work on my mountains of laundry. We also need to pick up our dog and Leah and Logan has piano. I should probably fit the grocery in here somewhere also. If will be a busy day I am sure.

I will post some pictures as soon as we get some transferred.

Julie

Big Day yesterday!

2007-10-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a pretty big day for everyone. We decided to go to the Pacaya Volcano. It was probably the scariest and coolest things I have ever done. The actual volcano is about an hour from Guatemala City. I was really looking forward to seeing a real volcano, lava and all.

We had decided previously to take the horses up the mountain. The walk seemed a little too long and brutal for all the kids. Well, let's just say the horses, in my opinion were more brutal. God love those poor animals. We weren't just trucking up a nice wide trail at a steady incline. Oh my goodness, I seriously feared for our lives at times. Ok, maybe that is a little overdramatic, but it was pretty scary. I was worried about all 5 of the kids and mama and papa (who was sweet enough to lug Annie on his back the whole time). We are talking very rugged terrain and very steep inclines. Lots of mud, lava rocks and grooves in the mountain that were just wide enough for the horses hooves. It was crazy. But, the incredible view was 100%worth it. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! I am so glad we went and now we all have an experience we will never forget.

I have to add, I was so very proud of everyone yesterday. This was Debbie and Logan's first horse riding experience and they did amazing! If they can ride up a steep volcano, I would venture to say they can ride anywhere! Oh and Gideon LOVED riding the horse. Almost so much that I wonder if he had done it before. He didn't even ride in a carrier. He just sat with Ryan like a big boy!

We also got to see some more of Guatemala on our way to the volcano. Including the city the Annie was born in. We went through some local "towns" also. It was there that we saw the people of Guatemala in their more natural setting. It was very touching and sad. It was what you probably envision when we say 3rd world country.

We pick up Gideon's visa today around 4:00. And, our flight leaves tomorrow around 6:25. I am ready to come home.

A couple prayers requests if you will: Gideon has been fighting a fever (it was 102.2 last night). We seems to be doing ok while on Tylenol, but I just pray it doesn't progress to something worse and he feels better soon. Maddie is 100% again, so at least we don't have two sick babies. Also, I am not feeling great. Nothing horrible, but certainly not great. So prayers for overall health and safety would be great!

Julie

Pictures (sorry they are out of order)

Annie and Rick on their horse.

Logan and his guide at the top.

Lava....

Ummm, I don't think we should be poking the lava.....

This little guy's name is Alan and he was soooo cute! He lead Ryan's horse.

This is a market across the street where we've bought a lot of goodies to bring home.

Leah on the trail.

Maddie and I on the trail.

Volcano information.

3 of our guides. They were really super guys. Oscar if on the left and he led Deb and I's horse. He was super nice and never once did he snickers at us for being such rookies. He helped us on and off the horses, and even carried our backpack. Which is probably going to stay in Guatemala now. Lets just say Oscar left his mark on it. The guy on the far right was sweet also. He carried Gideon for me for a little bit while we were walking down to the lava. And then there's little Alan again.

More lava.

This was our supermarket we went to.

A good picture of papa and 3 of his munchkins.

The volcano and how it looks from Rick and Deb's room.

Ok, so this isn't the best picture, but you get the idea. Gideon loved the water and Annie cried if I wasn't holding her. Which is crazy because she loves the water at home now.

Deb and I and the 3 little ones waiting for everyone to get back from the lava.

GO YELLOW JACKETS!

2007-10-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, this picture is for Aunt Esther. It's the 3 little bambinos sporting thier Cedarville Tee's. She actually bought the light blue and pink onee a couple years ago and I had the dark blue one left over from when I went there.

We didn't get to go to the volcano today. I guess is was too rainy. It is funny because it is a beautiful day here in the city, but you can see the volcano from Rick and Deb's room and it is indeed cloudy and rainy. **Sigh** maybe tomorrow?

Instead we walked down to the local "Subway" and ate and then to the mall. It was a nice walk, until the 3 littles started breaking down. It was nothing 3 suckers couldn't handle. They were a sticky mess by the time we got home, but they were happy. They are all sleeping right now. After that we plan on taking all 5 of the kids down to the pool. That should be interesting.......

Julie

Another update and pictures.....

2007-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Boy, I like having Ryan's laptop and internet in our room! It is great to be able to get on-line from here and not have to go over to the baby lounge like we did last time.

Well, yesterday was the embassy. It went fine, although we encountered a snag. We thought Gideon would be able to come home on an IR-3 visa because Ryan is here visiting. Annie came home on an IR-4 visa because Ryan did not visit her. The difference between the two is whether they are a cictizen or permanent resident when they hit US soil. If they are only a permament resident (which Annie is) they have to be readopted in the states. I really don't understand it all because I think they have to be readopted regardless of the visa. I know Ohio recognizes the kids as our legal children (including all the benefits of that, like insurance), the law requires that, but I just don't understand all the in's and out's yet.

So, anyways, back to the Embassy. We get up to the final window and we didn't have enough documents because of the visa thing. I guess Gideon's adoption was finalized in early September and Ryan would of had to of visited before that. Luckily we got the extra papers we needed from the Embassy and Ryan was able to come back to the hotel to print off the tax return we also needed. We got all that done and back to our window before they closed at noon. So, all in all it is fine, but a bit of a pain.

Yesterday we went to a nice little Italian place to celebrate. They had really yummy food!!
We had a really good time and the place was pretty accomodating for our large group.
It rained all day yesterday. It is the rainy season here, so you expect some rain in the afternoons, but all day isn't really normal. Needless to say, our walk to and from lunch was wet. It wasn't a downpour, but steady. We had the kids covered the best we could. Annie and Maddie were in their strollers and I had Gideon in the carrier. We are all walking along and this local man comes up beside me and shares his umbrella with us. He walked a block or so with us, partially out of his way, until we got under the awning of a hotel. He didn't speak any English, but he just smiled and was so kind. It really warmed my heart!

So, here's a picture of Ryan, Gideon and I right after we got back from the Embassy.

Well, I have to go. We are going to see a volcano soon and I have to get the kiddos ready!

I will post more later today because I have a special picture for Aunt Esther!

Julie

And we have "mommy"

2007-10-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

Just a little note, Gideon appropriately said "mommy" this morning. I think he's said it before, but there was no doubt this morning. Ryan had him in the shower with him and he cried and reached for me saying "mommy, mommy" the whole time. It was quite pitiful, but very heartwarming for me!

Also, he seems to be adjusting more. He is sleeping a little better and just has a more calm disposition, although he still has his moments!

Well, it's off to the US Embassy for us!

Julie

Tons of Pictures

2007-10-11T19:12:00.001-07:00

This picture was taken shortly after the foster family left. Take note of the blankie that Logan picked out for him.

This was taken day 2 with Gideon.

The girls with daddy on the way to Antigua.

At the Guatemala airport.

At a local coffee roaster, on our way to Antigua.

A beautiful view of Antigua!

One of the many beautiful churches in Antigua.

On of the locals working on a table runner. They did an incredible job!

Gideon fell alseep on Leah.

Ok, this cannot be comfortable!

A local vendor at the Artisian market. He was a really nice guy, not as pushing as the hundred other vendors that "give a really good price, special for us."

Leah got all dressed up by "Carolina." She owned this shop. This is the same place as the picture of the local woman making the table ruuner. This shop was kind of special. It is pretty well known in the area and has won lots of awards.

Some snuggle time. Ok, do they get any sweeter than this??

Gideon was happy to finally be able to run around a little at the artisian market.

He looks like such a big boy in this picture. Man, I love this kid!!

At the zoo today.

That's all folks! The Embassy is tomorrow!!

Julie

Things are going well

2007-10-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, things are going pretty well. Today we went to the zoo and the Artisian Market. The zoo was nicer than I expected it to be and the kids seemed to enjoy it. The Artisian market was nice also. We went there on our last trip, so I knew what to expect. We also ate at the local steak house there and that was really yummy!

Gideon is doing pretty well. He's not always the happy go lucky baby I know he wants to be, but that will come I'm sure. He is just really tempermental. Sometimes he is totally fine and sometimes he is just really whiney. Poor little guy. I am just cutting him tons of slack and loving on him as much as I can! He really is such a sweetheart. Oh and his sleeping leaves little to be desired, but at least when he wakes up he doesn't stay up. I tell you though, Maddie has gotten up at least once a night and Annie is getting up 3 to 4 times. So with Gideon, sleep is somewhat minimal, but nothing I can't handle.

Ryan is hoping to get some pictures loaded today so I will post some when I get the chance.

Tomorrow we go to the Embassy and the only other thing we have planned is a trip to a local volcano.

See ya!

Julie

Just a quickie..

2007-10-09T18:15:00.001-07:00

Gideon is sitting on my lap right now. He is being pretty fussy right now. Antigua was great, but it was a pretty long day with all 5 of the kids. They did well but they just got very tired and bored by the end of the day. I am glad we went though and if it weren't for fussy kiddos I would have loved to stay longer.

One thing I just really like about Guatemala (which I think this is kind of a Central America thing) is the park like areas that everyone gathers to. I mean we are downtown Guatemala City and there's a large sitting area and fountain just a block from here. And people actually gather there just to hang out. Antigua was the same way. I just think that is really nice, but I guess that is the social bug coming out in me.

There are a couple random things I'd like to note. Another thing about the foster family that I thought was cool was that when they brought Gideon here they brought all the things I had sent for him the last 10 months. They had also filled up the two disposible camaras we had left. I never expected to get things back and I did!

The second random thing is that I met a couple here that both graduated from Cedarville University. I couldn't believe. They seem like a great couple. They are adopting a little girl Gideon's age and they have two older girls Leah and Logan's age. They are here for an extended period of time, so I have a feeling we will hook up some!

Well, that is it for now. I hope Gideon sleeps as well tonight as he did last night. He is just so whiney right now. I mean I totally understand the poor little guy has been through a lot, but it is just tough to not be able to make him better. Please pray for him as he transitions. I think he wants to be happy. Sometimes he plays like nothing is going on, but lately, well, I think he is just a sad little guy.

Julie

Intermission over....

2007-10-08T20:22:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'm back.

So, after we talked about his name Ilse asked if there was anything the foster family would like to say to us. Gideon's foster mom said that she felt that our family was a blessing from God. She also said that she has a million things going through her mind, but she couldn't get out what she wanted to say. I felt the same way. She held my hand part of the time and it was just very precious to me.

We gave them some gifts and they were very appreciative.

All in all the hand off was amazingly sad and exciting all at the same time. We are so blessed to have had this particular foster family. I really cannot say enough nice things about them!

Goodbye for now!

Julie

Our Family is finally all together!!!

2007-10-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am teary eyed as I even type that title!

Around 10:15 we got a call from Ilse, our facilitator. She was in the lobby waiting for Gideon and he wasn't there yet. So, Ryan I went down and waited with her. About 10:45 she called our attorney and apparently there was a miscommunication and they thought the meeting was to be at 11:00. So, we waited and about 11:15 I saw Jorge (Gideon's foster brother) walk through the lobby. I guess they went to the baby lounge because that is where we met last time.

So up the elevator we went and when we arrived, Gideon was sleeping in his foster mom's arms. We hugged immediately. Gideon's foster mom has such a sweet sense about her.

We went into the baby lounge and small talked quite a bit. We talked again about what Gideon's schedule is, what he likes to eat, etc. He has 7 teeth (4 on top, 3 on bottom) and no molars yet. He sleeps in their room with them and I assured her that we plan to do the same thing when he gets home, at least initially. After looking through some paperwork, we took the party upstairs for them to meet the clan.

Still Gideon slept.

We introduced everyone to the whole family. The kids were great. Both Ilse and the foster mom were so impressed with how well behaved they all were and how they weren't jealous. I think the foster mom was a little concerned with how Gideon would be received. She was pretty impressed I think. After a little while Gideon woke up. He was a little scared at first, but he warmed up to all the kids quite quickly. Before long he was playing and smiling just like I remembered him doing.

We took lots of pictures and videos. The foster mom said lots of sweet things about our family. I am glad because I wanted her to feel comfortable with us. I really believe she did. She was so concerned for Gideon. She didn't want him to see her cry. Even when she left she didn't want him to be distressed and she snuck out. She didn't even kiss him goodbye because she didn't want to disturb him.

They asked us what we were going to name him and I told her. She asked why we didn't tell them sooner because they would have called him that. I felt really silly for not sharing sooner, but I was afraid they might be offended. I should have known better. Gideon has always been their TOP priority. They would have done whatever was best for him. I told them we got his name from the bible and they wanted to hear the story, so I told them. Through that I found out that Ilse is a Christian and the foster family is Catholic. She seemed happy that we knew of the bible.

*****INTERMISSION****

I have to go, but I will write more later!

Julie

We are Here!!!

2007-10-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Well we made it here without a hitch. Everything went pretty smooth, even the flights. The only bad thing is that we can't get Gideon today. :( They called about 2:15 and said something about him not having his embassy medical done yet and they needed to get that done first. So he will be here tomorrow at 10:00 am. So, not the end of the world, but a bummer none the less. I was totally geared up to get him today! So, tomorrow it will be I guess.

Our rooms are excellent. We have a bi-level suite that is twice the size of our last room. Man, we just have so much space compared to last time!

Well, I just wanted to check in. Maddie and I are here in the baby lounge while everyone rests a little before we go to the grocery and dinner.

Keep praying and I will keep updating!!!

Julie

And away we go......

2007-10-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we leave tomorrow for Columbus. Our flight leaves first thing Sunday morning.

I am so so so excited!! I have been packing a little bit all week, but today was super busy. I thought I had everything in with some room to spare, but then I went upstairs and realized I hadn't packed anything of Leah's. *Sigh* I had set all her stuff out already it just never made it to the suitcases. So now they are crammed. There's a lot of them also. Unfortunately.

I am feeling pretty good though about all I have done. Pretty much all the packing is done. We aren't leaving until tomorrow afternoon, so we will have a little time to pull a few last minute things together.

I would really appreciate your prayers! I am a little nervous about traveling with all the kids. Don't get me wrong, I am super excited everyone is going, but it will be a little tough. Also, I am pretty nervous about the "hand off." Gideon's poor foster family will be very sad to see him go.

Well, I am sure I will blog some while we are there. So until then....

Julie

Some pictures in honor of our pick up trip!

2007-10-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

In honor of our upcoming pick up trip I thought I'd post some photos of Gideon from our last trip.

I crack up every time I see this picture of Gideon. Oh my goodness, he can have the funniest smiles!

One of the few times he was in the stroller!

With a buddy at the Marriott. Her mama was so sweet and was on the same flight home with us!

I don't think he found the humor in the bow.......

Just being his adorable self!

Gideon with my good friend Jen that traveled with me!

Just another cute one of Gideon playing in the baby lounge.

Soon, I will be with him again! They are suppose to bring him to our hotel around 2:00 on Sunday afternoon!

Julie

One week from today....

2007-09-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

........I will be in the same city as my baby boy! We are leaving around 6:00 am from the Columbus airport and we arrive in Guatemala City a little before noon. It is essentially the same flight I took the last two times we flew. We will arrive home on Tuesday the 17th a little before 6:00. We also have our rooms at the Marriott booked. So, we are pretty much good to go!!!

Ryan's mom and dad have decided to go with us to Guatemala. I am very grateful that they are willing to come along. They will be a tremendous help with the kids and as always, just good company.

I have been packing a little bit the last couple days. Oh my, we are going to have a lot of luggage. Packing for 7 people for 9/10 days is not easy. Not to metion all the gifts I am packing for Gideon's foster family and all the snacks and stuff for the kids/us that we can't get in Guatemala. I swear I am trying to condense it as much as I can, but this is quite the crew!

We have been working on the house quite a bit the last couple weeks also and we are making really great progress. The kitchen is done and our new bathroom is almost finished. Plus, I have just been doing a lot of organizing and cleaning. We finally have the kids' 3 bedrooms ready for all 5 kids. As silly as this may sound, it is a great feeling to fill those bedrooms up! Leah really made out on the room situation. All 3 bedrooms are really good sized, but hers is probably the biggest and she has it to herself! She loves it!

I wanted to add a little "thank you" to my mom and my sister. They are already working on things for the "Welcome Home" party so that I don't have to mess with it. I really appreciate them!

Well, off I go for now. I'm sure I will check back in before we leave.

Julie

Boys can look good in PINK also!!!

2007-09-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we got the call we've been waiting for!! Gideon has his pink slip!!!!! Oh my goodness, I am so excited. Here is how is went down, it is pretty cool.....

I decided to call the US Embassy in Guatemala today to see if they had received Gideon's DNA results yet. That was a little out of my comfort zone, but I thought what the heck. You can only call the Embassy from 2 to 3:15 Tues. through Thurs., so, if I didn't call today, I'd have to call next week. So I called at 4:45 our time (2:45 Guat time) and talked to a really nice lady. She said they hadn't got his DNA results yet. She also said that they try to issue the pink slips as soon as they get the DNA results. She then told me that Embassy appointments were running around 2 weeks out.

So, I went along on my merry way (well, kind of merry). I got home around 8:45 tonight and there was a message on my phone from the US Embassy! Yes, the US Embassy in Guatemala called me at home. I have never heard of that! It was the sweetest lady and she said that they recieved Gideon's DNA results today and his visa appointment is October 12th at 7:15 am!! I am just so suprised they called me at home and they got the results and, well, I am just so ready to go and get my boy!!!!

Right now we don't know when we will be leaving. Ryan is at a Red's game and won't be home until late. We will talk asap!

FYI, it looks like the kids' welcome home party will be November 3rd. This isn't set in stone, but that will probably work out the best!

So, I will let you know when I have more news!! Oh my goodness.....so excited!!

Julie

More Good News!

2007-09-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

I just talked to my agency and she just got Gideon's DNA results in the mail. She normally gets them faxed to her. So, she said that if she has them the Embassy will probably have them by tomorrow. She said that we should have our pink slip within a week. Woohoo!!!! I cannot tell you how exciting this is.

To tell you the truth, it is a little scary. I mean I am totally ready, but we have a lot to do to get this brood physically ready to travel. Plus, on top of that I am trying to get my kitchen finished. We had to completely redo all the paper and repaint. So, the painting is done and the paper is about 2/3 rds done, but I ran out of paper, so..... It may not get done before we go, even though I just ordered some more.

Our agency said that they are seeing Embassy appointments being made for 3 or 4 days after pink slips, but on my adoption board they are running more like 2 weeks out. So, we shall see......

As exciting as all this is for us I would love to ask prayers for a friend of mine. She just got abother knock out of PGN after being in for 10 weeks. And, it was something that her caseworker forgot to put in her file. She is just so bummed and I just feel really bad for her.....

Thanks guys!!

Julie

Moving right along!!!

2007-09-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well we had to give our credit card # to our agency today for Gideon's 2nd DNA. This is very cool and puts us a little further along than I thought we were (for once :)). Our agency said it usually take a weeks to get the DNA back to the Embassy and then 1 to 5 days to get pink. So, we might get to go back as early as 2 weeks!! I am ready!!! Come to mama baby boy!!!

Julie

Today was a little scary.

2007-09-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

So I took Annie to our local Dr.'s office to get her TB test read (she had it done in Cincy on Wed.). Well, it was positive. Dr. Staat had said that 20% of children will test positive. So, the next step was a chest x-ray. Before the x-ray I was getting a little scared. If the chest x-ray was bad it would mean she has active TB, which is pretty contagious and just not a good thing. Praise God the x-ray came back negative. So now Annie will have to take a daily medicine for 9 months. I guess after that she has a 95% chance of never showing any syptoms of her TB. although, she will always probably be a carrier.

Poor girl, daily medicine for 9 months, yuck! But hey, it could have been worse!

Julie

A Gideon Update

2007-09-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail from our agency this morning saying that Gideon has his new birth certificate. YIPEE!! This made me so very happy because I was getting pretty bummed with how long it seems things are taking. So, the next big stop is the US Embassy. He will get his new passport and stuff, but those should only take a day or two. I think it will take like 3 to 4 weeks until we travel. I feel like I've been saying that for 6 weeks now, but we are actually moving, so that should be about right.

I don't know if I wrote this or not before, but the plan is to leave as soon as we have our pink slip for Gideon. There's usually 5 to 8 days between notification of pink and the appointment. We are going to try and leave like next day. With Annie we waited until closer to the actual date.

I really can't tell you how excited I am to bring Gideon home. It is amazing to me how much he seems such a part of our family already. At least in my heart he is. I just can't wait to introduce him to everyone. He is such a cool little guy!

Julie

Finally some pictures of Annie!

2007-09-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we finally got our computer issues worked out so here are some pictures of Miss Annie.

This one I just thought was cute. We visited my mom and step dad at a campground a couple weekends ago and the girls needed a place to sleep. So, Annie fell asleep in the back of our Suburban and Maddie went to sleep in the back of my sister's Tahoe.

I totally love this picture of Annie. It was taken over at my BIL and SIL's house. We went over for my sweet little niece's first birthday.

Well, it was bound to happen. We have two identical strollers that the girls push around the house all day. It was only a matter of time that they realized that they could push each other around.

Cool dude, don't cha think? She thought so, she loves to put glasses on and smile!

We took this at a campfire we had here at the house. The girls look so old sitting like big kids in their chairs!

I just like this picture of Annie. So sweet!

This picture was just taken like two days ago. This is what happens when you give a toddler a handy snack with peanut butter. Seriously though, Annie is the messiest eater I have ever seen. But, I was asking for it though. I mean peanut butter for a 16 month old....... I just set her on the ground and let Flirt (our golden retriever) clean her up.

Well, that is it for now.

Oh, just a little tid bit of info..... Wednesday was are going to Cincy to take Annie to her Dr.'s Appt. with Dr. Staat. Dr. Staat is an International Assistance Dr. that does nothing but see children that have been internationally adopted. Annie will eventually just see our family Dr., but it is good for her to initally see a specialist.

I will post later, after I talk to my agency about Gideon.

Julie

P.S. I really didn't let Flirt lick Annie clean. Stop worrying. I mean gesh, what kind of mom do you think I am? :)

Annie is just so great!

2007-09-06T04:49:00.001-07:00

I thought I would take a moment to dote on my Annie.

She is just doing such an amazing job at adjusting into life with the Coles! I am so proud! She pretty much understands everything we say to her, and has been for a while. She even follows intructions, which I'm not even sure Maddie did at that age. She says, "ut oh," and "peek a boo." She also says ma ma, da da and ba ba (for her bottle). She has gained 3 pounds since she came home, which is quite a bit considering she only started out a little over 19 lbs. You can tell she has chunked up. I love it.

We have pretty much moved her from formula to milk and she does great on it.

For those of you who haven't met her yet, she has a super low voice. It is kind of cool and raspy sounding. Sometimes I can't tell if she is whining or laughing because her voice is so low. But, she can hit the high notes when she wants. Like when she is ticked because she doesn't want to take a nap. Holy cow, she can really scream when she wants!

Our three other kiddos get along great with her. Leah and Logan just love to love on her and are so helpful with her! Maddie does pretty good with her also, considering. Annie and Maddie have their moments. Like when they try to steal each others toys, they are both fiesty and will pitch a fit. In hindsight, it is pretty funny. Annie likes to swipe things. Like, she will swipe Maddie's binky even though she has no desire to use one. I really believe she knows it ticked Maddie off. She will swipe it and then stick it in her mouth and smile. Once no one is paying attention, she throws it down. The do have their sweet moments though. Sometimes Maddie will "pet" Annie or feed her her bottle. I have yet to see either be "mean" to one another. I can also tell that Maddie is soothing to Annie. She will settle down when Maddie is around. She also follows Maddie everywhere and often times tries to copy her. I can tell, this is the start of a beautiful thing!

Annie is a pretty friendly gal also. She will high 5 people and wave at them.

Oh one more thing, she twirls her hair when she is tired. I just love that. She especially does it when she is tired and has a bottle. The bottle will be in one hand and the twirling hair in the other. It is quite adorable.

Ok, doting over! I want to add some updated pics since she's been home. But we are having computer issues (again), so it will have to wait.

BTW, no new news on Gideon. I will call next Tues., which will be 2 weeks since the document has been to Guatemala and check on things. We are still planning to travel to Guatemala as a family. The plan is to leave as soon as we have pink (like the next day). There's usually 5 to 8 days between pink and our Embassy appointment, so that will get us there a little early. I am still very much missing my boy, but I am really trying not to focus on the gaping hole, but on the bigger picture, which is us together as a family!

Julie

We have another passport!

2007-08-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well, Monday evening Ryan and I and the kids drove to Chicago. We had to go to the Guatemalan Consulate to get Annie another passport. We stayed at a really nice hotel that was downtown and right next door to the consulate. We got into the city around 11:00 pm their time. We noticed as soon as we got close to our hotel that they were filming a movie or something b/c they had the street right in front of our hotel blocked off and there was all the standard movie stuff there. By the time we got parked and checked in to our hotel the filming was over and the crew was partying. They weren't loud or anything, but there was lots of beer and popcorn! Our hotel dude said they were filming "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie. Pretty cool to be that close to all that!

So, our time at the consulate was a bit trying. They couldn't find Annie's passport in their database and they kept bringing up a little girl with Annies exact name, but different brithday and ID number. We got a little worried b/c there's so much concern about the adoptiong process anyways, I could just see us getting accused of stealing Annie. We had to leave the consulate and wait for the head honcho (which never showed). We finally got everything worked out around 1:00 (we got there at 8:00). I guess our Annie hadn't been added to the US database yet, but they had record of her in Guatemala. So her picture and prints were taken and we were on our way. Even though we had to wait, it really worked out better in my opionion. We wanted to be able to see downtown some and this gave us some time. Except for worrying about the situation, it turned out to be a nice trip.

We were told that it would take 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to get her passport. So, imagine my suprise when it arrived via UPS today! I am super excited and relieved to have it. Now all we need is Annie's visa, which should be here in the next week or so.

As for Gideon, well, his document just arrived in Guatemala yesterday, so we still have a good 3 to 4 weeks probably. **SIGH** I am so tired of waiting for my son to join his family.

Julie

One step closer....

2007-08-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well, the document that has been causing so much trouble is finally in Guatemala (last Thursday). I pray our attorney moves as fast as possible processing the rest. My best guess on a travel date would be mid to September.

As for me fostering, I think Ryan and I have found some middle ground. I think our plan is for Ryan to take off work 1 1/2 to 2 weeks and we will all go to Guatemala together. This plan doesn't get me to Guatemala as soon as I would like, but I am so grateful that Ryan is willing to do this. I love the idea of all of us going together! Guatemala has been a great experience for us so far and want my whole family to experience it! It is going to be a bit tricky as to know when to leave, but we will do the best we can to get it as close to that time frame as we can.

Oh, as for the passport issue with Annie, it looks like this will work out ok. I really think we will get her actual green card before we leave. And, the passport agency that all the Guatemalan consulates use is up and going again. I think we are going to go to our local consulate (Chicago) either Monday or Tuesday with the hope of having an actual passport before we leave.

Also, this is a little off the wall, but could you all pray for a baby girl in Guatemala that I became aware of yesterday. My agency called to see if we would be interested in her b/c she looks just like the newborn version of Annie (beautiful) and she is with Annie's same attorney/in the same hogar. I am sure they will have no problems finding her a good home, but she touched my heart and I would love to see her find a good Christian family!

Thanks all!

Julie

The USCIS pulls through for us!

2007-08-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I met with an immigration officer in Columbus Thursday morning and it went really well. the guy was super nice and it was refreshing to talk to someone that if nothing else, pretended he cared.

Up to this point I have known very little about immigration, visas and citizenship. I feel much more informed now. Here's what I learned.

1. Annie came home on an IR4 visa (because both parents did not visit) which means she was not a citizen when we hit ground in Houston. She was a permanent resident, but she has to be readopted here in the states to get her citizenship. Annie does get a green card and we expect that in the mail in 2 or 3 weeks.

2. A visa is not just a little stamp in her (lost) passport, the good ol' US of A actually has record of her visa in a little thing called a computer. This may seen like a no brainer, but two governments had been unable to answer this up unto this point.

3. Annie's green card is her visa. Once we have that we are good to go on the US side.

So, Annie does still have a visa, just no proof of that to travel. We are anticipating getting her green card before we go back to Guatemala, but if not, the immigration officer made me a temporary green card that should be fine.

So, here's the plan. When we know we are really close to traveling we will go to Chicago to get travel papers that will get Annie into Guatemala. I hope to be able to get her an actual passport, but I don't know if that is possible at this point. The travel documents will be turned in to an actual passport once in Guatemala. So, she will have a passport to come home on. That along with Annie's temporary or permanent green card will appease both governments. Now, we just have to figure out what the airlines will be ok with. I will have obviously have everything figured out before we go.

As for actual travel I am unsure about when we will go. We are at least making progress right now. I bet it will be 2 1/2 to 3 weeks until we are submitted to the Embassy to get our pink slip. My tenative (very tenative right now) plan is to start looking to travel as soon as I know we've been submittted. It will take me a few days to organize tickets and get us down to Guatemala. I would plan to stay in Guatemala for 2 to 3 weeks. My plan would be to find someone to go with me for 7 to 10 days and then have Ryan come down and finish off the time. We will se though how things go.

Julie

Good News.....and some bad news.

2007-08-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

Good news first (and trust me this far outweighs the bad).

Well, Gideon is legally our son now! His birthmom signed off for the 4th and final time. Our agency actually has the document in their possession. Now we are having to organize couriers in California to get it state certified and consulate authenticated. Our agency should have it back to them and ready for Guatemala by next Tuesday. So, I HATE that we have lost all this time, but we can now move forward. When it has all been said and done I am confident that these 5 weeks will seem pretty insignificant. I just thank God that we will have the rest of Gideon's life as a part of our family!

The bad news is that we have lost Annie's passport and visa. This is not a good thing. She obviously cannot travel without it and I obviously will not leave her. I am doing all I can to get it replace (and have been for a week now). Tomorrow at 9:00 we have an appointment with an immigration officer in Columbus to see what our options are. If we could just get her an American passport then we wouldn't have to worry about the visa (she came home with a Guatamalan passport), but she has no proof yet that she is a citizen and won't for a little while. Even though she is a US citizen! I don't mind getting her another Guat passport, but the passport agency that the Guatemalan Consulate uses is down and issuing no passports right now. Even then, we'd still have to figure out the visa thing. We can get travel documents from the Guat Consulate to get her into Guatemala, but we need a visa to get her home!

It is just a mess and I am praying we can make some progress tomorrow because no one, thus far, in the Guatemalan or US government cares to help us. Trust me, I've talked to a lot of people.

So, mostly I am just praising God we are one step closer to Gideon. I still am very anxious to be with him again, but on step at a time right now!

Julie

Mixed Emotions.

2007-08-08T13:36:00.001-07:00

Well, first of all, Annie is amazing! She seems to be adjusting so well. She is starting to act like a normal toddler. She isn't quite as clingy (although she still is some, which I don't mind a bit) and will frolic around the house just as you would expect. She is sleeping a little better, she was getting up every hour at night, but she just got up twice last night. She eats well and likes most foods I give her. But, if she doesn't like them you know because she spits it right back out. She like to throw things which is pretty typical toddler behavior at this age.

I am also loving having a bigger family. It is fun to see Leah and Logan helping out Maddie and Annie. All 4 of my kids are just so interesting and fun!

Now for the mixed emotions part. I miss Gideon and we have hit a bit delay. For reasons I can't really go in to, the birthmom has not signed off on her 4th and final sign off. This is suppose to happen right after PGN. I can say it is not an issue of her desire to place Gideon up for adoption, she still wants to do that, but it is other issues. That is why this is just a delay at this point. I am just having such a hard time not being with him and then to have these concerns about his bm and this is just adding so much time to our process...... I am praying very hard that this birthmom situation is handled this week. Could you do that same? It is a very delicate situation that is taking quite some time to resolve. I do believe it is reasonable though to hope (and pray) it will be resolved this week.

Also, something else that could use some prayer is our pick up trip for Gideon. We have pretty much decided to go as a family, which is great, but I really want to go earlier than that. Once we are submitted to the Embassy, there's a reasonable amount of certainity that we will have pink within a week or so (our Embassy date). I would like to take the kids and foster in Antigua until Gideon is ready to come home (Antigua is like 45 min. away from Guatemala City). I would anticipate us being there 2 to 3 weeks. A ton of people foster in Antigua and I hear there's a nice little community. One lady I met said they even had weekly bible studies. I am confident I could find a cheap apartment and I here the price of food is super reasonable. Well, Ryan is not totally keen on this idea right now. I, on the other hand, have never been so sure. I mean I have seriously not felt this passionately about something in a long time. I just KNOW our family needs to be together asap. I have a son 4 hours away from me, how can I not do what I can to be with him? Plus, the kids would love Antigua. The weather is amazing, we would have the beach, and how often do kids get to travel to another country to bring their brother home?

Anyways, going to Guatemala asap is just something I feel I need to do. And while I can appreciate Ryan's desire to "ground" me, I am not deterred. Could you pray that God would give us some clear direction here?

Julie

Finally Some Pictures

2007-08-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, these are really out of order, but oh well...

These are other adoptive moms we ate lunch with the last day we were there. We got to be very close to Mastora, the woman in front on the left hand side. She was visiting her sweet little girl Iman. We are praying she moves through fast!

Annie and Gideon, one of the few times they were both in the stroller.

This is Annie and Maddie in the Houston airport. We were waiting for our name to be called at the immigration department. I wasn't suppose to be taking pictures in there and the gaurd told me so shortly after this picture.

This is Leah and Logan seeing Annie for the first time at the Cincy airport.

This is daddy meeting Annie for the first time.

This is how we ate in Guatemala. The Marriott was great about having enough high chairs. This was a very typical scene. Those poor workers that had to clean up after our crew.

A very happy Annie and Maddie.

I love this picture of Annie. She just has the best smile!!

This is my happy boy! Man do I miss him!

Annie was not happy here, but she should be, it was Embassy Day for us!

We are at the Hogar in this picture. It was my first time seeing Annie since March.

Home!

2007-08-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

It is good to be home. I missed everyone and all the comforts we have here.

Annie seems to be doing really well. She slept in the pack and play in our room last and didn't wake up until about 8:00 this morning. Right now she is playing on the floor with Maddie. They do pretty well together although they do have their moments. At the airport yesterday we were letting the girls move around a bit while we were layed over in Houston. I kept trying to keep them close to us. Well, Maddie aparently thought Annie had gone too far and started trying to pull her back by her clothes. Annie was not impressed and screamed at her!

The flights were a mixed bag. Both girls slept for a part of both flights, so that was great. The flight from Guatemala to Houston was the worse. Lots of screaming and crying and the girls weren't happy either!

It was harder than I was expecting to leave Gideon. Especially since Annie is home and he is not. He didn't want to go to his foster family and that made it harder to let him go. They are so good to him and love him so much. I know he is in such good hands, but in my mind he is a part of this family now and it hurts to have him here.

Today is Gideon's first birthday. I feel like I got to celebrate with him a little bit. We sent a present and a balloon with his foster mom. I also got him a chocolate bar that said "Happy Birthday" on it from Marie's candies. It was cool because when the foster mom dropped him off she kind of sheepishly said he really like chocolate. I think he will have fun with that.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! Your family misses you and are ready for you to come home!!

Our journey to bring Gideon home is being delayed unfortunately. His birthmom has had to be tracked down to do the final sign off. I suspect it will be done this week, but even at that, it will probably be a good 3 to 4 weeks until he's ready to pick up.

I can't wait to add pictures, but I left my camera in Ryan's car, so I will have to try and do it tomorrow.

Goodbye for now!

Julie

The Rings.

2007-07-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me know that I don't regularly wear a lot of jewelry. Ring-wise I wear my wedding band (of course) and my grandma's wedding band. I have gotten some nice rings as gifts over the years and I do wear them occasionally, but it wasn't until about a year or so ago that I started to wear another ring all the time. My mom got me a simple gold band with footprints engraved in it. I think it is suppose to go with the whole "footprints in the sand" theme. To me though it has a different meaning. The little footprints remind me of the "precious feet" you see so often associated with pro-life. And, for as long as I have had and worn the ring it has reminded me of the babies we lost through our IVF (we lost 2) and through our ectopic in April of 2006. I guess in some ways it has been my little way of remembering those babies when most people forget.

Well, yesterday Jen and I went over to the Westin to check it out. It had some nice shops there and I was looking at the jade shop. I am getting Annie a jade cross and jade earrings for her 13th and 16th birthdays. I started looking around for an inexpensive ring for me to remind me of Guatemala and our adoption. I saw a ring I really liked and didn't even realize until the shop owner told me, that the ring is the Guatemalan adoption ring. It is gorgeous and right up my alley. The sentimental value of it will make it something I will always treasure. Well, as I was leaving the shop I slipped off my engraved gold band and slipped on my newest treasure, and I cried. Right there in the middle of the Westin. God is so good and He has brought me/us so far. Not only are these adoptions a dream come true, but they are healing a lot of past hurts. To me my new ring is not only a symbol of Guatemala and our children's heritage and adoption, but it will serve as a constant reminder of God's faithfulness. God is so good to me, he always has been. Even when I felt totally forgotten, He was still being good.

I just feel so blessed.

Julie

I have a minute

2007-07-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I have a second to write while the kids are sleeping.

Things are going extremely well. More so than I thought they would. We've kind of established a routine and the kids are being such troopers! We are trying to walk quite a bit, that keeps them occupied. The baby room has been a great help! There are toys, high chairs, everything we need. The kids love to just unwind in here.

Gideon has been so much fun! He is quite the strong-willed child! We are going to be in trouble! And, he is a flirt that flashes his gorgeous smile at the drop of a hat. Oh my, watch out world! He really has a sweet personality, but he has already hit both his sisters, taken their toys and a battery of other minor misdemeaners, like taking Maddie's binki! You do not take a gal's binki and Maddie told him so.

I do not want to give him back tomorrow..... It is helpful though that Ryan will be coming to get him soon. They will have lots of fun together!

Annie reminds me of Boo from Monster's Inc. She just has that look to her and that sweet personality. Her and Gideon are both cuddler's, especially with me. I think though that Annie will stay that way. I think that once Gideon gets more comfortable he will be way too busy to cuddle. Annie is so funny though, she holds on like a little koala bear! She is really starting to loosen up and she flashed her big beautiful smile much more often!

Gideon's foster mom is coming tomorrow at 4:00 and our visa for Annie will be here around 4:15 or so. I think we are going to go to a nice restaurant tomorrow night to celebrate Annie coming home! It will also help distract me from thinking about leaving Gideon.

Our flight leaves around 6:20 Tuesday morning and we get home around 5:00. So, if I don't get to post again I will see you on the other side!

Julie

Somebody pinch me.

2007-07-26T04:48:00.000-07:00

Annie is a dream. She is adjusting so well already. In the 15 hours that I've had her already she has gone from sobbing to smiling. As we speak she is sitting on my lap just being so good. You can tell she's not scared anymore and she is no longer tense. She still does not want me to put her down, but that is totally ok.

Unfortunately she is sick. They told me she was at the hogar yesterday and gave me some prescription medicine for her. Last night she had a fever. But, she sleep great. Her normal wake up time is 5 am and she got up right around 525. Maddie and Jen are still sleeping so we are here in the baby lounge.

Speaking of the baby lounge, I have been very impressed with the Marriott. It is really a very nice hotel. More so than the Marriott's in the states. Also, part of the reason I chose this hotel is that is super adoption friendly. They put most of the adoptive family on the same floor and there's a baby lounge here, actually right next door to our room. The baby lounge is pretty impressive. It is the size of two full rooms with tons of toys, books, high chairs, bouncy's, walkers, a microwave, fridge, sink and bottle rack, just everything you would need. Also the internet access is free here. The hotel also has a couple really nice restaurants and a free breakfast buffet. The gift shop is amazing. Sorry Ryan but they are going to be getting some of your hard earned cash!

Yesterday we walked around the hotel a little. We found a great little spot that does crepes. It was very yummy! We also found out the hard way that Jen's double stroller does not mesh well with Guatemalan sidewalks. Poor girl. She totally gave her biceps a workout and Maddie about got shaken baby syndrome! LOL.

We are debating what to do with our next 5 days. We thought about going to Antigua, people do that a lot, but we are a little worried about Gideon not having a passport yet, so we shall see. We also might go to the zoo. It is almost easier to be out doing something than just sitting around looking at each other.

Gideon is coming this morning and I am so excited! I cannot wait to see him again! As always it will be interesting to see how adding one more to the mix changes the dynamics. I am sure it will be fine.

I have to say so far things have been so surreal. That is why I say pinch me. I just can't hardly believe Annie is ours. I think it will really hit me when we get into the states. Right now it still feels a bit like we are just visiting. It is so emotionally overwhelming to me to grasp that this amzing child, and soon to be two children, are really going to be able to become part of our family. Adoption is truly an amazing thing. I feel so blessed.

Well, I need to go. I will write more later about the hogar and my experience there.

Oh and "hola" to Leah and Logan. I miss you guys terribly! Have fun with daddy! I cannot wait until we get home and you guys can meet your new sister!

Julie

Annie says hola!

2007-07-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

Guess who it sitting on my lap trying to slap the keyboard! Miss Anna Maria COLE!!! I have her passport and we have said goodbye to the hogar, which was quite sad. We go to the US Embassy on Friday ans her visa will be picked up on Monday. Gideon comes in the morning, the party will really begin!

I have to be a little brief right now. Annie is really doing well. Lots of tears at first and she still tears up if I put her down, but that is ok for now. Maddie is so great with her so far. A little jealous, but doing pretty well.

Well, I have to go I will try and add pictures later!

Julie

A nnie

2007-07-25T19:17:00.000-07:00