The Bonding Meeting

(This photo has nothing to do with the bonding meeting.  I just thought it was adorable!)

Today we drove back into the booming city of Cali, Colombia for our bonding meeting to see how Nora is doing.  We had to wake up at 6:00 am, WAY earlier than any previous day!  In light of this, we put Nora to bed early.  But before she went nighty-night, I sat her with me in front of the computer to use Google Translator.  It is a marvelous device!  I type in what I want to say in English and then I can either read it to her in Spanish, or push a button and a nice lady who can correctly pronounce all the words reads it aloud.

I told her that tomorrow is very important because they are going to ask us if we want to keep her forever as our daughter, and we are going to say yes!  I also explained that they will ask her if she wants to leave Colombia and go forever to the United States with us.  With head bobbing, she replied, “Si! Si! Si!”  She is so cute!

Also before she went to bed, I asked her to get her clothes ready for the important meeting with ICBF (social services).  She dug through her neatly stacked clothing until she found the shirt and pants that she arrived in the day we met her.  She also picked out the same sandals and sweater that were two of her minimal worldly belongings that she brought to her new family.  I didn’t really care what she wore!  Clothes choices are so not an issue for me, unless you plan to have your underwear stick out above your jeans…. THEN I have an issue.  As we were driving into Cali, I realized that she left everything that we brought for her.  I wondered if she thought she was going back?????  This poor child!  Does she understand “forever”?  Does she get it that all we have is hers?!?

This meeting did not go down without a mishap, as is common in the Crosby family.  While we were answering questions about what Nora is eating, how she is sleeping, how she is behaving, and if she calls us Mama and Papi (which she does)…. Keeve (affectionately also known as Heeve) deposited his breakfast into a potted plant in the hallway outside of ICBF.  NICE!  Makes a mama proud, you know?  Keeping the floor clean.  Totally thoughtful!  That’s my boy!

Now our papers are assigned to a court and we should finalize the adoption on the 15th of Dec. in the nick of time before the courts close for a month of holidays.  It’s two weeks or partying now!  Viva Colombia!

Feeding the Colombian Princess

When I read the report of Nora’s eating habits and favorite foods I had to look up the names on google to find out what they were!  One was arepa… it’s a thick corn bread pancake that sometimes has soft white cheese in the center.  We had them for breakfast at the first hotel and they were quite tasty, if I do say so myself!  Then we found them in the grocery store yesterday and I bought them…. but I need to translate the cooking instructions.  We’ll get there, sweetheart!

Nora loves many foods that are “normal” to us: fried chicken, popcorn (those two were her first mommy-cooked meal!), banana, pineapple, chicken noodle soup, cheese balls (totally a Crosby deal right there!), milk, oranges, pasta and ice cream. But there are some habits that seem strange to us Americans: cold coffee, warm milk, dipping crackers in warm milk, eating pizza upside down from the crust forward, putting salt on limes and sucking the living day lights out of them, and (trying… asking everyone) to put sugar on sliced oranges.  “No, honey, that ain’t happening anymore!”  She likes sugar in coffee, milk, juice, strawberry juice, on oranges, bananas and pineapple.  That is one habit that will die-hard at our house.  And lime juice on bananas.  It’s not bad, but not my favorite.  She has tried but didn’t fully appreciate: Sprite, spaghetti sauce, toast, maple/brown sugar oatmeal and cheese.

Big Daddy bought ice cream for all of us today.  Well, except me.  I was busy trying to buy foods that I wasn’t recognizing.  Anyway, Nora talked about getting strawberry ice cream all the way to the shop.  She chose the strawberry ice cream cone, satisfied with her choice, until she saw this other white mystery popsicle.  We could not understand the Spanish description, but in her little mind it obviously outranked the strawberry cone.  We sat outside the shop in patio chairs thoroughly relishing the warm 82 degree weather and cloudy skies, eating our ice cream. Well, except me.  I did get a bite of Austin’s and finally Nora’s after much pleading.  Nora’s had these weird white squiggle things sticking out of the ice cream…. that grew longer with each lick.  Austin was grossed out by this… totally!  I finally inspected it and pulled one out.  Coconut!  That is when I asked if I could taste it.  Oh my word.  THE best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.  Next time, I’m getting the white mystery ice cream!

Sorry for the Delay….. I’ve been BUSY!

We ended up flying to Cali, Colombia on Wednesday, Nov. 24th because there were no more seats on Thanksgiving Day!  But then we received our darling Nora ON Thanksgiving Day… four-years to the DAY that we started this adoption process.  We were on the waitlist with ICBF for 34 months all together… waiting.  But oh so worth the wait!

Because we accepted the referral so late in Nov. (the 19th) we had to make a mad scramble to get to Cali right away so that we could finalize the adoption before the courts close on Dec. 16th.  WOW!  On the Monday after we accepted our referral, I left at 3:00 am with my Dad for the Colombian consulate in Beverly Hills, California.  ….. a seven hour drive one way….   My time spent at the consulate was highly stressful…and that’s putting it mildly.  To make a long story short, I cried in front of 45 Colombians, but we did get our Visas in 3 hours!

Our three flights from Phoenix, connecting in Houston and Panama, to Cali were almost uneventful.  We had a luggage mishap, but after much prayer and supplication and even fasting (well, only because I slept through the sandwich on the last flight) our bags all arrived safely.  We were met at the airport by Magnolia, the most magnificent guide EVER, and taken to a nice hotel/apartment in Cali.  She picked it out and it was perfect for us for the first few days.  We received Nora at the ICBF building the next morning at 10:30 and she is a charmer from the get go!  We all cried, but she was all smiles.  She ran past two of my kids straight for me and kissed me and called me mama.  Oh, melt my heart in a nano second!

We watched the video of the whole thing last night and we all cried again.  Then we rewound it a few times and laughed hysterically at the sobbing and snorting noises we made involuntarily.  Such a sweet moment!

No, Nora doesn’t speak any English at all.  But she thinks we understand her when she talks a mile-a-minute, probably because Larisa and I have a minimal amount of Espanola under our belts.  I have enough to order breakfast and request plates and paper towels.  Larisa is pretty efficient at translating some of what Nora says.  Larisa asked Nora if she wants to learn to speak English and she said, “Probably not.”  Oh, little muchacha, you’ll be fluent in three-four months!

Nora fits into this family in so many ways, it’s truly amazing!  She loves to sleep in, and loves do crafts, and loves to change her clothes several times a day, and loves to try new foods, and loves to wear lots of jewelry!  She fell in love with several pieces of clothing that we brought, including some bling-bling sandals that have been sitting under my computer screen for four years (and they fit her perfectly!) and a smart little double-breasted jacket that is too warm to wear right now, but too cool not to wear!  (In the first picture.)

We moved today out to a single story house in the country that is roomy, clean and beautiful.  It is in a gated community with a swimming pool, play ground and ball court.  There is a grocery store and some convenience stores.  Ice cream is very convenient!  We will be here for two weeks and we already love it!

Monday morning we have our bonding meeting (to see how our time with Nora went!) at 8:00 am and then our papers go to court.  I’ll do better keeping up on the blog now that we’re here at this relaxing place.  Ciao!

Here we Go!

We are actually leaving Wednesday morning to go get Nora!  There were no seats on the flights on Thanksgiving Day.  More later….. like after we’ve been hugging on her and will hopefully have pictures to share!  SOOOO Excited!

Adoption Art Auction

My mother is an amazing artist who paints in oils.  She has sold hundreds of paintings through the years.  She has donated two paintings to help raise some of our adoption funds.  They are up for auction for a week over at my adoption blog: www.BagsForZaza.wordpress.com   Please go take a gander and bid to help bring our darling Nora home.

Here is one of the paintings:

Thank you!

“As it happened….”

(Thank you, Jane)  As it happened…. we read the new report on the same little chunk of darlingness from Cali, Colombia.  She is healthy, happy and hearty.  The new pediatrician was favorable of the new report and helped us with where to go from here.  Her final statement to me was, “Make your decision and wait for your miracle!”  Oh, I loved that… almost as much as “As it happened” which means God has been Jehova Sneeky again.  Always working on our behalf, knowing what’s best for us and our family…. beyond what we can imagine or think.

We accepted the referral for Nora, but she has asked us to change her name….. but we don’t know if she means her first name, or middle name or last name.  So we don’t really know what to call her at this point.  “Zaza” still pops out because a nickname of 3 years….. sticks.

We were at peace with the decision and figured we would travel to get her on Jan. 15th when the Colombian courts open again.  But NO!  We are traveling THIS Thursday… yes, Thanksgiving Day, to go get our little girl.  I’m in shock.  Real life shock where you have to take a nap because you can’t figure out what to do first.

A friend of mine showed up today with her notepad.  She said she would decorate our house for Christmas while we’re away and she needed instructions.  She also is going to pick up my newspapers and keep my coupons up to date while I’m gone.  This is a true friend!  Another friend showed up with huge cookies.  That’s a true friend too.  Meet the basic needs in times of stress.

AHHHHHHH! We leave in five days!  So, I’m re-doing Nora’s scrapbook, since the original photos are outdated.  I ran and got my hair cut and colored, since we need to take a close-up photo of Rick and I and we’re not supposed to change our hair before we meet Nora on FRIDAY!  She is attaching to this photo on Monday!  My wise-cracker of a daughter looked at me yesterday in the height of excitement and frazzledness…. bed head, no make-up and sweats… and said, “We should probably take your picture like this since this is more likely what she will see every day.”  Very funny.  Very true.  But not going to happen.

OK, I’m off to count suitcases and see if my boys have pants that fit them.  Prayers for peace to reign in our home would be much appreciated.

Unbelievable… Inconceivable… WOW!

Last Wednesday, while I was minding my own business out on a wedding-flower-choosing adventure with my sister and a friend, my cell phone rang. The area code was 817.…. Texas. More specifically… Gladney Center for Adoption. I flipped open my phone (I know, old school) and jumped out of the parked car.
Yes, it was our case worker. Her first question, “Is Rick home?” made my guard go right up. I’m not getting my heart broken again by some darling little girl with a big toothy grin and black hair and pleading brown eyes. I will be WAY more cautious this time. I will not be swayed by darlingness. I will wait for the pediatrician’s report. I will not send her pictures to my family. I will not announce her name on Facebook. I will not frame her picture and bring it to Neighborhood Group. I will not get attached before we accept the referral … in writing… and I will wait until it’s faxed before I crack open my heart to my new daughter.

OK, that’s everything that went through my brain in the nanosecond that passed between our case worker’s question and my answer, “No, Rick is flying today.” Call me a chicken-hearted-lily-liver, but I’m trying to hold up a brave front guarding my tender-orphan-loving-soul.

Her first sentence had me extremely curious. “I don’t know how to start this phone call because I’ve never had to make a call like this before…..” I didn’t even respond…. just stood in the Glendale Thrift Store parking lot with my mouth hanging open. “We’ve hit a snag. Your file went back to Bogota but ICBF is asking you to reconsider Nora’s referral.” Still no response from me…. as my heart started quivering. “There is a new report available and we are wondering if you are open to us sending it to you. We are suggesting that you send it to a new international adoption pediatrician.” She read some of the report to me…. and finally my amazingly brilliant reply came out, “WOW!” Yep, that’s all I could manage at that moment.

NOOOOO! It’s the S A M E little black-haired cutey-patootie squeezing her way back into my heart.

If you are an adoptive mom, you understand that I was useless the rest of the day… totally distracted and staring into space… looking for some sky writing from God. My husband called right as I hung up with our case worker. I rattled off the whole scenario in 30 seconds and he asked what I told them. “I said, ‘Yes, send it.’”

Later that day he called and mentioned that there was a debate going on that evening at a local college that he would like to attend. I wasn’t too compassionate at that moment. I half yelled “NO! You need to come home and you need to bring food!” No, I hadn’t thought of dinner. I hadn’t thought of anything other than the strangeness of our circumstances. Do they normally ask parents declining a referral to reconsider? Do they send your file back to the national office and THEN ask you to reconsider, only to send it back to the same region again? And the inevitable question that we might not ever know the answer to, Why would this happen to us? To her?

So that is where I leave you, dear reader, in this Colombian adoption saga….……..

Keeve is Twelve!!

Yesterday was the 12^th birthday of my youngest son, Keeve. Can it really be twelve long years since his chubby little self appeared in our lives? Keeve was our “bless-ed” surprise child. Not that we didn’t want more children, but we were living in a squishy apartment with a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old, and a vast assortment of large plastic toys and furniture. We had one car, and it only had four seatbelts. We didn’t have health insurance. We still had one kid in diapers… and he was sleeping in the only crib we owned. My husband was working in a sales job on commission…. In my mind I was NOT ready for another child.

It was gestational week 12 by the time I found out that I was indeed with child. I had taken tests at home and at the doctor’s office that were all negative…. LIES! (Just like the eagle’s eggs from Nacho Libre!)

Rick arrived home from work and found me sitting on the couch crying while watching Reading Rainbow. The show was about adoption and they were showing “Gotchya Days.” I was a blubbering mess. He took one look at me and said, “You need to take another pregnancy test.” I did… and there was a pink cross. Then I cried for three days to my sister, who was also a “bless-ed” surprise.

Rick got a flying job when I was seven months along…. With insurance. We moved into a four bedroom home when I was eight months along. We got a car with SIX seatbelts when I was nine months along. Austin was moved into a big-boy-bed the week before Keeve was born. It all worked out! Just like God knew it would.

Of course, God’s timing is perfect. Our boys are two years apart and have been cohorts in crime and frivolity for 12 years now. Their schemes rate right up there with the Little Rascals and the Three Stooges. And Keeve is sarcastic… where in the blazes did that come from?

Happy Birthday, to our Keeve! We love you and are so proud of you!

School Spirit!

Another quality childhood vandalism story for you today!  I was in the third grade and I attended a Live Oak High School, in Morgan Hill, California, in their program called Kiene Schul, or some such German spelling.  The marching band, the cheerleaders and the pep rallies made a BIG impact on me as an 8-year-old with starry eyes.  I loved the team spirit.  I loved the common bond. I loved everyone in matchy matchy colors of gold and dark green!

Imagine my excitement one afternoon in our family garage when I found spray paint cans in the gold and green colors of Live Oak!?!  My creativity was bursting at the seams.  I felt compelled to decorate something to show my patriotism and school pride.  Venturing out to the backyard with a can in each hand, I looked around for a blank canvass to express my creative genius.  It was as if destiny guided me….. the ENTIRE backyard was surrounded by a newly constructed fence with virgin boards calling my name.  Heaven.

Several moments passed before my design was settled in my brain… and then I began, slowly and methodically…. one spray dot per fence plank… alternating colors… gold…. green…. gold…. green.   Yes, I did the entire fence! 

Imagine my parent’s joy when they discovered my artistic masterpiece…. and in the school colors!

My summer was spent with sandpaper in hand…. several pieces of sand paper…. singlehandedly……. as I sanded every blinkin’ board with the stupid dots on them.  At that time I had not read Tom Sawyer, much to my later disappointment.

Don’t Try this at Home!

For some strange reason, this past week my children asked if I got in trouble much as a kid.  What brought on this bit of inquisitiveness, I’m not sure.  Visions of grandeur danced through my head as I recalled various adventures that I could lay on ‘em.  Then I realized, no, I didn’t get in trouble that much because my older brother got in A LOT of trouble…. so I walked around the house telling my mommy, “I be good!”  Over and over and over.  And I was good.  :o)

So this happy tale emerged after much prayer and supplication:  my parents had vacated the house leaving my 13-year-old brother in charge of me (11) and our little sister (6).  We decided to be helpful and empty the garbages from upstairs…. (with ulterior motives, for sure!)… so we could burn the rubbish in the fireplace in the family room.  Fires are so exhilarating, especially when you’re home alone!  My brother lit the matches and started the newspaper tubes that we had diligently rolled up just like Dad always did.  We waited until it was nice and hot before we started adding the garbage…. which included: toilet paper tubes, kleenex, q-tips, junk mail, odds and ends…. AND…. an empty aerosol can of hairspray.   OOOooooohhhhh!

We didn’t bother closing the little chain-mail curtain because we were still loading in the trash when it happened……. quicker than bottle rockets on the 4th of July, the can exploded and shot out of the brick fireplace.  We were terrified!  We ducked for cover!  We shielded our heads and faces!  We screamed like girls!  The can hit the popcorn ceiling and then came to a smoking landing on the tri-level, multi-colored shag carpet, where it sizzled and then fizzled on the far side of the hide-a-bed couch (that I am the proud owner of to this day!) 

We waited for it to cool down before we tried to pick it up, but it was sort of stuck to the melted carpet.  My brother did pull hard enough to dislodge it and then I carefully trimmed the burned carpet to a uni-level, non-torched height.  I remember the can leaving a mark on the ceiling, but I can’t remember how we covered it up.  That was 33 years ago, okay?!  I remember thinking that we could have put someone’s eye out with the shooting hairspray can, and we never repeated that fiasco.  Safety first!  Or at least second!

Reminds me of Back to the Future when Marty tells his 1950′s parents to go easy on their future son when he burns the livingroom carpet!