“There is no Camping in Colombia!”

Words from my daughter’s mouth upon learning what camping is all about.  Yes, we are breaking her into the American way of life slow and easy…. camping for only three days… only two hours from home. 

The boys set up the tents in the backyard to make sure all the poles and flies were accounted for.  Nora was very impressed with the tents… until she started asking questions about them.  “Where is la house you set them up?”  Well, we set them up outside.  Eyes huge…”On la grass?”  Yes.  “What about monstruos?” (monsters)  I explain that there is no such thing as a monster. “Austin ask me there is monstruos.” (She uses “ask” for tell, say, ask, speak.)  I glare at Austin for terrifying his little sister.  I might have to scare the living daylights out of him on this trip.

Nora was not too sure about this whole adventure, so she followed me to the garage when I went to gather camping gear.  I pulled out the cooking apparatus and she was glad we would eat like civilized people on dishes with utensils.  When she saw the sleeping bags she asked, “Where is la bed for la bag?” Well, the bag IS your bed. “WHAT? You lay on la ground?” Yes, (well, mommy has an air mattress, but YOU lie on the ground.)

Then I pulled out the bag of muddy, sandy and dirty water shoes.  Our entire family, minus Nora, have a similar shoe size within 2 sizes, so our water shoes are first come-first serve.  I mentioned that we need to buy some water shoes for Nora.  Of course this brought on more questions.  “Why no wear my pink shoes?” (flip flops) Because they fall off and float down the river.  “Why shoes water not float down river?” They stay on your feet and protect your feet.  “From fish that bite, yes?”  No.  There are no fish that bite (at least I don’t think there are….) 

We got in the car to go out and Nora was ALL over getting water shoes…. “Now we go Walmart for Nora’s shoes water?”  No, we will get them tomorrow.  “Tomorrow is far away?”  No.  One more sleep.  “I want go to bed ocho not seven.”  (This is an ongoing statement as she thinks she should get to stay up until eight.)  Sigh.

We leave on Monday for Beaver Creek Campground…. I’m sure I’ll have some tales to tell come Wednesday night!  Hopefully they won’t include me not sleeping a wink because the little girl in my tent is eternally waiting up for monstruos!  AUSTIN!

Kung-Fu-ier

Not many kids’ movies make me laugh out loud.  But Kung Fu Panda did.  We have been awaiting the arrival of Kung Fu-ier for weeks.  Today is the day.  But we cannot go without Rick, as he makes the Kung Fu experience so much richer!  Last time, he laughed until he cried.  The big guy sat in the theater surrounded by children and wiped the tears from his eyes without shame.  Then all the kids laugh at him as well as the movie.  It’s priceless.  YES!  Tonight, the noodle dream is relived.

History Nerds UNITE!

I simply had to share my excitement for next school year.  American History for highschool is what I will be teaching, as well as casually guiding my two younger kids through American History literature.  OH, I’m so excited about all the books we will be reading this coming year!  I’ve already announced to my two sons, who do not love reading YET, that this will be a foundational year for them and their reading careers.  Yes, they both rolled their eyes at the woman who gave birth to them!  Sheesh.

My planning is almost done and for the first time in ten years of homeschooling, I’m branching out to try a few different curricula.  Of course, I’m still using Konos for History of the World 4: American History.  Nothing beats the activities in HOW!  Nothing.  But for the youngers, I’m trying a few more structured choices that will enable them to be a bit more independent.  I’m stretching myself here, believe me.  I’m a control freak, and I’m giving up some control somewhat willingly.  We’ll see how this goes!

I’m so glad all of next school year is written down and organized and planned and structured and ready!  Whew!

And BAM! 17 Pounds Flew By!

Once again, in my life of up and down, I have started a new and improved eating plan.  Yes, I have shed pounds before.  Yes, I have gained them back.  I think over my post-childbearing years, I have lost and found about 387 pounds.  (That’s 129 pounds per child-birth experience, but who’s counting?) All gains were in small increments over many small dishes of pistachio almond ice cream and bits of spinach/artichoke dip slathered on crispy chips.  Seriously, it didn’t seem like much at the time.  Really.

Then BAM!  I woke up one day and realized my fat jeans were tighter than Superman’s suit.  THAT is tight. Again, a “healthy” plan must be consumed. (Terms used lightly… especially “healthy”.)  My most previous losing plan involved LOTS of protein and vegetables.  Ketosis, it is called.  My kidneys and leg muscles still cry out at the mention of the word.  The plan did work while I was on it.  The results were amazing, but there was no follow-up or follow-through or follow-anything other than the popsicle man as he drove down the street slowly serenading me toward a fudgesicle.

When the student is ready the master arrives.  ~Buddhist proverb.  I find it ironic that the Buddhist proverb is true in my venture toward a healthy lifestyle, being that Buddha could certainly use a healthy eating plan himself. Anyway, as I was squeezing into my fat jeans, refusing to buy that next size that I have NEVER purchased in my lifetime, I received a message on facebook from my jr. high choir director.  Yes, that’s a few years back.  She is a health coach and noticed that I have more than several friends on facebook.  She was inquiring if she could tap into my fat friend list.  Normally I don’t share people or programs unless I know they are legitimate.  So I agreed to be her prodigy before I share the wealth with my chubby chums.

Yesterday was the completion of week number five on the Take Shape for Life plan… and the number on the scale told me that BAM! 17 pounds were indeed missing.  That is a 3.4 lb. per week loss.  My too-tight pants are too loose.  At this rate, I should be my ideal weight right in time for plum pudding, gingerbread men and rum balls.  Only one serving of each, of course.

It’s a wonderful feeling to be under the heavy-weight fighter’s weigh-in number!  The difference between this program and the last 17 is that there is follow-up.  There is a health coach that will haunt me for life.  There is an eating plan that leans toward normalcy in the aftermath of the BMI suggested weight for a woman of my height (where there is no consideration AT ALL to my strong Scottish and Finnish husky bone structure.)

Yes, I’m sure you’re thinking, here we go again. Believe me, I am thinking the same thing.  But there is a glimmer of hope that I will be able to fit through the crack from where the light is shining at the end of the tunnel.

Friends

Eleven years ago, my sister and best friend, moved away from Phoenix to Washington state.  REALLY far away. I didn’t want her to move away…. with my two cutie-pie nieces… it was not fair.  But life is rarely fair.  She left on a Saturday and I woke up Sunday and just cried.  Preferably, I like to keep my peeps right close.  I did not prefer this arrangement, but knew God’s hand was on their move.

Before Christy left she recorded this song on a cassette tape and gave it to me.  (Remember those?) I played it over and over as a sweet salve to my sad soul.  My husband got sick of it really fast.  Well, maybe it was after the 127th time I had played it.  And I usually couldn’t make it through the song without crying either.

A few weeks after Christy’s move and my mourning period had eased, Rick came home to find me crying again.  It was totally about something else, but he non-sympathetically asked, “Were you listening to your sister’s tape again?”  HAHA.  It’s funny now, but it wasn’t funny then.  Time has a way of changing scenarios.

Still today I love this song.  The Lord has blessed me with so many friends through the years.  I truly am thankful!  Every place we have lived, He supplied a bosom friend for me.  I love you, my friends!

And BAM! 17 Years Flew By

Tonight we spent the evening visiting with fine Canadian friends that we lived life with up in Northern Alberta in the early 90s.  I haven’t written much about our Northern escapades in a while.  Quite a few memories were reborn in my mind tonight…. quality fodder for blogging.  Good times!  I love love love reconnecting with friends where it seems like NO time has gone by…. except for our husband’s higher foreheads and a few more smiling lines for us girls.  We chatted and laughed and got caught up on 17 years of information in seven hours. 

When we lived together in Fort Vermilion, Alberta our first children were born within four months of each other.  We shared many meals and phone calls in those early parenting years.  Hard to believe we both have four kids now.  And my 17-year-old daughter LOVED being introduced to a “stranger” and told that she had changed her diapers.  :o)  Keepin’ ‘em humble.  That’s my job as the mom.

We’ve matured over the years, but one constant remained… God is good.  All the time.  Hard times come and go.  But God is good.  All the time.  Amen.

Arizona History has Ended. Period.

This week brought the close of my Arizona History class …. I’m happy and sad.  Teaching this class was the most fun of all the classes I’ve ever taught.  Let’s face it, Arizona History is a small blip on any timeline of history… we’re not even 100 years old until next Valentine’s Day!  So I was forced into my creative mode to keep these high schoolers learning!  We only had 18 classes and four of those were field trip days!  That is my kind of learning!

On Monday I finished writing the final exam and on Tuesday I packed all of my resources into a box… headed for the garage.  Yesterday was the last class and today I sat down and made a note to myself of all the things I need to fix and change when I teach it again in four years. Wondering all the while, why am I such a history-loving nerd???

This is a huge relief to not have any student papers sitting on my desk, staring at me, whilst awaiting grades.  I know how important it is for students to learn how to research and write a report, but by golly, I hate marking them!  It doesn’t even take that long, but I have a pre-report-grading phobia that causes me to procrastinate like my own high school days of old.

History is always more interesting when you can dig up the funny pictures and weird facts.  Here are just a few for your own Arizona-History-loving-heart: We studied two very influential men to Arizona… each one only had one arm.  Seriously, what other state can boast about that??  And where else can you find small towns with names like Bisbee, Bumble Bee, Globe, Tombstone, and Strawberry?  I know I’m probably underwhelming you, so I’ll end with my favorite picture… of my favorite General from the Civil War…. Gen. George Crook.  Imagine how seriously you would be taken sporting a beard like this?!?

BAM!  Believe it!

Cuteness in the Backyard!

When I first laid eyes on this idea in a magazine, I was sold.  It’s been about two years since I ripped that page right out of that magazine…. and put it in my Idea Binder.  I’ve been waiting for the right chair ever since.  Several prerequisites for the chair were established in my mind: sturdy, wide seat, easily removable seat and CUTE!  The one in the magazine was an old ladder back chair with straight lines and no frills.

Fast forward to 8:45 pm on the Friday night before the 50% off sale day at Goodwill.  I was preshopping the sale for the next day with my husband by my side.  I spied this chair and my heart pitter-pattered a little faster than usual.  I knew it was MY chair for the flower pot idea.  It had a cane seat and darling flowers carved on the legs, seat and back.  The cane had a tear in it… hence the $6 price.

That night Larisa had her friend Sarah sleeping over and I talked them into going with me to Goodwill in the morning…. to stand in line so as to be ready for the mad dash.  As we waited in line, I explained everyone’s role: Larisa was to take Nora, get a cart and head for electronics. (That is where I hid small stuff.)  Sarah was to go directly to furniture, grab the chair and head for electronics.  I explained the chair in detail, so as not to get the wrong chair.  I was bee-lining to electronics.  I told them that as soon as the doors open, there would be an announcement over the loud speaker that says “Please do not run!” I confirmed, “Do not listen to it! … RUN!”

All went as planned and now I have a pretty potted chair in the backyard!

For those DIY-ers, I cut out the cain seat.  Painted the brown chair white.  Sanded the decorative carvings. Then I stapled chicken wire to the bottom of the frame in the shape of a bowl.  I bought one of those basket liner replacements that are an inch thick and made of coconut hair.  I had to cut some triangles out of the edges to get it to fit in the seat.  I wanted it on the patio, but it will drip everytime I water it, so it is on the rocky border next to the patio.  TA DA!

We all need Girlfriends!

We have almost been home with Nora for five month now.  Time has FLOWN by!  Most of that time she has spent playing with us or her cousin, Luke, who lives across the street.  She has gone once to another friend’s house for the day.  But today she had girlfriends over to play for the first time.  Two sisters, one is 1.5 years older than Nora and one is 1.5 years younger.  When we picked them up, they were all timid and shy with one another as they were almost strangers.  They have met on two or three occasions, but never played together… hard!  As soon as we arrived home, they all went out to the trampoline and the laughter and squealing began.  It continued for hours.  Sweet music to my ears!

I packed snacks and juice in Nora’s little picnic basket and they had tea on the little yellow picnic table in the backyard as the wind blew their hair all wild.  And they talked non-stop.  Like girlfriends do.  At one point, the dog was bugging them, so Nora came and put her in the house.  She poked her head inside the back door, and upon seeing me looking at her, Nora said excitedly, “This is SO fun!”   “I know!” I responded, because I DO know!  Why didn’t I get her with girlfriends sooner????

(Disclaimer: Nora dressed herself:)

Half way through the play time, I packed the three little girls into the back seat of the van so I could pick up Larisa from work. (Yes, she works now… but that’s another blog.) On the drive home, Larisa and I just sat and smiled as we listened to Nora tell the entire story of the day she got a family.  It was so sweet.  She didn’t miss a thing!  “Mommy way crying.  Daddy was crying.  Larisa was really hard crying.  Keeve was crying.  They crying because they so happy.  Austin no did crying. And I run to Mommy and kiss her and give her stuffs I make. She hug me. Daddy hug me.  I was so happy, but I did no crying.”  Melts my heart!  It’s the first time I heard her tell the story!  She was so proud!

Again I say, we ALL need girlfriends!  They simply bring out the best in us!

Adoption FUNds….

Many people have asked us how we raised our adoption funds.  We smile a knowing smile… because WE didn’t raise the money, God did.  He funds what He favors!  Adoption is expensive… domestic AND international.  Personally, I don’t think it should be expensive, but that’s another story for another day.  We didn’t have nearly enough cash to adopt from Colombia, but we had some “seed money” that we planted and waited for God to harvest. Our dream of adoption came from the Lord so we relied on Him to show us where the adoption money was hiding.  It was a huge step of faith! Huger than any we’d taken previously!

When our adoption process began, we had faith that we would be one of the QUICK families…. not so.  It took us 10 months to get our dossier together (we had to work with two Canadian provinces and five American states!) and then we waited three months until we were approved.  THEN a 34 month wait for our referral. From the referral to us kissing our girl’s soft cheeks was eight days.  Eight days of FLURRY, scurry and hurry!

The 34 month wait was when we put our noses to the grindstone and searched hard for adoption funds.  I applied for 10-12 grants, and we received only one from Show Hope (MaryBeth and Steven Curtis Chapman) right at the beginning of the journey.  It was the sweet priming for the fundraising pump that we needed!  Thank you, MBC and SCC!

We also sent a letter to friends and family far and near telling them of our expanding family and asking if they felt the Lord nudging them to help bring a child home.  The monies from that one pink letter came in over four years.  It brought me to tears time and time again. Faithful friends, doing their part!  Thank you, if you were one of those loving people.

My sister-in-law, Jennie, came up with this fabulous idea to sew purses and carrier bags from recycled and donated fabric.  She nick-named our daughter Zaza, and Bags for Zaza was birthed!  The sewing escapades went on for over a year with six or seven contributing seamstresses (with three solid contenders).  She auctioned them online and it went over brilliantly…. 10 times more brilliantly than Jennie originally hoped for!  Thank you, Jennie!

While searching other adoption blogs and fundraising sites, I learned about having a Media Drive.  Great idea!  Ask all your family, friends and enemies to donate unused, dust-collecting media….. I gathered books, CDs, DVDs, videos, games, collector cards, plus more.  The valuable ones I was able to sell on eBay and the less valuable ones I sold at a local used book store.  This really encouraged me as friends far and wide donated boxes and boxes of stuff!  It made me feel great that there was a way everyone could contribute to helping an orphan…. it wasn’t just people with extra cash.  Everyone.

I also looked around our house and decided we didn’t need all this stuff that had accumulated over the last 20-something years.  I started selling everything: furniture, clothing, sports equipment, household trinkets, silk trees, books, lamps, you name it.  I sold most of these items on Craigslist.com.  There is one in your area!

Our neighborhood group decided to have a “Large Item” garage sale for us…. held at our house.  More than 20 families donated large items for this day and it was a great success. Thank you, neighborhood groupies!

Right when I needed another idea, a flyer was squeezed into our front door crack telling about a children’s clothing consignment sale.  I sent the word out for friends to donate kid’s clothing.  I gathered, ironed, tagged, hung and delivered over 200 items!

Most unique of all: Matt’s Meals with a Mission.  A high school grad in chef training (friend of daughter’s) set up MMM to raise money for different causes.  So, our adoption was one of the causes he supported by cooking meals for different families for special occassions.  We were so amazed by his giving heart, generosity and cooking! Thank you, Matthew!

The day before we flew to Colombia we received a phone call from a businessman we are acquainted with.  He asked how much we still needed and transfered the funds into our account that day.  It still brings me to tears, knowing that God had people lined up to take care of the needed funds.  We did our part and others did their part, as a body of believers and unbelievers alike, God used MANY people to bring our girl home. The blessing is spread far and wide.  Be encouraged if you are fundraising!  Be creative!  God funds what He favors!  Here’s our breakdown for you:

• Our Savings – 19%
• Show Hope – 7%
• Letter to Family & Friends – 23%
• Bags for Zaza – 16%
• Media Drive, Garage Sale, Craigslist, Consignment, MMM - 8%
• Last minute Donation – 27%