So my days have been going so quickly! I must admit, I have always been hesitant about the stay-at-home-mom life. Hesitant meaning I just didn’t think it was for me. But alas, it is and I’m LOVING it! Perhaps the only thing that could make it better was if a) my washer and dryer were hooked up, b) our water wasn’t chlorine again or c) we had internet at home. I’m hoping all three of those will come in the next few months! 🙂

Not much new to report, really. I’ve been waiting for our SW to call regarding setting up our first homestudy appointments. Supposedly it was to happen a week after homework was turned in (we turned ours in a week and a half ago, but who’s counting?) So I had my adorable hubby call. THEY WERE CALLING MY OLD CELL PHONE!!!! AHHHH. I’m hoping to hear from them TODAY on the new phone when our first meeting is.

Anyway, off to cook some lunch. Have to get the house ready because our lawyer/notary/friend is coming over to do the dirty deed that is making a will. Oh the good stuff!

So I am enjoying being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) more than I ever thought I would. I commented to my sister-in-law that time goes by so quickly when you’re playing with your kids! AMAZING! I love that I’m feeling like I get to play with them more rather than “just” raising them, I have more time for interaction and things like that. Instead of a sprint to the door; take off your shoes, sit down at the table, get in the bath, get in bed, I get to fingerpaint, go on walks, go the farmer’s market. It’s great! I think I can speak for both kids by saying we are all enjoying ourselves tremendously!

Still waiting to hear from our social worker. It’s been exactly one week and one day since we turned in our homework and no word! I am hoping we’ll hear Monday! I’m ready to get the homestudy process underway!

I am now Strength and Conditioning and Group Exercise certified for the Y. I go on Tuesday to sign some papers and figure out when I want to work and which classes. This fall I will be teaching an Outdoor Pilates class and a Bootcamp class out at Camp which will be really great. I’m really looking forward to it.

Hopefully next post I’ll have some pictures, quite bizarre having no time for internet! Thanks for tuning in!

So exciting stuff in life. This morning I woke up knowing it would be my last day (for awhile, at least) putting on a suit and high heels. It would be my last day throwing breakfast at the kids while running out of the door. It would, in fact, be my last day at Estes. Ahh, this is what it feels like to breath. So pleased am I!

Perhaps better than that? WE FINISHED OUR ADOPTION HOMEWORK!!!!!!!!! I am SO excited about this. Just dropped it in the mail, actually. It should arrive at the CHSFS offices tomorrow. Either Monday or Tuesday we should be hearing from our Social Worker out of Cedar Rapids. We will set up our first homestudy appointment that will take place in the CR offices. Since we are both fairly flexible with our schedules, that should be fairly soon! After that is complete, we book our 2nd (and hopefully, final) homestudy appointment. I’m hoping to get homestudies done by the 3rd week in August. This would mean it is feasible to get our dossier paperwork in by September. Go baby go!

It might be a couple days before my next post, camp isn’t hooked up with what one might call “quick internet” yet so I will have to be heading to coffee shops with wireless with the kids in tow. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Again with the eyes!

This is what we call Dailah’s “crazy face”.

Seriously.

My brother, myself and my two kids all on one tube, AMAZING.

Trysten after his first attempt at skiing.

Trysten decided he wanted to try skiing. My brother was so kind to get all his skiis, life jackets, etc on and once all gear was on, Trysten decided he’d take baby steps and be done for now. Perhaps next time he might just get in the water?

So I got to work today and heard about the bridge collapse in MN (we still don’t have our TV hooked up at Camp so I’m a bit behind with news). As most know, this is where our adoption agency is, actually just a few miles from that bridge. I was relieved to hear most of my forum friends are accounted for, but we are still waiting to hear how the staff at CHSFS fares. I am praying for, of course, all of my forum friends and CHSFS staff, but also everyone directly or indirectly affected by it all. What a horrific experience! Please keep them in your prayers as well.

On a lighter note, my dearest daughter takes after her brother in more than one way…her first official word (after momma, dadda) is “ball”. We were playing water basketball in the pool the other day and she said it! It was pretty cute and reminds me oh so much of her brother. I’d be lying if I said Zach and I didn’t take it as the smallest of hints that they’ll be superstars in all things athletic. No pressure there, right? (And for those that don’t know, I truly am being at least a good portion, sarcastic.)

Anyway, blessings to you all. May you turn to the ones you love and tell/show them just how much you love them today and every day. Thanks for tuning in.

Trysten is notorious for picking flowers/weeds, sometimes from other people’s gardens, to give to me. That yellow flower in my ear is one such example. But look how happy we both are!

My baby boy looks so big in this picture!

Told you I can’t find a picture when she’s not eating! Looks like she loves my mom’s potato salad ALMOST as much as her mom.

This was Trysten’s idea of dessert. That is a chocolate donut on top of a cookie. I say, as long as it’s not going straight to his hips, why not? I’d do it if I could.

Look at the things people come up with. A water totter? BRILLIANT I say!

AWWWWWWWWW.

2 more days of work. Hard to believe, really. I’ve been looking forward to that day for so long I still feel like I’m going to come Friday and someone is going to tell me I have another year to go. I was reflecting today as I walked in, box in hand, that there really is going to be a few things I miss about working here. I’ll miss my colleague, Kathryn, who made lots of otherwise boring/misearble situations, bearable. I’ll miss working downtown. I’ll miss walking through the doors and seeing patrons of the coffee shop starting their mornings with me. I’ll miss surfing the internet so frequently (ha!). I will miss being out in the community as often and getting a first glimpse into what new attractions and buildings were going up around the QC.

But I’ll get to spend lots of time with the people shown above and really, I couldn’t ask for more. Today as I was walking up to the Lodge to do some laundry (our washer and dryer have yet to be hooked up at camp) with my favorite son and I realized this was going to be an every day occurence. I wouldn’t have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to get our unmentionables out of the laundry, I’ll be able to wait until a decent hour! I’ll be able to cook them a fine lunch of spagettios and mac and cheese (yes, I have no doubt I’ll resort to that once in awhile) and will have more time to make interesting dinners. I’ll be able to read to the kids and go on walks with them. I’ll be able to donate more time and effort to various non-profits I enjoy working with. And I’ll get to do some personal training, watching people reach their fitness potential. I can’t say enough how excited I am. Oh yeah, and I’ll get to go to coffee shops with my sis-in-law and nephews. (Zach, you KNEW I couldn’t leave that one out!)

So I gave my notice last Wednesday. I offered 30 days, but they took 2 weeks. Well, they took 2 weeks but told me I could be done in the office THIS FRIDAY. What that basically means is that on Monday of next week, just 7 days from now, I will be enjoying a lingering cup of coffee on my front porch while my kids chase bugs and balls around our yard. In just 7 days, our kids won’t be going to daycare and I will get to remember what it’s like to intimately know my kids on a minute-by-minute basis 24/7. This could not be more exciting to me.

And in just 2 days the 1st will come and go and no mortgage payment will be mailed. Let’s say it with me, AMAZING. The woes of camp life are quite insignificant when you think of all the strings God pulled to get us where we’re at. It’s glorious.

This weekend will have me getting my Personal Training certifcations. From 8-5:30 both days I will be hard at it. Though tiring and perhaps tedious, it will be worth it!

So yesterday’s message at church was about forgiveness. What an awesome concept and one we as humans tend to fall short on. I applaud myself for being halfway decent about this. I can’t remember the last time I held a grudge for too long. But I also realize I’m not near as good at this as the Big Man Himself. Can you imagine all He’s forgiven us for? It’s such a humbling thought to think I just forgave my husband for putting his nasty, crusty socks right next to the clean pile of clothes. Oh happy perspective! I will continue working on the little bouts of forgiveness I do on a daily basis so that perhaps if there ever is a time when I am asked to fork over a large pot of forgiveness, I will be well trained.

And the adoption is progressing. I, of course, finished my homework and am now waiting (im)patiently for my favorite husband to finish. He only has a few more questions so I’m (forcing) encouraging him to keep up the good work. 🙂 I am excited to turn that in and get started on our homestudy! I am hoping to be completed with our homestudy not too long after courts reopen in Ethiopia. Pipe dream? Perhaps. Still counting on it? Absofreakinlutely.

Unil then, enjoy some pictures.

This is a picture of some of our wonderful friends on the fourth. Though my husband appears to be in love with the other guy, Greg, in that arc of love, they are actually terrific heterosexual lifemates. His wife and I appear to be holding hands.

Seriously, could this face BE any more perfect?

How many grandpa’s do you know who WEAR their grandchildren? Not many, but not many are as good at my father-in-law either.

Hard to find a picture where the girl isn’t eating, hasn’t just eaten, or doesn’t have food leftover on her persons from the last time she’s eaten.

Now can you see why I’m pumped to spend so much time with these people?

Without further ado, here are the pictures of my friend, John, and my successful domination of our yard. As noticed in a previous post, the yard had been forgotten for a few weeks and it took John to come out and help me get it under control. For about 3 hours we were cutting, raking, trimming and drinking. Only the latter could be considered fun. Here are a few pictures. I assure you, the crater pictured below has been filled in and you can’t even notice it now. For details about our exursion, check the older posts.

–One year ago today you were born. Born early, but beautiful. I was so scared I would lose you, but you are here! I labored with your daddy for awhile, got some yummy pain medicine and brought in the female troops. Your Grandma Connie, Auntie Leslie and Aunt Kait joined your daddy and me in the Red Tent to welcome the newest female Klipsch. So much love for you in that little room!

–One year ago I gained a daughter; another child to love, a girl whose hair I can braid. I’ll teach you about boys, your periods, shaving your legs (hopefully with more regularity than your mom). I’ll teach you other stuff too, like how to be the only girl on the soccer team or the baseball team, how to chew sunflower seeds, how to bat your eyelashes at your daddy when you REALLY want that piece of candy (okay, so HE’LL be teaching you how to do that to ME). We’ll get manis and pedis together and delight in the joys of being women. We’ll read great books and discuss the philosphocal ramifactions of it all, the oppression of races and sexes and all the good stuff.

–One year ago today you were whisked from my arms and placed in an incubator. I wasn’t allowed to hold you for 24 hours. To this day, those were the toughest 24 hours of my life. You were so little and I knew you needed me the way I needed you, but the doctors didn’t trust you would thrive in that condition. 25 hours later you were in my arms and all your stats went right, they went normal; showing them the bond between a woman and her baby is so much stronger than any oxygen tank sometimes. I hope I will always be a source of oxygen for you, a place to clear your head and just feel safe and happy.

–Today you are alive and thriving. You giggle and slurp. You talk and laugh. You crawl and pull yourself to standing. You have rolls on your thighs and the most beautiful eyes. You cry when I drop you off at daycare and come crawling at record breaking speed when I come pick you up. You are life and you are joy.

–Today you are a daughter to your parents and a sister to your brother. You take these roles very seriously and seem happiest when it’s just the 4 of us. You take comfort in comfortable surroundings but are adapt at exploring new and wonderful things.

There is so much more I could write about you dear daughter. Today, like a year ago, I praise God for the blessing that you are and have always been to me and to the family. You are a miracle and there will never be a day that I don’t thank God for His blessings that have rained down in abundance since you entered my life. Though our family may grow, you will always be my baby girl, my sweet, sweet Dailah. Happy 1st birthday, angel.

So to start off where I left off….last week was both the best of times and worst of times. Monday I woke up with a bit of a sore throat, no big deal I told myself. Well Tuesday I woke up and didn’t want to swallow, talk or eat (which is perhaps the biggest indicator of something amiss). So I went to the doc and was diagnosed with tonsillitis. For some reason things went from bad to worse and I don’t remember much of Tuesday and Wednesday. What I do remember is asking myself why in God’s name I’m throwing up when I have tonsillitis? Who knows but it’s safe to say I wasn’t completely normal until Fridayish.

So Wednesday night we took off for Des Moines as a pit stop to our PAC in MN. Thursday early we took off! We got to MN, tried to check into our hotel (not until 3, whoops!) and ran to KFC before the fun began at 12:30. When we pulled up to CHSFS offices we were amazed at how nice they were! Not that we were expecting a hole in the wall, but it was beautiful. So this reassured us that we picked a good place. We were thrust into our small groups right away. Come to find, our small group consisted of 2 other groups from Iowa (an Ankeny and an Iowa City, both of which are adopting from Ethiopia). Yay! The other two families were from MN and looking at the same place as well (Russia, Uzbekistan). So anyway, it was a really great small group and we had a great time. I really can’t say enough about these classes. Perhaps the best part was seeing Zach feel more and more excited/reassured that the process goes (somewhat) according to plan. For the most part I have been the one doing research, etc, and relaying it back to him so it was his turn to learn all of what I already knew. Plus, they discussed issues such as transracial/cultural adoption, attachment, etc. It was eye opening and discussion inducing and GLORIOUS!!! So we were SO happy that CHSFS requires this as part of their process. We also got to hear about the Ethiopia program for about 1hr+. It was great hearing from the head of the Ethiopia program (and Ethiopian adopter herself, 4 times over!)

Not to mention my husband and I got some good alone time! The classes ended at about 8:30 on Thursday so we went and checked into the hotel and then went to go find a few drinks to bring back. NOPE! Silly MN doesn’t sell alcohol past 9, that is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard. Anyway, we had fun liquorless anyway!

Friday we went and met my mom and the kiddos at the lake. Ended up staying there that night just to recoup. Saturday AM we made a pit stop at the big mall to purchase an Apple laptop. Zach’s eyes are my weakness, I tell you that much. The thing is awesome and I can’t complain because Zach has started his homework already. We got home, I packed, Zach went golfing with the guys from our small group. Sunday found me and the kids at church and small group, Zach packing and back to work. Me packing and packing and packing some more.

Yesterday was MOVING DAY!!!! We are pretty much all moved into Camp. It was dirtier then I expected and not quite ready for us but we’re there nonetheless. Stayed up late unpacking the kitchen. Felt good. I’ve started a count. Spiders killed: 4, Spiders seen: 22million (approx). But it’s nice to be in the house, even if it was hard to find my unmentionables today. And perhaps most important that happened yesterday? I FINISHED HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. It was great, I was happy and I can’t wait until the movie. I feel as though these people are my friends, that says a lot about me and I’m not sure anyone else BUT me will think it’s all good things. 🙂

So…..with regards to the adoption. Now we complete “homework” which is basically 6-10 pages of an autobiography for both Zach and myself. As I said, Zach’s started his, me not so much. I’ll be doing that at work the next couple of days. 🙂 Mine should go pretty quickly because, as noticed, I have no problems writing about myself and the people/things I’m passionate about. 🙂 After we send that to our agency, our social worker calls and sets up our first homestudy, which will probably take place a few weeks after completed homework. So this is moving along now! Though a HUGE part of me hesitates to bring her within 5 feet of the camp house yet, I know she’s looking more at the love in the house then the actual bricks and mortar, but still…

Anyway, things are well. Have to make a mad dash to Target today. Not that it wasn’t interesting showering with no curtain today, but just in case one of the camp counselors decides to get his jollies from watching my make-upless, stretched-out-from-two-babies butt shower, I think I’ll pick up a curtain for tomorrow. 🙂 Until then, hope you are all well and happy!

Turns out Dailah eats…a lot, all the time and anything. It’s glorious. As shown in the picture it makes her very, very happy!

Trysten’s favorite part of the lake, with his Papa John.

Do those blues need explaining?

I posted this for 2 reasons. 1) Dailah is smiling through her paci and I think it’s hilarious when she does and 2) with the shadow it looks like I have defined deltoids (which I don’t) but the shameless part of me pretends I do.

Me with the brave kids on the tubes.