So many things to be thankful for.

Hi All-

The kids first Thanksgiving went very well. Grandma Marta and Grandpa Craig slaved over a hot stove for days I am sure and we had a FEAST. Aaron's pies were very well received and everyone had a great day playing, eating, visiting and just being together.

It is so crazy to think about last Thanksgiving. Last Thanksgiving we were in Mexico (common theme in our family since our mom died- my dad likes to go away for a family holiday someplace warm and nice and not here) but we were at a swanky very un-kid friendly place that was great, but so different than this year. Of course, the only "child' there last year was baby Will and he had still to make his appearance so I am not sure that really counts... (poor Jane- flying at 5 mos pregnant!).

Anyway, what I want to talk about it the fact that last Thanksgiving we were all done with our homestudy and weighing our options as to which agency to go with. I was really on the fence and had a lot of trouble deciding between WACAP ( a great agency and the one that we eventually did sign with- and they had done our homestudy which made it even easier) and CSS - a very well respected agency in North Carolina. While we were in Mexico we got word that we had been rejected as applicants by CSS. Apparently my medical history (which is very old and ridiculously unimportant in terms of real life but can freak people out who are dumb or dont know better) and they felt that we were not good candidates for International Adoption and that we would not be able to adopt a child. Okay, I was CRUSHED. I wandered around Mexican paradise for 2 days in a daze of tears and hurt. My whole family was there trying to cheer me up -- Pop was offering to find us babies no matter what it took, Aaron was telling me there would be a way, everyone was being as nice and supportive and I was just devastated. I was sure we would never be parents- that a stupid idiomatic seizure disorder from 10 years ago that was long gone was going to keep us out of the parenting world forever. I was so angry that an agency would tell us that we were not good enough to go through the process when we have so much to offer a child(ren) and that they would be better off in Russia than with us etc etc etc. It still makes me super upset to think about this. I mean, we are sort of a catch really- we are nice, normal, well educated, love each other, have great families, have resources, want to be parents, had a parenting plan etc. For someone to tell me that I wasnt good enough was a real blow to my psyche (and dumb if you ask me).

But, I guess everything really does happen for a reason! Because when we returned we met with WACAP again (they had alreay agreed to represent us as they didnt think it was all such a big deal either and that "your pros outweigh your cons") and decided to move forward with them. I was nervous-- what if they changed their minds about us, what if the Russians didnt like us etc etc etc. but we wanted to move forward and so we did. And, you all know how that turned out- our kids, the kids that were so meant to be ours, were able to find us (with some help from Queen Markell and the folks at the MOE and the people at WACAP) and are now home playing as I type this. We never ever thought we would have our kiddos home before this holiday season- we were sure it would take at least 2 years and that we were looking at 2010 before we became parents. Just goes to show how the world works in mysterious ways. Our kids were ready for us now so CSS had to reject us, they dont work in the baby home our kids were from so if we had gone with them we might have missed them! It is all kismet to be sure.

It is hard because I miss my mother more at Christmas time than any other time of the year (which is saying something). She WAS christmas- ask anyone- this was her time of year for sure. It is hard to see the kids get so excited about it and know that this will be our first year with them and have her not be there. It is just really hard. I know that she is watching out for them and I know we have plenty of other family but without her Christmas has never seemed quite "right" for me. All i can do is try to make it fabulous for my kids- maybe that will help this year. I need to get in the spirit though and i am having some trouble there- must be all the craziness in the world!

Anyway, enough of my musings. I just wanted to post how happy I am that we are all home and safe and how glad I am to have my children going into this Holiday season. I am also glad Pop is not in India anymore and I hope that the situation there gets resolved as quickly and well as possible at this point!

SKB

Back from Mexican Paradise

Hi All-

I know it has been an age since I posted- but we have been a busy bunch. Just returned from 8 days in sunny Mexico with the family. The trip went well- the kids loved being around so much family and the house we stayed in was awesome. Thanks Poppy Nick and Elizabeth for making it all happen.

Sasha loves "the big waves" in that he had so much fun wave jumping with Mama that I fully see a surf board in our future. Ana, not so much. Aaron took her out and she swallowed a ton of water which led to an hour long sad sack crying fit- poor little girl! She did love the pool though and we went swimming twice a day every day! All in all it was super fun.

We do have a little bit of post vacation regression. It is nothing huge, just some extra neediness and a bit of forgetfulness on Sasha's part in regards to being potty trained. Apparently this is super normal as the change of the vacation is super stressful for the kiddos. I do think that they were a bit worried on the planes even though we talked a zillion times about how we were going home, Sasha especially seemed unsure on the way home (aka screamed for 2 hours, sorry all thos around us!) but was happy as a clam when we arrived on our doorstep.

Now Thanksgiving is here. We are off to Grandma Marta's for a Thanksgiving feast tomorrow and then home tomorrow night. Ana's 4th birthday is this weekend and she is very excited. We talk about often- she cant wait for the party and the presents- she has quite the list going! She is fitting into our American lifestyle very very well, which is pretty funny to watch.

We have a new cousin- Megan just had a baby boy (Miles) to add to the clan. I cant wait for this summer and totally hope that we can all get together at Wausaukee at the same time as there are now simply dozens of kids under 5 in the gang and it would be hilarious.

That is all I have time for now. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Pics to Mexico to follow once Aaron emails me some. My camera phone did not work well at all- too sunny- so all of my pics are totally lame! Hopefully better ones will appear soon.

SKB

Their first election day!

Hi Everybody!

So, of course yesterday was the kiddos very first election day. They went to dance class per usual and then Papa took them to vote! I had alreay voted absentee but Aaron still goes down to the polling place and he took the kids. Apparently they did very well (though Ana disagreed with Papa's/Mama's choice of candidate- I told you she was channelling Markell). Anyway, it is was a very exciting event for them and I was thrilled that they got to be here for such a historic election. This is one people wont forget and it will help ground them in their American history when they say "I remember when Obama was elected, I was little and brand new to the States" when they are old and gray.

Isnt the above pic the cutest of all time. It is one of the Becky photos and I love it! All of the pics are so cute it will be hard to decide what goes on the Xmas card but I have a feeling this one will be part of the final design!

This past Sunday was Will's Christening and party so we all went up to Bellingham for that. The church service was LONG but the kids were total troopers and got to leave before communion which was good because it just dragged on and on and on after that- the new priest at St Paul's is quite a talker! We had a great party at Poppy's after that and everything went well - good food, lots of people and everyone had fun I think.

Both kids are doing well. They are totally having a language explosion and really funny. It is hard to remember sometimes that they now understand most (if not all) of everything we say and I am often suprised when one of them pipes up in the middle of the conversation. We have had to start spelling words like "cookie" and "park" when we are talking about them so that we dont get them too excited- makes me feel very 'mommy' and is cool.

I am a bit concerned about Sasha's attachment to me- he seems to be pulling away from me which is not good. I know it is because I am not there all the time but I am still trying to figure out how to deal with that. I have special snuggle time with Ana which is great and totally helping her attach to me but right now Sasha doesnt have the same special time- I need to figure out a way to get it in there but everytime I try he is totally uninterested in the idea and wont sit still, let alone snuggle and let me sing to him. Any ideas? I have high hopes that spending lots and lots of time with him in Mexico will help and plan on doing just that. I know it is a process but I am just nervous that it is going the wrong way with him- he seems interested soley in Aaron and even that is teneous I think. I guess we shall just keep trying and see where that leads us. I am wondering how young is too young for attachment therapy - any ideas on that one? I think he is too young but maybe I am wrong. I just want him to be happy and healthy and I think being firmly attached is pretty important for that. Maybe I am overthinking it....

SKB