OUR FIRST DAY TOGETHER

It was great that Allen and I could sleep in this morning. Our ride came at about 10:30am which gave us lots of time to get ready for the day. It took a while to get to the airport because of the heavy traffic. It is so amazing to me how crowded the streets are. The driving habits of people are UNBELIEVABLE! It is like an unorganized mayhem. We did see an accident today which was a first for us. Whatever they do, it must work!

Paul Healy picked us up from the airport. We had carried a camera to Cebu for Joel Reasoner. Joel is on staff at CSC and grew up just blocks away from where we live in Cambridge. Joel was on his way to the airport to visit his parents in Japan, so we met in the middle and handed over the camera. Literally, we were ships passing in the night (or day as the case may be). We saw Joel for a total of MAYBE five minutes but it was good to see him.

We drove into the gates at CSC at about 4 p.m. and saw several kids watch us come down the driveway. I could see Roselyn from a distance and she put her hands up to her face in excitement. Then, well... I would have to say it was really surreal. As we got out of the van, our kids came to greet us. We hugged them and tried to make some small talk. At the same time, many of the other kids gathered around as well. We remembered most of them from our visit in January. After a little bit, Allen got a frisbee out and we went into the yard to play. It was a good way to just be together without the pressure of trying to find things to talk about. The only thing that was a little ackward was that the other kids just stood and watched. They have certainly seen other families come and go, but they seemed intrigued with what was going on. I'm sure it is very hard to think about saying goodbye to their friends. My heart breaks to think that most of them will continue to wait and hope for a forever family to come for them.

Anyway, we had fun playing frisbee and then basketball. The best thing about our initial time with them is hearing them call us "Mom!" and "Dad!" It must be fun for them to finally be able to use those names (again). It is great for us to hear it.

We had pizza for dinner as a family along with a few other staff people. It was so cute watching our kids in their current environment. Rodrigo was very helpful to his house mom by helping to set the table. (What mom wouldn't like that?) You will notice that he has a different shirt on in different pictures. Both the boys were dripping with sweat the entire time we were there. Rodrigo changed his shirt four times while we were there. The people told us that he was trying extra hard to look his best with his new parents here. SO CUTE!!!!!! I will have to say, he is the cutest little boy I think I've ever seen!!

After dinner they had a little program for us. Roselyn and Romeo were involved with the music. Rodrigo sat with us. It was a perfect evening. Allen and I tried to go in with NO expectations. The kids were so good and so... appropriate. It was a great day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Forgive me for writing so much! I am just so excited to tell you about everything! Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

GREETINGS FROM MANILA!!

Hey there! Here we are in Manila at the City Garden. It has been a long day of traveling but all in all, it has gone very smoothly.

The day started with some well-timed phone calls even before we left. My favorite was from Lindsay who was already at school with her first graders. They sang "Zippidy Do Dah" to us over the phone. What a great way to start the day! Thanks Lindsay!! We loved it!!

The first leg of our trip was to Detroit. Nothing remarkable. Our flight to Nagoya was long and poor Allen was really quite uncomfortable. We tried to get exit row seats for him, but were unsuccessful. It didn't seem fair since 99% of the folks on this flight were Japanese and about 2 feet shorter than him! Oh well, Allen ended up sitting in between me and a man who had evidently been to the sushi bar shortly before takeoff. No kidding...we kept getting wafts of raw fish and beer from his direction during the flight. This man spent much of the trip sleeping. He had some nifty plaid eyepatches which were quite effective in blocking out the light. Unfortunately, he forgot to turn off his overhead light before he went to sleep. Allen and I were reading, but when we turned our lights off to get some sleep, we realized that HIS light was on. It was a blinding light that was pointed directly onto Allen. It would have been weird for Allen to reach over the man's body to turn the light off, so he just tried to close his eyes with (at this point) the ONLY bright light in the plane which was shining directly on him. We had a good laugh about this and thankfully, our friend eventually got up for a bathroom break. We then reached over to turn of his light.

Immigration and customs were a breeze at the Manila airport. It was helpful that we had been here last January and knew exactly where to go. CSC had a driver waiting for us so we hopped in the van and are now at the hotel.

It's been a good day. We fly to Cebu tomorrow afternoon and will then meet up with our kids. I like being here. I really think that Filipino people are very friendly... and I don't think I am just making this up!!:) Lots of smiles and people are generally very courteous. It's a good thing. From the time that we left Cambridge to when we landed in Manila was about 25 hours. The Philippines is 13 hours ahead of Minnesota time if you are trying to keep track. I guess that will change with daylight savings...

That's all for today. Tomorrow is a biggie! On our way to the hotel tonight, Allen looked at me and said... "Mary, what have we gotten ourselves into???" Yep, we are nervous about tomorrow, but it's all ok. We're excited and very ready to begin this next chapter!

AWAY WE GO!!

Well, I think we are ready. It is amazing how much you can get done on the days preceding a big trip. If I could keep up this pace, I would accomplish A LOT in my lifetime. For now, I think that we are ready to go! Allen has started his leave and was very helpful the last two days. Packing, washing, mowing, paying bills, running to the store, the bank, the post office... You know the drill. We have packed very sensibly I think. We have several items for the shelter, clothes for our kids and of course our own things (which would include a can of DEEP WOODS OFF!). STAY AWAY, DENGUE FEVER!!!!

We received an email from Romeo today. He told us about playing Oregon Trail. His chair started to jiggle. According to him, they had a small earthquake. He didn't seem too concerned about it... BUT I AM!!!! I suppose it happens on occasion there, so I will just have to deal with it if it happens, right?

We have eaten our "last supper", attended the last swim meet of the season and said "good night" to Steph one last time before our big adventure tomorrow. We plan on leaving at 8 a.m. for Bethel. Kristin will take us to the airport. We fly to Detroit, then Nagoya, Japan, then Manila... After a night's sleep we will take one more flight to Cebu. The flight to Nagoya is about 14 hours so we will do lots of reading and movie watching (and sleeping). We will spend 3 days in Cebu and about 3-4 days in Manila before we head home on November 8.

One last note to all you STALKERS! I know that there are a number of you who read my blog but never comment. (I know because you have told me so!) I have no expectation of who might choose to read this. However, if you were ever to comment, the next 10 days would be a PERFECT time. I would LOVE to know that you are out there. If for some reason you can't do it, you can email us too. If you don't know my email, well, then I guess you have a good excuse for not commenting. Anyway, to all of you who are stalking, thank you for your interest and support. And...away we go!!! I'll let you know how things are going when we get there!!

"HOW CAN I HELP?"

So many people have asked us how they can help. It is a difficult thing to receive help when you would rather be the one giving help. I have been in the position of needing help many times, but this situation feels very different. We have some immediate needs, but my biggest concern is down the road when life gets really complicated. The problem is that I don't know what that will look like and what I will need. At any rate, I have been told over and over again to accept help if it is offered and to take it one day at a time. Although I feel a little sheepish about writing any of this, here are a few of my thoughts about this.

CLOTHES - We have not purchased many things for the kids because I don't want to guess on their sizes. A few friends that have boys have offered to give us hand-me-downs. We have received some gift cards for Kohls and Target which we will no doubt use... Roselyn has the benefit of three older sisters. All of them pass around their clothes so we do have a pile of "sister" clothes for her to try. None of them have winter clothing.

TOYS and BOOKS- We have lots of books from when our girls were little. Some of them have a female flavor to them and it might be nice to have books that are more geared for boys. A list of good "boy" books would be great! Same goes for movies. We have lots of movies like...Cinderella and Little Mermaid. Great movies, but kind of girly! My friend brought a big box of Legos a few weeks ago. I'm sure that the boys will love them! We have one dirty, faded basketball and maybe one bat and one softball. Pathetic, isn't it?? Rollerblades are a big deal especially for Rodrigo (Lord, help us!!)... So...we will probably be investing in some sports equipment.

FOOD-What can I say?? I will almost never turn food down. This is one area that I am not really looking forward to. I have moved out of the phase of cooking lots of meals...and I kind of like it. That is bad, because mealtime is and will be a priority for me. I would like to learn how to cook some Filipino dishes. If that is something you can teach me, come on over!!

SUPPORT-How is it best to be supportive...to anyone??? Well, I think that simply asking how things are going is always a good start. To tell you the truth, I don't really know what I/we are going to need after we get home, but if you ask, I will try to be honest and let you know. I spent some time just talking to two good friends this evening. It was so helpful to just have a listening ear. Knowing that people are praying has been very encouraging to me and my family. Thank you so much!

Please know that Allen and I have NO expectations from anyone to give our children any STUFF. Actually, we want to be very careful about not showering them with lots of GIFTS. Learning about our culture and how our family operates will be enough for us to focus on for a while. I hope that this was helpful and in good taste- that was my intention.

HIGHS, LOWS and UNUSUAL BEHAVIORS

This week went by so quickly! From wedding plans...to adoption details...to normal life-I have found myself staring into space more times than I would like to admit! It's a bit overwhelming, but also SO exciting!!! Here are some of my highs, lows and unusual behaviors.

HIGHS - I went to visit Lindsay at the school where she is student teaching this fall. It was great to visualize where she is spending most of her day. There were no students there at the time, but it was fun anyway. We went to dinner at Old Chicago. I don't know if I had ever been there, but the food was GREAT! We spent the entire time talking about the wedding. I don't think that two seconds went by without words being spoken. There is so much to talk about and decide! Our conversation covered everything from wedding attendants... to dresses... to colors... to reception details... to where to live. I went home with a warm fuzzy feeling and lots to think about. It was definitely a high.

Today was our last Sunday before we go to pick up our new kids. Allen and I sat down as the service started. As Stephanie came to sit next to me, I motioned to her that there was a vacant seat next to some of her friends. She leaned over to say that she wanted to sit next to us because it was our last Sunday together before our family grows. Just a small thing...something I would definitely think about, but it meant a lot to me that she was thinking along those lines too. Another high...

LOWS - I went to Target this week to pick up a few things unrelated to the adoption. Somehow, I found myself in the boys clothing section. All of the sudden it hit me! Bang! Right there in the boys section, I started to feel very emotional and anxious about the week ahead. I tried to find a few sweatshirts and pants for the airplane ride home, but I was paralyzed with indecision. I just stood there looking and...looking some more. I walked out of there with ONE shirt for Rodrigo and a dazed look on my face. The clerk asked if I had found everything I was looking for. I lied and said, "Yes, thank you." That was the low for me that day.

UNUSUAL BEHAVIORS - Wednesday morning I woke up, made my way to the bathroom (as I usually do), hopped in the shower and started to get ready for the day. As I walked past the clock, I noticed that it read 1:45 a.m. OH MY! Evidently, I am preoccupied with life right now and have confused my days with my nights. Oh well, I climbed back into bed and waited for my alarm to go off at 6 a.m. Odd behavior.

As I was walking into church today, I checked my watch to see how late I was... I pulled up my sleeve only to find that I had put TWO wrist watches on instead of the normal ONE. OH MY!! What is happening to me?? Very odd behavior.

THERE IS A MAN IN YOUR YARD!!

My parents had some excitement this week. They hire a lawn service to keep their lawn trimmed up. It was a busy day of grooming because of all the leaves on the ground. One of the workers was blowing leaves around the front cedar trees when she noticed a pair of black boots. As the leaves began to move around, she could see that there were legs and a body attached to the boots. She immediately took off for the house in a panic. (I can only imagine!!) My parents let her in and asked what was wrong. She grabbed the phone and called 911. It was only a matter of minutes before four squad cars were parked on my parents' driveway. They helped this man (who was ALIVE, thank goodness!!) to his feet. They guided him over to some landscaping where he could sit down. He was in bad shape and had evidently passed out in the front yard under a tree. Well, the policeman helped this man into his car and they drove away. And that...is the end of the story. Unfortunately, I don't think we will ever know this man's story or where they took him, but he sure did give everyone a scare! It was an exciting day for my mom and dad, but not one that they would like to repeat.

BRUCE

My friend Sherri left very early this morning to be with her sister (Judy) and husband, Bruce. Bruce was diagnosed with gall bladder cancer only a few short months ago. The cancer has taken it's toll on Bruce's body and has done it very quickly. He slipped into a coma yesterday and is very close to the end of his life. I am very sad for my friends, Dale and Sherri. It is such a difficult and painful time for them, and I am feeling so helpless... It doesn't seem fair that while our family is experiencing such great joy, our good friends are grieving the loss of someone they love so dearly. I guess we can never know what is around the next corner...

If you have a minute tonight, please pray for this family. I know I will be. Thank you.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

We have had SO much exciting stuff going on that I have failed to write about the "normal" stuff this week. The thing is, nothing this week has really been very NORMAL. We have been a part of three very significant events (not counting the engagement) that I want to tell you about.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON - Allen and I asked two of our pastors and their wives to come to our home for a time of prayer with our family. All three girls and Bjork were here to celebrate Stephanie's 16th birthday so we thought it would be a nice time to just spend some time reflecting about the adoption adventure and also pray for the journey ahead of us. It was very special to me as we shared some of our thoughts and concerns with each other. More importantly, we spent time praying together, asking God's blessing on our family. We so appreciate our pastoral staff! It was a great idea and was very meaningful.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON - I have been meaning to do this for quite some time but didn't get around to it until now. I invited some mothers of adopted children for coffee. All of these mom have older biological children. All of them have adopted internationally. Most of them have adopted sibling groups. We definitely had no trouble finding things to talk about! Although I knew some things about each of these people, I learned so much more about their adoption experiences. I honestly could have sat there all day listening to each of them share their story. It was very comforting and I hope we can get together again! Thanks, ladies for coming!

TUESDAY EVENING - I have been a part of a Tuesday morning Bible study for many years now. We meet every week, work through a study book (and the Bible, of course!) and pray for each other. All of us (including our husbands) met for a WONDERFUL! potluck dinner at our friends' house. We shared our story with these good people and they (too) spent some time praying for us. Once again, we felt very loved and supported. It was a very significant event to us.

Allen and I are humbled by all the kind and encouraging words from friends and family...especially in these last few weeks. I am a person who prefers an ordered life. All of these events have helped to bring closure to this chapter in my life. At the same time, it has helped me to be ready to move on to the next phase...and to not be afraid. I know that there are so many people standing in the gap praying for our family. It has been very comforting in an otherwise scary time. Thanks to all of you who are supporting our family. I'm pretty sure we live in the best community ever!! :)

OUR DEPARTURE DATE HAS CHANGED

Yes, we have decided to push our departure date back a few days. There is one more detail that is not in place yet. We must visit the Inter-Country Adoption Board one more time before leaving the country for final exit interviews, etc... No one can set up that appointment. Not CSC, not our adoption agency, not us. We will most likely get notification of that meeting while we are in the Philippines, but no one can be sure of the timing. We have been advised to come a few days later than originally planned. We will also probably stay a little longer with this new agenda. SO...our plan is to leave next Wednesday, October 29 and return on Saturday, November 8.

Although we are disappointed, we welcome a few extra days to get things in order here and get a start on some of the wedding plans. It is getting to the point where no one can keep track of when we are leaving. Some people thought it was Friday, some Saturday, and some are thinking that we have already left. One person even recently asked how it is going with our new family in Cambridge. I had to break the news that...no, they aren't here yet! Oh well. I honestly don't mind when people ask questions. All the dates are very confusing and we often don't even know what is really going on ourselves!

It will not be long now. I'll let you know if anything else changes.

A TIME TO BE ENGAGED!

Here are a few pictures of Bjork and Lindsay's engagement day. Isn't it fun?





Sorry if I'm going a bit overboard on the pictures. I simply can't help myself! :)

ANNOUNCING....

BJORK AND LINDSAY ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!! What a happy, happy day and we are so excited!!! Here's the story...

Bjork took Lindsay to the Minnesota Historical Center on Saturday. They looked around the center for quite a while before the BIG moment. Bjork had a few friends setting the stage for him. The two found their way to a balcony where there were several canvasses laying on a bench. Bjork had transferred several special pictures of the two of them on the canvasses and proceeded to talk about their HISTORY (get it?). The last canvass was blank and had a ring hanging from it. He then got on his knee to pop the question. (Pretty creative, quite clever and very sweet!) Well, she did indeed say..."Yes, yes, yes...." It was at that point that she noticed a person taking pictures of them. She didn't really care because, I guess you could say that she was lost in the moment! That was at about 4 p.m. (Check out some of their pics... at www.bdphotography.blogspot.com.) A few hours later, our two families met Bjork and Lindsay at the Melting Pot (a fondue restaurant). He had asked us to join them for an engagement celebration. We didn't know how or where he was going to propose, but we knew it was going to happen sometime...on Saturday.

It was such a fun evening and we were all so honored to be included on their special day! We have all been wondering about and waiting for this great day! To see the look on their faces was priceless. Lindsay looked so excited and Bjork a bit relieved, but they both looked SO, SO HAPPY!!! We sat and listened while they told us about their day and the proposal. It was one of those events where you just want to capture it in your mind forever.






They had a great time spreading the news on Saturday night and Sunday. The grandparents were all very excited to be sure. My parents were over to celebrate Steph's 16th birthday when they heard the news. It was fun to hear the story all over again.

Before the two left, we did our own little photo shoot. When I went to download and look at the pictures, I noticed again how happy they both look. And...they are obviously so much in love, and having SO much fun! We think that they compliment each other well and will love being married. We are truly blessed to add Bjork to our family. He is an exceptional young man and will no doubt make our daughter very happy. Have I gushed enough?????

So... here we go! The wedding plans have begun with a date of June 6, 2009. It's hard to think about anything else right now but, oops! I have to get packing. We have three kids to adopt! Things are happening so fast! I am learning how to cherish each new day and every new opportunity to be with the ones I love. I guess maybe I don't have a choice, huh? This weekend was definitely one to cherish. We love you, Bjork and Lindsay! You both picked a winner!!! Congratulations!



THE END...ACTUALLY...IT'S ONLY THE BEGINNING!!!!

FROM LAST TO MIDDLE

Stephanie turns 16 next Wednesday. She is our baby. Uh, anyway she WAS our baby. Is it possible to have two babies in the family??? The old baby and the new baby?? I don't know...but today I am going to hang out with Steph and I am looking forward to it very much. We are going to lunch and do some shopping for her birthday. Then we are heading to Wisconsin with Allen for a cross country meet.

I remember very well the weeks leading up to Kristin's birth. Of course, I was excited... but I was also really sad because I knew that our "special" time with Lindsay was about to come to a halt. It was a Saturday morning, March 24, 1989. There were signs that Kristin was coming very SOON so we decided to have Lindsay go to my Mom and Dad's house for the night. It was a really sad time for me. Our time as a threesome had been so much fun! I didn't want to let her go. I'm sure I cried. After they left, Allen and I took a LONG walk in our neighborhood. I remember it so well. It was kind of surreal. We talked about Lindsay, about life (I'm sure... cause I do that a lot!!), about the delivery and about our future. It is such a weird feeling when you KNOW you are about to live through some really big life change...but you don't really feel any different.

Kristin was born a few hours later. Yes, it was one of the fastest deliveries in history and it happened just 15 minutes before Easter. How special is that??? Lindsay and the grandparents came to visit the next day. It was a fun reunion but something had changed. We were now a family of four! And we loved it! Lindsay went from ONLY child to OLDEST child. She, of course, had no clue about all of that, but it was the first of many changes in the life of our family. I would have never imagined that 20 some years later that I would be feeling some of the same feelings and expecting...yet again.

Please pray for Steph. I think that besides the new kids, this change will effect her the most. She has been supportive of this whole idea, but frankly, this is going to rock her world. I have no doubt that she will be a WONDERFUL big sister, but (just like us) this next step will require a lot of change on her part. She will lose some of her freedom and will feel the need to be more accountable as she will be most helpful in showing the kids how our family operates. The good news is that she will have company in an otherwise boring household. I think she will like having younger siblings.

Steph will be going from LAST to MIDDLE child in a few days. I am kind of sad about this, but I know that change helps us grow. I'm so glad that we decided to have Kristin and Steph. Think of what we would have missed out on if we wouldn't have had daughters #2 and #3. They have been such a HUGE blessing in my life and I can't imagine life without them! I know that a I will also feel the same way about our new kids after they come. But for now, for today, I am going to enjoy my time with Steph. This will be our last trip as a threesome. I'm sure that no one else is thinking about this, but I am the MOM and well...these are the things moms think about!

VISA INTERVIEWS

Our kids should be back in Cebu by now. Their visa interviews at the US embassy went very smoothly. They had a very fun time at the zoo and loved their adventure to Manila. Everything is moving along nicely and our plan is still to leave at around 3 p.m. on October 25. We will go at that time unless we are told otherwise. Thanks for your prayers! We know so many people are supporting us at this time and we are so grateful.

WAITING TO DELIVER...

We had dinner guests last night. Aaron and Erica (my nephew and his very pregnant wife!) have decided to go on staff with Campus Crusade and came to tell us about it. It was so much fun to spend some time with them. Erica and I are at the very end of our "pregnancies" and are both waiting to deliver. My babies are due to arrive on November 2. Her baby is due on October 31st. The race is on! Although we are at very different places in our life, we talked about the similarities of our situations. We both have felt a specific calling in our life which will require some sacrifice and change. It is scary to venture into the unknown, but exciting to be obedient to something we believe God has asked us to do.

Campus Crusade is a huge organization with many ministries all over the world. Aaron and Erica are a part of a ministry called Here's Life Inner City. They work with inner city churches to provide physical and spiritual needs of people in their congregations and neighborhoods. It is a WONDERFUL ministry and I believe it is making a difference in the lives of many under served people. These two young soon-to-be parents have taken a huge leap of faith as they work to raise support and look to give very unselfishly to a community that really needs help. I am very proud of them! What I loved most about our visit last night, was watching these two. They are very comfortable with who they are and just... SO HAPPY! They are obviously very in love and excited to dig into this ministry.

The next time we will see them, (between us) we will have brought FOUR! new kiddos into our family! The big question is... WHO IS GOING TO DELIVER FIRST??? We'll see and I will let you know! (I think it will be me!!!) :)

WHAT A SMILE!

We are so fortunate to get current pictures of our kids. I love to see our kids doing things at the shelter. I am often told by CSC staff members that our kids have the most beautiful smiles...and that they smile a lot! :) One person told me that our kids have not stopped smiling since they learned that they were going to have a forever family. That makes me happy!

Sandy (the person who is with our kids in Manila now) said in a recent email about their evening in the hotel... "Every time I look at Rodrigo, he has a big grin on his face!" I can't wait to see it in person!

Maybe I am biased, (of course I am biased!) but our kids have the greatest smiles, don't you think? How can I look at these pictures and not just love what I see?? A picture it worth a thousand words and I think these pictures are priceless!
Roselyn with her friend Genevieve.

Romeo posing with some of his own artwork. Not bad, huh??

One very cute little boy named Rodrigo. What a great smile!!

MEDICAL EXAMS - CHECK!

We got word today that our kids completed their medical exams! They each had to have some immunizations, but everything should be up to date according to US standards. It sounds like it was a long day for them. I don't know any of the details, but I am sure that they did a lot of waiting around... As far as we know, their visa interviews will take place on Friday. In the meantime, they will do some fun things in Manila...like visit the zoo. This is all good news!

KITTY

Today as I was driving to Rosedale, I phoned my mother. (I know, I probably shouldn't be driving and talking on my phone, but...well, I do sometimes.) Evidently, I dialed the wrong number. The woman who answered the phone sounded KIND OF like my mom but I thought something sounded different. Here is how the conversation went...

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Mom???"

"Yes?"

"MOM? Is that you????"

"Yes? Who is this?"

"This is Mary. Is this you?"

"Oh well, YES, I work at Walmart and I am "mom" to so many people there... I don't have any kids of my own, but I am MOM to lots of people. No, I guess I am not your mom, but well... I do work at Walmart, and lots of people call me mom... I would love to meet you sometime. When you are there next time, ask for Kitty and you can introduce yourself to me!..."

WE THEN HAD A VERY PLEASANT CONVERSATION FOR A FEW MINUTES TALKING ABOUT...EVERYTHING...OR NOTHING. I CAN SEE WHY SO MANY PEOPLE CALL HER MOM! IT FELT A LITTLE ODD TALKING TO THIS TOTAL STRANGER, BUT SHE WAS SO INTERESTING AND NICE THAT I DIDN'T REALLY MIND. SHE DIDN"T SEEM TO MIND EITHER. AS OUR CHAT CAME TO A CLOSE, SHE SAID...

"Mary, the next time you are in Walmart, please come and see me! My name is Kitty and I would love to meet you. You have a great day, sweetie, ok??"

WOW! TALKING TO HER SORT OF MADE MY DAY! IT'S PEOPLE LIKE HER THAT MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE BRIGHTER! YOU CAN BET THAT THE NEXT TIME I AM AT WALMART, I WILL BE CHECKING OUT THE NAMETAGS...FOR KITTY! :)

MORE EMAILS

Here are a few more emails. I am not exactly sure how much help our kids get in constructing their email. Rodrigo (of course) gets lots of help! I just want you to get the flavor of the emails that we receive. Of course, right now they are very excited about their trip to Manila! It sounds like they will have some down time between appointments and will probably get to go to the zoo! For now, we communicate with them from this side of the world.


HI MOM, DAD, AND STEPH!

HEY! I'M DOING GOOD. I'M SORRY THAT IT TAKES ME LONG TIME TO WRITE YOU BACK BECOZ THE INTERNET IS NOT WORKING. IN AMERICA STUDY WE ARE READING SITTING BULL AND DAVID CROCKET. WE EVEN READ THE TALL TALES OF DAVID CROKET. IN ENGLISH OUR TOPIC IS ABOUT GOING WEST AND I READ AGAIN ABOUT THE SACAGAWEA JOURNEY. GOING WEST IS ABOUT INDIAN AND COWBOYS. I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD LEARN ABOUT THIS COZ I THINK THAT I WOULD BE GONE. I LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT THE INDIAN AND COWBOYS. THIS COMING OCTOBER 13TH OR 14, EITHER SUNDAY OR MONDAY, I'M NOT SURE, WE WILL GO TO MANILA FOR MEDICAL AND EMBASY. I'M VERY EXCITED! SOMETIMES RODRIGO IS WITH TEACHER SHARI FOR AMERICAN STUDY, MATH, AND ENGLISH. T.SHARI AND I ARE STILL READING ROMEO AND JULIET AND WE EVEN WATCH A MOVIE ALONG WITH IT. DO WE CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN? I HAVE TO GO! THANK'S

WITH LOVE, ROSELYN

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HI MOM AND DAD,

WERE VERY SORRY BECAUSE THE INTERNET IS NOT WORKING. WE STUDIED SITTING BULL AND DAVY CRACKET. I DON'T KNOW WHEN WE WILL GO TO MANILA MAYBE ON SUNDAY OR MONDAY. I WILL BE SCARED IN AIRPLANE AND EXCITED TOO. I'M EXCITED TO WATCH THE CLOUDS AND THE PEOPLE IS GETTING SMALLER. I LEARNED HOW TO USE THE FORK AND KNIFE TO CUT MEAT. IT'S HARD AT FIRST AND THEN IT'S EASY. WILL SEE YOU SOON!!

ROMEO

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HI MOM, DAD, STEPHANIE, KRISTIN AND LINDSAY:

WE GO TO MANILA ON MONDAY. ROSELYN, ROMEO AND AUNITE SANDY ARE GOING WITH ME. I'M EXCITED BECAUSE I GET TO RIDE ON A PLANE. WE'LL STAY IN A HOTEL. WE WILL BE THERE FOR 4 DAYS.

UNCLE PATRICK AND AUNITE LOURDES AND JENEFA HAVE A NEW PUPPY. IT'S NAME IS MARGO. IT'S BROWN COLOR AND HAS SMALL EARS. IT'S CUTE.

WHEN ARE YOU COMING? ARE YOU COMING ON FRIDAY?

THE END.
GOODBYE, RODRIGO

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BERNIE BOY

Bernie had a rough day yesterday. Allen let him out for his morning duties and "Bernie Boy" (as we affectionately call him) decided to take off into the wild blue yonder. He does this periodically and it drives us crazy. We talk about getting an invisible fence, but it never happens. Too much money, too much trouble. Anyway, Allen didn't have time to go look for him (and I didn't want to!) so we waited for about 10 minutes in hopes that he would return. Actually, he usually does, so I wasn't too worried.

Just as Allen was leaving, Bernie returned from his adventure. He sat at the back door waiting for one of us to let him in. How convenient for us!! Well, as I opened the door, I could see that he had something brown and gross all over his little body. Yes, he found something incredibly NASTY and decided to roll in it. Usually it is a dead animal or poop. (Sorry, I can't think of a nicer way to say it. It is what it is.) Well, it was Door #2 and it STUNK SO BAD!! My cute little Bernie Boy had soiled himself and I was the only one around to clean him up. Allen was already late for work, but he quickly helped me to get the little pup to our bathroom where I was already drawing a bath for Bernie. (Something is wrong with this picture, I know!!) Well, after Allen left for work, Bernie and I had a nice time in the bathtub. (No, I wasn't IN the tub...but I certainly was splashing about in the tub.) I was pretty mad at my dog for committing such a crime and consequently did a fair amount of scolding. As we went on, I noticed that he couldn't stop shaking. I guessed that he felt so bad for the deed he had done. He knew he had SINNED and that I was mad at him.

Of course, I could never be mad at my baby for long. He is way too cute and is the ONLY person(?) in this house that APPRECIATES me ALL the time. I started to be concerned when he wouldn't stop shaking. When I touched him, he would yelp and he began to limp all over the house. My first thought was to get him to the vet right away, but decided to wait for a while. He acted stiff and sore all day and was pretty lethargic as well. I put a heating pad under his favorite resting spot and a blanket over his back. He slept most of the day in that same spot. Of course, I was feeling guilty about yelling at him, but there wasn't much I could do at this point.

I don't know what was wrong with Bernie yesterday, but he is doing better today. The shaking has stopped, but he is still limping a bit and is still a little tender when we touch him. I gave him an antibiotic last night. We think maybe he has an infection somewhere because he seems to be doing better today. I brought him outside today to enjoy the weather a bit. He sat down on the grass and thoroughly enjoyed soaking up the sun. I took a few pictures of him because he looked so darling sitting in the yard. I don't know what I would do without my Bernie Boy. He is the greatest dog ever... poop or no poop! I can't wait for our new clan to meet and get to know him.

Those of you who know Bernie (or are dog-lovers) can totally understand this story. You get the warm bath...the heating pad... and the antibiotics. Thank you for your sympathy and understanding. :) Those of you who think I have lost my mind... well maybe you are right. I can tell you one thing though, I dread the day when Bernie leaves us. He is CLEARLY everyone's favorite and sort of makes our family...complete. I'm very glad he is on the mend!

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!

WOW! Did you get a chance to spend some time outside today?? It was gorgeous!!

From REDS to GOLDS...

And GREENS to YELLOWS...

A splash of ORANGE...

Every tree is so different.

Looking out from our front porch...

I wish I could capture all of this in a bottle!

Driving up our driveway is even a treat...

Hope you had a chance to enjoy the fall colors!

"LET THE HEAVENS BE GLAD, AND LET THE EARTH REJOICE; LET THE SEA ROAR, AND ALL THAT FILLS IT; LET THE FIELDS EXULT, AND EVERY THING IN IT. THEN SHALL ALL THE TREES OF THE FOREST SING FOR JOY." PSALM 96:11-2