INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

Steph had two swim meets this week. One was an easy win. The other was more challenging. The meet on Thursday was pretty incredible. THREE records were broken! That doesn't happen every day. It was fun to see our girls reach a goal that they have been working toward for so many years.

Steph swims a race called the Individual Medley. Each swimmer swims four laps, each with a different stroke. It is fun to see which swimmer excels in which stroke. The strokes are...butterfly, breast, backstroke, and freestyle (which is technically any stroke they choose). To most people, freestyle means something they know as the front crawl. Anyway, I love watching it because each lap is very interesting to watch. It is a difficult race for swimmers because you need to be good at all the strokes to win races. Steph got her personal best for the IM on Thursday. (Although I'm quite sure I will get into trouble for posting these...) I managed to get pics of her doing each of the strokes. (Sorry Steph. I couldn't help myself!) Good job!! We're proud of you!

Because the opposing team was so good, the meet was very exciting. Our girls had to swim their very best. In spite of losing, I think that they did just that! The individual breaststroke race is toward the end of the meet. As the swimmer gets to the end of the pool, her teammates bend down and literally cheer in her face (or scare her to death!) to encourage her on. You can tell that it is intense by the look on their faces. It was a historic night for the CI Girls Swim/Dive team. GO BLUE!!

PANCAKE BREAKFAST

Last Sunday, Allen and I helped to put on the Cambridge-Isanti Girls Swim/Dive fundraiser. It was a big day, and lots of fun. This is our 9th pancake breakfast since each of our girls have been a part of the swimming program. We served around 850 people! We used 52 loaves of bread, about 300 pounds of eggs and 25 gallons of orange juice. That doesn't include the sausage, pancake mix and milk. Lots of food and it was pretty good, I might say! Here are a few pics from the day. The best part of the morning is that we get to work together - girls and parents. If you came, thanks for supporting CI swimming.

51-A, 51-B

Well, here goes. Our tickets for the Philippines have been issued. Northwest has a special program for adoptive families flying internationally and we decided to go ahead and reserve our tickets. The cost is not necessarily better than what you might find on the internet... but there are certain perks that make it worthwhile. One advantage of this program is that you can change your dates at no cost. (Changes in our case would be around $250 per ticket.) Another advantage is that you may bring extra luggage at no extra cost. We may not need it coming back, but it may allow us to bring some extra supplies to CSC.

The lady that helped me was so nice. There are telephone numbers and file numbers and this and that that they need to prove that you are adopting. At one point, she said..."Oh, I'll just take that number. I trust you. It seems pretty obvious that you are serious about adopting if you are bringing 3 kids back with you!!" (That seems to be a pretty common response when we mention the number of our kids.) Allen and I will be able to travel in exit row seats on the way to Tokyo. (Seats 51-A and 51-B to be exact.) However, on our return flight from Tokyo, there are only individual seats left. I'm a little nervous about that, but the lady helping me said "Don't worry, when you get there and they see that you have 3 adopted children, people will be happy to move to accommodate you." I hope she's right! We'll see. That is something you could be praying about!

Here are the very basic details. We leave Minneapolis on Saturday, October 25 at 3:10 p.m. We will arrive home in Minneapolis on Sunday, November 2 at 11:00 a.m. We are planning a very small welcoming committee...basically their new siblings! After that, we will try to keep things pretty low key for a few days. We'll figure that out later. Anyway, that's the latest. Pretty exciting, huh??

PREGNANCY

Allen and I started the official adoption process on the last week of January. I have wondered all along about how long it would take from the beginning of the process to the end when we get to bring our three children home. I have spoken to many of my friends about my "pregnancy". It seems that in God's infinite wisdom, our adoption journey will take approximately 10 months. That is pretty close to a REAL physical pregnancy and here are some of my thoughts about it.

1ST TRIMESTER
I have first hand experience with physical pregnancy. My first pregnancy was the scariest. I was excited about what was to come, but it was also VERY daunting. AM I mature enough to have a baby?? WILL Allen and I make good parents? WILL I be a good mom? WILL I have to change? CORRECTION...HOW will I have to change? WILL we have a boy or a girl? WHAT will he/she look like? WHOSE personality will he/she resemble?? What kind of person will he/she be when he/she grows up? I was having lots of questions and feelings of inadequacy twenty-two years ago. I remember when we started telling people our big news. It is hard to hold such important information, but once you "spill the beans", there is no turning back. From then on, it is every one's business. People begin to picture you as a family of three! Everyone asks about the baby...and it's all good. FAST FORWARD twenty-some years... This time I am expecting three little people. Of course it is very exciting...but it is also very daunting. I STILL wonder if I am mature enough to have these three children. WILL Allen and I be good (old) parents? WILL I be a good mom?? WILL I HAVE TO CHANGE??? (Hello!? Are you kidding, Mary!) Well then, HOW will my life change? We know what our kids look like, but we are just now beginning to learn about their personalities. WILL we get along? WHAT will they be like when they grow up? WHAT problems will we face as they grow older? There were a few early days where I felt so much anxiety about this...I thought I would die. I knew that once we started to talk openly about the adoption, we were committed. It meant answering a lot of questions that I wasn't ready to answer.

2ND TRIMESTER
This three to five month phase was always my favorite. I was never very sick for any of my physical pregnancies, and I actually liked how I felt during this time. I could feel my baby shift and move and it felt pretty good-not uncomfortable at all! I began to communicate to this little person growing inside of me. It was fun because my due date seemed so far away and life was still pretty normal during this period of time. It was a time when we got the room ready and started thinking about what life was going to be like with a baby. Life went on as usual for the most part. I would say that there were even times when I actually forgot that I was going to have a baby! Twenty-two years later...My second trimester took place this spring and early summer. We would get occasional emails from all of our kids and once in a while we would talk on the phone or through the computer. We started to get to know them. We were busy getting our downstairs ready by ripping out walls, painting and buying new furniture but I KNOW that there were days when I was so wrapped up in the details of my life that I simply forgot about the adoption all together. It's not that I didn't care...it just seemed so far away. (The paperwork was taking...forever!) Step by step, from the home study to the fingerprints, to the endless phone calls, we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

3RD TRIMESTER
As the months continued, my belly became bigger and my body could no longer FORGET that a baby was on the way! It was harder to breath and to sleep and whoa! don't go near a mirror because there was no forgetting that a baby was coming! My thoughts turned back to the big questions again. WILL I be a good mom? WILL Allen and I do a good job in teaching him/her the TRUTH? WILL I walk by faith? HOW will a baby change our marriage?? What will we name him/her? Will he/she hate that name?? WHAT kind of future will he/she have? Will he/she be happy? DO WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE GETTING INTO??!! The thoughts I had went from the very immediate (Do we have diapers?) to serious questions about the future. I think every pregnant mom gets to the point where she just WANTS TO GET IT OVER WITH!!! The delivery alone is pretty frightening and there is so much anxiety as you approach the due date. I was induced with all three of my kids. When Lindsay was born, we drove to the hospital in the morning knowing full well that we (WE? what am I saying???!!! perhaps I is more accurate) were going to deliver a tiny little person. She was going to come live with us for the next eighteen or so years and change our lives...forever! A weird feeling, but I remember it well. Here we are again in a slightly different situation having very similar questions. WILL Allen and I be good parents to these children? Will our family BLEND together? Will Allen and I do a good job in teaching them the TRUTH about God? Will we walk by faith? HOW will these kids CHANGE our marriage? HOW stressful will it be? Will they be happy and what will their future look like? DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WE ARE DOING???!!

I am about three weeks away from "delivering" three very special souls into my home. They have been growing in my heart for quite some time now. Although no one can see this, I am sort of like a pregnant mom who is ready to burst! (Thankfully, this time I don't have to endure the physical ramifications of this phenomenon!) I wish I could look into the future to see how things will turn out...but I can't. I would have loved to know the future of my three older girls when they were born, but I couldn't then either. I have a better idea of how things are turning out for them now, but really, they have a long way to go (as I do). It is by design that we can see only what God has for us today. Psalm 119:105. "Your Word is a Light unto my feet and a Lamp unto my feet." Simple, but profound. God will walk with me today and I don't need to know any more than that. This verse has been so helpful to me as I get ready for a BIG unknown in my life. This DELIVERY is pretty scary to me, but it is forcing me to trust in God like I have never done before. Frankly, I am getting to the point where I JUST WANT TO GET IT OVER WITH...AND GET ON WITH LIFE! I don't know if I will ever be ready to adopt three kids. But I DO know that Allen and I are trying to be faithful to God's calling in our life. Lots of things have changed since Lindsay was born - the world, the players, our family! But it gives me great comfort to know that God hasn't changed. He was there on the day we brought each of our oldest girls home from the hospital and has been with us every step of the way since. As we bring our newest kids home, He will again be with us, granting us the grace we need for every new day. I'm counting on it.

MESSAGE FROM ROMEO

Here is an email that we received on Friday from Romeo. It made my day.

HI MOM AND DAD,

IT'S A GOOD NEWS! UNCLE PAUL JUST TOLD US LAST TUESDAY AND WERE GOING TO MANILA IN TWO WEEKS! AND WE ALL JUMPING AND RUNNING IN THE GROUND. MY PRAYERS WAS ANSWERED. LAST MONDAY I WAS PRAYING TO GOD THAT WE CAN GO TO MANILA AND GOD ANSWERED IT! I'M VERY EXCITED TO GO THERE WITH YOU. AND I HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT DAY.

GOD BLESS

ROMEO

WHERE'S KRISTIN?

In case any of you tried to find Kristin in the cross country picture at the Griak, her number is 1199 and she is on the far right of the picture with a few other BU runners. She is on the front line of the picture. I know some of you have been searching for hours so I thought I would put you out of your misery. Thanks for trying anyway.

MIGHTY TO SAVE

If you have a chance, go to the CSC (Children Shelter of Cebu) website. Click on News Headlines, then Praise Night at CSC... You will see a band where kids and one adult are leading. Roselyn will be in the middle of the screen with white (long) shorts and a short sleeved shirt. She is on the same stage as the drummer. Romeo is the cool dude right behind her playing the bass guitar. He has a long sleeved t-shirt with a blue one on top. The camera pans back and forth so you get a few chances to see them. (It's a little hard to see because it is so dark.)

The cool thing to me is that they are singing MIGHTY TO SAVE. I looked at this video last week. Last Sunday, we sang this same song in church. Of course, it hit a chord with me. Then on Tuesday night, we sang it again at a church in Minneapolis where I was attending a concert. The theme of the concert was focused on global social injustice. Very fitting I think. I was so touched to think that we get to sing the same song and think about the same lyrics as our kids. I might be a little sappy, but in my heart this song will always have special meaning to me. Call it coincidence if you want, but I feel like maybe God was trying to tell me something. He is compassionate, merciful, forgiving and yes... MIGHTY TO SAVE. Here are some of the lyrics. Check out the video.

Everyone needs compassion, Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.
Everyone needs forgiveness, The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.

Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save, He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me, All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.
I give my life to follow Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender...