MORK OF THE WEEK

Allen and I decided that Bernie wins the MORK OF THE WEEK award. Our dog has gotten so much LOVE (if you know what I mean!) in the last two weeks. He has been dragged, hugged, kissed, chased and carried constantly by our two Filipino boys. Rodrigo spends the most time pursuing Bernie. For Bernie, it is a bit of a love/hate situation. And yet, we find him snuggling up to one of the kids not too infrequently. Once in a while he gives a little growl, but for the most part he just takes it. Bernie is ALWAYS waiting with a smile and a wag at the door when we get home. I am so glad that we have this welcoming little dog in our family. Good job, Bernie! You win the prize!

By the way, in case you were wondering... Rodrigo does own other sweatshirts. He just happens to love this Bluejacket one!!

BLUE DAY

Today was blue day. That means that Rodrigo did not have school. I have been looking forward to this day for quite a while. Allen started back to work today and the other children were all in school. That meant that Rigo and I had the whole day to spend together! One of the reasons I have been so excited about this day is because it gives us some time ALONE. Allen started bonding with Rodrigo from day one. For some reason, it has taken Rodrigo a bit longer to feel comfortable with me. Last Thursday was the first time he would even sit on my lap. It is all ok, and I have tried not to push it, but it has also been hard to hold back my affection for the boy. Anyway...it is much better now and today...well, today was great! We had a ball!

I did allow 30 minutes of PBS Kids programming. I watched from the kitchen and thought it was quite good. Rodrigo learned how to make popsicles! We thought it would be a good project to work on so we went to the store for all the ingredients. On the way, we stopped at the car wash. What a fun activity!!... "MOM! We go to wash car now??" He was very curious about the whole process and kept pointing at all the dirty cars in the parking lot after we left. Our trip to the grocery store was fun as well. He convinced me that he should have a shovel. After all, it was snowing and this IS Minnesota! He kept saying "MOM! It is snowing. I will shovel the snow. I will help Dad!". How could I resist?

Rodrigo is a very independent little person and wow(!) does he like to HELP. When we were checking out at the grocery store, he loaded all of the groceries onto the belt, then ran over to bag them. I didn't say a word. He just did it! When we got home, he hurried into the house so he could help me bring the groceries into the kitchen. Again, I didn't ask. He just volunteered. They told us about this at the shelter. They said that one of his favorite things to do was to work in the garden with the house mother. I hope he doesn't grow out of it!!! He wanted to help me make dinner, so we worked on lasagna together. It was really fun.

My day with Rodrigo was a highlight. It feels so great to have my son say..."MOM"...300 times a day! Maybe it is fun for him too. He never had that chance before now so I guess he is making up for lost time.

PRETTY SWEET, HUH??

SWIMMING SECTIONS

This weekend our family attended the swimming section meet in Blaine. This was our 9th swimming season and yes, it does feel like we have been doing this for a long time. It's all fun though...and what a great sport. Anyway, Steph did a great job and we were so proud of her. She has had a lot on her plate this week with lots of homework, the pressure of sections and well, three new siblings in the house! She has had a bad respiratory infection going on for the last few days to boot!



I, personally was ready for the season to be over. It is a long season and gets more intense as the season comes to a close. Things will settle down now and Stephanie will (hopefully) be around a bit more. It was so much fun having Lindsay, Bjork and Kristin come to cheer Steph on. Our family takes up an entire row now! Here are a few pictures from the weekend!

THE PRESSURE BEFORE THE BIG RACE IS ALMOST TOO MUCH FOR ONE GIRL TO HANDLE!!

ONE WEEK AT HOME

I am not quite sure what to say tonight. I really want to say that everything is just perfect and all is well, but I would be lying. Today has been a day of ups and downs...both for me and for my kids. I don't really want to share any specifics but just know that at the end of today, I feel kind of sad. Things are really going very well- over all. We have made lots of progress in one week and I believe that we are all bonding as a family. All three of our new kids have been to at least one full day of school. I'm proud of them for getting started so soon. All of the administrators and teachers have been so helpful and WONDERFUL! We are so appreciative.

So why am I sad? Well, relationships are complicated...no matter what. The dynamics of our family has changed and we all are adjusting. I have been mothering children for a long time, but why do I feel so inadequate now? I have never been one to hover over my kids, but I find myself hovering a lot these days. I want to make sure everyone is happy and getting along. I have that insatiable urge to FIX everything. The reality is... that I can't fix everything or make everyone happy. Is it wrong to wish that I could???

People come to me and say, "You are so wonderful" or "Wow! I could never do what you are doing" or "You are doing such a wonderful thing!" As much as I appreciate those nice words, I sure don't feel so wonderful. I don't feel very patient or kind or qualified to parent more children. I am supposed to be the mom, the leader, the steady and seasoned one...but I am just me, doing what I think is right with a giant dose of humility. I guess that in spite of my weaknesses, I am trying to do the best I can. I am learning so much about grace for the day. If I didn't believe that God was holding me in the palm of His hand, I don't know what kind of shape I would be in. It gives me great comfort knowing this.

While we were in the Philippines, someone VERY dear to me sent this passage of Scripture. It was so helpful to me then. I would like to share it with you now.

"I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit - not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength - that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! LIVE FULL LIVES, full in the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-30 (The Message)

Thanks for allowing me to share my journey.

OUR FIRST FEW DAYS AT HOME

Life has been very busy the last few days. I haven't totally unpacked quite yet, but am working on it. We have had a number of visitors and the kids have been busy meeting family members. On Monday night, we had a visit from Mitch and Ruth Olendorf and their two sons. Both Mitch and Ruth work at CSC and are home on furlough for one year. Our kids know them very well and were happy to spend a few hours with them. We have certainly had others pop in to see our kids as well.

Today was a big day. Rodrigo started school today. His class made a visit to the fire station and we all thought it would be a shame for Rodrigo to miss it! Allen went along to make sure the transition went well. I'm pretty sure he volunteered to go because he has never been to a fire station. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more - Allen or Rodrigo! The rest of the day went very well. I went to eat lunch with Rigo. What a trip!! It has been a few years since I went through the cafeteria line at school. Really, it was quite fun and I got to meet some of the other kids in Rigo's class. It was interesting for me to see which kids Rodrigo is drawn to. I watched him running around in the gym. He wasn't shy in the least! I was proud of the way that he just jumped right in. At one point, I could feel the tears swelling up in my eyes. I was very happy to see him so happy.

Tonight was our first time at Wednesday night clubs. After dinner, the boys immediately joined in to play basketball with the other boys in the gym. It didn't take long for the sweat to start streaming down their forheads. It made me laugh and I was so happy to see them blending in.

Romeo and Roselyn start school tomorrow. They are both excited and nervous but I am confident all will go well. I am proud of the way they are handling this transition. Step by step, we are all getting used to living life together.

HOME

We arrived at the Minneapolis airport at 11am on Saturday morning. It had been a long journey but everyone was doing well.
To see our 3 oldest girls at the airport was wonderful and emotional for both of us. We missed them so much while we were gone and to see them greet their new siblings put a big smile on our faces. Allen and I had hoped the weather might be a little bit warmer...but no such luck. The winter jackets made their debut with our kids and they all took it in stride. We even saw a few snowflakes on Saturday!

Everyone was excited to get home. I don't really remember what we did yesterday afternoon, but there was a lot of curiosity and exploring that took place. Bernie was an instant hit with our kids. He is such a good dog for children as he is SO tolerant of tugging, pulling, pushing and carrying. It warmed my heart to see them get to know our dog. Of course, spending time with Lindsay, Kristin and Steph was a highlight as well. With three new children, there are always opportunities for interaction...and that is exactly what we did! Interact. Toward the end of the day, Rodrigo accidentally hit his head on the edge of a space heater. Unfortunately, it required stitches. Fortunately, there is a doctor in the house.

We were startled this morning to find two Filipino boys standing at the edge of our bed at 3:15 a.m. There was no chance of anyone going back to sleep so we popped in a few movies. It was a life saver and allowed Allen and me a few more hours of sleep.

We have started our series of "firsts". We all went to church together as a family today. I do believe that was all a bit overwhelming but we were reminded of how evident that our church body is supportive and ready to love our new children. We are very thankful. The rest of the day was filled with a walk down to the river, grocery shopping, a Target run and reading. Things do not feel "normal" quite yet, but we are heading in that direction!