HURRAH FOR STEPH!

Yesterday was the section meet for Steph's swim team. The team finished 2nd and seven girls have advanced to the State Meet which will take place next weekend. Steph swims in one of the two relays that gets to go! It was such an exciting race! I can't even tell you... I was sitting next to Lindsay and it was just SO EXCITING! My heart was racing when it was finished. We knew that they had a chance to qualify for State, but anything can happen on the day of the race. The good news is that it was the FIRST race of the meet. I think that the girls were relieved to get it out of the way right away! The other exciting thing was that they broke the school record! Good job, ladies!

I am really proud of all the girls who swam on Saturday. Swimming is a very strenuous sport and (somehow) after a long, hard season, they all managed to drop time. I believe that they all did their very best. I love that Steph is a part of this team. These girls are very supportive of each other and they like to hang out with each other outside of the pool. So much...that the section team spent the night at our house. This morning, we had 20+ girls plus Mr. Sholund for breakfast. Very fun and such good memories for all of us! Congrats, Steph and Congrats to the CI Swim and Dive Team!!! We're proud of you!

NOVEMBER 8, 2009

THE ONE YEAR HURDLE

Guest Writer... and My Best Friend! - Allen Mork

I have been granted an opportunity to post a blog entry and because I love this blog (and it's author!), I will do my best to not mess it up!

Overall, I see this past year as one of tremendous growth-growth for each of our kids, our family and for me personally. Growth can be very exciting and fun - but it also means change... which can be challenging and sometimes even painful. With that in mind, I've listed a few of my memories from this past year.

*STITCHES: 3 daughters times about 22 years - none; Rodrigo - 6 hours, Romeo - 3 weeks!

*FISH HOOKS: used frequently this year on the river and at the cabin; we all dodged a few except for one Rapala which found flesh on Romeo's forearm.

*BEDTIME: my favorite time of the day - reading books, telling Fibber Jibber stories, talking with Roselyn, back rubs for Steph.

*TWINS BASEBALL: a shared love for the team and the game.

*HEAD TRAUMA (to me): hit by baseballs, snowballs, basketballs, a canoe paddle, elbows, light sabers and swords!

*DAMAGED GLASSES/SUNGLASSES: See above.

*THE WEDDING: Amazing! Beautiful bride/family! Great ceremony, reception and square dance!

*RICE: Not thrown at the wedding but we certainly eat more of it!

*HOMEWORK: A lot of it, but I think I finally understand Algebra!

*NOISE: There is more...a lot more!

*LAUNDRY: See above.

*FATIGUE: See above.

*DISCIPLINE: We have great kids but this remains a constant challenge for us.

*CARS - THE SOUNDTRACK: heard perhaps a couple of hundred times this past year!

*SMELLY SOCKS: Brings back (unpleasant!) memories of my brothers!

*STAR WARS: The battle rages on!

*JOY: I saved the best for last. The most lasting memory I will have of this year is seeing the look on one of our kid's faces as they "snuggle" in with their mom to read a book, watch a movie or go to sleep.

Having a bigger family is definitely more stressful and tiring than I could have ever imagined but is truly the most rewarding and meaningful thing I have ever done. I love being a dad and I would not trade our crew for anything! Thanks to all of our family and friends for your love, support and prayers. We could not have made it through this year without you!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I have always had mixed feelings about Halloween. I don't like the dark side of this holiday with all the witches, scary stuff and dead people. Why would anyone want to celebrate evil? On the other hand, it is so much fun to dress up and roam the neighborhood in search of goodies. It's all about the trick or treating, isn't it? We thought we had moved beyond the carving and costume stage a few years back but I guess we were wrong.

Carving pumpkins was really quite fun this year. As usual, Allen was in charge of the carving operation while I made the pumpkin seeds. Seems like a good deal to me! Roselyn, Romeo and Rodrigo did a fine job creating their scary faces...Kristin and Steph added their pumpkins to the mix later. All in all, a fine year for Jack-O-Lanterns.

Costumes of choice this year - STAR WARS STORM TROOPERS! We have NEVER had Star Wars ANYTHING! so this was kind of a rare treat. It was definitely a boy's Halloween this year... and well... it was a refreshing change from the endless years of princess costumes!

ONE YEAR AGO

November 8, 2008 is the day that we returned with our three newest children. I can't believe that 12 months have passed since we went to bring our children home. So much happened during that week in Cebu. Some of the days have become blurred. There are other things that are permanently etched in my mind.

The last night before our kids came to join us was probably the worst night of my life. I remember arriving back at the hotel late in the afternoon with Allen after a busy and exhausting day. (The kids seemed ready to go, but a bit unsure about what was ahead. I can only imagine how they must have felt on that night. They were about to leave everything they knew...).

I will never, ever forget this night. I was dealing with a lot of intense and conflicted feelings myself. The fear was unbearable. I mean...I was petrified! Our lives were going to take a great big U-turn and it was going to happen - tomorrow! It was too late to be thinking about cold feet, but I was scared out of my mind about the things that would happen next. Allen and I just sat in our room the whole night and tried to enjoy being together. It was the last few hours of our comfortable and predictable life. I was sad. I wanted so badly to talk to our daughters at home. It was maybe the longest night of my life.

November 3rd came and it was time to begin the adventure. It was another emotional day as we all had to say our last goodbyes and start down the road together. After we left the shelter, our first stop was - the mall. Oh my! It was a three-ringed circus. Allen took the boys and I took Roselyn. All I can say is that it was the first of many adventures with our new kiddos! It is a memory that definitely makes us smile now. We did our power shopping and headed back to the hotel. It took a while for everyone to settle in and fall asleep for the night, but finally, the kids were asleep and we had a few minutes to ourselves. I can't really describe how it felt that first night. It was surreal. These three children, who God had given to us, with so many unknowns, were sleeping in the room next to ours. Three bodies. Three souls. Three people. And they were ours...forever. There was definitely a feeling of relief having passed from our old life into the new. We had survived the day and were ready to look ahead. We both slept very well that night. The next day was Romeo's 12th birthday! We celebrated in our hotel room and took this picture of the three kids. So much has happened since then, but I love this picture because it reminds me of those intense, but exciting first days together.

People tell me how great it is that we adopted three children into our family. I wish I could say that it has been easy. It was a difficult decision. I was neither brave or confident going into it. It has been very challenging. We are still trying to understand what BLENDING a family means. We are still trying to be faithful to what we believe God called us to do. In our weaknesses, I believe that God is changing all of us to learn about love. He's teaching us to trust Him. Believe me, it is hard work and not very much fun sometimes...but well worth it.

I have been telling people that I am looking forward to the one-year anniversary on November 8. We have now laid the foundation for what our larger family looks like. This year has been filled with firsts - American school, church, a wedding!, camp, vacations, holidays...the list goes on and on. We can now build on those experiences and continue to bond together. This year has also been filled with victories and struggles. I am proud of where our family has come this last year. It is far from perfect and we all have work to do, but I believe that we are headed in the right direction. Happy Anniversary, Mork family!

OLCOTT HOUSE

Last weekend, my daughters and I stayed at the Olcott House in Duluth. The weather was pretty awful when we arrived and when we left, but Saturday was a very nice day. We didn't really do anything exciting...the usual... (walking around Canal Park, eating out and movies), but it was nice to be together. The Bed and Breakfast was very quiet and relaxing. Some of us stayed next door in the Carriage House. It was a great place for us to hang out. I would recommend it to anyone! And, as an extra bonus, Peter (Kristin's friend) lives right across the alley. Very convenient! Hmmm...seems like a good excuse to visit Duluth...and the Olcott House!

Lindsay - always willing to have her picture taken! :)

FORTY YEARS

This week, Steph had her last home swim meet for this season. Her coach, Mr. Sholund announced his retirement at the meet. He has been coaching swimming at that pool for 40 years! It's quite an accomplishment. We have been a part of the swimming program for 10 years. It was kind of a sad night for me because our run with swimming is almost over (I think!). We have had so much fun watching our kids compete and learn about life as well. Mr. Sholund has helped to shape each of our oldest daughters. It's fun that all three of them had the chance to swim on one of his teams...I'm sad to think he won't be hangin' around the pool any more. Another closure. Another change. 40 years. Wow! Congratulations, Mr. Sholund!