Pink ribbons everywhere!

I can't believe it ... this disease has hit close to home now. My cousin's wife, Kim Klein, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. Kim and Randy have 3 children and Kim has been going to law school to finish her education. Even though they have insurance, the out of pocket expenses are still staggering. Kim started a blog to chronicle her journey through breast cancer, and now her blog has been chosen as one of 20 finalists for a $10,000 scholarship!

Please take a look at Kim's blog (http://blawgcoop.com/lawmom/) and help her win this honor and the money to continue with law school. And please add Kim and her family to your prayer list. With all the love we have in this Ethiopian adoption community, I am sure there is room left for one Law Mom who needs our support and encouragement!

What a week!

Attorney Susan Paquet, Carson & Daddy, Judge Catterton, Kali & Mommy

Kali is officially ours now according to the U.S. government! There is only one more step to this whole process and that is to apply for U.S. citizenship for her. But you'll never be able to convince Kali that she is not an American already ... Wednesday evening, after she took her baby doll to the doctor and the dentist (both have offices in our front yard under the mesquite tree apparently), she took her doll stroller, turned and waved to me and said, "Bye, Mommy. I go to Wa-Mart."

For those of you in the DFW area, I do recommend using Susan Paquet as your adoption attorney. She is the one recommended by Gladney. She is very efficient and just gets it done. It did feel a little strange, though, meeting our attorney for the first time 30 minutes before going into the courtroom. Other than the courtroom appearance, which took all of 30 minutes for the 5 families adopting that morning, everything was handled over the phone and through the mail. And the total out-of-pocket was much less than we expected too. It was totally painless!

Carson has his first t-ball game on Saturday morning. He is only 4 so it isn't Little League. This is through the Boys & Girls Club. He had his one and only practice Thursday night and it was hilarious! At this age, they are not taught positions yet. They're just all stuck out in the outfield and it is a free-for-all when that ball is hit! Whoever gets the ball first gets to throw it in ... and probably got a knee in the eye too when going after the ball with all 8 other boys! It is a sight to see and I can't wait to see how a real game goes. Go Team Spiderman!!

To my family and friends, you may want to sit down for this one. My BIG baby boy, Jordan, has officially joined the NAVY!!!

We sure didn't see this one coming when he announced his intentions to us a month ago. But we are very proud of him and his decision to follow this path. He signed with the Navy on Thursday of this week and will be going to CTN school (Cryptologic Technician Networking). He is very "stoked" about this and cannot wait to begin this phase of his life. I now proudly display a "Proud Parent of a SAILOR" sticker on the back window of my car. Jordan, you rock!!!

Attitude Galore!!

I agree with Rachel, it is getting harder to blog. Not only are there fewer hours in the day than there ever used to be (yes, I promise!), but it's just hard to blog about normal every day life.

But there is still one thing I can talk about ... ATTITUDE! I thought raising boys was tough, but I had no idea what tough was until I had a girl. And it doesn't matter what country a girl was born in, a girl is a girl is a girl the whole world over and they all come with attitude galore! It's in the "Born a Girl for Dummies" handbook, Chapter 1, titled "Diva-licious"!

I recently ran into a friend who also raised only boys. She is now raising her 3 year old granddaughter. We found out that we now have a lot in common ... a little princess who insists upon being queen of the house! Kali is the most stubborn little creature that I have ever run across in my life. She can be sweet and loving one moment, and totally defiant in the next. I hate to put a stain on the fairer sex of the world, especially since I am one of them, but I firmly believe that the attitude has everything to do with those double X chromosomes and the hormones going bonkers in her little body (yes, I am convinced now that the hormones appear waaaayyy earlier than the teen years in girls!) and nothing to do with adoption transition. You know the wet noodle thing that all kids do when they get upset? That's Kali every time you want her to do something that she does not want to do. She gives you that glare that says "Make me!" and when you try to pick her up, you get wet noodle and major attitude. And the biggest cut-down she can think of when she is mad at you is "You're not my friend!"

Ok, so we want our girls to have some attitude and be able to handle themselves, right? I much prefer that she wait until she's grown and take that attitude out on someone else!

Surprisingly, she has not a touch of grace. If it can fall out of her mouth, it will. If it can spill and make a mess, it will. And if more can get on her clothes than in her mouth, it will. But I suppose we'll have to let her slide on this for a while ... after all, she was used to eating with her fingers and is only now getting the hang of using utensils. And to be honest, it is kind of funny. She will drop the candy out of her mouth at least 3 times before finishing it, and that's just from opening her mouth to talk!

On the bright side, her English is soooo good. She is quite the chatter box. We still have a bit of trouble understanding her here and there, but all we have to do is ask Carson what she said ... you know that they all speak the same language when they are under 5 years old anyway. And she still has that smile that lights up the whole room and a giggle that makes us all want to break into fits of laughter.

We will be visiting the Tarrant County Family Court on Wednesday of this week to make Kali an official American! She will no longer be Kalidan Rickey Page, she will become Kalkidan Faye-Sophia Page. She will have a birth date of 08/22/04 instead of 08/22/05. But the best part is that she will be ours according to the US Government as well as the Ethiopian Government! Add one more to the inheritance ... like there will be any!

It may take time, but she will learn ... I am the queen of the house and I will win all power struggles! It took her daddy a while to learn that one too!

More breakthroughs ...

The Tatoo Twins

Kali is definitely going to be a surgeon when she grows up ... she insists upon washing her hands all the way up to the elbow!

Breakthrough #1:

Kali always wanted to have exactly what Carson had, whether it was something to eat, a toy, anything. We know that most of this came from not knowing the language, so she would just say the same thing Carson would say. The other part of this mix, though, was thinking that she was missing out on something great if she didn't get exactly what her brother did. In the past few weeks, Kali actually asked for something different for breakfast than what Carson was having! I know this sounds trivial, but we really thought that this was a good milestone! Not only does she understand the language better and is figuring out what she likes and dislikes, she is starting to separate herself from Carson!

Breakthrough #2:

And another milestone in the language department ... as part of our bedtime routine, I read the kids two books every night right before bedtime. Carson had been picking out the books because Kali wouldn't sit down to listen anyway. She didn't understand what I was saying, so why should she sit and listen? She was allowed to play in the room while I read, but she couldn't leave the room. Now Carson picks out one book and Kali picks out one book ... and she actually sits and listens to the book! She likes to turn the pages for the most part, but while waiting to turn the page, she listens to the story and will even make comments when she hears something she recognizes!

Little things that mean so much to us as parents!

Teenager Update

Remember them? Oh how I wish I had good news to report. Sadly, our joy in having Kali as part of our lives is often overshadowed by the heartbreak that these children still do not have a forever family. We received letters today from Genet and Yesalemush. This is the second set of letters that we have received from them since their return to Ethiopia in mid July. These new letters are even more heartwrenching than the first set. The girls are so sweet and mention everyone by name, even remembering that Kali was going to have a birthday and wishing her a Happy Birthday. But their sadness at not having a family is so painful to read. Yesalemush writes, "Please try and be fast the paper and try to be fast to pick me out from Ethiopia to USA."

We thought the children knew that we were not adopting them, that we were truly just a host family for them for their stay here in Texas. But then, at the end of their time here, we found out that ALL the children were told that their "families" were only host families, even those whose families were already committed to adopting them. And then they also saw that most of the kids from last year's camp were indeed adopted. So what are they supposed to think? Of course they think that we are adopting them! How are we now supposed to tell them that we are not in a position to adopt them?

Even if there is a family out there who is meant to have these children, we know that the process takes time. But we can't help but feel that we've done nothing but give them false hope by bringing them here in the first place.

Weekend in Austin

Kali and Piper

Home from our weekend in Austin! We all had a great time at my company picnic. Kali and Carson both had so much fun playing in the water, both the pool and the lake. On our way home this afternoon, we met up with Rachel Elliott and her 3 sweetie pies. It was so good to see Piper again (we saw her in Addis when we visited the orphanage). Piper and Kali were in the same orphanage, but you know how kids are ... they don't remember much from last week let alone months ago. There didn't seem to be any recognition from either of them, but it was still nice for them to see each other. Even if they don't remember as time goes on, at least we can hope to keep them in touch as one link to their heritage.

Kali, Piper, Brodan, Camden & Carson with their Happy Meal toys

As you can see from the picture, the boys got along wonderfully! Happy Birthday, Brodan! And an early Happy Birthday to you too, Little Miss Piper Chaltu!!

Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot about Kali's biological mother lately. We did not meet her when we went to Ethiopia to bring Kali home, and I am having regrets now. I just cannot imagine being in a position where I have to make such a decision, the decision to give up my child for adoption. I know she must think of Kali every day and wonder what has become of her. We know that she knows Kali has been adopted by Americans. We also know that she is allowed to go to the ministry office to view the post-placement reports when they come in. But I wonder if that is enough.

I was going through all of my referral emails the other day. I had kept everything in my inbox with the intent of printing everything one day. I came upon a referral picture of Kali that I had forgotten about. What a sight! She looks so pitiful and sad in this photo ... I am sure it was taken shortly after being relinquished by her mother, as the pain is so evident in her little face. And then I look at all the photos taken of her lately, like the one above. This is the Kali I want her mother to see ... the Kali who is now so happy. I want her mom to have peace with her decision. I wonder if a letter and pictures from us will help to bring her that peace, or if it will bring her more sadness. It is so hard for me to imagine being in her position, but if I were, I know that I would want to know about my child. And I am sure that Belay will be willing to deliver it for us too.