Another Reason We Homeschool

This pretty well sums up my public school experience. LOL! I am learning so much by homeschooling my kiddos. I call it my second chance at a quality education. :)

On the Edge of Our Seats

We got these audiobooks for the Spring birthdays and we all LOVE them! No more bickering and chattering in the car- everyone's hanging on every word of the Jonathan Park stories. Even Kyle and I are addicted to these adventurous stories! Jonathan Park rules!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago, we met Maya, Isaac, and Daniel for the first time. We waited just outside of customs for over an hour and a half for them. We met several other families who were also waiting for their Liberian-Americans. For awhile I sat down right in the middle of the crowd as I was so tired of standing.
The first one I saw was Maya. She was shy but smiling. She sang and sang and was happy with whatever we gave to occupy her on the plane. (That much hasn't changed. Maya is a very grateful child. But she got over the shyness the very next day. Haven't seen that side of her since!)
Isaac was also very quiet but affectionate. He walked right into my hug and stayed leaning up against me so I'd keep my arms around him. When we got on the plane, we saw Isaac's fearful side. Kyle held him tight as the airplane took off and all I kept thinking was: I wish we could have calmed his fears for the last 24 hours he's spent in an airplane.
Daniel was confused and mad! He screamed when he was handed to me and hung like a 30 lb. sack of potatoes on my side. By the time we were halfway across the airport, my arm went numb. I was so scared I was going to drop him. His fit lasted all of 5 minutes and then he started self-soothing by singing Liberian songs to himself.

This past year has been hard . . . and wonderful!

We're Back!

We just got back from a super fun vacation atGreat Wolf is a resort with a HUGE (80,000 square feet) indoor waterpark. It was a BLAST! Daniel and Lydia pretty much stuck to either the wave pool or the kiddy play area.
When a wave came, Daniel jumped on all fours on his tube and rode the waves. Or he would dive into the wave as it came to him. He was fearless!
Lydia, on the other hand, preferred to stay as dry as possible while having her fun. She had been playing in the wave pool area half a day. Look at her. Half her hair is still dry!
They all loved playing in the basketball pool. Amber taught Maya and Isaac how to swim here:
Well, they loved different parts of the pool I guess. Chloe loved clinging to the side
She preferred the big fort
Look at that happy girlThis is where I preferred to be
I'd drag along whatever willing participant I could find. I especially loved the two slides that ended up feeding into the lazy river. Very relaxing after the adrenaline rush.
Of course, I also liked being rocked by the waves at the wave pool
Actually we all enjoyed the wave pool, but for different reasons
The hotel rooms were really cool too
The kids had their own little cabin with a bunk bed and a daybed. (We slept two to a bed, head to foot.) They even had their own tv and playstation which might have been neat if our kids played video games.
The decor in this place was really impressive
In the main area was a giant puppet show type thingy that played a few times a day. The story was all about being one with nature or something new agey like that. We avoided "story time".
A fun time was had by all
at Great Wolf Lodge

How I Handle the Comments

My friend, Faith, recently blogged about strangers who make comments about her kids, when they are all out together ("Are any of them adopted?") . All of her kids were adopted. She said, and I agree, that it doesn't make sense to ask if someone is adopted. Adoption is something that happens once, it is not an ongoing condition. People ask this in the same way they might ask a mom if her child is handicapped or if he is autistic. (All of these, in my opinion, are inappropriate fyi.)It is unlikely, however, that all of us adoptive parents are going to change the way people think about this. In fact, I hear just as many adoptive parents say that their kids "are adopted," so I've decided to get over it. I'm a fan of semantics, but you get a little tired of saying: "They're all mine"over and over as they keep looking at you like you just don't get it.But while you're here reading my opinions, I think the best way to ask that question would be: "Were any of your children adopted?" and I think it's much kinder to ask the parent alone, not in front of the children.
I suggested that Faith's answer to that question, which is frequently asked in front of her precious kiddos, might be: "As a matter of fact, ALL of them were hand-picked and they're just wonderful!"
Then I got a comment asking how I would respond to questions like this since all of mine weren't adopted.There have so far been two times that I've been asked "Are all of them adopted?" Both times, I gave a mischievous grin and said: "Half of them were, I'll let you guess which ones!" and I give a big dramatic wink.Here's the thing: my kids are going to have to get used to this type of questioning, regardless of how I feel about it. They know they are different and they know they don't look like their mom and dad. I choose to have fun with it and respond joyfully, teaching my kids to enjoy the attention they get.

Gotcha Day!

Tuesday morning, we started our vacation with a brunch celebration at The Original Pancake House. April 6, 2007 we brought Maya, Isaac, and Daniel home from Liberia. It is so hard to believe that a whole year has passed. I don't feel like I've accomplished enough in one year. I should have read more adoption books (and I read a bunch!) There are so many things that I'm just now figuring out!

We went to breakfast with our good friends, Paul and Amber, who adopted their Hannah two years before our three came home. They also brought along their neice, Autumn, a good friend to my girlies.
My pecan waffle was delicious. I feel full just thinking about it. Yum! Daniel ate 4 pancakes, 3 thick slices of bacon, an egg, and one of Kyle's potato pancakes. Lydia ate the same, minus the potato pancake. I expect them both to be an inch taller next week.
Paul kept commenting about all the eyes we were getting at our long table. With his one kid, he apparently isn't as used to it as we are. hehe
It was a fabulous way to start our vacation!

I'm Outta Here!

We heading out of town for a mini-vacation here:


We're going to have a soakin' good time! I'll be back this weekend to blog all about it.