wordless wednesday

My beautiful catepillar and chrysalis!

Vacation, Rest, Restoration, Reconnection

Vacation = cram all the activities that you can't get into a regular work week into a designated period of time.

Really, I don't think this is the definition, although sometimes it feels like it. The past few days the four of us and our beloved doggie Fenric, have been spending time in the woods in upper Wisconsin. Eating food, reading books, watching movies, meeting new people, sewing (really, alot of sewing), some running and walking and did I say eating?? We had planned to do a bunch of activities outside: swimming, hiking, etc. but the weather. . . It was partly cloudy with some peaks of sun or partly sunny with some clouds! Oh and the rain, let's not forget about the rain, some days heavier than others. We did manage to get a few walks in, but not warm or dry enough to swim!! So we took this opportunity to rest, restore and reconnect! One night we read a bunch of books, my favorite being The Perfect Nest I just love the different characters of the chick, the duck and the goose (honk!!)

I am also becoming a fan of Skippyjon Jones. Judy Schachner, the author, does a wonderful job of writing in rhymes. If you've not read a Skippyjon Jones book, please do so soon!!

We were so relaxed that we decided at lunch time of the day we were to return home, to stay an extra day!! It was nice to be able to just decide that and know that we didn't have any commitments waiting for us at home.

So we returned today. We regathered a bit, ate some food (whatever we could scrounge) and then headed off for the Rock County Fair. Always a good time. We looked at all the animals and then we rode some rides! (I promise I'll post pictures, just not tonight, I'm tired :-) The girls went on a swing ride by themselves and well. . . it all turned out ok. . .

We came home, ate some sugaries, said our prayers before bed, kissed and tucked the girls in.

That's all for now! I'll post some pics soon and as you see to the right, I can't wait for the EAKC Heritage Camp. This is our first year. There are 75 families and about 300 people attending! The biggest crowd ever! I'm sure it'll be a great time. The girls are excited about drinking buna (coffee), but I'm really looking forward many of the other activities!

COC - Certificate of Citizenship - Check

OMG - Oh My Goodness, what a bunch of paperwork. . . get ready for some rambling . . .

It was amazing that the girls SSN's came in record time, like a 4 day turn around time. Let's see if that can happen at the USCIS office in Milwaukee!!

So this has been a grueling process, just gathering paperwork! I tell you I feel like I should be traveling back to Ethiopia to pick up another child or two! But really, this is the piece that makes me the happiest. That the girls will have U.S. citizenship and can never be deported! (I'm smiling now!)

So after filling out an eight page application (one for each of the kids I remind you) I had to gather and make duplicate copies of the following:

~ permanent resident card (remember that one I talked about having an exp. date?)
~ readoption certificate and proof of legal name change
~ birth certificate and/or U.S. passport for mommy**
~ birth certificate and/or U.S. passport for daddy**
** we sent both just to cover ourselves
~ front page of both kids passports
~ visa - stating which kind, you know there are a few (IR3 or IR4)
~ marriage certificate
~ driver's license for both mommy and daddy
~ both kids foreign birth certificate with certified translations
~ both kids final adoption decree with certified translations
~ Wisconin certificate of birth facts - we sent this just as another form of ID, etc.

AND FINALLY that icky money order for WAY TOO MUCH MONEY ~ But like I said before, it's the one last thing that will make me the happiest!

So tomorrow I will take it to the post office and send it certified mail requesting a return receipt so that I KNOW they received it. Thanks be to God that one more long, time consuming and what I think is a crazy process is just about finished!!

New friends ~ new fears (not really, well. . . just a little)

The girls have made a new little girlfriend, Sarah, the girl next door. She is the granddaughter of our neighbors. Sarah and her little brother and mom are visiting for three weeks. So we introduced them to each other and right away they starting riding their bikes up and down the sidewalks. . . very cute. Sarah just graduated from training wheels so this makes me feel a little better.

So today, we get home from summer school and it's right away, "Mommy, can we go play with our friend?" "Sure" I say . . . next thing you know it's raining and I can't hear them anymore. So of course being the good mom, I walk next door to see how everything is going and it's going just fine.

A first for mommy! Letting the kids out of my sight for just a little while!! YIKES!! So, we exchanged phone numbers and the kids (all 4)are happily watching Snow Buddies, yes, I know it's summer!

A little selfish this morning

Good morning to everyone! This morning is my selfish post. The alarm went off, the girls got up, Fenric jumped off the bed to make sure of it, Bond got up and I didn't! A few minutes later, my DH came and said, I can make the girls breakfast and take them to school this morning if you would like to sleep in a little. What do you think I did? HELLO!!!! I said, that would be very nice. And I attempted to sleep for just a bit, only to be awakened briefly by, "Mommy, could you just do my hair and then go back to sleep?" And the other say, "Daddy said to let mommy sleep just a little bit!" SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! So, this morning I was able to wake up a little bit more leisurely and have some coffee in the quietness of my living room. What a great start to the day :-)

Bananas: Green, Yellow or Polka Dots?

This mornings conversations revolved around banana characteristics! Can you believe it. So when I shop I usually pick up a bunch of green bananas and a smaller bunch of yellow bananas so that there are some immediately edible. Make sense?? Well, Bayat will not eat a banana that is even the slightest over ripe! She calls it polka dots!! I think that's pretty funny. Anyway, this morning, I gave each of the girls a banana unpeeled and Bayat was able to tell that the banana was more green :-) Go figure! And then she stated that she really doesn't like the bananas with the polka dots! So there you go, banana preferences!! What kind of banana do you like??

4th of July Weekend

The girls really like to see grandma and grandpa so when we told them we were going to the cabin and that they were going to be there, the girls start to jump up and down and giggle with excitement because not only were they going to see the grandparents, but we were going to the cabin!!

It was a nice time. We arrived Thursday and left Saturday, grandma and grandpa and friends, Jim and Mary, arrived Friday afternoon. We gave up our room for the 'guests' and so the girls and Bond and I slept on an airmattresss in the three season room (as close to camping as well will probably get). But the girls loved it. The girls chased Fenric around, we ran 1 mile, made a variety of suncatchers, painted kind as well as translucent made with some colorful beads) ate smores around the fire and found lots of ticks!! YUK! Oh yea, we ate, ate and ate some more! Food is an important thing up at the cabin. It always seems that all dietary habits known to any of us before arriving at the gate, leave and don't come back until after returning to the 'real' world!

Bayat by the fire.

daddy and Kidist

the girls tending the fire

We came home on Saturday because our church had a picnic at a local park and we wanted to be part of that too. Bond also had to work on Sunday, so it was probably helpful that we let him do some sermon prep on Saturday :-)

We stayed and watched the fireworks after dinner and games. The girls remember last year (their first fireworks) but this year was cool in that the girls have so much more language. So they were saying, 'awesome','wow', 'cool', 'mommy did you see that?' Last year the girls didn't really have much language so this year it was really neat to hear what they thought.

First Fruits

Of the garden are in. Two radishes, yup, that's it. Take a look:

And the urban garden seems to be doing well too! The lettuce and carrots are not doing so well, but everything else seems to be happy.

The girls get excited about seeing the new vegetables come from the flowers. The sugar peas are about 1 inch long and we have some nice pepper and tomatos too.

wordless wednesday

Social Security - Check

Today's 'TO-DO' list contained going to visit our local social security office to get the girls their social security cards.

You see there is just a little bit more paperwork to do. I know, I know. . . You are thinking, "Didn't you have to do a TON of paperwork before they came home and to get them home?" The answer is "YES" but there is more.

This is the following list of stuff we had to do after returning home with our children:

~ Three visits with the social worker - to complete post placement agreements as well as post placement reports.

~ The readoption - This took place March 2, 2009 and the girls are now assured that they get to stay in America!

~ Social security cards
~ Passports
~ Certificate of Citizenship

The first two on the list were pretty easy and are done. The remaining governmental paperwork is . . . well, to say the least a pain in the butt. More paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. Our taxes are easier, probably because there is that program called TurboTax.

So today we went to the Social Security office. I have everything prepared and ready to go. I bring with me the following: girls Ethiopian birth certificates, U.S. certificate of birth facts, final adoption decree from Ethiopia, final decree from U.S., each of the girls permanent resident cards (let me also add that these little cards have expiration dates, go figure, I guess I assumed permanent = citizenship, get to stay forever, etc.), the girls Ethiopian passports, and finally some identification for myself. WHEW!! What a list of stuff to gather.

So we get there and of course there is a computer to sign in depending on what business you are wanting to complete at this office. I pick "NEW SS CARD" and the machine spits out a number. Great! We are now registered in line. We take a seat and Bayat is at the bubbler filling up on water when our number is called. (There were only two people ahead of us in line, WOOHOO). Then the fun begins.

Clerk: What can I do for you today?
ME: I'd like to apply for social security cards for my daughters. (And I hand over the two applications).
Clerk: Ok, let's see, I'll need their birth certificates.
ME: Check
Clerk: I'll need there final decree of adoption from the U.S.
ME: Check

Clerk: I'll need some proof of citizenship.
ME: Check (Side note: I gave her their permanent resident cards, you know the ones with the expiration dates? and she had to mark that they are not citizens, but legal aliens able to work!!! I just don't get it, call me crazy)

Clerk: I'll need some identification for you ma'am.
ME: Check

A bunch of typing later and two little antzy girls, the clerk asks for their passports because she needs to enter an "A" number.
ME: Check

Everything looks ok and the clerk is submitting everything electronically and there's a glitch. It won't go through. The clerk rechecks all the information she has entered and attempts to resubmit. It still won't go through. HUM. . . After a few minutes, her investigative abilities show that my maiden name is NOT linked with my married name! Go figure! So, mystery solved and finally it goes through. WOOHOO!!

Next is Bayat's paperwork and that was a breeze, since we figured everything else out on the first go! So I have received receipts showing that I should receive the girls social security cards in just a few weeks! HOORAY!! Then we can move on down the list.

our nightly prayers

Everynight before going to bed, the four of us sit on the floor, hold hands and pray. We first start out by sharing what we are thankful for and then move on to blessings. Tonight's first prayers started with the following:

Dear Lord,
Thank you for going to summer school, thank you for going to swim and thank you for my shoes. . .

Yes, there was more, but it's really the simple things in life we need to be thankful for isn't it.