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| Wednesday, November 28, 2007 |
| I Thought I Was Done Taking Tests! |
Since July we have been meeting and talking with another group of people about our future plans. We have been approved through one group, but they encouraged us to try to be dually aligned with this other group.
We decided to move forward in this area. We did all of the applications, references, etc. Then, about a month ago, they sent us two tests. One was the exit exam that they give their graduates from their Bible colleges. It had around 150 questions on it. She said not to spend much time on it because everyone that takes it misses a ton. Of course, I graduated from college fifteen years ago and have a terrible memory. This was not a good thing for me. There was a wide range of questions- from the super easy "duh" questions to questions about things I had never even heard of. It truly made me realize that I needed to know the Word much better.
The second test is more detailed. It is a 10 question essay test. Unfortunately I have put it off until the last minute and began working on it this week because it looked very overwhelming and I just hadn't found the time to devote to doing it. They said we could research the questions and then answer. Therefore, I have been so grateful for the advances in technology since my college graduation. Research for this meant internet surfing versus burying my head in tons of library books. I think I have finished my research (at about midnight last night). Today is the composing side of things. D should be finishing his today too. I am hopeful that we can send them to our coordinator by tomorrow.
The reason this is cram week is because we leave this Friday to head to Tennessee where we will have the big candidate interview on Monday. D and I are going alone. My wonderful parents are going to be coming down to stay with our six kiddos and make sure they get to school, birthday parties, church, etc. I have been busily preparing instructions of who goes where when, etc. D and I will get to spend childless time together for the first time since being stuck in our 10 day wait after court in Russia. It will take a completely full day to make the drive there. We will have Sunday to settle in, interview on Monday, and begin the drive back Monday evening. The kids' school Christmas program is Tuesday evening. We will probably arrive home just in time to go. |
posted by 6blessings @ 4:56 AM  |
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| Wednesday, November 21, 2007 |
| Thanksgiving Through Their Eyes |
Here we sit at Thanksgiving 2007. We have so much to be thankful for. We have a God that loved us enough to send his very own Son to die for our sins. We live in a country that has freedom to worship God. We live in a land of abundance and opportunity. We are blessed with family and friends. This year is quite reflective and special to us because it will be the very last one we spend with our families, possibly ever.
The other day, in school, L and El made Thanksgiving wreaths. They colored leaves that we glued on paper plates. In the center it said, "I am thankful for...". I wanted to share Thanksgiving through the eyes of two six year old boys, adopted a year and four months ago. These are listed in the order said to me, with no help or prompts. They are quite insightful.
El:
I am thankful for...
LOVE
FAMILY
JESUS
I LOVE JESUS
GOD LOVES ME
I LOVE YOU
GOD LOVES ME FOREVER
MOM LOVES ME FOREVER
L:
I am thankful for...
PEOPLE LOVE ME
I LOVE PEOPLE
I LOVE PEOPLE WHO TAKE CARE OF ME
GOD LOVES ME
I LOVE GOD
THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF ME
PRESENTS
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!! |
| posted by 6blessings @ 8:09 AM |
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| Monday, November 19, 2007 |
| Updates from the Weekend |
Eye doctor update: The boys' eyes checked out fine. He said they had the lowest amount of near-sightedness and the lowest amount of astigmatism. However, he said there were no concerns. He did validate that the light sensitivity problem was linked to FAS, but said he was not allowed to make those kinds of diagnoses. Therefore, the result is... their eyesight is good.
Gymnastics: J had his first gymnastics meet this past weekend. There were more 7 year old boys than any other group. He had 27 in his group and finished 4th on floor and high bar. These were his highest placings. He would have finished second or third on rings, but our team had an extra swing in our routines and it cost us dearly. I thought he did great on all 6 events! It amazed me how strong some of these little guys were. He had a lot of fun, and, of course, I thought he was not only the cutest, but the best out there.
Wrestling: Each weekend gets better for the bwins. They are doing really well. El and L had 11 boys in their group this weekend. El ended up 2nd and L ended up 4th. They both brought home another medal. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 11:24 AM |
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| Thursday, November 15, 2007 |
| Watery Eyes |
Okay, my bwins have a watery eye condition, not allergies. I'm just wanting to know if anyone else has experienced this with their adopted children or if it is due to something else.
Their eyes seem to be light sensitive. Someone told me it was because they are blue. However, I know a lot of blue-eyed people who do not have this problem. Many times when they are exposed to a lot of light, their eyes water and it looks like they are crying. The skin around their eyes also turns red.
It doesn't seem to make a difference what kind of light it is. Sometimes while they are eating lunch and the sun is coming brightly through the living room window (faces the dining room), they have a very difficult time. Fluorescent and other kinds of light bulbs can also affect them. It also happens randomly, not every time. I like a lot of light in my house, but sometimes we have to dim the blinds for them.
Does anyone else have this problem? Any ideas of the cause? The only guess I have is that they were in a dark orphanage without much light and their eyes aren't used to it. They've been here over a year though. Any suggestions/ reasons?
Update: The boys have eye doctor appointments on Monday. We have found possible FAS links. I'll let everyone know how it goes. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 6:36 AM |
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| Monday, November 12, 2007 |
| Good, but Busy Weekend |
This weekend was a whirlwind. Friday night, D and the boys drove to stay overnight at their wrestling venue. The girls and I got up Saturday morning and left for Dallas by 6:30 a.m. We had a meeting to attend regarding our China adventures.
The guys had an exciting weekend with the bwins winning their first ever medals! L took 3rd and El took 4th. They don't know which one is which. They just know that they both got a medal. They actually had to wrestle each other for the first time. D told the ref that he wasn't coaching or saying anything to either one of them. He just let them wrestle and stood back to see how it went. When I called to see how they had done, El answered the phone telling me he got a medal. When he handed the phone to L, he said, "Did you know we stay at motel. We sleep there." The medal was nothing in comparison to the utter joy of staying in a cheap motel! :-)
As for the girls and me, our day was long, but good. We enjoyed learning more about our organization and about the process. We also enjoyed meeting other prospective teachers. We made it back home on Saturday by 8:30 p.m.
Sunday was another big day. Of course, we had church and Sunday School in the morning. Then, in all afternoon and evening, was the Hope Symposium.
Again, we had Becky Wright, singer of "Child of My Heart", in concert. Then we had testimonies from an adult who grew up in a foster home, an eleven year old girl who spent 4 years in DHS custody and was adopted along with her 2 sisters a year ago, and then our family covered the international side of things. We had 2 breakout sessions where people had the choice to attend sessions covering DHS, 2 domestic adoption agencies, 2 international adoption agencies, homestudies, legal issues in the DHS system (taught by my hubby), financing an adoption, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and another mentoring group. After two sessions it was dinner time (3 kinds of chicken, tons of veggies, rolls, cookies), more music from Becky Wright, and a testimony from a birthmother. Then it was off to another session and we wrapped it up with an agency information fair. It went from 2:30-8 p.m.
All in all it went very well and I think it helped many people. Hopefully it will result in changed lives for children and families everywhere.
I think all of the adrenaline of keeping moving kept me going all weekend, but this morning I'm moving a little more slowly. We've kind of picked up from the tornado of a weekend and have done math. I think we'll do our phonics and sit around and relax a little this afternoon. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 8:01 AM |
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| Monday, November 05, 2007 |
| Wrestling Season Has Begun |
L and El started wrestling season this past weekend. D practices with them on our living room floor in the evenings when we're gone to gymnastics. J isn't wrestling this year. He decided he wanted to do gymnastics this year and is on the boys' competitive team.
L and El are in the smallest weight class- 37 pounds. However, they are topping out between 30-31 pounds. Therefore, they're definitely underweight for their group.
The first tournament was this weekend up near my parent's house. My sister and niece's birthdays are today and so we were able to do birthdays and wrestling all in the same weekend.
The bwins did really well! D told me that they had improved a lot. He was right. They had 24 kids in their group and L finished 5th and El finished 7th. The kids that beat them were just bigger. They didn't necessarily outwrestle the boys, they just were bigger and therefore had more power.
I was so proud of both boys. They pinned several kids each, fought hard against the big competitors, never gave up, and never cried like many of the others. They were tough little guys and they had a lot of fun. We were all so proud of them.
I questioned the sport at first, but I can truly see the discipline that it has built into them which was so greatly needed. It also helps that they have a great coach (Dad)! He was so good with them, unlike so many others in the sport.
I had pictures, but I left the camera at my parent's house and will not be able to access it this week. I will try to post pics when I get it back.
Congratulations to all my guys! |
| posted by 6blessings @ 6:59 AM |
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