- HAIR CUT SATURDAY -

this morning brit & i took off & went to get our hair cut - spike watched the girls & let them stay up until 2:30 (naptime's at 1!) - he said they were great (his words!) & they seemed to have a good time with him as well - they're now in bed, he's watching a movie & brit & i are blogging so that's about it for us! - trying to come up with a cute hairstyle for me, but keep in mind that i'm heavy (alright, fat!), but still would like to keep my hair shorter as with the bear cubs & us being on the go all the time, it's easier for me & less time consuming - what i'd really like to do's loose weight (as i sit here munching on M&M's), but that's not going to happen anytime soon - if we lived in a perfect world, we could just go to a 'body salon' & have our bodies trimmed off & leave, THINNER! (guess that'd be plastic surgery though, huh?) - if anyone has any suggestions of a cute hairstyle for 'fatter/heavier' people, please let me know - i'm not wanting it past my shoulders, but other than that, i'm open to anything! - can't wait to hear/see some suggestions that you all have for me! [hugs]

* MY DAD, THE MUSHROOM *

well, my poor father! * you've got to know him to appreciate this post * he's very intense & gets upset/concerned/worried, very quickly * when there's 'bad news' or 'not great news', etc. we usually don't share it with dad, so he doesn't become crazy * well, they're in the process of adopting madisyn (14y) from haiti & he's consumed with getting her here * i know first hand what they're going through as we've went through this 3 times already & warned him in the beginning that it wouldn't be easy, but well worth it in the end * he's so excited & wants things done NOW, but also knows (& says) that it'll be done in god's timing * well, they're in the process along with sharel (my sister in law) & cheryl (a friend of ours) & all 3 girls that they're adopting know each other & live near one another * well, he keeps saying, "keep me posted on the progress & i won't get upset if/when i hear we've slowed down or stopped, etc. * well, we do share things with him, but only AFTER they're taken care of, due to all that i've mentioned above * well, a couple months we found out that all 3 couples needed their psych evaluations redone, due to the gentleman that did the testing wrote them all up in pencil (duh!), so instead of telling dad there was a delay, we all scrambled around, got them redone, resubmitted, etc. & THEN shared it with him * well, we found out yesterday that sharel & hubby ralph got out of IBESR & that dad/mom didn't, but we didn't share this with dad (yet) * he just called me to tell me that sharel/ralph were out of IBESR & i said, "how did you find out???" * he laughed & said that he'd just talked to madisyn on the phone & then he talked to licia (friend of ours that lives next door to madisyn & kind of watches out for her) & she mentioned it to him (she didn't know that he didn't know!) * she said, "you guys didn't know?" * he said, "no, we (& then as he looked at mom & noticed her face), well, i guess 'i' didn't know, but georgi did!" * licia thought she'd done something wrong by telling him & she didn't, we're glad he knows now & accepted it just fine * i'm going to start sharing things with him, but the first time he says, "well, they said our papers would be out .....", i'm gonna smack him as we've told him, "in haiti, it's NOT always what they say" * spike says dad's just like a mushroom, usually up to his knees in poo poo & always in the dark * dad, we love ya, but you've gotta stay calm!!

* OUR PAPERWORKS ALL BUT DONE *

when kiara came home from haiti she got a greencard, but when ruby & karleigh arrived, they came with citizenship papers * even though we didn't have to, we chose to have them all 3 readopted here in indiana * the only other thing we needed done, was after getting them readopted, we'd to correct the spelling of kiara's name (what she came home with on all her paperwork) as it had JR. after her name (spike's a jr, but she's not!) * we sent it in months ago & received it back this week & it's correct!! * now, when the $'s there, we're wanting to get all 3 girls passports so it'll all be official (i know it is now, without the passports, but by getting them one & taking them out on it, it'll be more 'sealed' to us) * ruby's bm's got AIDS & sometimes is good & sometimes not & it changes all the time * i want all 3 of the bparents to see their children with their own eyes before they pass * we can send them pictures galore, but i want them to hold the babies they'd to give up * i want them to see them run, hear them laugh, carry them around, etc. & i'm looking sooooooooooo forward to taking them back * we've decided that since ruby's mama (liz) has her health issues & is up/down all the time, we needed to get her back there right away * we don't know at this point when we'll be going back, but we'll be taking ruby with us the next trip * when we go back & take the girls, we'll be staying for a week, but will have the parent to come down for like 2 full days * we'll take them to the beach, to dinner, spend a good 2 quality days with them visiting, taking pictures, etc. * we'll go to their homes, meet other family members & suck up as much information as we can while their enjoying their time with their little one * we'll them leave & spend the rest of the time with barbara in PAP before returning home * after taking ruby, the next trip we'll take kiara & then finally take karleigh on the following trip * it's just good to know that all our paperworks done (- passports), but that's just a matter of timing & $ * god's so good!

* LOUDNIE'S OUT - PTL! *

well, i heard today that my sister-in-law's dossier's come OUT of ibesr * they're so excited (as we all are) as this' yet another step to bringing their daughter homei knew that when my parents decided to adopt madisyn, my sister-in-law decided to adopt madisyn's sister loudnie & some dear friends decided to adopt their daughter jenna, that it'd be hard on all of them, but hard on us too * what i mean by this' that i'm the one that calls haiti on a VERY regular basis (let's just put it this way, AT&T knows me by name, okay... enough said?) * i already knew that i'd be the one 'delivering the messages', both good & bad for all 3 of them * keep in mind that i've done this for many, many couples over the years since getting to know barbara & i love it * she's always said that since i call anyway, for her it's easier to give me the messages & for me to 'deliver them' so all those families that i'll be delivering to, won't be phoning her & this way she can get more work done * i'm a talker anyway so i don't mind & we've got free long distance (for the states only) & so those families don't need to phone overseas all the time, thus saving them $ too

madisyn went into ibesr 3.28.07 & loudnie & jenna were both in AFTER dad & mom * i shared at the beginning, with all 3 families that the order you go in, doesn't always mean you'll come out in that order & even though they all 'know' that, living it's soooooo much different

i remember when we were waiting for kiara, we went in & then about 2 months later, some friends of ours went in (the browns) * lisa & i'd decided that no matter what, we'd tell each other when we got out & we'd both be excited for the other one * well, the day we got out, i was scared to phone her * even though we'd gone in first & logically we should get out first, it doesn't always work out that way & i knew lisa was so hoping to be out first & she wasn't & i almost hated sharing our wonderful news with her, for fear up her getting upset * i finally got up the courage to tell her & she was thrilled * i said, "well, i've not gotten word on you getting out, but i just know it's not going to be long" * she then informed me that they'd been out for a whole month & hadn't told us due to us going in first & them not wanting to 'hurt' us * in the end, even though they came out of ibesr first, kiara came home before their son did (go figure!)

i know when all 3 girls get home, this will all be forgotten, but for me, i think it's almost harder now than when we did our adoptions * i'm not talking about missing my children in haiti, wanting to hold them, smell them, feed them, see them again, etc., but the emotional side of it's horrible when it's family & friends going through it * my heart actually hurts for them as i know better than most, what they're going through * we'd friends that were going through it with us, but we'd just become friends so didn't 'know' each other (for kiara's adoption), but no family members really knew first hand what we were going through at all & believe me, that was so hard!

mom & cheryl, my words to you tonight would be: be overjoyed now (as i know you both already are) for ralph/sharel/loudnie, but take a few minutes to have a cry fest/pity party for yourself too as sometimes it really does help * it's sometimes good to just have a good hard cry (i know it was for me, especially with doing 3 international adoptions back to back to back - just to let you know though, when you're on your 3rd haitian adoption, it'll be just as emotional as this one is)

we're so happy for ralph/sharel & loudnie tonight as it's just one day closer to the hug fest that'll be going on when they step foot in that indianapolis airport (already got my seat reserved!!), but still hurting so much for dad/mom/madisyn & bob/cheryl/jenna as when you're going through it, it seems they'll never get home * just remember, when they all get home, time's passed & they're having 'teenage moments', we'll all be there to remind you that THIS' WHAT YOU PRAYED FOR!! (isn't that what families are for??)

* UP FOR A GAME OF SCATTERGORIES? *

the game's SCATTERGORIES & it's harder than it looks * here are the rules:

use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions * they MUST be real places, names, things & NOTHING made up! * if you can't think of anything, skip it * you CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question * if your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers! * don't look anything up, either, try going from memory!

my name: lori

1. famous singer/band:
loretta lynn (both with L's i might add!)

2. 4 letter word:
love

3. street that you know exsists:
locust

4. color:
lavander

5. gift:
lava lamp (again, 2 L's!)

6. vehicle:
lynx

7. things in a souvenir shop:
lighter

8. boy name:
landon

9. girl name:
lovely

10. movie title:
lake house (MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!)

11. drink:
lemonade

12. occupation:
landscaper

13. celebrity:
lorenzo lamas (et hum, was that 2 L's too??)

14. magazine:
(i couldn't think of anything & checked
to find 'ladies home journal', duh)

15. u.s. city:
las vegas

16. pro sports teams:
lakers

17. fruit:
lime

18. reason for being late for work:
lost a tooth

19. something you throw away:
leftovers

20. things you shout:
love ya!

21. cartoon character:
little lulu (2 more L's, whoooooo!!)

* JESUS, THE COLOR OF WATER? *

i read on another blog (dawn) about a book called, "the color of water- a black man's tribute to his white mother." * in one part of the book the family goes to a church that's predominantly black * in that church, all the pictures of jesus portray him as a black man * an argument ensues about what color jesus was * the author who was a little boy, then asks his mother what color she thinks jesus is * his mother replies that she believes jesus to be the color of water as he reflects those around him * he's no color & he's all colors * those of us out here crossing the line into transracial adoptions can find hope & find answers for our children in such thoughts * how neat to think of jesus as being like water & reflecting those around him * thinking of it that way, we should all strive to be as close to him as possible so he does reflect us, as he can't reflect us if we're far away from him *

* A DAY AT THE FAIR *

we took mirlande & the girls to the indiana state fair yesterday & she was overwhelmed with all there was to see there * keep in mind she's from haiti & didn't even know what 'rides' were * we told her to just look until such time she thought she wanted to ride & then we could buy her tickets if she wanted us to * she finally wanted to ride some things with the girls & here's some pictures of what we saw & we didn't even get through half of it

(ride #1)

mirlande & the girls

on the farriswheel

(ride #2)

mirlande & ruby on the bumper cars

(ride #3)

brit & mirlande getting strapped in

(ride #3)

waaaaay up in the air

after ride #3

(PS. ride #3 can also be called 'the last ride')

the girls riding ponies

brit & kiara on the swings

ruby & karleigh lovin' on each other

karleigh, ruby & kiara

* MORE PICS FROM HAITIAN CAMP *

here's some random pictures from haitian camp last weekend

barbara & all her 'ladies in blue'

lovely, teaching others to cornrow mirlande, seeing her boys for the first time
since they were adopted as babies
cousins, eli'anna & marie, meeting at haitian camp
as they're growing up in 2 different familes
karleigh & isaac, being silly
kiara, ruthie, karleigh & ruby
ruthie & kiara (kiara says they're cousins - hehe)

FYI - ruthie's the owner of 'the ruthie hill clothing line'

that my girls all sport around in all the time - thanks ruthie!!

brit & landon
natalya & karleigh
ruby finds a caterpillar
a playdough table full of girls
(isaac, i promise you'll enjoy this sort of thing one day)

* LONG DAY! *

well, we rose this morning, got ready & left the house about 10am * i took the girls by their 'new' schools so they could see them again as they're getting so excited * we then headed for lunch at cheeseburger in paradise & then it was off to dj's * dj's is the hair supply place that we just love, love, love * i took mirlande with me & between the 2 of us, we put down $240 OUCH! * we then headed to the zoo as it was going to be so fun as mirlande being from haiti's never seen a polar bear, lion, tiger, elephant, etc. & she was so excited * we were going later in the day as today was over 100* & so we arrived at 4pm * we got the girls out, in strollers, bags ready, etc. & headed to the gate only to find out that they're only open until 5pm!!! * i wasn't paying all the $ (especially after shopping at dj's) for just an hour so we headed to the dollar store as mirlande wanted to pikc up some things for her daughter, baby ruth * we then headed to my parents as we were meeting spike in pendleton at 3rd generation pizza & they're just around the corner * after dinner we headed home where everyone but brit & myself hit the sack * tomorrow it's a day at the state fair where we're putting mirlande's butt on rides & she's never heard of a 'ride' before (hehehe) * believe me, i'm sure to get some blog material from that!!

~ HAITIAN CAMP WENT WELL ~

well, we got home from haitian camp last night & all had a wonderful time ~ barbara, johny & mirlande all flew in from PAP, haiti (it was mirlande's first time to leave haiti) ~ we stayed the weekend at camp & then barbara & johny left yesterday (sunday) for florida & then they'll be flying to haiti on wednesday ~ mirlande's staying with us until this friday so we're having a great time showing her around ~ while at camp, mirlande was able to see & visit 2 of the children she gave up for adoption, several years ago ~ it was so touching to see her interact with the kids ~ they received her very well as she did with them ~ there really wasn't a dry eye in the camp when they all saw each other for the first time ~ there were about 100 people that showed & some of them were new families, so that was very nice ~ we all arrived friday afternoon & left sunday afternoon & while there, we went swimming, played basketball, volleyball, rode bikes, camped, slid down a water slide (which was hilarious to watch), etc. ~ tonight we're heading to the movies, but at this point, i'm not sure what we'll go see ~ i'll write more later & post pictures, but i'm on spike's computer & it's not accepting the pictures from my camera very well

barbara

kiara, ruthie, karleigh & ruby

ruthie & kiara (kiara says they're 'cousins'... hehe)

~ TOUGH LOVE vs. SPANKING ~

most of america's population think it's improper to spank children, so i've tried other methods to control my kids when they've one of "those moments" ~ one that i found effective's for me to just take the child for a car ride & talk ~ they usually calm down & stop misbehaving after our car ride together ~ I've included a photo below of one of my sessions with my son, in case you'd like to use the technique ~ sincerely, a friend

(& my kids complain about being sent to timeout!)

~ COUSIN TO COUSIN ~

today mom came over & brought 2 of my brothers girls (megan 5 & katie 2) ~ we took them to the park, then for pizza before coming home for naptime ~ they all seemed to have a blast ~ katie wasn't getting into it in the beginning, but about 30 minutes before we left (we were there 2 hours!), she loosened up, took off & played really hard ~ here's some pictures from the day (bet you're all surprised i took pictures, huh?)

katie

karleigh

ruby

kiara

megan

brit

katie

karleigh

ruby kiara

megan

brit

kiara & megan

ruby & katie

(one of my favorites as they both seem so much in thought)