Project 365 - Days 170-176

Trying to get caught up before the end of the century (is this a re-occurring theme?)

Day 170 - June 19th

Father's Day 2011...and the girls wanted a picture with their Daddy and the rocket ship Ava made for him out of a soda bottle!  What I notice about this picture is that Ava looks so grown up!  It's something about her haircut and the way it's laying so perfectly...

Day 171 - June 20th

We had a pretty powerful thunderstorm roll through and I caught these images of lightening.  This one is a little freaky because you can see the clouds swirling above it and it looks like such a thick, intense bolt of electricity!!

This one too was pretty intense though it was by accident - hence the off centered picture!

Day 172 - June 21

As I said in my previous post, swim lessons were starting again and I was so glad I had those short bobs on the girls!  Ava loved her swim lessons again this year.  She's pretty much at the top of what they teach her in organized lessons - they were lobbying pretty hard for her to join the swim team but in the end, she decided to just swim for fun in the pool at home!

Day 173 - June 22

I think I mentioned earlier that Ava purchased this planner several months ago and she keeps it up at the barn, like I do with my planner where I keep all my horse info and records.  So when she is up at the barn, she records what she does in her planner!  (Girl after my own heart!)  When cracks me up about this day is that she was keeping close tabs on a mouse trap Jason had set in the big barn and noted that she had checked on that too...funny!

Day 174 - June 23

We finally coordinated our schedules with our friends, the Joiners, and headed down to the JW Marriot in San Antonio for an extra long weekend!  It was a nice getaway and of course, the girls had a blast!  This was taken our first evening there - it was a nice balmy evening - not humid, perfect weather really, and the girls were out playing on a big lawn while we all waited for dinner.  Sweet shot of these sisters!

Day 175 - June 24

We went into San Antonio the next day our friend, Matt, who has been to San Antonio many times, gave us the tour of the Riverwalk.  This old church was off the Riverwalk near a shopping area.  Ava sat and posed for me and I got some neat shots...

Day 176 - June 25

One of the big draws of the JW Marriot is the big water park they built for their guests.  They had several water slides, several pools, and cute kiddie area.  Even though this slide was rather tame, Amelia was too scared to go down unless I was holding her.  Then she thoroughly enjoyed the ride!

Haircuts!

Way back at the beginning of summer, June 18th to be exact, when the heat was increasing daily, several weeks of swim lessons had been scheduled and many days were going to be spent in the pool, I talked the girls into getting "summer" haircuts.  This was a little scary for me because since June 1, 2009 (Amelia's Gotcha Day), Amelia had never had a hair cut on her head.  Never.  We had been working so hard at growing it out.  But, I thought angled bobs for the girls would be cute and cool for the summer.  Here is what they looked like before:

I don't know why she was looking at Ava like that, but I think Amelia's expression is so cute!

Pretty long, right?  That's why I was SO scared!!  But we set off for Sweet and Sassy.  Unfortunately, our favorite hair stylist who used to cut Ava's hair in the angled bob a few years ago, no longer worked there.  So we were putting our trust in a new girl (who was the manager but still...)

Ava went first but I wasn't so nervous because I knew what to expect...

Amelia was second and I have to admit, I gasped a little when she took those sharp shears and cut off Amelia's long ponytail...I didn't get a picture of it, but each of them had 8 inches cut off!!!

And here they are afterward!  I absolutely love this cut on Amelia.  I thought it might make her look older but it made her look more like a baby and I love it!!  And I think it's equally cute on our eight-year-old Ava.  Grandma was along and splurged for the feathers in their hair...something Ava had really been wanting.  They get a lollipop after a haircut and Amelia couldn't help but dive in - wouldn't even take it out for a quick picture!!  We stopped at Panera on the way home for a quick dinner and I snapped these cute photos of the girls...

These haircuts proved so useful as the summer progressed.  No fits brushing through tangled hair and so easy to wash and dry after the pool!  We might make this a summer tradition!

The Call

I know.  I left y'all hanging with that line at the end of my last post about our world being rocked again and you may have heard the news by now anyway, but I wanted to post it here anyway for posterity's sake.  Bear with me ;-)


Rewind to the day after the grass fire near our house (September 1st).  It was a busy day for us.  Amelia and I stopped by Mother's Day Out to meet her new teachers and check out her new room.  One of my fellow-adopting moms, Beth, and I chatted about where we each were in the adoption process and how Jason and I (ok, really just me) had regrouped and were back on track to getting the paperwork done for our dossier. I had just exchanged several emails with our new Family Coordinator at our adoption agency about our Waiting Child application.  I confirmed it was active and inquired whether we could be matched while we were paperchasing (doubtful).  A new Shared List had been released on Monday - of course we hadn't received a call so we were looking towards next month.  And for our family, looking toward getting our paperwork done!


Amelia and I left Mother's Day Out and headed home.  We stopped on the way to check on the horses at our neighbor's then continued home so I could figure out how and when we'd bring the horses back to our property.  Jason got home from work late in the afternoon.  I picked up Ava from school and we did a quick opening of birthday presents because it was Jason's 40th birthday!  That celebration was cut short because we had to hook up the horse trailer and bring our herd home again.  Hooking up the trailer, driving to the neighbor's, trying to load some uncooperative horses, making one trip home to drop off some horses, finally calling our friend to bring his stock trailer again (since the difficult ones DID get in there) then finally returning home, took several HOURS!  We were exhausted by the time we got home.  I think I served cereal for dinner ;-)  I tucked the girls in bed late (like 9:30) and Jason and I collapsed into bed around 10:15 ourselves. 


I was off in dreamland when my ringing cell phone woke me up.  I looked at my clock as I tried to get my bearings.  It was 11:30 pm.  What was going on?  Who could be calling me this late?  It had to be a prank call.  I looked at my cell phone and saw the (703) prefix.  My heart fluttered.  I knew that prefix.  It was a Virginia prefix and the only people who ever call me from Virginia was my adoption agency.  And I KNEW there would only be one reason why they'd be calling me in the middle of the night.  But how could it be?  We were just starting to really get some traction on accumulating our paperwork!  


I picked up the call in disbelief.  "Hello??!"  I asked incredulously.  It was Leah, the Waiting Child Program coordinator on the other end.  At least I think it was.  I was in shock and still processing what was happening that I'm not sure I remember her saying her name.  She went on to explain a little girl had popped up on the Shared List who fit our family's profile.  She was 15 months old.  (15 MONTHS OLD!!?? --- so young!!)  She had repaired spina bifida.  I remember Leah saying something about her having surgery in Beijing.  She ended the short call by saying she would be emailing her file over now and we had 48 hours to meet with doctors and decide if we wanted to permanently lock her file.  If so, all paperwork for her Electronic Acceptance had to be submitted to China within 72 hours.  


We knew the drill.  We had the same time constraints with Amelia though referrals move much more quickly on and off the List now.  The Waiting Child program has become VERY popular in the last few years as the wait for a "healthy" child from China has lengthened to 5+ years.  And by the way, these calls for referrals are routinely happening in the middle of the night (or late evening depending on where you live) now as China releases their lists the morning of their time zone.  So morning in China is the middle of the night here.


So, to continue, I got off the phone and quickly filled Jason in.  I ran to the office and was maniacally hitting the "get mail" button, looking for that email!!  Where was it!!!??  I texted my friend, Beth, to be praying.  I didn't expect she would get my text until the morning but she replied a bit later and we continued to text into the wee hours of the morning.  Jason had said he'd look at the file in the morning and went back to sleep, he couldn't stay awake to wait.  I know!! 


When the email with her medical file finally came through I did a very dangerous thing.  I looked at her picture first.  


And she is Absolutely.  Adorable.  There were three pictures in the file, one of her smiling.  Smiling!!  All the photos we received with Amelia's file and all subsequent updates were of Amelia looking at the camera straight-faced, not smiling.  For so long I wondered what her smile looked like!  So I was especially happy to see this one's gorgeous smile!  


The next few days went by quickly.  We were able to get in touch with Amelia's pediatric neurosurgeon and get his thoughts on the medical file as well as a pediatric radiologist as there were MRI readings included in her file.  While this little girl's spina bifida is more complex and potentially more severe than Amelia's, we felt reassured that what we were expecting was probably, based on what we were given, reasonable to expect.  In actuality, the doctors were a little more optimistic and favorable about her prognosis than we were anticipating.  


So, with excitement, we submitted our Electronic Acceptance (EA) on September 3, 2011.  We received our Pre-Approval (PA) from China on September 14, 2011.  Our next step is to submit our dossier (hopefully sometime in November?) and then wait for the Referral Approval (RA) and Travel Approval (TA).  There are many other steps in between those milestones but it's mostly out of my control and waiting on the US and China governments to issue different approvals and documents.  We don't know when we will travel, but if we travel in late spring/early summer (about the same time we traveled to get Amelia) I will be a VERY happy momma!  


Until we receive our RA from China, I cannot post her picture, but I can guarantee you she's as cute as button!  And I promise, I'll be sticking that camera in her face constantly once we have her to make up for the lack of pictures now ;-)


Please keep her in your prayers - pray for protection and complete healing and that the Lord would already be preparing her little heart and mind for the big changes about to come her way, Lord willing!  Ava and Amelia are excited beyond belief to know who their baby sister is going to be.  We still don't have an American name picked out but Ava and Amelia's top picks are Dora, Tinkerbell and Ariel.  Hmmm...somehow I don't think we'll be deciding on one of those.  


Check back here when you can, I'll be posting all breaking news and updates on our process here...and if/when I start a separate adoption blog, I'll be sure to post the link!

Video of the Week - Week 24 - Go-Kart

Here's a little bit of Ava trying out her Daddy's 30+ year old go-kart!!

Project 365 - Days 163-169

Yes, yes, I will get to the earth-shattering news we received the night after the fire.  But first, I wanted to squeeze in one more 365 post ;-)

Day 163 - June 12

The girls love spending time with Grandpa!

Day 164 - June 13

So we were swimming in the pool and Ava found another baby turtle swimming around.  She quickly adopted him (or her?) as well and named it "Caicos".  So she had "Turks and Caicos" as her little pet turtles.  Poor things.

Day 165 - June 14

Amelia has found that Grandpas are very good for playing the part of the Prince.

Day 166 - June 15

I believe this little guy is the same baby we found nestled deep in the brush last week.  He and his momma came wandering up very close to the house and the grass is so tall on the other side of the fence he was jumping and boinging through the brush to keep up with his momma.  At this point, he turned and was jumping straight toward me and I got this cute shot!  He looks like a little kangaroo ;-)  Here's a picture of him standing next to the fence so you can see how little he really is:

Isn't he the CUTEST!?

Day 167 - June 16

The girls were really spoiled this week when Grandpa and Grandma Schuh came a few days after Grandpa and Grandma Norman left!  Amelia (and Rosie) found their favorite spot next to Grandma Becky.

Day 168 - June 17

Grandpa and Grandma were driving our motorhome back from California and were able to bring an extra surprise with them in the baggage compartment - Jason's old go-kart.  Ava took to this quite easily and was racing around with ease - that's a pillow we put behind the seat so she could reach the pedals ;-)  This go-kart has special significance to me because this is what Jason was riding the first time I ever remember seeing him - I would have been about 12 years old, Jason would have been about 13.  We had just arrived in California and were staying next door to Jason at his uncle's house.  I walked outside the next morning and here was Jason, racing up and down their driveway in this thing.  As I remember it, I asked him if I could ride it and he said, "no."  Typical. ;-)

Day 169 - June 18

Gorgeous sunrise once again...

Little Too Close

I'm going to interrupt my stream of boring Project 365 photos to blog about a scary event that happened here.  I must preface by saying we are really really really dry in Texas, in case you haven't heard.  Some are saying this is the worst drought in history.  Most of Texas falls under the "exceptional" drought status.  We are right on the edge of the "extreme" to "exceptional" drought, here in our little town.  Our state is literally a tinderbox.  


So, on August 31st, about noon I had gone up to the barn to get the horses pulled in as my farrier was coming an about an hour.  When he pulled up to barn, I walked outside to greet him and smelled that acrid smell of smoke.  Something was burning.  And the wind was blowing about 15-20 mph.  Not good.  To the south of the barn, a large fire had started.  Soon, you could hear the sirens and in between horses, my farrier and I would walk outside the barn and check on the fire.  


It was close.  About 2 miles south as the crow flies.  I started calling neighbors and was getting status updates from friends who were driving to the scene to get updates from the fire chief.  Friends out of the path of the fire started calling me, asking if we were all right or if we needed help with anything.  For the most part, the wind was blowing west, and spreading the fire parallel to us.  But, every once in awhile, the wind would shift, start blowing to the north, and head straight for us. 


About the time my farrier left, I was feeling pretty confident that we were out of the path.  I started to relax.  Then, at about 3:15, I left to pick up Ava from school.  I drove down our road about 2 miles and saw this, which sent chills down my spine despite the 103 degree weather:

Wow.  Looked much closer and bigger.  And scarier.  As I sat in the carpool lane, waiting for Ava to get out, I called my neighbor again.  She just got an update from the fire chief who said the fire was out of control and he had called in Ft Worth and other larger cities to come and help.  My  neighbor was packing, taking her dogs and cats to the kennel in the next town and was getting ready to bolt at a moment's notice.  I started to freak. out.  I called Jason and told him what was going on.  He said he'd go up to the barn and start hooking up the horse trailer.  

By the time I got home, the fire looked like this from our place:

This is our driveway and that's my barn on the far, right hand side.  Here's what it looked like from up at the barn...

It seemed to be a bit closer, and while it may not look "that" big, I just can't express to you enough how hot and DRY it is out here.  I kept thinking about the story my farrier had told me that afternoon about the time back in 1980 (the last time Texas has seen this kind of drought and heat) when he was a volunteer fireman and one of these monstrous fires broke out.  He said the wind shifted, the chief called for them to quickly jump in the truck and retreat.  He said he was flying across pastures and that fire was on their tail, just roaring through the countryside at 50 MPH!  They barely made it out.  If this fire started moving that fast, it could be at our place in a matter of minutes.  

We started calling friends in the area and some wonderful friends that Jason works with (and whose daughters have been our babysitters) said we could bring our horses to their place.  We called in reinforcements to help with loading and another friend came to our rescue with his stock trailer.  And I'm so glad he came because my horse, Tommy,would not get in my horse trailer but did get in our friend's stock trailer.  It took several hours to load up all the horses and get them over to our friends house.  All the while, we were keeping a close eye on the fire.


We heard reports they were getting it under control, but we went to bed late and didn't sleep well that night.  Here is what we saw on the news:

  

The next morning dawned with no smoke on the horizon, no smell of anything burning.  We heard it still wasn't completely contained but we were feeling better, not so scared.  I went over to check on the horses and this rooster was there to greet me ;-)

Oh, and did I mention they had some pasture mates?  

Star was hanging out with this guy when I got there but mainly, the cows stuck with each other and watched the horses warily ;-)

Tinkerbell was wondering where in the world they were!  Tommy and Magic gazed longingly at the wonderful, fresh green grass that was just out of their reach on the other side of the fence.

So I know I just said how dry and hot in a drought stage Texas is and then I show this beautiful, lush looking pasture.  Well, these people have exceptionally beautiful pastures and the inch of rain we did get about a month ago was enough to keep this green and growing.  The man who fertilizes, cuts and bales their pastures has taken over our fields and I'm hoping, that in a few years, our pastures can look like this!

So alls well that ends well, I guess.  The fire was completely put out, thank the Lord.  And even though it was Jason's birthday, after he got home from work, we spent another several hours loading the horses back up and taking them home, where they belong!  It turns out they would have been fine to stay at the house but you never know and it was a good "fire drill" for us!  I now know which horses I really have to work on trailer loading with ;-)  

After all that drama, we went back home and collapsed, thinking our night was over now and we could relax.  Little did we know, that in a few hours, our world was about to be rocked again...

Stay tuned....