More Happenings

The past two weeks certainly have had their ups and downs. It was a busy time here, both good and bad. We had the funeral and get together for Mamie on Thursday. Although it was a sad time, I did get to see many people that I haven't seen in a long time. And they finally got to meet Colby. We left him with my sister-in-law, Jocelyn, during the church service but then Mike brought him up to Mamie's house for the dinner.

Last Tuesday was my mom's birthday, age kept secret! On Monday night, most of my aunts and uncles, a few cousins, and my brothers, Mike, Colby, and I went out to dinner to celebrate. We went to "On the Border" a great Mexican restraunt. It was nice to get together again to just relax and have some fun. It was Colby's first experience with Mexican food and he loved it! He ate his whole dinner- soft taco, rice, and refried beans!

I have to admit that last Tuesday was not a pleasant day. Colby and I did call my mom to wish her a happy birthday. However, the rest of the day was awful. Colby was a little more mischievious that day, getting into everything. Spilled milk (a whole cup worth), toys everywhere, climbing in the closet and tearing it apart, and of course not wanting to go down for his nap. I was so tired and frustrated. Naptime became a crying fest. I broke down. I guess after a week of running around and keeping busy, by then it truly hit me that Mamie was gone. I laid down and just cried. Colby was crying because he was overtired but wouldn't nap and I was just crying. The one good thing, Colby stopped at one point and came over to me. He threw his arms around me and said, "Love you Mommy!" That snapped me out of it and we just hugged for a long time. Thankfully, Colby and I both calmed down and he went for a short nap. I tried to nap too.

Saturday we had two parties. My brothers and sisters and families all went to our parents' house to celebrate September birthdays. It was my sisters Kristin and Karin, my sister-in-law Jan, my nephew Alex, and my mom's birthdays. Wow! We went there for lunch. Then we all went to my Aunt Doone's house to celebrate my cousin Jason's wedding. He and Linda had a quite ceremony together at Mamie's house by her garden. Then everyone went to Aunt Doone's house for a picnic to celebrate. Colby had a great time at both parties playing with his cousins Max and Alex and many other kids. And we were able to get a good photo of Colby with his four cousins at Mom's house.

Yesterday the excitement continued! Mike came home around lunch time. I was trying to clean the front closet, with all my craft supplies and games (job to continue), Colby had finally gone down for his nap, and Mike was outside mowing the lawn. Next thing I knew, Mike came running in the house and said he was going to wake Colby up. I hadn't even heard the sirens. We hear them at least once a day so I guess I had tuned them out. Well, there was a small house fire about five houses down our street. We have a fire hydrant in front of our house so one fire truck parked right in front of us! There were about five trucks in all, a police car, ambulance, and lots of flashing lights. Colby was amazed! It took a minute for him to wake up but once he did his eyes opend wide! He wasn't sure where to look first. We walked down the street to check out the trucks. The fire was already out when we got there. Most of the firemen waved to Colby and a couple of them came over to say hi. Colby was even invited to sit in one of the firetrucks! He was awestruck I think. I asked him what he was doing and he just said, "Touching firetruck." Of course, after all the excitement he wouldn't go back for his nap and wouldn't relax. It was a tough night, throwing food and a broken glass included. I really enjoy seeing Colby experience new things but the excitement seems too much for him and he becomes overwhelmed.

So, now it is nap time and I finally have the chance to update my blog. Hopefully the rest of the week be calm. This Saturday we have another birthday party. Always something fun to do. I'd also like to bring Colby to a corn maze and there is a Halloween costume to buy. Busy, busy, busy!

Mamie

I was hoping to get on here with photos of our trip to the Bethlehem Fair but those will have to wait. I am not sure who might remember reading an entry on here about my grandfather, Poppy. He is my mom's father. He passed away 3 years ago this THanksgiving. He left behind a big family which included his wife, Mamie. They had been married 64 years. Well, now they are together again.

Mamie is an amazing woman. At only 4'9" and about 90 pounds she was a little spitfire. She and Poppy raised 5 children and enjoyed 19 grandchildren and now 12 great-grandchildren. When I was younger I can remember Mamie having heart surgery but you would have never known it. She loved going in her garden, taking long walks, and baking brownies. Every day as a little girl my mother would ask what I wanted to do. I would simply tell her we had to go to Mamie's house. It is there that I learned how to bake. Brownies were our specialty. We spent hours just talking, playing, and baking brownies. The house was always full of laughter and that rich chocolatey smell. When I went away to college, she even baked a batch of brownies for me and had my mom ship them to me. Nothing says home like brownies from Mamie!

This summer had been a difficult one. Mamie was going to the hospital and doctors more often. It seemed like her body was just giving out. After Poppy passed away she just didn't seem like the same person. I am happy that she at least got to see Mike and me bring Colby home. I know that made her happy. Colby and I went and visited with her last Thursday during that trip to the hospital. Her eyes just lit up the room when she saw him. She was excited to see him and enjoyed feeding him her lunch, even though I scolded her for not eating it herself. We even got to see Luke, the therapy dog. Colby told her, "Mamie...booboo....all better.". It almost broke my heart. He gave her a big kiss and said, "Luh you!" as we left. I will always remember that day.

Today Mamie passed away. She leaves behind 5 children and spouses, 19 grandchildren with many spouses, and 12 great-grandchildren. She will be greatly missed. There is and will never be anyone like Mamie and Poppy. Colby will never see a Thanksgiving or Christmas with Mamie, he only had 6 months with her, but I will make sure that he remembers the special moments that they did share together. And I know that she is telling Poppy all about my crazy little boy. Goodbye Mamie. I will love you and Poppy always! And try to stay out of trouble you two!

My First Mother's Day

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day as a mommy. Wow! I wasn't sure if I would ever make it there. But, I have!

Mike and Colby surprised me with a big card with dogs on it. Colby loves dogs. When you open the card it sings, "You Make Me Want To Shout!". It is too cute. Mike had Colby scribble on it. He is just starting to play with his crayons and markers. Then Colby helped Mike make Belgian waffles with chocolate chips, one of my favorites. We spent the morning visiting with my grandmother, Mamie. She lives with my Aunt Linda and her family not far from us. My cousin Heather also lives there with her 9 year old son Corbin. Colby loved visiting with Mamie and playing with Corbin. We came home in time for a quick lunch and nap time. Mike and I spent nap time planting the flowers that he bought me for Mother's Day/my birthday. I had picked out a few more perennials and a bunch of annuals. We will also plant some vegetables, but I love flowers. After nap time we visited with Mike's grandmother, Nana, and had dinner with Mike's parents. Unfortunately, my mom and dad are away at Myrtle Beach until next week so I couldn't see her on Mother's Day. But we did talk on the phone.

So, overall the day went well. Colby enjoyed visiting everyone and seemed to have a good time. It was a nice day.

I hope all mothers and mothers-to-be had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Milk, Snuggles, and A Happy Birthday

I am so thankful for all of the kind words and wonderful words of encouragement from all of you. It means so much to know that other people do understand my feelings and have gone through the same things that Mike and I are going through now. Someone had asked about giving Colby milk and if the orphanages give the children milk. I don't think Colby ever had milk. When we fed him he always had a little mug of juice or tea which he drank up quite quickly. We did feed him snack on day and he had a mug of something that looked a little like milk but was more creamy. More like a runny yogurt type of drink. I think they call it kefir. Mike and I stuck with juice in Russia but after a couple days home we started giving him whole milk, mainly at breakfast and right before bed. He doesn't drink much of it but he seems to like it. Otherwise we drink lots of juice, mostly apple although we are introducing other flavors. He really likes the Srtawberry-Kiwi. We haven't tried orange yet.

To update on our snuggles: We have had great days lately. I'm not sure what has caused the change but beginning yesterday Colby has been more snuggly, almost clingy. I really hope that it isn't due to a cold coming on. Perhaps his teeth are bothering him. He is cutting 4 teeth right now. I certainly haven't minded the snuggles at all. Last night Colby cuddled with me in our lounge chair as Mike and I watched American Idol. He wasn't laying down to sleep so I snuggled with him there. He fell asleep after a little while and I just held him, for almost the whole 2 hour show. What could be better than having a sleeping child in your arms? What a great feeling. Mike and I have also encouraged Colby to give more hugs and kisses. He loves to blow kisses so we do that often. We have also started hugging and kissing eachother more in front of Colby so he can see what it means to love someone. He thinks it is funny. He gets a huge smile on his face when we hug and starts giggling. It is really cute.

Yesterday Colby and I had a great day visiting with Mamie and Aunt Doone (my grandmother and my aunt Lorna). Mamie had already seen Colby the day after we came home but Anut Doone had yet to see him. Aunt Doone and I are really close. She also adopted her 3 children so she can understand how I feel. I wanted Colby to meet her before we go for the big party on Saturday. Mamie is turning 90! The whole family is getting together and that means over 40 people. My mom has a big family and I love it but it just might overwhelm Colby. I wanted him to get used to Mamie's house and see my aunt so he knows a few people when we get there. Well, they hit it off. Colby loved Mamie's house and all the things that little fingers can get into trouble touching. Aunt Doone loved playing with him and it was a wonderful day. Unknowingly, I had forgotten that it was Aunt Doone's birthday yesterday. I remembered later. She was so happy and I am glad that I could give her such a great birthday. Colby even gave Mamie and Aunt Doone a hug goodbye all by himself. He just toddled over and threw himself in Aunt Doone's arms first to get a hug. Then to Mamie. It was so amazing, I almost cried again. Tears of joy!

More Waiting

Well, here we are now in the middle of November with Thanksgiving only a couple weeks away. In some ways, the year has gone by so fast and in others it seems to have taken forever. Was it really 5 months ago that we first saw Colby? It seems like only yesterday but yet it also seems like it happened ages ago. So much has happened that my head is still spinning and I can't find a quiet place to rest.

We still have no word from the Russian courts. I'm not even sure if the judge has looked at our paperwork yet. Probably not. Vica and Kim have no updates to give us either. I'd love to get a photo or at least a note telling me how Colby is doing. That would make this holiday a little more bearable. I'm just not sure how I'll get through the holidays knowing that Colby is not with us and is still in that orphange. That is not the place for any child to "celebrate" the holidays. I just want to hold him again and tell him how much he is loved. So many people are waiting for him to come home, especially his mommy and daddy.

In other news, Mamie is now in a nursing/rehab home. She was in the hospital a week and now expects to be in the home for about 3 weeks. She will come home for Thanksgiving though. That is good news. Thanksgiving without her and Poppy would be too much to bear. I'm not sure if she will stay home or what will happen after that. She seems so unsteady and she can't be alone. My once strong Mamie now seems so so little. It is a hard thing to see. I just hope that she will still be around to see Colby come home.

Well, I guess that is all the news, or lack there of. I hope to hear something soon.

A Dreary Week

What dreary weather we have had this week. It has been raining off and on most of the week. Hopefully it is supposed to stop and tomorrow should be nice but chilly. I guess fall is certainly here. The storms have taken most of the leaves out of the trees so tomorrow will be leaf racking day. Misha certainly makes this chore fun. She runs after the rake and dances in the leaves. It is rather cute watching an 80 pound black lab "dance" in falling leaves.

To go with the dreary weather, my family has had a set back this week as well. Wednesday my mom called to let me know that Mamie (her mom, my grandmother) was back in the hospital. They weren't sure what was wrong. Now we know. She has congestive heart failure. I went and visited her a few times this week. Tomorrow I think the hospital is deciding what to do. They have talked about sending her to a convelesant home but my mom and her siblings don't want that. I am not sure what would be better for her. I know that living alone at the farm isn't the answer though. I guess we will see tomorrow what everyone decides. I only hope that Mamie still has the strength to fight this and that she will still be around to see Colby come home.

On that front, we still ahve no updates on Colby. We know that most couples are waiting about 10 months or more inbetween trips. I guess we need to just sit and wait in limbo for the court to get its act in gear and get us back there. I just wish I knew what was going on. The unknown is the hardest part. That, and not having the power to help resolve the problems. Ugh.... So we still wait. And wait. And wait....