Mother's Dictionary

Every once in a while I type in random URLs of websites that I think ought to exist just to see if they do. Tonight I tried www.jokeoftheday.com and found this:

A New Mother's Dictionary

Bottle feeding: An opportunity for Daddy to get up at 2 am too.

Drooling: How teething babies wash their chins.

Dumbwaiter: One who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.

Feedback: The inevitable result when the baby doesn't appreciate the strained carrots.

Full name: What you call your child when you're mad at him.

Grandparents: The people who think your children are wonderful even though they're sure you're not raising them right.

Hearsay: What toddlers do when anyone mutters a dirty word.

Independent: How we want our children to be as long as they do everything we say.

Look out: What it's too late for your child to do by the time you scream it.

Prenatal: When your life was still somewhat your own.

Puddle: A small body of water that draws other small bodies wearing dry shoes into it.

Sterilize: What you do to your first baby's pacifier by boiling it and to your last baby's pacifier by blowing on it.

Storeroom: The distance required between the supermarket aisles so that children in shopping carts can't quite reach anything.

Temper tantrums: What you should keep to a minimum so as to not upset the children.

Top bunk: Where you should never put a child wearing Superman jammies.

Verbal: Able to whine in words

Whoops: An exclamation that translates roughly into "get a sponge."

:-)

On being well in a house full of sick ones...

This has been a busy week as I have been the healthy one at home. Anna has a little cold (which makes for impressive snot bubbles, battles over tissue, even-louder-than-normal snoring :-) and a darling scratchy baby voice) and Matt seems to have come down with the same, so I am trying to keep everything running smoothly.

I must take a moment to lament the death or coming demise of an astounding number of electronic items in our household, namely:
*our computer (completely gone)
*our digital camera (the second one this year completely gone)
*Matt's electric razor (completely gone)
*Matt's cell phone (on it's way out)
*Matt's beard trimmer (potentially dying, not sure yet...have to wait until the battery fully dies to see if it will recharge, but we're not holding out hope)
*my watch battery (died this morning, fortunately easy to replace)

All this sickness on top of the demise of so many items that we rely on for the smooth running of our lives has left us feeling like we need prayer for God's protection from spiritual attack! So, if you think of it, we'd appreciate your prayers for our family in this very full time, especially for peace, wellness, and protection.

Okay, so I need to head home and take care of my sick ones.

Love (and still in good spirits), Jenny

Sleepover at the orphanage (PHOTOS)

At the orphanage in the little flat for families... Mom and Dad had to feed me in a carseat because there was no high chair. The place was fine but not really stocked with the necessities, which made for some funny stories. For example, I was in the bath, soaking wet with soapy hair before IMom realized that we had no towel and Dad was out getting dinner! So, Mommy carried a wet baby around while searching in all the cabinets and eventually finding an old tshirt to dry off with. :-)

We also had no sheets on the bed, just this wild, Hawaiian-print-esque duvets. But she did pretty well with the sleeping arrangements for the two nights that we were there. She was delighted to wake up and see our faces in the morning. "Oh! It's you!!!" :-)

My first encounter with a toothbrush was loads of fun. I brushed the floor, I brushed my hair, I brushed Daddy's leg... Of course, I haven't quite figured out brushing my teeth yet, but I'll learn one of these days!

Some of my favorite new toys and things are my Old MacDonald hand puppet book and my yellow ducky blankie (thanks Grandma Thomas!). I also love my Lamby (from my Great Grandma Joyce who bought it for me in Italy even before she had any idea I would be coming on the scene.) You can see my snuggling with Lamby my first night.

Welcome home, Anna!

She's finally home!!! :-)

We brought her home yesterday amidst a shower of tears (her caretakers and her own at being in a car seat for the first time), but she is happy now and getting used to her new place. She's been soliciting a lot more cuddling and holding, which I really enjoy and am glad to give her as she gets used to everything. We have both noticed her just soaking up the extra, dedicated attention after being in an environment with 5 kids to 1 adult.

The hardest thing has been that she doesn't want to be put down to sleep (nap or at night) and just sobs and sobs, even if we lay down with her. I'm not sure if that's normal behavior for her or just a result of all the changes (since we were never at the orphanage as she was actually going to sleep.) She's also very shy with new people, but I take that as a healthy developmental sign and it seems to encourage her attachment to us.

It's been fun putting her in all the little clothes we've been gathering, although I amazed that at 18 months she can actually fit into some 6-9 month clothes. She is so tiny! One weird thing I've noticed in myself is that I am having to come to terms with the fact that she's actually going to WEAR the cute clothes and even get them dirty! :-) Evidently, that's what kids do...

She seems to be liking the cloth diapers (we got fuzzi bunz) which makes me happy. There's just a great pleasure in finally having charge of her and being able to dress her, feed her what we want (though she's pretty picky!), and be responsible for everything ourselves. It's a big responsibility, but it feels like the time has come and we're jumping in with both feet.

Matt's out doing some grocery shopping to get some foods that she will eat (she can't have milk products and doesn't like fruit, so we're kind of limited). That's another hard thing. She has been "trained" into a lot of habits (and not trained into others) that are different from how we would have raised her, so we just kind of have to take her as she is and hope that gradually we can introduce some new tastes, behaviors, and routines. This will take a lot of grace but we are enjoying the payoff with every little smile, giggle, and cuddle.

She's a precious little girl and we are so happy!

(By the way, we have lots of pictures to post soon, but a few technical difficulties as our digital camera just died, as well as our computer... :-( We're trying to line up new equipment, but it is taking some time. The timing is a real bummer! That's why our website hasn't been updated in a while...)

Visa is finally ready!

Yipppeeeee!!!!

After months of waiting, I got the call today that my visa and residency permit is finally ready.

This has been the one thing holding up our bringing Anna home, so now things can finally get going. We've been so looking forward to being "real" parents and having full responsibility for our daughter, rather than just popping in for a visit in the afternoon. Plus, now that she is walking and developing in so many other wonderful ways, we don't want to miss a minute of it!

Many thanks to everyone who has been praying with us through this long ordeal. There's still bureaucratic stuff ahead (the actual court date to finalize the adoption should be in about 3-5 months) but we're through the hardest part. PRAISE GOD!!!!

P.S. In case you've noticed and been wondering, our website has not been updated in a while. This is because our beloved laptop finally bit the dust and we don't have access to the website software on our work computers. We're hoping to get that rectified soon, but in the meantime we have to wait till we can get a new computer. So, my blog will have the most updated info.

Welcome to the family, Anna!!!!

It's official...

We have been fully approved to become "mom" and "dad" to our precious Anna, thanks to the favorable decision of the adoption committee connected with the Czech Ministry of Social Affairs!

We're trembling with joy and nerves and so excited to see our baby girl again after two and a half weeks of not being allowed to visit (while we waited for the decision). We've missed her terribly, but wanted to heed the wisdom of the Ministry officials that we should keep a little space until everything was decided for sure. In the meantime, we've been praying steadily and hoping, hoping, hoping for God's favor with the committee. Praise God, they agreed with us that joining our family is in her best interest!

So, what happens next?

Because my visa/residency permit is still not ready (Matt got his back in late June, but mine is still within the expected time range), we can't bring her home yet. But we are now allowed to spend as much time with her at the orphanage as we want until the visa comes, at which point, she is ours completely. :-) We don't have enough time to visit today before her bedtime, but we will rush over tomorrow right after our teaching is completed.

It may take a little time for Anna to warm up to us again since we haven't seen her in a while, but we are ready to patiently recapture her trust and love. It's an awesome and sombering responsibility, but we can't wait to begin our journey together as a family!

Thank you SO MUCH for all your prayers!!!!!