Picked Over

Nobody likes the green ones.

 

Frozen Over

Alexandra is getting to that age where she is involved in a million different extra curricular activities (slight exaggeration). What this means is that while she is in orchestra class, marimba band, or things of that nature, we are waiting.

The past week I have tried to add some excitement to our wait by driving to nearby parks and letting Elsa and Lorelai run free and get some energy out. Sometimes this means playing on a swing set by the river at 7:30 am. Sometimes this means going down a slide in sub-freezing temperatures. But do you think they care? Not in the least! (Children are amazing in that way)

And while they are out running-a-muck, exploring, and climbing, Elisabeth and I stay cozy in the car. Usually I bring my book with me and read while the heat blasts onto my feet.

Of course, I do have to brave the cold to snap a few pictures per their request.

   

I do believe that Elsa has a frozen-over runny nose in this picture!

Ha!


Note: It is supposed to drop to 4 degrees tonight! Yikes! 

The Giver

I need summer to come. Not just because it is supposed to be 7 degrees tonight (and I have had enough of this frigid weather), but because summer means the release of The Giver!

The Giver holds a very special place in my heart. I can't quite put into words what it means to me, it is just something I feel. No book has ever moved me or made me think like The Giver has, so you can imagine my anticipation of the film! Eeeek!

A few photos have been floating around online, and I have to say, I like what I see!

 

Jeff Bridges as The Giver and Brenton Thwaites as Jonas.

 

Katie Holmes as Jonas' mother and Emma Tremblay as Lily.

“The life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient. Or unusual. The life without colour, pain or past.”
  Lois Lowry, The Giver

Crossing

Why I love my children: 

Things like crosswalks are loads of fun.

 
Elsa and Lorelai (and Brigitta!)

 

Speaking of crossing, look at this picture that I snapped on a cold morning last week:

Hair and Spines and Seizures, Oh My!

Donald and I got a laugh out of Elisabeth's hair tonight. It had been in pigtails all day and I took it out before her bath. It looked - well - it looked like this:

Crazy would be a good way to describe it! Of course, I ran and got my camera to take a quick picture (all I do all day long is snap pictures of Elisabeth and the girls).

Anyways, as I was taking the picture I looked beyond her hair to the reflection in the mirror. Oh that back! That poor, poor back! It is getting so very crooked and so very hunched.

Then I looked at her torso. In addition to the two very visible scars from her VNS surgery, there are four other substantial scars from surgeries past (not visible in this picture) as well as her g-tube button. She's quite a girl! Her body is a testament to her strength and bravery.

Life is not easy for Elisabeth. While her VNS has dramatically reduced her seizures, she still has 3-5 a day. And those are usually pretty strong. This morning I had her all dressed for the bus, coat and all, when a seizures struck. I held her in my arms and whispered Goodnight Moon into her ear as I watched her legs convulsing. When it ended she went limp and fell asleep. I nestled Elisabeth into her beanbag and as the bus pulled up in front of the house I waved it on without her.

I could have sent her. She could have slept at school in the care of her nurse. After all, I needed to go to Costco. But...I had an overwhelming feeling that she needed to stay home with me. I worry lately that I am going to lose her to a seizure. Indeed, sometimes I have nightmares about it. On those nights, when I wake in a panic, I go get Elisabeth from her bed and bring her into mine so I can hold her close. 

I love her.

  

[Sleeping off a seizure.]

Elsa, the Spanish Tutor

[Milkshakes all around!]

When I picked up the children from school yesterday, Elsa's teacher waved me down and said he had something he wanted to show me. I got out of the car and he proceeded to push play on a video he had taken during class. It was of Elsa - tutoring a fellow classmate (a native Spanish speaker) on her letters and sounds in Spanish!!

Elsa's teacher was amazed. He said he mentioned to another parent that 'there is this girl who just moved here from Africa, and if she is tutoring the other kids we really need to push more help at home' (something to that effect).

I was so proud of Elsa! My smiled beamed! How is one little girl so very amazing? And smart? And confident? She has been in school for a month and she is already tutoring in Spanish! She is brilliant and I feel honored to be her mother - not just because she is brilliant, but because there is something very special about her.

As way of celebration, I took the girls and got them milkshakes. Then we dropped Lorelai off at gymnastics and Alexandra at her guitar lesson. I used the one on one time (Elisabeth was there, but you know...) to chat with Elsa. She opened up all about her memories of Gambella, where she originated from in Ethiopia. I explained to her why she came to America - how her mother loved her so much that she wanted her to have food, and go to school, and have doctors if she is sick.

I texted Donald after Elsa and I had been chatting a while, "Are you recording it?" he asked. Oops...hadn't thought to do that. So I hit record on my phone and had her recap a little of what she had told me. Here is that video. She is getting a little bit fidgety - as we had been sitting and waiting for Lex to get out of guitar. Also, you'll notice a red star on her forehead, she earned that at school for good behavior. Watch to the end - her reaction when she finally spots Alexandra coming out is priceless!

A Little Pokey

1.

  

2.

  

3.

  

4.

  

5.

  

Ouch!

Trick-or-Treat Training Session

Have you ever stopped to think about how much there is to teach a child when they come to America from a far off land? Things like tooth fairies and Easter bunnies and trick-or-treating. All very, very important.

 On Saturday, Elsa tried on the dinosaur costume I wore when I was seven - the same costume that Alexandra wore in 2010 and Lorelai in 2011. She thought it was pretty much fabulous - and I realized that the concept of costumes is new her (every day there are new discoveries!).

Of course, then we told her all about Halloween and trick-or-treating. Donald went into the kitchen, got out a plastic bag, and hunted up a few pieces of candy. He then sent her outside with instructions to knock on the door and say "trick-or-treat" as soon as he opened it. She did exactly as she was told and was rewarded with pixy stix in her grocery sack.

"Then you say 'thank you' and go to the next house," Donald explained.

Now we have her all excited...we just need to wait for nine months to pass so she can do it for real.

"You're Talking About Football?"

So...it turns out that Donald video recorded me during the drive home from the dentist on Monday night - you know, after I had that darn tooth pulled. I laughed so hard watching it; I honestly had no recollection of this conversation. My favorite part by far is the minute or so at the end, starting about about 2:50. Enjoy!

Tales of the Past

A few nights ago I found Elsa like this:

  

I had to take a picture - this simple moment spoke volumes about how far Elsa has come in just two short months. Two months ago she was living in an orphanage in Africa. She had no family to call her own, no possessions, no knowledge of modern technology. And now look at her - sitting fireside, looking intently at a laptop. She has absorbed life in America like a sponge.  

I realize that with each day, week, and month that passes her memories of Ethiopia will fade. It's a little sad to think about. We don't have much of her past to show her when she is older - or stories to tell of her young life. 

This morning Elsa was helping me pack lunches for school. Her favorite sandwich is peanut butter and honey.

"Elsa, did you know that where you come from in Ethiopia they produce a lot of honey?"

"No." she responded.

"Yes, there is a lot of honey in Gambella."

I decided this would be a good opportunity to talk to her about her past.

"Do you remember Gambella? It's where you lived before you went to The Thomas Center." (the name of her orphanage)

Elsa's eyes lit up and she nodded an enthusiastic, yes!

"That was my first home," she told me.

"What was your favorite thing about Gambella?"

"In Gambella, all the kids, we go outside and play, play, play all day!"

"Really?" I asked. "Was it fun?"

"Yes!"

"Who did you play with? Your sister?"

"Yes, I play with sister."

"Do you remember her name? Was it Emmabet?"

"Yes, Emmabet," then she stood up to show me how tall her big sister was.

It was a simple conversation, but oh, so special. I loved having a little glimpse into her past; to see her eyes light up at the memory of her small village and playing outside with her friends and sister. I know that these memories might not last forever and so I want to record what I can before they are  forgotten; before the tales of her past slip gently away.

My Trip to the Beach

[Elsa, comforting me after having my tooth extracted.]

If you have read this blog for any length of time, you are familiar with my dentophobia, that is, a strong fear of the dentist.

Let's see, there was the time I had my wisdom teeth extracted . . . and the painful tooth abscess . . . and of course, that horrific root canal experience a little over a year ago. 

I just don't handle these things well.

So you can imagine the state I was in yesterday as I faced the dentist's chair yet again, this time to pull out a broken molar (remember the corn nut incident?). I was simply terrified. They agreed to do what is called conscious sedation. The dentist prescribed me two delightful little pills to take about 45 minutes prior to the extraction to make me nice and sleepy. They also gave me nitrous oxide. Believe it or not, this was my first time having nitrous - dare I admit how delightful it was? It swept me away to the beach of all places. I remember standing there and staring out at the ocean; so peaceful. Yet all the while, I was aware of the major pressure/cracking happening in my jaw. Wow, what an experience. 

The good news is - I survived! I have had that extraction looming over me for months, what a relief to know that it is nothing more than a memory now; a memory that includes warm sand and the soft roar of the ocean. Maybe the dentists chair isn't so bad after all...

Living the Dream

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." 

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

A few days ago I overheard Alexandra telling Elsa a little bit about Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Elsa, a long time ago people like me didn't like people like you - see how your skin is dark and my skin is light? But Martin Luther King made it so we could all be friends."

This year, more than ever before, I feel sincere gratitude for the men and women who fought for equality among mankind. How wonderful to know that due to their bravery and strong conviction, my little Elsa is being raised in a country where she can follow her dreams and reach her fullest potential.

A Post About iPods and Snoring

Every morning after I drop the children off at school I come home and do a quick tidy-up of the house. This includes going from room to room making beds.

When I get to Elsa's bed it usually looks something like this:

 

[As you can see, she takes very good care of her dolls.]

More often than not, when I lift up her pillow, I will find her iPod hidden underneath:

I'm not quite sure why she does it. Perhaps it's because she's never had anything of her own before and she wants to keep them safe and sound. That's a guess, anyways.

After I straighten her sheets and blankets I carefully arrange her beloved dolls and iPod along with her pillows. They are there to greet her when she returns from school:

 

Speaking of beds, Lorelai had to move (temporarily) out of her shared room with Elsa and onto an air mattress in the computer room:

  

You see, Elsa snores reeeeeeeally loud. Really, really loud. So loud that Lorelai can't sleep a wink. 

Elsa went to the pediatrician a few weeks ago. As soon as the doctor looked in her mouth she asked, "Does she snore?"  

Turns out, Elsa needs to have her tonsils removed. Once they are out the snoring should cease. (Fingers crossed!)

Lisa's Finishing School: Part 2

Last month, when I was performing Handel's Messiah, it suddenly occurred to me that Alexandra and Lorelai were old enough - and mature enough - to sit unaccompanied at a concert. With me being a member of the orchestra and Donald home caring for Elsa and Elisabeth, I trusted that they would be able to manage themselves. Well, not only did they manage themselves, but they completely soaked up the experience! I checked on them during intermission and I'm pretty sure they were pretending as if they were high society ladies -  all dressed up and listening to fine classical music.

On Sunday afternoon, I had another performance - this one with the Mid-Columbia Symphony. And, since this year I am focusing on exposing my children to a wide range of fine arts, I requested some comp tickets and brought them along.

The theme of this concert was folk music from around the world, featuring themes from Romania, Estonia, America, England, and Ireland. Before the performance I reviewed proper concert etiquette with Alexandra and Lorelai. Things like, don't clap between movements; hold your applause until the end of the piece and no talking or whispering.

The girls had a seats right up front and I had a direct line of sight to Lorelai.

I may or may not have given her a few winks along the way. 

 

[During intermission.]

Doe, a deer, a female deer.

Lorelai's gymnastics meet finished up just as the sun was setting - which meant we had to drive home in the dark - on a two lane highway. Not ideal. Especially a two lane highway in the middle of deer territory.

We were driving briskly, hoping to make it back by 8:00, when two deer decided to cross the road. By the time we spotted them there was no possible way to stop - only to plow on through. One deer made it out of the way, but the other wasn't so fortunate.

Now I am driving a rental van and counting my blessing that none of us were hurt.

 

Such is life.

Lorelai's First Gymnastics Meet

Winter Spirit Gymnastics Meet 

 Level 3 

Clarkston, WA

January 11, 2014

 

[Team leo's didn't arrive in time - but they should be here by the next meet!]

Scores

Vault - 8.3

Bars - 8.65

Beam - 7.675

Floor - 8.0

     

Tomorrow - A post all about our drive home. It includes a two lane highway, a deer, and our van. Ugh.

Faking It

This morning the girls kept calling me over and over,  
"Mom, come take our picture!"

I came out of my bedroom to find them all snuggled on the couch - with Brigitta - pretending to be asleep. I went and grabbed my phone to capture the moment per their request. Of course, it took quite a few shots to get one where Elsa wasn't smiling. She thought this was hilarious!

A Story About A Portfolio

Six years ago this week I wrote a blog post titled, "Magnets and Portfolios". In that post I showed off some portfolios I purchased for the girl's artwork. Elisabeth was only a few months old at the time, but I bought her one as well. Honestly, I don't think I ever expected her to use it. I knew from the beginning that her handicaps would most likely prevent her from doing art projects, but I clearly remember thinking, I have to buy three.

As I suspected, Elisabeth never drew any pictures. And, as a result, that portfolio has sat - unused - in the closet. Many times I looked at it and considered giving it away, but I kept it - and how glad I am that I did! Because now I have another daughter - and now she has a place to store her art, just like her big sisters.

It's funny how life works out sometimes.

 

Elsa's first art.