Hmmmmm

No particular event has happened, no break throughs, no rough times, just life as usual. What's wrong with us?!?

We are so blessed to be having such an easy time of it, I'm afraid to say it out loud. Yes, we're dealing with boredom, some small boundry pushing, a few pouts, but overall normal everyday family experiences.

The kids have had their first day of school, their first week of school, met knew friends on the street, gone fishing twice, gone swimming 3 times in one week, and still think school is ok.

So I rejoice and bask in the love of my children, and in being their mom. I never thought I'd be able to say that after 19 years of marriage and dealing with infertility. Thank you to all who have supported us, encouraged us and followed our blog. But, most importantly, thank you Jesus!

Below are a few photos from week two:

a) First days of School
b) First poker night with the neighbors
c) First fishing trip

Best Birthday Ever!

I've got to say I've had some pretty nice birthdays but today I celebrated the best birthday ever!

It started with my son coming down in the morning and coming into our room to give me a kiss and wish me a "happy birthday mama". Later when Kasia woke up she came down with a gift bag filled with a few of her little toys, 1/2 box of chicklets, and some polish money as my birthday gift. Another kiss and a "happy birthday mama". Sweet music, better than any happy birthday song.

My husband Jeff, made dinner and bought a cake and after we were done, even though Bartek had been saying the last few days, "no gift for mama, maybe next time", they all presented me with a beautiful willow tree figurine. It's called generations and is of a mother standing behind a boy sitting and a little girl leaning in. Very very nice!

This thing called motherhood is both exhausting and oh so rewarding.

Thank you Jesus for bringing us together and making us a family.

Accentuate the Positive

Ok, Bartek is doing much better and I hate keeping a less than positive note on the blog so I'm just going to post some current pictures.

Nearly broke my heart

We've been back in the U.S. now for 5 days and the kids are trying to get into a routine. Besides finding their way, enrolling in school, fighting boredom, it has finally hit them that no one but mom & dad speak the slightest bit of Polish. (They haven't met our Polish friends yet). So 4 nights ago when I went up to check on the kids after they had gone to bed, I found Bartek crying. Sobbing really, and it broke my heart. He wouldn't/couldn't tell me what was bothering him most, so all I could do is rub his back, give him kisses on his head and shoulder, tell him I love him and try not to let him see me cry too. I hope he's not regretting us as his parents.





A few things they have done since being here is:

Ride Bikes
Learn to throw a football
Kasia has experienced Wal-mart and their toy department
Swim
Take a ride on an ATV


Swim again

Who knows what day 6 will bring?

Last Day in Warsaw

Yes we're home, but first I wanted to share what a wonderful last night in Warsaw we had.

Besides running around trying too get packed, we were lucky enough to meet up with two other families who've I've been keeping in touch with as fellow bloggers and who were also adopting from Poland. First James and Melanie have adopted their adorable little boy BJ and Jen and Ryan have adopted shy but just as adorable Klaudia. We visited Old Towne, swapped stories as new mothers, shared a meal together, walked for ice cream, stopped at our apartment so that I could divy out some groceries that would have gone to waste if not for Jen & Mel's families.





We also had to say good bye to our new friends Thomas, Agnieszka and Catalina. They were a wonderful young family who befriended us in the apartment complex we stayed in. They spoke wonderful English and told us of several places we never would have found to entertain the kids.




Even though it feels like a month, we've only been home 4 days, but I will try real soon to let you know how our first few days back have been.

Wishful Thinking

Ok, it's better than just wishful thinking that our passports and visas would go without a hitch, because it turned out ok but there's sill another step.

Here I thought there'd be one day I could sleep in without having to worry about getting up for an appointent. You see we don't have an alarm clock, so when I wake up for the first time in the morning (anywhere between 6:30 and 8:00)I get up and stay up until our appointment, which can be anywhere from 9:00 to 10:00 in the morning. So today when Jeff met our attorney Agnieszka to go to the Polish authorities to get the kids Polish passports and take them to the US Embassy, I thought we would be done and I could sleep in tomorrow since we don't have anything planned until 4pm. Not that I'd sleep until 4 pm as nice as that sounds! Anyway, glitch one, Jeff and Ag got to the Polish place and they told Jeff they needed Bartek there because his fingerprint didn't turn out and they wanted to redo it (they couldn't tell us this before we got there when they said they were ready?).

Yeah for Ag, she convinced them to use one they already had on record and put it in the place they needed to. So, glitch one taken care of. The next part, they take the passports to the Embassy, only to find out the visas take a few hours to complete after they receive the passports, and wouldn't be done until later this afternoon. Well, I guess this is common but wasn't conveyed to us. Ag likes to do things in steps and since she doesn't drive and takes buses around everywhere and then taxis with us....they're going back tomorrow to pick everything up. Uh, tomorrow? We leave the next day with no room to maneuver. Here's mega duty praying time!!!! Well God has come thru for us thus far, I strongly doubt he'll let us down now!

Colorado here we come!!!!

Oh, as of 8 pm Poland time Thursday, we will be without internet or phone service. If you receive a collect call from us PLEASE ACCEPT!!!! ;)

Great News!

We haven't really been doing much these last 5 days other than going to the park every day and the swimming pool once. We have met a very nice family who lives in the quad of apartments where we're staying. They are from Poland but had spent years in Canada and the husband some time in the States, so they both speak very good English. Last night they had us and the kids over so their daughter, who is younger than Kasia, could play. Bartek did his best with all the barbies but I don't think he was really into it.

Anyways, the great news is that I called our attorney Agnieszka, this morning and she said the passports are ready and that she'll e-mail me our schedule for tomorrow to go pick them up and do whatever else we need to do. Yahoo! We're coming home Friday!