We Moved to SoCal

It has been 10 months since I last posted. I wonder if anyone will even read this, but here goes.

Chris and I moved to California. Actually, it went like this.

January - I began interviewing for a position in California.

March - I accepted the position.

April - I moved to California by myself - Chris stayed in KY with our 3 kids to finish out the school year. They only had 6 weeks left so it just made sense. We have never spent this much time apart so it was definitely a challenge.

I spent the next 2 months living in a hotel - omg this was not the "Suite Life" I always dreamed hotel living would be, but I survived. I stayed busy researching cities, schools, neighborhoods, pounding the streets looking at houses, sending pictures and videos to Chris until I walked in and found the perfect place. Then, it was on to shopping for the many things this home needed.

June - the kids joined me in our new home in Orange County. Chris took 2 weeks vacation to help us get settled.

June - Sept - Chris moved most of his stuff to California, commuted to Kentucky to work and became a California resident in October when he started his new job. I am so excited to have my husband back. Single parenthood is not for either one of us. We are definitely a team!

Mia adjusted beautifully to her new school. She absolutely loves it. Mark and Matt have been in school 2 months and they are doing great too.

So... what did the year look like?

Spending Easter apart - I was very excited to see my kids look great for Easter!

In May Mia was a flower girl in my niece's wedding. I'll post on this fun time later. Mia did great and I was one proud Mommy and Aunt that day.

In July we added Malibu, a german shepherd puppy, to our home.

Taking a wrong turn landed us at Newport Beach before dinner. Nothing wrong with taking time for a little sand before pizza.

We loved spending time with our cousins from KY.

With Disneyland tickets, we can go everyday if we want. The boys are showing off their 3-D glasses.

One thing is certain, there are always plenty of smiles!

Mia - having a California tea party with her Nana.

Safe to say Minnie is Mia's favorite! She loves loves loves her!

Dining with the characters is one of the best ways to eat!

Still living apart - Mark, Matt and I sported our Cardwear for the opening football game while Chris attended the game with friends.

Everyone was excited (and nervous) for the 1st day of school - no more uniforms brought many smiles from my kids!

My cousin's twins live about 20 minutes away and I love the little beauties! 2 more M's in the family - MaKayla and Madison! - So yes - get-togethers are a tongue twister - Matt, Mark, Mia, Mario, Malibu, MaKayla and Madison...

Mark is enjoying soccer

We are adjusting very well to life in SoCal. We are loving the weather and loving living like we are on vacation. It's rough to live somewhere so beautiful! LOL We do miss our family and friends, but we are hoping they will visit us soon.

What's in that little head of yours?

Sometimes I wonder how much Mia remembers about Thailand. Does she remember life in Thailand, her foster mom, etc. One thing is definite - she loves Asian food above the rest and in true Thai form, she likes it spicy. Although pizza and anything with ketchup are winners too - and I do mean anything, including just a spoon with ketchup. Ugh!

A few weeks ago I was preparing a package for her foster mom and had over 100 pictures out trying to decide what to send. She regularly sees pictures of her foster mom around our house, but the picture that caught her eye was the one of her birth mother holding her. Also in the picture was her grandmother. She stared at this picture for the longest time. It was one of those "Mom moments" where I should have all the right things to say. As a parent one thing I've learned is I am human and having all the answers to every possible scenario isn't realistic and I won't hold myself to that level. So I left her look at the picture for a very long time and then said, do you see your birthmother and grandmother. So pretty. That's Mia's birthmother; That's Mia's grandmother and repeated it with her Thai nickname. They are in Thailand. Tell them Sawadeekah and wai. She smiled, we both put our hands together and she said KeeKah. I'm sure that was WAY over her head, but she moved on to other pictures so I either answered a question or confused the heck out of her!

Last weekend a Korean mom and her Korean son walked into a gym. Mia stared at them for the longest time. I tried to distract her but nothing worked. She stared. So that left me wondering again about the day with the pictures. When we first arrived home, she stared at anyone with darker skin than us, but it's been a while since she did this. I wish we had more diversity in our area so that she would realize there are a lot of people in the world and we don't all look the same.

So I wonder what's going on in that little head... She definitely thinks we are great and loves us, but I'm not sure what else is going on in there. I don't think anyone is dwelling on it. Guess I better start on that life book! Google's next project...

Haiti - One Year Later

Last year when the earthquake hit Haiti, Matt asked me if we were going to adopt all the orphans in Haiti. It was a joke, but my heart was breaking for these people. I often wondered why this happened to such a poor country. I know I shouldn't seek answers, but I admit it is difficult sometimes. So I just replied no, it just makes me sad. One day he will understand the magnitude of a natural disaster. 230,000 is not just a number; they are real people who are no more or less than me. Perhaps, the reason is to awaken the rest of us.

No, I'm not announcing that we are adopting all the Haitian orphans, but it made me think. I should be doing something. Several people asked me about adoption and specifically, adoption from Haiti right after the earthquake. Adoptions were suspended temporarily at that time. They aren't now. So I should tell you a little about the kids who are waiting, just in case, someone out there is thinking they want to be a parent too, or a parent again, or the wait for referral in a different international program is just too long. Or perhaps, you want to sponsor a child from Haiti or make a Gift of Hope.

There are some really adorable, scared, but healthy kids available through Holt International. The process to adopt from Haiti could take 2 years or so. The way I look at that is you better get started quickly because your kid is only getting older by the day... So check them out - the happy baby girl with the soccer ball brother, the scared little boy, the adorable, concerned little fellow, the beautiful, sassy little girl and the protective big sister of the confused little sister and so cute baby brother!

Like I told Matt - we can't adopt them all. We have to figure out a different way to help.

And here's a link to some pictures - before and after - make sure you check out #31 - the little boy whose Uncle makes a plan of adoption for him after his mother has perished. Be warned - they will break your heart.