Father's Day Celebration

I haven't blogged in forever and thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures from Father's Day! We spent our dinner hour on a boat cruise at Lake Mission Viejo. It was beautiful and all of the kids had a great time driving the boat.

My amazing husband, who in addition to being a great partner in life, has provided me with all of these super cute and fun children!

Twerp #1...too cute and an AMAZING big brother! I couldn't ask for anything more from him.


Twerp #4...loves having the wind in her hair and driving the boat! She'd get really upset when we would have to correct the direction she was headed in.


Twerp #3...this guy has brought more laughter to my life than any other. Just the other day, we walked into the bathroom at the same time just after waking up. This was the conversation: Me: You go potty first, I'll wait. Him: No, you go first, ladies first you know. Me: You just go quickly and then go and get dressed. I'll wait for you. Him: Oh, I get it, you want me to warm up the toilet seat for you! Where did he even hear of that?!? That's crazy funny!


Twerp #2...She is so much fun to be around. All she wants to do this summer is to learn to sew and go swimming...that and a lot of cuddling. She's such an easy kid to please.

Hmmmm.

Last night, Twerp #2 said to me, "Mom, you don't act as old as you look!"

Wow. Enough said.

8 months today.

8 months ago today, we met our little girl for the first time. I can't believe how quickly 8 months has flown by...and I can't believe how long it seems like she's been a part of our family. It's a tricky thing and I'm trying to figure it out. She's gotten so big. In 8 months she's gone from wearing a size 6-9 months clothes to 2T. She's gone from quiet to singing all the time. She's gone from no hair to a head full of hair. She's gone from weak to strong and healthy. She went from a simple photo to being in my arms.

We had a great first Mother's Day together. We ate smores and had a bonfire in the backyard.

My girl doesn't like to get sticky stuff on her fingers. Ha! It was really fun trying to see her eat the smores without getting all messy.

And she can kill me with these eyes! They melt me like butter and I'd do just about anything for her. (Including buying her as many shoes as this future Imelda Marcos wants...don't tell Stephen!)

We also spent time at the park and the duck pond. It was my only wish for Mother's Day. I really wanted to watch the kids play and have fun.

But this happened to be my favorite picture of the entire day. My dad and Aaselia. I'm so glad to see her bond with him. It makes my whole body smile when she runs up to him like this. I'm not sure why I don't get that same feeling with other family members...but these hugs have a special place in my heart. I was lucky enough to be able to get this one on film.

And chase the ducks she did! They were just a little bit faster than she was - a good thing for those ducks. They'd had their fill of bread by the time we got there. Luckily they were still quick on their feet. Aaselia loved to chase them and laughed out loud. Super fun.

There are always hugs for Auntie Maren. My sister was trying to teach Aaselia how to throw stale bread to the ducks. But REALLY stale rolls just don't break well. Aaselia ended up throwing entire rolls (hockey pucks) at those poor birds.

The good stuff, she just ate. Eight months of this precious girl. I am one lucky momma.

Does there even need to be a sign?

Enough said. I think we get the picture.

This is your baby on drugs...any questions?!?

Twerp #4 had a test done yesterday at the Children's Hospital. They gave her a little Versed when she had a hard time with the blood pressure cuff. I can't help but laugh at her. She was so..."happy." She would lose her balance and bump her head...look at me and then laugh. Luckily, I had my little girl back to normal within the hour.

Don't smile too much at this video...it will cause wrinkles!

We had fun today...

If this isn't the cutest picture...then you aren't measuring with the same yard stick that I am...

Twerp #1 and Twerp #4 love each other. A lot. It makes me happy. Very happy.









This made the three big Twerps happy. I'll give you a better picture tomorrow...but this will have to do for now. Besides, it's one of the only words Twerp #4 can say correctly. When she looks at this picture, she says, "Eye!" I know, it's a start!

Bye for now!

What a difference 6 months makes (4344 little hours)

This was September 12, 2009. Asaelia had surgery almost 2 weeks earlier and was in China. We were waiting and praying for her daily. We were to leave just 3 days later to bring her home...to her forever family.

We had a great 6 months - I can't believe it's been that long! She grew some hair...learned who her family is...played...got a new puppy...played some more and learned to be one of the better kissers in our family! I just LOVE getting kisses from her!












Fast forward 6 months. Aaselia had surgery exactly 6 months after her original surgery in China. This was 4 days later (not the almost 2 weeks in the above picture). She was happy, truly happy, to be sitting on Daddy's lap and playing/reading books with him. She has a shine in her eyes...and even her NG tube couldn't stop her from enjoying life.

God has been good to Aaselia. He's been REAL GOOD! Seeing the difference in these two pictures shows what a difference LOVE makes in the life of a child. It's not perfect love on our part, but it's the perfect love of Christ who has changed this girl. Every night she folds her hands and bows her head as we pray over her.

Just look at that smile. Our almost 4 year wait was worth every minute.

Anyone have a plumber?

We need a plumber! Our hall bathroom has a toilet that's been getting "stuck." It won't flush every once in a while. We've plunged it many times and now, tonight, Stephen finally decided to see what the problem was. Well, he drained the toilet. He vacuumed out the toilet with a wet/dry vac. He removed the toilet and that's when we saw the problem.

There is a TREE growing out of our toilet! Can you believe it!!! I'd take a picture, but I left my camera in my sisters car. You'll just have to trust me on this! Stephen finally got it removed and it was a huge bush (I thought they were tree roots) that was growing in our filth! You know that nightmare that we all have - I hope it's not just me - where we swallow a seed and then have a tree growing in our body, or where we swallow a spider egg and then it bursts inside of us, or...I digress. Sorry.

We have a tree/bush in our toilet. Nasty. What's even more scary is that Stephen's mom is visiting and helping me with the kids while Aaselia was in the hospital. Stephen's Aunt is renting our 4th bedroom right now. That means that there are 8, yes 8, people staying in our house...our house that has one working toilet. Tomorrow morning looks very promising! Ahhhh...anyone know of a Hilton, I mean plumber we can use?!?

Our baby is getting better!

On February 27th, we went to the Asia Reunion with our Adoption Agency. We had food at the China Buffet and made lots of new friends. A couple of the families live within 5 miles of our home! This was the last meal that Aaselia would eat. She started to get sick that afternoon and by the next morning we were in the hospital emergency room.

Today was a great day for Aaselia. She was up and walking quite a bit as well as had a LOT of play time with Daddy. Yes, for the first time since she entered the hospital on the 28th of February, I got to sleep in my own bed last night. What a night of sleep it was! I woke up at 4:00 a.m. in the same position that I fell asleep in...I was a little sore, but I turned over and went back to sleep until 8:45. I begged twerp #1 (and paid him $5) to make breakfast for the other kids so I could sleep in. It was glorious...beautiful...and just what the doctor ordered!

When I got to the hospital in the early afternoon, Stephen and Aaselia were having a quiet time. She was taking a nap - on her stomach! I couldn't believe it. Stephen said that at some point during her nap, she flipped over "No-No!"'s and all and was sleeping quite soundly. She woke up and we walked and played Lego's and read books until the other kids arrived at the hospital. We had to get a badge for her to come back up in the elevator after our visit with the other Twerps. (As if the IV and 4 tubes coming out of her body wouldn't be ID enough...)

Aaselia had the greatest smile when she saw her brothers and sister. Her eyes lit up and her entire body smiled. It was wonderful to see. She got balloons and a stuffed animal. She was one happy little girl. My mom took Aaselia back up to her room and Stephen and I ate dinner in the cafeteria with the other Twerps. It was a nice evening having all my kids in the same room...if only for 10 minutes.

A sick little girl...

So there aren't any pictures today... A-because I don't have any and B-because I don't have access to a computer, at least one that's mine.

Last Saturday night, at about 11:00, Aaselia started to not feel very well. I thought that she'd probably had something that didn't agree with her for supper/lunch, but after she had vomited every 20 minutes for 6 hours, I was a lot worried. I'm not one to worry much, fret over the little/medium or big things. But this had me worried. We (my mom, sister, Aaselia and I) left my Aunt's house to drive back towards Orange County - 2 hours away. We headed straight to Children's Hospital of Orange County and entered the emergency room. 8 hours later, we were admitted into the hospital for what will turn out to be a 1 1/2 week-2 week stay.

Aaselia had a blockage in her intestine - a symptom of her surgery that she had done in China. Since she was originally going to have surgery on the 5th of March, we decided to stay in the hospital and move up the surgery to the 3rd. She's doing really well and is sleeping most of the day away.

I've learned some things about my girl: She has a very high pain tolerance. She is one tough cookie - just like her mama in that respect. She is an integrated part of our family. There hasn't been one time that I've talked to my other kids and they ask about her. They miss her. A lot. They have talked to her over the speaker phone on my cell phone and she smiles and touches the phone. She misses them too. They aren't able to come and visit - there are strict hospital policies here - but we'll be home before they know it.

Aaselia is one healthy girl. Sitting here in my room and seeing all the worried and concerned families on this floor has me thanking God that Aaselia only has this one issue to worry about. There are kids dying today...kids with incurable illnesses...kids that will be sick for the rest of their lives. And then there is Aaselia. She is going to be running around in a couple of weeks. She no longer has a colostomy bag and has had her incision "fixed" so she can wear a bikini later on. (Not that I'm condoning that type of thing, you hear.) I sit here, watching my daughter, in the quiet so thankful that God brought her to our family. I think of how different our lives have become, how different I have become, how our family has been blessed beyond measure.

So while I've been at the hospital, my family and friends have been taking care of the other three Twerps. I miss them. A lot. As a matter of fact, I'm going home this afternoon as soon as Maren gets here to sit with Aaselia. The kids aren't expecting me. We're going to have a good afternoon full of cuddling, stories and maybe just a little bit of homework.

Please continue to pray for Aaselia and the Margala family. Pray that this is the last surgery she has to have. Pray that she gets no adhesion from this recent surgery. Pray that she heals quickly and that we can go home to our king size, electric blanket, down comforter, fluffy pillows, fan overhead and no loud beeping in the middle of the night. Don't get me wrong, this pull out a chair into a bed and pretend to get a good night sleep is OK for the time being - I wouldn't want to be away from my baby...but home is where we both want to be.

We have an AMAZING GOD who works miracles. He's worked many miracles in the life of Aaselia. I can't wait to see what He continues to do in her life.

5 months home

It's been 5 months (and 3 days) since we first met Aaselia. It's gone by so quickly. I wish that the months leading up to meeting her had gone just as quickly...but somehow they seem to have gone quicker since we've been home.

She's amazing. She's strong and smart and funny. She loves giving me kisses and wants to kiss all the kids before they go to sleep at night. She loves to pray and folds her hands and closes her eyes before every meal, nap time and bedtime.

She is growing so much and I can see changes in her every day. And somehow, I'm not quite sure how it happened, she knows exactly what to do with an empty box. My Grandfather sent me a gift and Aaselia got the box to play in. God has richly blessed our family by allowing us to be her parents. It is the greatest privilege to be the mother to this child of God.

Please keep Aaselia in your prayers. She is having surgery on the 5th of March to remove her colostomy bag. She'll be in the hospital for about 10 days to recover. Pray also for my other kids as I will be staying at the hospital while she is there and Stephen and the Twerps will be at home.

5 months. I can't believe it!

I Got Skunked!

I came out of my room after a lengthy phone call and saw a "skunk" running away from me...or at least I thought it was a skunk! This skunk happened to be yelling "uh, oh!"

Very slowly I started after her and found her in the TV room. But she wasn't watching TV. And she wasn't cleaning up her toys. And she wasn't saying "uh, oh" anymore. In fact, she was proud of her artistic abilities!



I found her playing "piano" in the baby powder on the couch. Our very green couch had suddenly turned white. And Twerp #4 was very happy!












I called out to her and she saw my expression for the first time. I believe she was confused as to why I didn't have a smile on my face! (I was trying very hard to hide that smile. I don't want her thinking that this was funny or anything!)











The confusion didn't go away quickly either.














No, she was mighty proud of herself. I picked her up to go and change her clothes and "poof" she exploded in powder before my very eyes. I found powder in her ears a couple of days later. I have an inkling that she might be a baker one of these days.



















I just love this face. This day, you were my little skunk. I love you, Twerp #4!

Mom

The Orange County Play

At dePortola Elementary School, in 3rd grade, you study about the history of Orange County and put all the history into a play/musical for the parents.

Stephen and I both attended the play and it was AMAZING! Twerp #1 did such a wonderful job with his lines and his song. He sang a song entirely in Spanish as he was a cowboy/rancher for his part. Twerp #1 and his class taught us so much about Orange County that we never even knew. Both Stephen and I spent some time that evening discussing what we learned...how the streets all around our home are named after people who founded Orange County.

Twerp #'s 2 and 3 also got to see the play that morning. It's pretty fun to be able to have the entire family attend these types of events where we can support each other and cheer each other on. Twerp #4 sat in the audience with Stephen and I and would clap and cheer after each person gave their speech. She would dance and rock out with each song. It was adorable to see.

I am proud of my Twerp. I am proud of him because he puts so much effort into everything he does. He makes my heart sing and I love him so much! Great job, Twerp!

4 Months Home...

We've changed. She's changed. We used to wonder what life would be like when Aaselia came into our family. Now we know...


Life is JOY, HAPPINESS, SMILES, FUNNY TIMES, SILLINESS and a little frustration, sadness and tears thrown in. Aaselia is one fun girl.


We (Aaselia and I) just got back from Minnesota where we spent time with my Grandmother for her 95th birthday. Yes, you read that right...95 years old! It wasn't a typo. :) We had a great time and my grandparents had a wonderful time meeting the newest Aaselia in the family. Aaselia was named after my Great-Grandmother - my Grandfather's mom. We went from 60 degree weather to -6 degree weather and had such a great time just the two of us. When we got home, Aaselia was so happy to be with her brothers and sister again. It was so good to see that she has bonded with them in the best and easiest way.

4 months. It's flown by and our girl changes each and every day. I can't wait to see what these next 4 months bring us.