10-39-Halt!

10-39-Halt
(My best imitation of a football play - shows how little I know of football, right?)

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity and celebrations.  We celebrated the 10th anniversary of landing in Indiana with Cambria and Cadin, October 16, 2002.  The joy and relief that we felt at that moment, the airplane finally landing (after it almost landed and then lifted off again due to debris on the runway) is a moment we will never ever forget.  The celebration and the greeting crew that met us added to the joy of that moment.  They continue to be the most delightful of cherubs and celebrating their Happy Welcome Home Day every year is an important family tradition that we will continue forever.

Our normal tradition is to have an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, but this year, we celebrated with gelato!  When in Naples...:)

Not to leave little Miss Sullivan out of the celebration, here is a shot of her getting a ride from her daddy on our way home from gelato.  I must say, she has been very pleasant as of late, and we will take it!  

Best buddies still... 

Then, 2 short days later it was my birthday - 39!  The actual day was full of normal things and an evening activity at school, so we celebrated on Saturday.  My morning began with breakfast in bed, crafted lovingly by Cambria - assisted by Dirk.  The only thing Dirk did was make the cappuccino and turn on the stove.  Look at that presentation!  Our little Doodlebug loves to cook, no complaints here:).  

After a leisurely morning, we headed off to a secret location for a birthday lunch.  It was about an hour drive north of Naples and the scenery continues to amaze me around here.  It really is beautiful and full of lots of mountains and quaint little towns.  Our drive was fabulous and we arrived at Agriturismo San Cristoforo for a scheduled birthday lunch!  What fun! 

The food was delicious, the atmosphere fun and classically Italian, and the house wine fantastic!  I think the cherubs were not nearly as impressed as we were, but they had fun and learned the lesson between "fizzy" water and "regular" water.  Verdict = none of them like the "fizzy" water.  A lot of restaurants here in Italy have play areas and this one was no different, so they had fun playing on the playground equipment and climbing the dirt hill.  

After our leisurely meal, including antipasti (meats, cheeses, beans), pasta, roast pork and potatoes with amazing gravy, dessert and cappuccino - we waddled out to tour the grounds of the Agriturismo.  There were lots of olive trees to investigate, beautiful views to take in, and even 2 donkeys!  

This little adventure was just what we all needed, to get away from the house and the remaining stuff that needs put away (which might happen someday...sigh).  Sitting at the restaurant, enjoying my family, the food, the scenery - it made me want to stop time and just enjoy it all.  I sometimes wish to declare a halt to the busy days, the growing up of the cherubs, and the aging of my own self.  

Knowing that a "halt" is not possible and knowing that each stage and phase brings its own new joys and growing opportunities, I say bring it on!  I have the most amazing best friend by my side and we are up for the next adventure.

Blessings Abound.

10 Years - Not Possible

I find it simply incomprehensible that 10 years have passed since we landed in Indiana with our adorable little sidekicks, Cambria Maryn and Cadin Andrew.  As most of you reading this know, we had one hell of a fight getting them home.  We had their referral for less than 2 months when the US government pulled the rug out from under us and said sorry, Cambodia is closed, no more adoptions for US families from Cambodia.  While the reasons were and continue to be legitimate, the manner in which it was handled was less than acceptable and far from humane.  

The fight to bring them home changed both Dirk and I in profound ways.  It changed our relationship with each other (in a good way) and our outlook on the world.  It changed our life direction in fact.  It certainly solidified and proved to any and all that we were then and continue to be dedicated parents to these amazing little people.  

I don't want to dwell on the past though, I want to celebrate these amazing cherubs.  They honestly have been an absolute delight since the first pictures hit our computer screens.  Cambria is so full of life, fun, and creativity.  She exhibits more and more qualities that truly resemble Phoebe from the tv show Friends, including her running skills.  She does most everything with joy and passion and is considerate and concerned for the world around her, including all things creepy and crawly;).  Cadin is our little intellectual, gathering facts like a vacuum cleaner and never hesitating to find an opportunity to share them.  He is a very hard worker, as demonstrated by his hours of gymnastics practice, and his sense of humor and smile are unmatched.  

As Dirk and I continue to stumble our way through parenthood and now early adolescence, we are so thankful that these two are our guinea pigs.  They are simply awesome kiddos.  We apologize when we make mistakes (and realize them) and they always accept our apologies and tell us that's okay.  They really seem to understand that when we have to discipline and redirect, it is not because we are being mean, but that we have their long-term interests at heart.  They know our ultimate goal for them is to raise them to be good, loving and caring people.

So, as we celebrate this 10th Happy Welcome Home Day for Cadin and Cambria, I just want to thank them for being awesome little people, thank God for placing them in our loving care, thank our parents who loved us and taught us how to love, thank our family for welcoming them with open arms, and to thank Dirk for being the ultimate Dad and best friend this mom could ever have wished for on this journey.  

We love you Doodle Bug and Meesta!

So proud to be your Mom!

Cathy

Ode to the Cherubs

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and commend our cherubs on how well they have handled all of this transition.  They have left behind all that they knew and that was comfortable to them, for the second time in their lives.  I am humbled by how much trust these little people have in Dirk and I.  They know we will take care of them and they are right, but it is just a surprising reality sometimes that Dirk and I are the adults, we are their parents, and we are in charge- yikes!  They trust us completely and it is humbling.

They have jumped into school with gusto, seemingly making friends and easily adjusting to the school schedule and their new teachers.  Our adventures pre-Italy with Indiana Connections made them eager for the social interaction of school and for mom to be "mom" only and not their teacher too!  They are all very happy about their new bedrooms - each of them now has their own room.  We also got each of them a new bed before we moved here and so Naples is the first time they have seen them set up, well, for now just Sullivan's is set up.  Yea...Cadin and Cambria's remaining boxes of bed parts must be in the remaining 2 crates of our stuff that we have yet to receive.  For now, they are sleeping on their mattresses on the floor - but, in their own rooms.  Cadin is the trooper who is sharing his bedroom with my office.  His room has the view of the mountains and so I kind of decided he was the one who had to share;).

They are enjoying a bit more freedom than they ever had in the States.  I am not exactly comfortable letting them walk to and from school yet without one of us, but we have allowed them to go outside and play in certain areas, within view of course.  This living on base thing is definitely all new for our family.  It will take some getting used to for sure.

Scooters and roller skates - those are the currently desired items.  We are borrowing somebody's car right now who is out of town, so this weekend with our transportation we will be getting them these "must have" on base modes of transportation.  Helmets are required on base, so that will be new for them.  We have also received 3 of 5 bicycles, no bicycle pedals for any though - weird.

Well, that is all for now.  I just wanted to give serious props to our little people.  They never cease to amaze me at what they know, remember, and care about.  I love their individual quirks - even though some of those drive me crazy.  I know, without question, that God chose them for us and us for them.  I am so proud that they call me mom and I pray that I am everything they need to have a happy childhood and eventual productive, responsible, and happy life!  I also hope they forgive me all of my mistakes, my losses of temper, and however else I am preparing them for future therapy sessions;)...

Life is so good,
Cathy