A few pics from the week

A visit to the Griffith Observatory in L.A.

Brianna and Caroline hanging together.

Our little fish Victoria swimming with the shark.Pool time and green chlorine hair season has arrived !

Family time at the pier in Santa Barbara.

There is nothing like taking a nap with our fluffy furry friend Zorro.He makes for a very soft pillow!

Still hanging on to Hope !

Well, I will say this journey of adoption has taught me many things and continues to do so .Even when things tend to go from one disappointment to the next I continue to hang on to what we know as Hope! I do believe that someday I will look back and see the growth and faith this journey has given me. I have spoken several times to our Agency these last few weeks. They still have not received the referrals they are expecting from their region in Siberia.That being said even then we REALLY hope we will be able to accept the referral!Our documents continue to sit and "Age". I am soo tired of having to redo docs, redo notaries. authentications, fingerprints and on and on because they may expire! Things in Russia slow way down in the summer in regards to adoption so we shall see what happens. I no longer even have an estimated time frame because I just do not know! In regard to adoptions in Kyrgyzstan nothing will even be addressed until after the elections and even then it will be uncertain to say the least.I would have never thought we have two dossiers for two countries sitting at the top of the list and we still wait and wait.Really, I am not complaining but, it is just frustrating ! Again I come down to HOPE! We certainly are not getting younger and the kids are growing up .At this point we will just follow the plan according to Gods timing.

Performance by Brianna

This is Brianna ( in red skirt on right) performing in her High School Choir Finale. She is doing a duet singing Miss independence ! The title fits her soo well! It was hard to get a clear video because it was outside at night but, she was awesome! This was also the performance she was practicing for before she had the mishap with the car! Yes, the car was totalled! You will need to pause the music in my favorite music box in the left side bar at the bottom to hear the video.

Mom there is a problem!

I recieved one of those DREADED calls today where the pictures tell the story. Brianna was leaving the school parking lot after her rehearsal and within seconds the car she drives has taken on a new appearance. She was wearing her seatbelt and the airbag protected her from the frontal impact.

She is fine except for the airbag burns and seat belt bruises.We are VERY grateful for that and know it could have been a lot worse.I am obviously very glad no one else was in the car and no one else was hurt. Being a mom of two teenage drivers is a bit scary as one can see. Looks like mom will be doing some more driving around for a while! It just seemed a lot easier when the kids were small and you could put them in a carseat!

To add to the exitement of the day AS I am posting there is a rattle and a shake that rumbled through the house called as minor earthquake.

In addition to everything today 3 of my kids have the flu! OK I need calgon to take me away!

A little light

The last couple days I have really prayed to know if we are on the right track with the adoption and to have it somehow be confirmed again that we indeed are heading in the right direction. We have had so many twists and turns that doubt has sometimes taken over (I guess I am one who always needs confirmation over and over again)It has never been whether adoption is right for us but more the uncertainty, delays, stalls, having to decline referrals etc that sometimes makes me second guess myself whether we had it right. Today, two different things happened to indeed give me the strong confirmation needed to continue on our course.I am grateful for that little light that has been granted to continue on. We are looking forward to another referral soon.

A General Update

I have had several requests to update so I will share as much as I feel comfortable sharing on a blog. In reality I have tried very hard not to let myself get caught up entirely with adoption stuff. I have felt a need to detach a bit and regroup. I have focused more on things that I CAN control like spending more quality time with my family.In regards to adoption we have had some more disappointments and have not been able to feel comfortable accepting a referral.Our faith is being challenged but, we remain positive that the right child Will cross our path.

Last week we had a little family get away and flew to Utah for a ski trip and visit family. Daren, his brother and some of the kids went sking in Park City while the rest of us shopped and just hung out with cousins. I had forgotten how cold snow is! Lets just say I am not sure I would survive comfortably in winter outside of So. California anymore!

Easter was a lovely day spent with family. We are normally back in Switzerland at Easter but, we had changed our plans because we were suppose to be in Russia during this time . We will see what happens in the next couple months so we can reschedule everything.I have to admit my heart has been feeling heavy this past few days as my thoughts have been on my dear sweet church friend who died this past week. Her husband and four young children will miss her dearly! I know Gods arms are tightly wrapped around them and that brings peace.

We will see what the next while brings.Today I am headed to get our USCIS fingerprints updated.I can not even count how many times I have been fingerprinted since we started the adoption process! How many fingerprints does one need to prove you are not a criminal ? I know it is for the protection of children so we just have to go along with the process!

Autism Awareness

This next month of April is dedicated to help others become more aware of Autism. Many thousands of families deal with all the challenges, frustrations,tears, and immense growth from being parents of Autistic children which includes our family ! 18 years ago as a very young mother and wife I had no idea what God would be teaching me for many years to come. In these past years we have learned things we never thought we would and become advocates for our children who can not do this on their own.We not only help our children to reach their full potential through immense amount of hours of therapy and alternative teaching but, also become educaters to teach others and help them try to understand what the challenges these children have.Autism is not just a challenge for the child but for the entire family! Over the last couple decades Autism has increased by leaps and bounds with no specific causes although there are speculations which includes environmental issues and increased vaccinations too close together.Whatever the cause these are children of God who need deserve to reach their potential. These children teach us so much !These children despite their challenges and difficult nature at times have feelings just like all the rest of us. Our son has benefited from all that new developments in this area and from all those who have accepted him despite his challenges which has come through educating others .I know that many others can benefit too when we can learn about and support those children and families who deal on a daily basis with the challenging issues associated with Autism!