Friday, August 28, 2009

Aa Aa Allin Lasta

As you may or may not know, my mother is from Finland and was raised there before she joined the LDS church and moved to the United States, where she met my father. When our first daughter was born, we gave her a Finnish name, Maija Liisa. Of course, my mother took it upon herself to share some Finnish with Maija. One of the first songs my mother sang to her is the Finnish lullaby, "Aa Aa Allin Lasta." Maija knows all the words to the 1st verse to this day.

I was having fun searching for the lyrics on the internet and found this YouTube recording of the song sung by Irma Tapio in 1977.



For anyone curious what the song is about - it's about a little orphaned bird who has no one to take care of him. The song asks, "Who will take care of you?" and then answers "The wind will sing you lullabies; the sea will carry you in its lap; and God in Heaven will watch over you." A sad and sweet song and oh so Finnish.

P.S. Still no court date for Forest's finalization and still no answer about school.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Court Date Update: Wait Some More!

I got a call yesterday from the lawyer's office in Utah, and they told us that the judge wants to see all the paperwork before he will set a court date. I guess usually the judges will set a court date and then review the papers, but this judge has been overbooked, so he wants to make sure it's all set to go before he'll even give a date. More waiting!

At least the receptionist/paralegal (not sure what her job title is) said she would rush everything and get it to the judge's clerks ASAP. I also haven't heard yet about school, but since it starts Monday, I have a sneaking suspicion if I do get accepted, it wouldn't be for this semester. That may be for the best because we're having a hard time figuring out how to come up with tuition. Since I started grad school in 2001, tuition has gone up about 30%. That's not an exact calculation but pretty close. I used to pay $1400 for full-time tuition and now it would be $1700 for ONE CLASS!!!! Crazy!

Waiting, waiting, waiting....

Monday, August 17, 2009

Waiting for a Court Date

I hate waiting... we were hoping to find out last week the court date for the finalization of Forest's adoption. I called the lawyer's office again today and the receptionist said that she has been calling the court almost every day, but the judge has been in trial. She said that as soon as she finds out the date, she'll call me right away. Of course, we're anxious because we want to make our travel plans and also be sure that the sealing date we've scheduled will work.

I'm also waiting to hear if I've gotten into school which I should find out this week. Oh the anticipation!

Here are recent pictures of Forest and the girls:









Thursday, August 13, 2009

Summer's Over

Maija started up preschool again this week, and the weather is surprisingly cool for this time of year (100F instead of 115F). It feels like summer is over. We didn't take any major trips like we have in the past, but after all of the major events in the past year, maybe we needed to just stay put.

With the new activities (preschool & piano for Maija, tumbling for Bekah) the girls seem happier, and even I am starting (or restarting) a new chapter. I've decided to go back to school. I'm waiting to hear if I'll be accepted, so I'll post what happens as soon as I know.

The biggest event on the horizon for us is the finalization of Forest's adoption. We'll be headed to Utah in early September to be there for the court date where Forest will be officially declared our child. Then we'll be able to take him to the temple to have him sealed into our family forever, and we can bless him in church too. I can't wait!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

It's About Love

A wonderful friend of mine shared this video with me about adoption. It hit very close to home and reminded me that adoption really is about love on all sides.