In The Rockies

We've had a busy week, well a busy month really. On Monday evening we finally arrived in Denver. Although the drive was really long, I have to say that I was amazed at how well the kids (and dog) did. They were so good and either slept or entertained themselves almost the whole way up both on Sunday and Monday. There were only a couple of times when someone was crying which is pretty much a miracle considering all 4 kids are 6 years and under.

I think the biggest help was that we stopped about every 90 minutes or so because someone, including myself, undoubtedly had to go to the bathroom. By the second day I had a little "potty stop" routine down so that we could make the stops as quick as possible. Kent was driving the big U-Haul truck which was towing his little Honda. I think he ended up with the hardest part because he had the toughest driving...no cruise control and never getting over 60 mph. We thought that we would caravan up, but it ended up making more sense for me to speed ahead since I was stopping so much. In the end, he almost always caught up to us while we were stopped here or there.

So, now we're here and we've jumped feet first into getting settled. The morning after we arrived we were meeting with the mortgage guy to buy our new house up here, and then there was the home inspection, and getting Maija enrolled at school for her last few weeks of kindergarten. Then that evening Kent unloaded the U-Haul with a coworker, and I'd say all in all that day was exhausting!!! I was happy on Wednesday morning to not have anything to do. Our hotel room is a two-room suite so we have a family room area, a kitchen, and then 2 separate bedrooms. I wasn't sure how all 4 kids would do sharing a room, but it's worked out pretty well so far....for the most part :-) And we've also had our little dog, Remy, in the room with us. He's also done pretty well. As long as he gets his morning and evening walks every day, he's happy.

Thursday was Maija's first day at her new school where she'll also be attending 1st grade next year. it's located in the neighborhood where we're buying our house, so it's a good way to help her acclimate. I was really worried about how she would do. She loved, loved, loved her school in Arizona and her teacher! We miss you Mrs. Williams! But, so far this school has been great. They gave me and her a tour of the school and made her feel really comfortable. Then I was able to be with her as she met her new teacher and got settled in the classroom before the rest of the class showed up. It was so cute to see the kids come in, and they all surrounded Maija. I could hear exclamations, "The new kids is here!" "This is Maija, the new girl!" "Hi! My name is..." "Are you the new girl?" They all talked at once and Maija was enjoying the attention. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she told me that there are 2 other Mayas in her class and one of them has become her first friend. I'm so glad she's happy. It also helps knowing that she only has 3 weeks of school until summer break, so no matter how it goes, it'll be over soon.

So, have I bored you to death yet? There is so much to say. I was very grateful to my good friend, Sara Schumacher, who just moved up here from our neighborhood in Arizona a couple of months ago. She watched Bekah, Forest and Kiira while I took Maija to school her first day. I was even more impressed that she not only took my 3 kids when he has a 2 year-old and newborn of her own, but she took all FIVE of them to a Relief Society luncheon! That takes bravery; bravery that I don't think I would've had. But, it made my day so much easier, and just knowing that I have one friend here I can count on is so huge!

Tomorrow we will attend our new ward (church congregation). I'm sure there will be plenty of nice people and future friends, but I have to say that it'll be hard to beat our ward in Arizona. We still miss you all very much! I can't even begin to thank everyone who helped out leading up to the move - friends who watched our kids, brought us dinners, let me cry on the phone to them, helped pack up and clean our house, and friends who have already written or called to say they're thinking of us and are we ok? Leaving you and our families behind has been the hardest part of this move.

As for Colorado, I will say that it is gorgeous here and the people are very friendly and nice. Here are a few pictures of our new life here:

The Hotel Where We're Staying:



Our Hotel Room:



View from the Hotel:



The House We're Buying (should be moved in by end of May):



Another View of House:

Basement (Yay!):

Kitchen:

View of Entry (from Kitchen):

We are driving to Colorado with 4 kids and dog in tow. We are almost living in Colorado now...by tonight it'll be official. More details to follow.

103

Having a child with a 103 degree fever in the middle of a move is NOT my idea of fun! Bekah always seems to get high fevers when she's getting sick. Poor girl!

Deconstruction

We are about the business of deconstructing our home and everyday life here in Arizona. This involves things like cancelling the pest control service, cable TV and internet, going through the stacks of papers that have been sitting in a drawer for the last year, and slowly making the rounds to say goodbye to friends and loved ones. Not to mention packing boxes, boxes and more boxes of stuff. This is a painful process and even though 3 weeks sounds like a fast move, it feels very slow. It's like slowly taking off a band-aid; you wonder if it wouldn't be better to just quickly rip it off and be done with it.

This week will be our last in this house. OK, typing that makes me tear up a bit. This is the first house Kent and I owned since we got married. It's the house we lived in when both of our sweet adopted babies came to our family. It's where Maija and Bekah started preschool and now (for Maija) elementary school. It's also where we've had amazing friends, a supportive church community and family within an hour's driving time. That is the hardest part of all.

The good part of this move is Kent's new job. He was hired by a solar company in Colorado called PrimeStar Solar. The job is one that Kent was very excited about and that had potential growth for him in the future. Now it's looking even more promising. On Friday, Kent found out that General Electric just acquired PrimeStar so Kent will now be a G.E. employee. You can read the press release here. This is also significant because Kent will be the 3rd generation in my family to work for General Electric. My grandfather worked for G.E.; my father worked for G.E. his entire 30-year career; and now my husband will be a G.E. guy. Who knows if this will be an entire career or just a few years? But either way, it is a crazy coincidence.

So...one more week to pack up this house then Kent will fly to Colorado next Sunday to start his new job. My mother and I will hang out here with the kids until Easter weekend so we can be a part of the family festivities. And then we'll be loading everyone up in the minivan and heading to the Rockies.

On a final note, I wanted to mention the online auction the Grafton family is having to raise money for their adoption. Be aware that some of the items can only be delivered in Connecticut (where the Graftons live), but there are some nice items that can be shipped and they're also taking straight donations.

http://graftonadoptionfundraising.blogspot.com/

We're Moving

It's all official now! Kent has been in the interviewing and negotiating phase for several weeks, but it's all been worked out finally. We are moving to Denver, Colorado...just in time for the beautiful summer there and avoiding the hot summer here. But, it's also hard to leave the happy life we have here. We both have family here and great friends, and our kids love their schools. Plus all of the logistics of moving in general... it's overwhelming.

We'll be leaving Arizona in 3 1/2 weeks. There is a TON to do between now and then. If I think about it too much, my head feels like it's going to explode! So crazy! At least, staying in touch is easy with the internet. Love live blogging and Facebook!

Long Time No Blog

It's been several weeks since I last blogged. There has been a lot going on in our lives including a trip to North Carolina to visit my parents. We had a very relaxing vacation and the kids loved running around outside every day. The weather was perfect, and my mother had bought the kids little bikes and trikes, so there was lots of riding back and forth on the long driveway. We also got to visit with Kiira's birth mom while in Raleigh.

Here is the month of March in pictures including some from Forest's birthday party:

Forest's Birthday Party

Forest Eating His Cupcake

Our Friends the Fennells Made a Surprise Visit


The Kids Got Hold of my Camera - Maija & Cousin Kennedy

In North Carolina:
My Boy!

Bekah Playing a Huge Chess Game

Laid Back

At the Marbles Kids' Museum in Raleigh

Kiira and Her Birth Mother

Forest Turns 2

How can it be? Forest is already 2 years old and growing up more each day. Wednesday was his birthday and we did a little family celebration (see pics below). Tomorrow we're having his "big" birthday party. I'm so grateful that Forest is our little boy. We love you Forest Jackson!






Forest on his new trike.

"Oh my belly!"

Couple pictures of Bekah in her "Super Rebekah" t-shirt that Aunt Kimberly made for her:

Adorable!!!

I just have to say...I'm pretty sure Kiira is the cutest baby on the planet...seriously. I'm not biased at all.

I Am The Queen of Paperwork

Back when I first met Kent I thought I knew what it was to deal with paperwork and red tape. I was getting a PhD in education; I had to do a lot of writing and reading and I figured it would be the most paperwork intensive time of my life. Well, here are a few things I've done since then that involve way more paperwork:

1. Adoption:

I've posted previously about the adoption process, but there is almost no way to describe how much paperwork is involved. To start with there's the 40+ page homestudy document you're supposed to complete...just this can be overwhelming, and that's the beginning of the process. Then you have applications, letters of recommendation, forms, more forms, and even more forms and copies of other forms, but not just any copies, certified copies. Once you're ready for the placement of the baby, then you have paperwork for placement, then legal documents for finalizing the adoption, and on and on. After the adoption is finalized, then you have to get a social security number for the child, an amended birth certificate, etc. All in all, adoption is the #1 most paperwork-intensive thing I've ever done.

2. Welfare:

Anyone who has ever applied for state aid knows how much paperwork and documentation is involved. When Kent and I were both in school, we applied for various kinds of state assistance, and I remember joking with a friend that you had to have a PhD just to get through the application process. And once you have welfare, you have to reapply every 4-6 months. I'm grateful we had the help, but I'm just saying it was a LOT of red tape and paperwork.

3. Taxes:

Of course, we all get to deal with this one every year. Since I do a lot of the finances in our house, I get to do the taxes. The more money we've made, the more involved the taxes. Just finished this one for 2010, and I'm papered out.

4. Medical Bills & Insurance:

If you're like me and have had health problems, then you know how much red tape is involved in keeping track of medical bills, and possibly even more daunting, keeping track of insurance claims. I am a bit on the anal side on this and I track our medical claims every month or more often. I find AT LEAST one major processing error a month; consequently, I have saved our family hundreds of dollars by being on top of this. It also means lots of phone calls explaining that we should only be responsible for X amount of dollars because of X Y Z. I almost always prevail in having claims reprocessed because the insurance company is usually in the wrong. But, ugh! I get tired of this one.

5. My Kids' School:

OK, this isn't nearly as much paperwork as getting a PhD, but who knew that kindergarten involved so much red tape? It seems like almost every day there's another flyer or handout or worksheet that needs to filled out and returned. Most of it is fun stuff like volunteering to help with activities or field trip permission forms. But, it still surprises me sometimes how much paperwork my kindergartener brings home in a week. I guess it's all part of preparing them for the future...where there's plenty more paperwork awaiting them.

Cairo, Business Trips and Bad Dreams

Doesn't it seem like the world is in a frenzy this last month or so? All of the protests and political upheaval in northern Africa and the Middle East, massive floods and a hurricane in Australia, blizzard after blizzard in much of the United States. The world is in commotion. I remember in the fall of 1999 when I moved to Seoul, Korea there was a similar string of crazy weather and political incidents. I think it's God's way of reminding us how small we really are and who's really in charge. We love to feel like we have control of everything, but one big earthquake or storm reminds us that "having control" is actually an illusion.

I'll have to keep that in mind in the next 2 weeks since Kent is leaving today for a business trip. He'll be gone most of this week and then he's going on another work trip the following week. Anyone who thinks they have control in their lives only has to spend a short time taking care of four small children to be reminded how little control they actually have. There's no controlling the accidents, the arguing, the diapers, the screaming, the whining, the stuffy noses or the general chaos that exists when you're outnumbered 4 to 1. Thankfully, my mother is coming next week, so I really only have to do one week on my own.

I think that all of this commotion both generally and personally are making me very aware of how little control I have in my life. I woke up this morning from probably the worst dream I've ever had. I dreamt that my oldest, Maija, had been kidnapped. It was terrifying, heart breaking, and I ended up thoroughly freaking out my husband who had to calm me down and remind me that Maija was peacefully sleeping in her room. After finally making that transition from nightmare to "Oh good. It was just a dream." I tiptoed into Maija's room. Watching my beautiful girl sleep gave me a moment's peace, and I realized that as long as I have these 5 people in my life, my family, I'll be able to weather the storms and the chaos just fine.