Quote of the Day

From my 4 year-old, Maija: "Mommy, I have to tell you about one thing that we can use. It's called Skecher shoes."

Me: "Did you see that on TV?"

Maija: "Yeah, and I thought we can use them because they light up when you stomp. And they have girl ones that I really like."

(Oh boy! Here we go. Marketing does work.)

Swine Flu

Well, it happened. We all got the swine flu, except for Forest of course who seems to avoid all illnesses (knock on wood!) Rebekah has it the worst. As always with her asthma she seems to have breathing issues and lung problems. We had to take her to urgent care tonight because her breathing was getting so bad, and sure enough she's got an infection starting in her lungs, and on top of that she has an ear infection. Poor girl! I'm just grateful for modern medicine and knowing exactly what's going on with her and that there is medicine to treat it.

I ended up canceling my trip to NY this weekend. I couldn't leave a sick child at home while I go off to play. So that's the second 20 year high school reunion I'm missing... last year I missed my Hong Kong international School reunion (they combined it with the class of '88) and this year was Burnt Hills High School in Upstate NY. No, I didn't graduate from both schools in case you're confused. I graduated from high school in Hong Kong, but I had just moved there the beginning of my senior year from New York. Moving around as much as I did growing up, I get to claim many places as home.

With all of this going on, I'm still floating in the clouds that we've gotten a court date for Forest's finalization. We'll have just enough time to get everyone better before we leave for Utah. Despite the bumps in the road, life really is a blessing. I'm grateful to have 3 beautiful children to worry about and a supportive husband who helps me not worry too much. When I married Kent, my good friend Courtney told him, "You have no idea how many dead horses you're going to be beating." Ain't that the truth! Anyone who knows me, knows that it is.

We Got Our Court Date!!!

Yahoo! I'm so happy! Our lawyer called this morning and told us our court date to finalize Forest's adoption. It's October 21st! Now we can actually plan our lives and more importantly plan a date to be sealed to Forest.

I just barely got the call, but I had to blog about it right away!

Great way to start the day.

Still Waiting to Finalize

Yep, we are STILL waiting for the judge assigned to our case to just LOOK at our papers and set a date for the finalization. Usually couples are able to finalize within a week or two of their 6 month date (6 months after placement of the child). So, here we are almost a month after our 6 month date, and we have NO idea when we'll be able to finalize.

I keep calling the lawyers and asking, "Have you heard anything?" Then they call the judge's clerks and call me back, "Nothing yet." My sister was quick to remind me that the legal system can be slow. That's what makes me so nervous. This could take a long time if the judge feels like it. We've been saying lots of prayers that we'll be able to finalize soon. I can't help but feel like there is a reason why we're experiencing this delay. I keep thinking that some good will come out it. Actually, I know that good will come out of it. It's just hard to know WHAT that could be.

I am looking forward to traveling to Upstate NY next week to attend my 20 year high school reunion. I can't wait to be in NY in the Fall and to see the beautiful trees. It'll also be fun to see old friends from school and also some of my old church friends who are still in the area. Maybe by the time we get back we'll be able to head up to Utah to finalize Forest's adoption.

Wish us luck! Cross your fingers! Say a few prayers for us... all positive vibes are welcome!

Seems Like An Eternity

We are STILL waiting for a court date to finalize Forest's adoption. Usually you can finalize within days of the 6 month mark (for us that was 9/4) but the judge is overbooked, and we are in a holding pattern. We were hoping to be sealed to Forest in the Mesa LDS temple on September 25th, but now that's not going to happen. Even if we did get a date in the next week, our lawyer is going to be out of town.

So...we have cancelled our plans for the 25th, and we've decided to not make any plans until we actually finalize the adoption. The lawyer felt badly and said that in normal circumstances we would've finalized by now, but this judge has been doing things "backwards" - instead of setting a court date and then looking over the paperwork, this judge wants to look over all the paperwork, make a decision, and then set a court date. That puts us in the position of being strung along not knowing when a phone call will come saying we can go to Utah right away and finalize. Makes it pretty hard to plan anything.

Can you tell I'm frustrated? I just have to remind myself that in the eternal scheme of things, it won't matter if we wait a few more weeks to be sealed to Forest, even if it FEELS like it's taking an eternity.

6 Months

Forest turned 6 months' old yesterday! He's such a big boy and continues to be sweet and happy. Everyday he does something new. On Tuesday he started saying, "Da da da da." He's so cute. He'll look at me so intently like he's trying to tell me something important and say "Da da da da!" I've posted pics at the end of this post.

We're still waiting for our finalization court date. I am getting so bugged! It doesn't help that my patience is being tested in other ways right now; Rebekah has Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) and has passed it on to Maija and me. Rebekah was just diagnosed today, and when we did a mouth check on everyone for the characteristic sores, sure enough, Maija had them and so did I. So fun! We had to cancel our plans to go on a big family trip down to Nogales on the Mexican border. The good news is that it only lasts for a week. It's going be a fun Labor Day weekend *grin*.

Here's a video and some pictures of Forest taken today:

One More Reason I Like Having Chickens

It's been 2 months now that we've had our chickens, and all in all I really enjoy having them. Mostly because I know that we have a daily supply of fresh eggs. We've also had the opportunity to share our eggs with other people and one family even bought some of our eggs. Just like growing a garden, you learn so much about where food really comes from when you grow it or tend it yourself.

For instance, did you know that most eggs at the grocery store are over a month old before they get to you? When we eat our eggs, they are usually 1 or 2 days old. We can also control the quality of the eggs by controlling the quality of the hens' feed. And our chickens seem to be genuinely happy. This whole experience has made me think about how we feed ourselves as a society. We tend to be so out of touch with what real food is... how many of us know which fruits and vegetables are in or out of season? Just food for thought (pun intended.)

This article about factory hatcheries where the laying hens are born really made me think once again, "I'm so glad we have our own chickens." - "Video Shows Chicks Ground Alive at Hatchery"

P.S. By the way, I'm not a member of PETA. I just think we should be more aware of our food sources.

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.

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....

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: