Mooovinggg

So, I put the extra letters into the title of this blog to show you how slowly our move is progressing.  Craig and I have worked hard for the last month transporting our things to the new house one truckload at a time.  Last week, we kicked it up a notch and went to the new house at least once a day to drop things off and put them away.  This week is no different.

While at the new house, we always take care of little tasks to prepare to move in as well.  Whether it's hanging a shelf or installing door locks or painting a cabinet, these little handyman jobs add up in time and effort.  We do hope that once everything is ready, the house will be a comfortable and safe place for all of our children to grow up.

Last week, friends brought dinner and Christmas cheer to the new house which was so nice.  Since we knew it would be late for the kids to drive back after their visit, we decided to do a sleepover in the family room.  We made a fire and snuggled up on air mattresses.  I was so exhausted, I couldn't even properly think about the occasion of our first night together in the new house, so I guess I'll try again when the beds are moved.

Just before bedtime

Now, back to packing boxes.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to our family and friends in Germany, Austria, Armenia, Bulgaria, and the United States as well as to all from around the world who share our lives by reading this blog.  May this Christmas and the new year bring you joy, love and unexpected blessings.

Christmas Shopping

Yikes, need I say more?

Craig and I don't like shopping in stores.  Other than groceries and clothing, we buy just about everything online from the comfort of our couch.

In the years since the kids came home, we have not worried about Christmas presents.  Rex and Emilia never yet understood the gift-giving traditions and always have what they needed, so we did not feel that we had to purchase gifts to be opened on Christmas Day.  They did always receive presents from thoughtful family and friends and enjoyed them, but, like I said, they didn't comprehend why they were being showered with such generosity at this particular time of year.

In addition, Craig and I stopped giving each other presents several years ago.  It's never been terribly important to us and it's certainly not one of our love languages, so we just felt relief when we made this decision.  We are already richly blessed to have one another.

Now this year, there's Ella who is thrilled with all things Christmas and who knows Santa Claus brings gifts... which gets me back to the whole Christmas shopping thing.  After Ella's doctor's appointment on Friday, Craig, the girls and I set out to do some buying.  It was mostly me hopping into stores while everyone else waited in the car, armed with snacks, holiday tunes, etc.

Craig and I were in total agreement to keep the amount of presents and the spending at a reasonable level, so for under $250 total, our three kids will have their gifts on Christmas morning.  Emilia is getting the new mini Kindle which we ordered online (because Ella hogs the other one), a book and a homeschool workbook.  Rex is receiving a new set of bedding and two simple toys.  And Ella will find clothing and other supplies for her doll, stick-on earrings, and a new, cozy blanket under our imaginary tree.  There will also be some other presents that have been sent to us by family and friends from around the world.

Now, on to the final countdown to Christmas Eve, my favorite for holding each other tight and focusing on love and gratitude.  Surely time will fly as we keep packing and moving and unpacking our things and ready ourselves for our final holidays in this home.

Festival Of Lights 2014

Many moons ago, Craig and I had our first date going to the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo.  We'd been back off and on over the years, but when the kids came along, we decided to make it an annual tradition.  So, last Saturday we set out for the second time this holiday season to see the animals and the lights.  Emilia and Ella really enjoy the animals these days and Rex is now doing a better job than his sisters walking by our side.  Since we only go to the zoo three or four times a year, it's kind of a good measuring stick for the kids' progress.

Checking out the giraffes

Working on our balance

The kids love the carousel

Ella went nuts for the gingerbread man

So long, local zoo. We'll be back in the spring when Ella wants to see monkeys and lions.

Picture Of The Day

Ella's two favorite lunches are soup or a tapas style array of various foods.  A meal like the one she had today is quite a common sight in our kitchen around noon lately.  She polished this lunch off in no time and I love how easy it is to feed her. Packing school lunches for her will not be difficult.

Der Weihnachtsmann Knows

A big yellow box from Germany arrived in the mail for us today.  My best friend always sends such wonderful gifts. And since I knew what Rex was getting, we had to let him open one of his presents early due to a Code Red Spinning Top Emergency caused by the (hopefully temporary) disappearance of Rex's current spinning top.  It has not been found in over 36 hours, so things were getting dicey.  Rex actually knows the sign for top and was asking us constantly for it.  Fortunately, der Weihnachtsmann had great timing and delivered a fantastic replacement this afternoon.  Rex could not be more pleased with the present and I predict that he will fall asleep with it in his arms tonight.

Thank you, Corinna.

Little Movers

If anyone is in need of some little movers, how about these two?  They're not very successful with the actual moving work (as evidenced by the mess in the front room), but they're pretty entertaining.

Picture Of The Day

Emilia was way overdue for a haircut, so I finally took her this morning.  This is her opinion on the whole experience:

You've Got Mail

When you grow up in an orphanage, there are many everyday occurrences that pass you by. You don't learn about them naturally by experiencing them.  You may not even know they exist at all.  One such thing for Ella is the mail which is new and a little confusing for her, so I decided to do a homeschool lesson about mail on Monday.  We'll reinforce the information we have learned over the next few weeks with a trip to the P.O., preparing letters ourselves, going to our mailbox as well as looking at different mailboxes around town, and hopefully receiving mail.  If anyone out there would like to send Ella (or Emilia) a letter or postcard for the Christmas mailboxes they decorated, please contact me at viviane 8 at yahoo dot com.

Speaking of mail, we have a great custom painted mailbox at our new house.  I am seriously determined to have way more fun than ever before with how we decorate our family space and this mailbox is a first step.

Ella's Big St. Nick's Day

Ella has been incredibly excited about all things Christmas, so December 6th was a big day for her.  First, overnight, some holiday decorations appeared in our living room.  The Countdown to Christmas Day chain that's hanging from the fireplace was a homeschool activity Ella and I did this week.  It required a great mix of skills: cutting straight lines, gluing, lacing, counting and number recognition.

While everyone was asleep, St. Nick brought a few presents.

And after 18 days of waiting and marking off days on a chart, Ella was finally allowed to wear her red Christmas dress.

Then she and I went to breakfast with Santa.

Ella colored a beautiful tree and tried her hand at some games like plinko and ring toss.  She was also really interested in watching a few songs from Seussical performed by local high schoolers.

After breakfast with Santa, we met up with the rest of our family and headed to the Sensitive Santa Christmas party for kids with special needs at our local children's hospital.  It's always a good time.  This was Rex and Emilia's fourth year there and everyone remembers them.  In all the years past, Emilia has been scared of Santa, but this time around, she greeted him like this:

As usual, we made the attempt at the classic holiday photo with Santa and this one is perfect.  You know why?  Rex is sitting down and looking at what's happening.  Emilia is contentedly examining Santa's glove instead of screaming and squirming away.  And Ella is just thrilled with it all.  My kids are happy and I couldn't ask for anything more.

On the way home, the kids all took a nap in the car.  We had soup for dinner and Ella enjoyed it with some of the lavash she'd received from St. Nick.  At bedtime I asked her if she had liked her day and Ella answered, "Yes, very like."

St. Nick Does Lavash

As you know, we celebrate a tradition from my childhood here with our kids every year.  During the night from December 5 to 6, St. Nikolas (or Nikolaus as we call him in Germany) brings some small presents to children who have cleaned their shoes and put them onto a window sill.  In our home, St. Nick always delivers the Christmas pajamas and a trinket or two.

This year, Nikolaus knew that a certain little Armenian girl has been struggling with American bread and missing lavash something fierce. So, he worked it out for her to find a bag of homemade lavash by her shoe tomorrow morning.  He even devised a plan to have her out of the house for a few hours, so he could work his magic secretly.

Lavash dough

Roll out, fold, repeat three times

St. Nick's little helper

Baking up with nice bubbles

Finished lavash loaves

This lavash turned out a little crispier than what you might find in some places in Armenia, but it's definitely delicious and St. Nikolas hopes that Ella will like it.

Less Is More: Our New House

Craig and I have known ever since we received Rex's multiple diagnoses that he would always need special, individualized education services which means we have also known for about three years that we would have to move into a better local school district as well as closer to the various services and therapies Rex accesses now and may need in the future.

Therefore, we had been loosely looking for a different house for about 18 months and finally, over the summer, narrowed our search down to only one school district with the best reputation for special needs services in our county.  And then we toured some houses.  Big ones, small ones, old ones, new ones, fixer uppers, and ready-to-move-in.  We'd seen what Craig would dub "a dump" in an amazing location or tour a house with a perfect floor plan, but with an unacceptable closeness to the highway and its noise. With the large number of variables in consideration, we knew we would have to make concessions somewhere, but for a time it seemed like we would never find the right place.

Meanwhile, as we were set on this new path with our children, our priorities had shifted in many areas of our lives which quickly included our home.  For example, I have not been able to keep up with the housekeeping in our large space nor have we been very successful in meeting our neighborhood's standards for lawn maintenance and landscaping.  Plus the very open interior layout of our house presents various safety challenges for Rex.  And even with the size of our family more than doubled, there are still areas in our home we never or rarely utilize.  On the other hand, the backyard is a nearly unusable space for the kids as it is a steep hill down to a pond.  We cannot fence here due to HOA regulations and so can never allow the children outdoors without vigilant supervision.

As I was processing all of these factors and our family's long-term needs, the tiny house movement became increasingly fascinating and attractive to me.  I read up a little bit and came across this quote at one point:  Not So Big doesn't necessarily mean small. It means not as big as you thought you needed, but designed and built to perfectly suit the way you live.  Reading that sentence was a light bulb moment for me.  I realized in that instant that the home Craig and I had chosen over seven years ago as a childless couple expecting to raise healthy and typically developing children was no longer perfectly suited to the way we live now and will, predictably, be living for the next decade or so.  In that moment I felt quite ready to give up some of what we have now for what we really need and can use, to exchange quantity for quality.

And then it happened.  Toward the end of the summer, we came across a house "by coincidence" on our way home from visiting family.  From the outside, the house seemed to fit the bill of what we were looking for more than not, so we decided to tour it a few days later.  We had no expectations that this house would work for us, but after we had seen it, we realized it would meet all of our needs.

Still, we made the deliberate pro and con list:

Cons

1) House is significantly smaller than current home

2) House is noticeably older than current home

3) Neighborhood is not as fancy as current one

4) House floor plan is not as open or light-flooded as current one

Pros

1) House is located in the best public school district for SN kids in our county and address is assigned to what may arguably be the best public elementary school in the county for special needs services

2) Large, flat, securely fenced back yard

3) In-ground pool: we weren't looking for a pool and we know it's a lot of work to maintain, but our kids do love the water and this is like free entertainment off the back deck all summer long (and in case you're wondering, we just had a 6 foot tall fence installed around the pool's perimeter)

4) Safe, quiet neighborhood with low traffic and diversity of residents (retired folks, couples with first babies, terminally ill people, kids close in age to ours, etc.)

5) House is completely rehabbed inside with brand-new appliances, refinished hardwood floors, etc.

6) Craig's daily commute reduces from 3 hours to 60 to 90 minutes, 90 mins being a worst case scenario with traffic, weather, etc.

7) House is safe inside and out for Rex (no open lofts, no high deck, no steep hill, no large windows, etc.)

8) House is only a short walk away from our cousins' home

9) House is a 6 minute drive from our Prompt therapist's new office location (current drive to new location is about two hours round-trip)

10) House is within 30 minutes to any private programs and schools Rex may attend in the future.

11) School district has a fantastic English Language Learners' program and some teachers in the district share Rex and Ella's Armenian heritage

12) The price was right

13) The area attracts many new immigrants from around the world allowing our children to grow up and attend school with people from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds

So, we took a leap of faith and decided to move forward with this new-to-us house.  We own both homes at this time (read cash flow is severely impeded) and are slowly moving ourselves from the west side to the east side of our city.  I am not going to lie, I will miss this house here so very much.   We are trading a beautiful, spacious, comfortable, light-filled home in a scenic setting for a much better location in terms of the needs of our family; for quality time together due to reduced commutes to work, school, therapy, shopping, etc.; and for better educational opportunities as well as safer home conditions for our children.  We are giving up a noticeable amount of creature comforts to be able to re-focus our family on what really matters, given our personal values and principles.

Please keep us in your thoughts as we are going through this transition. We need all the positive energy we can get until we're settled in the new house, hopefully by the end of December.

IAC Results 296, 297 & 298

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 296 which was held on October 9, 2014:

1) Spanish dossier from September 2010 referred a female child aged 2 years with features in health status

2) Spanish dossier from October 2010 referred a male child aged 1 year and 6 months with features in health status

3) Dutch dossier from October 2010 referred a female child aged 4 years and 3 months

4) Italian dossier from March 2011 referred a male child aged 5 years and 4 months with features in health status

5) Italian dossier from August 2012 referred a waiting child (#2467) with a profile on the MOJ site

6) US dossier from June 2013 referred a female child aged 3 years and 9 months with features in health status

7) Swedish dossier from August 2013 referred a female child aged 3 years and 9 months with features in health status

8) US dossier from January 2014 referred a waiting child (#2414) with a profile on the MOJ site

9) US dossier from October 2014 referred two waiting children (#1634 & #1635) with profiles on the MOJ site

10) US dossier from October 2014 referred a waiting child (#2278) with a profile on the MOJ site

11) US dossier from October 2014 referred a waiting (#2314) with a profile on the MOJ site

12) US dossier from October 2014 referred two waiting children (#2312 & #2572) with profiles on the MOJ site

13) US dossier from October 2014 referred three waiting children (#2460 & #2461 & #2462) with profiles on the MOJ site

14) US dossier from October 2014 referred two waiting children (#2065 & #2066) with profiles on the MOJ site

15) US dossier from October 2014 referred a waiting child (#2438) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 297 which was held on October 16, 2014:

1) Spanish dossier from October 2010 referred a male child aged 2 years and 9 months

2) Italian dossier from December 2010 referred a male child aged 5 years and 8 months with features in health status

3) Spanish dossier from April 2011 referred a female child aged 6 years and 11 months

4) German dossier from February 2012 referred a female child aged 7 years and 7 months

5) Italian dossier from June 2012 referred a female child aged 6 years and 6 months with features in health status

6) Italian dossier from June 2012 referred a brother and sister aged 6 years and 9 months & 8 years

7) Cyprus dossier from April 2013 referred three siblings, male and female, aged 6 years and 5 months & 5 years and 3 months & 4 years and 3 months

8) Italian dossier from April 2014 referred a female child aged 2 years and 6 months with features in health status and a family history

9) Italian dossier from June 2014 referred two brothers aged 8 years & 9 years and 7 months

10) Canadian dossier from June 2014 referred a female child aged 10 years and 11 months

11) US dossier from July 2014 referred a female child aged 2 years and 10 months with features in health status

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 298 which was held on October 23, 2014:

1) Spanish dossier from October 2010 referred a female child aged 2 years and 6 months

2) Italian dossier from April 2011 referred a male child aged 6 years with features in health status

3) Italian dossier from February 2012 referred a female child aged 7 with features in health status and a family history

4) Italian dossier from October 2013 referred a brother and sister aged 5 years and 8 months & 12 years and 11 months

5) Italian dossier from December 2013 referred a male child aged 9 years and 11 months

6) Italian dossier from January 2014 referred a brother and sister aged 6 years and 2 months & 8 years and 7 months with features in health status and a family history

7) US dossier from October 2014 referred a waiting child (#2281) with a profile on the MOJ site

Pick Up Trip Day 16

Despite the chilly temps and the drizzle, we set out on another private tour to Lake Sevan.  The area is beautiful and I can imagine it as a very popular vacation and tourist spot in the summer months.

We visited the two ninth century churches by the lake which are still in use, so we happened upon Armenian mass in progress.

We also enjoyed a delicious lunch of fish fresh from Sevan, along with many traditional sides: salad, greens, freshly baked bread, cheese, and matsun.

On the way home, we made a brief stop at the statue of Princess Tamar and learned about her legend.

After some quick naps on the bus and a stop at our apartment, we got ready to meet Rex's birth family for dinner.  We went to a place called Americano Children's Cafe which is similar to a Chuck E Cheese, crazy loud and overstimulating, but the kids enjoyed it while the adults did their best to make conversation.

Rex has his birth mother's eyes
and, except for the cleft differences,
his birth father's facial shape, mouth and smile

Giving Thanks

The blessings in our life are innumerable, but I still wanted to take note of some things for which we are especially thankful this holiday.

1) Ella is home.  She is well.  And she sings soulful Armenian songs.  Enough said.

2) Emilia, just this week, started saying I love you spontaneously.  And from when and to whom she says it, it's obvious she means it.  Of my three children, Emilia has the biggest and simultaneously the most fragile heart which shows in the beautiful way she lives her life every single day.

3) Rex's new occupational therapist told me this week that he is a joy to work with and that he's a child that just grabs your heart.  Don't I know it!  Rex recently mastered several goals at school, including taking off his socks after one year of hard practice.  He continues to verbally imitate some words and also uses these words spontaneously to communicate certain wishes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ella - One Month Home

One month ago today, our plane touched down at CVG and Ella was finally home.  Things are going well and at this time, the issues we are dealing with are typical for any six-year-old child and not a product of orphanage life.

Ella's abilities in English expand daily.  She sometimes will utter complete sentences that are totally grammatically correct, like, "Emilia, Mama said time to sleep.  Go to bed.  No screaming."  I always stop in my tracks when she does because language acquisition is just so wondrous.  I also chuckle when I hear her say colloquial things like c'mon, let's go, stop it, yup, I need a break, have a good day, etc.

Right now, we do about an hour of focused home school per day with Ella and she is progressing with her pre-academic knowledge. She now recognizes and names 10 letters (lower and upper case as I have been teaching them in pairs), she knows at least a dozen colors, and eight to ten shapes.  Ella can draw people and objects, such as flowers, eye glasses, and boats, but she struggles with handwriting.  She understands concepts like fast and slow, hot and cold and is using comparatives and superlatives.  She counts to 15 and can quantify.  We will be meeting with our school district soon to discuss a half-day Kindergarten option for Ella for the new year.

Ella likes to help us around the house and enjoys praise for a job well done.  We fold laundry together where Ella's first task is always to match up the socks.  Ella also assists with grocery shopping.  She pushes her own little cart through the store and is very careful around other shoppers.  One day she even said, "Excuse me" as she was trying to get past a crowd in an aisle.  When Emilia is at preschool, Ella has had fun cooking with me.  I think she will love Christmas baking.  And not to leave her daddy without an extra set of hands, Ella has pitched in when Craig was assembling a cabinet and a shelf to be used in the basement.

Ella sleeps calmly through the night.  Naps are hit and miss, but she knows she has to rest quietly in her bed even if she does not sleep.  Ella eats well overall, still requesting a lot of fruit, soup, naan (which she calls lavash), greens (lettuces and herbs), Greek yogurt, and icecream.  There have been meals she did not like in which case she has gone to bed a little on the hungry side, I imagine.  She's not fond at all of cheese or spicy foods.  Oh and Ella lost another tooth this week, but she wouldn't tell us where she put it, so the tooth fairy did not come.

Today we had our first visit with orthopedics and they confirmed what we already knew: Ella has a very rare and complex cluster of congenital limb differences.  The doctor told us that there isn't going to be an orthopedic specialist anywhere in the country that will have seen even just a few cases of Ella's specific combination of diagnoses.  He acknowledged his own limited experience and said that he would present Ella's case to the entire orthopedics department at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, so that everyone's knowledge and recommendations could be pooled for her treatment.  We are awaiting a call with further details, but for now are told to simply let her continue to do what she's doing.

This month we have also been blessed to connect with Ella's biological family via social media.  We have learned quite a bit about her birth history as well as about her family in Armenia.  We're looking forward to growing this new relationship and being able to share it with Ella when she begins to ask us questions about these matters.

Our newest daughter is a big fan of arts and crafts, of the Kindle, of singing songs, of hugs and kisses, of braiding my hair, of roughhousing with her daddy, of talking on the phone, of baths, of pretty dresses, and of swinging.  She does not like bedtime, sharing her favorite toys, not being able to ride the school bus yet, having to wait for Christmas, and going to the doctor.  In other words, at one month home, all is well.

Ella holding a thank you card
she made for a kind friend

It's A Family Part 2

Last night as we were taking the girls to bed and Ella requested her usual dozens of hugs and kisses, she suddenly said to us, "Family siroon*.  Family, I love you."

*Siroon is the Armenian word for beautiful.

Pick-Up Trip Day 15

October 18, 2014

Today we took a private tour to two historical sights of Armenia: Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery.  It was a very special trip for us.

Garni, if you can block out the noise of the tourists, is so peaceful.  Nothing but silence and gorgeous views surround this site.

Geghard touched us as we watched devoted Christian women worship in this old church.  An Armenian priest was present and after learning our story, he blessed our entire family.  What a gift to receive, especially for our two little Armenians.

Of course, no outing is complete for us without trying the local food from roadside stands.  Those of us not sensitive to gluten or dairy devoured two loaves of gata, an Armenian sweet bread, still warm from the oven of a wonderful old lady who set up shop near Garni.  We bought lots of other homemade delicacies from her as well (fruit lavash, caramel covered local walnuts, jam, etc.).

Gata we took home with us (after eating two loaves on the road)

One of many roadside stands

In the evening we changed the tone of the day by attending the first birthday bash of a little girl being adopted by another family we have known for years.  Their pick-up trip is overlapping with ours, so it's been fun to get together.  Little Miss A was able to leave the orphanage on the morning of her first birthday just in time to celebrate with her new family and friends.

It's A Family

Yesterday Ella asked me who was going to the store in the evening.  I said, "Everyone" to which she responded, "Ella, Mama, Meeyah, Daddy, Rex... it's a family."

Sisters Forevermore

Pick-Up Trip Days 12, 13 & 14

October 15, 16 & 17

We didn't have anything on the agenda these three days, so we literally spent them walking the city, playing, eating and sleeping.  The kids enjoyed this routine very much and it sure didn't hurt that the weather was sunny and pushing 80 degrees.  We even had time for a play date with American friends at Tumanyan Park.

On Friday, my sister arrived from Vienna to spend the weekend with us.  We showed her around the city and in the evening attended the fall festival at QSI of Yerevan.  They had yummy food, games, and a huge bonfire.

Emilia and Aunt Belli

Watching the flames up high

Today In Home School

Until the end of the calendar year, Ella receives about an hour of focused home schooling per day either with me or with Ms. Rie. Emilia is always a part of it, too.  Today we started with a turkey craft, gluing felt feathers on and spelling their names in stickers:

Ella loves arts and crafts and this creativity was something I wished for in a child, but after Rex and Emilia have had limited interest, I kind of got used to doing crafts only once or twice a week at most.  Now with Ella, I can hardly keep up with her demand for "cut, cut, cut and glue" as she calls it, so we have three structured arts and crafts activities per week and then Ella has access to doing other creative things on her own the rest of the time.

After completing the turkeys, we worked on quantifying which Ella already knows how to do, but Emilia is struggling to learn.  We counted little wooden houses today in a variety of tactile, hands-on, ways with a lot of movement (Emilia has been identified by her therapists as a kinesthetic learner along with only 5% of the general population): jumping over them, knocking them over, tossing them into a bowl, etc.

Then the girls and Ms. Rie went to swing and jump in the basement.

After lunch, we made snow icecream, mixing sugar, vanilla and coconut milk with our freshly fallen snow.  It was actually quite good.  Ella also brought in a small snowball and we learned about melting.  As Ella put it, "Snow cold, then water."