IAC 478-481

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 478 which was held on November 7, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from September 2012 referred a male child aged 2 years and 1 month

2) French dossier from August 2014 referred a male child aged 3 years and 3 months with a family history

3) Canadian dossier from October 2018 referred a male child aged 2 years and 5 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from October 2019 referred a waiting child

------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 479 which was held on November 14, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from August 2012 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months

2) Spanish dossier from September 2012 referred a female child aged 1 year and 10 months

3) Spanish dossier from March 2013 referred a male child aged 5 years and 4 months

4) German dossier from October 2014 referred a female child aged 8 years and 8 months

5) Italian dossier from March 2019 referred two brothers aged  9 years and 10 months & 7 years and 5 months

6) US dossier from July 2019 referred a waiting child

7) US dossier from November 2019 referred a male child aged 2 years and 6 months with features in health status
____________________

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 480 which was held on November 21, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from October 2012 referred a male child aged 1 year and 7 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from April 2014 referred a male child aged 7 years and 4 months with features in health status

3) Luxembourg dossier from November 2014 referred a male child aged 1 year and 10 months with features in health status

4) German dossier from January 2015 referred a male child aged 6 years and 11 months and a female child aged  4 years and 9 months

5) Italian dossier from April 2015 referred a female child aged 9 years and 6 months

5) US dossier from September 2018 referred a waiting child

6) US dossier from December 2018 referred a female child aged 2 years with features in health status and a family history

7) US dossier from November 2019 referred a waiting child
--------------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 481 which was held on November 28, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from October 2012 referred a male child aged 3 years and 10 months

2) Spanish dossier from February 2013 referred a male child aged 1 year and 10 months with features in health status

3) Spanish dossier from March 2013 referred a male child aged 4 years and 7 months

4) Italian dossier from November 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from December 2016 referred a male child aged 3 years and 7 months with features in health status

6) US dossier from November 2019 referred a waiting child

7) US dossier from November 2019 referred a waiting child

8) US dossier from November 2019 referred a waiting child

Christmas Season 2019

Beginning in mid-fall life became quite trying for our family due to a few continuing challenges that are out of our control to a large degree.  Everyone at home is healthy and doing well, but some of those who are supposed to support us externally have turned into tremendous stressors.

With this pressure taking physical and emotional tolls, we wanted to keep our 2019 holidays even smaller than usual and decided to follow only our most favorite traditions this month: the Christmas party at CCHMC, St. Nick's Day, the Festival of Lights at the zoo, our Christmas Eve picnic, and two family gatherings.  We didn't decorate gingerbread houses, sent no Christmas packages and fewer cards, didn't have a big cookie baking day, and we didn't wrap any of the presents. The single thing we did more of this year was decorating because Emilia absolutely adores the sparkle of this season, so we let her take the lead and choose for all of us how to deck our halls.  Among other things, she selected this sign and asked that lots of lights be put up.

Every time there were suitable clearance flowers at my grocery store, I updated this bouquet in the dining room:

CCHMC Holiday Party

Christmas Day at home with just the five of us was much more challenging than expected for each of our kids in their own way.  It was a struggle to get from waking up to bedtime, but we got through it together and were able to follow with a much more peaceful Boxing Day.  

Christmas Eve Picnic

"Wrapped" and ready to go

Post-Holiday brunch with cousins - the only event we hosted

And after all of this excitement plus a Christmas dinner at Grandpa's house, we just needed to take a day to breathe and rest and reset which, regretfully, meant skipping out on Cousin James' birthday party.  Being the super sweet boy that he is we know he understands.

And now that's a wrap for Christmas 2019.

IAC 476 and 477 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 476 which was held on October 25, 2019:

Five US dossier submitted between August and October 2019 referred waiting children with profiles on the MOJ website.  No additional information provided.

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 477 which was held on October 31, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from November 2012 referred a male child aged 3 years and 5 months

2) French dossier from February 2013 referred a male child aged 4 years and 10 months with features in health status

3) US dossier from July 2015 referred a male child aged 8 years and 11 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from April 2017 referred two brothers aged 5 years and 4 months & 6 years and 7 months with a family history

5) German dossier from October 2018 referred a female child aged 2 years and 6 months with features in health status

6) US dossier from October 2019 referred an identified waiting child

Autism Treatment Center in Rural Armenia

Family preservation is the absolute best way to address the worldwide orphan crisis, but often families find themselves forced into placing their children into state care because they have no support to raise them.  A group of moms in Artashat, which is in rural Armenia, decided to be the change.  They have opened an Autism Therapy Center in hopes that their children with developmental special needs will receive some level of education and social participation rather than having to be hidden away at home.  

When I learned about these brave families and their mission, I knew immediately that I had to get involved.  With the help of several adoptive moms of Armenian-born children and other friends, we were able to collect over $800 worth of therapy equipment which will ship to Armenia in January.  We simply cannot wait to see the students there use all of these items.

If anyone reading this post is interested in helping as well, you can do so via GoFundMe here.

Therapy in progress at the center

Finally...

... a topic of interest to Littlest One and, of course, she excels.  #keepitalltheyear

Ready, Set, Surgery

*Update 11/26: Surgery went well and even a little better than expected.  Recovery was hard.  Big girl is finally feeling much better this morning.*

We're ready to go for a longer outpatient surgery this afternoon to repair and correct some orthopedic issues.

Please keep this brave girl in your thoughts for the next hours and days.

Bestie Movie Night

Oh, to be a preteen again.  Tonight's double feature at Martini Basement Cinemas: My Girl and Home Alone.

Emilia Together Forever Day 2019

Eight years ago today, I traveled through a snow storm and held on my lap a little girl who had just lost and gained everything. She was frozen not because of the biting cold, but because of deep fear.  Little did I know during those six long hours in a bumpy van the pain and love, heartache and joy that would lie ahead for her and our family.  And yet, even if I'd had that crystal ball, I would do it all again for this child because as she and I sing together...

... all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more...

(Christina Perri)

Nine Years Ago Today

Nine years ago today, I held my son for the first time.  I treasure this photo of our first moments together because I can remember exactly what I felt and I also remember what the caretakers told us through the translator, "He never lets anyone hold him close, you must be his mother."

I still have the privilege of holding him close and basking in the purity of his love.

Sometimes On Our Pillows...

... little notes of love.

In The Neighborhood

I grew up happily bouncing between my grandparents' small farming village and my parents' small town in East Germany and among my many wonderful memories is a feeling of community.  The mail carrier knew you by name as did the clerks at the small grocery stores.  We invited neighbors to our birthday parties and lent a hand to those in need.  If you were doing something you weren't supposed to do, you could be pretty sure that it was going to come to your parents' attention one way or another and if you were out and about as a kid, it was not uncommon for a neighbor to give you a piece of fruit or candy to sustain you in your childhood adventures.

I have missed this feeling of community since moving to the US, but in our current neighborhood, I am getting more of it than in any other place we had lived previously.

For example, when our lawn care person had to cut hours due to long-term illness toward the end of the mowing season and our yard was slowly overgrowing, a neighborhood teen showed up and mowed it for us.  When Ella went to visit our semi-retired neighbors to meet their new kitten, she came home with a huge box of fancy chocolates in fall shapes (leaves, acorns, pumpkins, etc.) and instructions to share them with her siblings.

In late summer, we watered a neighbor family's flowers and tomatoes while they were on vacation and we shared our enormous basil harvest with several neighborhood friends.

In mid-October I started the "Boo" and then excitedly watched the signs spring up on our street's front doors as the tradition was paid forward until we were booed ourselves.

When another neighbor found out that Ella likes Frida Kahlo and was going to dress up as the Mexican artist for Halloween, she appeared at our door right around that time with a piece of Frida-inspired art for Ella's room.

And when I mentioned in passing to a neighbor that we have an outpatient surgery on the calendar for one of our family members later this month, she immediately offered to bring us dinner the day of the surgery.

I remember quite well the sadness I felt when we moved from our dream home to this house in order to get closer to the services our children need.  The house is still not my favorite though we have made many improvements (more on that in another post maybe), but one of the unexpected silver linings has been this colorful assortment of neighbors of all ages and from many different backgrounds who are trying their best not to let closed doors and electronic screens stand in the way of real community.  And for that, I am thankful.

IAC 471 & 472 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 471 which was held on August 8, 2019:

1) Dutch dossier from March 2013 referred a male child aged 4 years and 7 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from September 2014 referred a male child aged 8 years and 9 months with features in health status

3) Italian dossier from November 2015 referred a male child aged 4 years and 2 months with features in health status and a family history

4) Italian dossier from November 2015 referred a child - no additional info provided

5) US dossier from February 2016 referred a female child aged 1 year and 6 months with features in health status and a family history

6) Belgian dossier from January 2017 referred a male child aged 1 year and 1 month with features in health status and a family history

7) Italian dossier from April 2018 referred sisters aged 7 years and 5 months & 9 years and 10 months

8) Italian dossier from June 2019 referred a waiting child

9) US dossier from July 2019 referred a waiting child

10) US dossier from August 2019 referred a waiting child

11) US dossier from August 2019 referred a waiting child

---------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 472 which was held on August 15, 2019:

1) French dossier from October 2014 referred a female child aged 5 years and 3 months with features in health status

2) French dossier from October 2014 referred two brothers aged 6 years and 3 months & 7 years and 8 months

3) US dossier from December 2015 referred a female child aged 2 years with features in health status

4) Norwegian dossier from June 2016 referred a male child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status

5) Italian dossier from June 2018 referred a female child aged 11 years and 7 months

Blue Joy

For the last few months, Emilia has been asking us for blue hair.  We tried to put it off, thinking she would change her mind or forget, but she never did.  Every couple of days or so she reiterated her request.  Finally, we gave in and made her an appointment with our trusted Miss Kelly and earlier this week it was time for the magic to happen.

While Kelly worked on Emilia's hair, she asked her, "Why blue hair?" and much to our surprise - because she had never really told us the reason and I guess we never asked - Emilia answered confidently, "To be like Joy in the movie."  In that moment it all made sense to Craig and me.  Emilia has been watching the movie Inside Out a lot and the character that represents the emotion of joy has blue hair.  Knowing that the desire to emulate this particular character was the inspiration behind Emilia's request erased any lingering doubt that I may have had about the blue hair and got me fully on board with Emilia's decision to choose joy for herself. 

It served also as an important reminder to presume competence for my sweet girl who certainly does far more complex thinking and intentional decision-making than what she may be able to express verbally and than what we may give her credit for at any given time.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...
You're the most joyful one of all.

Farm Fresh

From mid-May to mid-October our family is part of a local CSA, receiving a box full of seasonal goodness once a week.  We know our Farmer Nancy personally, we see her at farmers' markets or when she brings our produce to the door, and we have been to her farm and toured the fields and greenhouses.  We enjoy our weekly delivery from Nancy and before the last one of the season, we added on a half bushel of mixed apples, just for eating and for making apple butter.

But now the local CSA is closed for the winter and I was mulling on how to best get fruits and vegetables over the next six or seven months.  I don't particularly enjoy shopping for produce at the store because it's pretty tedious, but I do usually get a culinary kick out of having a box of semi-random ingredients dropped into my lap and then seeing what I can create from it.  So enter Misfit Market, a delivery service of organic produce from US and some foreign farms.  I've seen their ads and then a friend got started and was happy with the quality and quantity of the produce, so I signed up, too.  On Friday, we received our first box.

I quickly adjusted Saturday's dinner to be a roasted fennel and pumpkin soup along with roasted pumpkin seeds (from a cooking pumpkin we still had hanging around from Farmer Nancy's last box) and an apple cream cake for Sunday brunch.  For this week I plan on chocolate muffins with beet puree in the batter as well as a greens and potato soup.  The bell peppers and celery will be eaten raw for snacks and in salads. Add a couple of cups of tea with lemon (just FYI, Misfit Market, you stole my heart by adding lemons) and the box should be just about used up.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Misfit Market will bring us throughout the winter season and what delectable meals we can conjure up.

Slow & Steady

When the school year began for my two younger children in mid-August, I started a new tradition.  Right after they board the bus, I begin a 15 minute walk that, at the end, crosses paths with their school bus again as it finishes its loops through nearby neighborhoods.  There's a big oak tree and I stand near it to wave to Rex and Emilia once more while they make their way to school.  It took Emilia just a few days to figure out that I was going to be there and wave back to me, but Rex didn't seem to notice me for weeks.

But then one magical morning at the beginning of this month Rex saw me there and his face lit up and he blew me a kiss unlike any before.  My heart skipped a beat and I was filled with joy.  And I realized again that while my sweet boy does not always keep pace with his companions, when he eventually gets it (whatever it is), he is all in and in for good.  Since that morning, when the bus slows to a stop at the three-way by the oak tree, Rex's face is turned to where he knows I will be standing and he flashes me his biggest, happiest smile every single time, reminding me that I am one lucky, lucky mama to be loved so wholly and unconditionally by my son who marches to the beat of a different drummer.

From The Mouth Of Babes

Child, "Mama, you know the two things you always say all the time?"
Mom, "I say a lot of things on any given day."
Child, "Yeah, but here's the two things you say ALL THE TIME."
Mom ... ... ...
Child, "What am I doing and where is my phone."

#mylifeinanutshell

Picture Of The Day

When you have some time to burn before an afternoon appointment... daddy daughter dessert perfection.

Preparing For Battle

Always In Our Hearts

A Happy Wedding Day

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

One of our late summer traditions is to have our family picture taken in the five week span each year where our children are three different ages, such as 9, 10, and 11 in 2019.  For the last five years, the same wonderful professional photographer has captured lovely images of our hard to photograph bunch.  It started in 2015 with me telling her that I just wanted one photo with everyone looking in the approximate right direction and reasonably happy, but she has always given us so much more, not just in regard to the pictures, but in terms of patience, thoughtfulness, and acceptance.

Our annual photo shoot is a benchmark for me about where we were as a family.  Each time, I can look back and mark progress and challenges for our children.  We have one child that is triggered by the idea of a family photo, one child who has steadily improved the ability to be photographed and participate in the process, and one child who still gets overwhelmed by the sensory aspects of the outdoor session, such as barking dogs, grass clippings that stick to shoes, and insects buzzing nearby.  It's never perfect when we endeavor on this annual adventure, but the photos are always exactly right.

After finishing up at the park, we head to breakfast where we eat way too much food, make far too much noise, and leave a too big tip. Thank you, Carrie Lynne, for five great years of priceless memories.  Here's to many more.

"The question is not what you look at, but what you see." 
- H.D. Thoreau

IAC Sessions 468-470 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 468 which was held on July 4, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from November 2012 referred a male child aged one year with features in health status

2) French dossier from January 2015 referred two brothers aged 4 years and 7 months & 6 years and 6 months

3) French dossier from March 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 4 months with a family history

4) US dossier from April 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 6 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from November 2018 referred a waiting child - no additional information provided

6) US dossier from June 2019 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

7) US dossier from June 2019 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

8) US dossier from July 2019 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

9) US dossier from July 2019 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided
--------------------------------
The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 469 which was held on July 25, 2019:

8 dossiers from June and July 2019 from the USA matched to waiting children with profiles on the MOJ site - no additional information provided

---------------------------------------------
The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 470 which was held on July 31, 2019:

1) Norwegian dossier from October 2012 referred a male child age aged 3 years and 2 months

2) Italian dossier from October 2013 referred a make child aged 7 years and 10 months

3) French dossier from December 2013 referred a female child aged 6 years and 11 months with features in health status

4) US dossier from January 2014 referred a female child aged 6 years

5) Italian dossier from April 2015 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

6) French dossier from December 2015 referred two brothers aged 5 years and 1 month and 6 years and 1 month with features in health status

7) US dossier from March 2018 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

8) Italian dossier from April 2019 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

9) Italian dossier from July 2019 referred a male child aged 10 years and 7 months with a family history

10) US dossier from July 2019 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

11) US dossier from July 2019 referred a waiting child with a profile on the MOJ website - no additional information provided

Aloha Autumn

Ready to ring in fall tonight with neighborhood friends around the campfire.

First Day Of Homeschool School

My big girl was more than ready to head out this morning for her first day at her new (two days a week) school. She had jitters and butterflies and couldn't eat breakfast, but she hopped right in when her ride pulled up in the driveway.  We're hopeful that this small, supportive and less restrictive educational setting will be a great fit for her, academically and socially. Go get'em, kid!

Picture Of The Day

Swim wear design by Ella M.  The cap is my fave.

Subbotnik On A Wednesday

Today Ella and I put in our annual volunteering hours at her new school which starts after Labor Day.  Along with other families, we spent six hours getting the building and grounds ready for the school year which gave Ella a great opportunity to become familiar with the facility as well as meet some administrators and even some of her teachers.

Ella was assigned to help in the art room.  She went through several hundred markers to check if they still worked and also decorated some pins the teacher wants to use for displays throughout the year. I spent my time sweeping floors, pulling weeds, washing windows, making signs, dusting, and moving furniture.

During my rounds through the school, I was able to snap a lot of photos.  Here are one of two art classrooms on the left, a language arts classroom in the middle, and a history classroom on the right:

And here a performing arts classroom on the left, a garden that has been allowed to overgrow this summer in preparation for a Modern Day Pioneering class, and one of several lunch rooms from among which the students can choose each day:

It was a sweaty, dirty day, but we're looking forward to Open House this weekend and for Ella to start her exciting Wednesday and Friday schedule in this program.

Trauma & Self-Harm

"We can conclude that trauma may play a role in development of both trichotillomania and skin picking. Increased duration of trichotillomania or skin picking was correlated with decreased presence of post-traumatic stress symptoms. The reason for the negative correlation of severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms and self-harming behavior may be speculated as developing trichotillomania or skin picking symptoms helps the patient to cope with intrusive thoughts related to trauma."

When a traumatized child was encouraged to refrain from skin picking...

IAC Results 465-67

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 465 which was held on June 6, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from September 2012 referred a male child aged 3 years and 1 month

2) French dossier from September 2013 referred a male child aged 7 years and 8 months with a family history

3) Spanish dossier from March 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status

4) Italian dossier from January 2015 referred two sisters aged 7 years and 5 months & 9 years and 8 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from January 2018 referred a brother and sister aged 8 years and 10 months & 8 years with features in health status and a family history

6) Italian dossier from March 2019 referred a male child aged 10 years and 6 months with a family history

7) US dossier from May 2019 referred a waiting child (#3686) with a profile in the MOJ site
-------------------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 466 which was held on June 13, 2019:

1) Spanish dossier from August 2012 referred a male child aged 4 years and 5 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from September 2013 referred a male child aged 7 years and 8 months

3) French dossier from December 2014 referred a female child aged 1 year and 10 months with features in health status

4) Italian dossier from March 2017 referred two sisters aged 9 years and 10 months & 8 years and 3 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from June 2019 referred three waiting children (#3737 & #3738 & #3739 ) with profiles on the MOJ site
-------------------

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 467 which was held on June 27, 2019:

1) Italian dossier from December 2015 referred two brothers aged 4 years and 5 months & 3 years and 4 months with features in health status and a family history

2) Italian dossier from January 2016 referred a sister and brother aged 7 years and 8 months & 6 years and 2 months with features in health status

3) Spanish dossier from March 2016 referred a male child aged 3 years and 10 months with features in health status and a family history

4) US dossier from December 2017 referred a female child aged 1 year and 6 months with features in health status

5) Italian dossier from March 2018 referred two brothers aged 9 years and 11 months & 6 years and 3 months with features in health status

6) US dossier from June 2019 referred a waiting child (#3658) with a profile in the MOJ site

7) US dossier from June 2019 referred a waiting child (#3736) with a profile in the MOJ site

8) US dossier from June 2019 referred a waiting child (#3262) with a profile in the MOJ site

And So It Begins Again

Today is the first day of school for my newly minted third graders.   As usual, I am filled more with worry than with joy as they embark on this next leg of their journey.  There are many transitions especially for Emilia this time around because she has been assigned to a nearly completely new team of teachers and therapists.

She's gotten bigger and a new lunchbox to hold more food was finally in order.

I will miss her squeals from the pool throughout the day, her wardrobe changes from morning till night, and the many many hugs, kisses and words of love I receive from her while she's at home.  I will miss taking her big brother's decoy pizza out of the freezer each morning around 10, so he could eat the frozen pepperoni off it.  I will miss seeing his smiling face in the backyard hammock with a bag of potato chips and some music, and his zest for swimming and diving under the water at summer's every opportunity.

Rex has finally outgrown the backpack he has been using since he was 3.5 years old and received a new one, as did Emilia.

I hope to do daily encouraging messages again on Rex's applesauce.

Here's to 2019/20.  May it be a good year for learning and growth for my sweet babes.  May they feel safe, happy, understood by their educators, and cherished by their friends.  I love you both so much.

Summer Vacation 2019

Earlier this month we embarked on our much anticipated summer beach vacation.  This year took us to Pleasure Island where we rented a house right on the beach with mere steps from our back door to the sand.  We had a wonderfully relaxing week in North Carolina whiling away the hours with swimming, sunning, movies, meals and naps. 

Here are some things I want to remember from this vacation: Rex's exuberant excitement upon seeing the ocean again, Ella's first taste of sushi, Emilia's bravery in the waves after many timid years, meeting up with friends on the way to and from NC, seeing a rainbow, sunrises and fireworks, Britts Donuts, the popularity of the outdoor shower, singing in the car, and uncontrollable laughter after lights out at the hotel on the way home.

We're so thankful once again for this special time together as a family and for the opportunity to get away to a place we all love.

The First 100

Under Ohio education law, a home schooler has to receive a minimum of 900 instructional hours between July 1 of one year and June 30 of the next year.  Our home school year for Ella always runs that 365 days so we have the maximum amount of time to provide those hours.

We just completed the first 100 hours of the 2019/20 school year and because it's summer, they were pretty enjoyable hours including lots of swimming...

 ... occupational therapy...

... field trip to the Nature Center...

... three coding classes at Microsoft...

... field trip to the zoo...

... attending the birth of a puppy including an emergency C-section...

... learning about science and business at Craig's work...

... and, of course, the dreaded table work...

... and this last picture is just for cuteness...

Here's to fifth grade.