December 6, 2011

The morning started with all four kids up and at ‘em by the time I got home at 6:15a. What is up with that!? Oh well, I enjoyed the sight of my two little boys, sitting at the kitchen table in p-pops, each playing with their two cars while drinking “tea” (apple cider) while I made breakfast. And the girls were happily playing in the back room.While I was in the bathroom after my shower, Abram said, "Mom, we are resting." Um, something like that!
The girls hard at play in the morning!
Getting some lovin' from my baby boy. He does not hand out the physical affection very often, so I was loving it!
We had chiropractor appointments in the late morning and then went to Pammel Grocery to pick up cassava (shrubby, tropical, perennial plant) flour and corn flour. The girls have asked for “fu-fu” to eat, while motioning that they eat it with their hands. I called the Congolese woman we met a few weeks ago and she told me what to buy. I’m guessing the girls know how to make it. All four kids fell asleep on the way home (which has made nap/rest time interesting)!

The girls are currently (3:45p) outside playing and have been for over an hour . . . and it is even colder today! After they rode their bikes for awhile, they asked me if they could cross the street to ride them. Umm, no. But, I am thankful that they are learning to ask about things like this instead of just doing it. (Our rule is they have to stay on the sidewalk in front of our house and go back and forth if we are not outside with them.) They were forced, then, to get creative. Who knew that one slightly slanted driveway, one skateboard and two girls could have so much fun! I heard them scream like little girls on a roller coaster for a good chunk of time. And I enjoyed watching them from the front window from time to time. After Zoe came in to get another pair of socks for Claire, they are back to their bikes. I guess having to tolerate extremely hot (and other horrible) conditions in Africa makes tolerating freezing cold no big deal for them.

Speaking of watching them from my front window, I haven’t mentioned how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this house. I am SO GRATEFUL for God’s provision of it. I knew it was a wonderful gift from God before, but now that the kids are home, I appreciate it even more. God has been so good to us.

I heard back from the doctor yesterday about one of the kid’s blood work because there are a couple things going on. Not major things but still things needing attention. We are still waiting to see the final results and hear about the other kids. I thought I would mention that you if are adopting internationally, it is worth considering haing your kids seen by a pediatric infectious disease doctor. This wasn’t something we were actually planning on doing, but our regular doctor (along with our friends who have lived in Congo) suggested it. The Ped Infectious Disease doctor in Ames does not see patients under 8 years old, so we were referred to Dr. Costagnini, the Pediatric Infectious Disease doctor. at Blank in Des Moines. He is WONDERFUL (and so is his nurse). Dr. Costagnini said he does not base his testing on how the kids look on the outside (our kids look very healthy), but goes through a routine number of tests specific to international adoptions (Hepatitis panel, whole blood count, HIV, TB, tests for different parasites, and more than I can’t think of off the top of my head). He said that there are a few things that don’t show symptoms now but can show up down the road (for example syphilis can be contracted in-uetero and cause things that look like ADD, headaches, etc. years down the road). Just thought I’d throw that out there since we’ve learned about it.

I tried to do craft time before dinner last night and wow, that was not a good idea. The kitchen was a disaster and I was nearing the end of my rope. Lesson learned! But, the good news is that the girls have been enjoying the Advent crafts we have been making. And I'm learning that they do much better with a specific craft/project to work on rather than just giving them supplies to have them come up with something on their own.

Check out my miniature African preacher boy! (Stephanie Loveland, do you recognize this?!)

This (and a second one like it, handed down from my friend who has twin boys) has been hanging in the boys closet and Isaiah keeps pointing it out. So, I finally let him wear it after his nap.

His wink!