Canonball!!!!
at store . . . he must be loving that bandana!!
His counselor, Reed, throwing him in the pool
the cabin on Day 1 (they get a real picture in their Sunday whites too)
7.30.2012
Oh Alpine!
Here are some more Alpine pictures that we found on the website showing Ward having a great time! So much fun to see.
Crazy Horse
That is the name of Ward's cabin at Alpine. To say that he was excited when we drove up to Mentone and dropped him off would be an understatement. When we got out of the car and walked into his cabin he never looked back. He was in heaven.
There are 4 campers and 2 counselors in his cabin. He knew 2 of the boys already. One a friend from Bham and the other is his friend Eliot from Memphis. His counselors were outstanding young men - an Ole Miss boy and the other is a Jeffersonian scholar at UVA. Not so shabby. I know that he will be taken care of and loved by these young men.
When we were leaving I was trying to get him to get down from his bunk to give me a hug and kiss (which I eventually got) but he screamed out "Bye Mom. I won't miss you!" Made a mother proud. At least I don't have to worry about homesickness!
I still can't believe that he is going to be away from us for a full 10 days. This weekend was kinda nice to have a little quiet but by this morning I was full-on missing him and his sweet face. But just knowing how much fun he is having (and seeing some of that fun though pictures on Alpine's website) it makes me happy. I loved camp so much and I feel like it is so much a part of me. I can't wait for him to have those experiences that I did. Something about that mountain changes people . . . he will definitely come back a more independent boy, but I hope that other things will start changing in his young heart as well. I can't wait to see it all!
There are 4 campers and 2 counselors in his cabin. He knew 2 of the boys already. One a friend from Bham and the other is his friend Eliot from Memphis. His counselors were outstanding young men - an Ole Miss boy and the other is a Jeffersonian scholar at UVA. Not so shabby. I know that he will be taken care of and loved by these young men.
When we were leaving I was trying to get him to get down from his bunk to give me a hug and kiss (which I eventually got) but he screamed out "Bye Mom. I won't miss you!" Made a mother proud. At least I don't have to worry about homesickness!
I still can't believe that he is going to be away from us for a full 10 days. This weekend was kinda nice to have a little quiet but by this morning I was full-on missing him and his sweet face. But just knowing how much fun he is having (and seeing some of that fun though pictures on Alpine's website) it makes me happy. I loved camp so much and I feel like it is so much a part of me. I can't wait for him to have those experiences that I did. Something about that mountain changes people . . . he will definitely come back a more independent boy, but I hope that other things will start changing in his young heart as well. I can't wait to see it all!
7.29.2012
From Vlad to Moscow
The story all began almost three (it was 2 when I started this post but life was very busy last week) weeks ago - on July 11 - the day after I heard the bad news about the latest child in Russia that we would not be meeting. After some tears the day before (and some really pretty flowers from my sweet and patient husband), I was pulling it together. A part of me just knew that the news would not be good - I was kinda getting used to it. But I was getting ready to go out with my tennis team to celecrate our state win and I was burning some time on Facebook. For some reason I decided to send a FB message to a woman who lives in my neighborhood who adopted twins from Russia about 4 years ago. I had only met her a couple of times, but she and her husband had a long struggle adopting and I thought that I would just tell her our latest frustration. After I sent it, I headed out to dinner with the tennis girls and really didn't think another thing about it.
While I was at dinner my phone started blowing up. First, it was a response to the FB message I sent right before I went to dinner. The first was the typical "I'm so sorry, hang in there, and the like." But then, about 30 minutes later, I got a"Please call me ASAP." And then another one like that. And then she started calling my cell phone (which she had to get my number from a friend we have in common). I didn't answer since I was with a big group, and it was too late when I got home to call her. But she had left a message on our home phone telling me that after she got my FB message she contacted her adoption agency and they had a 9 month old healthy girl that MAY be available in August. There was one family deciding whether to take her or a boy. BUT she is in Moscow and we are in Vlad. And with a different agency.
In the morning (Thursday 7/12) I talked to Ted and called her back. We decided that I should call the other agency and check it out. It seemed to good to be true. You NEVER hear about a healthy 9 month old girl. It just doesn't happen. And this agency didn't have a family for her? We have been waiting for almost a year and have been #1 in line since February. But maybe God was telling us something. Maybe, just maybe our child wasn't waiting for us in an orphanage in Vlad, but maye she was in an orphanage in Moscow. And maybe I needed to trust and follow where He was leading me.
So I called the new agency and it all checked out. I then made a difficult phone call to the current agency and told them what was going on that we were considering switching agencies. Of course they wanted us to do what was best for our family, but they too thought it was too good to be true. And they had heard that Moscow wasn't processing adoptions (not true by the way). They were being cautious. We were too and needed to do some more due diligence. But at this point, another family still had priority over us. The baby might not even be available for us . . . if we decided to switch.
Late that afternoon, I was scarmbling to get food for the kids, pick up the babysitter, and get downtown to a recruiting event for Ted's law firm. I was in line at Chick-Fil-A and my phone rang. I looked down and it was a call from Michigan - the new agency. The family had decided to wait for a boy, and if we wanted to switch (a BIG process) we would be first in line for the healthy 9 month old girl. WHAT? This was too much for me to process. After all our wait and heartbreak. But we couldn't even talk because of the recruiting event.
So after a grueling night and next day of prayers, tears, doubting, and talking, Ted and I decided to take the risk. And the risk is big. The entire year long wait in Vlad is erased. Gone. Like it never happened. I had to re-do ALL our documents for our dossier in record time. It took me about 2 months to do it the last time. This time I finished it all in 3 1/2 days. On Thursday, July 19 I drove to Montgomery and went to the Secretary of State and got all the documents apostilled myself. Then I found a hole-in-the-wall FedEx and priority overnighted the documents to our new agency. She got them to Moscow on Monday, July 23rd and they were translated in ONE week!!! (It took one month with our old agency!). And this Monday, tomorrow, the team in Moscow is submitting our dossier for Registration in Moscow. If all goes as planned, I should have a lot more information at the end of this week. And we may be headed to Moscow in August. Unreal. Praise the Lord!!!
While I was at dinner my phone started blowing up. First, it was a response to the FB message I sent right before I went to dinner. The first was the typical "I'm so sorry, hang in there, and the like." But then, about 30 minutes later, I got a"Please call me ASAP." And then another one like that. And then she started calling my cell phone (which she had to get my number from a friend we have in common). I didn't answer since I was with a big group, and it was too late when I got home to call her. But she had left a message on our home phone telling me that after she got my FB message she contacted her adoption agency and they had a 9 month old healthy girl that MAY be available in August. There was one family deciding whether to take her or a boy. BUT she is in Moscow and we are in Vlad. And with a different agency.
In the morning (Thursday 7/12) I talked to Ted and called her back. We decided that I should call the other agency and check it out. It seemed to good to be true. You NEVER hear about a healthy 9 month old girl. It just doesn't happen. And this agency didn't have a family for her? We have been waiting for almost a year and have been #1 in line since February. But maybe God was telling us something. Maybe, just maybe our child wasn't waiting for us in an orphanage in Vlad, but maye she was in an orphanage in Moscow. And maybe I needed to trust and follow where He was leading me.
So I called the new agency and it all checked out. I then made a difficult phone call to the current agency and told them what was going on that we were considering switching agencies. Of course they wanted us to do what was best for our family, but they too thought it was too good to be true. And they had heard that Moscow wasn't processing adoptions (not true by the way). They were being cautious. We were too and needed to do some more due diligence. But at this point, another family still had priority over us. The baby might not even be available for us . . . if we decided to switch.
Late that afternoon, I was scarmbling to get food for the kids, pick up the babysitter, and get downtown to a recruiting event for Ted's law firm. I was in line at Chick-Fil-A and my phone rang. I looked down and it was a call from Michigan - the new agency. The family had decided to wait for a boy, and if we wanted to switch (a BIG process) we would be first in line for the healthy 9 month old girl. WHAT? This was too much for me to process. After all our wait and heartbreak. But we couldn't even talk because of the recruiting event.
So after a grueling night and next day of prayers, tears, doubting, and talking, Ted and I decided to take the risk. And the risk is big. The entire year long wait in Vlad is erased. Gone. Like it never happened. I had to re-do ALL our documents for our dossier in record time. It took me about 2 months to do it the last time. This time I finished it all in 3 1/2 days. On Thursday, July 19 I drove to Montgomery and went to the Secretary of State and got all the documents apostilled myself. Then I found a hole-in-the-wall FedEx and priority overnighted the documents to our new agency. She got them to Moscow on Monday, July 23rd and they were translated in ONE week!!! (It took one month with our old agency!). And this Monday, tomorrow, the team in Moscow is submitting our dossier for Registration in Moscow. If all goes as planned, I should have a lot more information at the end of this week. And we may be headed to Moscow in August. Unreal. Praise the Lord!!!
7.24.2012
Lots to Report
A lot has happened at the Holt household since I last wrote anything on this blog. Sorry that I have not been keeping it very updated, but I will try to report all that has gone on:
1. House addition - coming along nicely. I think that they will be done in 2-3 weeks and we will be moved in. The hardwood floors are being put in today. This is a long, skinky process so we will probably spend some nights with my parents in the upcoming days. The kids will love that. It is really looking amazing and I can't believe that it is actually my house. We are going to live on the porch and will be able to enjoy it right in time for football season! Roll Tide!
2. Kids - everyone is great. Ward is gearing up for Camp Alpine. He leaves on Saturday and will be gone for 10 days. He has not even batted an eyelid about being away from us for so long and I hope that it stays that way. Ann Park turned 6 on Friday and had a great day. She is waiting to have her party (roller skating!) once school starts back so all her friends can come. We did have her best friend over to swim, get their nails done, and even go get her favorite meal - spaghetti and meatballs at Brio! They had a great time. Sam is just chugging along. Still working on his attitude and his extreme attachment to me. I am so glad that i signed him up for school 5 days a week (9-1) next year. He is so ready to get out of the house every day!
3. Adtoption - This is where the big news is and what has kept me off the computer these last few weeks. After the disappintment of losing another child, we made a change. But the cool thing is how it all happened. I am going to put that in another post. It deserves it. Long story short is that we switched agencies and are now going to get our little girl from Moscow. How did it all happen? Stay tuned . . . .
1. House addition - coming along nicely. I think that they will be done in 2-3 weeks and we will be moved in. The hardwood floors are being put in today. This is a long, skinky process so we will probably spend some nights with my parents in the upcoming days. The kids will love that. It is really looking amazing and I can't believe that it is actually my house. We are going to live on the porch and will be able to enjoy it right in time for football season! Roll Tide!
2. Kids - everyone is great. Ward is gearing up for Camp Alpine. He leaves on Saturday and will be gone for 10 days. He has not even batted an eyelid about being away from us for so long and I hope that it stays that way. Ann Park turned 6 on Friday and had a great day. She is waiting to have her party (roller skating!) once school starts back so all her friends can come. We did have her best friend over to swim, get their nails done, and even go get her favorite meal - spaghetti and meatballs at Brio! They had a great time. Sam is just chugging along. Still working on his attitude and his extreme attachment to me. I am so glad that i signed him up for school 5 days a week (9-1) next year. He is so ready to get out of the house every day!
3. Adtoption - This is where the big news is and what has kept me off the computer these last few weeks. After the disappintment of losing another child, we made a change. But the cool thing is how it all happened. I am going to put that in another post. It deserves it. Long story short is that we switched agencies and are now going to get our little girl from Moscow. How did it all happen? Stay tuned . . . .
7.10.2012
Not a good day
The news from Russia was not good today. The two girls who rolled off the registry at the end of June/beginning of July are tagged by Russians for adoption. There are no other girls meeting our requirements rolling off this month and we don't know about the next.
So more waiting. And a little more crying too.
So more waiting. And a little more crying too.
6.25.2012
State Champs!
Last weekend my tennis team went to the USTA state tennis tournament. There were a total of ten teams in our league representing cities from all over the state and after a weekend of play our team made it to the finals. I re-injured my ankle on the first day of play and didn't think that I was going to be able to play the rest of the weekend. I spent a lot of time scoping out the other teams and helping with strategy. I made the call on Sunday that I was okay to play and our incredible coach had faith in me and put me in at first court singles. I played my heart out and won 6-3, 6-3! It was a great feeling to be able to contribute in the end to a hard-fouhgt victory. Two of our team members had to leave on Saturday (including our captain), but here we are right after the win:
Because we won state, we now move on to Regionals. We represent Alabama and play the other winners from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. It is at the end of July. I am not sure if I am going to be able to join them because of our adoption, but I will definitely be there in spirit if I can't be there in person!
Oh yeah, and we each got a glass trophy and bag tag for the win. The kids loved the fact that I got a trophy and thought it was so funny that it was so small. It is kinda dorky, but I have it on my desk at home in the kitchen. It makes me smile just to look at it. And as far as the bag tag, those are COVETED in the tennis world!
Because we won state, we now move on to Regionals. We represent Alabama and play the other winners from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. It is at the end of July. I am not sure if I am going to be able to join them because of our adoption, but I will definitely be there in spirit if I can't be there in person!
Oh yeah, and we each got a glass trophy and bag tag for the win. The kids loved the fact that I got a trophy and thought it was so funny that it was so small. It is kinda dorky, but I have it on my desk at home in the kitchen. It makes me smile just to look at it. And as far as the bag tag, those are COVETED in the tennis world!
6.18.2012
Anxious
Not that this should come as news to anyone who actually reads my random thoughts on here, but I am getting anxious. Really anxious. The end of June is right around the corner and I want the referral of our baby girl so badly it hurts. I am trying to keep myself occupied (which isn't that hard considering I have a ton of stuff going on at work, a house under construction, kids out of school, and my tennis team is going to the state tournament this weekend), but even with all of that, the adoption occupies the vast majority of my thoughts. I was so disappointed/hurt/angry about the last time we were expecting a referral and it didn't work out, and I just don't want that to happen again. I don't know if my psyche could handle it right now.
And we have been waiting SO LONG. I mean, to put it in perspective for you, we started this process on January 15, 2011. And our homestudy/dossier was sent to Russia on July 7, 2011, almost one year ago. We were registered in Vladivostok in late August 2011 and were told six months until a referral. It has been 10.
I know that God has a plan, and I am trying to find comfort in it, but right now it is getting the best of me. Please say a quick prayer . . . for me. That I will lean on the Lord and not on my own strength as it is failing me right now. I have these moments where all I want to do is hole up in my room and weep. And it is not because I am feeling sorry for myself. I know that I am so blessed - all I have to do is look at my wonderful husband, three amazing kids and the rest of my family and friends. I just know that someone is missing and she is sitting (crawling? walking?) in an orphanage in Vladivostok, Russia and I want to bring her home.
And we have been waiting SO LONG. I mean, to put it in perspective for you, we started this process on January 15, 2011. And our homestudy/dossier was sent to Russia on July 7, 2011, almost one year ago. We were registered in Vladivostok in late August 2011 and were told six months until a referral. It has been 10.
I know that God has a plan, and I am trying to find comfort in it, but right now it is getting the best of me. Please say a quick prayer . . . for me. That I will lean on the Lord and not on my own strength as it is failing me right now. I have these moments where all I want to do is hole up in my room and weep. And it is not because I am feeling sorry for myself. I know that I am so blessed - all I have to do is look at my wonderful husband, three amazing kids and the rest of my family and friends. I just know that someone is missing and she is sitting (crawling? walking?) in an orphanage in Vladivostok, Russia and I want to bring her home.
6.11.2012
Soft spot
I'm not ashamed to admit it. I've got a soft spot for musicals. So last night the Tony Awards was on my list and it did not disappoint. I know that I have at least a couple of friends of the musical out there - come on Shay, I'm talking about you, as well as some others. Here is a recap of some of my favorite performances . . Sit back, relax and enjoy (or don't and miss out on some good stuff!)
The opening song from Neil Patrick Harris was priceless. He should host the Oscars.
These were up for Best Musical:
Newsies (an old Disney classic) is just 100% classic Broadway. The dancing is amazing in this.
I've gotta see it!
Leap of Faith - you know that anything with gospel singers is gonna be good.
Nice Work if You Can Get It - with Matthew Broderick. It would be awesome to see him on Broadway.
And finally, Once. I'll go ahead and let you know that it won. The guy singing also won best actor in a leading role in a musical which was huge for him. I love this movie and the music from it - such a good love story. I don't think that they played the best song last night, but who am I to judge? There are definitely some amazing musicians in this show.
Oh yeah, and Annie is coming back to Broadway in October. I'm gonna have to think of a way to get Ann Park up there to see that one. We'll be practicing batting her eyelids at daddy . . . better yet, at Papa!!
The opening song from Neil Patrick Harris was priceless. He should host the Oscars.
These were up for Best Musical:
Newsies (an old Disney classic) is just 100% classic Broadway. The dancing is amazing in this.
I've gotta see it!
Leap of Faith - you know that anything with gospel singers is gonna be good.
Nice Work if You Can Get It - with Matthew Broderick. It would be awesome to see him on Broadway.
And finally, Once. I'll go ahead and let you know that it won. The guy singing also won best actor in a leading role in a musical which was huge for him. I love this movie and the music from it - such a good love story. I don't think that they played the best song last night, but who am I to judge? There are definitely some amazing musicians in this show.
Oh yeah, and Annie is coming back to Broadway in October. I'm gonna have to think of a way to get Ann Park up there to see that one. We'll be practicing batting her eyelids at daddy . . . better yet, at Papa!!
Celebration of Sam, the Three Year Old
Two Wednesdays ago, we finished the day by celebrating our wild, crazy, and sometimes terrible resident three year old. Sam requested a bouncy house and a Buzz Lightyear theme. He got both. But mama wised up and only invited six other little boys. Along with siblings, there were about 10-12 kids total and somehow I avoided having my house wrecked. We also kept the bog kids and little kids separate in the bouncy house which was really great. The little ones had the best time bouncing and things got really fun (or funny however you look at it) when Papa joined in the fun. It was a blast, and I drank a well-deserved glass of wine, or three, after it was over.
yellow cupcakes with white icing (a very specific request from a three year old!)
Cher Cher getting a little loving before our friends got there
Ward and Ladd Bailey having fun
Ward helping Sam blow out his 3 candles!
Paul Vincent left a little icing for later!
the bad big boys!
Papa joined in the fun!
Sam tackling Papa!
So much fun!
a picture of mama (to prove I was there!)
6.03.2012
So annoying
So I just realized that not only is MobileMe going away, which is how I shared all my photos, but Kodak Gallery is now becoming Shutterfly. I switched to Kodak because I could not stand Shutterfly. And I was hoping that iCloud would hold photos, but it does not. Guess that means that I will be getting an external hard drive to back-up all my photos. How do you back-up all your photos on your computer? I would die if I lost them. I have uploaded some to Koadk (soon to be Shutterfly), but not that many (probably less than 1/4) because it is such a pain to do - well, not realy a pain, but it just takes so long and it usually messes up/times out, etc. at least once in the process.
I have now decided to try Flickr since it is linked to iPhoto. I will see how I like it. At least you can order photos through Flickr. Hopefully you don't have to download them to another website. Right off the bat it does not seem to be that user-friendly, but maybe I just need to get used to it. My name is "tedholtfamily" if you are ever looking for me. I think that you have to have an account to view my photos and I am keeping them open only to friends and family so make sure that you find me and I'll add you as a friend. Mom, I am sure that you are not understanding any of this. Have dad set you up, or I will come over and show you how it works. Jeanne is trying it to - for many of the same reasons. We shall see.
I have now decided to try Flickr since it is linked to iPhoto. I will see how I like it. At least you can order photos through Flickr. Hopefully you don't have to download them to another website. Right off the bat it does not seem to be that user-friendly, but maybe I just need to get used to it. My name is "tedholtfamily" if you are ever looking for me. I think that you have to have an account to view my photos and I am keeping them open only to friends and family so make sure that you find me and I'll add you as a friend. Mom, I am sure that you are not understanding any of this. Have dad set you up, or I will come over and show you how it works. Jeanne is trying it to - for many of the same reasons. We shall see.
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