More pics with a little update thrown in

I LOVE her in this color. I never get tired of taking her picture.

How cute is this. Her smile melts me. She's like this ALL the time!

I love this color too. There really isn't a color that looks bad on her.

Isabella is feeling better from her cold. She still has a little stuffy nose but she's doing much better. Alex lost a tooth at school last week. Glad it was at school because I can't pull teeth. It grosses me out! Halloween is tomorrow so I'll be posting pics of costumes. I really do have 4 kids--honest. I'll try to give them equal picture time from now on. Right now the blogger is not being cooperative. Not much else going on. I go tomorrow to the lawyer to start the re-adoption process (Ky law). I think it's just a way for people to make more money. Stupid law! Then off to the social security office and vital statistics to get a foreign birth certificate. As if I haven't done enough paperwork already. Hopefully my next post will have EVERYONE in it!

MY adoption story

In the back: Me (the oldest), Sonya (middle one), Joyelle (Sonya's daughter she gave up for adoption), Judi (my birth mother)
In front: Mitzi (the youngest), Shannon (the next oldest), and Kim (family friend).


This is my adoption story. Most of you that read this blog know I was adopted. For those of you that didn't know that info, it's one reason adoption is near and dear to my heart. So here goes............My Mom decided to adopt a child after 2 miscarriages and a still born baby. They adopted me through the state when I was 4 months old. I have always known I was adopted but didn't really feel any differently. My mom went on to have my 2 more children of their own. To look at us, you wouldn't think I was adopted. Most of my friends never believed me until I got mom to verify it. I was very secure and never felt an "emptiness". The thought of finding my birth family never crossed my mind until I had my first child. I had a very tearful conversation with my Mom and the thought of hurting her really upset me. She said she would support me in whatever I decided to do. I didn't look at that time. I guess God felt like it wasn't the right time. I would have thoughts about it when Oprah would do a show on adoptees or something but that drive was never really there. One day in early 2002, something clicked and I wanted to look for my birth family. I wanted to know who I looked like and if I had any siblings. I had no desire to bad-mouth my birth mother. Heck, I didn't know if she was alive or if she wanted me to find her. Maybe I was a deep dark secret no one knew about. I felt strongly though that I needed to tell her that I wasn't mad at her, that I was OK, and that I had an amazing upbringing. I felt bad for my birth mother, wondering if she thought about me all the time and how I turned out. It was more for her sake that I looked. To make a short story even shorter, it only took me 4 days to find her. I was on a mission and I wasn't going to stop until I did. In Feb of 2002 we talked for the first time, on a Wed I think. We set up to meet that Saturday afternoon at my sister's house who happened to live in Georgetown. Well, Judi and my sister's were all there and we spent hours getting to know each other and trying to cram 34 years into a small amount of time. Fast forward to now, I am close to all of them. We talk often and get together when we can. It is the best thing I have done. I don't regret it at all. It was hard at first on my parents even though they wouldn't tell me that it was. I think they were worried that I would replace them but I reassured them that THEY were my parents and nothing was going to change that. They have since met Judi a couple of times and my sisters too. Everyone is OK with it now.

I'm writing this partly to tell you guys how comfortable I am with being adopted and tell you that it's not an everyday thought. Maybe it's my personality on how well I've dealt with it but I don't think so. I think it had everything to do with my parents. I am so glad they adopted me and I wouldn't change a thing. I just hope that I can do the same for Isabella. I want to make her feel so secure and loved that she doesn't dwell on being adopted and that it isn't a problem for her. I know I can do that.

I left a lot of the story out because of length but I hope you got the jist of it. i just wanted to share the wonderful birth mother and sisters that I have. I know I didn't give you any insight to their lives but that would take FOREVER to do 4 people. Just know that I am VERY PROUD to be part of their family. They never hesitated to take me in and make me a part of their lives. I love them for that.

My baby has a cold

I know, I know. She doesn't look like she has a cold. These were taken a couple of weeks ago when it was warm and sunny not cold and rainy like it is now. She wasn't sure what to think about the flowers. It was really hard to get her to sit still. I don't think she liked sitting in the grass. I thought the flowers would be a pretty background but Isabella didn't agree.

Anyway, I took Isabella to the doctor today to get checked out. She's been really congested for 2 days and really cranky. I would be too if I couldn't breathe. It's kinda hard to eat when you can only breathe through your mouth! The doctor put her on an antibiotic because her ears weren't totally clear and we're at the beginning of the cold. I've been suctioning out her nose (gross) and she was okay with it at first. But I've had to do it so much that now she HATES it. She knows whats coming when I get near her with a Kleenex and she cries. I can't have snot running down her face. So I've been giving her alot more TLC than usual. The doctor also said that her top 4 teeth were ready to come through. I'm sure that's part of the crankiness so I'm also giving her Motrin and using oragel. Seems to make her happy.

I can't bear to take a picture of her crying because it's so pitiful. Maybe I should for proof because she really NEVER cries. No one can believe how good she is. I'll see if I can snap a quick one.

No more braces! (and random pics)

Ok. I know the post says "braces", but you'll have to scroll to the bottom for that picture. I keep forgetting that the blog loads pictures from the bottom /up instead of top/down. This is VERY annoying so if anyone knows how to change this let me know. Anyway, I always like seeing pictures in posts so I had to leave you with some of the kids.

This is Alex's favorite thing to do--play with Isabella.

Isabella and Hunter on the couch. She's trying to get his nose.

This is THE picture I had wanted to post of Shane and Isabella first. It finally decided to load for me. This is the first time Shane got to see Isabella when we got home. He was spending the night with a friend on Sat when we got home. He worked on Sunday then school on Monday. So Monday night, he introduced her to football.

Again, Hunter and Isabella on the couch laughing.

Now, when Hunter was little, he had a gap between his front teeth. He had to much skin there and all the dentists said to wait and see if he permenant teeth pushed it together. Never happened. It didn't bother Hunter, just me. I wanted to do what I could to fix that gap. Hope that doesn't sound vain or shallow. His teeth were straight except for that. Anyway, the braces fixed the gap and last month he got the extra skin cut off. He now has perfect teeth! I let him stay home from school today to celebrate. We have to go back this afternoon to pick up his retainers.

On a side note, last Friday, we got Isabella's Certificate of Citizenship in the mail. She is officially a United States Citizen!

Our Foster Family

I've thought and thought about what to say about these WONDERFUL people. We met with them 3 of the 4 days we were in Guatemala. You couldn't help but see the love the whole family had for Isabella. I know that it's that love that made Isabella the perfect baby that she is. Isabella is so sociable and loving and I owe that to the foster family. This is the only family Isabella knew for the first 8 months and it was so hard to take her away. For those of you that don't know, we had only a few hours notice before we flew to Guatemala. The foster family only had the same notice instead of having a week or so to prepare. The last hours the foster family had with her were spent getting last minute paperwork done and going to appts that were required. They didn't get quality time with her at the end to say goodbye. That was really hard for me because I really felt for them and what they must be going through. In the last picture, they had come to the hotel after much confusion (long story) and I had already put Isabella in bed. I got her up so they could spend time with her. That's why she's in pajamas. It was so worth it. We also got to spend time with the whole family the morning we left. We treated to a buffet breakfast and hired a translator to help. We spent 2 hours talking and all of them getting their turn with Isabella. This was SO priceless and we have a lot of pictures and video to keep. Saying goodbye was really hard for us all. I'm glad we only had to do that once because I don't think my heart could take it again. This family will always be a part of our family and we hope to go back to Guatemala with our other kids to visit them in the near future. I know they see this blog and I hope they don't get mad for posting about them. That's why I left out names. We love them very much and they hold a very special place in our hearts.

Some of the grandparents

I don't know who this man is but for some reason I love this picture. I love how he and Isabella are looking at each other.

This is my Dad. He wouldn't look at the camera so you can't see his face.

This is my Mom. We were at a church picnic. Isabella was one of the main attractions. Nana loved showing her off.

This is the last grandparent I have left. This is my Mom's mom and I call her MeMe. She was so excited during the whole process. She had pictures of Isabella by her bed and she would kiss them before she went to bed and when she got up. She was so excited to finally see Isabella in person.

This is Allen's mom, Mary. This is right after we got home with her. I don't have a picture of Allen's dad so I'll have to post one later.

update and pics (update at the bottom of post)

My Mom lives behind a horse farm so when we go there we like to go see the horses. They come right up to the fence to be petted. Isabella didn't know what to think of them. She didn't cry but kept her eyes glued to them.

This is my cousin Rusty who lives in Washington state. We all had fun with the horses.

Again, she doesn't know what to think of the horses!

Just a random picture. She's probably laughing at Alex.

Sorry it's been so long between postings. It's been kinda busy. On friday Shane got his wisdom teeth taken out so I was babying him all day. On saturday, I was going a little stir crazy so I decided to go shopping. Allen's mom, Mary, Hunter, Alex, Isabella, and I went shopping all day. Isabella was wonderful of course. Sunday, we went to my Mom's house because my uncle Dexter and my cousin, Rusty, were getting ready to leave to go back home to Washington state. They drove here to visit and it was great seeing them. They are so cool and I wish they lived closer. We've been trying to plan a trip out to Washington so maybe next spring break or summer. For those of you that haven't been there, it really is beautiful. Maybe I can get Rusty to send me some pictures to post. Today we are finally getting some much needed rain so we're just hanging out in the house. Tomorrow I'll post pics of the grandparents with Isabella!!

We live "Down Under"

This picture doesn't go along with the others but I LOVE IT! She was eating lunch and cheesing for the camera.

Isabella loves to get UNDER everything. Here she is under the end table. She was actually crawling through to get to the other side.

I thought I would out smart her and put a kitchen chair down to block her in. WRONG! She figured out how to crawl through there too.

She's just playing. This is a game for her. Crawl in--crawl out. Keeps her attention almost as much as Barney (the purple dinosaur)

I had to edit the wording because some of it was showing beside the pictures in a weird way. It didn't do that in a preview so who knows. It's fixed and should be easier to read!

Pics of Isabella

My sister, Mitzi, came to my house to visit. She's really into taking pictures and she took some of Isabella. My MOST favorite one WON'T load for some reason. I had her send it to me in color, sepia, and B/W. If anyone wants to see it, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you. Anyway, that was the first time Mitzi had been to my house and we had a really good day. We played outside with Isabella and drove back to the cemetary on our property to look around and take pictures. I will post about Mitzi and my other sisters later since it is a story by itself. Mean while enjoy these few pics.

This one above is from a different day and I couldn't figure out how to delete it.

Finally! Introducing Shane and Isabella!

Finally I get to talk about Shane. He is 16 years old and a junior in high school. Shane got his license on August 1st so now he has driving and girls on the brain! It makes me a nervous wreck but he really is a good driver. I have Hunter ride with him sometimes to be a spy and let me know if he does anything stupid on the road. A mother's gotta do what a mother's gotta do. Shane works as a lifeguard for Parks and Recreation here in Scott County. It's a good job for him and he likes it alot--especially the paychecks.

I was a little worried about Shane warming up to Isabella but he has done just fine. The first thing he wanted to do was teach her to watch football and like it. There is no hope for Isabella. I think she will end up being a tomboy if Shane has anything to do about it. I told him he had to take Isabella on all his dates to chaperone. That didn't go over very well.

Shane really is a wonderful young man. It seems like yesterday when he was Isabella's age. Where does the time go!! It's hard when they get their license because you have to give them more freedom and it means they are growing. I'm NOT READY for that. Frankly, it scares me to death. I don't know how parents make it through their kids growing up and being independent. I've told all my kids that they can NEVER move away. We have plenty of room here. They can all build their own houses somewhere else on our property. When Shane was little, he had the idea of a perfect house. There would be a big area in the middle for everyone to use then there would be different "wing" for each part of the family to live. This included grandparents and siblings. I keep reminding him of his plan and try to hold him to it. I'm not above guilting him into staying around.

So, as with my other three children, I love him very much and am so proud to be his Mom.!

Antigua continued

This is the restaurant we had lunch at. It was open in the middle which is where we started out but then it started raining so we moved to the side. It was really beautiful and there was another American family there with a tour guide too.

This is what the streets look like in Antigua--minus the archway. They are all brightly colored with cars parked on both sides of the street. I asked our guide how he doesn't get lost being that everything looks the same. He uses the cathedrals as landmarks to know where he is in the city.

This is the park I was talking about. I wish I had chosen the "large picture" option because it really is beautiful. If you can enlarge the photo, please do. The fountain is behind the woman on the bench. The cathedral is behind me across the street. A museum we went to is to my left. You couldn't take pictures in there so I don't have any of that.

This is part of the outside of that hotel we first stopped at. All of the outside is immaculate and beautiful. Who wouldn't want their wedding here?!

This is a parrot that was in a tree in the courtyard of the hotel. There were so many of and you could get soooo close to them. The worker would bring about 10 of them out at a time on these long poles and the birds would just hop off onto their perches.

I finally took more pictures of Shane and Isabella so that will be tomorrows post. Please come back and take a look!