Update

Well, it has been a interesting month. Mike has been laid off since the first part of December. At first I dreaded the thought of having him under my feet, but just about the time I got used to having him around... the union called last week and put him back to work. He is working nights at a landfill driving a haul truck while they are cleaning out a cell. That really flips the whole household around. Now the girls and I have our evenings to ourselves and Livi and I have to be quiet in the morning while he sleeps. This is only temporary (about 6 weeks) until Brooks starts production back up again (where he has been for the last 17 years).

Evan came home in December after announcing that he was quitting Grace College. He was on the fence about taking a semester off, or applying at North Park College in Chicago (girl involved here). We told him all the cons of taking a semester off and after checking out North Park really encouraged him to look at a in-state school. So, he applied at IUNW (in Gary, Indiana) which was not a whole lot better because then he was going to have to get an apartment and live in a high crime area. We did some more talking and encouraging and got him to apply at IUSB. He really did not want to live at home though and we were able to come up with a great compromise. He moved in with my dad. Grandpa has an apartment-ette in the back of his house so Evan can be on his own but still have really cheap living. It seems to be a great solution.

Katie (thank goodness) is still at IU in Bloomington. She has a really tough and heavy load this semester and is ready to pull her hair out. Since she is basically taking a pre-med course it is really heavy in the Chemistry area-this is taking alot of her time with lecture, discussion and labs. She is also working on a minor in Spanish plus trying to get some of the minimum requirements out of the way too (English, topics etc). She is taking Ballroom dancing which she says is her only fun class and a great release. She may have to quit her part time job though because she is having to do many research papers this term and having a hard time finding the time to get them done. The week of strep throat didn't help either.

Morgan is in two basketball programs (after school and Upwards) and her 4-H has started up again. With dad working nights for the next 6 weeks or so, that means mom gets to do ALL the running with a toddler in tow.

As I said in a previous post, Olivia is little miss jabber box now. She is talking up a storm and still thinks she is the Matriarch of the household. It is hard to believe that this time last year she was still just a picture in our hands. She is as smart as a whip and we can only hope that as she grows up she uses her smarts for good and not evil or we are in big trouble. I am in the process of signing her up for pre-school next fall. She will do awesome! She loves Sunday school and I know being in a preschool class she will just blossom.

That's all for now. I gotta go get ready to drive the big yellow taxi. :)

OUCH!

Had a little accident with my curling iron this week.

Graduated

Well, this last week Sue-Sue came to see Livi for her Speech Therapy session. We haven't seen her in a month because of the holidays. During the last month Livi has really had an explosion with her talking and vocabulary. She has become very verbal and pretty descriptive in her language. So much so, dad now tells her she has diarrhea of the mouth. I was anxious to hear what Sue-Sue would say. About 15 minutes into the session she looked up at me and said, "Uh, I think my work is done. There is nothing more I can do with this little one." So, it really wasn't my imagination. The switch did finally turn on in her little brain. But after today, I was looking for the switch to turn off her mouth. *sigh*

One year ago....

One year ago today (http://boundforchina.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_boundforchina_archive.html ) we saw Olivia's face for the very first time. Oh what a stressful day that was. Referrals were delayed and late because of a mix up with DHL. Our agency normal got their packages by 10:00 AM and by 2:00 we had the news that DHL had the packages but would not be delivering them that day. I had to leave for my bus route and after being a basket case all day I was not a happy person and very miserable. After my elementary route I got a call on my cell phone from one of my travel mates yelling "Did you hear!!! DHL made a special trip and made the delivery today!!! The agency has our babies!!!" I could hardly drive my next route. I was a mess. By the time I got home my daughter Morgan was dancing around the house screaming "They called! They called! I told them to call you back at 4:00." We waited until 4:30 and then I called them. That was when Ebbie (not my family coordinator-mine was on Christmas vacation in California) started giving me the information on Yang Guo Guan. I know I have posted here before my disappointment of that day when we found out how old she was and all, but, the next two hours was torture waiting for her picture to come up on our computer. I thought they had forgotten to email us her picture and went home for the day. I remember when they finally came through all of us ooohhhing and awwwing and thinking how sweet she looked (even though Katie said-she has a big forehead-and Michael said she has big ears). I remember thinking that her little mouth had a turned down, sad look to it. Funny, cause now we never notice that.

My Girls

Christmas 2006

UGH! I have been trying to make a Christmas post for a week now, but my Internet has been acting up and I have been having a horrible time with it. I keep losing everything I type. So, if this works, here is a quick update.

Christmas 2006 was wonderful. It was our first Christmas with Livi and her first Christmas celebration ever despite the fact that she is 2 ½. She had so much fun helping pass out Christmas gifts to everyone. Then when she was handed a gift, she would point to herself and say “For Ni-ni?” in total disbelief. Once we reassured her that yes, the gift was in fact for her, she would promptly sit down and have the paper ripped off in no time and ooo and awww over her new treasure. It made no difference if it was a toy or clothes. She was happy with both.

Both Morgan and Livi have been in heaven the last three weeks having big sis Katie and big bro Evan home from college too. They both start back next week so their visit is about to end and things should quiet down to normal here again.