Christmas 2009 and Happy New Year!

A typical scene at gift opening on Christmas Eve at the Stafford residence

Anju loved her new dolly potty, diapers, cream and wipes.

   I think every doll in our home is throughly clean.

The kids took advantage of the snowy, yet warm (for MN) weather

 to enjoy the outdoors on Christmas Day.

We purchased what the kids lovingly call the "Fake Wii" at Walgreens

for $20 on Black Friday.  There are only 2 controllers.

However, Santa brought Solveig a Pez type

 candy dispenser shaped like a Wiimote.  

Anju picked it up and started playing with the kids. 

Then, Shawn and the kids left on Tuesday to spend some time with his parents and sister.

  Four hours into the trip, this happened:

No one was hurt, and the accident fortunately happened near my parents' house,

so they could help out with the aftermath.  We are so very thankful for

the evident hand of God and protection of angels during this event.

They returned today in a new car--yes, the exact same model as the old one.  The person they purchased it from ended up being someone I had attended church

 and Sunday School with as a child.  It really IS a small world!

So, we have had enough excitement and are happy to see 2009 come to a close.

I, for one, am looking forward to school starting again on Monday.

We wish all of you God's richest blessings in the coming year.

Sleigh Ride

Enjoy!

Our attempt at a Russian meal

Sol and I created our version of a Russian dinner right before Christmas.  I made the potato filling and dough following Natasha's recipe, and Solveig formed the peroshkis.  I also made Natasha's borscht recipe to go with them.  They tasted very delicious, and now we learned a few things to tweak so next time it will be even better.  

Anju enjoying Christmas vacation

Anju trims the nails of Mama's bear after Mama finishes clipping her nails.

Ho, ho, ho!  Merry Christmas!

The Big Skate Show and Weekend Visitors

Solveig and Jonah had their figure skating show on Saturday.  It is Solveig's 4th year.  She is working on Badge 6 in the Basic Skills program, and just earned her Syncro 1 (synchronized skating) badge this session.  There is only one other student enrolled at her level, so the two of them get to skate together.  The Basic Skills program through US Figure Skating goes to Badge 8, and then you are ready to do advanced skating: either singles, pairs, synchronized, dance, etc.  Jonah just started in October, and earned his Snowplow Sam Badge 1 at the end of this session.  He has a whole crew of little girls in his class- which he is not so happy about.  Hopefully when skating resumes in January, there will be another male.

Jonah's group at dress rehearsal wearing "chipmunk" ears

Solveig and Julia

(Julia was also one of the girls making peroshki in a previous post.)

Solveig and Julia did a performance to "Sleigh Ride" and Jonah did a Christmas number sung by the Chipmunks.  My dial-up is not cooperating recently with the videos- but believe me, I'm still trying.  They both did a great job,  and of course we were very proud of them.

Daddy, Sara, Anju, Sathish and Ryan watch the ice show

Anju enjoyed watching them skate with her Auntie Sara and the rest of the gang.  She warmed up to all our weekend visitors, even Sathish, whom she had been leery of in the past.  We were lucky enough to have Shawn's sister and her boyfriend, Sathish, come up from Rochester, and my parents and brother up from the cities to see the kids skate and do their Sunday School program.  

Then, the Sunday School program was the next day.  Again, all the kids did a great job.  Jonah said his lines loudly and enunciated well, Solveig read her passages well and did a great job with her duet of "Silent Night".  Even Anju did well for a 2-year old, remembering to hold up the cross high so everyone could see it before placing it under the tree and doing the actions to the songs.  She stayed up front throughout, and according to video my dad took, it looked like she only pulled the skirt of her dress up over her head once.  I couldn't see well from my vantage point over at the piano, but it sounded like a success.

Grandpa Rick and Solveig play checkers

Sara, Sathish and kids

Rasmussen grandparents with their grandkids at church

"Hunka" with his nieces and nephew

Thanks to all our weekend visitors, and Merry Christmas to all!

Supplies for India and Guests are on their way!

This Sunday, our Sunday School brought supplies to send to orphans associated with our church body in India.  We were able to collect school supplies for them last year and send them with traveling pastors, and our children were so happy to be able to send things to kids who would be excited over something as simple as a box of crayons. I think having Anju in their midst has made this endeavor seem so much more meaningful for them.  They aren't collecting for some mystical group of parent-less children somewhere across the globe, but for kids like Anju, who is one of them.  We mailed them Monday to an Indian seminarian who has finished his studies and is returning to India this week.  

Solveig and Jonah are very excited about their upcoming ice show, and the fact that we will have so many visitors this weekend to watch them perform both at the ice show and at their Sunday School program the following day.  Anju seems to sense the excitement in the air, and loves to practice "In a Little Stable" in preparation for the Sunday School program.

Dad, I'm getting ready for you! :-)

Yesterday I got 4 qts of apple pie filling, a pecan pie, an apple pecan pie, and a Scandinavian almond apple cake made.  We'll see how far I get today.  I did the "glutenous" stuff yesterday, and hope to accomplish some gluten-free treats today.  I figured having flour dust all over the kitchen would be a bad idea when I'm trying to make some treats that my sister-in-law can enjoy should she choose to do so.  

What? I have a blog?

So, yes, we have been very busy.  Some things I've been meaning to post, but haven't found a spare moment before to get on here:

Our family tried making Oktoberfest pizza and it was a hit with everyone.  Crust, layer of mashed potatoes, layer of sauerkraut and caraway, layer of turkey kielbasa, and topped with cheddar cheese.  Hmmmmmmmm!

We welcomed a new pastor to our circuit.

Anju got a new rocking moose at a local craft show made by a man we know in the community.

Anju creates her art at library story time.

As expected, this is all I've got for now, as my princess has awoken from her slumber and is beckoning me.  I've been trying for days now to upload a video of a song from Jonah's Christmas program at school (last Thursday) and so hopefully it will soon work.

Peroshki with Natasha

Solveig and I went over to our local public library on Tuesday night to see our Old Believer Russian friend, Natasha, demonstrate how to make traditional Russian peroshki.  

She showed us how to form the dough, and fill it with a potato filling she had made from yukon gold potatoes, garlic, onion and dill.  She said you can also serve them "Americanized" with ground beef and onions, or whatever else you want in them.  Solveig and a couple of her friends got to go up and help Natasha make them.  She put the scoop of potato filling on the dough, and the girls folded the dough around them and formed them into the desired shape (with a little help from Natasha).

(Wikipedia picture)

They looked like this, only with potato filling instead.  

She deep fried them, and they were soooo delicious.  She recommended using coconut oil (which I incidentally have just received in my order from the online Indian grocery store) to get them the crispiest, and the healthiest.  They are similar to pierogies, which many of us are familiar with, but have a delicious, fluffy, golden outside instead of a pasta shell.  She said the dough can be used for many recipes, including the Indian (Native American) fry bread that is commonly served here in Northern Minnesota.  There is a phenomenon up here known as "Uff Da Tacos" which she makes with this same dough.  Apparently that's what happens when Scandinavians and Native Americans live together long enough?

She gave us the recipe for peroshki and also borscht, the traditional beet soup.  She also talked about the history and food traditions of the Old Believers.  They try to live off the land as much as possible, and try to only eat organic foods.  She makes everything from scratch.  She came from a very small family, and was not brought up quite as traditionally as her husband was.  When she got married, she did not know at all how to cook, but was taught by her patient mother-in-law during the time that her and her husband lived with his parents right after their marriage.  Now she is able to make all the traditional foods easily and quickly, and is teaching her 5 children to do the same.  As soon as I get some cabbage, Solveig and I are going to work on this meal.  Solveig loved the peroshki so much, she had two.  

Next Tuesday, they are having a demonstration on how to make lefse, which I strongly urged Natasha, who had never before experienced it, to attend.  Maybe we'll see her there?

Comments, anyone?

There is going to be a new show on ABC, entitled, "Find My Family", where adopted children are reunited with their birth parents.  I found this article and discussion on rainbowkids and was wondering what other adoptive parents or adopted adults reading this blog thought.

There is a wide variety of opinions expressed in the article and comments.  

Giving thanks and Christmas is coming!

Now that the long Thanksgiving weekend is coming to a close, I finally have time to update everyone on our holiday.  On Thursday, we had the BEST turkey ever.  I made tandoori turkey (although no, I do not have the correct oven for it) and it was the moistest and most flavorful turkey I have ever eaten.  The fact that parts of it were red made it even more awesome.  The leftovers 3 days later are tender and melt in your mouth.

We took advantage of having everyone home and put up the Christmas tree and decorated it. Jonah and Shawn set it up, and then Jonah, Solveig and I decorated it.  Anju kind of floated around ooooing and aaaahing like she was on Wheel of Fortune.  The kids were able to play outside for large chunks of time, since it was only in the 40's and we don't have any snow.  Solveig couldn't believe she was riding her bike over Thanksgiving break!

Friday morning, we got the kids up at their regular get-on-the-bus time around 6 a.m. and headed 35 miles to the nearest "real" town to go Black Friday shopping.  We had a blast and got some great deals.  Shawn and I have always gone BF shopping together and since we usually visited family over Thanksgiving, we would leave the kids at home and go at 4 or 5.  However, the last couple years it's just been us at our own home, so we've started the tradition of all of us going together and finishing our morning with pancakes.  

We got home around noon, ate, napped and were ready to head back to Bemidji for the Christmas parade.  They have an evening parade with floats lit up with twinkling Christmas lights and several units of work horses pulling carriages.  It is definitely a cultural experience if you aren't from this neck of the woods.  The first unit after the flags was a group of snowmen/elves/etc. doing Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

The most fun part, of course, was talking with our friends who accompanied us to this unique northern MN experience, and watching the kids run into the street for candy wearing their winter coats, snowpants and mittens.  I think Jonah had his entire Thermos of hot cocoa gone before the parade even started!

Anju takes it all in

Enjoying hot cocoa

When we got home after a brief shopping excursion (I needed to pick up a few things for the kids while Shawn entertained them in the Target food court), we were welcomed by night 1 of our Christmas lights in the yard.   Thanksgiving together with the beginning of Advent today marked the beginning to a wonderful holiday season!  

Celebrating our Family

It is customary for adoptive families to honor their child's "Gotcha" day every year to commemorate the day that the child first joined their parents.  In our case, and with Indian adoptions especially, it is hard to know what day to celebrate: the first day we saw her at the orphanage and started bonding with her, the day we took her to the hotel and were fully responsible for her, the day we brought her home, or the day she was adopted and officially joined our family (10 months later)?

We decided to celebrate the day that we all came together as a family, Nov. 20.   That was the day our new family unit of 5 was formed.  One year ago, our first meal together was pizzas that Shawn and I picked up on our drive home from the airport.  Anju loved that first taste of American pizza, and the cookies that Grandma Carolyn had prepared for dessert.  

So, we decided that the proper celebration would be a pizza party.  I had considered an Indian meal or yummy Indian chicken tikka pizza, but the older kids aren't big on Indian food (except for the breads, lassis and rice) and I figured crying and whining about the "gross" food might wreck the spirit of the day.

Shawn prepared the crusts, and all of us helped flatten them into the pans.  Solveig, Jonah and Anju worked on the kids' pizza, while Shawn made the grown-ups (onions).  Anju helped put the turkey pepperoni on- putting a bunch of pieces on about 2 inches of the pizza.  They turned out great and everyone had fun making them. For dessert, we had an Oreo Blizzard cake from DQ.  

Anju begins her special day by sharing breakfast with baby Priyanka (totally her idea).

Priyanka needed to be in the high chair, and Anju in mama's chair.

Anju had no idea what we were celebrating, but eventually, she will.  Solveig and Jonah remembered, though.  I heard Jonah ask Anju from his room where they were playing Lincoln Logs together, "Anju, do you remember when you were in an orphanage?"  "Do you remember living with aunties?" "Are you in OUR family now?"  She responded affirmatively to each.  

We now put an end to all the "firsts" of the calendar year.  She will now have her second Thanksgiving, her second Christmas, her second birthday celebration.  We are excited to see how far she has come in a year and excitedly look forward to what God has in store for her future. 

Solveig's Memory (Guest poster: Solveig)

Solveig and Anju on their first day together- November 20, 2008

It's almost November 20, the first night Anju came. It was the best day ever since Jonah was born.  She came home in her snowsuit, because it was 14 degrees out.  At home she was with Mom, mostly.   Sometimes with Dad.  She wouldn't go with me yet. At bedtime, she had Mom carry her upstairs.  I turned The Lion King CD on my DVD player.  I danced to the music for Anju.  I treated or at least tried to treat her like a princess. After all, I had been playing with Jonah for 8 years.  I needed a girl.  Anyway, sometime during the night, she cried and I took her to sleep in my bed.  Anju only wanted to play though.  She kept me awake all night.  When my Grandma came in my room at 6:00 to wake me up for school, I was awake.

 With Anju. 

She was and always will be my sister.

.......and I helped!

Anju and Gingy

If you don't live in MN, you may not know that in order to have lovely outdoor Christmas lights to turn on the day after Thanksgiving, you have to put them up in early November.  Usually the snow hits in late October, and by mid-to-late November, you're putting up lights in 15 degrees and a foot of snow.  Let me tell you from past experience, you don't want to do that if at all possible.  This year, it snowed early, but our November has been stellar.  Our high today was in the low 50's!  With the forcast calling for rain and snow, and cold temps sure to arrive soon, I figured the days of being able to put up the lights without bundling up and getting frostbitten fingers were waning.

Last year we didn't have any lights, as we were otherwise occupied (meaning there were about 100 things more pressing) before going to India, and afterward, I was physically unable to separate myself from my little princess even if I had wanted to brave the extreme cold temps to do it- which I didn't.  So, two years after their last use, I was digging out lights to test them and finding our decorations and extension cords.  

With it getting dark soon after my older kids get off the bus, I decided the only way this was going to get done was if Anju helped.  And I use that term loosely, of course.  She was actually helpful sometimes.  She carried things for me.  She handed me lights.  Her eyes lit up when she saw the decorations (her first time) and lights and that made me happy and want to continue- which was a BIG help and encouragement for me.  Mostly, I gave her tasks like holding onto the end of an extension cord I wasn't even using, or holding empty light boxes, but she was beaming with pride to be helping her mom.  

The paperwork never ends!

Anju's passport pic for her citizenship certificate application

Yesterday I collected a stack of documents from my pile of adoption-related papers (and that is a serious pile), photocopied them, filled out a form, wrote a big check, and handed the stack to my husband who mailed them to the USCIS office.  Hopefully, Anju's certificate of citizenship will be processed with no problems.

Again, a reminder.  Anju became an American citizen when she was adopted in September, but has nothing to prove that.  This certificate will allow her to prove that she is a US citizen.  The Department of Human Services knows she is a citizen because she was adopted by US citizens.  However, her immigrant status will not change at USCIS unless we apply for this certificate.  It also makes it MUCH easier to get a US passport, which we are also getting for her, since that is a much more mobile and convenient way of proving citizenship (like at the Social Security office).

I found varying instructions as to what documents should be enclosed with the application.  Our agency sent a list with 20 or so things needed.  Another document they sent had 3.  The internet had anything from 1-20.  Some said 3 pictures, some said 2.  The instructions for the application itself are vague, as it is not only for adopted kids, but anyone who has immigrated.  The questions are easy, it's the accompanying documents that was a tad confusing.   The form said that you don't have to send documents the USCIS already has in your immigration file.  Huh.  

So, I sent the things I deemed really necessary: a copy of her adoption decree and new MN issued birth certificate along with a few other things that seemed appropriate.  They'll contact us with further requests for documents if needed.  I found it funny that one thing they desire you to include is a proof of citizenship.  Duh--don't have that, hence the application!  (Actually, that's what the adoption decree means, but since people don't realize that, you need something else to prove you are a US citizen.)

A year ago we were at the Embassy in Delhi standing in line after line, then sitting under a picture of President Bush on the wall of a cramped waiting room with Indians hoping to come to America and one other adoptive family.  We handed over a stack of documents, left, and returned the next day with more documents.  Then they handed us a packet of papers in a sealed envelope for USCIS in the US that we weren't allowed to open.  Those are the documents that USCIS has that we don't need to resubmit.  The ones we couldn't see because we couldn't open the envelope.  

That's America!

Artwork and a Breakthrough!

With no school (conference day) on Friday, Solveig and Jonah came along with Anju to storytime at the library.  The topic was families.  When Anju had no interest in doing the craft project, I took her out to the kids' section to do peg puzzles.  Solveig did the project- a multimedia self-portrait- for Anju instead.  Great job, Solveig!

We watched an episode of "Get Smart" and an episode of "Liberty's Kids" from our DVD collection with the kids in the evening.  Jonah crawled up on my lap to snuggle and believe it or not, Anju crawled up and said "two" and signed "share".  The two kids who usually scrap and fight over whose mama I am were giving each other 5's and hugs and willingly sharing their mom as we watched "Liberty's Kids" together.  Breakthrough!

Looking Back

A year ago today I met my daughter for the first time.  I took this picture within a minute or two of being introduced to her.  She was scared and wouldn't come out of the playtent.  An auntie eventually had to scoop her out, after which she immediately crawled away from me.

  My account- Shawn's account

And, my "Aben Baby" today!  Love you, Anju!  Being your mother (and the process of becoming her) has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life, and I look forward to many more years with you!

Another visit from Anju's ECSE teacher

On Wednesday morning, Anju's ECSE teacher came for another session. It had been a few weeks since she had last come, due to illness on our end and appointments that came up on hers.  I told Anju that her teacher was coming, and Anju moved the stepstool from the bathroom into the living room so she could watch out the window for her.  She signed "book" and said "read baby".  Her teacher had a vocabulary board book last time with babies in it, and Anju was ready to read.

When the interventionist came, she did have the book with her, and read it with Anju again.  Anju participated more in all the fingerplays, mouthing many of the words and even saying a few.  The teacher said that her speech was incredibly improved.  Exponentially, in fact.  From saying 2 words at a session to more than 15.  Anju said some 2-syllable words and a couple phrases to her teacher, which she'd never done before.  

The ECSE teacher told me after the session, that it probably won't be necessary to continue special education for her when she reaches the age of 3, which is currently in her IFSP(IEP).  While her spina bifida automatically qualifies her for the program, it was her second language learning and speech delay which have been her problems- both related to her adoption, not her medical condition.  She is still a bit behind her age, but catching up wonderfully.

Until she begins PE classes in elementary school which may require some adaptation depending on how her walking/leg strength progresses, it is highly possible that she will be able to take a hiatus from any further individualized help.  Her next speech, OT and PT evaluation will be at the spina bifida clinic in the spring.  

Yay!

A lifetime ago

One year ago today, we left our sleeping children in the care of my mother, and slipped away in the darkness on a journey like no other.  We chatted excitedly on the half-hour drive to the Bemidji airport, very aware of the empty car seat and snow suit in the back.  We parked in the "extended trip" parking and walked into our little regional airport to check in- well in advance of our 7 a.m. flight.

It was much snowier and colder than it is today, and I remember running through the 3 or 4 inches of snow in the parking lot in Teva sandals to get into the airport, my feet and whole body freezing, as I had left my winter coat in the car.  But I was giddy with excitement, so I didn't care.   I also remember that I did care when we landed back in Bemidji 10 days later with a toddler dressed in summer clothes with only a thin fleece blanket to protect her from the elements as we walked from the plane into the airport.  For a lifetime MN girl, I knew I was not dressed appropriately for the weather, and neither was my daughter.

How funny that at that first airport even going through security was exciting.  That would get old real quick.  We had a long wait in Minneapolis for our flight to Amsterdam.   And then, a long flight to Amsterdam.  By the time we arrived in Amsterdam around 3:30 a.m. local time, we smelled.  We were beyond tired.  We didn't know exactly where to go----good preparation for the rest of the trip.

It's only been a year--but it feels like yesterday---and a lifetime ago.

Storm, Treats and Yippee!

Friday brought us a beautiful fall day- MN style.  We got around 3 or 4 inches of snow and the roads were very slippery, as it changed from rain to snow and the water froze on the roads underneath the heavy, wet snow.  In fact, the snow was so heavy and wet that several branches fell off trees under the weight of the white stuff. 

 This tree is across the driveway in front of one of the churches in our parish that is next-door to the parsonage.  It looked like half the tree snapped off.  Uff da!

Egyptian Solveig, Narnian king Jonah, and Puppy Anju

Anju enjoyed her first Halloween.  She met her best friend (a neighboring pastor's 2-year-old) at our community's Halloween party and her sister helped her play some of the carnival games and get some candy.  We spent most of the party sitting at the table with her friend's family (who are our friends too- ha!), watching the 2-year-olds revel in the candy they had received.

Jonah and Solveig made their rounds at the party.  Solveig got a huge amount of candy playing games, while Jonah only went to the fishing ponds over and over getting a bag full of pencils, erasers and little plastic toys.  

On Sunday, the Sunday School sang during the service for All Saint's Day, and then had our fall party after the service, where we emphasized thankfulness for all God has done for us, and given us.  Shawn was preaching in Roseau in the afternoon, so he stopped quickly at the SS party for some pizza "to go" after the service at the other church in our parish and headed up north.  Following our church activities, the rest of us headed over to the skating rink for registration for figure skating.  Solveig and Jonah both signed up and headed on the ice for some free skating.  Jonah did SO well for his first time on the ice.  He will do great!  Anju wanted to go too, but had fun watching her siblings.

We took off from the skating rink (about 15 miles from our home) and headed to our nearest "big" town about 20 miles further down the road to do some after-Halloween shopping.  Walgreens had great deals- 75% off.  In addition to a big bag of animal crackers for 64 cents, Anju got 2 toddler-sized dress-up outfits (costumes) for less than $5.  One is an angel and one is a red dress with black polka dots.  Now she won't trip wearing Solveig's old preschool-sized dress-up clothes when the kids play dress-up- and we've got small dresses for our small visitors!  We had lots of fun over the weekend, but I was glad we had that extra hour!

Now the great news--our medical insurance did so well last year (it is for called workers/pastors in our synod and our sister synod) that they are not billing us for our November premium.  Soooo- now we have the money to get Anju's citizenship certificate and passport so that she will be able to get a SS number as a US citizen, and will have proof that she is indeed an American.  Yippee!