We can help Harper

Check out this blog.  If you scroll down just a little bit, you'll get the synopsis of what is going on with this adoptive family.  Because of current law, which was passed to apply to immigrants to the US, their newly adopted daughter was not allowed to enter the US and waits in foster care in China. 

There are many ways we can help:

1.  Pray.  There are many other families affected by this law right now.  They are heartbroken to have left their children behind--and these kids have been without the stability of a family long enough already.

2.  Contact your congressman and sign the petition to the CDC--links are in the above blog.  A proposed bill to make internationally adopted kids US citizens upon the moment of their adoption would make this law not apply to them.  It is supposed to come up this fall.  Also check out the Equality for Adopted Children for more information on this and other legal issues affecting adopted children.

3.  Tell others.  

5 Little Ducks

Anju's Early Intervention teacher came by for her first session yesterday afternoon.  Anju was fresh off a nap, so was ready to pay attention.  We had circle time in our living room- the whole family with the teacher.  Anju copied about half of the hand motions of the various songs, but vocalized only briefly.  Her teacher said she did well for the first time. 

And--her favorite song was also her uncle's in preschool in the early '80's:

 5 Little Ducks

Five little ducks that I once knew

Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones, too

But the one little duck with the feather on his back

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Down to the river they would go

Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble, to and fro

But the one little duck with the feather on his back

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Back from the river they would come

Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble, ho, hum, hum

But the one little duck with the feather on his back

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack

He led the others with a quack, quack, quack.

 She also likes to "wibble wobble" and  shake her tail feather!  Put wiggling your behind to music and she is there. 

 We turned on our A/C that was installed this spring to deal with our mid-90's temps which FINALLY have arrived.  We've never had central air before in the 9 years we've lived here--it's like your house feels like a mall!  Actually, 80's would be great--but if we have the choice of mid-60's or mid-90's (which apparently is the deal), we'll take the heat for once.

  We went over across the street to the lake on Jonah's birthday and I think the whole county was there--ok, maybe not, but saying the whole city was there wouldn't be accurate, as our city has a population of around 70 and most of those are senior citizens.  We had many people to talk to, including my Russian Old Believer (she's one of the Erskine, MN ones mentioned in that article) friend, Natasha.  Shawn had a great time talking Russian Orthodoxy with her aunt while Natasha and I talked about gardening and parenting.  What cultural differences there are--yet we have so much in common.

That's what's going on in Lake Woebegon--where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.  ;-)

Mystery unwrapper

We completed Jonah's special birthday lunch of pizza pockets.  Solveig headed upstairs to my bedroom to get the gifts for him we had wrapped this morning.  She yelled down the stairs for me to come up.  A "mystery" unwrapper had opened all the gifts on the bed.  This person had torn packaging, ripped homemade crayon-decorated cards, and completely unwrapped the unused wrapping paper from the tube and left it in a heap on the floor.  It looked like a wild animal had attacked.  This event must have occurred while I was making the pizza pockets or stirring the homemade tapioca pudding the Birthday Boy requested.  Hmmmm.....it WAS eerily quiet.

So, I feverishly re-wrapped the gifts in portions of the wadded-up wrapping paper off the floor  and taped the cards back together.  Jonah didn't seem to mind the terrible wrapping job--and neither did he care about the ripped packaging.

Anyone have a clue as to the identity of the mystery unwrapper?

Anju's big brother is 7 today.

Happy 7th Birthday, Jonah!

Jonah Shawn David - 1 week old

Adoption Study Details

Page from the newsletter they gave us--

further explains the point of the study we are enrolled in:

(click to make bigger)

Home at last!

HHH Metrodome and Minneapolis from our 14th floor pool window

We arrived home a bit after midnight on Friday night.  This was a week that seemed like 3!  Our general schedule was that the older 2 kids spent the night with their grandparents, and Anju and the two of us stayed at the dorms where Shawn's summer seminary was being held.  During the day, all 3 kids and Amy spent time with Grandma while Shawn was in class.  

The exception, of course, was Monday night we spent the evening at the Holiday Inn Metrodome which had been arranged by the International Adoption Project.  We stayed on the 14th floor only a few doors down from the pool, which had a tremendous view of the Minneapolis skyline--especially at night.  The kids enjoyed splashing in the water and applying their new skills acquired in swimming lessons.  The older two swam for about 2 1/2 hours.  

We're rural folk.  We don't stay at hotels without a free continental breakfast and we've certainly never paid $14 to park overnight in a parking ramp.  So, our experience staying in a full-service hotel in downtown Minneapolis was a new one for us.  However, whenever we faced a challenge- like how to use an automated ramp, or get all our stuff into the car in the ramp before Shawn left for his classes in the morning with children still sleeping (he can't leave the stuff unattended in the hotel while he pulls the car around--I can't leave a lively toddler and 2 sleeping kids alone)- I thought, we made it through India--we can do this!  And we did!

The downtown location lent itself to many cultural opportunities.  We were surrounded by ethnic restaurants--and decided on the Indian one right across the street.  We had awesome tandoori chicken and a potato curry along with basmati, samosas, naan and lassis.

After Shawn left Tuesday morning, we made a make-shift breakfast of an apple pie my mom had bought for us and mini boxes of Froot Loops I had brought for snacks leftover from another trip.  We watched old Tom and Jerry cartoons on Cartoon Network- which had all the violence and ethnic slurs I remembered- and then headed down to catch our shuttle to the U of Minnesota.

Transition into the Family Study

Anju did well.  There were 2 times in the study where I left the room.  One time, she was playing with a staff member and didn't seem to notice I had left for 3 minutes until I came back in.  (I was watching the video feed in the next room and was told I could jump back in there at any time if I thought it was too much.)  However, the next time, I was playing with her and when a knock on the door came, I was supposed to just leave without saying anything to her.  She was alone in the room only 10 seconds until she got upset.  At the 20 second mark, they sent in the staff member, who sat in a chair and read.  Anju got quieter, but still was upset.  She sat in the chair I had been sitting in and played for about 30 seconds before crying again.  The staff member started playing with her, and she was better.  We went the whole 3 minutes they had wanted.  This time she was much more joyous to see me return.

We read stories, played play dough, built with blocks, blew bubbles, played with balls---all while being taped from behind a curtain.  They took 3 saliva samples, which I will have to also take at home.  They did an experiment where they sent in a remote control car which had been covered in fabric and crazy pipe cleaners while we were reading.  She saw the car come in from under the curtain, and pointed her finger at it and said, "na, na, na!"  She continued to say that and get upset.  After 10 seconds or so, she seemed to realize that she wasn't scaring this thing off, and she got really mad/scared.  They sent in another remote control car later and she didn't like that one either.  

The only part of the study she did not complete was at the end (when we had been there 2 1/4 hours) she was supposed to have 4 heart sensors put on her back and chest and calmly watch a movie without me comforting her.  She pulled those things off her body as quickly as they put them on--while crying "na, na, na."  So, I told them there wasn't much sense of doing it, as she would not have a calm, resting heart rate even if they got them on.  

All 3 kids got snacks at snack time, and a treat bag when we left.  The hotel shuttle only took a couple minutes to pick us up when I called (the hotel was only a mile away) and Grandma picked us up from the hotel soon after.  We went to the Mill City Museum since it was so close--and my mom had worked at General Mills, so she was also interested.  This former factory for Gold Medal Flour has been transformed by the MN Historical Society into a wonderful museum- which all the kids enjoyed.  There were clips of old commercials, models of the river transportation system filled with water for kids to build shipping routes for the flour mills, a baking lab with play dough and cookie and bread samples :-), a model train made of wood to play with, a build-your-own-cereal-box activity, a demonstration showing how a flour mill blew up because of excess flour dust (a real winner), and an awesome tour up and down the elevator teaching us about the flour factory, amongst other things.  We simply didn't have time to take it all in--but would love to go back.  They said it's the best smelling museum in the world- and I wouldn't doubt it.  Not sure it's for those who are gluten-free, though. 

Postcards- yesterday and today

We were able to finish up the back-to-school shopping with shoes for all 3 kids (thanks, Grandma!) and some shirts/underwear/socks too.  We got to our wedding in Morris, MN on Friday with time to spare and enjoyed seeing all of those friends again.  I was very glad to see my own bed, though, in the wee hours of Saturday morning and am glad that we're not leaving again for a while----a week and a half.  

Chilly Willy should move to MN!

OK.   I'm a hardy Minnesotan, only having defected for 9 months to Oregon because of my husband's vicarship.  I'm even Scandinavian.   But 60 degrees for the high on August 1st?  Really?  (Seth & Amy)  I'd like to invite Al Gore up here for a camping trip.  Hope he remembers his long underwear.  

Now that my weather diatribe is out of the way--we leave after Shawn's done with both church services today for the Twin Cities.  Shawn's got summer seminary classes to take this week, and we've got the adoption study Tuesday morning and some serious "hanging out" with Grandma to do.  Anju saw her travel crib go into the trunk yesterday and was anxious to get in the "ca".  So, hopefully she's getting used to travel and we'll have a delightful trip.  (Ha!)