Garin's First Artwork

Garin created his first masterpiece today! Note the artistic creativity of using saliva (bottom right) to punctuate the meaning of the piece. He clearly enjoys stippling, but his favorite part is putting the crayons neatly into the box. I have to say that I am pleased to see his penchant for cleaning up after himself. I have noticed it several times lately and am hoping that it will continue through his teen years and into adulthood! Daddy, your artwork will be on its way to you soon!

Craziness

Memaw went into the hospital today with numbness down one side, in her mouth, and on her scalp and face. The doctor told her it was a stroke, however, he hadn't bothered to look at the CT scan or talk with her regular doctor about her history of neuropathy. She is spending tonight in the hospital, and hopefully we'll know more tomorrow.

Our dear neighbor in Illinois, Rose, became very disoriented and confused Monday and was taken to the hospital, where they found a clot the size of a tennis ball on her brain. She underwent five hours of brain surgery, and we pray that she will pull through without permanently losing her speech and the use of her left side.

Also, two of my parents' friends have been diagnosed with brain cancer in the last week. This after one of their closest friends died of brain cancer last July.

It's disturbing to have so many things like this happening at once, and I just hope things calm down soon.

On a happier note, Annie's feet look great! I'm relieved that I don't have to have her put down right now. Garin has been climbing all over everything and exhausting me, but he has been an absolute joy through it all today. He looks at me so innocently, grins and shakes his head no everytime he gets caught, and it just makes me want to laugh! I must admit I'm stressing out about keeping up with him, juggling all of the house and yard chores, taking care of Annie's feet, getting OSC Board stuff done, finishing school work, getting the adoption paperwork together, taking the online adoption course, reading the required books about adoption, and still finding time to sleep. I keep telling myself that it will all get done eventually, and I just have to do the things that can't wait first, the things that can take as long as they take last, and put the other stuff in order in between. I just feel so much pressure to get it done; whether its coming from myself or others, I'm not sure. It's all temporary, though. We'll make it!

Improvement!

I am posting this photo only because it is the first one of myself that I haven't hated in about two years! Garin and I took it with the self-timer to send to Daddy. Garin loved taking a picture and looking at it, so we took about 10 just because it made him happy. He was so pleasant yesterday! He got into a little trouble, of course, sneaking through the cat door while I was cooking supper and climbing onto the tables in the living room and den, but not too much. I was just glad that he was happy and not crying all the time. He tried to climb into the tv again when Daddy's videotaped bedtime story started. When it was over, he signed "more." Needless to say, I indulged him. It's nice to have Karl's voice around the house, even if it is just recorded. Garin's been sleeping a lot. I'm guessing it's a growth spurt...or just catching up from the last couple of weeks. He is still asleep now and took 3-hour naps the last two afternoons.

Karl sounded much better today too! He sent me a message about 7:30 am to say that he was headed to bed. Work had been a little less hectic, and he had finished a paper for his class and read a chapter from his book after work. He seemed more upbeat. You might pray for him this afternoon. He starts his first night shift by himself. Until now, the guy he's replacing has been with him, helping him learn the job.

We got a bunch of errands done yesterday, and I'm excited about mailing Karl's first care package today! It's fun to imagine him getting it, opening it and enjoying the stuff inside.

Care Packages and New Teeth

Karl had a rough spell last night. Actually it was yesterday afternoon here...I think. It's so confusing because not only are we dealing with a time difference, but he is working nights and sleeping days, and it's hard to keep it all straight. So anyway, he woke up around 9:00 pm his time and realized he'd only been gone five days and started getting really down that he is so homesick already. I really think that he'll feel better once he gets more settled in, meets some friends and starts doing something he enjoys during his off-time. I just hope that happens soon!

I asked him what he would like in a care package, and he said he'd love Twizzlers. He also needs more boxers. Apparently, the laundry service there gets clothes VERY clean, as in they boil them and beat them into submission. He said the ones he took over are already looking like their lives are limited. The problem is that each of his thighs is bigger than my waist, and most boxers don't fit him. I hate buying his boxers, but I guess we'll learn by trial and error! His biggest suggestion, though, was that I send our Oust fans for his room. Apparently, two grown men and their dirty laundry in a 10x10 room with 120-degree weather doesn't make for a pleasant aroma! Go figure! We have plenty of the fans around. I'll buy some refills, and he can get batteries, but for those who have mentioned sending him something, Oust fan refills and Twizzlers would be great. Of course, ANYTHING would be appreciated, and one can only eat so much candy. Although he didn't mention it, I know he would also like to have almonds. Just keep in mind that chips and cookies (and unfortunately Dr. Pepper) don't travel well. When he was there in 2003, he got a package of cookies from home that he enjoyed very much, but they were not cookies anymore; they were powdery crumbs.

Garin and I have lots of errands to run today. Bless his heart, he slept until 9:30 this morning! I was able to get ready, get flowers watered and dead-headed, unload the dishwasher, make his breakfast, give Annie her medicine and sweep the floor before he woke up. We'll head out in a few minutes. By the way, he has two new molars and two more right at the surface!

The latest from Karl

I'll leave out the mushy stuff. ;o)

"I'm discovering that my job here is very busy. I'm the deputy chief for the night shift, which means that I gather data from everyone else, make slides to be briefed by the morning shift folks and try to put out any "fires" that come up during the night. Both of the past two nights have been extremely busy, so I'm guessing that isn't likely to change....ugh, very very ugh. After my shift, I dropped off the laptop to get reworked for the network here, but they said it may take 2-3 weeks to get it back due to the backlog of laptops they got when the new rotation came through! I guess I'll have to stay after work and try to get my schoolwork done. Let's see; then I came back to camp and did a bit of reading, ate tacos for lunch, came back to my room, swapped out my uniform for a clean one, read a little more, and now I'm about to go to bed so I can get up and do it all again tomorrow."

From there it gets sappy.

Any laptop that comes into camp must have everything deleted from the hard drive and have approved software installed by the guys there. Because Karl had stuff he couldn't afford to lose on his personal laptop, he borrowed one from the squadron here to take with him. Once it's done, he can check email and work on his masters classes from his room. He also mentioned last night that it's hot there....not too much of a surprise.

I also got this email from a friend whose best friend is Jared's mom. I am so thankful my husband is not a Marine!

"Hello everyone, Jared has called a couple of times this week. Usually 2 minute calls, they are having some phone problems. They are being especially carefully with information they share now. Their calls are monitored, and some guy was caught giving to much information, not only did he get in trouble, but the all got punished. It is really hot there, 115 to 130, I'm told by him and some of the parents. He had to go to the medic yesterday for IV fluids. He drinks a lot, like they are supposed too, but must have gotten behind. My Mother's day call, which was a nice surprise, was hi mom, Happy Mother's day, I got shot at last night. Bet none of you got such an exciting card. lol. They are all safe, no major injuries in Jared's immediate group, which is a blessing for sure. Stray dogs are a big problem there. They had a little puppy show up with a broken leg. The Sgt said they could keep it for a while. I think it gives them a taste of home. Something normal, among the abnormal. The pup is well fed needless to say. I do know they are a little short staffed, when he called on Thursday he had been up for 32 hours. He had 8 power drinks to stay awake. I told him I was sure his heart appreciated it. He mentioned they had to keep hitting the driver in the back of the head to help him stay awake. Poor guys. They are usually averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night. I won't complain about being tired, or my work conditions for a while. Please continue to pray for Jared and all of our Military, and their families. Pray for Christian friends and support for Jared, Bryant and Craig, especially. Blessings to all of you for a wonder Memorial Day weekend. When Mike and I went to the movie last night, they had a small reminder of what this weekend is for. It is for remembering those who have lost their lives while serving in the Armed Forces for our freedoms. They had a momenet of silence, and played God Bless America. That was pretty awesome. So as we enjoy our weekend, let us stop for a moment and remember the sacrifices and high price paid so we can enjoy our freedom. Freedom isn't free. Blessings to all, and thank you for your prayers and support.Kim"

Annie is taking prednisone like crazy and made a huge puddle in the kitchen last night. I have taken the new kitchen rug up until we lower her dose and given her a beach towel to sleep on. She had an accident on the old rug the last time her prednisone was high, and I ended up having to toss it. No amount of steam cleaning would take the smell out. I am keeping her confined in the kitchen at night, so there are no accidents that can't be cleaned up, but I started the morning with a bucket of bleach water and a mop. We have been fighting terrible infections in both of her back feet for four months. They were much, much better (finally) before our trip back home. The people at the kennel decided to take of her booties, against our instructions, and she licked them until they were bloody and blistered all over. They also went several days without giving her her medicine. By the time we got home, they were swollen huge - to the point that she could have lost her left foot. I still can't believe that they did that...or that they didn't call us or the vet when she got bad. I took her in Saturday morning to put her down. She was getting worse even with her medicine. The doctor asked me to try upping the prednisone for a week and then decide. Thankfully, she is showing improvement already!

Garin slept all night! His temper is in overdrive, but it's hard for adults who can talk and reason to behave well when they are stressed out. I'm sure it's many times harder for a 15-month-old. Growing up is stressful enough without the upheaval of a deployment, so I just keep holding him and kissing him and talking to him. I tell him that Daddy has to be gone because he has a very important job, and he and lots of other mamas and daddies help keep the world safe. I tell him that Daddy is keeping us safe while he's gone and that he doesn't want to be away, but he has to do it. I don't know how much he understands, but he gets a lot more than I realize sometimes, so I'll just keep telling him.

Wiped Out

The Pooh-bear was exhausted after church and fell asleep, as usual, on the way home. I took this picture for his daddy and thought the rest of you might enjoy it as well.

Reasons to Smile!

It has been an inspiring and enjoyable day so far! Garin has been having a hard time with Daddy's absence, and his sleep was very disturbed last night. He was up three times during the night. He hasn't been like that since Karl's last mission. I hope that this will not last too long.

We got up around 7 am and got ready for church. I somehow, miraculously, even had time to water all of the potted plants and straighten up the house before we left for the 9:45 service at church! I was so moved by the number of people who asked how we are doing and how Karl is. A little girl in our church who is normally very shy and whom I barely know just ran up and hugged me when I sat down. Her mother was shocked. She was the only one who could calm Garin in the nursery a few weeks ago, and she mentioned that she knows how hard it can be to have a little one with such separation anxiety. She gave me her phone number and offered to watch Garin if I ever just want to get away. Another young mom with three little ones and one on the way said she'd like to get together, too. I'm so thankful for such kindness. There was a touching Memorial Day video and prayer at the start of the service. I tried so hard not to cry, but it eventually got the better of me. Kari, our pastor, was so thoughtful to sit with me (and cry with me) through it and our musical worship. We had an amazing sermon about Pentecost and the power of the Holy Spirit to move among His people and reach others with the message of hope we have in Christ. I was soaring when I left.

I was telling Kari this morning that my loneliest time is after Garin goes to bed at night, and she said that it could be a great time to spend with the Lord. Now why didn't I think of that?!?! I have been trying to fill the time with busy-ness to keep my mind off of things when I could really take advantage of the quiet to listen to God and worship Him! Why is it that we rush through a morning quiet time the same way we rush through all of the other duties of the day instead of seeing it as a privilege like we do our uninterrupted moments with others we love? I am excited about making evenings about fellowship with my Savior. Thanks, Kari, for stating the obvious to the oblivious!

After church, we ran to the craft store for beading supplies, and I got back to work on my hummingbird feeders when Garin went down for a nap. I've had jars and stoppers sitting around for months waiting to be put together!

Garin should be getting up soon, and we're going to just enjoy a relaxing evening together. I think I'll make Mexican Mess (a fancy term for taco salad for those who aren't familiar with our family's terminology) for supper.

I've been text-messaging with Karl all afternoon. (For anyone who travels internationally, Blackberry's PIN messaging is free except for the monthly cost of a data package.... WAY cheaper than the cost of phone calls....and you can keep up throughout the day, whenever the mood strikes.) Anyway, Karl made it to the contemporary service this morning, and although he says it is definitely not Connection, it was nice for the middle of the desert. He said they have no one on keyboard, so he's going to see how his schedule goes as far as getting out of work on time. If it is consistent, he's going to volunteer to play keyboards for them. What an answer to my prayers that would be! It would be so good for him to have a group of believers to spend time with and to be able to do something he really enjoys! I know it would give him something to look forward to, each practice and worship, and help the time pass more quickly for him.

I have a mailing address for Karl now. I don't want to post it on the internet, but send me an email or comment on this post if you want it, and I'll send it to you via email.

Love to you all and thanks again for your prayers! I miss Karl very much of course, but my biggest prayer requests now would be for Karl to be able to get involved in the chapel or otherwise involved in a group of believers, as God desires, and for Garin to begin to adjust to Daddy's absence.

He's there....

Karl called tonight. He's met the person he's replacing and learned a bit about his job. He also got to see his room - a 10x10 box in a trailer, equipped with bunk beds and cabinets. It's small and sparse, but it's luxurious compared to the 14-man-tent he was in there when the war started. He will be working the night shift, for which he is thankful; he will be out and about when it is coolest (though still hot) and can sleep through the 120-degree afternoons. He is tired and hungry but otherwise fine. He has a friend from Dover who is on the same shift, so he will have someone to eat and work out with. I am praying that there will be a godly man there (perhaps this guy, I don't know him well) with whom he can spend time and share. We're counting down to his return....only 19 more weeks to go.

Home Sweet Home

Here's a lovely shot of the base that is Karl's home-away-from-home for the next few months. Don't you wish you were there? Kind of makes me appreciate having all those weeds to pull out of the flowerbeds!

Fun stuff!

I had a great time golfing this morning! I have a long way to go to be any good, but it is a beautiful morning, and my long drive definitely improved during our lesson!

Kim had my awards from our bowling league's banquet, which I missed in order to have some family time on Karl's last day home. That's right...I said awards! I thought I would win the High Game with Handicap award, which I did, and we go our team placement award, but I also got two others!!! They are Most Improved Average and High Team Game (Scratch). I ended up $81 richer!

Haven't heard from Karl yet. I thought he was going to text me at his first stop, but he must not have been able to. I'll probably hear from him sometime tonight, and I'll let you guys know when I do.

Sad Goodbyes

I took these pictures just before Karl left today. Garin was "helping" Daddy to arrange his pen and pencil in his uniform pockets. We had a hard time saying goodbye, but I think that we did very well under the circumstances. I had a good cry while I fed lunch to Garin, and then we both went to bed for a nap. Garin seems a little out of sorts....you can't convince me the little ones don't know something's up. I am fine except for the headache that always lingers after a good cry. Karl was scanning radio stations right after he left and ran across one that was playing a Green Day song called "Wake Me Up When September's Over." It made him laugh (he returns in early October), and he gave me a call to tell me about it. I am golfing with friends tomorrow morning at the base golf course, so that will be a good chance to have some fun and get back to normal, such as it is.

I have said from the start that I would rather be married to Karl and only see him some of the time than to be married to someone else who is home every night but doesn't love me the way Karl does. It is so true. I am a blessed woman. I am so proud of him.

Well, the deployment is barreling down on us. Time disappears so quickly. We are now counting down hours rather than days. There just aren't enough days left to count. Four and a half months seem short when you look back on them, but I think they will seem longer while we wait for Karl's return. We'll stay busy, and we're thankful that it isn't a longer deployment or a more dangerous assignment, such as the ones the Army and Marines have. Still it doesn't make this easy.

We spent last week back home with family and came back exhausted, but it was so good to see everyone. Now we're doing all the last minute stuff that needs to be taken care of before Karl leaves.

I'll write more once he's gone, I promise. For now, I just don't feel much like blogging. Please keep us (and all of the families going through separation due to deployments) in your prayers.

Progress!

I'm starting to really like Mondays! That seems to be when the breakthroughs happen for us. Today we got word that the "powers that be" in great state of Texas see no problem with granting us a variance. This means that the rule about not adopting from an agency where a relative works will not apply. Because my bro-in-law is not under the Adoption and Maternity Services umbrella at Buckner and especially because our home study is being done by an agency here in Delaware (where we have ZERO relatives), they do not feel there is any conflict of interest. We also were excited to have found a great Christian agency with which to do the home study! The agency we originally thought would be great doesn't seem to have much concern about client support and post-placement services. Because we will need the support of other families who have been and are in the same boat, as well as the advice of professionals, as our adoptive children assimilate to family life, a new culture and a new language, this is a very important part of the big picture. We met today with the social worker who will handle our case and were impressed by her candor and thoroughness. After our meeting with her, we went to the State Police office to apply for our criminal background checks...woohoo!...and do fingerprints. There is so much yet to do and so much still to pray about. Thank you all for lifting us and these children up to the Lord. We can see His hand at work.

In other news, we checked off a few last-minute things from Karl's pre-deployment list this morning. We went to Base Legal to make some minor changes to our wills, which we'll sign and pick up Thursday; then we ran by the Family Support Center, where they gave Karl phone cards to call home. They also signed us up for Hearts Apart, a program where I can call the base at designated times twice a week, and they'll patch me through to Karl for a 15-minute free phone call. Boy it really hit home then. I was given vouchers for a free oil change and free child care from 10-2 on the second Saturday of every month at the Child Development Center. That may come in really handy! Karl has handgun training tomorrow and simulators every evening until we head for TX/OK on Friday. It's hard to believe that this is all really happening. I just don't know how I'm going to drive home after our goodbyes and come home to an empty house. God will give us all the strength we need, but the day will be a testament to the Holy Spirit as Comforter, the One who envelopes us in our sorrow. Someday, we will look back with wonder at how God met our needs in those moments, but it may be hard to appreciate it on that day.

Yesterday at church, they had us come up front, and they laid hands on us and prayed for our whole family, even D and K. It was beautiful and special, and God gave Kari just the right words to pray for what we need. We are so thankful for our church family and their love and support.

Prayer Needs

We are feeling much more positive the last couple of days after talking more with our caseworker. He is obviously a man who cares very much for the children and families he works with, and he is personable and always open to answer questions or hear ideas. Unfortunately, we have hit the first of probably many snags and ask that you all continue to pray with us that God will guide all who are involved, so that the right decisions are made.

The biggest issue at this point is a rule in Texas that says an agency cannot adopt to members of an employee's family. The good news is that because my bro-in-law works in a different part of the state and is not involved in the adoption program, and because the children are special needs and have been waiting for so long, there is a good chance that we can receive a variance. This would basically negate that rule in our adoption. Phil is trying to get that taken care of now, so please pray that those making the decision will place the welfare of D and K above the rules.

Also, Phil is having difficulty getting the information he needs about the home study agency in order for us to proceed, and his attempts to find another agency are not proving fruitful yet. I have passed along information on another one that I know of, so he is going to contact them too.

We know that this is in God's hands. Please pray with us that He will open doors and make a way.

Also, recent x-rays show that Matt's scoliosis is 11.6 degrees and that it is probably the result of a lopsided (my very technical term) pelvis, with the left side being higher than the right. He has been referred to a sports medicine clinic for further examination, but there are no plans for surgery at this point.

Love to you all...

Reality Sets In!

After the crazy highs of yesterday, we now have to get back to the walking in faith part of the adoption process. We received a call this morning from our caseworker, who was very nice, thorough and helpful. He was also very clear that we have a lot left to do and that D and K are still anyone's kids, basically. After the home study, we will be evaluated as to whether we are a suitable match. Then the Russian government has to agree, too.

Of course we already knew all of this, and we have given the process to God, but this is where we put faith into practice. We hung up the phone feeling like the pre-approval means nothing really, and we're starting all over. That's okay....just a reality check.

I had planned to take the application to the home study folks today, but our caseworker wants to talk to them first to determine whether they will be approved to do the home study. He is going to get back to us today or tomorrow, so we'll wait until then to take the application in.

Please keep us all in your prayers.