90% Uffy

If you have been reading my blog, you know we have a great Dane named Houser. You also know that Ellie was petrified of him for the first few days...Well everyone knows that a dog says, "uff!" Right? Well, our family is now calling the poor guy Uffy about 90% of the time. This is of course due to the fact that our new little 2 year old refers to him only as "Uffy." Uffy is her new best friend. They have even taken to napping together...

Kee Kee, also known as kitty cat, AKA, Sneakers is still not having any of Ellie...stay tuned for updates as things progress...

PS...Flip loves this song!

Stand.

I haven't really felt much like blogging lately. Last week, the kids had no activities during the day and so we didn't have to be up for anything in the mornings. Our evenings were a different matter all together.The boys were swimming from 5-5:40 every afternoon and we had to get to church for VBS by 6:00...throw in dinner and 3 evenings of gymnastics and the combination makes for some very tired kiddos. Their mother...exhausted. Still it was nice not to have to rush to be somewhere every morning.

VBS was a lot of fun this year. Flip is old enough now to be "into" it and the other two love it! Ellie got to go into the nursery each night and by the 3rd night, there were no tears at drop off. Each time I returned to pick her up, she ran over yelling, "Mommy!" I think that we are in the clear as far as bonding goes...at least in a group setting. She is comfortable going in and the workers do not need to hold and comfort her. We still will not leave her in situations where she might be the center of attention...no babysitters yet. Her vocabulary is really flying along...she is speaking in 3-4 word sentences and understands nearly everything we tell her or ask her to do. I think she is actually talking better than many other two year olds.

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store to get all my stuff for this week and low and behold I forgot my bags that I was so proud of in my earlier post...bad girl. I guess that will take time to get into the habit. I got my blog book and I love it! I will say that when I order 2008, I will get the bigger book. Although the 8x11 is great, I would like the pics to be a little larger.

Ellie is doing great, the others are doing great...blah, blah, blah...the truth is, this is hard. People are constantly asking me how she is doing...she is really doing fine...me however...that's another story. It is really kind of hard to explain the wave of emotions I go through each day. Having three biological children, I guess I have taken for granted the time I had to get to know each of them. Even during my pregnancies, I got a sense for how active each child would be, I had food cravings, sleep loss. From the time they were born, they had little personalities that Adam and I helped to shape as they grew. Ellie came to us with her own, that we had nothing to do with and frankly, it isn't a little personality. She is so incredibly vibrant, so happy, so smart. It seems like everything should just be falling into place. On the outside, it is. I guess I am having trouble finding the words to explain these emotions...jealousy, that I was not part of developing her personality to this point...sadness, that she is so independent with many things due to her circumstances...outrage that her biological family had to give her away...sorrow that someday she will feel that part of her is missing and no matter how hard I try, there will always be a void in her life...elated, that I am her mother now and I get her hugs and her kisses...confused over what is going on in that little brain...thankful, that the Lord saw fit to give her to us...faithful that He continues to work on me everyday.

I will probably always worry about Ellie. It seems only natural for a mother…just a little heightened with her because of her circumstances. Adam reminds me that worry is a sin and I am sinnin’. It is time to give it up to the one who is equipped to handle all that is placed before me. I guess you could say I have been in a bit of a funk lately…but I am getting’ up, brushin’ myself off and I am ready to stand.

Daddy's Day with the Rays.

We went to the beach again on Saturday with a bunch of Friends and their children...then, we came home and vegged on the couch and watched two college world series baseball games. On Sunday, after church, we saw more baseball, only it was the TB Rays...they lost. It was a good time though...I don't usually go to the games...I really can't stand professional sports of any kind...I much prefer the college atmosphere. But, Adam loves it so I called him earlier in the week and asked him what he thought about going...hmmmm...no brainer.


Ellie slept for most of the game...Ruthie sat near the little girl of the other family that went with us and was good for the most part...Rusty was mediocre and Flip was a nightmare, earning himself 3 spankings to be delved out in the parking lot after the game...nothing like anticipation:0) All in all it was good day...Happy father's day to my Heavenly Father, my dad, my step dad and all the others out there!

Friends of a Feather...

I have been wanting to do a post of all the people we were so privileged to have met while on our Journey to Ellie...I cannot possibly put into words what the support of our chat group has been for us. I could never describe how special it is to meet the people you have been praying with for months and to do it all the way across the world...to share just this one little thing of loving a child you have never met. So, without further ado, I dedicate this post and this song to my prayer warriors and to all those families who are now home with their children...Thank you, Father.

Ms. Christi Hicks, FC and dear friend. Congrats on your recent nuptials:0)

John, Debbie and their little punkin, Noelle...thanks, Deb for traveling on trip two with me and for being a source of calm and comfort!

Tim and Deb & Eli...Thanks, Deb for being such an encouragement..it really is your spiritual gift!

Greg and Jeanette & Thomas and Andrey...Thanks Jeanette, for keeping it real!

Alex the MOE, and Marina, Our Translator for the MOE and court.

Sherri and Natalie...Thanks, Sherri for passing on all your "in region knowledge" and other various items while at the hotel but mostly for your prayer before court.

Serge and Yelena, Our Facilitators in region...they were awesome!

Galina, Orphange director: She took such wonderful care of our daughter for the first two years of her life...I will forever be grateful to her and her staff.

Dwayne and Jessica & their two little guys, Jude and Luke...thanks for hanging and sharing a meal!

Gary and Windy & Carter...thanks for sharing your movies and for always being willing to venture out!

Ben and Melissa, and Donna and John...so nice to meet you and get "medicals" together...good times!

Pat and Stacy and the ever spirited Aiden...I cannot say just thank you to the people who were with us from the time we landed, through every moment of visitation, at almost every meal for 28 days until we touched down in Atlanta with our children...You guys will always be so special...

There are so many others still in the process and some that went before us that have been part of our prayers and have prayed for us, offered comfort and valuable advice through email blogs, or on the phone...I thank you and I continue to lift you up and remember your children daily.

Good Girl.

Adam and I really try to use positive reinforcement with our kids. So, we try to praise them when they do something without being asked, tell them they had a really good day when they only fight 50 times instead of 100...you know, that kind of stuff. Well, Ellie is like a little shadow around the house...she follows anyone who will have her from room to room and tries to "help" in any way possible. Recently, she has taken to praising herself and it is really too cute. If she closes the door, she will then stand there for just an extra second and say, "Goooood Giiirrrlll." If she runs to get her shoes when I ask her to, she hands them to me and then looks at me and says, "Goooood Giiiirrrlll." You get the point...well, here is a picture of my good girl...Can you believe she actually held up her empty bowl and said, "Gooood Giiirrrlll?" She has turned into quite the eating machine. She will snack all day long if I let her and eat all of her food at every meal time...she likes to hang in the kitchen with me when I am cooking and "help." Most of the time I have to shoo her out because she can only "help" if she is standing directly under my feet.

Well, I have not forgotten about my going lean side bar...I just got started a little later than I had hoped...I have been at it about 3 weeks now for real...you know "for real," right? Anyway, I am running and am back up to 3 miles although slow ones and am eating good. I have lost 5 pounds and I have 10 to go...

In addition, I have buckled and have indeed gone green...you can say it, "goooood giiirrrlll!" I bought the grocery bags and used them for the first time...I bought 5 and they held almost all of my weeks worth of groceries. I cannot believe it has finally happened but my family is so large now that biweekly trips to the grocery will no longer suffice. Can I just say I hate (I know, such an ugly word) the grocery store! But, I am enjoying trying out new meals and maybe over time as I experiment more, I will come to love Publix as well. One can only hope.

Boring.

Our coming out photo...

(is it crooked?)

Announcing the new and improved

Jerger Family!

Hmmm...where to begin...I guess with the bad news. My friend and fellow adoptive mother, Stacy has forwarded on to me the web site where I can have my blog published. I have spent several hours (only my spare time...lol) over the last week piddling with my blog book and finally ordered my 2007 blog entries in book format. It will be here in the next week or so...so, I will let you know how it turns out. The bad news? Well, as it turns out, the web site allows you to upload additional photos to your blog entries and it has several layouts along with fonts, colored and themed backgrounds etc...still wondering about the bad news? Drum roll please...this could in fact be the end of my scrap booking days...eeek! This is probably only bad news to a few of you:0)

Ellie had her first appointment with our local pediatrician on Friday...she had a wonderful check up and then received her first four vaccinations. It went well although I know that she remembered the blood draw from NC because as soon as I took her arm into "the hold," she started to cry...bless her little heart. Our Doc was very impressed with her language development and that helped to put my mind at ease. oh, and she gained a pound since we brought her home...yay!

Friday night, Flip had a little singing deal at the preschool. It was just the six of us and since he is not one of the graduates, we got to take off right after...whew. He did a great job singing and did all the motions with the music. It is funny to see him be so enthusiastic about it because Rusty hates singing on stage but loves the practice time...I think Flip just loves the attention! Still, they sing one song, Just One Small Voice and I cry every year!

On Saturday, we took the kids swimming and the 6 of us again just spent some good quality time playing in the water and relaxing by the pool. My mom is out of town so we are taking advantage of her back yard. On Sunday, Ellie spent the whole time at church in her class:0) She cried when we left her which although that is sad for her...made us feel great and when I picked her up, she was standing at the door waiting...yep, one of those kids...as soon as the first mom shows up, they stand around waiting for a glimpse of their own mommy. Her teacher told me she cried a bit here and there...especially if she saw a woman with long brown hair walk by the door. When I pick her up, she yelled, "Mommy!" So, I think the attachment thing has kicked in.

Last night, I went with some ladies from my church to a Chonda Pierce show. If you haven't seen this woman, you should and I will leave it at that.

This morning, Ruthie and Rusty started camp and poor little Rust, he is my shy guy and he didn't know any one...after a little coaxing, I convinced him to stay through lunch and to call me if he was having absolutely NO FUN AT ALL...no calls yet:0) As for me, I am hoping to get our announcements out this week, get caught up on my job, finally get my office organized and plan Ellie's belated birthday/welcome to the states 4th of July bash!

Wow! This is a boring post!

Seasons

School is out. Summer is here. It is bittersweet...I don't have to get up early every morning to get them ready and on their way but, they will be home all day...you moms out there know what I'm talking about. Today, I had some time in the car just to think about stuff. Ick! dangerous. It seems I am in the season of my life where the little victories are so meaningful. Today, all my laundry is done, folded and put away. Now I know this does not seem like anything major but there are six people in this house. Each night they take off all their clothes and throw them on the floor in the laundry room. Every morning they dirty the towels I lay out for them. I don't even want to talk about matching socks. As I type this, there is only one wash cloth in my laundry basket and I am proud to say it will be empty for another 3-4 hours.

Last night I tried a new recipe and my family...all 5 of them...loved it! Again, this might seem a strange thing to celebrate but, with four children, that is a whole mess of pickiness sitting around the dinner table every night. A meal with no complaints about the food is a minor miracle indeed.

Yesterday, I had lunch with my youngest child and her father who is also my husband and upon reflection, it was nice to go out to eat with him...just to see him...in the middle of the day. Sounds weird, right?...Well, I don't normally see Adam in the middle of the day on a Monday so to me, it was pretty nice. I also got to snap this really great shot of him with Els. She enjoyed her first grilled cheese and spilled juice all over her white shirt and then could barely keep her eyes open on the way home. I found myself wondering at her knack for falling asleep so quickly. People don't usually fall asleep unless they feel comfortable and secure...brought a smile to my face. She really is just one of the gang...mine.

SO, I find myself often torn between wanting to get it all done...have everything finished, cleaned up, put away and wanting to just sit down and enjoy the little things that happen in my home each day...Flip's sound effects, Ruthie's daily readings of her stories and poems, Rusty's hugs and kisses and his little pats for the animals when he walks by them and Ellie's curiosity. Such little things...Where does the mother of four find the time for all of this and all of that and that special time she craves with each child each day? Seasons...they do indeed change.

Saying Goodbye

We had a wonderful time this past Saturday. A few of the mother's from Ruthie's class got together and planned a farewell picnic for our teacher, Mrs. Johnson. As I said in an earlier post, Ruthie has had the same teacher for both first and second grade and she is retiring this year. She has given my daughter such a wonderful start. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity for this woman to be a part of our lives. Ruthie truly loves and respects her. She will have many other teachers over the years but I believe we have found the one she will hold in her heart for a lifetime. Thank you, Mrs. Johnson...for everything!