JULY was full of wonderful adoption preparations. My girlfriends helped me pack and shop for the kids. My mom helped me put their rooms together. We also met our children over the video for the first time.
August was….well a cornacoupia of emotions. In short, we became parents–gaining four amazing Spanish-speaking Sunshines. And we spent one hell of a month in Bogota. Another thanks to grandma, grandpa, uncle brian, and tia jena for flying out to help. It feels surreal, doesn’t it?
SEPTEMBER was the month that saw us home. We drove from LA to LV. We immunized and enrolled our munchkins. And we spent two weeks attacking the lice-infested hair of our daughters.
OCTOBER was full of rock-climbing, bike riding, and Halloween. Adoption-wise, the kids started to pick up a bit more English, and respond well to school. Their first trip to Logan, UT (7.5 hours) went off without a hitch. These munchkins were born to be our children–they are excellent travelers. And yes, most of our travel is DVD-free! It is possible. :)
NOVEMBER was the month that Amy (and Mya) and Jes flew into visit. We scrapped, ate Cold Stone ice cream cake for Amy’s 30th, and cruised the strip in the minivan. We spent Thanksgiving with the Penning clan in Logan, UT. While in Logan, we took real autumn family pictures. I believe we have felt more like a family since November.
DECEMBER was just last month, but it seems likes ages ago. We hit a turning point adoption wise and language wise in December. I like to think it is the spirit of the season that forged us closer together. The children’s language jumped forward during Christmas Break. Also during December, we started to see lots and lots of kisses given freely to us and to each other without Adam and I initiating….what a wonderful feeling. December 2008 is most decidedly a keeper. December also brought Kavika to our door. The jury is still out on how long Kavika will be with us. But for now, he is part of our family.
Quite the year!