What We Know

I am not a true blogger as you can see from the frequency of my posts.  If it can't be said in the character limitations of a facebook status update then it probably won't get shared.  However, seeing that I am on week 2 of caring for sick children and being confined to the house I'm willing to give this blogging thing another try.  Besides, gauging from the number of times I get asked, I know someone out there wants to know the answer to the million dollar question "Have you heard anything yet?"

If you goggle Ethiopian adoptions and U.S. Embassy right now you'll find several articles and blogs that will probably explain the situation much better than I can but here's how it is affecting my family:

The normal (I use that word loosely as there is nothing normal in adoptions) process for an Ethiopian adoption is you 1) get a referral (after mountains of paperwork and months/years of waiting), 2) travel to Ethiopia to meet your child, go before an Ethiopian court, and travel back home without your child 3) upon passing the Ethiopian court you submit a request with the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa for a visa for your child, and 4) you travel to Ethiopia to bring your child home once you have been cleared by the Embassy.

We currently are waiting on the U.S. Embassy to give us visa approval to bring our child into the United States.

We received our referral on Oct. 12, 2011 and traveled to Ethiopian the week before Christmas to meet our little guy.  On Dec. 19, 2011 an Ethiopian judge declared that our son was legally ours.  Her words "once I sign these papers he's yours, there is no turning back" have been etched in my mind since that day.  

The absolute joy I felt that day, combined with the reality of knowing I would be leaving my 6th child halfway around the world the next day, brought a heaviness to my heart that has been there since.

Two weeks after passing court our file was submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa on January 3, 2011.  Little did we know at that time that things were in the process of changing with the Embassy procedures.  Under "normal" circumstances we would have expected the Embassy to take 2-3 weeks to look at our file and we'd be on a plane heading to get our son around mid to late January.  However, due to reasons that are better explained elsewhere (and quite honestly if I tried to explain them here you probably would scratch your head, think that is so crazy, and go look them up yourself) the Embassy has chosen to treat every adoption as a possible criminal activity. 

For the past 7 1/2 weeks we have waited while our Embassy requests phone numbers that were already in their possession (with police reports) and attempts to contact police officers that could confirm the details regarding our son's case.  In 2 months they can tell us that they have made 5 attempts to talk to the police.  We know they had a short conversation with one person at the police station who confirmed some details but was not the officer on the case.  (Just an fyi, phone lines are unreliable in Ethiopia and voice mail is pretty much non-existent.)  Now we are told to wait some more while they review the merits of our case.

So what happens next?  At some point we will probably be told by the U.S. Embassy that our file is "not clearly approval" and they will send it to the USCIS office in Nairobi, Kenya for further review.  Again, there's lots out there on this but basically whereas the U.S. Embassy has to prove 100% certainty our son's orphan status, the USCIS looks at the reasonableness of his orphan status (i.e. he is most likely a legitimate orphan).

When can the U.S. Embassy tell us they are referring our case to Nairobi?  Anyone's guess is as good as mine.  They've been known to send them within a week and also been know to sit on the file for months.  We do know that once they send it, it takes about a week to get there and then USCIS has 30 days to review it.  At that point the USCIS can approve it, send it back to Embassy in Addis and we travel to bring home our son (maybe within a couple of weeks of approval).  On the other hand, the USCIS can issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) at which point we hire an international adoption attorney and continue the fight for our son.

Let me just stop here and say my emotions have run the gamut - I've been distraught, heart broken, sad, angry, appalled, bitter, and just outright mad.  I've had times of feeling anxious and other times of feeling at peace.  Some days are just better than others.  Would I still go back and do everything the same if I had known we'd end up here?  You bet!  One look at our little guy's face and you know instantly he's ours.  God ordained him as our son.  And the same God who gave me 3 wonderful biological children and 2 beautiful daughters through the blessing of adoption will see that our son comes home.  How do I know this?  Just read our first 2 adoption stories...He's in every detail.

So we wait and we continue to pray.  And trust me...when we hear something you will know.

Donations for Hannah's Hope

UPDATE:  WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!!  Please consider helping us fill up donation bags to take to Hannah's Hope.  Great holiday project!   We need to collect items by the first week of December.


Most all of you know that we have gotten "the call" on Oct. 12th.  Sorry I haven't updated the blog in like a year and a half!  We are currently waiting on a court date and will travel to meet our little guy at that time.  Several people have asked how can they help?!  One (of the many) things I am excited about is taking donations to Hannah's Hope (HH).  HH is the transition home that our little guy will be living at until we are able to bring him home.  This home is staffed by wonderful women that love on and care for the little ones while they are waiting for their forever families.  We plan on taking as many bags as the airline will allow.  If you'd like to contribute please see the list of items listed below.  I will keep you updated once we hear news of a court date (would love a Dec. date :-).  Thanks!

Urgent Needs:
1.      Diapers (all sizes)
2.      Soy-based Formula
3.      Shoes and Clothing for Older Children (Croc type shoes are the best)
4.      Shampoos and Conditioners for Older Children (fortified for curly hair)
5.      10-20 three-ring binders (2-3 inch)
6.      Cold medications for older children and adults
7.      Amoxicillin for all ages (250mg or 400mg)
8.      Whole Organic Flaxseed
9.       Body lotions for older children (especially for dry and ashy skin)
10.      Laptops, specifically one for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in Mekelle, Tigray
11.    2-3 Pairs of Reading Glasses from CVS (actual prescription strength not known)

Other needs:
• Diapers of all sizes; please include preemie sizes
• Baby wipes (this is always needed)
• Bibs
• Hand sanitizer
• Kleenex boxes
• Infant and children’s vitamins
• Formula: vegetable-based Similac, soy-based Similac, as well as regular formula
• Children’s clothing: this must be new or like new (no holes or stains)
Toddler clothing and shoes (at this time we are asking that families do not take infant clothing)
Light jackets or sweaters for all ages
Boys’ clothing for ages 6-10 years old
Girls’ clothing for ages 6-13 years old
Underwear for all ages—please consider slim clothing
Shoes for all ages, but especially older boys and girls. The popular “Croc” is great for these kids!
• Bottles: Avent bottles for both 8-12 ounce feedings.
• Diaper rash cream: Desitin is preferred, but A&D ointment or Butt Paste is also useful.
• Baby shampoos and baby oil
• Shampoo, conditioner, and lotion for older children
• Age appropriate development toys for infants and toddlers
• Blow up balls/outside toys
• Sidewalk chalk
• Bubbles
• Children’s DVDs and CDs
• Men’s and women’s deodorant
• Good quality electric shaver
• Rechargeable camping lanterns (for when electricity is out)
• Twin sheets (mainly flats) in children’s patterns and colors of pink, purple, red, blue, and green. Solid or print materials are both acceptable.

We're On the Road Again

Well we're back in the RV for another road trip so that could only mean it's time to blog again. George Lopez marathon is on the dish and the girls are tucked snuggly in bed. We left this morning and are in route to Pine Cove family camp for the 8th year in a row. 17 straight meals in a row that I don't have to cook, great college kids who love all over our kids, fun on the lake, cattle drives, reunited with old friends, enjoying new friends and no TV, internet, email, facebook and limited cell phone!

This year our good friends Susie, Barry, Annie and Lilly are joining us in the RV for the trip down. I'm not sure who has enjoyed having the friends along more - Mark enjoyed having a male to talk to who wasn't laid out in the back playing xBox or sleeping. Mary Grace loved hanging out with Annie and Lilly, I enjoyed visiting with Susie, and the girls enjoyed everyone! The ride home will sure be different as they are returning to TN via Alaska! Before you ask, no they are not spending the night on the RV (we're close, but not that close!) Tonight we also met some other FBC friends (the Waggoner's) at the Cracker Barrel to celebrate Liz's birthday before both of those families headed to a local hotel. I expect their hotel is nice since it's brand new but I know they would be extremely disappointed when they find out that our KOA kampground has it's own RV Art Gallery.

Tomorrow we'll head on to Tyler, TX and the fun will begin when the gate opens at 3. I can't wait to see the faces on the counselors when we pull the big bus up the camp entrance. It's always fun to see the face of the guy who is in charge of parking your vehicle!

I also thought I'd include an update on the adoption. As of right now we are officially waiting. All of our paperwork (dossier) has been submitted and approved by the agency. We've filed our application for a visa (for little brother to come home) with Homeland Security. We did learn this week that the Ethiopian court is officially closed until the end of Sept. They do this every year around this time in conjuction with the Ethiopian New Year. It apparently varies from year to year as to how long they close for and they don't announce it until they are ready to close. What this means to us is that adoptions pretty much come to a halt during this period. We are #47 on the waiting list for boys and #44 on the waiting list for siblings. Mark is convinced we will get brothers. However, the social worker informed me they don't see too many sibling groups. I think if we end up with 2 little brothers it will undoubtably be a God thing. We shall see!

Well with that I'll say goodnight and sign off my computer for a whole week!

Buffalo, Bears, Hail Oh My

Thursday morning we headed out to drive around the lower loop of Yellowstone. By this time the 70 degree day that had T-bone so giddy was long gone. I think the high that day was somewhere in the lower 40’s. Driving into the park with snow covering the ground and falling from the sky made me wonder how I only heard “days in the 60’s” from Mark before packing. After jumping out of the RV for a few choice pictures we decided at Old Faithful we’d buy some Yellowstone winter wear to make the day more enjoyable. And it was. We saw Old Faithful go off. Posed for the internet camera in front of Old Faithful so that Ben could show his friend back home what we looked like in from of a geyser.

We walked around a lot of bubbling (and stinky) geysers. (Again I got to experience the mother’s fear that one of her young children would fall into these acid filled pits and be consumed. There sure were enough warnings posted everywhere to feed my worrying.) We saw lots and lots of buffalo and Elizabeth was just as excited to see her 100th as she was her 1st. We saw elk and mule deer too.

Our second day in Yellowstone we drove the Upper loop. We saw more buffalo. We pulled up to one along side the road and opened the windows in the RV to get some good up close pictures. I didn’t know that buffalo growled until then. Not to worry though, Elizabeth growled right back. My mother’s fear did not kick in here as I knew we were lots safer in the RV than the idiots that were standing outside their cars with only a flimsy car door in between them and the huge growling buffalo.

The highlight of this day for me was seeing not one bear but three! Mark and I spotted the first one as it was going from the road to some woods along side the road. It was just a glimpse but it was exciting. A little later as we were driving down the road we noticed a line of stopped cars and a park ranger’s car. (When traveling through Yellowstone you know this mean really good animal.) As we pulled up beside the cars and the ranger (so good to be 2 floors up from the cars) we saw a mother bear and her baby cub. Again we watched from the safety of the RV while some more idiots were venturing out of their cars. (I’m no wildlife expert but I do know you don’t ever want to be near a mother bear when she has a cub with her.) I was just hoping that if the park ranger had to break up a bear attack she’d aim for the idiot!

Later that day we stopped in at Fishing Bridge Visitor Center where Mark Baker, Ben’s AP English III teacher, works as a park ranger during the summer months. We spent a good while visiting with Mr. Baker and learning more about the park and the animals. He told us the prime spots to go animal watching. He also explained to us the difference between a park “visitor” and a “tourist.” Let’s just say the tourist is the “idiot” that I discussed earlier. I would go on to use the visitor/tourist definitions later on our drive through the Park when I saw someone was venturing too close to a wild animal. I think I might carry this home with me as I’d rather have Anna and Elizabeth repeat “tourist” rather than “idiot” when I happen to slip up (yes, we have some “tourist” around our parts.)

After dinner and more wild game at the Lake Hotel (built in 1891) we headed out to the lookout spot that Mr. Baker told us about. It must be a well-known spot because it was quite crowded. Mark did manage to get the RV into a spot and we unloaded folding chairs, binoculars, cameras, and kids and set up our “watch.” It wasn’t long before we spotted two wolves in the distance (with the help of our binoculars and a park ranger nearby). After a little while everyone but Mary Grace and I were back in the RV getting out of the cold. Shortly after that I hear a lady say there is a buffalo coming our way. Mary Grace and I look up to see a buffalo approaching us from behind! I’m telling Mary Grace to run to the RV and get Dad while I’m trying to grab as many chairs as I can. (Why I just didn’t leave the old, broken soccer field chairs for the buffalo to enjoy I’ll never understand.) We did get out of the buffalo’s way just in the nick of time as he strolled right over the path where we had been set up. About this time I’m wondering where Matthew is and I see him outside getting pictures of the buffalo waaaaaay to close. I’m yelling out the door Mr. Baker’s definition of the visitor vs. the tourist (but I think I slipped up and used the idiot word.) After a few hysterical mom moments I manage to get Mark to manage to get Matthew away from the buffalo. I will add though he was in the company of other idiot tourist too.

After the buffalo passed on by we watched for the wolves some more and then headed back to Fishing Bridge to hear a presentation on the history of Yellowstone by Mr. Baker. We were able to visit with Mrs. Baker also and listen to the presentation around a campfire. Really cool experience. Makes me want to take Mr. Baker’s AP English III just for the fun of it (no, not really. Too many essays)

By the time we got to the Fishing Bridge RV campground it was well after 10pm. Just a little Yellowstone camping trivia for you….Between the hours of 8pm and 8am you cannot have your generator on to help preserve the natural feel, I guess, of the park. That wouldn’t have been much of a problem had we thought about the 2 blow up air mattresses that needed to be filled before 3 people went to sleep that night! Mark, the renegade, had all of us get the blowers attached and ready and on the count of 3 he turned on the generator and within probably 2 minutes we had 2 air mattresses blown up, the generator back off and no citation from the park ranger! I didn’t realize how loud the generators sound until the next morning when everyone else cranked theirs up at 8am!

We left Fishing Bridge that morning and headed out to see more sites recommended by Mr. Baker. Mark was determined to do a little hiking based on Mr. Baker’s comment that only 1% of all park visitors ever leave the main roads. Our destination – Hellroaring – a place where 2 rivers meet and make a heck of a notice coming down the mountains. Let’s just say that with the steepness of the mountains you had to climb down and back up, the endurance of a 3 and 4 year old, and my fear of wild animals, I didn’t make it all the way to Hellroaring but I did make it back. We did make it to a suspension bridge that provided some beautiful sights.

After our experience in Hellroaring, we loaded up the RV and headed out to Cody, Wyoming – Home of the Cody Nite Rodeo. The Cody KOA Kampground was the nicest one we’d been to so far on the trip but we didn’t get to experience much of it as we headed out to the rodeo shortly after dinner. The rodeo was fun and Elizabeth is still talking about the big while bull.

Sunday we slept in til 9am (Elizabeth’s Father’s Day gift to Mark). Getting a late start meant rushing to get to Mount Rushmore in time for the lighting of the monument. At one point in our drive I decided to venture back to the bathroom hoping not to get knocked silly or thrown from the toilet. I noticed while in the bathroom the rain on the skylight/vent sounded unusually loud. After coming out of the bathroom I quickly saw the extremely large hail crashing down on the RV. It’s hard to describe the sound of golf ball size hail hitting a mainly fiberglass/plasic/glass vehicle. Mark describes it as being inside a metal drum being peppered by hammers. I’ll just say I no longer have to imagine what 2 rivers converging in the mountains sound like. This was my Hellroaring experience!

We did make it safely to the campground with no broken windshield; however upon later inspection there are a few holes up top on the RV. The day only got crazier as we thought we were staying at a KOA just minutes away from Mount Rushmore (with jumping pillows, water mushroom, fishing pond, and lots of other kid friendly amenities), we actually were booked at the Custer, SD KOA about 35 minutes away (with a overcrowded jumping pillow and pull through gravel lot). It all worked out fine, as we were able to eat at the Visitor’s Center, tour the museum and watch the presentation and lighting of the monument. This too was pretty cool to learn the history behind the monument.

And this brings me to today. One of our longest travel days yet - Custer, SD to just outside Chicago 908.8 miles. Our female TomTom tells us it’s going to be a 15-hour drive. Our Bing map says only a 13-hour drive. Wouldn’t be such a big deal except that after starting out I was reading the KOA Northwest Chicago late arrival policy. The KOA we’re heading to is a “gated” campground – literally. We called and the last possible late check in is at 9:30pm. There’s no way to get in the gated kampground after 9:30 unless you have a key (which kind of bothers me since I’m wondering if we do get in can we get out?!) Female TomTom puts us there at 11:15pm. Bing puts us there at 9:15. We’re pulling for Bing or otherwise we may be camped out in a Wal-Mart parking lot tonight. So far Mark has stopped once for gas and we’ve all stood and fixed our lunch while traveling 70mph down a very bumpy South Dakota interstate. With a big tank on both the RV and Mark we are hoping to make it without anymore stops. Will update as we get closer!

Update: We made it to the Northwest Chicago KOA right at 10pm. (Bing and the female TomTom split the difference making it a 14 hour adventure.) Mark called the nice lady at the front check-in counter probably about every 30 minutes during the last 2 hours of the drive and used his Southern charm (I know he’s a Yankee but after 22 years in the South I think it qualifies as Southern charm.) During this last 2 hours we were also driving through another terrible storm with high winds and lots of lightening. I fixed a dinner of pork barbeque, salad and green beans all while Mark’s barreling down I90 trying to meet the 9:30 cut-off (Kathy, the nice KOA lady didn’t tell us she’d stay open for us until we called back at 9:30 to tell her we weren’t going to make it in time!) I’m glad we made it and again it all worked out just fine. I am only slightly disappointed that I still can say I’ve never camped in a Wal-mart parking lot.

We’re heading out in the morning for our last day of vacation at the Great Adventure Six Flag Amusement Park. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us there! Just hoping for no thunderstorms and hail!

White water and Mountains - Yikes!

I think the last place I left off we had completed our 4 hour horseback ride. We went several days with no internet service and limited cell phone service so I have lots to cover. I am happy to report that all soreness caused by Red, the horse, is completely gone 7 days later.

On Tuesday, the day after the horseback ride, Mark, Ben, Matthew, Mary Grace and I went on a whitewater rafting ride down the Snake River. While Doris, Mark’s mom, kept the girls at the RV. We all got dressed in wet suits at the KOA kampground before boarding a bus for the first part of our trip (i.e. the Scenic part). There were 11 of us in the raft (not counting T-bone our guide). We had a family from northern California (the dad looked like Dennis Miller and they had an 8 and 12 year old). There was also a honeymoon looking couple from Arkansas.

The Scenic part was just that. T-bone was a bit giddy that this day was only their second 70 degree day this year. The mountains still were capped with snow and the water temperature was somewhere around 40 degrees. The highlight of this part of the trip was probably seeing a male, female and baby eagle. During this part of the trip T-bone went through all the safety procedures and told us exactly what to do if we got thrown out of the raft or if the raft turned over. By the end of the Scenic portion I was thoroughly scared to death!

We landed the raft halfway down our trip and unloaded our cameras, phones, hats, sunglasses, hoodies, and anything else we didn’t want wet in the waiting bus. We were given splash jackets to wear under our life jacket and some of us were given oars. T-bone put Mary Grace and I on the front seat middle section with no oars. While he assured me then that was the safest place to not get thrown out of the raft, I now know it’s the wettest place to sit in the raft and there is absolutely no place to hold on! I’m not sure which scared me more – getting thrown out or getting my teeth knocked out by the oar held by 12 year old boy from California paddling next to me. I think T-bone sensed my fear of the later and moved the 12 year old back a row and put his dad (Dennis Miller) next to me.

Well you know since I’m writing about it we all survived. No one got thrown out of the raft (but a few crazy rafters named Mark, Ben, Matthew and Mary Grace jumped in the 40 degree water just for the fun of it.) During the later part of the ride T-bone moved Matthew to my spot since Matthew wasn’t’ getting wet enough. I paddled behind Ben and in front of Mark for the rest of the way which only meant soreness in the upper body to replace the soreness from Red in the lower body. The ride really was not as bad as T-bone had let on (which is exactly what he confessed to later). I’d have to conclude that the scariest part of the whitewater adventure was putting on the wet suit. (We all gave Mark the nickname “Hans” if you’ve seen the picture!)

Later that day we went into Jackson and rode the Alpine Slide. Mark and the kids played a round of speed putt putt golf as they were rushing to get done before a nasty looking thunderstorm blew in. We ate dinner that night at a place called Gun and Barrel where Mark and the boys ate lots of wild things killed with a gun and barrel. Just kind of got the creeps looking at the animals nailed to the wall that they were eating. Elizabeth kept referring to it as Cracker Barrel. I do think I’d rather look at antiques nailed to the wall over elk, buffalo, deer, etc. Later that night we invited our new California friends (who by the way, were our very next door neighbors at the campground) over to our RV. They had driven up in a CruiseAmerica.com rental RV and were checking out the “big rigs.”

Wednesday morning we all got up bright and early to head to Teton Village for the boys to do some paragliding. After rushing to get there, filling out lots of forms, and waiting about an hour, the place decided the winds were too dangerous so they cancelled all rides for the day. Lots of disappointments for sure!

We did ride the tram up one very huge mountain though. I was okay with the heights until I realized what I thought was the top was only the halfway point. About the only way I could keep myself from getting physically ill was to put by head in my lap. (Yes, my children really enjoyed that.) Getting my feet on the ground at the top was really no better for me. Now added to my fear of heights was Anna or Elizabeth falling off the mountain that had no fence, rail, baby gate, nothing! After playing a bit in the snow we went into the only building up there and had some hot chocolate. The ride back down was not as bad as I chose my seat wisely. The tram operator informed us that a bear had been sighted down below earlier in the day so everyone was on the lookout. My only real fear coming down was when Mark’s mom spotted the bear and everyone ran to that side of the tram to see it! I caught a glimpse while trying to weigh my heaviest on the other side of the tram. I think I’d prefer the whitewater rafting over the tram ride any day.

We left Teton Village and headed to Jenny Lake to take a nice relaxing hike around the lake. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and rain and lightening kept us from enjoying the lake. Mark then took us all to dinner at the Grand Teton Lodge were the boys all ate wildlife again and I chose the vegetarian dish. (No, I’m not a vegetarian. It’s just something about looking at the animal’s face when you’re eating it’s relative. Just think sitting next to a wall mounted stuffed chicken next time you’re eating at Chik-fil-a.) After dinner we headed out to Flagg Ranch campground just outside the South entrance to Yellowstone and into the Land of No Internet and Cell Towers.

More Out West Adventures

We arrived at the Jackson Hole KOA kampground yesterday safe and sound despite the fact that the female TomTom tried to tell us the kampground was smack dab in the middle of the Snake River (good thing we had that backup Bing map :-) We got camp set up and took a tour of the grounds. I found the laundry room, camp store and playground. While the playground isn't much, the camp store has about everything you could ask for (except orange juice and fresh produce).

Today Elizabeth decided to let us all sleep in until around 8am (and we're on MST time so by my calculations that was like 9am CST!) I got in 2 loads of laundry and the girls checked out the playground. After lunch we walked across the street for our 4 hour horseback ride. (Did I that Mark signed us all up for this and volunteered to stay with the girls?)

Now some background on my horseback riding experience. I ride horses one time a year at family camp in Texas. It's pretty flat ground and the horses are well trained. These horses did look a lot smaller than our Texas horses and there weren't nearly as many "rules" to riding the WY horses. I rode a horse named Red. Mary Grace was on a pretty black horse named Slade. Ben was on another red looking horse named PJ and Matthew got to ride Sis (perfect :-) Doris, Mark's mom, rode a white horse named Jill.

Red and I were assigned the last spot in line so that we could watch for anyone sliding off their horse. Not sure who was looking out for us but that's okay. The problem with Red was that he did not like following too close to the horse in front of him. He'd stop and wait til there was sufficient room and then trot to catch up. Stop again and repeat the trot. After the first hour of the stop and trot I think I lost all feeling in my bottom (well, no actually it still hurt alot). I was really hoping that my couch to 5K training would have prepared me for this half marathon on a horse. Now I'm afraid my knees are going to be shot and I would be able to finish week 9 :-( I guess we'll see if I ever get back to running.

The ride was actually fun. We saw one elk and a couple of mule deer. We got to ride through a raging stream (well, maybe not really raging but it was moving). The landscape was just incredible -the snowcapped Tetons on one side and the hills and valleys all around us. I've decided that I probably have come to take the beauty of Tennessee for granted because its what I see every day. It's funny how much more I notice when I'm not distracted by my everyday routine.

Mark took the girls on a pony ride after we left on our ride. He took pictures with his mother's camera so I'll have to wait to post those pictures later. They road Little Brown Jug.

On a non-horse note - Anna lost another tooth. Mark actually notice this afternoon that she was missing a tooth that had been loose for a while. We weren't sure if it fell out during the night or what. It hit me later that when I went to crawl in my bed last night I swiped something off my sheets. (We put the girls to bed in our bed so the rest can watch tv and then move the girls to their bed when everyone is ready to go to bed.) Sure enough Matthew checked the floor by my side of the bed and there was her tooth! Sweet Anna had sad that the Tooth Fairy was probably going to leave her a surprise under her pillow at home because she wouldn't know where the RV was. I'm thinking the Tooth Fairy will go ahead and make a visit tonight so she won't forget when we get home in 10 days.

Tomorrow Mark and I are going rafting down the Snake River with the big kids. Mark and I did this 20 years ago and I remember being scared to death then. Still wondering why I agreed to do this again. I'm sure I'll have some stories to tell tomorrow.

Wild West Adventure Day 1 and 2

Day 2 of our Wild West Adventure and I thought I'd capture a little of our trip for your reading pleasure (or maybe give you a few chuckles).

We set sail yesterday right at 2pm and headed out for St. Louis. So far the only thing I know I forgot was the pitcher of sweet tea I left sitting on the counter that I made to bring with me. Hopefully, Whitney (who is staying at our house) will find it and pour it out or otherwise I may find a new type of bacteria growing at my house when I return. Now if I can only survive without my sweet tea!

FBC Nashville friends that are getting ready for Saddle Ridge Ranch VBS next week- As we were passing downtown Nashville yesterday Mary Grace pointed out the church to the girls. Elizabeth waves and says "Hello church. Sorry but we're going to Yellowstone." We will miss you guys and hope you have a great week!

Our trip to St. Louis was pretty uneventful (a good thing) and we made it with only one stop. (Yes, Mark is a driving machine!)

This morning our Elizabeth alarm clock got everyone up at 6am which actually was a good thing since we knew we had a long day ahead of us. While everyone was packing up/hitching down/unhooking/etc. Elizabeth decided she'd just take over for Mark. She climbed up into the driver's seat, grabbed the steering wheel, looked over her shoulder and said "You ready kids?" I really think she'd drive this bus if she could!

Anna is not without her share of funnies too. Tonight while I was saying bedtime prayers with the girls, which included a prayer for baby brother, Anna looks up with a grin and says "I think we should name him Baby Shrek." Ok maybe we watched a little too much of Shrek the Third today on our 15 hour drive! With a name like Sparkles Chocolate Baby Shrek who wouldn't want to come live with us!?

Did I mention that Mark drove 15 hours today? I lost count of the number of states we went through today. I do know we saw the Arch (not Micky D's) early this morning, we went over the Mississippi River once and the Missouri River at least 3 times. We drove a very long way across Nebraska and if I had been no other place I would swear the world was flat. Oh and while the kids are watching their DVD's and playing their xBox games I'm the one getting the geography lesson. Mark has borrowed a TomTom and also printed out directions on Bing Map. (I'm not sure if it's because he didn't trust the female voice coming out of the TomTom or what.) Of course they weren't all the same on parts of the drive today so he had me reconciling the differences and even getting out the big Atlas too! You really can't appreciate this unless you know how directionally challenged I am. I only caused one wrong turn and with wide open roads and very little traffic Mark soon got us back on the right track.

We did arrive at the Cheyenne KOA kampground right at 11pm (just when the female Tom said we would). It is raining here and somewhere in the 40 degrees. I know this because I was the lucky one that got to jump out of the RV and grab the late check-in instructions off the office door (while I'm still dressed in my Nashville 90 degree shorts and t-shirt)!

Oh while getting ready for bed we learned a new interesting tidbit about Mark's fancy Sleep Number bed. When traveling to mountaineous regions or higher elevations you should disconnect the air hoses because a change in air pressure can cause the bed to expand to whatever number feels like rock solid. It is just a miracle the mattress did not explode! Of course had it done so the boys would have probably thought their Call of Duty game became an interactive game. For some reason the controls wouldn't work so Mark manually let some air out and I have no idea what number I'm sleeping on tonight.

Well, everyone is all tucked in bed and sleeping to the sound of the pitter patter of rain, a humming of various snorers, and a few really loud passing trains. I think I'll call it a night too. We only have a 7 hour drive tomorrow to Jackson Hole!

The Process, the Paperwork, and Sparkles

I thought I'd post a little bit of an update on the progress we are making towards bringing baby brother home. I have compared the amount of paperwork required to being more painful than the 3 labors I have experienced. Actually, it's not that hard it's just alot. And every piece of paper we touch we have to have notarized.

For now I'd break the process into 4 pieces: home study, dossier, the wait, and the travel to bring baby brother home. The paperwork for the home study is completed. We are waiting for the FBI to return our fingerprint results. This could take up to 2 months! (They received them on May 14th so I'll be anxious to see how fast they get here.) We also have a home visit schedule for June 7th. The hard part of getting this scheduled was finding a time when the whole family will be home! Mark and I are also required to complete 6 education courses (1 workbook and 5 online classes). Good thing we are used to doing CPE for our CPA's...these are much more interesting too! We have completed 2 online courses and 3 of the 20 chapters in the workbook. The social worker that reviews and approves these courses will be out of the office the whole month of June so our goal is to have these to her on July 1. We would like to think that given the FBI cooperates we could have our home study completed and approved by mid-July.

The dossier is (not only a fun word to say) but basically the paperwork required by the Ethiopian government. We are just down to needing to put together a few more documents and then having them all notarized. There is one that has to be certified by our county clerk and also by the TN Secretary of State. Can't wait to make that trip downtown...not! Once our homestudy is complete and approved we'll send these documents to our agency and they will review them and send them to Ethiopia where they will be translated into their language and reviewed.

Then the wait. As soon as we complete the dossier the wait begins but there's still more paperwork! We have to file a document with our government (part of Homeland Security) called an I-600A. Once that is sent off we wait to get another fingerprint appointment (yes, it would be easy for the FBI to just forward results but hey, then it wouldn't be the government would it?!) Once we get fingerprinted (again) we have to wait the up to 2 months for them to get the result back. By the way, the purpose of this filing is for us to get a visa in order to bring baby brother home to our country. (If you're looking for a specific to pray for...how about praying that the FBI comes through both times is a timely manner.) During this time we are also waiting for the Ethiopian government and the agency working together to match us with our son. This is also called a referral. Once that happens we'll get information and pictures of him! Our agency has told us that based on the facts that we are asking for a boy ages 1-3 our wait could be anywhere from 1 to 6 months from the time our home study is approved.

As far as the travel goes, it looks like at this point 2 trips to Ethiopia will be required. It has been only one trip in the past but the Ethiopian government is in the process of revising those requirements. The first trip is for a court date and a time to meet our son. The second trip is to bring him home. We are both not required to go and we have not decided how or which one of us will go. We have both applied for passports and are waiting for those to arrive in the mail any day now.

I know I have surely left something out of the process as sometimes it seems so overwhelming. But one thing is for sure, God is not only opening the doors for us but I think He's standing there holding it for us! Everything so far has just worked out so smoothly. (Well except for the doctor that kept us and our notary friend waiting for 1 1/2 hours in his office just to sign a simple piece of paper!) Looking through our paperwork I am amazed at how many of our friends are reflected in them...David, Greg and Myra all notaries, Brad the banker, Chris the pediatrician (not the one that kept us waiting), Frank, Rebecca, Jeri, Mary Lea and Richard our references. And then there are the many that have encouraged us along the way.

Also, some of you have asked about names. Since our son will most likely already have a name we are waiting to see what that it. If it's one that hard to pronounce or way out there, we may give him a more "American" name. We have had some interesting dinner time conversations on what those names should be. Elizabeth has chosen "Sparkles." Anna would like to name him "Chocolate." And the rest of us have our own preferences too. For now, I call him baby brother or Sparkles!

I know this post is full of a lot of probably boring details for most of you! You maybe can see why some days I wish I had an epidural to get through this process! When we know more I'll be sure to let you know!

6 - Why Not?

I can't think of any way possible to call each one of you with our latest news but I do want to share with each of you the plans we have for our family. Before you jump to any crazy conclusion…NO I AM NOT PREGNANT!

Many of you may know that Mark has been wanting to add #6 to our family since shortly after we brought Elizabeth home. I have never been very open to that thought and have joked that it would have to be with wife #2! Well, Mark is not getting a wife #2 but we are working towards plans to adopt a #6 child to our family. The short of it is we are looking to add a toddler age boy from Ethiopia. (I think Mark is realizing that soon he will be the odd man out in a house full of girls!) There are still lots of questions to ask and things to learn but here is where we are:

First, I can honestly say that I feel like God has been changing my heart over the past couple of months. The thought of having another little one in the home terrifies me still but I am reminded that God doesn't throw anything at you that He knows you cannot handle with His help. Over the past couple of months I have read or seen various blogs, videos, emails, speakers and TV shows (believe it or not "Idol Gives Back") that have kept the orphans of Africa on my mind (Ethiopia alone has over 4 million orphans). I have also been reminded of how much I feel like God has blessed our family with a stable job for Mark, a house more than big enough for our family, and supportive friends and family. He has given Mark and I the calling and joy of being parents. There really is no reason that's clear to me why we can't provide a home and family for one more child.

I also believe that if I think that God could possibly be calling us to adopt again I have to step out in faith and pursue it. I know that God can close the doors just as easily as He opens them and will make it clear to us as we pursue this journey. The longer I piddle around wondering if this is what we are to do, the more I risk missing out on an incredible opportunity and blessing.

A confirmation of our decision to pursue this adoption came when we told our children. Adoption is a family event. Everyone in the family is affected one way or another when you bring a new child in the home. We are fortunate that our children share a heart for adoption. Who would imagine that teenage boys would be excited about getting a baby brother?! Mary Grace, the 2^nd mother that she is, is thrilled and has already put in her request to travel to Africa! When I told the kids I thought that some people would think we are crazy Matthew said, "well, that's crazy in a good sort of way." Anna and Elizabeth of course have no idea what this means but we are sure they will teach little brother everything he needs to know and more! Don’t think for a minute that it’s always a Walton family-like picture around here…believe me, no camera crew will ever be allowed within 10 feet of this house!

We are working with an agency out of Portland Oregon called All God’s Children International (www.allgodschildren.org). We learned about this agency after getting an email from a former teacher at our elementary school. She adopted a little girl from Ethiopia last year and highly recommends that agency. I would love for you to see the YouTube video of her with her daughter in the orphanage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyL9UjLrdM). Ideally, I'd like a child that is potty trained - maybe 2-3 years old. Mark definitely wants another son. Who really knows what God has in store for us....remember He gave us the little blonde hair blue eyed tornado when we thought we needed a little sister to "look like" Anna! The most amazing thought for me is that I believe that God has known all along who our son is and that most probably he’s already been born.

Lastly, we sang a hymn in church a few weeks ago, Let Your Heart Be Broken, that spoke volumes to me, particularly the last verse

Let your heart be tender

And your vision clear -

See mankind as God sees,

Serve Him far and near;

Let your heart be broken

By another's pain,

Share your rich resources -

Give and give again.

Please pray for us as we embark on this journey. I look forward to sharing this experience with you! Our last adoptions were definitely an exciting adventure. I hope to keep everyone updated through my blog so that you can enjoy the ride with us! Last night we had a conference call with our social worker and learned more of the “details” of the process. I’ll be posting some of those details later. Let me just leave you hanging with a teaser…1 to 6 months! Yikes!

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" - James 2:17

Fantasy Island without Tatoo

I was right about everyone sleeping good last night. The girls slept until 9am! This morning we had to pack everything up and tie it down as we had to be out of the KOA park by 11. Mark and Matthew fixed the washer (or so I will probably find out the next time I use it). We drove the RV just next door to the Martin’s Fantasy Island Amusement Park.

It was our lucky day…with overcast skies and a high of 69 expected, there was hardly anyone in the parking lot or park! This park reminded me so much of our beloved old Opryland Park (when will my kids quit asking me why they put an outlet mall there?!) Mark and I took the girls to the Kiddie rides. To say they loved it would be an understatement. Elizabeth drove her sporty blue car just like her big brother Ben. Anna had the biggest smile on her face flying backwards in her ladybug (do you think Elizabeth would let her have the front seat?!) The only part of the Kiddie area they weren’t totally fond of was the petting zoo (the sheep with horns running around loose and the goat with no ears didn’t thrill me either).

We caught up with Matthew and Mary Grace, who by this time had ridden the rollercoaster 4 times and probably about every other ride too (there were no lines anywhere – it really was Fantasy Island for a kid!). We all headed out to the parking lot to enjoy lunch on the RV (ah! Fantasy Island for Mom, Dad, and the wallet too!)

We got back into the park in time for me to take Anna and Elizabeth to the Fairy Tale Theater show while Mark, Matthew and Mary Grace went to ride the rollercoaster and some more big kid rides. Okay, this is where Martin’s Fantasy Island ceased to be like Opryland. The show was basically people dressed up moving their mouths to the way too loud recording. Anna started crying immediately and I’m not sure if it was the scary ape looking guy or the really loud sound blasting out of the speakers. Of course, Elizabeth loved it. After a quick text to Mark, he came and rescued Anna and Elizabeth enjoyed the rest of the show. She even shook hands with the princess (the only normal looking character in all the land) after the show.

The rest of our time there was spent riding rides in the big kid area (Anna rode the ferris wheel – yikes!). We all took our turns going down the incredibly huge slide with the girls (I pulled a muscle in my leg just climbing the stairs to the top and had to retire after just one ride down with Anna). Matthew and Mary Grace did a couple of rides in the water park before they had had enough of the freezing water. It felt like we had the whole water park to ourselves – to bad the water was just soooo cold!

Around 4 we headed back out to the RV (but not without 2 more rides on the rollercoaster) to start on our trip down to Watkins Glen. Most of the 3 hour drive was again just incredibly beautiful. (Who would have thought New York had so much beauty to offer?!) We traveled along Seneca Lake, which was one winery after another. The sun shining down on the hills around the lake just made everything glow. I think this trip has completely changed my opinion of New York. Too bad most of us associate all of New York with New York City.

We arrived at the Watkins Glen KOA campground before dark and got all situated. This campground has more of a camping in the woods kind of feel. Our site looks out over a wooded area (tonight sitting around a fire with Matthew and Mary Grace I just couldn’t help but think of what might be lurking out in them woods!) I told Mark I would love to get up in the morning and sit out there and drink a cup of coffee taking it all in. Unfortunately, if I were to wake up before everyone to do that I would have to crawl over 2 beds to get out the door and probably wake up everyone in the process. Oh well, maybe I’ll just settle for…

All Wet But Having Fun!

Today was the most incredible day! It didn’t hurt that the girls decided to sleep in til 7am (okay I know we’re on eastern time and that means we really didn’t sleep that extra hour but mentally it did). Matthew and Mary Grace got to fish in one of the KOA fishing ponds and did quite well (Matthew 4, Mary Grace 1 large one).







Mark and I took the girls in a paddleboat, which thrilled them.









After lunch we were picked up for our tour of the Falls by a very pleasant Niagara Falls native named Rita. We started the tour by visiting Whirlpool Park.
We then went on to Cave of the Winds where we were given rain ponchos and nifty souvenir rubber sandals and descended 175 feet in an elevator. We then proceeded to climb umpteen steps (Mark carrying Anna and me carrying Elizabeth) in pouring rain (actually part rain/part water from the Fall I couldn’t really tell the difference). It was the craziest experience but Elizabeth, my water bug, loved it! Anna, on the other hand, did not like getting her face wet one bit. Mark and I stopped before we got to the top and Matthew and Mary Grace went all the way up and got a big drenching splash.


After drying off a bit we stopped at a little touristy shop for a quick snack and postcards (I felt like I was back home stopping at the Concord General Store with all the country music tour groups). Then it was off to Goat Island to see Horseshoe Falls on foot. We loaded back on the bus and took off for the Maid of the Mist where we got new rain ponchos (we were all still wearing our rubber sandals so we could really look the part of the tourist) and boarded the boat. To see the Bridal Falls and the American Falls from down below was just incredible – again wet, but incredible. Mark took Anna under shelter and I stood in the middle of it all with Elizabeth who loved it! About every which way you looked there was a beautiful rainbow in the Falls. (Okay, for my spiritual moment – looking at the Falls I couldn’t help but hear “praise God from whom all blessings flow” in my head). I love the mountains and I love the ocean but this had to be the most breathtaking sight I have ever seen in nature.

Since we all arrived back to the RV wet I decided it was time to try out the washer/dryer combo unit again. About the time we had the little ones in the shower Matthew noticed water gushing out from underneath the washer. We got that cleaned up and Mark realized that the drain hose had come out of the pipe leading out of the RV (my guess is all the bumps through Kentucky and Ohio sent that hose right out of that pipe). Because of the way the washer sits in the cabinet Mark knew he couldn’t fix it until morning so Mary Grace and I hauled all the wet clothes to the KOA laundry room at around 10pm and spent some quality time playing air hockey while waiting.

After a day like today I think everyone will sleep very ….

Start Spreading the News...

Wow! Thirteen hours later and we're finally in New York (in a KOA campground 7 miles away from Niagara Falls)! This is the furthest north I've ever been (not to worry - I brought my own sweet tea). Our day began when the alarm went off at 4:45 this morning. Ben had to be at the airport early to check in to his flight for Cornell Univ. where he is attending a wrestling camp this week. The rest of us pulled out of the driveway right at 7:30. (I should say Mark backed the big bus carefully out of the driveway. I didn't notice any ruts in the grass alongside the driveway but I'm still not to the point I can open my eyes until we're heading straight down the road.)

It wasn't really until Ben sent me a message saying he had made his connection in Philly and then met up with the Cornell folks at Ithaca that I could really breath easy. We did have a discussion though afterwards whether or not his plane from Philly to Ithaca was any bigger than our RV. I think he said it was a little bit bigger.

The drive, while long, was really pretty uneventful (thank God!). Mark's mapquested directions (with my expert navigation skills) got us here with no wrong turns or unkind words. Somewhere in Kentucky I realized that you need the same skills for walking in a moving vehicle as maybe a sailor sailing on rough waters. After taking a bang to the rib cage by a door handle Mark informed me that I needed to grow sealegs. I don't know but I'm thinking maybe Kentucky needs to spend a little of their stimulus money on road repairs?

Most of my walking around involved taking the girls to the "fun" potty. It was in the 2ft. x 2ft. bathroom rotisserie (Mark's term) that we probably had our most excitement. Anna had decided she needed to poo poo in the potty so we went running back as quick as we could. What I didn't realize was that at the same time we were approaching downtown Columbus, OH. Luckily for Anna's sake I had one arm holding on to her when we hit a bump from the underworld that just about sent her down the potty. Needless to say that trip to the potty produced no tangible results and the potty became much less fun.

I know some of you may be asking "but what did you cook this time in that fabulous convection microwave." Knowing that we'd be eating dinner most probably parked in a Flying J or similar truck stop, I prepared baked spaghetti ahead of time and just heated it up in the microwave. I also found that the girls actually make less of a mess with baked spaghetti versus the runny sauce kind.

Well, it is rather late and we have a big day planned tomorrow. Matthew and Mary Grace want to fish in the KOA fishing ponds in the morning and then we are touring Niagara Falls tomorrow afternoon. Look for pictures tomorrow - I remembered my camera cord this time! Hey Nashville friends, it's only suppose to get to 75 tomorrow. Do you think I'll need a ...

RV Vacation Day 7 :(

The Bus

Day 7 and we're packing up and buckling everything down for the drive home in the morning. Tonight we did a clean out of the refrigerator for dinner plus tater tots and chicken tenders in the nifty convection microwave oven. (Okay, the only down side to the convection microwave that I was so excited to learn to use is that when all 7 of us are here it's almost impossible to get enough food hot at one time.)

We spent a good part of the day at the beach. The weather was not as nice as yesterday but still okay. There was a double red flag so no one could go in the water. Thank goodness there was another "hot tub" for the girls to play in. Elizabeth did some more beach dancing (this has got to be one of the most hilarious things I have seen her do so I will post it once I'm home) and Anna seemed to be mesmerized by watching the ocean today. No sand art today.

It's probably time for us to head home. I think everyone except for me, Matthew and Anna have some sunburn. Elizabeth has turned into her Malibu Baby bronze with a pink nose and shoulders. Anna has turned several shades darker in spite of us using SPF 50 on her. I think the only way I escaped the burn is that I never stayed still enough on the beach for the sun's rays to catch me! And Mark, who sets the world's worse example for using sun protection, got his burn the first day.

Well, the glitters almost all gone and I actually think I'm going to miss living in this 34 x 8 1/2 foot space (actually I guess it's more than 8 1/2 foot wide with the sliders out). It's been fun being this close to my big kids (okay they probably don't think so) and life just seems so much simpler on the RV. Okay, so maybe I'll give this camping thing a second...
Beach Dancing by Elizabeth

RV Vacation Day Six

Wow, we're already to day 6 and tomorrow is our last full day here. Today was the best weather day we've had so far. Oh, and I figured out all those mornings I was "sleeping in." I wasn't. Seems one of the girls (my guess Elizabeth played with the buttons on my clock and it's set for an hour later. I think I'll just leave it as it is as it's the thought of sleep that counts these days.

Around 11 this morning we all (yes, everyone slept in the RV together last night) packed up and headed down to the beach. The spot we picked was just perfect. There was a little pool of water right in front of us and then some sand and the ocean. The girls, especially Elizabeth, ran circles around in the "hot tub" as the boys named the pool of water. Anna even ventured down to the edge of the ocean and jumped in waves with us. She only got upset when she got splashed by the waves or Elizabeth. The boys spent more time with the girls this morning playing in the ocean with them than they probably have in the past 2 months. It was such a heart warming moment and then the cell phones started ringing (or I guess the text messages started vibrating) and everyone went their own way with friends - even Mary Grace! Well, Mark and I had fun with the girls and Mark made a little Indy racer car in the sand for the girls to ride in. By the way, we were just down from the spot from yesterday and Mark's man eating hammerhead shark was still in tact. Well, someone I guess thinking it would be funny put a beer can in the man's crotch and Mark, who was quite offended, removed it. At any rate the girls had fun and Mark enjoyed showing off his sand artistry again. (I will post pictures when I get home.)

We came home (there I go again) around 3 and swam in the RV Resort pool for a few minutes (you should have seen how sandy the girls were! I figure quick easy bath!) Elizabeth was like a fish with no fear and Anna wouldn't come off the steps of the pool. We grilled chicken and potatoes for dinner and I made crescent rolls in the microwave (okay one of the really neat things I'm learning about this RV is cooking with the convection microwave). We made some more s'mores after dinner and again the girls only wanted chocolate (Anna) and this time chocolate and marshmallows (Elizabeth).

Now the girls are in bed, the boys are out with friends and we're watching a George Lopez marathon on Nick at Night. You know one advantage of living on the RV I'm finding is it's not as much to clean as the house. I have only one toilet to clean. The beds just fold away. And the kitchen counter isn't really big enough to get too cluttered. Maybe I could get use to this kind of, let me borrow a word from my friend Sherri, "glamping" (glamour camping). Grand Canyon here we....

RV Vacation DAy Five

Five days and I'm starting to get the hang of living on an RV. This morning we got up to Elizabeth's alarm clock and Mark made us pancakes for breakfast. Of course it was only Mark and us girls because the boys have managed to sleep over with friends just about every night. I guess the newness and thrill of the glittered dinette bed is losing its sparkle. Matthew did come home for dinner last night sporting a superman tattoo on his chest. Luckily for Matthew it's the kind that will only be on his body for a couple of months. I know some of you folks out there are thinking "you better start picking your battles." Luckily for Mark and I our kids are terrified of needles (with the exception of Ben who is sick and tired of them) and I don't think the real tattoos are very appealing to them.

Oh, I almost forgot...we did a real camping thing last night...we made s'mores over the grill (what was left of the dying coals). I was so excited to teach the girls about this real Brownie moment only to see them tearing their s'mores apart...Anna eating only the chocolate and Elizabeth only the marshmallow. Oh well, I tried.

After our breakfast this morning we (Mark and us girls) headed down to the beach. It didn't take us long to feel the effects of the 30 mph wind gusts and Anna saying she was ready to go home (and not the RV one). One quick trip back to the RV to pick up sweatshirts, Cheetos and brownie bites and she was happy to be at the beach again. Ben did decide to join us later at the beach. I'm a little worried as Ben has started wearing tank tops (well a t-shirt he cut the sleeves off of) and made the comment the first day at the beach that now he knew all the working out and conditioning for wrestling was paying off. (Hmm, making it to State or impressing chicks - which is more important to an almost 16 year old boy?)

One tradition that we have developed over the past several years is Mark and his "sand art" while we're at the beach. Now before you start thinking oh yea like the guy who sculpts Jesus every day only to have it wash away every night, Mark's aren't that spiritual. He usually picks a different one to make each day and so far they have included things like a VW bug, space shuttle, fighter plane, and the one he recreated today, the hammerhead shark with a man's legs sticking out of its mouth. (I wish I had thought to bring the cord to my camera and I'd post the picture, but will when I get home.) I love to watch the looks on people's faces as they walk by and try to figure out that one. And to think Mark's an accountant/computer geek/investor by day.

Tonight mom got a break from cooking (first time since leaving for vacation - what's wrong here?) We left the RV at 4:15 setting out for a family/kid friendly kind of restaurant. What a nice surprise when we walked into the Crab Trap and got seated right away - gee, we can't even do that in Brentwood/Cool Springs! Dinner was good (of course, because I didn't have to cook it) and the girls got to eat out of buckets.

Mark had told the big kids he'd take them to Tracks tonight and I said I'd stay at the RV with the little girls for a quiet evening. The girls and I had an Easter egg hunt (with our new buckets) in the RV (it was freezing outside tonight), yes, with real candy! I let them eat to their hearts desire so it would be gone by morning and then we went for a short walk around the RV Resort. I then bathed both girls single-handily in the teeny tiny RV shower and got them to sleep almost in time to watch American Idol. (Okay I cheated a little bit by letting them lay on the fold out bed while I watched the last half - guess that candy binge wasn't such a helpful thing. Now I'm sitting here in the peace and quiet of my comfy RV listening to the 30 mph wind gusts outside and Fox News on the dish inside waiting for the others to come home. Hey, did I just refer to the RV as "home?" Maybe this ...

RV Vacation Day Four

Day 4 so far has been rather calm. The girls slept in a little later (maybe it was 7). Mark, who is the early riser in our family got up with them and I managed to sleep in a little. Today is the coldest day here this week so we decided to take the kids to the outlet mall not too far from here. I think everyone else in Destin had the same thought as it was so crowded in the stores you really had to want something bad to stand in the lines. After probably an hour and cookie from Mrs. Fields later, Mark decided to take the little ones home (ie the RV home). Mary Grace had hooked up with some friends and Matthew was there with his buddies. Ben said he'd stay with me (in case I needed him to carry any bags) and we'd walk home later.

Ben suffered through a couple of stores like The Childrens Place and Osh Kosh and I suffered through GNC and Sunglass Hut. When it came time to leave Mary Grace and Matthew had arranged a ride back with their friends. Ben and I set out to cross busy Hwy 98. Mark had suggested one route back (which I was supportive of) and Ben had a "shortcut" route he was sure of. Not like I'm not fresh from faux short cut experience but I went along with Ben until we came to a deadend sidewalk and construction and the only other option was walking along the busy highway. After some arguing with Ben we turned around and went the way Mark suggested. By this time we'd probably walked the entire distance twice and I could hardly feel my toes since I was wearing flip flops (you would think - Florida - all I need are open toe shoes wouldn't you?) We did finally make it home safe and sound and still on speaking terms. You may be wondering what Mark did with the girls all afternoon. From the looks of the RV he made them grill cheese sandwiches, played bubbles, and took a walk to the beach. Hmmm - shopping with teenagers or playing with exhausted toddlers? - I'd say its a toss up today. By the way, Mark's enjoying his nap in the back on the sleep number. I think I may curl up in the fetal position and take a short nap on the glitter/crushed Chez-Its dinette s...