Today I got some not great news on the Grandma Lu front. I won’t write specifics on here, but it sounds like our time with her here on earth could potentially be shorter than originally thought. I’m sad today, but thankful for lots of things. That we got to spend time with Grandma Lu just a couple of weeks ago. And that I have a two-year old who is stinkin’ hilarious. I sent a message to my grandparents today with some funny Ezekielisms, and felt like posting them to the blog too, so that I don’t forget his sweetness.

Hi Grandma and Grandpa,

Since we get “Grandma updates” every once in a while, I thought I’d send you guys an “Eze update”

 

Today there was a cactus on Elmo’s World on Sesame Street, and Eze was beyond excited. When he realized it was just for today, and that the cactus wouldn’t be a part of Sesame Street forever, he was pretty disappointed. He is still SO in love with all things cactus! Oh, and today we ate an orange for snack and I was telling him how delicious the oranges are where Bampa and Mama Lu live. He proceeded to name every member of our family asking if everyone loved “ogees” (oranges) too.

 

After his nap, I was telling him about how we need to pray for Mama Lu. He asked, “owie?” and pointed to his head. I told him that yep, we need to keep praying for Mama Lu’s owie and for Mama Lu to have peace. We talked about heaven, and I was telling him about how one day we wouldn’t be able to see Mama Lu down here anymore, but that she would live in heaven. I told him about how God and Jesus live in heaven, and that it is a beautiful place. Our conversation went like this after that:

 

Eze: Dapta Caw? (Santa Claus)

Me: Nope, Santa Claus doesn’t live in heaven. Santa Claus is just imaginary.

Eze: Mihmah twee? (Christmas tree)

Me: You know what? I bet there are Christmas trees in heaven! They make us feel happy and they are beautiful. So I bet there are very pretty trees up in heaven.

Eze: How? (house)

Me: Yep, God tells us we’ll live in heaven and he’ll get it ready for us. So maybe we’ll live in very nice houses up there!

 

I’m thinking about both of you a lot today. You’ve been on my mind a lot in the past weeks, but today you are especially in my thoughts. We are praying for you. Praying for peace and good decisions. Praying for extra sweet and beautiful moments for you that are filled with your amazing love. We love you so much.

If you could continue keeping my family, especially my grandparents, in your prayers, I would appreciate that very much.

Today we received this happy e-mail from our agency:

 Hi Rachel!  We FINALLY received the Consent to Adopt today.  No explanation for why it was delayed.  They just said, “We are pleased to send the Consent to Adoption of Ezekiel Salvador.”  The letter was dated November 24, 2009 and the actual legal Consent was dated November 18, 2009.  Not sure what happened there, as the Consent even states that the authorization was given July 28, 2009.  So anyway, I will get right to work on your court paperwork and will send you a big packet of papers and instructions for filing a court petition for adoption in your county court.  Thanks a million for being so patient about this.  I’m terribly sorry there was such a huge delay.

 I love Karin, she is seriously so great. This situation was so weird, but she kept on keeping on, and we finally got what we need to get the finalization process started. A couple of weeks ago, Dave called the courthouse for the county we live in and they told us that there was no way we’d be able to finalize before the end of the year. He is going to call again tomorrow and beg.

If we finalize before the end of the year, then we’ll be able to take part of the tax credit for this year’s taxes, and the rest of it for next year’s taxes. There is a chance the adoption tax credit will be phased out after 2010 unless Congress passes an extension of the tax credit, and that is part of why Dave and I are itching to get the finalization done this year. We have some leftover debt from the adoption, and would love to be able to get it all paid off.

Playing toys with Grandma Jeanne (Mama Neenee)

Wrestling/yoga with cousins H and K

I love that the balls are larger than his head.

This turkey was a team effort.

My cousin's hubby. He cracks me up.

Eze playing with "guy" (that's what he started calling my aunt L after a while)

The Mamasita and me

Eze getting a piggy on cousin M - he LOVED riding on her back

Drinking juice on the porch - I loved the sight of them just sitting on the step next to each other

Eating icoo with Uncle J

One of my most favorite pictures

The pickle!

Ezekiel just about peed his pants this morning when he came out of his room and saw that the Christmas tree and my Christmas village were all still up. We put them up yesterday, and had such a great time doing that. I LOVE watching the joy of Christmas through Ezekiel’s eyes.

I’ve been trying to upload pics of Thanksgiving for a couple of hours now, but can’t seem to get it to work for me. I’m uploading a new security system on my computer tonight, and wonder if it has something to do with that. Hopefully tomorrow! For now, if you’re my Face.book friend, I’ve uploaded them to Facebook.

Lately Eze has been way into drawing. Before now I couldn’t really get him interested in drawing for longer than 3 minutes. Now he’ll sit and actually try to draw shapes himself, instead of us drawing for him. I’m absolutely in love with his artwork, and thought I’d share it. The first two are drawings he did on a birthday card for his favorite Abbie’s birthday two weeks ago…

A heart and a scribble of Eze and Abbie holding hands, oh and of course a cactus - the other night he was talking in his sleep about cacti.

Ezekiel's handwriting, and his other recent obsession - scarecrows

These next two drawings are ones he did this past week. He’s getting a lot better at drawing shapes that actually make sense, and I’m such a proud mama

He's way into putting mustaches on drawings ever since he saw a picture of his Auntie Nate with a fake mustache

My most favorite one that he has drawn yet

This morning I have a lot to be thankful for, and entertained by…

*We had an evening of bowling with Katie (who watches Eze three mornings/week while we work) and family. It was a blast. The kiddos had a lane with bumpers and a roll-y helper (I was a bit jealous of their lane), while the adults got a lane to ourselves. We bowled a game and a half (league came in while we were bowling, so we had to stop). The first game I lost. Let’s just say I only knocked one pin over in the first frame and suddenly remembered I wasn’t Wii bowling, but real-life bowling. The next (half) game, Katie and I rocked the socks off the men. Too bad it had to end, but I probably would have choked (like the Minnesota Vikings will soon as well).

*This morning I felt so blessed and a little teary-eyed when Ezekiel proved to me that a message we’ve been sending to him since we’ve had him has really sunk in. Gus was crying at the door for Dave, who was outside walking another dog. Eze was concerned for Gus, and I told him that Gus wanted Daddy to come back. Eze walked down to where Gus was, and I heard him say, “Guggy don cwy. Guggy, Mommy, Daddy, Eee ee back. Daddy ALWAY come back”. It still makes me a little happy teary-eyed to think about him saying that. Every single time Dave or I have had to leave Ezekiel we say, “Mommy/Daddy will come back. We ALWAYS come back”. Every.single.time. And nearly a year later, he gets it so deeply that he is teaching it to his favorite doggy. I love it.

*This morning we had pancakes (gotta warm the stomach up for T-day food!). Dave was out walking doggies while Eze was eating, and by the time Dave got back, Ezekiel was on to his FOURTH pancake. Dave also ate four pancakes and was full. Ezekiel finished his fourth pancake and asked for more, peez? Holy schnikeys, kid. I cut him off. His belly is ginormously full right now.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I’m noticing an increase in traffic, and I am pretty sure it’s from a question I posted on the Philippines Adoption Ya.hoo board. Hello to my fellow adopting friends! Today I’m in the mood to post more Ezekielese translations:

Malty Oatmeal = Malt-O-Meal

Ogee = orange

Guhgo = girl

Yoyo = scissors

Yoyo = cereal

Cowb = clouds

And my most favorite of the week is when he called my brother his auntie. I even clarified, “do you mean uncle or auntie?” And he made it very clear that my brother is, in fact, his auntie. For months I was called “Uncle Rachel” by niece G, so I think it’s perfect that my brother is Auntie Nate and that my brother is married to Auntie Pasta.

My aunt Linda wrote a post about my grandparents that had me smiling through tears realizing how hugely blessed I am to have their model of love and real faith in my life. She told me that I could re-post it on my blog, so here goes:

I talk a lot about real faith on this blog (and why not since that’s what it’s called!). But in the past few weeks I have had the unique opportunity to watch steady, unwavering, real faith in action.

Six weeks ago, my mother-in-law suffered what we thought was a stroke. Dad called me to tell me he’d called 911 and they were taking her to the hospital. Within a week, we learned Mom hadn’t suffered a stroke at all, but rather had an inoperable brain tumor. They gave her less than six months to live. All this sounds like bad news, and it was. Family flew in from out of state. We cried. We hugged. We tried to encourage one another.

But here’s the thing. Mom and Dad have walked each day in God’s grace, holding hands and looking up. Mom says she’s ready to die. She’s at peace with God and it’s a win-win situation for her. She says she only feels bad for us. She worries about Dad. She hopes someone will use the pork roast in her freezer. She often says she loves us and holds our hands, sometimes with tears in her eyes. But she’s calm. There’s no panic or fear of dying. In her words, “I’m ready to die. I just don’t know how to do it.” We assure her God will walk her through those last moments of her life just as He has walked with her all the other days.

Mom spent a couple weeks in a care facility after undergoing her brain biopsy. There was an incredibly grumpy, loud woman in the next room. They had to share a bathroom. We did our best to keep Mom away from this negative person. That’s the last thing she needed in her time of recovery. But Mom heard about her and heard her yelling at nurses from time to time. “I need to meet her sometime,” she said. We tried to divert her and say she didn’t need to. “No, I want to meet her,” she said firmly. “She needs help.” Mom was always one to help anyone who needed it, no matter if they were lovely or unlovely. A brain tumor wouldn’t deter her. Real faith. It comes from the heart and overflows into action.

As Mom and Dad journey through these last months of their life together, I pray I’ll continue to learn from their faithful example. They celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary on Oct. 14th. Nurses and aides came in to wish them well, sign their giant card and enjoy a piece of cake with them. Mom and Dad left their mark of love on each one.

Real faith walks a life of love, then it peacefully rides in a wheelchair when that time comes. Real faith looks death in the eye and says I still win.

I love love love the last two lines of what my aunt wrote. I love love love that we got to spend one more week with my grandparents a few weeks ago. That I got to watch their love and faith in action again. That I got to hug her a lot during that week. That I got to cry with her, but also rejoice with her knowing we’d see each other again someday, when it was time for us to leave. That Ezekiel got to see her, love her, pray with her, sing for her, play with her and make memories with them that he’s still talking about.

This morning my brother texted to let us know that he and his wife were boarding the plane to head down and see my grandparents. I told Eze where they were going, and he told me, “Eee ee go on airpoor too! Eee ee go see Bampa Lu too!!” I had to break it to him that, nope Eze was not going on an airplane to see Bampa Lu. He told me that he would just go tomorrow instead.

The Bampa Lu Duo's anniversary cake - an edible picture!

This past week I was looking back at posts to see what we were doing at this time last year (my favorite part about blogging – I would never remember any of this stuff if I wasn’t blogging it). Last year we had just found out we wouldn’t be traveling to the Phils before Thanksgiving and we were scrambling to make our plans for the long weekend. We were sad (actually, the word I used was heart-broken. Oh how I hated that wait). I also got super sick the weekend before Thanksgiving. I chuckled at my descriptions, and was thankful for feeling healthy. Then yesterday happened. I went to sleep on Friday night with a headache. And woke up with a migraine on Saturday morning. I felt awful, and had a mild fever and spent most of the day laying around. I finally felt better in the evening and feel back to 100% today. It’s a bit embarassing, but I think I had a sugar hangover. Friday was a naughty-food day for me and I took full advantage of it. Luckily I have a Dave who picks right up where I left off. He rocks my socks off.

I posted a bunch of new videos to our YouTube channel. Go check it out when you get a chance. You.Tube is finally streaming my videos straight to the blog when I post them, check it out on the right-hand side of the blog —-> I posted one of my favorite ones below. It’s a bit grainy, but I still love it. I’m pretty much the luckiest lady alive to have all of these guys (Gus the Dog included) in my life.

Today we have our first Thanksgiving celebration with Dave’s family. I’m excited for it today. I love watching Ezekiel play with his cousins, and I really love eating the nummy food that Dave’s family makes. They are all such good cooks. Right now I’m listening to Ezekiel cry while he’s sitting in time out after disobeying his daddy. It made me remember that Ezekiel won’t get a nap today with all of the festivities. *sigh* We may be in for a long day.

A boy and his dog - they were playing together so adorably yesterday

I spied on my two most favorite guys in the whole wide world, and caught this on video…