Citizens!

Meet America's two newest citizens...One would think that since we adopted them, they would automatically become citizens, but no such luck. (That would be too easy.) There were forms to fill out, copies of legal records to be made, money to be paid, three trips down to the federal courthouse,... But it's done. The final adoption "thing". yeah!

Family update

Emily and Ashley are doing well with their cochlear implants. They got their second ear activated last week. They like them a lot and always want them on. They enjoy making sounds-tapping their spoons on their plates, lifting the toilet seat up and letting it fall, stomping on the floor...They make a noise and then smile and say, "I hear that."

Roland and I had a great time celebrating our 20th anniversary with a week in Hawaii. We went to the Big Island, to Kona. We hiked to a waterfall, snorkeled, went to a beautiful botanical garden, visited the macadamia nut factory. Our favorite part of the week was snorkeling.

Roland has been candidating for the preaching pastor position at a church in Albany, Oregon. He applied to the church last December and was told that we was one of the top candidates earlier this summer. Since then, he has had many interviews, phone calls, written many position/doctrinal papers, etc. He has visited the church four times, and preached there twice. (I have gone down twice and we as a family have gone down once.) This past Sunday, Roland preached his final candidating message and had a church-wide Q and A. The elders and search committee are unanimous in calling him. But,the church votes in a couple weeks.

Activation day

Monday we spent much of the day at the audiologist's office getting Emily and Ashley's cochlear implants activated. When Emily's implants were turned on, her little lips started quivering, her eyes welled up with tears and she buried her head in Roland's chest. Ashley didn't give us any noticeable response until Thursday. I had just put her implant on when Emily flushed the toilet. Ashley burst into tears. We are to increase their volume every few days; then in 2 weeks we go back to the audiologist to get them programmed again-for more sound. (This goes on for several months.)

They are adjusting well. Keeping them on. We're learning all about environmental sounds now, like the vacuum, toilet, blender, mixer, etc.

Though that little implant looks harmless, each one came with this huge box of...well, we don't really know what yet...accessories, batteries, etc.... And this is only for one ear each! In a few weeks we go back to get the other ear activated!

First day of preschool

Emily and Ashley started preschool this week. It's a preschool for kids with hearing loss. They were excited, but of course didn't know what to expect. I could tell that Emily was nervous because she held her bear all morning, not even putting it down to put her shoes on. (She tucked it under her chin while she strapped on her sandals.) She carried her bear all the way to the classroom, but quickly dropped it when she walked into the room and saw all the toys...

The Gospel in Five Minutes

The Gospel Song - An Animation from Grace in Cranberry on Vimeo.

Question: "Whatcha been doing all summer?"
Answer:

(Don't let those cute smiles fool you. It hasn't been quick, easy, or fun!)

"I've got a great idea..."

It seems like all the action happens during "room time". You know, the time in the afternoon when little ones, who are too old to nap, have some quiet "down" time to make it through the evening. Perhaps, if truth be told, their mom needs it just as much as they do. But regardless of who needs it most, it is the time when all the fun seems to happen. How two kids who have very limited language skills agree to all the mischief is something we still haven't figured out. (We've actually set up our video camera to try and record the progression of events...)

Here are Mom's top 5 suggested room time activities...
#5 Read
#4 Play with blocks
#3 Play with dolls
#2 Write on the magna doodle
#1 Take a short nap

Emily and Ashley's top 5 room time activities...
#5 Get a brand new package of wipes and pull out all 100-one at a time.
#4 Sneak into the bathroom, get a new tube of medicine and smear
it all over our bodies.
#3 Take out every article of clothing from our drawers.
#2 Get naked and put on snow boots.
#1 Poop together in our diapers.