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Hard to believe it we are celebrating the twins second birthday home.  Amazing how time goes by so fast.  They are, of course, super excited and our home has been filled with all sorts of birthday talk for days now.  I have said this before but it bares repeating, I cannot imagine my life without these boys in it.  They have brought so much joy and laughter into our family.  We are blessed!  I love to watch our older two fool around with their brothers and to see the boys look up to them.  Each relationship in our family has been touched and changed.

Happy 7th Birthday handsome guys!!!!!!!!  We all love you so much!

As for the prayers…we will never be able to celebrate this day without remembering the tragedy that Haiti experienced.  They so still need our prayers.  There are too many people still living in appalling conditions.  There are too many children still sick and hungry.  There are still too many women being beaten and raped in the unpoliced tent camps.  I could go on and on.  They still need our prayers!!!!

On our recent trip I was both honored and humbled to be able to stand in the place where 200,000 plus bodies were buried.  Honored because I was able to rest there and pray for each soul and each family broken and for the people of still a beautiful country.  It is a humbled because it made my problems seem so small.  So please pray and continue to pray.  I have seen God there in that place.  I have felt His hand at work.  I have witnessed His people in praise in the most desolate of conditions.

KENBE FEM HAITI       HOLD STRONG HAITI

Blessings and prayers always on this day.

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It has been a while since I wrote specifically about the boys.  Most days it really just feels as though they have always been here.  That our family has always been a family of seven.  Most days they are just normal little boys acting like typical 5 and 6 year-olds.  Then there are those moments that creep in, that you really weren’t expecting.  Little things that to others may not mean a whole lot but to me they bring me back.  Actually, they bring back feelings, fears, They are reminders.

Each night during the week the boys take turns having “talk time” with Paul & I.  The other two go to bed and the third gets to hang out in our bed, no tv, no books just talk.  It used to be this was the time they would share about life in Haiti but as time has gone on it has become more about life here. Sometimes, however, it shifts back.  It was Kenzie’s time the other night and since we had just come home from our trip to Desabe he was all about talking about Haiti.  Somewhere in the discussion he was trying to tell me something about his birth dad and he looked at me and said “What was his name again mom?”  I am not sure why but this really shook me.  That after only a year and a half he couldn’t remember his name.  This just reaffirmed to me how important this blog will be someday for the boys to read.  It really is a journal of information that is impossible for them to remember.

Kenley and I were in Walgreens checking out.  There was a new cashier there and she heard me tell Kenley that he already needed a haircut and that his hair grew so fast.  She pointed to her hair and said that “their” hair really did grow fast.  She then asked me where he was from.  Now this is usually a loaded question for me.  For the most part I let the boys answer and they typically say Cicero, which serves to confuse the person asking.  This time though, I answered for Kenley as I had a feeling she already knew and I said Haiti.  She was so excited.  She is from Cape Haitian, Haiti and was thrilled to meet Kenley and hear about the other two at home.  I was even more excited to learn that she is an interpreter and would love to give me creole lessons ( I have been praying about this so prayers answered, thank you wild and wonderful God!).  we exchanged information, and thoroughly ticked off everyone waiting in line, and Kenley and I left.  I could tell immediately that something was bothering him.  When we got in the car I asked him what was wrong.  He told me that he didn’t like talking about Haiti, that it reminded him of eating worms.  I told him I understood but tried to explain how exciting it was for Elande, the cashier, to meet someone from Haiti as that doesn’t happen very often.  He replied that he no longer wanted to be from Haiti he only wants to be from here,  That was a punch in the gut for me.  Never before has he expressed this and I was not sure where to go.  It is not like I can say ‘Ok, we won’t ever say you are from Haiti again.”  Keeping the culture and heritage alive in our family is very important to Paul and I.  I carefully tried to explain that Haiti will ALWAYS be his country of birth but that most of the time it is perfectly fine to simply say you are from CIcero.  We will definitely be revisiting this at some point in the future after some research and thought and prayer on my part.

Paul and I were asked to speak to a group of about 600 families at a gathering on National Adoption Day.  As a side note, God truly does equip you with whatever you need because this was SO far out of my comfort zone and I ended up rocking the talk and I loved it to boot.  Anyway, most of the people there were families actually adopting children that day.  The twins chose to come with us so we spent some time explaining what was going on and why it was so important.  I was taking them back to school afterward and Kenzie, as he always does, was recapping the event.  He finished by saying this “Mom, I am so glad I am not adopted anymore, now I am just living.”  Oh, if it were just that simple.  I could have gone into the whole you will always be adopted speech but instead I savored the moment.  I hugged him and told him I was happy for this too.  I pray that he is always able to look at things this simply.

So nothing earth shattering just small reminders that our family is one brought together in two different ways.  That I will always need to be there for all my children as they go through different stages of dealing with this fact.  That I need to rely on God to give me the words and wisdom to do this correctly!  That I really, really love where my life has taken me and am excited to see where we are all going next!

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There is one thing that I am certain of when it comes to Haiti; I am sure God sent me there for a reason.  It’s figuring out what that reason is and what I am supposed to do with this crazy passion I have for the place.  Specifically for the people of Desabe.

Just the other day a very close friend of mine, who knows I am struggling with some things, asked me if I really thought my faith was being tested or was this just me being weird after a trip to Haiti.  I will admit, I was slightly annoyed with this comment.  I also admit I have had a really hard time coming back to the reality of life.  But “weird”?  I continued the conversation as this is someone I respect and trust.  But I could not keep from thinking about the “weird” comment.

After each trip when we were visiting the boys, my difficulty coming back was more dealing with being separated from my children and having to leave them in that place.  Thankfully, this trip I no longer had that to deal with.  But somehow, coming back was even harder.  I experienced so much more than I ever thought I would.

The woman who came to the clinic.  She was 9 months pregnant and due any day.  Anna, a midwife, spent a long time with her taking her history.  She was 30 years old.  This was her 11th pregnancy, she had 9 live births, had lost 3 children and had 6 children at home.  She was 30.

The visit to the Mass Grave.  Two hundred and six thousand bodies buried there.  Seventy dump truck loads.  Dump trucks.  And now there are cattle living on the gravesite, weeds and grass swallowing the crosses marking the dead.  Overwhelmingly sad.  Sad that this beautiful, strong, proud, spiritual people cannot afford the luxury of grieving.  They are to busy simply trying to survive to have the time or resources to care for the dead.  To memorialize the graves of 206,000 loved ones.  Overwhelming.

The 18 month old girl that lay limp in my arms because she was so dehydrated.  She was the size of a 9 month old, she could hardly hold her head up.  I sat and fed gave her fluids through a syringe.  For an hour I sat with her.  In 100 degree heat, I sat with her.  And then I had to watch her leave.

The mother we were blessed to visit who had just given birth two days ago.  In a 6 by 6 hut with a dirt floor where 4 other children sleep.  This woman, who had to send her 2 year-old son away because he was dying of malnutrition.  Kevinson, she had not seen him since July.  Had no way of knowing if he was even okay. And now she had a newborn baby.  She welcomed us.  She was smiling and happy to share the baby with us.  In this hut, in 100 degree heat.

The children that waited on the steps for sometimes hours to get a bowl of rice and beans or pasta.  The children.  Beautiful children with amazing senses of humor.  Children, who after they get to know you a little, slide up next to you, lean on you, just want to spend time with you. Children that crawl into your lap.  Children with swollen bellies and itchy scabies and dirty faces.  Beautiful, wonderful children.

The trip through Port Au Prince.  The tent cities.  The smell, the sadness, the rubble, the anger, the sickness, the sorrow, the rubble.  No words can describe it.

Things I could not have imagined!  So yes, I guess I have been weird since my return.  And I am okay with that.  I am totally fine with being weird if it means I am struggling to understand what God wants me to do with all of this.  If it means I want to find a way to help the people of Desabe and the other villages sustain themselves.  I am great being weird trying to figure out how to balance my life here and my work there.  Weird really isn’t that bad.  There are worse things to be!!!

And to my close friend mentioned above, thank you for opening up my eyes a little more and helping me to realize i am okay being me.  I am okay waiting for God to direct me!  I am really okay!!!!!!  Love ya!

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So as I sit down to write this post on our recent trip to Haiti I am torn  It’s like I have two directions I could go.  I want to talk about the difficult things, the poverty, sadness, the children who were hungry, malnourished, unclean.  Our trip to the mass grave.  Yet this trip also was full of so much more.  And now I know my direction.  Oh, there will be a post about all the other things that are so important to share but that can wait.

This post is about laughter!!!!

I have never taken or even seen a better photo of two friends who could not be any different but would constantly make each other laugh.  And it was infectious.  Our team overflowed with positive energy and errupted with laughter at every turn.

Bear with for a little background info.   We made this trip with a team of people brought together by The COTY Project/Haiti Plunge out of North Adams, Mass.  The team consisted of Paul & I, our friends and physicians assistant Nicole and Adam, Anna, a mid-wife from California who has been a part of Plunge for 20+ years, Sue, an OR nurse from NH on her first trip to Haiti, Kim our good friend and the reason we got hooked up with COTY and our fearless leader Caitlen, director of COTY and super woman!!  Once in Haiti we were joined by Fenel, the in country Haiti Plunge director and Pierre our awesome interpreter/tarantula exterminator!   Check out the history of Haiti Plunge here http://www.thehaitiplunge.org/.  We stayed in the village of Desabe which is just up the mountain from Cabaret and about an hour form Port Au Prince.  The trip was two fold, to hold clinic during the day and for the guys to do some soccer playing and training in the afternoons.

Now that that is done onto the laughter.  God just absolutely knew what He was doing when He put us all together.  Let’s face it.  Often times you throw a bunch of strangers together on a trip like this and someone annoys someone else and clicks are formed and so on.  Not so for this team.  First and for most was the bromance that occurred with the above pictured couple.  Fenel and Paul just clicked.  It was a match made in heaven since both of them LOVE to talk and have a need to know everything going on around them.  Not to mention their mutual love for Prestige( the Haitian beer).  This friendship was the source of much laughter throughout the 10 days.  More than that it represents how friendship can transcend everything.  It is almost like one of the jokes: An OR nurse, a midwife and a engineer walk into a bar…!  All of us from different walks of life, living in this totally foreign place, finding laughter in even the craziest moments.  Like when Paul would go on tarantula patrol each evening at dusk, or when the resident donkey would wake us at 5 am each day with it’s sorry sounding mating call.  When crazy Abend, our security detail, would yell “whatchout, whatchout, watchout” in his crazy high pitched tone each time a tree limb came our way while riding in the truck.  One of the best was Fenel, in english, thinking we have never seen a bat, trying to describe one by saying “It is like a mouse with two birds!”  (HE MEANT TWO WINGS) That one kept us laughing for days.

It seemed as though this group of people could laugh at anything.  You don’t realize what a blessing that is until you are thrown into a world of complete unknowns.  I mean really, passing resident tarantulas each evening on the way to the outhouse, not funny by nature but with this group…by the end of the week all the tarantulas had names. (Squeal, Shart, Amiel, NoBigDeal and Jesus Freak if you must know).

This Amiel, per Paul, because he can make a meal out of you.

Even the kids laughed.  A lot!  Much of the time they laughed at us crazy “blancs”.  The children of Desabe, just writing that makes me smile.  Each day from morning until night you could find any number and any combination of kids on the steps of the team quarters.  We worked through the language barriers, I found that my creole came back and they worked on their english.  We talked, we gestured, sometimes we just cuddled and we laughed.  It was simple yet profound.  It is what I miss the most.  The children of Desabe.

Emerson-little guy, huge attitude

There were many things that brought tears to my eyes in this amazing country but in the end the smiles and the laughter prevailed.  A testament, I believe, to a resilient, God loving people.  It was contagious.  At team meal time our laughter could be heard through the mountains I am sure of it!  The beauty of a simple life.  Where the mere mention of body parts in creole would bring tears of laughter to Pierre.  Where this new family unit could sit around, dirty and smelly and share stories and … laugh!

I fell in love on this trip.  With Desabe, with my team mates, with Haiti, with the children, with laughter!  God knew EXACTLY what He was doing!!!!!

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Ok yeah, so it’s been a while.  I miss blogging but was so overwhelmed by trying to catch up each time I started I deleted the post. So, instead of trying to catch up I am just going to pick up with the present happenings!

First of all our family is well.  We have weathered some rough times in the last few months and come through stronger and counting many blessings.  The boys are thriving.  Each in his own way.  The older two are holding their own.

Emily is at SUNY Jamestown outside of Fredonia and doing well.

Zach is working and taking a semester off to figure out what he wants to do.  He is looking to go back ti school in January and enlist on the army reserves.

Kenzie is doing great in school although he still would choose to stay home.  He is taking ballet and tap on Saturdays and loves it.  He continues to pummel us with questions and gets smarter by the day.

Kenson played his first season of full contact football.  He liked it and is a natural.  He was a running back and scored several touchdowns.  Even won MVP in one game.  He enjoys school and is doing well.  He continues to grow his locs and we continue to bond over them.

Kenley is now in kindergarten and loves school.  He is receiving speech 2 times a week and is doing well.  I am pretty sure he has grown several inches in the last month.  Kenley continues to be obsessed with any type of moving vehicle and is content to play with his cars and trucks all day long.

Paul and I just returned from our first post adoption, post earthquake trip to Haiti.  To talk about the trip is a post in and of itself.  We traveled with Haiti Plunge to Desabe, a mountain village outside of Cabaret and about an hour from PAP.  It was a totally new experience being there without the stress of the adoption over our heads.  Truthfully though it was no easier to leave.  God has definitely made it clear that we have work to do in this amazing village.  I cannot wait to go back!!!!

While we were gone for 10 days the boys did okay.  Fortunately we are blessed with a great contingency of friends and family who stepped up to help.  They were absolutely ready for us to be home but seemed to be fine with us going.  Of course we talked about the trip for a long time.  We explained why and where we were going and where they would be staying.  It wasn’t an easy decision to make to leave them for so long but it appears that we made the right decision.

More to come ……..

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We have been locing Kenson’s hair since August.

Before our boys came home I had dreams of three little cuties running around with locs bouncing.  I was so naive back then.  There are several things I know now that I did not back then.

First, I had no idea how much the boys personalities would be reflected in their hair style.  Locs work for Kenson.  He is confident and beautiful and loves his hair.  Kenzie;s style of choice has been the fade.  Given his pention for neatness and his somewhat obsessive personality a fade is him.  For our free spirited Kenley it is a shave.  Who knows what he will get stuck in his hair on any given day.

Next I had no earthly idea how long it would take to loc hair and maintain those those locs.  I mean I knew it would take time but the initial locing took between 8 to 10 hours.  Just one head!!!!  The first few months it was an every other day deal in order to get them tight.  Thankfully with time comes new products and more knowledge and we can do once a week.

Lastly, I was clueless to how much black hair is truly a cultural experience.  I follow blogs on hair, have read books and articles and watched movies.  I have found my time with Kenson to be an experience that I would never trade for anything.  Our relationship with our totally awesome barber Jimmy is a bonus I did not expect.  Going to see Jimmy on a Saturday for haircuts is an event in and of itself.

So, we started locing in August.  Interestingly enough neither of the other boys had expressed interest in locs until just recently.  Kenzie has no desire but Kenley has been asking.  I think more because he sees the time Kenson gets to spend with me.  We told him when he turns 5 we would talk about it.  He turns five in 35 days.  I am not ready for this.  We shall see.

I have grown used to people checking out the boys hair and by people I mean mostly moms and by moms I mean mostly black moms. Fortunately all my experiences have been ok.  Recently Kenson and I were in the elevator at the hospital.  A young nurse, who was black, got onto the elevator with us and began asking Kenson questions about his locs.  She asked who did his hair and he said his mom and pointed to me.  At this she actually stepped forward and began pulling his locs apart inspecting his hair.  I was nauseous on so many levels.  First, if you know me well then you know I have personal space issues.  I do not like people touching me or my children, especially strangers.  I have also been terrified of the first negative confrontation with someone about our bi-racial family.  So, the doors open and she statrs out, I am holding my breathe when she turns to me and says”That is an awesome job, I could not do that well!”  The doors closed and I did a major happy dance.  She has no idea how much what she said meant to me!!!!!!  Again, it is so much more than just hair.

So the following info is more for anyone who may be thinking of locing their little guys hair or currently locing and like new information.

When I first loced Kenson’s hair I used the Bees Wax you can get anywhere.  Upon recommendation from a hairdresser by the way.  It actually worked well to get them started He had about 3 inches of growth to work with.  It took about 8 or so hours and we did it in 2 settings.  Kenson is such a champ.  He never complains and we have both come to really love our time together.  Anyway…tip one if you use the wax definately use a hair dryer on low on it after you loc.  It helps melt the wax and makes them look and feel softer and shinier.  After a while I was not happy with the wax and set out on the internet for some help.  I found this site http://www.naturalhair.org/.  I ordered the Loc it Up gel and loved it.  It is much easier to work with than the wax but you use it up much faster.  At this point in time, a couple months in, I still combed out the clumpy parts of the locs and retwisted a couple times a week.  I don’t seem to have to do that now that they have gotten longer.  I eventually found this great blog http://www.beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/ where I learned about Protective  Mist Bodifier also at http://www.naturalhair.org/.  I would not want to live without this stuff.  I spray it on at night before I put on the do rag and it has kept both his scalp and locks from getting dry.  The one downfall for both these products is that I forget to order them before I run out.  I was looking on the above blog for something I could use to moisturize that I could get locally.  Thus I began using Organix Coconut Conditioner. LOVE IT!  I use this twice a week when we wash Kenson’s hair.  On nights that we are going to twist I put it on after washing and leave it on for at least 10 minutes.  It makes twisting so much easier and keeps everything soft and moisturized.  It smells fantastic too.  I get mine at Walgreens but I think they have it at most drug stores.  So currently our routine is to wash and condition twice a week and twist once a week.  When Em was in Colorado she bought some Locksteady Tightening Gel from here http://www.knottyboy.com.  I like this stuff to help get the frizzies under control which drive me nuts!  What both Kenson and I do not like is that when it dries it leaves the locs stiff and dull for the first day or two.  I find myself using it when the frizzies get bad and I don’t have time to wet and condition.  I haven’t used any other products from Knotty Boy but plan on trying some out.

So that is our hair story for now.  I look forward to adding many chapters over the years.  I must add that I SO admire all the moms out therre with little girls.  The time and attention they put into the many hair do’s is amazing!!!

The beginning August 2010

The progress so far, May 2011

A happy kid!

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For some of you this old news as I Face Booked it when it happened.  For the rest of you this incident happened at our local McDonald’s play area.  I am not a huge fan of the play areas for several reasons but I broke the norm and took them one morning as a reward for good behavior at the doctors office.

We had already eaten our food and the boys were just taking off their shoes.  There were two other families of kids, one girl their with her grandma and one brother sister pair there with their mom.  As the boys headed towards the play area the mother of the two stood up, loudly yelled up to her kids “If THEY(meaning my boys) are mean to you let me know and I will come right up there.’  She then stared me down across the room.  I was in shock.  I turned to the employee I had been chatting with to confirm what just happened and she was as shocked as I was.  Although on guard, I let it pass and the boys started to play.  Next thing you know Kenzie (everything always happens to Kenzie) goes into one of the cubes and you hear the girl say ” Get out of here kids with brown skin are not allowed in here.”  Shock, anger, sick stomach it all came on me at once.  Let me just say that had this incident happen without the first one I may have brushed it off as more of an innocent thing but not now.  This child obviously has already been taught racism and .  She looked to be all of 5 years-old.  Of course big, bad mamma over there would not make eye contact at all now.

Every part of my being wanted to go over and tell this woman off.  Instead I calmly rounded the boys up and made them think we had to leave to get Kenley to preschool.  You could see in Kenzie’s face the sadness and dejection. After gathering myself and my thoughts I brought up what happened on the car ride home.  We had a good talk( the only good thing to come out of this incident).  Kenzie said it made him sad and angry at the same time.  I agreed!!!!!!

It took me quite sometime to get the whole thing out of my mind.  My heart was broken just a little for knowing this will not be the last time the boys will face this or feel this way.  We have had weird things happen in public due to the publicity we received but nothing really negative.  People just seem to think they have permission to talk to and touch the boys because they followed their story.  we get stares, good and bad.  People trying to figure out our family especially when all 7 of us are together.  But nothing of this magnitude.

Thinking about it still makes me angry and sad at the same time.  Kenzie said it all.

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Wow, how time flies.  I had no idea it had been so long since my last post.  I can’t even honestly blame it on lack of time it is more like lack of organization of thought.  So many times I have posts rolling around in my head but just can’t seem to organize them and get them down.  I follow several blogs that I started following when we first began the adoption process.  I am amazed at how many of them manage to post daily, sometimes more than once a day even.  I just can’t seem to get it together like that.

Anyways, an update for any of you out there who are interested.

Life in the Rumo Crazy House is status quo.  Which is pretty darn good by all standards.   The kids are all healthy.  The boys are still doing fantastic.  Twins both just received excellent report cards.  Kenzie is actually above grade average in most areas.  Kenley remains our free spirit.  He might know his letters today and maybe not so much tomorrow.  We are having him tested for a stammering issue, by recommendation of his teachers.  Anyone out there with any knowledge in this area feel free to comment.  Having just returned from our spring break we are all so looking forward to summer vacation.  The time I love the most with the boys still remains the same, no schedules, no obligations, just hanging out.

All three boys continue to grow like weeds.  I can’t keep up.  To anyone out there who gave us clothes in the last year, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!  What a blessing it has been to be able to go down in the basement, open up a box and find clothes in the next size for the boy who just out grew the last size.  If I had to guess, I would have spent well over $700 to cloth them  in the past year alone.  We started at size 3 & 4 and are now taking out 7 & 8′s. CRAZY!   They all continue to be their own fashionistas.  Loving to dress up “fancy” whenever they can get us to agree to it.  Easter shopping was a blast.

It still never ceases to amaze us that the boys CONTINUE to be well adjusted.  Once in a while little things creep up that remind us where they came from but all in all they are incredible.  I hesitate to say this because I know there are readers out there who are considering adoption and trust me I know we are not the norm.  We are most simply blessed at this point in time.

Some of the little things that have crept up:  Recently I was disciplining Kenley and gave him a smack on the butt, not usual for us but circumstances warranted.  Trust me when I say it was not a hard smack at all.  He absolutely lost it, telling me I was going to make him bleed and yelling and carrying on.  It took me off guard and I took him on my lap and started asking him about this.  He dove into a long description of how he was hit by his father and in the orphanage with a belt and just sobbed.  I knew all this and had heard some of it before but mostly from the older two and not in a while.  The past abuse they had been subjected to is the reason we do not discipline in any physical way.  My spanking him was one of those times where I have gotten so accustomed to them being so well adjusted and being my children that I wasn’t thinking the way I used too.   It was a little bit of a wake-up call I think.  He calmed down quickly and we had a really good talk and I think that therapeutically it was good for him.  No more spankings though!

Another thing is Kenzies knowledge of and sharing of, sexual information.  It is a little unnerving but interesting at the same time.  He can tell you exactly what sex is, how it happens and and cracks us up with his delivery.  We do a lot of redirecting and discussing appropriate times, places and people to talk about this with.  Weird thing is that he uses the correct creole terms for the act and body parts.

Not to be left out, Kenson and I went to Chipotle last week to get Em dinner .  For anyone who has not been in one their wall covering is corrugated metal screwed to the wall.  He casually told me that, that was what their house in Haiti was made of except the floor which was dirt.  Again, caught me and really I could have sobbed at the moment.  How easy it is for US to forget or put in the back of our mind these things but for them it is not so.  I do think that their willingness to share these thoughts absolutely have been key in their ease of adjustment.

Kenzie continues to be our source of laughter.  His animation, casual sense of humor and eccentric personality affirm to us why he was the receiver of the most abuse.  He can drive you insane!!!!!!  He can make his sister literally lose her mind.  At the same time he brings us such joy and we admire his ability to be his own person.

Kenson is the joiner.  He likes to fit in wherever he goes.  He likes to have friends and enjoys his new found love of Karate.  In the spirit of his natural athletic ability he tested out of his age range at his Karate place and started in the higher class.  He is so determined, it is a joy to watch him.  He has become much more of a lover and seeks out time with me more than he ever has before.  This of course thrills me to death.  He and I often talk about when he first came and would not even let us kiss him goodnight and how that broke my heart.

Kenley, what to say.  The free spirit!  Such a goofball.  Happy most all of the time.  Consummate lover of physical attention.  Always wanting to sit on a lap or cuddle in bed.  He still has no interest in any organized sport or activity.  Kenzie started gymnastics, Kenson has karate and Kenley has no interest.  He continues to be the favorite of his older sister and can pretty much get away with anything when she is in charge.

Emily has decided on Monroe Community in Rochester.  She will live their this fall and that will be a HUGE adjustment for all of us.  I try not to think about it.  We are so proud of her as she graduated early, works her but off baby sitting with a huge list of clients and just continues to grow into a beautiful young women inside and out.

Zach is finishing up his first year at OCC.  He has had some seriously rocky moments this past year but has pulled himself out and gotten his act together.  He is still at home, which no one is all that happy about:), but is looking into moving out in January.  That is the good news the bad news for me, his mom, is he is looking into moving to Tampa, Florida with a couple friends.  Not sure if it will happen but we will support him if it does.  Every stage of our children’s lives has come with good and bad.  It never gets easier it just gets different.

We are proud of both our older kids with how they have dealt with the changes and really love their brothers.

Paul & I are well.  Tired but well.  We are so excited to announce that we are going on a mission trip to Haiti in October.  We cannot wait to get back there and to be in a position to help out!!!!  More info to come I assure you!

I have so much more I could write about but don’t want to bore anyone to death.(if you aren’t there already)  I am really going to try to make this a weekly update.  Not sure how I will do but I will at least give it a try.

Leaving you with some pics.

Zach’s 19th bday.

Our Green St Patty’s Day Celebration!

Searching for the leprachaun’s loot.

Em & Kiara

A cold & rainy Easter Egg hunt.

2nd annual Easter Egg Hunt

Em & Maddy on the search for eggs

Daddy & daughter!

The whole crew. There was constant movement in this photo.

Easter Sunday

The Fam!

Gotta love this.

Handsome brothers.

Took Kenz to Taylor’s cheerleading competition. He loved it!

Crazy shirts, crazy faces. Thank you Aunt Susan!

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One year ago.

2/9/2011 One Year Later

It would truly take me hours and pages to fully update you on all three boys and their accomplishments.  Suffice it to say we have three beautifully well-adjusted boys in our house.  It is almost unimaginable that they are the same children that came home to us a year ago today.  We have a Doctors visit tomorrow so I will update exact growth numbers then.  I can tell you that Kenley has gone from 2t/3t to size 5.  Kenson has gone from 4t’s to 7/8 and Kenzie has gone from 3t/4t to 6′s.  If you will indulge me (not that you really have a choice) I am going to do a little update on all three.  If only for their own information when they read the story of their life on this blog.

Kenzie, the oldest by 5 minutes and very proud of that fact.  This child has so much creativity and imagination stuffed into his little brain it is truly amazing.  He can read 20 plus site words, has perfect printing and is a great artist.  His favorite activity would have to be drawing and creating things.  He loves music of almost any kind and can dance like a fool.  His sense of humor is off the charts and it is often difficult to reprimand him because we are too busy laughing.  He is by far the most sensitive when it comes to behaving and pleasing people.  He is the least adventurous and is the biggest worrier.  His appetite is unmeasurable and he is not nearly as picky as he once was.  His favorite food remain Rice and Beans and Wegman’s chinese rice. Kenzie is a cuddler and a lover and is always there for a hug and a kiss.  He, like his brothers, is an immaculate dresser.  He would wear a dress shirt and tie to school everyday if allowed to.  Kenzie’s favorite colors are STILL pink and purple.  Given the choice he still would dress-up like a princess rather than a king.  He loves messing around with my make-up and hair.  His favorite toys for Christmas were his Barbie House and Barbie Design Maker.  He is destined for Project Runway as he can take a torn up old kings cape and pair of Ken’s pants and turn them into and elegant evening outfit on Jessica, his favorite Barbie (and first toy he ever picked out here).

Kenson, who was devastated when he found out he wasn’t the oldest( he actually sobbed) is an old soul.  He processes things deeply and although it took him much longer than his brothers, he is very affectionate with his family.   He is right on target for his age with his academics.  He tolerates school and athlete that he is his favorite part of school is gym.   Kenson gets along with everyone.  His favorite activity is anything sports related.  He loves to kick a ball, throw a football, ride his scooter and beat up his brother Zach and dad.  He too loves music and spends a lot of time listening to his “IPOD”(mp3 player) that sister Emily has filled with Hannah Montana and other favorites from her extensive playlist.  Kenson loves to dance.  He loves to use the Kinect and play Dance Revolution with his siblings.  Kenson has come a long way with his affection and now will willingly come to us for a hug or to cuddle. He savors anytime he can get our undivided attention.  His favorite colors are blue and yellow.  Favorite food is a tie between the chinese rice and sushi.  Kenson also loves to dress-up and already talks about the girls liking him because of his clothes and hair.  Speaking of hair, he loves his twisties and is so patient with the upkeep.  We spend approximately 4-5 hours a week on keeping them neat and he never complains.  He is the adventurous one of the bunch.  Loves to ride his bike as fast as he can, looks for the jump when sledding and wants to try everything!  His older brother Zach is banking on him being a professional athlete one day.

Kenley, oh Kenley.  The instigator of the bunch.  He is the mischievous one who is lucky that he is so damn cute.  He has amazed us in the last few weeks with his learning.  He can now spell his full name recognize most letters and is beginning to print.  Kenley is such a goofball.  Always there with a smile and a laugh.  His favorite food would be anything edible.  He still has the biggest appetite of all three.  He is convinced he is going to marry his Maddy Mae.  He can’t get close enough to us when he cuddles.  He will do anything to get us to take him out alone.  He is the tattle tailer of the bunch which does nothing to endear him to his brothers.  His favorite color is orange.  He loves to dance and sing at the top of his lungs.  Kenley’s favorite toys are his cars and his Trio blocks.  He is the best at entertaining himself for hours.  Just like his older bros he will dress-up whenever allowed.  He loves school and his teachers all enjoy him.  Kenley is the only when who struggles a little with his speech.  He stammers a little when he can’t think of what to say and still is working on some pronunciation.  He is, however, much more talkative than he has ever been.  Right behind his older brother Kenley will try almost anything once.  Not much keeps him from doing anything and everything Kenson does.

They all love Glee.  I only let them watch the music numbers but they will watch them all the time if allowed.  I see Broadway in their futures.

If I had to choose I would say the one who has changed the most and surprised us the most is Kenzie.  His rage and anger when he first arrived was off the charts.  There is none of that now.  It has really been quite a thing to watch him and his brothers transform.  The great thing is we have so much more ahead of us.

HAPPY ONE YEAR BOYS!  We all are blessed by having you in our lives.  Not one of us who is close to you can imagine life without you.  We so look forward to seeing all you will do with your lives in the future!  God Rocks!!!!!!!!  We are blessed!

Thank you all for staying on this journey with us.  What a fantastic year it has been.

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I am a little behind obviously but while the twins actual birthday was over shadowed by my accident we had a birthday party the following Sunday.  I owe a big thanks to my hubby and Tante Sheri who stepped up in my place and really made the day a success.  The boys had a blast!!  I will say that if I never have to do another birthday at a Chuck E Cheese I will be happy.  No offense to the establishment they do a fine job.  It is just major sensory overload for me!  Fortunately Kenley is much more low key than his older brothers.  When asked what kind of a party he wants in June he replied “A Love Party” at Maddy Maes house.  Not exactly sure what a LOVE party is but it doesn’t include a giant stuffed mouse, loud music and video games so I’m happy.

I spent several days in bed recovering from the crash so I had hours and hours to think.  What a year we had.  An amazing roller coaster ride of a year.  And here we are, celebrating two birthdays like this has always been our life.  Yet Haiti remains Haiti.  I still wrestle with the earthquake being the catalyst that brought our boys home.  I am not sure I will ever reconcile that completely.  I am so thankful for their youthful innocence.  At this time the boys don’t associate the earthquake with their birthday.  They talk openly and honestly about what they remember about that day which is both difficult and reassuring to me.   I am aware that as they get older their memories and feelings may change but right now they are two of the most well adjusted boys I ever seen!

This is what I was left of our truck. I most certainly had angels around me!!!

 

“We love our Tante Sheri!”

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