Cory's Second Birthday Party

Everyone's talking about the event of the year: Cory's second birthday party.  Held on the pristine grounds of the Linduff estate, the gathering boasted a delicious spread: a brownie/animal cake (as requested by the guest of honor and garnished with sprinkles and two yellow crayon candles), chex mix, cheeto balls, and popcorn.  A well-rounded guest list included celebrity names such as Grammy and Papa, Aunt Haylee (who indulged the young gentleman Cory in a rousing game of Kapowee!), Nan and Nona, Elmo, and various members of two branches of the Schweizer clan.  Cory played an impeccable host, showing delight and gratitude at each gift received.  If you weren't at this gala event, never fear.  The festivities will be repeated on an annual basis.

(I love how he holds the present with his feet!)

Other FL pictures:

Iain playing Pickle with the cousins.

Cory watching the Pickle game and working on his wink.

Sweet boy!  Not too big for snuggles.

We're DTR!

Our dossier had arrived in Rwanda, been signed for, and been delivered to the Ministry... we're officially DTR as of today!  Our dossier travelled with the dossier of another family, and we're excited and hoping we'll be travelling with them (and hopefully catching up with some dossiers that have been in Rwanda for a while, right Alison?).

DTR means Dossier To Rwanda.  Yes, I know that is not an adverb; one cannot be "dossier to Rwanda."  But you can't really friend anyone either.  So there you go - we're DTR.

What this means: We have a three- to six-month waiting period, and then we'll (hopefully!) receive a letter of approval from the Ministry in Rwanda.  Two months after that, we'll get a referral!  That's when we get a picture of our daughter, along with her medical information, age, weight, etc.  Then we have a court date in Rwanda (we don't attend; we have a power of attorney standing in for us) about two weeks later.  That's when our daughter legally becomes ours.  Then within a few weeks after that, we travel to get her!  So we're looking at bringing her home between July and October of this year.  And while we fully believe that the timing in this belongs to the Lord, we're still praying for July!

In honour of being DTR, I started today on a baby blanket for our little one.  My mom got me this yarn for Christmas, and I've been holding off starting until we got this news.  A way to mark the day, and something to do for her while I wait.  

These aren't the colors our daughter's room is/will be, but I just thought they were so pretty and girlie and fun!  Here's the pattern I'm using (well, basing my blanket off of this pattern).

We're DTR!  Yay!!

Across the Pond

Dossier in Great Britain tonight.  It is officially on the other side of the Atlantic.  Fish and chips, foggy days, Mind the Gap, say hello to William and Henry, look kids: Big Ben, Parliament!

:)

Happy Day!

It's on its way! 

 The dossier, that is.  We just got the email that the dossier has been authenticated by the Rwandan Embassy and is making tracks across the ocean.  I have the tracking number and will be checking like a crazy person until I see that it has touched down.  

And you can be sure I'll let you know when it is on Rwandan soil!

So exciting!!

Look Who's Two!

Happy birthday, Cory!  

January 15, 2008

January 15, 2009  - Cory's first birthday!

January 15, 2010 - Cory's second birthday!

On your second birthday, you:

--have only eight teeth, but I can see more coming through

--still use your pacifier at night and nap, but not during the day

--love "messy cheese" (shredded cheese), ice cream, pizza toast, and oatmeal

--like the color green

--wear cute little converse shoes

--like to play in the dirt

--love to sing and play guitar

--like to jump

--pray with one eye opened and your face scrunched up (like a pirate), "Dear Jesus thank You for de food dear Jesus amen."

--still snuggle with me when you're going down for your nap.  I "rock-a-rock" you in the glider, and you hold onto my hair

--snuggle with Daddy when you go to sleep at night.  He holds you and sings to you and you always ask for a "last song"

--love Iain and copy everything he says

--have a rather quiet, low, gravelly voice that is so cute!

--talk a lot, and in full sentences, pausing between words ever-so-slightly, but speaking clearly and accurately

--are learning to talk to and love Jesus

--bring us all so much joy

Happy birthday, little man.  We love you so!

(for Cory's day of birth post, go here.  For his one year old post, go here.)

School Days!

Last Monday (1/4/10), we started school!  

(First day of school pictures)

Iain is learning to read, using the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons which is pretty intense.  Lots of very specific tasks.  But it takes only 15-20 minutes per day, which is good because by the end of it, Iain definitely gets squirrelly.  So far, he's learned the sounds for m, short a, s, and long e.  A tricky part for him is remembering to say the letter sound, not its name.  But he's doing great, and he especially loves running his finger along the arrow under the letters and yelling them out when he gets to "say it fast."

Cory and Iain both are learning about giraffes, as part of school.  They are very into giraffes these days!  So we watched some youtube videos, colored giraffe pictures, and got some giraffe books from the library.  

My favorite activity (this cracks me up - yes, I'm weird, I know): we learned that giraffes have 18-inch-long black tongues.  So we made 18-inch-long black tongues.  The boys loved it, and I just laughed and laughed.  

How very academic of us, I know.

*********

Cory: Hey Iain?

Iain: Yes?

Cory: Hey Iain?

Iain: Yes?

Cory: Hey Iain?  Hey Iain?  Hey Iain?

Me: Cory, what are you doing?

Cory: Talkin' to Iain?

Me: What are you trying to say?

Cory: I'm sayin' 'Hey Iain?'  (Ask a silly question...)

Snow!

Temperature today: 19 degrees, feels like 6 because of all the wind and damp.  So says the weather site, anyway.  And I believe it.  It's COLD!

Yesterday afternoon, it started to snow!  Now this may not be big news for some of you reading this, but for us former Floridians, it's a big deal.  Actually, to all of Atlanta, it's a big deal.  Snow day, no school, 27-car-pile ups, DOT saying stay off the road.  I bet you folks up north are laughing.  

Iain has been practicing tracing letters that I write for him.  Pretty good, huh?

I took the boys outside this morning (it was so cold my eyes were watering!) to play in the inch or so of snow on the driveway.  Cory loved it.  Iain hated it.  Ah well.

Cory and I tried to slide down the driveway (finally found a use for this, Kelsey!).  I sat down and called him over, and he came running with a big grin on his face.  But we didn't really move much.  I did pull Cory down though, which was fun.

First movie clip: from yesterday when it started to snow.  Second is from this morning.  Note the drastic difference a bad night of sleep makes in our little friend Iain's demeanor.

A Day for Prayer

I have this heavy burden on my heart today to pray for our daughter.  I don't know what's going on in her life right now, or even if she's born yet, but I can't shake this feeling (nor do I want to!) that something is going on in Rwanda today in our baby's world.

Maybe today is the day she's being born.

Or maybe today, her birth mother is making the excruciating decision to take her to HOH Orphanage.

Or maybe she's already there, fighting off an illness.

Or maybe she just needs some extra love today, and God wants to let us be a part in providing it for her, by asking Him to provide it for her.

Will you pray for her today?  And for her birth family?  Thank you so much for lifting her up today with us.

Jeremy sent me these verses this morning in an email (before I told him of my call to prayer).  He said they were on his heart today.

I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth... (Is 43:6)

See, they will come from afar - some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan. (Is 49:12)

Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. (Is 60:4)

Book Review - The Sweet By and By

The Sweet By and By, by Sara Evans

I must say, although I didn't have high hopes for this book when I started (a novel written by a "Multi-Platinum Recording Artist" says the cover), I was pleasantly surprised.  The Sweet By and By tells the story of a woman approaching her wedding day, but trapped in a painful past.  As she digs up and retells her secrets, she searches for healing, and the Healing One searches for her.  

Often I am disappointed by Christian Fiction.  Sometimes it comes across as poorly-written and sappy, and generally predictable.  The Sweet By and By was, for the most part, predictable, but in a relaxed, comforting way, and there were enough plot twists to hold my interest.  The book flits backward and forward along the story line, and even among some of the characters, but it does so well.  

The characters were developed and realistic, and I found myself thinking about them when I wasn't reading - a good sign for me that they hold my interest!  And the climax, when Jade finally catches a glimpse of the Truth... it was good.  I won't spoil it for you, but it was good.

Although I can't say this book will ever make the canon of literature, I enjoyed my trip through its pages.  For an uplifting, relaxing read, try The Sweet By and By.

Funnies

Iain held up the swiffer and said he had made it into a sign.  The sign was from the President of Rwanda, and it said, You can get a baby sister, and you can ride on a train that moves.

Iain, holding up a piece of onion: I don't like onions.

Me: Just leave it on your plate.

Cory: (reaches over and grabs it off Iain's plate.  Holds it up.)

Iain: Good boy, Cory!

Cory, holding up the onion: I like peppers!

Iain: Actually, it's an onion, though.

Cory: I like onions!

Iain's new song: I've got condensation in my tummy!  I've got condensation in my tummy!

Cory's new response when we ask him to do something: I be d'lighted to.

When Iain was younger, he'd ask questions properly, but with no inflection: a flat, "Can I have a snack."  Cory asks questions with TONS of inflection but the wrong words: a very swinging, "I have a snack???"

So Long, 2009!

What a year it has been.

:: Cory turned one.

:: we led our first small group as a married couple.

:: and our second.

:: I helped put on Conversations at Northland.

:: we heard about a church in the Atlanta area and drove up to check it out.

:: we moved.  Twice.

:: we started the long process necessary to adopt our daughter from Rwanda.

:: I watched my first nephew being born.

:: we drove to FL three times, TN three times, SC once, and AL many times.

:: we got renters for our house in FL, and lost them 6 months later.

:: I shot a wedding with Kelsey.

:: Jeremy went camping with the men from church.

:: we either had (overnight) guests or were guests for some part of 24 of the 52 weeks of the year.  Wow!

:: we had four fundraisers and applied for four grants and a no-interest loan (adoption-related stuff).

:: we mailed in our dossier!

:: Iain turned three.

:: we celebrated five years of marriage.

:: we suffered some major car-repairs.  With major bills.

:: we spent our first night away from the boys.

:: I started working in the nursery.

:: we bought a house.

:: I learned to crochet.

:: Jeremy played drums several times at church.

:: we hosted our first Christmas.

:: we've got a play group meeting at our house once a week.

:: we spent four months (and counting) paying two mortgages.  Anyone want to rent a house in Altamonte?

:: we joined an amazing church.

:: we have been happy, tired, stressed, amazed, discouraged, lonely, thankful, and overwhelmed.  It's been the craziest, weirdest, hardest year since we've been married.  

Goodbye, 2009.  I'll probably be asleep when you depart.  Ready for the next trip around the sun!

Christmas, 2009 (In All Its Glory!)

Christmas this year: fun, crazy, fast, packed, full of family, a full house.

Iain fell off the couch during his nap.  The nap continued.

The boys LOVED putting up and decorating the tree.  And stopping to sing Christmas carols along the way.

Jeremy and Iain working on Iain's "special project," a coloring sheet he does a bit at a time.

Jeremy and Cory fake sleeping.

*Cory's favorite, sung loudly: Joy to de World!

*Iain's favorite (or the only one he says he knows): We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

*It was fun decorating the Rock House for the first time.  And great that both our families could be with us for Christmas!

*The boys love candy canes and "rain" on the tree.

Iain was in his first pageant in church.  He was an angel.

*He did NOT wear a halo like the rest of the kids because he didn't want to look like a real angel.

*He stood and sat on cue, but refused to sing or do any motions, except jingling the bells at the end.  He said this was because he didn't know the songs.  He did.

*During the first song, the band was still on stage, so naturally, Iain stood facing backwards so he could watch them play.

*His favorite part was passing out candy canes at the end.

Jeremy's parents (Grammy and Papa) arrived on Monday the 21st.  They helped me paint Cory's room, and Papa and the boys put together one of their gifts: a sandbox!

Cory found ice in the toy wheelbarrow in the backyard.

*Papa posted on his blog leading up to the sand box reveal, so the boys knew he was bringing a red box for them to help him put together, but they didn't know it was for them, or what was in it.

*Cory's room looks GREAT!  More pictures to come.

*We also had Uncle Larry and Aunt Lisa over for dinner one night.

*Cory was teething hardcore and Iain was sick with a nasty cold.

*We had a little birthday party for Grammy, and the boys made a sign and wiggly worm cookies (the day before G&P came).  Yes, they stayed in their pajamas for most of the sign-and-cookie-making day.

Sickies on the couch.  Watching movies is the one good part about being sick when you're a kid.

My family arrived on Christmas Eve, making a total of 12 people for Christmas.

Poor, sick baby!  His lip isn't really swollen; he likes to stick his tongue under his top lip.  But his nose really was that red!

*We had a delicious Christmas Eve dinner, complements of Grammy, with a ham from Jenna and Curtis.

*We had a Christmas Eve service, complements of Jeremy and Papa, complete with Christmas carols (all verses!), and a telling of the Christmas story with the felt Nativity that Grammy made when her boys were young.

*By now, Cory (and Jeremy and I) were sick.

Christmas Day was fun and relaxed.

*Haylee got a snuggie, something we will always mock her for.

*Isaiah morphed into a small Santa.

*Winning presents for the boys: magna doodles from Haylee.  But oh, they loved everything they got!  Presents of note: backpacks from Grammy and Papa, remote controlled cars from my mom (right?), electric drum pad things from Phil and Kelly, bed buddies (study buddies? husbands? what do you all call those big pillows with arms?) from Kelsey, an Auburn sweatsuit from Jenna and Curtis, hobby horses from Jeremy and I.

*Poor little Cory was feeling so sick he didn't even open all his presents.

*Our little girl had a few things under the tree for her: a sweet doll and some adorable hairbows and headbands made by my friend Shannon.  

*We missed you, little girl!

*I got two adoption-related books: From Ashes to Africa, and The Strength of Mercy.  Finished the second one yesterday.

The day after Christmas: Kelsey's birthday!  Grammy and Papa headed home, Jeremy headed to work, and the rest of us headed to Ikea!

*hot dogs from Ikea are awesome after a lot of shopping.

*but cinnamon buns are better.

Sunday, the 27th: went to church in the morning.

*The N family arrived (my aunt and uncle and five cousins).  Then the B family arrived (my aunt and uncle and four cousins).  They stayed with us until Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon, respectively.  

*Joining us for dinner, also: Uncle Mark, Aunt Donis, Chris, Liz, Penny (their sweet baby girl), Lindy and Addie (her cutie), and their cousin Briarly (did I spell that right?).  And my family was all still here.

*So we had 31 people over for dinner!  And I neglected to take a single picture.  

*It was so much fun!

That night, we had 23 people at our house for the night.  Yikes!  But we all fit somehow. :)

Monday: My mom and Kelsey left, and the rest of us hiked Red Top Mountain.

*It was so cold!

*Iain cried and screamed almost the whole time, alternating.  It was because he was shivering.  Every time he shivered, he started up again.  And did I mention it was cold?  There was a lot of shivering going on.

*The cousins (and Aunt Steph, apparently) kept running from one tree to another, hugging it and yelling at the top of their lungs.  It was absolutely hilarious.  Especially when they hugged a small tree and toppled it right over.

*Then Haylee and the N's left.

Tuesday: the B's left after lunch and a morning of playing and shopping.  And a great Christmas was had by all.  All of us, anyway.  We loved hosting it here!

And now I can start the New Year with a clear conscience, knowing I finished my Christmas blogging!