Monday, August 23, 2010

30 days of photos

Japanese Birthday Celebration

Birthday Party with the kids
Biggest kids and little kids 

Britt made the cake
Isaac comforting Lydia
Steven Bush photographed Troy in a tap-tap that sits outside of our Haiti house

In early July we took photos of Phoebe to get photo proof of her weak eye muscles. We've noticed an increasing problem along with a lot of depth perception issues.  Both of her eyes shoot all directions throughout the day. She sometimes bangs her head into things due to the poor depth perception.  She will be having surgery the second week of September on both eyes. I think we are far more nervous than she will ever be. Every time a kid of mine goes under anesthesia, I get a lot freaky.  The specialist says she will experience amazing improvement and that it is a low risk surgery.

Hope and Phoebe


In late July I celebrated my birthday with all of my kids. It was a fabulous day. It started with meeting Britt and Chris at the YMCA to join a bunch of college kids to play water polo.  The highlight of my morning and possibly the best birthday gift was when one of Chris's lifeguards said during the game, "Chris, your mother-in-law is persistent!"  He could have said, "Your mother in law is old slow weak fragile!" I love that kid. After water polo Britt took me to coffee at Starbucks.  Later in the day she took me for a pedicure.  At dinner time we all met at a Japanese restaurant.  Isaac was hilarious and totally impressed with the hibachi grill. He told the chef preparing our dinner how fabulous he was at his job. Over and over. and. over.  It was one of my happiest birthdays ever.  Thanks to my sweet kids and their fabulous daddy.

3 months shy of 3 years old ~ Lydie Beth

We are missing home a lot this week.  There was a hope that we could start school on the 17th with QCS and be settled in and ready to roll without bothering with a Texas school.  I recognize my plans are only that - mine.  Oddly enough when word of the passport problems came to us I did not shed a single tear.  None of the hassles with government bureaucracy or the challenges of adoption surprise me anymore.  It would be weirder if it was easy.

While we were in Iowa there was one speaking gig that was much more relaxed. Of all the times we've shared it was my favorite one. We sat sharing a bit about the things God has done in the 14 years Troy and I have been together and when Troy came to the spot in the story about the things he feels when he steps off of the airplane in the beautiful paradoxical heartache called Haiti - and how deep those feelings run - and how they don't make sense in some ways - he started crying.  From that moment in the morning and for the rest of the time, it was basically a cry fest.  There is no true point in my telling you any of that, other than to say what I already said. We are ready to go back.