Life is Good

For months now, friends have questioned when our blog was going to be updated. And since so many of our loved ones are far away, and since I am notoriously terrible at keeping any formal record of my children's development via baby books, photo albums, or scrapbooks, I have decided that this is the best way to record the precious memories presented to me. And at the outset, I must issue this disclaimer. If you enjoyed our Korea blogs, you are sure to be disappointed. All of those blogs were the product of Jared. For the most part these will be mine, and unlike my dear husband, I tend to be wordy, use run-on sentences, words like "indeed" and "moreover," misspell, and am often (usually) not very clear. But since you all love me, and get to see pictures of "the boys," I am sure you will forgive me. It is my hope to update this weekly: I have added it to my "schedule."

So the question becomes what to write about in this initial venture. I have been pondering it for days. I could write about Thomas' and my slumber party Tuesday evening while Jared was away overnight on business. Though there are many words that could be used to describe me, "fun-loving," "impetuous," and "laid-back" are not at the top of the list. Determined not to let Jared have the upper hand in being voted "the most fun parent," i.e. showing Star Wars to Thomas whenever I am away, I ventured that Thomas and I would have a sleepover in Mommy and Daddy's bed, eat his favorite ice cream, and read books above and beyond his normal bedtime. So while I read my latest book club book, Thomas read Make Way for Ducklings, managing to spill his mint chocolate chip ice cream soup only three times-on Jared's side of the bed. Despite the fact I had a terrible night's sleep and woke up on more than one occasion with feet in my face, I proved to be "fun mom." I have the seven pictures that Thomas took of his feet to prove it.

I also considered writing in length about our annual trip to the Denhardt pumpkin patch where, besides picking a pumpkin from an actual patch, Thomas became quite smitten with the kittens playing in the barn. It was an adventure: primarily because our half hour trip over the Mississippi from Iowa to Illinois was elongated when my back seat driver casually related, "Mom, Russell's getting out of his seat." Peering into the rear view mirror, much to my horror, Russell was not merely "getting out of his seat," he was completely standing up in his car seat as we were cruising 70 mph down I-80. Needless to say, we stopped two additional times, even after I switched Elliot into Russell's seat-Elliot was not going to let the opportunity to crawl out pass him by-each time praying that a semi wouldn't blast into us. And yes, the problem with the car seat has been fixed.

There was the possibility of writing about our weekly trip to the Davenport Farmer's Market. Though the five of us have ventured out, this week it would be me and Thomas. Dressed in one of my favorite gray t-shirts (oh yes, dear college friends, you do know the one)$20 in hand, a son, armed with his sword tucked into his belt, "because you never know when you are going to run into bad guys," we were about ready to leave when Thomas received a phone call on his "cellphone" (a play phone that had, until the night before, been filled with tiny pieces of candy). The conversation went something like this. "Hello. Hi, good guy knight. We are heading to the Farmer's Market. Yes, we would love to come over for dinner. Good-bye. I love you." And when I tried to interrupt, the response? Ah yes, a pointer finger lifted and the words, "Just a minute." We had a beautiful time (or at least I did). I always feel so inspired being surrounded by people who are selling locally grown produce, hormone and antiobitic free meat, and products they have created themselves, all for a reasonable prices. (I love Iowa.) Thomas enjoyed playing at the park afterward and, fearing a fight when I knew it was time to leave, I simply announced that daddy had called and the house was surrounded with bad guys. That was all that was needed to spur Thomas on to the car, sword clenched in hand.

And now, well it is Sunday afternoon. We made it through church, which is no small feat, and even arrived before Liturgy began, which is a small miracle. The children are all in bed, though baby monitors are keeping me aware that no one is sleeping. I am armed with my coffee sweetened with flavored creamer and Splenda and am steaming and pureeing the cauliflower which will be slipped into the children's scrambled eggs in the morning. In less than an hour, Jared and I will be escaping the house and attending a performance of Bach's Vespers at Augustana's Ascension Chapel. And the Cubs, in case you didn't know, are in the play-offs. Truly, life is good. Have a beautiful week.

This Day Have We Begotten You

On Saturday, April 12, Russell and Elliot were baptized at St. Raphael of Brooklyn Orthodox Church in Iowa City. The relatively small chapel was quite full with Church friends, family members, and out-of-town guests. As with Thomas' baptism, there were actually two services performed. The first were the prayers of adoption. These prayers were said at the altar of the Church, and are the parent-child equivalent of wedding vows. The prayers are completed with Jared and Beth saying aloud, "Today you are our sons; this day we have begotten you."

The Orthodox baptismal service, or, let's be honest, any Orthodox service, is quite elaborate. It starts outside the chapel, where the godparents-to-be do things like renounce the devil and spit on him and recite the creed and commit themselves to Christ. It then processes into the chapel where the babies are prayed over and then stripped to be baptized. After the baptism (see video below), the babies are changed into their white baptismal gowns. They are then tontured, with the hair being burnt as a first offering to God, and chrismated. (Chrismation is actually a seperate sacrament and in the Catholic practice is reserved until the children are older.) The ceremony concludes with a procession around the baptismal font, with all in the Church singing, "As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia!"

Father Ignatius did a wonderful job of explaining what was going on during the natural lulls in the service created by the removing and changing of outfits. One of the things which may not have been explained is why Russell and Elliot were baptized as Matthew and Elijah. It is traditional for Orthodox Christians to take on the names of saints. In our family, these names have always borne some relationship to our given names. Jared is called Jared after the ancestor of Christ and father of Enoch, Beth is called Elizabeth after the mother of John the baptist, Thomas is called Thomas after the apostle, Russell (whose second name is Matthew) is called Matthew after the evangelist, and Elliot (an anglocized version of Elijah) is called Elijah after the old testament prophet.

Of course, one of the best things about events like this is the loved ones who travel from out-of-town to be with you. We would like to especially thank Nathan and Jennifer Larsen (Russell's godparents) and their son Owen, and Bobby and Paige Maddex (Elliot's godparents) and their daughters Isabelle (our goddaughter) and Jane for driving hours to sponsor our children. Thomas' godparents, Molly and Troy Sabourin, and three-quarters of their kids-Priscilla, Benjamin (our godson), and Mary-also made the trek. (Elijah, we missed you!) Finally, Carrie Sabourin (your third shout-out here, at least, so don't complain about being last!), Greg and Marian Lambert, and Geoffrey Thompson, our good friends from Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Chicago, also made the long drive to Iowa City. Thank you also to our parents who endured all the devil spitting, hair burning, baby dunking, head greasing, prayer chanting, and incense smelling to support us on this important day. We love you all.

It's taken at least three nights to get this blog written with all the busy-ness around our house, so we'll wrap it up now. But before we conclude, it must be stated that it was Jared who wrote that he was his "usual grumpy self." It was just a little self-depricating honesty. As he is and ever shall be, grump without end, amen.

Eleven Days Later

Well, the boys have been home with us for eleven days. While the primary purpose of this posting is to alleviate the constant requests for more pictures, we suspect that some of you care about how we're doing, so we'll include some personal information in the post as well. Beth is taking to three children remarkably well. She is completely reenergized in her quest for healthy food and hasn't put down Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious for a week. Her biggest frustration right now is that Russell and Elliot are not taking to the idea of a daytime nap. (As this post is being written, both are upstairs crying in protest of said nap.) Getting all three boys down for a nap is a neccessity for Beth's daily routine, so she finds this trend a bit unnerving.

Jared is his usual grumpy self, upset about even the slightest of interuptions in his sleep. Beth had Book Club this morning, so he got to spend some quality time with all his boys. Anybody who knows him know that means Legos! Yes, that's right, Baby Legos for the twins, Duplos for Thomas, and lots of plastic-brick-building-joy for Daddy.

Thomas is finally caught up on his sleep. We had to wake him from every nap for nearly a week, just to be sure he'd sleep at the next appointed time. He seems much more himself now, and is really beginning to play with the boys. He is also very helpful to Mom and Dad.

Russell and Elliot are also smiling a lot more, a sign that they are both catching up on their sleep and beginning to attach to our family. Best of all, they apparently can sleep through the night. This came as a shock to us, as their foster mother had said they slept from 11 PM to 7 AM with one nighttime feeding. Right now it's 8:00 PM to 7:00 AM with no nighttime feedings. (Somehow this amazing sleep pattern still makes Jared grumpy.)

So that's all the news that's fit to print. Enjoy the pictures. Aren't our boys beautiful!

When last we met our intrepid travelers...

We left off after our successful quest to find a power adapter, with Jared, Beth and Thomas all watching the Muppets, a tradition usually reserved for "Friday Family Fun Night." We all slept relatively well that night, although Thomas startled in his sleep a couple times with panicked exclamations like, "My favorite color is blue!" The morning we walked up to the Holt offices, where we would begin our planned tour of Seoul. We met two other couples on this tour who were in the process of their first adoptions. One was a Mennonite couple from western Kansas, and the other was from California. The second couple had been to a Star Wars convention (for their sons, of course!) and that enthralled Thomas (and Jared, of course). Our tour guide was a college student, SaeIp, who had spent four years in the States during her high school and university studies. She is now finishing up her Biology degree at Hong Ik University and volunteering with Holt. She was a fluid english speaker, and a very helpful tour guide. Our first stop was Deoksugung Palace. This was a large area with only a few people around, so Thomas able to run free and explore.

Our next stop was Insadong, where we had gone our first day. This is by far the best place to pick up Korean trinkets and gifts, so we were glad to be back here to pick up a few last things. We were also able, with the help of SaeIp, to visit the nearby Jogyesa Buddhist Temple. This is one of the few temples in Korea situated in an urban area, with most sequestered in the mountains. Buddhism is the second largest religion in Korea, with the majority of Koreans being Christian.

It was then time for us to leave the tour and go to pick up Russell and Elliot. We ended up with about a half-hour to kill before our scheduled meeting, so we did what we had done so often on this trip, and stopped for a cup of coffee. We tried on the Bjorn's and made sure we still remembered how to put them on. After that cup of coffee, Jared said something to the effect of, "Today is the day that we bring two more people into our family. We're going to walk do that street, the three of us all together, and bring our boys home." He then made everyone put their hands together and say something like, "Go team!" It sounds cheesy, and in fact it was really cheesy, but for that moment Thomas seemed genuinely excited about his role in expanding our family. We held hands as we walked those last few blocks to Holt.

Thomas' foster mother was there again that afternoon as well. She gifted Thomas a new hanbok (a traditional Korean outfit, usually worn by Koreans on birthdays and holidays). Thomas hugged her good-bye and she and Beth both shed tears. We then went into the nursery to share more tears with Russell and Elliot's foster mother. Jared explained to her, through the interpretation of our social worker, that "nobody could have done more for our family than what you have done by caring for these two boys. We will never let them forget you and what you've done." We were too busy to take any pictures during these moments, but Thomas snapped these two images while playing with the camera.

We then got in a cab and made it back to the hotel to bed down for the night. From this moment until some 35 hours later, neither Jared nor Beth slept for more than an hour at any one time. The twins were very well behaved on the flight home, as was Thomas. It was the sheer volume of children which kept us up. There was not a time when all three were down long enough for either of us to get any sleep. In addition to this, it must be noted that a fever passed through all the males in our family. (We mentioned it in a previous post with Elliot, during the flight we noticed it on Russell, and Jared and Thomas both picked it up on Thursday.)

When we arrived at O'Hare were greeted at the airport by friends and family, most of whom had driven hours to see us get off the plane. Thank you all so much for coming to share that happy moment with us. And thanks for hugging us in spite of our messy hair, wrinkled clothes, body odor, and the faint stale-milk-aroma of spit-up. It meant a lot to us to have you there, and it helped Thomas to be able to play with his friends. It will also mean a lot to Russell and Elliot when we are able to look back at it with them and explain how broad the community of love was that welcomed them into this country. (Please send along any and all photos of this event. Apparently we were too tired to take any good ones. Thank you for your Snapfish gallery, Carrie. And, yes, that's "shout-out" number two.)

With the time change, Wednesday was 39 hours long for us. Beth and Jared both fell asleep with the children at around 8 PM, then woke up at 11 PM ready for the day to begin. The rest of the night was difficult to get through with nighttime feedings and fitful sleeping all around. We were all in and out of bed until about 1 PM the next afternoon, when we finally forced everyone out of bed. Jared's Aunt Marianne and cousins Stephanie, Jenna and Adam were in town from Colorado and came over for a visit, along with his Aunt Sharon and mother. Thomas played lightsabers with Adam and everybody ogled and goggled over the babies. When they left, Beth's sister Becky and niece Ali (pictured left), who came into town from New Jersey to help with the babies, and her parents came over for a dinner of Chinese food from M J in Davenport. (Note to all Davenport denizens: M J is moving to Locust Street.) Once again, we went to bed early, with the plan for Jared to return to work today.

If we are to be honest, there is a little bit of melancholy lingering in this household. Thomas is still trying to figure out his role in this new, larger family. (He picked "A Baby Sister for Frances" as reading material tonight, where Frances runs away because her new baby sister is getting too much attention.) Jared and Beth, in spite of constantly reminding themselves how difficult twins were going to be, have been waylaid by the enormity of the task. Russell has been fitful, but will occasionally smile. Beth claims to have seen Elliot given a smile to Thomas this afternoon, but Jared is yet to see one on his face since leaving Korea. And above all, we're all very tired. However, this morning, Beth got up at 5:30 when the boys would keep to their beds no longer. When Jared finally joined them in the kitchen, he found Russell and Elliot playing in the egg yolks Beth had prepared for them, and Thomas was laughing at the mess they were making. Thomas looked up at Jared and said, "Guess what Daddy. It's Friday Family Fun Night!" What a happy family the three of us were. And what a happy family the five of us will be.

May you all have a blessed Easter this Sunday. We will be joining our families in their celebrations after Church on Sunday, and try to post more next week.