They Followed the Yellow Brick Road

A sampling of Mehandis's fun during Spring Break...

With Grandma, Dorothy & Tot

The Tin Man

Grandpa & the Cowardly Lion

As well as the Scarecrow

Even though there was no sand to be found at this park... sure looks like Oz Park has everything else!

Bumps, But No Bruises

The past month has been a bit of a bumpy ride for us emotionally.  Didn't want to blog about it because I didn't yet have answers (yet the questions and answers when waiting for a child do change often times, even after getting "an answer") and also knew I wasn't really keeping things in complete perspective. 

So to sum up the "news" of the past month, we received the following notifications from our agency-

• All parents need to travel twice when adopting a child from Ethiopia (Directed by the ET Courts)
• One week notice is likely all that will be given prior to the second trip (Directed by the US Embassy)
• 9 Adoption Satellite Sites were shut down (by the Ethiopian Government)
• Our Agency had a partnership with one of the sites that were shut down, but never received a referral from them, CHSFS did recently receive renewal of licensure (by the Ethiopian Government) without question
• Need for two trips was indefinitely on hold (per CHSFS)
• Oops, our agency redacted their statement about the two trip pause button.  All family's with court dates after May 9th will need to make the "two trip travel" (per ET Courts)

Long story and complicated details.  Sorry to all of those nice meaning people who have recently asked how "the wait" has been going.  They got a bit of a too detailed and/or stilted response from me.

We are doing very well with the perspective thing... now.  At least in "my perspective" I think we are ;)

I did enjoy reading the following transcript, which is Eric Weiner's Broadcast Via NPR's "All Thing's Considered".  There will always be changes in International Adoption, always a news story posing questions regarding what is right/wrong, and always questions about our family (so many I love to answer and share with other's about our experiences).  But the main thing is that we will always be a family... and I am forever blessed by that fact.

The NPR story I mentioned follows.

"I've gotten very quick with the remote control these days. I can change channels or hit the mute button in a fraction of a second. You see, I don't want my 5-year-old daughter to hear the adoption news out there, because lately, it seems, it's all bad news. The Russian case, the American missionaries accused of sneaking children out of Haiti — these stories raise questions that I'm not prepared to answer. Not yet, at least.
My daughter knows she is adopted. My wife and I don't hide that fact, nor do we dwell on it. It's just one more thing, we tell her, that makes her special. Once, we were at an ice cream parlor, and the clerk asked my daughter: "Where are you from, little girl?" "Kazakhstan," she replied proudly. I can still recall the shocked expression on the clerk's face.

Only now is my daughter beginning to understand that we don't look alike, she and I. Coursing through her veins is the blood of Genghis Khan and the Mongols. Coursing through my veins is the blood of the Jews of Eastern Europe. It doesn't matter, though. Love trumps genetics. Every time.

There's something mysterious and wonderful about the bond between an adoptive parent and child. For me, that bond jelled as soon as I saw her photo — sent by e-mail from the adoption agency. She had bright eyes and a huge bald head — "Buddha Baby," we called her. Normally I'm not one to believe in fate, but at that moment, I knew, just knew, she was destined to be my daughter.

Adoption is not what you think it is. It is not, as one well-meaning person told me, "an act of mercy." My wife and I did not adopt our daughter to "save" her or to demonstrate our innate goodness. We adopted her because we wanted a child and couldn't have one biologically. That's why we filled out endless reams of paperwork, underwent a background check, spent thousands of dollars we couldn't really afford.

Like our case, the vast majority of international adoptions end happily. Of course, you don't hear those stories. Good news is not news — which is a shame, really, because every time there's an adoption scandal, countries overseas get spooked. Sometimes, they suspend all adoptions, as Russia is reportedly considering now. When that happens, the main victims are the children sitting in orphanages, waiting for parents who may never arrive.

That's what nearly happened to us. At the time, there was a similar case involving a Russian child adopted by an American parent. This parent had allegedly beaten the child to death. It was a terrible story, and Kazakh officials — very much in the Russian orbit — were threatening to suspend all adoptions, including ours. My wife and I spent several tormented weeks holed up in an apartment in the Kazakh city of Almaty, wondering whether we would be allowed to bring our Buddha Baby home.

In the end, cooler heads prevailed and adoptions were allowed to continue. I hope that is what happens now. Meanwhile, I've figured out what I'll say the next time someone tells me that adopting my daughter was an "act of mercy." Yes, I'll reply, it was, and it is we — my wife and I — who are the recipients of that mercy."

Our Trip to Obama's House

After enjoying the begninning portion of my spring break, with Mehandis in extremely unseasonably warm for Wisconsin - 80 degree weather.  The temperature took a dip down once arriving in Chicago - averaging in the mid-50's.  Then on the morning of our departure to DC (or as Mehandis said - "Obama's House") we fell into a bit of a deep freeze - with snow to boot.  Michael and I were so happy to find that our spring vacation destination did not share in the midwest's wintery relapse.

That first day of our arrival we took full advantage.  Walking for hours in the 80 degree weather.  We walked the "mall" seeing the Lincoln Memorial, Capital, World War I Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and White House.  We reveled in the lush green grass and leaves and definitely too time to smell the many flowers.

Here is Michael not too eagerly posing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (videos of me are soon to be shared by Michael, I am sure, where I am the less than eager interviewee!).  It is one of his favorite spots along the mall.  And the location of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.

The Hyatt was an awesome home away from home for us.  We were two blocks away from the Capitol, had extremely helpful hotel staff and a "hall store" for my late night munchies.  Thanks again Michael for finding this spot for us to stay!

Beautiful red tulips were the flower of choice on the White House grounds.  Didn't know that Michelle and I shared the same fave flower.

 When Mehandis saw a picture of us in front of the White House, he asked "Where is Obama?". 

Michael and I spent a total of seven hours walking around a museum called the Newseum. It had six floors of multimedia materials and interactive exhibits focused on the history of the news. We were able to go inside an actual "checkpoint tower" from the Berlin Wall, watch newsclips from any era imaginable, learn the story of how photographers "got" astounding photographs and so much more!

The Newseum also houses several studios.  Here we are on a tour of Sunday morning's "This Week".  That is a real view that you see of the capitol... not a back drop.

Took a lunch break in China Town.  We actually ended up having Thai.  Turned out to be one of our best lunches (and longest hunt for aforementioned restaurant).

From the very windy Newseum roof top terrace.

Think I was getting pretty cold here... but refused to wear a jacket during our spring break adventures.  My flip flops got quite the work out too.

Ah... catching up with friends.  Lucia and Chris took us to Old Ebbit's for dinner and then onto W's rooftop bar for a cocktail.  It has an absolutely incredible view that this photo does not capture.  So nice to have time with our friends.

And each other.

Day 3 brought more sun and more walking with no particular destination in mind.  This was also the date of our 11th anniversary!

Michael's artistic photo of some of the many cherry blossoms on the last day of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  We went for a run this morning, along the mall, and ran by several floats that were lining up for the Cherry Blossom Parade.  Saw a giant Elmo, Elvis float and many band kids.

Later in the day we stumbled upon Woodrow Wilson's home, where he and his wife stayed immediately following his second presidential term.  Didn't know he won a Nobel Peace Prize, had a stroke while in office, and had very progressive wives.

Another novel experience was attending a performance by a Japanese Troupe at the Kennedy Center.  They performed opera, sang children's folk songs and performed a fan dance.

Prost! 

Our wonderful German meal, on the patio, the night of our anniversary. 

Followed by a starlit and Capitol-lit, short walk home.

Marvel at this...

Thought Mehandis would enjoy the above representation, of our latest spot on the list.

Our Latest Family Photos!

A mom from the school I work at offered to take some photos of Mehandis to add to her website.  She thought he seemed quite photogenic.  How could I argue with that?

I mentioned that our family typically takes our family professional pics in March... so we got to join in on the fun.  She didn't mention how photogenic Michael and I would be though.  Hmmm...

We met at a local park (soon to be renovated swimming pool too!) in our neck of the woods.  It was a gorgeous Sunday morning.  And I think our fam is pretty gorgeous too. 

We had to keep an eye out for dog walkers, bikers and joggers.  But they were all friendly enough.

A playground is nearby, which I am glad Mehandis did not realize until we moved from the bridge.  Many of the playground shots show a bit of sand on his face.  Wonder why?

It was a very fun morning... and if anyone is looking for a kid-friendly, willing to travel to location, affordable photographer... just let me know!

And no this really isn't meant to be a commercial.  We truly had a lot of fun... and are happy with the photo memories that follow :)

Lucky "7" on St. Patrick's Day!

My mom just sent me a note to let me know that we are now "officially" number 7 on the "unofficial" list!  Pretty appropo for St. Paddy's Day I say.  May the luck of the Irish stick with us for a bit longer ;)

Lesson Learned...

Probably shouldn't ask men, who have been drinking green beer, to take photos at the end of a St. Patrick's Day Parade.  Jury does still stand on requesting the assistance of said men at the beginning of the parade.  Evidence for justification follows...

Guess he wanted to show who the bossy one ordering everyone around was?

Then how slow they were to follow aforementioned bossy person's orders?

But wait, maybe we don't have it quite right.

Pretty good...

But let's do one more to really annoy the men-folk.

I didn't look at these pics until yesterday, several days after the St. Patrick's Day Parade that Jen, Emily and Hannah joined us for.  I better understood why the kind photo journaling gentleman told me he took a number of photos and really liked my camera.  Guess he wanted to see all it could do.

We did have a chilly celebration together at the parade but celebrated nonetheless!  So glad to have some friends join us for parade watching and candy grabbing fun.  Mehandis tried to keep warm by...

Doing a bit of Irish dancing and jump/jump/jump arounding.

Jen's family followed suit by self proclaimed Irish jig moves and Mom-mandated Tootsie Roll dives!

We even found our little pot of gold when Mehandis was given a potatoe from a parade walking girl, whom was impresed by his moves.  And then the adults received chocolate coins from Ultimate Confections.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!