Home....

Finally home...I was in Phoenix last week for training. Didn't want to post anything about that until after I got home. But I'm back now and man, being in Phoenix the week leading up to the Super Bowl, which is where it was being played, was pretty cool. I didn't see too much stuff related to the game, but I did go to the NFL Experience. The NFL Experience is an interactive setup at the location of the Super Bowl for fans to come out and check out all things football. They had passing, running, kicking and tackling area where people could attempt each activity. Mostly kids and teens doing these things, and had I had any of my children with me, then I would have too.

I did get myself on TV for a few minutes. I was that annoying Jack Hole on his cell phone, behind the guys doing a live shot for the NFL Network. I was waving a poster and jumping up and down, waving and making faces. I was everything I hate when I see people doing that on TV. BUT...now I can appreciate it a little more, because maybe they have 8 other people at home laughing and excited to see them on TV like I had. Doubt it...those people are usually drunk. :)

I spent most of my time though, in the pro shop and vendor shop. The pro shop was cool...and I got a Patriots Jersey...#76 - for those of you without an official Patriot roster sheet. Then I sinned a little and coveted all the memorabilia that was on display in the vendor shop. Thousands of autographed footballs and baseballs, pictures, jerseys. My favorite thing there, and something I would absolutely cherish in my house, was the above picture. Only 200 of those bad boys were painted. It was live in person at one guys booth, along with a bunch of other oil paintings. The thing is probably 4 or 5 feet high and 3 or 4 feet wide. Simply gorgeous.

Other notes: I have no idea how my beautiful wife does it. While I was gone, she had 7 coughing, sneezing children 2 or which had a nice case of pink eye. Bad enough to deal with on her own, but to make it worse, she also had laringytis, a cough and then caught pink eye as well. I'd have quit. I'd have been so angry and annoyed, I'd have just quit. What an amazing woman.

Watched the Super Bowl last night...sweet depression. The Patriots had their chance at a perfect 19-0 season. they were the better team all season, jsut not on the most omportant night of the season. As awesome as it is to watch your favorite team win, its equally sucky watching them lose. Make it even more tough, yet a little cute, this year was my oldest son. He's finally at an age where he feel passion for something and his thing is football. We were excited and ready all weekend. When the Giants scored their last touchdown with less than a minute to go...he just cried and cried. It was pretty pathetic, but I was so proud of him :). These are the times a real fan is born. Thankfully he woke up this morning and wasn't too upset and got himself to school. Now if only tonight when I'm supposed to be sleeping, I could NOT think about how they should have won, like I did all night last night.

Lastly...I have removed all references to who my family is and where we live. Too many stories of weirdo's out there and really, this blog is just for fun and to keep family updated. I'll go ahead and use fictitious names per person as each story needs it. Those who know us, obviously you'll know who and what I'm talking about...those who don't, well hopefully the stories will be written well enough and funny enough to make it worth your time.

Good Times....Good Times....

Official Weigh-In Day: 213. Down a pound...could be better but I'm not disappointed.

This has been one crazy week. 6 out of the 7 kids have some sort of sickness. Uno has stayed home from school with a fever and sore throat. Cinco has lots of nose congestion (polite way of saying, he has a ton of snots). Quatro and Seis...ditto. Tres has this cough that sounds like she is trying to bust through a brick wall, using sheer cough force. And then there is Siete...mister I don't want to (more like he can't) sleep for more than 30-60 minutes at a time at night. He's congested in his nose, which gets in his chest, which causes him to cough, which wakes him up. He's also running a fever and I think he also has caught a nice case of whine-engitous. That's the medical term for, I don't want anyone to do anything accept serve me or I'll whine...but not to close or I'll whine. He has that something serious. He also only wants Wife at night, which normally a person would say "hey...better her than me...I'm going to back to sleep". Unfortunately, I end up staying up too, cuz I just want to help her out and feel guilty in bed while she stays up all night.

So, any help here would be great. How do you know when enough is enough with situations that arise in life. I can't get too specific, as people from all parts of my life read this. But as I've mentioned before, things at work were pretty frustrating and that situation has been fixed. That being said, there is still some lingering frustration and pride issues going on. I've been praying and asking for prayers, but I still am pretty full of pride I guess, because I can't shake that "I've been wronged" feeling.

On that same note, I've started to meet once a week with 2 close friends of mine, Chuck and Ryan. We are meeting once a week and hopefully keeping each other accountable for certain things that we feel are issues in our lives. We've met twice so far and its great to get together and talk. Ryan is younger than me and Chuck is older. It's amazing how you think your problems are all your own, but you hear people in different stages of their lives struggling with similar issues. God's so good to me to have put these guys in my life.

All for now.
God is Good!

The Wickinator...

So I need to thank Mr. Petree for his great idea for a white elephant gift. We had a Christmas White Elephant exchange here at work the week before Christmas. Per John's story of his gift, I stole it like it was my own. I gave an 8x11 framed and autographed photo of...well of me! In the words of Cousin Eddy...That there is the gift that keeps on giving....all year long. It got lots of laughs, which I hope is a testament to the funny pose in the picture and not because I'm just a funny looking guy. The picture has been dubbed the "Wick-in-ator". It's been put on a few peoples desks...brought to very important meetings, you know, for inspiration...I think it's even been on the Presidents desk at one point. (I did make some of that up for comedic value...but not all of it)

Oh and at the end of the White Elephant exchange, I let the poor soul who "won" this piece of art know, there was a Chili's gift card taped to the back of the picture! Thanks again John!!

So Good Times....work let me swap out my training to a different week, so I'll be home to see The Oldest Boy's school program. Now I need to remember to click record on the video camera. Last year we all went to his program, I held the cam corder up for the whole 30 minute deal, only didn't realize when you click the still photo option on the camera, while video taping, it stops recording the video to take the still shot, but doesn't go back to recording. I sat there video taping nothing for almost the entire 30 minutes. *BE thankful kids...Doofusness runs in our veins...yep even if you are adopted!

God is Good!

Not so bad...

There is really no reason for this picture...I just love Napoleon Dynamite!!

So I thought this house was going to be crazy and hectic with all the girls at Uno's birthday party...but as usual I was wrong. They were all so quiet...almost awkwardly quiet. They all had fun...I think. Once the older kids and Wife left for the movies, I was able to feed the T.o.T.s and Siete and get them off to bed in time to watch the Patriots game :)...(Patriots and Chargers next week...for the right to go to the Super Bowl...Pats are 17-0 this year!)

I'm thinking I should have taken that time with them to play and have some great daddy/kids bonding time...but it's the playoffs...and I played with them this weekend...so stop judging me.

From the "How Do These Things Always Happen Department": I got a new position at work...finally doing something I want to do (Thank You Lord for that answered prayer). For my new job I need to go to training, which last week I scheduled to go in the next few weeks. Found out yesterday that Dos has a school program the week I'll be away. Dos promptly got all teary and upset when I told him. I'd understand it if I missed somethings because I traveled every other week or multiple times a month. But it seems like if I travel 3 or 4 times a year, I'm missing something for someone at least 2 of those times. So now I'll attempt to reschedule the training. I'm guessing with more kids and the older they get, I'm bound to miss somethings from time to time...just sucks having to tell them I can't be there.

Random Web Site:

Found this really addictive and fun world knowledge game...my first score was 113.

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq?de68=f428

God is Good!

Official Weigh In

Fridays will be my official weigh in day. This morning I am at 214, down 4 pounds from when I started last week. Not bad...mostly water weight. And FYI: This is why I want to lose weight...I don't want to be thrust into civil duty like this lady!!

Slow day here today, not too much going on. Tomorrow should be interesting. Uno is having her birthday party with friends, which means we will have a bunch of chatty girls in the house...oh pass the aspirin now! Not only will the older kids be loud and talking and being in the "zone"...we'll have 3 pre-schoolers acting as if they are 10 or 11 years old as well. Should be interesting.

Found a couple of really good websites recently and one really off the wall news story:

Woot.com - Cool site that has 1 great deal a day on random things.

GiveAwayoftheDay - Site that offers a free, licensed software each day

Dove.org - Breaks down all movies, lets you know what movies are really family friendly.

Lastly...did you see this story. It's a cheesy bad movie come to life...creepy yet kind of funny: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22590332/

God is Good!

1191 Words from Me to You

We here at WorldofRandall have come to an agreement with the Writers Guild so our almost 2 month layoff is officially over. No scabs were used in writing any of the material posted below. No writers were injured during the making of this post. I am Randy and I approve this ad. Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Only you can stop forest fires. ....

Whoa sorry about that...got off on a tangent there...as usual. Back to your (un) regularly scheduled post.

Catchup time....

- Christmas was one big chaotic mess of fun. We tried so hard to keep things in order, but our attempts were quickly abandoned and paper, tape and bows were flying off in every direction. The new kid's first Christmas seemed to be a hit. So much so that Cinco asked for days after, if Santa was coming again tonight :)

- We spent New Years Eve together at home, eating lots of snack foods (ie: unhealthy but stinking delicious) and we played lots of games. Lots of ping pong, Wii games and board games were played. Lots of Daddy kicking everyones butt happened as well! (but I'm not competitive or anything...)

- Just had 2 birthdays in the house: Tres turned 7 and Uno turned *gulp...10

- An Ode to Tres - How amazing it is to have been in my life for just under 4 months and how much I love that little girl. She is soft spoken, yet loud. Loves her dolls and babies as well as tackling me during climb the father and giggles at toots. I love her sense of humor and her billy-goat like laugh. She's definitely added a new element of funniness to our house. I can't even imagine picking up and moving across the world and having to learn a whole new culture, way of interacting with people, foods, and having more stuff than I ever could imagine. Yet this little 7 year old princess has done it nearly flawlessly. I'm amazed at how well she has adapted and accepted us as her family. Another testament to God knowing exactly what he's doing...cuz we don't ever question that...right? It's going to be so fun watching her grow up and become as she says "a working woman". I hope someday she will realize that she didn't come to live with us strictly to give her a hopeful better life, but that she is a blessing to each one of us.

- An Ode to Uno - Sweet cinnamon gravy, she's 10 years old. I look at my oldest daughter and I can't help but feel so stinking proud and happy. I'm scared to death of what the next 10 years will bring, but I'm confident in who she is and that all my fears will be just that: my own fears. She is so solid in her relationship with God. I wouldn't be living my life for Jesus had she not been everything God created her to be. It's hard for me to say what I want to say about my "bean", without sounding like a blubbering idiot. I think about almost losing her before she was born, I think about mistakes in my life that could have led to me not being an everyday dad to her, I think about her bald little head until she was 2, I think about her losing her tooth in an elevator in some hotel, I think about her non stop talking :), I think about her and I building the most gynormous snowman ever made, I think about her in her little dance tights and 2 little pig tails on the top of her head, I think about her having the same goofy sense of humor as me, I think about her love of a hot lunch, I think about how she gets all of her beauty and smarts from her mom, I think of how passionate she is about her family (both living and dead members)....I think about how my heart swells with love and pride at the thoughts of who she is and what she wants to do with her life.

Random (and not so random) thoughts:

- Isn't it funny how, no matter how many kids you have...they each hold a very special spot in your heart, and no matter what you do when you talk about them, you end up sounding like that child is your absolute favorite kid in the whole world?

- Lifelong dream has always been to be on Saturday Night Live and do comedy as a living. Somehow I don't think I could have ever realized that that dream pales in comparrison to the life I have now.

- It's not a new years resolution...but I'm working on the weight again. I'll post up weekly updates on the progress. Supposedly...if I keep myself at 1750 or less calories, by mid summer I should be at or near where I want to be...we'll see.

- Weight as of January 6th - 218 (READ: lard butt)

- 16 & 0 - That right there is the regular season record for your New England Patriots

- 2nd championship in 4 years for Your Boston Red Sox

- Have I mentioned this is a VERY good time to be a Boston sports fan?!?!?

- Have I also mentions I stinking miss being home, mainly because of the reason listed above.

- Randall. , we'd like to welcome you to the Christian Rock scene: Kutless is GOOD

- Through the belated sadness of losing my Grandmother, I have regained contact with one of the most important people in my life. Can't wait to catch up with him and his family and start to rebuild that foundation of family/friendship that has been out of my life for many years too many.

- Do any of you have that (or in some cases those) family member(s), that no matter how often you talk, be it every day/week or once every 6-12 months, you end up talking about the exact same things everytime? And I don't mean in the sense of, how are the kids and family type talk...literally the exact same conversations...maybe my family is the only family that is that bizare.

- Maybe I'm an email addict, but if you have an email account...why don't some people check it?

- Why would 2 men, early to mid 20's, have any need for about 30 ashtrays and 6 or 7 huge jars of mayonnaise, thats what I would like to know. (I happened to see this walking towards me at wal-mart a few weeks back). Sound like the beginning of a bad joke....ok, ok, ok...2 guys are walking through the store one with 30 ashtrays the other with 7 jars of mayo....you can finish this joke on your own.

- Do you ever talk to yourself...out loud...in various accents?...yea right, me neither.

- Do you ever answer yourself in a different accent?...again, me neither.

- I know coveting is a sin...but how stupidly cool is this: 153 inch Plasma TV

God is Good!

Thanksgiving Weekend...

(If you click the barn picture, you can actually see the snow falling)

Thanksgiving Weekend...in New England...Putting up the tree with the snow falling outside, crackling of the fireplace, snow ball fights, Christmas carols, hot chocolate, the bitter chill of outside...

Oh wait...that's not Thanksgiving weekend in New England...that's right here is frosty Mayberry!!!! Sweet gravy is the world all backwards. Family back home celebrated Thanksgiving in about 60 degree weather, while we here in Texas had 34 degrees, bone chilling wind and 2-3 inches of snow!! BRILLIANT!

This weekend has been great. We had our 23 pound turkey and all the sides you have with it and of course pie :). We put up our Christmas tree on Saturday and decorated the house with all the decorations. Santa's Elf made an appearance and is attempting to keep the T.o.T.'s in line. (The elf comes to our house after thanksgiving and "watches" the kids and reports back to Santa up until Christmas.). And today (Sunday), we will all sit around for the first of many viewings of the Christmas classic movie "Elf".

Uno, Dos, Tres and I started a hopeful yearly tradition of playing Monopoly. It's their first time playing it and Uno plays exactly like I did as a kid, railroads and the blue properties (Boardwalk and Park Place - ie: expensive ones). She is also losing like I did every time :). Dos is turning out to be a little Donald Trump, minus the dead raccoon for hair. We started playing on Friday night after the T.o.T.'s went to bed and have continued each night until someone wins and as of right now Dos has about 4500 dollars and hotels on 6 properties while Uno has about 200 bucks and no houses anywhere while Tres and I have about 67 bucks and a couple of mortgaged properties!

Only real bummer of these weekend is Dos has pneumonia. He was coughing and had a fever on Wednesday and went back to the doctor on Friday and spent a good amount of the day going to the doctor, the hospital for x-rays, back to the doctor then finally home. Poor guy has been coughing and having a tough time breathing...but it hasn't stopped him from kicking Uno's, Tres's and my butt in Monopoly!

Unfortunately...I have to go back to work tomorrow. Things at work have been going awful, so I absolutely dread going back. When times at home are as much fun as they have been, it makes it so much harder to go back.

But, as always...God is Good...

Giving of Thanks

I have regressed way too much from posting about the most important thing in my life; Jesus.

By my calculations; in the New American Standard Bible, the word "ThanksGiving" appears 41 times. Mostly in the Psalms, but from the beginning of time (Leviticus 7:12-15) through the end of time (Revelation 7:12), we are instructed to give God all the Thanks.

If our mom's raised us properly, we are very quick with our thank yous. Wal-Mart, McDonalds, co-workers, strangers holding the door for us, stranger NOT holding the door for us (but that would be a very sarcastic thank you). If we can thank these random people for their random acts, how much easier it should be for us to thank our Creator.

• When making a sacrifice, do so with ThanksGiving: Leviticus 7:12
• When looking out into the horizon, looking out into the world God created and the beauty He crafted, do so with ThanksGiving: Psalm 26:7
• When embracing life and the tragedies overcome, do so with ThanksGiving: Psalm 30:1
• When singing out praises to God, do so with ThanksGiving: Psalm 147:7
• When taking comfort in the knowledge that God is in fact in control, do so with ThanksGiving: Isaiah 51:3
• When providing comfort and service to others, do so with ThanksGiving: 2nd Corinthians 9:12
• When praying for yourself and your relationship with Jesus, do so with ThanksGiving: Colossians 4:2
• When praying for others and their relationship with Jesus, do so with ThanksGiving: 1st Timothy 2:1

Let's not lose sight of the fact that Thanksgiving is so much more than the turkey, stuffing, parades and football. Christians came here to be free from religious oppression. On that first thanksgiving, Captain John Woodleaf proclaimed "Wee ordaine that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty god" (thank you wikipedia).

I encourage you to take some time and give God all the thanks he so richly deserves. I thank God for my wife, for my children, for the life he has so richly blessed me with, for another day, for His power, for His almighty control over all, for family & friends (current and lost, far and near), for good health, for times of strife which allows me to grow closer to Him, for His listening ear and forgiveness, for the cross, for a perfect resurrection, for the Holy Trinity, for the freedom to Thank Him out loud.

God is Indeed, Good.

Boys Day Out

Has it really been 2 weeks since I last posted something, jeepers. Sunday was my birthday (and Seis's!) and I got to spend it with one of my favorite people in this world...my oldest son A.J. Not saying he is my favorite kid, he is one of the 8 most important people in my life!

When I found out the Patriots were playing the Cowboys earlier this summer, it was my mission to make that Dos's first football game. He loves football, likes the patriots because he wants to be Tom Brady (their quarterback) and likes the cowboys because when in Texas, do as the Texans do (I guess). So with approval from the president (read: the wife) I was able to get 2 tickets. I'm not sure who was more excited to be going, but I think at the end of the day, I might have been a little more excited :)
So we got up at 4:30AM to start our 5 hour drive out to Dallas. (Love living in the middle of nowhere!) Dos did great on the ride, just watched the 2004 Boston Red Sox Championship DVD (did I tell you I love this kid) and then played his game boy. Before we knew it we were pulling up to the stadium. After about 20 minutes or so of trying to find the proper parking lot, we finally pulled into a spot, which happened to be the Patriot section or something! Patriot banners and flags and jerseys were everywhere, felt almost like we were in Massachusetts again (sniff sniff...I miss home).

We then began our official tailgating party. Tailgating with a 7 year consists of grilling up some hot dogs, having a bag of Cheeto's and of course a sprite! We threw the football around for about an hour, ate up our most awesome grilled meat from the back of my truck and sat around for a while and watched all the crazy fans. Around noon or so we made our way into the stadium. After walking around for a bit we went down to the Patriots sidelines in hopes of seeing some of the players and getting autographs.

2 hours later we went back to our seats, with no autographs :). I think Dos was kind of disappointed. In his little 7 year old mind I think he expected Tom Brady to come out, have a soda with us, maybe bring us out on the field and play catch, then afterwards we'd all go out to dinner and a movie :). But, as Dos said, he got a few things that were way better than an autograph. While hanging out behind the Patriots bench one of the trainers came up to Dos and gave him an authentic NFL wrist band (which hasn't left Dos's arm yet!!!). Then a little later one of the security guards came up and gave him a stack of printouts the team uses after each play, which show how the team lined up on that play. They all have coaches markings on them and Dos was in heaven with those.

Finally we made it to our seats and the game started and the Patriots just kicked "Dem Cowboys" butts!! It was great. By the 3rd quarter Dos was ready to leave, but he stuck it out until near the end of the game. We got in the truck, headed over to the hotel, goofed off a bit and the next morning we drove back home. It was one heck of a trip.

Here are some of the notes I took during the day:

• So we are in the parking lot. 5 hours of driving starting at 4:30am. We found a spot in patriot country here, its great. Surrounded by a whole bunch of patriot jerseys. Dos told me on the ride here that this is going to be one of the best days of his life! That's so awesome.
• Dos is in his glory, being called "Little Brady" over and over again by Patriots and Cowboys fans here in the parking lot as we throw the football around
• He just told me he "wouldn't sell our tickets even if the guy gave us 5,000 dollars!"
• At the hotel now and little man is asleep, even though 18 seconds ago he said he wasn't tired and wanted to watch the football game that's on :) Reflecting on today, and this has to go down as one of the best days of my life. This is what you dream about when you have a son. Spending a day bonding and just hanging out together. Whether its at a sporting event, fishing or whatever it is you like to do. I think he had a good day. He got a little bored and tired near the end of the game, but I think he'll remember us throwing the football in the parking lot and the man on the field giving him an official NFL wristband and play sheets and us wrestling back here at the hotel. Those are the real bonding times...that and belly bumping and high fiving when the patriots scored against Dallas (which was A LOT!)
  
  What an awesome, fun way to spend my 31st birthday. I missed being with Wife and the other kids, but this was lifetime memory making fun today. I always wanted my dad to spend time with me, and while I hope Dos liked today, its more selfish for me to have spent the time with him.

Dads...Get out and spend time with your kids. It's not only great for them and shows how much you love them and brings you so much closer....It's amazing for you as well.

God is Good...so is being a Dad.

Whoops...Funny

So...without being too dirty here, I wanted to share this. I work in the IT department. Part of my job is to monitor how much hard drive space our servers have. For the computer illiterate that means I need to make sure there is room on the computers for people to save their files. So, I noticed today that one of our servers was very low, so I wrote up an email and sent it to the appropriate people and copied myself on the email. I proudly hit send, thinking "Man...am I on the ball today!!!" (no pun intended...you'll get that in a minute).

As I look at the email that pops into my in-box, which I had just sent to about 15 or 20 people, I notice a slight error. The subject line doesn't quite say what I had intended. My brain told my fingers to type: "Add Disk Space". My fingers decided to be funny and replaced the S with a C (and not in the word Space, but rather in the word Disk).

My stomach dropped! I immediately thought about HR coming to my office with a pink slip and a few boxes and how it would feel to be standing in line for food stamps. After that 5 second mental freak out was over, I then went through the names of the people I sent that too, and thank heavens it was only 1 woman and no major management people. I then laughed out loud at how funny that statement is, "Add Space"...that is stinking funny. Then I realized, oh crap...i need to send out another note to that same group of people and let them know I'm quite happy with....err I mean I had to email them all and apologize for that major mistake in typing.

Thankfully everyone has laughed, mostly at me, which is a huge sigh of relief. One guy came up to me and said he couldn't help me with that, only God could. hahhha. Man oh man, what a major idiot I can be...

Another funny from today...It's bathroom humor, so stop reading now if you are easily offended (as if that last story wasn't offensive enough). I went to the bathroom and the stench was just down right nasty. Too much Mexican I guess. BUT, thanks to my newest 3 year old son Cinco....through my trip to Liberia and his 4 or 5 trips a day to the throne, I was able to persevere through the hanging cloud of death and do my business. While in there, the cleaning lady knocks on the door...she's ready to clean up the place. She pokes her head in and asks if anyone is in there, which I quickly and nervously shout....Yes...SomeoneIsInHere...Don'tComeInHere!!!!!!

Be Honest now...You know that crazy nervous feeling you get when someone tries to open the bathroom door when you are in there...that "I can't quite jump up right now, so I have to shout out a garbled mess of sounds to let that person know I am in here" reaction...don't lie...we've all done it!! You end up groaning/mumbling/screeching like a rabid monkey.

Now before this lady even listens to hear if anyone is in there, she starts grumbling..."Ooooh...Good Lord...how in the world can you stand that...that is just down right nasty" and she sprayed this terrible grape/potpourrie spray stuff in the room...which stuck to my clothes. (I guess it could have been worse than smelling like the grim reaper and the death he brings) But that bad part is I still had to exit the bathroom...and now this lady thinks I have the ability to peal paint with my bodily functions...wonderful. She gave me the most disgusted look when I left.

ahhh....the things that make me laugh...I like being a boy.

Friday Night with the Kids

(More pictures below)

It's 9:24pm and all the kids have been in bed and sleeping for an hour and 1/2 now. Can I get a witness?!?! Wife is out tonight, getting a much deserved break from all the poop, pee-pee, feedings, baths, laundry and crying (mine and the kids :) ). Tonight was my night to be Dad and Mom. It went over pretty well.

I'm sitting here now with Shrek playing on the TV (yea...for me and not any children!) and thought I'd post a few notes about life. Here is how I see my children a week and a 1/2 into our "new" life.

Uno: It seems as though she is really enjoying being a big sister, especially to baby Siete. She walks around with him on her hip and it's pretty funny to watch. She's been truly amazing in how she's handled the new kids and how helpful she and Dos have been. She also had too much on her plate with the Gifted program at school. She was going to the GEM program, which is a program for the gifted kids in Mayberry. It's held at a different school for 2 days of the week. She is perfect for the program intellectually, but emotionally it took a toll on her. I was driving her to GEM on Monday and she was so worked up, she puked in my hat!! Wife and I discussed it and decided it just isn't worth the emotional toll on her. She's an A+ student at regular school, and that's more than awesome. Maybe she can try the GEM program next year. But now she can just enjoy her new siblings and be the best big sister 6 kids could have.

Dos: What an amazing little guy. He has also embraced being the big kid in the house. Watching him play with Cinco, running around the house and being boys makes me so happy. I'm so stinking happy that he finally has a brother to play with. And when Dos comes near Siete, Siete just smiles and giggles. Dos has been so helpful and has sacrificed some of his little life to help out a tired and frazzled dad a few times this past week. It's funny to say, but I wouldn't have been able to be as good a dad if it weren't for Dos and Uno's unselfishness and great attitude towards helping out! In 2 weeks Dos and I will be in Dallas to see the Patriots beat the Cowboys...I can't wait for that 1 on 1 time with him.

Tres: She has taken well to be American :) We have a good amount of work to do, in terms of manners and learning how to interact with her new siblings. I assume orphanage life does this, but she tends to be very bossy and tell the T.O.T.'s (see previous post for definition) what to do and how to do it. I've had to raise my voice a few times with her and she doesn't like that too much. We had a melt down the other night at dinner when I tried to teach her to say "Yes Sir" when I tell her something. She told me no. She promptly went to her room wailing. After about 10 minutes of wailing, she calmed down, we talked (as well as we can) and now she knows and says Yes Sir when I give her direction. All of our kids have learned...it's yes ma'am, yes sir, no sir, no ma'am. We are the parents, not their school yard buddies. That all being said, she has been so much fun to play around with. She has a GREAT sense of humor and she gets it when I'm joking around with her and she even jokes back. I love that.

Quatro: I'll say this about Seis as well...Our African-American daughters have taken to talking African!!! I guess it sounds cool or being around it all day, it just rubs off on you. Quatro has actually been a lot better since the kids came home, compared to before they were home. She's slowly embracing being the 4 year old of the house, not quite a big kid, but not a little kid either. Although she really, REALLY, REALLY wants to be Tres. It's funny to watch her walk and talk like Tres . She comes out of her room and tells us how she has pretty hair like Tres or she is big like Tres. Pretty funny stuff.

Seis: So Seis has reverted back to being in pull-ups and "forgetting" how to put on her clothes. I think her place in the family is in question in her mind. It's frustrating but understandable. She was the baby of the family and now she's a big sister and one of 3 toddlers/pre-schoolers her age. She's such a a funny little girl and has such a goofy spirit. I hope we can help her through this adjustment time and she can just enjoy being the Seis of the family. She also talks about Siete as if he is a girl..."Her sock is off...She is laughing...." Drives me nuts!! :)

Cinco: Oh our little Cinco...our little human tornado. Everything he does, its loud, messy, clumsy, boisterous and full of chaos. It's hilarious to watch him just bounce off the wall because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, fall to the ground, pop back up and run off to play. He has no sense of pain, as Dos will attest to, listening to Cinco slam his head into his head board at night and not wake up!! I also think the boy is French. Everything is prefaced with "le"...le car, le truck, le peepee, le drink. It's funny to hear. It also makes it hard to teach him to talk normally. He doesn't quite comprehend what we say to him most of the time, so he just repeats what we say or says "yeaaaa". You ask him, how do you ask nicely, his reply: how do you ask nicely. :)

Siete: Still one of the coolest babies you will ever meet. He has learned that being an American baby means, cry for whatever you want. Granted my precious wife has fed into it...something I would NEVER do *wink. Still though, he cries when hungry (which is every 18 seconds) or if he is tired (seems to be every 18 hours!!!). I taught him how to give kisses, which is awesome. Big huge wide mouth kisses, drool everywhere, can't beat that. Wife has started teaching to wave bye-bye, which makes him smile huge. He has put on some weight since being home, he is a whopping 15 pounds now. And to keep him "distracted" (as that "helpful" lady in Liberia suggested), we have found if Siete has a "forbidden toy" he is so happy. A forbidden toy would be: a block, maybe a random sock, a plastic cup, any toy Cinco may have breathed near.

Well that's all for now. Life is still awesome. It's tiring and hectic but as my good friend Jon says:

It's Worth It.

T.O.T's....

Quatro, Cinco and Seis...coloring...or are they really plotting against us?!?!?!?

Triplets of Terror aka T.O.T's...this is my new name for Quatro, Cinco and Seis. Named in love of course. We went from twins of sorts with Quatro and Seis to now triplets of sorts with Cinco added to the mix. They are funny and cool and just short goofballs. I also think they get together and plot against us...the plot nothing but 3 and 4 year old evil :). Lots of noise, toy banging, fighting over toys, fighting over mom and dad's attention. It's too funny watching them try to be sneaky in the things they say and do, yet be so obvious in their plots. It should be quite interesting to see how these 3 will grow and take on the world, hopefully together and not against each other.

Life has been like one big blur for the last 2 weeks. Since I got home it feels like everyday has blended into the next. Yet it feels like I've been home for ever. I think people take for granted how hard it is going to Africa and back. Missions trips are tough when you get back, dealing with what you saw, heard and experienced. BUT, this trip was 10 times harder than the trip I went on in November. I brought Liberia back with me! It's never quiet or calm in this house now :) I think it's fun and great, but it makes the time to debrief and get your wits back so much harder. I'm not saying this in a whoa is me kind of way, just being honest with whats going on inside.

Tomorrow (Monday) starts the beginning of "real" life for us. I will be back at work for my normal time and the kids will be off to school. I am praying that new routines start to take shape and people in this house understand their rolls, whats expected and not expected of them and the overall "Ways of the "

It's funny to me how easily these kids have adapted. There have been times of struggles, and thats been expected and understandable. But for the most part, Siete, Cinco and especially Tres have been doing remarkably well. Tres acts as if she's been an American her whole life. Lounging on the couch in the morning, listening to Wife and My conversations (just like her big sister) and helping set and clear the table after dinner. Cinco has had the most hard time, in my opinion. He has been very tired, very whiny at times but still gets right in there with the kids and the toys. He's the most extreme kid I've ever met...the over dramatic sadness, over dramatic happiness, the over dramatic food explosions...the over dramatic bathroom explosions :). And Siete, just like in Africa, he's the coolest dude in the house. Feed him, change him and let him be. He loves playing with the forbidden toys...Cinco's trucks...or the remote control...he's really a dare devil :)

Jsut as I was about to post this, we just had a visitor at our house...nearly our entire COM group from church. (COM group is a home group). They brought over about 15 bags of groceries!!!! Sweet gravy that's awesome. WE won't be purchasing rice until Siete graduate college!!! What an incredible blessing. Thank You guys so much if any of you are reading this. It is such an incredible showing of love and we thank you oh so much.

Till later...God is Good!

Settling In...

(too bad too it was a good picture of the fam)
(FYI...getting 8 people to sit and all smile and look at the same time at the camera....impossible!)

Wow...What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. I think back to just one week ago and it's mind boggling to me that I was in Africa. A week ago I was ripping my hair out (I know I don't have hair, funny) with the loudness and whining of 5 kids and a baby (The Stewarts kids plus ours). A week ago I was missing my family in America, who was waiting for me to come home and start the next phase of the family. Today I'm sitting in my recliner, typing away on normal speed internet access, listening to the noise and loudness of the newly formed household.

The kids are all adjusting as well as they possibly can be. I'm actually shocked and amazed at how well everyone is getting along. After being in that African hotel room and listening to the constant cries of Cinco, the non stop calls for "beeesket" (Liberian for cookie or cracker), wiping poo-poo hiney's 4 or 5 times a day, I was so nervous about how this all was going to work out. But God is glorious. It's been pretty fun here. Kids playing, talking, laughing. Mom and Dad finding time for everyone, even though it seems like someone is always being forgotten or lost in the crowd. Cinco hasn't whined as much, heck hardly at all. Although he is still a stinking poop factory. Tres is so much more comfortable now that we are in "America". She has taken to having her room with Uno, her dolls and a virtual toy store of toys to goof off with. She hasn't had one of her wailing fits since being home. and Siete...Well he's still the man. He's learned that crying is the way to get what you want in the U.S.A! And that food is here all the time and his mouth is open all the time, what a perfect marriage.

At dinner last night, I'm looking at these 7 kids and it hit me that, there are 7 freaking kids at my table!!! Good grief. Each one has their own little personality and future ahead of them. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out and what the new routines will be like and which kids gravitate towards each other. We have the momma wanna be in Uno, the quiet yet confident singer in Tres, the human tornado in Cinco, the proud big brother in Dos, the confused yet goofy Sies, the want to be 9, but still only 4 year old Quatro and then the "I'm the man...feed me" Siete. How amazing is this? How cluttered and loud and congested is this? How Awesome!!

God is so merciful and gives us all we need to make it through the challenges of this life. He's given us the means to take in 7 children. He's given us the patience to get through the days of stress here at home as well as in Africa. He's blessed Wife and I with a love for each other that is like no other. He's blessed us with an instant desire to love these 7 kids, which is a miracle for me, because frankly...I do not like kids, toddlers especially. (As 3 of them are in the playroom yelling at each other and fighting over toys!).

And so the chaos of our life will now continue. It's going to be a fun, interesting, stressful, rewarding, tiring,, loving and funny time. But most importantly, I pray it's a time/life of God's blessing's on these kids. All are hand picked by God to be a part of this family, in order to bring more people to His family.

God is so Good!

And We're Home!

Praise God We are HOME!!!

What a crazy trip home. It started out on Sunday after we went to church at Greater Love Baptist Church. Pastor Wesley preached and we worshiped Jesus together, African style. It was fun and of course pretty hot in that little church. Had some fun times talking and joking with a lot of the people we met in November on the mission trip.

We went to the Airport after church. I told Pastor Wesley we wanted to be at the airport early and he joked with me, saying I was going to be there waaaay to early. Well I'm glad we insisted on leaving at 2PM instead of the 4PM he was trying to convince us to leave at. We got to Roberts International Airport in Monrovia after an hour long drive. We made it into the airport with only a few people looking for money. When I went to check in, they told me I didn't have a ticket for Siete. I showed them I had tickets for him from Brussels to Dallas and tickets for everyone else from Monrovia to Dallas, I wouldn't have NOT purchased the cheapest ticket of them all for the baby. The fought with me, sent me to the Brussels Airline office and made me sit there for a half hour before the figured out THEIR mistake. I was already tired and annoyed, but I took my boarding pass and went back through security and got passed a few more attempts at bribes by the security personal.

While I was fighting with Brussels airline to let me get my baby on the plane, Kevin was fighting with the Liberian Customs and Immigration people. They wouldn't let him past the passport stamping process because he didn't have the "adoption packet" that all adoptive parents have presented to him for the past years when they leave Liberia. We were on the phone to Addy's Hope and eventually the man and Pastor Wesley talked and Pastor Wesley was able to get us through. For about an hour or 2 we all thought we were going to be trapped in Liberia for who knows how long. But God is gracious....and we were allowed to pass through and by the time we all had made it to the waiting area, our flight was boarding. Had we waited until 4, like Pastor Wesley wanted, we would have been stuck there even longer. Thank You God!

Finally after all that, we got on the plane and started our 28 hour or so travels home. The flights were decent. God put in our paths some great people who were naturally curious why a few white guys had a gaggle of brown children making lots of noise and running around. So many people helped out at different times on different flights, giving the kids some distraction from whatever was making them sad.

Each flight got progressively worse for Tres. She naturally got more tired as we got off planes, waited in airports, got on planes and move all about. She ended up having some large meltdowns on planes and in the airports. But again different people helped out, and having a stranger come up and talk nicely and trying to comfort her helped so much.

When we finally landed in Mayberry, it all made sense. She asked me if we were in America? All those flights, taking off and landing, she was sad we weren't in America and was questioning if she was ever going to go to America, which is what she was promised by Pastor Wesley.

Today being home with my family, it's so much fun looking at my kids and seeing the future of family name all together in one house. Communication is a little difficult, but Cinco and Dos have been playing, Tres has been looking at books and dressing her new doll, all the kids have been playing in the playroom. I know, as it is with all kids, there will times of stress and craziness, but I am so glad to call this crew my family. God has blessed me so many times over I don't even know how to express to Him in prayer or action how in awe and grateful I am for the opportunities he has given and allowed us to do for Him.

Brown and white faces, boys and girls, Liberians and American....Our's.

Praise God!

Last post until I am home!

Today we went to the reception with the birth families. It was awkward but not too bad. Tres's mother and aunt were there and were very outgoing. They were very happy to see Tres going to America to have a good life. Cinco and Siete's mother and his father (or so I think) was there. Their mother seemed very quiet and it was awkward. The father was more outgoing. They took turns holding the boys. Cinco had a great night after we got home, Tres had a meltdown, but recovered and went to sleep. I am sure it was an emotional day for all of them. Siete still has very wet poopy diapers, so pray that it gets better for the plane ride.

This is the last time I will be able to post until I am home. We are flying out Sunday night and will be in A CITY Monday night, then Mayberry Tuesday morning. Pray for a smooth flight.

I Love You Guys!

I Love You God!

Visa's in Hand!!!!

Praise God we have our visas. Not without some drama, but they are in hand.

Pastor Wesley came by at 1 o'clock like he said he would, to bring us to the Embassy to get the visas. Only he was pretty flustered and talking about 3 hours of traffic and how Fanny (one of the other kids being adopted by the Stewarts) needed to have her finger prints done. He wanted to take me and fanny to the embassy to get her prints done and for me to pay my last fee. I told him heck no, we were all going. The whole ride there and wait I thought her prints needed to be run by the US government. After waiting outside for about 30 minutes at some restaurant while Pastor Wesley and Fanny were in getting her finger prints, we finally were allowed into the Embassy and we waited for the visas and our immigration packets to be processed. Thankfully the visa for Fanny wasn't held up because of her prints and everyone left with an immigration packet and visa. Turns out, since Fanny's passport says she was born in 1993 (absolutely no way she is 14 years old), she had to have finger prints done. New policy for anyone 14 and older coming in the country. So since her paperwork says she is 14 (again...she must have been born in 1993, not 1998) she needed finger prints. While waiting of course Siete had a sloppy poopy.

Spent some good time with our friend Matthew tonight. We met him when the missions team came to Liberia in November. He is a solid guy and working hard to finish his degree in Accounting. It was good to spend time with him and hear his stories of life in Liberia. We all sat around and talked tonight; Ryan, Kevin, Matthew and I. It was fun to share our stories and life with each other.

Tomorrow is our day of fellowship at the church. It should be interesting. We will be meeting the birth parents of the children we are adopting. Those who know me know, when I say it'll be interesting, I mean I think it's going to be weird. I pray that it will go ok. I'm told that the relationships with the parents and kids aren't like they are in the US. Still, if the kids see their birth mothers, it could get awkward and potentially sad.

Random thoughts about Liberia: All the wood carvers make the same stuff...are they really wood carvers? Or is there a wood carvers outlet somewhere?It's the rainy season here...probably should have packed a parka or 2The roads here are a major mess. Holes the size of Rhode Island!! (For you Texans...that's like the size of a most hats worn in the Lone Star State)The electricity here in the hotel stays on consistently for about 18 minutes.Ryan looks pretty stinking funny holding baby...19 years old and wiping boogy noses and rocking babies to sleep. He is so freaking incredible.

Thanks Jon, Sara, Mike and Chuck for stopping by the house! You guys are awesome.

Love You Guys....Love You God

Made it Through the Embassy Appointment

Thank God, We made it to the embassy...filled out about 4 million forms...didn't know what to put in most of the boxes on each form...fudged our way through it all and God willing we will have visa for all the kids tomorrow at 2PM. It was a long hour or so at the embassy with 6 kids and 4 guys packed into a very small room and the kids getting tired and bored, but once again Ryan was a champ and kept everyone as calm as possible.

So only a few more days and we'll be on our way home. Kids are napping now...by kids I mean Siete, Cinco and Ryan!! :)

Not too much else to report from here. We have been spending time in the hotel. The kids all play together. I think having Charles, Giftie and Fannie here has been a great help. They all get crazy and loud at times, but it gives them all people to play with. Hawa and the Stewarts kids play all the time so it seems fun for them.

God is so good to me for allowing me this opportunity, I just pray next time He'll allow Wife and I to do it together. Adoption is a God ordained WE thing, but this trip makes it feel like a ME Thing, so sorry for hogging all this stuff Wife, you can have the first week home with them :). But I don't question His plan for us and this trip. I haven't had as much time to spend in the Word as I wanted to being here, but He has full on shown Himself to me through these little people. It's amazing how, through all the bodily fluids and stresses, I immediately have a love for these little ones. I can't explain it except to say...that's how God loves each and every one of us. He shakes his head at us and says why oh why....but I still Love You.

No pictures this post...the internet here is so darn slow. And we keep losing power. It's like I'm living in Africa or something....

oh and will someone...Jon, Mike, Chuck...someone PLEASE check in on my beautiful wife. In one day I hear about a flood in the kitchen and a fire in the oven. I'd like to make it home, to a home and a family!!! :)

Love you Guys!
Love you God!

Wednesday

I am putting this up for Randy
---Wife

Just a quick post tonight. Today was out chill out day at the hotel, which went surprisingly well. No one really got too restless and we all played together, napped a little of the day away, ate some snacks and colored.

I did get to enjoy the wonderful experience of cleaning up vomit. Tres ate too many different snacks and ended up toss her snacks into the sink. It's like I can't avoid puke with my kids. Here and Uno should get along just great!! I had to transfer her tossed cookies from the sink to the toilet, because, well because of it's consistency. Ended up cutting a water bottle in half then scooping it out and moving it to where it belongs. Stomach's starting to hurt thinking about it!!!

Siete is still very congested. He is sneezing out HUGE boogie strings, which anyone who knows me knows, I can't handle boogies. give me the puke, but the boogies and *shivers.
Tomorrow is out trip to the embassy. Pray for a smooth process. Some stories are good and others are bad about the lady we need to deal with, so I pray this all goes smoothly and we get the visa on Friday morning. I'd rather not spend more time here.
Love you Guys!
Love you God!!

Just another Tuesday in Liberia

PICTURE REMOVED

We went to the Greater Love Children's Home today. We took tons of pictures and handed out gifts to the kids. It was a mad house!!! It was fun to be able to give to the to-be adopted kids the packages their new families sent for them. The older kids seemed to "get it" but the little guys and girls had no idea what I was about :) All the kids really like looking through the photo albums families send. It was tough leaving though, so many kids were crying, thinking that this was their turn to go home. One little girl kept hugging my leg. I also felt bad for Tres (our little 6 year old girl). She was crying a lot before we left and she was really clingy to Ryan and I when we were at the Children's Home. I'm not too sure bringing them back there is a smart idea, but it seems like that is the customary thing to do.

Pastor Wesley has done some great work at the orphanage. There is a cement wall that now surrounds the facility and an additional class room was built. BUT, more importantly is the new well on the property that a previous adoptive family raised the money to have drilled. Now, instead of walking 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile to get water, they can just go right outside. Thank God for that!

Tomorrow will be a hang out day at the hotel, Which really means, scramble to come up with ways to keep the kids entertained :) Glad I brought Ryan. Hopefully the DVD's I brought and music and toys will keep them entertained. So far the kids have been pretty good. Kevin and I keep our doors open for most of the time we are here, so the kids run around from room to room and play together. I'm glad Kevin is here adopting his 3 cute kiddos. It's helped having another person to talk to, but even more so it's helped the kids (mostly Tres) have fun playing with her friends.

As far as these kiddos go...I'll tell you what, it is EASY to fall in love with Tres. She absolutely precious. She acts like a 6 year old and has a little bit of a selfish side (to be expected) but she is so mild mannered you can accept it and still want to give her a hug. She accepts a short "Don't do that" and moves on, usually with a smile. Only time she won't respond to me is when she is sad, which has only been 2 or 3 times so far. Siete is just a cool little dude. He is sick I think but he just hangs out and rarely makes a noise. He is however in that I want to reach out and touch everything in and out of my reach and whine if I can't have it stage. Also playing the drop my toy and daddy will pick up game....I love that game...he usually wins. Cinco...I'm still confused about. I'm not sure if he is just really good at playing the whining game or he really is THAT whiney :)He can be and is very adorable but he is absolutely stubborn. If he can't have his way...then he'll just whine and cry and still try to do what he wants. Oh and the kid can eat!!! Unfortunately the by-product of that is: 5 trips to the potty and all I can say is it the most unHOLY of experiences.

FYI: I didn't proof read this, so I apologize for any misspellings or weird looking sentences!!!

Thanks for all the notes guys....We love it and can't wait to be back home.

HE Is our Solid Rock!

Day 2....

Today we went as saw the medical clinic. It was so awesome to see how much has been done. They were in the process of tiling the floors so there will be no more cement dust for the patients. Also they have started to build a radio station for Pastor to broadcast his sermons.

He also showed us the building that will be known as the Marion house. It's the infant home for the babies to stay in, away from the older children and potential illnesses. It is named after a baby girl who was going to be adopted, but got sick and passed away a few months ago. Her to be adoptive parents have raised money to help build it. It's being built on the property that Pastor Wesley and his family live on. It'll have a place for the infants, an office for Addy's Hope as well as a second floor for visitors, missionaries and most importantly adoptive parents.

We are spending the rest of the day today at the hotel and man, 5 kids and a baby...that is one loud combo. We did have one "emergency" after breakfast when Ryan picked big Z out of his stroller and dripping out of his pants was a mustard looking, sulfer spelling substance. It was absolutely nasty. He had exploded all out of his pants and up his back. Ryan and I both kind of froze, he held Siete out with two arms and just held him there...I...well I just stared for about 30 seconds. I had no idea what to do :)...finally I came too and got the wipes, cleaned up Siete's legs and stroller then up into the shower we went...oh the joy of diapers.

I realized today that most of the clothes we brought Quatro and Siete are just way too big. the shorts I put on Siete today he needed a belt, so I think this will be a week of onsies and 1 piece outfits. Too bad I didn't bring him a nice pant suit.

It's going to be an interesting dynamic when we all get home. I know Dos and Uno are going to want to play with Tres and Quatro and I'm sure they will do fine, but the Liberian kids are very hard to understand. And the way these kids interact with each other, it's like they lived in an orphanage or something. They are surprisingly sharing, but also very territorial. If a toy or food is dropped, they will yell at each other to get it back, but if they feel like sharing, they'll offer up the same toy that they just fought for.

Today Quatro has really come out of his shell, almost too much :) He is one of the louder kids and very vocal with what he wants. I was able to make him giggle and he responded to tickles. I was so nervous last night that he was going to be so quiet and withdrawn, but he seems like he's going to fit in just right as a .

Tomorrow will be a day at the children's home to visit and give out the adoptive parents gifts they sent to their new children. Wednesday is a day to just hang out at the hotel (which could be 1 loooooong day), Thursday is our trip to the embassy, Friday back to the embassy to pick up visa's (God willing), Saturday there will be a fellowship time with the biological parents and members of the church (not sure I knew about that and trying to figure out how comfortable I am with that), then Sunday we start our short 2 day trek home.

Last 2 things. 1. Thank you all for the comments and emails...nothing like being a 30 yr old guy along in restaurant, weird techno music playing in the background, in the middle of Liberia Africa....wiping tears off my face. I love it!! and 2. God is so stinking amazing...He sent with me the most incredible friend in Ryan...he's 19 years old and is making this trip even more fun than it would have been by myself. I absolutely wouldn't have been able to do this with out him!!! Great job Reich's in raising one heck of a kid!!

Getting pictures up here is so tough, I apologize for not having more. The internet connection is amazingly, painfully slow.

Love You All!