Presidental mob-scene

Monday... President's Day... what better way to celebrate than a trip to the library of one of our greatest? Air Force One, presidential limo, beautiful gardens, views, and special activities for the kids... sounds like fun, right? Well, it would have been if the place hadn't been mobbed! It seemed to me like an obscure place to go, but apparently thousands of other families had the same great idea. It was so busy that the only available parking was over a mile away at the bottom of the steep mountain drive. Needless to say, we decided not to take that hike and ended up at the local ice cream shop instead! So, we still got a cute picture, but not quite the cultural experience I had envisioned. (I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately!)

Tax time!

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before that I’m a (mostly-retired) Certified Public Accountant (exciting profession, I know!). This time of year, of course, is traditionally a pretty crazy one for us CPAs. In the past I’m managed to avoid much of the tax crunch because I’ve never worked in a tax department. However, this year I’ve volunteered to spend a dozen hours or so each week working from home for an organization that prepares returns for pastors and missionaries. I’m not a tax expert, but my knowledge has grown exponentially over the past few weeks, and I’m actually starting to feel like I know what I’m doing! Unfortunately, the time I’m spending with 1040s and W-2s is time that I had previously spent with you, my bloggy friends. I still plan on keeping you all up-to-date as much as possible, but please forgive a couple of months of what will likely be photo-heavy and deep-thought-light blogging!

Well intentioned

I had resolved not to post any more photos from Disneyland for a while. Dan and I had also resolved to take the children to the local Tet festival to celebrate the Lunar New Year, in honor of Reagan's heritage. However, a most-appropriate backdrop for Minnie and my sweet little asian baby, coupled with a house-bound trio of sick children on the day of the festival, have defeated all of my good intentions. So, here you are stuck again viewing Disney pictures with no hint of the authentic celebration I was planning on telling you all about! Maybe next year...

Done!

A short interview with a very sweet, tootsie-pop-bearing judge and several hundred pictures later, the re-finalization of Reagan's was finally completed this afternoon! Though the legal implications were far less than that of the Giving and Receiving ceremony in Vietnam, it was surprizingly emotional. The judge, clerk and attorney general (who played photographer for us) seemed genuinely excited for us and pleased to help make it a very special moment. But the quote of the day came from Parker who understood that the ceremony would legally change Reagan's name. As we were walking out of the courtroom he asked me, "what is her name now mama?" I told him, and he said "oh, that's a nice name!" Though we've been calling her that for over a year now, it's a relief to know that we have the approval of the state of California and the three-year-old!

Official... again!

After Eight months, several errors by our adoption agency, multiple trips to the courthouse, and too many fees to count, Reagan will finally be adopted (again) tomorrow! Since Dan and I both traveled to Vietnam, Reagan has legally been ours since the Giving and Receiving ceremony there in May, but here we are replaying the game through the California system. The real carrot at the end is a U.S.-issued birth certificate. There are added benefits related to inheritance issues, and we will legally change her name to ours as part of the process, but mostly we didn’t want to have to depend on our ONE official copy of her Vietnamese birth certificate for the rest of her life – that’s just way too much pressure! I anticipate that the court hearing will be much like the one in Reagan’s hometown - a few signatures and photos, maybe a couple of little speeches exchanged - and though this one doesn’t change Reagan’s legal status as our daughter, she feels so much more like our daughter this time around. For that reason tomorrow will be a special day.
The day of Reagan’s first adoption was a little overwhelming – for her and for us. She had just left everything and everyone she had ever known, including the caregiver who clearly loved her and the four walls that had been her whole life, for the arms of some very odd looking, odd smelling foreigners. She was content – even happy (she repeatedly laughed and smiled at me that day!) – but her sweet little personality was still hidden. We had loved her in concept for almost two years, cherished her photos for 5 months, and visited her in her orphanage for three days, but she was still very much a stranger to us.
However, today I love Reagan in the deepest, mommy-est sense of the word. I know her as only a mama could. I understand her cries, her babbles, her patterns, and her preferences. I cherish her giggle, her swagger, her soft jet-black hair. I love the way she laughs at her brother, cuddles with her sister, can’t stop kissing her cousin, and embraces her role as daddy’s little daredevil. She just fits into our family. For all that went into finding her, bringing her home and now making her a Californian, it’s so clear that God made and choose her just especially for us. Reagan Thao-Van was “ours” legally on May 15th, 2007, but now she’s “ours” because she’s one of us.

Packed and ready...

No offers thus far on the house, but the kids are all packed!

House for sale!

In spite of the current, well publicized housing slump here in southern California (and elsewhere!), we've decided to try to sell our house. We love our home and will be very happy here if it doesn't happen, but one of the houses in our neighborhood is in foreclosure and could prove to be a good bargain. It's larger and has a pool, and with mortgage rates falling may even end up costing less each month than our current home. The only trick is getting our house sold first! Our realtor (my father-in-law) says it will be a miracle if it all happens the way we're envisioning, but for that we're grateful because we wouldn't want to move if it wasn't very clearly in God's plan. So far, it looks like His plan may be for us to stay here: it started pouring the day we listed it and hasn't let up since. We've received more rain in the last week than we did all of last year combined! Southern Californians don't go out in the rain (we like to pretend that we really do have a winter), so needless to say we haven't seen a lot of potential buyers. And in addition to the weather conspiring against us, three little kids tend to make it difficult to keep a "show-ready" house. We'll see how long I can handle it! So, if you live around here and want to be our neighbor, come brave the rain, rescue me, and buy our house!

My favorite time

Every night, before dozing off, Dan and I talk. We lie in bed discussing everything from the kids and work to ministry and dreams. There is no television in our bedroom, no desk, no kids, no computer, no distractions – just us. Our conversations may last only a few moments before we both succumb to the call of slumber. On other occasions we’ll lie there for an hour or more. Sometimes our talks are tainted by frustration and tension, but more often then not they are full of love and support for one another. While Dan and I naturally talk to each other throughout each day, I cherish the time we’ve set aside at the end of each to reconnect, and I savor the sense of oneness those moments foster in our marriage.
The sad part is, I have neglected to reserve such a time for the most important person in my life: Jesus Christ. Of course I talk to God throughout my day – I pray while driving, washing dishes, folding clothes, showering – through all the normal stuff of life, but I do not consistently set aside a block of time to really communicate with Him. Just as I see my relationship with Dan suffer if we too often miss our late-night talks, I can’t expect to have a deep, personal connection with God if I don’t talk to Him without distraction. As faithful as I might be to discover Who He is and what He says through Bible study, listening to His Word being taught, serving Him in ministry or worshiping through song, it can quickly become one-sided and mechanical if I’m not regularly confessing my sin, seeking His will, thanking and praising Him in prayer. So, I’ve made a resolution, as lame as it might sound, to spend 10 minutes a day in focused, personal conversation with my Lord. I’m embarrassed to even admit that such a resolution is necessary, but thought if I confessed my failure here, perhaps some of you might be willing to hold me accountable or be encouraged to join me. I trust that 10 minutes will often turn into more, just as my talks with Dan often run late into the night, and that those moments will bring glory to my Savior as I come to know and enjoy Him with greater intimacy.

Brave again

Well, today Parker had yet another reason to summon up his courage: a gaping gash in his head! Apparently Skull had a close encounter with Cabinet this morning, and the result was a shiny new staple. With the staple came stickers and a new toy for bravery, so the boy is already back to his happy, energetic self. I'll spare you the photos because pretty it isn't. Did anyone warn me just how different raising a male would be?!

My brave boy (and girl)

This is a post I promised to Parker in commemoration of his first trip on the Matterhorn! The boy is terrified of the "little kid roller coaster" in Toon Town, but couldn't wait to jump on what I think is a far scarier (and bumpier!) ride with Daddy this afternoon. He loved it so much that he had to take me back for a spin too. And of course, once little brother conquered his fears, big sister quickly dismissed hers and also joined in the fun! Why do I get the feeling that this is a sign of things to come?

I’m back!

I’m sure I haven’t really been missed here in the blogging world, and you all have probably been just as consumed with the holidays as I have, but I have to admit that it has felt a little strange to be so out of the loop. Not only has this blog been lacking new posts, but I didn’t even read a blog for almost a week! Just today I finally caught up with all of our agency’s families who are in Vietnam trying to bring their new children home - I don’t think stories of those first meetings will ever grow old for me! Between Christmas (which didn’t wrap up until the 30th for us), spending extra time with family, New Year’s, after-Christmas shopping, putting away the decorations, making room for all the new toys, and reading the two new books I received for Christmas, my blogging time was quickly squeezed out. Honestly, the books probably are the most to blame. I’m the kind of person who can only read if that’s the only thing on the agenda. It a novel isn’t compelling enough to consume in a day or two, it’s just not worth reading. For that reason I have to force myself to leave them on the bookshelf until we’re on vacation or nothing would ever get done around here! In the five days after Christmas I read 1000 pages, and even with Dan home there just wasn’t enough time for blogs after that! So all of that is a rather boring explanation of what really could have been said with the title alone. Sorry about that… I’ll stop now, but hope to be back with something slightly more interesting to say soon!

Happy girl

So it seems that Reagan enjoys dressing up for Aunt Jacque's house more than posing at home! Maybe it was the abundance of wrapping paper and boxes to play with (since no one-year-old I know ever seems to enjoy the gift as much as the package). We had a wonderful Christmas and are now busy digging out from the incredible generosity of our family and friends. I think that a number of old toys are going to enjoy a little "vacation" in the garage for a while. Better get that done during what remains of nap time!

All ready for Christmas!

Though we've yet to get a photo of a happy Reagan in her Christmas outfit, the three of them still look pretty sweet, don't they? We'll try again tonight! Note the doting big brother who is desperately trying to get a sad baby sister to stand up and smile when mama calls "cheese!".

Hark the herald

I’ve long enjoyed the tune of the carol Hark The Herald Angels Sing, but had never really stopped to consider what the words mean. Several years ago I finally did, and fell in love with the hymn not just for the music, but for the truth it presents about my Savior. The first word is an old one, which means “to listen attentively.” Alternately, hark refers to “a hunter's shout to hounds, as to encourage them in following the scent,” which presents an appropriate and interesting image. The hymn writer is imploring us to listen to, and follow, the truths proclaimed by the angels on that first Christmas night. As we approach Christmas this year, I also encourage you to set aside the busyness for a moment (challenging I know!) to consider the words of the angels. But even more importantly, I would encourage you to consider the Baby they announced - Diety veiled in human flesh, Who was born that men no more may die – and to give Him the glory He alone deserves.

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled

"Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem

"Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

3-0

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently celebrated the milestone birthday. No, I don’t really feel that much older, but I do finally feel like I’m a true, respectable adult. One would think that titles such as wife, CPA, college professor, aunt, “senior staff” (an unfortunate name for our roles in a college-age Bible Study), homeowner, piano teacher or mom would have done that for me, but somehow leaving my twenties behind seems more definitively adult-ish than any of those other things. So many huge life changes have happened in the past decade that it just now feels like I’m settling in. Between the ages of 20 and 30 I met Dan, graduated from college, started a career in accounting, got married, gave birth to two wonderful kids, adopted a third, ended a career in accounting, started a “career” in teaching – big kids and my own little ones, moved four times, and celebrated 8 years of marriage. It’s hard to imagine that the next decade could hold quite that much stuff. I don’t regret growing older though because each stage just seems to be better than the last. God has been so incredibly gracious to me over the past 30 years that I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me over the next 30!

Not so deceptive, not so delicious

In celebration of my recent birthday (the big 3-0… more about that later), my sister gave me a new cookbook, promoted by a certain talk-show host, that seemed rather promising. The idea is to puree various veggies and sneak them into your kids’ favorite dishes, thus getting them to consume the good stuff unaware. We don’t really have that much of a problem getting our kids to eat what we set in front of them (well, except for Parker who we can’t even get to eat sweets), but I didn’t see the harm in trying to up the nutritional content of the food I serve to the whole family. So on Tuesday I tried the chicken nuggets. Aside from being entirely too much work, they weren’t all that bad. Dan preferred the un-doctored variety, but my mother-in-law swore she liked the broccoli/spinach version even better. I was undecided, but after last night’s fiasco, I am decidedly anti-deception! I thought I’d try the spaghetti pie. Pretty hard to ruin, right? Wrong. For the first time in 8 years of marriage we had to run out for Chinese after dinner came out of the oven. It tasted only a little better than it looked, and trust me, it looked not even half as good as the photo in the cookbook. It was more than a little obvious that the meatballs were full of broccoli, and the carrot and cottage cheese combo was far more than could be overcome by the pasta and tomato sauce. I’m sure a good portion of the blame can be placed on this chef, but I think from now on our veggies will be served steamed, on the side, disguised with only perhaps a little cheese. Now I’m off to find another Christmas present for my sister because apparently great minds think alike – there’s a second copy of this disaster sitting in my closet, wrapped up with her name on it!

They’re out!

Our Christmas cards are in the mail! If I didn’t enjoy getting them so much there’s no way I would go to all the trouble. For some reason the task just seemed especially tedious this year. Maybe it was the multiple photo sessions in multiple outfits on multiple different days (we get to dress and pose for the grandmothers’ Christmas cards as well). Perhaps it was the fact that the cute cards I bought on clearance last year didn’t want to go through my printer, which meant I had to print our letter on a separate sheet. I couldn’t bring myself to make another run out just to get paper, so I was limited to my stock on hand, which of course was not the right size and had to be cut by hand because my paper trimmer was too small to accommodate it… you get the idea! Top that off with the printer running out of ink and the laptop running out of juice mid-print and I was pretty much Christmas-carded-out before I even got to the sort, stuff, address, lick and stamp routine. All in all it’s still worth it for the fun of running out to the mailbox each day to see how our friends and family have changed and what they’ve been up to over the past year. I also appreciate the opportunity to share how gracious God has been to us, but I think next year I might go with the Costco photo shop special. So if you did receive a card, enjoy! If not and you’d like to have one, shoot me an e-mail with your street address (momwholoveschrist@hotmail.com) but you’ll have to do without the letter – I’m all out and not about to start that mess again. Or if you’d rather not have our family photo plastered on your fridge next year, just enjoy it here:

As you can tell from our photo, the ~ family became a little more Vietnamese in 2007! After almost two years of waiting, Reagan finally became an official part of our family on May 15th. Since then, we have enjoyed getting to know the little person who for so many months was just a picture and a dream. Reagan is a sweet, happy baby who has blended almost seamlessly into our crazy life. Parker has embraced the role of big brother with gusto, and his laughter and enthusiasm are contagious. Alyssa loves being mama’s helper, but now shares her mornings and tender spirit with her beloved kindergarten class. Dan enjoyed ten weeks away from work, which we filled with all kinds of fun “bonding” activities after bringing Reagan home, but eventually returned to a job he loves. My life is filled with the simple joys and stuff of being a wife and now mother to three. When there’s time left over I blog about it ~here~. But as grateful as we are for our many temporal blessings, and especially the joy of adopting a child, they all pale in comparison to the joy of being adopted as a child of God. At this special time of year, and every day, we rejoice that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). We pray that you too have been redeemed and know for yourselves the indescribable joy of being adopted by God!

Not beach people

This is how we love the beach! Close enough to smell the salt air, watch the waves crash, and take some cute kid pictures, but not so close as to deal with the sticky persistent mess that inevitably results from any physical contact with sand and salt water. I know, we're spoiled and probably a little too uptight, but we really did have fun and took the kids on the nearby 3-car ferry to make up for not allowing them to bury themselves in the sand!

THE call

One year ago today we received the phone call informing us that we were parents once again. After months on the waiting list, nearly a year and a half into the adoption process, and two countries later, we were finally sure that our daughter was alive and waiting for us in Vietnam. We were shocked she was so young and so tiny, we could barely tell what she looked like from the little grainy photo, we weren’t even sure what we would call her, but we knew she was ours and loved her from the start. Now we know her in the flesh, are watching her sweet and silly little personality develop, and are falling in love with her more every day. As much as we praised God for Reagan one year ago, we feel even more blessed by this precious gift from our heavenly Father today!

Disneyland... again!