In Memory of Ms. Adel

Adel and Colin, January 2007

The Tuesday morning after Labor Day in 2006, I returned back to work from maternity leave. I honestly had not fully expected to return at all, but this was something I needed to do for our family for a time.

The first day I brought Colin in it was a little past 7am, and Ms. Adel, Colin's care provider, was buzzing about the room with her coffee while she listened to Phantom of the Opera. I can still remember it so clearly, as though it was a foreshadowing of our coming relationship together as parent/care provider:

No more talk
of darkness,
Forget these
wide-eyed fears.
I'm here,
nothing can harm you -
my words will
warm and calm you.
Let me be
your freedom,
let daylight
dry -your tears.
I'm here,
with you, beside you,
to guard you
and to guide you . . .

Ms. Adel had such a special way of understanding just how to work with Colin through feeding challenges -- how to get him to nap just right. I never doubted her ability to care for him in a way that at times far surpassed my expectations. I was emotionally running on empty much of the fall while she cared for him (5 months total) and she was my lifeline.

Many days when I went to pick him up, she was singing to him a Russian lullaby and she was speak to him such beautiful Russian words. Colin was lucky to have her full love and adoration, as were do many other children at The Ark.

Sadly, Ms. Adel passed away just 2 short days ago. We are shocked and saddened that she is gone. Thank you, Ms. Adel, for standing beside us as new parents and guiding us and for loving Colin.

I had so much I wanted to share with you about Colin from the last time we spoke. We will think of you often and will tell Colin all about you.

Family Fall Pictures

I wanted to share with you some of the pictures we had taken last month in the beautiful fall foliage -- Emily did such a great job, as we realize photographing Colin is probably harder than herding cats....

Iron Chef Competition

Our team's meal is the one on the left.




Chef Matt prepares the gorgonzola cream sauce.

The heat was on last night as we enjoyed a fun evening at Matt's company team-building event. His division divided in half and competed in an iron chef-style event at the Blue Ribbon Culinary Center.

Each team had 1 1/2 hours and one chef each to plan, cook, and present a meal to a judge for competition. After cooking the meal, we would then all share in the "spoils of war" and have dinner together.

Put together a room full of super competitive, Type A consultant personalities, and even the details of making a molten lava cake can get a bit "hairy!" And thus the term "having too many cooks in the kitchen."

Our team was given secret ingredients of steak and chocolate (yum!), and the competition was given secret ingredients of salmon and pears. From there, we met with our chef and hatched a plan for our dinner.

Matt was on the "steak" prep crew, preparing the steaks and a chimichurri sauce, as well as the gorgonzola cream sauce for the asparagus. I worked with others to create the oh so yummy molten chocolate lava cake and freshly prepared caramel sauce. Our team also made a risotto and some awesome asparagus, using a 60 second pyramid cooking method. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it?

We were led by Chef Mike, an absolutely awesome chef, and it was so much fun! The feverish pace to have our plate all prepared at 8 pm sharp to beat out the competition was intense, and it's amazing that that many amateur cooks in a big kitchen can actually get dinner prepared in that amount of time.

Our competition created a salmon cake topped with avocado and a chipolte cream sauce, as well as a potato salad and a side of veggies. For their desert, they prepared a pear cobbler with whiskey infused fig sauce and whip cream topping.

Both meals turned out really well, and it was a fun, fast paced way to get to know everyone better. And, of course, this was indeed a competition. And yes, we WON!!!!

Thank You, Veterans!

When I was in 8th grade, I gave an address to hundreds of people gathered in the highschool auditorium of my small home town. I can remember the preparations that went in to planning my speech and rehearsing, as well as the exact dress I wore for the occasion. And although the lines of my speech have faded in memory, the memory of the Veterans gathered that day will always stay in my heart. There were still a few WWI veterans in attendance at the time, as well as many WWII vets who still wore as many portions of their uniform as they could still fit into.

Words cannot properly express how thankful I was then, as I am am today,for the sacrifices made by the veterans in our country. Uncle Clint, Great Grandpas Sturm and Walker -- we thank you for your service to our country.

And this year we have special prayers for someone special serving in Iraq. We recently heard from Colin's soccer coach, who is currently serving in Iraq. Coach Dan, we pray the Lord continues to keep you safe and that He brings you home safely.

O.W.L.ing

For the past few months, Matt and I have been taking an intense parent education class called, "It Takes Two To Talk," which follows the same titled workbook created by our great friends north of the border (Canada, for those of you geographically challenged!)

This class is designed to equip parents with strategies and extra support to use on a daily basis when interacting with your child to develop language. This hands-on class is with 5 other similarly-suited sets of families, and is led by a fantastic speech pathologist who then does video sessions of us with our children to provide feedback.

And we have homework and our guidebook to read, as well. Who knew the business of communicating with a 2 year old could be so multi-faceted and rigorous!

It has been a great support for me to hear from other moms, in particular, who struggle to communicate with their own children. It's a blessing to meet each week with others who understand us so well and who offer what had worked for them in their families, as well.

Many have asked what we are learning in this class. One thing they emphasize from the beginning is an acronym "O.W.L." which stands for Observe, Wait, and Listen. This is what we are do with our kiddos to see what they are interested in so that we can develop their communication skills around the things they are interested in (they learn best when we connect with what interests them most -- duh, isn't that how it is for us as adults, as well? How easily we forget!) So now, we have an OWL magnet on our fridge, compliments of our teacher, to remind us to OWL. If only she knew it's on our fridge with about 40 other animal magnets and kinda gets lost.

And I kinda get lost when OWLing, too! OWLing is harder than you think, but we're trying! One day at a time and with God's grace, we are trying!

Halloween Weekend Fun

We had fun this past weekend with a Halloween Party with friends and then a busy weekend with Grandma in town from Texas. We saw The Green Sheep, a children's play where you sit in the sheep pen looking for the green sheep (just like the book by Mem Fox). We also hit the children's museum, as well as the aquarium. Now that it's colder outdoors, it's nice to have some fun indoor activities to check out!

Thanks for the visit, Grandma! Colin had fun watching the Texas/Tech game with you! Go, Tech!)

The Unwelcomed Return

A few weekends ago we sat cuddled on the couch watching a movie -- our furry feline lay between us and was enjoying some quiet time with his adult humans while the little on was off to the Land of Nod.

It had been a particularly long week, as Matt had spent the majority of the week in Hawaii on a project with work, and now we were enjoying some quiet time, watching a movie. Elliot got an extra dose of loving, as he particularly enjoys when Matt give him a good rubbing between his ears and anywhere on his head.

But sadness hit us with this all too innocent cat cuddle. Matt discovered a lump on Elliot's head. It was small and would have gone unnoticed by most people for quite some time. But you see, Elliot has had 2 rounds with cancerous mast cell skin tumors, and this is exactly what they had looked like before.

We spent the following few weeks hoping it was just a bug bite, and knowing in our heart it was not. I prayed for him lots and wished it would just go away. it didn't.

So today I made the trip I am all too familiar with and hauled Elliot in to our local pet hospital for the typical procedure - aspirate it with a needle to grab cells for testing. It all went very quickly and Elliot was a trooper and didn't do too much hissing in the process. Hey, I'd hiss if someone stuck a needle in my forehead just to sample a bump on my head. A bump, mind you, that is no larger than the head of a small pencil eraser.

And the vet, like the two times before, said the sample contained mast cells, indicating this is another tumor. Though we don't need to operate tomorrow, over the coming weeks he will need to make a return visit. I was also offered the opportunity to seek out an oncology specialist in our area to discuss alternate treatments and regimens going forward. But no one knows the cause of this particular cancer, and no one knows a way to prevent it.

So I cuddled up my 14 lb. Indiana farm kitten into my arms, offered him a sweet hug and rubbin' on his scruff, and then placed him back into his carrier. Sad, not surprised. Hopeful this is the last time; prepared for the battle ahead.

Yes, cancer is an ugly and unwanted guest in our house right now. We love you, Elliot!