Snip, Snip

I have a confession to make. I am terrible at doing my girls' hair (this is probably not coming as a big shock to any of you). I am not good with ribbons, braiding or curling and I have no clue about styling. I can barely get the hair-dryer to work. To make matters worse, this is what I get when I try to fix their hair. Major screams, no matter how much detangler I use! 

I guess because their heads were always shaved in the orphanage, I felt like I shouldn't cut their hair. Kind of like a badge of honor. 

But after a particularly loud morning of trying to make everyone look beautiful, I was done. Get out the scissors girls, here I come! 

I am always amazed at how Francesca can stop crying at will. Little faker. 

Do you think that I had a plan at this point? Nope. Luckily, Francesca and Victoria have kind of curly hair so it was easy for me to hide my mistakes. 

Catherine wanted in on the action too. She still insists on growing her bangs out though. 

Yes, I am using school scissors. Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

I think Francesca was a bit stunned by the outcome. 

Can you believe how long Victoria's hair has gotten? She was almost bald when we first adopted her. The back of her head still gets tangled, even in the day, no matter what I put on it. Any ideas? 

Victoria was pretty much of a nightmare to shear. She kept flipping her head all around. She is lucky that she still has any hair left. 

I don't think it looks too bad? Right?  

Memories. Can you guess which hair belongs to which child?

Everyone felt so free that they all started dancing. Anastasia is still growing out her hair for "Locks of Love". She recently discovered conditioner and she is a changed woman. 

Their hair has been much easier to brush, but I get the feeling they are plotting to get back at me. Look at that face! 

My Little Girl is Growing Up

Yesterday, Isabella turned 12 years old! I can hardly believe that she has been here for five years! 

Before I show you the fabulous cake, I thought I would go back in time a little and share Isabella's story and how she came to be in our family. 

When Isabella was four year old, her parents made the very difficult decision to take her to the orphanage. They loved her very much, but they just couldn't afford to feed her. They wanted her to get an education. She has five older brothers and she was the only girl. I can't even imagine what a difficult decision it was for her parents. This picture was from when she had just come to the orphanage. Her father's name was Andre, and he named his only daughter after him, Andremene. When we had to re-adopt Isabella in the United States, she said she really wanted a new name. She said wanted to start fresh. She choose the name Isabella. 

Isabella's family, even her grandma, visited her several times while she was in the orphanage. The orphanage was not a good one. The caregivers were very harsh. Isabella remembers them whacking all the children if one child mis-behaved. There was no running water or electricity. All of the children were terrified to get out of their beds at night to go to the bathroom. The bathroom was pitch dark and there were snakes and spiders inside. Isabella didn't even know what toilet paper was when she first came to the US.

I had always felt drawn to Haiti and the people there, but my plan was to adopt a baby. Anastasia was two at the time. I heard about Isabella through a missionary group. She had been at the orphanage for a while by this time. She had seen many of her friends get a family. She felt terrible because no one had picked her yet. I always tell her that she had to wait for me to find her! At first, I only sponsored Isabella, but it soon became clear that she was meant to be our daughter.

Isabella was five when we officially submitted our paperwork to adopt her from Haiti. It took two long years before she finally came home. My heart was broken when a missionary would send me a picture and I would see another tooth had fallen out! I felt like I was missing so much. I also knew she wasn't in a good place, so I worried and worried. We were able to send her a photo album of our family, so she could be a little more prepared. 

We had Isabella escorted by the missionary because Haiti was having some riots at the time. I will never forget going to meet her at the airport. As soon as she saw me, she ran straight to me and yelled, "Mom!". I had learned some Creole, but apparently, I hadn't learned it very well, because every time I tried to speak to her in Creole, she would laugh. She learned English very quickly. 

We were at a breakfast buffet when she spoke her first sentence. She wanted to get more food, but she was concerned that I would take her other food, so she told me, "no garbage!" She ate so much at first that she would throw up. 

I'll never forget the look on her face when she saw me running water for the bathtub. She had never seen such an incredible thing! 

This is Isabella at 8 years old. 

Isabella was 7 1/2, Anastasia was 5 and little Catherine was just one. I am so blessed to have Isabella as my daughter! Someday, we plan to go back to Haiti and find her family.  

Now on to the birthday festivities! Anastasia got Isabella some beautiful jingle bell earrings.

Grandma got Isabella a fabulous, sparkly bracelet. 

She wanted to have a "sky" cake. We had a lot of fun putting on the skittles for the rainbow. 

Then we went ice skating! I brought the cake and then I saw a sign that stated "No outside food allowed!" We are such rule breakers! We did sing very, very quietly.

This was the first year that little Catherine's feet were finally big enough for her to rent skates. I wasn't quite sure how she would like ice skating. You never know what to expect with little Catherine.

I was anticipating some high drama with Catherine. I imagined having to drag her onto the ice. 

Isabella remembered how to skate from last year and did a great job! 

I shouldn't have worried about Catherine. She stepped onto the ice and took off. She didn't hold the wall or my hand. I have no idea how she knew what to do, but she was off and away. 

Anastasia had Olympic dreams. 

We all had a wonderful time! I must be getting old because I was worn out! 

Happy Birthday my sweet Isabella! 

New Skills

My pride and joy! 

Pretty darn impressive, isn't she?

The Big Burrito

My son, Elliot, and I have aspired to accomplish something for a long time.  A goal we didn't think we could ever achieve. It was just too scary to attempt. 

We knew we couldn't avoid it forever. It was mocking us. 

We decided that Friday was the day. We were going to be brave. Yes, we (meaning Elliot, I'm sure not eating a pound of beans) were ready to conquer our fears. El Gigante was going down. Literally.

We had no idea what we were up against. The thing was enormous. It could have fed our entire family, including the dogs. We couldn't even find it at first under all the lettuce. 

Our favorite waiter, Juan, wished us good luck. Elliot was quite confident at first.

Then, reality set in. After about 20 bites, he hadn't even made a dent in El Gigante. (See my tiny, little burrito next to his).

Now, he was at the delusional stage. Sure, this is easy peasy. 

Panic quickly set in. He thought about hiding some of El Gigante under the table.

But no, he wasn't going to cheat and he wasn't going to give up, even if we had to stay there all night. 

I was pretty much laughing hysterically at this point. 

Ta-da!!!! He did it!!! El Gigante has been devoured (just a tiny bit might have been hidden under the lettuce)

How proud I am of my son for eating a giant burrito. A mother's dream come true. 

Don't you all think he will be the coolest one at school wearing his new shirt? Oh yea!!! You rock Elliot!!! Thank you for making me laugh harder than I have laughed in a long time! What a good sport.

Love Is Forever

Today was sweet Henry's mass and funeral. I can't even imagine how hard it was for Henry's family. I so wish I could have been there. They had a children's choir and three of Carla's children sang in the choir. 

The kids and I lit a candle to honor Henry and his family. Henry is happy in Heaven, but we pray his family is comforted. 

I will make sure my two sweet Ukrainians always know about Henry and how much his life touched so many. I am so blessed to know Carla, her love for her children and the joy she has for life is inspiring. 

My mom has an orchid plant that she forgot about and left out in the cold. They haven't bloomed in years. Today, a miracle, the orchilds bloomed, just for Henry! 

A beautiful reminder of Henry's spirit, still watching over his family. 

May Henry's family be lifted up in prayer and love and be comforted. 

Catherine drew a Christmas tree for Henry. 

Have fun in Heaven sweet boy!