cross00eyed's Xanga

John 3:16

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:10:21 GMT

Vacation, Yoga, Walking, Proud to be an American, a new camera, yada-yada-yada, etcetera

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:12:31 GMT

Yay! I am back to the 21st century after a 3 week computer hiatus. Which means I have a lot to cover in this blog post...

Vacation

For my birthday last month, Mike planned a 4 day family getaway in the Monterey/Santa Cruz area. Norcal is so beautiful and refreshing! We spent a lot of time just driving along the coast and enjoying the view. And of course you can't go to Monterey without visiting the aquarium!

Meeting the penguins...

Counting the arms of this sunstar-- 20! (Tiana only knows how to count to 20)

Our two pearls. Interestingly, Ba and Grandpa gave Aliyah a Vietnamese name that means, "black pearl". Imagine that! An Ethiopian baby with a Vietnamese name! Ha!

On a ride at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk

The sunset on our way back down the coast road

Back at home...

T is really into these yoga videos. She talks along with the instructor: "Make sure to make one long line from your sit bones out through your fingertips. And inhale. Feel your breath!"

At 14 months old... dun-dun-nah DAH.... Aliyah is finally walking! Time to bust out the crash helmet. Can anyone tell me why she crawls on her fists and walks on her tip-toes??!!! She is certainly one of a kind!

This girl sure can talk!

Gotta love that Afro hairdo...

And our Ethiopian princess became a US citizen last week after cramming to learn all of the US presidents and their terms of office! (kidding...)

And ...partly because the above picture turned out dark and grainy after several attempts, and partly because our point- and-shoot is on the fritz in general, and partly because we really miss our dear photographer friends who moved to Hawaii, and partly because we want to capture some of the million and one amazing moments of our children's lives, and partly because we want to have some pretty pictures that are worth framing... we bought a new (actually slightly used) SLR camera!

So Mike and I are reading up on f numbers, shutter speeds, and ISO, trying to learn some basics of photography. Here are our first few attempts to use the thing...

First day of school...

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:10:40 GMT

How is it possible???! It really cannot be true. Did my first baby -- the tiny litte baby girl that we brought home from Vietnam just yesterday-- did she really don a backpack today and go off to school?

I had always heard parents say it, and it is said so often it seems cliche, but kids really do grow up SOOOO fast! I find myself lately holding T more, just trying to savor these last few precious moments that she's still small enough for me to carry, little enough to fit in my lap.

This moment seemed such a short time ago...

And here's my big girl today on her way to school for the very first time.

She looks so impossibly tall and grown up

Hanging her backpack on a hook in her classroom

Gathering around with the other kids for prayer before class time

T had a blast at school today -- painting, playing with playdoh, listening to storytime, trying unsuccessfully to comfort the other kids who were crying! She told me when I came to pick her up, "Mommy, I cried just a little bit, but then I was able to pull it together." Hahahaha! I love this girl so much.

Flower Girl

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:39:30 GMT

Phew! She did it! Meltdown free! And what wedding is complete without one of the kids doing something funny? For those of you who weren't there, Mike was a groomsman... so Tiana got to the end of the aisle and decided that instead of coming straight to Mommy off to the side, she just had to first go give Daddy a hug on the stage. I guess she was still looking down at her feet to walk up the steps, saw a pair of tuxedoed legs that were about where she remembered Daddy was standing, and ended up hugging the legs of the guy standing next to Mike instead!!! Whoops, wrong Daddy!!! I'm just so happy she didn't cry all the way down the aisle -- which was a distinct possibility given her performance-anxiety-prone temperment and flair for drama.

Here are a couple shots from the day...

Oh, Tiana my girlie-girl. I'm going to be a bawling, weeping mess at your wedding twenty years from now.

Birthdays, care group, a minivan, bunk beds, hair and other miscellaneous updates

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:24:24 GMT

Wow -- it's been a while since I posted anything here! This is going to be a long post with lots of pictures and videos, so if you don't make it through the whole thing, I won't hold it against you.

Quick note on my "currently reading"... Actually I read it last month and I'm currently re-reading it ...and thinking that it may very well be the best Christian book I've ever read. And not just because I happen to be an adoptive mom. Highly recommend.

Last month we celebrated Tiana's 3rd and Aliyah's 1st birthday with a picnic in the park complete with a bounce house and water balloon games! The girls had a BLAST! Here's what it looked like:

I am amazed by God's grace to us in giving us our two precious girls! We love them both so much and pray that they will come to know and marvel at how much more they are loved by our Savior.

July also brought the start of hosting Tustin Care Group in our home! OK we're all such dorks in the picture, that's "T" for Tustin... I have been super encouraged by all the saints in our group and we've enjoyed getting to know them.

Our family spent the bulk of our free time in July gearing up to host children under Safe Families. We did our homestudy, livescans, and online training. We gave up on trying to stay "cool" and bought a minivan.

... and some beds

Hair stories...

I had the privilege of attending Michelle's fabulous and fun 80s themed bridal shower. Tiana always has her fashion antenna scanning for fresh ideas. The day after the shower, Tiana was playing dress up. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Look, Mommy! My hair looks " '80s"!" This is the outfit she came up with:

The bracelets hung on her ears are her rendition of big hoop earrings. What are we going to do with this girl???!!

About Aliyah's hair...

One of the things that intimidated me about adopting from Ethiopia was "black" hair. Not black the color, obviously, but the coarse/brittle texture and curly-crazyness of African hair. And, being a hair dunce to begin with, I was sure that I would fail miserably, be utterly unable to tame the 'fro, and wind up with a daughter who resented the fact that her very uncool Asian mom let her grow up looking like Buckwheat all the time.

But, God is gracious in many ways. First off, Aliyah's hair is mostly curly, and not super-curly/frizzy. Not at all that I dislike super-curly/frizzy hair, but just that I would be in over my head (no pun intented) and not have the slightest clue as to how to care for it. Secondly, I happened to remember watching commercials for a little device called a "Topsy Tail" growing up -- a little loop that helps you "flip" a ponytail. Thirdly, I have an older daughter with silky, "easy" Asian hair on whom I could practice different hairstyles before trying them on Aliyah -- not that the result would be the same, of course, but at least I could practice technique a little!

So, I made my own "Topsy Tail" with some jewelry wire and scotch tape, mustered up the energy to wrestle with my bionic-strength, squirmy one year old for half and hour, and Aliyah's current hairstyle was born! Mike and I think she looks pretty stunning with her hair like this, if we do say so ourselves.

In case there are other current or future non-African moms of African children (with hair similar to Aliyah's) who are reading this, I'll give y'all the start to finish step by step of what I do to Aliyah's hair in case it's helpful to you and so you all can give me feedback on what I'm doing wrong!!! The rest of my dear readers can feel free to skip forward to the next topic.

1. Shampoo with J and J head to toe bodywash. (Aliyah has sensitive rash-prone skin so I've been reluctant to try other shampoos so far. Any recommendations?)

2. Coat her hair with Mustela, Aveeno or other moisturizing hypo-allergenic body lotion

3. Comb through carefully, although inevitably, she'll move her head sharply enough while I have the comb in a tangle that some strands break off. Arrgh.

4. Part her hair down the middle. I have her watch a video to try to keep her looking straight ahead so the part doesn't veer to one side. HAHAHA!

5. Divide each half into 3 sections securing with Goody latex "damage free" hair elastics. Not sure if the "damage-free" claim is true yet, we'll see. Hopefully Aliyah won't be half bald in a few months!

6. Gently loosen the elastics away from the scalp a little.

7. Flip the little pony tails through the bottom middle of each one with my homemade topsy tail.

8. Finish with rubbing a bit of Cetaphil body lotion -- which dries a little bit crispy, keeps the curls separated, and combats frizz. I like lotion better than the different oils I've tried because it seems to absorb and not leave an "Aliyah's head was here" spot everywhere she rests her head! And because hair care products in my limited experience seem to make the skin break out.

In other news...

Tiana has finally learned to catch a (large, soft) ball! (At least half of the time, and when thrown to her at exactly the right velocity and position).

But as you can see, she would much rather play with her hair.

And FINALLY...

Here's Aliyah saying the words that she knows so far:

I think she wanted to keep showing off for a little while longer -- so she refused to say "bye-bye". Either that or she wanted a Cheerio incentive to do her last trick!

May and June...

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:42:03 GMT

The past couple months have felt very full! Tiana has been growing in her deductive reasoning skills and has -- no joke -- like, 500 questions a day. Aliyah is in a super fun stage, motoring around on all fours and talking up a storm! We are so thankful for our precious girls and all that the Lord teaches us through them.

Here's T having fun in a really unique toy store up north

Eating dinner at a nice grown up restaurant... this is before things fell apart and I found myself trying really hard to keep the girls from ruining the evening for all the other patrons! I think we did ok.

Tiana finds ways to girl-ify everything! While playing with playdoh, she asked Daddy to make her some nail polish. She's maybe a little too pleased with the result.

... roping Uncle Pete and Auntie Becky into the pretend nail polish thing too...

Here's Aliyah feeding herself Cheerios!

Tiana at 11 months was a little slower on the uptake...

We're currently in the process of getting new counter tops, a new sink, and doing some painting. So for the past week we haven't had a functional kitchen -- no counters, no sink. Just a microwave and a stove. Consequently, I've been feeding my family things I would otherwise shun or at least limit... processed foods, take out, microwave dinners. Help me not feel guilty -- it's just for a couple weeks, right? Here's Tiana eating spaghetti Os

I love this picture of my parents with their 3 cute granddaughters!

figuring it all out...

Wed, 20 May 2009 04:59:36 GMT

Having kids and watching them figure out the world around them is such a HOOT! Last night, we took the girls to El Torito Grill for dinner for our "family night out". We decided to valet park the car since it was cheaper than the hourly rate. As the the valet drove away to park our car Tiana asks, "He's borrowing our car, Mommy?" HAHAHA!!!

It's especially funny to see Tiana try to master restaurant etiquette -- sometimes sweet and appropriate, sometimes just a little off...

We were nearing the end of our meal when I asked T,

Me: "Tiana would you like another tortilla?"

T: "Oh, no thank you. You go ahead and enjoy it, Mommy. I'm all done, thank you though!" -- SWEET

As we were finishing, the manager came over to ask how everything was. He was dressed just like the food servers except his name tag said "Manager". Of course, Tiana can't read the name tag...

Tiana says: "It was really good, thank you."

...and proceeds to hand her finished plate to him. After pretending to admire her leftover mess, he set the plate back down on the table. I'm sure T was thinking "no, silly, you're supposed to clear the plates off the table now!" Uh...nevermind that he's the ****manager**** -- A LITTLE OFF

Then, when we were getting up to leave, the busboy was clearing off the table next to us. Tiana says to him, "It was delicious, thank you!" And when she got no response (he was pretty focused on his task and indifferent to customer service issues), she said it louder, "IT WAS DELICIOUS, THANK YOU!" ... "THANK YOU!!!" (Like, "Isn't he supposed to say 'you're welcome", or "thank YOU", or something??) -- SWEET ...AND A LITTLE OFF.

And of course, we have our Aliyah, who waves and says "AHHhhhhhHHHhhhhhh!" ("hi") to everyone and everything in sight. Then screams really loudly in impatient protest when the Cheerios run out.

Eating out was never this much fun before kids!!!

______________

Aliyah is astounding us all with how fast she's learning and how communicative she is.

Two years ago...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:13:28 GMT

Two years ago Mike and I hopped on a plane bound for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ~18 hours later, we became the parents of a petite and precious nine month old baby girl with a snotty nose, peach-fuzzy head, curious hands, and an electrifying giggle. It took us the whole first day to figure out how to get her to drink her formula (scalding hot, if you please!), but it took only moments to fall in love with her and feel like she was ours. Tiana is a blessing beyond words and way beyond what we deserve. Our lives have been turned upside down (in a good way) by this little girl with a wacky sense of humor, a love of all things girly, and a sweet and tender heart that loves so fiercely.

The day we met Tiana in the orphanage 2 years ago

People often ask us "Is adopting abroad expensive?" It's hard to know how to answer that question. The answer is yes, it is very expensive. $26,000 is not a small sum. But it is the ransom price of an orphan, the cost of freedom and a family for a child who otherwise has little earthly hope. So it's $26,000 to buy a life and a future for one child, and if you phrase it like that, it really isn't expensive at all. It really is a small price to pay -- and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

To celebrate the anniversary of Tiana's adoption into our family, we dressed up in traditional Vietnamese finery and went to Little Saigon to eat Vietnamese food with Ba and Grandpa

Here's T demonstrating her peasant grip -- just like how I use chopsticks! ... better, actually.

Apparently, our family was quite the spectacle... most of the other patrons in the restaurant gawked at us the ENTIRE time! Vietnamese people are NOT subtle and they don't smile back when you accidentally make eye contact. Was it the traditional garb? The freakishly tall one who looks more Chinese than Vietnamese? The Caucasian husband? The Ethiopian baby? The sum of the above? We found it pretty humorous even if we were a bit self conscious.

This is my current favorite picture of T. Some friends of my parents gave her this elephant statue because they think she has a good memory like an elephant.

Our dear Tiana, we hope that you will always *remember* and marvel at God's grace in your life. You were once an orphan, but now you belong to a family - albeit imperfect- who loves you so much. May your life story always point you to Christ who has paid your ransom with His life, reconciling you to the One who made you, and purchasing your adoption into His family, .

practical joke on Mommy...

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 06:40:21 GMT

Anyone who knows T knows that she is obsessed with accessories: shoes, purses, jewelry, headbands... Since she doesn't have pierced ears, her favorite way to spruce up an outfit lately has been to stick star stickers on her ears like earrings. Pretty cute if you ask me!

A couple days ago, the girls and I met Mike for lunch. When we were done and about to part ways, Mike and I hugged and he felt something prickly on my back. Little did I know I had been running around town all morning looking like this...

How did she put those stickers on my back without me noticing??!!! It must've been while I was talking on the phone and changing Aliyah's diaper. I vaguely remember T counting and pointing on my back. Everyone who saw me from behind that morning must've thought I was a total dork!!! Thanks a lot, T.

In other news... Here's Aliyah trying out her new carseat!

And Aliyah's first sign language skills...

4 minutes and 2 very loud burps later...

You'll notice that for Aliyah, the sign for "milk" and the sign for "all done" look the same, the only way to distinguish what she means is her little voice saying "ah-duh" when she means "all done". Not bad for 9 months old, huh!!! These two little girls continue to amaze and confound us -- what precious gifts they are!

1st ever Kostura stay-cation...

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:05:30 GMT

Last week Mike took a few days off work so we could take a much needed "stay-cation". Vacations where you GO somewhere are usually really fun, exciting, ...and exhausting -- the kids don't sleep quite the same, there's the packing, unpacking, copious pre- and post- laundry, getting a ride to and from the airport, "do I have everything the kids could possibly need??!" etc. So we decided to visit some of the local attractions while still enjoying the comforts of home! Some of the highlights...

Aquarium of the Pacific gets a bad rap. It's actually a lot of fun if you go with "not-quite-Monterrey" expectations -- we had a really good time!

The creature below is our hands-down favorite, called a "sea dragon". It has a seahorse face but with a crazy serpentine/dragon body with all these leaf-looking appendages attached to it. Crazy-weird-awesome.

The next morning, we were treated by a very kind and generous friend to the Marriott's breakfast buffet...

...where Javier the cook made a special edible creation for T

Here's T, of course, picking off the M&Ms to eat them first...

Took a couple of stay home do nothing days...

Then it was off to the San Diego Zoo to join Uncle H, Auntie S, and Cousin I

Uh... see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil?

We praise our gracious God for giving us such a restful and fun time, and fellowship on top of it all! Our two little firecrackers and their really cute cousin are such an amazing blessing!

And to conclude this post, I leave you with our little Aliyah showing off her handful of tricks! I don't know if it's just proud-parent syndrome, but I'm thinking this girl's pretty smart for being not yet 9 months old!