New Glasses

Yes, I've become the newest member of my immediate family to need glasses (I'm joining my dad, who wears contacts, and Carsten, who wears glasses all the time.) I was shocked at my last doctor appointment to learn that my vision is no longer 20/20, and was diagnosed a few months later with near-sightedness. That means I really only need them for seeing things far away, like reading the board in class and for driving when I start taking lessons this summer (!) The difference in my vision is so incredible though that I want to wear them all the time!

As you can see, I have a phobia of smiling for the camera. But I don't usually look this sinister. My friends, who saw my wild side on the band trip, can attest to that! (Speaking of which, it was fantastic- aside from the fact that the judges at the competition were abnormally cruel-spirited and we got a lower score than we thought we deserved, the weather was beautiful and I could not have had more fun!)

Update #2!

Wow, we've certainly been lucky with baby updates!

Here's the latest and greatest on LG:

1. She grew another tooth, making that a total of seven
2. She gained another pound (yeah!)
3. She can walk on her own!!!!

Still no travel date, but since we got info on the travel call (upcoming dates of on-the-phone meetings about travel info) it *should* be coming around the corner!

And as for me...I'm heading to VA Beach tomorrow for the music department field trip! We're participating in a competition and going to Busch Gardens. I'm looking forward to a good time, and will blog more when I come back (we get back Sunday at 5am- !!!!)

A Behind-The-Scenes Peek at the Interview/Photo Shoot

So the interview went well. On Thursday, when the interviewee came to my house, I felt more relaxed since she seemed completely laid-back. She was young, making me feel like we were on the same page. I wasn't nervous to begin with, but I'm glad that it didn't go worse than I had anticipated. She asked me the basic questions, but I felt at times like I was talking too much because I could see her fingers flying on her notepad throughout the whole interview. Other than that, it was fine. I was especially pleased by her question of "What can our readers do to help after reading this article?" since hopefully it will inspire others in my town to donate to AHOPE or other African organizations. Maybe it will even motivate some people to adopt! (Hey, you never know!)

The photographer came on Friday. There were a few slight complications due to the combined facts that my brothers and the kids we had visiting would NOT leave us alone even though they were outside (making faces in the windows, etc...needless to say I was NOT too pleased with them!!) and also that I honestly cannot take a flattering picture. In the end, though, I think the photo shoot was okay- I think the photographer got the best pictures out of me that he possibly could have. They also asked me to send to them extra pictures of my project, if I had them, so I e-mailed them the pics I included here earlier of me sorting the pjs as well as a picture of the kids at AHOPE. When he was done, the photographer revealed the news that they wanted to do a big spread on this that would be running either this week or next week. I was surprised by how big the story will be, but I'm of course excited!

In other news, we are still running around preparing for LG (Little GIRL), and VERY soon, we'll be able to refer to her by another name. We pretty much have one picked out, but I'll wait until it's 100% definite to announce it here!

Crossing My Fingers

And toes, and arms, and legs...whatever it takes to ensure that I don't completely make an idiot out of myself in my interview tomorrow!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Anyone else feel this way?

I know I posted something very similar to this yesterday on the CHSFS forum, so I'm sorry if some of you are reading for the second time, but I'm interested to hear responses and reassurances (if you have any!)

I know that my situation is different since I am a high school student and the child my family is adopting is my sibling (aside from Kelsey at http://www.afamilyoften.blogspot.com, of course!) but I was wondering if anyone else experienced similar feelings after receiving their referral. Ever since the post-referral shock wore off a few weeks ago, I've been finding myself "forgetting" that I have a baby sister in Ethiopia. This is in sharp contrast to when my family was in the beginning stages of adoption (I would talk/think about the fact that I would have a new younger sibling constantly!) I understand that it could be because of the typical high-schooler thoughts costantly on my mind- schoolwork, activities, friends, etc.- or the fact that finally being in the phase of NOT waiting for a referral is surreal. Yet I feel guilty. I talk about our adoption very often with my friends, who are always bombarding me with questions about what we've decided to name her, have we bought anything yet, etc.- but these conversations are detached from my sister herself. I feel badly that I don't think more about her, even though I know that everything will change when I see her for the first time. It would just help for me to know that I'm not alone in my guilt!

Update (For Lack of a Better Post Title)

It's been a busy spring for the kids in my household. Here are the highlights and lowlights of the past week:

Me- The marking period ended last week (I got a B in my ridiculously difficult Honors Algebra class with the help of my tutor- yes!) so now the workload has decreased, allowing me to spend the occasional free period spending time on the playground outside instead of bent over textbooks in the library. However, the CT weather has been fluctuating like crazy, and it is now a million degrees colder than it was two weeks ago- and a million degrees colder than what I want for this time of year. (The temperature was perfect for skiing, but now that we're back, I want the weather to prove to us that it's really April!) Peervention training is still going on, and I'm looking forward to my school's Music Department field trip to Virginia Beach- we're performing in a competition and spending the rest of the time at Busch Gardens- coming up April 26th!

The boys- K and C are have, in a nutshell, ridiculous sports schedules this season. Kristian is doing baseball and lacrosse, and Carsten is doing baseball, lacrosse, and soccer. Sports are so demanding for them that they most often have to choose between sports games to attend on weekends! Add boy scouts, CCD, orchestra and Model Building Club (for Kristian) to the mix and it isn't too hard to see why my brothers are exhausted by the end of the week!

The baby (still un-named! We're down to three possibilities for first names now, so I'll let you know as soon as we come to a final decision)- We just received two updates from our agency on her. The first said simply that Baby E has gotten over her pneumonia and was in good health, which we were certainly relieved to hear. The second said that she grew a centimeter while in their care and, more encouragingly, gained two pounds! It may not seem like much, but on her little stringbean legs, it's certainly something ;-)

Happy Early Easter To Those Who Celebrate!

We're going skiing (yes, in April!) this long weekend, and will be back on Sunday. More updates will ensue upon our return (as ever, we have much to report...including, hopefully, a firmly-decided-upon name for my baby sis!) but until then, I would like to wish everyone who celebrates Easter a very happy one- and for those who don't, a pleasant, relaxing weekend!

(FYI: These pictures are from Easter 2005! I really should get around to taking more pictures...although I doubt this will be a problem when we bring my baby sis home, since her little face is too cute to resist!)

So THAT'S where my $80 went!

I Got the Pajamas...

...and there were lots of them!! In total- including donations from outside sources- I got almost 200 pairs which, when you think about it in terms of how many kids in Ethiopia will be affected, is HUGE!!!! About 125 came from Kristian's school, and although a certain percentage aren't really fit to be brought and given out (stains, rips...what normally happens to kids' clothes) I have a TON to bring with us. So much, in fact, that we could easily outfit two AHOPEs- which is why we're bringing the rest to our agency, CHSFS's, orphanage. What we're not able to bring will be donated to a local homeless shelter.

I was amazed by the turnout (though why should I be? Everyone should be willing to care for Africa's orphans!) Nevertheless, I'm extremely grateful, and I was especially impressed by the number of absolutely brand-new (as in, with tags still on them) pajamas were donated. Probably about a third had never been worn. And whoever donated three pairs of clean, fresh-from-the-racks pairs of pjs sizes 14-16 kids, bless them, because I'm sure they figured most people would hand in gently used pajamas the elementary school kids had outgrown.

Now all I need is for the town paper to get back to me. My main objective in contacting them was for other people to think about donating to AHOPE or similar orphanages in the future, but hey, a little fame won't hurt me, either ;-). Of course, I need to practice taking pictures...I don't photograph very well! (As you can see, I did post some here, but it took me a few takes to get a passable one!)