First Thanksgiving and Other Rites of Passage

I must say that we had much to be thankful for this year. Well, I know I did, and I am sure Troy would say the same. The simple fact that we are finally parents is just one reason, but the boys themselves are three more. It has definitely been a huge test of faith, patience, love, our marriage and everything else imaginable, but just watching the changes that have taken place in the boys' personalities in the past (almost) five months is nothing short of humbling.

Being unemployed continues to challenge me (to say the least) everyday. I am enjoying the boys more, but feeling very idle, a bit depressed and quite bitter still. I hope this will soon pass. I know that this is obviously a part of God's much greater plan for our lives, but I still miss having that one thing that was just "mine all mine". To top it all off, we have ALL been sick - not one of us spared - over the past two weeks; beginning with Daniel and now I seem to be the one who has whatever this icky virus is. More on this in a moment.

Thanksgiving was good. It was wonderful to be home with my family for a few days. I can't get enough of all of the "primos" together. They have such a good time playing and getting loud. It is a lot of fun. The boys ate a lot too. On the way home, Samuel said (in English) "at Nana's house, we eat and eat and eat and eat." This statement got belly laughs from both Troy and I. He is not kidding either! There was food galore.

On Tuesday, I was initiated into the wonderful world of stay-at-home-mommydom when Luis pooped on me and puked on me within about a 30 minute time span. He was so miserable. I felt horrible for him. He threw up again (on Troy, the floor, the massage chairs, his coat, his pants, his shoes, etc...) Thursday night at Concord Mills Mall - this time not because of the virus but because he stuffed himself full of chips, a quesadilla and rice at a Mexican restaurant and then proceeded to run around like crazy. On our walk back to the car, he walked into a railing and hit his cheek. It was so not his night.

Troy taught the boys the true meaning of Hokie pride this weekend by taking them to his friend John's house to watch the Tech game. You have never heard anything sweeter than these little boys saying "Go Hokies!" We thought we would start them early!

Well enough jibber jabber! Onto the pictures!

My little men! They were just too cute to resist a photo op in their kahkis and sweaters. Muy guapo indeed!

Samuel and Ethan had a blast playing together. Ethan is a couple of weeks younger than the twins, but the same size as Samuel. We LOVE our primos (cousins).

I think Liana is the best cousin ever! She gave the boys presents and takes great care of them. Not to mention she is a bit of tomboy so she has no problem being all rough and tumble with them. And she confided in me that she likes being the only girl. I can't say I blame her - it has to have its perks.

The boys at the kids table. This is where I ended up eating because the boys wanted to play more than they wanted to eat and at the rate that Luis eats, he would have been there ALL night.

To pass the time, we made turkey headbands for the boys.

I underestimated the size of Ethan's head, so his accidentally ripped. He was a little bit upset.

On the ride home, Daniel did this really silly thing with his aika. We still aren't sure what it was all about. Check out Samuel in the background who apparently has attended the Rob Wootton seminar on how to pop up in other people's pictures.

Bundled up for the wintry weather...Well as wintry as Charlotte gets. Samuel started riding the bus this week which has been a huge blessing. Now I only have to get one child up before 8 AM and get him ready and out the door. A LOT less stress. It also alleviates a lot of afternoon stress since the twins can nap before 3 PM. And he loves it!

I call this one the attack of the Oreo cookie. Luis is not only a slow eater, but a very messy one too.

Watching the game in Papá's t-shirt. Yes, it came down to his calves when he stood up, but he was insistent on showing his Hokie pride. Again, we are trying to start them early! Go Hokies!

End of Summer...Bummer

Tomorrow starts our new family schedule. Yay! Samuel will be going to school everyday, and the twins and I will be going to work everyday! I am very happy to be going back to work. We need structure...desperately. This will definitely put us on the path towards structure. Samuel is very excited to go to school, and we keep telling the twins they are going to "escuela muy pequeña" (literally translated: very small school). They are excited, but all they really know is that they are going to work with me. We will see what happens. I am packing their blankies just in case.

Today we decided to have some fun in the sun in our very own backyard. This is true parent dedication: blowing up the baby pool until you feel like you are going to pass out, making sure the dogs are nowhere near the path from the inside to the outside of the house, making sure the yard is free from dog poop and various debris, and taking turns refereeing to ensure that the older brother doesn't accidentally drown his younger brothers. They had such a good time though in their very own piscina, and Troy and I loved the fact that we didn't have to leave the house.

In other very exciting news, the boys' "certificates of citizenship" came today (well we came across them today) complete with a letter from the President. The letter is really moving. It talks about their civic duty as Americans. I hope one day they can appreciate it because right now they don't really care about anything except eating, playing and taking baths. It is very cool to have these very official certificates that simply list their names as Eisenberger. No more epic hyphenated last names for them.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...

Oh where to begin?! We have seriously slacked in the posting department (until dear hubby filled you all in on some details this afternoon), and now there is more to write than can possibly be written before my cold medicine kicks in and I start to nod off. Yes, it is just a cold. Well, one of the worst colds I have had (except that nasty virus I got over our anniversary - maybe my sister has poisoned me against going to the zoo!) I have had a fever, chills, sore throat, and congestion that started coming on yesterday. Thankfully not a stomach virus. Troy has been AMAZING!!! He says that the Lord struck me down to force him to spend time with the kids alone, and let me just say that he has really stepped up the plate - doing meals solo, dressing the kids, taking them to the bank so I could sleep, etc. I could not be more proud of him. And the kids, though they don't totally get it, keep saying "Mama es muy enferma!" (Mama is very sick!) I am on the upswing, but it has zapped my energy and caused my patience to wear very thin.

So what have we been doing over the last few days? On Sunday we went to the Metacaña Zoo, which is one of the largest zoos in South America. It was pretty amazing and nothing like any zoo you will see in the states. [AMANDA please feel free to skip this part - although, Sissy, you would be proud as to the fact that I was questioning some of this zoo's practices!] First off, you can feed the animals - zebras, monkeys, boar, etc... Second, you are only a few meters away from even the wilder animals like the lions. Third, the security seems to consist of some padlocks and that's about it. But the landscaping is to die for, and at several points you can see the Andes beyond the animal displays. It was pretty crazy. This was also our first test of walking for long periods of time with the boys. The twins seemed into it, but they must have been there before because about halfway through Samuel was over it and started doing all of the things that kids do when they are bored like not listening, attempting to wander off, etc... In Charlotte, we are going to borrow the Frey's new dog Ruthie who is part Border Collie to herd them when we go on treks like this.

At the end of the animal displays is this great playground, so we got to experience something truly joyous: watching our kids learn to play on playground equipment. The twins are afraid of everything so we are learning that they have not been exposed to much. I put Luis on the slide and he screamed the whole time and didn't want to go again. I put Daniel on the slide and I couldn't get him to stop wanting to go down the slide. In fact, he got to the point where he would climb the ladder by himself and didn't need me to be at the bottom - which got him in trouble on another slide in a different part of the playground where he landed on his butt and not his feet and proceeded to wail. I am so proud of his bravery though. Samuel was all over the place, trying everything out. I finally got Luis to relax and swing with me a bit, but it takes a lot of patience and "Estas bien"s ("You're OK") with him.

Yesterday, Troy took them to the bank which from what I understand was a disaster. Then we all went shopping in the afternoon, and that is when I knew that I was sicker than I thought because I was at the end of my rope with patience by the time we woke up from siesta I was burning up with fever and aching all over. And today I spent pretty much in bed while Troy was #1 caretaker. And it was raining AGAIN! It rains A LOT here. I hate to say it, but I am thankful for drought-riddled Charlotte because rain = no going outside = cooped up in the hotel with 3 boys = no fun for anyone, especially mama and papa.

All in all, we are doing well. We measure our days by mealtimes. We still feel very much like we are babysitting someone else's kids. Raul Velez Velez, the Colombia Adoption Program Director for Commonwealth Adoptions (our agency), called today to talk to Troy and said that "one day the kids will adopt you too." We look forward to that day and know that right now it is just plain awkward for all of us.

Like Troy said, tomorrow is our Integration meeting which is where we go back to the Social Services office to talk about how we are doing, how the kids are doing, etc... After that, the legal process begins and we will wait for the judge to issue the adoption decree (Sentencia). All we really have to do is hang out and continue to get to know these boys. Hopefully soon I will be able to post about their personalities to help you all get to know them a little better because they are each so unique and amazing. Until then, here are some zoo and miscellaneous pics from the last few days:


Our first (and only) family portrait.


Troy, Samuel and Daniel feeding the zebras.


Me and Luis watching one of the African elephants. Luis really likes elephants...probably not nearly as much as me.


The boys getting food from José our driver/tour guide for the day. He works for Rosario, but is available to take us anywhere we need which is great. The drawback is that he doesn't speak English, but Troy's Spanish is getting better everyday. Believe it or not so is mine. José asked Troy a question and I understood it before he did.


Our monkeys feeding the monkeys! How fitting!


This is the backside of the ostrich pen, but they are hilarious because they keep poking their heads up over the wall. Too, too funny!


Samuel had no trouble having a ball at the playground. He loves to play.


The twins are addicted to soup. Here is Daniel in his giant, catch-all bib. We still have to tuck a napkin under his chin because more food ends up on him than in him. He is a total mess, but he clears his plate/bowl.


After the zoo, we stopped for some traditional Colombian fare. Before we came here, I was really worried about what I was going to eat. I even emailed my friend Sheila Derr for advice. Let me tell you, as a pure, vegetable-hating carnivore, I am in paradise. I get yummy meat at every meal! This restaurant we ate at served barbeque (not carolina style) and it was so delicious. I asked for cow... I think I had cow.


Troy on the other hand had this unidentified pork... I am still hoping I had cow.


The twins. Luis on the left. Daniel on the right. And I did a crazy, but necessary thing this week - I sent their blankets to be washed (gasp!) Naptime yesterday and today and bedtime last night was a little rough, but we got through it. Fortunately, the blankets are back so they are sleeping peacefully. I apologize to my Mommy for all of the pain I caused her where my Poocoos was concerned!