Friday, July 28, 2006

The most American Latvian Boy :-)

Helen says that "Eddie" is the most American Latvian boy she has ever seen! He loves all things American. She said on the airplane he was talking to everyone, taking away his accent and trying to sound American. At our goodbye party on Sunday one of his friends was talking to him in Russian and he said "I'm sorry, I can't understand you, can you please speak in English". Then he told us that he wasn't going to speak in anything but English when he got back home. He said when he goes to school he is only going to speak in English. We told him that might not be a good idea and he could probably get in trouble. He just laughed. I am sure that he has reverted back to speaking Latvian and Russian by now but I don't think he is going to have any trouble adapting to the American culture!!

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Safe arrival, sad hearts



The kids made it home safely to Latvia. Edgars called me on Skype this morning. He said the flight was bumpy and there were a lot of tears. There were a lot of tears back in America too!!
It was hard to leave the airport. Hard to come home to a house that felt empty to all of us. Tears came quickly for Patrick and Morgan at bedtime, and for me and Gene, too!!
We are just holding out hope that Edgars will be back in our arms soon. Helen is going to work on getting information from the orphan court on the Student Visa and we are going to work on this end to get him enrolled in school. Once the school gets approved to be able to bring him, then we can go forward. For now we just wait. Patience is going to be our challenge over the next few months. Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. The phone calls and emails of support over the past couple of days have meant the world to us. We are so thankful to have wonderful friends!
Love,
Krista

Monday, July 24, 2006

Time to say goodbye

Wow...four weeks have gone by so fast! Tonight our hearts are very heavy!
Today I took Eddie (as he likes to be called) to Walmart to pick out some gifts for his brother, Kristaps and his friend, Serges back in Latvia. He also got a couple of things to keep him occupied and some snacks for the plane. We picked up the last of his pictures and finished up his photo album. Then we cooked Shishkabobs and corn on the cob (or popcorn as he calls it) which were YUMMY! The kids played together a lot this evening and then finished it off with Eddie taking a BIG bubble bath! I have to fight back tears to recount the day because tomorrow night at this time, he won't be here.
Last night he said "Krista, are you my mommy?" And I said "Yes, I am your American mommy." He said "Except you don't drink, or smoke or hit" So I said "No, but sometimes me and Gene disagree and we get mad at each other, but we work it out and everything is okay." and he said "Yes, you use your words and not your hands."
Part of the purpose of Frontiers for Children is to show these kids that there is another way than the way their lives were with their biological parents. That conversation showed me that he realized there is another way. Not that our family is perfect by any means, but we have Jesus and we have love and that makes all the difference!!
Love,
Krista

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Only a few days left...

As the time nears for Edgars to go home, the tears are coming more frequently for me and for him. None of us want to say goodbye. Especially not knowing what the future holds. I know that God is going to take care of him, but it doesn't make it any easier to let him go. Please pray for us as we go thru the next few days. We are trying to make the most of every moment.
Gene's family came up today and we went to the park and grilled out. We had a great day. Edgar managed to step in a nest of yellow jackets and got stung three times. It was scary, but he is okay. We thought for a little while we might have to take him to get a shot, but we gave him Benadryl and he was okay.
We had a long talk at bedtime about when he goes home. I asked him to keep reading his Bible and praying every night just like we do here. And I asked him to remember that when he doesn't have anyone else, he has God. I hope that he will remember that when he has hard times and we can't be there to wrap our arms around him.
Going thru this process has been probably one of the hardest things that I have ever gone thru in my life. But I know that God is carrying us thru it. It is truly life changing and no matter the outcome, I am grateful for the experiance. After all, it is in the valleys that we grow.
Love,
Krista

Friday, July 21, 2006

Update...

It is the transmission that went out on my van. I don't know anything about cars, but something about the rings and pistons were broken in the bottom of the case. It is going to cost us $1800 for them to rebuild the transmission. I read on the internet that this is common for Fords. It is only a 2003, there is no reason it should need a new transmission! But we recognize that it is an attack and we are just going to keep pressing on!!!
Love,
Krista

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Dentist, rock climbing and car trouble

Today was a challenging day. I had to go to Columbus for a meeting for work so Gene took off work to take care of the kids. Edgar had his final dentist appointment today. Last night we made cookies and brownies for Dr Mike and Mrs Vanessa. They have been so nice to give up their lunch breaks and do all of this work for free. After the dentist Gene took the kids rock climbing at Escalade Climbing Gym.
On the way home from Columbus my van was acting weird. The dash kept shaking on and off and it was concerning me, but thankfully I made it home without issue. When I was on my way to meet Gene and the kids for dinner my van started acting really weird and even though I had the gas pedal to the floor it wouldn't go over 20 mph. At Christmas my van acted up and it was just a small part that needed to be replaced so we thought it was that part. Gene ordered the part and bought some stuff to clean it. We ate dinner and then while they went back to the gym I went home to get some work done. I didn't get half a mile from the gym when my van wouldn't go anymore. The engine was running fine, but it might as well have been in neutral because no matter how much I pushed the gas, the engine revved but the car didn't go. Gene thinks it is the transmission. We had to have the van towed to a shop. Its only 3 years old so I can't believe the transmission would go out already. I am praying it is a small part that is going to cost very little.
Everything has been falling into place for us to bring Edgar on a Student Visa. A $3000 transmission job will seriously hinder us being able to do that.
I was teasing Edgar and asking him what he was doing to my van since at Christmas while he was here it broke down and it has been fine since then until now. He laughed and told me a crazy story about him opening his dad's hood and unhooking some wires so his dad's car wouldn't work and then when his dad would leave he would hook them back up, then a few days later unhook it again until finally he got caught. I asked if he got in trouble and he said no, his dad was very happy.... Sometimes we don't know what of his stories to believe, but I made him promise not to do that to our cars anyway! hahaha!
The next few days are going to be very emotional for all of us, add to that the stress of car trouble. We just have to remember to keep our eyes focused upward and He is going to take care of us!
Keep us in your prayers!
Love,
Krista

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Only one week to go...

Sadly three weeks have flown by and we only have one more week before we have to say Goodbye! It has gone so fast. We have had a great time. At the very least we have given Edgars an awesome summer, went lots of fun places, taught him about God, loved on him, gotten his teeth fixed and gotten answers about his medicine. That is a big, huge praise!! I still am praying that we can offer him more. We have not met any families that are interested in adoption and money has not fallen out of the sky to pay for the visa. However, God is big and he has a big plan for this special kid. I am keeping the faith.
Last weekend we went camping and had a lot of fun. Edgars caught 12 fish and he has asked us for a fishing pole to take back to Latvia. We went swimming at Lake Allatoona and the kids wore Gene out - standing on him, climbing on him and using him to catapult them into the water! We all got a lot of sun and Edgars is very proud of his tan!! :-)
Monday we went to the dentist and Edgars got his tooth pulled and three fillings. He even got to put his tooth under his pillow and found a surprise from the tooth fairy this morning! He said he saw me do it. I promised him it wasn't me! (It wasn't! It was Gene! hehe)
Then we went to Stone Mountain for the afternoon/evening. It was hot, but we had a great time. The night finished off with the laser show. Edgars loved it! He didn't care much for the pictures on the mountain but he LOVED watching the building behind us where the lasers came out.
Pray for us this week. Emotions are running high. I can feel myself start to tear up whenever I think about it. I have noticed the tears are coming a little quicker for Edgars as well. It isn't going to be easy, but I am glad for the experience all the same!
I uploaded the pictures thru last week on Photoshow if you want to take a peek!
Love,
Krista

Friday, July 14, 2006

Good News from the Dr!

Doctor Schultz, the endocrinologist just called to let us know that Edgars' bloodwork came back good. His thyroid level was normal. His Growth hormone was in the low range, but he expected this. He said it isn't out of range, so that is very good. He said with the proper dosage, getting the hormone every day and keeping the medicine refrigerated it should be in normal range in no time! This is great news!!!!!!
Love,
Krista

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Swimming in the buff :-)

Last night we went swimming at the home of one of Edgars' friends, Ineja. All the kids were swimming and having a good time when all of a sudden Edgar yells "Help me, Krista!" I hollered back to him "What do you need help with?" He says "My bathing suit, it is downstairs" I looked over and he was completely in the buff! We were all laughing so hard we could hardly help him. I didn't have my bathing suit on so we got one of the kids to retrieve his suit from the bottom of the pool. Gene held a raft around him while he put it back on! The boy is so skinny, even tying it as tight as it would go it barely fits! I think next time we go swimming we will safety pin it! But it gave us all a good laugh!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Just for you Jackie :-)

A good friend of mine told me I needed to share some of the stories I was telling her on my blog. So here is a couple...

Last night our small dog Bo got locked in the boys room. While he was locked in there he had an accident and pooped on the carpet. I cleaned it up and everything was good. Then later when Edgar was praying he said "Thank you God that Bo pooped on the carpet" I started giggling. He said "What Krista?" I said "Why did you thank God that Bo pooped?" He said "Krista, we are supposed to thank God for the good and the bad!!!" He is right. Even the poop on the carpet! :-) At least we have carpet for him to poop on!!

Then later that same night, I was praying and telling God that I really needed a word from him about what we were supposed to do and if we should bring him on a visa and if so how would we pay for it, etc... He gave me Matthew 17. I was reading it and it wasn't making any sense. Then I got to Matthew 17:20. He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
I read the note at the bottom and it said "If you are facing a problem that is too big for you. Take your eyes off the mountain and place it on the God who has the power to move that mountain." It gave me chills! Point taken, God! I know you are big enough. I'm moving out of the way, You can do your work! :-)

Love,
Krista

Monday, July 10, 2006

2 weeks gone by already!


Wow! It is hard to believe that two weeks are already gone. The time is going by entirely too fast! We had a great weekend and Monday. Friday night we had a hosting event which was a game night. I don't think any of us actually played any games, but we had a good time. Edgar got to spend time with some friends and he enjoyed it. Unfortunately there were not any interested families that came. We were a little disappointed about that.
Saturday we went to our encounter group Bible Study and then two friends of Patrick and Morgan's came over and ended up spending the night. Yes, we had 5 kids! They all had a great time. While they were outside playing Edgars saw a lightning bug. He had never seen one before and so Madison took him outside to try to catch one. The next thing we knew he came in screaming at the top of his lungs. Apparently while they were out there a herd of deer came walking thru the woods behind our house. They were both very shocked by this! Edgars wanted Gene to go shoot them! haha! We had to explain that we would get in big trouble for that!! The kids had a hard time going to sleep because they couldn't stop giggling, but finally around midnight they settled down. Sunday we went to church and then to Pump it Up for a birthday party. The kids all had a blast! It wore them AND us out! Today we took the kids for a surprise trip and drove to Chattanooga. We went to the Tennesse Aquarium and then to the Imax. Edgars LOVED every minute of all of it. He was fascinated by the animals. He kept asking us if he could live there. He kept saying "I love this! I love this". At the butterfly center part he got a butterfly on his finger and held it and we got some great pictures. He had a blast and so did we!
He cracked us up during the Imax. It was 3d and he was trying to grab everything that came at him. He was trying to feed the "fish" his popcorn and talking to them. It was so funny!
No one wanted to come home. But tomorrow it is back to the daily grind of work and everything.
We go back to the dentist for visit number 2 on Wedensday!
Thanks for your prayers! Keep them coming!
Love,
Krista

Thursday, July 06, 2006

We survived the dentist!

Today I took Edgars to Children's Dentistry of Woodstock for his first dental visit. The dentist, Dr Mike, has agreed to see him for free and fix everything that he needs fixed in his mouth. Edgars was a little frightened at first. He has had some bad prior experiences in the past with dental work. Ms Vanessa came and took him back and he was comfortable with her since she had taught his Vacation Bible School class. After about 30 minutes she came out to tell me that he was doing okay. After an hour they finally called us back to tell us he was done.
Dr Mike said that Edgars has 7 cavities and one tooth that needs to be pulled. He treated the worst tooth today. It truly needed a root canal but they are not equipped to do that. He said he treated it with a medicated filling which should give the tooth a 50% chance of survival without a root canal. We have to go back for three more visits for fillings and to get the tooth pulled. Edgars was very brave, as usual. He's a tough kid!

When we were on our way to dinner, Edgars told me that they put something over his nose and it made everything funny. I tried to explain the concept of laughing gas! He said Narnia was very funny. Last time I checked, that wasn't a comedy, so I am guessing the laughing gas worked very well! :-)

Tomorrow we go to an event for interested families to meet the kids. Please pray for Edgars to find a family to call his own!

Love,
Krista

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Endocrinologist Appointment


Edgars doctor's visit went very well. They weighed him (52 lbs) and measured him (51 inches). Even for his height he is underweight and for his age he is VERY small(In the 3rd percentile). He cried when he saw the chart. It broke our hearts. He was hoping so much that they would tell him that he was closer to where he should be. They drew his blood and are going to run some tests and will get back with us about those. The doctor said based on his age, weight, height, etc he should be taking 1.1 mg of the Genotropin and he is only taking .8 so we will begin increasing that tonight. We also found out during the visit that while he is at the boarding school they are not refrigerating the medicine. The doctor said that this can make the medicine much less effective, if at all. So all these daily injections could have been no good because the medicine was ruined by not being refrigerated! It is so frustrating that the people at his school do not see the importance of maintaining this medicine. Hopefully Helen can talk to them about the importance of the medicine being refrigerated and that they have to make sure he takes it EVERY day! I will update the blog when we hear back from the doctor in regards to his tests.

I promised Edgars that I would take him for a surprise when we were done at the doctor if he was VERY brave. So when we left we went to Walmart to let him pick a small toy. He has gotten in the habit of saying "I Need" about everything. I have been trying to teach him the difference between "Want" and "Need". When we were leaving Walmart Gene pointed to something and said "I need this". Edgars hollered over to him "Papa Gene...want NOT need!" hahaha I told him at least I have taught him something! :-) It gave us a good laugh!



Happy Fourth of July!




We had a good 4th of July. We hung around the house and relaxed and then that afternoon went to the Braves game. It was neat to see the huge flag that they spread out across the field. When the F-18 fighter jets flew over it scared Edgars to death! The game was going good and then the rain hit. At first it was only a light rain but then it got harder and harder. We waited around for a couple of hours but finally decided to give up. The kids were very disappointed to miss the fireworks! Luckily we went Monday night to the fireworks in Kennesaw. They didn't get 4th of July fireworks but 3rd of July is close enough!
Hopefully we can get by Stone Mountain while Edgars is here. The fireworks after the Laser show are pretty good!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Tired but Having a Blast!!



Gene and I are worn out but we are having a blast! We haven't slowed down since last Monday. I am hoping after tomorrow we can hang out at home some! I have got Edgars (or Eddie as he now wants to be called) saying "Chill Out" and that is exactly what we need to do this week!!
Friday we left at 10 am and did not get home until 10:30 at night!! We picked up Helen (Edgar's Children's Home Director) and Kara (Jennifer's Daughter) and we went to US Play for bowling. We had a good time bowling and we all bowled really well (Thanks to those bumper lanes!) haha
When we got done bowling we went to "Chicken and Cheese" for Pizza and games. Then we went to Kennesaw Mountain for a little while. Finally we ended up at the church for the Vacation Bible School Ceremony. Patrick, Morgan and Edgars all did wonderful on their performances. We were very proud of them!

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed to Columbus. We went with Nana and Papa to Hollywood Connection which is sort of like an indoor amusement park. Edgars loved the rock climbing wall and EVERYONE was amazed at how fast he went up the hardest one. The lady that worked there said most people can't make it up it. Edgars made it up in less than a minute. I am beginning to think he is part monkey! After Hollywood Connection we went back to Nana and Papa's for the LONG awaited Shishkabobs! They were delicious!! Then we went to the movie Cars with my brother and his family. It was a cute movie!
Sunday we went and had lunch with Mamom and Grandaddy and then headed home. On the way home Gene stopped at a fireworks store and got a bag full of fireworks (the legal kind). The kids had a blast last night lighting them! Every kid in the cul-de-sac came out to join in the fun!
It was fun but it was hard to get the kids settled down after that, especially Edgars! I learned how to say "Edgars, please go to sleep" in Latvian and when he doesn't listen to me in English I start using Latvian. For some reason then he knows I am serious, and listens. :-)
Things are going great and I can't believe it has already been almost a week! Tomorrow we are going to the Braves game and Fireworks and Wed we get up VERY early to go to downtown Atlanta to the Endocrinologist.
Keep Praying!
Love,
Krista