Sunday, January 29, 2012
Emotion Overload
The DARK TRUTH: When we first got home it took me weeks to return to my old self. I would have panic attacks and I would wake up in the night and not know where I was. No one could help me I had to work through it on my own but I did it; I adjusted to being a Mommy and the numbness I felt in Ukraine melted away. I have only just recently started thinking about our trip and the memories we made together Fred and I... and the Burmans!!!! I can let myself go back there without feeling overwhelmed with emotions which is a good thing. A year ago January 30th Fred and I flew out of Chicago on the BIGGEST trip of our lives. It have been a hard year and we have had ups and downs and we have learned A LOT; we are still learning but one thing that is more clear now than EVER before I would do it all again. Even if I knew what I was going to face from start to finish it was all completely and totally worth it. The biggest thing I realized is that there is NO WAY Fred and I did any of this on our own besides our family and friends that helped we know that God was leading our way the whole time. Looking back I can't believe all that we went through; there is no way Amanda Stenzel would have ever done that but with God ALL things are possible and that I truly believe with ALL my heart I the proof they are sleeping in their beds right now!!!!!! Praise God in ALL things... ALL THINGS!!!!!
Friday, January 20, 2012
New Pictures
Pics like I promised not in any certain order...
*Rorie is tasting the snow & Cole is Lovin it!!!
*My Little Snow Angel
*Cole hates the cold but LOVED the snow; Now he gets mad when we go out & he can't play. He hangs out the side of his stroller trying to get the snow, what a funny guy!
*"Chillin'" with Grandpa Henry
*She is my 80's Rock Star
*Awww look at my little Mother!!!
*Rorie & Suki are BEST PALS
*Daddy & the Kids with NOODLES
*We are working on sharing; Rorie doesn't like a toy until Cole shows interest in it which is next to never!
*Say CHEESE... Rorie & Daddy
*Tell me he is NOT a HEART MELTER...
*Cole LOVES his Auntie Tanya
*Look at that Face!!!
*Cole liked watching the butterfly puzzle being put together at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
*Rorie likes mirrors & puppets; The Museum has a hands on butterfly station with mirrors she is in heaven!!!!
*Mommy & Rorie at the Museum
*1st Chucky E Chees trip; Rorie liked ringing this LOUD (annoying) bell. Which is weird because she is afraid of loud nosies.
*Cole loved the texture of the mesh. A little girl asked me if he was on a timeout... What could he EVER do wrong???
*We are also learning to wait our turn; Rorie is a little impatient.
*"This is the BEST Christmas EVER right Brother?"
*He was my favorite Christmas gift!!!
*She was all wrapped up!!!
*Rorie was so sleepy she wrapped up in Grandpa John's rug... Night Night Rorie!!!
*Rorie LOVED the dancing Santa!
*Rorie & Uncle Tim
*Packer Pals (Cole & Grandpa John)
Are you happy Collette!!! We miss you!!!
*Rorie is tasting the snow & Cole is Lovin it!!!
*My Little Snow Angel
*Cole hates the cold but LOVED the snow; Now he gets mad when we go out & he can't play. He hangs out the side of his stroller trying to get the snow, what a funny guy!
*"Chillin'" with Grandpa Henry
*She is my 80's Rock Star
*Awww look at my little Mother!!!
*Rorie & Suki are BEST PALS
*Daddy & the Kids with NOODLES
*We are working on sharing; Rorie doesn't like a toy until Cole shows interest in it which is next to never!
*Say CHEESE... Rorie & Daddy
*Tell me he is NOT a HEART MELTER...
*Cole LOVES his Auntie Tanya
*Look at that Face!!!
*Cole liked watching the butterfly puzzle being put together at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
*Rorie likes mirrors & puppets; The Museum has a hands on butterfly station with mirrors she is in heaven!!!!
*Mommy & Rorie at the Museum
*1st Chucky E Chees trip; Rorie liked ringing this LOUD (annoying) bell. Which is weird because she is afraid of loud nosies.
*Cole loved the texture of the mesh. A little girl asked me if he was on a timeout... What could he EVER do wrong???
*We are also learning to wait our turn; Rorie is a little impatient.
*"This is the BEST Christmas EVER right Brother?"
*He was my favorite Christmas gift!!!
*She was all wrapped up!!!
*Rorie was so sleepy she wrapped up in Grandpa John's rug... Night Night Rorie!!!
*Rorie LOVED the dancing Santa!
*Rorie & Uncle Tim
*Packer Pals (Cole & Grandpa John)
Are you happy Collette!!! We miss you!!!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wow... Really More Than A Month???
More than a month has passed since I last posted any updates. Life has been CRAZY that is for sure. Lets see where do I start...? Fred and I have decided to fix up our house a bit and see if we can sell; We love our house and the neighborhood but our house is just too small. We did find a house we love but we need to sell our house first so we plan on putting her up on the market early March! Please pray that everything goes quick and easy. The house we want is still in the West Allis area but it is much bigger and has more than one bathroom and anyone who knows Fred knows that a NEED not a Want!!!(T.M.I.?)
Rorie and Cole are still the most amazing kids on the planet;Rorie loves school and is even saying lots of new words her favorite word is "GO". For a while we called Cole "brother" so she would learn he is her little brother well that may have been a mistake cuz now she thinks that is his name. We are teaching her "Cole" but when she says it it comes our "Dim". When we say "Rorie time for Night Night say Good Night to Cole" she says in this deep troll like voice "Nite Dim" and blows him a kiss; it is sooo funny. Yesterday she was in her high chair but her baby was in Cole's chair about 3ft away. She scooted her chair over and got her baby out then sat the baby next to her when I came back with more food for her her baby was in her seat and it's mouth was full of her cracker crumbs. I laughed SOOOO hard!!! She is SO smart and so funny!
Cole is so strong and WAY smarter than you may think. He is almost in a bear crawl position; I swear one day he is just gonna stand up and walk. I told his therapist I think when Fred and I are not in the room he gets up and plays with toys and talks to all his friends; I think he is fooling all of us!!!! I call him my HEART MELTER, cuz that's what he does! He gives such good eye contact now and almost never looks at his hand. He recognizes people he knows and gives hugs... The best hug you could ever receive! The other day when he was having in-home therapy Ms. Katie was trying to show him a toy but he was very focused on a whole in the floor board. (We have all wooden floors and there are separations in some of the boards.) We kept moving him so he would look at the toy and leave the floor alone but no matter what he always went back to that same whole. He would find a whole, study it, then realize that was not the right one then move on to another until he found the one he liked. See... SMART!!!
Christmas was CRAZY... we had SO many celebrations it got a little overwhelming for me not the kids they loved it. Cole got a little sick of it by the end but he handled it like a trooper! The kids got so many things it took a whole week for us to go through old toys and make room for new toys. We didn't do our family Christmas until New Years Day but it really worked out GREAT. By then there was no rush and the kids had a break from opening presents but new how to open a present. Rorie hated to open a present then move onto the a new one, she would get so mad that she couldn't play with what she just opened. It took Cole a little longer to process what was all going on! It truly was the very best Christmas EVER!!! I love starting new family traditions with MY OWN CHILDREN!!!
I found myself on Reece's Rainbow in December and I NEVER thought that I would EVER want to go back but I think I'm starting to feel the itch... Adoption is not to far from Pregnancy. After that baby comes out somehow you forget about the pain and discomfort and the 9mths of yuck (in most cases) and all you can think of is how GREAT it was to hold that new baby in your arms. I guess that is what it is like to adopt; all the yuck is VERY hard to remember but what I can remember is when they brought Cole out to us for the first time and how warm I felt. And when Rorie blew me her first kiss and came right to me but screamed when she saw Fred's big scary beard; the smile I had that day nothing tops it. I remember that next day Fred found a little Bic razor and shaved that huge beard. I talked to Fred about it and he just kinda gave me a look like REALLY!!!! We are not ready now, we can only climb one mountain at a time and we need a bigger house before we can expand our family but it is Definitely a possibility! Keep us in pray and I promise to keep our blog updated.
For Christmas Fred got me a new starter professional camera and I am signing up for classes, I can't wait to see what God has in store for Fred and I in 2012; It's gonna be GREAT I can feel it!!! I will do a post of just pics later I have a ton to share!
Rorie and Cole are still the most amazing kids on the planet;Rorie loves school and is even saying lots of new words her favorite word is "GO". For a while we called Cole "brother" so she would learn he is her little brother well that may have been a mistake cuz now she thinks that is his name. We are teaching her "Cole" but when she says it it comes our "Dim". When we say "Rorie time for Night Night say Good Night to Cole" she says in this deep troll like voice "Nite Dim" and blows him a kiss; it is sooo funny. Yesterday she was in her high chair but her baby was in Cole's chair about 3ft away. She scooted her chair over and got her baby out then sat the baby next to her when I came back with more food for her her baby was in her seat and it's mouth was full of her cracker crumbs. I laughed SOOOO hard!!! She is SO smart and so funny!
Cole is so strong and WAY smarter than you may think. He is almost in a bear crawl position; I swear one day he is just gonna stand up and walk. I told his therapist I think when Fred and I are not in the room he gets up and plays with toys and talks to all his friends; I think he is fooling all of us!!!! I call him my HEART MELTER, cuz that's what he does! He gives such good eye contact now and almost never looks at his hand. He recognizes people he knows and gives hugs... The best hug you could ever receive! The other day when he was having in-home therapy Ms. Katie was trying to show him a toy but he was very focused on a whole in the floor board. (We have all wooden floors and there are separations in some of the boards.) We kept moving him so he would look at the toy and leave the floor alone but no matter what he always went back to that same whole. He would find a whole, study it, then realize that was not the right one then move on to another until he found the one he liked. See... SMART!!!
Christmas was CRAZY... we had SO many celebrations it got a little overwhelming for me not the kids they loved it. Cole got a little sick of it by the end but he handled it like a trooper! The kids got so many things it took a whole week for us to go through old toys and make room for new toys. We didn't do our family Christmas until New Years Day but it really worked out GREAT. By then there was no rush and the kids had a break from opening presents but new how to open a present. Rorie hated to open a present then move onto the a new one, she would get so mad that she couldn't play with what she just opened. It took Cole a little longer to process what was all going on! It truly was the very best Christmas EVER!!! I love starting new family traditions with MY OWN CHILDREN!!!
I found myself on Reece's Rainbow in December and I NEVER thought that I would EVER want to go back but I think I'm starting to feel the itch... Adoption is not to far from Pregnancy. After that baby comes out somehow you forget about the pain and discomfort and the 9mths of yuck (in most cases) and all you can think of is how GREAT it was to hold that new baby in your arms. I guess that is what it is like to adopt; all the yuck is VERY hard to remember but what I can remember is when they brought Cole out to us for the first time and how warm I felt. And when Rorie blew me her first kiss and came right to me but screamed when she saw Fred's big scary beard; the smile I had that day nothing tops it. I remember that next day Fred found a little Bic razor and shaved that huge beard. I talked to Fred about it and he just kinda gave me a look like REALLY!!!! We are not ready now, we can only climb one mountain at a time and we need a bigger house before we can expand our family but it is Definitely a possibility! Keep us in pray and I promise to keep our blog updated.
For Christmas Fred got me a new starter professional camera and I am signing up for classes, I can't wait to see what God has in store for Fred and I in 2012; It's gonna be GREAT I can feel it!!! I will do a post of just pics later I have a ton to share!
Monday, November 28, 2011
My BIGEST Blessings...
I just look at these two amazing kids and I just don't know how I got so blessed. If you met Cole today he is literally a completely different kid. HE is Mobil!!!!! Not crawling but he hops on his behind all over the place it's crazy!!! He loves books and is starting to really explore toys!!!
Rorie... well what can I say she has always been an amazing little girl but to see how smart she is and just how big she has grown is GREAT!!!!!!
Cole went for an ABR, that's when they put you under and put wires on your head, then they send different sound frequencies to the brain to see how well you are really hearing things, all went well Cole can hear he just needs to learn how to respond!!! Not as easy as it sounds!!!
Thanksgiving was a wonderful day... a year ago on Thanksgiving day Fred and I found out that our paperwork was submitted in Ukraine. This was Great because we had to redo one last form last min, drive it to Madison to get a stupid stamp and signature then drive back to Madison to pick it up and then immediately get that form in the mail overnight to Ukraine to be submitted before the Ukraine Government closed for the season. By the time they would have reopened all of our paperwork would have been out dated and we would have had to start over. When I got the email we fell to our knees Thanking and Praising GOD... this year I got to hold those kids I worked so hard for in my arms!!!! Thank You Lord!!!!
Rorie LOVED all the FOOD... she literally ate all day!!!!!
Fred and I took the kids to Sesame Street Live on Sunday and we got to go early for the meet and greet!!! I thought Rorie was going to freak out but she didn't she loved it until Fred put her on Bert's lap, then she wasn't so sure. Cole LOVED Ernie's HUGE orange hands.. Cole is a "hand" man!!!! Both kids had an absolute BLAST... so did Mommy & Daddy!!!!
Rorie Loved Bert & Ernie!!!!
Look at Cole LOVIN up Ernie's big orange hand!!!
I have never seen him so focused...
I think Daddy had just as much fun if not MORE!!!
Sensory OVERLOAD!!!!!! He passed out right before intermission :(
Rorie... well what can I say she has always been an amazing little girl but to see how smart she is and just how big she has grown is GREAT!!!!!!
Cole went for an ABR, that's when they put you under and put wires on your head, then they send different sound frequencies to the brain to see how well you are really hearing things, all went well Cole can hear he just needs to learn how to respond!!! Not as easy as it sounds!!!
Thanksgiving was a wonderful day... a year ago on Thanksgiving day Fred and I found out that our paperwork was submitted in Ukraine. This was Great because we had to redo one last form last min, drive it to Madison to get a stupid stamp and signature then drive back to Madison to pick it up and then immediately get that form in the mail overnight to Ukraine to be submitted before the Ukraine Government closed for the season. By the time they would have reopened all of our paperwork would have been out dated and we would have had to start over. When I got the email we fell to our knees Thanking and Praising GOD... this year I got to hold those kids I worked so hard for in my arms!!!! Thank You Lord!!!!
Rorie LOVED all the FOOD... she literally ate all day!!!!!
Fred and I took the kids to Sesame Street Live on Sunday and we got to go early for the meet and greet!!! I thought Rorie was going to freak out but she didn't she loved it until Fred put her on Bert's lap, then she wasn't so sure. Cole LOVED Ernie's HUGE orange hands.. Cole is a "hand" man!!!! Both kids had an absolute BLAST... so did Mommy & Daddy!!!!
Rorie Loved Bert & Ernie!!!!
Look at Cole LOVIN up Ernie's big orange hand!!!
I have never seen him so focused...
I think Daddy had just as much fun if not MORE!!!
Sensory OVERLOAD!!!!!! He passed out right before intermission :(
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Lots of Stuff Done!!!
Rorie has a healthy Heart and there are no concerns about Cole's so that is GREAT news!!!! Rorie's ears are good to go and we are still working on finding out what is going on with Cole's ears. I know he can hear but "how well" is the question. His appointment is November 11th. There is a tiny concern with his breathing but right know we are working ears and eyes. Tomorrow is our eye appointment for both kids. I think that is the update on their health.
Fred and I have been praying about finding a bigger house somehow we have out grown the house we had... LOL! We have been working on fixing things up and my hope was to have the house on the market but November 1st but it looks like Fred was right we may not have it ready until late winter early spring. Please keep us in prayer with that situation!!!
On to some fun stuff we went on a Family fun trip to a farm last weekend and we all had such a blast! Family is prolly the BIGGEST blessing God has given me!!!!! Enjoy the Pics!!!!!
Rorie is such a big helper when it comes to her little Brother!!!
She is such a Daddy's girl & he wouldn't have it any other way!!!
Cole LOVED the grass & the leaves so the only pic I could get was up close and personal!!!
Cousins sitting in the pumpkin patch, Rorie loved it can't you tell!!!
Again Cole LOVED the grass so much; but is she a ray of sunshine or what???
You can just see this guy is a stinker... Mac had his Daddy running ALL DAy!!!! I bet he slept good!!! (Mac and Daddy)
Now that is a Super Mom if I ever saw one!!!
Lilly makes a beautiful Sunflower!!!
Have you ever seen a flower wave at you??? You have now!!!
Fred and I have been praying about finding a bigger house somehow we have out grown the house we had... LOL! We have been working on fixing things up and my hope was to have the house on the market but November 1st but it looks like Fred was right we may not have it ready until late winter early spring. Please keep us in prayer with that situation!!!
On to some fun stuff we went on a Family fun trip to a farm last weekend and we all had such a blast! Family is prolly the BIGGEST blessing God has given me!!!!! Enjoy the Pics!!!!!
Rorie is such a big helper when it comes to her little Brother!!!
She is such a Daddy's girl & he wouldn't have it any other way!!!
Cole LOVED the grass & the leaves so the only pic I could get was up close and personal!!!
Cousins sitting in the pumpkin patch, Rorie loved it can't you tell!!!
Again Cole LOVED the grass so much; but is she a ray of sunshine or what???
You can just see this guy is a stinker... Mac had his Daddy running ALL DAy!!!! I bet he slept good!!! (Mac and Daddy)
Now that is a Super Mom if I ever saw one!!!
Lilly makes a beautiful Sunflower!!!
Have you ever seen a flower wave at you??? You have now!!!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
HAs it been that LONG???????
I can't believe how long it has been since I updated, there is sooo much to tell!!!!
School has started and it was a little rocky at first prolly more for Fred and I than the kids. Rorie had a little bit of a shakie time when it was time for us to leave but now she is doing GREAT with saying Good-Bye and knowing that we will be back to get her. I LOVE her teacher and I think I have even made a "Mom Friend". For those of you that know I was very nervous that about meeting other Moms & Dads, in many cases parents already know each other because their children attended birth to 3 programs together and I didn't have that opportunity so I felt a little left out but I think things are going well!!! Rorie is started to say some simple words... "Please", "More", "All Done"... things like that!!! She is also doing GREAT with her other therapies!
Cole is now receiving ALL his therapy at Penfeild Children's Center and I couldn't be happier. I got to meet all the "Ladies in his life" and I really think he is just going to continue to blossom!!! WE are having a hard time with food textures still but little by little he is accepting more and more! We have set some simple goals and I feel like he is making progress!!! He is not crawling yet but he will bare weight which is step one so its good. He is MUCH more vocal about things he wants and he actually wants to explore new toys and new environments!!! I think he is my wallflower, humane contact is still very new and he seems to me to have a "trust" issue. With new people he would rather turn away than give them attention which is the opposite of Rorie. But he make my heart melt and I KNOW he knows me and trusts me and right know that is all that matters!!!!!
AWANA started 4weeks ago already I can't believe, time really does fly! For the most part it has been going well, it's hard without Fred there!!! Rorie really seems to LOVE being a PUGGLE and when we had "Mis-MAtched" Night she won for her class... Cole would have won if he counted but they both looked good!
I'm sure there is a lot I am missing but that is it for now I will leave you with some new pics!!! ENJOY!!!!
- Rorie was modeling for her first day of school!
- I had to take all the stuff out of her bag because it was too heavy for her!
- Look at that happy face she had no idea that in less than an hour her Daddy's eyes would be "Sweating"!!!
-We went apple picking as a family and Rorie LOVED helping push her sleeping brother!
- She is TRULY a Daddy's Girl!!!
- Can you believe he slept almost the whole trip, all that bumping around and he slept soundly!!
- The Karol Family Hay Ride
- Rorie at AWANA in he "Award winning Mis-Matched Outfit", she is hugging her new pal Austin!!!
- See Cole totally would have won... Isn't it funny that they were make the same face at the same time, I thought it was GREAT!!!!
- Rorie and Cole LOVE fish... Rorie in the ball pool on AWANA Kickoff night!!!
School has started and it was a little rocky at first prolly more for Fred and I than the kids. Rorie had a little bit of a shakie time when it was time for us to leave but now she is doing GREAT with saying Good-Bye and knowing that we will be back to get her. I LOVE her teacher and I think I have even made a "Mom Friend". For those of you that know I was very nervous that about meeting other Moms & Dads, in many cases parents already know each other because their children attended birth to 3 programs together and I didn't have that opportunity so I felt a little left out but I think things are going well!!! Rorie is started to say some simple words... "Please", "More", "All Done"... things like that!!! She is also doing GREAT with her other therapies!
Cole is now receiving ALL his therapy at Penfeild Children's Center and I couldn't be happier. I got to meet all the "Ladies in his life" and I really think he is just going to continue to blossom!!! WE are having a hard time with food textures still but little by little he is accepting more and more! We have set some simple goals and I feel like he is making progress!!! He is not crawling yet but he will bare weight which is step one so its good. He is MUCH more vocal about things he wants and he actually wants to explore new toys and new environments!!! I think he is my wallflower, humane contact is still very new and he seems to me to have a "trust" issue. With new people he would rather turn away than give them attention which is the opposite of Rorie. But he make my heart melt and I KNOW he knows me and trusts me and right know that is all that matters!!!!!
AWANA started 4weeks ago already I can't believe, time really does fly! For the most part it has been going well, it's hard without Fred there!!! Rorie really seems to LOVE being a PUGGLE and when we had "Mis-MAtched" Night she won for her class... Cole would have won if he counted but they both looked good!
I'm sure there is a lot I am missing but that is it for now I will leave you with some new pics!!! ENJOY!!!!
- Rorie was modeling for her first day of school!
- I had to take all the stuff out of her bag because it was too heavy for her!
- Look at that happy face she had no idea that in less than an hour her Daddy's eyes would be "Sweating"!!!
-We went apple picking as a family and Rorie LOVED helping push her sleeping brother!
- She is TRULY a Daddy's Girl!!!
- Can you believe he slept almost the whole trip, all that bumping around and he slept soundly!!
- The Karol Family Hay Ride
- Rorie at AWANA in he "Award winning Mis-Matched Outfit", she is hugging her new pal Austin!!!
- See Cole totally would have won... Isn't it funny that they were make the same face at the same time, I thought it was GREAT!!!!
- Rorie and Cole LOVE fish... Rorie in the ball pool on AWANA Kickoff night!!!
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