Today after church, Ellie and I had the chance to 'visit' with Cydil in Albania over Skype. When we got connected, Elisona didn't want anyone but mommy on the camera, and would get frustrated if anyone else would be seen behind or beside Cydil. After a while of visiting and even a virtual feeding of popcorn chicken (Cydil would pretend to hand it through the screen and I would 'grab' it from the monitor and feed it to Ellie. Apparently it tasted much better after flying through cyberspace), Ellie consented to other Skype guests like Gigi.
Ellie and I tried to get some things done in the center to prepare for tonight's meeting, and in the process she discovered my laser level. Somehow that became an airplane in her mind and she 'flew' it all around the center until the batteries started to run low which really frustrated her!
Cydil 'revisited' Wilmore again through Skype right before our Global Cafe service as a virtual greeter. She and Tiana had fun saying 'hi' to all of the students that came through the front doors of the student center. Cydil may have actually gotten to see more students that way than a normal Sunday because she wasn't chasing Ellie around! Ellie doesn't make it through the services yet, so Cydil is often upstairs with her until after the service is over. Els made it through the singing tonight with the aid of a toy found on our speaker's display table. It was a wooden fox sitting at a computer that had some strings and a weight dangling below it. When the paddle was swung in a circle, the weight would pull strings and make the fox type on the keyboard. I probably wouldn't have thought to even mention it except for the fact that I found it in our apartment after the missionaries had already left. Thankfully they are returning to town for breakfast, so we can return it to them then.
Tomorrow will be a busy day of getting things done and packing. Els is getting excited about going to Nonna and PaPa's house, and so is her dad.
11.23.2009
11.21.2009
Day 2 - Football and more...
Cydil arrived safely in Albania, but one of her suitcases didn't. Hopefully it will follow tomorrow.
Elisona had a chance to practice her O-H-I-O today with the Ohio State vs. 'that state up north' game. Ellie doesn't have any Buckeye clothes that fit her, so we opted for an Albanian soccer outfit.
Els was a little cranky during clean-up after the game, so a nap was in order. It seemed to help to know that mommy was sleeping in Albania at the same time. Of course I had to 'sacrifice' and nap with her. It was good for both of us, but I may pay for it tonight trying to get her to sleep tonight.
As I type, Ellie is playing with some audio cards from Hallmark that were given to us recently. Hearing "Let it Snow," "Mr. Postman," and the 3 stooges theme song all playing together is a little crazy. Add to that commotion that Elisona is singing the peanut butter and jelly song while opening and shutting them like puppets to sing along and you have a picture of what is going on right now! How long do the batteries in those cards last?! Don't worry mom and dad, I will leave the cards here when we come to visit you next week for Thanksgiving!
Elisona had a chance to practice her O-H-I-O today with the Ohio State vs. 'that state up north' game. Ellie doesn't have any Buckeye clothes that fit her, so we opted for an Albanian soccer outfit.
We set up the snacks and divided the room down the middle. Did you know that Big Red Soda also has a Big Blue counterpart. Both were made available as were buckeyes and 'Rich' brownies (named in honor of coach Rodriduez).
Most of the students who arrived to watch the game with us were fellow Buckeyes, but there were a few brave Wolverines who ventured out. By the end of the game, Ellie had settled in with a bag of Cheetos.
Els was a little cranky during clean-up after the game, so a nap was in order. It seemed to help to know that mommy was sleeping in Albania at the same time. Of course I had to 'sacrifice' and nap with her. It was good for both of us, but I may pay for it tonight trying to get her to sleep tonight.
As I type, Ellie is playing with some audio cards from Hallmark that were given to us recently. Hearing "Let it Snow," "Mr. Postman," and the 3 stooges theme song all playing together is a little crazy. Add to that commotion that Elisona is singing the peanut butter and jelly song while opening and shutting them like puppets to sing along and you have a picture of what is going on right now! How long do the batteries in those cards last?! Don't worry mom and dad, I will leave the cards here when we come to visit you next week for Thanksgiving!
11.20.2009
Dad and Els - Day 1
Cydil left for Albania today to help with some photography projects for her parent's ministry there. She will be gone 12 days, so Elisona and I are on our own for a while. I hope to update the blog regularly while she is gone to prove that I haven't burned the house down.
This morning, we dropped Cydil at the Lexington airport. It is under major renovation in preparation of next summer's World Equestrian Games that will be hosted in Lexington. Ellie really wanted to join Cydil on the plane, but didn't fuss when it was time to say 'goodbye'. On the way home, she kept looking out of the window for a plane and when we arrived home she said, "Mommy's going to Albania to get Elisona!" We have been trying to prepare her for a sibling when the referral comes and have been recounting the story of our traveling to get her. It is one of her three favorite stories to hear (along with "Ellie goes to the doctor" and "Ellie goes on the kayak").
This afternoon after school, we spent some time in the kitchen preparing for the Ohio State vs. Michigan game by making 6 dozen buckeyes. Ellie loves to watch the Kitchen Aid mix and eat the batter. As she was going to bed tonight she asked her normal, "Tomorrow, after I wake up?" I told her that we would be watching football downstairs with 'the students,' and we practiced O-H-I-O one more time. She is currently softly snoring next to me on Cydil's side of the bed. I still remember hearing this beautiful sound coming from the crib at the foot of our bed the first night we were able to take Ellie out of the orphanage.
I am sure that Cydil is not getting the restful sleep on the plane that I will be getting after locking up the center. The last text that she sent to me read "Stuck in the middle. Very hot." Hope you were able to get some rest, Cydil!
Well, one day down - 11 to go!
This morning, we dropped Cydil at the Lexington airport. It is under major renovation in preparation of next summer's World Equestrian Games that will be hosted in Lexington. Ellie really wanted to join Cydil on the plane, but didn't fuss when it was time to say 'goodbye'. On the way home, she kept looking out of the window for a plane and when we arrived home she said, "Mommy's going to Albania to get Elisona!" We have been trying to prepare her for a sibling when the referral comes and have been recounting the story of our traveling to get her. It is one of her three favorite stories to hear (along with "Ellie goes to the doctor" and "Ellie goes on the kayak").
This afternoon after school, we spent some time in the kitchen preparing for the Ohio State vs. Michigan game by making 6 dozen buckeyes. Ellie loves to watch the Kitchen Aid mix and eat the batter. As she was going to bed tonight she asked her normal, "Tomorrow, after I wake up?" I told her that we would be watching football downstairs with 'the students,' and we practiced O-H-I-O one more time. She is currently softly snoring next to me on Cydil's side of the bed. I still remember hearing this beautiful sound coming from the crib at the foot of our bed the first night we were able to take Ellie out of the orphanage.
I am sure that Cydil is not getting the restful sleep on the plane that I will be getting after locking up the center. The last text that she sent to me read "Stuck in the middle. Very hot." Hope you were able to get some rest, Cydil!
Well, one day down - 11 to go!
11.18.2009
"The Blind Side" Movie and Article
Excellent editorial by my cousin, Dallas, on BigHollywood.com about the movie, The Blind Side, and transracial adoption.
Monkey See...
Last night Ellie and I had to exit a meeting out in the center and found ourselves looking for an activity to pass the time. For Ellie's 3rd birthday we bought her this toy below. The batteries eventually died and it sifted to the bottom of the toy box. A tiny screwdriver and 3 new batteries later we got it working again. Ellie's much more understanding of the point of the toy now (than where she was when we first gave it to her) and really has fun playing this game with us. One of us will hide the monkey, then Ellie comes out and tries to find it with her 'detector' stick which has a series of lights that progressively light up the closer she gets to the monkey, eventually beeping when she's within a few feet of it. Needless to say, she loves it.
11.14.2009
smelling roses...
It's been a crazy fall and between our schedule and Time-Warner's lack of carrying the Big Ten network, Nathan hasn't gotten to see many OSU football games. But today, he got to watch the Bucks defeat Iowa in HD ... and indoctrinate his daughter a little more (watch the video). The Rose Bowl is within sight.
P.S. Thanks, John David and Jessica, for post-poning supper a few more minutes to let him finish the game! You were very understanding guests! Jessica, in a few years I'm guessing your new husband will have you cheering for Clemson and using football speak. I know Nathan converted me! ;-) Have a safe trip back to Memphis!
Homework
About 30 minutes before Ellie was to leave for school, we remembered she had a project due for her unit on dinosaurs. This poor child has parents who don't know scale -- check out that dinosaur compared to the volcano -- and apparently don't buy shoes because we couldn't find any shoe boxes for our diarama(sp?) project.
You don't want to know what this would have looked like if it were up to me alone. Nathan had the bright idea to use rice for the beach, blue play dough for the river, and a styrofoam cup for our volcano (covered in crushed oreos and colored sugar sprinkles). Lifting an image of a 'rainforest' off the internet and finding a sprig of fake greenery that had become separated from a plant in the center, we completed this project without spending a penny. I'm afraid you can tell.
11.13.2009
Tweeting
In case you read this blog through an RSS feed like Google Reader, I am 'tweeting' now. It's nothing profound, but just a little slice of life between the blog posts. You can read my last few tweets at the top of this blog page or find me here: http://twitter.com/cydil.
Not sure why I started because wit and brevity are not my strong suits, but Nathan thought I should at least reserve my first name as my potential user name. I know, that sounds kind of silly because you don't exactly bump into 'Cydils' on every street corner, but I didn't snap up 'www.cydil.com' fast enough and when we inquired about it, some company wanted to sell it for $250. Now it's up to more than $1000! Can you believe that? Anyway, 'just in case' I ever decided I did want to tweet we created a account with my name, and before I knew it, I was using it ...
Not sure why I started because wit and brevity are not my strong suits, but Nathan thought I should at least reserve my first name as my potential user name. I know, that sounds kind of silly because you don't exactly bump into 'Cydils' on every street corner, but I didn't snap up 'www.cydil.com' fast enough and when we inquired about it, some company wanted to sell it for $250. Now it's up to more than $1000! Can you believe that? Anyway, 'just in case' I ever decided I did want to tweet we created a account with my name, and before I knew it, I was using it ...
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