Respite Care for Adoptive Families

This Saturday I'm going to take a free course to help train me how to be a potential respite care provider for adoptive families who need a little break for caring for their adopted kids. It's a great resource for families here in northern Colorado to help prevent burnout for families who give so much of themselves for their kids. Not only could it help others, I thought it'd be a good way to help prepare me for the possible challenges that could be part of raising an adopted child. It's hard to guess how kids will react. It sounds like some have more serious issues than others. But, what parent couldn't desire a little help and support by being given a chance to recharge. I hope it'll also help me to care for adopted kids in my care at the preschool as well. What's cool is that my boss is letting me count the course as credits towards my required training hours. It'll be quite a chunk of time as the course lasts from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. But, breakfast and lunch is provided. So, I'll let you know how it goes.

A great anniversary trip to the mountains

It's so great living in Colorado. You can be in breath-taking scenery in a matter of hours. We had such a fun, relaxing time on our 4-day anniversary trip. Here are a few pictures that we'd like to share.

Thinking about Penny even on our 5th Anniversary Trip

Here we are celebrating five years of marriage and wondering what it'll be like next year when we are parents to a teenage girl. I guess we are trying to catch up with our peers. Some people act shocked that we are adopting a teen. Actually, I can't imagine adopting a baby. I know it may sound hard to believe but I have peers who have children in high school or college. Jay has some high school classmates who are already grandparents. No, we're too old to have a baby. We don't have as much energy as we did in our twenties, especially after teaching kids all day long. So, I think it'll be wonderful to not have to carry a crying baby and all the stuff that goes with having an infant. Instead, our daughter will be able to carry her own suitcase. Woo Hoo! It'll be so fun doing things together, like cooking. I can't wait to help her with her English as she helps me with my Thai. She'll hopefully have those wonderful Thai traits like friendliness, modesty and an easy going nature for the rest of her life. We're not really worried about adopting a teen. I don't think it'll be as big of a challenge as raising a baby, just different.

Well, today we will be going to the north rim of the black canyon near Gunnison, CO. Then we'll go swimming at the Glenwood Springs hot springs pool. Tomorrow we'll drive back home going through the Rocky Mountain National Park. Yesterday we saw a kayaking festival going on in Salida. I visited with an artist which inspired me to finish up our downstairs room in our new house to become my writer's/artist's studio. I'll have to post pics of our trip later. Last night we ate at the coolest restaurant. It was called Garlic Mike's. It was a really nice Italian restaurant. We ate outdoors near a river with a canopy overhead. It was fun to see birds and chipmunks nearby. Very romantic atmosphere. Can't believe today is five years since we got married. Time flies when you're having fun!

First Good News in a Long Time

Today we got an e-mail message from our adoption coordinator reassuring us that things are progressing. She forwarded a message from the orphanage director. The director said that she has just a few more documents that she needs to send in to the government and so we're hoping that they'll process that quickly and get our official invite soon. Also, she said that Penny does know about us. She is excited to be joining the Regan family in the US! She did like the gift we sent her for her birthday and looks forward to being adopted. But, she is anxious about when school starts as she feels her English is not very good. Oh, our sweet girl is getting as nervous and excited as we are, I can tell!

About the Private Mac Blogsite

I think I'll hold off publishing this until we hear the official word from the Thai government that they are really inviting us to adopt our daughter. When that time comes, I'll let you know and you can all e-mail me and request to be on the list of those invited to read the private blog. At that time it should be safe to show photos on the private blog. Yeah! I can't wait to show you Penny's picture. She's grown a lot from the time when we first discovered her when she was eleven and a half. Can't believe she just turned thirteen. I wish we could put her growth at a standstill as we feel like we are in this everlasting standby mode. I keep telling myself that others have gone through this and survived. The key word now is SURRENDER. "Yes, I give up control." I must keep reminding myself of this over and over.

We were all thinking of you on your B-Day!

I’m thinking of you as I’m sure your birth mom must be, too. We’re both wondering how you are. We’re both wondering what you are thinking about right now. We both wish we could see you and be with you. I wish you knew that you have so many people thinking of you right now as you are turning 13 years old. We hope and pray that you receive our birthday gift soon and realize how much love is sent along with that package. We really wish that we could have celebrated your birthday together with you in Thailand. Hopefully, soon! Someday the waiting will be over.

P.S. I'm sorry I didn't post this on Penny's actual birthday, the third. But, we were celebrating her cousin, Linnea's 23rd birthday at that time.