Regan Ramblings

Three Weeks "Under our Belt"

2012-01-24T16:44:00.007-07:00

Well, we can now say that we've done at least three weeks worth of home schooling. And the verdict is... that we like it, so far! It's proving to be very flexible, such wonderful bonding time and a great opportunity to help Penny at her level and challenge her in the areas she needs some help in, but in increments. The idea of throwing her into mainstream classes, when she wasn't ready, was like taking a child who hasn't learned all of the steps involved in swimming and throwing them into the deep end and saying, "Try your best!" It was not working for her. So, now we're starting out slowly and helping her to gain confidence in the things that she does know and gradually building on them. So far, one of my favorite websites include the Pathways website, great free curriculum planning for busy, working moms. I also love the aaa.math.com site as well as abcteach.com I'm LOVING all of the resources at our library. I love the Magic Tree House books with their supplemental non-fiction books on historical topics. She's already been able to go on one field trip with our neighbor lady and her kids.
She visited the Recycle Center at the "Garbage Garage". And the last two days we've modified the home schooling plans, as she's been fighting a stomach bug. Again, love the flexibility! Penny's been able to meet with other kids at church for youth group on Wednesday night and they've been practicing for their musical every Sunday afternoon for three hours. This Sunday she went over to her friend's Chinese church to join their Chinese New Year's celebration. But, unfortunately, she couldn't enjoy much of the food, as her stomach was starting to bother her. We're doing a lot of reading and writing for our home schooling, as that's an area where Penny has plenty of room for growth. And we're using a Science curriculum that I feel comfortable with teaching, especially because it's from a Creationist perspective. Even in her Math we're having her write some about what she's been learning in a journal. I think she's already starting to gain a little more independence and confidence in her own ability. I know that creative writing is hard for her. But, I'm so proud of her progress, already. Jay and I have already attended our first ever home schooler's association meeting. There someone told me that we'd be amazed by how quickly we'd see growth and progress while home schooling. I believe I can already see that, even though it's been less than a month. We'll let you know how things are going next month.

From the Happy Holidays to Happy Homeschooling

2012-01-06T20:48:00.006-07:00

I've not been posting too much these days because I'm working 32 hours/week, plus was hosting for Christmas this year and was busy getting ready to homeschool Penny. She brought up the idea of trying homeschooling back in September, but then decided in December that she definitely wanted to do it. We've just about finished our first week and so far we're both really enjoying it. It's made for some good bonding times together, already. Now we can go back and get her caught up on subject areas and English at her own pace.

For Thanksgiving, we went over to Jay's parents, who just live across town.
For Christmas, my (Chandra's) parents came from SD, as well as my brother. Jay's sister also came from Limon along with his folks.

Having my dad and brother here was very helpful, as they helped me move furniture into our homeschooling room. My mom also helped with some organization. We've been blessed that we have so many people who have gone before us in this homeschooling venture. So, we've already received lots of advice and even free materials that we can use for our homeschooling. Penny decided to dub the name of our homeschool as "Happy Homeschool". I was pleased to find out that I qualify for an educator's discount card at Barnes & Nobles. Thanks to the kind gifts of some of my preschool families at the school where I work, I was able to use gift cards to purchase some books and a calendar/planner for my lesson planning, all for free. Not to mention, that Jay won a free laptop computer from his work's Christmas party. It just seems that God is providing everything that we need to begin this new journey. We're sensing lots of affirmations along the way. We're privileged to be in a town with some great home school networks/associations. In fact, just in the Christian homeschooler's group, alone, there are at least 140 families as members. In fact, we have a nice Christian family just about a block away from us who are welcoming Penny to come over and work on her homework while I'm at work.

One thing I can say for sure, it sure is nice to know that Penny is starting to relax more and sleep better. Public high school was turning out to be way too stressful for her. And when your child is feeling distraught it can really make parents upset, as well. Having never been a part of the large public high school, myself, it was quite a major culture shock for me, too. I like the teacher to student ratio much better now. If only we could always have those ratios at preschool! Hope you all had very Happy Holidays! And we'll check in when we can now that we've launched our new "Happy Homeschool"

Three Years Ago Today...

2012-01-01T20:47:00.003-07:00

Here are some images from our New Year's Eve in Bangkok when we were with Penny. We were there from Dec. 9th, 2008 through Jan. 10th, 2009. Hard to believe that three years later Penny is now a high school student and I'll start homeschooling her tomorrow. Just three and a half years and she should be graduating. Time is fleeting...what will we do with the time given to us today?

Three Years Ago Today...

2011-12-11T07:40:00.003-07:00

Today is a very special day in our memory! It was the first day that we ever got to meet our daughter in person. From my memory we were all very nervous. In fact, Jay got so excited when he first saw her jumping up and down that he forgot the video camera on the floor of the van. So, you just hear him burst into tears and see something like his jeans and the seat of the van. But, we have some other photos and a few mpg movies of that day. I'll try posting them here. After doing some paperwork and taking a walking tour of the grounds of her orphanage, we went to a Fair in downtown Udon Thani, where it was very hot with lots of interesting smells wafting through the air. Jay was so surprised that Penny bought a bag of roasted bugs there to eat. She says she's not sure she could eat them, anymore. I guess she's become a little more Americanized by now. Also, on that first day we got to see her play her "khim" (Thai hammered dulcimer). But, she says she was so nervous that she made a number of mistakes. We didn't care. We were just in awe of our new daughter, whom we had waited for almost two years exactly, to the day. It was like a strange fairytale dream come true.

Today Jay is singing at a church in Loveland. And Penny has been invited to go to a Chinese friend's church. In the evening we are planning to go out to eat at the Thai Pepper to celebrate the special day. I'm so glad that I'm getting over the flu bug I had on Friday. But, I think I'll still go for something mild, like Pad Thai for now.

Homeschooling

2011-12-07T10:02:00.002-07:00

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. We celebrated Jay's father's 80th birthday party and Thanksgiving. Penny went to a Christmas tea with Grandma. We all went to Cheyenne, WYO. for Jay's company's Christmas party where Jay actually won a laptop computer as a free give-away prize. And since then Penny has again brought up the idea of homeschooling. Way back in either August or September she'd been talking about wanting to try homeschooling. But, then she changed her mind, until recently. I think she's feeling that this big high school thing is way too much pressure on her. Ever since she started she has not been sleeping well. And lately she's been complaining about backaches. It could be because she has to carry a laptop (on loan to her from the school) as well as her heavy backpack all over the school, in which the main hallway is at least 3/4 of a mile long. She never uses her locker, because she only has five minutes to run through the crowded hallways to make it on time to her classes. There have been more and more reasons that I'm tending to agree with her that it'd be just fine to try homeschooling. Let me list a few: a bomb threat, lazy kids who won't do their part in projects where she's required to work with a partner, bullies, and the school giving her a survey about dating that made her feel very uncomfortable. I asked why the school wanted her to do that. She said it was so that they could get money. That's not really how I want her to be educated. So, I'm willing to give this homeschooling thing a try, at least for one semester to see if I can balance it with my 33 hour work week. But, I've devised a schedule that I think will work. In fact, it might even work better. After all, Penny is agreeing to do her part in helping Mom out with the housework, while I'm gone at work. She's quite a responsible young lady. And it could even count towards Life Skills/Home Ec credits. I think the pro of this would be that I can try to help her catch up in all of the areas where she's lagging behind. It was unfair, in my opinion, for the school to expect her to jump into Algebra I when she had been only at about 5th grade level math in Middle School. The poor girl hadn't even been taught how to tell time just less than three years ago when she was thirteen. So, I think going at a slower pace with books at her reading level, she'll be able to catch on to the concepts and fill in the gaps better before being thrust into mainstream high school level classes. Forcing kids to jump in and swim when they're not ready, like that, sounds like a set up for failure, as they may drown. Even though Penny's grades have been good (except for Math) she seems to be feeling like she's drowning, emotionally. This kind of stress level is starting to make her hate school. I want her to enjoy learning. So, I'm very thankful for the many friends, neighbors, relatives and even blogger friends who have already paved the way and started giving me great advice as we're just getting ready to take the plunge to try a different route. We'll see how it works for our family. The cool thing is that it doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing deal in our school district. For example, she could still continue taking orchestra or an art class, etc. So, we'll hope to find just the right balance for Penny. She's also getting excited about the new youth group musical that the church kids will start practicing for after the New Year. So, it looks to be an exciting new start for us for the new year!

Diversity and a Bomb Threat

2011-11-12T07:08:00.003-07:00

Thanks to a blogger friend, Wendy, I was inspired to add my own two cents worth on the topic of diversity. I don't claim to be an expert. But, I think I have had enough experience with different cultures to be able to speak on the subject. I have always been one fascinated to learn about other races and cultures. Probably, because I grew up in South Dakota, where diversity at the time when I was growing up meant basically two races: white and native American. And I think God put this little spark in me to always want to reach out to anyone who looked different than me. In elementary school my best friend was the only African American girl in the whole school. She was adopted by a white family. I remember our girlhood conversations about race. We talked about our heritage. She was African and German American. I was all German-American. I was also a close friend with a Native American girl, also adopted by white parents. This girl was heavier set and lots of kids teased her about that, but I always felt proud to sit by her in the bus. When I was in high school my best friends were from Laos and Germany. When I went away to college my best friends where Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. I spent a lot of time at the home of my Lao friend in high school. We would sit on the floor eating Lao food with our hands, watching Lao music videos. I became part of their family. And I remember one Saturday morning, after another sleepover, I went into the bathroom and almost scared myself when I looked at my face in the mirror when I noticed how white I looked. I ended up going as a missionary to Japan, where I lived for six and a half years. I saw plenty of Americans, (unfortunately, even some missionaries), who acted like their way of life was better. They were always comparing and contrasting and not wanting to really integrate into the daily way of life in Japan. I guess that I'm just different. I want to experience another way of life, another way of looking at things. But, the one thing I do believe in, is that there is One LIVING GOD. That's why I went out as a missionary. I did not want to change the people. I wanted the people to know that there is a living God who is EVERYWHERE! Even, if they don't know Him, yet, He knows them and loves them as His own. He has paid the fee for them to be His adopted kids. He just wants them to say, "Yes!" to enter into His family. I'm so thankful that I had the experience of living by myself in another culture and having to learn another language in order for people to understand me. It helps me understand a little of what my daughter had to go through in coming to this country. In our family, we don't try to teach her that everything "Americana" is the way to go. In fact, just last night at the dinner table, we were sitting there playing Yahtzee and I was so proud of our daughter playing her music out loud on her ipod Touch. The music she was choosing to share with her parents was mostly Chinese folk music, along with Thai and Korean pop music. And, lately, she has a favorite song by the cutest girl from Japan. And the cool thing is that she doesn't hang out with only the Asian kids at school. She also comes home mentioning names of friends like "Theresa and Cesar". One of the things that prompted me to post on this subject was Wendy's post. But, also, I witnessed a white, Christian, adoptive mom saying the stupidest thing last Sunday at a church where I had gone to volunteer at for their Orphan Care weekend. Her adopted daughter was adopted as a baby from China and is now a teen. This woman was talking to another teenage girl, also adopted as a baby from China. I had asked the teen girl how old she was when she entered her family. After she said, "Four months," this other woman piped up and said, "Oh, that's like our daughter, Jasmine. Then you must not even feel different." This was followed by a very awkward silence by myself and the teenage girl as we were probably both wondering what to say in response to such a dumb statement. So, finally, the woman spoke again to try to fill the awkward silence. She said, "Well, we always try to tell Jasmine that she's not different, she's special." That, too, in my opinion, is not a good thing to tell a child. EVERY child is Special! And it does nothing to acknowledge and celebrate what is different about her. She has a story to tell and part of it is her racial background. Even if she was adopted at a young age, it doesn't matter. Part of her will always be Chinese, because that's the part that everyone sees. And this poor girl has lost not only her connection with her birth parents. But, because she left when she was so young, she doesn't know firsthand, about her birth culture and has lost the opportunity to speak her native language. I wonder if the mother has tried to help her learn about those things, of course, if her daughter is open to learning about them. In many ways, I'm thankful that my daughter still knows Thai and can remember her homeland. She knows about the good and the bad. There is no ideal special place in the world. They all have their special, unique characteristics. And every place is also tainted by sin in this world. So, I always tell Penny to remember that no place is perfect. There will be good and bad everywhere! It's our job to find the good and focus on that and do our part to try and bring change to what is bad and wrong. Speaking of the bad...yesterday, on Veteran's Day, some kid thought they'd be "smart" and help the kids get out of school by planting a bomb threat note in a computer disk drive in the library at Penny's school. Thankfully, Jay had the day off from school and Penny was able to borrow her friend's cell phone to call him. He picked her up as the bomb squad was searching the building. I was out enjoying my 10 minute walk during my lunch break just two blocks away. I wondered why I saw several teenagers walking down the street. I thought that a lot of them were walking home for their lunch break. Just as I was walking through the parking lot back to my school a horn honked and I turned around to see Jay and Penny driving up. I thought, "What in the world is she doing out of school and why are they here?" My first thought was that she had become ill. So, I was quite surprised to hear that they had been released due to a bomb threat. It just seems like such a different world that we're living in. I never had to deal with things like that. My world was such a sheltered place, going to a small high school of just 60 kids. But, thankfully, even in such a small school, I had the opportunity to meet kids from Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Laos, Africa and Guatemala. And my life was enriched for the better!

So Thankful!

2011-10-29T07:42:00.004-06:00

Well, it's almost November, a time to think a little more deeply about what we have to be thankful for. I can think of so many things that I hope I won't ramble too much in this entry. But, this is entitle "Regan Ramblings", right? And I'm just exercising my 1st amendment right to speak up. So, I'll start by saying I'm SO thankful for my family. Jay and I just celebrated 10 years since we first "met" on e-harmony, October 23rd. We decided to take a much-needed weekend getaway and went hiking at a couple of state parks. I'm so thankful that we have both sets of parents and that Jay's parents live close by. They are always so helpful and supportive and Penny loves staying with them when we need to get away. It's gradually getting easier for her to handle us leaving. But, it's still a little scary for someone who is used to people leaving her permanently. So proud of how she's developing trust and becoming such a brave young woman!

As far as her school situation is going...that is also gradually getting better. According to the letter grades, she is still failing Algebra, which was devastating to her and worrying us as her parents when she was losing sleep and becoming so emotional over it. But, we finally demanded a meeting at her school and was given one. The teachers and staff involved all seemed to understand more of why Math was so hard for Penny and said they'll do more to support her. Now they've even found her a math tutor who helps just her once a week. The funding came available through a special new department in the school district, titled something like "Immigrant Services". They provide help for immigrant children who've been in this country for less than 3 years. Penny's 3 year mark will be in January. It just so happens that the woman in charge of this department happens to be in my neighbor lady's bible study and was talking about her new job and how she was having a hard time locating students who needed help. So, my neighbor lady piped up and said, "Well, I know of one kid!" and proceeded to tell her about Penny. So, thanks to that conversation, the woman contacted the school and offered her services. Before this, Penny's counselor was unaware of this service of the district. Now she's not only helped out by providing a free tutor, but she's also supplied funds to order Penny a special calculator (costing over $100) and paying for a fee that is required in order to cover insurance on a laptop computer that all students are to receive. This comes in VERY handy, as we've been struggling financially ever since Jay lost his teaching job.

Speaking of money...I felt so bad that a mistake I made cost our family more money. I've never done it before, but I completely spaced a doctor's appointment that I had set up. When I called them after I realized my mistake I discovered, much to my shock, that they had doubled their late fee. It made me break down, much to my embarrassment, over the phone. But, my wonderful husband, with his great, calm, skills of negotiating called them about a week later and asked if we could have mercy and at least cut the fee down. They not only agreed to do that, they actually waived the fee, altogether. I am so relieved. And, once again, I am so thankful that the Lord opened up the opportunity of my new preschool job. I'm so thankful for the great hours and being just a couple blocks away from Penny's school. Just continuing to pray for God's provision during these hard times.

One thing I'm very thankful for, is a roof over our heads. The other night Penny woke up around 2:30 am and thought her bed was shaking. She said it felt like a small earthquake. I slept through the whole thing. But, in the morning we discovered big branches on our roof due to the heavy, wet snow overnight. It has caused so much tree damage throughout the city that they've decided to pick up all of the limbs across the city from the curbside for free. It's going to cost the city 1.5 million dollars.

Another reason I'm feeling thankful for our home, is in hearing about the many people in Thailand fleeing from their homes, due to the flooding there. It's not affecting the area of Thailand where Penny comes from. But, it is slowing down the whole adoption process for many waiting families. It may have disrupted life for some the children whom they are waiting for, as several of those kids live with foster families whose homes are in the area affected by the flooding. So, please pray for everyone involved.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving, let's all pause and remember the many reasons that we have to be thankful for. God is good, all the time!

His Light is Shining

2011-10-08T07:00:00.007-06:00

No big huge exciting news to tell. We're just busy living our daily lives. But even in the mundane stuff of life, I can always see God's light shining bright! The good news is that I (Chandra) am LOVING my new job. Even though one year olds are not necessarily my first age group that I most like working with, I must say that this job is awesome! I love my new school, my boss, my co-worker and the curriculum. God totally answered prayers and I even got the perfect hours, too! Jay asked if I could ask my boss for more hours. I said, "Well, I'm not sure if I can ask for that, because I just started working there and I want the earlier hours, but the other teacher in my classroom has been there longer and is working the earlier hours." Then I went on to say, "I really don't see any way possible that it would happen unless that other teacher were to quit." That was on a Tuesday night that we had that conversation. On Wednesday night I asked a ladies' prayer group that I had joined to please pray about my job situation. On Thursday at work this other teacher said to me, "Did you know that I turned in my two-week's notice to quit on Tuesday?" I was quite flabbergasted at how God had answered my prayer before I had even prayed it. It's not that I'm happy about someone quitting, but it just all seemed so right. In fact, this other teacher was extremely unhappy in her job. So, she felt it was for the best. And it turns out that the other new, young teacher who they hired to take her place, is awesome! I've been praying, too, that I could work with someone who would feel like a real team member. It's amazing how well I work with Kati. We both have similar ideas and styles. And, yet, we have just have enough differences, too, that we complement each other. I had to laugh the other day because just when I almost opened my mouth to tell Kati something I thought we should do, she walked over and started doing that very thing. It's like we read each other's minds. And the kids are already responding to our good comradery.

On the home front, we are trying to decide how to best help Penny adjust to so many huge changes involved with become a high school student. There are definitely harder classes and new social dynamics to face in such a big school (larger than the population of the town where I went to H.S.). It's a big culture shock for her mom, as well. I'm not used to facing security guards questioning me as to why I want to park in the visitor's parking lot and feeling like I have to prove that I really do need to meet with Penny's counselor and not wanting to get a ticket for not having a permit to park in the other huge lots. One of the things we did to try and help us understand her better and to know how to best parent her during this important stage in life, was to attend a class. It was hosted by the Adoption Exchange. It's an organization helping post-adoptive families here in Colorado. We learned a lot about trauma and brain development. We know that this time in Penny's life is a tough one to try and figure out her identity. She's going through a stage of both bonding closer with me and yet feeling completely embarrassed for having her friends see me, especially since we don't look alike. So, I just keep trying to love on my "Jekyll and Hyde" personality of my daughter.

The big thing I took away from in the class was that spending time with your child is the best way to heal their trauma and make them feel safe and well-adjusted. We've definitely been plenty of that. So, thankful that my hours are now ideal for spending that time with her. We're also even considering attending another church, if it would help Penny to find some new friends, especially those who lead her closer to the Lord. So, will you please pray with us during this time of transition?

I've been spending tons of time doing LOTS of personal tutoring for trying to help Penny with her homework. It's a lot of bonding time over trying to explain things like consecutive integers, double conversions in algebra and the functions of organelles in cells. But, I convinced her yesterday after school that we both needed to take a break. So, we went out to Dairy Queen for peanut buster bars and then went to see the CSU flower gardens before it possibly freezes over this weekend. They are right across from the original old Fort Collins H.S. building, so we went in a took a look at the building now that it's been bought and renovated into an arts building for CSU. We went to a free museum exhibit inside that was rather "unique" and then we did a little window shopping at a beautiful consignment shop in an old house. After a dinner of terriyaki chicken we rounded off the night by playing Uno on Mom and Dad's bed. It was really a nice, relaxing afternoon free of stress.

Last weekend we got to meet another family who I had only known through their blogs and FB before. It was so fun meeting them in person. They are another family from Colorado who has an adopted daughter, from Vietnam. And now they feel God has called them to take a world tour with their daughters for one year. The husband can work from abroad. So, they'll be spending time in Europe and Asia and I can't wait to follow their journey, especially when they stay in Thailand for a few months. We were so blessed to meet them just before they left on their new adventure. We met at a Fall Festival held at our church, which was a fund raiser for Lutheran Family Services, who helps place foster children in adoptive homes.

Well, I need to wrap this up so that I can ready to go off to my little group of believers and a few seekers of truth at a small Japanese congregation here in Fort Collins. I help out with the worship team there. We just meet once per month. But, I pray that God will use us to glorify Him and shine His light and love on others so that they might know Him better. Jesus, please shine through me, today!

New Beginnings...Again

2011-09-10T07:14:00.002-06:00

It feels like our family has gone through such a whirlwind of new beginnings ever since we brought our daughter home in January 2009. Let's see...let me reflect on all of the changes in the past two and a half years...Jay lost his teaching job he had been at for seven years, Penny entered elementary school in America for the first time, I left my job of four years after my hours cut in less than half, Jay taught in music in Greeley, Penny started middle school for the first time, Jay left the job in Greeley and ended up working part-time as a music accompanist at a middle school in Loveland, I started working with toddlers for the first time at Spring Creek School, Jay found another part-time job as a teller at a credit union in Wellington, Penny started high school for the first time, Jay started working full-time at the Credit Union this past Spring, my hours got cut down to about half again at my preschool and now I just got hired back at 30 hours at a new preschool very close to our house and a block away from Penny's H.S. You can imagine why we have been feeling like life has been rather out of control. We never dreamed that our income would be cut to less than half of what it had been and now that we have mortgage payments and a child to care for. But, somehow we are still surviving. It is only by the grace of God who is holding us up when we wonder how to handle all of life's cares. I know that many of our dear friends and family members, even new friends that we've met thanks to the internet, who are encouraging us and lifting us up in prayer. What would we do without such a loving bunch of people surrounding us?! We're so thankful to God for you all! During this time of reflection on September 11th I think of all the many changes that have come to this country and to our lives. On that day, ten years ago, I was a single missionary who had just moved back to the States and resettled in a new place, Loveland, Colorado. I had just moved into my apartment ten days before that infamous day and had no television to show the horrific images of terrorist attacks on our nation. But, the thing that stands out in my mind at that time was what a wonderful gift it is to live in this country where so many people believe in hope, healing, forgiveness and prayer! What a different atmosphere it was than when the tragedy of the Kobe earthquake happened while I was living in Japan. There the main reaction was one of stoic fatalism resulting in MANY people taking their own lives out of a sense of hopelessness and despair. And now the same thing is occurring again there after the terrible tragedy of the recent earthquake and tsunami. But, I am so touched at how so many people who do believe in the living HOPE through Jesus are reaching out to others in need. His love is real! I can feel it in our own lives. He will never leave us nor forsake us. This becomes all the more evident when things of this world seem to be snatched away. So thankful that we have a solid ground to stand on who won't be shaken through all of the upheavals of life!

New Music Lessons Opportunities

2011-08-30T14:15:00.002-06:00

Jay R. - Tutor in Fort Collins, CO 80525

Eternity-minded Music Studio

Hourly Rate	$44.00 - $55.00
Location	Fort Collins, CO 80525
More Information	http://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/CO/Fort-Collins/7724059/#ref=1QXMDF

About Me	Would you like to learn how to play the piano or receive coaching in proper singing technique? Do you have a desire to take up the trombone and have fun sliding away? Do you need help with studying music theory or history, or perhaps want to enrich your life by learning the principles of the gift of music. I’m a licensed music educator with over ten years of experience teaching K-12 Music in Colorado. In addition, I’ve played the piano for 35 years and I’ve extensive experience as a professional vocal soloist for over 25 years. I'm passionate about helping you pursue your musical goals and dreams. I hold two music degrees, including a Bachelor of Music Education from Colorado State University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona. I've helped many people to experience the joy of learning and performing music, and I would love to meet you and share the musical experience. I’m currently accepting students from school-age to adult and I can work with you to find a schedule that meets your needs. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

About Me

Would you like to learn how to play the piano or receive coaching in proper singing technique? Do you have a desire to take up the trombone and have fun sliding away? Do you need help with studying music theory or history, or perhaps want to enrich your life by learning the principles of the gift of music.

I’m a licensed music educator with over ten years of experience teaching K-12 Music in Colorado. In addition, I’ve played the piano for 35 years and I’ve extensive experience as a professional vocal soloist for over 25 years. I'm passionate about helping you pursue your musical goals and dreams. I hold two music degrees, including a Bachelor of Music Education from Colorado State University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona. I've helped many people to experience the joy of learning and performing music, and I would love to meet you and share the musical experience. I’m currently accepting students from school-age to adult and I can work with you to find a schedule that meets your needs. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Connect with over 30,000 local, in-home tutors at WyzAnt.com!

Wonderful Trips

2011-08-10T07:51:00.009-06:00

We just took a couple of family vacations. One was for nine days to the Midwest. The other one was a three-day weekend camping trip. It's so hard to sum up in a few words the experience of making such special memories with our little family. We've only been a family of three for two and a half years. So, there are so many firsts that we are still experiencing. Let me try to reflect on the highlights and post some photos to try and capture the special times. The states that we drove through, visiting friends and relatives(in some of those states), were Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado.

Highlights:
1. Meeting other families who have also adopted their children from Thailand.
2. Meeting the Hanaoka family who "adopted" me as a college student. Penny immediately felt a close connection with them, as well.
3. Worshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ at Church of Christ Presbyterian in Chicago.
4. Going to downtown Chicago to see the Aquarium.
5. Finding an awesomely delicious restaurant serving great Vietnamese and Thai food very close to my Alma Mater, Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago.
6. Seeing my aunt and uncle in Council Bluffs, my former co-worker from Japan and his family and my aunt and cousin in Minnesota.
7. Penny getting to play with her cousins and spending time at Grandpa and Grandma's in SIoux Falls.
8. Seeing my own cousins and aunts and uncles in the western part of South Dakota.
9. Returning to the beauty of Colorado and driving up to the mountains to tent out.
10. Experiencing our first campout at Steamboat Lake State Park.
11. Penny catching a crayfish.

Here are a few photos of the highlights:

Feeling Giddy with Excitement

2011-07-19T07:10:00.002-06:00

I am so excited about our upcoming trip that I can't control myself. I'll actually not be responsible for any toddlers for at least ten days! I can just enjoy family time with my husband and daughter all that time. We are planning on going to Chicago. The first night we'll stop in Lincoln, NE, where the temp was about 105 yesterday. Yikes! We're so excited to meet families who have adopted from Thailand at the Thai Family Reunion. Penny is planning to do a Thai dance and show them her khim (Thai hammered dulcimer). We also plan to go downtown to visit the Shedd Aquarium, eat Chicago-style pizza and perhaps see my Alma Mater, Moody Bible Institute, where I went to college in the late 80's/90's. We'll stay with my "adoptive" family, the Hanaoka's, who took me in when I was a lonely college student FAR away from the prairie land of South Dakota missing my family and sheep. Can't believe their oldest, who was a four year old in my children's church class is now grown up and teaching English in Japan just like I did twenty some years ago. On the way back from Chicago we'll stay with a former co-worker of mine from Japan and his family. So fun that we'll get to see their kids for the first time and then see some relatives in Minnesota before stopping in South Dakota to see my (Chandra's) family. This will be the longest road trip ever for us with our daughter. It'll be sure to be a memory-making trip!

I Guess it's a Good Sign

2011-07-14T07:51:00.004-06:00

I've noticed this summer that Penny is not always so happy to have little children around, anymore. She used to be overjoyed about any child that came around. But, this summer she has had both her one year old cousin and a one year old child of my best friend from high school here. And my expectations of how excited she would be turned out to be wrong. While it was a little disappointing, at the same time I think it is a very good sign. Now I realize that she is at a new and different stage in her life. At first I think she'd latch on to other kids, because she was most used to being surrounded by other children. In fact, when she first came home she'd BEG for a sister. Now that she's gotten used to the exclusive love and care of her own parents she's starting to feel very safe and valued and loves spending time with us. This summer she's had to learn how to be on her own for at least five hours every day because this is the first summer that both Jay and I have been working. While it hasn't been easy, Penny is doing great and is really maturing. But, sometimes the behavior reverts back and everything I've read about this is that it is completely NORMAL!! It's a good sign that your child is trying to bond and attach to you as their parent. After all, your child is emotionally at the developmental stage of attaching at the age of when they entered your family. So, start with 0 for when they entered and then add up their emotional age from there. That means we're at the two year old stage, which is the same age that I've been working with at my preschool. Wasn't God smart for giving me a job that helps me better understand where my daughter is at with her feelings and developmental stage of life in our family? Sometimes when those feelings are combined with the ups and downs of teenage hormones it can be quite a ride! But, I'm very thankful to know that it is a healthy thing for her to be feeling jealousy when her mommy shows affection for another one year old who has "invaded" our living space. I suppose you could say that our princess does not want to give up her position as "Alpha Cat" in our household. And Daddy did make sure to have a talk with our "Alpha Cat" to remind her and teach her about how we are to treat cats, oops, no I mean "guests". So, we'll see how our summer trip goes when we'll be meeting a lot of people who are friends to me, but strangers to Penny. There will surely be many opportunities to remind her that she will always be our daughter and the one that we truly love.

The "cats"/guests that we most recently hosted were my friend, Christine along with her husband and baby who came from Germany. While she only attended my high school for one semester, we became best of friends and have kept in touch all of these years. She and her twin brother and I all talked about our interest in Japan back then and we all ended up going to Japan, but at different times. Since she has relatives in America she still comes back to visit. And I visited her once in Germany. She ended up marrying a guy who is half Japanese and half German. Their daughter, Sophia Hanako, was really adorable, even if she did take fistfuls of hair from our real cat and grab her tail now and then.

I had some new insight into where our daughter is at in her life with this recent visit. While Jay and I can understand and agree that the crying of a baby is a bit annoying, I hadn't thought about it from Penny's point of view. She said, "Mom, I can't stand the crying of the baby because I heard a LOT of that at Udon." So, it was bringing back bad memories for her of all the crying babies there. It probably made her think of when she was one of those crying babies, too, with no mommy to console her. So, I made sure to take a moment out of our busy day of work and hosting our guests to have my "baby" sit on my bed and combed her hair for a little mother-daughter bonding time. So thankful that I can be her mom, now!

Our 4th of July, 2011

2011-07-06T08:15:00.004-06:00

This year we did something different. We went to a parade up in the little town of Wellington, where Jay works at a Credit Union. It definitely had a small town feel. There were not any bands marching in this parade. Mostly cars and horses. At first Penny seemed disappointed, but it was not like the parades in Udon with their beautiful dancers and musicians. But, when she discovered that they throw candy at American parades she got much more into it. Fortunately, we found a shady place to stand, since it was well on it's way up to our high that day of 100. Then in the evening we drove to another small town of Windsor to watch fireworks. We found a great parking space next to a park with a little hill where we sat and had a great view. Wonderful day! So thankful and glad for the freedoms that we are privileged to enjoy in this country!

It's Sure Great Living in Colorado!

2011-06-30T16:54:00.004-06:00

We feel very blessed to live in Colorado. The scenery is out of this world! It's great that we can drive just an hour and go from the 90's to snow! That's exactly what we did on Sunday. We decided to escape the heat on the plains. On our drive we got to see some buck elk with large racks as well as several marmots. There was still quite a lot of snow as they had just had more snow the previous weekend up there. They just recently reopened Trail Ridge Road, which is the highest continuous paved road in America, at two miles above sea level. You can always tell which people up there are not from Colorado. They are the ones wearing shorts and flip flops and freezing. We had a lot of fun just getting out in God's beautiful creation. Enjoy the photos!

June 23rd--Two Years Since Finalization

2011-06-25T06:55:00.004-06:00

This Thursday I had to work in the morning. But, my afternoon was free, while Jay had to work. So, Penny and I got out of town by driving up to Horsetooth Reservoir. She said, "Mom, I think we came here just after I came to America, didn't we?" "Yes," I said, "that's right." Later we went to Watson Lake and the Fish Hatchery.

Again, she said, "We've been here before, haven't we?" It's fun to see that she's starting to have more memories associated with her home in America. I think in many ways it still doesn't feel like home for Penny. After all, she spent the first thirteen and a half years of her life in Thailand. She's still very apprehensive about meeting new people and not eager to make friends here. I'm just thankful that she is bonding and connecting with us as her family. In all of the adoption books I've read it seems that the main thing to remember is that your child must go through all of the normal developmental stages that any child does with their parents. That means that emotionally your child is the age at which they entered your family. So, it makes complete sense that at the two year stage in our relationship she feels safer clinging to her family and is wary of strangers. So, I'm praying that God will help her and strengthen her for the big transition to go to high school, where there will be so many people! Here are pictures of Penny from Jan. 2009, when we first got home and from this June 23rd and you can see how she has grown so much! There are also a couple of her on our recent trip to Watson Lake.

A whirlwind of Activity

2011-06-19T15:52:00.010-06:00

It seems like we've remained busy ever since the "Big Party". For Mother's Day we had a picnic at a park.

There was Penny's 8th Grade graduation. Also, Penny took her first ever ballet class.
Then I had to figure out transportation for a couple weeks of fun activities for the first two weeks of June. On June 3rd we celebrated her 16th birthday.
During that first week she volunteered by teaching crafts for our church's VBS. And the second week in June she had her Youth Police Academy sponsored by the city of Fort Collins and the Poudre School District.
That Tuesday Jay and I took off for our 8th wedding anniversary. Then there were family ailments. The cat was deathly ill with a swallowed piece of yarn tangled up in a hair ball that was stuck for a few days on top of a urinary tract infection. I never knew doctoring a cat could be so expensive!

Then our computer crashed one day after our 3-year warranty expired. Thankfully, the folks at Best Buy had mercy and graciously offered a free one-month extension of our warranty. So, our mac went to the repair shop for two and a half weeks. Then I came down with a bronchial infection, along with a virus that I've been battling for close to three weeks.

We've had house guests for two weekends in a row and, meanwhile, Jay and I have been kept busy with our jobs. I've actually been getting a few extra hours in with some other teachers out either on vacation or because of illness/injury. So, it's been a while since I've been able to sit down and "waste" time on the computer. But, I sure missed keeping up with how everyone was doing. Isn't the internet great?! I feel like I have all kinds of friends out there, some of whom I've never actually even met in person. We're hoping that we'll be able to meet many of you at the Thai Family Reunion in Chicago this summer. My cousin in Council Bluffs, IA just warned me that we may be detoured as they are having major flooding along the Missouri River. But, hopefully, Lord willing, we'll be able to make it out there and meet many friends. I also can't wait to meet dear friends from my church I attended while I was a college student some twenty years ago. There have also been fun times in our daily activities, like the day when Penny and I decided to make our very own homemade dumplings or potstickers (gyooza in Japanese). Penny can't remember what they are called in Thai. If anyone knows, please let me know. They were a real hit. A lot of work, but Jay said, "Wow, those are so much better than the frozen ones from the supermarket! You can add that to your repertoire!" Speaking of Jay, we had fun celebrating Father's Day at a Mexican restaurant. Jay likes to get his Mexican "fix" once in a while since he spent several years living in Tucson, AZ.

Big Party!

2011-05-07T07:47:00.003-06:00

Well, now that the big party is over I can finally sit down and blog again. I see it's been a month since my last blog entry. We've had a lot of excitement here at the Regan household. We celebrated Penny's confirmation, her 8th grade graduation and her upcoming 16th birthday. She dressed up in her Thai silk dress, which she purchased with her own hard-earned money by having a friend from Thailand send it to us. We ended up having 35 people in our house. In true Colorado fashion, our weather was very unpredictable. So, we ended up having to close the garage door due to strong, gusty chilly winds. In fact, that morning we had a few small snow flakes. Today, one week later, it's supposed to be 80 degrees. We set up a buffet line and tables in the garage, because our home is not huge. But, somehow the traffic seemed to flow okay and a fun time was spent with all of the friends and family. I wish I could share some deep, profound words about this event or the upcoming Mother's Day, but I really am at a loss for words. My prayer for Penny is that her newly found faith in Jesus will continue to grow. May the confirmation in her heart grow deeper and deeper, as she experiences the deep love of her savior, who came to earth to save her and everyone who will believe. We pray for our lovely daughter that she will continue to grow into a strong woman who loves the Lord and shares His love with others around her.

The Waves of Change along with Growing Pains

2011-04-10T09:00:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to help prepare my daughter for the BIG change coming up...High school! She's already scared about it. I think transitions are hard for all teens, but even more so for teens who have just went through a HUGE life-changing transition of giving up their own culture, language, friends, etc. to get used to what it is to be a part of a family in an entirely new world. When you add in the teenage hormones it can sometimes make for some tumultuous emotions. So, I'm trying to help our daughter to learn to recognize the signs of when it may be her fluctuating feelings that are making her to react in negative ways. I think she's gradually learning to notice these things. But, little things can suddenly set her off, like when a teacher threatened her with a detention for forgetting to turn in a paper for two days in a row. Something like that can be CRUSHING for Penny. It can send her spiraling downward and then it calls for extra sleep and lots of probing with questions from Mom to help her figure out just how much that is affecting her. Of course, she doesn't want to admit it, but I can see it quite obviously. I guess my motherly concern hasn't gone unnoticed by her, either. For yesterday, she wrote a paragraph for a contest at Chick-Fil-A about why her mom is the greatest in the world. I tried not to notice what she was writing, but I couldn't help but peek enough to see that she thinks that what is special about her mom is that she also is there for her and trying to make sure she is okay when she's having a hard time. I was touched that she wrote that she feels like I'm her real mom even though I am not.

You know, the one who I hear speak of a "real mother" the most is my daughter. So, naturally, we have conversations about that. And I make sure to not take it personally, but to listen to what she means by that when she talks about her "real mother". And I think she is also listening to me when I remind her that giving birth, alone, is not all that a mother does. Yesterday I was careful to acknowledge what she had to say about why she wanted to straighten her hair, because it helped her to remember her foster mother (whom she hasn't seen since she was about 5 years old and was only a part of her life for one and a half years). She was obviously an important person in her life and I'm amazed how she remember details from those times even though she was only four years old when they returned her to the orphanage.

The high point of the week was when Penny was awarded a 1st place prize for the "Proud to Be Bilingual" contest through our school district. This was her second year in a row to be nominated for an award. Last year her illustrated children's book won a 2nd place prize. She acted like she wasn't too enthused about the project this year but since winning the prize she's already been talking about what kind of project she would like to work on for next year. Another highlight this week was that she got a first place for her violin contest that was held this past Saturday. But, after the highs, I can usually be assured that the lows will follow. So, too, there were tears and anger at Mom for pressuring her about something and then tears in the night over very painful growing pains in her legs. That, after being worn out, because she wanted to go out and collect applications to try to apply for a summer job. The poor girl is going through all kinds of growing pains. But, I'm entrusting her to Jesus, the author and perfecter of her faith! These precious children are a gift for a while. But, they truly belong to their loving Heavenly Father who has known them even before they were born. I think that message of being an adopted child in the family of God is what really seems to give Penny hope. She certainly knows that I love her, but that I am an imperfect human being. The more she can grasp of God's love, the more she can grow in assurance of His constant care. He helps impart a peace that her earthly parents cannot entirely supply. So, when people try to give us credit for good parenting I quickly turn the attention to where the credit really goes. I am limited, but God is not. He is the one who is truly transforming this beautiful young woman right before our eyes. He has simply called us to be a part of His plan if helping her to grow up to be all that He meant her to be.

Rikuzentakata destroyed by tsunami

2011-04-02T07:38:00.001-06:00

I don't want us to forget those who were left behind following this tragic day in Japan, March 11th, 2011. Just three weeks ago...there are now thousands of people living everyday of their lives in a temporary shelter wondering what they will do for their future. Let's pray for them that they may know the Living Hope who offers them a future of a life spent with Him.

Birthday and Spring Break

2011-03-19T17:10:00.005-06:00

Well, it certainly has been an interesting few past weeks. First of all, Penny and I drove out to SD to attend the funeral of one of my uncles on March 3-4. He was a very special man and will be missed dearly. But, we're all so thankful to know that he is no longer suffering and went home to be with the Lord. I think it was actually a very good, growing experience for Penny to face her fears about death. She seemed more at peace afterwards. And she seemed both glad and overwhelmed to meet my many relatives. (My dad comes from a family of eleven kids and I have around 30 some first cousins on his side). Here's a picture of those of us cousins who made it for the funeral.

When we got home she performed in a community talent show. She did an AWESOME job performing a Thai dance that she choreographed herself.

Then she went back to school on Monday, however, that night she was moaning about her head hurting. I thought it was because she was studying for a quiz in science, her worst class. But, on Tuesday morning she got up looking miserable. I took her temp and it was 101. So, she stayed home again and it turned out that she stayed out the whole week with the flu. She was the worst on my birthday, the 9th. That day Grandma was with her and when I got home from work her temp had spiked to 104. I was quite worried, but the doctor tried reassuring me that such a kind of bug is going around our area and not to be alarmed.

And now for the week of the 14th she has no school because it's Spring break. When she goes back they have a week of standardized testing. So, that'll mean that she won't have had regular classes but once in eighteen days. I don't hear her complaining. It's not like we're doing nothing. She got all of her make up work done. And we've been working on her confirmation project and banner. For fun, we've gone ice skating, biking, playing tennis, to a farm, to a park and out for authentic Thai food. Grandma also took her to her favorite new movie, Tangled. It's helpful that the temps have been mostly in the upper 60's lately. We did also finally go out to celebrate my birthday, just five days late, at the East Moon Asian Restaurant. Penny wasn't too impressed with their Thai.

Jay had good news yesterday that we celebrated by going out to Country Buffet. He got asked to switch from part-time to full-time at his new teller job at the Credit Union. Combined with his part-time job at the school he'll now be working 52 hours per week until the end of the school year. Very helpful as our income had dropped to less than half of what it was the year before. But, we still feel VERY blessed, especially since the news of the horrible devastation in Japan. It especially hit me hard as I spent six and half years of my adult life living and working there as a missionary. I truly left part of my heart in Japan. So, I'm praying and asking if somehow I may be able to eventually return on a short-term trip to help meet some needs, both physical and spiritual there in the future.

What a strange week!

2011-03-11T18:54:00.006-07:00

This has been quite a roller coaster week! Penny had the worst illness we've ever seen her have since she joined our family. I ended up taking much of the week off from work, since she was out sick. On Wed. when we had planned to celebrate my birthday she was at her worst with her fever spiking to 104. This mama was quite worried. But, the doctor told us not to fear, that she seemed to have the type of flu that he's been seeing a lot of, lately. And he said it typically lasts between 4 and 7 days. Guess what? Last week, I let her take a couple days off from school to go with me to South Dakota for my uncle's funeral. And next week is Spring break. This looks kind of bad doesn't it? Well, thankfully, all of her teachers have been very understanding. And today when I'm celebrating that she's finally starting to feel a little better I hear about this terribly powerful and devastating earthquake in Japan, where I spent six and a half years of my life. Thankfully, my friends are all far enough away from the epicenter that they were not hurt. But, they said it was definitely the worst one they've ever experienced. And I think of the many people who were not so fortunate.

We had the joy of watching Penny do an EXCELLENT job of performing a Thai dance for a talent show tryout, which we were sure she'd get picked for. But, while she was sick we got the letter stating that she had not been chosen. Couldn't believe it! Well, we're excited that she'd like to do the dance for other Thai kids at the Thai Reunion we're planning on attending in Chicago this summer. Speaking of Chicago, my dear friends, the Hanaoka's live there. We're hoping to see them and possibly even stay with them. I was very concerned about their daughter, Kristin, who is living in Japan, teaching English. I used to be Kristin's sunday school teacher when she was four years old. Now she's a teacher, not far from the epicenter of the earthquake. But, I found out that she just happened to be in Tokyo at the time of the quake, where there wasn't so much damage. She's planning to fly out of Japan hopefully by Tuesday.

There was the joy of hearing of people who were safe. There was sad news about a best friend's husband losing a job and dealing with other problems, as well. You would think that I'd be worn out. But, the funny thing is that all through this week I've had a real sense of peace and gratitude. I know it must be the Lord. I just feel more and more thankful for the little things in life. I felt so glad that I have a daughter to care for and thankful to God for answering my prayers for a husband and a family. What gifts He has given us! And none of us know how long we will have the gifts He has given to us in this world. But, we have assurance that we can spend all of eternity with Him if put our trust in Him. That is the best gift of all!

Feb. 2011

2011-02-26T06:30:00.003-07:00

Here's a picture of Penny holding our friend, Katie's little boy. He is half Korean. And Penny said, "Mom, his eyes look just like mine! He is a real cutie. It's too bad for us that they will be moving. But, we're so happy for them that her husband got a good new job in Washington state.

At the end of January Penny and Jay went up to Covenant Heights for her confirmation youth group's winter retreat. That same day I, (Chandra) had a meeting in Denver to learn more about my new volunteer/part-time position with World Heritage International Exchange Student program. So, during nap time at the preschool where I'm working, I'm trying to read through the manual and figure out what I need to do to make it possible to find host families and get the schools to allow exchange students to come here.

Jay continues playing the piano at a middle school in Loveland and then going to work at a credit union in Wellington in the afternoon. I've been getting some extra hours at my preschool, lately, when other teachers are out. And we are VERY thankful for unexpected provision through our tax return. We discovered, much to our surprise, that this year they changed the tax law and we can now get our full adoption tax credit. So, our return will be much bigger than we anticipated. Praise God! So, we feel we could even afford to take a family vacation out to Chicago at the end of July to go to the Thai Reunion and then stop by and visit my family in South Dakota on the way back.

We had a very nice Valentine's Day! Jay treated me to a gift certificate to a massage and a beautiful flowering plant. I gave he and Penny a book that I created online by including blog entries about us becoming a family. It turned out really nice and it will be a special treasured memory for years to come. Then we all went out to eat that night. Later Penny said that she was really glad about the family to which she belonged, because she heard of lots of kids her age who had to stay home alone while their parents went out on a date alone that night.

Speaking of date nights, they come few and far between for Jay and me now that we've become parents. However, we actually had one while Penny went to a Chinese New Year Festival with her friend and their family. And what did we do? Most of the time, we actually did yard work together. It sounds crazy, but it was actually kind of nice just to be alone and feel like we were getting something accomplished side-by-side without any interruptions or demands.

Penny has been busy this month practicing her Thai dance. She and I worked together on coming up with the choreography. We got ideas from watching Thai youtube videos and my video tape from when I was visiting a Thai conference back in 1999. Then I managed to get a free download of the Loy Khatrong song she wanted, after having ordered the wrong one from a company in Bangkok. She used all of her savings money and paid a friend back in her hometown of Udon Thani to purchase and send her a new Thai dress. She is planning to wear the dress when she does a Thai dance for a tryout at a community talent show on Saturday, March 5th. Last year she tried out by playing her Thai hammered dulcimer. She didn't get picked to be in the show last year. But, that didn't stop her from trying something again this year. I'm proud of her that she's not trying out just to be picked, but to have fun and share a little of her Thai culture. She has been working hard in school and getting almost all A's and B's. She signed up for her classes that she'd like to take in high school. It's hard to believe that she'll be going to high school in the Fall. She also has the goal of trying to get a summer job and study to learn how to drive, since she'll be turning sixteen in the summer.

January 2011

2011-01-22T09:49:00.008-07:00

After the month-long blogs of reminiscing about our time in Thailand, I suppose I should update you on what's been happening in the Regan family back in December and January 2010/2011. We had a nice, peaceful time with friends and family. Some of the highlights included caroling with friends from church and inviting a new Thai friend and her Chinese friend to join us.
We really enjoyed having my (Chandra's) parents, brothers and nieces come out to celebrate Christmas with us.

I'm so glad that Penny gets along so well with her cousins. In fact, she treats them like she's a mother to them and they love it! Then in January we had friends over for Thai food to celebrate two years since Penny came home to Colorado. We also went to visit Jay's sister and her husband down in Limon, CO as a sort of belated Christmas/New Year's/Jay's B-Day celebration.

We wonder what this new year will bring. We are having a real challenge of tough finances right now. And I'm recently nursing a back injury. So, we're praying that things can only get better. But, there is also a lot to look forward to. Penny is now in the home stretch of finishing up middle school. The plan is to move on to Fort Collins HS. She'll also get confirmed with her confirmation group at our church this Spring. In fact, she has a retreat with that group next weekend up at Covenant Heights Camp in the mountains. That is the camp where I worked one summer when Jay proposed to me. Jay will be going with her on this retreat. I'll be going down to Denver for a training with the new organization that I signed up with as a flexible part-time position. My job will be to try to link up foreign exchange students with host families. This coming summer Penny will turn sweet 16! She's beginning to talk about learning to drive and getting a summer job. Can't believe how fast time goes! She's planning to try out for a community talent show. Last year she tried out by playing her Thai instrument, the "Khim" (a Thai hammered dulcimer). She didn't make it in last year, but this year she wants to try by doing some Thai dancing. She's teaching herself and getting pointers from another Thai lady as she watches YouTube videos of other Thai dancers. She's a very brave and determined young woman. We're also hoping that we'll be able to go out to Chicago this coming summer for a reunion of families who have adopted from Thailand. We don't know how we'll afford it especially with the talk of the rising price of gas. We're just praying every day that God will provide for our needs. We hope that you and yours have a very blessed New Year! I'll leave you with some photos of our family.

The Final Entry Remembering the Journey Home Two Years Ago

2011-01-10T13:59:00.012-07:00

Friday, Jan. 9th, 2009

After breakfast we literally skipped with joy down Wireless Road on our way to the U.S. Embassy. We got a few stares from some men riding in the back of a pick-up truck as they probably don't typically see a white woman and a teenage Thai girl holding hands and skipping down the sidewalk. When we got there we showed them the letter stating that we had a special 8 a.m. meeting. A friendly man did grant us the visa approval for Penny. He also even got Penny to laugh. We all had to raise our right hands and solemnly swear that all the information we had submitted was the truth. Then he told us that we needed to return at 3 p.m. to get her passport with the visa stamped in it. So, we went to have lunch and start packing our bags. When we returned at 3 p.m. we couldn't believe that we were really holding it in our hands. It was a very fancy looking visa! We were so excited that we even had to show it to the ladies at the front desk of our guest house. We also had to let them know that we really would be checking out of the guest house the next morning. In the late afternoon we headed back to the Needle King to pick up Penny's Thai dress. It fit her perfectly and she looked so pretty wearing it! We had a special treat on the way back. Although the picture didn't turn out well, I'll try posting it here. While we were walking down the sidewalk a baby elephant walked right by us on the same sidewalk!

Saturday, Jan. 10th, 2009

We had asked the folks at the front desk to call us a taxi cab to meet us at about 2 a.m. (if my memory serves me correct). We needed to be at the airport at least three hours before our scheduled departure time for our international flight. This was especially necessary due to heightened security after the airport closure that happened the month before. So, we needed to arrive around 3:30 a.m. to leave by around 6:30 a.m. So, I think our alarm went off around 12:30 a.m. We got all ready to go and went downstairs and paid.
But, our taxi came LATE! They finally had to call the guy and tell him how to get to the guest house. So, then to make up for lost time he sped at almost 100 mph all the way to the airport! It was quite a harrowing ride and seemed to accentuate the stress of our long stay in Bangkok. But, we were so thankful that we made it in time to get through the three different security check points. After our eight hour flight to Tokyo and layover we had another 10 hour flight to Portland where we saw Jay's friends through a glass window while talking to them via cell phones.
We didn't want to have to go through more security again and risk being late for the last flight home to Denver. Flying from Portland to Denver we saw a LOT of snow in the mountains. We even flew right over our hometown of Fort Collins. But, by that point our sweet daughter was dead to the world. We met both sets of parents at the airport. It was the second time my parents had made the trip out to Denver, as they didn't get word in time about the one change in our tickets. Meeting them at the airport is kind of a blur because our bodies were so tired. We had been up for around 30 some hours, but had traveled back in time after crossing the international date line, so it was somehow the afternoon of the 10th all over again. Then there was the hour drive home from Denver. Penny slept the entire time. When we arrived home it was fun to see our house decorated by thoughtful neighbors. Penny seemed excited to see her new bedroom. But, she was NOT happy about the pizza my parents tried to feed her. There were tears that night, already, about missing her friends back in Udon Thani. This was the start of a whole other new adventure. What a ride it's been!

Two Years Ago on Jan.7th-8th

2011-01-08T05:54:00.005-07:00

Wednesday, Jan. 7th, 2009

While we had been laughing and literally singing and dancing on our beds the night before, we woke up on Wednesday morning feeling very gloomy. Here it was the middle of the week and we hadn't heard anything from the USCIS. We were scheduled to fly out on Saturday and our visas were set to expire four days after that. So, we were now planning that we would have to take a bus over to Cambodia over the weekend in order to leave the country and re-enter with new visas if we didn't hear something soon. On this morning the situation really got us down and we all started crying. At the breakfast table it was Penny who was our ray of sunshine. She was the first to reach for our hands to pray. Although she was probably freezing cold from the air conditioning, when she saw her daddy perspiring, she went over and wiped his brow with a napkin. After breakfast, we took the skytrain to the end, Mochit station. There we got off and bought some delicious pastries, sandwiches, etc. from a bakery at the station and ate a little picnic lunch on a bench. Then we walked around a large park. It was VERY hot and humid. But, Penny still had fun playing on some playground equipment.

When we got back we went to Central World, the largest upscale mall in the area, within walking distance of our guest house. We needed to go to a pharmacy there to find the equivalent of one of Jay's prescription medications that he was about to run out of. We discovered that in Thailand it's very easy and inexpensive to buy most of these medications that can only be prescribed by a doctor back home. This mall is a special place in our memory because it was here where Penny really started showing her growing trust in her daddy. We remember as we were walking along the outer hallway, which is all glass looking out over the plaza decorated for Christmas, Penny jumped up on Jay's back and squealed with delight when we carried her that way to the escalator. Sadly enough, the mall was set ablaze almost a year and a half later, on May 19, 2010 by the Red Shirt protesters. These were the folks that we had seen gathering outside the zoo back on Dec. 26th, 2008. The opposing side, the yellow shirted side, were the ones that almost prevented us from entering Thailand as they had taken over the airports and caused them to be shut down. We enjoyed our time in Thailand, but with all of the political tension, we felt like we couldn't get Penny out of there soon enough. Here are some photos taken from Central World, looking through that glass to the open plaza area below.
I heard that reopened part of the mall this past September and the rest is set to reopen in stages. Here is a photo of the food plaza where we spent a lot of time.Next is a photo of the inside before the fire. Here is what it looked like from the outside. Later that night we went over to the Needle King to check on how the dress was coming along for Penny. They were satisfied with how it fit and would have it completely finished the next day.

Thursday, Jan. 8th, 2009

This morning started out with us visiting the internet cafe right around the corner from our Golden VIP Guest House after breakfast. Later we walked over to Chitlom Central Dept. Store (opposite direction from Central World) to go shopping for food to stock up our little fridge in our guest house room. While we were there my Thai cell phone in my fanny pack rang! I'll never forget what I heard on the other side. It was a woman calling from the USCIS. She said, "There's been an investigation into your case and we're ready to move forward. Can you be at our office before 4 p.m.?" That was at 2:30 p.m. We rushed as fast as we could to finish buying our food, ran back to our guest room, gathered all of our documents and quickly headed over to the train station. We got off at Ploenchit Station and booked it down Wireless Road in 90 degree plus heat and humidity. We hardly noticed the smoke from street vendors mixed with the smell of sewer gas this time. We were just so excited to finally be getting interviewed almost one month from the date when we entered Thailand. Here's a map of the area. We went as quickly as we could up to the 15th floor of the Sindhorn Building. We were very surprised that the woman who we had been dealing with all along, who was supposed to be in charge of our case until the end, was no where to be found. We wondered what happened to her. Another woman interviewed us for a short time. We almost burst out laughing when she asked Penny, "Are you unmarried?" and of course Penny was clueless. Even the woman interviewing her was kind of grinning. Then she asked us to have a safe trip back to South Dakota. That's when we knew that she'd definitely been hearing from Senator John Thune's office. We smiled and said, "Well, we're actually from Colorado, but the grandparents are from SD. She told us that by now the Embassy across the street should be closed, but that they could see us first thing tomorrow morning. So, we thanked her and proceeded to the front desk area. But, just as we were about to leave, the one woman who was still working there asked us to wait a moment. She called across the street and asked the Embassy if someone there would stay late and let us in. So, we jumped, hopped and skipped across the street, via the little overhead bridge only to be met by wary guards blocking our way. They finally called into the Embassy and talked to a woman who could explain to them in Thai what we were trying to tell them about us being granted a special "after-hours interview". Then, wouldn't you know it, Jay's pen set the metal detector off, so he got to be wanded. But, finally they let us in and when we got inside, we waited for a while, because we didn't see anyone at the window. When they opened up their window, we let out a sigh of relief. Jay was literally shaking while pulling all of the documents out for the embassy workers to stamp, photocopy, keep, staple together, sign, etc., etc. HINT: Always bring LOTS of extra copies of everything along (5 to be exact) Don't forget that many passport photos either! The woman was very kind to us. She kept Penny's passport and then gave us a letter. She told us to give this to the guards tomorrow morning (Friday) so they will let you in for a special 8 a.m. meeting. We couldn't believe it! We would be able to get Penny's visa the day before we were scheduled to fly out.

Two Years Ago on Jan.5th-6th

2011-01-06T14:12:00.008-07:00

On Monday we figured out which other guest house we would be moving to on Tuesday. We still did not receive a phone call from the USCIS, so we were getting a little nervous. Monday was Penny's last day to play with her new friends at the Bangkok Christian Guest House. We knew we'd miss it there, as they actually have a small yard for kids to play in and room where you can relax and watch videos. But, it was time to move on. So we went out and checked out the next guest house we were planning on staying in. On Tuesday we moved into the new guest house, called the Golden House VIP Guest House. Here are some pictures of it and the area around it and the Chitlom station, where it is located. Notice the ape climbing up the side of the skyscraper!

It was in an excellent location, as it was close to a Sky train station and all of the major department stores, as well as the U.S. Government offices. It wasn't in the best condition. Unfortunately, there was the lingering smell of sewer gas there that is so common in Bangkok. But, it was affordable and the staff was very helpful. One lady could speak good English. They didn't seem to mind that we had no idea of when we'd actually be able to leave. We were a one minute walk from the Chitlom station, which was just one stop away from Ploenchit station, where we'd get off to walk to the USCIS office and the US Embassy. Here's a map of the skytrain. Now that we knew our way around better, we knew that there were several tailor shops near the Evangelical Church of Bangkok. So, we returned to that area between the Nana and the Asok stations. We visited one tailor shop and thought they sounded too expensive. Then as we walked along with blank looks on our faces, an Australian man stopped us and asked us if we were looking for a good tailor shop. We said, "Yes!" and he directed us to the Needle King. We were very pleased with them. Great service and prices! They could speak English well, because they were Indian. So, we had Penny fitted for a Thai dress that they would make from the silk material I had bought at the MBK Market.

On Tuesday we discovered that the lady whom I thought had been Penny's nanny from Udon, actually turned out to be an older "sister" from the Girls' Home. She had really taken Penny under her wing and helped raise her at the orphanage.

In fact, she was the one who helped teach Penny how to ride a bike. She had done well enough in school and at her summer job that her boss decided to help sponsor her higher education at a university in Bangkok if she promised to return and work for him upon her graduation. She took the time off of her busy school and work schedule to come across Bangkok to meet us so that she could see Penny one more time before she'd move away to America. We met her at the Siam Paragon and treated her for lunch. Afterwards she "helped" us shop for candy that she thought Penny might want. It didn't come as a big surprise when we got home that Penny had a couple of cavities. : ) I think the girls from Bahn Udon sure liked their candy! It was a really special time to see her and that night we ate at the top floor of one of the Chitlom Central Department store. The whole street along there was beautifully decorated with lights. I thought how sad it was to know that not many people in Bangkok know the true meaning of Christmas. But, they sure do know how to make it look festive.

Two Years Ago on Jan.3rd-4th

2011-01-04T13:59:00.008-07:00

Saturday, Jan. 3rd, 2009

The day started out with us riding on the sky train to the MBK shopping plaza. A cheaper place to shop then some of the upscale shopping plazas, and the place where I found some silk cloth to buy Penny. At first I thought I had actually bought her a dress already made, wrapped up in a package. Later, I discovered that I had actually only bought the fabric and would need to find a tailor to make it into a dress. It was a bit frustrating that I didn't understand enough Thai to know exactly what I was purchasing. After shopping at the MBK market we walked to the Jim Thompson Home. It was a beautiful place where the American, who revived the silk industry in Thailand, lived.

We ate a delicious lunch there and then walked along a canal until we got to a busy street that led us to the Siam Center, across from an awesome mall, called the Siam Paragon. That was the place where we had seen the Siam Ocean World back during our first few days in Bangkok. Penny especially loved the toys and children's play area on the 4th floor. That is where we bought her princess version of Uno. I think what Penny liked best here was the fact that they had large posters of all her favorite Thai pop singers outside. I guess they must put on concerts in the plaza area there.

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

In the morning we went to a Christian worship service at the Evangelical Church of Bangkok. That was very refreshing and encouraging for me and Jay. And Penny didn't seem to mind. She enjoyed reading the comic version of the Thai bible during the service. After church we thought we'd be getting a phone call from someone who I thought was a nanny. Turns out that later I discovered that she was not a nanny. But, due to our language barrier I couldn't really understand what Penny was trying to explain to me about this person. All I knew was that she was a very important person in Penny's life from the Girls' Home in Udon Thani. Unfortunately, we didn't receive her expected phone call. Most of the rest of the day was spent playing with kids at the hotel, watching videos and playing Princess Uno.

We were hoping that by the next day we might hear something from the USCIS, since they'd finally be back in their office. We also found out from our hotel manager that we would need to move out to another hotel, because they had a large group renting all the rooms in the guest house coming in on Monday. So, we also started researching hotels and guest houses in the area to try to find something affordable and close to the U.S. government offices.

Two Years Ago on Jan.1st-2nd

2011-01-02T19:10:00.004-07:00

January 1st, 2009

Today was a very special day! It started off with a Japanese pastor and his wife stopping by the Christian Guest House to pick us up after breakfast. Together we took the Sky Train to it's last stop at the end of the line, at the Chao Praya River. Then we waited for other Japanese brothers and sisters in Christ to join us. Next we all hopped onto a river boat and road down the river to a high rise apartment building. There we gathered to celebrate the New Year Japanese style. We had lots of yummy Japanese treats to eat. We sang Japanese Christian songs and listened to a little talk by the pastor. We all got to write a word, poem, phrase, etc. that summed up what we were looking forward to for the new year. I wrote 家族 (kazoku), which means family. Jay's hope was that our time in Bangkok would be a catalyst for a closer relationship with his Abba (Hebrew word for Daddy, as in his heavenly Father) and also as a daddy to Penny. We had great views of the river and the city from our hostess' apartment, as she lived on the 29th floor. At the end we all went up the stairs to the top of the building. From the roof we were looking down from the 32nd floor. We got some great pictures from up there. It was a really great way to ring in the New Year of 2009!

January 2nd, 2009

We noticed that the city of Bangkok seems a lot quieter than usual. More things were shut down and I think a lot of people had returned to their original hometowns. We didn't mind less crowds and noise. And we decided to get out of the city a little ourselves. We took a tour to the Rose Garden to see an elephant show and cultural show. Our guides were funny and cheerful. But, the driving was really SCARY! His usual speed was around 90 mph. The weaving in and out of traffic on the highway reminded me of Frogger or the Indy 500. And, of course, none of us had seat belts on. So, I was praying that we'd make it back in one piece. We really enjoyed seeing the elephants and feeding them bananas, but Penny didn't want to ride on them. The cultural show was fascinating, featuring different instruments, Thai dance, a Thai wedding, Thai kick boxing, etc. Because of the heat, they passed out cool wash cloths that we could all use to wipe our faces. It was very refreshing minus the frantic ride in the van there and back. I bought a wrap around skirt there with elephants on it. Penny got a realistic looking doll/puppet. Jay got a T-shirt with an elephant playing soccer on it.

Two Years Ago on Dec.30th-31st

2010-12-30T07:13:00.008-07:00

Tuesday, Dec. 30th, 2008

This was the last day we had a chance that the USCIS would call us for an interview before their government offices would close for another five days. After our breakfast we got help from the BCGH to find the Thai Immigration Bureau. There we filled out the application and went across the street to get pictures taken of ourselves and staple our documents together at a business center. Then we went back and waited our turn to go up and request another 30 day extension to our visas. Unfortunately, they stamp "Denied" in our passports, but did give us a courtesy 7 day extension so that instead of expiring on Jan. 7th they would now expire on Jan. 14th. But, we still had to pay the full $110 fee just like for the 30 day extension. After that we went back to our guest house. We spent the rest of the day swimming and hanging out in our neighborhood. This was only Penny's second time of swimming. It was certainly a lesson in trust. We were so glad that another adoptive family told us that we could walk to the Swiss Hotel just two doors down from our guest house and pay a fee to enable us to swim at their pool all day. It was interesting swimming in a pool up on the roof over their dining room, right next to other high rise buildings. As we imagined, we never did get that phone call that we had hoped for. It was a good thing that we had changed our airline tickets. I tried embedding a video about the hotel where we went swimming here, but it didn't work. Instead, I'll post some pictures of the department store where we always went to go shopping and eating.

Wednesday, Dec. 31st, 2008

We got an e-mail warning from the state department asking us to be very careful in Bangkok and not to join large gatherings for New Year's eve due to heightened danger of violence. So, we decided to take it easy and lay low in our own little neighborhood once again. We mostly did things like playing card games, watch t.v. and Penny played with kids at our guest house. The sad part for her was that the friendships that she formed there couldn't last long as the kids always had to leave, eventually. But, she was a true gem. Ever since she saw her parents breaking down crying, she seemed to understand more of our love and her whole outlook seemed to change. It was like she understood that we were not holding her captive but truly wanted her to be a part of our family. On this day at the internet cafe she typed her first ever e-mail message. It took her a very long time, but she was very patient and persistent. She would not give up until she got it right. We were already seeing that she definitely had some very good character traits that would serve her well for the big transition coming up; to learn a whole new language and culture. Here are some pictures of our neighborhood.

You may notice a red Chinese looking roof in some of the photos. That is of a small Chinese temple located between our guest house and the department store that we would visit everyday. On New Year's eve at midnight we heard thousands of firecrackers going off down the street at the temple.

Two Years Ago on Dec.28th-29th

2010-12-29T15:30:00.009-07:00

Sunday, Dec. 28th, 2008

Well, the morning started out great with us being able to attend a Christian worship service right in our hotel. We especially enjoyed hearing everyone praying, especially one of our new friends, who was Indonesian Dutch. We said, "See you later," to the Novetel and our missionary friends, the Fujiis. After church we packed up our things and headed back to downtown Bangkok to stay at the Bangkok Christian Guest House. Penny had to sit on my lap because our suitcases took up the rest of the space. Although the room was much smaller at the BCGH, we were relieved to be moving closer to the government offices and even Penny seemed pretty happy to be back in familiar surroundings. She especially enjoyed seeing the Fujii's at the BCGH later that evening as they had a church gathering meeting there. We now were armed with a Thai cell phone that the Fujii's had obtained for us. And we were hopeful with guarded optimism that perhaps we'd finally get that interview. After all, the DSDW had faxed them the explanation form as to why there was another document in place of the original birth certificate. We enjoyed visiting the internet cafe at the nearby mall in the evening and were enjoying other perks, such as free bottled water. Things seemed to be looking up, we thought.

Monday, Dec. 29th, 2008

This day didn't turn out as positive as we had hoped. Penny had a rough night the night before and could hardly be aroused in the morning. So, we had to drag a grumpy teenager to the dreaded USCIS office. There we were told that the fax from the DSDW was not sufficient and they needed the original document. When we called the DSDW we discovered that the social worker dealing with our case was out for a week's vacation. But, they had Penny's file available and so we hailed a taxi and made it there in record time. We picked up the document and left it off at the window of the USCIS office. Then we went back to our hotel, hoping they'd call us. When we weren't hearing anything, we thought we had nothing to lose to just go over to their lobby and wait around. Well, we ended up waiting until closing time, at which point one of the CIS officers came to the window and told us that she could not guarantee that she'd call us anytime soon. Since the government offices would be closing down for another 5-day holiday weekend starting on Wednesday we knew that we'd probably not be able to leave that Wednesday. After hearing this crushing news Jay walked away from the counter and started crying. When we got our electronic dictionary back and I started trying to explain the situation to Penny, I started losing it. Next we went to the NW Airlines office for the second time to change our tickets again, this time to leave on January 10th. We were so thankful that we had chosen to pay for the special adoption fare tickets with NW since we could change our tickets as many times as necessary without any extra charge. While we were there Penny told one of the ladies at NW Airlines that she was really impressed by how her dad would cry. Later, after taking her out for her favorite Thai food, Penny was leaning her head on Jay's shoulder and holding his hand on the escalator. It seemed the hardship we were experiencing in Bangkok was drawing us closer as a family.
Below are pictures of the mall where we went to change our airline tickets with NW Airlines.

Two Years Ago on Dec.26th-27th

2010-12-27T16:36:00.002-07:00

Friday, Dec. 26th, 2008

We went to the Bangkok Zoo on a very hot and humid day. We all felt very worn out. But, after the cooler indoor snake exhibit we started feeling a little better. Penny was all out of sorts and we really weren't sure why.

When we left the zoo we saw several political protesters starting to gather outside, since they were planning a rally the next day across the street at the Parliament building. Then we had at least two empty taxis turn us down. So, we were thankful when a cab finally stopped and he got us to our hotel in record time.

Saturday, Dec. 27th, 2008

It was the first time for Penny to swim. She was a little scared, especially because the water was almost too deep for her and it was very cold. But, she was brave and very persistent.

She had one last fun time with her Dutch friends, as they would be leaving for some sightseeing and we would be moving back into the downtown area to the Bangkok Christian Guest House, once again. We were hoping that we'd be granted our interview in the early part of the next week and hopefully leave on Dec. 31st. At least that's when we had rescheduled our tickets at NW Airlines. For our last Saturday at the Novetel we went to the nearby mall and watched a movie. We saw Madagascar II (in Thai). Penny loved it and we really saw her fun personality emerging after the movie as we ate dinner at the Sizzler restaurant. This was a nice way to end our last night at the Novetel.

Two Years Ago on Dec.24th-25th

2010-12-24T23:31:00.010-07:00

Wed. Dec. 24th, 2008

The good piece of news was that we received word that the USCIS had finally received the Visa cable 37 sent from Denver. The other good news was that our social worker with the DSDW quickly faxed us a clarification document stating why there was another form in lieu of the original birth certificate. So, we were hoping that once the five day holiday weekend ended that we'd get a chance to submit this document and receive our interview with the USCIS before they'd close for their five-day New Year's break. Penny was getting a bit sad, realizing that she would not spend her first Christmas in America. But, she was also having fun playing with two kids she met at our hotel who were from Holland. We also enjoyed going shopping at two malls nearby our new hotel. In fact, we bought the Thai keyboard I am typing on now for the equivalent of about $8! It's been a great investment, as it has helped Penny be able to type in Thai.

In the evening we ate at KFC and then headed over to our hotel where Santa was visiting everyone in the hotel dining room and lobby. Penny enjoyed watching Santa blow up balloons and create special artwork with them.

Thurs., Dec. 25th, 2008

The good news was that our stomachs felt a little better this morning after having eaten the undercooked eggs at our previous hotel. Penny had really been enjoying playing with her new Dutch friends. It's amazing how they could somehow communicate, even with the lack of a common language, save a LITTLE English. We were loving the food at the Bangna Novetel Hotel. Every meal had an AMAZING buffet, unlike anything we had ever seen.

My missionary friends, the Fujii's, helped us out by getting us a Thai cell phone and explaining how we could get a card at any 7-Eleven to download minutes onto the phone. A very inexpensive, but useful tool to enable us to travel a little farther from home, but still be able to retrieve the important call that should come someday to let us know that we would be granted an interview with the DSDW. These friends also invited us to join them in the afternoon/evening to go to a giant Christmas party in downtown Bangkok at Lumphini Park. They picked us up and next we stopped at the school where they work, BIT (Bangkok Institute of Theology). There we met and picked up some of their students to come along with us to the Christmas celebration in the heart of Bangkok.

There was a huge gathering of Thai Christians there, serving free food and sharing the message of Christ through a huge, walk through nativity set and on stage. They had all kinds of performances, including music, dance and famous people speaking about how Christ had made a difference in their lives. It was a very special way to celebrate Jesus' birthday. Afterwards, we walked over to the Night Market and went into a restaurant where we enjoyed excellent Thai food. Penny was smiling a lot because she loved being able to communicate with the Fujii's.

It was a very Merry Christmas and certainly kept our minds off of being sad that we couldn't be home. Meanwhile, my parents had driven all the way from eastern South Dakota to Colorado to hopefully spend the holiday with us. They, unfortunately, had to turn around and take the 11 hour trip back without getting to see their new granddaughter, yet. It's so nice having them with us this year and to be able to look back at pictures and smile now.

Two Years Ago on Dec.22nd-23rd

2010-12-23T19:34:00.003-07:00

Monday was a pretty boring day. We waited around all day at our hotel hoping the phone would ring and the USCIS would tell us, "We got the cable from Denver and we're now ready to offer you an interview." But, instead, nothing happened. So, on Tuesday, we decided to take a taxi cab to downtown Bangkok to see what we could do to hopefully get something moving in our case. Instead, when we got there we were told that they had not gone across the street to the Embassy to get the cable, yet. We were also told that we had not given them sufficient proof that her parents had truly relinquished their rights and that the substitute document in place of the original birth certificate would not suffice. While they told us the paperwork we had submitted was lacking, they didn't give any clue as to how to rectify the situation. So, we were at a loss and decided that we should try to contact our social worker assigned to us through the DSDW (Thai Dept. of Social Development and Welfare). With Penny's help, and acting like a dumb foreigner, I managed to ask a stranger if I could somehow borrow their cell phone. When we called the DSDW our social worker told us to walk across the street and explain our situation and have them fax to her the form stating what was lacking in our paper work. They would try to figure out what else they could supply to satisfy the USCIS.

After lunch at the Sizzler, we went across the street and managed to cut in a line in order to be seen. There was a very nice Thai woman working at the Embassy who was willing to help us. I was upset to hear that she was surprised that the USCIS would not acknowledge the form that had been drawn up as a substitute for the original birth certificate. Apparently, the Embassy had seen such documents several times in the past and had always accepted them. Well, after being the last ones to leave the Embassy at 3 p.m. we caught a taxi to take us to our new hotel, the Bangna Novetel. Here are photos of the view from our room at that hotel.

Penny fell asleep on my shoulder during the taxi ride. We were all exhausted and Jay and I were beginning to get sick from what we believe were the under cooked eggs from our noisy little hotel near the airport. We realized that if the paperwork didn't come through pronto, we would be once again, rescheduling our departure from Bangkok. Needless to say, we were feeling rather down, as we had hoped to be home by Christmas.

Two Years Ago on Dec.20-21st

2010-12-21T05:02:00.006-07:00

What a roller coaster it was on these two days back in 2008! It was a Saturday and Sunday, our second weekend in Thailand and third weekend overseas.

Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008

That Saturday we had to move out of the Bangkok Christian Guest House. We had originally planned to stay longer there, even before we knew of the fiasco we would have with the USCIS. However, when we had to cancel all of our plans due to the airport closures in Bangkok and then reschedule them, we were unable to reserve all of the nights again at the BCGH. So, we made plans to stay at a little hotel that looked beautiful and quaint in it's pictures on the internet. Originally, we planned to stay there because it was closer to the airport and we thought we'd be able to leave the country on the next Wednesday, the 23rd. Well, although the place looked very nice, it turned out to be a horrible place to stay because it was DIRECTLY in the path of the big jets flying directly overhead ALL NIGHT! That Saturday night I didn't get a wink of sleep at all! Besides all of the noise, Penny was feeling really insecure and kept kicking and jabbing me ALL NIGHT.

We also had our first experience that Saturday evening of really being taken on a run for our money by a taxi driver. We had been invited to a Christmas party by some of my missionary friends at the Abundant Life Center. We had the hotel call us a taxi. The friends had told us that the taxi driver should be able to find it with no problems. If they were unsure they could just contact them via their cell phone. Well, turns out that our taxi driver's cell phone didn't work. What should have taken 30 minutes took over an hour. I finally yelled, "Torasaap!" (meaning telephone) when I saw some pay phones. The guy got out and leisurely chatted away with my friend on the phone, with the meter ticking away. Then when we got to the general area he kept asking US where it was. Duh! He was the one who had just jabbed on and on with my friend about how to get there.

Finally, we saw a cross and just yelled for him to stop there. Turns out it happened to be a different church, but not far from where my friends were. Those kind folks allowed us to use their cell phone and our friend rode over on his scooter and called us another cab to get to the party. While we were at the party Penny was not happy at all. I kept hoping that she would enjoy the Christmas program put on by the kids and the delicious Isaan food, but she kept asking about when she would be able to go back to Udon Thani. It was quite an emotional day for all of us.

Sunday the 21st

The day started off almost as hectic as our Saturday had finished off. But, eventually turned into a really good day. We were supposed to meet some other missionary friends of mine at an English church service meeting at a Novetel Hotel. However, we did not know that there was more than one Novetel. We found info on how to get to the Novetel by the airport. But, when we arrived there no one at the hotel had any idea what we were talking about when we asked where the Christian church was meeting. So, I got a hold of my friend and discovered that the church was meeting in another Novetel, called the Bangna Novetel. We made it in time for the sermon. It was Penny's first time in a church service. She enjoyed reading a Thai comic version of the New Testament that our friends from Khon Khaen had given her. After church this friend took us out for Thai food and then invited us to their home. It was SO NICE to relax in their peaceful home. Penny loved being able to speak Thai with them and go on some bike rides. We were so thankful that we were in this nice, calm setting when our daughter just happened to enter puberty for the first time.

Thankfully, my friend had raised three girls and could explain everything in Thai to Penny. We also discovered the Novetel Bangna was much nicer, a little farther from the airport and offering prices that were a third of their normal rates due to the low level of tourism after the airport closures. So, we decided to move over there on Tuesday. After a nice dinner with our friends, the Fujii's, they drove us back to our little noisy hotel.

Unexpected Blessings & Remembering Dec. 18-19th

2010-12-19T07:58:00.004-07:00

This is the season that we remember the birth of Immanuel, another name for Jesus Christ. It's my favorite name of his, because it means, "God with us". That is so comforting to know since we live in such an imperfect world. He keeps showing us over and over again that He truly is with us and caring for us because He loves us so much. He has been showing Himself to Penny in so many ways, too, especially since she entered into our family. She didn't know much about Him before because she grew up in a state-run orphanage that pretty much pushed the kids to "worship many gods". That is a quote by Penny. She grew up with many fears, as she could never be sure if she was pleasing the many gods, those being spirits, the Buddha, monks who are revered as if they are gods, etc. So, when she came to hear about Christ, she was curious to know more about one God who truly loves her and forgives her. This was not a message she had ever heard. Now she totally believes that Jesus is with her.

Back on the 18th and 19th of December she saw both of her new parents struggling to remember this reality. We were getting so frustrated with the circumstances of not being given an interview with the USCIS. One of the problems was that one of our important documents, called the I-171H, was set to expire that Saturday, the 20th. We called our adoption coordinator who took care of our homestudy back in Denver. She said she had finally got all the state clearances and was literally running around, hand-delivering the paperwork to the proper offices, asking them to expedite our case since we were stuck in Bangkok with time ticking down and still waiting for an interview. Meanwhile, my mother also had the Senator of South Dakota contact USCIS to ask them to speed up the process. She had inside connections, since she had done the wedding flowers of the Senator's lawyer and had stayed in touch with them. On Friday, we were told by USCIS that they were waiting for something called a Visa 37 Cable from Denver, because they wouldn't even acknowledge our original I-17H, since our address had changed since the original document was drawn up. They would not accept the addendum that had been attached. They needed a completely new I-17H. We explained that it we had started the process to update the document two months prior and that our coordinator was doing all in her power to make sure it would come through soon. But, they blew us off and said they were very busy and couldn't guarantee when they'd be calling us. They certainly would not be ready to move forward until the cable came through. And they explained that with they holiday season approaching their offices would be closed for several days and their staff would be lean and that we may have to wait several more weeks. So, we spent most of our time just holed up in our room, playing card games, watching t.v., etc.

Fastforward two years and we've been seeing God provide and remind us of His goodness, kindness and faithfulness is so many tangible ways. This year we've struggled financially so that we fear we won't be able to pay our bills. But, all of a sudden, I've gotten another little part-time job offer, Jay has gotten a new voice student and two VERY unexpected checks showed up in the mail, all in the span of one week. Thank you, our Immanuel. What would we do without you?!

Two Years Ago on Dec.16th-17th

2010-12-18T07:21:00.008-07:00

Our morning started out with us moving slowly. I think we were all tired and worn out from the busy day before. The previous afternoon we had managed to find the private translator who was recommended to us by another adoptive family who had been there a month before us. It was quite a trek there from another train station. But, we managed to find it and give him the four documents that we had received at the Adoption Center that morning, including the form that we thought was her birth certificate (turns out it was a document meant to be in place of her original birth certificate, because the original was no where to be found).

Before breakfast, there was a moment when Penny absolutely panicked. She woke up and did not see me in the room. I had tried to quietly go out to use the iron and and ironing board that was down the hallway. I hadn't wanted to wake her or Jay. She would not allow Jay to comfort her as she was so frightened that I had abandoned her. But, after Jay found me, she calmed down.

After our breakfast at the Bangkok Christian Guest House, we walked just two blocks to the BHN Hospital. Fortunately, because we had her passport number and the "birth certificate" from the day before we were able to get her in for her required exam in order to receive her immigrant visa from the USCIS (Homeland Security). We were also so glad that we had gotten passport sized pictures taken while we were back in Udon Thani, because one of their forms required one of those photos. It was a beautiful hospital! But, we had left our bags in the front office and so we had no access to our electronic dictionary. So, with my limited Thai and some creativity I started making up silly games using things like packages of sugar and cream to keep my bored teen occupied. After the LONG wait (hours) she finally was seen and told that she needed four immunizations, two in each arm. She was a real trooper and put up without resistance or tears.

Next we ate at Pizza Hut and stopped at a pharmacy to get her some children's Tylenol for her aching arms. After lunch, we took the sky train back to the translators to pick up our translated documents. After that we went to the Siam Ocean World, located in the basement of a huge shopping complex right next to Siam station. Penny LOVED taking tons of photos of the sea animals. That Tuesday, the 16th, concluded with us e-mailing and writing to special people in our lives.

Wed., Dec. 17th
We had to get going early this morning to catch our taxi to go to the Thai Adoption Center for our meeting with the Thai Adoption Board. It was hard for Penny to get moving, but fortunately, we made it and our taxi was actually early. He drove a nice vehicle like an Izuzu Outback and got us there early, for a change. It was quite hot in the waiting room, but we enjoyed visiting with a couple from Sweden who were there adopting a little boy. This time we had given Penny motion sickness medicine and she was doing much better. While most people's interviews lasted about 15-20 minutes, ours lasted 40 minutes! I think it was because they could ask Penny all kinds of questions in her own language. She seemed quite nervous and shy about this meeting. The ladies were all very sweet and kind, but sometimes asked her rather personal questions, like whether or not she had "become a young lady", yet, or not.

After the interview we went over various documents with Khun N. and then she called a taxi to send us to the Sindholm Building, where the USCIS office was located. We would end up spending a lot of time there, unfortunately. But, that day we were in high spirits and had a great lunch at a little Japanese cafe located on the first floor. I was delighted that Penny loved my meal of eel! A girl after my own heart! After turning in our paperwork at a small window on the 15th floor we returned to our guest house for the rest of the day where we were hoping to get a call back as to when we could set up our USCIS interview. Penny seemed much more relaxed after the board meeting interview was over. This night she crawled into my bed and soaked up all of the cuddling she could get. Mommy enjoyed it, too!

Two Years Ago on Dec. 14th-15th

2010-12-15T16:14:00.005-07:00

We flew from Udon Thani to Bangkok on Sun., Dec. 14th, 2008. From the airport we took a taxi to downtown Bangkok to stay at the Bangkok Christian Guest House (near the Sala Daeng train station). We ended up spending a lot of our time there and at the neighboring Central Department Store. That's where we ate most of our meals, except for breakfast and where we found an internet cafe.

On that Monday, the 15th, we had our first meeting at the Thai Adoption Center. We met the government worker who helps out all of the WACAP families. Penny was not used to the long taxi rides in stop-n-go traffic of Bangkok. Plus, she was looking down, reading a magazine....so, when we arrived there she ran for a bathroom and lost her breakfast. After going over some paperwork there we, along with some other families, were taken to another government office in Bangkok where Penny had her picture taken for her Thai passport. After that they dropped us off at a train station so that we could ride the train back near our guest house. We were all having some culture shock about the big city. I was just glad that I had learned how to live in the big city of Tokyo, so riding the trains didn't seem so foreign to me. We enjoyed visiting with a British family who was there adopting their second boy.

Two Years Ago on Dec. 13th

2010-12-13T17:12:00.007-07:00

It was my mom's birthday back in America, but I didn't call her because I was busy being a new mom. We started our first day out together from our hotel room as the 12th was the first time Penny stayed with us. The 12th was mostly spent doing paperwork at the orphanage in the morning and then having a worker from the orphanage come along with Penny to our hotel. It was a time for her to familiarize herself with her new surroundings and parents while someone she knew better was close by. By supper time she stayed with us on her own. When she saw them bringing in a roll-away bed she asked them to please leave just the mattress, as she wanted to sleep closer to the ground. She was VERY quiet all night. I wonder if she was really sleeping at all. After breakfast, our friends, who are missionaries in Khon Khaen came to meet us at our hotel. Then they drove us around to help take us shopping for Penny. And we ate lunch at an American restaurant, Sizzler, where we met some more missionary friends of theirs. Penny and the other kids had lots of fun running off steam by playing in a play area in the mall. This mall was right next to the hotel where I stayed when I first visited Udon Thani back in 1998. Never dreamed that ten years later I'd be next door holding my DAUGHTER'S hand! How incredible is that! God never forgot my prayer. Back in 1998 when I was flying out of Udon Thani I prayed, "Lord, please bring me back here someday, for some reason." Well, I completely forgot that prayer until we heard about Penny and found out she was from there! But, God never forgot and answered my prayer by bringing my husband and then Penny into my life. This missionary friend kindly explained about how most all of the kids have lice and how to treat it. It was actually good thing that we had plenty of time in Thailand to deal with such things. And all of the time together was good bonding time. I'll be forever grateful for these friends who adopted their daughter a couple of years before us. So fun that Penny and their daughter were in the same dorm and are remaining friends, thanks to the internet. We had dinner back at our hotel and took some photos and mostly relaxed, as we knew we'd be flying to Bangkok the next day. I leave you photos from Dec. 12th and Dec. 13th, 2008.

Celebrating the Two Year Anniversary

2010-12-12T06:41:00.004-07:00

In the last post I showed you pictures of the day we first met Penny back in 2008. In this post I'll show you what we did on this December 11th, 2010. In the morning Penny and I went to pick up a Mongolian woman. She speaks Mongolian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and a tiny bit of English. We took her to our Japanese church. It was really fun for me to communicate with her in Japanese. She and Penny were just delighted to try to communicate in Chinese. She treated Penny as if she were her auntie. After the church service we went shopping together and then took her home where she served us VERY generously at a tea time.

After a little more grocery shopping, Jay and Penny and I went out to Toy's Thai Cafe. We were all very pleasantly delighted at how authentic the food tasted. We've all decided that this our new favorite of the handful of Thai restaurants here in Ft. Collins. Everyone working there was Thai and the owner was so kind and patient with Penny that we noticed her Thai really started coming back to her. She had such a positive experience there that she was talking about how she might like to get a part-time job there someday. When we got home we looked back from some of our photos from our first five weeks together in Thailand and then snuggled on the bed with our kitty, Jenny. So much fun! We are so thankful!

Two Years Ago Today...Dec. 11, 2008

2010-12-11T06:23:00.004-07:00

It was a life changing day for the Regan family! It was the day when we first met our daughter in person. We had only seen pictures of her smiling face and waited for two years prior to that day. The day before, we were unable to meet her, although we were in Udon Thani, because it was a national holiday and the office at the orphanage would be closed. So, we had one day to relax with time to kill and to wonder and daydream about what the 11th would hold in store for all of us. It was a fantastic day. We were all so nervous and excited. Both Penny and I had been too excited and awakened around 5 a.m. unable to go back to sleep. The workers at the Udon Thani Girls' Home said that she had been so excited the night before that she couldn't eat her dinner. When we drove up to the grounds that morning Jay suddenly shouted, "There she is!". I looked over my shoulder and saw her through the window. She was jumping up and down in excitement to meet her new mommy and daddy! Jay missed that part because, in his excitement, he started crying tears of joy and set the video camera down on the floor of the van. So, you can only hear our voices while the tape is running, showing scenes of his leg, the van floor, etc. When our van stopped she ran to my side first to give me a big hug, then she ran around to the other side to give Jay a hug. Everywhere we walked she wanted to hold my hand.

She made sure that we got a dessert that she had bought for us. We got to listen to her playing a Thai instrument called a "khim" (similar to a hammered dulcimer). We watched her inquisitive mind at work figuring out our electronic dictionary. She was soon figuring it all out. A smart girl, I observed! We took a little walking tour around the grounds and did some paperwork in the office, etc. Then we all drove into downtown Udon Thani for a fair. Penny had been wanting to take us there for a long time! We were so fortunate that the airports had finally reopened just before we were set to depart so that her dream could come true. It was a great first day! We couldn't believe how blessed we were. We could immediately tell that this girl was very special with a caring and tender heart! We are so blessed that God has allowed us to become her parents!

World Heritage

2010-12-04T07:20:00.003-07:00

I'm very excited about a new venture that I'm jumping into. For the last few weeks I've been thinking about how I wish that Penny would be able to meet more international exchange students, perhaps even from Thailand. Next year she will start high school. So, I was wondering to myself, "I wonder if there will be any exchange students there. I wonder who I could contact to find out. Or I wonder how I'd go about making sure they could bring some exchange students over." Well, turns out that I may end up being the answer to that. You see, I happened to be on Craig's List the other day to post something. While on there, I decided to look up their part-time jobs, on a whim. I already have one part-time job. But, between Jay and my three part-time jobs, it doesn't seem to be enough for us to make ends meet. So, I thought, "I'm curious to see if there'd be any extra thing out there that I could do." So with much skepticism I took a look and lo and behold there was a position posted that sounded like a match made in heaven. I immediately revised and sent in my resume. That night while I was at church a woman called and left a message from the World Heritage Student Exchange Program. It wouldn't necessarily pay a lot, but I called her back to say, "Yes! that I'd love to apply as an area representative." My job would be to recruit families from the community to host the high school exchange students. She was very excited about my background. Since I taught ESL to internationals in Chicago, lived in Japan for six and a half years and have an adopted daughter from Thailand, I should be able to help smooth the transition for students, especially from Asian countries. I guess they reimburse you per student you are able to match up with a host family. So, the more, the merrier! Then I'd be the one responsible for orienting the families and the students, checking in with them periodically, and planning a few activities for them. Sounds like a lot of fun! I can't wait to see how this all plays out.

Making Connections

2010-11-27T19:28:00.005-07:00

We've been blessed to be making lots of fun connections with new friends, lately. That's especially true as we're also mourning the loss of our friends, the Kameyamas, as they are moving back to Tokyo after spending the last six years here in the Fort.
The opportunities to be meeting new friends has been thanks to our wonderful church family. Penny has gotten very involved by singing and dancing in the musical that the youth group put on to raise funds so that they can go on mission trips. The director and her husband just happened to have lived in Thailand when they were younger. In fact, that's where the two of them met. So, I was delighted when she talked Penny into joining the musical. Although she was quite apprehensive about it in the beginning, sometimes complained about the length of the rehearsals, and often worried about getting all of her homework done; in the end, she loved it! She has decided that she would actually like to do it again next year. I'm so glad that she started making connections with the kids at church. And, an interesting note about the director's husband...we found out, very unexpectedly, that he is the eye doctor that Jay had set up an appointment for Penny to see. That's another "God-thing", as she had been complaining and dreading the idea of going to see an eye doctor.

Another cool connection that we just made through church as to someone from Thailand. You see, I love to meet any foreigners I can, especially if they look Asian. So, when I saw some new, Asian-looking faces after our Thanksgiving Eve service I approached them and asked them where they were from. Turns out that were Vietnamese, visiting with a woman from our church. This woman teaches English to foreigners, mostly students at CSU. And she told me that she teaches a Thai woman! So, we exchanged names and phone numbers, etc. Well, yesterday the Thai woman's American husband called me up and said that they'd love to meet us. So, today she drove all by herself (first time without her husband to a new place)...You go, girl! We had a GREAT time! We took pictures by our Christmas tree that Penny and I put up the night before. Here's our new friend. I'll just give you her American nickname, Rita.

One more cool connection this week was that Penny was able to Skype for the first time with someone very special to her back in the orphanage. We're so thankful for all of these great chances to meet new friends, catch up with old friends, and wish friends the best as they venture out in new chapters in their lives. God bless you all, friends!!!

Pumpkins, Practices, Part-time Jobs and Peace

2010-11-07T16:27:00.008-07:00

This Fall we've been blessed that Jay got another part-time job to add to his other part-time job which will help out Chandra's part-time job. Although things are tight we always have enough. God is good to take care of his children. It's so good being adopted into His family. Penny is feeling more and more secure with her place in our family and in her heavenly Father's big family, too. She's been busy with homework and practices for the church musical. She had a concert last Thursday for her orchestra. We're so proud of her. She's been doing so well in school, getting all A's and B's again this quarter. Lately, she's been talking about her dream to someday become an English teacher back in her hometown of Udon Thani. We will certainly support her in her dreams although it'll be sad to think of her so far away. But, we must keep in mind that our kids are just on loan to us for a short time. They really belong to God and He has a plan for them as a part of his bigger purpose. We can't latch on with tight fists. We must offer everything about ourselves and our families up to the Lord as living offerings to Him.

We've also been busy with all of the fun usual stuff associated with this Fall season. We had a great pumpkin harvest, which we were able to share with our neighbors. We had fun carving pumpkins to look like Mickey and Minnie. I helped Penny make a Minnie Mouse ghost costume. We got our inspiration from the popcorn container I got as my souvenir from Disneyland. And we finally got our basement remodel done after the water damage that occurred back in September. So, I've been thoroughly enjoying being able to do laundry again in the comfort of my own home. Thank you God for your many blessings!

Our California Trip

2010-10-23T20:53:00.010-06:00

Well, it's taken me almost a week to finally post about our trip to California. But, we've just been so busy with trying to catch up with our daily lives since coming back. Jay had just one day to rest before starting his new job at the Credit Union. Penny had plenty of homework to catch up on and I'm still trying to catch up with laundry, housework, etc. We're happy to be home but really enjoyed our quick trip to L.A.

The main purpose for our trip, as many of you know, was to register our daughter's adoption at the Thai Royal Embassy/Consulate. This was the final step required by the Thai government, although it was already legally finalized according to the Juvenile Court in Denver. Her adoption was finalized on June 23rd, 2009. We registered this news at the Thai Consulate on October 14th, 2010. It took all of fifteen minutes. The woman behind the glass was all business. She pulled our paperwork from her pile and began handing us forms. Her only words were, "Sign...Mother, Father." She said this with about four or five pieces of papers. Then she took all three of our passports to a back room to make copies. And that was it! The receptionist at the front desk was very friendly and kind. She spoke quite a bit in Thai to Penny, encouraging her to keep up her Thai. She even gave her some free Thai snacks. After that we went to Thai Town in Hollywood and had a great lunch at a Thai cafe. Then we visited Beverly Hills and the Santa Monica Pier.

We also took in visiting several other beaches,

the Creation and Earth History Museum in Santee, visiting Jay's relatives in Quail Valley, friends in Anaheim and San Diego and...of course, DISNEYLAND!

This, of course, was Penny's favorite. It seems that Mickey and Minnie may have kicked Hello Kitty out of her place as number one character in our daughter's world. We had a lot of fun, but almost never saw the sun while we were there. It peaked out for a short time in the afternoon while we were at Disneyland. There are too many pictures to choose from but I'll post a few of my favorites here. Hopefully, I'll get the rest posted soon on Facebook.

A Work in Progress

2010-10-12T05:46:00.007-06:00

Well, six weeks ago this coming Saturday I heard strange gurgling sounds coming from the basement toilet. I warned Jay as the last time that had happened we had a little water back up in our basement just before we left for Thailand. So, he got on the phone with an insurance agent for a company that we took a policy out on specifically for dealing with backups due to tree root overgrowth. As he was on the line asking them about how we'd go about getting someone out to clean out more overgrown roots, Penny was taking a shower. I went downstairs and saw a flood starting to overflow in our utility room and yelled upstairs to Jay, "You might want to have them come out NOW!" Well, that company as well as our homeowner's insurance company has been great about covering everything. We also have a great friend who is a private contractor who has been in charge of repairing the walls. In the end, the whole basement will look much better with new flooring and paint. Jay even installed a new light fixture. But, I sure have missed having my washer/dryer for over a month now. I'm so excited that the utility room will be done by the time we get back from L.A. Then we'll just need to wait for them to replace the carpet in the rest of the basement and on the stairs. But, I'll show you of the pictures I have so far of the transformation that has been taking place.

If Anyone Knows of a Family Who Could Adopt

2010-09-26T16:20:00.002-06:00

I'm posting the message below from our adoption agency, WACAP, with hopes that someone may know of a family who would like to adopt a teenage daughter like my husband and I did. We could certainly serve as a support team and tell them that it's well worth it! Teens are not as scary as so many people make them out to be. It's so fun having a child whom you can share so much with, on a deeper level. So, please spread the word about another teen who is desperately hoping for a family. This precious child only has months left before she will age out of the system and no longer be eligible for adoption.

WACAP is currently in search of a family for a 13.5 year old girl. This girl has been at the orphanage since she was approximately 3 or 4 yrs. old and must be adopted before she turns 14. She is basically healthy and is post operative for a club foot. She needs a supportive family who will help her with her self esteem and assure her that she is lovable. She is described as a normal child who is in an age appropriate grade where she enjoys language. Reportedly her grades are average. When not at school, she enjoys doing crafts and reading. She shared with us that she has two best friends. She hasn’t decided what she wants to be when she grows up yet. She prefers to watch “drama” movies as she has bad dreams after seeing scary movies. She is described by her caretaker as easygoing, laid back, and not demanding. Her time is running out as she needs to be adopted before she is 14, when she will become ineligible for international adoption and lose the opportunity for a family.

Please reference Child ID #: XC.0597.16757.01. There is a $4200 Promise Child grant for this adoption. Additionally, the $250 application fee for this child has been waived.

Eligibility Exceptions: If you do not meet some of the eligibility requirements to adopt from her country, please contact WACAP's Family Finders department at: FamilyFinders@wacap.org as exceptions to some requirements are granted on a case-by-case basis for this group of children. Additionally, if you are interested in adopting two children at one time, please inquire as each situation is approved on a case-by-case basis.

If you - or anyone you know - might be interested, please contact our Family Finders department: FamilyFinders@wacap.org or 1-800-732-1887 for more information on this girl, or any of the many children around the world who are currently waiting for families.

As always, thanks for helping us spread the word about WACAP and find families for these deserving children.

And why am I whining?

2010-09-11T07:20:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking about posting about our laments of what transpired on Monday. But, the more I think about it...I have NOTHING to whine about. That's because on this day nine years ago so many more suffered losses so great compared with anything I have ever experienced. I guess it's the survivor's guilt that we all live with. We were all witnesses to a horrific evil that seemed way too close to home. But, I was very thankful for the country I had just returned to and how so many responded. I had come home just a little over month before that famous 9/11, after having lived in Japan. While I was in Japan I witnessed the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake. That was also an unspeakable tragedy. But, the response was different. There was more of a stoic, hopeless sense of fate. Many who survived ended up committing suicide. So, I was very greatly moved by how many Americans stood together and said, "Let's pray!" I felt more thankful than ever to be living in America.

So, I guess that's what my response needs to be to each little mundane "catastrophe" of my daily life. This week we thought we'd have a restful Monday. Turned out that during Penny's shower we had water back up into our utility room thanks to overgrown tree roots in the pipes. The water ended up getting under tile, carpet and walls. So, we had Service Master come over. Monday was supposed to be my laundry day. Well, that couldn't happen as they moved the washer and dryer to our garage. They will likely be out of commission for close to a month. I'm not too excited about having to go to the laundry mat for a month. But, thankfully, it sounds like insurance should cover everything.

It was a year ago today that I started working at a new preschool. My previous school had cut my hours down to 15 per week. Well, I am now back up to about 30+ hours. Unfortunately, my husband is still only working 10 hours per week. But, he has gotten a couple of phone calls for job interviews this week. So, that comes as an answer to prayer. We had another answer to prayer with some unexpected money that is almost exactly what we need for this month's house payment. God is good!

We are planning to join a small group in our neighborhood of families from our church this Fall. The book that we'll be studying is called, "Fearless" by Max Lucado. I think I need to join that group, because I certainly don't feel fearless. But, someone recently said, "But look at how brave you were to adopt a teenager." I think bravery is not the lack of fear. I think it means you step forward into your fears. When I am weak that is when my Savior is so strong. Praying that you all sense His strong presence in your lives, too.

Labor Day Weekend--Rocky Mountain National Park & CSU Thai Student Association BBQ

2010-09-06T07:26:00.005-06:00

We're having a great Labor Day weekend this year. On Saturday we took a trip to the mountains. Between PMS and altitude sickness Penny seemed to be a little out of sorts at the beginning. But, by the time we got to the top of Old Fall River Road and Trail Road she forgot her moodiness and dizziness and begin to enjoy herself. We got a lot of great photos and got to see elk, gray jays (not my husband, the bird!), and chipmunks. On Sunday afternoon we went over to CSU's International House, where we joined the Thai student association for their welcome BBQ picnic. It was a lot of fun. We met a lot of friendly people, ate GREAT food and Penny got to practice her slightly rusty Thai. What is interesting to me is that when she speaks Thai with new strangers it comes out REALLY slow. But, when she gets on the phone with her old friends/nannies she speaks at mostly normal, natural conversational speed. I wonder if she's worried that folks from Bangkok will detect her regional dialect. I guess people from her region are often looked down upon by those in Bangkok. But, she was pleasantly surprised by all of the nice new friends that she met last night. And she really seemed to relax and enjoy herself. She also enjoyed laughing at mom's attempts to speak a little Thai. That's what teenagers are for, right? We need them around to make sure we know that we are making big, embarrassing mistakes, right?! Hope you are all having a great holiday weekend, too!

Reminiscing about Udon Thani

2010-08-29T07:46:00.003-06:00

This summer Penny was really missing her friends. She spent a lot of time with Jay, since he had the summer off. And she got too spend a week with her cousins and played with some neighbor kids. But, it wasn't the same as having grown up in an orphanage where she was constantly surrounded by other children. Now that she's back in school, she's sad because her best friend from Korea has returned to Korea. So, she's definitely been homesick and missing the familiar from her previous life in Udon Thani. My husband and I wish that we could have spent more time in her hometown. I visited Udon Thani back in 1999 before I ever knew Jay or Penny. When Jay and I went to get Penny we only got to spend about 5 days there. We spent almost five weeks in Bangkok, on the other hand. So, it is our dream that someday we'll be able to return and spend more time in Penny's birthplace. Because I've got Udon Thani on my mind, I'll share some photos here.

Last Stage of the Adoption on the Horizon!

2010-08-22T16:36:00.003-06:00

Yeah! The end is in sight. We got the formal invitation from the Thai government to go register Penny's adoption at the nearest Thai Royal Embassy back in July. The closest one just happens to be in L.A. So, we've been trying to think of some creative ideas of how to raise money for the trip since we both are still only part-time employed. So, we decided to host a garage sale both last weekend and this weekend, as well. Lots of very kind and generous folks contributed by donating items for the cause. And I'm very excited to announce that altogether we raised over $500! Besides that, we can all fly free thanks to the many miles that we've racked up (Chandra the most after having lived in Japan for six years). And this morning a friend said that he's working on helping us get some discounted tickets to Disneyland since he knows someone who works on the inside. What a blessing! So, we've now got a date confirmed to meet at the Thai Embassy on October 14th.

I also displayed my art work for sale at the sale. Nothing sold. But lots of people commented that they liked my work. One professional art dealer came through and said that he ALMOST wanted to purchase a few of my paintings. In his estimation, I am ALMOST there. Personally, I think judging art is very difficult since everyone has their own opinions about what is beautiful. As the artist, I never think it's quite good enough. But, I was encouraged this weekend, even if no one bought any of my work. It's inspiring me to keep working on cleaning up my art studio and start creating again. If anyone out there has something that they would like me to paint, let me know! I can do any medium. My favorite is either oil or pastels.

I am reminded that God is the creative artist of all time and that he is always good. Sometimes we don't understand why we are going through hard times here on earth. He may not always give us the answers to our questions and doubts. But, His answer is not just some words to make us feel better or giving us whatever we want. HE IS OUR ANSWER! He has given us his very self, His being and presence. That's why his name is, "I AM". He is always with us and will never leave us. He's really all that we need. May He be very real to you, whatever you may be going through.

Back to School and Kinda Back to Work

2010-08-19T05:56:00.002-06:00

Well, this week Penny went back to work and Jay kinda went back to work. The reason I say "kinda" is because the so-called "full-time" job that he applied and interviewed for turned out to be only part-time. It was a clerical mistake on the part of the school administration when they posted the job on the internet. So, when he accepted the job and went in to fill out the paperwork he discovered that the position he was saying "yes" to was actually rather part-time. But, nonetheless, he decided to go ahead with it. Now he keeps trying to find another part-time job to supplement. We appreciate any continued prayers for God's provision, as I don't think my part-time job at a preschool will be enough to be the main bread winner.

Penny went back to school on Tuesday. She was donning her lovely "Hello Kitty" backpack she got with her gift card from her cousin, Linnea, for her birthday. Speaking of which, cousin Linnea, who is EXACTLY 10 years older than Penny had her first baby on August 3rd, a little boy, named Sean. I think Penny is really glad to be back in school. But, she's disappointed to discover that she doesn't have some of her favorite teachers this year. Can you believe that this will be her last year in Middle School? Is it possible that she will really be going to high school next year? Time flies! Soon it will be four years since we started the process of trying to adopt her. And now it's only about five years until she will graduate from high school. Cherish each moment while you have it!

Summer Goings On

2010-08-04T15:28:00.003-06:00

We've been doing fine this summer. We aren't taking any huge family trips. Chandra can't really afford to take time off from work as she's at a new preschool where she can't start building up any vacation time until after she's been there for a year. Jay has been very busy with his job search ever since he came home from the trip to Sweden with his mother. So far it looks like he should get official word that he'll be hired part-time as a choir accompanist for a high school. He's got a couple of more interviews this week to teach lessons at private music schools here in Ft. Collins. We've been doing lots of fun little things like the day trip to the Dragon Boat Festival in Denver, hiking in the mountains, swimming in our HOA pool, playing tennis, going to free 4-H animals shows, parks and gardens, and playing mini-golf. It's all fun for Penny since most things are a first for her. She's always so grateful. We're still trying to figure out when we'll go to L.A. to register her adoption at the Thai Consulate, now that we've received the official invite. It's kind of hard to plan, not knowing what Jay's job situation will look like. We just keep praying for God's provision and timing in everything. Thanks for all of your prayers, as well!

Photos from Jay's Trip to Sweden

2010-07-10T15:10:00.007-06:00

Penny's Vacation

2010-07-04T13:04:00.004-06:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of Penny's trip out to SD to visit her grandparents and cousins. We had so much fun during that weekend when I was there. And then I understand that the fun continued for Penny while I came back to the Fort to go back to work. She was very brave to stay away from mom and dad for a whole week. We've gradually worked her up to longer trips and doing sleepovers. But, I'm happy to say that after a year and a half she can handle long road trips and spending time with the relatives, even when Mom and Dad aren't around. But, my mom said that she definitely was excited to come home. The night before they left Penny was doing laundry and packing so fast. And then she got up at 3 a.m. My mom had to tell her to try and go back to bed. She was too excited to sleep the night before they left. Thankfully, she and the cousins didn't have any major feuds. In fact one of the cousins had so much fun that she came along with Penny and my folks when they brought her back to CO. So, here are some photos of the fun. I was going to download the video of when she gave Grandma a special surprise (the skin of a snake)! But I can't find it. I have a very adventuresome daughter who likes to pull pranks on others. : )

Happy Adoption Day!

2010-06-23T21:22:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's already been one year since we finalized the adoption of our sweet daughter. It happened a year ago today at a Denver juvenile court. My parents and Jay's parents, sister and her husband were all present in addition to some staff members of Adoption Alliance. We were so glad to have chosen them for our Colorado agency. They took care of everything related to our home study, meeting the requirements for the state of Colorado and finalizing the adoption almost exactly six months to the date of our return home. Our main case worker was even so kind as to tell us that we could call her at ANY hour of the night at her home, (which we did end up doing once when we had no idea of to do as our visas were almost set to expire in Thailand while waiting for Penny's immigration visa to the U.S.).

I will post pictures of the finalization day. But, unfortunately, I am not able to post present day photos, as I am separated from my family at the moment. I am at home working. Penny is having fun this week with her cousins at Grandpa and Grandma's house and Jay is with his mother in Sweden. I had quite an uneventful day. In fact, the one thing I had planned, (to mow the lawn), never happened as I could not, for the life of me, get the darn thing started. So, I guess I'll wait until my parents bring Penny back this coming weekend.

I can't even post photos of the weekend I got to spend with Penny at my parents' house, since I left the digital camera with her. So, I'm alone (well, not really...I have my feline friend Jenny to keep me company). So, I'm spending a lot of time thinking and praying about our situation of Jay, once again, a year later, facing unemployment by the end of August. I'm not sure what's ahead. But, I'm sure that God is faithful and holds us in His hands.

June 3rd...What a Day!

2010-06-05T11:09:00.003-06:00

June 3rd was quite a whirlwind of both nerves and excitement in the Regan household. Jay had a job interview for a teaching position in the morning. My parents helped me all day preparing for Penny's party. And we had her party at the neighborhood pool in the evening. I was so thankful for all of parents' help. Mom helped me make a cute Hello Kitty cake. Dad did all of the BBQ-ing. And Jay's parents brought a wonderful fruit platter that got eaten up quickly. Penny helped me make some Thai agar gelatins. She also worked on a project to make a picture poster board showing how she has changed over the years. We had Japanese teriyaki chicken legs and Isaan (Northeastern Thailand) style chicken legs as well as hot dogs. Several friends were able to make it. And one of her friends actually called from Japan to tell her she was sorry that she couldn't make it since she was on a business trip with her dad. Penny played her "khim" (Thai hammered dulcimer) for entertainment. She chose Korean, Thai and Chinese music to play on a boom box by the pool. They had fun hitting a pinata. And everyone got big laughs when two ducks landed in the pool. It was a very fun party, to be sure! I think Jay was feeling a little beat since he had that job interview in the morning. Now we wait to hear back. He's also begun applying for several bank teller positions, as well. We'll let you know if he gets a job.

Moving Forward

2010-05-29T07:00:00.002-06:00

That's so funny! Before I started typing this I thought of what I planned to title this entry and low and behold, someone on my dashboard had titled their most recent entry with the same words. It sounds like many of us are feeling we're at that stage. For those of us in the Regan clan, Penny and Dad are moving forward into their summer breaks from school. Penny was kind of sad and worn out saying "See 'ya later," to a lot of her 7th grade friends on the last day of school. Jay has finished his job at Chappelow School. On Sunday he got a call for a job interview for a music position at an elementary school in our hometown. He's very excited about this opportunity. It's been his only phone call for an interview so far and it's the one that he's most interested in. So, PLEASE pray for him! It would be nice if he could find out the result before he takes a trip to Sweden with his mother. That's right, she asked him if he'd come along to meet their distant relatives there if she'd pay for the trip. Well, he couldn't pass that offer up. So, while he's in Sweden I'll take Penny out to stay with her grandparents in South Dakota for a week. But, I'll come back to work, since I don't get paid vacation time. I am taking her birthday off, though! We're very excited about prepping for her Hello Kitty themed party which will be held at our local swimming pool just a block from our home. I'm sure pictures will be in order. I'll leave you with a few pictures of Penny, because I know that's the most fun part of everyone's blog entries. One is of her in her bedroom (note plenty of Hello Kitty stuff). Another is of her eating a Thai dessert ( bun with ice cream inside of it). Very delicious! And another is of her holding my dear friend's baby. This friend is not sure if they'll be moving back to Japan or not as her husband has some job interviews over there. So, it sounds like many of us are treading the waters of the unknown and having to trust God to lead us step by step. May He be close to all of you! And I'll share some pictures of her and her classmates.

Grieving over the Violence in Thailand

2010-05-15T09:36:00.008-06:00

My heart is very sad and heavy about the progressing violence in Thailand. Please pray that out of this tragedy people will seek the living God. The latest reports I read mentioned several names of places just a few blocks from the Bangkok Christian Guesthouse where we stayed for our almost five weeks in Thailand. I'll try to insert our photos from those places when we were there about one and a half years ago. Here is the latest report from the nationmultimedia.com

Chronology
By The Nation
Published on May 15, 2010

The following are chronology of events regarding a military operation to close in on the red shirts' protest site.

12.12pm: Five thousand troops start blockading Suan Lum Night Bazaar and fire tear gas. Gunshots are heard shortly afterwards.

12.15pm: Soldiers fire tear gas to reclaim the area near Suan Lum Night Bazaar that was occupied by the red shirts on Thursday night. Protesters try to besiege the troops inside the night market, and smoke is spotted coming out from inside Lumpini Park.

12.30pm: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration rejects police request for city officials to drag away a police truck set ablaze by protesters at Sala Daeng intersection, saying its officials would be under threat from the gunfire exchange.

1pm: Protesters burn car tyres opposite the Lumpini Boxing Stadium, about 100 metres from the Thai-Belgian Bridge. Sporadic gunfire is heard. A clash between security forces and protesters kills one man and injures 20 others, three of whom are journalists.

1.30pm: Protesters outside the boxing stadium attack security forces with slingshots and petrol bombs, while soldiers respond by firing several rounds in the air, followed by teargas and rubber bullets. Twenty protesters are arrested.

1.50pm: Protest leader Jatuporn Promphan announces on stage that the situation could lead to civil war.

2.30pm: Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd, spokesman of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation, tells the press that government forces have secured the area around the Thai-Belgian Bridge and set up road barricades on Wireless Road. (where the US Embassy is located).

3pm: Reinforcements of troops are sent to guard Government House. (across from the zoo where protesters were gathering outside the day we were there)

3.20pm: Troops and red shirts clash at Rajprarop intersection and there is noise of gunshots. Protesters retreat to the Pratunam intersection.

4.20pm: Red-shirt leader Natthawut Saikua calls on the government to order troop withdrawal and rescind the emergency decree.

4.25pm: Residents of Rajprarop Soi 4 and Soi 6 try to boo away red-shirt protesters, who are armed with petrol bombs and looking to confront soldiers. (The Bangkok Christian Guesthouse where we stayed was two blocks away in Soi 2).

4.30pm: Ruam Katanyu Foundation worker Sarayut Amphan is accidentally shot in the arm during a clash in Soi Ngam Duphli.

4.50pm: Protesters throw burning tyres from the Sala Daeng overpass at soldiers waiting at the foot of the bridge. Noise of gunshots and firecrackers is heard from the protesters' side, while soldiers fire into the air periodically.

5pm: There is a confrontation between both sides near Dusit Thani Hotel and the Thai-Belgian overpass. Burning tyres cover the area with smoke. (We could see this hotel everyday from outside the Guesthouse.)

6pm: Two grenades, believed to have been launched using an M-79 grenade launcher, explode in Soi Sala Daeng and in front of the Dusit Thani Hotel. There are no reports of injuries.

6.20pm: Explosion is heard at the red-shirts' stage on Rajprasong intersection, as speakers jump down and tell protesters to duck. No injuries or deaths are reported and the cause of the explosion remains unknown.

6.40pm: An armoured vehicle moves into Sala Daeng intersection from Wireless Road. Protesters throw bottles, petrol bombs and lit firecrackers at troops.

Spring Means Growth

2010-05-08T09:52:00.003-06:00

This Spring I feel like we are all growing. We are growing closer as a family. We are growing to cling to our savior, Jesus Christ, more and more. And Penny has been talking about the growth she sees in her own life. Sometimes I think it bothers her to be changing so much. After all, change is stressful. She just said last night, "I've changed everything." While I know this hard for her, especially right now becoming a young woman in middle school. But, I'm so proud of her for the many positive changes that I see. There are still some days where she reverts back to infantile behavior. But, that's normal and to be expected. We just have to ride the waves and know that what goes down will come back up again. She always downplays all of her successes or tries not to tell me about them. But, I just happened to discover a paper that I had helped her correct. She did an excellent job of writing it, and correcting it with my help and then typing it up for her ESL class. She ended up getting 110 points out of 100. And, yet, she was just scribbling on the back of the paper for scrap paper. Needless to say, Mommy salvaged it and saved it to add to her Life Book. She also did a great job at the Spring concert. I'm really impressed with her musical sense and her expression. And I'll add that I was mildly embarrassed when she was the only child making faces and gestures and hooting and hollering when all of the musicians were asked to take a bow at the end. Afterwards, a mom I had been chatting with before the concert turned around with a smile and said, "Oh, my, you have your hands full!" This was also the woman that told me that her son talks about Penny all the time. She said, "He needs a strong girl like her to make him listen. He won't listen to his guy friends, but he'll listen to Penny!" Yes, Penny, has a strong personality and it will definitely serve her well. I pray that God will use her in amazing ways. She is a very driven young woman, but also doesn't seem to take things too seriously, at the same time. She worked very hard studying for her world geography quiz. She ended up getting a 100 percent on knowing all countries for seven continents. This from a girl who couldn't even tell you where Thailand was located on a world map when we first met her. The supposed possible developmental delays we were told about were clearly all about her environment. We're so proud of our smart, outgoing daughter. She has a caring heart and is growing into such a fine young woman. So proud to be her mom this Mother's Day!

Cute Kid, Animals & Penny's Awards Ceremony

2010-05-04T14:01:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of Penny at the CSU vet clinic. She wanted to see the horses but not to touch them. She also loves taking pictures of her kitty, Jenny. And we have some of her and her friend, Stacey at the awards ceremony where they honored kids for their outstanding entries for their ESL projects. The theme was "Why I'm Proud to Be Bilingual". There were several different categories. Penny had chosen to make a children's book with illustrations. Of the over 300 entries only about 170 were chosen. Then of the different categories the kids could get 1st, 2nd or 3rd. We were really proud of Penny that she took home a second place ribbon and certificate. At first she really downplayed the whole thing. But, in the end when we were driving away and she was holding the award in her hand she said, "I could frame this and put it in my room. I'm proud of myself." We couldn't agree more. Pretty good for only being in the U.S. for just a little over one year. Enjoy the pictures.