An Important Day

Today was the day that I took the girls got to meet my best friend in the world Lisa Karau (Michels). Lisa and I go WAY BACK. We were trying to figure out how long ago we met, and we figured we have known each other about 26 years. This is longer than any other friend and that would count the best friends I had in high school who I have lost touch with. I had prepared the girls to meet her and had told them a few things. The girls liked her immediately. They met Lisa's dogs and we had lunch at Applebee's. Lisa got the girls a huge bag full of gifts and gave them about 7 boxes of clothes she had collected. The girls were overwhelmed by all the gifts and very grateful.
They also got to ride in Lisa's convertible. Lisa and I tried to catch up at the restaurant talking about everything as we often do. I told the girls that Lisa's grandpa use to marvel at how much we could talk to each other. "Do you ever shut up" he used to say. No. Lisa and I can talk for hours no matter what the subject, situation or anything. Talking to Lisa never gets old.

I was glad that the girls got to meet her since she has been and continuous to be such an important person in my life. She said the girls were sweet. Then it was time to go home. I was hoping they would go to sleep on the way back but did not. I sorted all the clothes with the younger two while the oldest two went to soccer with Alex. This was fun for them since they got so many clothes.

Another week has come and gone. We are looking forward to meeting the Kneusel-Rivera cousins on Sunday. Summer is slipping away....

Dia de Independencia and Soccer

We have had quite an exciting week in the Martin Rivera household. We spent last Saturday at the Colombian Independence celebration here in Madison. We went last year but we have to say that this year was wonderful. There was food, music, dance raffles and contests. There was a kid's flag contest in which the kids drew the flag and explained what the colors of the flag meant and Sucena won the contest! Our girls also got to hold the flags of Colombia and Wisconsin. We went dressed up in our Colombian gear. Our teenager did not wear the shirt I bought in Pueblito Paisa, but she proudly wore her Colombia-US bracelet. The girls had a great time and did not want to leave because they thought that I would win something. I was mostly interested in the 50 dollar dinner than in a bike, I must say.

Also, this week is Yesica and Sucena's last week of the ESL program. They have really enjoyed it and I think are sad to see it come to an end. August will be a challenging month for me, as things will get busier for me and we must find child care. We are trying to get a combination of family members and others so that it does not become a financial burden. August is the hardest month because I need to work many hours and there are not a lot of activities going on anymore.

Finally, we are so proud to announce that our two oldest girls are doing a soccer camp and doing very well. Milena did not want to play soccer at the beginning but then she saw a bunch of girls doing it, and decided to join. She still hopes to join a dance class in fall. Mirellen, our sporty spice, is doing very well . She is loving it. For me it was quite an experience to buy the gear, socks, cleats, shorts etc. I did not go all the way with anything expensive since I don't know how committed they are yet, and I did it all on the afternoon before the workshop.

The girls were dressed at 4 o'clock and I was nervous about the fact they do not speak English. But there they were with all the other kids and just followed along with everyone else. I was proud of the girls. It helped that the girls were there with their cousins Julia and Anna. I think this is what convinced them of doing it.

I took a karate class with all the girls last Saturday at the Club. The class was free. I would say Mirellen enjoyed it more than the rest. Then Yesica and Sucena took their first swimming lesson. I felt bad they had to be there with 5 year olds and was hoping they would not notice.

It's only 30 minutes for 3 more weeks. Then to level 2.

Well that's all in our household. Hope the summer days last a long time. --MM

First Wedding

I have been meaning to post things lately, but just haven't had the time to do it. Last Saturday the girls got to see a wedding for the first time in their lives. Thanks to our friends Darlene Grady and Matt Wilkinson for getting married at a perfect time for the girls to get to see their first wedding and for us to get our 'first date out'. There were many people at a wedding which took place in a small church in Cottage Grove. I sat with Yesica and Sucena and they wanted to see everything up close. Unfortunately, as it is with getting four girls ready to go out, we got there at the nick of time and did not get a good seat. I took Yesica to the back of the church while everyone was sitting down she could see the exchange of the rings and lifted Sucena to see some parts too. She was mostly disappointed that she did not get to see the kiss. So at the end of the ceremony as friends were saying hello and before the couple started taking pictures I asked them to kiss in front of Sucena so she could see them. She was quite happy about that. ( I will add pictures later, I promise). We took the girls home gave them something to eat and then our babysitter Iris Leske came at around 5:30. I was going to make rice and beans, but I did not have beans so I made lentils, which the girls loved (except Sucena of course). We left to go to the reception and we had an OK time. We were hoping to get some dancing in, but the music was just not appropriate for that. However it was nice to reconnect with old friends from Sun Prairie area. Many have now children and so the outings become few and far in between compared to when they did not have kids. Plus I (Mercedes) do not work in the schools anymore so we don't get invited to as many outings as we used to. It was still nice to get a night out. It felt a little strange in the car and on the way back too. The girls were great with Iris who was very impressed. They were in bed by the time we got back at 10:30. What more could you ask for! We hope the next time she babysits will be as nice.

The week has come and gone. Yesica and Sucena continue to attend the summer program at Sauk Trail. They had a couple of adventures including going to Old World Wisconsin today even though it was raining. They have made a new friend who we hope will come to the Middleton pool with us on Sunday. I think it is important they make friends. Living so far away from Middleton makes it even harder. However, we have taken our house off the market for now and don't know when we will put it back again. The market in Sun Prairie is awful we had no offers and very little interest in almost 9 months that it was for sale. So.. we are putting some things back in the house, such as family pictures, that we had taken out, to make it homier for the girls. It won't have as much appeal but we want our house to look more like home for them. We appreciate any prayers regarding our home situation. We are making due with our space (also thanks to our storage unit), but it can get a little cramped at times, and winter will be coming sooner than we might expect. We take the girls out a lot, to the park, to the pool etc. We have been having a fun time around here. There are many things that still need to be done, and we are looking forward to that as long as it does not continue to rain.

--MM

Ups and Downs

Yesica and Sucena started their ESL program this week. They have responded in a very positive way to the program, which is great. They talk about it constantly and this puts the other two girls in a bad mood since their program has ended and they don't get to see friends anymore. Today they went to Devil's Lake and had a great time. We had a visit from our social worker who asked us some questions and seemed positive about our transition. I know people give us a lot of compliments about how much we have accomplished, and of course we would have to say that the girls have done a lot of work from their part as well. But there are a lot of tough days and issues that we continue to struggle with. Most of the things I write about in the blog are very positive, but the truth is that most days continue to be up and down. I know in the past I was criticized for my negative tone on my blog entries, but I think it is necessary sometimes for people who are reading this to know that there are days that are difficult, and I think this is what any other parent would say. Even though the girls are adjusting nicely there are grumpy sad days, where the girls make comments about going back, missing the food, friends, La Casita etc. Today I asked Mirellen what she wanted for lunch and she gave me a long list of Colombian foods, including one that I had never heard before. Sometimes it is just a sad look, of just a quiet time or a wild time in which they seem to revert back to a time when they were toddlers or just much younger and I feel like a stranger looking in (this happened today at the pool). I have had to work lately and I am beginning to feel more of the pressure of getting some work done at the office or at home. People are surprised I am back at work almost every day for a few hours. I don't know what I would do if I would wait until late August to work. Yikes! Going to Crab Lake was just wonderful and I have been taking the girls to the pool and diving in myself to practice with them what the teacher has been teaching them. It's nice to at least get a little bit of exercise in, although I need a lot more.

I have been reading a lot about adoption lately especially some wonderful blogs that are out there with other parents who have adopted Colombian kids. I am reading a wonderful book called: Raising Adopted Children by Louis Melina. This book has helped me to understand many things.

Yesterday we went to a party and I met a teacher I had known for a number of years there to find out she adopted a girl from India at 13. It was nice to talk to her but at the same time face the reality of how much work we have to do with the older girls to help them catch up academically. She said " Wow, what an exciting adventure for all of you". I looked at the girls and thought to myself "This is exactly right". MM

First Family Vacation

This past week was our first family vacation. I would have liked to have our laptop with us so I would not have to spend this time here, late on Sunday night trying to update the blog. But our problematic laptop is still in the shop... Anyway.. we left our house on Friday June 2nd after Milena and Mirellen finished their three week summer program at Kromrey (included is a picture I took at their luncheon). We met the Martin family up north at the Crab Lake cabin. There was a full house with Andy and Sis (Alex's parents), Sam, Telia and Sophie, Scott. Laura with Sam, Joe and Ben. We stayed in the little house. The girls had visited Crab Lake during the Memorial Day weekend, but that was a short stay compared to this. We were also going to spend some time at Crab Lake by ourselves. The girls spent some time with Sophie and she seemed to attach herself to Yesica. They also spent time learning to fish from Scott (not us, sorry) and their favorite past time, trapping crayfish. We also had to say goodbye to Uncle Scott who is moving to England with his family. We will see Aunt Laura and the Vuchetich cousins here in Madison for our final goodbyes for a number of years (unless we win the lottery and can take the girls on a trip to Europe).

After everyone left the girls spent most of the time on the lake, but we had the good fortune of getting invited by the Bowler's, the owners of the Alpine Lodge, whose daughter Cameil, is about 12 years old. At the Alpine Lodge there were also three girls ages 10-14 and a boy of about 11 was staying nearby as well. They got invited several times during the week to swim and visit. One of the times the got to spend at Presque Isle Lake, where the deer flies were nasty. Another time they went and ate birthday cake (Kim Bowler's birthday) and played with the girls as well. The last visit was spent jumping off the top of their pontoon boat (not for grandparents to watch, I had a hard time watching it myself especially when Sucena jumped off). During our stay we also took the girls to Minocqua to ride Go-Karts and go to the Petting Zoo, which by the way they loved since they got to pet goats, rabbits, turtles as well as get into a cage with about 100 budgies. This was more than a petting zoo, it was an animal lover's experience with many rescued birds as well to see.

In general, it was a great experience to have as a family. There was not Yatzee tournament yet, as we are still working through taking turns and playing games. But three of the girls played Bingo with me and won many prizes ( I have to give smaller prizes next time!). They had fun with that, especially those who won their Doritos bags...

There were also trips to LaPorte's, the grocery store, the gas stations, the dump etc. On the last full day we were there, I thought the girls had finally learned the 'Crab Lake program' when after a big breakfast Sucena asked me if she could take a nap... (Yeah... I thought), then a dog appeared from nowhere (the Callender's house actually) and a lot of time was spent worrying about the dog, who was happy as a lark and took a comfortable nap on the back porch. After 45 minutes or so he was picked up by Judy Callender. His name was 'Tio', which in Spanish means 'Uncle'. On Saturday morning we finally had to say Good bye to Crab Lake, Alpine Lodge and Tio.

Mirellen woke up this morning thinking of waking up Sucena to catch crayfish.. Oh well.. next time.