Feliz Navidad

I'm going to take a stab at an "online" Christmas letter. I had very good intentions of doing an actual letter but the joys of parenting a soon to be 15 mos old with Rotavirus has had it's challenges:) So here goes!

We hope 2007 has brought you a year filled with the blessings of good health and much happiness. This past year has been filled with many "firsts" for us as a family.

We arrived home from Colombia with our daughter Lucy on Feb 28Th. After a serious battle with a snowsuit, Lucy was able to play in the snow for the first time. Well, actually I just laid her on a snow bank while I took a picture of her but hey, it counts.

We went up North to the lake and spent many a day at the community pool this summer. Lucy loves the water! She couldn't get enough. She learned how to lay her head back and float in the water, while mommy held her of course. What a wonderful way to keep cool on a hot summer day. And what a hot summer we had this year!

Kurt's family and friends started building the family cabin up North over Labor Day weekend. It is now totally enclosed and roofed, the heat is on, it's insulated and most of the electrical is in. It was a huge effort from a lot of people. You all know who you are....THANK YOU! We hope that your next visit the MN north land is with a beer in one hand and a brat in the other; RELAXING with us, NOT working.

We all did a power trip out East this fall to visit my aunt and cousins. I love the look on people's faces when you board a plane with a baby! Everyone has this "look" on their face and you can tell that inside their head they're screaming, "Please don't sit by me! Please don't sit by me!" So far Lucy has been a great traveler. I know, now that I say that we'll be cursed. But the really, the girl needs her own frequent flyer number.

We also went to CA in Oct to visit a family that we met while we both were adopting our children in Colombia. I'm still craving carnitas and pan dulce. Lucy had a great time playing with Nico and Paola. Did I say CA is beautiful?!

There are some changes a foot in the Kern household. Kurt will start a new position within Ameriprise in January. He will be working more closely with advisers. This means some overnight travel so... with an ever changing work schedule at the University, I tendered my resignation and will continue being a staying home with Miss Lucy while doing some freelance work on the side. I will miss working at the U. It was my all time favorite interpreting job. But I love being a Mom more. Lucy will start at a Spanish immersion daycare 2 full days a week. We're excited to see how her language progresses.

Speaking of language, Lucy can now say Momma, Daddy, Papa, baby and Grandpa. She can sign Mommy, Daddy, baby, food, drink, more, dog, light, fan, bird and book! She started walking on Oct 27Th and hasn't sat down since. Right now she loves to read books with her momma and papa. She also saw Santa recently. What a ham! She just walked up, sat on his lap and smiled broadly on cue.

We turned in our application to Los Pisingos in October. Our social worker informed us that we've been approved for a 0-18 mos old. We will have to wait to turn in our dossier (legal documents) because they expire in 6 mos. The Colombia program has slowed considerably. This means a longer wait time for us. We hope to have a sibling for Lucy by the time she is 2 but it could be longer. In the meantime Lucy is keeping us busy.

She continues to be the light of our lives.

Wishing you all the best in 2008.
Love
Kurt, Phyllis and Lucy

P.S. You don't have to have a Google account to leave a comment just click on "anonymous"

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Wow! It's been a while since I posted anything, so here's goes.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving this year. So fun celebrating all of Lucy's "firsts" with us together as a family. We went to Kurt's aunt and uncle's house on Thursday for dinner. Grandpa and Grandma Kern were there as well as Lucy's cousins Katie, her husband Michael, and Paul. Lucy had a great time with her family, especially Grandma and Grandpa! We'll have to get a sibling for Lucy SOON so Grandpa will learn how to share:) Grandma hardly gets to hold her!

On Friday we went to my sister and brother-in-law's house. I'm in charge of making the turkeys. Yes, I said turkeys plural:) I make 2 small turkeys. That way they cook a little faster and I don't have to get up so early! This year I did a brine and they turned out really moist and juicy. Thanksgiving is the one holiday that most of us get together. We have a wonderful time making food, eating the food, talking and playing games. Many of "the sisters" also spend the night. I love spending this day with my sisters and brother. It's become my favorite holiday.

Lucy had a great time with her cousins playing in the cupboards and reading books. I think the sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie were her favorite foods.

Blessings
PK

Adoption #2 update

We finally completed our application and pictures for Los Pisingos (the same orphanage that Lucy is from). I turned in the paperwork on Monday. What a great feeling to have one more piece of the puzzle in place. Our Social worker said that we've been approved for a child of either gender age 0-18 mos.

Seems like the wait will be longer this time around. The Colombian government started offering more assistance to moms so more people are choosing to parent, which is a good thing of course. It makes me happy that Lucy's birth country is striving to make improvements. I want Lucy to be proud of where she's from. Colombia is more than Pablo Escobar and cocaine. It deeply troubles me when people make thoughtless, negative comments about a country that has a part of my heart and soul. But... it does slow things down for those of us that are waiting. LSS is now telling families it could take any where from 12-14 mos. We'll get who we're supposed to get. Lucy was almost 5 years in the making. If the wait was any shorter or longer it wouldn't of been her. And believe me that is one girl that was worth the wait!

Lucy's birth certificate came in the mail today FINALLY. I think we sent in the forms back in....oh...May I think. We received them from the MN Dept of Health the first time back in Sept but my middle name was spelled wrong. The joys of bureaucracy. Gotta love it! But at least now we can get her American passport in preparation for our trip back to Colombia. We also have our fingerprinting appointment on Dec 4Th.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Smooch
PK

P.S. Here is a link to an interesting article about international adoption => http://www.twincities.com//ci_7377480?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com

Happy Halloween

Lucy had a great time trick or treating. She loved going to people's houses and putting stuff in her bag. Yesterday she walked around the house with candy in her hand, wrapped of course. By the end of the day the snickers bar was all mush. So are our hearts. She makes a darn cute Giraffe huh?

PK

San Jose

We were in San Jose last weekend. Kurt and I were fortunate enough to meet the Garcia family while in Colombia. Rosa is one of the coordinators for KidSave in the bay area. Paola was 14 when Zeke and Rosa adopted her. So I guess that means that Paola and Lucy are Colombiana "sisters" so to speak. Lucy loves Nico and Paola
(Zeke and Rosa too). She followed them around all weekend. There is a special bond between the 3 of them. I hope they are life long amigos.

This was Kurt and my first time in CA! The sun was a welcome sight after all the rain we've had here in MN. As you can tell by the pictures, we had a GREAT time.

On Saturday we went to San Francisco. The Golden Gate bridge is amazing. Pictures really don't do it justice. It is massive! Then we headed for the wharf where we had some terrific crab sandwiches for lunch. We went over to ghirardelli square for some dessert, or should I say supper.

Sunday we went to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. Paola and I rode on a 103 year old wooden roller coaster. FUN! We had carnitas for dinner, muy muy rico!

I don't think I touched a vegetable the entire time we were there. Gotta love Mexican food. The picture of Lucy stuffing her face with Pan Dulce speaks 1000 words.

Good weather, good food and good friends. Thanks for a fantastic time familia de Garcia!

Smooch
PK

Fall update

We've had a busy fall so far. In September, we hosted 2 girls from the African Children's Choir through our church. What amazing music not to mention a GREAT cause! Check them out at http://www.africanchildrenschoir.com/

We headed down to Mankato for the day on Oct 6th to visit with some of our new friends. We actually met this family from MN while at the Bogota airport on our way to Santa Marta! We even stayed at the same resort. It has been terrific getting to know them better. I hope Andre and Lucy become the best of friends. Ignacio was kind enough to make us a traditional Colombian lunch. It consisted of sopa de Ajiaco, a soup made with chicken, potatos, cilantro, guascas (Colombian herb) and corn on the cob. Crema and capers are added before you dig into this delicious soup. We also had arepas which are a kind of cornbread pancake looking thing, also very good. After lunch we all headed to the park. After returning to their house, we had an amazing passion fruit dessert. Que bonito dia!

The weekend of Oct 13th we went up to the lake with Lucy's Godparents Cara and Joel. What a beautiful, relaxing weekend. Joel is an Electrician and was kind enough to help with the cabin. For those of you that don't know, Kurt's family started building a cabin this fall. Enjoy the pictures!

That's all for now. Smooch!
PK

Home study completed!!!!

Well, we just got word that our home study for adoption #2 is completed! We were also very happy to hear that referrals are coming again from Colombia. For those of you that didn't know, there was a slow down this summer. From what I can gather with a resurgence of Colombian pride, preservation of heritage and adoption becoming more widely accepted, ICBF (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar, the overseeing body of adoption in Colombia) was checking to make sure that private foundations (where Lucy is from) were giving Colombian families first priority to adopt Colombian children. I think ICBF is making a concerted effort to find homes for their older children as well. So needless to say we are breathing a collective sigh of relief with the recent movement!

Now we have to fill out our I600A, (application for advanced processing of Orphan petition) have that notarized and send it off to USCIS (U S Citizenship and Immigration Services). Can I just say that I HATE the word orphan! Lucy is not/was not an orphan. She was not abandoned. Her birth mom made a plan to place her for adoption because she loved her enough to want a better life for her. OK, I'm off my soap box now:)

Anyway... we continue to plug away at the adoption paperwork and hope to have a sibling for Lucy by the time she is 2. We'll see. It is in God's hands.

Lucy now has 8 teeth. She can stand by herself and has taken a few steps on her own, promptly falling on her butt of course!

She continues to be the light of our lives.

PK

Media from our trip out East

Here is some video and pics from our recent trip to CT, NJ and NY.

Happy FIRST birthday Lucy!!!!

Well, I thought I'd give this blog thing a shot and see how it goes. Hopefuly We'll keep this thing updated with pics and such. Wish me luck!

Lucy is ONE! I can hardly believe it. We had a party for her on Sunday. I think she is still recovering! She had a great time complete with piñata, tres leches, pineapple upside down cake, super cute bday cupcakes made using my Mom's famous chocolate cake recipe,(thanks Auntie Yanne!) molasses and Neiman Marcus cookies.

Grandma Kern has cut Lucy's bangs at least FOUR times since we've been home. She is currently working on tooth #7 and #8. She signs Mama, Dada, milk, drink, more, food. She also says Mama and Dada. And just for the record, she signed and said Mama first:) Lucy is now walking holding just one of my fingers. She also loves this new push, walking toy thingie I picked up for her at a garage sale.

But I can't help feeling indebted to this woman in Colombia, Lucy's birth mom, for giving us such a tremendous gift. Did she feel sad on Lucy's birthday?? How could she not feel sad??? I know I felt sad, sad and grateful. Grateful that we have this wonderful, smart, beautiful, inquisitive, funny and determined little girl of ours. So, THANK YOU Lucy's birthmom.

Happy birthday Lucy!

PK