Well here we go!!!! We’re going to try to answer these over the next several days. We’ll see how long it takes us to get through them all! (See original Open Book 2008 post by clicking here–) One note: as always, you can click on any photo to enlarge (we’re going to be throwing in some photos for fun too)…
My question is: Are you going to answer all of these intriguing thoughtful questions? ~Candis: Yes!
My question is, have you took Kyle and Owen to a Amusement park before? (like Hershey Park, Six Flags, Kings Dominion). I think they would love it! ~Asiaha, hi! Yes, we have taken K & O to one amusement park… StoryLand in NH (see posts from our NH August trips 2008 & 2007)… but it is really just for little, little kids. The rides are only for little tikes, no big roller coasters or “grown up rides” like at Hershey, Six Flags, etc. But, just like you, we think that they will LOVE IT when they are big enough to go! We can’t wait!!!!!!!!! P.S. Photo below was of just last week – the four of us exiting the “Bamboo Shoots” ride at StoryLand and heading straight to the front of the line to ride it again. 😉
I would love to know, are you planning for any more kids? ~Jen: No!
After having meera, do you want or wish for any more children? (I know you said meera is the last but you can’t control your heart!). ~Rose: No! our heart says no! I loved being pregnant and I absolutely LOVE having a newborn… and it is already sad for me how fast Meera is growing (especially knowing this is our last baby)… so I’ll admit, it is tempting… but absolutely no—we are definitely not going to have any more children (bio or adopted). I know, I know, “never say never,” but… really…. NEVER! 😉
My question is do you think that with your twins being raised in a very white environment that they will be more likely to be in interracial relationships when they start dating? ~Amy: Yes! But I think they’ll probably have interracial relationships outside of black-white too. Just my hunch, but that’s my prediction.
Where do you plan to take ALL three Kids for your first “real” vacation (meaning: you have to take an airplane and lots of snacks 😉 as a Family of 5? ~Heutehiermorgendort: Love this question!! Just took them to NH for our first “real” vacation as a family of five!!! This was Meera’s first time on an airplane with “lots of snacks” and everything! Kyle and Owen were super excited to have her on the airplane, etc, etc, etc! We have a vacation planned for late this fall… you’ll have to keep reading to find out where we go! 😉 And we HOPE hope hope hope hope to return to Virgin Gorda this spring with Meera as well as K & O. We’ve been dreaming of Virgin Gorda since we went last year (check out our blog posts from on and around June 4th, 2007 to get an idea of how amazing that trip was for us!)
Will you ever bring K & O back to Haiti to visit? ~Nikki: Yes! Absolutely definitely for sure.
My question–when will you take the boys’ 4 year-old picture by the tree? And will Meera be in it as well? ~Maggie B.: We always take that photo at the end of August – so look for it coming soon! 😉 Meera will be in it too this year.
Do you know who Kyle & Owen’s birth Mom is? If not, could they ever track her down some day if they decided to? Do you know anything about her? ~Anonymous: We won’t answer this question. Too private. Sorry! What were Kyle and Owen’s names before they were Kyle and Owen? ~Anonymous: We won’t answer this question. Too private. Sorry!
Will you come visit me in my new city the next time you are there? ~Maggie: Yes! Can’t wait!
Did you ever find out who sent you the chair for Meera? ~Anonymous: Yes, it was one of my best friends- Kristen! She has already given me a really nice baby gift so I never in a million years would have expected it was her! That Bjorn chair is absolutely fabulous! I highly recommend it!!!!
What agency/orphanage did you adopt from in Haiti? ~Trisha Roe/Major Mom: We adopted through a U.S. agency based in Montana — the agency is A New Arrival. Their website is: http://www.anewarrival.com/ Their orphanage in Haiti is Bresbis in Port au Prince. They have a new orphanage now (like, a different building) so it isn’t the same actual place that Kyle and Owen were… but it is the same organization. Let me know if you want further information!
My question is in regards to Heather returning to work. At this point are you looking forward to it, or dreading it? ~Mary: Dreading it!!!!!!!!!
My question is if you could adopt again, but from another country, what country would it be? ~Sara: We originally looked into South Africa before we chose Haiti. At that time, however, South Africa was not open for U.S. adoption because of problems related to the Hague Agreement. We ended up choosing Haiti and we are VERY VERY VERY glad we did. Absolutely no regrets. When we were considering adopting again (after K & O, before Meera), we were decided that if we were to do it we were going to do a domestic adoption in order to get a newborn (we really, really, really wanted a newborn – it was a major priority for us – we have posts on this blog about that). But that was very conflicting for us because we’re so aware of the extreme need in Haiti. So, the answer to your question is: The U.S., but with serious reservations because of our commitment to Haiti. But if we had to choose another country other than Haiti or the U.S., we’d probably look into whether S. Africa is open now. If not, we’d probably go with Ethiopia because they have a relatively good, well-functioning adoption system in place.
Walking to the Beach from the Cottage, Summer 2008, Age 4
Walking to the Beach from the Cottage, Summer 2007, Age 3
Walking to the Beach from the Cottage, Summer 2006, Age 2
Still Too Little to Walk to the Beach from the Cottage, Summer 2005, Age 1
A major highlight of the trip this year was TUBING! MorMor bought this awesome double tube that MorFar pulled behind the motorboat. You don’t see many 4 year olds doing this (LOL!), but of course the boys loved it! Kyle especially! He had his thumb up (signal for ‘FASTER!!!’) virtually the entire time he was in the tube. It took awhile for Owen to warm up to it, but he soon discovered that he too loved tubing as long as he was snugly seated directly behind his brother! 😉 Their favorite was tubing with MorMor! (You don’t see many 50somethings doing this either LOL! —my Mom rocks!!!!)
Another major highlight of the trip this year was the Bamboo Shoots ride at StoryLand (click here). This was Owen’s favorite ride last year too, and he had been looking forward to it for 12 months! Kyle claims that the “Polar Coaster” ride was his favorite this year… but I’m not totally sure that he didn’t love the Bamboo Shoots just as much as Owen. The best part of the Bamboo Shoots was that we could all four ride it together. We got there first thing in the morning and there was no line so the four of us rode it over and over and over together about 100 times in a row. SO MUCH FUN! Meanwhile Meera was hanging out with MorMor (while MorFar took these pictures)!
The day after we returned home from NH we were all five out for lunch. Kyle and Braydon got up to go to the bathroom. Sitting there with Owen, out of the blue I said, “Owen, what was your favorite part of our trip to New Hampshire?” Given how action packed the trip was, and given how many super fun things we did, and given how into it all the boys are/were, I fully expected Owen to respond with something like “tubing!” or “bamboo shoots!” or “the motorboat!” or “the kayak!” or “swimming in the lake!” etc., etc., etc. Instead I watched him think about it for a moment, then he turned to me and said, “My favorite part was MorFar. My MorFar is so fun!” A few minutes later B & K returned to the table. I said, “Kyle, what was your favorite part of our trip to New Hampshire?” Without any hesitation he said, “Seeing MorMor and MorFar.” How sweet it is.
We’re back from our annual summer trip to New Hampshire. Click here for last year’s post for background (and go back to August 22, 2007 in the archives for last year’s photos). We spent the first night at my parents’ house and the next day having an absolute *blast* at StoryLand. Then we headed for ‘MorMor and MorFar’s Cottage’ for the remainder of our time. This –the Cottage– has got to be one of our favorite places on earth (quite possibly our most very favorite). And when I say “our” I mean all five of us. I have loved it my whole life; Braydon loves it as much as me; This was Kyle and Owen’s fourth year making this trip, and I truly don’t think any two kids could be more in love with a place than these two are with this place; And of course this year was special because it was Meera’s first trip to NH and to the Cottage. Meera travelled great (first time on a plane), and given how well she slept at the Cottage, I think it is safe to include Meera in the “our” of “our favorite place.” I’m not even going to try to explain how much fun we had and how much joy this little spot on earth gives us. It was beyond fabulous. We had the best time with MorMor and MorFar. Truly one of our best vacations ever. I have about a million photos to post, so I’ll let them do the talking (I’ll hopefully post them tomorrow) …as I write all of this, though, I can’t help but note that I feel heavy in my heart. My cousin Karen is in very critical condition with extreme stage 4 cancer. Words can’t express the tragic sadness of this. We are praying here for Karen, her husband and their two young girls, for my aunt and uncle, and for Karen’s entire extended family and network of friends. Having just returned from such an incredibly joy-filled few days at a place that has brought so much joy to five generations of my family— but feeling the weight of Karen’s pain and sorrow so heavy in my soul— it reminds me once again of the deep importance of living life to the absolute fullest. We have no time to spare.
Lots more photos! Posts are here, here, here, here, here, and here!
Recent comments