Ring Ring Ring

That's the sound we are waiting for now.  A phone to ring.

Yesterday we had our first Matching meeting at DePelchin.  We met with both our Straight Adoption worker and our Foster Care worker.  It was a good meeting, productive in the sense that we got to meet them face-to-face and vice versa.  Productive in the sense that we were able to clarify our needs and wants, what we are looking for and what we are capable of.  So that was good.  However, that was about all the meeting provided.  No more answers or forward movement, not that we were expecting it.

It is likely that we will end up going the Foster Care route even though we are Dual Tracking.  But that is ok.  Amy and I have talked and prayed extensively about this and we feel that He has a plan for us and we are doing our best to listen and wait.  Wait.  Ugh.

So basically we are on-call 24/7 now.  Our phones are always on, never silenced, and we took off the Do Not Disturb function for night.  Just in case.  Every time the phone rings I jump.  Usually I do not answer my phone if I don't recognize the number.  That has changed as well now.  While we wait.

That's the only adoption update I have.  Nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering, just another small step forward.  And more waiting.  Of course.

In other Drosche Land news Disney was amazing!  I want to write about it all and share pictures but this week is VBS at school and we have been busy with that.  We also had some fun news on Monday so I will have to get to that soon as well.  But those are posts for another time.  For now I'll go and check my phone for the 1,000th time; even though it is sitting right here next to me.  :)

All is well, awaiting a call, in Drosche Land.   

Trippin'

We made it to Disney World!

It was quite the eventful trip. We left early yesterday morning and ended up spending 14 hours in the car (several breaks and a too-long lunch) driving 656 miles. It made for a long day. A very long day. Stella watched Frozen 5 times. 5.  Now not only do I know all the songs (ok yes, I knew them well before today) but now I know a good portion of dialogue as well!  We stopped somewhere in Florida at Falling Waters State Park. We basically hooked up electricity and water, ate, and slept. That's all we had the energy for. 

This morning we left a little later so it was good to sleep in a bit. We only spent about 8 hours driving and only got in 2 viewings of Frozen.  But we made it in good time. After hooking up and unloading Amy and I took the kids to meet with a friend from college and her family. It was good to visit since we hadn't seen them in 4 years!  Yikes. Then back to the campsite.  Any plans for exploring the grounds and amenities tonight were cut short by rain. Lots of it. Apparently that's what it does here in Florida. Rain. Right now it's a light rain and between that and the fact that everyone is sleeping the camper has a very soothing and relaxing sound. Ahhhhh. The forecast for tomorrow says clear skies until rain in the evening. Hopefully it's not as much as today. But we will see. Can't complain though because we made it to Disney!

Also got to experience quite a number of camper firsts this trip so far. Driving it for so long. Pulling through gas stations. Backing into the spot here at Disney (we've stuck to pull-through sites thus far).  All in all though it was a great trip. Long but any good road trip is.  The real fun starts tomorrow though  and hopefully it'll be dry!  Especially since were headed to Animal Kingdom. Safari time!

All is well, at Disney, in Drosche Land. 

Last Minute

You know how it is. No matter how much you prep and plan for a vacation, the day before is hectic and filled with a whirlwind of activity as you get ready to leave. 

Today was no different for us as we are leaving super early tomorrow morning for the drive to Disney.  However, our first errand handed us a nice little setback. See, we had to cool the fridge and put stuff in the camper. But the fridge wouldn't turn on. Ugh. Propane was ok so it had to be the battery. Next up, impromptu trip to Camping World to get it checked out. However, they were anything but helpful; providing us with only further frustrations. Luckily we were able to just drive up the road to Holiday World and turns out the battery just needed to be charged.  Score!  So it's there while we spend the rest of the day planning. 

I'm currently blogging from the waiting area at Kwik Kar (I LOATHE stupid spellings of business/product names, must be my inner teacher) blogging while The Beast gets her oil changed. Despite my loathing for the name, the place it close to home and the price is right so I can turn my teacher eye for a bit.  The Beast by the way is our name for the Sequioa. I wanted a name for her, I like naming cars. Weird I know. We couldn't decide on once so this one stuck. It fits. She's huge, she works hard, she puts up with a lot of Drosche Land craziness.  The Beast it is!

So, after this it's back home to finish cleaning and prepping food. Clothes are all packed and loaded into the camper so that's done. Tonight we pick up the charging battery and drop off Rex with my parents who are being awesome and dog-sitting for us while we are at Disney. Woo hoo!  Then it's early to bed so we can early to rise. 

Vacations are awesome and this one is going to be epic since it's our first Disney trip. But they are so much for to prep for, not to mention the recovery work that will come next week once we return.  Such is life. Everyone's vacations seem to be that way. Totally worth it though. Stay tuned for copious amounts of pictures!

All is well, Disney bound, in Drosche Land. 

One Last Shot

Not as in chance.  Literally.  A shot.  Like the kind you get at the doctor.

See today we took all of the kids to the doctor.  Yes, all 3.  If you've never taken 3 children to the doctor, then you're missing out.  Trust me, it's a trip.  But seriously it wasn't all that bad actually; they did quite well.  See, Braeden and Stella were up for their yearly check-up and the boys needed their TB skin test for the adoption.  

Now, given past incidents Amy and I were pretty hesitant and worried about how this was going to play out.  3 kids, all getting shots.  Ugh.  The thought of the impending crying and screaming was definitely a fear.  However, all ended up quite well.  The boys were super brave for their TB skin tests and Stella only cried for a little with her shot.  All in all the trip was a success and we were able to happily cross one more thing off of our adoption to-do list!

So now we continue to wait.  Wait.  We were given a 2-week window from Home Study approval to when we would hear from Matching.  We went past that marker last Friday and we are doing our best to be patient.  Luckily we have the upcoming Disney trip just a few days away to occupy us in the meantime.  Once we return though I hope we are able to maintain our patience.

So, there's the latest adoption update.  Nothing huge or landmark but a victory nonetheless.  So for now we will take that.  And wait of course.

All is well, on the road to Matching, in Drosche Land.     

2

Stella turned 2 today!

2. Years. Old. Where has the time gone?  I feel like I say this three times a year on each of the kids' birthdays but it still shocks me.

2 years. Wow. 

So much has happened in the past 2 years here in Drosche Land and I am sure the same can be said about everyone.  We have been through a lot. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. All in the short life of our little princess.

She has definitively changed us. For the better of course. We've learned what patience is as we've ridden the rollercoaster that is food allergies.  Her allergies have also inspired us all to eat a lot healthier. We've also had to rethink who is in charge here as she seems to be fairly certain that she runs the show, especially when it comes to her brothers who will do anything she asks (nearly always willingly).

As you can see from above, Minnie Mouse is a new favorite. Maybe it's because we are heading to Disney in less than two weeks (yikes!) and thus are always talking about it. Maybe it's because she watches Mickey's Clubhouse.  Either way, she is in love with the large stuffed mouse, clad in all pink. Hello Kitty is another favorite of hers lately. She is also very much in the "why?" stage of life and is constantly asking that about anything. She loves to eat applesauce in the squeezable pouches. She has also taken to saying, "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" and pumping her fists up and down when she's excited or happy. It's hilarious. 

I could go on and on about Stella and all that is this wonderful little girl. But I'll leave it at the fact that she, like every child, is a blessing. Throughout whatever we have been through these past 2 years, she has helped us to keep our perspective in life. She's reminded us what is most important and she has shown us that it's ok, and valuable, to roll with the punches and be flexible. She's made us smile when we didn't want to or didn't think we could. She's given us something to look forward to when everything else seemed bleak. She's changed us. For the better. 

All is well, 2 years older, in Drosche Land.