Knowles Christmas Message

This Christmas is so special for us as a family because as we are for the first time celebrating together with our children David and Julia, we are reminded that a Child was born and given to bring hope into the hearts and lives of the hopeless. These four hopeless people found each other and found hope this year.

Jesus, our wonderful hope, comes to accomplish in our lives what man cannot.

The Child of Hope is Jesus!
May the New Year be filled with Christmas Hope!!

Christmas Brunch Moments

We celebrated Christmas at our house early this year with my side of the family – We prepared a brunch - main course was Rainbow trout .. sounds fancy right? well in small towns in Colombia, people eat fish for breakfast, so we went with it and we had Yuca and Suero ... for the Colombians reading they know it is not fancy anymore but very home cooking ... Also we had fruit and cookies and made from scratch blueberry muffins and mimosas and hot chocolate - We used to go to a restaurant in Minneapolis called Kinkaids and the Sunday Brunch was expectacular - they had the best blueberry muffins - Brian's were the best!
These are some of the pictures from the party:
The kids really enjoyed the whole event! Julia even had a cookie - and she is not into sweets.

Her first sweet food she actually liked was a chocolate/sugra christmas cookie we got after church 2 sundays ago and her second cookie was just last Saturday as you see in this picture - we are all eating sweets, even Lola.
David got a guitar for Christmas - he loved it!
Here we are trying to get lola into her new outfit - That was her Christmas gift.
Julia was very curious with all the gifts.
Bellow there is a great Christmas moment - Just before opening presents:

DJ Pablo’s music will be playing in our New Year's Party.

I just added a link on the side bar of the blog that was created by my nephew and it is so clever!

If you are interested in knowing a little bit more about music from my city Barranquilla, just click on the link also found on the side bar: www.quillacity.com/emisora.htm
This is like a Radio station that plays music from Barranquilla.

Pablo promised me to create a link for me with the songs from my CD to add also here so you can just click and listen .. no need for shipping and handling. That is so cool!!

David and Julia Love dancing. I am going to see what I can do to have DJ Pablo’s music playing for our New Years party.

Gracias Pablo!

Gabi first B-Day

On Decempber 2nd 2006, David saw Elmo "Live" for the first time at my niece's B-day party and he loved him!!!

Brian and I were really busy just trying to keep up with our two active toddlers on a Sesame street theme party. They loved the singing the dancing, the ice cream cones and of course, Elmo.

Julia is learning the meaning of the expression "Fashion first" It was a little hot outside but we kept the whole outfit the entire party! She is Mama's girl.

The B-day girl was beautiful, like always .. my dear niece is also my goddaughter so this was a very special celebration for us. My sister made this cheese breads that were amazing!! It was nice to enjoy with all our nieces, nephews and our friends kids!

Christmas Moments

David saw Santa … I think he heard of him before somewhere, he calls him "Santee". This was the same expression he had when he saw Elmo "Live" at his prima’s B-day party … I will post the B-day party pictures later.
Lola loves Christmas … she was born December 24th 2001 so every Christmas Eve she thinks we are celebrating her birthday.

Still behind

Just a diary note with the highlights about our Thanksgiving celebration:
1. Tia Brenda Came to visit David and Julia and stay with us the whole week. What a blessing!! She brought the kids each a t-shirt from Australia – is that cool or what!

2. My mom came from Colombia just a week before thanksgiving.

3. Then Grandma and Grandpa came on Thanksgiving Day. David, Julia, papi y mami went to the airport to get them. We came home and started cooking. Tia Brenda prepared a wonderful stuffing corn bread with sausages, leeks and cranberries. It was very “gourmet” and delicious: the talk of the dinner. My sister Raquel prepared one turkey and Brian prepared the other one. Food was great!!!

4. We had my side of the family and Brian’s side of the family at our house for this Thanksgiving but we also had my sister in laws mom and dad and my brother in law side of the family also, so that was great.

5. The kids kept their schedule and were awake to enjoy the party and the guests

6. we had Cathy with us so she played the piano and we sang together praise hymns – my sister Raquel and I cried while holding our little girls and singing “Great is thy faithfulness”

7. We had guest over in our house all the way to midnight.

I have to say that this was the best Thanksgiving we ever had.

I had to post a before and after moment in pictures of Julia.

Before and after picture of Julia and Papi.

Papi was the first man Julia ever saw in her entire life until she was close to one year old and now she loves to dance with him at home.

Papi sings this song: “someday your Prince will come …” and Julia gives her hand to papi to position herself for dancing and she pretends she is singing with him. I think is good Brian is practicing for Julia’s “big day” this early, but knowing him, when the “day” comes, he won’t be able to sing the song … he will probably just cry … just like grandpa.

Julia has a great personality. She loves to sing and dance. At night, after I give her the bottle, she knows is time for singing lullabies, so she starts imitating my singing to get me started. It is such a precious moment. Then she puts her two fingers in her mouth telling me she is ready for her own bed.

I can believe that Julia’s referral description was: “shy and quiet girl” that is so not my Julia anymore. You should see her when we are in public, at church, the Latin restaurant, etc. she comes in and says “hi” to every person she sees … and smiles as she was a personality saluting … and she is not quiet either she can hardly say 20 words but she knows how to have a discussion and make herself understood and of course she pretends of having this long conversations at the table with whoever wants to listen.

Julia used to say only Paapa and not mama, but 2 days ago as we were in the car coming back home from David’s school, I said: “Julia say: we are Home” and she said “OMMM” so then I said: “Julia if you can say Ommmm, you can say mmmammma” then she said: Mmaammaa!!!! I am so proud of her! Is like she got it and now she says it a lot!

Happy Late Thanksgiving to everyone!

Before and after pictures of David and Mami.














I can’t believe it is already December 1st. wow! I will try to write more post today about our Thanksgiving 2006 before we start talking Christ-mas!

So this is my first update on the last few weeks, at least I am taking pictures so I can remember some of this important moments:

David started calling me Mami just before Thanksgiving!! That is much sweeter than Maaama! Even though Maaama is great! I am so thankful to God for that gift.

I can see David growing to love me more in the last month and also yielding in a very welcoming way to my acts of affection. Two nights ago, while I was singing to him the usual made up songs I have for them, he told me “Mami, mami: amo” Amo means love in Spanish and that is a very much used word on the songs I sing to both of them night. He actually takes my cheeks and looks very close to my face and starts talking stuff like little “secrets” I can’t understand what he says most of the time, but I pretend I do and I just go on with the conversation: he loves to talk! Those are great moments.

He is so active, in his Learning Center, they say he is the one that has the most fun on the playground but the one that falls the most. He is definitely the one that eats the most in his class and then he asks for “more plis”

My mom and I attended David’s Thanksgiving celebration at school and it was wonderful. I asked my mom to take a picture of me with David and then I realized it was pretty much the same picture I took in Moscow on our second trip. I cried when I saw myself kneeling down next to David at the table … but this time I was next to my own son!!!

Just a little bit about me

Brian and I have been a little sick lately. Actually I was not supposed to carry heavy stuff and Brian was not supposed to drive, so, I was driving us around and he was doing all the lifting …today I am feeling much better and tomorrow, we will go to a follow up visit for Brian.

Just a little bit about me …. I got my first invitation to sing at a women breakfast coming up in our church on the first Saturday of December!!! so, I am thinking of the best way to share our adoption story and inspire others to adopt or at least shine some redemption light on the subject.
Yes, Last year in November, God gave me the blessing to finish a CD project. These are a collection of songs I have written and was waiting to put together, well, last year we were able to finish this project, but right in the middle of our adoption process, so now, a year later, I am thinking in ways to do some marketing for it, mainly because there is a Christmas song I wrote and would be great to share with others. 8 of the 10 songs in the CD are in Spanish, but I would love to share it with you my blog friends, just send me an email and ask for it rifka_segebre@yahoo.com I’ll send you a copy.

Continuing with the Adoption Month subject, I found from Kim that this week Family Life is dedicating their broadcast to adoption.

“You can go to the sites and find out what radio station near you will carry these broadcasts. If you click on their broadcast schedules, you can get more information about the speakers and their topic.”http://www.voiceoftheorphan.org/display.asp?page=Broadcast

I actually listened to today’s broadcast from Family life and found it very inspiring, I passed the information about Voice of the Orphan ministry to some Pastor from our church and I hope to see some results from it.

Most of all, it really had made me think about the ministry to the orphan and our place as a family on it. We also work with a ministry for couples in Brazil www.reachingoutnet.org and I have asked the question this week about what should we be doing there also. We might not be the most knowledgeable on the subject but definitely committed to the cause.

November - National Adoption Month

What ideas can we still put into place to take advantage of this National celebration? Just blog me or email me with some. I am still thinking.

President George W. Bush proclamation:
"I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities to honor adoptive families and to participate in efforts to find permanent homes for waiting children."

Episodes of "Sesame Street" this month will address the topic of adoption as part of National Adoption Month in the United States. Check Sesame Street on PBS Nov. 6 and 7, where the "Sesame Street" gang gets a new edition when the character Gina adopts a baby boy from Guatemala named Marco. I watched it yesterday and it was great, we were having dinner and Brian could not handle it, he started crying, well, I did too. The program seeks to explain what it means to adopt and how it impacts parents and those closest to them.

I just found out that there is a long list of all of the special days celebrated in November 2006, something for everybody; besides being the National Adoption Month my ultimate favorite, here are some other interesting celebrations:
American Heritage Month
Child Safety and Protection Month
Drum Month
Good Nutrition Month
Hunger Awareness Month
Latin American Month
Peanut Butter Lover's Month
National Georgia Pecan Month
Family Stories Month
National Family Literacy Month
National Sleep Comfort Month
International Creative Child and Adult Month
National Raisin Bread Month
Real Jewelry Month
I Am So Thankful Month

and my ultimate favorite by the way of the tittle:
Anything Can Happen Month: I hope for Good things happening this month specially for those who still wait ... here: in America; and there: someplace in the world!

I guess there is even daily events such as my favorite for today:
November 7, 2006: National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day

and
The most important one today:

Don't forget to Vote!!

Two children at once

I have seen a lot of question about people wanting to adopt 2 children at a time and hesitating about getting the help of relatives.
So, I wanted to write a little bit about our experience.

As most of you know by now, we came back from Moscow with 2 beautiful children at once 4 month ago and the day we arrived we were all tired.

My mother was with us the day we arrived and she says that in the middle of that night my one year old girl was crying and neither my husband or I heard a thing, so she knock at our door and nobody answered, then she went inside the bedroom and shake me gently for a while and I just did not respond. So, she went inside my girl’s room, and took care of her: changed her diaper, rocked her a little bit and put her back to sleep. I have no recollection of the episode!! How embarrassing! And how thankful that mom was there for the rescue. Yes, I felt guilty for a while.
We had been awake for 24 hours by the time we went to bed that night and there was an 8 hour difference and we also were exhausted from the week we spend the 4 of us in the hotel in Russia where we believe we became a family. I am so thankful my mom was there with us for the first 2 months.
While spending time with our kids, my mother just took her place as grandma which is her rightful place. We believe our kids did not get confused. Right now mom is not with us and will be back in a month or so.

It was overwhelming to suddenly go from an empty nest to a family of 4 with a 1 year old girl and a 2 year old boy … but looking back at the whole experience and still going through it, I would not change a thing and today I am so glad we adopted both at the same time.

Blessings to all of you that are considering taking this road with two at once!

If you do decide to adopt two at once, I would encourage you to accept the help of the people from your family you consider you can trust to help in this special way. What I mean is, people you can explain the attachment issue to and will be willing to help you as you need but be sensitive to leave the most attaching tasks to you; that is, if you are awake for it!.

Thank you Mom for your great help!!!

Peter pan & tinker bell

We went to Disney last weekend and all of us loved it.

Daddy and Mommy cried during the parade …the ”dreams come true …”song was kind of meaningful to all of us … we also made it to Epcot Center and visited “Mexico” with some other friends. The mariachis were great … David and Julia danced away with the music and pretended to be playing instruments … It was a short trip, just to experiment how difficult it could be. It really was marvelous the kids behave so well if you take into consideration their age and the amount of time: from 10 am to 10 pm.

Yes, we are crazy! We are very consistent with their routine and I believe the routine is part of the success with the kids but like everything in life, it is good to be flexible and teach them flexibility because once in a while things do not fall into routines and scheduled planning activities, you know, sometimes Disney happens and you got to be ready for it.

Daddy's girl

I love to dress Julia up and then put something pretty in her hair. The problem is to keep the hair pieces on. We usually play the game of let's see who gets tired first: me putting it in or her taking it out. Well, my tactic now is to put it on and then give her something to distract her hands. This picture here is one of the hundreds of Brian's attempts to take a picture of Julia where she is looking at the camera, she is actually smiling and she has the hair piece on. As you can see, she is already trying to get her hands free so she can take it off.

I love to see Brian after Julia trying to take a picture of her, he chases her and she knows she is the center of attention; Julia particularly likes it when he pretends to be cookie monster and just kisses her.

Today, at breakfast time, Brian was whistling and Julia would follow the music pretending she was singing. By the expressions of her face, the movements of her hands and the passion of the voice, I would say she was singing opera! In the background of this picture, you see David with his favorite toy these days: a broom.

They both love our new patio. We decided to add some pavers to the back of the house to make a big terrace so that the kids could play easier, but then we realized we needed to fence it. The second picture shows the final result. We will enjoy this space for Thanksgiving (we live in South Florida) when the whole family on both sides will be here to celebrate and give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and the special gifts we have received this year.

David calls me "Máaama"

This started on our long trip to Charlotte: David started to get a little fussy, so I would reach back and started to rub his feet. Well, guess what? He loves it!
So now when we are in the car and papi is driving, he says, Máaama!! I look at him and he wiggles his feet … I start rubbing his foot and he puts his fingers in his mouth just like in this picture … Isn’t he cute!!!

At night when Brian and I are watching TV, I do the same, I wiggle my feet and Brian gives me a feet massage, I have done this for years and now is pay time for me!!

David’s favorite new word is “Por que?” and he also says it in English “Why?” it is so funny because he really does not speak sentences yet, but he would say “Máaama …” and then he starts this “pretend” talk and looks at me and says “Por que?”

A surprised visit to Grandpa and grandma – an update!

Hi everybody!

I am so sorry I have taken so long to write on our blog! I just realized how long it has been when we got the email reminding us to send our 3 month post placement reports!
We have finished the reports now and I am ready again to blog away!!!

It was more than a month ago, a Monday morning, we woke up with the news that Hurricane Ernesto was definitely coming to South Florida.
On the past, Brian and I just take it slow; we would get ready and sometimes make plans to leave the city. This year was different! Now we have David and Julia (besides our little dog Lola) to take care of.

I actually panicked and transmitted the panic to my husband. We rushed to the stores earlier than usual, bought so much food and water and still did not feel OK. So we decided to leave the city.

By 4PM that Monday, Brian and I took David, Julia and Lola on our minivan and traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit grandma and grandpa Knowles!! An escape from the horrible hurricane coming our way. We slept the night at a hotel and the next day started again. Babies and dog behaved so well!! I was impressed.

On this trip we visited Vicky and Craig, we had a great time at grandpa and grandma Knowles and visited the Billy Graham Association to introduce our children to the dear people that prayed for them. So, let me tell you how it went:

In our way to Charlotte, I remembered that our good friends, Vicky and Craig, live in South Carolina and we would have to go by their city on our way to Charlotte, so we called her and she was so kind to change her plans for that afternoon, met us at an intersection and received us in her house.

What a great gift for us to be able to see them again. Vicky and Craig adopted a beautiful baby girl in Russia. We met them while they were on their last trip and we were on our first trip, so we have met her baby girl but they only knew David and Julia from pictures.
Their daughter is so beautiful and looks like she could be David’s cousin; she is also only 5 days younger than Julia: they are both walking great and getting into everything.

Grandpa and Grandma called us to hurry up to get to Charlotte for dinner. I can describe the feeling of being at their house. I could sense our children’s happiness and reminded me of the special times when I used to go to a little town in Colombia to visit my grandma Jadne.

We ate so well!!! Of course anyone that had the pleasure to eat Dick’s cooking, knows what I mean. Even his white rice tastes better than any other white rice I ever had.

Then on Thursday, we went to the Billy Graham association to introduce our children to Dick and Berenice’s friends and co-workers. What a humbling experience!! There were people coming from all over the place to meet David and Julia; these are people that were committed to pray for our adoption and we are so thankful for it. I just have to stop here and say, I believe in the power of prayer and adoption can be a very complicated process: so many things can go wrong! And we were adopting two, in two different orphanages! We were the witness of so many miracles on our way to adopting our children. That is why I would encourage any of you in the process to pray to God to bring to you prayer partners that will be committed to praying for your children and for you. I believe it is not so much so that God would “do” but that we would be able to trust and hope and wait as we get so many “worrying” news or possible scary scenarios and that we would keep the faith and do not quit right in the middle of the adoption process.

There were so many times I felt overwhelmed and second guessed if it was really God’s will to adopt Julia or David!!! I feel horrible to have to confess those feelings but I had them. Today, I am so thankful that (I believe because of prayer) we were somehow able to have the strength to take step by step and wait step by step and hope step by step, feeling the reality of the “out of our control” process but knowing that the Lord was in control and he knew where He was headed. I am so glad today because we are blessed to have David and Julia …

So, if you need a prayer partner to be available to pray for your adoption, let me know, I will commit to pray for you if you ask me. I have seen the power of it and I would love to be part of your adoption story!!!

After a great time at Dick and Berenice’s house, we decided to head back to Miami on Saturday and this time we did it in one day.

Julia and David love grandpa and grandma! They pretend to call them in the phone and blow kisses to them. They also love their “abuelita” or “abue” that is, my mother Carmen.

David's b-day pictures

David and grandpa in a loud moment.






David with grandpa, grandma, auntie and mommy


David trying to eat a piece of b-day cake

This was David's b-day cake, a fabulous presentation and design by auntie Brenda (here) and grandpa Knowles.

Updates

Grandpa Knowles was asking Brian if David had learned some new words, and Brian answered” Oh yes, he knows how to say carro, ya va, sucio, avion ..” to what grandpa Knowles said “What?”
My kids are learning Spanish faster than English! I speak to them in both languages since my mother and our helper only speak Spanish.

Last week untie Brenda came to visit just for the weekend and it was a blessing to have her here. Brenda helped us with the blood tests. This was our first time at the lab for blood tests and I was soooo nervous, Julia screamed and cried and she was just frustrated that we would hold her and she could not get away from my arms while they took the 5 tubes! of blood.
The nurses had to do both arms!!! When they did the second arm, I just closed my eyes and started praying on her ear … for me and for her. David experience was less traumatic, he cried but he was more cooperative with the whole process. The blood test results were back and the doctor says they are healthy! Praise the Lord!

We also translated the vaccination history for our children and took them to our pediatrician last week. We went to the doctor’s office on Thursday to give our kids the shots they were missing: 3 shots each! They screamed at the doctor’s office but they will not need any more shots until they are 4 years old. Because of the shots they had a little of a temperature and David’s leg got a little inflammation trough the weekend.

David and Julia love music! We turn the radio with some Salsa or meringue music on and they start dancing, it is so much fun to watch them and to dance with them. David uses his shoulders and his feet and Julia moves her head back and forth.
Yesterday after church, we stayed in the lobby for a while talking to my brother, niece, nephew, and sister in law and soon it was 1 PM; the Spanish service started. As soon as David heard the worship music he ran inside the sanctuary and just lost it dancing! He was happy and laughing as he danced … I had to pick him up and dance with him as I exited. My brother saw how David was so much into dancing and moving his shoulders at the rhythm of the music and he said “What a difference!”

David is still a little fearful, it seems that every week there is something that scares him, The first week we had him with us he was terrified of taking baths and of riding in a car, last week was the guys mowing the lawn and their machines. Julia seems a very confident and independent little girl, she is such a charmer. Whenever we get to a place she waves to everyone and says “hi” then she plays the shy game while she gives you the most intoxicating smile. They both are so ticklish, it is so much fun!

Looking at the written medical history I got translated this week, I just wonder if I should follow the advice there … they advise for a speech therapy’s for him and massages for Julia? Ok, so I know Julia does not need massages, but I am looking for suggestions on books for children exercise or stimulation: any ideas? Please let me know.

Edméia faleceu - my good friend died last night

Let's pray for her husband and her little baby girl Maria Eduarda.

Lord we remember Edméia with gladness of heart and thankful for her life and the moments we had together. We thank you for your salvation for we know that there is Hope for us your children even after death. We pray for Brazil, her husband and Maria Eduarda, her daughther, that your Holy Spirit would confort them in these dificult moments. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

This is the last email message I got from Edméia:

"Hoje de manhã tentei falar contigo Rebeca, no skype e não deu certo. Mas quero dizer que estou por aqui! Torcendo por vocês... sei que são momentos especiais de preparativos para a chegada dos bebês, e estou tão feliz! Quero dizer para vocês aproveitarem esse momento com muita alegria para que fique registrado em seu coração o presente que Deus está dando para vocês. Que esses preparativos sejam momentos de satisfação, alegria, sorrisos e muita, muita paz!"

Eo agradezco a Deus por la oportunidad que tuve de falar con Edméia cuarta feira, ella estaba muito feliz. Estou com muita tristeza y saudades.

His Love rules

I have lived moments of doubt, but found the knowledge of what was missing inside to believe.
I have discovered through pain the wisdom of living a humble life.I have experienced fear and found the strength to move on anyways.I have learned these all are but opportunities for growing, when we allow God to work on and through it all.

Doubt is sooooo much versus trust. I want to be always trusting of God’s love and goodness; I have experienced His love and goodness enough times already to not have even the word doubt in my vocabulary, but, it seems the problem is inside somewhere; I have found myself sometimes suspicious of His love and goodness …

Pain and suffering are very humbling tools, mostly when it is out of our control, and most of the time it is; I can’t thing of an occasion where I would not try to run away from pain and suffering if I could … but somehow the experience brings me back to the reminder of my frail humanity and that is humbling.

Fear is the most paralyzing experience I have had … it always try to sell me a way out even thought I feel I can not move anyways … still, knowing what God’s will is for me at the moment always gives me the strength to move towards it.

All through our adoption process we experienced all this emotions, doubt: will God really bring forward this miracle for us? Pain and suffering: we came to this journey through the pain of infertility but we also “lost” an adoption in Brazil. Fear: what if one of the 8 planes we have to take just crashes and we die trying to adopt … I know, there are so many other fear factors in this process that those some 8 or 10 plane rides are just normally ignored when writing our own adoption “fear list”

Today, I see God’s hand all over our adoption journey: His love, goodness, favor and grace. I have learned to see salvation as the ultimate adoption story and that is just wonderful … I am so glad that somehow doubt, pain and fear did not rule our decision when adopting our children and so thankful for the strength that God gave us through knowing that adoption is His will for our lives as a family.

Edmeia is much better and at Home - Thanks for your prayers!

Thanks so much for praying for Edmeia, Brazila and family ... Brazil worte to us and said that a miracle happened ... she was 50% better!!! Today, Edmeia is at Home with her family! What a miracle!

The doctors were talking abour death! and there was no hope ...

Thanks for your prayers!