I Would Swear They Were Sisters by Blood!

It's amazing to me how Leah and Krista are exactly like biological sisters. They can be mean to each other one minute, and then playing "fort" the next.

Even though they are four years apart, they are almost the same size now. In fact, they wear each others' clothes and shoes often. I think Krista will pass Leah in height this year. And then it's payback time! Leah will start getting the hand-me-down clothes.

The girls have their own room now, but lately, Krista has been sleeping in Leah's room. When I told her that she needed to sleep in her own room, she got really upset. I told her I was going to turn her bedroom into a guest room and that she and Leah could go back to sharing a room, and she said, "Okay!" (But Leah said, "No way!") What's really funny about it is that Leah has a queen-sized bed in her room, but Krista sleeps on the floor. She insists that she likes to sleep on the floor, but I'm not so sure. I could totally picture Leah telling her that she can sleep in her room, but not in her bed (that's what I would have done when I was a kid--and Kathi would have happily slept on the floor, too).

Leah reminds me so much of me when I was a teenager. She absolutely HATES to go up to a store clerk herself to ask a question or to buy something. She makes Krista do it (Krista has no problem doing it). I remember using Kathi to do the same thing for me. I feel so bad for Leah, but I do make her do it sometimes, because practice builds confidence. And, if you get out of practice, you have to start all over. It's really a challenge to live a productive life or to be successful in a career when you have crippling shyness or social anxiety disorder, or whatever you want to call it. I hope she can overcome it before she is an adult.

But, when push comes to shove, I know that Leah loves Krista. She defends her all the time at the Boys and Girls Club. She has told me in private that she thinks Krista is funny and a good singer, but she told me that if I ever told Krista that she said that, she'd deny it. I completely understand, but it makes me secretly very happy.

The Girls' Birthday Celebration

Although I know the girls would prefer having separate birthday celebrations, it's sometimes just too much so close after the holidays. So, sometimes we just have to combine them. I mean, their birthdays are only six days apart, so I figure they can share the celebration sometimes--not always, but I don't think it hurts to do it every once in awhile.

Leah turned 15 on January third, and Krista turns 11 tomorrow (the ninth).

This year, we let each girl invite one friend to go ice skating and spend the night, then go to church with us in the morning. Leah chose Shay and Krista chose Izzy (both friends from their schools).

Unfortunately, Shay had to leave unexpectedly because of a family medical emergency. Luckily, Moriah, another one of Leah's close friends, was able to come over for cake and to spend the night. She's a really sweet girl, so we were happy to have her.

Here are a few photos from the day and evening. (Leah and Shay somehow evaded the camera at the ice rink.)

Krista and Izzy putting on their skates.

Poor Izzy just couldn't get the hang of it, so Gene had to help her.

Krista did just fine, thank you very much.

Back at home, we had orange chicken and stir fry vegetables with rice and/or noodles and fortune cookies (Krista's request).

Izzy was so anxious for Krista to open her gift.

It's a Webkinz, which made Krista very happy.

Izzy

Moriah

Leah got a couple of books and a sketchbook.

They each got a pillow (Leah's is Tinkerbell, and Krista's is High School Musical)

The girls all got a gift bag with some Bath & Body Works stuff.

Izzy checking out her loot

I think they all had a good time. Since this celebration was all on Leah's birthday, tomorrow night, Ryan is coming over, and we will have Tim Tam Slams with him. We figure Krista should still get her own special day. She saved a couple of her presents to open on her actual birthday, too.

Home School?

I've always thought I could never home school Leah, because she doesn't believe anything I say, even when I try to help her with homework. But as she continues to struggle to keep up, and with all the drama that seems to follow her around, I've been seriously considering it lately.



She's such a bright, funny kid, but she obviously has a unique learning style, which has been a constant source of frustration for all of us. I've never known a kid who could come up with so many excuses for a missing assignment. I cannot believe all the incompetent teachers who keep losing her papers!



So, with her grades continuing to go down, and the drama getting steadily worse, I'm starting to research the idea. Working full time obviously will make it more difficult, but, since I work at home, I can be somewhat flexible. If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!

Junior Olympics 2008

A couple of weeks ago, the girls competed in the Junior Olympics, which was held at my alma mater, El Capitan High School. The girls each competed in two events. Here are a few photos from the day. Boy, was this a LONG morning in the HOT, HOT sun. (Yes, I still like San Diego, I just don't like to sit in the sun on metal bleachers for 5 hours in 98-degree weather.) But the girls enjoyed it--especially Krista.

Opening Ceremonies (Krista's school is in yellow)

Closer shot of Krista's group

Leah's group

Leah in the 7th grade girls long jump

And here's the video of a different jump (she didn't place in this event)

Krista winning her 4th grade girls preliminary 100-meter dash

I don't know why Gene didn't move the camera to get the end of the race, but she actually did win this one though the girl in the green almost overtook her at the end.

She placed 5th in the final 100-meter dash

Krista in the 400-meter relay

She quickly overtook the girls in front of her

Krista's relay team won 1st place!

Leah placed 4th in the 7th grade girls 400 meter run

(She's going through that "I'm too cool to smile" phase)

Leah and Me

Just a photo of Leah and me taken a few weeks ago before church. Krista didn't want in the picture, so it was just the two of us. Look how tall she is now! She's exactly 5 feet tall.

I'm not photogenic AT ALL, so I was pretty pleased that I look somewhat decent here.

That's all I have to say about that.

fifteen years

We put the movie on pause. We had already seen it, after all. But Ryan hadn't, and he was obviously enjoying it. I could tell by the way he laughed out loud at the irreverent humor of Shrek 3. Very much Ryan's type of humor. So, we paused it when he had to get up to go to the bathroom. After about 10 minutes, I decided that I had time to go to the bathroom myself. When I came back, Ryan still wasn't back. It was getting late, and we had to go to church in the morning, so I told Krista to go ahead and start the movie. Ryan would just have to miss some of it.

Gene became concerned, and asked if Ryan was okay. I assured him that he was fine. But Gene said he thought it sounded like Ryan was throwing up. "No," I said, "he's fine, leave him alone." But then I heard it. He was definitely throwing up--big time! All I could think of was how much Ryan HATES to throw up. It has been his biggest fear for many years. Now, I know that nobody likes to throw up. But Ryan, REALLY, REALLY HATES to throw up.

And, boy, was he throwing up! It went on and on and on. I got a wet washcloth and a cup of water and took it to him. I knocked on the bathroom door. "Ryan, I have a wet washcloth and some water for you." Slowly the door opens. He looks so pathetic. "Fif-teen years," he moans. "I went fif-teen years without throwing up." He takes the washcloth and places it over his face and just holds it there for several seconds. Through the washcloth he says it again, only this time a little quieter, "fif-teeeeen years."

We thought it was an allergic reaction to some amoxicillin he had been taking for some dental work he was going to have done on Monday. He stopped taking the medicine, but he stayed the night on my couch. I found out the next morning that he had thrown up several more times during the night. He was living his worst nightmare. There was nothing I could do.

He stayed the next day and night, but felt better by Monday and he went home.

Early Tuesday morning, Leah knocked on my bedroom door and came in. "Mom, I threw up again."

"What do you mean, again?"

"Well, I threw up about two hours ago, too." I felt really bad, because I hadn't heard either time. She said, "I don't know what to do, because Dad always takes care of me when I throw up."

"What do you mean, you don't know what to do?"

"You know, Dad has always been home and he usually takes a couple of days off of work when I throw up."

"What?!!! No he doesn't."

"Well, he always brings me a wet washcloth and a cup of water when I'm throwing up."

"I'm sorry I didn't know you were throwing up. I would have done that for you. Do you want me to get that for you now?"

"No, I already got it myself."

I felt SOOOO bad.

But where in the world did she come up with the memory that Gene had usually taken days off from work????? It was kinda cute how she wanted him, though. And, when I told him about it, he was touched, and he took really good care of her the next time she threw up.

She's fine now. But we're hoping and praying that nobody else gets sick!

Response to Comments on My Last Post

Oh, sure a marine can do it!

OK, here's why it was only $2. First of all, Leah is the one who said she'd do it for $2. And, she had already done a teaspoon of cinnamon successfully (for $1). So, I upped the ante after seeing the large spoons people on You Tube were having to do. Besides, what ever happened to just doing it for the dare?

Here she is successfully downing a teaspoonful (which I think is pretty amazing).

And, by the way, Patrick, I was really bummed when Grandma stopped sending $1.00 in my birthday cards (I think I was 16). I was really counting on that dollar. You can ALWAYS use an extra dollar!

Leah's Cinnamon Challenge

OK, so I heard about this challenge on the Jeff and Jer show the other day on my way to work. They offered Randy $200 if he could eat a tablespoon of cinnamon without any water. It sounded so hilarious over the radio (he couldn't do it). They talked about how they saw it on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y2KMMk0Row), and that it was supposedly impossible to do.

So, I offered Leah $2 to try it. She was confident. Here she is:

And here she is 2 minutes later:

where does the time go?

With the girls' birthdays fresh in my mind, I've been thinking a lot about how much they have grown. It seems like just a couple of years ago that we went to meet Leah's social worker to hear about a little 3-year-old who was looking for a "forever family." After listening to him describe her and her background, he asked us if we were interested in meeting her. "Yes!" we answered without hesitation. It was then that he showed us this photo:

We could not believe our good fortune! What an adorable child! How could anyone neglect her? Look at those huge eyes! We were beside ourselves with joy. Less than two months later she was living with us. It took two long years before her adoption was final, but she was our daughter when we first saw her picture.

Of course, it hasn't been without its challenges. Leah didn't bond with us right away. She didn't understand what was happening to her. One time, out of the blue, she said, "It's almost time for me to go live with another family." We had lots of talks with her trying to explain how we were her forever family and she wouldn't ever leave us (for better or for worse). But she eventually settled in and became a real part of our family.

And look at her now! She has grown into an amazing teenager who never ceases to surprise and amaze us with her antics. No regrets!

Two years after Leah's adoption became final, Krista joined our family. We had requested a 4 to 6-year-old, but they'll always try to push the limits. Krista (or Angelina at the time) was barely two years old. We hesitated just a little, because we really wanted someone closer to Leah's age. But, we had given this whole adoption thing up to God, and who are we to question His wisdom. So, we met her and immediately fell in love. No turning back, we were hooked--again.

I have to admit, bonding with her was much easier, because she was such a cuddly little thing who loved to sit on my lap. "Up fay!" she would say in her cute little munchkin voice. I could never resist, and always picked her up. She and I would watch "Blue's Clues" and "Dora the Explorer" every day before nap time. She would insist she wasn't sleepy, but would inevitably fall asleep on my lap. So sweet and innocent.

This is a photo that her half brother sent to Ashley when she found him on MySpace. It is our only picture of Krista as a baby. It's such a crack up! I sure wish we had more baby photos of the girls.

And here she is at 10! Beautiful and smart, she's definitely going to be "somebody" when she grows up. No regrets!

I know I say this all the time, but. . .

I am definitely blessed.

Happy Birthday to Leah!

Leah is 14! She turned 14 on the 3rd (Thursday). It's amazing to me how fast the time has gone since she joined our family as a precocious little 3-year-old. She has grown into such an amazing girl. She's so bright and funny and talented. We are very proud of her, and we are so thankful that she is our daughter. I can't imagine life without her and Krista. We would be so bored!

Anyway, Ryan came over and we had tacos for dinner (Leah's request). Here are a few pictures from our family celebration.

Notice Krista's expression. I think she was more excited than Leah!





Ryan gave her an Elmo birthday card.

This is when she realized that this wasn't just another stuffed animal. It's a "Webkinz," which is actually a virtual Internet game. She was very surprised.

We all sang "Happy Birthday" in typical Andrews style while the dogs barked excitedly to join in the merriment.

(you have to click the "Play" button twice)

Once the dogs settled down, Leah blew out all 14 candles.

Ryan showing off his muscles.

And, as per my resolution, here's a photo of me (and Rye of course).

And, so, Leah's another year older. And, as she grows, she becomes more and more lovable. I can't wait to see what kind of woman she will be one day. In the meantime, I'm going to try very hard to enjoy her while she's still my little girl--okay, my big girl.

I am blessed.

Our Christmas Card

Hopefully you received our Christmas card with the photo of the girls. But, as a reminder, here it is. Don't they look sweet?

You would never know the pain and suffering we went through to get that shot. For some reason, Krista was not in the mood to get her picture taken. She did not want to cooperate at all. So, here are a couple of the photos we did NOT send in our cards. I'm sure you can see why!

"Go ahead, take the picture. But I WON'T smile!"

And here we are at meltdown. She was done. Good thing we got the good one before everything went to $*!!