Rachel Is Funny!

Sorry it has been a while since I have posted. Since my last post we have discovered that Rachel has a sense of humor! Take for example this photo of the Easter Bunny at Walmart. On Easter Day we went to Walmart and in the middle of a big crowd we noticed someone in an Easter Bunny costume posing for pictures. Before we could slow her down, Rachel worked her way through the crowd and posed for a picture next to the Easter Bunny. And it was a good picture!

Like I said before, Rachel loves the Three Stooges. So of course I had to teach her the eye-poke defense that Andrew has used so well against me. Here are a few shots...

Quick reaction!






Yesterday we went to the Napa Home and Garden Show, and the Pink Panther was posing for pictures, so Rachel jumped right in. Here is the picture:

But Rachel isn't all just laughs. She has a very good, serious side to her. We bring her to church and Bible Study, and she has not been shy about her singing abilities. As you can see at an earlier post, she is quite a good singer with "Jesus Loves Me", and last Sunday she sang this for the Nursing Home Ministry, which is headed by our good friend Chaplain Marlowe Link.

She is also very friendly to the people at the nursing home, even though I doubt she ever saw many elderly people in wheelchairs when she was back in India.

Quite a good girl!

--Tom

Settling in to family life

Rachel is totally a member of this family. I love her so much.

She has her morning routines (tomatos for breakfast, with milk and cereal-uck), feeding the chickens with mommy, having "school" which is currently learning numbers, counting, and writing her letters (the "big" and the "baby" letters,) tending bees with mommy and maddy (totally protected in her bee suit, of course), going to court with daddy, and her favorite things ...seeing the "cousins" (who, are actually her nieces and nephews.)

She sobs whenever she has to say goodbye to a family member (even me! when daddy takes her in his car and daddy when I take her in my car.) Rachel's perfect world is to have everyone she loves gathered together. Hmmm. That's my perfect world too!

The pictures are of her playhouse now that its painted and some other pics taken recently.
Enjoy!

Rachel gets a playhouse

On Saturday we paint it green with purple window boxes and a purple door. Then we'll begin the process of fencing and adding gardens. Thank you, Daddy for moving a 600 gallon (!) water tank to the back of the playhouse area.

Rachel Sings Jesus Loves Me

It's Just A Little Vomit

I have always prided myself on a near-spotless car. Then Rachel came into our lives and we suited up my car with a child seat, and eventually found out that Rachel gets sick on the windy road to and from our house. If a total stranger threw up in my car I would be pretty annoyed. But when Rachel threw up I was more concerned with her, was she uncomfortable, did she need some drinking water, that kind of thing. She mostly missed throwing up in my car, but for what didn't get projected out of the car, I consoled myself, "It's just a little vomit." These are words I never thought I would say to myself about my car. I guess that is what it is like being the dad of a child you totally adore.

Meanwhile we are learning a little more about Rachel everyday -- what makes her tick, what makes her happy, sad and so on. The other day I slipped into the TV a DVD from my Three Stooges collection and Rachel was laughing hysterically. I guess slapstick is a kind of universal language. Even with her limited English, Rachel was laughing so hard at times I am considering mailing some Three Stooges DVDs to her orphanage back in India. Those Indian orphans won't need any English sub-titles.

And what is it about those Three Stooges? Just what makes them so funny? When I was in grade school I rolled my eyes when they were on TV. It could have been that Gilligan's Island was in the same time slot after school and that is what I preferred. And I couldn't have been the only third-grade boy who thought Marianne was way under-rated. Or maybe it was that for several years in elementary school, it was always the dumbest kid in the class who had several impersonations of Curly -- the whoop whoop whoop! bit and others. And bad impersonations at that. After grades 1 through about 5, inclusive, that got pretty old.

But it wasn't the fault of the Three Stooges. Now that I have taken a closer look that their movies I find them very funny. Someday I will introduce Rachel to my Bob Hope collection. When she is ready, I guess.

Well that is my post for now. I promise I will report back after we have given out the award for the person who guessed Rachel's true age. I have the prize in my car trunk, waiting for the event. And unlike some other contents of my car, the prize has not been vomited on.

What is the prize? Well, I'll give you several hints: it soaks up 12 times it weight in liquid, and soaks up cola that is spilled on a square of carpet. And it's made in Germany. You know that the Germans make good stuff...

--Tom

Rachel and Holly

One of the most special people in Rachel's life (and mine) is Holly Morris. When we got home from India Holly had cleaned the house, decorated, put flowers and balloons everywhere, and homemade chocolate chip cookies were waiting on the counter in the kitchen. When Rachel met Holly the day after we got home, Rachel ran straight into Holly's arms before she could even get out of the car. Holly happens to be in a wheelchair; Rachel is totally oblivious to this. She only has eyes for "Haree" and not her conveyance.

Yesterday, we (Tom, me, Holly, and Rach) went to the property (Rachel's hands down second favorite place; her favorite place is Mary's house.) Tom went off to spread more straw on the trails while Holly, Rach, and I suited up for some beekeeping. A tiring, loving, beefilled day. Perfect. Then home to have movie night with popcorn and chocolate. Rachel feel asleep against Holly and was then carried to bed by Daddy.

--Martina

Rachel's party and other things!

Rachel's party at church was just wonderful. I know I speak for Tommy also when I say that I've never felt so loved and cared for than from our brothers and sisters at our church. (www.gracenapa.org) Thanks to all who participated.

Rachel's pediatrician called with the age given by the radiologist as a result of the bone age x-ray. He placed her between 3 and 3 1/2. Dr. Wong said that based on her own examination she believes that 3 1/2 is correct. We were quite surprised. I even tried to argue with her a bit that Rachel must be closer to 4 1/2 because she is so bright. But Dr. Wong became quite serious and said that she trusts her exam and the science behind the x-ray. Rachel is a healthy, well-nourished child that is 3 1/2. So, praise God! She is 3 1/2. This means that the photo we have of her taken November 4, 2006 shows a one and a half year old or so. Funny thing is that when we were given this photo, the agency said, "we know she looks to be about 2 in this picture, but we don't know when it was taken. " My own detective work through her files gave me the date of the photo.

Most folks who've spent a lot of time with her agree with Dr. Wong's assessment. Our family child psychologist also concurs. Why fight a good thing? We'll go with Dr. Wong's letter and have her birth certificate reflect this. It gives us more time at home without having to do the official homeschooing thing. So. Yay!

--Marty