Snippets

Like Chris said, no news is good news, but many of the little things are still really interesting. When you stop to think that this is either only week 7 or already week 7 (depending on the mood of the day) it's remarkable. So yes, those of you who felt it necessary to encourage us with the old "It'll get better soon" line, feel free to treat yourself to a big cup of, "I told you so." Apparently all those years of treating my wife like a 6 year old have finally paid off!

I read some other adoption blog a while ago where the writer was relaying an anecdote that happened at WalMart and I remember thinking, "What would possess you to think that taking your internationally adopted child to WalMart was a good idea?" Well, the Gardners haven't done the big W yet, but I can see surviving it now. If, you know, by some freak of fate we ended up there. Like if our plane went down in it, or mystically dense fog, or twister ala Wizard of Oz or something.

Here are some notables that have happened in the last week:

-Habti can now swim just by kicking his legs. This is a huge accomplishment for a boy who had to be verbally shamed into a foot and a half of 102 degree water two months ago.

-We went to a pool party with several other good friends and their small children. We got to smile proudly as, not only were our children self-entertained for a large chunk of the afternoon, but we were also able to let them splash around in the pool with minimal supervision. They should really start putting that in the adoption brochures. "Adopt older children: They can touch in a 4 foot pool."

My personal highlight was when one friend asked, "So how's the communication coming along," just as my son yelled, "Daddy Come!" from across the yard. I looked back at my friend and said, "You tell me, did you have trouble understanding that? I thought it was pretty clear." Laughter ensued.

-We watched the movie CARS (thanks Sean!) in full surround sound. H loved it and kept making this, "did that car just drive in from behind the couch?" face. Y has fallen asleep during it twice. I keep wanting to tell her that real racing cars put daddy to sleep too, but she wouldn't think it was funny.

-You know those things you get used to around your house and you forget that other people deal with differently? Well, we had dinner with the Bonsol's this weekend, who also have younger children (their oldest is about Y's age.) It was fun and really nice to hang out with them, but the thing is, their kids don't eat pizza competitively... seriously, my kids ate 10 slices, in one sitting, to their 2. People, that's a ratio of 5:1. Lord have mercy on their slow eaters if we ever get the home court advantage, and they should probably lock some snacks in the car just in case.

-VBS (vacation bible school) started this week. Today went well all facts considering. New kids, new music, new format, new crafts, new teacher, new food, etc... I spent the evening with H, who stayed pinned to my side and was uncomfortable, but not overloaded. Chris said Y was sociable with her teachers. Both kids wanted me to play the VBS songs on guitar this evening, which is kind of a problem since I've only heard them once too. Maybe by the end of the week...

-Oh, and this weekend was Law Enforcement free!