2011 Year In Review
December's Christmas Greetings
Dear Friends and Family,
Writing to you on a happy Saturday morning. Mid-morning sunlight is filtering through evergreen branches outside, sparkling off the snowy ground. A few deer congregate near an Aspen grove searching for greens in the winter landscape. Solomon and Patrick are wrestling on the carpet while Cici sings "Wheels On The Bus." The Christmas tree twinkles and proudly displays ornaments collected over the years. They've gotten more love and attention this year by curious little hands yanking them off branches, inspecting them, and re-hanging them on overloaded branches drooping heavily with treasures. Sadie-old-lady-dog is curled up in a patch of sunshine on the carpet, oblivious to the playful racket around her. In the midst of lives busy with work schedules, balancing child care, travel and responsibilities, these simple moments at home with all of us in the same room have become a most treasured time in the week. In this moment, I send love and thoughts to you, our friends and family. We have been blessed with health and well-being this last year and feel grateful to live in a beautiful place, to have jobs, to have healthy children who are learning and growing, and to have YOU in our lives creating a community of family, support and love. Whether you live down the road or miles away, we are grateful for you in our lives and wish for you a happy holiday season.
I am starting year #2 at Clinica Family Health Services--a local community health system reaching out to the rapidly growing uninsured and under-insured population of our city. After a year, my Spanish is getting a bit better; I have a familiar list of patients and am seeing extended families including pregnant moms, their children as well as their elderly parents. Such relationships are one of my favorite parts of the job. The clinic I work in is a very well organized family practice endeavor, winning national attention for its approach to comprehensive family medicine. I feel lucky work with great people in supportive system while trying to meet the needs of complicated patients who have little resources. I have a full time schedule that I've packed into 3 long days, to afford more days at home with the kids--a perk of my job for which I'm incredibly grateful. Despite liking my job, there is no place like home with my funny, creative, energetic kids. I like the quiet of early morning, stories told and songs sung by my inventive children, hugs and snuggles, and living/hiking/running amidst the mountain pine. I dislike call nights away from home, fatigue, clutter and whining.
Patrick continues to keep ties closely drawn to Haiti through his work at CCAI adoption agency. He travels to Haiti 3-4 times a year to introduce new adoptive parents to their children and to the country at large, helping them navigate the confusion of a new and chaotically vibrant country. He has been able to keep close connections with the kids' biological mothers, passing pictures and stories back and forth. He has also managed to create a schedule that affords several days at home with the kids making him an active, consistent presence in the lives of our favorite little people. He is a loving father and sensitive, patient husband; he continues to amaze me in how he chooses to live his life, pursuing his passion and keeping priorities always at the forefront. Patrick loves cuddling his children, going on hikes, making jokes to Haitians in Creole, lazy mornings and watching his son hit baseballs. Patrick dislikes temper-tantrums in public, Newt, and the BCS.
Cici and have surprised us this year in their rapidly developing dialog, animated personalities and their state of constant motion. Cici continues to be a force. What once was a skinny, starved, malnourished, fragile waif is now a strong, tall, affectionate girl with Attitude who provides a non-stop narrative on events seen and unseen in her world. She outweighs and towers over her brother. The fragility is gone. Cici likes babies, Dora-the-explorer, swimming, her Super cape, singing, reading and chocolate milk. She dislikes moths, bubblegum ice-cream, and going to the doctor. Solomon is proving how little genetics play part in the realm of personalities: he is a little lively version of his father. He has gone from a chunky-cheeked baby to a lean, energetic, well-coordinated bundle of boy who has mastered the art of teasing. Solomon loves baseball, bikes, Scooby Doo, swimming, wrestling, silly words, juice and early morning snuggles. Solomon dislikes being cold, flies, and scary monsters. They both have giggles that are contagious, curiosity in the world around them, and miraculous patience with our busy schedules. I struggle at missing the babies they used to be with amazement at what they understand, what they can accomplish, how they continually grow and learn. They challenge us in their full-blown 3-ness which brings with it their ever-changing need for independence, oscillating moods, moments of brilliance and kindness followed by moments of dark clouds of defiance. Through it all we attempt to recognize their needs for reassurance, affection and respect. On our good days we do this well, but there are days when fatigue wins and it is just a big hot mess. Ah parenting. Humbling. They continue to add perspective to our lives, challenge us to be better people, help us bring things down the most important, and remind us to laugh at our selves.
They both now have green-cards, applications for citizenship are in the mail, and we have hopes of them being passport-carrying Americans in the year to come. After this, all legalities will be finished and the world will once again open up to our family for discovery and exploration together. Yeah!
In a time when so many struggle with financial straits, worries about the future, illness, loss and uncertainty, we pray that the seasons offers for you all time to celebrate and snuggle into what makes life miraculous and important. May you hold loved ones close, take nothing for granted, enjoy the resilient beauty of nature, and hope in what a sunrise can bring. We send love and laughter from our perch in the pines and wish you the happiest of holidays, health, healing and contentment.
With love,
Kim
I want to tell you I love you. We couldn't walk (when we were babies), now we can ride our tricycles on the road. We can ride it on the platform. We can run and swim. I like to paint paper, I like to ride my bike up the road... no, down the road. Can I ride my bike, Mommy? We can run and play. I played with my friends. I had a birthday, I played in a bouncy castle and ate birthday cake and I blew out all the candles. I go "whhoooooo" then I got a hat. We went on road trips this year to Nana and Pop-pop's. We went on a road trip to see Grandma Jane and Grandpa Craig. My cousins were there. They were driving driving there. Arriba UP, Abajo DOWN. I want to sing "If you're happy and you know it." I want my brother to have a turn now. Merry Christmas. I'm done with my letter now. I love you.
Love,
Cici
Ummmmmmmm. Trick or treat. Dinky dinky. We can do, um, I can hit baseballs and go under the water and hold my nose. I run fast. I like to go in the bouncy castle. I like to go to Nana and Pop-pop's to see GG and Conor-Bean and Caden. Cows. And hay. And combines. Um, I like to eat pizza and I eat it all gone in my tummy. I had a birthday day--one, two, THREE. I want to count, one, two, three, four. We have snow outside now. Knock, knock (who's there?). Stinky. Um I want pizza now. Merry Christmas. I love you. I say I love you, mom.
Love,
Solomon
2011 was a fascinating year as I watched my two little babies turn into 3 year-olds. Three is a particularly interesting year. Solomon and Cici fill each day with laughter and joy, and also frustration and temporary insanity. Being a parent to two 3 year-olds is quite an adventure. But primarily it is a gift...a very demanding gift. Parenting 3 year-olds requires that you always work on being more patient, loving, and compassionate. As kooky as they are, Solomon and Cici live out these qualities better than most...except for maybe the patient part. I am in love with them both and feel incredibly fortunate for their presence in my life.
Cici has continued to grow into a beautiful little girl. The days of seeing her exposed ribs and cheek bones are long gone. In fact, Cici recently landed herself in the 85th percentile of both height and weight. This has resulted in her new nickname "85." She has an equally big personality, which is defined by an unparalleled sweetness. Cici is an amazing care giver, always searching for a baby to care for and looking out for the needs of her little brother. She is also extremely bossy. Our little Napoleon does not hesitate to tell you in no uncertain terms exactly what she wants. In truth, I'm kind of afraid of her...as much as one can be afraid of a 3 year-old. One of my favorite things about Cici is that she is always giving unsolicited hugs and saying "I love you" to her family. She is filled with a sensitivity and wisdom uncommon for such a young soul. I suspect Valancia will do great things with her life simply because she loves so easily and has a curiousness about the world around her.
Solomon has continued to not grow. He is our little shrimp, but he makes up for it with an unlimited amount of energy. Solomon has many talents, including an incredible ability to jump from any place in the room onto my stomach when I am not looking. He loves to be active and particularly enjoys playing baseball and hitting the ball like "Tulo." Solomon's ability to climb mountains is also impressive as he scales rocks and traverses steep hills without any assistance from his nervous parents. Like his sister, Solomon does not lack for personality. He has extremely animated facial expressions and the greatest belly laugh that I've ever heard. In addition, Solomon has also created a language all his own which he routinely employs. My favorite Solomon word creation is "Icky boogy"; a mythical figure who appears to evoke crazy dancing and a burst of shear happiness in both Solomon and Cici. One of my favorite things about Solomon is that he usually wakes up slowly like his dad. There are many mornings when Solomon and I cuddle on the couch and enjoy our juice and coffee respectively while allowing the day to unfold before us. These are cherished moments as Solomon is a man on the move, always entertaining those around him.
Then there is my wife; Kim and I have managed to remain married amidst the chaos of Hurricane Solomon-Cici. Kim continues to do an amazing job of balancing her very demanding job as a doctor with her even more demanding job of living with two 3 year-olds and me. She wakes up most mornings at 4 am and goes running...seriously. I've never understood where she gets the absurd amount of energy that she has, but I'm really thankful for it these days. I'm a lucky man to be married to such a talented woman, especially one that I adore.
I recently celebrated my one-year anniversary of running CCAI's Haiti Adoption Program by taking my third trip to Haiti with adoptive families. I enjoy my job and feel really lucky to have landed a position that affords me the opportunity to stay connected to Haiti. Leaving Haiti in the manner that we did was devastating. So having this job has helped ease some of the disappointment that came from our radical life shift after the earthquake. On the other hand, navigating between anxious families and arguably the most dysfunctional country in the world has its challenges. Everyday at work is filled with victories and setbacks, but I'm glad to be a part of them and look forward to watching several of our families bring their beautiful children home next year.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a 2012 filled with peace and contentment.
Patrick
