Estamos en Madrid

I am SOOOO excited to have a better Internet connection!!! The connection at the last place was terrible! That's why I wasn't able to blog often or add pictures. I just added a few pictures to the post "Estamos en Salamanca."
The Lord heard our prayers! I was in so much pain last night I actually went to the hospital in Spain, and today its almost nothing! It hurts off and on, but I was able to do everything today... even climb the tower in the castle!!!! That was probably a stupid decision, but I really wanted to.
We have had an exhausting day. It has been wonderful, but very hard. We left Salamanca and went to Segovia. In Segovia we saw the Roman Aqueducts and el Alcázar. El Alcázar is the castle Cinderella’s castle at Disney is modeled after. It was gorgeous. Then, we grabbed a quick lunch (at it in the bus) and headed to el Escorial. El Escorial was about 45 minutes from Segovia. This Palace was built for King Felipe II. There is a mausoleum of kings and queens lasting through 500 years of history. It was amazing. After el Escorial, we visited The Valley of the Fallen. It was supposed to be a mausoleum to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the Civil War, but in reality it is a monument/Cathedral where Franco, dictator of Spain, is buried. Finally, we arrived in Madrid! LONG DAY! I told you it would have been terrible to have a hurt ankle! We are resting now and will go to dinner at 8:00.
I am learning so much about Spain, and visiting incredible places. We are enjoying our time together. I keep watching video on the camera of the kids. I miss them so much. I love being here, but can’t wait to start living as a family of five when we return.

Castle in Segovia (Back view)

Roman Aqueducts in Segovia

El Escorial (King Felipe II's Palace)

View from Valley of the Fallen

Valley of the Fallen (Franco's tomb)

Today's adventures in Salamanca

Well, today has been a journey! Let's just start by saying I just got back from a ride to the hospital! That's all it was... a ride.
So, J and I toured the bell tower of the cathedral. There was an unfortunate gutter beside the railing that I didn't see (yes mom, I realize if you were here you would have pointed it out to me). I'm just glad there was a railing... if not, well.... it would have been an earlier trip to the hospital (I know mom, you don’t trust me in high places). After my trip in the gutter we walked around Salamanca for the next two hours. I ran up steps, down steps, and in and out of stores. It didn’t hurt at all. It wasn't until 8:30 tonight that my ankle became unbearable. It hurt so bad that I was shaking, and wanted to cry. We went to the hospital at about 11:00. How embarrassing! I had to have two girls help me down to the taxi. Don’t worry; Jason was with me….. actually, unbeknownst to me, behind me with the video camera. The hospital didn’t accept my travel insurance, so I decided it wasn’t worth the unknown amount of money. So, I’m waiting it out until tomorrow to see how it feels. Please pray! We have walked an average of eight miles everyday (Jason has been wearing a pedometer), and tomorrow is no exception. Now I’m sitting with ice on my ankle and it is feeling night and day better from earlier. Seriously, can you believe this happened???? I am so embarrassed!

Estamos en Salamanca

We arrived in Salamanca early this afternoon after a frigid stop in Avila. It was bitter cold in Avila, the cathedral wasn't open yet, and the kids were not dressed at all for the weather, so we cut our stop short and came on to Salamanca.

Freezing for a quick picture in Avila

Salamanca is great. There is so much more to do here. We just had a very nice dinner and then headed back to the Plaza Mayor for an evening stroll. The Plaza Mayor was beautiful this afternoon; busy with shoppers and groups of people hanging out. Tonight the lights were on, and it was gorgeous.

Our first visit to the Plaza Mayor
Our Second Visit to the Plaza Mayor

Austin, how was the beach today? Did you swim in the pool? Jump in? Build a sandcastle? Run in the ocean? I miss you and love you soooooooo much! A BIG kiss and hug from mommy and daddy!

Saturday Stroll

After enjoying various pastries, yogurt, deli meat, cheese, breads, fruit, juice, and cafe con leche, we took a 2 hour walking tour of Toledo. Yolanda was our tour guide. She was wonderful. The kids loved her. She really engaged them in the history of Toledo, El Greco paintings, and the Cathedral. The kids (and us) were in awe of the Cathedral. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take any photos inside. It took 270 years to complete. I can't even describe all of the masterpieces inside. Toledo is the religious capital of Spain. The cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful, rich cathedrals in all of Europe.

After the tour Thomas, Angela (ACIS tour guide), Jason, and I sat down at an outdoor cafe for tapas and cafe con leche. We had chorizo, ham, bread, tortilla de papas, potato salad (had veggies and tuna), and cafe con leche. It was all delicious.

The boys enjoyed their free time by playing fútbol in the streets of Toledo. Jason and I enjoyed our time by exploring and shopping. I bought Maggie an Easter dress and a poster for my classroom. Jason's pedometer said we walked 4.6 miles this morning. That's a good thing with all this Spanish food we're eating!

Going to bed!

We are off to bed. It has been a great day today, but we're ready to call it a night! The wake up call comes at 7:30 tomorrow, so we should get good sleep. It is 11:10 pm right now (6:10 KY time). Tomorrow night is day light savings, so we'll lose an hour tomorrow increasing our time difference to six hours.
Tonight we had a three course dinner. Pasta, chicken and fries, and custard. Jason and I finished the night off at a little bar drinking a cafe con leche (espresso and steamed milk). We walked back to the hotel hand in hand. Tomorrow we take a walking tour of Toledo and have more free time to enjoy the city. The girls (guys were somewhere else) tried lots of great Tapas for lunch today... quail, venison, Spanish ham, fouie grais (spelling?- goose liver pate), potatoes and eggs, bread, salad, fried chorizo, and other tasty treats! The girls tried everything. I didn't like the pate... well, not after I found out what it was.

Amy, are you all safely in London? How's my baby? Kiss her little face for me.
Mom, have you all stopped for the night? You probably won't get out the laptop...although I'd love it if you did! If not, let me know when you all are safely at the beach.

¡Estamos en España!

The Group (minus one in the bathroom) in the Lexington Airport

After a LONG trip!

We are here...after two long delays (waiting on the runway), one missed flight, a five hour layover, and a 7 hour flight! Needless to say, everyone is tired, but too excited to sleep. We made it through customs in Madrid very smoothly. We then boarded a bus to Toledo. After a 45 minute ride, the driver stopped at the Toledo lookout at the bottom of the city. It is gorgeous. Here are a few pictures.


After having an hour to freshen up, we walked up to the town center (el zocodover). The group split to go have lunch and explore. We have a free day until 7:00pm tonight. We will go as a group to dinner. The kids are being great! They are SO EXCITED to be in Spain. They keep saying it over and over again!
The hotel is great. Our room is huge! We have two nice windows that open up to the street and a view of the river. We have two bathrooms, a living room with a couch, two closets, and a bedroom. Jason and I weren't expecting this nice of a room. The kids are happy with their rooms too... although they aren't quite as big as ours.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS! Keep praying. Pray for my kids... in three different locations! Austin is on the way to the beach with my parents. Pray for safe travels. Pray that Matthew understands why we aren't getting him and that he is prepared for his big move next Friday. Pray that Maggie is a good baby girl for Granny and Grandad.

This Week's Top Three

Here are the top three events of our week. In no particular order....

• Tonight we wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather, so we went over to mom and dad's. The boys love playing in the tree house, running in the huge yard, and feeding the fish. Mom and dad watched the kids while Jason and I went running (thank you). That's when the big splash occurred... and I do mean SPLASH! Matthew and Austin were sitting on two rocks feeding the fish with nana. When Matthew started to stand up he lost his balance and in he went... all the way! Once out, Mom ran him inside to take off his wet clothes. He kept yelling that the fish were biting his feet inside his shoes. Dad assured him that there were no fish inside his shoes. He then said they were inside his socks biting him. Dad told him that if the fished touched his legs they were just giving him kisses. When we returned from our run, Matthew told me that the fish kissed him like this and he put his hand up to his lips and kissed, kissed, kissed.
• We met with Matthew's psychiatrist yesterday. He had nothing but wonderful things to say. He said Matthew is very likable. He is friendly and fun to be around. He plays very imaginatively. Imaginative play is sometimes difficult for children who have suffered a traumatic event. He felt this was a very good sign of Matthew's future. He hasn't seen any negative themes in his play. We were so pleased!
• So, I got another call from Tot's Landing. If you don't remember the last call from Tot's, let me remind you. Austin stuck an m&m up his nose. Well, this call beat it! Somehow Austin got toilet paper stuck in his penis. Seriously..... how did he do that?? Why did he do that? He doesn't like it to be wet at all. We tell him to shake and not wipe, but he can't stand for his underwear to get wet. I have caught him wiping several times. Mom even said one time she found toilet paper wadded up in his underwear. When she asked him about it he told her his underwear was wet and he was drying it with the TP. I guess that's how it happened! I had to leave work to go to Tot's to get it out, When I got there I started to touch it and he said, "Maybe if I go pee pee it will come out." Well, sure enough, it came right out.

Our Non-Negotiable Qualities We Want our Children to Possess

Our Sunday School is hosting a Revolutionary Parenting class. Unfortuntely we have been out of town for two of the sessions and will be in Spain for another one (12 days!!!). Luckily, we were able to attend last week, and we really took something away from it. We talked about the importance of having a parenting plan...knowing now what we want our kids to know and be when they leave our home. Our homework was to set aside time with our spouse to discuss 5-7 qualities that are non-negotiable. Jason and I came up with six. I want to share them with you (our family and friends) because of the influence you will have on our children's lives. I want to post these in our home, discuss them often, and make sure every parenting decision we make filters through these qualities.

1. Love Christ- have a close relationship with Christ; faithful in prayer. He is their lifelong companion and guide.
2. Strong Moral Compass- know the difference between right and wrong; seeking to do what’s right even when the world does differently. Live a life of honesty and integrity.
3. Self worth- be joyful in life; know who they are, and be proud of who they are.
4. Compassion- have a true empathy for others; being generous of time and money. Have the desire to be generous and compassionate; not looking for recognition.
5. Love for learning- have a desire to learn; following own interests. Have an appreciation of our culture and other cultures.
6. Financial responsibility- view money as a tool; managing it well and giving. Knowing its value, but not placing high importance on it.

So, we ask our family and friends to hold us to our non-negotiable qualities. We want to model these to our children.

Matthew's Teeth Look Great!

We just had another great supper thanks to Happily Hitched! This week it was from Tiffaney Lavoie. She brought a crock pot of chili, frito scoops, cheese, and cookies. Yummy!

On Monday Jason took Matthew to his psychiatrist appointment. I was disappointed because Jason wasn't able to go back with Matthew, but the doctor scheduled an appointment just for us next Tuesday. I really want to know how the doctor thinks he's doing.

On Tuesday I took Matthew to his last dental appointment. His teeth look so good! I'll have to post a close up picture. His two front teeth are no longer discolored. Dr. Steckler filled the cavities with white filling, so his front teeth look completely normal. His next dental appointment is a six month cleaning! We went ahead and made another one for Austin and Maggie's first!

I never wrote anything about Gatlinburg with Jason's family. We stayed in a cabin with a hot tub and pool table. The kids had a ball playing pool (or rolling the balls) and climbing on the bunk bed. My favorite part of the weekend was playing at the new indoor Adventure Quest. The entire family (Jason's mom and dad too) played glow in the dark putt-putt, made it through a mirror maze, and crawled through a lazer light challenge. We all had a blast! It was so fun to be with family.

Riding on the Carousel Horse

Mirror Maze

Putt-Putt in the dark

Not so happy UK fans

Climbing on the Bunk bed (fort)

Matthew's 4th Birthday Party

Here is a slideshow from Matthew's party. It was CRAZY, but Matthew had a great time... and that's what matters.

Our Support

The time so far with Matthew has been one of the most uplifting experiences of my life. I have learned so much about myself, my husband, my family, and my friends. I have truly seen how fortunate I am to have an incredible husband, supportive family, and encouraging friends.

My husband has been on board from day one. He saw the Lord's hand in this as clearly as I did. Through my tiredness and happiness, my frustration and my joy he has been understanding and loving every moment.

My parents love me more than words can tell. I know it hasn't been as clear for them, but they have supported us throughout our decision. They have watched the kids so Jason and I could attend our foster classes, go on a date, spend quality time alone with Austin, and have even done some laundry. Jason's parents even took the kids to Wonder Works (Pigeon Forge) for the day so we could shop the outlets together. They treated Matthew like the other grandkids while we all played putt-putt, went through the mirror maze, and dodged the laser lights.

My friends care enough about me to ask about my weekly struggles, successes, marital relationship, and quiet time. I know they are here for me no matter what I need. Most importantly for prayer and encouragement. Our Sunday School class (Happily Hitched) is providing weekly Wednesday night meals for three months. They wanted our time with Matthew on Wednesday night to be focused on him and our family. This has been WONDERFUL!

Clearly I'm getting emotional! I keep thinking of people who are doing so much for us right now. Two more then I'll stop.... although there are others to thank too. My co-worker and carpooler Jessica. She listens to me EVERYDAY to and from school... can you imagine?? I'm sure sometimes she wants to tell me to shut up! Dr. Steckler is fixing all eight of Matthew's teeth for nothing! His office is awesome, and he is great with Matthew. Even after having four teeth fixed on Friday, he said he wanted to go back!

Romans 12 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible. I wish I had every word memorized. I believe my family and friends are devoted to us in brotherly love, serve the Lord, are faithful in prayer, and practice hospitality.

9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.