Oh Happy Day!!!

Today was the day that Maritu and Mamush became US citizens! We went to court this morning and the process was simple. We even had their names and birth dates changed. The hard part will be getting the Certificate of Citizenship for them with the changed dates of birth. If anyone is interested, I'll post as we cross that hurdle. It was really neat for us because we had the same judge that we had for our older girls when they were adopted. He even remembered us! We brought him a picture taken on that date to post on his bulliten board because it's not many times that judges get to see good cases. Also, he got to see that the decision that he made 10 years ago was a great one!

District Playoffs Or Bust

It's official! Curran's team will be vying for a seat in the state soccer tournament. They can win this seat by placing first or second in the district tournament. Gooooooooooo Panthers!

No Answers Yet

We finally pushed and pushed until we got our consult from the endocrinology department at Texas Children's Hospital yesterday. It wouldn't have taken near as long if my adoption agency could or would have given us any information on Mamush. You see, if you didn't know, Mamush was in my agency's care for 14 months, yet, we have zero information on him. There is not one weight or length measurement! I made a post over a month ago pleading for anything to help our doctors figure out why my 2 1/2 year old still looks like he's not even a year old. I immediately received an email from Grace that sounded concerned. She said she would try to get me what they had, but I have heard nothing since. (I didn't expect any info.) So, we will be playing a real-life game of Clue...with very few clues.

Here's what happened at our appointment...Nothing! No, really we knew that this would be unproductive because of the lack of information. Now, we have to rule out causes for his lack of growth hormone, and the next step is waiting for a GI consult. GI will have to determine if Mamush is not absorbing his food, thus causing his body to be in starvation mode, hindering his growth hormone levels. I do not have Job's patience...

Trick-or-treat

What fun! Halloween on a Saturday! And this was Sheridan's first year to trick-or-treat, along with M&M. You know, as I'm sitting here writing this post, I just realized that I should have dressed M&M as "M&M's", since that is how I refer to them. Darn! Maybe next year... Anyway, this day started out as a typical "soccer Saturday." Skylar won his game, but Curran's team lost their game. This puts them in second place, and we don't know yet how many teams will advance to district playoffs. :( So, we wait and see, but this is a plug to not get yourself in that position. Every game and every point count. Bummer! Next, I frantically came up an idea for a costume for Maritu and threw it together. I am NOT a Suzy Homemaker, but I have to say that I didn't do half bad. Maritu was a precious Minnie Mouse; Mamush, an adorable Pirate; Sheridan, a batty Bat Girl; and Skylar, Anakin Skywalker (Anakin was good for a short time. He just let greed and power cloud his thinking, but you see, I believe he turned his life around in the end.). Curran helped Daddy and I with the babies but then had to leave her uncool family and attend a party. Poor Cullen was stuck at a band competition until about 10pm. I guess she could have gone trick-or-treating because some pre-teen boys thought it okay to ring our bell shortly before 10pm!

More pics...

In my haste, I forgot to add these pics from the parade. The one where Maritu has her hands on her face is because of the sirens from a firetruck...

Homecoming Events

Last week was another busy week for our entire family. On Thursday, Cullen had Lights Out practice. Let me just tell you how amazing Vidor's homecoming halftime show is! I'm not sure of the year that the tradition began, but I know that Vidor had a lights out halftime since the 1960's, and here is how it goes: First, the homecoming court is announced and the queen is chosen, then on to the exciting events... All the lights in the entire stadium are turned off and the band, drill team and twirlers perform their routines. SO, you wonder how they do this in the dark? Well, the band has flashlights strapped to their legs and glow sticks on their hats. The brigs do something similar, and the twirlers twirl with fire! But the excitement doesn't stop there because fireworks that rival those at July 4th explode in the sky during the performances. You just have to see it to appreciate it! It is a standing room only event. Oh and no the babies did not like the show. Maritu hid her face in Curran's chest under a blanket and screamed the entire time. Mamush was feeling the effects of catching the "bug," so he was disinterested. We were praying he wouldn't vomit at the game...

What Goes Down Must Come Back Up

That was true for food that Skylar and Maritu ate today! UUUUGGGHHH! Both kids are sick, and I just hate when kids vomit. I hate to vomit myself. I get so emotional. I don't know how people become bulimic. Yuk! And this was Maritu's first time to vomit. She was so pitiful and scared. She just cried and cried.