Easter

Easter was very different this year since I had just had my surgery and was still on the sofa most of the time. Ingrid has now moved out and is living in an apartment with her older sister Sandra. Juan works as a cook at an assisted living facility on the weekends so he was busy at work all day. I still made Easter baskets for both kids. We were sad we were unable to attend church in person but so grateful for technology and the ability to watch online. Although it is not the same, at least we get the message.

Our 11th Gotcha Day

In the adoption world, gotcha day is the day that you get your kids. For us, that day is April 12th. With Angie and Ingrid both out of the house and me recovering from surgery, this celebration wasn't as grand as all of our others. In the past I would have a cake, jello in the flavors of the Colombian colors, juice in the flavors of the Colombia colors, decorations, photo albums, and more. We did a big celebration last year with it being our tenth and gave them the last gifts we had purchased for them when we were in Colombia. I bought the kids each a Colombian keychain since they are all now driving, which is crazy to think about! We adopted them at ages 6,8, and 10 and they are now 17, 19, and 21!

Prom 2022

 Juan decided to go to prom this year as a junior. Unfortunately, the timing was not ideal as it was the weekend after my surgery, but he took pictures and shared them with me later. These were with his best friend and his date. They went to dinner before prom and had a nice time he said. Juan is not very communicative so we are glad he went and had a good time. These are great experiences to have.

Our 24th Wedding Anniversary!

 It is hard to believe that we are celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary. We have been through some amazing challenges through the years but I am forever grateful for our faith, commitment to each other, love, and friendship. We are celebrating our time in Pinetop, AZ, which is our future retirement area. Dainis fell in love with this area when we first visited it several years ago, as it reminded him of MN with the trees and nearby lake. We have purchased a lot in a gated neighborhood and hope to start building in the near future. We met with some builders this trip, enjoyed lots of walks around our favorite lake called Woodland Lake, and enjoyed much-needed downtime and some relaxation.

Our granddaughter Mariana

I have learned so much on this journey as an adoptive mom and now as a writer and continue to learn every day. When we first embarked on our adoption journey, we just wanted to give kids a forever home and have the family we always wanted. We had no idea all of the challenges we would face along the way and definitely were not equipped for the abandonment, trauma, and mental challenges we would go through with our kids. It has been and continues to be a journey, and we have learned a lot along the way. If I could do it over again, I would do some things the same and some things much differently as a parent. I have learned a lot about expectations of myself and the kids. I said it in my book and it is so true about so many situations in life. Life rarely turns out like you pictured it would. We did not expect both girls to leave home the way they did. 

Mariana turned one in March and continues to grow. We have only met her on Facetime at this point because Angie and Dougie are not yet stable and financially independent and responsible. They have lived with different family members in a different state since getting together. We continue to help them by sending things to help Mariana. My mom has been very helpful in this area as an early childhood education teacher.

It is Time For The World To Buy My Book!

 I decided in January 2021 to start writing my story and on March 11th, my book was published by Trilogy Publishing. It is titled "CHOICES: When You Are Faced with a Challenge, What Choice Will You Make?" It is on my faith journey and perseverance through many challenges. The biggest challenge was my massive stroke at age 29, which left me paralyzed on the left side at the time of the stroke. I am excited to share my story to bring hope and encouragement to others and hope to start speaking as my next step. I am grateful for all the opportunities that have already come my way and look forward to the journey ahead! 

Juan's Car

 For our 20th wedding anniversary, we purchased a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider Convertible as our gift to ourselves and as a date night car. We really enjoyed it for a while but our schedule was busy with the kids. When it came time for Juan to start driving, we decided we would rather sell him this car that we knew was in great condition, rather than help him find another used car that Dainis may have to repair. He wanted to change the top from tan to black, which Dainis did for him. Hopefully, he will take care of it and enjoy it for a long time as it is a great car, in great condition.

Dainis's 48th Birthday

On Dainis's actual birthday, we enjoyed a date and went to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens. Our library has free passes to many area attractions like this one. It was very relaxing to just walk around, enjoying the plants, and artwork. We enjoyed dinner out on the way home at Claim Jumper.

We enjoyed celebrating with the family another night with presents and a key lime pie.

 

Fixing Up Juan's New Car

For our 20th wedding anniversary, we purchased a used Mitsbuschi Eclipse convertible. Now that it is time for Juan to start driving, rather than buying another used car that Dainis may have to do repairs on, we decided to sell him our convertible. It had a tan top and he decided he really wanted a black one. Dainis has replaced two other convertible tops and agreed to work with Juan to replace this one. He is still taking driving classes and practicing. We are hopeful he will have his license and Lori's uber days will be over in February!

Our Christmas Trip to Lake Havasu

One of the big benefits of working for Honeywell is the company shuts down the week after Christmas. Because of this, we have always planned a vacation with the kids since they are still off of school. Juan decided he did not want to go with us after we had everything planned, but Ingrid was super excited about the trip. We went to Lake Havasu for the first time this summer and were told that they decorate it nicely for Christmas. They did do a nice job and the downtown area by the water with all the shops and restaurants were all decorated with Christmas lights. At night, they played Christmas music and even had a snow machine. We spent a day visiting Oatman and fed the donkeys that were roaming the streets of downtown. It was quite cold and felt like winter. We really enjoyed walking along the water on the paved pathways every day. Without the dogs and the kids' school schedule, it was a nice change to sleep in every morning! We stayed at a resort that is located right on the water called The London Bridge Resort. 

When we were first married and working for Northwest Airlines, we attended a timeshare presentation one night in exchange for a free dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We lived in MN at the time and the timeshare was for Breezy Point, MN. We must be a sucker for time-share presentations because we now own several! It has worked out great though. For our first four years of marriage before my stroke, we enjoyed both domestic and international travel with our travel benefits. After we adopted the kids, having a timeshare really afforded us some great vacation opportunities. We always stay in 2 bedrooms / 2 bathrooms with a family room and kitchen. With COVID, we have still been able to travel to some of our favorite destinations and felt safe doing so. My parents joined us on this vacation. We had a 2 bedroom unit and they had a 1 bedroom unit next to us. We will enjoy Lake Havasu again in May with Ingrid and a few of her friends after her high school and West MEC technical school graduations, as we celebrate her achievements before she starts working full time.