Jared and Teresa Layton

2011-12-23T18:56:00.001-08:00

Halloween

This is my cute little Caleb turtle.

All of the cousins trick or treating together. This is why we LOVE living here! It's so much fun for the kids.

This is my favorite image -- Tallie and Beckett holding hands walking alone to their cousins' house. So cute!

2011-12-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

Moving...

We stopped at the church history sites on our drive out to Indianapolis. This is in Palmyra at the Joseph Smith log cabin and sacred grove.

Kirtland

2011-12-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

September

Caleb's Baby Blessing

Tallie's birthday

Baby Layton has arrived

2011-07-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

Caleb Stone Layton was born on Thursday, July 14th at 8:15am, weighing 7lb 1oz. We are enjoying having a newborn again and all the cute little things they do. He is adorable and snuggly and just a precious little baby. All the kids LOVE him (a little too much) and are constantly wanting to hold him and touch him and give him kisses.

Here's the best (although unflattering) profile picture just before having the baby. I was braiding Valencia's hair just before the baby came so I wouldn't have to do it for awhile. I thought for sure this baby would be my biggest because he jetted out there so far, but nope - he was smaller than Beckett.

The kids came to visit me in the hospital and meet the new baby the next day and they were all excited to hold him.

Our new family of six. I still can't believe I have 4 kids! I haven't been left alone with all four yet so I don't really know how that will be.

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Here are some pictures of the other kids to compare -- who do you think Caleb looks like, Tallie or Beckett??

Beckett's newborn pictures:

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Tallie's newborn pictures:

Catching Up

2011-07-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick catch up for the last 6 months of the Layton home. I wanted to get this posted before the new baby comes. If you didn't know -- we're having another baby -- arriving on July 14th. You'll notice in some of the pictures I'm looking VERY big and pregnant.

January - Beckett turned 2!

Grandparents/Parents day at school
Each of the classes did a presentation that was really cute. Valencia's class talked about the Creation and each child had a part and drew a picture. Valencia's was that God created Eve.

Tallie's class presentation was Noah's ark. She was the frog that went on the ark.

Tallie's last day of school
Tallie finished her first year of school in a pre-k program. They had a party at a park on the last day of school that was a lot of fun.

Valencia's last day of school
I love this video clip of the kids from her class singing - a great Catholic education! It's such a cute song. On the last day of school the kindergarten class did the Mass and they each had speaking parts and sang songs. It was really cute.

They had a little "graduation" party for her kindergarten class after they got out of school:

I can't seem to get this video to work :( It's so cute!

Summer fun
We took a trip to Storyland with the kids in June. It's a great amusement park designed for kids 7 and under -- all the rides are little kid rides. We had a lot of fun.

I haven't been up for chasing the kids (or really just Beckett) around a playground this summer - actually I don't think it's physically possible right now :) so we've been visiting farms instead. Much more low key and the kids like it so it's great. Beckett especially is SO into farm animals. He's some kind of animal everyday - and usually it's a llama.

Nightly book reading
Jared is usually in charge of putting the kids to bed. I thought this was a cute picture of him reading books to the kiddos.
My shopping helpers

Strawberry Festival
One of our favorite activities here -- we've gone to this festival the last 3 years. You can't beat fresh farm strawberries, lots of free samples of strawberry foods, fun activities, and a tractor ride! Jared and Valencia did the strawberry shortcake eating contest and Jared won a big container of strawberries.

The next post will have pictures of the new little guy!!!

2011-02-25T06:03:00.001-08:00

I'm really getting into Valencia's hair so I have to post again. I braided it again this week and tried 2 colors of hair this time. I think it turned out really cool.
I decided to add one row of beads to spice it up.

I gave Tallie a row of beads too for fun.

Here are a couple funny pics of Beckett. That boy is soooo cute.
He's into gloves lately and HAD to wear these when we left the house.
I put him in his chair for breakfast and on his own he decided to say a prayer. How cute!

1 year appointment

2011-02-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Valencia had her 1 year home doctor's appointment yesterday. I was very interested to see how much physically she's changed in the year that she's been home. You will not believe the results of a balanced diet (that includes veggies!) and exercise (they did a lot of sitting and laying around in the orphanage).

In one year Valencia has grown 8 inches and gained 3 lbs!

Isn't that amazing??

Hair Braiding

2011-02-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

I've made my first attempt to braid in extensions for Valencia myself. I thought I'd give it a try since the difference in cost is $4 vs $70. I watched a couple youtube videos and was ready to go.

Since it took almost an entire Saturday just to take out her old braids I had to leave her hair out for the week before doing it and here's what she looked like:
I learned from a Haitian woman recently that vaseline is the wonder product for her hair and it's true! A little vaseline , well, a lot of vaseline makes her hair look great.

First... the supplies:

Here she is almost done. It took three movies to complete -- that's a lot of sitting! I was worried she wouldn't sit for me as good as the women at the salon, but she was really good (I think it had something to do with the movies!). Tallie and Beckett enjoyed watching movies ALL DAY too.
In the end it turned out okay - actually I was pretty proud of myself. I got better as I went along and luckily you start underneath so the first braids aren't noticeable. The only thing I didn't do great was pull the hair tight enough. The next day she looked like she'd gotten her braids done a few weeks ago, so unfortunately they're not going to last as long but that's okay. She loves her new long hair and we'll try again. Next time I think I want to try putting in beads.
What's funny is I didn't take a picture when we were all done. I think we were all tired and it was bed time by the time I did the last one.

Valencia's 1 year anniversary

2011-01-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

On January 21st it was one year since Valencia came home to us from Haiti. Wow, what a year. On New Year's Eve right around midnight, Jared and I were sitting on the couch and just let out a big sigh. It had been a tough year but we're pretty sure it's all uphill from now on.

It is truly amazing to look back and see just how much Valencia has changed and grown this past year. She entered the orphanage a couple months before turning 3. Here is our first picture of her:

I visited her only a few months after being in the orphanage.

We received pictures and updates each month and then the following year Jared flew to Haiti and visited her just before she turned 4.

We continued receiving monthly pictures and updates (very brief updates -- you can imagine with 60 kids and limited staff the updates were a lot of work). Then we received word FINALLY that we were through all the paperwork and steps and we were just waiting for Valencia to receive her visa. We were honestly waiting for that phone call that would tell us we could fly to Haiti and pick her up. Then the earthquake happened. Luckily, we only had to wait 4 hours before learning that she was safe -- her orphanage had not collapsed.

At that point we still didn't know what was going to happen... when she would come home. Days later we received word that they were trying to find a way to get all the kids out from her orphanage. We were told we needed to be in Florida in case they did get out -- they had a date with a goal but everything was in limbo and they didn't really know - but we had to be in Florida in case it did all work out.

Honestly, it felt like the craziest time in our lives. We packed up and all of us flew to Florida. Tallie was thrilled to be a part of it. In the original plan (pre-earthquake) I was going to travel to Haiti with my dad to pick up Valencia. Tallie really wanted to go to Haiti too but we didn't feel good about taking her there at such a young age, so for her this worked out great.

The night before we left Beckett became very sick and had a horrible cough. We were really worried and didn't know what to do about it -- we didn't really have a choice, but he seemed a little better in the morning. It was a rough trip on him and he slept terrible every night in the hotel, but he survived it.
After arriving in Florida things were still unsettled. And actually, it wasn't until the plane was in the air that we knew it was a for sure. Thanks to amazing people in Haiti and one of the adopted dads that made his way down to Haiti shortly after the earthquake, all the paperwork was collected and the embassy was visited and all the kiddos were approved to leave the country on humanitarian parole.

Valencia's plane was scheduled to arrive in the evening so we had to keep busy that day. We were in Florida so we went to the beach.
It looks like we're having fun, but everything was done with HUGE knots in our stomachs. I've honestly never felt the way I felt that day before. It was painful to wait out the day. Definitely one of the longest days ever.
I'm not sure if I have all my facts straight now -- being one year later, but I believe it was around 5pm that we were to gather together (all the adoptive families) at the hotel and travel together to the airport - to a special hanger where their chartered plane would arrive. When we all met in the lobby of the hotel we were told the plane was delayed and to come back in an hour and we'd go to the airport then. Another hour! We thought waiting until 5pm was tough. I honestly don't remember what we did to pass the time but finally we were on our way to the airport - with knots as big as ever in our stomachs.

At the airport we didn't go into the main terminals. They took us to a special hanger used by chartered planes. When we arrived, there were news people and cameras, balloons and food, and a lot of anxious parents waiting.

Then we all waited...

...and waited......and waited.
In fact, (again the facts are fuzzy), I think we waited for a couple of hours for the plane to arrive. They had a large tv on with CNN and at one point we saw a news story from Haiti with our kids getting ready to load the plane in Haiti. Watching that cheered everyone up. Once we heard the plane arrived we still had to wait (I think close to an hour) for them to go through customs before the plane came to our hanger. Too much waiting.

And then we saw it... the plane was here!

I think you can tell from my voice how nervous/anxious/excited I was. By the time the plane arrived it was late - Tallie & Beckett were tired and we were all exhausted with waiting and the emotions we had been feeling all day. But once we saw that plane all of it went away and we were full of life again and couldn't believe we were actually going to see Valencia.

Tallie brought a doll for her new big sister.
Tallie was SOOOOO excited to meet Valencia. I just wonder what Valencia thought of all this.
You can see us in the background of this CNN clip on Larry King Live. That tells you just how long we had been waiting - that broadcasts at 9pm and I think we were towards to end of the show.

We got Valencia some food and ran her to the potty (I'm sure you noticed in the video she needed to go). I think it had been a VERY long day for her. We learned that she and the other children had ridden on a helicopter to get to the airport and then loaded up on the plane. The almost didn't make it out of the country because they took too long to load the plane and were denied takeoff because of how busy things were at the airport, but things ended up working out and they let their plane leave.

If you notice Valencia's wrist you'll see a piece of paper taped to her arm. Her piece of paper said "Layton" on it. This was how "official" it all went down.
We didn't stay at the airport long - in fact, we were told some type of official was coming to make sure everyone had carseats (something weird like that) and so they shewed us all off quickly so there wouldn't be any problems. Back at the hotel the girls changed into their matching pajamas and played for a little bit. Even though it was late everyone was wound up. Tallie and Valencia seemed to have no problem getting along - Valencia talked away in Creole and didn't seem at all affected by the total change of life and people.
If you look at the clock you'll see how late it was by the time we got everyone asleep. It had been a very long day, and we were flying home to Boston early the next morning.
The next day Valencia started out excited again with all that was happening.
It wasn't until later on the plane that she seemed more quiet and I'm sure wondered what was going on and who we were. I looked over at one point on the plane and saw her quietly crying to herself - everyone was exhausted and I don't know if it was from being tired or from all the changes, or both.
Here we are arriving in Boston. We had some friends meet us at the airport -- I'm afraid we were all too tired to be very social - but it was great to feel the support after such a long excursion. We were a little bombarded by news people too, but now after the fact I'm glad to have the coverage.

These are pics from our second night home. Valencia ate with her gloves on -- adjusting to Boston's January weather was tough on her - she was constantly cold.

Our first movie night.
We had 2-3 days of the "honeymoon" stage as they call it with Valencia before the bad behavior set in. We were told this would happen and expected it, although expecting it and actually experiencing it are two different things. Her behavior was extremely difficult for the first 2-3 weeks, but remained hard for probably 5-6 months. It began with horrible tantrums - at least 1 per hour -- laying on the ground kicking and screaming and moaning. Unless you have heard an orphan moan you cannot fully appreciate what it's like. I found it pretty disturbing. She would get a glazed over look and (usually without tears) would moan. It's very different from a cry. It's a loud moan and she'd appear emotionally disconnected. It happened so often that at night when everyone was asleep and the house was quiet I would hear her moan in my head.

The tantrums were hard and happened over just about anything. It's very difficult to discipline a child when all the rules have changed, she doesn't know you and how things work at your house, and she doesn't understand anything you're saying. We taught her the phrase "good girl" and used that to discipline and explain what was appropriate. The constant tantrums made it hard to leave the house. I never knew what was going to happen and with two other children younger than her it was often more than I could handle and I would avoid being in public. But that was also hard because she would get very stir crazy at home and would behave worse sometimes. Food was always a good motivator with her so I'd keep little bags of m&ms in my purse for emergencies (for bribing) and that definitely helped.

In the beginning she also had no concept of appropriate behavior... of any sort. Things like looking under bathroom stalls, eating food off the ground (in a public bathroom!!), sidewalks vs road (she ran right off the sidewalk one day straight in front of a car), laying on the ground when she felt tired no matter where we were, yelling, crawling on the ground in public, hitting, biting, scratching faces, throwing toys, touching complete strangers, etc. She would also refuse to get in the car whenever we were going somewhere, and believe me it is hard to get a 5 1/2 year old into a car and carseat that doesn't want to, and then she would refuse to get out of the car (equally hard to force her). Frustrating. Everything was difficult.

In our case I think some things were harder because we had no family around to help and understand. You really need help and constant encouragement in the beginning -- (that statement is coming from an extremely independent and self-sufficient person). There were days when it was more than I could handle. I remember one Saturday morning waking up and telling Jared while still in bed that he needed to get up and take Valencia somewhere for the day -- I didn't care what they did but I didn't want to see them until dinner.

The unpredictability of her behavior as well as feelings of protecting her and not wanting people to judge her based on her current behavior, and wanting my kids to get used to each other and bond, we were completely unsocial for probably the first 9 months of her being home. That too was hard.

But after all that, she has progressed and developed amazingly. She definitely went through many difficult stages in her first year. But now, one year later, she's doing great -- she really is. She is social with kids and makes friends easily (one of her challenges in the beginning -- she viewed kids as mean and out to get her), she does well academically at school, she is well behaved, and will do any task you ask her to do -- very very helpful little girl. She still has some challenges and things we are getting used to. She is an EXTREMELY high energy child and everything she does is intense. Moving to a house with a big backyard in a neighborhood where she can run and play would be very helpful to all of us :) She also talks incessantly - from the minute she wakes up until she goes to bed. If she has nothing to say she'll comment on everything she sees happening "oh, you're eating with a fork", "why are you sitting there", "we're having rice for dinner", "I'm going to turn on the light". That can definitely drive me nuts, but it's not "bad" behavior so I'll learn to deal with it :)

In the year that she has been home she has also physically changed. She has grown 4 inches and lost her big belly. Look at the old pictures.
And here she is now

Valencia brings a lot of energy to our home and I think will always be the life of the party. She loves to have fun and dance and sing. She and Tallie are really best friends and enjoy having each other. I had worried so much about the two girls getting along and prayed that they would be close. It is definitely the case - they LOVE playing together. It's been good for both of them in different ways to have each other.

Christmas post -- finally!

2011-01-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

Our ward Christmas party this year was the theme: A Night In Bethlehem
My pictures turned out fuzzy but you get the idea... the kids had fun dressing up in Biblical clothing.

I have to say it was the best was the best ward party I've been to. The food was awesome - kabobs, couscous, and pitas -- a nice change from the standard funeral potatoes and ham :)

Here we are decorating the tree (something must be wrong with my camera because they are fuzzy too). Valencia was especially excited since it was her first time doing all these Christmas things.

On Christmas Eve we had a special dinner -- fondue. We've had several people in the past that we've gotten together with for Christmas, but unfortunately this year everyone was out of town. We were feeling a little bummed about having it all by ourselves, so to make dinner feel special I did fondue -- we had two pots - a cheese one to dip bread and a chocolate one to dip fruit & pretzels. We had finger sandwiches too. This cheered everyone up.

Tallie's shirt didn't survive past this evening -- it was COVERED in chocolate when we were all done.Christmas Morning!!
Being Valencia's first Christmas in a lot of ways (her orphanage was great and they did celebrate Christmas with the kids, but it's not the same as a typical Christmas morning), I was expecting her to come downstairs and see the tree with all the presents and gasp at the sight. Not quite what happened. You'll see it in the video.

It was funny to see the different personalities from my kids. Beckett opened his first present and wanted to play with it and not be bothered opening anymore - he was quite content. Tallie would very slowly and carefully open each present and look it over and take it all in and spend a fair amount of time with each one. Valencia would tear open her present and without hardly looking at it would toss it on the couch and ask for her next one.

After all that hard work of opening presents and playing with new toys the kids settled down together to watch a movie.

That night we had ice cream sundaes. They were a big hit!

Thanksgiving in Utah

2010-12-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

We decided last minute to fly to Utah for Thanksgiving. It was a short trip but it was great. We loved being with family and having our kids get to know their grandparents and cousins better. This was Valencia's first time to Utah.

On the morning of Thanksgiving I put on some Christmas music to listen to while we cooked. Valencia heard the music and came to enjoy it... this video is so her -- she didn't even know I took it. She LOVES to dance and can't help herself if she hears music playing.

Halloween

2010-10-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the kiddos in their Halloween costumes. The girls wanted to be mermaids this year and I had a very fun time making their costumes. In fact, I didn't even have to take a trip to the fabric store -- I pieced them together with things in the house -- mainly from their old dance recital outfits (which I thought would horrify them but they didn't seem to mind). I had SO much left over felt from the playhouse that I decided to make felt fish bags to go along with their costumes.

Do you see anything missing?? That would be a cute 21 month old that cries everytime he sees his costume. I forced it on once but that didn't go over well and only lasted for about 5 minutes, so no cute elephants this year!

We went trick or treating on Thursday afternoon/evening at some shops in Marblehead. The weather was amazing -- 75 degrees. While we were out we stopped for pizza because everyone was starving.

We've had several "Halloween" dinners this month. I found some fun and very yummy recipes.

We thought these stuffed mini pumpkins were great. The jack o' lantern rolls were a lot of fun for the kids too. We also had witch fingers in bandages (mini hot dogs wrapped in puffed pastry - with some ketchup on the end for nail polish)
And caramel apples:

I haven't done the Jack o Lantern quesadillas yet -- they're on for tomorrow's lunch.
As a side note -- this is Valencia's first Halloween. People ask me how she likes it -- what's not to like?? Dressing up as a mermaid and getting candy! She loves it! It's fun to see her experience all these firsts. I sometimes forget that it's only been nine months since she came home and all of these things are new to her.

The playhouse is done!

2010-09-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

All of that free time I talked about having is paying off. I just finished the play house I started over the summer. It's a slip-cover that fits over my dining room table -- you can also choose to make them to fit over a cardtable. It was a really fun project to do. I looked at several ideas online -- I followed the ideas from this one: http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/10/felt-playhouse.html. This link has some templates and good ideas about how to make the house.

Here's the front door -- the mailbox door opens to put notes through and the flowers (that are falling over) can be picked out of the grass. I will say that the door should be made out of something other than felt -- you can kind of tell from the photo that it's getting stretched out. In the blog above it looks like she used a heavier (maybe leather) material for the door.

The garden -- there are carrots and cabbage to pick out of the dirt and corn on the cob to take out. The grape vine was a brilliant idea I had one night :) The longer I worked on the house the more ideas I had to add to it -- this is the only one that I ended up adding -- at some point you have to be done!

Apple tree picking -- the apples velcro on the tree. You can also take some of the flowers out of the grass.

the animal door -- the kids wanted a dog and cat. It originally had a door that hung down but Beckett didn't understand he could go through it, so I cut off the door part and left it open.
After finishing it I had another idea for a play house. It would be really cute to make a red barn playhouse with big barn doors on the front and have animals on the outside. Beckett would LOVE that -- he's currently obsessed with barn animals. This was such a fun project and now I'm debating about what to sew next -- I'm thinking maybe some felt food.

Thanks mom for teaching me to sew and for buying me my first sewing machine!

Tallie's first day of school

2010-09-21T08:15:00.001-07:00

Valencia started school one week before Tallie. Watching her big sister go to school helped her feel very excited about starting school. She kept telling me she couldn't wait until her first day, but I thought once it came down to going in without mom she would struggle. To my surprise when the bell rang and it was time to line up outside she ran right up and was the first in line and happily waved goodbye. When I picked her up she told me she LOVED it and was then disappointed to learn she wasn't going to school the next day (she's doing 3 days per week). On occasion - maybe once or twice a week I have her stay a full day and the girls love those days because they see each other in the cafeteria at lunch and then they have recess together. They really are best friends and think it's so fun to see each other at school.

Valencia wasn't totally loving school in the beginning, but now that Tallie goes too that's completely changed. They're both excited about school and on the drive home they love talking about it with each other. It's pretty fun to see. And I have to admit I am LOVING some me-time. Beckett takes a 2-3 hour nap while the girls are at school and it's such a nice time for me to work on personal projects and goals as well as to regroup and prepare for the craziness once I pick the girls up :)
Valencia has two uniform choices - the kakhi skirt and polo shirt I posted earlier and this jumper. Cute!!

Tallie also just celebrated her 5th birthday.

She requested a french poodle cake - which was a lot of fun to make. It turned out HUGE -- I sent Jared down to the basement to find a board big enough to put it on -- way to big for a cookie sheet.

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Valencia started kindergarten this week. She wasn't excited to go back to school -- she'd rather stay home and play with mom, but we really talked it up and made a big deal about it the last couple of weeks and it worked. She even got up extra early the first morning because she was so excited, but when it came time for me to leave her there she became very nervous and started to cry a bit. But by the time I picked her up she was happy as can be and had a great time at school. After her first day I asked if she would be scared again tomorrow to go to school and she said yes. She said it will take 10 days of going before she isn't scared.

She looks adorable in her uniform.

Tallie starts school next week and watching Valencia go is making her very excited about school. She loves having a big sister.

California

2010-08-31T18:02:00.001-07:00

The kids and I headed to California unexpectedly in August for my Grandpa Pringle's funeral. He was 90 when he passed away and had even gone golfing that week! What an amazing man. It was sad to have him go but we were all happy for him to be reunited with his wives.

The trip was also a great chance to see my family again and be with a few cousins. Our last night there we went to Downtown Disney and walked around. Here are some fun shots of the kids.

Here we are on the airplane. After flying to Yellowstone and then 4 weeks later flying to CA, the kids were flying experts. However, on the way home from CA the excitement for flying had worn off which made for a tougher flight. But I did it -- alone with 3 kids and we all survived (but not without a few tears -- none of mine though which was pretty amazing I think).

Beckett's first time sitting at the bar. I thought this was sooooo cute. Beckett normally sits in a high chair but he felt ready to sit with the older girls at the bar -- he's a bit small but he LOVED it. He loves trying to keep up with his big sisters and I just think it's so cute.

Help send James and Pedro to College

2010-08-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

Chances for Children is committed to rebuilding Haiti. We are collaborating with Institute Univers, one of the top-10 schools in Haiti. Our current goal is to raise enough money to be able to send James and Pedro (two of I.U.'s brightest) to college in the United States so that they may be able to return to their country and help make it better. Chances for Children will match the donations raised for this campaign in an effort to secure a second year's education for the students. Please spread the word!

James and Pedro recently completed college entrance exams and are ready to begin the application process for small colleges in the U.S. Chances for Children has been researching tuition, admission requirements, host families, on campus living and international programs at colleges and universities across the country. We are now ready to help these young men by providing funding for their tuition and living arrangements. This is where we need your help. We would like to ask each of you to make a minimum donation of $20.00. If every one of our fans, supporters, followers and friends made a small donation of $20, we could pay for their college tuition. Just think, if you could skip going to a movie this month, and allocate that money to help James and Pedro, you would be changing the lives of 2 deserving and ambitious young men. Now isn't that worth missing a movie for?

You can donate by sending a check to:

Chances for Children - Tuition fund
20343 North Hayden Rd Suite 105-114
Scottsdale, AZ 85255

To learn more visit: http://www.chances4children.org/c4c/

July Update

2010-08-18T05:38:00.000-07:00

In July we had a Brown Family vacation -- we all met at the cabin for a week and had a great time. It was so nice to be back at the cabin and waterski and go river rafting and especially to be with family. It's been a great summer for our kids to get to know their cousins.

This month was also Valencia's 6th birthday (and really her first birthday ever!). I was very excited to make it a special day for her. I made a princess doll cake where the cake is the dress. When she woke up and saw it that morning she just stared at it with her mouth open.

Then we did presents (everyone in our family -- including the parents, are so excited about their birthday so we always end up opening presents first thing in the morning).

Valencia was so excited about all of her presents. She let out a gasp with everyone she opened. It was really cute to watch. After presents the girls got ready for their last day of sports camp.

Of the 3 kids, Beckett was the most excited about sports camp (I had to stay for awhile every morning just to let him run around the gym chasing balls). The girls were pretty nervous to go and have mom leave them, and Tallie was especially nervous about playing a game where kids throw balls at each other (dodgeball) - she hid behind a teacher during that game while Valencia ran around and did cartwheels. But the got to go swimming every day which they loved and every afternoon when I came to pick them up they were having a great time and didn't want to leave.

After sports camp we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese and had a great time. Tallie's requesting the same cake and a day at Chuck-E-Cheese for her birthday :) Then in the evening we had friends over for cake and icecream. I think she had a great first birthday. Doesn't Tallie look ready for sports camp in her pink dress??

The following week we did gymnastics camp and that was more their thing. They weren't nervous at all to go and LOVED it. Our local gym has an amazing gymnastics facility that is a lot of fun. Beckett was pretty bummed that he couldn't go in and play too.

The girls got big wheels this summer. They are both nervous about riding a bike - so we thought this would be a good to get them started. They look pretty cute riding around on these, in fact, everywhere we go we are stared at. And just the other night Jared and I wanted to play tennis so we took the bigwheels and a little bike for Beckett and let the kids ride around the courts while we played. It was pure chaos. At one point Jared was holding Beckett trying to run and hit the ball, while the girls were on my side with rackets swinging wild-ly at every ball that came their way and I was just laughing so hard I couldn't even play. I'm sure everyone else there playing (without their kids!) thought we were crazy.
And finally, the primary had a pioneer activity at the church. Last year around that time I needed a sewing project so I made Tallie a little pioneer outfit for the activity. Well... this year I wasn't in need of a sewing project, but I have 2 very competitive girls, so I was frantically sewing Saturday morning 30 minutes before the activity to be a good mom and send Valencia off with a pioneer bonnet. This was without a pattern - so for those of you that saw it in person that should explain things. But she was happy with it and that's all that matters :)

In this video you'll see Tallie doing somersaults, but look at the line in the back and you'll see what I mean when I say Valencia always has the wiggles :)

And finally, here's a cute shot of my kids at the zoo and in their fancy church clothes.

Other than his sore red nose he looks adorable. I love seeing him in this little outfit.

June Update

2010-08-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

It's time for me to update the blog. We've had such a busy summer and I'm constantly thinking to myself "I should put that on the blog" or "that was funny -- I need to write about it on the blog", but it just doesn't happen. So I'm now going to do my best to catch up with our summer activities.

I had a monumental adoption moment a couple weeks ago. For the first time I felt like Valencia's mom and not just her caregiver. I read a lot of articles about adoption before Valencia came home to prepare us for the experience and all of them dealt with the child and how to talk to them about adoption or how to respond to others that say things to you in public in front of your child or behavioral things to expect from your child, etc. But I never read anything about how we would feel as parents towards an older adopted child and how you don't or may not automatically bond with them. I think that surprised both me and Jared and has been challenging for us. We're working with a lot of emotional and behavioral issues and I think generally I'm on edge wondering what she's going to do next. She's definitely come a long way and made HUGE improvements emotionally since she came home - she really has and when I think back to our first two weeks it's amazing to see how different things are now. And when she began to be able to communicate with us it helped bond with her because we got to see more of her personality and just hear her talk about the cute and funny things that kids talk about. But I still just felt like a caregiver. But 2 weeks ago I had two days in a row where I felt like her mom and it was SUCH a great feeling. I don't even know what was different but it was great to feel that way and I know that things will continue in that direction. And just last Thursday I felt that way again. This time there was something different. The girls started swimming lessons and swimming is something that Valencia LOVES. She is a natural and has no fear and at her lesson she did such a great job listening to the teacher and following the instructions (which is something she still struggles with). She was honestly the best one in the class and I sat watching feeling like a proud mom. It was sooooo nice to be in public and see her behave so well and get to enjoy her. I usually feel a little uptight when I'm in public with her because she's typically loud or dancing all over the place bumping into people or knocking things over or mad about something and refusing to walk with me, etc. So I can't tell you how nice it was to find something that she loves doing and wants to do well and behave good and follow instructions and I can be there with her and enjoy her. Here are some pics

June -- Trip to Outer Banks, North Carolina

We had a Layton family trip this summer in June and had a great time. We stayed in a beach house in North Carolina and had so much fun going to the beach every day and playing with the cousins.

We didn't start the trip off great -- about 2 miles from arriving to the beach house we got in an accident. No one was hurt and since we were so close we were able to have our car towed to the beach house where we unloaded it. And luckily, we didn't really need a car that week because the beach was so close. We just had to rent one to get home.

I LOVE how close my girls are!!

We're on the left -- I'm holding Tallie and Jared is holding Beckett and Valencia is between us in the yellow shirt.See the crab in his hand -- they were all over the beach!

Haitian bags for sale!

2010-06-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

In May Jared had a work event that I took advantage of to raise money for Haiti. As part of my fundraiser I ordered some Haitian made bags to sell. It's through a program that teaches women to sew, which enables them to take care of their families and feed their children. The women begin in a literacy class and when they've completed it they move onto the sewing class. As part of the program they sew bags that you can purchase.

After the earthquake there was a lot of interest in the bags and the batch that I ordered for the event just showed up, so now I'm trying to find homes for them. I've contacted all the local people I know, so I'm now posting pictures of them here so you can browse and decide which one you want. I still haven't decided which one (or two or three!) I want -- they're really neat bags. I took the pictures so you can see how big/small they are. They all have an inside pocket - some have 2 or 3 pockets inside.

You will write a check to: Heartline Ministries

You can learn more about this sewing program at: www.haitiancreations.com

Have fun shopping!

Bag#1 - $30 SOLD

Bag#2 - $40

Bag#3 - $25 SOLD

Bag#4 - $30

Bag#5 - Coconut - burlap - $40

Bag#6 - Jess - $30

Bag#7 - Square - $20 SOLD

Bag#8 - Cafe - burlap - $30 SOLD

Bag#9 - Feed - $25 SOLD

Bag#10 - $25 SOLD

Bag#11 - Coconut - $40

Bag#12 - burlap - $40 SOLD

Bag#13 - Sheila - $35 SOLD

Bag#14 - $30

Bag#15 - Chelsey - burlap - $40

Bag#16 - Chelsea - burlap - $40

Bag#17 - Agathe - $30 SOLD

Bag#18 - Tie - $20 SOLD

Bag#19 - $35

Dance Recital

2010-05-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today was the dance recital for the girls. During parts of it I was laughing so hard I almost cried -- you'll see what I mean when you watch the video. The girls got a bit confused on stage - especially Tallie. They LOVED putting on their pretty dresses and wearing makeup. They are true girls. And I was feeling pretty proud of myself for doing their hair -- last year I didn't have a clue how to do Tallie's in a bun. It's one of those mom things I'm just supposed to know how to do :)

They looked nervous when we arrived and held hands as they walked in. How cute!!

Their teacher chose the song "Sisters" for Tallie because she new she was getting a new sister this year. In the video Tallie's the one walking around looking lost.

The girls both fell asleep on the way home -- it was a long afternoon.

Valencia's new hair

2010-05-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Valencia got her hair done again last week. I think this one is my favorite. It's DEFINITELY her favorite. She spent the first day after getting it done in front of the mirror. She especially loves to twirl with her new long hair. I overheard the funniest conversation between my two girls the day after Valencia got her hair done:

Valencia: Mama loves me because I have beautiful hair.
Tallie: Yes she does, she loves me too.
Valencia: Yes, mama loves everybody.
Tallie: Jesus loves everybody too. Jesus loves me, you, mama, papa, Beckett.
Valencia: Yes, Jesus loves everybody.

Help for Haiti

2010-05-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on raising money for Haiti. Since the earthquake I've been following blogs about what life is now like in Haiti and what is happening to help the people. I often end up in tears as I read the personal stories and tragedies that people have gone through, and I feel helpless as I sit in my comfortable house with plenty of food, running water, beds, etc -- basic things that many of these people do not have, in addition to their loss of loved ones. I don't have thousands to give to help, but I can help make others aware -- and if we each give a small amount it will add up and change lives.

We are focusing on raising money for the Village of Vision for Haiti Foundation. This is the same foundation for Valencia's orphanage and the village school she attended. Below you can read about some of the programs they're working on since the earthquake. To donate go to: http://www.vvhf.org/index.html

The Women’s Program

Due to the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, many women and their children have found themselves homeless. Village of Vision for Haiti has expanded an existing program that takes in single mothers and their children, providing them with food and housing, as well as medical-social-psychological needs. The program started in 2005 and focused on women of fragile living conditions of existence on less than a dollar a day.

A women’s camp is being erected to take care of the 100 women in the program. They have 20 tents and have been promised 9 huge tents which will be used for therapy, group gatherings, a medical station, and a creation area. Showers and toilets are currently being built. In addition Village of Vision for Haiti has been collecting food and supplies to care for everyone in their programs. They are also working on a self sustaining food plan by growing their own vegetables, and breeding chickens, fish and rabbits. Village of Vision for Haiti is in need of sponsors for these 100 women and their children. The cost to sponsor a woman is $50/month.

The Orphanage

Village of Vision for Haiti has 2 orphanages, one in Lamardelle with 42 children, and the other in the mountains at Obleon with 38 children. The children at Lamardelle came to the orphanage through IBESR (Haiti’s Social Services) after the earthquake. They are children between the ages 0-6 years that were lost, abandoned, or orphaned due to the earthquake. Many are traumatized and in need of medical care. Village of Vision for Haiti is in need of sponsors for all 38 children in Lamardelle. The cost to sponsor a child is $30/month.

The Adolescent Program

In addition to the children in the orphanage, many adolescents have been put in the care of Village of Vision for Haiti. These are boys and girls ages 7-17 that have been displaced or are the only survivor of their family due to the earthquake. Village of Vision for Haiti was given custody of these adolescents to help them put their lives back together and establish a life plan. Village of Vision for Haiti is the only family these kids have right now. They are in need of food and housing, as well as social-psychological help. Currently Village of Vision for Haiti has 15 adolescents in their program and is in need of sponsors for these adolescents. The cost to sponsor an adolescent is $50/month.

Here is one story of one of the girls that came into the adolescent program:

Rose Sneegooka ALEXIS is a 16 years old female teenager. She was the natural daughter of Mr. Duval Alexis and of Ms. Fifine Bien-Aimé, both deceased. Before the January 12 earthquake she lived with her mother, nine year old brother and 7 year old sister; her father is died since 2006. She was at school at the time of the earthquake and fortunately the school resisted the shake; but when she ran to her home she was horrified: the house broke down with her entire family in it. She lost her mother, her two siblings, and everything they possessed. The corpses were extracted and buried after four days.

Sneegooka found herself in the streets of Tabarre at the end of March 2010. She was taken in by Mrs. Martha Etienne who attempted to use her as a slave. She ran away, slept in the street again until she was found on April 12 by a patrol of the Minors Protection brigade of the National Haitian Police that took her away to IBESR. IBESR organized her transfer to the accommodation home of the Village of Vision for Haiti foundation where she is living since April 14, 2010.

Sneegooka is severely affected by the loss of her family particularly of her sister she was unsuccessfully attempting to save before a wall piece collapse. We think she is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress disorder: sometimes she has ‘‘flashback’’ of the traumatic event or nightmares in which she sees her mother warn and threaten her for misbehavior. This child needs a psychosocial accompaniment to help her emotional and physical healing. Since she has no known living family, arrangements have to be made in order to outline a life plan for her and have her gone back to school.

9 Weeks Home

2010-04-07T17:50:00.001-07:00

You gotta love little girls. I came in the room to find this:

Time flies - I have so much to update. Cute little things happen almost everyday and I think to myself, "I should write about that on the blog", but then I don't get to it, so hopefully as I look through pictures for this post I can remember some of the funny things that have happened with the kids in the last 4 weeks.

It is amazing how quickly Valencia has picked up English. She can basically say what she wants to get by now. It's not perfect sentences and sometimes she is grasping for the right word and she still has a thick accent which makes it hard to tell what she's saying, but for the most part she is doing great. She picks up little phrases from Tallie and the latest one is "mom, can I tell you something?" She says that to me every time she has something to say and I think it is so cute.

She has a new hairstyle since my last post - here is the before (with the beads):
(we're at the zoo and she was TERRIFIED of the animals - I made her pose for this picture and that was as close as she was getting to the bears)

Here is the LONG and PAINFUL process of taking out the braids:
braids are out - her hair is only about 2-3 inches long so here she before we got her hair done again:
(Jared reads books to the girls every night before bed)

and here is the after:

It wasn't at all what I had asked the lady to do to her hair, and to be honest I was horrified by the new hairstyle -- it's cornrowed on the sides and meets at the middle and looks like a mohawk if left alone. But I discovered that if I pull her hair up it looks really cute.

One thing that has been fun to watch is to see how the girls influence each other. I check on the kids every night before I go to bed and a few weeks ago I just had to laugh because Valencia was asleep in bed with at least 10-15 toys. That is Tallie's influence -- that is just what she does every night, but when Valencia first came home she didn't want to sleep with ANY toys -- even if we tried to give her one at night she REFUSED to sleep with it, so it just made me laugh. Also because of Tallie some of the first English words she learned were "princess" "beautiful" "unicorn". On the other side, Valencia has influenced Tallie as well. One of the first things she did was teach Tallie how to fake burp. They used to stay up at night burping and giggling (which was pretty funny but did start to get out of hand so we made a no fake burping rule - one of those funny things you have to do as a parent). She's also really helped Tallie become more outgoing. Valencia isn't shy at all and she's really helped Tallie open up and talk to people. She's also helped Tallie be more brave physically -- trying to climb on things, jump off of things, etc - Tallie was SO timid to try things like that, but now she wants to keep up with Valencia.

(I made rolls with the girls and left the room for one minute and this is what I found when I came back in).

This video is soooooo cute - at Valencia's school they say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and then sing "God Bless America" so she usually has it in her head during the day and sings it around the house. I recorded her singing it and it is so cute -- I'll try to post the video - I sometimes have problems getting it to work so hopefully it will.

Tonight we watched some video Jared took when he visited the Creche (the orphanage) almost 2 years ago. Valencia LOVED watching it and seeing herself and all of her friends. Just within the last week she's started to talk to me about her life -- I think because she now knows enough words to be able to tell us things. It's been so great to reach this stage because it's really helping us get to know her. We drove past the airport last Friday and she started talking about how she flew in the helicopter. After the earthquake when they were getting the kids out the roads were in such bad shape they actually flew the kids in helicopters from the creche to the airport. It was fun to have her tell us about it. Anyway, tonight when we turned off the video of the creche she started to bawl. I think it was hard for her to see it and realize how much has changed. We're not sure if we should watch more with her at this point.

Here are some pictures from Easter - we made a garden tomb out of food -- the girls were quite proud of their work:

Tallie LOVES artichokes. In fact, I can't take her to the grocery store because if she sees them we HAVE to buy them for dinner. She wanted them for Easter dinner. She decided she couldn't wait and went straight for the heart:

A cute shot of my little guy:
Beckett is getting SO close to walking - I had to grab the camera for this - we thought it was SO CUTE!

And finally, my 2 dancing princesses (whew, I think this catches me up on blog posting)

5 Weeks Home

2010-03-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

I don't always find the time to update the blog, but I know our family and friends are interested in how things are going, so I am trying to give semi-frequent updates. To be completely honest, things are going very well now. Valencia had a full week of school last week and she was a different kid -- I don't know if it's thanks to school or because she's been home for several weeks now (probably the combination of both), but she's really adjusting and her behavior is soooooo much better and she just (for the most part) acts like any other kid. It's hard to even explain what I mean by that because it's so many little things -- now when we come home she wants to go play with her toys and go play with Tallie, but it wasn't like that before. Or if I ask her to do something small or to not do something small, like "can you hang up your jacket", or "put on pants -- it's cold outside", etc, there's not a big to do reaction of protest with crying, pouting or major defiance. The meltdowns could happen over anything - the wrong color of spoon, so we just never knew what to expect.

She's catching on to how things work in our house and her new life, and what behavior is acceptable and what is not. And understanding that and having well defined rules seems to give her security and allow her to enjoy herself and just be a kid. We're not 100% there -- she still constantly asks what is and is not ok to do, funny things, is it ok to drink some of my water, do I need to eat this before I eat that on my plate, and she points out everything (and I mean everything) Tallie and Beckett do - to make sure they're doing what is right. So from my 5 weeks with her I really think she is a good kid and wants to do what is right, but she doesn't always know what that is, even when it seems obvious to us, and she has 2 1/2 years of orphanage life and the way the kids there behaved that influences her behavior. But she's getting there and it's amazing how different she is now from when she first came home -- and it's only been 5 weeks! It's also amazing how much English she knows. She is able to say the basics and get by -- the other day she was trying to tell me something and I could see her frustration. She was using the words she knew but they weren't exactly what she needed and she knew it but she was trying to make due and I was just not understanding what she was trying to say. Moments like that are hard because you see what a big change this is for her and how frustrating it can be. But kids are AMAZING and resilient.

Everyone always asks me how Tallie is handling the change to our family. She too is amazing. She has been blessed with the sweetest personality and naturally loves everyone. I hope it is something that will always stay with her. She adores Valencia. They definitely have their moments as all siblings do, but overall she loves it. We colored valentines back in February and after her third one for Valencia I suggested she make some for other people too. I was writing thank you notes the other day and Tallie wanted to write one too. She said Valencia did something nice for her that day so she was going to make one for her. I took Tallie and Beckett to the gym to play one day while Valencia was at school and Tallie made friends with a little girl there and in their conversation the girl said she was 5 and Tallie immediately responded "my sister is 5." And the funniest of all was one night when I went to check on the girls after they were asleep. I was fixing Tallie's covers and she rolled over and said "Valencia" in her sleep. I think she's very proud to have a sister.

The girls decided to have a pajama party with their toys -- it's 2 in the afternoon.

A game they invented is "church" -- they get out scriptures and say prayers and line up their toys for a lesson. Pretty funny to watch. Notice the tap shoes - gotta love that.

Last night after dinner Jared made the girls go outside and run laps -- they had WAY too much energy and were driving us crazy so he thought this would help.

I have to include a picture of my cute little guy:

Life through the eyes of a child

2010-02-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

Kids are so funny -- the way they think and the things they say just have to make you smile. 6 months ago Tallie had no idea what a "happy meal" was, which made me feel proud as a mom. But there came a moment of weakness and I needed the convenience of fast food. That moment came again last week -- too many places to be and no bread in the house to pack sandwiches for the road. We stopped and got happy meals and I passed them back to the girls. Valencia had no idea what was going on and why I was handing her a bag. I didn't realize that she didn't understand her lunch was inside. About 10 minutes later while I'm driving she says (very excitedly in Creole) "mom - there's food in here!" "Can I eat it??"

Since Valencia's been home Tallie's really been noticing people that have black skin. Every time we're in public and she sees someone she'll point it out. The other day we were walking into the grocery store and passed 5 black men on their way out, and Tallie said (out loud but to herself) "wow, there's a lot of people from Haiti here."

It's amazing how many things are new to Valencia, and the longer she's home the less I think about it until we're in the moment. We took the kids for a walk the other day - the 2 girls in a double stroller and Beckett in a single, and she thought that was a riot. She was laughing and screaming the whole time. First time in a stroller. And the week Beckett was sick we all needed to get out of the house so I decided to go for a drive. To make the girls enjoy it I bought them an icecream cone. She giggled the whole time eating it.

My sisters sent us a welcome home package with a sugar cookie mix and everything to decorate them. We had a snow day and decided it was the perfect day to break open the cookie mix. The girls loved doing it - thanks Mindy and Lisa and family -- it was a great activity.

Beckett loved it too. Check out the frosting and sprinkles go-tee

Tomorrow is a big day for me as a mom -- my first child is going to school. Valencia's starting preschool to help with her English. After a few weeks we'll decide what to do. We had planned to start her in Kindergarten next year and just have her be old for her grade, but we're kind of questioning her age. She's HUGE for a 5 year old and she's loosing her teeth, so she could be older, who knows, but either way she'll be a giant kindergartener. So the plan now is to get her ready for first grade, which is what she should have done anyway. I'm feeling a little nervous tonight thinking about dropping her off at school tomorrow.

It's amazing that at 12 months Beckett knows how to rile up his sisters. Here's a clip of a typical dinner time at our house. Beckett likes to pretend to throw his food overboard and his sisters like to keep him in line, but I think he's the one in control of the situation.

Week 2

2010-02-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

I don't have as many exciting things to report for our second week. Tallie and Beckett were both sick this week -- especially Beckett with a double ear infection, he has been completely miserable, so we stayed home most of the week. That proved to be pretty boring for the girls, and especially for Valencia who was feeling just fine. It was a hard week with the sick kids, but Valencia's doing a lot better and seems to be adjusting to her new life. We may be over the tantrums -- we've gone 2 whole days without a single one. I kid you not, it used to be 1 per hour, the littlest things would set her off, and they lasted quite awhile with kicking and screaming. But she's been learning that good behavior gets her what she wants and we try to exaggerate praise when she does the littlest things right, and that seems to be working. The tantrums became less frequent and less intense, and going 2 days without one is HUGE. I'm feeling okay about going into public now :)

She's also becoming more affectionate towards us, and she loves using the English words that she knows. I need to record her saying "a little bit" because it's the cutest thing ever. She says that every time she wants more food. And as she becomes more comfortable we're seeing more of her personality which is fun. She's a bit of a goof-ball, and she LOVES music -- she's always singing and dancing. She roams around the house singing "I like to move it move it" (from Madagascar). And she's all-girl, just like Tallie. The two of them LOVE pink, skirts, dresses, pretty headbands, makeup, etc.

Here's having fun with dad -- riding him like a horse was a huge hit:

I took Valencia to a salon today to get her hair done. What a trooper -- she had to hold still for 2 hours while they tugged and pulled on her hair. She looks so adorable! She LOVES the beads and can't leave them alone, and tonight as she brushed her teeth she just giggled in the mirror and said she looks "belle".

The First Week

2010-01-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

We made it through our first week home. Everyone's doing great -- better than I expected. Tallie and Valencia get along and have fun together, but are extremely competitive - I need 2 of everything and I'm about to throw away the pink kid dishes because if there's not enough for them both there's trouble in the house :) Valencia is really handling all the changes well - she's very curious about everything and wants to be involved in whatever I'm doing. It's fun to see how new and

Saturday night dinner -- she didn't want to take off her gloves.

Saturday night movie night - the popcorn was a huge hit.

New Sunday dresses -- the one thing I didn't have for Valencia was a dress for church and being an inexperienced adoptive mom (or just a mom with 4 and 5 year old girls) I thought she could just borrow one of Tallie's for the first Sunday, but I quickly learned that the girls need to have their OWN things, so after putting the girls to bed Saturday night I went out frantically shopping for a Sunday dress.

Tuesday -- we took the kids swimming. She had a great time and was very brave in the water and even tried swimming by herself with floaties. Her teeth were chattering the whole time - poor thing, but when I'd ask her if she was cold she said no and when it was time to leave she didn't want to. She's been asking to go swimming since then.

Tuesday night -- Here's a first for mom -- doing Valencia's hair. She came home with corn rows but one of them started falling out so I decided to take them out and attempt to do her hair (!!). It took me 2 hours just to take out the braids. By then it was WAY past bedtime so the next day I washed her hair and tried braiding it. I spent almost 2 hours and did less than half of her head and we were both ready to be done, so since Wednesday she's had a head of half braided hair -- I think I need to find a good salon to take her to!

Wednesday was sunny and warm so I took the kids (by myself!) to see some horses. That ended up not being a good idea. Valencia was TERRIFIED of the horses so we quickly left and went to the beach instead. That was a hit -- she loved running along the waves.

Thursday the girls went to a cooking class. A teacher reads them a story and then they cook a food from the story. I was a little nervous to go by myself with the kids because we're still working through behavior and tantrums, but it was great and everyone had a fun time. She really enjoys getting out of the house and doing things. And it seems to wear her out by the end of the day -- we've been putting the girls to bed at 7pm and she goes right to sleep - I don't think she even moves until morning.

Friday - My two ballerinas. Dance class was a hit. They do ballet and tap -- Valencia was so excited about it and wore her tap shoes all day, and of course Tallie had to as well. A little noisy around the house but we're getting used to it.

Today was Beckett's first birthday, and with everything going on I almost forgot. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, but luckily I bought his presents a few weeks ago so all I had to do was wrap presents and bake a cake.

We're Home

2010-01-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

It was a VERY LONG day for all the kids -- we didn't get to bed until around 11pm last night and were up by 7am to catch our plane home. The first plane ride was exciting and the girls played, colored, giggled, and pretended to throw up in the barf bags (not sure the people around us liked that!). The second plane wasn't as fun -- by then EVERYONE was ready to be home and there were a few tears, but all the kids ended up falling asleep which helped.

Once we made it home we had a great night. Valencia found everything so exciting in the house and Tallie had a great time showing Valencia everything. They played, then we had dinner thanks to one of our friends, the kids all took a bath which Valencia LOVED. She's never been in a bath tub before -- and especially with warm water. Valencia's not so sure about our little dog - she freaks out every time Nala walks by and stomps her feet and yells at her (I'd love to know what she's saying). We got pjs on, read a book and put the girls to bed. Valencia thought it was so funny when we gave her a kiss goodnight. They giggled for awhile but it's quiet now so I think they're all asleep.

Ok, here are the pictures you're waiting for.
Family of four -- waiting to be a family of five

We were in a private area of the airport waiting for the plane with our kids.

Family of five!

Home on Friday

2010-01-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

We take off in the morning for Florida. The children from the orphanage are supposed to arrive in Florida sometime on Thursday. Things are a bit crazy right now and flights from Haiti cannot be confirmed, but the plan is to return home with Valencia this Friday in Boston at 3:22pm on USAirways. We would love to have a welcome home airport scene for Valencia with signs and balloons. We're inviting any of you who are in the area and able to come to the airport this Friday. I will let you know if the day or time changes.

Teresa

Thursday??

2010-01-19T04:35:00.001-08:00

I woke up to an email this morning saying we should be in Ft. Lauderdale, FL this Thursday morning (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) They have secured 3 planes to get the children out. They'll update us when they know more.

Humanitarian Parole announced

2010-01-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Secretary Napolitano Announces Humanitarian Parole Policy for Certain Haitian Orphans

house is clean, laundry is done, bags are packed, now we're just waiting for the phone call. I hope it comes soon!!

Update from Chances for Children

2010-01-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

Earthquake Relief Efforts - UPDATE

In a week filled with devastation, despair, sadness and frustration there were a few hours of hope! Hope – when so many in our community donated so much, hope when friends worked tirelessly on our behalf to help locate air cargo space and RELIEF when today a plane was not only confirmed but donated. Chances for Children is forever grateful to Ray Croghan, a C4C Board Member, who made it all come together with his time and monetary donation. In addition, we are grateful to Robert Sarver, who directed the The Phoenix Suns Charities to make a large donation allowing us to helicopter our supplies directly to Lamerdelle. And finally a HUGE thank you to all of you – if you are receiving this email, you helped to achieve our goal of delivering over 5,000 pounds of supplies to our team in Haiti. We have received so much and we are so grateful.

Here is an update on our Relief Efforts

Early this week a supply of food, water purification tablets and formula will arrive in Haiti to provide enough food and clean drinking water for the next few weeks.

The U.S. Embassy has also distributed water and milk to the village of Lamerdelle.

The week of January 25^th Chances for Children will fly 5,000 pounds of supplies destined for Haiti. This food, water, formula, medicine and supplies will last for at least 4 months. Our next step after this will to begin collecting in-kind donations and prepare a container to ship to Haiti once the ports are open.

Finally, as it relates to adoptions in process, there is also some potential good news on the horizon. JCICS is working with the U.S. government to encourage our government to expedite the processing of all adoptions in process. Craig will be flying to Washington DC this week to meet with congress people and to bring this situation to the media’s attention. Let’s all work together to encourage our congress people to focus their efforts on making this happen.

And finally, the grim reality in Haiti - supplies are finally coming into the country, but it’s still a long ways from providing the water, food and medicine that is needed. Our team in Haiti reports that approximately 3 million Haitians have been affected by this tragedy. The situation at the airport is deteriorating and reports state that unloading supplies can be dangerous. Many roads are impassable, there is still no water, power or phone service – although some satellite phones are working. The country is low on fuel and propane so generators that produce power may also stop functioning. At the orphanage in Lamerdelle we have lost generator capacity. Our water source has been contaminated and the only method of cooking for us is now over open flame. And this is just our story – multiply this by 3 million. Buildings are in ruins, debris and bodies still line the streets and there are thousands of people without food, water, shelter or medical treatment. The road to a stable environment is still very steep and littered with obstacles.

We ask that you continue to support our neighbors in Haiti and keep them in your thoughts and prayers. If you know someone who hasn’t yet donated to assist in the relief efforts, encourage them to do so either through our efforts or by donating to one of the other charities providing assistance within the country. As a reminder here is a link to our earthquake relief campaign and our website.

http://chances4childrendonations.blogspot.com/

http://www.chances4children.org

Thank you for all you have done to help the children in Haiti.

Kathi and Craig Juntunen

more updates

2010-01-18T08:04:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone -- I just received this email:

We have reason to believe that all children whose adoptions were in process prior to Tuesday will be able to come to the United States as soon as the logistics of the travel can be figured out. In order to receive the appropriate visas we need the following documents sent ELECTRONICALLY to me as soon as possible...

it continues on with what I need to send. Wow. I'm going to start packing bags just in case.

Supplies to head to our orphanage

2010-01-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest:

Chances for Children Has the plane!! Actually, we now have 2 large cargo planes reserved- Haiti here we come with 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of supplies. Thank you to everyone who helped find air cargo space - especially the heros- Rob P, Micky B and Ray C!!!

Updates

2010-01-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy weekend online. We have received numerous emails about getting Valencia home. She is fortunately at the end of the process and is just awaiting a US Visa. Organizations involved in adoption contacted the secretary of state, asking to allow children in orphanages a visa to enter the United States. The state department has created a website for all of us adopting from Haiti to register with them -- essentially entering in our information, who we're adopting and how to contact the orphanage. They say that once communication lines are back up and running they can start this process. And last night the Haitian Ambassador to the US said that Haiti has released these children to leave -- it is just a matter of the receiving country to allow them to enter.

It is very encouraging news and we are preparing (and hoping) for a phone call that Valencia is on her way to the states. We have seen this happen with a few other children today and yesterday from other orphanages on the news. If this does happen we have no idea how much notice we'll get but I don't think it will be much. I will try to get a post on the blog, but I'm making no promises :)

Earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

As many of you have seen there has been a horrible earthquake in Haiti. We've been checking our adoption forum all evening for word on our orphanage. The U.S. side was finally able to get a hold of the orphanage and everyone is ok. Thankfully the orphanage is self-sufficient. They stockpile food and supplies and water. That will help them with the oncoming days of limited to no travel in Haiti. We have been worried all evening so this is great news. Here is what they posted:

So sorry not to post her sooner. It has been hard to connect with Gina and Lucien. But we did manage to exchange emails. Everyone at CEJ/FEJ is safe - that is the best news we could have received. However, there is significant damage to the transit house and some damage at the creche. All the children are fine. It will be some time before we have the actual assesment of the building/road/infrastructure damage. We are all so very saddened by this latest and worst disaster. Personally, I just don’t understand why so many horrible things happen in Haiti. It is very distressing. As most of you know who have been to Haiti - there is no way the shantys and shacks you pass could have survived this magnitude of an earthquake. I can’t even begin to imagine how PAP looks and how difficult it will be for rescue teams to get into areas. Please keep all of Haiti in your prayers.

On another note - we believe Valencia now has her passport, which means we are waiting for the visa appointment. The earthquake will definitely slow things down, but I am happy to wait as long as Valencia is safe.

November

2010-01-01T09:03:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from our November -- whew, I'm almost caught up.

Beckett started crawling this month just before Thanksgiving.

We took a trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire and hiked to a waterfall.

This is how Nala spends her day -- all day every day.

These are pictures from our Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania. It was FREEZING but the kids were able to play out in the leaves one afternoon. They had a great time together.

Halloween & Friday nights

2009-12-18T04:45:00.000-08:00

Isn't he adorable?

I'm a little behind on my posts :) Here's our Halloween. Nala (the dog) wore the turtle costume I made for Tallie when she was 1 month old. We're one of those people now that I used to make fun of -- people that dress their little dog and take it out with them.

Tallie was Princess Bell and Beckett was a doctor.

We have an awesome gym and every Friday night is "family night". We go almost every Friday to eat pizza and play. Here are some clips from the gymnastics room of the kids.

Another Update

2009-12-14T20:32:00.001-08:00

We heard today that Valencia's file is out of MOI and they are now working on getting her passport! All we have left is for her to be approved by US Immigration to receive her passort, and to then get her visa. They may request DNA testing for Valencia and her birth mom which would add a little bit of time, but we're almost there. It could be 3-4 weeks.

Valencia update -- FINALLY

2009-10-28T13:10:00.001-07:00

I'm posting this because I always get asked if we've heard anything about Valencia, and 99% of the time we haven't. I figure this is a good way to let people know. I got the best email today and I can't even describe how excited I am about it:

Teresa,

Finally some good news, Valencia is in MOI!! So it is taking about 4 – 6 weeks in MOI, then passports and then on to USICS for approval, then Visa appointment and travel home!! I think there is finally a bright light at the end of the tunnel!

September Update

2009-10-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Tallie's 4th birthday -- she requested a pink pony cake (I think I've found a hidden talent):

I made Tallie a dress for her birthday -- feeling a bit ambitious I guess but it was a fun project. I was terrified to wash it and for good reason -- it came out with several holes where the stitching pulled through that I had to fix.
Going for a cold morning walk:

Beckett is sooooo cudly - he's so fun to hold.
You know those days when you're in a time crunch and the kids are just not cooperating? I had such a day and I was trying to get dinner ready but Beckett was starving and needed to eat right then, so I decided to try and let Tallie feed him. It ended up being the cutest thing ever so I had to take a break from fixing dinner and film them:

Summer Update - August

2009-10-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

In August we took a family trip to Lake George, NY. We had planned to do a week of camping on the lake and just have a nice relaxing vacation with our kids. Check out this video - this is when we pulled up to our camping site:

We ended up with one good day, so we visited Ft William Henry (from Last of the Mohicans) and did some bike riding.

August has great weather so we spent a lot of time playing in the yard - both kids loved the kiddie pool:

Beckett's first time sitting in a shopping cart -- I thought this was soooo cute to have both my kids side by side and I just happened to have the camera so I took a picture.

We also went to see horses one day at a stable near a friend of ours. Tallie LOVED seeing the horses and feeding them. I loved it too!
Beckett playing with his big sister -- I can't believe how big he's getting:
Tallie loves her puppy:

Summer Update - July

2009-10-18T18:16:00.001-07:00

Here is an update of our summer. My parents visited us over the 4th of July. During that week the "Tall Ships" came to Boston and we went to see them - you can see one of them in the background:

The following week we headed to Stowe, VT for the Hot Air Balloon Festival and some camping:

The primary had a pioneer activity to celebrate July 24th. I'm always looking for an excuse to sew something so I made this little outfit for Tallie. She's making butter in this picture:
Our cute kids:

Jared's parents came to visit in May and helped us plant some flowers from seed. It was really exciting to see them grow:

Videos

2009-06-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

I've been taking some videos of the kiddos lately - here are a few to enjoy...

Beckett's learning to eat:

Tallie gave Jared a pinata for Father's Day. It was the toughest pinata - it took forever to break it open. Tallie loved hitting it and Beckett loved watching it get hit - I don't think he's ever laughed so hard. We caught a little bit of it on video:

On Saturday we went to a Strawberry Festival and had a great time. They had an area with hay where the kids could search for wooden strawberries. Tallie loved it and wanted to play there the whole time. We also went on a hay ride and sampled a bunch of strawberry foods.

Tallie searching for strawberries:
Jared and Beckett watching Tallie:
Us on the hayride:

funny things

2009-06-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post some funny pictures of my kids.

Beckett loves to feel cuddly. If I want him to go to sleep all I have to do is pop in the binky and put a blanket next to his face.

I took this picture today -- it was the first time Beckett sat in his highchair. Tallie of course wanted to be in the picture too... not sure what she's doing. It looks like Beckett is wondering the same thing.

I had to take this picture so we could remember what our dinner time is like. Tallie turned her end piece of bread into a "tent" and poked holes into it and then started dropping her peas (that she was supposed to be eating) into the holes. Jared and I finish eating usually around 40 min before Tallie finishes.

I walked past Tallie's room the other day and this is what I saw... she's really into the princess thing.

I just learned that the older kids at the orphanage have been going to the village school for preschool now. They have a preschool room right in the orphanage for the kids, but I guess once they reach a certain age they've moved up and now get to go to the village school. Every child wears this uniform which includes the bag over her shoulder. I think it's adorable and I bet she loves being able to leave the orphanage compound for a few hours.

out of IBESR!!

2009-05-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone - most of you don't know what "IBESR" is, but it's the bottomless pit we've been stuck in for over 1 1/2 years with our adoption, and last night we got word that yesterday we were FINALLY signed out!!

I get lots of questions about the adoption process and why it takes so long. Here's a summary - we're through #9.

1 We receive your homestudy 1-8 weeks
and you are proposed a child

2 Family sends a notarized, translated, authenticated and 2 weeks
Haitian consulate stamped POA - to begin children dossier

3 Dossier arrives in Haiti at the orphanage Haiti Process starts

4 We prepare it for legalization at the Minister of 2 weeks
Foreign Affairs office. They legalize the signature
of the Haitian Consular Officer that legalized the
dossier at the Haitian Embassy in US or Canada

5 Once dossier is returned it is prepared for the Nat. 2-3 weeks
Office of Social Welfare (IBESR) & sent to our lawyer

6 The social history of child is prepared (dossier). If family 4-8 weeks
has sent POA then there will not be any additional time

7 Dossier is deposited in IBESR. 8-24 weeks
*Note: 500-1000 dossiers from various countries
are in the queue at this office at any given time.
Each dossier is a file of about 200 pages, which has to be
carefully read and approved.

8 Dossier is approved by IBESR

9 Family encouraged to travel to Haiti to complete their
I600 paperwork in person - saves time at pickup.

10 Paperwork sent to Agency from Creche:
Child Birth Certif, Relinquishment Paper, Adopt Decree

11 Dossier is sent to Parquet - courts 4-8 weeks
Birth parents must appear at court

12 Dossier is approved by Parquet

13 Courts - Second Legalization 2 - 4 weeks
a. Once the dossier is released from the Parquet, the dossier comes back to us. The court papers are typed and turned in to court for the finalization of the adoption process.
b. Attestation of the signature on the act of adoption. This is when Archives in Haiti says that the signature on the adoption decree matches the judge who signed it. Just legalizing the signature.
c. Legalization at the Minister of justice department. Papers must be legalized here for all countries, saying that the signature is the legal signature of the Judges involved on ALL papers.
d. Legalization at the Minister of Foreign affairs.

14 Dossier enters Minister of Interior 4- 8 weeks
There are 3 departments which the dossier must pass
through

15 Dossier is signed out of MOI

16 Files sent to Passport office for printing of the 1-2 weeks
children’s passport

17 Passports issued - reviewed for accuracy sent to USCIS 1-3 weeks

18 “At the same time that the passport application is in the
works, the U.S. Immigration process must be complete:”
a. an INS appointmnet is made
b. birthparents must be present for USCIS interview 2 weeks

19 Visa application is filed, and appointment in Haiti
to receive the visa is scheduled. 1-2 weeks

20 You are ready to come to Haiti to bring your child home

Dance Recital & Beckett's Blessing

2009-05-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend with Tallie's first dance recital (dress rehearsal on Friday and recital on Saturday) and Beckett's blessing on Sunday. We also had Jared's parents visiting us, which meant we worked on house projects. Jared and his dad worked on the kitchen trimming in the windows, adding baseboard, and putting molding around the top of the cabinets, and Connie and I planted flowers in the garden.

Beckett's white suit was the cutest thing ever. I think he might just have to wear it every Sunday, even if it is a little weird - it's just too cute to wear once.

On an earlier post I had said that I thought my kid would be the one to cry on stage during her performance - well, I know my kid pretty well :) On Friday for the dress rehearsal Tallie was very nervous and ran off stage crying about 2 seconds after going on stage. But after her class we stayed and watched all the other groups do their dances and she thought that was a lot of fun to watch - which made her more interested in doing it herself. Friday night before bed she told me she wasn't going to cry on Saturday and she was going to do her dance. All day Saturday she was excited to dance, but as the girls lined up behind stage, she became nervous and grabbed onto my leg and didn't want to go out. Right then it was time for her group to go out, so I pushed her back in line and the sent the girls out and she stayed and danced!! I was so excited that she did it, and she did a great job. I'll have to post a clip later.

I had to include this picture of Tallie. She's REALLY been into her stuffed animals lately and they ALL have to sleep on her bed with her. I went into check on her one night and this is what I found - she barely had room for herself.

Valencia update

2009-04-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

I just received an email that Valencia's file was signed! We needed the signature of the President of Haiti because they were no longer accepting families with biological kids, so to be accepted we needed special approval. Our agency met with President Preval last week and requested his special attention to our file and he actually signed it. HURRAY!!!!

I don't know what the average time frame is now - my guess is 8 months, but at least we're making some progress.

Jared wasn't home to tell the good news to so I told the only other person around, Tallie. She got an excited look on her face and said, "Can I have a cupcake?" I guess she doesn't really get what's going on.

Layton update

2009-04-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm not much of a blogger (yet), because a lot of time has gone by and this is only my second post. But honestly, with 2 kids I rarely have any time to myself - this post has already taken an hour because I keep getting interrupted :)

Our little guy has already changed so much. He's a great baby and we're enjoying him. We're still getting up 1-2 times per night but other than that we can't complain.

We have a mini Valencia update. Supposedly today our agency is meeting with IBESR to discuss the files that have been stuck in their system for a long time. We're hopeful that all will go well and we will hear some news soon. This is our latest picture of Valencia - I can't believe how old she is getting. Very cute!

Tallie has been doing dance all year and has an upcoming dance performance - the Wizard of Oz. I can't wait to see if she'll actually do anything at the recital. From the other moms I hear that with this age group some refuse to go on stage, some go but cry the whole time, some just stand there without dancing, and a few actually dance. I'm going to bet mine is one that cries.

I caught a picture of Beckett smiling. He's actually quite a smiley guy. Can you believe how big he is? This is at 2 months - the pictures above with Tallie are at 1 month.

Baby Layton has arrived!

2009-02-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

Beckett Graham Layton
born Friday, January 30th
8lb 3oz
19 inches long

I decided it was time to start a blog. We're all enjoying this new addition to our family - so far he's a great baby as long as his tummy is full and he is snuggly warm.

How did he fit in there?

proud big sister - Tallie is almost 3 1/2 and is enjoying being a big sister. Most of the time she just does her own thing, but she occasionally takes notice of Beckett and gives him a kiss or asks to hold him.

home from the hospital

Okay, we're trying to decide how much he looks like Tallie - the following pictures are of Tallie when she was born. What do you think??