Fun in the Sun

Imagine our surprise when we learned that despite living in a country that enjoys both Atlantic and Pacific coastlines,

Jean has never seen the ocean, never played on a beach!

Well, that was easy to rectify. Living in Maryland, we are just a couple of hours from many great ocean beaches.

We arrived at Cape Henelopen, Delaware at sunset.

Jean REALLY enjoyed the beach! The boys were on the beach for seven hours straight and would have stayed longer if we'd let them.

DC Reflecting Pool

Foxhill Park

A local favorite neighborhood park - spinny things and looking at turtles in the pond.

Water Balloons!

Bombas de agua, as Jean calls them, are very popular around here, as evidenced buy the many pieces of brightly-colored rubber scattered around our yard!

Feliz Cumpleaños - to Jean Carlos and to the United States!

The last couple of days have been pretty jam-packed! July Fourth was Jean's 12th birthday - and he had a great time making his birthday cake with Grandma. We went to a cookout at a neighbor's house for lunch, where Jean enjoyed not only his beloved hot dogs and hamburgers, but tried a few new things as well, including tortilla chips and salsa made from TOMATOES - to which he said "¡Me gusta! And yet he still insists that he doesn't like tomatoes :-) So funny.

He LOVED blowing out his candles and getting gifts - a Simon game and another game from Uncle Chris, a Star Wars puzzle, shirt, and Lego kit from Grandma and Grandpa, and a Colombian soccer jersey, coloring book and gel pens from us. Plus later in the evening when we saw Cami, a sweet girl being hosted by our new friends the Rogers, she gave him a basketball shirt, and an Adidas ball cap. She knows how much he likes sports from their time together at the preparatory camp in Colombia.

In the evening we attended a Kidsave Fireworks party in the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. It was perfectly situated to see the fireworks on the National Mall. The low-hanging clouds obscured the view somewhat, but it was still spectacular. The kids had a great time, enjoying the gourmet hot dog and hamburger stations, cupcakes, cotton candy, caramel corn and s'mores.

One of the great things about these events is getting to see the past participants of Kidsave's Summer Miracles program. It's plain to see that these are great kids who are thriving and blossoming and happy now that they are in families. In just two or three years they've learned to speak almost pefect English - it's amazing.

While the kids watched the movie Up in the theater, the adults enjoyed getting to hear the stories of a past Kidsave adoptive mom who adopted three kids from Kazakhstan around ten years ago. Two of her now-grown and very successful kids were there. It was very moving to hear their stories of what things had been like in the orphanage before their adoptions and how much better their lives are, and how much love and appreciation they have for their mom - they had tears in their eyes as they described how she had truly saved them from a horrible future after growing up with no family and no potential for an education or a means to support themselves as adults. One of the kids is now a highly decorated military sergeant - so inspiring to hear her love for our country and desire to give back in gratitude for all she has received here in the U.S. It was also truly amazing to see the outpouring of support for Kidsave during the live and silent auctions - so many generous people stepping up to give these great kids the families they deserve.

Speaking of which, if you've been thinking about giving, now is a good time because a very generous donor is matching every donation that Kidsave gets up to $75,000! Not only can you feel great about helping to support Kidsave's life-saving work, but you can feel doubly good as your gift is doubled!

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation with a 100% match, click here.

Yesterday was a little more laid back, but did include a pro-bono eye checkup from Lenscrafters courtesy of their Gift of Sight program. The doctor determined that Jean could use a mild prescription, but recommended not bothering with glass right now, not just because he can manage just fine without them, but because it's entirely possible that as he continues to grow, things will improve. The doctor did diagnose a pretty severe eye allergy though, and prescribed some prescription drops to give Jean some relief. He said it wasn't visible to the naked eye, and that it could only be seen with his digital eye microscope, so I'm really grateful again to Lenscrafters for this great program.

Kudos also to Michelle Wissman who generously and gladly came to the appointment to translate. She is a sweetheart and Jean is always excited to see her. We finished up the day with Grandma and Grandpa treating us to dinner at Outback (where he discovered that he actually does like ketchup - again, made from TOMATOES), and a visit to the pool.

Los Abuelitos Arrive!

Grandma and Grandpa have arrived! During our Skype call two nights before he arrived, Jean asked what all we'd be doing during his visit. The mention of my parents coming to visit made him very happy. On Thursday, before we even left the airport, he asked when los abuelitos would arrive. You should have seen his face when he heard it would be on Sunday!

Mass in English was nice. He was a little concerned on the way about not being able to understand it, but I let him read along with the readings in Spanish on iBreviary on my iPhone, and he followed along with the rest of the rite in English with the missalette. He was excited about getting to receive Holy Communion.

After communion he asked if we could go the pool after lunch. This is probably his most frequent question - it gets asked multiple times a day every day! The day before our friend Michelle Wissman (who is fluent in Spanish) had offered to teach him to swim, and he was excited to begin. Plus we had told him the pool would be giving out free hot dogs and hamburgers today which was also a cause of great excitement.

He was a very eager student! It will take him a while to learn to coordinate the arms, legs, and breathing, but he wanted to learn freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke all in one day!

He also learned to play Marco Polo today. He liked being tagged so he could be "it" - it was funny to watch him purposely put himself in arms reach. It took him a little while to understand that he had to keep his eyes closed when it was his turn though!

It's amazing how easily he plays with the other children even with the language barrier. They just seem to figure things out. The English-speaking kids seem to think he's interesting because he doesn't speak much English!

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomate

 Our first evening home, I discovered that Jean (pronounced "Gian") doesn't like tomatoes. I asked him to take a taste of the raw sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper and he obligingly did, but politely informed me "No me gusta". The next day I served homemade cream of tomato soup with bean and cheese quesadillas for lunch, and again, he willingly tasted a spoonful, but again, "No me gusta".

Later I was unpacking groceries which included multiple cans of tomatoes. And that is when Jean's sense of humor manifested. "Basta tomates, basta tomates, basta tomates!!" (Enough tomatoes, enough tomatoes, enough tomatoes!!) So Tom immediately started saying in his best Spanish "Tomorrow, tomatoes for breakfast! Tomatoes for lunch! Tomatoes for dinner! Tomato water, tomato milk, tomato showers and tomato swimming pool!" To which Jean replied each time with a huge smile "No, no tomates!" And it has become the running gag all of yesterday and today. If he says "Tengo hambre" (I'm hungry - which he says a LOT), we say "Quieres tomates? (Do you want tomatoes?", which results in a huge grin and a resounding "No, no tomates!" Such fun!

At one point I reminded him, since he'd said he likes pizza, that pizza has tomato sauce on it. I informed him that we were having pizza for dinner at the pool and he wasn't thrilled about that. I don't know if the pizza he had in Colombia didn't have tomato sauce, or more likely - he just didn't realize that it was tomato sauce. When the pizza came, there were even tomatoes pictured on the box! More distress! But when he tried it, mmmmm ....

Funnier yet, later in the evening he was thirsty and asked me what there was to drink. I opened the fridge and said there was water or milk. He spied some small cans of V-8 in the door that I had forgotten were there and asked if he could have one. I said sure, grinning. He opened it up and chugged it. I asked if he liked it (Te gusta?), he said that he did, and when I informed him that it was tomato juice you should have seen his face!

In other news, Zachary returned from Webelos camp today, tired, happy and hoarse from all the yelling they did. He and Jean immediately hit it off. I think Nathan will be happy to be back in his own room tonight. He had generously offered to take Zachary's bunk for the first couple of nights so that Jean would not have to be alone.

Tomorrow is a day Jean has been excitedly awaiting - getting to meet los abuelitos (aka Grandma and Grandpa) who fly in tomorrow morning.

Hasta mañana!

Swimming and Biking and Minecraft, Oh My!

Another fun-filled day. This boy is active! After breakfasting on egg and cheese arepas,  he wanted to get out on las bicicletas. I wasn't sure if he really knew how to ride, but I needn't have worried. He says he doesn't own a bike, but clearly he has access to one because he knew what he was doing. He and Nathan enjoyed zooming around the neighborhood.

Later in the morning we were invited to swim at the neighbor's house. Which was good because Jean really wanted to swim and did not want to wait until after lunch to go to the neighborhood pool. I was able to ascertain that Jean is quite comfortable in the water, but I couldn't tell if he can really swim any distance.

After lunch he wanted to go to the other pool but I needed to get a few things done so I had him watch a Muzzy video to learn some English. The Spanish subtitles helped him to understand what was happening. At one point some of the characters tell each other that they love one another. Jean turned to me and said, in English, "You love me?". Oh my goodness ... "Yes!" I said. "I love you!" he said. Swoon!

Then off to the big community pool. He wanted to go right over to the diving well. I don't think so! Sure enough, the swim test revealed that he cannot truly swim. And sadly, lessons are completely booked up until July 18th. I need to find a way for him to get lessons right away. He's only here for four weeks!

It's fun for me trying to figure out what he likes to eat and attempting to make things that I know he'll like, and that he is familiar with, but to still expose him to some new things as well. He seems to like to know while eating one meal, what the next will be. Last night when I was making the chicken legs he asked who else was coming to dinner (probably because I made a lot extra). When I said "No one", he asked if we were going to eat more chicken tomorrow. Nathan explained that in our family we don't eat meat on Fridays. I thought it might be hard to explain that to him, but he knew just what we were talking about. I asked what he wanted for dinner tonight - eggs, fish, or beans. He got super excited and said "Pescado, pescado, pescado!" Ok, so this boy really likes fish! So that's what we did - grilled salmon with lemon butter, rice pilaf, and zucchini. Jean ate everything, had an extra helping of fish, then sat back and called himself a little piggy while patting his belly. Adorable.

Now Nathan is showing him how to play Minecraft. Here's hoping Jean is able to sleep a little better tonight - he is excited to meet Zachary tomorrow upon his arrival home from Cub Scout camp!

Jean's First Day in the USA

Yesterday was amazing! Jean (he prounounces it "gee-ahn", kind of like Gianna without the last syllable) is an amazing kid and we are absolutely enchanted.

As soon as he saw us yesterday he came running to us with a big smile and even bigger hugs! I had tears in my eyes. Then he immediately opened up his backpack and started handing us gifts. I did not expect that! Drawings, an illustrated letter, and rosary bracelets for all four of us. Mine has blue beads and Tom and the boys got wooden ones. Then it was time for pictures, a little paperwork, and him saying goodbye to his chaperone and the other Kidsave kids. He wasn't anxious at all, but excited to go to our house!

Zachary missed out on the airport greeting because he is still at Webelos camp. But he made a video to welcome Jean and to tell him he couldn't wait to meet him on Saturday when he gets back from camp.

Jean did great on the car ride home. We were told that a lot of the kids aren't used to riding in the car, and that we should bring supplies in case he got ill, but thankfully he had no trouble at all. It was a LONG commute home from Dulles Airport, over two hours because of rush hour Beltway traffic. But he enjoyed looking at all the gifts we brought him, had a snack, and then we used a whiteboard to play something like Pictionary. We took turns drawing something, then writing the name of the item in Spanish and English. He also took a nap for about an hour and was refreshed when we got home.

It was magical to see him explore the house! It was like watching a little kid on Christmas morning, wide-eyed with wonder at all his presents, except for Jean it was his excitement about all the fun things he found in our house. He flitted from one thing to another with Nathan - piano, Pokemon cards, ping-pong, magic tricks, and catching fireflies. He found the telescope and wanted to look at the stars but it was getting late and we told him perhaps tomorrow.

It is SO nice to have Nathan here to play with him - that allowed me to get dinner on the table. Jean was excited at the menu: pollo asado (grilled chicken drumsticks), rice, beans, plaintains, sliced tomatoes and melon. He had very good table manners and kept saying how delicious everything was and thanking me.

In general he is very polite and well-mannered. It is obvious that his foster parents have taught him well. The first thing he did before entering our house was to wipe his feet on the welcome mat, then he took off his shoes at the door and put them in the basket with the other shoes. When playing with the toys in the basement he puts them away before getting out the next thing. He washed his glass after having some water, which led me to show him the dishwasher to explain to him that he doesn't need to wash his dishes himself.

He had a little difficulty falling asleep. I don't know if it was the fact that he napped in the car, or if all the excitement just made it hard to wind down. Perhaps a little of both. But eventually he fell asleep, looking forward to the next day's planned activities: bike riding and going to the pool!