PAZ SIN FRONTERAS, March 16, 2008

Concert in Cucuta: PAZ SIN FRONTERAS
March 16, 2008

What an exciting day for the people around Cucuta, Colombia! Today was the big day marking the huge concert at the bridge that serves as the border crossing between Colombia and Venezuela just outside of Cucuta, Colombia. Just a few weeks ago there was friction at this exact border, which set the concert project in motion. Juanes, a native Colombian, launched a free concert set to play at the border to bring musicians from all over the latin world together and entitled it appropriately “PAZ SIN FRONTERAS” (“Peace without borders”). Other musicians joining Juanes were Carlos Vives of Colombia, Ricardo Montaner of Venezuela, Juan Fernando Velazco of Ecuador, Juan Luis Guerra of Dominican Republic and Alejandro Sanz of Spain, and Miguel Bose of Spain.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the dried up river bed below the bridge to take in the day’s events. What an event!

Shakira and Ricky Martin were some of the others who were contemplating performances in the event but chose not to. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was planning to attend the concert, but at the urging of Juanes who wanted to keep the concert free from any politics, President Uribe then cancelled his plans to attend.

All I can say is Juanes, you absolutely rock and are truly a native son of Colombia and an ambassador for peace!!! And let it be known, if I ever get an opportunity to meet Juanes, you’re in for a huge hug for a good minute or two, so just be prepared! In the meantime, keep up the good work!

To Juanes and all the others performers, you have my respect, my admiration and are lifted up in my prayers for how inspired you are in your quest to bring peace. May you touch many souls and be richly blessed by your good deeds and services to mankind!

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the dried up river bed below the bridge to take in the day’s events and had a strong gathering from both Colombian and Venezuelan sides.

Our family was able to catch a glimpse of the concert on the Telemundo coverage and my kids thought it was so great to hear the reporter say, “Coming to you live from Cucuta, Colombia”, (in Spanish of course). They let out roars and jumped up and down for a few minutes -- they were so excited. A taste of their homeland, their hometown, just a little speck on the map of a town named Cucuta – I mean how awesome is that???

Signing off with a stream of Youtube’s performance of Juanes’ ever-popular crowd-pleaser, La Camisa Negra

Enjoy and Many Blessings!
Genece

Talk about a bad hair day

Here's some pictures of Luis from last month when I was nursing a few of my young'uns back to good health. These few tend to show off Luis Alejandro's little bubbly side. He's such a good-natured little happy guy even if mom continues to flash those darn photos. He does have no patience or desire for the flash on a camera (just as I did) but luckily it's not as phobic as I was. Of course, notably different since I also grew up in that age even before Magicubes were the big hit, when the going thing was the huge pop and flash of a ginormous flashbulb that left you blinded and seeing red dots for what seemed to be days! I absolutely despised cameras in my earlier years because of it, and being the first child (and the first grandchild) didn't help matters. I'd cringe at hearing of big family get-togethers just because I knew that translated to corny relatives chasing you around with big flashing bulbs in your face!! I'm sure any one of my relatives right now reading this are enjoying a good laugh just remembering how many fits I'd throw just at the mere sight of a camera! I would only consent to outdoor photos being taken because that meant no flashbulbs!!!!

Enjoy a few pictures and pray... pray specifically that I'm not doing harm to my son by too much photo flashing in his early years! I know firsthand how it could turn out for him... yikes!!!

The Unwanted Guest

Where has the time gone since my last post? Actually there's much to report and I hope through a few little posts to catch you up-to-date on our experiences lately. Recently we had an unwanted guest who just hung around our house, gorged himself on goodies day after day, left our dogs in a tizzy, and kept us awake all hours of the night for 3 nights in a row. The kids referred to him as Alexander and here's a picture of him during his first visit.

Only one time before they saw another moose which we were so lucky to see on their first night in Alaska, and only Fabian was awake to see it. The kids thought the moose was cool for the first day and would sit for hours watching out the window as Alexander grazed. Luckily he would venture off into the woods just long enough in the late afternoon for Marissa to go feed Buddy, our Alaska sled dog. I wouldn't let any of the other kids outside for those days for safety precautions. The kids are learning that animals in the wild are dangerous even if they look very mild-mannered. Fabian even remarked on how he wanted to hop on Alexander the moose's back and ride him like a horse. His dreams of being a cowboy are deeply inspired I'm afraid. I don't dare tell him that his crazy dad, Rick, in his renegade days also dreamed of riding on the back of a moose - a feat that he actually accomplished with success during his wild youthhood growing up in a quaint little Alaska town. There's no possible way we would share any of those wild endeavors Rick went through while growing up until the kids are in their adult years. There's just too many crazy tales to be shared! I'm mighty thankful Rick's changed his antics to live by God's ways and doesn't partake in pure craziness anymore. It's just utterly amazing how Rick lived through some of the things he's put himself through, much of which reach far beyond childhood pranks and acts. Heck, these stretch far into his adulthood years, but thankfully through all the nutso stuff, God's taken care of him and taught him a thing or two along the way. Clearly God has big plans for my husband and his testimony is still taking shape!

Alexander the Moose was a name chosen by Fabian, named after the treasured stuffed animals (a moose for each kid) we sent both Fabian and Karen along with other small gifts and our photo books to introduce ourselves as their new family just after we received the referral. Fabian named his stuffed moose Alexander and Karen named her stuffed moose Cookie. Both stuffed animals (Alexander and Cookie) were cuddled at night by their owners, until about the 2nd week in Cucuta when stuffed animal Cookie vanished. Karen was so distraught upon losing Cookie and found a bit of comfort cuddling with Cheetoh (a little cheetah stuffed animal Luis never took to). We figure Cookie got bundled up with the laundry that day and went off to the laundry never to be returned. Obviously Cookie must've wanted to stay in Cucuta. Upon arriving in Alaska, Karen had the chance to get another Cookie stuffed moose but she chose an eskimo-dressed doll instead... that figures. She does love her dolls.

All kids were given the opportunity to pick out a stuffed animal or whatever while there at Wal-mart in the souvenier aisle. Marissa chose an eskimo doll just a little larger in size than Karen's, and Fabian chose a little white cuddly polar bear. The baby even got a colorful little beanie baby of a moose. We had sent one exactly like this one to Luis with his little photo books and small gifts consisting of a baby blanket, a few bibs, a baby rattle, and a cute little onesie, but all items except the baby blanket and the onesie stayed with his foster mother. I even gave back the baby blanket Luis had been using to his foster mother at our "gotcha day". She appeared to be the nostalgic type as I am, and since it held his scent I thought she might find it soothing and a reminder to cling to through the years. She continued to hug me and tell me of how her prayers for the children were answered, and how she had prayed specifically for a good Christian family to raise them. Clearly she sure loved my baby boy and she and I couldn't hold back shedding our tears of joy during our precious few moments of meeting. Those two foster mothers sure worked wonders in the love and care for our children! I am so grateful for the impact they've made upon my children!

Our family coming together was and continues to be a heavenly union filled with pure love! Thank you Jesus for all you do -- mainly how you brought it all together. Lord, you clearly went before us to unite our family. You alone are worthy!

Signing off now because Luis is expected to wake up from a nap anytime now, but I'll pop in another picture of the unwanted guest, Alexander. While in Cucuta we learned they don't really have a spanish word for moose so it was referred to as "la reina".

So glad prayers were answered and the neighboring countries have settled their dispute with Colombia, which was really a touchy situation last week. Cucuta being a border city with Venezuela was very much impacted. When you think about it, while there we only saw 2 gasoline stations within the city of Cucuta of which have very few customers. I mean, why buy the extremely expensive gasoline from a Colombian station when you can get the street vendors selling gas by the roadside locally for a much lowered price (gas being brought across the border from Venezuela sold locally), or why not just drive across the border to Venezuela and fill up yourself for an even cheaper rate? That's what everyone seems to do there and so many of them plate their vehicles in Venezuela but live and work in Cucuta. A win-win situation which could turn ugly with enough tension to close the borders. It's easy to see how easily chaos could break out during mounting friction involving the closing the border of Colombia/Venezuela there. That town of one million people could easily be crippled in just days, especially since the town is nicknamed "the sprawling city" because of its vast area. Those with bicycles and horses might be okay but it would sure put a damper on transportation mighty fast. My prayers are that the people of Cucuta re-examine any vulnerabilities of their past dependencies. Lord I pray for you to raise up the people of Cucuta to be filled with wisdom and insight!

Blessings to you all,

Genece

The green of Colombia I see daily in your eyes...

Luis, my little man, gazing into your eyes of deep green take me back to our wonderful trip to your homeland of Colombia. I'm so lucky I see daily your captivating eyes as they sparkle of green and I can't help but vision the lush green Colombian mountains and hillsides filled with a mistlike haze. What a treasured gem you are! My thanks to God for answering both Rick's and my hearts' desire to bring us another baby. Prayers were certainly answered! Oh, Praise God!

Wow, the time goes by fast~

We've already had the kids over 3 months now. Amazing! And speaking of time, where have the days gone since my last post? Okay the busy life is among us, there's no denying that. I've come to the conclusion that getting 4 children ready and out the door is much harder than I expected. While Rick's been gone my main thing I've tried to accomplish has been rousing all children and readying them for church or gymnastics classes or whatever event we're scheduled to be at. It hasn't come together and we've yet to be on time but only twice for Marissa's testing. I continue to take Rick's kind reminders that it might require a bit more prep time but it seems no matter how early I get up, or how early I get the kids moving, we just haven't yet gotten the routine down. Oh how I long for the day when we are actually early for the church service! That's one thing that I miss when Rick is gone -- more help! In his absence I tend to rely heavily on Marissa's help. She's such a wonderful helper and great big sister! We've also had difficulties because of the close age difference between Fabian and Marissa. They're only one month and 3 days apart with Marissa being the oldest. Fabian (and Karen too) has this desire to be treated equally as his sister which is not entirely fair many times. We still encounter both Karen and Fabian saying, "Hey, he got more than I did!", or "Why can't I do that same thing as Marissa? I'm old enough." We had to explain to Fabian mostly that yes, it was a fact that he was very close in age to Marissa, but we don't set the bar on age alone. Usually these responsibilities are earned over time and it may take some time to prove his worthiness, etc. At time Fabian especially feels duped I'll bet thinking Marissa has an unfair advantage but he's a quick learner and has really been showing me a lot of responsibility lately. We also tell the children there's a tremendous size difference between Marissa and them, and that she's physically much stronger and able to do more strenuous tasks, etc. Most of the issues we've had with both Karen and Fabian are centered around their desire to take care of their little brother, Luis. This wasn't their way of life in Colombia because Luis was with a separate foster mother than the older two were placed with, so we weren't taking something away from them that they once deemed as their way of life in Colombia. There's been instances when I'd leave the room for just one minute to find Karen trying to lift Luis out of his walker. Fabian has been caught picking up Luis when I turn my back also. They're real sneaky about it and will try at every opportunity to mess with their little brother. Luis is pretty good at alerting me of danger when his brother and his sister are messing with him because he screams this screechy little squeal! It's so cute and it's hard to go unnoticed. It's instances such as this that assure me why God selected these children to be ours! He needed an experienced mom to watch over Luis especially. I think back of all the times where I would catch Cody trying to be mean to Marissa because of jealousy issues. (In case you're lost right now, Cody is my almost 16 year old stepson whom we very rarely see but he lives only a mile away with his mother. We pray that Cody will someday make better lifestyle choices and come to know of God's love. We hope for this and just keep praying for both Cody and his mother.)

It's late now and I've got another busy day ahead of me tomorrow. I'll try to be more regular with the posts and with more pictures. I was having trouble figuring out how to charge the batteries on Rick's camera but I've got that handled now. I hope to post some more pictures tomorrow. I know everybody loves to see the pictures! Blessings to you!

Luis, You're Growing Up So Fast

LUIS,

As I sit reminiscing back to when this picture was taken mid-December 2007 during your first non-tantrum-throwing bath experience, it's obvious how much you've grown and changed in just that short timeframe. One thing definitely hasn't changed when it comes to bathtime and we will have to work on making that at least a semi-enjoyable event! It might take time but we'll manage through it.

The sheer determination you so effectively display through the comical but rather serious faces you make at times sure hasn't changed much and now it's often paired with little growling noises often expressed when you dislike something. My little man, you sure have a way about yourself, and I love how you're able to express yourself whether it be good or bad. You are truly your own person and I hope you'll always hold that passionate spirit as you grow and learn to follow the ways of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I can't believe you're already one year old today Luis. Please also forgive me when you're older and realize that I posted your naked bathtime picture all over the web, especially the one depicting such an angry face. Son, so sorry that privacy just didn't work out for you during your early years. Hey, at least you're covered! And just FYI, I'm not paying for any therapy you might think you need from the posting of this picture. Hopefully you'll enjoy a good laugh and realize what a little rascal you were at that age. You make my life so interesting and I'm so proud you are my son!

With all my love,

Mama

The Birthday Boys

Happy Birthday to my two boys who both have birthdays this week! Fabian turned 10 yesterday and Luis Alejandro will celebrate his 1st birthday on Thursday. It's a busy week for us here! Marissa has testing for her school both Tuesday and Wednesday and she's nervous for some reason... probably because she always gets nervous when it comes to testing!

I hope to have some pictures later of our birthday celebrations. This picture is one of my favorites. It was one of the first pictures taken when we landed on U. S. soil during our layover at Atlanta. And by the way, we processed through the Atlanta airport customs/immigration in less than 5 minutes start to finish-- which would have even been sooner (like 3 minutes) but the nice guy working there took one look at poor Marissa who was sick and went to get her a bottle of water to help her through her sick spell. What a thoughtful and considerate man! We were very thankful for his act of kindness. Bless her heart though, she really was so pale and sick feeling when we flew that day, but she made it through -- what a trooper she is -- just as tough as they come!! As we were enduring the long interrogation process from Bogota airport as we were checking out of the airport and getting our passports stamped, I was growing weary that they would not allow us to travel because that was probably when Marissa was at her sickest moment of the day. She couldn't hardly stand up because she was so ill feeling, and she did her best to smile and to answer the questions. It was definitely an interrogation process and rather lengthy! I think they asked each of the kids about 8 different times to reveal their sisters' names, and their brother's names, and point to them, and give their birthdates of their siblings, etc., -- just overdone if you ask me! This lady clearly wasn't in favor of adoption and kept asking why on earth we would want 3 at the same time, and why we would possibly want Colombian children? We were very offended by her rude questions and remarks which she continued to ask over and over as if the answer would change. Just nuts! We just wanted so badly to get home before Christmas so we were extremely tolerant!

I'm so very proud of all of my children! Each brings a special uniqueness of character that enhances our family in such delightful ways! They are little gems and I'm so honored to be their Mama.

Happy Birthday to my little guys!!!! Enjoy your cake, ice cream, the birthday song being sung, and the "muchos regalos" -- MANY PRESENTS (which seems to be the most exciting thing for Fabian and he's not afraid to tell you that's the most important part.) Ahhh, the innocence they possess is just awesome as they venture into new settings! What a whirlwind of a ride we are on! Each day brings forth such wonders -- How glorious indeed! Thank you Lord!!!