teamhuerta

N.A.M pt 3

// November 8th, 2007 // No Comments » // Adoption, Colombia

   Today our friends from Minnesota are going to meet their new 3 children from Colombia.  On tuesday the Dressels flew to Bogota, (just a couple days after a massive hail storm flooded the streets with icy water and caused serious chaos in Bogota, check out the video below, it is in spanish but you see it)

   They should be meeting their kids right now.  I can’t tell you how excited we are for them.  You can read their journey at Dressel Temporary Blog.  Celebrating adoption and seeing others enjoy the glory of adoption is very encouraging to us.  We hope that you will be challenged and encouraged by reading our blog.   Know that even more challenging than the entire adoption process is the entire parenting process.  What have been some of your struggles through your parenting or adoption stories?  Share them with us in the comments.

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N.A.M pt.2

// November 7th, 2007 // No Comments » // Adoption

I know I left you with a long post last time on the topic of National Adoption Month, I apologize.  I am attempting to write a daily post on adoption and permalink to some awesome adoption resources.

I don’t want to sugar coat anything and tell you that it has been all glorious.  We’ve had our moments.  The whole process has made me appreciate what God, as our father, actually does.  Being adopted, spiritually speaking, is now much easier for me to understand. I understand what God does by welcoming us into his family.  Unfortunately, I lack the omniscience that God has, and he does know if I was a colicky baby, and when I said my first words.

I hope this month you can rejoice and know that there is a God who loves you and has adopted you into his family like you have adopted your little one(s) into your family.  Like I said in a previous post, we are heirs to God’s glories and riches just as our children inherit our legacy.

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National Adoption Month

// November 6th, 2007 // No Comments » // Adoption

So, November is National Adoption Month here in the states and it turns out that I might have something to say on the subject.  The biggest challenge to being an adoptive family for us is that there are no “been there done that” people in our physical lives that we have a significantly close relationship to.  But just imagine this, it’s 1980 and you have just adopted a child from, let’s say, China.  Europe is still stressing from being in the middle of a “Cold War,” the Berlin Wall is still up.

Now you get home with your precious one and everyone oohs and awes and you pick up your big “corded” phone and burn up the phone lines explaining to your relatives and anyone you have a phone number in your rolodex for.  You have spent hours hearing from family about how they are so happy for you and how they could have never done “that,” (“that” being adopting, as if implying it is something more difficult to do than child bearing).

You scan the phone books for support groups, talk to local churches, and hope you meet someone else who has done “that” thing, and maybe you could share your stories and your hurts, your struggles and your joys.  But no luck, so you continue feeling somewhat “alone,” “different,” and “unique.”

Now fast forward to 2007… the web exists, and it has evolved to web 2.0.  The blogosphere has changed how we make connections and how we relate.  Although I must admit, having family that love us and our kids is awesome.  We still feel the pain of being pioneers.  Parenting isn’t new to any of our friends or family but parenting a 9 year old with little to no previous history is difficult.  Giving advice is always hard, accepting advice is just as difficult.  How did he deal as a 6 year old, what were his terrible 2′s like?  Was he a colicky baby?  At what age did he say his first word?  All questions, for the majority of people we know, that have a ready answer usually told with a laugh and an “Oh yeah, I remember that time when _____!”

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Different?!?!

// October 28th, 2007 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized

Jesus…Different….

Adoption…Different…

Why?

One of my favorite verses on adoption comes from Romans 8 verses 14-17 which say…

¹⁴For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" ¹⁶The spirit HImself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

   Adoption is different but not for the reasons we commonly associate with it.  Yes, it is different in that we as couple didn’t "create" a tiny person with some of our genetic sequencing. Yes, it is different because we miss out on "X" number of years in our childs life.  But in all honesty, what is it but pride to think we actually "create" anything.  I am reminded of the story of the great inventor who said God was outdated and was no longer relevant and that we had the capability to create a smarter, more advanced "AI" (Artificial Intelligence).  He was upset with how God had messed up in creating us, so he challenged God and bragged that he could create humans better than him, so the conversation goes.

God: Well okay then, lets go.
                        
Inventor: OK
                        
God: Let’s see what you got for me.
                        
(Months pass, God waits)
                        
(Inventor is almost finished)
                        
(They meet to explain what they’ve created)
                        
God: Well, I took some dirt this morning clumped it together in my hand and breathed life into it and Adam was formed.
Inventor: Well, I too took some dirt and began to heat it and melt it down….
                        
God: Wait, wait, wait,
                        Inventor:  What?!?
                        God:  Go get your own dirt!

   We don’t own exclusive rights to anything, we are stewards of what the Lord has given us, the bodies we are blessed with, the children we are blessed with, the wealth we may be blessed with, the creation all around us.   None of it exclusively belongs to us.  We only "create" things with the tools and methods God has given or revealed to us.

   I can’t tell you or explain the looks of awe and wonder that we get when people find out we have adopted 3 children.  It’s kind of like we are from outerspace, to us we feel rather normal.  Normal has been redefined in our lives.  I’m sure after a couple years, when our kids our speaking fluent english, when they behave like angels, and when our kids are 45yrs old we will begin to look normal to other families.

   And that brings me to my first thought.  Adoption is different, I think it is different because of this one verse, verse 17, that people resonate with the most when they look at us in awe and are confused why we would choose to mess up our good lives with having this many kids at once. It is because when you adopt a child, you identify with someone that is not genetically "you" and you give them birthrights, they inherit your name, your money, your family, and likewise, as parents we inherit their hurts, their joys, their pain, their attitudes, their neediness.  Just like God.  Isn’t adoption wonderful. 

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They made it

// October 16th, 2007 // No Comments » // Colombia

Download Fall_07.pdf  They made it.  Our kids made the front cover of our adoption agency magazine.  You can read more about them by clicking on the  download fall_07 PDF at the beginning of the post and reading on to page 9 of the magazine where you will find our article.

This is the picture that Meg took that they used on the cover of the magazine.  So in one shot, I got something I wrote published and Meg had something she photographed published again. 

We love sharing this with you and are excited to have your support. 

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The Mom

// October 12th, 2007 // 2 Comments » // Funny

I know that many of you out there have maybe seen this little video and Meg made me aware of it a few months ago.  I just ran across it again in an email from my mother.  The "Mom tell Overture"  is very funny and true.  I can just hear my wife saying those things and it makes me smile to think that my wife loves our children without strings.  Without mothers to love, care for and rear us as little children; we would be lost souls, floundering young men not sure what a real woman is supposed to look like, or confused little girls not sure how to behave as young women.  Most of us had the love and support of our mothers, they were our greatest cheerleaders, most sacrificial Queens and our steady rocks.  I know Meg is that for our kids, so I thought this little video portrays that very well.

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Instant Parenthood (part 1)

// August 31st, 2007 // 1 Comment » // Colombia

This month we celebrated 6 months
home from
Colombia! Wow-wee, we have had fun bonding, attaching,
and adjusting as a family! I’m pretty sure the adjusting part will certainly be
on-going as the children go through different stagesJ  We did have
a few "ups and downs" through these months, but overall we just
cannot stop being grateful for how blessed we are to have such beautiful and
precious children. Luis, Ana Maria, and Jeison never cease to amaze us. They have been so resilient in the way they
just opened up their hearts after 8, 6, and 4 years of not knowing us or having
us in their lives and completely by faith, decided to love us and let us into
their hearts. This is such an amazing honor!


We definitely have had a
wonderful summer, where they’ve experienced and learned many new things. Their
favorites have indeed been swimming (anywhere anytime), biking, playing at any
park, finding out how much (extended) family they have and getting to meet
them, especially their “Nuevo primos!”, (new cousins), camping, and visiting
their grandparents. They had never owned
bikes and did not know how to ride them, so they have done soooo much riding…
Luis literally burned a hole right through his tire! It’s amazing how quickly they learned though. Ana Maria, not wanting to be
"outdone" by her big brother, worked VERY, VERY hard at it and the
day before her 6^th birthday she said "goodbye" to her
training wheels – Yee-haw! then she just had to learn not to lean too far. Jeison is riding hard to build up his
strength and keep up with the other two, but still taking his good ‘ole
time. He says: why rush? I now have a
"Forever Mami & Papi" and they will help me until I’m ready to
ride on my own!

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Instant Parenthood (part 2)

// August 31st, 2007 // 2 Comments » // Colombia

They have so enjoyed all of
the new toys, games, music, and other gear that many family and friends have
showered them with since the day we learned about them back in November
2006. They absolutely love to play
together, and they do so, very well! They have great joy and pride to help around the house with anything
that we ask them to do, especially if they get to “work together” on the
task! You name it… setting/clearing the
table, dusting, taking out the trash, feeding Gato and Nala, brushing their
teeth, helping bake, cook, or make sandwiches…. We have to ask ourselves often “How long will this last?” We find ourselves saying, “this must be the
only part of the “honeymoon stage” that we haven’t left behind!”

They are very adventurous, with
new activities and trying all kinds of new foods. They eat just about anything… and a whole lot
of it! It seems they know the difference
between foods that are just: "delicious but not nutritious" and the
ones that are "nutritious and delicious!" Candy and junk food doesn’t
seem to be a big deal to them, but when it is offered or sitting in front of
them… boy oh boy do they get excited and quickly ask “May I please have candy/a
cookie?” On some occasions, like after breakfast, it’s a “No, but you can have
some more grapes.” They quickly respond, “Mmmm,” and squeal with excitement! Now vegetables were a rough territory at
first. But with Mami and Papi placing it
on their plates and with persistent coaxing :>) “little trees, little
clouds” (broccoli and cauliflower), and green peppers (I don’t have one for
that yet) are no longer the enemy but actually a great friend to their tummies.
Every type of condiment that could be
put on food seems to be called “salsa”, and they reallllly love salsa! Papi just loves to see them eat a helping of
salad without any dressing, just like him!

Spiritually, Luis, Ana Maria, and
Jeison are growing. They treasure
devotion time, and especially enjoy acting out the Bible stories. They just love to pray, especially before
their meals and before bed. And it’s so
sweet to hear Ana Maria be outside in the middle of the day, for example and
say “Thank You Jesus for the sun, es un dia bonito!” (It’s a pretty day!)  Their
prayers are letters straight from their hearts of complete thanksgiving to God
right now, and it’s precious. They have
amazing memory’s and nobody that is a part of their life is left out! We so appreciate how they always thank God for having food and for
Papi’s “trabajo” (work). 

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Instant Parenthood (part 3)

// August 31st, 2007 // 3 Comments » // Colombia

Physically, they are each thriving.
With as much as they eat, I can’t believe they haven’t gained weight
though. When we met Luis and Jeison, although
always very excited to run around, jump, and play, they would so easily get out
of breath and just simply didn’t have very smooth form, as if physical activity
had not been encouraged much. Jeison
can keep up with the rest of us pretty well on a walk now, that of course is
with him jogging… and he now climbs and runs up the play place at Chick-Fil-A,
no more crawling one leg at a time! Luis
is working on his running form and practicing a lot of soccer and enjoys going
to practice with Coach Papi for the High School boys. Ana Maria, well she never runs out of
energy. Jose describes bedtime with her
like “trying to put a cat to bed!”, kicking and laughing she goes down and is
the first up in the whole house in the morning. It’s like the “on” switch is turned on and she is rearin’ to go!

Academically, they are doing
quite well. They are a bit behind, but we just have to work hard with them, to
build the foundation they lack and help them catch up.  Our #1 goal this year is English
acquisition. Luis and Ana are learning
to read, which is a very big goal as well, when you’re learning to read and the
words are in English… I’ve seen that it’s hard for them to get excited that they
just read a word or a sentence when they
don’t recognize the language. Jeison is
working on his writing, coloring and numbers right now. As a reminder, Jeison still can’t talk, but
he is trying so hard and wants to so badly!

Acquisition of the English
language has finally become more natural to them, they were really struggling
with the language for the first several months that we almost felt as though
they were afraid to start trying, just to be sent back to Colombia.

They
acted as though they didn’t believe this new
family situation was really true and permanent, maybe it was just too good
to be true. Now that they are more comfortable and accepting of their
"Forever Family" it is wonderful and since this summer we have
started to hear them interacting with one another and listen to them use
English amongst themselves. We just laugh and laugh with them, when they use
some of our expressions at the right time. Luis’ favorites: "Oh my
goodness" and “Nala wupper pupper,” Ana Maria’s favorite: "Okie-Dokie,”
and Jeison simply likes to say our names over and over and over and over again…
because that is what he can say!

Whew! This has been one long update of
our first, technically seven months together! God is good! We have such a collection of ‘Stories of God’s
Faithfulness” throughout the adoption process and the past couple of
years. We really do – what a treasure
that will be to look back upon and share with our children how they were loved
and prayed for and supported to bring home by so many.  Thank you!!!

Hope you have a fantastic fall
season! Don’t forget to leave a comment
for the kiddos, they just love it when we read them to them and enjoy knowing others
have been enjoying their journey!

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Nuevo Zapatos…

// June 19th, 2007 // 4 Comments » // Uncategorized

What is better than a new pair of soccer shoes, a "sweet" Napolean Dynamite fathers day card claiming I have great "skills," and a generous monetary gift for Fathers day.  Seeing the faces of my 3 little ones giddy with excitement and overflowing with anxiety at wanting to give me their hand made cards which displayed some of their favorite things to do with papi.   Some of the things included riding their bikes, playing in the pool, or riding in my truck. 

I often stop to wonder if their world is as big as the world I remember from their ages.  When we lived in a little trailer on a little piece of land in the middle of the Texas desert.  We would play outside for hours in the blistering hot sun, somehow the worries of my parents never seemed to phase me, they protected me, kept me safe, and let me worry about just riding my bike, playing in the yard, or helping make dinner.  Now that I am a father, I have a better appreciation for the role of father’s in the lives of their children.  Several times in scripture it refers to God as a heavenly father, even Jesus reference’s God as father.  What a powerful image.

Although I am very stoked about receiving "nuevo zapatos por juegen futbol", as my kids said it, (new shoes for playing soccer), I think the greatest gift a Father can receive is to see their children grow up into responsible, God fearing adults.  We pray for that every day.  I hope you had as great a father’s day as I did.

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