Krauss Haus: March 25, 2012

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

3-27, OMG!!!!!!!!

We got a call from our adoption agency in Seattle. Myriam asked me "have you read any of the blogs or anything?" My answer, "No. I started following the Rumor Queen last week and decided that checking the internet 10 times a day to see if there had been an update was unhealthy. So, I stopped." (The Rumor Queen is supposed to know anything and everything about the latest rumors of the referrals coming out of China. I hadn't ever been to her site until last week and it was the LONGEST WEEK OF MY LIFE. I'd check and check and check and the little box blared back at me "Matches through August 21, 2006". I was waiting-- it needed to read August 30, 2006. I NEEDED it to read August 30, 2006-- for my SANITY. But, alas, the darn box never changed. I erased the link and decided I'd do it the old-fashioned way-- I'd wait for the phone call.) Yes, that was YESTERDAY. The day after I stopped waiting for the pot to boil, it did. Myriam called with the news that China had updated its website to read that matches had been made through August 31, 2006. "Umm....WHAT DID YOU SAY? You are NOT kidding me, right? Oh My GOSH!!!!" Yes, our number had come up. It's now our turn. I cannot even begin to tell you the emotions running through the Krauss Haus right now (but you know I'll try, don't you?). EXCITEMENT. ASTONISHMENT. IMPATIENCE. HAPPINESS. CRAZINESS. OVERWHELMINGNESS (is that even a word?!). ANTICIPATION.....just to name a few. So now we know that China has matched children with families through August 31, 2006. We know that our LID (log-in-date) was August 30, 2006. We can therefore deduce that our referral is on its way. Somewhere, leaving China, is a DHL package containing a photo, a name, an estimated birthdate, an orphanage location and medical information for our little girl. Somewhere over the Pacific are all of the answers we have been anxiously awaiting. This package will go to our agency in Seattle. The information will be emailed directly to us, but the bulk of it will need to be translated into English first. Any bets that we'll have this information before the weekend? It seems cruel to think that it may not arrive until the beginning of next week. But, if we've waited for 5.5 years, we can wait a few more days. I remember when we began this journey. Nikolas was 4. We decided on the agency we wanted to go through. We took the ferry to Seattle and showed up on their doorstep-- misunderstanding that they were open on Saturdays. They were not. We looked at each other-- more than just a little disappointed that we couldn't start the process right away. Anyway, that's what Sven and I were thinking. Nikolas-- he totally misunderstood the situation. He banged on the door screaming "I want my sister!!!!" (Apparently he was under the impression it was more like a 'sister store'. We had a LOT of explaining to do.....) Yes, that was six years ago. Now, we're all banging on that symbolic door screaming the very same thing. Our time will come, our time will come. And, I think it's coming now.

3-26, Denver Aquarium

Day 2 of our staycation: the Denver Aquarium. What a great aquarium this is. We started off at the aquarium restaurant-- take a look at all of the tanks for our viewing pleasure (there was even a mermaid show!). And, hey, the food was good, too! There's not much to write about when you visit an aquarium- you've seen one fish, you've seen them all, right? BUT, have you ever been to an aquarium that had TIGERS?! Nope, me either. We'll definitely be visiting this place again!

Nikolas was controlling the mini-submarine camera that was in the tank.

Silly Nikolas....does that piranha have your finger?!

Yikes, looks like this guy would have my face if there wasn't glass between us!

This was the craziest thing. On the drive home, the winds were so strong (50-80 mph) that it was literally a 'brown out' (don't know if that's what it's called, but it made sense when Sven said it!). Unfortunately, a wildfire got started up in the mountains right about this time and it's now burning out of control with 3,000+ acres burned and15-20 homes destroyed at last count. The fire news brought back memories of last spring break when we were in Texas visiting mom and dad. I'll never forget receiving the call that our neighborhood had been evacuated because of a wildfire. Talk about a 'sinking feeling' in your gut when you're afraid you're going to lose the home you've only lived in for a month. Maybe all future spring breaks will need to be staycations......seems to be a hectic time for the wildfires.

3-25, Manitou Cliff Dwellings

Spring Break is here! This year we're trying something new: a Staycation. Ha, Ha. I just had to say that since I heard that term a few years back. No exotic vacation for us, nope we're staying right here in Denver to do a little exploring. Our first day trip: Manitou Cliff Dwellings near Colorado Springs. The trip got off to a little glitch-- I THOUGHT we were going to a place I'd been to during Thad's academy years (which was awesome!!) but after talking to mom on the drive to the dwellings I discovered that the place I was picturing in my head was actually in ARIZONA! Bummer! Well, being halfway to where we were going and 10 hours from where I thought we were going..... we stayed our course, afterall it IS a staycation.......

Much to my surprise (for the second time of the day), the Manitou Cliff Dwellings were better than I'd given them credit for. These dwellings were moved from New Mexico to Colorado in the early 1900s. I still can't imagine how they accomplished that task-- what an undertaking! The Anasazi people lived in these dwellings in New Mexico from 1100-1300 A.D. We enjoyed going in and out of the rooms and seeing how these ancient people lived. Nikolas kept repeating "This is SICK!" (apparently that means it's really awesome.....or back when I was his age I guess I would have said it was "RAD". ha ha)