In the Groove...

We are finally starting to get into the groove here in the Arctic.  Ok, maybe it isn't really the Arctic, but it sure feels like it!  For three weeks in a row, as soon as we were celebrating the weekend's coming, it was time for another storm. Ugh.  But 30+ inches of snow later, it is now March and we are aching for green grass and sunny skies.

Last Tuesday morning, we woke up and hustled to get Noah to school, only to find out that they were on break. " What break is in February?" you might ask.  Apparently all the schools around here have Mid-Winter Break.  Winter Break is the week between Christmas and New Years, and then Mid-Winter Break is in February, shortly followed by Spring Break in April. Apparently winter around here is so bad that they need two breaks to get through it!   Being from an area of the country where we are lucky to get off a day or two around Easter and call it "Spring Break", this was absolutely foreign to us.  Unfortunately, this also means that the school year does not conclude until the end of June.  On a brighter note, it means we have no excuse not to head out to Western PA in April.

Audrey and I attended our first MOPS meeting in Quincy this past week and wow, have I missed MOPS!  It is never easy to get comfortable in a new group, especially when it seems so different from my last MOPS group, but I am determined to keep an open mind and make friends with these moms, even if they really don't want to be friends with me!

Dave and I have also gotten a chance to get out sans kids several times in the past few weeks.  We have had 2 awesome date nights in MA so far.  The first we dined at Wahlburgers, complete with a video played on repeat of Donnie and Mark Wahlburg in their greatest action scenes. The burgers were great, even if the viewing material wasn't exactly my style.  On our second date night, we checked out a wonderfully hip and awfully crowded restaurant called Fat Cat.  They had wonderful comfort food with artisan ingredients and a few gourmet touches. This will definitely be a place to bring visitors to in the future.

As wonderful as all of this sounds, it is not without a deluge of guilt and sadness. After 2 months of sheer torture as we wait to find out the future of our dear boy a half a world away, we know we need to continue living life and are forcing ourselves to function somewhat normally.  We continue to scour no less than 10 news sites each day from his country and we desperately latch onto any piece of news. We are still hopeful and will continue to fight as long as it takes.  We have now hunkered down in preparation for a war, as this will not be a quick battle as we had originally hoped. This little guy is worth this extreme test of patience.

About 1 month ago, we noticed that our sweet Edena was still listed on the database for orphans and her picture was even updated.  She was still doe-eyed and gorgeous.  We knew she would be getting a family and we just relished this last picture of this girl who will always be in our hearts.  Last week, her picture was removed from the database and we are assured she is now in the loving arms of a mama.  Though it still pains us that we cannot be those parents, she is an orphan no more, and we rejoice for her!  She is loved.

As spring is coming ever nearer (at least we hope!), we pray that the warmth in the air will be felt in our hearts and the brightness of the sun's rays may brighten our spirits as well.