Coming To A Screeching Halt

Chocolate - We Miss You! 2000-2010

Well, I've got a lot say. And a limited amount of time to get it down (the school bus should be here soon). First off, I want to address the above, our cat Chocolate. I originally planned and arranged this beautiful slideshow, but when I pressed play - I cried like a baby... so it will have to wait. In the meantime, we are sad to say that our oldest cat has passed away. It started when one night she woke up on the bed with us and seemed disoriented, kinda hobbled to her feet and circled around before hopping off. This condition gradually got worse, and then one day Chocolate’s circling didn't stop. We took her to an animal hospital and the Docs diagnosed her with a vestibular disease, one that was most likely neurological (or in the brain). After a week of medicine, we knew our playful, leaping Chocolate wasn't going to be the same... and we let her go. She will be forever missed!

Little bit of bad news, little bit of good.
At the beginning of the month, we headed over to Coco Key to go swimming to celebrate the end of summer and the end of Hayden's play. We invited some friends along, stayed a few days, and enjoyed lying back with no worries. Plus, the Lazy River was free water therapy.  ;)
Also, Hayden graduated from Bike Camp! The last session was commenced by Hayden and another boy riding their bikes through downtown Grayslake to get to “Tastee Freeze” for ice cream. Though it was a hot day, not much ice cream was lost (he saved some on his chin for later); no knees were skinned during the journey. We are sooo proud of him.
Next, I have started real aquatic therapy. It's great not having horrible sore muscles. This will teach me, or my body to finally use the correct muscles to keep my body up and moving. When that starts to kick in, I'll let you know.
Also, school has started! Hayden has been waiting for this since June (and mom too!). He has officially become a tween - he's worrying about messing up his hair! He started out by styling it with mousse, but went the extra mile to get it cut the correct way, and then used gel. He now asks me in the morning to help make his hair spiky. He's growing up before our eyes. Here's a sneak peak of his first day as a 2nd grader, and his new do!

And lastly, in adoption news: Imagine a child was given a yo-yo, but didn't know how to use it. He would throw it in the air (and you would get really excited!) or start the roll/drop and it would slightly spring back up (a hint of good news), but the yo-yo never completely winds back up or comes back to the top. This is how our journey has been - a yo-yo of unexpected expectations and surprises and disappointments.
This afternoon we learned that even after signing a petition to keep our dossier in Kazahkstan, it was unfortunately returned to the States. We are now left with yet another fork in the road, or a decision to make. Either we stay with Kazakhstan and wait until it reopens, then most likely redo our paperwork and resubmit our information as a new case and start the wait over again... Or we jump ship, to say Russia or Ukraine. We haven't made any decisions yet, as we haven't quite processed the news, but can't believe this is happening again - to us... to make a choice. "Should we stay or should we go?"

It's been a long, hard and trying month. Or even year. We hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel somewhere - soon. Cuz I need a break.

Posted by Mel at 7:21 PM