Making new friends & getting involved.

People in Venice, FL are proving to be rather friendly, especially when they learn that we've recently moved here from another state.

On the first day of school for J and C, a mom struck up a conversation with me as I was signing C out for the day. She offered me advice on where to catch a sale for school shirts and we exchanged emails so that she could send me that info.

Amelia promptly emailed me that day, not only about the sale information, but she also mentioned that there was a Literacy event happening over the weekend and she invited us to join her and one other school family to meet there and attend the event together.

Once there, we met up with Amelia and her 2 boys and with Nicole, her husband, and their 4 children. We all jumped right into the activities that were being offered.

The kids in our group gathered round a table together and painted fish prints onto wash clothes and t-shirts. In another area, both J and C had sat quite patiently to have their faces painted (J requested a green saber tooth tiger design and C requested a pink flower design).

There was a treasure hunt, a puppet show, a book swap, and many fun kid games to keep them occupied that day.

There was even a good band playing and a couple of belly dancers performing, which enthralled C.

What I wasn't expecting was swimming. Amelia and Nicole asked if I had brought swim suits for the kids, explaining that the park had a lake that the kids were allowed to swim in. I hadn't realized that, so the kids had no other clothing and no towels.

That didn't stop J and C, of course. Once they saw the other kids getting into the water, J striped down to just his shorts and C just took off all her clothes and hopped in (ah, to be 3 years old with no concept of modesty). They were happy to be in the water, showing off their swim moves to the other kids. It was so hot and sticky out that day, that I'm sure the water felt wonderfully refreshing!

All-in-all, it was a fun day and we appreciated being included by these two school families.

This week, I attended my first parent association meeting and learned about some of the projects the school is trying to raise money for. There's quite an ambitious list and I'm certain I'll be donating some time and talent with other parents to see that these worthy projects come to fruition.

I invited Amelia over for a visit yesterday morning, now that the house is mostly unpacked, and filled her in on the content of the parent association meeting that she was unable to attend. We learned a bit more about each other and our families. Amelia and I get on quite well thus far and I intend to continue to work on building a friendship with her.

This week I also discovered that each classroom has a "room mom" or "room dad" assigned to help out the two teachers in various small ways and to communicate with all the families in that classroom. When I learned that J's classroom had no one assigned yet, I volunteered to be the "room mom". What better way to get to know other parents, right?

Yesterday after school, while we waited for G to return home from work, the kids and I went to the little neighborhood park that's only 2 blocks from our house. It's shady and had enough toys to keep J and C entertained for quite a while.

Here are some pics and videos from that little jaunt.

9-16-10 J & C climbing. Notice that daredevil C is up on top! (click to enlarge photos)

9-16-10 J & C having a bit of a snack in the park.

Amelia has invited us to join her and her family tomorrow morning for the Nokomis Beach Youth Fishing Tournament, where the bait and prizes are supplied for a $1 per child entrance fee.

J is literally begging us to take him fishing, now that he's seen the fishing piers. G and I are really rather clueless when it comes to fishing, but Amelia has assured me that if we show up tomorrow morning with fishing poles, she'll make sure the kids get the hang of things.

Tomorrow evening we'll be joining the drum circle again on Nokomis beach. This time we'll come prepared with glow sticks and drums for the kids.

There certainly are a lot of outdoor activities to choose from here in Florida. Of course, most of them center around the outdoors and water. I like that.

My little fishes!

J and C are becoming quite the little fishes this summer, thanks in large part to the weekly swim lessons from Erin and the availability to swim in our pool every day!

It became quite apparent lately how much they've turned a corner and gotten over their fear of the water and I've really enjoyed seeing this improvement.

Tonight they tried a diving board for the first time, while at Shari and Christian's for dinner (our pool doesn't have a diving board).

C went first. She's my little daredevil and when she saw the "big" kids (Christian's nieces) diving off the board, she wanted to do it too.

J was soon to follow and swam steadily across the length of the pool back to the steps with no assistance and no problems.

C got even more daring when Christian asked if she wanted to go off the diving board with him. They jumped in together and Christian threw C ahead of him. She loved it and kept asking him to do it again and again! After the fourth time, he finally had to tell her enough was enough.

The evening of pool play, dinner, and a couple of rounds of Jenga was a huge success and a much needed brake from my packing efforts!

Thanks for the invite, Shari and Christian!

We have an adoption date!

After anxiously awaiting for this outcome over the past 2 years, 5 months, and 16 days (not that I'm counting or anything), we finally have an adoption finalization date for C!

Although she's been our daughter in our hearts for that long, this sassy, strong-willed, beautiful, beloved little girl will legally become part of our family on August 30th at 1:30 PM!

As most of you know, our attempts to adopt her through the foster care system have proven to be much more of a challenge than we ever imagined. But against all odds, we are so thankful to be basking in the light at the end of the tunnel!

We feared we'd never get there, but the day is almost upon us, in large part due to the amazing support of family and friends. We love you all so dearly!

Later that evening, we'll be celebrating C's special day with a casual BBQ party in the park. We found a splash park that she loves (thanks to Terry and Chole for the reminder of that park) so I've just secured a reservation there.

Specific details will be shared for all who are interested in being a part this joyful day!

Gathering of good friends

Tonight we celebrated the visit of dear friends, Matt & Janice, with more of our local friends. Matt & Janice moved away to The Netherlands about 6 months ago for a new job for Matt and we've missed them. It was lovely to see them tonight and to just be able to hang out!

On the way over to the party, G and I talked about whether or not we should break the news to our friends that we might be moving to FL. We really feel that we should tell them but in the end G wants to wait until he knows for certain that he's taking the Director of Engineer position. He won't know that for certain until he goes out next week for an in-person interview with his potential boss. Besides, it's only right that we share this news with our family first, and then our friends.

G is flying out to Venice, FL next Thursday and will stay through Sunday. If it goes well and he feels confident enough about working for the company, we'll share the news with family and friends shortly after he returns from FL.

Tonight was bittersweet, hanging out with dear friends that we've known for over 10 years, but wondering if we won't have this luxury for much longer. We love these people and the thought of leaving them behind and not seeing them often after we leave fills both G and I with sorrow.

These friends are unique and quite special to us. Sure, we'll remain friends even if we move out of state (thanks to modern technology we'll share pictures on Facebook and blogs, and chat on Skype or iChat), but it won't be the same. We won't be able to call and arrange play dates for the kids and for us adults. We won't be able to go camping with them, or have them over for an informal BBQ/pool party. We won't be able to watch our kids grow up together as we once thought we would.

So many of our dear friends have already left this city to pursue better job opportunities. Those of us remaining have felt the loss and I suspect our friends that have gone are feeling it too.

Sure, we'll possibly be moving on to a new and exciting challenge and living near the ocean will be very nice. But we'll have to leave so many good people and good things behind here and that's not going to be easy. In fact, it will be quite difficult.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that G might be moving out of state in 3 weeks and that the kids and I will join him about 2 months later, depending on how long C's adoption takes to finalize!