Day Twelve - Emily is NOT in Scotland

Wow, make that two bombs in London yesterday! Now, I saw that the car that rammed into the Glasgow Airport in Scotland may be connected to the two cars found in London yesterday! Just stay away from France you terrorists! I guess, right now, maybe I'm glad the French didn't join us in our war with Iraq. Today Emily is at the famous Musee du Louvre. She should have seen the Mona Lisa. In the heart of Paris she will be seeing the most prestigious monuments of the city, including the Notre-Dame cathedral. Here at home we are getting ready to start some repairs and renovations on our house. The first thing we are going to do is take the wood burning stove out of our playroom. Then, I'm hoping my dad will come visit because I want to knock part of a wall out. :) Emily is excited to meet her new foster sister. Today we discovered that she really likes Cinderella. She found Sariah's wig and Emily's dress and has been dressing up everyday. I can't wait for my camera to come home, and Emily too!

Day Eleven - Emily is NOT in London

It was a bit scary going to bed last night knowing that there was a bomb found in the theater district of London where Emily was last week. Thank goodness she is now in France. Emily walked through artist heaven today. She strolled around the famous artists' quarter of Montmartre. Then she saw an impressive view of Paris from Le Sacre-Coeur. In an art workshop, she created her own masterpiece to bring home. Then she went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Next, was climbing aboard un bateau, a riverboat, for an afternoon cruise along the Seine where she saw more famous sights of Paris. In the evening she took a French lesson. Here at home we are trying to get a diagnosis for our new little girl. I am convinced that she is somewhere on the autism spectrum. I hope Emily's masterpiece is more impressive than Luke's. :)

Day Ten

Today Emily explored the Chateau de Versailles, built during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King. She walked the bejeweled Hall of Mirrors, and surely checked herself out many times. :) She got to see the private chambers of France's flamboyant Sun King and wander the vast formal gardens. From 1682 to 1789, the Chateau was the seat of the royal court. Then in 1789, the French Revolution put an end to the monarchy. Today the palace is often used for international gatherings attended by world leaders. Later, she went to Paris and saw the Arc de Triomphe on the Avenue of Champs-Elysees, the world's first "organized" roundabout and Napoleon's homage to the armies and himself. I've heard that most insurance companies won't even cover you if you drive on the roundabout! Sariah had her first ballet lesson this month. Ballet originated in France.

Day Nine

Bonjour et Bienvenue en France! Emily's exploration of France began today at Le Memorial de Caen Museum. The museum highlights the effects of D-Day, but also examines how to learn from the past to achieve a peaceful future. The Caen Museum describes the journey of Europe's descent into war, Hitler's rise to power, through the dark years of uncertainty, and finally, its emergence with a vision of peace. She took part in D-Day and join the Allied Army as it leads the liberation of France, through a visual presentation of the Allied victory. Later, she took a coach to the coast of Normandy, the actual location of the D-Day landings. Finally, she went to the American Cemetary overlooking Omaha Beach. Here are my giant babies, obviously I couldn't find a picture that had anything at all to do with this post. :) Once again, we have five kids. We have no plans to adopt and our license expires in October. We are just helping a little girl that is very sweet and in a bad situation. She needs to be with her family, so we are helping transition her to go home. :)

Day Eight

Today Emily increased her Harry Potter mania by visiting Oxford. England's oldest university was founded there in 1167. Christ Church College was used in the movie "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." She spent $3.50 somewhere at Stonehenge. She had to wait quite awhile to board the ferry to France this evening, she was dissappointed that there was only one store to shop in with all that down time. :) She said the ferry looked like a mini cruise ship. I'm hoping she slept well to the gentle current of the English Channel. Can you tell that's a Harry Potter poster on Emily's wall? See this isn't an irrelevant picture! CPS called again this morning and asked if we would take a six-year-old girl for a few weeks. Emily says "we should", I say "maybe", Terry says "No way!"

Day Seven

Here is a picture at Sariah's adoption hearing. Today Emily experienced the beautiful city of Bath. Bath is home to Britain's only natural hot spring, with waters flowing at a constant temperature of 115 degrees Fahrenheit. The Celtic King Bladud discovered the Royal Baths in 860 BC. He realized the spring's curative powers by imitating his pigs rolling around in the hot mud! By the 18th century, Bath was the most famous spa town in England. At the Royal Baths, you can still see Roman architecture remaining from the 1st century settlement. Emily says one of the boys in her group dropped his headset for the guided walking tour into a bath. He was able to retrieve it and turned it in soaking wet and no one even batted an eyelash. I guess it must happen all the time. :) She spent the afternoon looking for houses where famous people lived and visiting Mill on the Brue. Here on the home front, CPS has discovered that we don't have any foster kids since we adopted them all, so I keep getting calls to take another kid. I said "No, thank you." twice today.

Day Six

Emily FINALLY called home today! On our answering machine was, "How long does it take for them to hear me?" Then, she said she loved us. She got to explore the castle today. The Royal Weekend exhibit gave her a glimpse of how Victorian High Society spent their leisure time. She went punting along the River Cherwell, and drifted through the Christ Church meadows, where Lewis Carroll wrote Alice Through The Looking Glass.

Day Five

Emily spent the morning at the Natural History Museum, the UK's national museum of nature and a center of scientific excellence in taxonomy and biodiversity. This afternoon she went to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. This evening she slept in a tented medieval village on the grounds of Warwick Castle. It was around 40 degrees at night and the sleeping bags were rather thin, so she froze her little tushie off. :) Here's another great photo, I can't wait until Emily gets back from her trip, so I can actually post relevant photos. :)

Day Four

Emily met a member of Parliament today. She learned about the British Constitution, the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch. She listened to tapes of discussions held in the World War II Cabinet War Rooms. These were Sir Winston Churchill's underground headquarters during the war. The rooms include living quarters and a soundproofed cabinet room, where crucial strategic decisions were made. The briefing on the "Blitz" describes severe bombing raids that devastated much of London. After all that serious business, she took a stroll down Covent Garden, with it's shops and cafes. She spent $13 at a place called "Monsoon" according to her Visa card. :) Residents and street entertainers abound. This day was capped with a ride on the London Eye, the largest Ferris wheel in the world! Terry and the boys went to see the Sidewinders play in Tucson. They are trying to see as many games as they can, since the team is moving to Reno. Sariah and I went grocery shopping and played with our neighbors dogs. :) Here is a lovely picture of my little artist.

Day Three

Emily went to Buckingham Palace today to see the Changing of the Guard. Then she went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels. She spent $30 somewhere in the Tower of London according to her Visa account, so I don't think I'm getting a real tiara. :( Next was a cruise down the River Thames, a gourmet dinner in London, then on to the theater. She still hasn't called us, so I guess she's having a good time. Here on the home front we are still trying to get everyone potty trained.

Day Two

There were technical difficulties in downloading the video of Luke playing in the ball pit. Emily landed in London at 12:30am! They were immediately whisked away to Windsor Castle. She may have shaken the Queen's hand today. I haven't heard from her yet. She also went to Runnymede today. There she saw the JFK memorial, and the spot where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215. I'm falling asleep typing, so I better get to bed. :)

Bon Voyage!

It's so hot, A.J. and Luke are sucking Terry's Camelback dry. Emily left today. We made it to the airport just before 10am, she flew to Chicago at 12:15, then on to London tonight. When her plane lands she will start her first day in Europe. I will try to update everyday if I can. I'll add pictures when she gets back. For now, I'm going to try and figure out this new video loader thing, we'll see if it works. I haven't figured out the video thing yet, but look up! I added a picture! :)

Summertime and The Living is...

Well, it's not easy being the mother of five. I'm forcing all my kids that can write to start keeping journals this summer. I was going to start one, but then I thought I could do better. I could actually keep in touch with my family and friends by starting a blog. I realize that anyone reading this is actually reading my diary, so ignore 90% of what I write please. :) But, feel free to comment. I would love ideas for what I should write about and requests for photos. Emily is counting down the days to her trip. Right now she is practicing living out of her suitcase to see what she is forgetting to pack. We scrubbed the pool and set it up today. It was 93 degrees at 9AM today! Ugh! Here is Luke having a great time in our ball pit: