Stone Mountain

Our nephew who lives in California was going to be in Atlanta for a week before coming here for a weekend visit. So that the boys could have more boy time, we went early to pick him up and bring him back to Alabama for a few days before his mom and dad and little brother and sister came. We hadn't been to Atlanta, other than airport runs, in over a year so we decided to spend the day.

The day started with all of us (the 6 of us, my sis in law, our nephew Ryan and Jessica and Jacob (younger cousins) eating lunch at Chick Fil A. As if the excitement of having a person her size eating with her wasn't enough, the giant cow made an appearance. She made a bee line for him and hugged him like crazy yelling "Grande Vaca". Quite funny. I pulled her off of him so she could eat lunch and we thought that was the end of it. When we went out to the playground there he came again. This time, after having chocolate milk and a few fries for lunch, Alex was revved up and ready to go. She grabbed his hands to dance, she pulled herself up on him and then grabbed his leg and wouldn't let go. That was all before she discovered his tail. That provided much more entertainment/torture for the Chick-Fil-A worker. He/she was a good sport, but we do wonder what all those around us thought. The only bummer was I didn't have my camera or better yet a video camera. It was hilarious.

From there we went to Stone Mountain. We toured one of the small museums where one side is a scientific description as to how it was formed (up Luke's alley) and a video of the Civil War Battle of Georgia (up Drake's alley). The girls all humored the boys and Becca and I entertained Alex in the foyer during the end of the movie. While I went to the bathroom though, Alex got away from Bec and got behind the counter to torment the park worker with one of her "HOLA"s in his face. I am thinking we should put a warning sign on her.

We did hike up the back side of the mountain (over a mile hike) up to the top. It is so beautiful and the kids did great. Alex even made it most of the way. At the very top, it gets very steep and Layne had to carry her at that point. Once at the top we enjoyed the cool breeze and the view and relished our accomplishment. Of course getting down wasn't nearly as tasking and once we were in the car, we decided we were done for the day.

It was great and we were all ready to get home. Alex started asking for her casa (house) about 4ish and got a little ansy towards the end of the 3 hour drive. All in all she did very well and we figured it was a good precursor to a real overnight road trip at some point.

Oh, the rain!

It has been so nice to have a summer with so much rain. The yard is green, the lake is up. It is so nice compared to those summers with crunchy grass and no lake ramps, because the water is too low. Alex loves the rain as well. One morning we sat on the back deck (under the patio cover) and watched all the lightning and listened to the thunder as a huge morning thunderstorm came in. She liked it and jumped in my lap with every big bang of thunder. She would say "Lowwwd". I tried to teach her thunder,but she stuck with "lowwd. I told her that was Dios (God) and she shouted "Mas, Dios! Mas, Dios!" (More, God! More, God) It was priceless. After He blessed us with another big bang, we shouted, "Bravo, Dios!" It was such a great morning.

Another afternoon as rain moved in, she decided to run out and play with the boys in it...clothes and all. (Don't worry, this was just a shower...no lightning or thunder.) She splashed and liked the feel of the water on her face. Yet another awesome moment for the Trosper family. The boys even paused their water gun fight to lay in the big puddle in our driveway with her.

It is so fun to watch all these occurances in her. I wish I had a special camera to look into her mind, but watching her face will suffice and I think her smiles says a good bit!

Eye Appointment!

Well today we went to an opthamologist in Birmingham who was highly recommended to us for Alexandra. What we found out was good news. She does have a detatched scarred retina in her right eye, but does have peripheral vision in that eye. Her left eye is near sighted, easily treated with glasses. He said there is no reason to see why she will have any trouble seeing to read and later on to drive. Praise God! He did say that the vision loss in her right eye is due to prematurity and is not correctable. We did receive a new prescription for her glasses and plan to go get some stylish ones that will stay on better. While she really doesn't need them now since she isn't reading yet, he did say they would be good for protection for her good eye since she has 'all of her eggs in one basket' concerning her sight.

All in all Alexandra did well during the visit. She was petrified they were going to pinch her (give her a shot) and when she realized there were no needles, she calmed a bit. Also when the doctor spoke spanish to her, you could see her ease up and let him completely check her eyes! What a blessing it all was!

Becca turns 14!

It is hard to believe our oldest turned 14 on July 8th! We celebrated while we were in Birmingham and we will celebrate with her friends once everyone is back in town from camps, etc. She is so mature for her age and shows so much wisdom and discernment. We are so blessed!

Alexandra was pleased to celebrate Bec's birthday with cake and candles. She loves a good celebration.

We did make it through 2 trips to the lab for blood to be drawn. She definitely doesn't enjoy needles and gets quite scared. Even with a handful of tootsie rolls, we screamed through both times. The second time I did take the other kids and let Becca sit next to her while I held her. Even with both of us there, she hollared for her brothers, hoping they would rescue her. I know the lab techs at Maxwell were glad that was over (as were we!)

We were able to get an appointment in Bham for her eyes in a couple of weeks, so it will be very interesting to see what they say!

Our days continue to be fairly slow! We try to get to the pool at our friend's house quite often, or have play time in the water in the yard!

Friday was our first really busy day as we headed to the lab for bloodwork, went to a luncheon for Layne with his work, had a visit from Allison from Lifeline and then went to house church that night. She did amazingly well with everything, but we did see more of her indeiscriminate behavior at the restaraunt for Layne's luncheon. As we were leaving, she got away from us for a moment and walked behind a man as he was bringing his food up to his mouth and she grabbed his arm and shouted "HOLA!". He just looked at us as his wife just laughed out loud. As I looked around I saw many at different tables witnessing this and smiling. I thought about explaining, but thought it best to just to scoop Alex up, say "I'm sorry" and head out.

She did reasonably well at house church as well and our friends were so kind and patient with us as we asked them to help to send her to us when she went to them for attention and affection. She is getting better and better with each day at coming to us for that attention. She couldn't resist running into our friend's arms however as she was worshipping with her hands raised while on the floor with her child. Alex just knew that was our friend looking for a hug. It was so cute! It was wonderful to hear her say 'Halleluia' along with us! It sounds wonderful in any language! It was so great to have some much needed fellowship.

This weekend has been more swimming and playing. and as I type this, Alexandra stands here in a "ballerina" outfit looking at pictures of us from Peru. She remembers all of our friends we met while there as well as her friends from New Life.

God still continues to remind us of His unconditional love for us. It is nothing we do that earns His love, just as it is nothing Alexandra does to earn ours. We love her like our own, because she is our child. Such a great picture of how God loves us, because we are His, not because of anything we do!

Settling In!

Wow! We have been home over 2 weeks now. It just seems crazy. We have still been laying pretty low with the occasional outing. We did take Bec and her friend to lunch and shopping and that went well and her trip to the doctor here went well, too. She did have to get 2 shots that she was not too happy about, but all in all it went well. Painting, puzzles, and Dora are her favorite things right now, besides torturing Petey the dog. Though it took a bit for her to warm up to him, she now won't leave him alone and we find him hiding under the bed most afternoons.

For the Fourth we headed out to the lake on Friday and Sunday and she loved every minute of it. She rode in the tube again and swims like a fish. She was also very patient while Drake and Luke practiced getting up on skis and while Becca and I skiied. It was a wonderful weekend! We didn't do a big fireworks show as we weren't sure how that would go, so we cooked out here and ate outside (which she loves to do!) and did our own fireworks in front of our house! She laughed and thought they were "bonita!"

Everytime we experience something new, we are amazed as to how Alexandra reacts so postively! She had her first real mall trip today as we explored the Galleria in Birmingham for great deals in honor of Becca's 14th birthday! She liked riding in the stroller which made for easier shopping, however getting out of the Disney store without one of every princess dress was a bit more difficult!

We were in Birmingham today for Alex's appointment at the International Adoption Clinic. Everything went well and it put us at ease to know most of the behaviors we are wondering about are perfectly normal! We will go tomorrow for a bunch of lab work. I am going stocked with tootsie rolls and gum, as needles are NOT Alex's favorite things!

Sleeptime is still our struggling point. As you can imagine, as the day winds down and it gets quiet and still, lots of thoughts run through her head and it is very hard for her to wind down. It is getting better each night, though I do have to lay with her until she falls asleep. The kids still are being patient during this wild time. I know God will bless them for their patience and love.

Alexandra is a constant reminder to us of God's unfailing love towards us...it isn't based on what we do or who we are. When we are His children He loves us despite our pushing away, despite our crummy attitudes. His love is unconditional and He holds us tight, continuing to pursue us and woo us to Him!