Grandpa Soder's Corner
|
|
|
|
| Cenah, Jai and Sharon Barker | Cenah on Day of Arrival in U.S. | New Grandparents (Jon & Hasmin) |
Over two years ago my daughter (Sharon Soder Barker) and her husband Jai Barker started the long process of adopting a child from the Philippines. After a very long wait, lots of paperwork, and a difficult trip to the Philippines, they now have their new daughter Cenah here at home in Minnesota. That makes Hasmin and I grandparents for the first time.
Here is a little story about the adventure so far and a few photos. Wherever you see tiny photos, click on them and the larger photo will show up on your screen, then click on the back button to return to this page. I have only a few photos so far and will fill in the gaps when I get my hands on the photos of the actual trip to the Philippines.
The
Journey Begins. This is a photo of Jai and Sharon at the airport about to embark
on the journey 2/9/2006.
The Trip to the Philippines
(Photos not yet ready to post)
Arriving in Minnesota
After an 18 hour flight in a very crowded airplane, Sharon, Jai and Cenah arrived at the Minneapolis International airport. This occurred on February 17, 2006. Those of you who live around here remember this as the coldest day of 2006. The temperature never got above zero and the wind chill was 45 below zero. The average daily high temperature in the Philippine this time of year is 90 degrees, so our poor grandchild was about to experience temperatures more that 100 degrees different than what she was used to. In fact, everything about this country and our family is all very new and a bit scary for her.
Imagine her surprise when we tried to stuff her into a winter jacket, boots and mitten. Then there was the blast of cold going out into the parking lot. Then getting strapped into a car seat (something she has never seen before). What a shocker this must have been. Here are a few pictures taken inside the airport. I did not take any outside because my hands and camera would have frozen.
Staying Overnight at Grandpa Soder's House
Originally Sharon and Jai were planning to head for home (about 80 miles Northwest of St. Paul). They came to my house first to take a needed and deserved nap before leaving. They were so tire they went right to bed without even eating anything. When they awoke, we had some dinner and visited for a while. This was still the day of the fierce wind and below zero temperatures. Even the TV weather stations were advising no unnecessary travel. Although they really wanted to get home, they finally agreed to stay overnight and leave in the morning during the daylight (A much safer choice and gave Grandma and Grandpa a little chance to get acquainted. Here are a few photos of this short visit:
Sharon and Cenah after the nap eating some supper
A
few photos of Cenah playing after supper
The Next Morning
The next morning was pretty busy. First order of the day was breakfast. Sharon said that so far they have not been able to get Cenah to eat any fruit. Monsterchef Grandpa decided to fix that problem right away (must be sneaky when dealing with a 2-year-old). First I had Sharon put grape juice into her water bottle (that's a fruit and Cenah drank it right up). Next I made homemade pancakes with lots of blueberries in them. Cenah ate a whole pancake including the blueberries. Since then, Sharon has found a few ways to sneak some fruit into the diet. Here are a few photos taken February 18th before they all went home to Albany, Minnesota.
Cenah eating her breakfast
Grandma Hasmin got her chance to hold Cenah while Sharon took a shower
Cenah getting dressed for another winter car ride home
Sharon, Jai, and Cenah then left for their home in Albany, MN. As of 2/28/2006, we have not seen her again yet. Sharon and Jai need some time for bonding with the child before letting the rest of us anxious relatives to get too involved in her life.
Some News Filtering In:
Sharon and Jai have found out that the "terrible twos" is an international phenomenon and not just something we created in the U.S. Temper tantrums are giving them some excitement. Sharon and Jai are starting out instantly with the terrible twos instead of working up to it gradually. I have heard that Cenah is no longer afraid of the cats - instead she is pulling them by the tail. When I was talking to Sharon on the phone, Sharon was is great pain because Cenah was kicking her leg because she wanted her food right now. Sounds familiar.
We should be able to visit in a couple of weeks including Great Grandma (Edith) and Great Aunt (Sherry). Looking forward to that.
I will have some photos of the actual trip to the Philippines soon. I think those should be real interesting.
Grandpa MonsterChef