The Descent of Summer

Okay, so I'm way late on this blog entry...I simply, truly, REALLY cannot believe that it is almost September. ARGHHHH! I know that I'm echoing the sentiments of Moms everywhere as I wonder "where does time go?"

So, as school approaches like a sledge hammer (my kiddos first day is September 6th) and summer slips from our grasp, I guess I'll journey back a little and figure out what we've been doing as the summer has slip-slided away...

Although the move and crawling out from underneath boxes has hovered over most of our undertakings this summer, we did manage to squeeze a few fun and "normal" summer escapades in. The boys did soccer and swim lessons, and Rosalie did swim lessons as well. The girl is a fish and passed three swim levels in one class (it was just her and another girl in the class so the instructor had the time)! She is now just one level behind Wyatt, my super-pro swimmer. Noah did really well in his lesson as well and can't wait for next year. Rodas wasn't quite ready for lessons this year--she LOVES the water, but wasn't ready to let go of Mom's hand quite yet. She's headed to Preschool in a few weeks, which I know she will embrace and love and will help her to let Mommy go a little easier. My only regret is that I'm not handing her off to the BEST preschool teachers in the world (Miss Racquel and Miss Gwen!), but I am hopeful that her Hayden Elementary teachers will be the next best thing. She goes to Primary at Church okay, but grumbles going in (although she's always smile's coming out). Her dance classes, which she loves, also help her learn to trust that mommies do come back.

One thing we have enjoyed tremendously this summer is living five minutes from Elkhead reservoir. Many mornings we have paddled our sea kayaks (yes, the WHOLE family in two Kayaks!) along it's shores and nearly had the whole reservoir to ourselves. I often take the kids and mutts to a quiet beach for the afternoon where they swim and play in the sand while I attempt to tire out the dogs with fetching and swimming. It is wondrous and I LOVE this little piece of heaven and can only hope that the secret doesn't catch on because I love having it all to ourselves! Colt recently organized a triathalon up at the reservoir for anyone on his fuels and fire crews that wanted to participate. He did a great job organizing it and, great father that he is, made sure his boys could participate too (his girls preferred playing in the sand). Wyatt beat ALL runners (and these are some fire-tough firefighters he ran against) and Noah ran the whole 2.2 miles (not easy miles either)--his first race ever! This blew me away (literally and figuratively) as this is the kid that I practically had to pry out of the backpack carrier when he was three and, when prodded to use his own two feet for hiking, would walk five feet and announce he was done!!! He's suddenly had this drive to run and bike with Dad and Wyatt, and he's actually starting to keep up!

It's also been fun living close--but not too close--to Steamboat Springs. It's a fun, little tourist town and we've enjoyed a balloon festival and some yummy dinners there. The Howelson Hill alpine slide was a fun excursion for the whole family for my birthday! Yahoooooooooooooo! Colt's excited to do some downhill skiing, snowboarding and telemarking again this winter.

We have also enjoyed being closer to both sides of the family and have been able to spend time in both Vernal and Grand Lake. We went to Buffalo BBQ Days in Grand Lake and Wyatt, Mom and Dad ran the 5K there. Wyatt came in 40th out of 200+ runners and took first place in his age group (0-10 yrs.)...WOW! I finished 60th...and I'm simply proud that I finished! If you want a tough 5K, try one that is more uphill than down and is at 8000 ft. elevation! Whew! The kids enjoyed playing in the frigid waters of Grand Lake and helping Nana release the endless stream of ground squirrels she relocates away from her flower beds (warning to moose and ground squirrels: don't mess with NANA!). Just recently, the kids and I were treated to a wonderful weekend with Nana (my Mom) and my sister Debs in Denver where we visited the Denver Zoo (Tsegereda got to see her favorite animal, the flamingo) and Waterworld. We all had a blast, and it was a wonderful vacation for the kids, who deserved "a summer vacation."

We have also added a new member to our family...well, sort-of. Clementine/Bob, our new Bobcat tractor, was finally purchased after exhaustive research and watching of classifieds. We girls call her Clementine, the boys and Colt for some odd reason feel the name "Bob" better suits her. Hmmpphh. She is sooooo not a "Bob." She came with a mower for keeping our huge lawn trim, and a bucket to dig us out of the plentiful snow that we have been promised will come. I'm reminded of the wonderful childrens' book "Katy the Snowplow" that dug out her whole town one winter. We've been warned that Craig gets a lot of snow, and we have a lot of driveway to plow, so a Katy (NOT a Bob!) is what we need! Colt is like a kid in a candy store with her, the kids think she's the next best thing to a four-wheeler, and she's easy enough to drive that I can move the bucket up and down AND go forward AND mow at the same time! (0:

Over the summer we've continued to enjoy the blessings of our new home...and all the furry visitors that enjoy the land as well. Routinely we have a beautiful buck antelope, a family of bluebirds, and a doe with her twin fawns that drop by. Another single doe (Daisy) is also a frequent muncher of our alfalfa. [Note in the photo the bluebird at the bottom and the antelope buck at the top of the picture] The mowing of our fields--which resulted in 13 huge circular bales--didn't seem to deter them and, if anything, they can find the succulent alfalfa even better now that the waves of waist-high grass are gone. Some marmots have taken up residence in our far back pasture, and I had a hoot watching them cuss-out a bald eagle hanging out on one of our cottonwoods. They shut up and hit the dirt when the eagle decided to take flight and come in for a closer look (yes, they're fine, and still cussing out anything that even comes close to their pasture). I LOVE my wildlife. The kids are enjoying it as well, although Noah and Rodas could do without the plentiful mosquitos. Noah, after a night on the trampoline in Vernal, found out that 14 mosquito bites makes him look like he went a round or two with Mike Tyson!

The kids are excited and nervous about school--as any kid usually is this time of year. Colt and I really feel good about their school (Hayden Valley Elementary) and I am ecstatic that they will be getting music and PE every day, as well as weekly art classes! The school also has it's own chef who loves to introduce the kids to wonderful new and HEALTHY foods (finally!) so I'm really diggin' it! Check out next month's blog entry to see if it all is really too good to be true. (0; Most importantly, though, the school will have new friends for my lonesome four. They are still heartbroken over friends they left in Price. The older two have made a few friends through church, but, as I've told Noah, school will provide an opportunity for all of them to hopefully find that special someone who's turn it is now to be a part of this adventure in the tale of his life.

I am praying that they will be as blessed with wonderful teachers and friends here as they were in Price.

To Love A Dog...

A dog is the only thing on earth
that loves you more than you love yourself.

~Josh Billings

Some of you might not understand what writing about dogs has to do with a blog about family, but, well, I guess that's the point of this entry. My brother suddenly had to say "good-bye" to his best buddy yesterday and it has caused me to reflect on how these furry mutts journey into our hearts and entrench themselves so deeply that their loss creates such a piercing pain and hollowness within us.

Some people understand, about truly loving a dog. Some people don't. For those of us that understand, it's hard to explain to those that don't because it simply just is. It is inherent in some, it is brought to the surface in others by the love of a dog, or it just is never going to happen in others. It's hard to explain because I think it has to do a lot with how one is brought up and one's experience with dogs. For me, we always had a dog that was part of the family. I was bitten in the face by a large dog when I was young, and bitten on the ankle while riding my bike by another, so by all rights I should not be a dog lover. However, having family dogs that I loved and who loved and protected me...well, the bad experiences did not turn me away from all dogs. There are bad apple dogs, and usually on the other end of the leash is a bad apple human. And sometimes accidents just happen and nice dogs bite nice girls.

To many, a dog is simply an animal, meant to work or be an accessory to human life. That is what they know and that is the extent they will allow the relationship to develop. A dog's life is expendable and replaceable, something to be held at arms length. To others, a dog is a member of the family, often with near equal footing to the human members (even trumping the two-legged ones on occasion). (0:

If you are raised one way it is hard to understand the other's point of view. I naively thought that everyone loved dogs, or at least understood how another person could love dogs, for way too long. We dog-lovers often impose our mutts on others, never thinking of it as an imposition because, well, the dogs are part of our family (sorry, Mortensons!). On my side of the extended family, it is not rare to have six to eight dogs under one roof during a family get-together. It is understood that they are welcome and although it makes for added chaos and accidents, it works for the most part. When I moved to Utah, I brought that mentality with me and it took me a while to realize that not everyone shared that view. I owe my in-laws an apology for inadvertently making them accept our dogs in order to spend time with us.

I have since learned the lesson and try to be more sensitive, but it is hard. My dogs are not just these four-legged creatures with wet noses who eat and poop a lot. They literally are and have been some of my best friends. When I was sick for so long, Smoke knew when it was really bad and she would curl up on the floor right next to me and would not leave me until I could stand. Silver does that now, staying at my bedside or on the floor next to the toilet with me until I'm better. At our Price and Eden homes where the bedrooms were on the top floor, Sage would leave her comfy bed in our room and sleep each night at the top of the stairs when Colt was gone for long stints.

Why do we love them so? Because of that...because they have this capacity for unconditional love and understanding that a human does not. If you're having a rotten day, they are there with free hugs. They'll take your grumps and grumbles and still smile and come back for more. They will still love you if you forget to feed them (they might drive you crazy reminding you, but they will still love you) or are too tired to take them for a walk. They love you no matter how you look, no matter how you change, no matter if you're having a good day or a bad one. They hear all your complaining, venting and pity-parties and answer with a slobbery kiss. They will follow you to hell and back and lick your burns. There are no conditions to their love...they require no explanations or excuses.

Unconditional love.

That's what and why.

So, if you're not a dog-lover and have struggled to understand we wacky people who are, maybe this helps explain it a little better. Our dogs are part of our family and we might forget that you don't feel the same...but please don't hold it against us. We're the victims of slobbery unconditional love.

Hello, Colorado!

Or should I say, "hello, again, Colorado!" I was born and raised on the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies and Colt worked and lived in Rifle, Colorado for a time, so I guess we aren't exactly first time Coloradoans. We have not lived in Craig, however, and Craig is definitely not Fort Collins or Rifle--although it has similarities to both. For me, our home in Craig echoes with many memories of growing up in Fort Collins (or what Fort Collins used to be) and LaPorte~the sweet, lilting song of the meadowlark as the sun rises over rolling green hills. The smell of fresh cut hay. Wide open spaces. Deer in the back pasture. Wind that whistles and makes tall grass move like the green ocean waves. Elbow room, with a few houses and fences sprinkled along the way.

I love so many things about our new adventure. I love the acreage and once-again being able to see wildlife everywhere--this house is literally situated where the deer (back pasture) and antelope (front pasture) play. I love the sound of the Elkhead River as it slices through the backyard and the throaty calls of the sandhill cranes in the morning. I love the green, green and more green. I love change, and I love to re-design, so moving every five years means I get to re-decorate my house that often. The actual moving part with boxes sucks, but once the pictures start going up on walls it feels like a sort of rebirth that is, well, refreshing. 'Course, I'm still waiting for the refreshing period to arrive as there seems to be no end to the boxes and my big picture hanger-upper is fighting fires in Florida! We are still surrounded by boxes, but I'm wading through it. I am growing to love the house, although there are a number of new things that we will have to get used to. Water from a well that smells like sulphur and tastes nearly as bad. [Thank heavens for reverse osmosis!] Waking up to no water because the pump decided to take an extra long coffee break. Mosquitoes the size of birds that are EVERYWHERE, just waiting to descend upon you in a bloodthirsty swarm! Busting our little push mower after a few swipes at the tall grass (that move like green ocean waves with the wind...) and realizing that we really do need a little mower/tractor.

The community has been very welcoming so far, and reminds me so much of Price. The people are very accepting of the girls and a number of times I have had people go out of their way to help me (entertaining the kids while it took me 30 minutes to get a new driver's license) or make a positive comment about them and their good behavior (hah! They obviously had not seen Noah five minutes before as he was poking his fingers into burger packages because it made a cool sound...). I am used to the extra attention, as our colorful family tends to engender it, but it has been overwhelmingly positive and the comments have mostly included all my children, not just the girls. I think we are going to be just fine here.

The kids miss their friends, but are being positive about things. They've met some kids at church and we've just started soccer and swim lessons so that should help things as well. They aren't the only ones who miss their friends...I miss my neighbors and dear friends and wish I could have packed them up in some of my boxes. They helped so much during our move and continue to help as we leave a vacant house in need of attention. I don't know how we can ever thank you all enough...just know your help has been so very much appreciated!

Colt enjoys his job so far and is looking forward to the challenge of being the fire management officer for all of northwestern Colorado. The Craig paper did a nice little article on Colt and two other new guys--you can take a peek at it at http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2011/jun/15/blm-craig-adds-new-officials/ The print version added a little more of Colt's comments (beyond Hawaii...). (0: As we're still pretty green and much of the southern half of the U.S. is burning up, he left on Friday with his Interagency Type II Team to fight fires in northern Florida and figures he'll be gone the full 14 days. Please keep him and all the firefighters pounding the ground out there in your prayers.

I've included some pictures of our new digs and the move so you can live our adventure vicariously through my blog. Yippee.
(0:

Love and peace to all!
K

Good-bye Utah...

We have to pack up the computer now, so I guess this will be my last official post from Price, Utah. In a few days we head to our new adventure in Craig, Colorado. The kids are doing pretty well so far, but it is beginning to sink in as we start to say good-bye to friends and their rooms are taken over by boxes. It will be fine, but it won't be easy for a while. Saying good-bye to something or someone that is dear to you never is. We will miss Price very much...especially the dear friends that have become family to us (you know who you are!!). We love you all and want you to know that you better come visit us! (0:

Good-bye, for now, but please keep in touch! You can always visit us here, to see what is new and happenin' with the Mortenson clan...

Helloooooooooo Colorado!

One Year Ago...

It was one year ago today that we became the legal parents of daughters we loved dearly but had never met. I think back and wonder at all the amazing changes that have happened in our family since that time. It has been a roller coaster ride, but one that I would take again and again. I simply cannot imagine my life without my girls...and I know Colt feels the same. I also strongly believe that our incredible boys would agree. Wyatt and Tsegereda are close and although the age and height thing raises its ugly head now and then, overall it has been a pretty smooth transition. Noah has found his place in the foursome and they all truly act as though they have grown up together since birth. The house is full of laughter, yelling (mostly me), crying and hugging--with Barbies, legos, hair bands and transformers strewn all over. Just as it should be.

Looking back again at our first glimpse of our daughters, it is amazing THEIR transformation:

In Memoriam

We received heartbreaking news last week...our dear friend and brother, Francis Kisanya, passed away from Brucellocis. He had been sick with malaria, but last we heard he was getting better. We usually spoke with Francis every week, but lately it had not been as frequent because of bad phone connections. In an email to me a few weeks ago, his wife had thought he was getting better. Then, out of nowhere, a friend called to deliver the shocking news of his death.

We are still shell-shocked.

Francis was the Kenyan who helped us track down and expose the truth of the evil adoption fraud that entrapped ours and 27 other families in Uganda. The whole debacle eventually led us to our daughters, to which we have been forever indebted to Francis. Colt was able to stay and spend invaluable time with Francis and his family while visiting Kenya and Uganda in 2009. I only knew Francis through phone calls and email. But we knew each other well. Well enough that he endearingly called me sister, and I knew him as a brother. He was a dreamer, which was amazing in that he was a man who had gone through much pain in his too-short life. Too often that creates a bitter and hardened man, but Francis used the pain to build more hope and desire for a better day. He was a teacher who loved his students and loved to learn. He had just finished his masters in education (going to school in Uganda) and was just starting his doctorate work. He always wanted to better himself and his world. He was constantly bombarded with struggles, but they only made him fight harder.

Whenever we talked, he always asked when I was coming to visit. I promised him that one day, I would come. I shed tears now because I never will meet the mortal man whom I call brother. He was so dear to Colt and I, and his family a part of ours. We simply cannot believe he is gone. Two years ago, nearly to the day Francis passed away, we lost another dear friend suddenly and without warning. The call delivered the same blow of disbelief, the same cry of "no!" as he was one of the most vibrant, simply amazing men we knew. After we got to know Francis, Colt and I often marveled at how similar Francis and Brett were, and now to have both of them gone...so suddenly and way before they had reached their dreams...well, it is hard to understand.

But there is always a reason and we must trust that we will see them again one day.

The following is what I wrote to Jackline, Francis' wife, after learning of his death:

Francis Muhalia Kisanya

My Brother.

I will not say kwaheri (good-bye).

I refuse.

I will say asante (thank you). Asante sana, dear brother.

I will say that my life was forever changed when you walked into it, as it will be forever changed now that you have journeyed beyond me.

I will say that the world is a much darker place now that you have left it, but that the stars are so much brighter now that you are there to shine your light upon us.

You always reached for the stars while you were here on earth…now you are with them.

I will always regret that I was not able to meet you in person, yet I knew your voice, your determination, your eternal hope, and your heart. It never mattered that we did not share blood, never shook hands…you are my brother.

You will be missed, dear brother, by all who have ever had the privilege to be touched by your light.

Asante sana, dear brother…we will meet one day.

I hope that he hears those words and knows the truth in them. Please tuck his family into your prayers and your hearts. They now have a difficult road to journey without him...

Movin' on...

So, just when things are finally settling down and our family is beginning to find its sense of normalcy, we have decided to shake things up (it seems to be our style...). We are headed for a new adventure once summer comes:


Colt recently accepted a position with the Bureau of Land Management as the Interagency Fire Management Officer for an extensive area in northwestern Colorado. He starts May 22nd, which means we are now in a mad dash to sell our house and find a new home as well, as well as deal with all the emotions of saying good-bye to a home and community we have loved.

We thought long and hard about this move, especially since our girls are really doing so well here in Price. The community has been so open and supportive of our family and we have some terrific friends that are going to leave gaping holes in our hearts when we have to leave.

Tsegereda Rosalie loves school and has some very dear friends that she doesn't want to leave, which makes pulling her away all the harder. She doesn't want to go, and we wouldn't uproot her except...well...we truly believe this is the move we are supposed to make. It will place us smack dab in the middle of both grandparents and will allow the girls to actually get to know my side of our family. It is a wonderful opportunity for Colt and he is ready for the challenge of moving to a new agency and overseeing an incredibly diverse and extensive environment. Although it will be hard tearing her away, we have known that a move was in our future and we truly believe that it will be easier to do it now, while the children are still younger, than when they have entered the teenage years...

While gnawing over this move, I felt that it just might actually help the girls more wholly attach to us. They will see that when we move, no one will get left behind (as has been done to them before). They will see that we will do everything as a family--it will be new changes for ALL of us, not just them. We will start new memories all together, moving in to a home and community where we are all the newcomers together. They will hopefully see that just as their move from Ethiopia to America brought them blessings, so will this move. Moving starts with sad "good-bye's" but it ends with "hello's." We are praying that this move will be a positive one for all of us.

Rodas keeps asking if certain things will be going with us ("that picture, Mommy?" "this doll?") so I know that she is thinking about it, but she doesn't seem as concerned. Time will tell.

Wyatt is excited, but sad to leave his good buddies. As he remembers the last move, he feels like "the expert" in moving and is trying to help the others feel better about the change. This is the home that Noah remembers the most, having moved from Eden when he was just a toddler, so he is a bit more reticent to leave. I have no doubt that he will be fine though as he truly thrives on a bit of chaos.

I am going to miss my dear friends, some of whom I have seem to found only just recently. You'd think I'd be good at saying good-bye by now...but it is something I hope I never get used to. Every time we leave I seem to leave a part of me behind, and take a part of where I left with me. I guess I'm just carrying around a lot of baggage, but, on the flip-side, I'm also sprinkled across the West...

Having lived in wolf-hating Salmon and rural Utah, after a quick visit to Craig to look at homes, I've realized that once again, I will probably have to be a closet recycler and keep my organic tendencies on the down-low... (-: