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Diet Coke and Mentos - Merry Christmas!

This very messy story started back at Thanksgiving. My very loving sister decided to purchase and wrap Advent gifts for each of the kids. Now, I knew I should have been worried when I heard Grant say, "Dasha, try some of this gum!" The twelve days of Christmas in our home brought gifts that exploded, made rude noises, or required a Hazmat team to clean up afterwards. Obviously, the kids completely loved the gifts and it was a great way to get them to roll out of bed each morning without shaking them or dumping cold water over their cute little faces! However, one of the last gifts was a little tube that fit on top of a Coke bottle and functioned as a little chute for a pack of Mentos. For anyone who has never seen MythBusters or read about exploding Mentos - Coke and Mentos don't mix! So, here's how we spent the day after Christmas, blowing Coke bottles up! (Please note that all of this went on while my sister took Dasha to the zoo. Ha ha! She just thought she was getting the easy job)! :) One day, she's going to have kids and I'm going to get my full revenge! Play dough, permanent markers, and toys that make wickedly loud noised (without an off switch) are going to top my list of gifts!

This is my sister and her little dog, Rosie.

After opening presents at Grandma's, Dasha decided to read everyone The Night Before Christmas.

Well, my time is up. Currently, the boys are in the garage clearing everything out so the contractors (definitely don't look like the YMCA boys) can start building Eric's new office. We've decided to go ahead and add a room to the back of the garage instead of trying to force two Randolph family members to co-habitate. This works great for some families but with the age differences between the kids, it's not going to work for us! Argh!

Happy New Year from the Randolph family!

Merry Christmas from the Randolph Family

Christmas Scavenger Hunt

I know that you'll have to click on the picture to see all of the details and captions but it's well worth it! Our Community Group (aka Sunday School class) participated in a Christmas scavenger hunt. We ended up going as boys vs. girls and to say the least, Woodstock never knew what hit them! From jumping on mattresses at Kohls and Mattress King to wearing Waffle House and Starbucks aprons, we all had a blast. I still believe the girls officially won despite some minor technicalities. Oh well. We had a great time!

Deck the Halls with Medieval Dudes

Decorating for Christmas has been slow going this year! Between my "fragile state" and Eric's traveling, we're taking the decorating one thing at a time! Maybe we'll have some ornaments on the tree before the 25th. However, this is Grant's attempt at putting a holiday touch on things! If you don't have boys, I'm not sure you can relate! Absolutely ANYTHING can be turned into a make-shift battle field. I'm quite used to finding GI Joes in my bathtub, under my desk, or lodged in the stone work around the fire place. My dad has even given Grant some old grenades - yes, real ones - as keepsakes. Unsuspecting visitors get very nervous when they walk into the foyer and see a grenade laying on the table! Oh well. But as for the decorating, I guess the medieval dudes need a good dose of holiday cheer, too! (At least these guys have all of their clothes on and are dressed in their finest clothes unlike some of the Barbies running around at our house)!

Things are progressing pretty routinely with the pregnancy at this point. I'm 23 weeks and beginning to think about the logistics of really adding another little body to this funny farm! Naming this poor baby girl has become something akin to a comedy hour, though. Eric refused to even think of names until we were sure that the sonographer was really sure that we were going to have a girl - he was still hung up on that leg bone being, well, ... you know. Anyway, we had another ultrasound last week and were assured that "The Bean" is definitely a girl so Eric doesn't have an excuse now! While Grant is suggesting names with a strong military flair such as Duke and Shipwreck, Dasha is going for names she is familiar with such as Dora and Hannah (as in Montana). So goes that drama!

We're looking forward to some quiet time over the Christmas break. Eric has been traveling more and more (he's in San Antonio now) and I'm trying to finish out this semester of school and manage a classroom of 30 excited kids without losing my mind!* After this semester, I'll only have about 20 hours left for my doctorate so the light is beginning to shine at the end of the tunnel! However, I'm not quite sure how "The Bean" is going to play into all of this.

Bottom line, God continues to bless our craziness. We've given up on trying to be reasonable and we've surrendered to the fact that God's will might not always be reasonable in our minds but that's where we need to be! So, deck the halls with medieval dudes in tights and whatever else this Season may bring! We hope you all enjoy these days of Advent with your families.

*Keep reading if you want a good laugh about a craft that went awry in my room...
We just finished reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I love this book because I can easily present the "real" Christmas story through the context of this book! Anyway, when the children talk about swaddling clothes on the baby Jesus, they never know what that means. I thought I'd be really crafty and let them make a baby Jesus ornament. I made homemade clay so the kids could shape Jesus' little body. I didn't have any white flour so I used whole wheat. It gave the clay a fleshy color so that was perfect. The kids were to roll the clay into a hot dog shape and then we were going to paint a little face on and swaddle the "baby" in a piece of fleece cloth. Well, the play dough flesh colored hot dogs didn't look like baby Jesus at all!!! Thank goodness my kids didn't really seen to notice but EVERY adult that walked down our hallway had to stop and stare as they watched 30 kids rubbing little hot dog shapes to smooth the clay out. (We'd also stuck paper clips into one end to hang the ornaments with). I'd post a picture of the naked ornaments but I'm afraid Blog Spot might be alerted to adult content!!! :) Don't despair, though. We did get the babies swaddled and they're cute as little buttons now. Whew! Thank goodness for the innocence of children. What a laugh the adults had, though. Next year, back to good old white flour!

Daddy is out of town...

Hey, Joe!
Yeah, Barbie?

Dad is out of town! Know what that means?
Yep!

No bedtimes, no homework, cereal for three meals a day, and.. Oh wait! Mom is still here and ... gotta go!

Does anyone else ever experience this? When Eric heads out of town, you can guarantee that everyone is going to push every conceivable limit that has ever been set forth!

While Eric is living large in Las Vegas, I'll continue to play the role of Drill Sergeant / Jail Warden rolled into one! Oh wait... someone's escaping! AAAHHHH!!!!

P.S. - How do you get gum out of the dog's hair?

P.S.S. - The photo is a shot from Grant's latest video series, "The Adventures of Jack and Jill." No, I'm being serious!

Another air show... no, I'm not kidding!

I know it's hard to believe but Papa, Daddy, and Grant all found another air show to go to! You would think that you'd seen everything after a few years of this drill but they still seem to be intrigued! Papa and Grant (aka Mini Me) love to find the displays they can crawl into and pretend to fight some crazed air battles. It's common knowledge in our family to NEVER asked who won or if they got kicked off any of the displays! There's always an adventure to be had when the 3 Musketeers are around!

Thrashers vs. NY Islanders

Well, in usual Randolph style, Thursday night found us bundled up and sitting at Philips Arena waiting for the Thrashers to win a game. We were in luck this night! We went with some friends from school who are also hopeless hockey fans. The kids always enjoy having friends to play with when Daddy is busy screaming at the players!

It's official...

Harvest Time!

Although it has been over a month since I posted, it's sure not because we're bored! In fact, I'm not sure I even rememeber too much about the last few weeks! It's all a blur. Eric has been doing a LOT more traveling than usual. This is good news for his business considering the current economy but trying news for me! It seems to be hard enough juggling a full time job, finishing my doctorate, being pregnant, and dealing with two little crumbsnatchers. However, when Eric leaves town, Murphy's Law prevails and something blows up (or throws up) and I'm left holding the bag (sometimes literally)!!! Anyway, enought of my whining...

We had a blast this weekend at our annual Burt's Farm trip! Every year for at least the past ten years, we've gone to Dawsonville, Georgia to Burt's Pumpkin Farm. This place is a major tourist attraction but it's worth fighting the crowds to expereince a real hay ride and hunt through zillions of pumpkins to find just the right one - all while smelling cinnamon and cloves drifting from the little farmhouse where they make all sorts of Fall favorites! This year, we actually spent more time in line waiting for the hay ride than we did looking for pumpkins - that's a record! Nonetheless, the kids love the trip and then desert me when it's time to gut the pumpkins and make the magical transformation into jack-o-lanterns!

As for the third little Randolph (a.k.a. "The Bean"), things are going well. We're beginning to wonder if the doctors can go ahead and make a diagnosis of ADHD while still in the womb! In all of our ultrasounds, this little person has been jumping around like a Mexican Jumping Bean! Yikes! We'll get to find out if this new addition is a girl or boy on 10/23. We hope it will uncross it's legs. During the last ultrasound, its legs were tightly crossed. Eric got a little too excited when he thought the leg bone was... well... he thought he had identified a little boy! Gees! Dasha and Grant have had alternating opions about wanting a boy or girl. As for Eric and I, we'll be thrilled with a healthy baby! I'm doing everything I can right now to ensure the health of "The Bean" and myself though my diabetes is NOT cooperating! I've been taking many shots of insulin each day and I can't seem to figure out the rules of this dosing game! What works one day plumets my blood sugar into oblivion and might not have any effect the next day. As a perfectionist, this is not my idea of fun at all! Just give me the rules and I'll be glad to comply! Well, this sure doesn't work that way! At this point, I'm seeing my regular OB, a perinatologist, and an endocrinologist! In the last 15 weeks, I've seen more doctors than I'd care to see in a life time!!! Oh well. Like I said, we'll do whatever we need to do to ensure this little one's health. As for the Pompe's risk, we decided to wait until after the delivery to test for the disease. Eric and I both have perfect peace that this little miracle Bean was a gift from God and we'll accept whatever direction God might lead us in. Most people (especially the medical community) look down on our "uneducated" decision. However, they just don't know how educated we are!!!

Just continue to keep us in your prayers. With Eric's traveling, the kid's active schedules, my frequent doctor's appointments, my job, and my school (full time courses this semester), we're really having to micromanage our resources of time and patience! This is simply the Season we're in right now and I know the next Season might be even more hectic! I'll update with our news of a princess or prince on 10/23 - barring any leg bone disasters in which Eric tries to read the ultrasound himself!

Botox for the Princess

Dasha had her first round of Botox last Friday. Yes, I said BOTOX! Botox is used in CP patient's muscles to help give them more flexibility. Dasha had about nine injections in each hamstring to help her loosen up. So far, so good! And man, her legs look good! :) I did ask the doc to send any Botox extras home in a doggie bag for me but he was stingy! Oh well! Seriously, Dasha has had good results so far with this procedure and we're scheduled to do it again in January if this is a major success. As for this picture, she'd been given a small dose of some type of sedative. Eric said that she was helpless. She was trying to play her GameBoy and couldn't even hold it! I couldn't tell if Eric was getting a kick out of her inebriated state or mortified at her resistance to succumbing to the drugs!

Air Show 2008

Grant, Eric, and Papa spent the last two weekends at Rome's airfield. The first weekend was an "oops" because someone forgot to check the dates. However, there were plenty of opportunities for some specialized tours of airplanes that I'm supposed to be in awe of although I surely don't know why. The second weekend wasn't quite as fun. Many of the exhibits that were supposed to "fly in" were delayed or diverted due to Ike. The boys managed to find plenty of things to keep them busy, though! The girls enjoyed their weekends at home with movies and shopping!

Boys and their toys...

I'd like to tell you that this stand-off ended peacefully but I can't. I've decided that you can give a boy of any age blocks, boxes, bubble wrap, or mud and they can entertain themselves indefinitely (or until there's blood involved)! This is a pretty normal Sunday afternoon scene at our house! The Cobras build a fortress and the Joes try to destroy them. I do have to make a note, though. Sometimes Polly Pocket and her Barbie troops are able to distract the boys and everyone lives happily ever after - or until Barbie loses her head to a grenade! :) That's just a glimpse into our peaceful Sunday afternoons!

No, we're not kidding!

Say, "Hello," to the next Randolph! We're completely surprised but thrilled! We're about 10 weeks along and still in shock! Just when we think we have life figured out, God reminds us that He's still in charge!

"Look at their pom poms, daddy!"

What could strike terror in the heart of any strong father? This statement, "Daddy, look at those girls' pom poms!" We just won't even go there!!!

Anyway, Dasha had the opportunity to "compete" in the Summer Games at Phillips Arena. She loved it! There were Thrashers characters, Hawks characters, and and general characters (including Dasha and Eric).

All of the participants were rehab (PT, OT, etc.) patients at CHOA. The kids got to work at different stations and participate in crafts, sports events, and character meet and greets. I think Dasha's favorite part was getting her picture made with the Hawks girls, though. She is suddenly into anything (and everything) fashion related. We all know that doesn't mesh with my biological make up so I'm really struggling! If it's not jeans and t-shirts, I'm lost! Anyway, she had a blast and Eric came home only a little shell-shocked about the pom-poms!

Just FYI - The lady in this picture with Dasha is her physical therapist. She has worked with Dasha once or twice a week since the heel cord surgery. This lady has been such a blessing. She operates as mom, therapist (for mom and Dasah), motivation coach, and CP guru! I don't know what we'd do without her!

Well, tomorrow is the kids' first day back at school. Dasha, as usual, is excited to go and just knows that everyone will love her! Grant, as usual, is anxious and wants to know the details of the day as soon as possible. Me, well, the first day is simply crowd control. I really think the county should begin changing our pay scale to reflect combat pay for the first week of school, the week prior to Christmas break, and the last week of school. Oh well! Let the fun begin! (Eric is thrilled that we're all going back so he can have the house to himself again)!

Child of an educator

Being a teacher's child stinks! Every activity has a lesson behind it or some type of learning adventure tacked on! My kids have been traumatized all summer. I figured we'd end the summer with a big bash! We went to Fernbank Science Museum! This month, they have an exhibit about Arctic animals. Once again, I drafted my mom to help with Dasha and even the kids to adults ratio. I figure I have a much better chance at maintaining my sanity with the teams evened up!

First, we did some experiments about how Arctic animals survive in the cold temperatures. Then, we went to the library and checked out lots of books about Arctic animals. Believe it or not, the kids don't gripe too much about my methods!

The kids did have a good time learning about the animals when we got there. Dasha was really thrilled with the dress-up area. Grant was a bit insulted that we wanted him to put the penguin costume on for a laugh. He did put the costume on but I had to promise not to post it here! :)

Grant enjoyed the area with blocks more than anything! There were huge blocks and mats that you could move and build with. He had the entire area to himself for about twenty minutes! He was thrilled. There was a section entitled, "A Walk Through Georgia," that highlights animals from different sections of Georgia. He turned the exhibit into a hunting excursion! What's the saying... You can take a boy out of the country but not the country out of a boy!!!

Dasha is the technology freak in the family! If the exhibit had buttons, monitors, or anything electronic, she was into it! She was amused with the bubbles, too! She had never seen bubble wands this big! She is still learning vocabulary so these kinds of opportunities allow her to ask lots of questions about things and put some visuals with vocabulary from books. After four hours of being a sponge, she was exhausted! Hopefully she'll sleep well tonight!

On the road...AGAIN

Well, Eric is out of town this week so I have done my best to keep the kids entertained! Yesterday, we went to a little shop where you paint pottery. I thought Grant might balk at the idea but he really enjoyed it! In fact, he wants to go back next week and do their camps! As summer draws to an end (1 day left of vacation for me), the kids are getting antsy and ready to get back to school.



We also took a trip to Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta. The kids enjoyed the crazy atmosphere but I'd sure forgotten how ridiculously expensive the food was! Next time, I'll just crank the stereo up, punk my hair, and serve burgers at home. I think we'll get the same effect without breaking the bank!

Oh well. It's off to another day of trying to creatively keep the kids entertained without causing any permanent harm that might require counseling! :) Currently, Grant is entertaining himself by making stop-motion videos of his G.I. Joes in combat mode. I have a feeling that the Joes might be plotting an attack on the Barbie RV! Yikes! Better go check in on the troops!

Go Thrashers!

My kids outgrew story time at the library a few years ago - to my dismay. However, today the Thrasher's macot, Thrash, made a special appearence at story hour. They were more than willing to go and and sit among throngs of toddlers and "endure" three picture books. I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed myself! I think I'm going to keep these pictures hidden from Eric for a while, though. He'll see these and begin acting like Rain Man spouting off how many more day, hours, minutes, and seconds before hockey season begins for the year! For those of you that know Eric well, you can surely hear him sitting at his desk calculating the times! :) Seeing Thrash at the library was a good enough "fix" for the kids' hockey fever and a whole lot cheaper!

Road Trip (Sort Of)

Having Eric work out of the house has been a definite blessing - most times. Some days, however, it feels like we're nothing more than a bunch of sardines crammed into a can trying to be quiet while Daddy is on a conference call! I decided that we (the kids and myself) needed to get out of the house today so Daddy could get some real work done. I enlisted my Mom's help and headed downtown! We went to the GA Aquarium and the new World of Coke. It was a wonderful day to have a mini-vacation while Daddy had some peace and quiet! Although Eric loves being home with us, he'll sure be glad when we all head back to school in two weeks!

Literally climbing the wall!

Tonight was Date Night for Eric and Dasha. The ultimate goal was to find Eric some new tennis shoes so they ended up at Dick's Sporting Goods (big surprise)! They have a rock climbing wall there. Grant has tried it a couple of times but we've never even thought of letting Dasha try it. I guess she showed interest and Eric agreed to let her try to scale the wall. Let's remember that this child didn't walk until about three years ago - hmmm...

Eric shot this video from his cell phone so it's not great but you can see the results. She ended up getting up the wall about six or seven feet and she wanted to stop because of the height - not because of her ability. She never ceases to amaze us.

Independence Day in Birmingham, AL

This year was a bit different! Our good friends, Jason and Emily, are now living in the medical townhomes at UAB after her double lung transplant. We spent the weekend with them and "did" fireworks like never before! We were able to sit comfortably on the sofa, in the air conditioning, with little Faith napping, our kids in their pjs, and watch the fireworks. The kids were able to play Wii while we waited for the magic hour! What luxury! It was wonderful to celebrate the 4th in style with best friends and air conditioning!

Jason and Emily were an important part of our lives during Ansley's short life. Her middle name, Jaye, was for Jason. July 4th would have been her 6th birthday. We know we would have had a major little spit-fire on our hands! God's grace has covered our loss and we were able to enjoy the day as the birth of our Nation and our special little daughter.

With school looming only three weeks away, things have been crazy here. We've been busy buying school supplies and gearing up for 3rd grade! I don't know where the time has gone! Grant and Dasha are both looking forward to the "big day." I can't remember when that joy began escaping me each year! They are both great students, although, Dasha has to work really hard to keep up while Grant breezes through. They are so different!

Dasha will begin Botox treatments in September to help with her sudden growth spurts and muscle tightness. When her muscles tighten up, she has a really hard time walking despite her braces and PT. The Botox will release her muscles enough for her to walk and run comfortably for a couple of months. Surgery seems inevitable but it's useless until she stops growing! Her growth has been exponential since coming to America. Two short years ago when she arrived in the US, she wore a 4T. Now, she can easily wear an 8/10 and sometimes those are way too short (especially if Daddy is on duty)! She's changed so much! I'm sure this year will bring many new changes, too!

Grant's World

As I began uploading all of our history, I realized that I'd left out a lot about our "little" Grant. Grant is the resident comic, reader, military master, and martial arts guru! I'd have to say that he has his daddy's aptitude for details but his mama's emotions and tender heart - look out! He is definitely wise beyond his years! He's also my dad's "mini me!" From their looks to their mannerisms, they are identical. For Grant's sake, I hope he doesn't turn out to be as hairy as my dad, though! Yuck! Grant's new found talent is video taping his G.I. Joes in realistic battle scenes. He spends hours setting up his guys and then taping them fighting or doing whatever little plastic army men do - other than getting their guns hung in the vacuum cleaner! Many times, you can hear war cries resonating throughout our house as the Joes battles Barbie and her team! Yikes! Grant's Joes don't mind taking on the girls when things get nasty, though! Just between the adults, I'm not so sure how well Barbie would do in a real battle with her special "dimensions." Legos are Grant's other forte! I guess this goes back to his detailed-ness. The kid can assemble a Lego set in under an hour (without an engineering degree)! Eric and I still stand astounded when he rips a box open and reappears from his room with a completed project. Wow!

Pray for Emily

Most of you that have known us for any time know about "Uncle" Jay and "Aunt" Emily. Jason and Eric worked at Chick-fil-A together and did that crazy bachelor pad thing during their college years. I wonder if they ever were able to rent that apartment after those boys left? Anyway, Ansley's middle name was Jaye after Jason - that should tell you his importance in Eric's life. Jason married Emily the week before Ansley passed away. They left their honeymoon early to be with us in our time of need. I'll never forget their "charge" of finding Grant clothes to wear to the funeral. I still giggle at the remembrance of Jason talking about "sacking" Grant up in a pair of pants trying to figure out what size a 3 year old wore! Anyway, Jason's wife, Emily, has struggled with CF for years. She's been on the lung transplant list for a year now. Last night, they got their 5th call about a prospective set of lungs.

At 7:30ish CST this morning, Emily was prepped for lung transplant surgery. As of 10:00 pm CST, Emily has a new pair of lungs! Please continue to pray with us for Emily, her family, and all of her friends that are with her. Eric is in Birmingham with Jason, as well. The next few days will be very critical. She's doing well and actually joking with the nursing staff. Although she's on a respirator, they're weaning her off and will possibly have her completely off by tomorrow. You can see Emily's journey through her own blog spot listed in my links.

Fast forward to 2008

OK - I think I've caught everyone up to speed on the past so let's move on.

October 2007 - My sister got married and Grant and Dasha were part of the wedding. I can't tell you how painful it was to keep them clean for an entire hour!!!

For Christmas 2007, Eric was handed a pink slip. Yeah, Merry Christmas - surprise! Thank goodness there's always going to be a need for teachers. I think it takes a minimum of duct tape and a Sharpie marker to get a pink slip for teachers! In March, Eric started working with Ignite, a gas company out of Texas, part-time. In May, he was hired on with another PR company out of Texas. However, after six months of living on one income, we've been very careful about our finances. It took us many long years to climb out of debt after Ansley's death and we're not interested in going back there!

SO, after six months on one income, a summer vacation was NOT in our future. However, one of my student's parents offered the use of their condo in Panama City for a few days. What a blessing!

Here's the top three list of ridiculous things that were said on this three day adventure...

1) From the GPS - "You're not on a road, you're not on a road, you're not on a road!"
From Grant - "We are on the road. What's wrong with that thing?"

(I kept waiting for the GPS to say, "I quit! Why do you bother to turn me on when you don't listen to me?")

2) From me - "Look honey, isn't that sweet! Look at that little old man cuddling with his wife!"
From Eric - "Whatever, the PILL will wear off in 36 hours. He's gotta move fast!"

3) From Dasha - "Where's my vase?"

From all - "Huh?"
From Dasha - "You know, my pink vase!"
After much discussion, Eric figured out that she wanted her pink VEST! We're still learning
Russin-glish!

We had a great time and only had one person go MIA in the Gulf. Poor Shipwrecked (GI Joe) was swept out to sea for a burial. Oops!

Randolph History 202: Metamorphasis

Dasha started kindergarten with Grant in January of 2006. Wow! Thank goodness for teachers with patience! On Dasha's first day, she was still "toe-walking" and needed constant supervision when moving around. She also didn't' know any English but refused to speak to anyone in Russian now that she was "American." Talk about one determined little girl! Anyway, she worked on learning the language and functioning in a classroom environment. We were completely surprised at how different her "institutional" life had been than her life here where she had choices and her own stuff! She'd never been in a classroom environment before and things that we take for granted like staying in the classroom, had to be taught and re-taught! Her teacher and full-time para pro helped her navigate this new culture and life style!

In March of 2006, Dasha had surgery to lengthen her tendons. Although the surgery was out patient, it was life-changing for Dasha. She'd never been able to walk on flat feet before and balanced on her tippy toes. After the surgery, she could walk flat footed. (She could also run, jump, and do the same things other eight year olds did). After the casts came off, physical therapy would be a weekly part of our new routine. If having a child who didn't speak English and had two leg casts wasn't enough, Grant took a tumble off of his four wheeler and broke his arm. Can you imagine the ugly looks I got when I was seen with one kid with two leg casts and one with a cast on his arm. Argh! As the casts came off and we began PT, it was obvious that Dasha's "problems" were much bigger than simply lengthening her tendons. After many tests which were quite inconclusive and much evidence, she was finally diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Keeping her muscles stretched out will be a life-time commitment but this is sure not impacting Dasha's intellectual functioning!!!

Time has passed and we are still battling Dasha's muscles. When she has growth spurts, she hunches over like an old lady but we have an awesome physical therapist who helps keep Dasha is "alignment" and is constantly reminding us that CP muscle issues are like roller coasters!

While Dasha's physical metamorphosis is quite obvious, we're still working to fill in all of the voids left by institutional life. Things such as maintaining personal space, acting "appropriately" in public, and understanding the need to work hard at school are all goals that are going to take some extra time to instill. Everyday is NOT a walk in the park. However, Eric and I can both look back to an exact moment in time when we knew that Dasha was to be part of our family. We will continue to follow God's direction and share His love with Dasha. As I said, it's not always easy but when you are on the right path, it makes those frustrating moments easier to endure.

Randolph History 201: Homecoming

After months of waiting, we finally received a court date for our final adoption proceedings. We left for St. Petersburg, again in December of 2005.

This time, we arrived at the orphanage to find Dasha telling her friends, "Good-bye, I'll never see you again!" Dasha was dismissed to our care for the remainder of our stay in Russia. She was ecstatic! Eric was thrilled with having a girl! And I was terrified!!!

We were very lucky to have the opportunity to stay at the home of a gentleman from Athens, GA who had started an outreach to orphans in Russia. While we did pay for our room, it was well below what a hotel would've cost and we had a translator!

Russian courts can order that a family stay in Russia for two weeks for a "waiting period" after their adoption is final. We were praying that our two week wait would be waived. Two weeks would have meant that we were spending Christmas in Russia and away from Grant. Our prayers were answered, and our waiting period was waived due to the fact that Dasha had already spent time with us. We'd be able to make it home for Christmas! We decided that I would go ahead and fly home to get back to school and get Grant back to some normalcy. I left for Moscow on the day after the proceedings and Grant stayed behind with Dasha to do the final paperwork. On December 7th, Dasha arrived on US soil as Dasha Elizabeth Randolph.

Randolph History 104: The Great Adventure

After a wonderful hosting experience with Daria, who preferred to be called Dasha, our hearts were tender and we had to seek guidance as to what our next steps would be. Grant had taken to Dasha and they'd learn to speak the same language - play and laughter. We definitely had the opportunity to adopt Dasha but that would cost LOTS of money (which we still didn't' have) and require international travel.

God quickly showed us which paths to choose and we began traipsing through the the red tape called the international adoption process. Ironically, another family from our church was going to adopt a child that lived in the same orphanage as Dasha so we had another family to muddle through the process with!

Our church family pulled together and helped with several benefits which raised the money we needed for the legal costs. Ironically, the family we were adopting with worked for Delta so they graciously gave us Buddy Passes. Not only did we get a free flight to Moscow, we got to ride first class! Yee-haw! I'd always wondered what went on on the other side of that mysterious curtain!

We made our first trip to St. Petersburg in May of 2005. What an emotional roller coaster. I'd never been away from Grant for more than a couple of nights and I'd never been out of the US. Let me give you a suggestion, if you want to be an international traveler, don't start with Russia! The other dramatic part of the trip was this... Since we were flying on Buddy Passes, we had to go stand-by. We didn't get on the first flight with our friends. There was one seat left and I was completely mortified by the thought of landing on international soil with Eric! We ended up calling a friend who bought us tickets (we didn't have a credit card with that much room and we sure didn't have that much cash) to Moscow. Upon landing in Moscow, we met up with our friends who had some "connections" in Moscow who helped us navigate our way back to the train station and onto a train bound for St. Petersburg. Trains are much cheaper and I don't know how I'd rate their safety in comparison of the small planes which fly between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Moving on... We finally arrived at the orphanage only to find out that Dasha had be quarantined for a respiratory infection at a hospital about an hour away. While fighting back the urge to scream, cry, and just over and sleep, we visited with the other children in the orphanage. Though it was heartbreaking, it was encouraging to see how well the staff interacted with the kids. We knew that Dasha had been well cared for.

The next day, our driver took us to the children's hospital so we could see Dasha. She was in a room by herself with a portable potty (full) and a bowl of mush on the table. Dasha had convinced the staff that she was near crazy! She wouldn't speak to them and was lethargic. However, when we arrived, she greeted us with Mama and Poppy and lit up! The staff was amazed. Our driver was our interrupter and helped us promise her that we'd be back to take her home to the US in a few months. (We knew that we'd simply be filing paperwork on this trip). We left her with some new hair barrettes and a doll that spoke both Russian and English. Then we left. Eric and I both cried all the way back to St. Petersburg.

The next morning, we were told that the hospital had agreed to release Dasha to our care for the next two days due to her reaction to us. Thank you, God. We were staying in a old two-bedroom flat with the other family. Their son, Elman, had been released to their care for the remainder of our stay, as well. After a long and eventful day of signing papers and promising people that we weren't crazy, at least legally, we went back to the orphanage and picked Dasha up. We spent the next day experiencing Russia with her. She was not able to walk but Eric was more than happy to carry her everywhere.

When we returned Dasha and Elman to the orphanage the next day, our hearts were broken but we knew that we'd return soon to take the kids home for good.

Randolph History 103: The Saga Continues

OK - After Ansley's death, things were very rough for our marriage. Our common goal had been financial survival and tending to Ansley's needs. Without those goals, we didn't think we had anything to fight for. Yes, Grant was our everything and he was definitely worth fighting for but we were weary with fighting and wanted to take an easy way out. Eric's boss at Chick-fil-A offered us a scholarship to a marriage "retreat" at Camp Winshape. We accepted not knowing what to expect. The four day retreat turned out to be more like isolation in a Pottery Barn-ish cabin with the support of a marriage counselor. Talk about intense! Eric and I found out things about each other and ourselves that I don't know if we'd even had revealed in twenty years of marriage. (Some of those things I think I could have done without knowing) ! :) Bottom line, the support of others and another reminder of God's sovereignty and grace put our marriage back on the "viable" market. Things didn't change over night but we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. (I'm still working toward that light)!

With our marriage back on the right path, we began to think about our family. We joined the church that had supported us and the class that had provided for us. More than that, we got ourselves right with God. He had given us such a gift in our short time with Ansley and such a peace throughout her illness. Eric and I both had to realize that we'd cluttered up our lives and moved away from God. All we had to do was move the clutter and run back into those outstretched arms. I'm sure not saying that we didn't experience the pain and grief of losing a child. We were able to experience that grief from within the confines of the knowledge that "all things happen for a reason" (Romans 8:28).

As time passed, we began to think about our options for expanding our family. We had a 25% chance of having another Pompe's child. We weren't comfortable with the uncertainty of foster care. We did have to think about Grant's development, as well. However, in August of 2004, our path was made clear in a very odd way. A friend of ours had mentioned a group that brought East European children to the US each Christmas and summer for visits. Most of these children were available for adoption, as well. We'd been receiving email from this group from several months but hadn't paid too much attention to them. We did NOT have the finances to pay for airfare or any of the other requirements for one of these orphans. Ha, ha, ha.

Eric and I both opened up the email with the pictures of the kids coming for the Christmas 2004 hosting. He opened the email at home and I opened it at school. We both saw the same six year old and both told ourselves, "NO WAY!" The bio of this child said that she had respiratory issues, couldn't walk, and had some vision problems. We'd already "been there and done that" with medical issues. However, I couldn't get the little girl out of my mind. Her given name was Daria. Unbeknown to me, Eric couldn't get her out of his mind either. Through a series of emails, we finally found out that God had laid the little girl on both of our hearts. Our final email said something like, "What do we do?" The smart person would have responded, "Do what God wants you to do." However, those of us that are too smart for our own good try to use "reason." We eventually called the hosting agency and were told that the agency hadn't agreed to let anyone host the child because they were waiting on the "right" family. Great. God has a way of working things out even if we don't cooperate! Long story short, Daria was slotted to spend Christmas 2004 with our family. However, a few weeks before she was to arrive, we were told that she was going to have spinal surgery in Russia to fix her "toe walking." I have to admit that I was almost relieved. I'd just spent several months being house bound with a terminally ill infant. Now, I was going to be house bound with a handicapped Russian child who couldn't speak English. Hmmm. Might sound selfish but it's the truth! I think I had my own personal little victory party. A week before the orphans were to arrive, we got a phone call about 7:00 a.m. that simply said, "Check your email." The email said that Russian doctors had decided to let Daria come to the US instead of doing spinal surgery. They thought the US experience would do her a world of good and the surgery could be rescheduled. OK. My very mature mindset was completely unraveled. This was going to happen no matter what I wanted. On December 7, 2004, Daria arrived at Hartfield Airport in Atlanta and came to live at the House of Randolph for a few weeks.

Randolph History 102: Ansley

Our family seemed complete with a big brother and dainty little sister. However, after noticing that Ansley seemed limp and didn't have much muscle tone, we became concerned. We didn't have to worry too long before a trip to the ER shook our "routine" world. We'd taken Ansley to the ER at Scottish Rite due to her wheezing. We'd been told that she might have asthma which wasn't a big deal since Eric, too, has asthma. However, when we arrived at the hospital, Ansley was whisked away into a trauma room because of her low blood oxygen. Looking back, I don't know if those call those rooms "trauma rooms" because of the patent's trauma or the parents'. Anyway, we were eventually transferred to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital where she was admitted to PICU. She remained there for six weeks. Doctors assumed that she had a rare and terminal disease, Pompe's. We were finally released to come home right before Grant's 3rd birthday. However, we were dismissed with a laundry list of medications, oxygen, a feeding tube, and enough monitors to make neighbors mistake our apartment for some sci-fi set for a movie!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
During all of this, Eric lost his job. Since I had been staying at home, this was devastating financially. It is extremely humbling to admit but I ended up in the line for WIC and Medicaid for the kids. Through a host of miraculous events, I was able to return to my old school and begin teaching again in October. This is almost unheard of - getting a job in the middle of the year! The position was for a long-term substitute. Funny enough, this job only existed in our county for two years! Eric was able to go back to his old Chick-fil-A job that he had in college in the evenings. Only by the grace of God did we keep our rent paid and food on the table. So, I worked during the day while Eric took care of Grant and tended to Ansley's medical needs. Then, when I got home, we traded jobs. I can guarantee this is NOT how to grow a healthy marriage!

In February of 2003, Ansley's conditioned worsened again. We were readmitted to Egleston. I continued working while Eric stayed at the hospital with Ansley and a host of friends and relatives took care of Grant. Although we still had not gotten a final diagnosis for Pompe's disease, all of the symptoms pointed directly to that. Pompe's is a genetic disease but Eric and I could not find any other evidence of it in our lineages. It is very rare.

In March, Ansley's death was inevitable. Eric and I made the decision to take her home. We were dismissed to hospice. Doctors, respiratory therapists, and nurses escorted us from Atlanta back to Kennesaw to get Ansley situated. We were worried with Grant's perception of things but he kept the role of innocent three year old big brother and became her protector. I won't lie and say that the next few days were blissful. They weren't. We had an apartment full of relatives and friends. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm NOT a social being and I'd much rather live under a rock than have to socialize! However, we were grateful for all of the help.

Before Ansley's hospitalization, we'd fallen away from our church family. We'd simply become "too busy." However, when Ansley was admitted to the hospital the first time, I called the church that Grant had been attending for preschool and simply ask them to pray. I had no idea that they would assign us a class that would become our shepards. All of those "unknown" friends brought food, gave money, and stayed on their knees for us.

On March 3rd, Eric's best friend and his new wife (they came home from their honeymoon to be with us) were with us having dinner. Eric and Jay (Ansley's middle name) were about to leave to go to Blockbuster. However, moments before they could leave, Ansley's monitors alarmed. Grant turned the monitors off just as he'd been instructed to do many times before. Ansley slipped from the bonds of her disease and into Jesus'. The word that comes to mind is - peace. There were no nurses running crazily from station to station, just Ansley and our family.

Obviously, it's much easier for me to write all of this with five years worth of time passed. However, the biggest thing that I constantly remember from our short experience with Ansley was her huge impact on all of those around her. In her nine months here, her demeanor and spunk showed how pure God's love is. At her funeral, pediatricians, doctors, nurses, and administrators from the hospital were in attendance along with all of our new church family. I can guarantee you they weren't there because of how perfect her parents had been!!!

Anyway, through Ansley, we gained precious friends which we still consider our best friends, a more grounded view of how finite things on this Earth are, and how gracious God is.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Randolph History 101

OK - Just a quick dose of Randolph History 101 for those of you who might be spying on the craziness of our family just to make yourselves feel a little better about your own lives!

Eric and I were married in January of 1997. I started teaching in August of that year and Eric continued traveling with a PR company. The moment we settled into a routine, suprise! Grant was born in January of 2000 and was, of course, the apple of everyone's eye. I stayed home with him while Eric continued traveling. Then, suprise AGAIN! On July 4 of 2002, Ansley was born.