Remodeled Mackey Arena

14,123

If you are a Purdue fan, I'm guessing that when I say this number you know what I am referring to.

I had a chance to go to the Purdue-Nebraska game this past Wed. I went with a friend from St. Lukes, Dwayne Lewis. He has a co-worker who used to be a manager for the Men's Basketball team. So, after the game he was able to hook us up with a tour of the re-modeled Mickey.

We got to see the Basketball offices, the film room, the locker room, the training facility and the practice court. Super cool and I am thankful for the opportunity provided by Dwayne.

BOILER UP!

Vantage from our seats before the game.

Championship titles (Men's and Women's) on display in the concourse.

Entrance to the BBall office

Practice Court donated by Brian Cardinal and his wife.

Film Room

Me at the end of the tunnel looking out on Keady Court

View down the tunnel

Training Facility

Play Hard Board

Oh, and it's no longer 14,123. It is now, 14,240.

February Update

We continue to be impressed with the orphanage that we are working with in Haiti. We will get monthly updates (including photos) on Little Mister and they seem to be very detailed.

Here is a great example, his daily schedule.

Daily Routine:
6am – wake up
6:30am – bath time
7:00am – getting dressed
7:30am  - breakfast
8am- English Class
9am – play time in the yard 
9:45am - peanut butter bread and juice
10:00am play time outside – singing, dancing, swings, balls, jump rope, etc
11am – Short walk to guesthouse for pre-school with Mademoiselle Kiki
12:30pm – walk back to Toddler House for lunch
1pm – Back up to guesthouse for another hour of school
2pm – Schools out, walk home, head to bed for a nap
3:30 - wake-up
3:45pm – juice and cookies
4pm – play outside or take a walk
5:30pm – suppertime
6:30pm – bathes and pjs
7pm - in bed for the night

This gives us great comfort in seeing how well he is cared for and the kind of education he is getting.

Referral

We have FANTASTIC news on Wednesday the 7th we got information from the adoption agency that we had been matched with a little boy. I was at work and Leslie was home. After the initial information from the adoption specialist, we started getting info on him through their online portal. We had the opportunity to look through the photos and videos as they came pouring in.

He is 4 1/2 years old, and was placed in the Orphanage in March of 2010. We have information on his birth Mother, but his birth Father is unknown.

December 2011

We know he was somewhat malnourished when he first arrived at the orphanage, but quickly rebounded with medication and proper nutrition. One thing to keep in mind is March of 2010, was 2 months after the earthquake. I have to imagine things were still very chaotic in Haiti in March.

July 2011

We know he was a full term baby and was breast fed. He has a fairly clean medical report. The only item they have cautioned us on is anemia. We also know that slight anemia is common for Haitian children in the community.

He is described as a quiet, easy going and a happy natured children. The report also talks about him as an observer, but he is willing to jump in and play with others. They say he is liked by all the other kids and known as the boy who won't fight or argue. They also say he is affectionate and he has bonded well with his primary caregiver and teacher. His smile melts my heart every time I see it.

May 2011

We also know that he has been evaluated at 4 1/2 years in social development (a match with his physical age). It appears that he has some slight delays with verbal communication. But, his other communication skills are very good. He is attending Creole and English pre-school classes each day and knows about half of his alphabet at this time. He also knows colors and number both in Creole and English.

February 2011

As you can imagine, we are beyond excited and walking on air. We've got a ton of question about what is next and when we can travel to meet him, but it will take a while to determine next steps.

Merry Christmas Little Mister

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, I had a chance to walk the dog between the kids going to bed and Santa's arrival. It was a cold crisp night, but also very clear and I could see lots of stars. As I was walking and looking at the stars, my mind drifted to my trip to Haiti and all the stars I could see each night there. The sky seemed very similar.

Now, Leslie and I know we will be adopting a boy, but we don't know our son's name yet. Leslie has taken to calling him Little Mister. We call Eli Little Man, so the term Little Mister for our second son just fits.

As I thought about the stars, I began to wonder if Little Mister happened to be looking at the stars on Christmas Eve as well. Oh, how we wish he could be with us to celebrate Christmas this year. We really wish he was home with us to enjoy the holiday.

All of these thoughts start rolling through my head on the walk and the next thing I know I'm overcome with emotion and start crying. The emotion is equal parts sadness (that he's not with us yet) and equal parts joy (knowing that it won't be long).

I hope he clings to the thought that it won't be that long. Merry Christmas Little Mister.

Creativity in woodworking

So, somehow, I became motivated to build a carrier of some kind to hold and keep upright, 1/2 gallon growlers. The local breweries have tasting rooms where you can get a half gallon of your favorite delicious local craft beer.

It's tough to get just one filled, so when you have two, it makes carrying them a challenge. So I went online and searched for some options. I found a couple of places that sell wooden carriers. In looking at them, it looked like something I could do. Plus it might give me an option to buy more cool power tools.

Here is the first one I created. This is made out of pine and finished with tung oil. There are dowel plugs to help give it a nice finished look.

Pine growler carrier with tung oil finish

One of the cool new tools that I bought was a stacked dado blade. You can see that in this overhead photo. There is something really cool about ripping a 3/4 swath through the piece of wood you are working on.

Notice the dado cuts

I've also created 6 (yes that is right six) more. But these are made out of rough cut cedar. I used the cedar because the walls of the tasting room of my favorite Indy brewery, Flat12, are cedar. The rafters in their building are also put together with pin construction. So the dowel plugs tie in that element as well.Working with the cedar also was nice because of the aroma.

Cedar growler carrier

Dossier received by GLA

We hit another milestone with the adoption process. On November the 28th, we were informed our dossier was received by GLA, our orphanage. This is great news. First it took very little time to have the dossier received once it was sent. Second, it means the next big step is the referral.

We've been informed that referrals take 1-3 months, so maybe by the end of January we will have face, name and description of our son. This will be the understatement of the blog, but that will be incredible. To know our son's name and have photos wow. At that same time I think it will make the process even harder, along with the patience aspect of this all.

Thanks for your continues prayers.

Documents being legalized

The paperwork journey is just about complete. About 10 days ago, a portion of of Dossier was sent to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago to be legalized. This is the final step for some of the documents. They first needed to be notarized. Then they got state sealed by the Indiana Sectratary of State's office. And finally, they will get legalized by a Haitian Consulate.

The US work is complete. Now we start in Haiti.

Once that is done the full Dossier and copies will get sent off to the orphanage, God's Littlest Angels. I think that will be the real test of patience as we shift into waiting mode. The next major milestone is child referral. This is when we get photos and a description of our son. As I typed the word milestone, I realize that the term is not significant enough. The referral put's a face to the child God has chosen to join our family.

In September, I had hoped to get the referral around Christmas time. I don't think that is possible now, given the timing. *sigh* This is teaching me patience right?