Another Video

Here is another video I prepared with pictures from the kids... Hope you like it! - Lydia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytji75rpOpY

Children in Need

We have two more weeks before the children return to Colombia on August 8.

The following kids do not have firm adoption commitments at this time, so we are gearing our efforts toward them. We can’t let them go home without families!

Bryan

Jefferson

Maria and Edgar

Maria de los Angeles

Mayerly

The host families would be happy to talk with anyone regarding these particular children. I’m hearing really nice things about all of them, each different in their own way. Let me know if you have anyone who needs further information.

A Fun Weekend

We had a fun & busy weekend with the kids.

Saturday afternoon we had our weekend event at Dart Bowl and it was a lot of fun. Thank you to all the visiting families that attended! The photos from the event can be found in our Picassa album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/KIDSAVEAUSTIN in the “events” folder.

Then it was off to the Round Rock Express baseball game with Bryan, Jhonathan and Paola. All the kids, but most especially the boys were really excited about attending the game. We would like to thank Heather Tantimonaco & the Round Rock Express for their generous donation and to the catcher, J.R. Towles that graciously posed for a picture with our kids.

I asked Bryan if he liked baseball and he responded: I ADORE it! (With emphasis!). Bryan is a really outgoing kid with a lively personality; he was smiling and playing jokes on us the whole time. He told me his favorite sports are baseball and cycling and I noticed he was great at bowling too.

And if Byran is all boy, Paola is the most girly girl I know. She has a great personality, really sweet, friendly and talkative. She said she wants to be a princess and that her favorite movies were “The Little Mermaid” Part 1 and Part 2. Her favorite sports are jumping rope and volleyball and she said “Like all women, I like to play with dolls”. His favorite school subject is math and she loved to play with our Leap Pad.

I am really enjoying spending time with these kids & the other families. I know that my life is changed just by getting to know them.

Lydia

Join us for our Kidsave Bowling Event!!

Join us for our Kidsave Bowling Event!!

Come bowl with us this Saturday and meet the kids! We only have two remaining events, so please spread the word!

Saturday, July 26, 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Dart Bowl, 5700 Grover Avenue (west of Lamar Blvd and just south of 2222)

The cost will be $7.50 per bowler (regardless of age) for 2 hours of bowling, with shoe rental included. Anyone not bowling is welcome to watch and cheer on those who are (no cost).

Austin Steam Train

This past Saturday some of the kids, escorts & host families took an excursion on the Bertram Flyer of the Austin Steam Train Association. We rode on vintage passenger cars that reminded me of my childhood train trips in Mexico. We had a lot of fun!

The pictures from this excursion are now posted on the Kidsave Picassa Album here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/KIDSAVEAUSTIN

We would like to thank Holly Doggett and the Austin Steam Train Association for their generosity and hospitality.

Lydia

The kids are on News 8!

Here is a link to the story yesterday on News 8:

Video: http://www.news8austin.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=54713

Story: http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=214960

Lydia

Sandra & Ivan Update

Hello everyone Carnahans here with Ivan and adorable Sandra . We have felt truly blessed having them with us . Even my son is enjoying every minute with them . It's like they are meant to be together. Like they have known each other all there lives . Alex was so cute in church last week he was helping them to find the service in spansih . Our misslettes' at SMM have dual language components and he was helping them find the correct passages to the english ones just so they could follow . We took them to Casa Colombia Wednesday evening when I had gotten off work early . Boy Ivan can eat . He received the house plate of all this food and ate about every bite and offered everyone a taste . Even our Russian adopted son liked the arroz con pollo . And Gina couldn't help , but take a picture of the restaurant .Gina felt it was just like home.
Sandra and Ivan have been participating in the Leander summer reading program and already have won prizes for reading . Today Gina cooked authentic Colombian pasta dish which was quite tasty I must say . I had a little . These two are willing to try everything . We look forward to seeing everyone Sunday . Hopefully I can get some pictures developed . Brooke CARNAHAN

Coming To America

Here is an article about the Summer Miracles program going on in other communities:

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_features.htm?StoryID=77613

Come Meet The Kids, Sunday, July 20!

Hi Everyone,

Things are going well with our children so far this summer! For the most part, they are adjusting to life with their host families and enjoying their vacations. I’ve pasted a couple of pictures below of the kids to share with you. Getting to know them has been by far the best part of this program! The boys were playing soccer or in the water most of the time, so I’ll send more pics of them next week.

Next Sunday, July 20, we will have our second Kidsave event at Westlake Beach beginning at 2:00 ending about 6:00ish. This is Colombian Independence Day, so an important holiday for the kids! For more information and pictures of West Lake Beach, check out the web site at www.WestLakeBeach.com.

Please join us for a Sunday afternoon swim and BBQ, and a chance to play with the kids. The owners of the park are donating the pavilion and the entry fee for the first 40 people. After that, the admission fee will be $8 for adults age 12 and up and $5 for children age 1 to 11.

The park recommends water socks due to Zebra Shells in Lake Austin.

Here are the park rules:1. West Lake Beach closes at 7:00 PM and all must vacate the picnic area.2. Glass items are not allowed. Beer in keg is OK or can.3. Piñatas and confetti are not allowed; gift bags are OK.4. No water balloons, silly string or raw eggs (for egg toss).5. Pie throwing is also prohibited (shave cream, whipped cream, etc.)6. All decorations must be removed including tape, tacks, staples before closing time.7. Horseshoes only in designated place (ask management where horseshoe pit is). 8. Inflatables are not permitted (air mattresses and floats are fine).9. Any use of electricity must be cleared before party (radio, margarita machines, etc.).10. No dogs/pets allowed.


Hope to see you there! Viva Colombia!

Terri

Mayerly Update

Mayerly has integrated very well into our home and our family. She is so easy going and sweet natured that I think she could fit in anywhere. She has been polite and respectful from the beginning but has now warmed up enough to allow her personality to shine. Her sense of humor is great and her laugh comes quickly and freely. She plays with my small children, making them laugh. For my 18 month old "mommy's girl", it surprised me to find her quickly climbing into Mayerly's lap to watch videos. I can be anywhere in the house and hear her laughing and singing. She makes the home seem more alive and happy when she is in it.

She is, above all, a teenager. She likes watching movies, listening to music, singing aloud to the songs, and playing video games. She is so smart that I now ask her for help when I can't figure out something with the electronics in the home. Maybe I'm just old...

She started camp this week and I felt a little apprehensive, as I recently learned they had no Spanish speakers there. I went to pick her up today and found her in a circle of girls; them teaching her English and she teaching them Spanish.

It's going to be fun to get to know her more so I'll keep you posted.

Thanks,
Kye

Little Kevin

Little Kevin moved in this weekend to another family's home. I feel hopeful about this move, because it increases his opportunities to find his permanent family.

I prepared this slideshow of the pictures I have of him so far, I hope you like them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0rj10v8dkg

Lydia

American Idol

Here is the cutest video of Kevin singing, playing his guitar & dancing. He is pretty much making up the lyrics as he goes along. Make sure you stay until the end when he starts doing cart-wheels & breakdancing. He is hilarious and very talented!

http://www.penawatson.com/videos/Kevin.wmv

Enjoy!

Lydia

Airport Arrival Video

It may not be KVUE, but I think it is pretty good considering the excitment of the day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp6AFymScY8


Lydia

Bienvendios a Maria de los Angeles!

Maria was one of the "lucky" kids who arrived in Austin before midnight. Considering all the challenges they faced just getting to Austin, these kids were in good spirits. The picture we had of her must be a couple of years old because Maria looks very different now. After we welcomed all of the kids and it was time to leave the airport, Maria made sure to hug all of her friends good-bye (for a week). It is a lot for a 9 1/2 year old to handle, but she remained calm and polite. And patient. Due to some lost luggage, we ended up leaving the airport about an hour after others who arrived with Maria. She was glad to see a bed and slept very well on her first night in Austin.

Camp & the Big Bike Squable

Today was Kevin first day of camp. He was excited about going to "el colegio". On the way he was asking lots of questions about his "profesores". He is a very outgoing little boy and did not seem scared or nervous about this new situation.

GENEROSITY. When I introduced him to one of the camp counselors he immediately gave her his lolipop (from the haircut place). Then he asked me if I could bring his toys when I came to pick him up. (His toy possesions are 1 stuffed monkey he got at the airport and 1 stuffed dog that John got him). When I picked him up and gave him his toys he gave them to 2 of the counselors. I was very touched by his generosity, especially since those were the only 2 toys he owned.

BIG BIKE SQUABLE. We have 2 bikes, a blue bike with a loud horn and a basket, and a pink princess bike courtesy of our neighboor. Guess which one the boys fight about? There was a big squable this afternoon over who got to use the princess bike (kidding - it was the blue bike) and some wresling was involved which now that I think about it, it was funny since they both still were wearing their helmets and it looked like our very own version of mini-american gladiator (it was not funny then!). BOTH bikes got put on a 10 minute time-out. And then we fliped a coin to see who got to use the blue bike first, set a timer for 10 minutes and then they had to switch bikes. It worked!!! I am so amazed when some of my discipline ideas actually work sometimes. They still played very rough, bumper-bikes, taking turns crashing into each other and laughing and complaing and crying the whole time. A good time was had by all except me - I needed a break as soon as my husband came home.

Sweaty & tired but happy the boys came in for dinner and Kevin was very happy that we had pasta (spagetti) for dinner. He said that is something he really likes and if we could please give him a lot of it. He was very thankful.

At bath time, they wanted to do the coin toss again to see who would get a bath first. So I guess I am keeping a coin in my pocket at all times now for prevention purposes.

NEW FRIEND. Kevin is very outgoing and makes friends easy. He overhead me talking to a friend over the phone and inviting him over. Well, Kevin did not want to have dinner until our friend showed up. When he finally did show up, Kevin became his buddy immediately, asking him lots of questions about his family, and his trip. Our friend Juan will be traveling to Australia tomorrow to represent the United States at World Youth Day's Final Mass and will be confirmed by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. Juan was nervous because he has never been away from his family or traveled by plane and here he was going to be sent across the world, traveling with hundred of thousands of young pilgrims and representing our country.

Before Juan arrived, I had given Kevin a little plastic rosary as we were getting ready for our evening prayers. Well he gave it to Juan as a gift. Sweet little Kevin.

Lydia

More Summer Miracles

CNN posted this video on the summer miracle program & one family's journey to adopt their son from Taiwan.


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/07/06/bolduan.more.summer.miracles.cnn


This year, Kidsave is bringing 82 children from Colombia and Taiwan to different communities across the country: Ahttp://www.kidsave.org/communities.html

The beginning of a (hopefully) miraculous summer.

It seems that just getting all the kids here is the first miracle, and I am not talking about the raising of funds, finding host families, et al, but just the actual traveling. Due to plane difficulties the kids and their escorts where not able to leave Bogata when originally planed. Well, I guess they left when planned, but then the plane had to turn around and land back in Bogata. From that point on it seemed like we could only get pieces of information about the travel plans, usually the newest news being quite different than the last piece of news. Eventually the airline ended up putting up the kids and the escorts in a hotel in Bogata Saturday night and then they flew out early Sunday morning. Once they made it to Atlanta, the airline had difficulty getting them all to Austin, it was impossible to get every one on one flight, and trying to determine who would fly with whom, and what flights had room was a logistical nightmare. Luckily the Atlanta Kidsave Coordinator went above and beyond the call of duty and spent her day at the airport helping to coordinate the travel plans. Eventually the first group of kids and one of the escorts where able to catch a flight that landed in Austin at 8:15 PM, the rest of the group and the other escort arrived at 1:00 AM! The good news is everyone is here safe and sound.


Kevin arrived on the 8:15PM flight. He looked tired, and I think he was a little emotional at meeting us. After hugging us and John Paul he seemed to rejuvinate a little and was full of questons about us, our car, our home, our dog, etc. He remarked when we were leaving the airport that Austin looked like a "rain forest" because of all the trees. We got home and got him and John Paul to go to sleep probably around 11:00 Pm and hoped to get a good nights sleep. As Lydia already posted, Kevin is used to waking up early and getting some exercise, he didn't let all the travel alter his routine, and was up a ready to go at 6:00 AM.

I'll post more later, but wanted to end with a quick story. Kevin and John have been getting along great. There have been some conflicts over toys, who gets to slide down the slide (or climb up the slide) first, etc, but nothing major or different that when any kids play together. One little conflict was the desire for both of them to hold the leash to walk our dog, Baxter, this afternoon. Luckily I was able to find another leash, attach that to Baxter's collar as well and both John and Kevin where able to walk Baxter at the same time, each with his own leash! They ended up having a lot of fun and both finished the walk laughing.

Mark

Padrino: Te Quiero

OK I am jealous. How come Mark gets Kevin's first "I love you"???? He attached pretty quickly to his "padrino" and loves to do things with him. He got a box of crackers and made sure he saved half to share with my husband later. He also asked for an extra lolipop at the haircut place for his padrino, and another one for John. He wants his padrino to drive the car (OK I do too) & to go pick him up from camp. I can't say I blame him, I am pretty attached to Mark too.


This morning, Kevin sang us a sweet song. It was about God's Love, the Cross and the children of the streets. I wonder if he composed it or is something someone taught him. Either way it was very touching.


We had a very busy day today. I kept him home today expecting he would be tired from his late airport arrival last night. But I was WRONG. He woke up at 6 AM and told me the first thing he does in the morning is to go out for a run (!!!) So we grab the bikes & the dog and went out in the neighboorhood while my wonderful husband made us breakfast.


Then it was off to the park with my husband, my son & our friend Lexi.






After lunch we headed to the pool where he insisted he knew how to swim and wanted to go to the deep end. I gave him a swim test and he did not pass it, so he was not allowed to go there. He certainly was persistant & argued his point, but I was amazed that he did not throw a tantrum when I said no.







The poor child was sweating like crazy all day, so our day ended with a trip to get him a super-short hair cut. So enjoy his curly hair in these pictures, it will be a week or so before you see it again =)


Lydia

They are here!!!

Well at least some of the kids are here..They had lots of difficulties with their flights & the group had to be split up into different flights. We were very lucky that Kevin got on the first flight (Thanks St. Anthony!) but there are still a lot of anxious host families at the airport expecting the rest of the children. We pray that everyone gets here soon & safe.






Kevin is a charmer! He gave us all big smiles & hugs. On the car, we discovered his favorite food is pizza, that he likes pools and that he wants to go see the lake & swim. He also said he liked car races. He & John seem to be getting over the language barrier just fine and played a "sandwich of" game that cracked them up with laughter the whole trip back (how about a sandwich of... shoe? NO!!!!... how about a sandwich of... cars? NO!!!!!!!!!!.... how about a sandwich of?.. you get the point). He wanted to meet Baxter, our dog right away, but it was too late and I thought I would leave the introductions for tomorrow morning.

We read "Rainbow Fish" in Spanish & "Good Night Moon" in English before bed & then said our prayers. One really sweet thing I wanted to share was that after we finished our nightime prayers in English, he started saying the "Our Father" in Spanish. We'll make sure to include it in our bed time routine tomorrow.



All the kids seemed really nice & I am really looking foward to getting to know them & spending time with them.

Meet Bryan (11)

Bryan is a 11-year old Colombian boy who is tender, responsible and respectful. He can be shy and somewhat reserved with new people, but opens up as his trust grows. Bryan gets along well with people of all ages.

Bryan enjoys school and is committed to catching up with his peers, who started school before he did. In fact, he recently received an award for motivation and dedication to his schoolwork. He also enjoys sports, playing outdoors and group activities. He especially likes bicycles, soccer and movies.

Bryan wants to belong to a stable family that will treat him with love and affection, and help him develop more confidence. Two of Bryans’s siblings (Mayerly & Kevin) are also participating in Summer Miracles this summer, but they can be adopted separately.