It’s complete.  A&M, here she comes.

May 18 is our 6th anniversary of Julia’s homecoming – what we call “Sisters Day.”

Julia’s fearful walk from the “machina” to her new “dom” Mary 18, 2006.  Thanks to Shelley for thinking to take a picture – I sure didn’t have sense enough to suggest it.

Sister’s Day is a great day to blog Lois’ “most influential” essay.  So here goes:

The Most Influential Person in My Life

by Lois Julia Woodworth

She is four feet and four  inches tall, weighs barely fifty pounds, jabbers far too often, and loves me. She has brown hair, olive skin, dark eyes, and a scar from a polio shot on her left arm. She sleeps twenty feet away from me, wakes me in the night when she’s scared, and holds my hand when we cross the street. She joined my family five and a half years ago one May night, and she has drastically altered my life course every second since. She is Julia – my sister – and she is the most influential person in my life.

Julia began stretching her will into my life before she even came home from Russia. In late 2004, my parents asked my sisters and I if we would like to have another sister. After a few side discussions, we decided to expand our family. I began to imagine life with another sister that very night. One of my sisters -  Hannah – would have to share her room with the new addition, and the three of us would share a bathroom, but I was convinced the new sister would be worth it. Julia made me much more open to sharing and considering the needs of others long before she fearfully stepped into her new “dom” (house.)

The wait for Julia’s adoption taught me patience. My family waited more than a year for the name alone of the little girl soon to be a Woodworth.  When her name and picture were revealed to us, I was shocked.  Julia – called by her name of “Guanna” at the time  -was frail and weak. Her hair hung like brittle branches around her hollow face.  Instantly, I felt protective of this child, this orphan whom would soon arrive in my midst. Through the long months of  the adoptive process until my parents went to meet her in St. Petersburg, Julia taught me that patience cannot be overvalued.

When Julia finally did come home in May 2006, my life was truly changed. The first barrier between us was one of language. Guanna spoke only Russian; I knew nowhere near enough Russian to understand her, or respond to her. We worked out a series of hand gestures and pantomime to facilitate communication. It was this process which taught me that love did not need a language to be expressed.

Julia also inspired me to be a better person. My younger sister Hannah and I had never really gotten along; she never looked up to me for anything. When Julia came home, I knew that I needed to be the best person possible for her. I helped her draw, taught her English words and phrases, and stayed with her until she fell asleep at night. I loved her more with every passing day. Julia -  just by existing – taught me that I am the master of my own behavior. She made me want to learn self-control and practice self-awareness.

Julia arrived at my house as a fragile stranger and blossomed into a beautiful preteen girl. During her metamorphosis, I changed as well. Julia taught me the value of patience,  how to be self-aware and how to sing “Frere Jacques” in Russian.  I taught her what to call our family members, where Mom hides the Girl Scout cookies and how to turn on the shower. Julia and I learned a great deal from each other, the most important of all being love.

Hang on, Lois!  A&M is going to be a wild ride.

I’ve missed one, though, these last six years, though I think of her often. She’s young – but ageless. Speaks Russian – but soundless. Important – but formless. And not here – but omnipresent. She’s Julia’s “first mother,” the one who gave her life.

We know very little about her. She couldn’t be found before our May 10, 2006 court date. I wish we had a picture of her at least. Does she have Julia’s sparklingly dark, slightly-slanted eyes? Is she athletic? Is it she who gave Julia that unusual strands-of-gold-in-brunette hair? We will likely never know.

Our earliest picture of Guanna-to-be-Julia, which we snagged off the Russian data base of orphans.  She was about 18 months old. 

There’s no denying that first mother. I’m Julia’s mom, but I didn’t birth her. I didn’t count her fingers and toes, or coo at her, or stumble around at night heating bottles. I didn’t clap at her first step, or grin at her first word. Julia has my heart, but she doesn’t have my DNA.

We’ve talked about her first mother from time to time. Mostly I bring her up. I don’t want Julia afraid to ask about her, or think that she can’t love us both. I love all four of my daughters; loving two mothers is just as natural. I’ve answered her questions as best I can. I have lots of conjectures, but not many facts.

What I do know is that Julia’s first mother loved her enough to give birth to her. She was young with no one to help her, and likely very frightened. No one threw her a baby shower. No friends at church thought to loan her maternity clothes, or a car seat. No one sent flowers to the hospital, or brought over dinner, or offered to babysit so she could run to the store. No one congratulated her for giving birth to such a beautiful, beautiful baby.

So today I want to thank her for giving birth to such a beautiful, beautiful baby.

Happy Mother’s Day, First Mom.  Our girl is doing just fine.

Red velvet, too – yum!

Sarah always makes us very welcome, which is fortunate – since we’re coming to her house regardless.  With all our bags.  And pillow pets.  And 12-packs of Diet Coke.  Which everyone will have to step around in the entry way, so sorry, really, Clark, we’ll be taking it with us when we leave here next month.

Couch Fulla Cousins:  James, 5; Rachel, 20; Julia, 12; Lois, 18; Hannah, 16; Laura, 8.  Strange to think this may be our last spring break with a full house, since Lois leaves for A&M in the fall.

We spent Monday the Houston Livestock Show.  I don’t like animals, but I love the fair atmosphere.  Plus we got a free koozie for checking in on Facebook, and I’m all about the $Free.99.

Julia’s first candy apple, inspired by cousins Laura and James.  Sarah and I swore we were going to devour fried Milky Way bars, but when we got to the concession stand, we were just too hot and tired to think about them.  Neither of us had sense enough to wear shorts instead of jeans.  We slurped multiple bottles of cool water instead of licking gooey caramel deliciousness from our fingers.  Next year, Sarah – next year.

Don’t let these babies get your goat, girls.

Cabrito on the hoof!  Hannah was smiling a lot more Monday than she has been today.  She had six (count ‘em – six!) wisdom teeth removed this morning, plus an oral cyst.  Glad we went to Houston earlier because we’ll sure be staying close to home the remainder of spring break.

Julia spent about 10 minutes in front of the bee exhibit, trying to locate the queen.  I joked, “She looks a lot like me!”  But alas – my humor was lost on her.  Sigh.

So Happy Pi Day – and Spring Break!  Hope you have a sweet to celebrate – maybe even a fried Milky Way.

Rachel, Lois and Hannah each got a special trip for their ninth birthdays.  I took Rachel to American Girl Place in Chicago.  Keith took Lois whale watching in Seattle, and Hannah to San Francisco.

Keith took my very favorite picture e-v-e-r of Hannah on her special trip.  He had a full day planned, but she saw the Pacific ocean and begged to stop.  That’s where they spent most of the day.  This pictures captures “her” – joy and abandon.

But for Julia’s ninth birthday – the trip just didn’t work out.  We had first-year college expenses for Rachel, plus we were saving vacation time and every dime for the family cruise in December.  Julia wasn’t home to hear about the trips of Rachel, Lois and Hannah so I’m not sure her being shorted was bothering her as much as it bothered me.

One day, Keith and I would like to take her back to Russia to visit.  Let her see the beauty of St. Petersburg.  But that is a few years away, sooooo….

To celebrate her recent (12th) birthday, I took Julia to Space Center Houston to have lunch with an astronaut.  Rachel and Hannah couldn’t afford to miss work, school, Girl Scouts, etc. but Lois – grinning wickedly about “senior spring” – tagged along.

Julia’s fifth grade teacher  has their room decorated in “Early NASA.”   They’ve held several video conferences with NASA’s educational staff, and next week – they’re studying the moon.  Great timing for this trip, no?

When we lived in Houston, we visited often.  Lois (center) was only five years old in 1998 when “Space Family Woodworth” shot their Christmas card photo on site.

The three-story playground – a huge hit.   I, however, preferred the stairs to return to the ground level.

The older girls tease Julia about having a “six pack of abs,” but those weren’t much help lifting a planetary-adjusted weight.

While Julia spun around 360 degrees in this capsule….

…Lois and I could watch her on this exterior screen.  Omigosh!  Good that we did this before lunch.

Before enjoying lunch with astronaut Ken Cameron, we heard him speak for 30 minutes in the Blast Off Theater.  He spent a year training in Russia with cosmonauts.  My favorite Russian had a million questions for him – until he sat down at our table.  Then it was all “nodding of the head” and “chewing of the chicken strips.”

One small girl; one giant Saturn V rocket – part of the tram tour.  You may be asking, “Where are all the other people?”  Answer:  We went on a rainy Friday.  We had the place virtually to ourselves.  We never waited in line,  or had to elbow someone at a display.  It was awesome.  The perfect time to go!

The Saturn V building made great use of QR codes.  Lois and I got a huge kick out of scanning the codes for more info like…..

….a photo of and links to more info on the third stage.  Don’t have the AT&T scanner?  Well, heck - get it now!

The magic of a green screen!

We ended the day (5 p.m.) where we began (10 a.m.) – in the play area.  Julia absolutely loved building motorized “lunar rovers.”   This is my favorite picture of the day because it captures her fascination and concentration.

Next year, Julia will be a teenager and we’ll start those delightful adolescent experiences.

But for this year – I’m glad to still have a child to enjoy an out-of-this-world birthday.

Tonight she helped lead worship for the students at church. Of all the things I will miss when she leaves, her beautiful harmonizing alto will be among them.

And really – when I see her leading the many to focus on The One – she could tell me she was going to drop out and dig ditches and I’d be just fine with it.

Maybe.

Well, not really.

But I do love to her my girls sing.

Speaking of music….we sang “Happy Birthday” to a certain 12-year-old this morning….but more on that later….

My sister Judy (pictured), my brilliant niece Sarah and I did quite a bit of thizzzz.  We are always ready to settle down for long winter’s naps.

This was my usual view of the kids this week – the backs and sides of heads clustered around whatever iPod, DSi, Nook, Android, iPhone, etc. was handy.  Laura – age eight – picked up Rachel’s Android tablet for the first time and had pulled up Netflix in moments.  They all amaze me.

And now we’re on countdown for the happiest of birthday parties.

Merry Christmas!

Visiting out-of-town family included two members of the “Marie Club” – my sister Judith Marie and her granddaughter Laura Marie – pictured with our Hannah Marie.  When Hannah and her Scout troop enjoyed Disney World over spring break, she shopped for several (Aristocats) Marie gifts for Laura.

Great nephew James will start kinder next year.  Rachel adores him,   I took him, Laura, Julia and Hannah to play miniature golf Friday and let me tell you, I was ready for nap when we got home.  In fact – Judy and I napped together off and on all weekend, much to the amusement of indelicate spouses and children who muttered such gems as, “We’ll get you both rocking chairs for Christmas next year,” and “Soon it will be time for your medications.”  They better be more respectful or we’ll whack them with our canes.

Keith bought an electric turkey fryer this year, retiring the cauldron, broomstick and rope required in past years to cook the big birds.  Everyone agreed:  Best turkey he’s done.  Very moist, and the actual cooking is a lot less dangerous.  Our lunch for 18 included two fried turkeys, a smoked turkey (gift) and a ham – and we didn’t have an obscene amount of meat left by the weekend.  I used the scraps of the ham in a pot of pintos last night, and made a casserole with the last of the turkey today.

Our friends John and Linda – with whom we always do Thanksgiving – get two airmen trainees from Lackland each year, as do Keith and I.  So we enjoy the company of four airmen, all of whom – as six-year-old Hannah too-loudly commented in 2002 – are “good eaters.”  (l-r) Brandon from Kentucky, Ally from Arizona and Melissa from Missouri – all members of the Clean Plate Club.  Brandon asked, “Are we going to have pie?  I really like pie.”  What kind, I responded.  “Any kind!”  He had his choice of three chocolate, two pecan, two chess and two pumpkin – covered in foil behind him.

I gave the airmen my little Olympus to use during the day so they can take pictures of themselves.  Before Keith and John return them to base, I collect email addresses – parents, girlfriends, teachers, siblings, whomever – and push out a link to an online album.   Moms love it.  We got this lovely note back from the mother of Andrew (West Virginia):  “Thank you for the pictures.  They are our first photos of him since he left where we can actually see how he’s doing. How can we ever thank you enough for opening your home and sharing it with Andrew and the others.  It’s our first Thanksgiving apart and it was so much easier knowing he was with a family who would make him a part of their Thanksgiving.  When he called he was so excited and extremely thankful to have a day off base.”  Very kind, but really – John, Linda, Keith and I love hosting them.  Judy noticed an interesting trait all four shared and in retrospect, it’s been true every year – these kids want to not only serve our country, but also to improve themselves.   They know the military will provide opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them.  They’re strong, smart and hard-working with an eye on whom and what they might become.  They want to improve their chances of success.   And they’re not “occupying” anything except a bunk until 4 a.m.

Friday’s Thanksgiving decorations had to make way for a Christmas tree yesterday, plus holiday Fiestaware.  My Christmas CD’s are now in my iTunes, so I’ll be humming with Trans-Siberian in the kitchen next time I dock my iPhone in its speakers.  In the meantime, I’ll just chair dance with this favorite while I think about going back to work tomorrow.

Lois is now a high school senior.  She’s worked hard enough to have some real choices about where she goes away to college.  Those decisions are bittersweet because while I’m thrilled for her, I know I’m going to miss her.  But while she’s considering her next educational step, we’re enjoying some fun now with her being recognized as a Commended Student in the National Merit Scholarship Program.  Woot!

Tuesday:  A lovely breakfast for Lois, Keith and me with other families at the local country club…..

….where each student announced his or her intended college and major.  For Lois:  Likely Baylor or A&M, majoring in Engineering.   Both of her grandfathers were engineers, so, it’s a family thang.

Tonight:  The students and their parents were recognized at half-time at the Reagan/Madison game.  Wish Keith could have been there, but he’s in Houston visiting his parents.  And Hannah’s at Girl Scout camp.  But Rachel took these pictures, and Julia clapped hard.  This was the fourth football game I’ve attended in my life – one as yearbook editor in high school to write copy; two when I was handling sports and events for SBC in Houston; now this game tonight.  Interestingly, my former SBC sports marketing boss and friend Mark saw us at the game, and posted his congrats to my Facebook wall.

Yeah, I had to practically run to keep up with her – but what else is new?

A medal from Dr. Brian Gottardy, NEISD Superintendent.   As I have blogged before - the single biggest blessing we’ve gotten from moving to San Antonio in 2000 has been the schools.  In Houston and in San Antonio – good neighbors, good friends, good church.  But schools in Houston?  Forget them.  Hideous.  I am profoundly thankful for the excellent NEISD teachers Rachel, Lois, Hannah and Julia have enjoyed, and the schools’ constant emphasis on achievement.  Rachel is an education major (also a family thang) at UTSA and hopes to join them one day.

I’m not exactly sure how Lois got to be a senior.  I mean, she’s my preemie.  The toddler who used to wear swim goggles, hold a flashlight and announce, “”Mom, I’m going on a mystery.”  The kindergartener I put on the wrong school bus our first week here.   The middle school alto.  Now the fierce Latin competitor.  And somehow a senior.

I’m clapping for her every chance I get.

We’ve not traveled for Sisters Day since our first celebration in 2007.   Five years home – it was time.   So at the girls’ request, we had a weekend in Austin – about 90 miles north of us, but oh-so-different.

“Keep Austin Weird” is more than a slogan – it’s a commitment.  Often described as “Texas’ Left Coast” or “The Third Coast,” Austin is a mecca for aging hippies, today’s hipsters, UT students in shorts, lawmakers and lobbyists in suits – and all manner of folk in between.   Julia didn’t really care about the slogan.  She just likes tie-dyed clothes. 

As we’ve done before – everyone got to pick out a new book but this time at Book People – the largest independent book store in Texas.  Hannah surprised me with an autographed copy of Connie Rice’s  autobiography for Mothers Day – score!  Hannah – “Twilight – The Official Illustrated Guide.”  Rachel – “My Booky Wook” by Russell Brand.    Lois – “This is a Book” by Demetri Martin.  Julia – a book about crystals and gems, which I am hoping she can use to develop her fifth grade science project next year.   

A little iPod action while awaiting our lunch from Flip Happy Crepes, the trailer the girls and I visited last June sans Keith.   Everyone got something different, but mine was the best – fresh spinach with feta and garlic.  So, so good.  We also hit Cornucopia Gourmet Popcorn.

Trailer eateries have mushroomed in Austin.   This one – Hey Cupcake – sported a funny sign on its back door.

We took a two-hour cruise around Lake Lady Bird arriving back on shore with pink noses.   Julia was disappointed we weren’t kayaking with all the college students and their dogs.  The most interesting part of the cruise…

 ….was definitely passing under the Congress Avenue bridge, where 750K pregnant bats currently live in the cracks.   We couldn’t see them, but we could hear them “cheep,” and the smell?  Sort of like spoiled corn tortillas.  The tour guide warned us to keep our mouths closed.  The colony will grow to about 1.5M bats before they migrate in October, as they’ve done each year for decades.   We were interested because we knew we were coming back at dusk to see them fly out.  What a rush!

Not the world’s greatest video, but after all, it was dusk.  The swirling mass at the top of the tree line that looks like mosquitoes?  Those are bats.  Watch carefully for the flying specks as they come out from under the bridge.  They eat about 30K pounds of insects each night. 

 Really like this pictures.  I used the flash on my little waterproof Olympus and it highlighted their fluttering silhouettes.

I am fearful of Sisters Day become just “one more thing” with no real meaning.  So, through the weekend, I tried to spark some conversation with the girls about what was happening five years ago.  “This is the day Daddy and I left for Russia to get Julia.”  “Julia, do you remember the Neva River in St. Pete?”   “Hannah, you taught Julia to count to 10.  Do you think that’s why she’s so good in math now?”  Pretty much – that fizzled.  The girls are way more interested in what is than what was.   Julia usually acts politely bored when I bring up Russia, her birth mother, how she rolled her r’s when she came home, her asking for “cheese y bread,” etc.   From what I’ve read and the parents to whom I’ve spoken, that’s pretty normal.  The pendelum has swung one way; it’ll swing another in a few years (those delightful teen ones), then someday – if we’ve done our jobs right -  it’ll stop somewhere in the middle.

While the girls were celebrating Sisters Day, we squeezed in Mother’s Day, too.  It all goes together.  Without those sisters, I’m not a mother.   They’re talking about a “Ssisters Cruise” in several years, once college is behind them and – please Lord – they’re all gainfully employed.  Maybe I’ll be invited for that.  I would like that.  Because what I really want is for them to want to celebrate Sisters Day when I’m not around to remind them of it.  There is so much unhappiness in this world.  You have to take time to celebrate the happy things.

And celebrating the happy things are what sisters do best.

If Peter – the big fisherman – looks familiar, there may be a reason.

No dying his hair this year.  Our worship reminded all that the original Peter was more “seasoned” than the other 11 apostles, therefore, this modern-day enactment should reflect that age definition.   So Keith went the natural salt’n'pepper look.  We’re proud of you, Keith!  And Phil, Bill, Rodger, Brad, Travis, Jeff, Jason, Ray, Jon, Zachary, Daniel, Wade, Chris, Brian, Jonathan and Kyle.