Tsvetomira's quilt

 It's finally done. :) I've been taking our movie nights as a chance to do hand sewing (which I do on the quilt binding), and then added a few little touches during the days after, so it's finally DONE!

Matt suggested we keep it in her to-the-hospital bag, which we thankfully have not been using very often lately, so that everyone who sees her with it will know that she is special to us.

She'll never get to see the quilt, or have any idea that it's any different from anything else we use to keep her warm, but we know that she doesn't have to be able to see and understand to still be worth investing time in! Every one of our kids has one that I've made just for them (well, not Eben yet. His is next!)

I tried something new on Mira's - "writing" with the sewing machine!

"Daughter"

"Sister"

"...Sammi."

 Last night, marking four years since we met the girls, we looked at a few of the pictures we had of that first day we met them, four years ago today (Sept 16, 2016). I don't know that Ebby has seen these photos, and he looked at this one with the wheels turning in his head (and, let me tell you, the wheels are ALWAYS turning in that little boy's head!) and after a pause he declared, "Sammi." Sam is a neighbor/second cousin once removed/regular feature around our house kind of person, and yes, there are some similarities between her and Bobbi, particularly the pre-hair cut Bobbi!

That was quite an intense day, meeting BOTH of these girls just a few short hours apart.

I remember both being kind of awed that Gloria didn't bat an eye about being on Bobbi's lap - she wasn't a super stranger-anxiety sort of kid, but at eight months old, really did prefer Mom, and then Dad, to anyone else. AND I remember being so glad that she napped through most of that first visit with Mira. I was grateful to not have any distractions as we wrestled through the many-layered difficulties of that visit.

Still a long way to go before our days together outweigh the years apart, but to have known Bobbi four years out of her nearly twenty puts us at 20%, which is a number that's starting to have a bit of weight to it!

First day of work

 I can't remember - did I mention that Bobbi got a job??!!! She's been working with a placement agency since the end of March (yes - what a great time to start looking for a job, huh?) and we've taken our time getting her resume together, meeting fairly infrequently (via Zoom), and finally a position that her coach had thought of at the very beginning as being a good fit for her opened up, and it's not TOO far from our house! A few steps later, and she's officially hired, and today was her first day of (paid) training.

She'll get an actual shirt with the company logo in the next few weeks, but for starters is just supposed to wear a white polo shirt. I had the brilliant idea of shopping in the kids' section, and managed to get two of these for $5 each at Target. Because she likes them big, I had to go for the XXL-Husky, which we've all gotten a big kick out of because Bobbi isn't extra large and isn't what you'd describe as "husky." But the price was right and the fit is good, and it's only for a few weeks anyway.

So, you may be wondering, what is she doing??? She's going to be a Food Product Demonstrator at Kwik Trip! We think it's going to be a great fit for her, both in catering to her strengths (she says she's shy, but she really does a great job of talking with people once she gets warmed up, she's interested in food), and stretching her (getting over the shyness, working a job that could be a "career" job for her, not just a short term position like last summer), and it meshes well with her physical limitations (the kitchen does all the prep - she just offers it to the guests and passes out coupons while she interacts with them, she doesn't have to be moving all over the store). She starts at 15 hours a week, which is going to be just right - not so much that it's crazy, but enough that it will take up some of her empty time. 

She's done SO well this spring and summer managing her time and finding ways to keep herself busy with a variety of activities, but adding work into the mix is going to be a really good thing. She's looking forward to having less time to waste on Facebook and YouTUBE, as she recognizes that she still fights with a tendency toward a screen addiction from years of that being her life back in BG. Nothing like having something useful to do to counter that!

This morning was her first day of training. Tomorrow is another day of computer based training, and then next week she'll begin some job-specific on-site training for two days and then will move up to four afternoons a week as her regular routine.

We're so proud of her!