Adventures of The Parch Family

Welcome back to your Atlanta home Clayton!

We've missed you!

(it was the pilots last flight before retirement and they had a small celebration on board Claytons flight, hence the party hat)

I said-say cheese! and this is what i get. lol

btw... He got so TALL. omg

Sammy and Clayton getting their bonding on

Daisy had been going through a stranger anxiety phase lately...so i was fully expecting her to freak out for about an hour or so when Clayton arrived. Instead, she just stared at him with a look of total and complete curiosity. This lasted for about 10 minutes. When we went outside to play she began to slowwwwwwly make her way over to him.....

....she put her hand on his lap and began patting him...

Its like she knew.

From that moment on....

It was on!

The birds love their big brother Clayton.

Liam lovins :)

Sam is a peek a boo expert.

Just having him sitting on the couch next me watching movies, makes my heart smile.

#littlethings

When babies attack ;)

(Jenny got back from Orlando a few days after Clayton arrived...and this was the morning of her arrival)

***

We decided to go on a Zoo Atlanta Adventure.

We had so much fun!

Oh, Jenny.

lol

Mama life.

taking a little break from the strollers at the zoos playground

But the BIG HIT of our Zoo adventure was the petting zoo!

Daisy was in sheep/goat heaven. She could not get enough!

Sammy was a little Eh about the petting zoo...i think all the in-yo-face animals kinda freaked him out a little...

Adorable.

These two :)

Love this kid.

***

park daze...

Boys will be boys...

Should I jump?

NO.

lol

***

Clayton and I decided to embark on a hiking adventure.

We drove out to the Cochran Mills Nature Center in search of waterfalls...it was a little rainy at first but the trees created a canopy of leaves that kept us from getting rained on....it stopped right as we came out into the first of many cool clearings and waterfalls...

This is the second of many selfies to come.

Just sayin...youve been forwarned...

lol

crazy tree.

termites?

We kept finding mini things. This looks like a mini forest.

There were lots of butterflies flying around every waterfall we visited....

There were alllll sorts of weird, crazy mushrooms at every turn...

Funky bugs too...

(this one was dead...i probably would have freaked if i had come across it alive....kinda like this guy below....lol)

Oh check this out.....wait....whaaa?!?!?!!!??? AHHHH!

nothing makes you jump like a spider web to the face in a random forest.

lol

spider disaster averted.

Lets take a picture! ;)

Whatever that means?

Chillin with a butterfly by the water. I kept waiting for it to land on me.....

Making our way back out......

This pic doesnt do it justice.

It went back so deep...it was so quiet....It felt like i was going to see a fairy fly out of the marsh or something.....lol

We got a little lost trying to find our way back so instead of going around in circles for hours we met a nice lady hiking with her sons and she told us how to find the road...we followed it back to the nature center.

Above is a property we walked past that a huge veggie garden with soooo many tomatoes.

I totally had garden envy.

back at the center and we decided to check out their birds...owls and all sorts of crazy feathered friends.

The hike was def one of my fav adventures while Clayton was here...

***

Later that evening...

***

We paid a visit to Six Flags White Water and had so much fun.

Pee water woo hooo! ;)

***

We are a funky, crazy little family and i wouldnt have it any other way!

***

Although we've stayed in touch via social media, phone calls and texting, almost two years had passed since our last visit together, and its amazing how much changes in that span of time.

Because he is getting older, I feel like this time around he and I were able to connect on a different level.

We spent a lot of time talking, hanging out and just getting to know each other a little bit more.

Is hard to explain, but when he's here it feels like he's always been here. Like that's the way its always been.

When he's here, I feel like my heart is complete. Full to the brim. :)

We had such a good time!

10 days flew by too fast.

I am left feeling happy, amazed and just totally loving what a cool and awesome human this kid is.

So proud of Our Clayton.

On the 6th he turned 17.

?!....17....?!

I cant wait to see you again and...

*** I hope your 17th year on this earth brings you a lot of peace, clarity, happiness and good times!***

...I love you , my Tall Boy ;)

Love and light,

My dad,grandma and I

Circa 1979/80

Bogota, Colombia

My mom and dad separated and divorced when I was around 2 or 3 years old.

I dont recall the actual separation.

My earliest memories begin in Miami, where my mom and I lived with my grandparents and the occasional aunt or uncles passing through, until my mom remarried when I was 6.

My childhood was full of love, coming from every direction.

I was the little princess of the house and was doted on by my Bolita (grandma), my Esposito (grandpa) and my aunts and uncles who became like second moms and dads to me.

My dad and I had limited contact from the get go, and it got even less over the years. By the time I was 11 or 12, years had passed since we had last spoke.

I didnt have a dad growing up, but i didn't care at the time.

I didnt really think about it.

How can you miss something you never had to begin with?

I dont say this to sound bitter or mean.

It is simply the way I felt at the time.

It was my way of dealing.

If I dont think about it then I dont have to feel anything about it.

Boom.

Fixed. (Not. lol)

My teenage years were chaotic to say the least.

I heard things via family in Colombia.

My dad had remarried.

Then, I have two brothers.

At 14 my mom tried to fly me down to Colombia but something happened with my passport and there was a lot of turmoil in Colombia at that time. They were afraid if I went, that I would not be allowed to return.

So I didnt go.

Years go by.

and by...

The massive walls that i had built around my heart had been slowly crumbling as I got older. Jason played a big part in that. He bulldozed through the bullshit and helped me wade through the rubble to a better place.

I was finding and beginning to understand myself a little better every passing year.

We were finding our paths.

It took us some time, and we worked hard to get ahead.

We managed to make a nice life for ourselves!

Life was (is) good.

Happy.

But I always wondered...and the thought of my dad, and a whole other family somewhere out there...was always in the back of my mind.

Jason had lost his estranged biological father a few years prior and I knew there were many regretful feelings when that all went down. Things left unsaid.

Years lost forever.

I didnt want to have any regrets like that.

When I was 29 we got pregnant with Liam.

I had been laid off from work at 4 months pregnant and we decided that it would be best if i stayed home during the pregnancy etc...

Maybe it was because I had a lot of time to think about my life.

Maybe it was the hormones. (probably a lot of that)

Maybe it was just time. (yeah that too)

So many years had passed between us.

I had to try.

So.

I began searching for my dad online.

I searched on facebook and found an account, belonging to a person with my fathers name.....but the only picture was this:

I visited the page over and over, in hopes of seeing any activity, maybe a new pic... anything to give me the answers i was looking for.

Was it him?

After months of cyberstalking (lol) I finally got the courage to send a message.

___________________

Conversation started February 17, 2009
4:45pm

Alex Medina-Parch

Estoy buscando a un pariente nombrado Olegario Medina que residió en o resida en Bogotá Colombia. ¿Usted reconoce mi photo o mi nombre? Mi madre es Irene Jaramillo. Gracias por su tiempo. : o)
6:29pm

Olegario Medina N.

Alejandra hola, encontraste a tu pariente, me alegra mucho que me hayas encontrado, ya que yo te estuve buscando como Alejandra Medina Jaramillo. Despues de tantos años es rico saber que de alguna manera estas bien y que podemos volver a estar en comunicación. Aunque no es el momento para decirlo te pienso simpre y te guardo un cariño y un respeto muy grande. Se que has sido muy valiente y has luchado por tu vida casi sola. Por favor vuelve a escribirme y si puedes llamarme mi telefono de casa es xxxxxxxxxx y mi movil es xxxxxxxxxx

Olegario Tu Pariente

__________________

Our communication began slowly....mainly because of me.

I was caught up in baby land!

And we also had a bit of "lost in translation".

I can understand mostly everything Spanish but when it comes to me communicating back....my brain thinks in English. Not being able to communicate the way i wanted to left me feeling frustrated with myself so i sort of backed away a little.... (one of my not so great personality traits but hey)

Thankfully the men in my life (jason and now my dad) know better than to just give up on me, even though i can be a tad bit difficult a times (lol) so after some much needed and appreciated prodding and a bit more time playing the email and phone call game to stay in touch....

I can say that I finally have begun to know my name.

Introducing The Medina's!

My family

Clockwise- My dad, brother Daniel, brother Sebastian, Grandmother Magolita (sp?), and Stepmom Aura Maria

And last month, in another blur of blessings.....my dad, stepmom and one of my younger brothers....made the trip to meet us....and of course have some good ol american fun!

(aka Orlando park trips and florida beach adventures...:) )

Sebastian stayed behind attending summer college courses but hopefully i can meet him soon as well!

Sammy and his Abuelo

Checking out downtown Newnan

Daisy LOVES horses, so the painted horses downtown are magical for her.

Sam and Liam think they are pretty cool too.

(this blouse is now in the To Be Donated bag. yuck!lol makes me look like i am still pregnant...anyways...back to the important stuff ;))

Hanging with Abuelo and Tio Dani

I guess i really didnt know what to expect.... I was a little nervous but really i think I was just ready. I think that so much has happened in my life over the past few years that I am not so easily rattled and i just go with the flow.

I was not surprised that i immediately felt at ease with them.

There was an instant knowing, a natural connection.

My dad is warm, funny and easy going.

I see a lot of myself in him, in them.

We spent the next few days, talking...cooking...looking at pictures...and just spending time together. I dint want them to leave! :)

__________________

July 13
6:35pm

Alex Medina-Parch

Lots estrano. Two days was not enough! I am looking forward to spending time together again. I hope Dani and i can grow to be close like i am with my other siblings and i can't wait to meet Sebastian. I think Aura is lovely and amazing, and am proud to be able to call her my step mom now I keep replaying your visit over and over in my mind and it always leaves me with a smile. Sending my love to you all and i hope you are having a really fun time in Florida. Besos ~A P.s. Don't forget to send me pics! I will email you mine and some video soon too.
July 14
8:58pm

Olegario Medina N.

Te quiero mucho.................