So....What was it like?

This year's Christmas was probably the best ever. To have all of our children (all??) home was priceless to us. We wondered how M would do...so much to experience, to smell, touch, see...She LOVED it! All the kids slept until their normal wake up time except for J (!) our normally sound sleeper. He climbed into bed with us at 5 AM telling J exactly what time it was every ten minutes. Ouch.

The stockings were a big hit with M who was thrilled with her new hair bows and Cinderella cell phone. "Don't forget to wear your dancing shoes!" and a fairy ring tone complete the toy.

G LOVES his new art easel and brush set. The resident artist was caught painting just a short while after the gift opening finished.

J's favorite gift? Need we say? The Prince Caspian DVD. And N....NCAA for the PS2. Now UNC can beat DUKE ALL the time! :-)

Favorite family gift?? A ping pong table from great Uncle T and Aunt S! All our visiting family love it, too!

We've enjoyed having family here for the week. It's been great to reconnect!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, M!

Many children (most?) who are adopted have a "guesstimated" birthday. For M's sake, we're glad to be able to say with certainty exactly when she was born. We think she'll appreciate this information when she's older.

On December 21st, M turned 3! Not sure if she'd ever celebrated her birthday before, we set out to keep things low key. J made an angel shaped cake (with the angel in a pink gown, of course!). A few gifts and some singing and M was in heaven.

She loves her special things - especially her new wind-up shelf doll that plays music and her new doll clothes. The well-dressed doll had to go to Sam's club with us today. Now that's a first for THIS family!

Christmas Projects with the Crafting Duo

Each day, G begs to do art. For this artistically challenged mother, it's love that sees us through. Here's G gluing pinecones and sprinkling them with glitter.

All was going well...until M decided that the glitter looked an aweful lot like the sprinkles we used on cupcakes this week and decided to sample the goods.

You know....glitter is mighty hard to get off of someone's tongue! :-)

Christmas Celebrations at Church

Our Three Wise Guys! Ha ha! Each year our church puts on a big outdoor Live Nativity with carols and a simple telling of the Christmas story.

This year, G sang "Away in a Manger" (while trying to deal with being dressed as an angel..."It's such a GIRL costume, Mom!") . J sang "Mary, Did You Know?" by candlelight. And N acted in the nativity.

Mia enjoyed wearing her new headband (Thanks, Rosen's!) and seeing the real animals. Definitely her first time seeing a llama!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

We're getting ready for Christmas here in CT! Each year, the boys BEG for the tree decorating. M helps for the first time and ooh's and ahh's over each ornament. She definitely seemed to think it was different to hang things on a tree, but she giggled with glee as Baba brought it in the house!

Transfusion Day

This will be my first day going solo for transfusion day. We were both at the first one; we both started at the second--but J. did the bulk. J. did it all last time. Today, I'll take a turn. I'm a little nervous about how she'll do with me. She doesn't like the room, the needles--any of it. She's going to be upset and there's not much even J. can do about that. So, I'll give it a go. I'm looking forward to the one on one time with her after the hard stuff of the morning.

--Dad

Update on the Week

The dentist appointment went great! We let her watch her brother get checked out first. J had his first cavity which the dentist thinks was because the tooth didn't grow properly while he was young - apparently if you have a fever when your teeth are growing in they are very susceptible to decay. In any event, J opted to have it taken care of right away. He was thrilled saying, "YES! I get to miss more school!" sigh. He will live with us forever. lol.

Miss M would NOT sit in the chair unless she was on my lap. She was terrified alone. However, on my lap she was fine. She liked seeing her teeth on the computer screen. But most of all, she liked the toy she got when she was done!

Big Week for M Next Week

Next week will be a big week for M all the way around...anyone who's burdened to pray can lift some prayers for our peanut. We'd appreciate it.

Monday - the dentist - Doesn't sound THAT stressful, right? Except perhaps you recall that when she simply SAW a toothbrush in China she would hide her teeth (and body, too!). She's come a long way since then, but who knows what she'll think of a hygenist in a mask.

Wednesday - N's big band concert at the middle school. We might have to sneak snacks in for that one!

Thursday - Transfusion Day. Enough said.

Friday - Pediatrician appointment.

Is it Lip gloss???

Did you ever stop to think about how similar lip gloss is to other household objects? Like say...GLUE STICKS? Yeah, we haven't either - until today when M came to me with a big, perky, "look at me smile." In her hand was the evidence. She was so proud of herself. Poor thing did not understand WHY we had to wipe that off! :-)

Our Italian Chinese Daughter

:-)
So, I was in NYC yesterday supporting my oh-so-smart brother as he presented his doctoral dissertation proposal. Afterward we celebrated with a great Italian meal on Arthur Ave. followed by a trip to the bakery across the street. I brought home some cannolis to share with the family.

M. LOVED hers. She then looked longingly at Mama's and tried (in vain) several times to "cute her way" to another bite. Maybe there's a little Italian in her too?

--Baba

Speech Therapy on the Way?

Probably the number two question we receive after the generic, "How's she doing?" is "How's the language coming?" Initially, it was SLOW. Then M began to copycat our words. Today, she continues to copycat, but the majority of the sounds do not sound like what we're saying. She's probably got 10 words that actually sound a bit like English, like Mama, Baba, All Done, Baby, and Apple. But most aren't even close. So come January, Miss M will be tested to receive services in our town for her speech development. This is something we completely expected as she was older when adopted. It's something we're very comfortable with as our now 5 year old was a speech student himself! :-) Most likely, she'll go to our local elementary school (wave to G and J on the way to the room) and play games with the therapist there each week. We think she'll do even better for someone who isn't related to her...she likes to try to smile her way out of talking. One cute point and a brother will help her.

While it will be really helpful to know what she's thinking, feeling, needing, we can't IMAGINE how much louder our house will be. Wow!

Chinese Restaurant

I was with my brother in NYC today, and we had lunch at a GREAT little Chinese restaurant in Queens. I missed M. the whole time. I looked around at all the beautiful Chinese faces around me, enjoyed the food and thought back to our time in China. It really was an amazing trip.

We've been home for...what? just over two months now. In some ways it feels like a life-time ago that we were "over there." I hope we can take her back some day to see where she came from. I wonder if she'll want to? We read/hear that some adopted kids really have a strong need to go to their birth country while some are quite opposed. We'll just wait and see.


--Dad

Taking Initiative

I've been marveling for weeks about how helpful the boys are with M. Seriously. They take initiative with NOTHING around the house. A toy laying on the ground, once played with, ceases to exist. It is not seen. It is NOT picked up. A pile of their things on the counter is NEVER noticed, removed, put away etc.

With M. this is all different. They consistently jump right in to help with her. Somehow they notice when Mom or Dad are busy with another brother and they'll rush to help M. if she needs it. Somehow they notice if Mom or Dad are working at something, that M. could use some distracting and they jump right in and play with her. It's amazing. It's refreshing. It's wonderful. GREAT job boys!

--Dad.

Poor Big Brother

Poor N wants just a little practice time on the trumpet, but little siblings just HAVE to join in on their recorders.

Feel free to stop by sometime. We won't be able to hear anything you have to say, but it would be nice to SEE you! :-)

M bakes bread with Mom

Ever on the lookout for sensory opportunities, Mom bakes bread with M...the little girl who usually does not like her hands messy thinks the dough is pretty cool. But it doesn't take long before she is wiping up her hands and trying to help Mom clean the counter. The bread was delicious!

While M was enjoying her Shoes...

The boys were being boys in the backyard...

Oh My! Need we say more about the differences between boys and girls?

A Princess and Her Shoes!

Everytime M saw Mom leave the house, she held out her arm pointing to where a purse should be. When grandma came to visit, she noticed and said, "That girl needs a purse of her own!" Not to be stopped, Mimi went to many stores to find just the right purse with enough girly details. When presented with the gift, M giggled with glee and then promptly held out her foot and said, "Shoes?"

Did we ever laugh!

Of course, Mimi had to help her first granddaughter with the dilemma and went back out to find sparkly shoes with a bit of a heel. Little M toddles all around now with her sparkly things. For dinner last night, she scrambled to "dress" to the nines...purse and shoes to the table! Too cute!

Thanksgiving

This year, R's parents, grandmother, brother and his family of 5 all joined us for Thanksgiving. Kids in one room...adults in the other! After the feast, Grandpa reads Brer Rabbit, a family favorite, and the boys all listen in...except for G who just can't stay awake one minute longer. Precious!

J Teaches M How to Play Dress-up

Big brother shows M how to play pretend...She adores the jewelry, asking for "mo" and "mo." Baba's in trouble! :-)

Anyone want to go for tea?

Transfusion Day

We thought you all might like to see what a typical day is like for M on Transfusion Day. Currently, we take M to our Children's Hospital every three weeks. The entire process from home back to home is taking roughly nine hours. Whew!

When we first arrive, M must have an iv inserted and blood drawn. The team checks to see if any antibodies are present that would prevent M from accepting her new blood. This is a very painful and tearful process for her as she has a lot of scar tissue in her veins from her hospitalization treatments in China. It has taken up to 2 1/2 hours to get an iv placement. Thankfully, these last few times have been much better. The first pix is M AFTER she's all done...didn't take a pix of her screaming....seemed mean some how. She loves to say "All done!" when finished. We wait for about 1 1/2 for the blood to be checked and then matched.

During that time this week, we took advantage of the hospital playroom. Normally, we avoid germs at all cost! However, the infusion ward is shared by the pediatric oncology patients so all of the toys on this floor of the hospital are carefully cleaned and the air is HEPA filtered. We're told it's the cleanest floor of the hospital. YEAH! M liked having a tea party, but was sad that she only had use of one hand. (Imagine entertaining someone for 9 hours who can only use one hand...that means she can't hold almost anything since her hands are so little! Poor thing! Even lunch is mostly hand fed.)

This week, M got a visit from Valentine the clown who painted her face. She had NO IDEA what to make of the clown, but LOVED the sparkles she put on her face. She showed EVERYONE. :-)

Once hooked up to the blood, it's much harder to get around. There is a little platform built for the iv carts, though, that she can sit on and we can wheel her around the halls. She likes to get out and about, but is also pretty sweet in the room.

We're so thankful for our hospital! The staff is great...so loving toward M and they do their best to help it be as comfortable as possible for parents. We KNOW she wouldn't get care like this in China so we are thankful for insurance to provide it here! And a great job to give the insurance...and the Lord to give the job!
















Did I mention that M gets a sticker for just about everything? She gets quite the collection going.

M meets Grandpa!

R's parents and grandmother come for Thanksgiving and M meets her Grandpa for the first time. She loves him....especially his horsie rides!

Our Favorite Little Indian

J at his Native American Program at school last week. "Courageous Coyote" was great on the drums!

The funniest thing was when half of the third graders were reciting a prayer to Mother Earth.

"Thank you grass comforting our feet."
"That you sun for keeping us warm."

ETC.

J looks at us and cups his hand around his mouth and whispers "That's wrong!" We're proud that he could realize on his own that we only pray to the real God...but we need to work on discretion! :-)

Cupcakes!

On a freezing cold afternoon, we needed some fun. I (J) decided to make cupcakes with M and G. M LOVED them. After decorating liberally with sprinkles, she proceeded to take them off and eat them one at a time. Then, very carefully, she ate the frosting clean. Finally, she ate the cake. All told, the consumption of one cupcake took nearly 1/2 hour. She was in heaven! As she said, "Mo, upa-ache!" ("more cupcakes")

The GREAT Thing About No English

Guess what I realized this week? Having M speak very little English is a BIG blessing right now...I've been able to Christmas shop and she doesn't tell anyone what I bought! :-)

Happy at Home

After our setback in China where M needed Mom constantly, we're seeing comfort with everyone in the family...including Baba! Here's M saying, "What's the big deal? Dad's just as great as Mom. In fact, he lets me jump all over him on the floor....Mom doesn't do THAT!"

Pigtails

M is jealous that mom can style her hair and begs for something, ANYTHING in her hair...we try pigtails. :-) She adores them and shows each person she sees. Too cute!

I think we'll go for a headband for the holidays...

Mommy's Sweeties!

A Hike in the Woods

We took the kids to a nearby park to hike. For a girl who hadn't walked much, she loved it! She's thrilled to run...and laughed herself trying to hop (but never getting airborne!). We think she looks like she's always been on her Baba's shoulders. But dad sure was extra careful with a GIRL onboard!

Thanks Deb and Darlene!

M LOVES her new purple coat and purple mittens...especially now that she knows they go on her hands and not her feet! ;-)

Eric Carle and Jan Brett

Momma's Little Artists! M's first time painting...big brother is a professional and loves teaching her the trade...UNTIL she dips her "dirty" paintbrush in his perfect colors...

As we read books about animals, it seems that M doesn't recognize any! She looks at us strangely when we make animal sounds, pantomime animal behavior (don't have to act hard in this house!), etc. J decides a visit to the duck pond would be a great introduction to the animal kingdom. Our first outing besides church and the doctor! G gives M the inside scoop on how to make the bread last a long time...

There IS a Difference - Baptism

We're firm believers in spiritual warfare in our home. We think Scripture is pretty clear that there is a war in the heavens and here on earth that we can't see with our eyes. From the beginning of our adoption process, we've sensed warfare over M's adoption. Family members have received visions from the Lord regarding the adoption and we've had many Holy Spirit "moments" (as we call them) along the way.

While in China, R and I sensed a strong spirit of darkness over the land. Specifically in our hotel in Changsha, we had several instances of being overwhelmed by it.

Before traveling, we wondered what M's spiritual "state" would be. Most likely she wouldn't have had contact with Christians (some orphans do thanks to ministries by Christian orphanages there or secret Christians in China). We wondered, though, if she would be resistant to the Gospel. We learned right before traveling, that other than Tibet, M's province is the most unreached province with the Gospel in China!

While in China, we sensed DEFINITE resistance to the Holy Spirit by her. Here at home, the same thing. It sounds odd to explain, but for example, when we would lay hands on her head and pray for her as she lay in her bed, she would push us, squirm, wiggle away....ANYTHING but be prayed over. She never did this at ANY OTHER TIME but when we were in prayer. We began to prayer more fervently for her heart to be made ready for the Gospel. We knew M's baptism was soon after our return to the States.

M was baptised on October 12. SERIOUSLY, THAT night she lay perfectly still for prayer, seemingly filled with peace for the first time. From then on, she not only lays still, but turns her head for a blessing, asks for the prayer, and more! It is unexplainable to us except that God is working in her heart. It moves us to tears.

Toilet Training Anyone?

Her paperwork said "Potty Trained." Hmmmm....Well, maybe that was a translation error. When we met M, she was wearing a pull-up. Enough said. Now at home, M has decided that every time ANYONE in the family is using the restroom, she needs to try - consequently removing every precious, expensive diaper from her tiny tush. Yesterday J decided to just let M "try" toilet training. After a lot of laundry....SUCCESS! Day #2 today...No accidents and MORE success! Apparently, lollipop bribery tactics transcend any language barriers! :-)

Grandma Time

It's absolutely crazy, but M seems to just "know" who is family and who isn't...She hadn't let ANYBODY hold her other than Mom and Dad and brothers until the grandmothers came to town....She went right to them! She had tea parties, read books, and learned all about worms. (Well, there ARE boys here, too!) We think both grandmothers were thrilled!

M is baptised!

M joins the family of God! We rejoice that God has claimed little M as His own! Although Baba could barely hold himself together as he choked back tears, M let R hold her and pour LOTS of water on her head...so much so that it trickled down her face and cheeks. It was BEAUTIFUL!

This week, M said the name of Jesus for the first time and raised her hands in worship with Mama as we sang, "Hosanna" together.

Lord, continue to work in this child's life, please. Water the seed that You have sown. Guard her faith. Amen!

So how IS it going?

People keep asking, "So how is it going?" The answer is....it's busy! So busy we can't keep updated on this blog! :-)

It's a wonderful busy, though. M is finding her place in the family and loves her brothers. It's so fun to watch them play together. They are all big helpers and we have yet to deal with jealousy. They are also fantastic teachers - at the end of the day when I am tired, they jump right in praising M and gently teaching how to ask for the things politely and to share.

A lot of time is taken up with meals - preparation, duration, and clean up! M only really knows hot food - she's eating some things that are cold and pre-made, but still needs a hot breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just today she ate three fried eggs and toast with peanut butter! She takes her time while eating, asking to have her hands wiped (or wiping them herself) between every other bit or so. For the first two weeks, we had our chinese food place hopping with lo mein noodle orders! The little girl who ate anything in china only wanted Chinese here. Makes sense. Now she's open to trying most things again.

People ask about having FOUR kids now...So far, we both think that four isn't really any harder than three. The more challenging thing is the fact that she is a TODDLER and curious about everything and lacks English language skills. She is really smart, though, so we don't anticipate this stage lasting long. In fact, once we tell her no to something, she NEVER repeats the behavior. Now THAT'S new for us parents!

We are so thankful that I (J) can stay home this year to care for M and help our crew find its equilibrium as a family. We also can't say enough about our church family who continue to care and support us. They've brought meals, purchased warm clothes when the weather turned, picked our kids up, done errands for us, even done some of our professional responsibilities all so that we can focus on helping M and our boys adjust...M may be a Pekari, but she's definitely being a raised by a community of faith putting their love in action! Thanks everyone!

Play Time

The Cozy Coupe is the place to be! M loves riding on the driveway and hitting the slope - the feeling of racing out of control on the hill...another female race car driver?

This picture was shot AFTER I had to remind M that we have to share the car....not her favorite thing, but she's learning quickly and G is so very patient with her.

Fall Fun!

M eats her way through the orchard! G adores the leaves!

Sensory Fun!

Time to learn what different things FEEL like! The boys are happy to help M learn about play-doh. M takes awhile to warm up to it...she tastes it, spits it out, shakes her head, pushes it...finally decides it's interesting!

Yes...that's a shiner under her right eye - She LOVES her child-size play broom, but unfortunately, she stumbled and took a hard hit with the handle...poor girl!

Mom with her youngest two

PICTURES!

All right.....it's been a while so here we go. Lovin' the brothers.