Emily and Olivia Updates

New Blog Address!

2011-07-11T16:37:00.002-05:00

With our family's addition of two seven year old boys from China in August 2011, this blog (EmilyAndOliviaUpdates) is no longer fitting. I've exported all the old posts from here to the new site though so you can see us meeting Olivia in March 2007 in the archives. I'll be posting from China as we meet our new sons so please join us over yonder at http://twomoremakesfour.blogspot.com.

If you're a current follower, you'll have to sign up again there if you want email notifications of new posts.

Karyn

Surprise shower!

2011-07-10T20:54:00.002-05:00

Today I was shocked to find myself in the middle of my own party! My co-op friends totally surprised me by throwing a shower for the boys! We got tons of cool toys for Jimmy and Joel like Legos, Matchbox cars, light sabers, spy gear, and scooters! Coming from an orphanage setting where they own nothing, they are going to be so excited to have such cool toys to call their own because everything came in duplicate! Oh, and the food...check out the Chinese theme...and the coolest cake ever! What a great day with great friends! I love these ladies!

Little brother, big brother

2011-05-19T08:42:00.002-05:00

Couldn't resist when I saw these yesterday. They are PJs, but might come in handy to squelch the "twin" questions if they were worn out and about!

Photo albums sent to the boys!

2011-05-17T11:18:00.001-05:00

We recently emailed photos to Ann at Red Thread (in China) and she printed them out and put them in a photo album before sending them off to the boys. The boys should be receiving their packages any day now (if they haven't already) along with an introduction letter from us (translated into Chinese), as well as a camera. Ann sent these pictures back the other day, showing us what the boys will be getting. In addition to being a quicker and cheaper way to send stuff to the boys, Ann at Red Thread often gets updates and pictures for families after the children receive their packages. Hoping the boys receive their packages well and I hope we get some updates!

Bao Gong Hai = Jimmy

Photos introducing the boys to their new family and home--I included both boys photos so that they could see their brother as well as see themselves included in our family album.

Shen Yao Zu = Joel

Letter of Acceptance!

2011-05-17T10:57:00.000-05:00

Jimmy...

and Joel!

We have received our LOA from China which means we're officially approved to adopt Jimmy and Joel...and that our agency will now allow us to post their photos on our blog! Having our LOA also means that the boys will finally be told that they are being adopted :) We hope to travel to China in July or August to meet them and bring them HOME!

Emily's (December!) piano recital

2011-02-28T21:53:00.003-06:00

Ever since we started homeschooling in 2009 I've been behind on blogging and scrapbooking. Lately the girls have started noticing and have asked me to take more pictures (a surprising request from camera shy Emily!) and to post more "stuff." So, I'm trying to play catch up now before the boys get here! My scrapbook pages won't be elaborate, probably just a lot of collages, but I'll post a few soon. In the mean time this is a video clip from Emily's piano recital in December.

Emily and her piano teacher

A day in the life of homeschool

2011-02-22T17:04:00.001-06:00

Cool summer orphan hosting program

2011-01-30T14:58:00.002-06:00

Bridge of Hope is now recruiting host families for a summer 2011 program for older orphans. For the first time, Chinese adoption authorities have agreed to send children, ages 6 to 9, from Chinese orphanages to visit US families for home stays of about three weeks in July and August. The program is open to families on the East Coast and in the Chicago area. Families in other areas will be considered on a case by case basis. Host families must meet program and country requirements, and have a current, completed homestudy by June 15.

Bridge of Hope will hold the following information sessions for prospective host families who'd like to learn more about our program and our children:

CONNECTICUT--Saturdays February 19, March 12

ILLINOIS--Date to be announced

MASSACHUSETTS--Saturday, February 12

LONG ISLAND, NY--Sundays February 6 and February 27

MID-HUDSON, NY--Sunday, February 13

NEW JERSEY/PENNSYLVANIA--Sundays, January 30, February 27

WASHINGTON DC AREA--Saturdays February 5 & March 5

For more information on these sessions and requirements for host families, please contact Bridge of Hope Director Patrice Gancie at301-587-4400, ext 207 or pgancie@cradlehope.org. Application deadline for host families is March 15.

Linda Perilstein

Executive Director

Cradle of Hope Adoption Center

301-587-4400

Lily

2010-11-19T17:08:00.003-06:00

Since we're discussing family additions, it has just occurred to me that although I've posted pix of our new canine family member on Facebook, I've never posted about our new dog here. We adopted Lily in July after our beloved (almost 16 year old) Chelsea died in June. Lily is about a year old and appears to be a lab/beagle mix, around 45 pounds. She was about to be euthanized along with all the other animals in the southern IN pound because they didn't want to pay overtime for a holiday weekend (July 4th). Rover Rescue here in IL went down and saved a van load and two days later Lily joined our family. I don't know much about her history, but she was apparently picked up as a stray?? She's a sweet girl and has been a great addition to our family. The girls are totally in love!! I had some fun with her pictures as you can see here:

Adopting TWO boys!!

2010-11-18T23:40:00.001-06:00

I guess I need to update here! I previously announced that we were adopting a six year old boy from China. Well, now we're adopting TWO six year old boys!! Jimmy AND Joel :) Jimmy will turn seven in April so it may end up being six and seven year olds, but we'll see. They are three months apart and not related. They are in two different orphanages in Shenzhen, but they were both at the same Journey of Hope camp in April. Jimmy has a few posts on our agency's blog so you can find him here if you search for Jimmy: http://asiahope.blogspot.com/search?q=jimmy.

Joel probably doesn't even know his name (our agency just made up an American name for reference/pronunciation sake), but after referring to him by Joel for a while, the name stuck. I also liked the meaning: the Lord is God. Jimmy, on the other hand should know his name since he is in a class (taught by an american) that teaches some English and they were all given American nick names. In fact, Jimmy's name is actually what hooked us.

You may remember this post from two years ago when Olivia got to go shopping with her Bible bucks for family members at Pioneer Club. She brought home gifts wrapped and labeled for Mommy, Daddy, Emily and Jimmy. Jimmy?! Why of course, she told the volunteer worker that she needed a gift for her brother Jimmy! We didn't even know a Jimmy so that whole thing came out of nowhere!

Fast forward to this May. Andy and I had been privately discussing the idea of adoption, but before the girls knew anything about it, Olivia floored me by praying for us to adopt a brother one night at dinner! When I asked her what her new brother's name would/should be, my jaw dropped when she stopped to think for a second and then very sure of herself, said, "James." She had no way of knowing that Jimmy and James are often one in the same and probably didn't remember that she'd bought a gift for her "brother Jimmy" two years ago, but boy was she strangely consistent! Also, immediately when she said James, a scripture popped into my head that I didn't even know that I knew, James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. With this, I knew Someone was trying to tell me something!

All that made quite an impact on me, but I had no way of knowing how it would all play out so perfectly in a plan I could not have orchestrated if I tried. Reminds of how our first adoption came about much better than we could have ever planned--see Olivia's story here! Within a month of Olivia's dinner prayer I came across a blog that featured Chinese orphans who'd attended a three day Journey of Hope camp with the hope of being adopted. Staff from an adoption agency in Portland, OR had attended the camp with 35 older &/or special needs kids to get to know them so they could advocate for them and find them families. Interestingly enough, there was a Jimmy among the group! My interest was piqued, but after researching Jimmy's special needs (which could require a series of reconstructive surgeries) I reluctantly moved on and zeroed in on another cute six year old who'd already had his heart corrected and would only require one other surgery. Joel. It took Andy a while to warm up to the idea, but on our anniversary dinner date (August 15) he gave me the green light. As soon as the agency opened on Monday I told the agency it was a go.

The very next day, China announced a policy change; they would now allow families to adopt a second child at the same time as long as at least one is a Special Focus (special needs or older) child. Interesting! I'd already wanted two, but didn't think it was possible. This was very exciting news for me!! Andy, not so much. He wasn't opposed to a fourth child later, but was justifiably afraid that two at a time would bond to each other to the exclusion of the rest of our family. He'd just gotten used to the idea of adding one more and didn't appreciate what felt like a bait and switch. He was not on board. Yet.

Hoping that Andy would warm to the idea of two I inquired about other boys on the list. With Jimmy being just three months older than Joel, I again dismissed him thinking I didn't think I really wanted two the same age. Instead, I asked about some younger boys, but none seemed like the perfect match. I had all kinds of justification for not picking Jimmy, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that he was meant to be ours. Olivia's foretelling of Jimmy/James and the James scripture had all pulled at my heart. After a few days of futile resistance I asked to review his file. That was it. I knew then he was ours. The problem was that Andy did not know it. Yet.

We did not see eye to eye on the topic of adopting two so we agreed to pray for like-mindedness. We've been happily together for about 25 years now (dated for 7, married for 18) and we've agreed on most important things and we knew we needed to be in agreement on this. We prayed that one of our hearts would be changed--that either my heart would change to desire only one OR that his heart would change to desire two. After praying about this for a few weeks we learned that Jimmy's time was running out. Our agency had been given six months to find families for the camp kids and the unmatched files would be going to go back to at the end of the month.

As we continued to pray that we'd come to a united decision, I didn't twist Andy's arm or nag him to death, but amazingly, within a few short weeks I started to see his heart change! I watched him move from resistance to acceptance to excitement. Only God! It was so neat to witness the change and later hear him say that he didn't know exactly how or when his heart changed, but that it definitely had. This answered prayer was yet another confirmation that Jimmy AND Joel were meant to be part of our family and I couldn't be more excited! Shortly before the end of October we let our agency know that we would be pursuing TWO boys and submitted some pre-approval forms. Last week we got the word that China accepted our proposal for both Jimmy and Joel :) Of course there is still a lot of red tape ahead, but we (girls included) can't wait to be a family of six! We acknowledge that two may be double the challenge, but another verse quickly come to mind, Romans 8:31: If God is for us, who can be against us?

"Once our eyes are opened {by a cute little girl!}, we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows we know and holds us responsible to act."
Proverbs 24:12

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is within the power of your hand to do so."
Proverbs 3:27

"Take up the cause of the fatherless..."
Isaiah 1:17

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves..."
Proverbs 31:8

"And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."
Matthew 18:5
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families..."
Psalms 68:5-6a

Didn't mean to be a tease

2010-09-21T23:28:00.002-05:00

In my last post I said that you could find Joel's smiling face by searching our adoption agency's blog. I'd forgotten that he wasn't that well represented there...and that most of the Journey of Hope camp pix I have of him were emailed to me separately. Not sure when I'm allowed to post his pix here, but I guess for now you'll just have to trust me that he's got a smile that could light up a room.

Just looked back at the blog http://asiahope.blogspot.com and found a few pix. They're not his most photogenic, but I see him on a lady's lap in Sept. 13 post... and in the June 1st post that same woman (same clothes, probably same day) has her hand on his shoulder.

And, on May 5, he was written about: "Joel is another boy that stole my heart. What a vivacious and curious little boy! He explores everything and seems to live every moment:-) He was very outgoing and didn't hesitate in coming right up to me to interact multiple times. He also enjoyed the camera and took every opportunity to pose:-) He performed the two tigers song and dance and stole the show!"

Exciting new additions to our family!!

2010-09-21T12:34:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I last posted and there have been a lot of changes! In June we said good bye to our dear old dog, Chelsea, who'd been with us for almost 16 years. In July we adopted a wonderful new dog, Lily, whose time was almost up in a shelter. And, in August, we decided to adopt a six-year old Waiting/Special Needs boy from China!

Yes, that's a lot of change in a short amount of time!! I'm not sure what I'm allowed to post about our new son, but I can direct you to the blog where I found him. Yes, a blog, of all places! You see, an agency in Portland, OR went to China in April to spend three days at a Journey for Hope camp with the hope of finding families for 36 hard to place orphans. I first came across the blog in June and we committed to Joel on August 16 after a big discussion on our date for our 18th wedding anniversary.

I'll probably resurrect this dead blog in order to chronicle our trip to China (we're all going, hopefully in the spring), but I may need to change the name somehow! (edited to say) I thought one could search for Joel's smiling face on the blog http://asiahope.blogspot.com/ but now when I enter "Joel" in the search I don't see him :( UGH, I didn't mean to be such a tease! Trust me, he is a little cutie with pinchable smiling cheeks! I have lots of pictures AND a video, but I don't think I'm allowed to post anything online yet. Still check out the site and take a good look around because many of the kids from the camp are still needing forever families ;) Spread the word if you know anyone looking to add to their family!

Emily's first piano recital and doggy woes

2010-05-16T18:33:00.005-05:00

We had a rough morning yesterday trying to get off to Emily's first piano recital after our 15.5 year old dog had taken a tumble down the stairs and crashed into the wall at the bottom. When she couldn't get up after her fall, we thought we'd have to make a tough choice when the vet reopened on Monday. We got a little reprieve today though when Chelsea surprised us by walking a bit and eating again, but she's still in a lot of pain and it's clear that her days are numbered. The only silver lining of all that commotion was that Emily had a distraction from stage fright and didn't dwell as much on the dread of having all eyes upon her! She just started lessons in the fall and I think she did pretty well :) Click on the video below to see her performance.

I've pasted some pix from last month of Chelsea when she was doing a little better.

This is posted out of order, but after we took some funny pictures of our crazy dog ON the dishwasher, we eventually kicked her out!

Caught red handed! Or should that be red pawed?

Chelsea, do you know where Alaska goes?

Chelsea was already declining here, but was still able to tolerate the girls' TLC. The girls have to be much more careful with her today.

We had Chelsea for six years before Emily came along, but they took to each other very well :) It's going to be hard to say goodbye.

March for Babies

2010-04-27T21:18:00.004-05:00

Our Top Walker award!! What a nice surprise!

Emily doesn't look like a preemie anymore does she?!

Aunt Ruthie and Bo joined us for a fun day :)

This venue (in Bolingbrook) was only 3 miles vs. 6+ (in Naperville) which really appealed to me with rain in the forecast!

Thankfully the rain actually held off until we were almost done!

On Sunday we did our annual March for Babies to raise money for other babies born too soon like Emily. It's almost hard to believe our tall ten-year-old once weighed barely more than a pound! We are so blessed to have her in our life and will be forever grateful to March of Dimes for their life saving research that enabled her to survive. This is our way of saying thank you and trying to make a difference for future babies. We certainly never dreamed we'd have a baby four months early, but unfortunately one out of seven babies is born prematurely.

Andy's Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Bo joined us as we walked at a new location this year (Bolingbrook Promenade vs. Naperville) where we were surprised to be recognized at the Top Individual walkers! That means that of all the individual walkers there (vs. teams or corporate) we raised the most money :) Our current total is $2,755.00, but we're still accepting donations if you would like to donate! We'd love to make it to our $3,000 goal and we're soooo close!! Just click here to go to our March of Dimes page.

Easter

2010-04-07T22:19:00.003-05:00

These pictures uploaded in reverse order, but you can still see that we had a great Easter. Our soon-to-be-moving-far-away friends came over for dinner and a little Easter egg hunt. We will really miss you guys!!

Where oh where could those eggs be?

The early morning obligatory pre-egg hunt pose. They were eager to fill those baskets!

Ta da! Look what I made!

Emily was wearing almost as much dye as the eggs!

Third time is a charm?

2010-03-28T16:39:00.005-06:00

We're still chugging along with homeschool, work and a kitchen renovation. This week I'd already painted my kitchen twice but it just wasn't working for me. The first time was too dark, the second time too light and neither time did the color really relate to the connecting family room. Sure they could have worked, but after all the time, effort, and money, I wanted to be happier with the color. Fortunately, right before I was about to attempt to buy paint #3, a fellow homeschool mom came to pick up her kids who'd been over to play and that's when I learned that she'd been a designer for years! I had no idea, but was glad that she was happy to rescue me :) She loves color and grabbed my Benjamin Moore fan deck and started thumbing through. Thanks, Michelle, you're a life saver.

We still have odds and ends like painting the window and door trim in the breakfast nook to match the cabinets, painting the ceiling, window treatments, possibly tweaking the lighting, possibly replacing the table and chairs. I'm happy with the progress and see an end in sight :)

Here are some pictures I snapped this afternoon:

My three paint color attempts this week.

Crown moulding up and painted...and walls painted!

Andy did a great job with the crown moulding, didn't he?!

The old pantry has been replaced with cabinets to the left of the fridge and the new pantry (to the right) replaced our old unused desk.

We pained the old cabinet boxes in the main U, covered the ends with wainscoating, replaced the doors and drawers with painted maple ones from Schrock (Menards), replaced laminate counters with granite, and updated the sink and faucet. Oh, and Andy disguised the ugly soffits with crown moulding. It all looks bright white here, but it's actually a Dover, grayish white.

DIY Kitchen Reno

2010-02-06T23:37:00.006-06:00

These last few months here have been a little crazy with homeschool, a kitchen remodeling project, Thanksgiving, Emily's birthday, Christmas, my Dad's five day stay in the hospital, a 3-day drive to Florida, a week in Orlando (in the COLD!), a week on a Disney cruise, a 3-day drive back home, more kitchen remodeling, and Olivia's birthday... BUT, we're all hanging in there and doing fine. I've posted some pix below of our kitchen progress:

BEFORE. November. Our lovely orange oak and a floral border.

DURING. Two days before Christmas granite counters were installed. In the weeks before, Andy replaced the doors and drawer fronts, painted the boxes, and added crown moulding ...

DURING. The day before Christmas...wondering if we were going to have a working sink on Christmas day...

BEFORE of the old pantry and desk before they were torn out.

BEFORE. The only thing staying on this wall is the fridge.

DURING. January (two weeks ago). The soffits and desk were torn out on the fridge wall. Pantry demolition happened one week later.

DURING. Today (Feb 6). The unused desk was replaced with pantry cabinets two weekends ago...the old built in pantry was torn out and today the final cabinets are going in :)

DURING. Today (Feb. 6). The new and improved fridge wall with floor to ceiling pantries on both sides of doorway.

DURING. Still to do: spacers, knobs, crown and base moulding, garbage and recycling pull-outs, paint on wall, etc.

DURING. Today (FEb 6, almost midnight). Andy installed the fridge cabinet and surround today! The last two cabinets (where the old pantry had been) are being installed as I type :)

Somebody just turned SEVEN!

2010-02-02T21:38:00.002-06:00

Olivia turned seven yesterday. Wow, hard to believe!

vacation pix

2010-01-25T19:53:00.003-06:00

While I procrastinate getting back into the real world of homeschooling, laundry and our kitchen remodel, I thought I'd post some vacation pix :) We spent a chilly week in Orlando then a week on a Disney cruise (W. Carib.). A third week was spent in transit (3 day drive each way). It was too chilly to get off the ship in Key West, but we enjoyed some days in the low 70s in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Disney's private island in the Bahamas. In spite of the arctic blast, we got a few warm days and still had a great time. The girls want to know when we're going on a Disney cruise again already!

They never tired of seeing the characters! Here is Cinderella at Epcot.

The girls got their faces painted at our resort while I used my (May) birthday spa gift certificate. Ahh...what a nice treat!!

Not sure what Emily was...looks like a butterfly, but there was a spider between her eyes??

Andy and the girls at dinner on the Disney cruise. You can't see them here, but the girls and their (Target 18") dolls had matching outfits. I was thrilled to find some Dolly & Me sets on the clearance rack for $6.99/set!! Your Sears might still have some.

It was always fun to see what towel animal we got with our chocolates at our nightly turn down. Kind of miss those chocolates!

We didn't bother to get off the ship in Key West since it was only in the low 40s and we'd been there before. Fortunately it was in the low 70s at our second port, Cozumel. Andy and Emily ventured into the water here at Paradise Beach, but Olivia preferred land surfing and castle building.

The water was beautiful, clear and blue, but chilly!

Our ship, The Magic, in Cozumel, Mexico.

The girls loved the beach at Disney's private island in the Bahamas.

Andy's parents are not beach bums, but we all appreciated having sunshine and 70s...until the rain came anyway!

Hello from chilly Florida

2010-01-06T10:23:00.003-06:00

I don't have a lot of time, but wanted to quickly post some vacation pix. On our first full day down here we went to visit Olivia's orphanage friend, Jack, and spent the day with his family. We even got visit the beach right by his house, but did NOT go in the water. It was great to see them all again.

We drove three days to get to warm weather, but have still not found it :( It's been in the 30s to low 50s here and unfortunately it doesn't look like it's going be much warmer during our entire week here. Good thing the outdoor pools are heated though and the girls don't seem to mind the weather much. On Saturday we're going on a Disney Cruise and hope we'll get at least a few warm days there. Looks like Key West will only be in the 40s though... Yes, I know it's better than at home, but just not exactly what we had in mind. We're still having a great time though and the girls don't seemed to be bothered in the least :) I don't think they've complained once so we're having a great time. We may have to buy some warmer dressy clothes before the cruise on Saturday though!

Tomorrow we plan to go to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Winter coats, gloves and all!

From their faces, you'd never guess that the air temperature is only in the low 50s. Good thing the water was much warmer!

When not IN the water, it's pretty chilly!

Ummm...no, really we're NOT encouraging Olivia to be a swimsuit model...

Emily was happily swimming and doing cannonballs in an empty pool, seemingly unaffected by the chilly weather. Oh, to be young and carefree!

Cannonball!!!

All bundled up and at the beach by Jack's house.

Two cute kids from RongXian, GuangXi, China: Olivia & Jack.

Prince Charming & Princess Olivia

Visiting the real princess: Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom.

Disney just isn't Disney without the Dumbo ride, right?

And of course, we had to visit Minnie & Mickey!

TEN!!

2009-12-07T23:14:00.002-06:00

Hard to believe our tiny little 1.5 pounder is TEN already! Emily's birthday was yesterday and we had a whirlwind of a day with church, a kids' party, and pizza with family in the evening. It was a fun, FULL day, celebrating with our favorite ten-year old in the whole world.

Serendipity

2009-11-21T09:50:00.007-06:00

Serendipity: the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely.

November 20 marks three years since we got THE call asking if we'd consider adopting a four year old from China with a heart condition. (November 20 also marks my mom's birthday!! Happy Birthday, Mom!) We'd started the adoption process a year + prior seeking a healthy baby girl...then after a while we broadened our scope and requested a baby with special needs. After all, our then almost seven year old, Emily had been a fragile "special needs" baby and deserved a chance...and we thought maybe we could help another baby who might be otherwise overlooked. But a FOUR year old hadn't really ever crossed our minds. One or two years old maybe, but we never even thought of a FOUR year old. But God did :) He was preparing our hearts for the perfect child for us.

Shortly before we got THE call, I'd felt drawn to some blogs of families who'd adopted toddlers and older children. Reading about their successful bonding began to open my mind to new possibilities and we agreed that yes, we could fathom adopting a two year old. As we waited, we knew that IF we were presented with a child on the list that we'd have the opportunity to scrutinize the photos and medical records before agreeing to accept any child. As word came that a new list of special needs children had arrived at our agency we prayed that God would find a child for us. We agreed that we did not want to play God by picking and choosing and we prayed that He would present the ONE who was meant for us. We prayerfully agreed that we would not reject any child presented to us whether it be boy or girl, young or old, healthy or not. Surrendering that decision seemed to be a critical point in our journey because within a day or two of coming to that decision our pone finally rang. We got THE call from our social worker!!

We were at the bottom of the waiting list, so there were no guarantees that we'd get a call at all. The list had been in for almost three weeks now so our odds weren't looking so good. By the time we got the call most of the children had been placed and they only had one girl left who had been deemed too old by others. When our case worker made it to our name on the bottom of the list she sounded shocked when I immediately said yes, we would consider a four year old with a heart condition. I was a little thrown by the age myself, but Andy and I had JUST recently come to this decision and I knew God had His hand in the process. When our case worker assured me that we could take a pass and wait for a baby as we'd requested I had to explain the prayer we'd just prayed. We'd prayed that He would present us with child that was meant for us. And He did :) Three years later I can tell you it was a scary leap of faith at the time, but He did know what He was doing!!

Olivia has been the perfect fit for our family!! I'm so glad we let Him do the choosing because at that point neither Andy nor I would have ever had the courage to seek out a FOUR year old. Left to our own devices, we would have really missed out on one of our biggest blessing!

How about you? I'd love to hear what kind of serendipitous events have happened in your life. Have you had any leaps of faith that you're thankful for now?

P.S.
I'm so behind on scrapbooking that my "current" photo is really pretty out of date since she's now missing her two front teeth! I'll have to take some new closeups to post what she's REALLY looking like today :)

Homeschool Family Camp

2009-11-07T14:31:00.003-06:00

Just realized I never posted this (click image to enlarge):

Any guesses?

2009-11-07T11:27:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, at our homeschool co-op, we were all supposed to dress up as historical figures. I dressed up as Amelia Earhart. Can you tell who the girls were supposed to be? Their figures are not in the same century, but we've learned about them both in our history studies. Please leave us a comment if you think you know :)

Random October photos

2009-11-07T10:50:00.005-06:00

Aren't they cute? On this night when I headed for bed, I noticed Emily's bed was empty. I quickly found her in bed with with her sister! Fortunately they were sound asleep and didn't even notice the flash from my camera.

Andy and the girls are enjoying their new membership at Lifetime Fitness. In fact that's where they are as I type!

Yes, this little poser is the same girl that hated cameras in China!

Both Daddy and Emily enjoy the water slides at Lifetime!

The girls thoroughly enjoyed our co-op field trip to a pumpkin farms with animals, slides, bounce houses, a corn maze, hay ride, train, etc.

Pumpkin carving time. Check out Olivia's garb--she put on tights, a swim suit and a skirt pulled up over her chest. My little fashion diva! Emily on the hand, doesn't really care about fashion as long as the seams and tags aren't bothersome!

Minnie got a check up from Dr. Emily before heading out for trick-or-treating.

After getting their own loot, they love to give out candy. It's sometimes hard to coordinate the door with a dog, so they came up with an ingenious solution that prevented Chelsea from getting out! Olivia (our not so shy one!) was yelling to kids through the open door, inviting them to come and get some candy!

Rock candy and tea parties

2009-10-14T22:50:00.005-05:00

In science we learned about evaporation and made our own colorful sugar (i.e. rock candy!) by adding food coloring to sugar and water...and waiting a few days for the water to evaporate.

Today Olivia had a tea party for all her dolls and apparently invited Chelsea to join. In spite all the thrilling imaginary food, Chelsea fell fast asleep right on top of some dishes and with the side of her head nestled in glass bowl! Doesn't look too comfortable, but I guess she didn't want to miss a party!

Evaporation helped us to make our own rock candy!

Imaginary food just didn't keep Chelsea's interest!

Signing the Declaration of Independence...and Chelsea

2009-10-14T22:18:00.004-05:00

Last week we made our own ink out of berries and used feathers to make our own writing quill! We even pretended we were part of the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence agreeing that we wanted to be free of that pesky king across the ocean.

Oh, and yes, Chelsea is still hanging in there :) Still not sure what happened that one night last month when I thought she was a goner, but she's back to her her 'ole self. And yes, I mean old. At 15, she's not as spry as she was just a year ago, but she still does the stairs and runs along the fence barking at our neighbor's dogs. And she still puts up with the girls who always want to play with her :)

Even Dad got in on writing with a feather! We cut the tips off at an angle, cleaned them out with a tooth pick and cut a slit in the tip to help control the ink. Our homemade berry ink was pretty red (too many strawberries and not enough blueberries?), but surprisingly it was gray when it dried.

Here, Olivia was proud to show off her own "John Hancock" on a copy of the Declaration of Independence for her notebook.

In spite of Olivia's choice of footwear, we do NOT have snow here...yet! It is chilly though!

Chelsea, being a good sport!

Apple Picking and Crazy Hair

2009-10-14T21:51:00.006-05:00

We're really enjoying our homeschool co-op and getting to know some new friends better. Here are some pix our co-op field trip to an apple orchard...and the apple pie we made :)

Mom's lame attempt at crazy hair for Crazy Hair Day at co-op. Emily had that slept-in-wet-hair look that was matted, tangled and wild...but had calmed down by this point in the day. Olivia and I just went for the pony-tails-all-over look. Needless to say our hairdos did not win us any of the coveted prizes, but we had fun anyway. Anyone have any good crazy hair ideas?

Yum! Homemade apple pie!

Show Girls

2009-09-20T23:34:00.003-05:00

When the girls have friends over one of their favorite pastimes is to create and perform shows on their little stage in the basement. On Friday, after their whole 15 minutes of swimming, they all went downstairs to choreograph a show for me. They really love the CD of patriotic songs that came with our curriculum so they popped that in and were ready perform in no time. After singing and parading around a little table to Yankee Doodle (and God Bless America and America, and...), they each took their turn basking in the spotlight. As you can see Olivia loves to dress up and quite enjoys being the center of attention! She also has quite the rhythm and grace and LOVES to dance (and pose!).

Baking bread

2009-09-18T15:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the girls learned what it means to knead as we baked bread as part of our science lesson.

What fun to get messy and play with bread dough!

Yum! We got to eat our very warm bread with the butter they made earlier :) That sounds so domestic doesn't it?!

Today we had week #2 of Legacy Homeschool Co-op. The girls just love it and all the fun classes they get to participate in!! I especially like the sampling of the yummy stuff they make in their cooking class (thanks, Michele!)!!

After running around outside after co-op the girls were hot and begging to go in the pool. We invited some friends to swim and picked them up on our way home...but the swimming only lasted about 15 minutes. Not surprising since it's only about 76 degrees out. I now have a houseful of kids--no worries here about socialization of my homeschooled kids!

Making play dough

2009-09-16T22:37:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, for science, the girls enjoyed making play dough. Tomorrow we'll make bread and they'll get to see what happens when we add yeast :) They already experimented with yeast and saw that when mixed with sugar--and NOT salt--the yeast/sugar solution caused a balloon to inflate...and tomorrow they'll get to see how yeast (and sugar!) will make gas bubbles and cause the dough to rise. As you can see they enjoy the hands-on projects!

We mixed flour, salt, warm water and oil...

...and eventually made play dough!

It was messy, but fun :)

AFTER it was all mixed up, the girls wanted to know if we could make it a pretty color...so I added a little red food coloring to the dough and it ended up a neat marbled pink.

Making their masterpieces :)

Last chance to enjoy summer weather!

2009-09-15T17:51:00.003-05:00

We had a great time at our first ever homeschool co-op on Friday AND at our family camp over the weekend (I still have to sort through all the great pix!). Today the girls finished their schooling early and they actually got in our pool for the first time in over a month! It's been such a strange summer that we haven't gotten a whole lot of swimming in...so when I saw the temperature was going to be 83 today I decided it was high time they they take advantage of the pool before it's too late! We invited some other homeschool friends and they all jumped in :)

Making butter!

2009-09-10T17:48:00.007-05:00

As part of our study about early American pioneers, today we learned how to turn cream into butter. Of course we didn't have a cow to milk so we had to cheat a little bit by buying heavy whipping cream at the store, but it was still neat to see a liquid turn into a (semi) solid!

Shake, shake...shake it baby...

Mmmm....that tastes good!

Voila! Butter!!

Butter and crackers made for a nice after school treat!

In case you're wondering how to make butter and you don't happen to have a butter churn like the early pioneers...you can just shake heavy whipping cream back and forth for about 15 minutes :)

Homeschool hangout

2009-09-08T16:31:00.008-05:00

Olivia, showing off her missing tooth :)

Hard at work! Or is that hardly working?

I'm glad to finally have a good use for some rooms in our house that we rarely used. We swapped our living and dining room furniture and added 12 feet of cabinets along the width of the room now known as the school or piano room.

Since you can see our school rooms from the entry I wanted doors to contain our stuff so it wouldn't scream "SCHOOL!" I must thank my dear husband for helping me execute and assemble my plans! He's been a great support and thankfully hasn't balked at any of the expense (on top of some hefty taxes that pay for the public school we're no longer using!). Oh, and I love our cool picture frame doors that hide all kinds of stuff :)

Neatly behind closed doors, the girls each have a stack of nine workboxes (well, drawers actually) for the (mostly) independent portion of their school day. I try to stagger what goes in the boxes to give them some element of surprise as they work through them in order. One drawer may have a math or handwriting book, another might have a tag that says it's time for piano practice (Emily just started lessons!), or another might have a tag telling them to take a five minute break on the trampoline or whatever exercise de jour (which is usually accompanied by, "Mom, come watch me, come watch me!" ). Some drawers may have a note of encouragement or a game to play with Mom. It never ceases to amaze me how they get so excited when they find things in their workboxes that have been sitting unused for years. "LOOK, MOM, LOOK! I get to play with dominoes today!!" It's really cute when they tell me what they've found as if I had nothing to do with it :)

What was the seldom used dining room is now our cozy sitting area where we read our books (separately and together). We have a lot of fun "read alouds" scheduled and so far the girls are loving them. Last week we were reading Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims and this week we're reading The Courage of Sarah Noble.

In addition to reading together, one of the daily workbox tasks for each girl is to spend 15 minutes browsing through the reading basket (reading &/or looking at pictures). The basket is loaded up each week with a new batch of books from the library that relate to the week's history topic. Last week the books were all about the Plymouth and the pilgrims...this week (#6) we're learning about the Dutch settling in New Amsterdam (New York City!). We just learned that the Dutch brought their cows to America...so, on Thursday, we are going to make butter from cream :) Oh, and tomorrow, for our science experiment, we'll see how yeast can blow up a balloon!

Friday afternoon/evening we leave for homeschool family camp in Wisconsin. It's going to be a little hectic getting ready though because earlier that day, we'll start our weekly homeschool co-op where I'll be teaching Yearbook and a math class. The girls aren't nervous at all though and can't wait to see their new friends again! They're each in three classes and they're dying to see what they'll be making in their cooking class!

Topsy Turvy Tomatoes

2009-09-08T10:11:00.003-05:00

For fun this year we bought a Topsy Turvy to try our hand(s) at growing tomatoes. I picked planted a Beef Steak variety, hoping for big slicing tomatoes, but most of ours have been pretty small. Never the less, it's been a lot of fun to watch them grow. The girls love to pick them off so we can eat them!

Millennium Park, Chicago

2009-09-07T23:07:00.004-05:00

On our way home from a family reunion in Indiana a few weeks ago, we stopped in downtown Chicago to introduce the city to our niece who had never been. Here are a few pix from Millennium Park.

Cloud Gate, better known as "The Bean."

Everyone loves playing in the water here at the Crown Fountain where you just might get spit upon!

Of course the girls couldn't resist getting wet!

Loving and Losing

2009-09-07T12:08:00.004-05:00

At age 15, I'm afraid our beloved dog, Chelsea, might be nearing her end :( Last night I didn't get to bed until 3 or 4:00 am because she was acting very strange and unable to get comfortable enough to lay down or sleep. She kept hunching over, as if she was getting ready to relieve herself, but then would pace panting in that position,with her back legs not quite in sync. Andy commented that she almost looked like she was in a very uncomfortable labor...only she's not pregnant. It was sad to see her so uncomfortable, pacing and panting for hours, unable to rest. At around 3 am, I gave her a sedative that we had on hand and she FINALLY laid down and fell asleep.

This morning she's still pretty groggy and dazed (from the sedative or ???) and has only gotten up a few times. Most of the time she seems to be sleeping peacefully now, but in the moments she is up her left eye doesn't seem to be tracking properly. Not sure what's going on, but it's so hard to see her sudden decline. We knew she was getting old, but up until yesterday she just seemed a little slower and a little arthritic, but no drastic changes. I had hoped not to be in the position of having to choose her fate, but I'm not sure what to do now...

The girls just see Chelsea sleeping a lot today and don't quite grasp why I'm teary-eyed. It's hard because she was our first "kid" and has been part of our family for so long. The girls have been to funerals, but have never been close to anyone who's died. Olivia cried for HOURS after she watched "Marley and Me," begging Chelsea not to die. Olivia is now running around happily this morning, but I'm pretty sure she won't take losing her friend very well. We've talked about it off and on this past year so they "know" it's inevitable, but without much experience with death, they can't really know. I don't want to shield them from the experience because I know death is an integral part of life, but still not looking forward it to. For them or me.

To add to the dilemma, in three days we're supposed to leave for a weekend homeschool family camp in WI...and we have a neighborhood teenager lined up to dog sit. Depending on how Chelsea's doing, I'm not sure how that's all going to play out... Don't really want to traumatize the neighbor kids if Chelsea has another episode or worse...

P.S.
Now Chelsea is up and eating with no pacing or hunching over. Still slow and groggy, but otherwise seemingly "normal." Her eye even seems more normal, so who knows?? Maybe her back was just having spasms last night?? Does arthritis spasm?? But even if she rallies, at 15, her days are numbered :( Ugh.

A groggy Chelsea with Olivia this morning.

Good friends.

My Little learners

2009-09-06T22:25:00.007-05:00

Below is a mix of pix from the last few weeks of our adventures in homeschooling. It really has been much more enjoyable than I ever expected! I'd always known one-on-one learning would be beneficial for my kids, but honestly homeschooling did NOT appeal to me at all! The idea was daunting and I was sure I didn't have the patience. Besides, the girls were both in school all day long and I was finally free to do whatever I wanted from 9-3:30. Okay, well, I still had to fit in laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping somewhere, but basically I was free to go out to lunch, scrapbook, or just plain veg. Why in the world would I want to mess with a good thing?! I have friends who homeschooled, but I pushed off the idea, saying I'd only do it as a last resort if I had to.

Well, the strangest things happen when you pray. Seriously. The short version is that in March I prayed that IF He wanted me to homeschool, would He please change my heart and mind about it. Sure, it'd be good for my kids to go at their pace and gain mastery rather than always rushing to play catch-up and leaving learning gaps in their wake. Yes, it'd be great to master skills before plowing on to the next. But I knew that if my heart wasn't in it, it'd feel like a burden and it'd be a disaster. Well, I asked and He answered! After YEARS of resistance, within a week of that prayer, I not only warmed up to the idea, I was really excited about it! No more dragging my feet. No more fear of failure. No overwhelm. It was definitely a God thing, because I could never have done a 180 that quickly on my own. I now have NO doubt that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

Now I-- and I daresay, my whole household--think homeschooling is the best thing since sliced bread! Instead of feeling saddled with a weighty, unwanted responsibility, I actually feel kind of sad that everyone else isn't also enjoying this wonderful discovery. That doesn't mean that every day is perfect, but I have a greater appreciation for the fact that these precious kids grow up SO fast and I'm so glad I'm not missing this opportunity with them. I know it doesn't appeal to everyone (me included not so long ago!), but after my sudden change of heart, I feel so blessed and thankful. Thankful for my family, and thankful that we serve a God who still listens and still answers prayer. Could someone please occasionally remind me of that simple fact? Unfortunately I'm often too quick to forget.

My cute little toothless wonder donning a bonnet at Naper Settlement today!

Hard at work, wearing a yoke to collect water!

Drying off and sketching after a nature walk which turned into exploring/playing IN the creek.

Break time! Goofing off on the trampoline.

Very proud of their country and their creation!

During a science experiment the girls learned that an egg can float after adding salt to the water!

Sailing our Nina, Pinta & Santa Maria to the New World!

Top 10 reasons I've been MIA

2009-09-05T22:24:00.004-05:00

Decided I should spend more time with the kids and less on the 'puter.
Mulled over the idea of homeschooling.
Researched the idea of homeschooling.
Reorganized our home to turn our living & dining rooms into school rooms.
Researched homeschool curriculum options.
Started dabbling with homeschooling in June.
Picked a homeschool curriculum (Adventures in My Father's World, studying early American history).
Started our new curriculum August 3.
Continued homeschooling.
Love homeschooling! And the girls do too :)

Now that I'm getting the hang of this whole homeschooling thing (just finished week #5), I'm feeling a little more relaxed and hope to get back to blogging occasionally. Sorry for the long break. If anyone is still following, I'd love to hear from you!

The girls each lost teeth this week so I'll have to get some of their cute toothless smiles posted soon :)

March for Babies

2009-04-26T12:03:00.003-05:00

The sun was shining this morning as we drove to the walk (and took the first picture above), but right before the 9am start time the thunder and rain started! And it rained the whole six miles! We were soaked to the bone and had squishy gym shoes, but we survived. We are now home warming up in dry clothes and resting our feet. Thank you to all who donated to March of Dimes! We're a little short of our $2500 goal, but $1615 isn't too shabby. It's not too late to donate if you haven't yet--just click on the link in the side bar to the right.

Easter dresses

2009-04-17T14:08:00.003-05:00

I forgot we had more Easter pix still in the camera... Here are some cute ones of the girls as they were finding their Easter treasures before church last Sunday.

Spring Break

2009-04-15T22:20:00.004-05:00

I haven't collaged or scrapbooked many of our Spring Break photos yet, but today I put together some of my favorite beach pix. Most days were chilly, rainy or windy (which I still prefer to the snow back home!) so we didn't actually spend much time at the beach, but we still had a great time. I knew the weather would be questionable, so I hedged out bets by booking a beachfront hotel with an indoor water park which worked out perfectly! We also got to spend time with Andy's sister, Diane, her husband, Norm, and cousin Mike who all live in Raleigh.

March for Babies

2009-04-15T12:00:00.005-05:00

Every year we walk to support March of Dimes because of the pivotal role they played in saving Emily's life. She was born 15 weeks early at 1.5 pounds, but she is now strong and healthy thanks in part to March of Dimes. We would like to give back by helping others who find themselves in the same fight for life we were in nine years ago. Our goal is to raise $2500 before the walk on April 26. Can you help? You can click on the link below to donate and there should also be a badge in the sidebar that is keeping a running total. Thanks!

Click here to help me reach my goal!

In character

2009-04-13T17:47:00.005-05:00

Olivia has quite an imagination and never seems to tire of acting (though the rest of us do after a time!). The other night we read about Cinderella and talked about how the ugly step-sisters were jealous of beautiful Cinderella and were so mean and nasty to her. So now, for the last few days, Olivia has pretended to be Anastasia, one of Cinderella's evil step-sisters, which by default makes me the evil step-mother! She usually likes being a princess, but I guess she didn't feel like playing the part of a victim!

I'd hoped she'd put the game to rest last night, but this morning, when she stumbled into our room half asleep she declared that Cinderella (the designated blond-haired rag doll) had just done something else wrong deserving our feigned wrath. She has not seemed to notice that I retired my role yesterday. Tonight, every few minutes my drama queen has been running over to me, very exuberantly telling about the latest dirt on poor Cinderella who still has dreams of going to the ball. Anastasia really wants me to jump in and punish the poor doll with more new chores so that Cinderella can't possibly attend the gala event. When the desired response is no longer forthcoming from this tired evil step-mother, Anastasia tries to prompt me with my lines; "Tell her that she CAN'T go the ball, MOTHER! She HAS to stay home and clean the floor and the toilet and the...!" Moments later I hear, "MOTHER, MOTHER, Cinderella just stole MY dress! " Gasp. Gasp.

This child of mine is very dramatic and animated and can stay in character for days on end! Though she is not really acting evil she does have a devilish grin and seems positively giddy about keeping poor Cinderella in check. As I type, she's just informed me (clad in her dance leotard that she has just proclaimed to be her ball gown) that the mice are busy making Cinderella's gown and we MUST stop them! She is also insisting that we must leave for the ball soon!

I think I need to get her signed up for a drama club! I also need to think through the next story I choose to read to her very carefully ;)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-10T17:37:00.002-05:00

We had a great Spring Break, but I haven't sorted through all the pix to post here yet...but I did make a quick collage of our Easter egg coloring this afternoon. As you can see, the girls really enjoyed themselves :) Hope you have a happy Easter!

Finally fever free...and flying...

2009-03-28T13:07:00.002-06:00

Olivia came down with a fever on March 12 and missed a week of school. Then Emily came down with a fever and missed a week of school...finally going back Thursday. I'm so glad everyone is now well because we're on Spring Break and our plane is headed for the Caronlinas :)

We leave here in a few hours and hopefully our flight won't be delayed with the SNOW that's supposed to come!! We're flying in to Raleigh to visit Andy's sister, Diane, and then we'll drive down to Myrtle Beach for a few days. I hope the weather cooperates for us!

Gotta finish packing...

Today marks TWO years!

2009-03-11T11:46:00.003-06:00

On March 11, 2007 we arrived home from China with our new four year old daughter who fiercely called herself Tan Tan. Now, two years later, our spirited little six year old fiercely calls herself Olivia! It's been an amazing two years. Here you can see a few old photos from her first month home as well as old videos of her speaking Chinese. For contrast, I've also posted a recent one of her speaking in her new language, English. I'm still amazed at how well we've all adjusted and how perfectly she fits into our family!

The Dells

2009-03-10T13:36:00.003-06:00

When Emily was little she had a nasal cannula in her nose for oxygen until she was almost three so we couldn't give her regular baths. So, by the time she had her first bath she was pretty old. And during her first bath she stood up and slipped right out of the tub and skidded across the floor on her belly! For quite a while after that she was terrified to move in the tub and would just sit with both arms out, pressing against the tub walls! But, in our infinite wisdom, we decided to take her to the Wisconsin Dells when she was two. Let's just say it was not her favorite vacation! Not only was she scared of being in even the baby pool, the acoustics really bothered her sensitive ears!

A few years ago, we put up a pool in the back yard and that really helped her learn to love swimming. And last year, she faced down her fears of water slides! So, seven years later, we decided to give the Dells another try. It was a hit!! I think Olivia only got sponge baths in the orphanage her first four years and had similar tub/pool fears, but she was really warming up to swimming, too! In Florida over Christmas break, she started putting her head under and this time she was staying under a long time "swimming!" To our surprise she even went on a bunch of water slides! We all had a great time and they can't wait to go again!

some February pages...

2009-03-10T10:47:00.000-06:00

We're still alive and well

2009-03-10T09:31:00.004-06:00

Ever get so far behind you don't know where to begin? Sometimes I have so many plates spinning that I just veg out (or look for old friends on Facebook!) and choose to spin none of them! As you might have noticed I haven't posted much here lately. We've been busy with life, but for the most part, no news has been good news. All is well.

We went to Wisconsin Dells at the end of February and had a great two days at an indoor water park. I hate wearing a swim suit, but I decided making memories with my family was more important than what any strangers may have thought (they were probably too concerned about themselves to notice me anyway!). We had a wonderful time! Sometimes I forget the impact that just playing with your kids can have. And beyond the playing, they love to hang all over us in the water and it just seems like close physical contact breeds emotional closeness. The girls were so sweet and we just really enjoyed having fun together. To me it wasn't about the water fun, but just about intentional focus on enjoying each other. Sometimes at home we're too distracted to really make time to put everything down to just play together. The family bonding was well worth the trip!

Since changing to the Mac and needing to learn a new way to digital scrapbook (my old familiar program only works on a Windows PC), I was getting almost a year behind in scrapbooking. I've done a whole lot of collages to try to catch up, but I'd still like to go back and fill in with some more pages that just focus on a few favorite pix on a page. I'm slowly seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, but I haven't assembled my catch-up pages in an album(s) yet because I want them to be sequential. The only problem is once I finally get all caught up, I'll be burned out and want to take a break...and get behind all over again! Ahh, such is life.

I've also been spending a lot of time reading about learning disabilities, neuro plasticity (the capacity of the brain to change), all kins of different therapies, etc. As much as I love being a mom, at times parenting can feel like an overwhelming responsibility. It's tough finding the right balance between trying to fix what's not working (academically) with acceptance. I want to convey unconditional acceptance while at the same time work on strengthening areas of weakness to make school/life easier. Emily often asks me why she has to go to therapy and do all this extra work while her friends are out playing. She also wants to know when she's going to be done with it. All the while I'm wondering the same thing. The more I learn about interventions for LDs, there more hopeful I am, but also the more overwhelmed as I try to sort out the right paths to take.

This weekend I'm headed off to a Hearts At Home conference for Christian moms. I really got a lot out of it last year and am looking forward to it. Now if only I can get the laundry done, clean the house, wrap presents for a birthday party Olivia'll be going to, pack up...

Then in a few weeks we'll be taking off for spring break--flying to North Carolina :) We still have some planning to do for that as well as find a dog/house sitter. Anyone need housing in beautiful, sunny Chicagoland over spring break??

Catching up with some photos

2009-02-10T15:26:00.004-06:00

These aren't in any particular order. I'm just slowly making my way through a zillion photos and putting some quick collages together in an attempt get caught up! I still haven't waded through the Christmas in FL pix (except for our day with Jack)...

Above, you'll see pix from when my sister's family came for an impromptu visit when they were out of power and water, a visit to The Museum of Science & Industry, Olivia's teeth, and the day Olivia got to spend time with Jack, her old orphanage and traveling buddy.

Jack lives in Florida so we've been fortunate enough to visit him twice now when we've been down there. They always seem to remember each other and as you can see in the pictures, Olivia likes to be a little mother to him. Though they've always been about the same size, at adoption she was four and he was only two. Looking at each other, they might assume their the same age, but Olivia tried to feed him like a baby! He didn't seem to mind too much and they were very excited to see each other.

Somebody turned SIX!!

2009-02-02T12:47:00.005-06:00

With so much going on I've neglected this blog, but we are all still alive and well. We went to Florida, celebrated Christmas and New Years with my side of the family there as well as visiting Jack (Olivia's orphanage friend and our China travel-mate). I've got photos to post once I sort through them all! Nineteen of us shared a big rental house (I'm one of five) and the cousins loved having their own heated pool in the back yard. This year we didn't go to Disney, but opted for two days at Sea World instead which the girls enjoyed.

We've been back a while now, but I've been busy with all kinds of things like trying to stay warm! Since it's hermit season here, I've been spending a lot of time reading up on APD (Auditory Processing Disorder) and other learning issues as I seek out how better to help Emily continue to be successful in school. We also just hosted some ice storm refugees from Kentucky--my sister's family of five + dog--for four days...AND CELEBRATED A BIRTHDAY :) Olivia is now SIX!! Oh, and she also lost her first two teeth last week! And, not to be outdone, Emily lost one this morning, too!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T00:25:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Florida bound :)

2008-12-22T14:15:00.002-06:00

We're celebrating Christmas morning here with our girls and then celebrating again at noon at Andy's parents with the cousins eight miles away :) Then, later Christmas day or bright and early the next morning we're starting our long (20+ hour) drive to Orlando!

My side of the family is so spread out from coast to coast that family get togethers require some major traveling no matter where we meet, so we decided we might as well go somewhere warm! In 2006 we all met in Orlando and rented a big rental house for a week. It worked so well that we're doing it again! Only last time we flew. Aside from our long China flights, this will be our longest trek with children. Thank goodness for the invention of the portable dvd player! Actually, we intend to limit their movie watching so they don't turn into zombies, but it's nice to know we have options. This summer the high fuel cost made flights so expensive that we reluctantly decided to drive. Who knew how cheap gas was going to get, so at least the driving isn't going to be as expensive as we first thought!

I will NOT miss all the snow and cold one bit!! Every day that it's cold, Emily wants to know why we don't just move to Florida. Some days I wonder that myself!

Somebody's getting new front teeth for Christmas!

2008-12-22T10:01:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I noticed that my tiny little girl (I mean, Cinderella!) has two big new teeth coming in on the bottom! The only problem is that she hasn't lost any baby teeth yet! The ones in front are loose though, so hopefully these new teeth will push the old ones out. I guess this confirms that she really is almost six years old even though she is often mistaken for three! Emily was almost eight before she lost her first tooth, so this took me by surprise!

New Child, Old Child

2008-12-18T10:05:00.006-06:00

Lately Olivia's been on a kick of calling herself our "NEW child" and Emily our "OLD child." I'm still not sure if she really means younger and older, or if she's implying that Emily's old news who should be kicked to the curb! She's also been calling us her "new" parents. At least we're still her favorite parents--along with just about every thing and every one else that she states emphatically as her "FAVORITE in the whole world!" But that begged the question of whether or not she remembered having "old" parents...she was in foster care her last six months but she's never mentioned it. I'm still not sure what she remembers because now when I ask her if she had "old" parents, she causually says, "ya, Jimmy and Anna." Ummm...those don't sound much like Chinese names! I'm not sure where she gets these names--see last night's post about her brother, also named Jimmy! It's hard discern if it's all betend or if these stories contain any remnants of her former life.

She'll also spread her arms as she declares how much she loves her new (favorite) house...and has lately mentioned that her old house was tiny and broken. And something about having a big butterfly on the wall at her old house. Not sure if this would have been in her foster parents' home or in the orphanage. I know the orphanage walls had big painted cartoon-like murals...

The only other reference to her past has been when she's talked about how they go potty differently in China--she giggles as she demonstrates squatting down on the floor and gets wide eyed as she shares the ludicrousness of them going potty outside. Specifically, outside on a sidewalk that was cracked and broken. Now she thinks it's just the silliest thing ever, but I suspect that part probably is an accurate memory. Many toddlers in China wear split pants with no underwear or diapers. The pants are literally split, as in no seam in the crotch/back side so that they can relieve themselves whenever the mood strikes. If they're too young to squat, parents will hold the child spread eagle in front of them waist high to let them do their thing on the sidewalk, over a garbage can, or in the street. It's a very strange thing to see! What memories we have :) Now, if only we could help her to remember and preserve more bits and pieces of her first four years...

Introducing Jimmy

2008-12-17T20:34:00.010-06:00

The girls go to Pioneer Club every Wednesday night and tonight they came home loaded with all kinds of Christmas goodies. It sounds like the highlight of their night was when they got to go "shopping" for Christmas presents for family members with their Bible Bucks earned from memorizing bible verses. When we picked them up they could hardly contain their excitement--or their secrets! Olivia kept shouting, "Mom and Dad, I got you a BOOK! I got you a BOOK!"

Once home, the girls were discussing where they were going to hide the presents, but we suggested putting them under the tree before they got lost (or forgotten) in their super secret hiding places. As we began pulling out the gifts, we had to do a double take when we got to one labeled, "To Jimmy, from Olivia." Ummm...we don't know a Jimmy. Olivia then very matter of factly informed us that the gift is for her brother Jimmy. Her "betend" brother Jimmy. Oh, of course. Good 'ole Jimmy who we'd never heard of before. We were a bit surprised and couldn't help but chuckle as we thought of the adult helper who surely thought they were wrapping for a real child.

But, apparently to Olivia, Jimmy is real and she did not appreciate our laughter one bit! She takes these things very seriously and did not see any humor in it at all! Although we didn't know about Jimmy, we are acquainted with another "brother" of hers who happens to be an orange stuffed animal. She even brought a journal page home from school one day that mentioned (translated in adult handwriting) something that she and her "brother" had done over that weekend.

Emily, on the other hand, thought the whole thing was pretty funny, but was very concerned about figuring out just who will get to open Jimmy's present on Christmas day! She pointed out that she only had one gift under the tree and didn't want to go to bed until we "got this sorted out." I'd start campaigning for it myself if only I hadn't overheard that it was a spider man something-or-other that I think only Jimmy will appreciate.

Santa's Sock

2008-12-17T11:59:00.001-06:00

...and another short video clip of our youngest cutie pie :)

My little Hula girl

2008-12-17T11:13:00.003-06:00

This is actually more than a month old, but I realized that I haven't posted any home videos lately and thought this short clip was kind of cute. I happen to keep my camera in my purse so that I've got it handy should a cute Kodak moment arise, so I whipped it out here in the middle of a store to capture Olivia Hula hooping :) It's only about 23 seconds long. Enjoy :)

Olivia's second Christmas home :)

2008-12-15T13:03:00.002-06:00

Watching this music video makes me so grateful for our second Christmas with Olivia! Last year when we put up the tree, I realized that we needed to go ornament shopping for her--Olivia was quite disappointed when Emily pulled out all kinds of memories from the box and there were none for her. This year, she was hesitant to help decorate until she realized she actually DOES have some of her own ornaments now. She gets very excited every time she sees and "O" marking hers!! It was amazing how quickly her mood changed and she then had a great time putting them on the tree, trying to claim every ornament for herself! This Christmas she knows what to expect and can't wait!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-15T12:40:00.003-06:00

I didn't end up making the girls suffer through an attempt to get a good dressed up Christmas photo this year because I lucked out by getting a good (casual) one with Santa at the school breakfast...so when this one from Aunt Ruthie's Christmas party this weekend turned out well it was a bonus! It was too late to make it on the card (which I still have to post) but I still wanted to share it. Aren't they cute?!

NINE!!

2008-12-08T13:43:00.004-06:00

I can hardly believe our tiny little baby is now a big NINE-year old!! Where oh where has the time gone?? We had a wonderful weekend celebrating with family and friends. When I remember her scary birth nine years ago and all the health scares in her first year of life, I can't help but marvel at how healthy and strong she is now. Such a miracle :) Such a beautiful girl :)

Thanks!

2008-12-04T14:21:00.005-06:00

Thank you to those of you who took the time to post a comment or email! I really appreciate the encouragement! It was especially helpful to hear from such an articulate grown-up preemie! I wish I knew who you were to thank you, Anonymous :) You can email me directly from my profile here. It is always encouraging to know that in spite of--or because of--struggles, people can be quite resilient and thrive. You have helped to bolster my hope in Emily's future :)

P.S.
Anonymous, it sounds like you've described some classic symptoms of APD (Auditory Processing Disorder)--difficulty with comprehending/processing fast paced speech, word finding, discerning the difference between similar sounding words (and thus spelling), difficulty following speech (or a plot line) when there are competing sounds, etc. We're pretty sure Emily has APD, but one thing that confounds me is that she can sound out words very well and combined with good visual memory, is great at spelling which does not fit the APD profile at all. Makes me sometimes wonder if we're really on the right track...

I've just started reading a book by Karen Foli, called Like Sound Through Water, a Mother's Journey Through Auditory Processing Disorder. I'm curious to see how well it will parallels our story. I also want to read, When the Brain Can't Hear: Unraveling the mystery of Auditory Processing Disorder by Dr. Teri James Bellis (who I think began suffering from APD after being in a car accident and Don't You Get It? Living with Auditory Learning Disabilities, by Harvey Edell, Dr. Jay Lucker and Dr. Loraine Alderman (all of whom had/have ADP, I believe).

Letting it go

2008-12-03T11:55:00.005-06:00

Following up yesterday's post...I belong to an online forum for parents of kids with APD (Auditory Processing Disorder) and found this post written to another concerned parent which confirmed what I believe also applies to Emily. After all, if the results were really accurate of her abilities, she probably wouldn't be able to do all the things she can (read at grade level, etc.). I believe that her language disorders prevented her from demonstrating her true abilities, rendering the test inaccurate (especially if the test had oral instructions). If the purpose of the test was to flag kids who need special services, she's already been flagged, so I'm going to try to just file this away and move on. We're already intervening, so the results serve us no purpose except to be a discouragement that we don't need. Instead, I'm choosing to believe that she has defied the odds and will continue to do so. She survived for a reason and our job is to recognize that she is on her own path and to help her be the best that she can be.

If your daughter’s scores on a particular standardized test are what you

and/or others are basing her cognitive abilities on, you need to determine
if the scores she received are a true reflection of her ability at the time
the test was administered or a result of other factors, for example, her
language disorder. Often times, for example, the WISC is administered to
children with language-based disorders and they score low because the WISC
is heavily language-loaded. A good examiner would be able to discern this
through the administration of various testing instruments and observations,
etc.

Another thing that keeps coming to mind is that God doesn't always choose to remove our obstacles or "thorns in our side." He sees the bigger picture and may have a different, better plan than we can even imagine. Sure, I can (and do) ask for her learning disabilities to go away, but He may have a different plan. Perhaps she (&/or we) will use our experiences to impact others in a way that will someday all make sense. Who knows, but I just need to remember that no matter what, God is in control and worrying does no good. Easier said than done because as I mom I want to fix my kids' problems, but in reality I can't. I can feel helpless and hopeless or I can choose to put it in God's hands and trust Him. I know the second choice is better, but some days I need a reminder!

Needing some encouragement today

2008-12-02T10:59:00.003-06:00

On most days I can see the glass half full, but today I'm having a hard time. Emily IS a walking, talking miracle who will be turning nine years old this week, and we have had so many blessings, but my heart still occasionally aches for her and I can't help but wonder what her life might have been like if only she hadn't been born so early. We've long been aware that she has academic struggles, but this morning when I opened her 2nd grade OLSAT test results I was overcome with sadness and fear. I didn't expect the results to be great--and they weren't--but what got to me was the test description: "OLSAT measures those reasoning skills that are related to school-learning ability." If this is really an accurate predictor of her ability to learn in school then we're going to have a very tough row to hoe.

School will be her/our life for the next several years and I am concerned about the impact of it all. Will her strengths be able to sustain her or will her struggles crush her? She can read and write and recite her addition facts, has a great vocabulary (tested at 4th or 5th grade?) and is a great speller with good attention to (visual) detail...but math concepts, reasoning, and listening comprehension are such a struggle. Also, as she gets older, school will be less visual and hands on and more oral. As a child with an auditory processing disorder, keeping up with and comprehending lectures is probably going to be very challenging.

Academic abilities shouldn't define the value of a person, but when life revolves around academics/school, it's probably difficult to define yourself in any other way. We are always looking for other areas where she can be successful to help bolster her spirits and at this point she does not seem to be crushed or defeated. I hope she never does, but it'll be hard to make it through unscathed. I guess none of us do make it unscathed and that's part of building character... My hope and prayer is that she/we won't let test scores define her or crush her. She may never test well and I hope we can all learn how to live with that without it crushing us. At this age, she is unaware of the test scores, so right now it's more MY problem, but she won't be shielded from harsh realities forever.

I need to go birthday shopping for her today, but my heart is heavy. I could really use some encouragement from anyone who's survived the struggle of learning disabilities.

Note to Dee F.

2008-12-01T19:28:00.004-06:00

Dee, you left a comment that you, too, are adopting a four year old from China...and that you also live in the Chicago area. I don't know too many other "older" adoptees that live nearby, so I'd love to stay in touch and maybe even get our girls together when yours comes home. According to your profile, you're only about 25 miles from us! The only problem is I'm not sure how to contact you since your blog doesn't seem to accept comments, but you can contact me directly via my Blogger profile. Hope to hear from you soon!

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-07T12:36:00.003-06:00

Halloween pictures at last! As you can see, the girls were cheerleaders and they went trick-or-treating with the cute captain of the basketball team! No, he didn't collect candy in that giant gym bag, but the girls did dump their candy in there when their little pumpkins got too full or heavy.

After collecting candy for a while the girls had fun handing out candy--you can see Olivia looking official as she attempted to take over my tally marks. Around 7:00 we ended up abandoning our bucket on the front porch with a sign that said "take two" while we went to our neighbors for pizza and playing. We figured some kid might take all the candy, but we were surprised to find some left when we came home! Everyone had great time. It was especially nice to have such warm weather and to be on a Friday night with no school the next day! A week later, we still have a LOT of candy left! It helps that Daddy hides it from us and only brings it out after dinner!

Best sister ever

2008-10-31T12:31:00.000-06:00

Our girls are true sisters with sibling rivalry and all. If I scold Emily for something, Olivia is often quick to point out how good her own current behavior is. "Look, Mom," she'll say with a proud smile, "see, I'm not doing ______." And, if Olivia gets attention for an injury, suddenly Emily will insist that she has the very same affliction. Also, if Olivia fusses or cries about something, it'll often send Emily through the roof with annoyance, telling her to "stop, it, Olivia!!" But last night at dinner, Andy and I were pleasantly surprised by a different reaction.

I had dinner on the table, but I was enjoying hearing how nicely and quietly the girls were playing beauty shop in the bathroom WITHOUT getting annoyed with each other (you see, we have a big sister who sometimes likes to BE the big sister, and a little sister with a big personality who often likes to be in charge). Even after Andy came home, neither of us wanted to interrupt a good thing so we let them play a little longer.

Once they emerged and we were eating dinner, Olivia stuck a serving spoon in her mouth for the umpteenth time...so I was all too quick to correct her. Not appreciating the scolding, she started wailing. At this point I fully expected Emily to snap at her for crying, but instead, the nurturer in her rose to the occasion and she walked over to comfort her little sister. In soft sweet tones she calmed her and then asked if she wanted to come sit by her. Andy and I were a captive audience as she then proceeded to move Olivia's plate and chair right next to hers. Once they got re-situated, Emily put her arm around her sister and Olivia reciprocated with her arm as she declared, "Emily, you're my best sister ever."

Parenting can be challenging, but I'm so glad for the little moments like this that make it all worth while and remind me how great it is to be a mom.

Andy just came home early and now we're off to school to watch the costume parade...I'll post pix of our little cheerleaders later :)

Wish come true

2008-10-26T09:54:00.001-06:00

Giddy, smiling and clasping hands excitedly, Olivia just came running to announce something special to me, "I love my wish come true. I love my mom and I love my dad, and I love my Chelsea (dog), and I love my Emily. I love my family. I love my wish come true."

Wow. How sweet is that?!

Playing Tag

2008-10-24T18:10:00.003-05:00

I've been tagged again which means I'm supposed to list share seven things about myself and then tag seven other bloggers so they too can reveal their deep dark secrets. My first thought was to just link to my old post here where I already listed seven things about myself, but I suppose that'd be cheating. Surely I can think of seven more, right? Ummmm...hopefully.

Okay, here goes:

1. I am the middle child of five kids and married to the youngest of five kids.

2. I am not planning to have five kids. When we got married, we said we wanted 2-3 kids, so I always joked that we were going to have 2.5. If you count our dog as half a person, we're on target!

3. Andy and I have been together since we were 16--dated for seven years, and are still going strong after 16 years of marriage. This past year we've been going out for a date every Wednesday night while the girls go to Pioneer Club (kind of a cross between scouts and Sunday school).

4. Unlike Julie who tagged me, I started turning gray in my teens, way before kids :( At least my kids will have one less thing to feel guilty about.

5. My favorite TV channel is HGTV and my favorite show there is probably Designed to Sell. No, we're not planning to sell, but I love seeing what changes they can make in one week with only $2,000.

6. Waaaaay back when, I was into gymnastics and tumbling. I can still do a cartwheel, but I'm afraid back bends and back flips are a thing of the past.

7. Oprah's CFO lives across the street from us. Okay, I know that's not really about me, but I couldn't come up with #7 and thought some might find it an interesting tidbit ;)

Here are the next victims that have now been tagged. They're all adoptive moms, most from our agency, LifeLink. If you want to check out some other cute kids from China, then check out their blogs :)

Caroline
Lisa
Jen
Shannon
Jill
Amy
Maureen

home-made "school" pictures

2008-10-23T16:11:00.003-05:00

You can't see what Emily was looking at, but she was actually looking adoringly at her sister :)

I'm not usually in love with the results of prepaid school pictures, so yesterday after the girls posed for their year book/class pictures at school, they got to come home and pose some more! I was going for school type mug shots and kept trying to get Olivia to keep her hands away from her face, but my little model had her own ideas. In the end, I was happy with the results :)

Once I got some good individual shots I had them pose together and Emily, my little stager, had her own ideas. Instead of sitting on the step stool, she thought it'd be cute to have Olivia in it (up side down)!

sisters

2008-10-22T10:56:00.003-05:00

Last night Emily went roller skating with Brownies and within a few minutes I heard Olivia say, "I miss Emily already! " I was surprised because her sister was only going to be gone for a few hours, not unlike she does twice every week when she goes to educational therapy. But there it was: "I miss my sister. She's my friend." How sweet is that?!

When they were reunited a few hours later, Olivia told her sister that she had missed her and Emily just beamed. The two then enjoyed a little love fest and happily went off to bed. Ahhhh. If only my angels were always so angelic :)

Update:
When I went to bed, there was a little love note from Emily on my pillow. Ahhh. Makes a mom's heart melt! I don't know if any of this lovey-doveyness had anything to do with the fact that I tucked little love notes in their lunches yesterday (for the first time), but you can bet I put some in again today :)

scrapbook pages

2008-10-21T20:23:00.005-05:00

...just printed these out to add to the scrapbook :)

My little model

2008-10-21T12:13:00.002-05:00

Emily is a little more self conscious and doesn't much like to have her picture taken, but Olivia is another story! In China she HATED the camera, but it didn't take long before she changed her attitude! Olivia's got a lot of dramatic flare and is not afraid to strut her stuff or pose for pictures. Here she is sporting her new, shorter "do." Her hair was getting a little long, thin and shapeless so we cut some length off to go for a bob. I think it makes her hair look thicker than it is and I like the way it frame her cute little face. Isn't she cute?!

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to take both girls' school pictures at home again. I got tired of prepaying $$$ for unflattering pictures and figured I'd have better results on my own with a homemade backdrop (sheet or blanket). I was pleased with our little photo shoot last year (I ordered prints to hand out at Walgreens for just a few bucks) that I'll attempt it again. Wish me luck. Hopefully I'll post some more cute pix tomorrow of BOTH of our girls :)

New look, new features

2008-10-04T00:06:00.003-05:00

I was playing around with some blog gadgets tonight and thought I'd change things up a bit. Now, in the right margin you can scroll through and click on our most recent video clips.

I've also added a new BLOG FOLLOWERS gadget that's kind of neat because YOU can add your mugshot to our blog if you'd like :)

Not sure that I'm loving the black background. Let me know if it's too hard to read. I think the blog design is due for an overhaul!

The Pledge

2008-10-03T18:47:00.004-05:00

Here's Olivia's version of The Pledge that she's learning in kindergarten. I like her version, mistakes and all :) After you see it you'll might know what I mean.

I'm still getting used to my new Mac's iVideo, and need to figure out how to improve the compressed version without making the file size too big--the original video looks so much better than this too-compressed YouTube version :(

iMovie dancing clip

2008-10-03T00:38:00.004-05:00

Here's my first iMovie, a short video clip (32 sec.) that goes along with some of the pix I posted earlier from a recent wedding. You can see the girls--and Daddy--had fun on the dance floor!

Tonight Olivia was sharing her version of the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn't catch it on film, but I'm going to have the camera ready tomorrow in case she shares again! It was pretty cute.

I think summer is over

2008-10-02T14:06:00.007-05:00

I think summer is over, but all is well here. The girls seem to like school, and I've adjusted to my empty nest. I had visions of accomplishing all sorts of things with so much time to myself. However, the reality has been that now that I think I have all the time in the world, I've been much LESS efficient with my time. Sad, but true. Maybe once the newness wears off, I'll start cracking the whip to get more accomplished, but for right now, I'm kind of enjoying this new found free time! I've gotten a little (more) lazy, but one good thing has come out of my free time. I have been exercising every morning for the last several weeks. Hey, at least I've made one positive change :)

Speaking of change...we recently made the switch from PCs to Macs so I'm having to relearn how I do things. I'm going to have to learn a new program for digital scrapbooking because my program isn't Mac friendly, and I also have to figure out simple things like loading pix off the camera and uploading pix to update this blog! If you see any new photos here, you'll know I was successful. If not, well...then I wasn't!

Our dog, Chelsea, just turned 14 and Emily and her friend wanted to throw her a birthday party! Chelsea still looks and acts pretty good, but her hearing is not what it once was and she now has a harder time jumping up on the furniture (not all bad). At her check up last week the vet said she looked pretty good for a dog of her age, but unfortunately her labwork indicated that she may be in the very early stages of kidney failure. She may still have another year or two, but he said that'll probably be what takes her. I knew she couldn't really live forever, but I was kind of hoping she would. I can't help wonder how many more birthday parties she'll have. Okay, gotta go touch up my smeared makeup now.

Olivia and her daddy were dancing up a storm at a recent wedding in Wisconsin. Check out the socks that were once white!

(above)Olivia and her cousin, Rachel, having fun at the wedding...and (below) the girls dancing with their cousin, Katie (both daughters of my sister, Angie).

Emily has been saving money to buy another Webkinz and lucked out with a 50% off sale so she got TWO for the price of one!

In the midst of the Emily's Webkinz excitement, Olivia decided to take this picture. Another photographer in the family!

An orphanage friend :)

2008-09-07T09:44:00.003-05:00

Last week we got to meet up again with one of Olivia's orphanage friends, BeiLee(3), who happened to be visiting Chicago :) We met at Navy Pier where the kids enjoyed playing at the Chicago Children's Museum before eating at Bubba Gump Shrimp. I'm so glad we're able to keep some ties to Olivia's past :)

Olivia's reaction to all day kindergarten

2008-08-26T19:22:00.002-05:00

After school I tried to capture Olivia's reaction to her first full day of kindergarten. In the first video she didn't mention school, but was just hamming it up for the camera with silly names for herself--first Sully (from Monster's Inc.??) and then Sharla, the mom (from ???)...chattering about getting big and little. I'm not exactly sure what her point was, but it's a 29 second snapshot of her silliness :)

Then, in her second video, I was actually surprised by what she said about school.

First day of kindergarten & 2nd grade!

2008-08-26T12:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Emily started second grade, but Olivia was very disappointed that she only got to go for 30 minutes. TODAY, they BOTH are in class ALL day long. It feels kind of strange to be home alone, but I've got a long To Do list that's keeping me preoccupied.

Olivia was very excited about going off to school and Emily was very intent on helping her little sister. Often times Olivia doesn't need or want all the help from her mother hen sister, but today she happily accepted it when Emily eagerly offered to help her tie her gym shoes so we could walk to school. Then, when we got out the door, I couldn't keep up with them! Last year when we walked to school, Olivia was always dawdling and as slow as molasses. Today, in her excitement, she was almost a block ahead of me!

For months now, Emily has talked about walking her little sister into class, but when we got to school, Olivia left Emily and me in the dust as she joyfully bolted for her classroom! So much for needing Emily's helping hand! Emily took off after her and neither one even turned around to say goodbye. I was surprised by their quick departure and had planned to give them a proper send off with a kiss and a reminder about our after school pick up plans, but I'm sure they'll figure it out. I thought I might be sad, but their excitement was so contagious that I couldn't help but smile. Both my babies are now in school and we'll all be okay :)

These pix were taken last Wednesday when we went to Meet the Teacher.

And these are from this morning when they BOTH left for school ALL day!

Chance meeting...and vacation pix part 2 of 2

2008-08-24T15:38:00.004-05:00

In my last post I said I wanted to tell you about some people we met in Branson. It was a chance meeting that ended up with quite a surprise...

We met a really nice family of five at the resort where we were staying and then ran into them again both days we went to the the theme park, Silver Dollar City. There the we went on rides together, shared strollers and snacks, went to shows together, and ate together. Our girls enjoyed playing with their three-year old, but also enjoyed borrowing her 12 and 15-year old big sisters, especially when some rides required older chaperons! Andy also enjoyed having someone to go with him on the water rides and the hour-long cave tour while the moms and little girls did other stuff. Back at the resort, we also hung out at the pool, keeping cool together. Our girls just couldn't get enough of them and we didn't mind because we enjoyed hanging out with our new friend, too! We had a great time together and meeting them was a highlight of our vacation that our kids still talk about!

As we talked, I recognized the dad's home town in Iowa as a place in my dad's family history and, in an email after we got home, I asked if they happened to know anyone with my grandma's maiden name. I was floored when I got an email back saying yes, that was his mother's maiden name! My dad did some delving into the family tree and it turns out we're related! We're actually third cousins in two different ways, making us "double cousins," with two different sets of common great, great grandparents! What a small world! The kids got quite a kick out of the fact that their new friends are actually long lost cousins!

Below are some more vacation pix that include our new friends that ended up being our new-found cousins.

School starts tomorrow!! My next post will have back-to-school pix :)

(click to enlarge)

We really enjoyed Silver Dollar City! They offer quite a variety with kiddie and big kid rides, a spray area to keep cool, lots of live shows (Veggie Tales, magic, ice skating, singing & dancing, etc.), and also a big cave to tour. I especially like how short the lines were and how the girls could go on their favorite rides over and over again while we kept cool under a misting fan!

Vacation pix, part I

2008-08-19T13:30:00.001-05:00

My posting this summer has been feast or famine--I seem to go for long stretches with no posts and then play catch up with an avalanche of photos! That may change next week when my two little charges go off to school all day long, leaving me with plenty of time to myself. {Sniff, sniff.}

Below are some vacation pictures. We were a little hesitant that Branson was only for retired country music lovers, but we were pleasantly surprised by how many things there are to see and do for young families. I was especially impressed with how family friendly and clean ALL the entertainment is and how much of a Christian influence there is everywhere you look :). We all had a great time!

In my next post I'll share an interesting story about some people we met in Branson.

(Click to enlarge)

No, Branson doesn't have a Chinatown...but I tacked on this page from before vacation. Chicago's Chinatown Summerfest :)

scrapbook'n

2008-07-28T09:48:00.001-05:00

Just sing

2008-07-27T18:57:00.003-05:00

Kids Choir Camp

2008-07-26T09:15:00.005-05:00

This past week the girls have been spending their mornings at our church's Kids Choir Camp and the culmination of the week was to show off what they'd learned. Emily was a little nervous about saying her line into the microphone and she didn't appear to be enjoying herself as much as our little ham, Olivia, but she can't stop talking about it today! She wants to know when she can do that again! And, amazingly, when we had them prioritize what activities they might want to join this fall, Emily put Drama Club at the top of her list! A year ago, that would have never happened! She's come a long way with overcoming fears!!

The performance was called "Heaven's Kitchen" and as little chefs, the kids were told wear and apron and a chefs hat. We went out and bought hats and I made them each a little apron...so do you think they wore either of them?! Olivia left her apron off stage in the practice room along with both of their hats :( I made sure I at least got a picture with their props.

After the show, a dad came up and wanted to get a High Five from our littlest star who had caught his eye on stage. She was pretty cute up there strutting her stuff! Emily was cute, too, but just not quite as comfortable being on stage. Check out the video to see them both in action.

summer is flying by!

2008-07-25T21:21:00.001-05:00

Before we know it, it'll be time to start school again! I've been trying to cherish our time off together because in one short month BOTH girls will be gone all day long (Olivia is going to all day kindergarten)! For the first time in almost nine years, I won't have anyone under foot during the day. I'm sure I'll figure out what to do with myself, but right now it seems like a strange prospect. Maybe, just maybe, I'll finally catch up--and keep up--on scrapbooking?? Or get back to more frequent blog posts?? Time will tell.

The girls and I have been keeping busy with day camps (VBS/church & Girl Scouts) and playing in the backyard pool. In fact, I started this post poolside as they swam and played with neighbor friends. Earlier today, they performed as little chefs in "God's Kitchen," as the culmination of their Kids' Choir Camp (pictures to come). They both really enjoyed their week learning bible verses, learning new songs, and practicing their speaking parts. I was so happy to see them enjoy doing the performance with no mention of stage fright :) Emily even said her own line into the microphone which is a HUGE step for someone who used to be deathly afraid of going on stage! I still have to upload the pix and video clips, but hopefully I'll have something to post here.

As I mentioned posting, it occurred to me that I never did post anything from our June trip (okay, just added some below), and, in a week we'll be packing up for another trip--a week long family vacation in Branson, Mo. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that we'll enjoy it even if we're not country music lovers! Actually, it looks like there are plenty of non-country-music things to see and do so we should have a good time. We've already got our tickets to see Chinese Acrobats :)

The scrapbook pages below are from our trip to Kentucky where we went to help to move my sister, Angie, from Massachusetts. She and her husband both accepted faculty positions at Murray State University, so they and their three children made the cross country move to Murray, KY. It seems like a nice little town and I think they'll really enjoy it once everyone gets connected with friends. They closed on their new house right after our annual family reunion in northern IN, so five cars of us caravaned down to KY to check out their new digs and help them unpack. The kids enjoyed having ANOTHER family reunion there!

On the way home from KY, we decided to stop at our college towns and show the girls a little of what college can look like. We hadn't had any real reason to go back, so it'd been 17 years since we were last there and unfortunately my campus was buttoned up for July 4th. We showed the girls around both campuses and had a little more luck with his having more activity.

Father's Day interview with Olivia

2008-07-07T13:15:00.005-05:00

We just got back from a trip to IN and KY and eventually I may post some pix, but in the mean time, here's a video I meant to post a few weeks ago.

I decided to ask the girls some questions about Daddy in order to make a Father's Day scrapbook page...and figured I may as well video tape their responses. The following video is Olivia's take on Daddy.

P.S.
I video taped Emily, too, but she was being camera shy and I mostly got "I don't know" answers when the camera was on. I can't blame her because I don't much like being taped (or photographed) either!

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

2008-06-17T23:58:00.003-05:00

Andy recently bought a new little digital camera so he could keep one in his pocket. The good and bad is that now we have even more pictures! This month is only half over, but between the two cameras we have over 800 photos in our June folder! So, sorting through them to see what to scrapbook &/or blog is no quick or easy task! This morning while the girls were at Vacation Bible School I made a little headway and I've posted a few of our recent photos and collages.

(click to enlarge)

-Emily showing Olivia where her kindergarten class might be (yes, after much deliberation, she is starting all-day kindergarten this fall!)

-Emily with her golf gear after a First Tee golf lesson

-Yesterday's Beacon News story of our church's Operation

Helping Hands outreach with Olivia's picture right on page three

-the annual picnic at Blackberry Farm with other Families with Children from China (FCC Chicago) where we finally met up with a blog friend--another Olivia M!--who is younger, but taller!)

-our day of community volunteering with our church's Operation Helping Hands

-Andy took the day off yesterday for his birthday and we celebrated by going to Morton Arboretum

Olivia is in the newspaper today!

2008-06-16T13:36:00.002-05:00

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1007428,2_1_AU16_CARING_S1.article

I'll write more later, but Andy took the day off to celebrate his birthday and we're off to the arboretum!

Budding beautician?

2008-06-03T15:06:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted a video, so while Olivia's lunch was cooling off, I brought out the camera. Yesterday she came home from preschool with a cup of grass and declared that it needed a haircut...today, I saw that she took care of that!

Is it summer yet?

2008-06-02T14:02:00.001-05:00

Thursday is the last day of school, but the girls enjoyed having a taste of summer yesterday when we put up the pool.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder??

2008-05-23T12:22:00.007-05:00

Our girls bring us much joy, but with parenting there is also some heart ache. Ever since Emily was born we've struggled with issues that resulted from her early, traumatic birth. Thankfully, her health issues have subsided, but there have always been other lingering issues that keep us on our toes and keep us searching for answers. I've read up on different developmental, sensory and behavioral issues that we've encountered, but I've never really had that "a ha" moment where I could say THIS is it...until now.

Recently we were at a celebration where there balloons. Emily has always been terribly afraid of loud sudden sounds--and popping balloons ranks near the top. Needless to say, a balloon popped at this event and she was just beside herself in terror. She was inconsolable, crying hysterically and trembling as she clutched her ears for dear life. We have seen her react like this before, but this time something new occurred to me that led to our latest discovery.

The revelation began when when a concerned mom said she knew of another child who had the same fear, but that his parents had assumed it had something to do with his stay in the NICU as a preemie. She had no idea that Emily had also had an extended stay in the NICU, but it sure perked up my ears! Then, even long after I'd asked the balloon popping game to be stopped, I could not convince Emily that the balloons were not going to pop anymore. With every sound she would hunker down in terror, clutch her ears and cry, "they're popping again, Mommy, they're popping again." Balloons were not continuing to pop, but as I helplessly watched Emily, it occurred to me that she was acting just like a shell shocked soldier, bracing for the next attack--just like someone with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder! I'd never considered her "traumatized" before, but she was sure acting the part.

As soon as we got home I Googled Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and preemies. Whoa. The symptoms I found are what we've been seeing all these years! And she did have a very traumatic first year of life, including emergency bedside surgery with no time for anesthesia. We'd always hoped she didn't remember the early trauma, but everything I now read suggests otherwise.

"Trauma Through a Child's Eyes" by Peter A. Levine and Maggie Kline says, "Even when children cannot remember the actual experiences of pain, it seems to get permanently recorded at a biological level....Often, medical and surgical procedures are required and do make life possible. Amidst the relief and celebration of a saved life, it is easy to overlook the reality that these same procedures can inflict trauma that may leave emotional and behavioral effects long after the surgical wounds have healed...Those who are traumatized in the fragile period during infancy carry the burden of trauma's imprint as a lifelong struggle that seems to add a murky layer over ordinary existence...Although memory may not be consciously connected to the event, the children's play, behavior, and physical complaints reveal their struggle to deal with internal turmoil."

Emily has always been a very sweet and loving child who is eager to please, but she's also been prone to many symptoms mentioned: she can have abrupt mood swings, exaggerated emotional response, anxiety and a LOT of irrational fears. Add to that list panic attacks, clinginess, melt downs, distractibility, inattention, exaggerated startle response, extreme sensitivity to sound, freezing with immobility when stressed, hyperarousal that notices the most minute noise or motion on the other side of the room, the appearance of paying attention but spoken words often register as merely a string of words without meaning, relentless barrages of questions in an attempt to maintain a sense of safety..., etc., etc.

I ordered the book mentioned above and have been furiously reading. Just about all of the 500+ pages are highlighted and/or dog eared! As I read more and more Andy and I keep saying, "that's Emily!" It's both exciting and terrifying to make such a connection. It's exciting to have some explanations/answers and to see there is hope for healing, but also terrifying and terribly humbling to have been clueless for eight years. As parents, we've sometimes felt discouraged, not knowing how to deal with certain situations, so in that respect, this information is a gift. I only wish I'd made the connection sooner. It's not a common preemie (or adoption) topic, but maybe it should be. I've decided to share this in the hopes that it might benefit others who like me were clueless.

Here are some more highlights I've noted from the book:

There are two common but mistaken beliefs: One is that infants and young children don't feel or remember pain, and the other belief is that even if they do feel pain, there will be no long-term consequences. The reality of pain in children was only "discovered" by researchers a little over a decade ago. Doctors actually believed that newborn infants were prevented from feeling pain because of an immature nervous system. It was also thought that young children in general did not remember pain....

A U.S. News & World Report article in the year 2000 stated: Babies probably get the worst of two worlds: a mature nervous system able to feel pain coupled with an immature ability to produce neurochemicals that can inhibit pain.

Stress and trauma incurred during the period from fetus to three years old, with no correctable experience, predisposes the young child to vulnerability later in life. This is due to the likelihood of a less resilient nervous system because it is during infancy that the myelnated parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system is fully developing within the context of attachment.

The brain of a traumatized child has been altered. It is tuned to "high alert" and sensitive to the tiniest trigger.

The brain of a traumatized person under threat responds in a dramatically different way compared to one that is not suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder...MRI brain scans clearly show how the electrical activity routes messages from the mygdala's early warning center directly to the "fight/flight/freeze" survival mechanism, leaving the (frontal) neocortical (thinking, planning, and reasoning) brain high and dry. Normally, with a brain that is not traumatized, when the amygdala sends warning messages to the highest centers of the brain, the neocortical ("higher") brain assesses the novelty and decides whether real danger exists. If none exists, the activity of the amygdala subsides and all is well. Unfortunately, when a child is suffering from trauma the brain behaves differently. It may register any novelty or excitement as potentially harmful. This sends a cascade of unneeded chemicals, marching like soldiers to the battleground, to fight a war that doesn't exist. It is this continuing pattern of excess energy that creates trauma's symptoms.

Once it's understood that the traumatized brain brain has a distinctly different physiology from a non-traumatized brain, it becomes clear why current anger management methods fail...it is naive to expect children riddled with traumatic imprints to stop acting out by "thinking" when triggered.
The pain of post-traumatic stress disorder was not recognized until 1980....and was perceived as a non-reversible disease to be treated with medication and talk therapy...behavior of children acting out in the pain of their unresolved trauma was seen as willful and met with punishment (something I've been guilty of) ...symptoms recognized today as hallmarks of severe shock had been completely overlooked.

Traumatized students are often mistakenly diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and treated with medication to increase attention, while their symptoms of fear and jumbled thinking remain undiscovered and/or ignored...seeing the link between trauma and learning problems clearly is the first step.

Neural pathways that form connections for learning are weaker for those who have suffered trauma but can be improved through activities that require using these pathways...

Very, very sad news

2008-05-21T23:23:00.011-05:00

Earlier today one of the little girls who inspired this song died in a tragic accident. She was only five years old, just like Olivia, and also adopted from China. Maria Chapman, daughter of Christian recording artist, Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed in a tragic car accident in her driveway in Franklin, Tennessee. Her teenage brother was at the wheel of the SUV and apparently didn't see her.

SCC's website says, "Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman's completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type."

The Chapmans have six children, three adopted from China and are tireless advocates for kids who need families. They even started a foundation, Shaohanna's Hope, named after their first adopted child and have had concerts here and in China to raise awareness and funds to help families adopt.

His latest song, "Cinderella," was inspired after bath time with the two youngest girls, Stevey Joy and Maria. I'll never hear it the same way again. Especially the part where he says, "So I'll dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms...I don't want to miss even one song 'cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight and she'll be gone. She'll be gone."

We never know how much time we'll have with our loved ones so cherish them now. I'm going to give my kids some extra hugs and pray for the Chapman family to get through this tough time. I'm especially praying for Maria's big brother who is probably going to have a very heavy heart and quite a burden to bear. What a terrible tragedy.

This goofy video of Steven Curtis Chapman taken two months ago shows him at home washing dishes and singing with his Cinderella, Maria. She was a cute little girl! The second video shows the Cinderella video and the story behind it.

Cinderella

She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me

Saying "Dad, I need you

There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I danced with Cinderella

I don't wanna miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone...

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of her dress
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I danced with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

She'll be gone

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I danced with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.

Catching up...

2008-05-20T13:27:00.005-05:00

P.S.
I forgot to mention that this week we made our March of Dimes goal with $2530.00!! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORT THIS GREAT CAUSE!!

I haven't posted lately, so I'm adding some pix from the last few weeks...

Last weekend we went to check out Emily's art piece that was entered in the Fine Art's Festival...and we went to Olivia's preschool picnic where she was in her element, dancing around and being a social butterfly :)

After a VERY long winter (and reluctant spring), it's just nice be able to play outside with neighbor friends!

Emily even got to try her hand at mowing the lawn! It doesn't sound that exciting to me, but she thought it was cool!

Oh, and Emily FINALLY lost her two front teeth!! Of course, not to be left out, Olivia insists that she has some loose ones, too!

For my birthday I wanted to enjoy some spring weather (FINALLY) so we went go hunt for a Letterbox at a nearby forest preserve and flew a kite while we were there!

In this final picture, you can see where we were scooping and packaging food with friends (800 from our church took two hours time slots) at Feed My Starving Children where we packed up about 200,000 instant meals (just add boiling water) to be shipped to hungry children somewhere in the world. We packed these before the devastating events in Myanmar and China, and the need is even greater now. Olivia's province wasn't that close to the epicenter, but my heart goes out to all those affected...

National Geographic May 2008: China

2008-04-30T20:43:00.004-05:00

The May 2008 issue of National Geographic features China! I'm going to see if I can order a hard copy to serve as somewhat of a time capsule for Olivia. Hopefully it will someday help her get a glimpse of what her ever-changing homeland was like when she left it.

If you, too, are interested in China, check out some great photos, narrated slide shows and interesting articles online:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/

92%

2008-04-28T14:17:00.001-05:00

After a foreboding weather forecast, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the March for Babies walk was. Not too hot, not too cold, and no rain :) In addition to dry weather, the walk seemed to go faster this year since we ran into some families from Emily's school to walk and talk with. It turns out that Emily's not the only 25-weeker in her class! We ran into her friend Rachel F. (and twin sister, Hanna) who had a big group of supporters which included some other classmates as well as Emily's former kindergarten teacher! As we walked we found out that the twins were in the same hospital as Emily and also had Dr. Sheagren :) Small world!

So far, we've reached 92% of our $2500 fund raising goal, at $2310...just short by $190. Not too shabby :)

A BIG thank you to all who supported March of Dimes!!

68%

2008-04-24T15:37:00.001-05:00

Thanks to 15 generous donors, we've now reached 68% of our fund raising goal for March of Dimes. $1705.00 raised is WONDERFUL, but we're still aiming for a loftier goal. Last year our total was $2300 and we hope to do even better this year.

The bottom line is we're still hoping to raise another $700.00 in the next few days...and I know it's possible because there are more than 15 people reading this ;) If you haven't already donated, please consider making a difference in the lives of babies.

Trust me, I didn't plan on having a preemie, but more than a half a million babies are born too soon every year. It doesn't have to be that way. You can do something about it. Click here to go to our March of Dimes personal page to donate online. Just think think how good you'll feel knowing that you helped saved a life :) The life you save might be another Emily. And maybe she too will get the chance to grow up to be strong and beautiful.

Here our some pix of our miracle baby all grown up and glammed up. She became a pop star this week when she went with her Brownie troop to Libby Lu at the mall!

Hippi

2008-04-15T13:28:00.005-05:00

Today is crazy hair day at preschool, so I tried to do Olivia's hair like Pippi Longstocking...or "Hippi" as she says on the video clip. She was so cute and excited that wanted to capture some of that in some pix and on video.

As cute as she is, I cringe every time I replay the video because it's a glaring reminder that we all need to work on being more respectful to each other. Olivia, like many previously institutionalized/abandoned kids, still has a strong desire/need to be in control. Her attempts are often disguised as playful banter or pretending to be the mom, teacher or any authority figure--she loves to pretend she's in charge by standing in front of us and clapping her hands to get our attention before requesting, "line up everyone...eyes up here...settle down," or "pay attention!" Even though it's cute and funny now, I am sure that allowing her to try to shush me and attempt to control us might come back to bite us later. It's tough as a parent to find that perfect balance between cutting the poor kid some slack and demanding respect (without squelching her spunky-ness). ...and knowing which battles to pick. Hey, where's the instruction manual?

It's that time of year again!

2008-04-12T23:29:00.007-05:00

In just two short weeks, we'll be walking in the annual March of Dimes March for Babies to raise awareness (and money!) to help premature babies. Emily, our miracle preemie, is now eight years old, but we will never forget how much effort went into keeping her alive that first year. Many of you recall that her future was very uncertain when she was born fifteen weeks early at only 1 lb. 9 oz. Amazingly, that tiny, tiny baby is now a thriving first grader with no health issues!

I've posted current pictures I took this today as well as a few old ones from Emily's NICU days. Her face was so fuzzy and her eyes were still sealed shut, two weeks away from opening! Her head was smaller than a tennis ball and her arms and legs were no thicker than my pinky. Hard to believe it's the same kid!

Donating and raising money for March of Dimes is our small way of giving back and helping future babies. Our goal this year is to raise $2,500.00. If you'd like to join our efforts, you can donate online by clicking here . If you'd like to walk with us, our local March for Babies will be on Sunday, April 27th at 9:00 AM at the Naperville River Walk (736 W. Jackson Ave.).