The Weeds

Finally in Colorado

2011-08-09T19:41:00.000-05:00

Finally we made it to Colorado. Can you see the mountains? Can you feel the cooler, drier air?

Alan, so glad to not be driving anymore and glad to not be in the heat.

We went to the Air Force Academy. This was on the walk to the chapel.

We looked in all of the chapels. It was pretty neat.

The Protestant Chapel. This is the organ and choir loft.

The platform.

My sweet family. Note the pouty look on the little one's face.

Now here come the smiles!

This is the "HAHA, I got what I want" face. I told her she had to walk....

My wonderful children, pretending to be in the Air Force.

The Air Force football field. My Horned Frogs will be there in September. Go Frogs!! The Air Force Academy was incredible. I am so thankful for the men and women who choose to dedicate their lives to the service and protection of our great country.

On the way to Colorado

2011-08-09T19:28:00.000-05:00

On the way to Colorado, we decideded to stop at some Nebraska sites that I had never been to. Normally I like to drive straight and not sightsee, but I thought, what the heck, we might as well. It is our state. So we stopped in Kearney, NE at the Kearney arch. It was pretty cool to go through and hear some of the history of this great state.

Tossing coins on this big map.

You go up in the arch and everyone had earphones that led you through the exhibit.

Alan explaining the route that was taken.

Very cool to see how big a part the UP played in NE. It is really neat to be part of a company that helped connect our country.

Hannah loves to have her picture taken.

Top of the arch, looking out over the interstate.

North Platte, NE
Home of the Golden Spike

Still my railroad enthusiast.

Still loves having her picture taken. Can you just see the sass? Love this little one!

Looking out over the railyard, watching the trains hook up.

Peek a boo

God's Amazing Blessings

2011-08-01T20:12:00.001-05:00

We had the privilege of sharing our Gotcha Day with some of the same people we shared it with 3 years ago. We all met in Colorado and spent time together laughing, crying, comparing notes, remembering what used to be and looking forward to what is to come. 3 years ago, we were handed beautiful little strangers. Today we have these amazing little girls that are active, funny, loving, witty, charming, and yes, even a little naughty at times. One of our group made a video of our Gotcha moments and then put in pictures of the girls now. It was incredible to watch the video because it took each of us back to that day, to that incredible moment when our name was called and we were handed our forever child. It was as overwhelming now as it was back then.

These are just some of the beautiful girls from China who have become a part of forever families over the last few years.

And these are our Guangdong Girls-6 of the 14 girls who came home 3 years ago and changed our lives forever. God is so faithful and good. Thank you Lord for each of these amazing blessings!!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T16:33:00.000-05:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T16:47:00.000-05:00

Our family at church Easter Sunday morning.

Sam and his suit

2010-02-07T14:59:00.000-06:00

Sam wanted to wear a suit, so last week we went to Kohl's and bought him a suit. He looks so handsome in his suit and tie. And so much like his father!!!

Hannah had to have her picture taken, too. She is getting so big!

Adoption and what other people think

2010-01-28T16:52:00.001-06:00

Interesting title. Today has been a day where I have spent way too much time on the computer. Sam is home sick and I am just sitting beside him on the couch, surfing while he watches sports and movies. So why the topic? I have some adoption websites and forums that I like to read. They keep me in touch with what other mom's of internationally adopted kids are going through. Usually there is good insight and information. Today just made me think. On one site a mom asked about having to explain to people when asked about their child's "real mom". For those outside the adoption community, this is like saying"you are not real, you don't count". (now I don't feel this way-I get that people don't always know the pc thing to ask, so they ask whatever is on their mind. I haven't really had this happen yet, but I hope I can answer with dignity and grace and take it with the spirit in which it was intended.) The big debate was whether these birth moms or biological moms or whatever you choose to call them, should be called mothers. And it was a big argument. Amazing. There are people who know their children's stories of how and why they were placed in orphanages. Some are ugly stories. And I don't fault anyone for how they feel or even pretend to know what they are going through. But I do know how I feel at this very time. You see, my daughter is Chinese. When people see us together, it isn't that big a leap to think she is adopted. I am her real mom. I am the one who gets her dressed and feeds her. I am the one who gets to make her laugh and who wipes her tears(and her behind-at this point in time). I get to hold her. When she climbs in my bed, it is my hand she grabs in her sleep, or my face she touches. I get the joy and privilege(and the yucky stuff too)of raising this incredible child. However, I did not give her life. There is a woman, on the other side of the world, who spent 9 nine months with this beautiful girl inside her. She gave birth to her. And then for reasons only known to her, she dressed her and put her in a place where she would be found. This woman could not care for my girl, but she put her where someone else could. In a country where abortions are common and where there are stories of baby girls upon birth who are drowned in buckets, this woman gave this baby a chance. Did she love her? She loved her enough. And that is enough for me. So yes, for me, she is Hannah's real mom as well.

And then on another site, there was a blogger who feels that people who adopt internationally see themselves as saviors and with enough money, are entitled to these babies. Followed by the whole "there are tons of children in the US. Why don't you adopt these AA kids to make your family diverse?" And then the comments after...really? I didn't realize how horrible a person I was. We just wanted a daughter. The blogger was talking to the Haiti story and the reaction of the IA community. When I see the pictures of the children in Haiti with no food or water, a country that is in ruins, a government that is unable to function, my first instinct is to want to rescue these children. There, I said it. I want them to be safe, and well fed and in a home surrounded by people who love them. Do I want them to leave their country? No, not if that country can take care of them? Do I think every thing should be done to find their relatives? Absolutely! Should adoption even be considered at this point in time? NO!!! But the welfare of these children should be our concern. Who will stand for them?

So I think I am better off not being on the computer so much. I would rather not know what the world thinks of our choice to adopt. I know we made the right choice. God led us to this girl. Is she better off living with us than in an orphanage, surrounded by people who look like her? I like to think she is. Are we better with having her here with us? Absolutely.

Snow days and Christmas cookies

2009-12-10T16:02:00.000-06:00

Hannah is ready to go play in the snow. She can barely move, but she is ready!

Alan is shoveling. It got to a point where the snow blower just couldn't handle all of the snow we had. We got a foot of snow in 24 hours-plus 35-45 mph winds. Our poor driveway was one big snow drift.

If you look closely, to the right of Sam on the ground by his foot, is a little bit of green. Those are my bushes-the tops of my bushes. If you look at the bottom left of my picture, you can see the wall of snow.

Baking sugar cookies. This is day 3 of being snow bound, and I decided the roads were clear enough for us to get out. We went to Target and got all the fixin's for sugar cookies and then had lunch at Carlos O'Kellys. We came home, mixed up the mix, cut out the cookies and the kids got to decorate. Such concentration.

Jacob was very patient and spent quite a bit of time on his cookies.

Sam liked to frost as many as he could.

All done, except for the eating.

And this is the face after eating the yummy cookies.

Jacob making a snow angel.

Our kids and the kid next door.

Hannah in the snow. She kept falling down. And then she would laugh. Until she lost her gloves and the snow wasn't fun anymore.

Better picture of how deep the snow is.

Trimming the tree and visitin Santa

2009-12-08T13:09:00.031-06:00

So on Friday night we decided to decorate. This year we are heading to Texas in only 2 weeks, so we didn't decorate as much. Our tree, stockings, and 2 nativity scenes. Everyone got into the decorating. Each child had ornaments they wanted to hang. Hannah wanted to hang them all-on one branch! I didn't mind, but it did drive Alan just a little bit crazy. He has spent the last few days rearranging the ornaments.

Don't you love that smile!! She was having a blast!

These are the 3 ornaments we got in Disney World this year.

Jacob and his train, Big Boy. I think we could probably have a tree with only trains on it. Jacob would love it, but only if he could have a dinosaur train as well.

The kids helping daddy.

Our Little People Nativity Scene. I bought the expanded version last year and it was fun to see it together. Which lasted about as long as it took to take this picture.

I started a new tradition with the boys. Each year I put out my Precious Moments Navity Scene and it is my favorite thing to do. Up until now I haven't let anyone help because I didn't want them to break it and, well, I wanted to do it. This year both boys asked if they could help and I decided that yes, they could help. I, of course, uttered the warning, be very careful because this is breakable. They helped unwrap each piece and then we began to set it up. I have an order I like to do and I decided that this year we would tell the Christmas story while put it up. And it was fun. And it was such a nice reminder of what this season is really about. So now we will do this each year-I haven't decided if we should do it first, or last, but we will do it. I love my nativity scenes. And Hannah always looks for the baby Jesus.

And then there is Santa. She had seen all of the pictures I have had from the past 9 years and she likes to point out each year there was a crying child. But she likes Santa...in theory. We went to the mall and she liked him from afar. This is what I got once we sat her down. How cute is she?! I know it is a little bit like torture, but these are some of my favorite pictures. And maybe next year I will get a smile. Who knows?

December

2009-12-04T13:10:00.001-06:00

Well it is now December. We had a surprising Thanksgiving. We had this big plan to spend the long weekend together, just the 5 of us. We would have steak on Thanksgiving, do some shopping, put up the Christmas decorations, and Sunday would be at church. The choir was singing a fabulous song that morning, I was going to help set up the stage for our program that afternoon, followed by choir rehearsal. Well, best laid plans.

On Tuesday, I talked to my sister and she was going to mom and dad's for Thanksgiving. She had been having a tough time and I just was hating that I was so far away and couldn't really be there for her. So my wonderful husband said "let's go to Texas" and so we left for Tx the very next day. The weather was beautiful. The kids got to play outside, my sister,niece and I spent the day shopping on Friday, Sam and Alan went with my dad and nephew to the TCU game on Saturday, while Jacob went with my mom to the Science museum. We had a fabulous weekend. And it was good for me to be with my sister.

The drive home was long, but so worth it. And now there are only 2 more weeks before we go back for Christmas. And this is going to be extra special, because my whole family will be there. My brother and sister in law are coming in. We have probably only spent a couple of Christmas's together because it is really unpleasant for them to travel out of NY during the holidays and then they still have to split time between families. But we get them this year and for that I am thankful. All 4 of us kids will be together and that always makes things interesting.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T21:13:00.000-05:00

Sam wanted to be a ballplayer for Halloween. Actually, he is Albert Pujols. That boy loves his baseball!!Jacob had wanted to be something from Bakugan, but when we got to the store, there were no costumes in his size. He was very disappointed and had to settle for whatever was in his size-which wasn't much. However, once we got home and he tried on this Star Wars costume, he began to really like it. And I think it looks great on him!!!! Hannah was a princess, mostly because we had gotten it in Disney World this year and since we had already spent the money on it, why get something else? Plus, she loves the princesses. We had to stick a sweat shirt and jeans on underneath, so she would stay warm. The weather was perfect!! The kids didn't have to wear coats. Alan took them out and Hannah walked most of the way. Sam was very good about helping her at each house. Jacob got what he wanted this year and went around with our next door neighbors. It was so good of Laurie to take him and he had a blast!!! We had a lot of kids this year-probably because of the weather. I had 5 1/2 bags of candy(the other 1/2 bag had been eaten before today), then I handed out Hannah's and Sam's candy, then I began searching through the pantry for anything in a single serving. This included fruit snacks, small bags of pretzels, and yogurt covered pretzels. Alan took Sam out again and he got some more, so he wasn't left with nothing. And Jacob had a bunch, so we can share. Everyone had a great time!!

This is Hannah's owie from today. She was chasing Sam around the house, tripped and fell into the corner of the sofa. She had a gaping hole in her forehead, so once we got it to stop bleeding, I headed for the Urgent Care. Our Childrens Urgent Care moved, so I went to the UNMC urgent care and I was nervous. At Children's, they take care of kids. I knew them and knew how they did things. However, this place was great. We walked right in, had someone come right to us to get a numbing agent on her head, then they took us back, wrapped her up and stitched her up. She screamed the whole time and it was very stressful for me. but the doctor and nurse handled it perfectly. She only needed one stitch-which shocked me and we were back home within about 45 minutes. Amazing. She took her nap laying on my chest, and then was right back to running around and chasing the boys. I just knew we were going to be back there before the day was done. So in spite of the rocky time, we had a fabulous Halloween. Everyone had a blast and now we are all headed for bed. Trick or treat.

Books

2009-10-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

We are a book loving family. Here is Jacob reading "The Big Book of Boy Stuff". Jacob is much like me in his approach to books. We both have stacks of books everywhere. I think that probably drives Alan crazy, but I can't help it. I try to help it. I will get them all put away, or taken back to the library, and then before I know it, there is another stack. I love to read. Mostly fiction, mainly murder mysteries dealing with serial killers, FBI profilers, or lady detectives. Last year in Jacob's 2nd grade class, his teacher allowed him to make his little nest of books. He loves to read so much that there are times he needs to be reminded to put his books down and do the rest of his work. He has tried the Harry Potter books, but they are just a bit too scary. Maybe in a few years. His favorite books are dinosaur books, Captain Underpants, Calvin and Hobbes, and Magic Treehouse.

Hannah also has a bit of her mama and brother in her. Notice the nest of books around her. She isn't content to just sit and look at one, she needs them all around her. Her favorite books are Elmo, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

And then here is my Sam. He is so much like his father. He takes a book off the shelf, looks at it, and then puts it back. He loves to read books about the Presidents, history, baseball, and right now he is reading Junie B. Jones. He amazes me with how much he knows about the Presidents. I am proud of my guys. It would be easy to just to read fiction-there is alot of good books out there, and then some not so great books, but both of my boys love to learn. They have always looked and read books about trains and dinosaurs and cars. And they have both taken their knowledge and impressed their teachers with it.

I come from a long line of readers(okay, I really don't know how long the line-but everyone in my Rowell family is a reader). It is such a wonderful gift to pass down to my children and to see that blossom. Some of my most favorite memories are reading with my family. Okay, some of the memories are pretty recent. It seems as if the Harry Potter books come out when I am in Texas, so my sisters, my mom, my niece and my nephew(along with myself), race to get to the books and then we race through the book. We are pretty quick readers, so we would generally be done about the same time(mom and my sisters and I) and then we couldn't wait to talk about it. Another of our favorite authors is Janet Evanovich. Usually there is one copy and we can't wait to have it read. She is laugh out loud funny, usually, so we all get a kick out of her.

Why this post? I loved these pictures. I loved to walk in and see Hannah surrounded by her books. I love to see Jacob learning "boy stuff". I love to see Sam absorbing information about the presidents. I love that this is something that we can share together.

Happy Birthday Hannah

2009-10-05T12:23:00.000-05:00

Today Hannah is 3. This is the second birthday that we have shared and next year when we celebrate her birthday, she will have spent more time with us than she did in the orphanage. And that will be a wonderful celebration.

First I would like to recognize the people in her orphanage. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it was better than so many. She was loved, taken care of. She laughed there, she was fed a nutrional formula and fresh fruit,and she grew. She didn't have everything she has now, but for the first 22 months of her life, she had people who cared for her. The head of the orphanage really cared for the kids-so much so that after we came home, he adopted one of the children that his group cared for. I couldn't ask for more.

As we have thought about celebrating Hannah's birthday, I can't help but think of her birth mother. What is she thinking? Is she wondering how Hannah is? Does she wonder where she is? Has she found a way to know that Hannah has her own parents and brothers who love her? Does she miss her? She carried her for 9 months and she gave her life. She left her in a place where she would be found and taken care of. I don't know why she did this and I don't know what she was thinking. I do know that I am grateful that she chose life for Hannah. She could have had an abortion, or she could have abandoned her where she would never be found, but she didn't. She chose life.

Hannah is 3 and all that encompasses. Every day her personality comes out a little more. She loves to get on Jacob's shoulders and have him carry her around. She likes to sit by Sam and watch TV. She loves to play football and chase in the backyard with her daddy and brothers. She is really good at riding her tricycle. And she loves to play with her babies, wrapping them in blankets and rocking them in her rocking chair. Her favorite tv character is Elmo, but she also loves the princesses. I look forward to the day when she will sit with me and watch the princess movies. The boys never wanted to. :)

I look back over this year and I see how much she has grown and changed. Gone is the toddler and in her place is this little girl who really enjoys life. She loves to laugh and to sing. She races to the door to say hello to her daddy. She cuddles with mommy. Her favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and I must read it every night. She loves to eat and will eat just about anything. She has started preschool and is doing wonderfully. She walks right in, sits down with a puzzle, and sends me on my way. She is secure in knowing that I will come back and get her. We are attached. We are family.

She is mine, but she is not all mine. I share her with a birth mother who loved her enough to give her life, whatever her circumstances were. I share her with a group of people who cared for her until we were ready to be together. And I share her with my family and friends, who have accepted her as if she were born to me and loved her, and made her a part of our family.

Today she is 3. She has been with us for 14 months-and yet it feels as if she has always been here-that she has always been mine. I thank God for my baby today. And I thank Him for taking care of her when she was in China. I thank Him that He loved her before she was in her mothers womb and that He had plans for her. And I thank Him because those plans included us. But mostly I thank Him for her-my Hannah-my Qu Lexuan, my little princess and I pray that we can show her how much God loves her.

Happy Birthday Sam

2009-09-09T13:10:00.003-05:00

Sam

Seven years ago, today, this wonderful child came into our lives. He was 7 weeks early and not ready to be here, as you can tell by all of the tubes and wires. And yet, as you can see from the above, this may be how he started, but is definitely not where he is today.

I have so many vivid memories of the day Sam was born and the days following. I had prayed that he wouldn't come on Sept. 11. It was the one year anniversary and I still felt a bad vibe for the day. I was pregnant and all those hormones were sucking up brain cells. The night before I had talked to one of my friends, who was carrying twins and scheduled to be induced the next day. She was full term (37 weeks) and was set to go. I called to wish her good luck and to tell her I wish I was with her. Lo and behold, I got my wish, although I really wanted to wait just a little bit longer-but my body couldn't take it. So I got to deliver Sam on the same day the twins came. I had been on bedrest for 5 weeks and my parents had been staying with me, so they got to be there for the birth.(Not in the room because it was a c-section, and who really wants to see that?!!) They took me into the OR, I hopped up on the table(okay, I didn't hop-I was hugely pregnant, so really I kind of flopped up on the table) got my epidural and waited for the surgery. There were a bunch of people in the room-a NICU team for Sam, a team for me, and who knows, maybe just people off the street interested in an OR. I couldn't tell you-I was doped up. I can tell you, however, that I loved my anesthesiologist. He was nice and calm and just wonderful. Now that could just have been the drugs, but I don't think so. Anyway, they opened me up, popped out Sam, briefly held him up for me to see and then whisked him away. Alan may have gone with him, but again, he could have been dancing on the table and I am not sure I would have noticed. I was sent to recovery and a few hours later, the nurse wheeled me down to the NICU, only to turn around and take me right back. I was to find out later that they were working on Sam....they had almost lost him. His lungs just weren't ready. So here he was in the NICU, 6 punds 4 oz, bigger than most of the babies in there, who hovered between 2 and 3 pounds, and he couldn't breathe on his own. So 5 weeks of the NICU, then home. Once home he had months of tummy troubles-ended up on a very expensive formula, followed by months of ear infections and tubes, and months of alternating sleeping with mom or dad on the couch, because up until he was 9 months old, he couldn't sleep thru the night. Walking at 10 months, stitches at just over a year from running into a wall, and he hasn't stopped yet. He came into the world fighting and he spent his first year the same way.

But now, I have this little boy who is funny, and smart and handsome and charming and witty. He loves baseball-even watching Sports Center when he gets up in the morning and checking the scores in the sports section of the newspaper. He loves his brother and dotes on his sister. He is a big helper and not a big complainer(usually). He still likes to cuddle with mom and play catch with dad. He enjoys school and loves church. He loves music and is quite the ham. (I don't know where he gets that from!) He is a blessing and I am so thankful that God gave him to me.

First workout

2009-08-24T10:18:00.003-05:00

I have been gearing up for this day since I joined the gym 2 weeks ago. I promised myself that once I dropped the children off at school that I would go to the gym 3 days a week. And the gym has a class at 9:15 on Mondays and Wednesdays, so Fridays I can do what I want.

This morning I get on my workout clothes and get the kids ready for school. We drop the boys off first and then I take Hannah to her school. She is such a big girl. We put her backpack in her locker and then we go into the classroom. She picks out a puzzle and then she heads over to find her carpet square. Each child has a symbol that is used for everything in class, so her carpet square has her symbol on it. She sits down with her puzzle and I tell her bye and then I go. All is well.

So I head over to the gym, with a bit of trepidation. I looked at the name of the class last night and it was something like body boot camp. But I man up and head in. When I get there, there are only a couple of people in the class, so I ask where the back is-knowing that I am not very good at picking up moves the first time around, I want to be able to watch the others. This cute, skinny chick comes in and says that we aren't going to do what we normally do, we are going to do something different and you will hate it. Not 2 minutes in the class and I am scared spitless. She says by the end of our 45 minutes you will have done 140 pushups. WOW!!! I am not good at doing push ups-actually don't even think that I do them right, and this is how we are starting out?

The class goes as follows-We will be doing 10 rounds of exercises, each round adding a new one, so some exercises will be done more than the others. We start off with push ups, add 3 different arm and weight exercises, jumping jacks, jump squats, pliet sqats, this plank hold that you have to keep your behind down and I was totally doing wrong and when she showed me how to do it right, I couldn't do. No upper body-or middle body, and not much lower body strength. Then some other exercises that I have blocked from my mind.

So this is how my class went. Back of the class. 1sr round- push ups. Set of 12. Did okay. Adding exercises. 1st ten minutes think I have lost my mind and don't mind being out of shape. 10 minutes later desperately hoping the class is almost over. Still have 25 minutes to go. Ten minutes later want to quit, but to chicken to walk out. 5 minutes later sure that I am going to throw up and then I am going to die. 10 minutes later thinking the clock says class almost over and then devastated that I still have 10 more minutes. Still want to quit....and throw up. Finally class is over and teacher says this will not be done next week. PTL. Then I can look forward to going next week. Instead there will be a group activity, where we have to be in groups of 4. Shoot. I am no good and no one will want me in there group. Maybe I will have to work out on my own. Or maybe I just suck it up and give it another try.

I made it through. I am sore. I did not do 140 push ups. I probably did more like 80, but that is 80 more than I have done.......possibly ever, so that is a good thing. And I didn't kill the teacher and I never threw up-so score one for the work out queen !!!!!

1st day of school

2009-08-19T08:58:00.006-05:00

School started this week. On Monday. It is now Wednesday. Hannah starts tomorrow. And I will post pictures after her 1st day so they can all be together, but I wanted to post some thoughts.

Jacob started 3rd grade and Sam started 1st. I love the start of a new school year. It feels like a new beginning...like January 1st and Spring. What is it going to bring? And every year when school starts, I think about going back to school. Now, I am a terrible student, so I don't know why I think about going back, but there it is.

However, with my children, each new school year, while exciting, is also just a bit heartbreaking. I know this is what God intends. We grow a bit each year and become more independent. But as a mom, how do I know what is really best for them? They(okay, really Jacob) wants to walk home on their own this year. We live about a block from the school, so it isn't too far. And the route they would take, the streets they would cross have crossing guards and they walk past houses of people that I know. So what is the problem? Will Jacob make sure and get Sam? Will they come straight home? Jacob tends to get distracted easily-much like his mother. If there is someone to talk to, he will stop and talk. And he lolly gags-kind of like his grandpa. And strangers....so many things. Jacob is ready, but I am not sure that I am. Plus, I am home and it really isn't any big deal to go up there and meet them. And Sam is only in 1st grade. Fears....I should just let it go.

Then we have school work. Jacob is going to be doing book reports this year. One a month. Projects really stressed me out when I was in school. They stress me out 10 times more for my kids. I want Jacob to be on top of his school work and to succeed in school. He does really well, especially reading and language, but math comes a little bit harder for him. How do I help him succeed and not feel the stress I did? He loves art and he enjoys music. And PE and recess are always a favorite. I am excited about his teacher. I met her on the first day, and even though I didn't spend more than a minute with her, I had a really good feeling. At the end of the day I couldn't find Jacob and his teacher said he had walked off with his nose in a book. She then said something else about reading-she already had him a little bit figured out.

And then there is Sam. My big 1st grader. A year of spelling tests and math and reading. He isn't quite as big a reader as Jacob. He does it, but Jacob will surround himself with (again, like his mom), while Sam would rather be outside playing catch. But Sam is a hard worker and will stick with anything he needs to get done. He is mr. right on top of it. If he has something that needs to be done, he wants to get it done. Which will help me, because I am a procrastinator-much like my oldest child. Sam is so easy going that he just takes things as they come. Again, I am excited about his teacher as well. We have been so blessed with wonderful teachers.

So a new school year. New crayons and backpacks and tennis shoes. New friends and new experiences. New opportunities to grow. Growing up and letting go. Who knew it would be so hard-on me?

Kansas City

2009-08-13T13:32:00.012-05:00

We decided we would have one last family outing before summer was over. Alan had to be in Kansas City for business, so he had us come along. We first ate at the T-Rex restaraunt, which has dinosaurs in it. We ate at one in Orlando, and since Jacob loves dino's. we decided to do it again. Jacob and Hannah each got a dinosaur, while Sam held out for a KC Royals cap. This is the 2 of them giving their dino's a bath.

Sam in the mouth of a dino.

Jacob in the mouth.

We ate right by this fish tank, which Hannah loved. She kept saying FISH. It was pretty cute. We all enjoyed watching the fish, except there was one fish who was at the bottom of the tank and never moved. We were afraid it was dead, but then when dinner was over, he swam away. Very weird.

The hotel where we stayed surprised us with a Coco Keys waterpark. We(the boys and I) had wanted to stay at the Great Wolf Lodge, but ALan was there on business and this was the hotel the company would pay for. So we resigned ourselves to this and we thought we would just go to the Schlitterbaun-which I wasn't crazy about because it was hot and I would have to keep putting sunscreen on everyone and it would be expensive and Hannah would get tired and, well you get the drift. So imagine how ever the moon we were to drive up and see the Coco Keys sign. ANd for the price of one day at the Schlitterbaun, we went everyday we were there at the hotel. We had a blast.

Here is a small view of the place. There were 3 big waterslides that Alan liked, 3 medium ones that the boys and I liked, and 2 small ones that Hannah liked.

Hannah coming off her slide. She did that over and over. She had so much fun.

One day we went to Union Station and did the Chronicles of Narnia exhibit and also did the Science Museum.

No pics were allowed to be taken inside, so we just have these 2. The exhibit was cool. It was props from the movies and set pieces and costumes.

And always, there are trains.

I don't think my boys will ever lose their love of trains.

Jacob digging for dinosaur bones. He was in 7th heaven.

We also went to a Royals game. There is an area that is for kids and it is so much fun. There are batting cages, a pitching cage-where you can see how fast and accurate you throw while throwing at a screen with a real ballplayer swinging, a carousel, a 5 hole mini-golf course and a little ball field. It was fun...and then there was the game.

Sam batting. He didn't hit any of the balls-they were coming in pretty fast, but he looked great swinging the bat. He even taps the plate like the pro's do. He sure does love this game.

Hannah on the carousel.

Jacob pitching.

Hannah's first ballgame. We had nachos, hot dogs, cotton candy, crackerjacks, and peanuts. And the Royals won. A good time was had by all.

Happy Family Day

2009-08-08T11:06:00.002-05:00

The start of our forever family. This was the day we finalized the adoption with China. You can see the fear, uncertainty, and "nothingness" in her sweet little eyes.
A year later, such a happy little girl. It has been a great year. One year ago, today, we came home from China. And life as we know has changed. And it is good. I am the luckiest mom alive. 3 happy, wonderful children and the greatest husband in the world.
I had this cake made for our family day. It is actually cupcakes. In the Chinese adoption world, ladybugs are very lucky. Happy Family Day to my wonderful family. I love each and every one of you!!!

Finalization Day

2009-08-06T19:34:00.001-05:00

Well, here we are. Almost 1 year to the day of coming home from China, and we are FINALLY finished with the paperwork. We finalized Hannah's adoption today and we received our adoption decree from the state of NE. She is really ours, no backs. Which is funny, because I think if they tried, they would have to pry her from my cold, dead hands and then fight Alan and the boys. (And probably my parents too). It is amazing how this little thing just wormed her way into our hearts and it is like she has always been here. She adores her brothers, as you can tell from this picture. That is until they annoy her and then she is quick to shout "BO-EES". Don't know where she picked that up? She thinks she is the queen bee. Our judge was so wonderful. She had been adopted herself and so she loves to do adoptions. Our lawyer is an adoptive father-he has a daughter from Vietnam. Good people! When the judge came in, she asked the boys to help her turn the pages of the adoption decree while she signed. Hannah had been on my lap, but then she decided she needed to be in on the action herself. So the judge pulled her onto her lap and she sat there while the papers were signed. It was over pretty quickly and then we talked about adoption. It was such a nice time.

Our picture with the judge. Of course, Hannah wouldn't look straight ahead. She has decided she will have her picture taken when she wants it taken.
Hannah being silly. She really is a hoot. On Saturday we are going to celebrate our "Family Day". One year ago on 8/8/08 we came home and our family was complete. That is a lucky date in China and lucky for us. Very lucky for us....or more accurately, a big blessing from God for us.

Gotcha Day

2009-07-28T22:41:00.002-05:00

It is late on Gotcha Day and there is a reason. The internet isn't working on my laptop and that is where all of my China pictures are. I had wanted to post a picture from then and one from now, but that isn't going to happen. But I wanted to blog, so here I go.

One year ago, today, we met our dear Hannah Grace Lexuan for the very first time. She was placed in our arms, scared and wary and unsure what to make of everything. I spent some time looking back at pictures and I was amazed at how vacant she looked. She slept alot back then and I think it was to escape what was going on. Fast forward a year, and you would be amazed. She is this happy child, full of laughter and orneriness. She loves her brothers, until they start to bug her. She enjoys books. I go to get her up in the morning and she has her books surrounding her on her bed. Idon't have any idea where she gets that from!! She plays with her dolls and takes good care of them. She loves to swing and swim and run and jump. She l0ves music and dancing and watching the boys play Wii. She likes to be outside and playing ball-hitting the ball off the tee, and if Alan and the boys are playing catch, she has to have her glove, too.

She has changed our lives and we are better for it. It's only been a year and yet it feels as if she has been here from her birth. And that is a gift from God. Thank you Lord for our special Chinese blessing.

Artwork from Texas

2009-07-22T12:50:00.013-05:00

See bottom foe explanation. After I posted it, the pictures had disappeared.

This is Hannah's picture, which she painted mostly on her own, with just a little bit of help from Aunt Kelly. And then Cousin Bekah finished it off with the fringe around the side. Very cute and a fun keepsake from Aunt Kelly's. The kids had so much fun!!!

Sam's picture. His idea was to make a stained glass window. It was fun to see how each child took their canvas and made it their own. I am not an arts and crafts mommy, but maybe I should be. My kids sure do enjoy it.

My sister Kelly, and my niece Rebekah, love to do arts and crafts. And Kelly wanted to do it with my kids, so I said go for it!!! Now, I am not as patient, but these turned out so cute!! This one Jacob did. This is the sunset. He picked all of the colors himself. Later, mom and dad took the boys to the museum, and he wanted to know if one day one of his pictures could be in a museum. That is a resounding YES!!!! The pastor had preached an entire sermon series on how we are beloved children of God and I wanted that saying in each kids bedroom. Well that hasn't happened, but we did, through trial and error, get Hannah's handprints, witha little smearing, and Bekah decorated it and added the words. She is quite the artist. And I hope this reminds Hannah that she IS a beloved child of God and of her mom and dad.

This is one of my favorite verses-and Sandy Patti songs from her kids cd*(which I had in my early 20's but can't find now). The boys feet were almost too big for the canvas!!!! Again there was smearing, but these feet are beautiful and my prayer is that they learn to love God and want to share His good news. It was a funny and tense time, trying to get their feet placed just right and then trying to get them to the bathroom without tracking paint all over Kelly's house. The event was stressful, but the picture is priceless. I have no pictures of the kids doing this because I was so concerned about paint getting on everything. Maybe I should relax a bit????

Face of Freedom

2009-07-04T12:50:00.004-05:00

This is what Fourth of July means to me this year. This time last year, Hannah was in China, in an orphanage, with no freedoms. She would not have the love of a family(although the people in the orphanage took great care of her, she was not in their family). She probably would not have been well educated, her future would have not have had the best outlook. She could not worship however she wanted, and probably would have ended up either worshiping a god who could do nothing for her or no god at all. Freedom in China is limited. She couldn't get right into the doctor if she were sick. She would have had to wait in long lines to be seen

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But fast forward a year. She is now an American. She now has all these freedoms at her fingertips and I want her to take advantage of them. I also want her to appreciate them, by knowing what she had then and what she has now. Why? Because I now understand so much more the cost of freedom and the joy freedom brings. We live in a great country .

Hannah has a family who loves her. She is such a delight and she fits so well into our family. She starts preschool in the fall. She was just fitted for a hearing aid last week and we are trying to get used to it. We can get right in to see a doctor if we need to, and she has seen more doctors in her year home than she would probably care to see. We have health care-not government sponsored care-so she will get all the medical treatment she needs. But best of all, she gets to go to church and hear how we have a loving God, who not only loves Americans, but loves the Chinese as well. We get to show her what it means to have the ultimate freedom, feedom in Christ Jesus. We celebrate our freedom today because I have seen those that don't have the same freedoms
and our freedom is worth celebrating. Look at that face. She has limitless opportunities in front of her and I want to do everything in my power to give her and my boys as well, those opportunities. Here she can be anything she wants to be.

We live in a great country. Tomorrow I have the privilege of singing with my church choir, a celebration of our great country and a tribute to the men and women who have given their all for freedom. And this year it is just a little bit sweeter, with one little American who is too young to yet realize the gift she has been given, and one big American(me) who realizes more and more the gifts she has been given-my freedom and my daughter, my husband and my sons and my Saviour, Jesus Christ.

May God bless our service men and women and the work that they do. May God bless the President and the people who run our country. And God bless the United States. And thank you God for blessing me so richly.

More laughter

2009-07-03T15:12:00.004-05:00

Laughter

2009-07-02T14:57:00.004-05:00

She wants to be just like her brothers. And she hits really well off the tee!!!

Playing together. These are the sweet moments that last forever.

She is just too cute when she gets laughing.

Mothers Day Tea with Sam

2009-05-07T15:35:00.005-05:00

These are the gifts that he made for me. The class sang a song to go with the little box and it is to remind me how much he loves me. Definitely tears!!!

Today was the Mothers Day Tea at Sam's school(the kindergarten) and it was wonderful. Alan came home and stayed with Hannah so that I could enjoy it without chasing her. When I got there, Sam came to escort me to my seat. Then he brought me refreshments(juice and cookies) and let me open the presents he had made for me.
The class sang songs for us and we had a very nice time. It was good to spend time with Sam by himself, and he was so proud!!! He has grown up so much this year and I am so proud of him. When the class was singing, his was the voice that could be heard and he did all of the motions!!! He does have a little of his mom's dancing ability...and if you have seen me do choreography, you know what I mean!!!:) He is now ready for first grade, although I am not sure that I am.

We are planning our summer. Sam is going to do a 4 day baseball camp and he is very excited. He also wants to play golf, so we are looking into that. Jacob is going to take tennis lessons on Tues/Thurs and play on Wednesday. And then there will be the pool. An.d a trip to Texas in July. Then in August comes school for all 3. Hannah is going to start preschool through our school system to help her with her speech. She will have the same teacher Sam had and I couldn't be more pleased.

School is wrapping up and we are staying busy. Both boys are playing baseball and that is alot of fun. I haven't taken any pictures of baseball this year, but I will and then I will post them.

Hannah's 1st Popsicle

2009-04-24T17:01:00.003-05:00

Hannah having her very first popsicle. When she saw this picture she said "Yummy". She got it everywhere, but she loved it. We have playgroup on Wednesday mornings and my friend Amy brought these to share after a morning at the park and lunch. We all had one and they were very yummy.

This is Hannah's friend Olivia. It is fun watching them learning how to be friends. Olivia is Hannah's first nonChinese friend(didn't want to leave out our friends from the China trip). They tend to get along well, until one has something the other one wants. Olivia is the first name Hannah said outside of family members. And Olivia is very special to me. I blogged about her in one of my first blogs, so if you want you can go back and read.

Hannah with her sunglasses. They don't stay on real well, considering she doesn't have her left ear to hold it in place, but she does okay.

We went to PE101 today to play. Sam had a birthday party there last night(one of the kids in his class-his parents own the place. ) It is pretty cool, with a trampoline, a foam pit, balls, stuff like that. She wanted to stay for the party but she couldn't so they had open gym time this morning. She was there with a bunch of other 2 year olds. Then we had lunch with my friend Kelly for her birthday. And then home for a nap. Quite the busy day.

2009-04-16T19:25:00.005-05:00

Hannah had her first photo shoot today, and in between her running around, we actually got some really nice shots. She is so beautiful, if I do say so myself...and that isn't bragging, because she doesn't have my genes, so I am an impartial witness!!!! Family-tell me which ones you like best, and if you want one, I will order it for you.

March 31

2009-03-31T20:04:00.003-05:00

47 years ago, today, my parents pledged to love each other for the rest of their lives. 47 years ago, today, Dwight and Beverly brought home the baby boy they had adopted, and promised to love for the rest of their lives. One year ago today we held a picture of a little girl that we would promise to love for the rest of our lives. Today, we have been holding that little girl, who is a testimony of lives who have shown what it truly means to love.

Thanks mom and dad. Thanks Bev and Dwight.

Thanks Heavenly Father for being the ultimate Parent.

6 months ago today

2009-01-28T21:23:00.003-06:00

Hannah now above and Hannah at the orphanage below.

On July 28th, our world changed forever. We went from a family of four, to a family of five. Today 6 months ago Hannah was placed in our arms. She was a frightened little girl who just clung for dear life. She made the mewing sound that was so pitiful, I just wanted to cry. The first week we were worried that this was going to be a disaster. She just lay like a lump in my arms. Oh what changes 6 months will bring. She is the happiest little girl, who loves her brothers and loves being the princess in the house. She loves shoes and hates to be told no. She loves to grab my face and give me kisses on my cheeks. She likes bows in her hair and purses. She loves to laugh and is just a joy to be around. We went to Disney last week and all I could think about was that 2 years ago, we were starting this process. We got the call at Disney that our application had been accepted and we were free to start the paperwork. God knew Hannah was ours. She was 3 months old and waiting for us to be ready to get her. It's funny because both Alan and I feel like she has been with us forever. She fits right into our family, as if she were custom made...and I guess she was. Thank you, Lord, for our littlest blessing!!!

Disney World

2009-01-27T10:26:00.005-06:00

We had the best intentions to take our laptop to DW, but we plain ran out of room. First I wil give you the short version of our trip to the happiest place on earth. THe first 2 1/2 days, the boys didn't want to ride any rides. THey wanted to play at the playgrounds and swim in the pool. Tuesday and Wednesday were the c0ldest days FL had seen in 5 years. One night it got down to 25. It was cold and yet we persevered. I had 2 days where Hannah had blow out diapers-stem to stern. Up her back and front and down her legs. It took both mom and I to change her and we both ended up with poop on us. THe second time I stripped her down and bathed her in the bathroom sink...at the park, in the cold. BUt I couldn't get her clean!!!! Then on Friday, we were up at 6(kids were, Alan and I earlier)because we had to meet our bus to the airport at 7. We got there, had breakfast, and waited for our plane to board. I was trying to run Hannah around so that she would sleep on the plane. Right before we got on, I gave all 3 kids dramamine. We get on the plane and sit. Captain comes on and there is a leak. Hannah is squirming, kicking, screaming and wearing me out. Just about the time she falls asleep, we have been on for almost 2 hours, the captain says it will probably be another hour and we can get off, get lunch vouchers and eat. We get off, Hannah wakes up and we stand in line for the vouchers. People are still coming off the plane and they get back on the speaker and say the leak is fixed, get back on the plane. That takes considerable time and then they have to make sure everyone is back on. Finally we are on our way, except Hanah is not happy. She kicks, screams and cries until finally she passes out from exhaustion. She can't sleep comfortably though so she is crying and fussing in her sleep. We get to DFW, have lunch, and are about to board again when Jacob has a major meltdown. We are all so exhausted!!!!!!! We get back home and everyone is in bed by 7(children) and 8 for mom. I love Disney, but sometimes the trips are kind of stressful.

Don't worry. We did have fun and I will tell you all about it, but right now I have to go find where Hannah has gone!!!

Disneyworld

2009-01-16T12:49:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow we leave for Disneyworld. We leave early in the morning and I should be packing right now, but I am not. I am excited to be out of town...it has been so cold and to be in Florida. EXCEPT, the cold front we have now is moving to Florida, so instead of a high of mid 70's it will be low 60's. Still better than the -15 we started out with yesterday.

The boys are so excited. Jacob has had our disney book out and is planning everything that he wants to do. And Sam just agrees. Mom and Dad are going and we are using our time share for the first time. I am excited to see how the rooms will be. Can you tell we are all excited?

Sam wants his own room. He likes to sleep with the lights off, Jacob likes to read. Sam tends to keep a neater room and Jacob, not so much. So we are onto the task of figuring out how to do that. Sam can move into the office, but we have to first figure out what to do with all the stuff in there and where to put the computer. So poor Sam will have to wait a little bit longer.

Jacob has been chosen(1 of 3 from his class) to work on a project with 17 other students from the 2nd grade. They will write a report on a president(he got James Madison and wasn't that crazy aobut it), put it together and then give a speech. I am so proud of him!!!

Sam was student of the month for his class in December. He loves kindergarten and is really taking off with his reading.

Hannah is getting bigger every day. She loves Elmo and always wants to watch him in the car.(She watches while we wait for the boys and thinks every time we get in the car, Elmo should be on.) She loves playing with the boys and running around the house. She is such a joy and we are blessed that she is ours.

That's a quick update. I might take my laptop and post some pictures while we are there.

YEA WII!!!!!!

2009-01-03T20:23:00.003-06:00

We got a Wii for the boys for Christmas(ah, who I am kidding, I really wanted it) and I got a Wii fit. I hadn't been able to synch up my Wii board until this evening. I got it to work!! Yea me!! And then I spent time getting it set up(no, I will not tell you my Wii age, but let's suffice it to say, it was not my age!) and then I spent 34 minutes doing various activities. And I had a blast!! I can't wait to work out on it each day(did I just say that out loud?). I actually had fun. Now I will be sore tomorrow because I did the hoola hoop and I can already feel it in my stomach, but that is good. Right?

The boys have loved the Wii as well. Jacob is an expert on the Indiana Jones game and Sam loves Mario Super Sonic Olympic Games. I struggle with the games a bit. We went over to one of our Journey Groups home for New Years Eve and we all played Mario Kart. We took turns because there were 4 remotes and 6 of us. So my friend Sonya tried to help me and instead ended up laughing hysterically at how poorly I did. One example, she was telling me which way to go and I thought I was doing a pretty good job. I was in 8th place, but since I am usually in 12th place, I was pretty proud....until she told me my car was in the upper right hand corner and I had been watching the car in the lower right corner. Yes, I was in 12th place. But I supplied a good amount of amusement for everyone.

That night the adults went to dinner, while the kids stayed at the house. There were 9 kids, including my 3 and I was nervous about leaving Hannah. I knew the boys would be fine, but Hannah didn't really know these girls. However, she did great!!! She went right into the arms of one of the girls and then she went and played with them. No problem. Then when we got back, the grown-ups were playing FastPaced Yatzee(or something like that) and she crawled right up into my friend Rachele's lap. It was so good to see how far she has come.

We also spent New Years Day with the same group of people, plus 2 more and Hannah and the boys again were with a sitter. Hannah had no problems and that was wonderful. The only down side was the sitter never changed her diaper, so we will have to talk about that.

And today is Day 3 of no cokes. I am surviving, but I still want one. 28 more days and we will see if I still want one. And with working out on the Wii, let's see if it makes a difference in my weight. Fingers crossed!!!!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T19:09:00.003-06:00

Well another year has come and gone, but 2008 was a good year for us. God blessed us with our daughter, we traveled to a foreign country, Sam started school, both boys started piano lessons. It was a good year. And now we are on to 2009. And since it is New Year's, of course it is time to make resolutions. Well I decided that mine will be called "Want to's" because these are things I really want to do. So here they are in no particular order.

Lose weight.(pretty original)
Eat better and eat out less.
Curb the coke drinking.(I'm going to see if I can go without completely in January.)
Exercise more. I did get a Wii fit for Christmas.
Spend more fun time with my kids.
Spend more alone time with Alan. Dates would be nice.
Spend more time with God.
And try to blog more often.

So quite a list. Nothing that can't be done, but will I do it? I don't have the best discipline in the world. But it is a start. Look, I have even started the year with a blog. No pictures, but I will try later this weekend to talk about Christmas and share some pictures. This has been a great Christmas and a great start to the New Year. We spent New Years Eve with friends and then we watched the Husker football game with those same friends plus 2 more friends. It was fun to be with friends and the cherry on top was the Huskers won the game. Husker nation is happy.

So happy new year and may the year hold meaningful encounters with God.

Family

2008-12-11T20:12:00.012-06:00

Dad playing the guitar. He is starting to have some trouble with arthritis in his fingers, so I don't know how long he will be able to play. But look at that smile on his face. If he has his way, he will play until his fingers fall off.
On October 31st, my cousin Mel went to be with the Lord after a battle with cancer. I was sad about his passing, but I know that he is standing beside Jesus, right where he wants to be. Hannah and I went home for the funeral. Now this wasn't a trip for fun, and yet my family really hadn't met Hannah, and whenever we get together we have fun. I have a great family and it was really nice to spend time with them. Dad is playing "Who is in Grandpa's chair?" All of the grandkids love to run and get in Dad's chair and then yell for him to come see who is there. Hannah fit right in. And she let Grandpa get close. She was belly laughing with him. What a joyful sound that was!!!

Hannah loves to swing and the weather was beautiful!!!!!

My brother Barry, my mom, my sister Kelly, and Hannah and me. My other sister, Ellen, wasn't around that day. I think she had to work.

Same group with Dad.

I think we were being tree huggers, but I am not sure. Whenever Kelly and I are together we have fun. I love this picture!!!

I love this picture too, because it really captures personalities. I sure do love you guys!!!!

See that cheesy grin on Hannah's face? She loves to have her picture taken. And that happened alot while we were there.

Eating at Rosa's. She ate chips and salsa and a taco and rice and beans. It was Taco Tuesday....yummy!!! We love Rosa's!!!

Before we went to the viewing in Gun Barrel City, we stopped at Whataburger and had lunch. It was all we could find.

My Uncle Gene and Cousin Pam. Pam took such good care of Mel through his cancer. I can't tell her how much we all appreciated the way she loved him through the end. I didn't have much of an opportunity to visit with Uncle Gene, but it was good to see him and hopefully we will have a happier occasion to get back together.

Dad and Barry. It was a little windy!

Hannah playing hide and seek with my leg.

After the funeral we went to Pam's house to visit. Well, everyone else visited. I had a migraine. Luckily Kelly had been sitting in the car by Hannah for almost 2 days, so she went to her Aunt Kelly. And as long as she was fed(Hannah that is)she was fine.

Even Uncle Barry got in on the feeding. She ate alot of cookies with the frosting, but she was happy!!!!!

Grandma and Hannah eating cereal while Hannah waits for her other breakfast.

Taco Tuesday again. See how intently Hannah is looking at that chip? She couldn't look at the camera because she was too focused. That child loves her mexican food!! And how funny it is to see this little Chinese girl wolfing down tacos and salsa.

Hannah on my cell phone. She would play with it on the long car ride to and from the viewing and funeral(about a 2 hour drive?). She even fell asleep holding it to her ear. And the ear she is holding it to is the ear she can't hear out of.. Doesn't she look precious?

Right before she fell asleep.

My siblings...Kelly Rowell Cooke, me, Barry Rowell, and Ellen Rowell. It has been more than 20 years since we have been just us (without spouses and children...except for Hannah) and we had so much fun. We are all very different and yet God put us together as family. We love each other and I wouldn't trade any one of them for anything in the world!!!!!!

More Rosa's.

Aunt Kelly bribing Hannah with food to come see her.

Hannah found Country Elmo and it was love.

Happy Birthday from Aunt Kelly and the Cookes. A tiara, fine jewelry, a tutu, ballet slippers, a purse. She is all set. What a pretty princess!!!!!!

This beautiful creature is my 18 year old niece, Rebekah. She graduates from high school this year and then heads for college. I remember holding her when she was one hour old and now she has grown into this magnificant lady. Bekah, I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished!! I only wish that I could have lived closer to you!! I love you!!!!

Now, I don't have a picture of my nephew Will, but I am proud of him and I love him too!!Just so you know!!!!

Hannah with her bear from Aunt Ellen.

This year has been a big year for me. Hannah has completed our family so completely-immediate family and extended family. I have a great family and being home with mom and dad and my brother and sisters was a wonderful experience. How great it is to be loved, especially by the people who know you longer than anyone else, people who have shared your unique experience of growing up in the same household and loving you anyone. I love you, each and everyone of you and I'm glad to know that we will always be there for each other. Because that's what families do.

2008-12-11T19:11:00.008-06:00

Hannah playing chef. Grandma and Sam doing me and my shadow and Hannah deciding that she should be a part of that as well. Hannah being held by Grandma and then by Grandpa!!! We had such a great Thanksgiving week with mom and dad. They had a wonderful chance to get to know Hannah and she fell in love with them. Win win situation all around.

One of Hannah's 3 Christmas dresses. This one was sent by Great Uncle Stan and Great Aunt Mary. Hannah looked beautiful for her baby dedication. But that is for another blogging day.

Hannah pushing her baby stroller, wearing the tutu skirt that Aunt Kelly and cousin Bekah got her.

Again, note the outfit. She matched at one point during the day, I promise. Hannah loves Elmo and she got this new Elmo doll that sings, dances, tells jokes and stories and all sorts of things for her birthday. Even Jacob and Sam enjoy Elmo.

Halloween!! Sam is Speed Racer, Hannah is a ladybug and Jacob is Indiana Jones. I took the 3 of them trick or treating and all of them had a ball. It was a perfect night and we had fun.

Jacob at school for the Halloween parade and party.

Sam at school for his parade and party.

Jacob and Sam also had their first piano recital. They take lessons from my friend Amy, who is fabulous!! And they have such a good time. Both boys loved the recital and enjoy playing the piano(although I think Sam loves it way more than Jacob, but that is okay!)

Hannah in her second Christmas dress. She looks so beautiful!!!

Jacob in his Christmas program at school. We were on the other side of the gym-we had a child on both sides...where do you sit?...but we did get a smile. He looks so handsome and like such a big boy. Where did my baby go?

Do you see what Hannah is holding? Our Christmas Thomas Train!!!! She was definitely destined to be a Weed!!!

The boys in their church program.

They look so angelic!!!!!

Well that is all I can post for now but I will post more later. I have pictures from my cousin Mel's funeral that I watnt to post, but right now I need to get the boys to bed.

Christmas programs and stuff

2008-12-11T19:03:00.006-06:00

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a while.......a long while....a really long while. And that is because I had forgotten how tired a 2 year old can make one. Yes, she turned 2 in October. I don't have those pictures posted yet, but I am working on it. Hannah is adjusting with leaps and bounds. I have been in rehearsal for the Christmas musical at our church(if you are in town, it's Dec. 18-21, at 7pm Thurs- Sat. and 3pm on Sat. and Sunday), which has helped Hannah's relationship with Alan. She now goes to him to be held....well sometimes and she loves for him to throw her up in the air. She has finally turned the corner!!! And she is having speech therapy through our school system at our house and her vocabulary is really increasing. She is just a happy, healthy, fun loving little girl.

And the boys are doing well. They both joined the church choir and they had their program last Sunday night. They both sang real well and Sam just smiled the entire time. He really enjoys being on the stage. I wonder where he got that from?

Kindergarten through Second grade choir. Sam and Jacob are both on the second row and in red sweater vests.

Aren't they precious?

This is Hannah watching Jacob and Sam's school program. She was on the floor eating goldfish. Granted the program did last almost an hour and a half. We were all tired.

Hannah dancing to the theme song of Hannah Montana. Whenever it comes on, she stops what she is doing and runs over to the TV. She loves music, but I think this might be her favorite.
Sam and Hannah dancing with Hannah Montana. Sam is wearing his pj's from China. I guess he has grown some since this summer!!!
Princess or Diva?

Sam in his school program. That smile was on his face the whole time. And he always watched his music teacher, intensely. Watch out Steve Yost!! He is getting ready for the Sanctuary Choir!!!!

The school program was really good. The music teachers are outstanding and the kids do a great job. They also do 4 performances in 2 days!!!!! That's alot for little guys! Well I will post more soon...real soon...I sent some more pictures from Picassa to blogger so I will get to those next!!! Love to all!!

Doctors visit, zoo visit and haircut

2008-09-18T18:21:00.006-05:00

First off, today is Alan's birthday and he is in Chicago, so Happy Birthday!! I love you!!! Now this is Hannah at the zoo. We went Wednesday with part of our playgroup- Amy, Michelle, and Tonya(the grown ups) and Logan, Olivia, Joey, and Kylah. Tonya took a ton of pics,these are the few I took and I will post some of hers later(with her permission of course!) THis is Hannah by the penquin-if you look closely you can see the penquins swimming by.

Hannah got her first haircut today and my friend/hairdresser Di did it. She looked so cute. Di even put clippies in her hair, which she loves!!! Thanks Di!!!!
Afterwards we went to Carlos O'Kelly's for lunch. (It's a Mexican Food place for those of you who wouldn't have picked that up. The food is okay(for here) and I needed some comfort food. Hannah decided the salsa needed to be right in front of her and she ate most of it. That's my girl!!!!

On Tuesday we had our marathon doctors appointment. Hannah did great with the 3 sets of women doctors that we saw. And she cried every time the men came into the room(5 times), so they never got to see her smiley side. The first group we saw were the audiologists and Hannah sailed through their tests. She has great hearing on her right side. We didn't test her left side, but may try that when she is a little older. The ENT and the plastic surgeon both want a catscan run to see how the bones in her face on the left side developed and also to see what, if any, part of her ear is there. If her middle ear is there, she might be able to get a BAHA hearing aid(attaches to the bone), but we also need to make the decision whether to let her stay as she is,hearing fine out of one side, or do the surgery and have her hear out of both ears. BOth are very valid and would work fine for her. The plastic also told us about 3 different types of ears that they do(one is like a dental implant that has a magnet on the end and you just put on the fake ear to the magnet. So you can take it off whenever you want(and you have to do that to clean them everyday). We saw a geneticist who said that this was a birth defect-not caused by anything her birthmom did and it is not inherited, but they want to check a chromosome to make sure her future kids will be okay. We saw the speech therapist who said we ought to get in contact with the school district to start that whole process and I also want to call the Omaha Hearing School to see what they offer. My friend who had given us the assurance from God early on that we would get Hannah works there and both her older daughters went there, so I want to check it out. We saw the pediatrician, but we mostly talked about China. I had just seen him 2 weeks ago, so I really had no questions-except about her clinging to me. He said that was just the way he wanted it and that the whole thing with dad will come in time. And he should know-he has 2 adopted children from Romania, one from China and he leaves in October to go get his other son from China. He is great to talk to. All in all it was a great visit. Alot of stuff will be done later on, but at least we have some starting points. In about 3 weeks we will have the written report(one report from all of the doctors!!! How great is that!!) and I can actually go back over and see what all was said. It took over 4 hours, so I can't be sure that I got all of the information.

Our relatives from Phoenix were in town this past week, so yesterday afternoon and evening we spent with them. None of them had met Hannah, so it was perfect. She was quite the ham, laughing and smiling, and running around like a maniac. She made me tired just watching her. It was great to see the family. Many we hadn't seen since Beverly's funeral, so this was good. And it was neat, because Aunt Dee was looking at my children and was talking about how much fun Al's dad would have had with these kids. Boy, how I wish his parents were here.

We found out yesterday that my dad is having cataract surgery in October and November(one eye at a time). TO be honest it made me pretty nervous until I talked to my friend Amy today whose grandmother had it done and can see!!! So I guess it is all worth it, but I am so far away that I worry. I want to be there and make it all better. The funny thing about this is mom said that after the surgery he can't lift anything for 5 days. I am sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation, but it made me laugh.

I am trying to find a time to go home. I would like mom and dad to actually interact with Hannah. When they were here, she was pretty much asleep the whole time and now she is actually fun. So I am looking for a good time, which means Alan has to be in town and have time to take care of the boys(take them to school and leave work just a little bit early. So we will see.

Gotta run and make a bottle. Talk more later!!!

church and open house

2008-09-15T20:05:00.005-05:00

Sam has lost another tooth, bringing the count to 4. We were at school for Open House, which was really fun. It is neat to go into each room and see all of their work on display and get a feel for how their classes are run. After we went to each classroom, we went to the gym, where they had a book fair and a bake sale. We had bought books on Friday, but I had promised a treat. Please take into consideration that it is Hannah's bedtime and she is not very happy. So Jacob got a cookie and Sam got a rice crispy treat. As we headed down the hallway(AAA was taking free passport photos) to have the boys pics taken, Sam says that he thinks he swallowed it. We looked at the rice crispy treat in hopes that it was stuck in there and then on the floor, but no luck. He swallowed it. And the tooth next to it is wiggly too, so the tooth fairy will have to take 2 trips. Sam wroter her a letter when he got home explaining what had happened. Hopefully she will still deliver.
Hannah with barretts in her hair. She loves them. We went to a friends house today(the boys had piano lessons) and she found Olivia's head band and she loved that too. A girly girl....who also likes things that go fast. How fun. Anyway, this was Sunday getting ready for church.
I had gotten this dress in China and it is really a summer dress, and Sunday was cold, but I wanted to get it worn, at least once!!!! I even ironed it!!! Throw on tights and a sweater and VOILA!!!! Perfect for a chilly Sunday morning.

She is so cute!!!!! We made it to church and she sat through the first part of service-the music, which she loves. The problem is she gets so excited about it that she can't sit through anymore. We have a nursery and I will start trying to transition her over, but I can't leave her sight at home without a meltdown, so how will church work out. I missed the sermon, again. Then we had Sunday School(although they don't call it that anymore) and she sat through the eating part. But once class started she wanted to talk and mess around and walk around, so I left. She walked up and down the hall, outside of the balcony, so I heard a little bit of the sermon, but by the end of the morning I was tired. I tried going back in for class, but it was too hot and I was getting a headache. I know this too shall pass, but it's very tiring for me.

Enough whining. It really is going well. I took Sam to a birthday party and Alan took Hannah and Jacob downtown. There are some slides down there and they slid and then Hannah sat on Alan's lap and watched the other kids play. He said she even smiled up at him a few times. So little by little we are getting there. Unfortunately he has to leave town on Wednesday and back on Friday, so there will be a little set back.

And tomorrow is our massive doctors appointment. Prayers would really be appreciated. I think it will be a long morning for everyone, but maybe we will have some answers and a plan.

I am off to bed because I have to be up early. God bless you all.

Did you think that I had forgotten how to blog?

2008-09-13T19:28:00.018-05:00

Okay, I haven't posted in a while. I get that. I suck!!! But I had forgotten how much work a little one. They need help doing everything!!! When do I get to go to the bathroom by myself again? And now I can't figure out how to write in black and not be underlined. Have I completely lost my mind? My pictures are not in any order because I can't figure out how to get them in order and I had a couple of places to get pics from. So bear with me and I will fill you in on life at the Weed house. First off, we started school. Jacob is in Second grade and Sam is in Kindergarten. Both love their teachers and their classes.
This is Jacob and one of his very best friends, Ryan. His parents are both from Fort Worth and his mom Kelly went to TCU, her mom worked at TCU, she lived in Benbrook-about a few blocks from my house and her mom lives within about 10 minutes from mom and dad. And we didn't know each other until Omaha. Our husbands knew each other and God knew we would both need a huge support as we tried to adjust to Omaha. And now we both love Omaha and have been friends for almost 11 years. Pretty cool friendship.
First day of school and Hannah not very excited about it.
The whole family walking to school. Hannah decided she could not be in the stroller and she had to be held by mom. Good thing we have that wonderful Ergo carrier.
Jacob and Sam in front of the school, by the flag. Waiting to go in.
Sam and his teacher Mrs. Sturek.
Jacob and his teacher Dr. Christensen.

The traditional front of the house 1st day of school pictures.
What a big boy. I can't believe my baby is in Kindergarten. I held up pretty well dropping him off. But I went up at lunch because Sam wanted to buy his lunch and I wanted to make sure he knew how to do it. Each kid had a 4th grader helping them, so I walked in with him and just made sure he knew what to do. We put mustard on his hot dog and he sat down at the table and ate his lunch and he looked so big. My eyes started tearing up and my throat got tight and I thought I wouldn't make it out of there without bawling. He loves going to school. He is singing lots of songs and learning so much, but I kind of miss him each day.
Jacob is learning by leaps and bounds. He has brought home spelling words and the 1st week we didn't really study and it showed!!!! So we have had to sit down each day and study so that he can do well on his test. Each week he has done a little bit better and this last week he got al 20 words right!! He loves to read and he just runs through books. He is reading the book his Uncle Barry and Aunt Catherine sent him(The Big Book of Boys Stuff) and he is just dying to do as much out of it as he can. He loves it!!!

Hannah loves her doodle pro.
Hannah wrestling with Jacob.
Look at them laugh!!!

Hannah's first Krispy Kreme doughnut. She loves it!!

Sam's birthday. We went to the China Buffet and then went to TCBY for yogurt.

Hannah in the dress Grandma gave her. She looked so pretty for church!!! And the dress is so soft.

Hannah loves to wear other people's shoes. especially her brothers. She wears one pair of penny loafers and carries the other pair all over the house. She loves shoes.

Warm pj's. We have had some cool nights so we needed warm pajamas. I love feety pajamas.
Sam with his yogurt from TCBY. He enjoyed it thoroughly. He had a wonderful birthday and that smile tells it all.

So what all have we been doing? Hannah is still struggling to bond with Alan. It is tough on all of us. All Al wants to do is hold her and hug her and love her and she just cries and looks for mama. I went to choir the other night and Alan had her and she just cried. So as much as I hate it, choir may be out for a while. She did sit on the floor near Alan today and played a little bit of tea party with him. SO every little bit helps. She is with me all of the time, so this is normal, but still.

We spent a morning with Julie and Grace who were with us in China and it was so good to talk to her. As we compared notes, we realized that

we are going through the same things, so we both felt better about that. I also met with our social worker and everything is going well. She is so great-she gave us some tips to help Hannah bond more with Alan and she is so supportive.

We are also doing playgroup on Wednesday mornings with my friends(mostly from choir) from church. There are 4 other kids within 4 months both ways of Hannah, so she has time with her peers. It has been fun to watch her start to interact and get used to my friends.

Well the Husker game is almost over...another win in the win column. Husker nation will sleep well tonight. For you in Midland, we have a Midlander on our team. Did he lose his mind or did he just want to experience really cold weather? Whatever his reasons, he is very welcome here. I need to go and make sure I am ready for church in the morning. Hannah loves the music in church, but then decides she needs to talk. When will I hear another sermon?

If you have stayed with me this far, thanks and I promise that I will try to update more often. I have a laptop...I just keep forgetting that it is portable!!!!

Go Big Red!!

We had 2 weeks of meals from our choir family and let me tell you how special that was. It was such a lifesaver!!! The food was wonderful, but it was even better because it was made with love. So my friends and family, thank you. You will never know how much of a blessing that was to me. And if you feel the need to bless someone again, my door is alway open and my table is always empty!!!!

We have had one doctors visit for Hannah so far and we have the big one on Tuesday. Hannah met with a developmental person and she is testing at about the 17 month level. So she isn't too far behind. And really it seems as if she is doing what most of the other kids are doing. She is deathly afraid of doctors, so the rest of the visit wasn't that great. A whole lot of tears. So Tuesday on our marathon visit(8:15 am until noon), we will need all of the prayers we can get. We see about a dozen different doctors and we should have a good plan for where we go next.

Getting Out and About

2008-08-17T20:46:00.010-05:00

Okay, we went to the zoo on Thursday with a friend of mine and her 3 kids. I didn't post any pictures of them, because I wanted to check with her first, but we had a ball. The airshow was this weekend, so the Air Force had an exhibit out there that was too cool. The boys got to put on flight gear. They thought it was pretty neat. I was amazed at how heavy it was. Of course, I am a big wimp. This is Jacob in the gear. Here is my Sammy. Top Gun here we come!!
Sam's favorite pasttime is playing basketball in the backyard. He acts like he gets instructions from Coach K(the USA olympic team coach...and Sam can say his name...)and then he shoots, he dribbles, he steals the ball. He loved it when he played with Grandma because he could get her laughing and he could just take the ball from her. Mom is a little harder sell.

Sam's shot. He would play out there for hours!! Luckily we can all go out there and take turns playing horse with Sam and watching Hannah. Mom is getting better at shooting. Of course, Dad can make it from just about anywhere...and he is pretty fun to watch.
Jacob loves to swing, but on this occasion decided to check out Hannah's swing. Hannah loves to swing, but I haven't gotten a picture yet. What kind of mom am I?????
Hannah finally getting used to the dog. And the child will not keep shoes on her feet!!! She will bring them to me when she is ready to go somewhere and then as soon as we are there, the shoes come off. Oh well. She will be in tennis shoes soon enough and those don't come off as easy.

Jacob and Sam on Safe Walk to school night.

The zoo. Hannah wouldn't look up, because she really wasn't sure about all this. These are the lion statues out front that all of the kids love to climb on.
Plane that the Air Force brought. They also brought one of those machines that spin you all around. I did not try it. If I can't handle a landing after an 11 hour flight, there is no way I can handle being spun for dear life. Nope, never would have made it in the military.

Hannah had one of these horses in her orphanage. She loves to ride it around the house and push it around.

Her other favorite game is to play with the coasters and their holder. It drives Alan crazy, which makes me laugh a bit. She gets them all out and then she might put them back or she might deposit them all over the house. She loves it...so what are you gonna do Dad?

Hannah playing ball with Sam outside. She loves her ball and threw it back and forth for quite a while.

Hannah got a baby doll from her Aunt Kelly and I had to show her how to feed and hold her baby. She's got the hang of it.
She also got a baby from our good friend KK and her daughter Shannan along with this cute purse. You can tell by her face that she loves them both.

Hannah walking with Daddy and her ball. Notice the bare feet.

I just love this smile.

We are settling in really well. The boys love their little sister. Jacob can't get enough of her..hugging, kissing, touching. Hannah is not shy about telling him to stop. They play a game where they chase her around the kitchen and she just laughs!! It was such a joy to see them have so much fun together. Our nights are getting better. Alan and I both seem to be sleeping better. Hannah has been sleeping through the night for about the last 4 nights. So all is well on that front. We went to church today for the first time and we saw so many people. We stopped by the choir room, but the choir was singing at another church today so there were only a few people. Everyone is so excited to see this little love bug whom they have been praying for. She sat in the service with us and did great. Second hour was long because the boys were in class and she was stuck with us and she started to get tired. But we made it through.

School starts tomorrow for the boys and I am happy/sad. They are both ready, but Sam starts Kindergarten and it makes me think back on the cuddle days and the sleeping in days and the lazy days. Now he will spend the majority of his days with someone else and it makes me a bit wistful. It's time to start letting go and this mama bear isn't quite sure she is ready.

Well I need my sleep. I hope everyone is enjoying the Olympics. Our family has and it has meant just a little bit more with our red thread to China.

Sweet dreams to all.

Here and there

2008-08-13T17:31:00.006-05:00

My sister, Kelly is a blog junkie and has informed me that I am not meeting her blog expectations. So, Kelly, here are some pictures just for you. This is Hannah, in China, helping us pack. She is ready to go. Okay mom. Let's head for the plane. Little does she know this will be an all day affair.
This is our guide Shelly, whom was wonderful. She did such a great job taking care of us and showing us the great sites in China. I would love to go back and have her has a guide on a personal trip...but not for a long time.
Hannah at home reading Good Night Moon.

Hannah playing Legos with Jacob. She loves to watch the boys build and she will sit there and hand them blocks. And then they let her tear it down. It's a win-win situation...for now. They have been so good with her. They love to hug her and try to hold her. She pushes them away, but she does like for them to play chase with her. I think she will fit right in.

She loves her cozy coupe. Jacob will get out there and push her. He just has to watch out for her toes! Meanwhile, Sam is playing basketball. We have had some near collisions, but nothing too harmful!

The boys wanted a picture, but Hannah wouldn't cooperate. And then no one would look.

Chinese pajamas and our first picture of all 3 of our kids. I love the boys pjs, but Sam grew while we were gone and I don't know how long his will fit!!!

Hannah all smiles!!!
Yesterday, I was swinging Hannah and she started to laugh out loud!! It was so cute!! And then today as the boys were playing with her in the kitchen, she kept saying something to them. I have no idea what, but she is starting to vocalize. She better, or she will never make it in this family!!

Hannah has started to sleep better, with the help of Benadryl. We have had 2 nights that have been okay. Now if Alan and I could sleep through the night, we would be golden. We are starting to figure out a routine and that will be great for everyone. The boys start school next week. Jacob will be in 2nd grade and Sam starts kindergarten. That is so hard to believe. Sam is very ready, but it will be hard for me to drop him off. I have really enjoyed being home with him.

I know my local friends are dying to meet Hannah and I promise, it will happen. She is adjusting pretty well to the family but still leary around strangers. We may try church this Sunday and just see how it goes. We also will try some one on one visits, so after the boys start school, give me a call and we can see about getting together. I sure do miss my friends but at least we have email!! It was great when we were in China to pull up email and have such encouraging words.

Well I need to feed Hannah her dinner, so I must go. I will try and take way more pictures and keep up on here.

Love to all!

Heather

The trip home and days since

2008-08-11T21:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I promised you info on our trip home, so here it goes. We had to leave our hotel at 5:20am, so we had a wake up call for 4. We didn't really sleep much so we were right on time. I started the day a bit nauseous, partly from lack of sleep and partly from nerves. We had a boxed breakfast on the bus, which just didn't appeal to me. We got to the airport and ran the gamut there. Once inside the gate, it seemed like they checked our boarding passes and our bags every few feet. The flight to Tokyo was uneventful. The food was awful. Hannah got a kids meal and for breakfast they brought her eggs with green onions, covered in baked beans, alongside lima beans and half of a tomato. She also had some fruit, a muffin and some juice. She ate a little bit and I tried not to gag while feeding it to her. We had a choice of egg/sausage dish or beef and noodles. I was hungry and the egg looked terrible, so I had the beef. Went away hungry. It wasonly a four hour trip and I felt like we had accomplished something by getting to Tokyo. We got off the plane, went back through security, which was easy and the people were helpful, unlike China or the USA. We found our gate with our group and I ran to the bathroom. I wish I had my camera because there was a squatty potty and on the regular potty there were all these buttons and instructions on the wall. It was a bidet-and the instructions were for on/off, hotter/colder, more/less pressure. I thought it was so funny and my sister Kelly would have had a huge laugh with me. But I had left my camera with Alan. When I got back, ALan went on a McDonalds run. I wanted french fries and a coke with ice. He brought that back, along with a big mac, which he shared a few bites with me. Nothing tasted so heavenly. As we were finishing our snack, our name was called over the loud speaker. It seemed that we were at the wrong gate, and that our flight was waiting on us to leave. Who would have thought there would be 2 Tokyo/Detroit flights within one hour of each other? And of course, as we enter the path to the plane, Alan gets pulled over to be wanded and bags searched. Hello!! We are the last ones to get on the plane. Do you really need to search him? So mad dash to the plane and there we are. The meals were terrible. Neither of us really slept much. Hannah tended to sleep on me and the flight was long. I hadn't eaten much and I was not feeling that great. We start our descent into Detroit and Hannah throws up. All over me. And then I throw up-all over her and the seat in front of me. We land, and it of course takes people forever to get off the plane and Hannah throws up again. So we tell the flight attendant, so she can clean up as best possible(really need to just blow up row 55) and we head off the plane. Not the start I wanted as we bring Hannah to America.

Then we have to go through the line for immigration(which is where I was told we had to go for Hannah). THe US passport holders went through another set of lines which went much faster. So while Alan was in line, I went and stripped both of us down(Hannah and me, not ALan) and we changed clothes. Could have used a shower, but didn't happen. Then we got back in line and waited forever. Of course we picked the wrong line. It was so slow, the American lines were empty and the lady in charge started sending people over there(the Asians). She sees us and asks if we are Americans and then tells us we should have been in the US line. We must have looked really bad, because she moved us to the front of the US line. We got through and then had to go back to the visitor line for Hannah. By that time she was poopy and I couldn't stand to smell her diaper. Luckily the lady checking us in only needed one of us, so off I went to change the diaper, while Alan finished paperwork and got the luggage. We made it through customs, rechecked our bags, went back through security and wanted to collapse. Alan had joined the NW flyers club, so we went in there. We sat Hannah in a chair to play and we looked over and she was sound asleep sitting up. Alan held her and I fell asleep in my chair. After a brief nap(for me)we headed to the gate, had a sandwich(another meal not very good), still queasy, Hannah still sleeping, and waited for our final plane. I took a dramamine, so Hannah and I slept almost the whole way to Omaha. And how wonderful it was to be home.

We walked off the plane and through the terminal, and there at the end was our boys, my parents, Amy and Tonya. My heart was so full!!! I was home. There were so many emotions, I can't even begin to describe. We were home. My boys looked great and they were so excited to meet their baby sister. She was less than thrilled with the whole thing and once we got our luggage and got her into her car seat, she fell back asleep. We got Wendy's on the way home...I was starving and it felt good to have good ole American junk food. We got to bed about 11 or so and Hannah was up at 4:30. We took her downstairs and she played and she smiled and she had a great time. However, by the time everyone else came up, she was tired again, and she slept...all day. Mom and Dad had to leave. Mom had tobe at work on Monday and it is too hard to drive 12 hours in one day for them. I hated to see them go and they hated to leave. Poor mom only got to pat her sleeping granddaughter. We kind of slept in and out that day. The boys kept asking if Hannah ever woke up. When she did wake up, she would sit by them and play Legos. It was really cute. She likes to ride in her cozy coupe(which the boys push) and rock on her little tykes horse. Her nights and days are very confused, which leaves her parents very sleep deprived and tired. Alan has had the least amount of sleep and he started back to work today. When Hannah first saw the dog, he really freaked her out and she would just scream. She is slowly getting used to him, although she doesn't like him to touch her or get very close. SHe is still struggling with Alan. WHen she wants to be comforted, she wants me. In time, it will get better, but it is really hard right now.

Today she started getting the feel for the house. She started walking around and checking things out. She was very funny to watch. SHe would be walking and she would turn around and give this grin that let you know she was up to something. She is quite a character.

We bought the boys some Chinese pjs, which they wore tonight and I will try and post tomorrow. It is getting late, she is sleeping for now, so I should try to be as well.

I can't wait to see everyone!
Heather

We made it!!

2008-08-08T23:41:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone!!

I just wanted you to know that we made it home. I will post later about our journey to get here, but as of now, we are home and so happy to be here!!!!
The Weeds
Alan, Heather, Jacob, Sam and Hannah....finally

The rest of Wednesday and Thursday

2008-08-07T06:11:00.012-05:00

As we were walking around the hotel this evening after dinner, we heard over the speaker system Amazing Grace(elevator music). What a fitting way to end our stay in China. We have encountered God's amazing grace through out this entire journey. He has brought so many Christians into our life-both Americans and Chinese. He has to just smile to see His children(red and yellow black and white) enjoy each other and praise Him in one voice-even if many languages. We have been blessed-it's nice to travel a journey with fellow believers!! So today say a prayer of praise to the God of China and the USA.

We went to the US consulate yesterday. You go through security and then go into this big room and sit. Then you go up to this window and hand them your paperwork, which they look at you and your child and match faces to pictures. Then you sit back down. Then this lady came out(there was a group of about 50 or so) and she starts talking about the group-the different states that are represented, the different professions, etc. THen she has us stand up, raise our right hands, and promise that all of our paperwork was true. And then Hannah was ours. And we were like..really? Is that all we get? No hurrah? No Star Spangled Banner? Nothing? A little bit of a let down, but she is ours now. Then we got her Chinese passport and her visa.

We headed back to the hotel and got back about dinner time. So we ordered Papa John's pizza. They deliver to the hotel. It is so funny because they answer the phone in CHinese and then you say English please and the guy switched right over. We ordered it and had it in about 30 minutes-they delivered to the hotel. He rides over on his bike. I think they stay pretty busy, because most of the Americans at the hotel order it at least once. It's a little taste of home and it was pretty good.

This morning we did the last of our shopping. I am so worried that I will get home and wish I had bought more. But we packed this afternoon and we actually don't have room for more. Alan said I single handedly raised the economy for China these 2 weeks. I am glad that I could do my part.

We had dinner at the Italian restaraunt again tonight and actually ran into one of the couples in our group. So we sat beside them and enjoyed our last meal together in China. This is another family that I want to keep in touch with. Another family from our group is going to move to Beijing next spring and work in the Peter Hayden orphanage there. THey have a son who is 14 and they adopted a little boy. The older son(Christopher) is so impressive. They came to our prayer meeting the first Sunday and he prayed(the only kid in the group) and it was so incredible. In talking to the young man, I was so impressed for his demeanor, his knowledge of the Lord, his wisdom. I just pray that my boys will be that on fire for God.

So we packed. And we packed. And we packed. My bags are so full, I hope we aren't over the weight limit. And we are ready for home. But I have to admit, I am also a little sad. This is Hannah's home-her country and her people. They have been welcoming and so loving. It has been an experience like no other and I know that once I am home, it won't feel very real. I told Alan tonight that come Saturday, we will have 3 children (at the same time). It has been nice to have this time with her, but I am anxious to see the boys and have them start bonding with their baby sister.

And I am excited about introducing her to the ones who have prayed so diligently for her. God has blessed her with so many people who love her. What a blessing to be so loved.

So tomorrow we are heading home. Our flight leaves at 8:20am(so 7:20 pm-your time) and we arrive at 8:39pm(your time). And we will bring our new American daughter. We fly from GZ to Tokyo, Tokyo to Detroit, and Detroit to Omaha. And Alan wants our first stop to be Taco Bell(although I am thinking Chili's in Detroit). HOME. No word sounds as sweet right now.

I will post some new pictures and then we will try and post Saturday...or Sunday...or when I feel like it. Thanks for following our journey this far and we look forward to walking with you as we travel the rest of the way.

Love to all.

Heather, Alan, and Hannah

Tuesday and part of Wednesday second week

2008-08-06T01:03:00.003-05:00

I am typing this Wednesday because I didn't get it done yesterday. Tuesday Hannah woke up still running fever. She took her bottle but she was still having runny diapers. We were supposed to go up to White Cloud Mountain, but figured we ought to stay a little bit closer to the hotel. We also decided to go see the western doctor.

All of the guides were busy doing other things, so we were sent with a driver, who spoke English. He took us there and we were in and out(hotel/doctor/hotel)in about an hour. We got right in and the doctor thought she might have an infection so he started her on an antibiotic(which we had brought from home). He also put her on soy formula until her poop was more solid. And he put her on triaminic because her nose was a little runny. Well it had taken both of us just to give her tylenol, which she usually spit up and he wanted us to add to more meds 4 times a day? So we gave her the tylenol yesterday and today her fever is gone. We also are doing what you aren't supposed to-we are putting her antibiotic and tylenol in her bottle. Anything to get it in her.

After we got back, we had lunch and watched some people play hacky-sack with these things with feathers. Be sure and look for it during the olympics because they have added it for a flavor of China. It is incredible and so fun to watch!!!! We then took Hannah back for a nap and I went to our exit meeting. This kind of let us know the process for flying home. And still more paperwork. We were supposed to go on a river cruise last night, but the night before the other part of our group had gone and been rained on, and there was big thunder and lightening, and our guide says because of the typhoon, these storms usually last about 3 days, so we decided against being out on the river. Instead we went to an Italian restaraunt and had pizza. Hannah started to fuss, so we went back to the room where she sat on the bed and played. Then when we put her to bed, she played in her crib. She is so funny. When we first got her, we could lay her down and she wouldn't change positions. She laid on her back with her arms over her head. When I went to get her this morning, she was at the other end of the bed, laying on her stomach. She is moving all over the place.

When she got up this morning she was all smiles. Finally.. She laughed at me when I changed her diaper. She is happy and just a joy. She will sit on the bed and just play away. Then before nap time(and after shopping time)we went to the playroom and she had a ball. They have this little fisher price pony that sits low to the ground that kind of bounces and moves. She was all smiles on that. I am so glad that this part of her personality is coming out.

This afternoon is our consulate appointment, so I need to wake her up so we can go. It is kind of sad-this is the US consulate and they don't allow cameras(actually they don't allow you to bring anything other than your passports-baby can have diapers and a bottle) so this big occasion only lasts about 20 seconds and we have no record. I guess better safe than sorry.

We are looking forward to coming home. Please pray for our friends who are flying through Hong Kong and Beijing. Flights have been cancelled in Hong Kong because of the typhoon and Bejing has been cancelled and we don't know why. They are all as anxious to get home as we are. And please pray that our flights will all be on time and trouble free.

We are off to the consulate!!
Heather

Monday Second Week

2008-08-04T06:02:00.010-05:00

Red couch craziness. All -or almost all of our group. And below, my friend Kristen, with Alaya, me and Hannah.

Okay, we will try this again. I typed it once and then it all disappeared. AGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Sunday, we went to to church and it was incredible. To be in there, a christian church in China, speaking the name of Jesus, singing hymns and hearing the gospel preached so clearly-it was amazing. We sang I'd Rather Have Jesus and There is a HIgher Throne(in English) and then 2 songs in CHinese(which I didn't sing, although I wanted to). And as one of the leaders was praying in Chinese, I thought how wonderful it is that she was calling out to Him in Chinese and I in English and He heard us both. And to sit there holding our daughter-our gift from God... It was by far one of the most wonderful moments of our trip.

Like Alan has said, I spent the day after that in bed. Alan and Hannah had a blast. He has now heard her say 2 words and I none. But yeah for him. They are having a lot of fun together and I couldn't be happier.

Today I felt better, but I was pretty sure Hannah wasn't feeling that great. We went to the playroom and she didn't really play. She was a little more clingy and felt a bit warm. We were going to have our medical exam(by the Chinese doctors) and I didn't want to say she was sick. I don't want anything to hold us up from leaving and I didn't want them to practice their crazy CHinese medicine.

Kristen and Alan and Alaya were also in the playroom. She is the 4 year old that hasn't really done much with mama. Well today she seemed to be doing more in the playroom and by this afternoon, she was letting Kristen holding her and smiling and finally letting Kristen be mama. Kristen really needed that and it is a HUGE answer to prayer. They are leaving tomorrow evening and were concerned about the flight home. God is good!

So then all 14 families met up and took the walk to the medical exam. It was 3 parts-ENT, weight-height temp, and general exam by the doctor. We were lucky and were one of the 1st. When we got to the temp, the nurse took her temp and then asked if she had been running fever. I said I didn't know(I hadn't taken her temp-I just suspected) and she took it about 3 times. I asked if she had fever(and she had been crying for about 10 minutes or so)and the nurse said no. We got back to the hotel about 30 minutes later and she had a fever of 102.8. I gave her some motrin,which she spit out and then threw up. She also has diarhea. We may end up at the western doctor tomorrow. We have to be able to leave on Friday-so prayers please.

After naps and more paperwork(actually correcting paperwork done incorrectly-13 of 14 families), we had the traditional red couch pictures taken. Imagine, 14 babies, toddlers and preschoolers thrust on a couch, surrounded by crazy pictures takers and people just gawking and you can imagine the pandemonium. I will post those pictures at the top. Pretty funny.

We then went to tea in the dining room. This was a buffett of desserts, fruits, meats, sandwiches, and dumplings. The dumplings were really good. Then we decided to take Hannah to the pool. We sat in for a little while and she really enjoyed it-on my lap. I think it helped cool her down a bit.

We are winding down our day and we are so happy that we only have 3 more days in China and then we will be on a flight home. We are both ready to be home, in our own bed, with our family and friends, with food we recognize, with drinks with ice, and with English we understand. China has been wonderful, but I really miss home.

Before I head out I want to say thank you to our friends who have been faithful in prayer and who have done so much to help mom and dad. It would have been a long 2 weeks without you stepping in and we so appreciate. I know the boys have loved it and mom and dad are grateful. We love y'all so much and we thank God at how blessed we our to be surrounded by such wonderful people!!!!!

Love to all.

Heather

Pictures from Saturday and Sunday

2008-08-03T17:28:00.007-05:00

Here are some pictures from Saturday and Sunday...

Hannah and I went for a stroll while Heather went to a paperwork meeting. Here is Hannah in front of one of the many statues on Shamian Island. Many of the statues are of children playing different games. Hopefully, we can get around to taking pictures of all of them. Depending on the time of day the ever present haze does not make for a good picture.

Another statue - girl playing violin followed by children (Heather's favorite).

Brief stop at a store to buy Daddy a Beijing Olympics t-shirt. Ho-hum.

Locals playing a game of hacky-sack using a large feathered object. Some of these groups are really good at this and can do tricks.

Finally, a Starbucks break!

Daddy, hurry up with that latte already!

Playtime - the play room at the hotel is sponsered by Mattel. Lots of LEGOS and stuffed character dolls. The carpet is more comfortable than our beds!

More playing - Hannah would wait patiently and then tear down everything that Dad built.

Back in the room, cozied up in bed with her jammies on and playing with her Doodle-pro - magnetic drawing toy.

Sunday morning church service on Shamian Island.

Inside of church. Very crowded with locals as well as several of the adopting parents and childred. We made it through the hour and a half service. Scripture readings, sermon and worship music done in both Chinese and English. Words to worship music cast on to screen - just like home!

Standing for worship. The guy in the plaid shirt is a pastor from Tennesee (around Memphis, I think). He and his family were part of our prayer group last Sunday.

Sunday news from Guangzhou

2008-08-03T16:39:00.005-05:00

Here's the latest news and views...

Sunday came and Heather was still feeling the ill effects of the sausage bun from Saturday. So her breakfast was pretty much limited to dry toast and a little tea. On the brighter side, Hannah finally sat in a high chair during the meal rather than in one of our laps, which was generally Heather's.

We met with several other couples and the children and went to the Shamian Christian church about three blocks away from our hotel. A good size crowd had already gathered outside the church waiting for the earlier Chinese-only service to end. By the time we got inside and got seated it was pretty clear it was going to be standing room only. Our service was done in both Chinese and English, and how encouraging it was to see so many Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ hearing the gospel. Scripture readings and the message centered on the Kingdom of Heaven.

After church we stopped by the nearby 7-11 to get some crackers and Sprite for Heather. Hannah and I ate some ramen noodles - the kind you just add hot water to the cup. She really took to the noodles and they were yummy but I think the high sodium count made my heart skip a beat or two.

After naps, Hannah and I let Heather rest some more and we went for a stroll. We walked around the island, exchanged a clothing item at one of the local stores, stopped by Starbucks (naturally) to cool off and then went to the play room back at the hotel. What a transformation we have seen in Hannah in just the past two days. She is now much more engaged towards playing - she loves to demolish all the LEGO buildings that I put together, just like her older brothers. Yesterday, she especially liked to play with the Noah's ark toy. Every so often it would make an animal sound or play a short song and she was trying to figure out where the sound was coming from - very cute. She also walked around the play room a little bit - something she had not been before.

After about an hour of playtime we went and got our laundry and then had dinner back in the hotel room.

Today (Monday) our group will have the doctor's appointment for the children and then later on will meet for the famous "red couch" picture, where all the children are lined up on, you guessed it, a red couch for a group photograph.

We thank you all for your ongoing prayers and thoughts. For today, our prayer is that Heather starts to feel better and can get her appetite back and that everything goes well at the doctor's appointment.

We owe you all some updated pictures and so hopefully our tech wizard Heather can get them downloaded off the camera. I'm clueless.

Friday at the Buddhist temple

2008-08-02T12:54:00.008-05:00

The following are some pictures from our Friday visit to the Buddhist Temple, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. As Heather mentions in her post, the place was jam-packed and reeked of burning incence. Though we did not it ahead of time, apparently Friday was an important day on the Chinese lunar calendar and so the crowds were large. While an interesting tour from a purely historical perspective, it was nonetheless disturbing to see so many people laying their souls (and money) before these false gods.

This is the main temple structure (I guess). It's the one you would probably see if you ran a Google search anyway. It was built around 500 AD. Though nine stories are visible from the outside, there are 17 stories inside and you can take a set of stairs to the top, with of course a buddha stop on each floor.

This structue contained the three large buddhas and where the blessing from the monks took place. People off to the right holding incense sticks and chanting something incomprehensibile (not "Go Big Red")

This woman was doing an excellent job of throwing her money away inside the big black kettle. Apparently, you want to throw the coins into certain openings, each representing some sort of buddhist prayer wish. After this, she ran around the kettle touching the different chinese symbols or little figures, high, low and everywhere. Somehow, I think she will disappointed.

Two of the three large (very large!) buddhas inside the temple. The interesting bit of history is that when Mao took over in 1949 he had the heads of these statues cut off by the Red Guard. Problem was they had nothing large enough to haul them away to be melted down so they just hid them. Eventually, they were found by the monks and reattached.

One of the monks about to give the blessing (behind him is buddha #3). Just prior to this he had been banging a couple of wooden blocks together and moaning some sort of chant. This final part of the blessing had him sprinking drops of water on our heads - he made me take off my baseball cap.

Fully blessed, and back on the bus.

Friday and Saturday

2008-08-02T07:52:00.003-05:00

First off, WE HAVE POOP!!! Friday morning she woke up poopy and it was a blow out. And that made all the difference. On the bus to go to the temple, she banged her hand against the wall and she looked at her toy and put it in her mouth. She began to come alive. It was very good!!
Second, we are checking email, so if you want to, you can email us. I can't promise I will write back but I promise we are reading them. AS you can tell, I can't keep up with the blog.

THe temple. There were so many people there and the incence was stinky and it was just crazy. The buddhist monks count it a privilege to say a blessing for the adoptive babies, so we went into one of the temples. It was interesting-there were 3 buddhas representing past, present and future and we sat and the monk banged on something wooden and chanted. And the whole time all I could do was pray. Here in a temple, before statues that mean nothing, I prayed to the God of the Universe and gave Him our little girl. I promised that she would know Him and know that He loves her and wants the best for her. I prayed that I would raise her to love Him and worship Him only. In front of these statues, I gave Him her past, her present and her future and that He would bestow blessings on her. And in that temple, I met with God and it was good.

As we stood in the square, surrounded by so many people offering meaningless sacrifices, Alan said don't you want to just stand up and shout that they have missed the boat and that this is worthless? And last night all I could think of was that God loves these people too.

Our group kept being surrounded by the little old ladies wanting to touch the babies. Our guide Tracy said they were saying how lucky we are, how lucky the babies are, and how happpy they are for us. They love children.

Then we had lunch at this really fancy place, with huge chandeliers. It is in the rich part of town and it is where the locals go to celebrate big events. There were 12 families, all with Chinese babies, so we got a lot of looks.

Saturday was a break through day. I had to do paperwork, so Alan took Hannah out for a stroll. WHen I get done, I find them in the playroom and she is playing blocks. Then Alan tells me he heard her say a word on their walk!!! YEAH!!! We played again after naps. We had lunch at this deli down from the hotel and I got a hot dog in a bun. Alan had eaten one earlier and the bread was really good. Well the bread was good, but the dog has made me sick. So tonight this will be short.

Prayer requests
Hannah will keep coming out of her shell
Our friends Alan and Kristen-they adopted a 4 year old girl who is deaf, from another province. The got back to GZ last night and I found out today the little girl will have nothing to do with mom and it is killing her. They are Christians and a really neat family. So please pray that she will start warming up to Kristen and that Kristen can find some peace.

Have to head to bed. Wish it were my own!
Heather
Hna

Odds and ends - Shamian Island & White Swan Hotel

2008-08-01T14:00:00.013-05:00

Here a few pictures from Shamian Island and the White Swan Hotel.

Shamian Island - outside of Lucy's, a restaurant just down the street from the White Swan.

There is statuary all throughout the nearby parks. This one of the large Chinese lady is near Lucy's

The workers in this picture were using really, really long poles with saws on the end to cut off dead or dying tree branches. People walking by with tree branches crashing to the ground - no apparent safety regulations.

Women (and a few men) doing their morning Tai Chi in the park.

Green space outside another restaurant on the island.

White Swan Hotel - There a quite a few shops located inside the hotel. Not as good of bargains as elsewhere on the island. Here is arrangement of statuary for sale - pretty expensive - jade and bone mostly.

Lobby of the White Swan - Very large replica of Chinese boat made of jade.

Sculpture of horses - picture doesn't do this piece justice. Very pretty and pretty expensive.

Our favorite - the smiling Buddha. We go by this everyday on the way to breakfast or the get on the bus. He makes us laugh.

Thursday - trip to pearl and jade market

2008-08-01T08:29:00.006-05:00

Hannah on the bus going to the pearl and jade markets. That ring rattle has not left her grip except occasionally while sleeping.

This public square is along a walking street (no vehicular traffic). The bus let us off near here and we walked down to the markets. McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut all were along this street.

Heather haggling over the terms and conditions of her jade purchase. The quoted price is just a suggestion - the opener for negotiations. One of our tour guides Shelly, served as both translator and chief negotiator for our group as wel all tried to get the best deals we could.

Heather and Hannah back at the pearl market. We got caught in a downpour between the jade market and here. We all got soaked but it felt good and has lowered the temps in Guangzhou from ridiculously hot and humid to barely tolerable.

Inside of the mall where the pearl market is located. This place is 6-7 stories mostly dedicated to pearls and other jewelry. We saw stores for turquoise, amethyst and silver.

Thursday in Guangzhou

2008-08-01T07:25:00.000-05:00

This is Tracy, one of the Holt representatives here in China. She helped the group immensely as we went from appointment to appointment during the first week.

Thursday

2008-07-31T15:34:00.002-05:00

Taking her first bottle. Yeah!!! At the orpanage, they were laid down on the bed and were on their own. Probably why she likes being held. It hadn't happened much!
Alan with his ginormous cup of coffee. Can he be any happier? At the Starbucks, we met two Christian me.(One had his Bible sitting on the chair next to him, so I just figured). They are there doing camps for kids. God is working in China.
And finally, Hannah drinking a little bit from a cup.

I know someone prayed....I actually slept until 5 am. Hannah got up, we cuddled and she slept some more, took her bottle and slept some more. Today was a day I had been looking forward to. We went shopping, to the mall, the Jade and Pearl market. First off, the mall was huge. It is in this shopping square that has a walking street. The walking street has a bunch of little stores and no cars are allowed on it. We went straight to the mall part where the pearls were. The place was huge!!! Four or five floors. We walked in and it had tons of clothes and shoes shops. Tracy told us if you wanted quality, buy in the mall. If you wanted to smile at the price, buy at the shops but beware because if you buy shoes(as an example)it won't be long before they are smiling too(meaning falling apart).

We only had 1 1/2 hours so we had to book it. We walked the great length of the mall, passing jewelry stores that had all sorts of stones. There was a whole shop just with Amethysts, but we ran out of time. We headed for the Jade market because it was the farthest away. Shelly(one of our guides) took us there and said if we found anything, to let her know and she would come help us bargain. Well we did...boy did we ever!! And it was so cool to have her come over and start haggle over prices. I think she got us a good deal...I guess it doesn't matter. I am pretty sure we would have paid what was asked, so the discount was nice. While we were there, the typhoon that had hit Taiwan blew rain into Guangazhou. It rained hard!! But it also brought cooler temperatures(compartively) and the rain was beautiful. It was nice to have a change in weather. The one bad thing was that we had to run across the street and down the block to go back to the mall with the pearls. Oh well. We didn't melt. We went straight to the pearls and I got a lovely set of earings,a necklace and a bracelet. We spent more than everyone else, but Shelly said we got great quality that will last a lifetime, and the others got what they paid for. So I am happy and these may end up as wedding gifts for each bride we have in our family.

We ran out of time before I could do any more shopping(I am pretty sure Alan was glad) but we could always go back(like next week_). While we were buying the pearls, Hannah had a small poopy so I took her to the bathroom to change her. Well, there was no place to change her. The floor was wet(don't want to know with what-these are squatty potties) so I had her stand on the sink and I changed her standing up. Boy did the women in the restroom think that was interesting. No wonder the Chinese like the split pants for their children. Then all you have to do is hold them over the potty and they go. Wet floors-not everyone has good aim!!!

The bus took us for another small tour of the area and then we headed back to the hotel. All of the kids were just zonked!!! We took Hannah back for a bottle and a nap. She slept for about 2 hours. We decided to go eat at Lucy's again(it is close and has variety. We are getting a little tired of Chinese food) and we ordered Hannah some congee. She couldn't even sit up to eat. She would just slump back against me. She won't take a lot of liquids, although she was better about her formula. She didn't eat much. It is just crazy. We met a shopkeeper who is a Christian so we went down to his store and he wrote Hannah's name in Chinese, calligraphy and wrote the meaning. We bought her a Chinese doll and then headed back to the hotel. We are starting to get nervous because all she wants to do is lay on me. We go to the playrooom and she shows know interest. So we stop by the Holt office and the tears come. I am trying to explain what is wrong and I just can't get it out there. She doesn't have a fever, but she seems in pain. Shelly was in there so she called Tracy and had her come in.(Tracy has children and has experience with these situations.) So Tracy asks us all sorts of questions and then calls the director of the orphanage. So now we find out that she takes her formula with the congee in the bottle. Maybe she is hungry. She is having wet diapers, so I don't think that she is dehydrated. Then Tracy talks to the nannny and gets some info on her interactions. She said she walks and plays, loves her ball, all this stuff and we have seen nothing!!! Is it grieving? Is it constipation? Is she hurting? Why does she cry like she is? We showed Tracy and Shelly-if I put her on the ground, she cries. I put her down and she cried. Hard. Shelly tried to talk to her*(she speaks Cantonese) and tried to play with her, but Hannah would have none of that. Finally I couldn't stnad it any longer so I picked her up and she settled down. So she is bonding to me-or clinging to me for dear life, I think.

We went back to the room and I decided to take her temperature-for try. Two reasons. One to rule out fever and the other in hopes of stimulating a poopy. She hated it!! I think it may have hurt and there was an obstacle in the way. She had no fever and she pooped out a little. I just got an email back from the international ped in Omaha and this afternoon I am going to try half a suppository. Maybe if we get her cleaned out, we will see a happier baby that may want to eat more.

After she pooped the little bit, she just screamed and screamed. So I loaded her up in the Ergo(our carrier) and left Alan in the room. She finally settled down. We walked by the pool and then went to the playroom. Some of our group was in there so I talked for a little bit and got some reassurance. Then we went outside, down to the park by Lucy's and then around the square. When we got back I gave her a bottle and then handed her to Alan. She screamed and I took a shower. He finally got her settled down and sleeping in her bed. So I came out of the bathroom. Alan was exhausted and fell asleep and I read for a while. I slept until about 4:20 and then decided to blog. We didn't have alot of pictures today, but there might be a few I haven't posted, so I will put those in.

Tomorrow(or today for me) we are going to the 6 Banyan Temple. I am excited to see it-pictures are beautiful.

So prayers for today-

Poop and liquids. And an extra measure of grace for Alan and I. It is heartbreaking to have this beautiful child who is doing nothing and see everyone else's children interacting and playing. We just want her to be happy.

Peace to all.

Heather

Comments from Dad...

2008-07-30T12:33:00.002-05:00

Its early, early on Thursday, but since I fell asleep around 9pm, I'm awake right now - this just seems to be the pattern that I've developed.

Heather has mentioned several of our experiences so far - here's my take...

Bonding with Hannah - I had always expected that Hannah would develop a closer bond with Heather, and she surely has, to the point that its becoming exhausting to Heather. Not that Hannah won't let me hold her - its just very clear that for now she feels a strong maternal presence with her Mama.

Guangzhou - this is a pretty amazing city. Whatever the city guides list for the population you probably have to double as there is such an undocumented number of people who have relocated to the city from the rural areas. Driving through the streets to our various appointments is interesting. The traffic is insane - the pecking order for space on the streets would have pedestrians last - theirs is really a survival game, no signaled crosswalks that I could see (not that they would help much). The stops signs and other electric signaling seems to serve as only suggestions to those in vehicles. The best NYC cabby would have his work cut out for him to get around this city. But, you know what - it seems to work for them.

Shamian Island - this is the section of Guangzhou where the White Swan Hotel is located and is quite the little bit of paradise in this sea of humanity. We went out this morning and watched the locals gather in a nearby park to do their Tai Chi. Elsewhere, others were playing Mah Jongg and a lot of the youths seem to like to play a sort of hackysack game using something that resembles a badminton shuttlecock - and they are good at it! Shamian Island was the location of the French and British colonial outposts and much of the architecture reflects that period - the colonial-style buildings are very beautiful even though many have been retrofitted to serve commercial interests - many, many local stores going after the tourist trade, especially the adopting parents staying at the White Swan.

Eating - Well, obviously Asian - Cantonese, which I have always liked but am already burned out on. There is one local restaurant (Lucy's) that serves several Western dishes so we've been able to get a cheeseburger - but its pretty bland if you ask me. There is a pretty decent Thai restaurant within walking distance. The breakfast buffet here at the White Swan has a lot of variety - pimento loaf was a meat selection this morning, ugh! I'm pretty much down to french toast or a bowl of cereal.

Commerce - this is a Communist country?? You could never tell - signs of capitalism abound. We had side trip to the local grocery/department store today (Carrefour). The market takes up a few floors of a downtown highrise. Its interesting - to take care of all your shopping needs you would start on one of the highfloors where the clothes and other non-perishables are at and then work your way downstairs, covering several floors, and then finally end up where the food and other perishables are located and then check out and take the people mover ramps back up to the ground floor. Imagine a Super Target with each department stacked on top of one another - given the demand for space it actually works. Of course, the place is just insane with foot traffic - WalMart on steroids. If we weren't pressed for time and having already had a long day I would have liked to just browse around and people watch.

Other - We are enjoying ourselves even amid the stress. This adoption process could easily be reduced to a week or less in country, not the two weeks that its going to take. The cynic in me thinks its just a way to pry a few more Yuan ($) from the adopting parents (Shocking!). Took a few outside pictures this morning but because of the ever-present haze they didn't turn out well. If anyone has suggestions on camera settings to reduce that glare please let me know - thanks.

Wednesday

2008-07-30T06:51:00.002-05:00

Today I woke up again about 2:30, and then dozed until about 3. Then I read for a while and then Alan was awake. I am so ready to sleep through the night!!! Hannah woke up at 6 and we brought her into bed with us and cuddled for a while. And she was hungry enough that she took about half a bottle!! Yeah!! She hasn't been taking in a lot of liquids(she has been eating congee-rice and broth, which helps), but I have wanted her to take more to drink. It is so hot!! We got up and had breakfast and we decided to take a walk to the park. It is by the river, has tons of statues, and walkways. This is where the Chinese people come in the mornings to practice their Tai Chi. I bet there were hundreds of people throughout the parks doing some sort of excersise. Some were doing traditional, some with fans or swords or castenettes. There was evening a group doing line dancing. And the vast majority of these are women in their 50's and older. It was an incredible sight to watch them and something I want to go watch again. After that we walked around for a while and we shopped. They have the cutest shoes for little girls(and cheap), so we bought Hannah some shoes for the fall. We spent way too much money and headed back to the hotel. Mattel also gives each adopting family a barbie doll holding a Chines baby, made especially for the White Swan hotel. It's a pretty cool keepsake. We had lunch at Lucy's again and then it was naptime. Alan was putting Hannah down, so I decided to blog. She only slept about 40 minutes, so I had to stop before I was finished. That is why these are so close to gether.

This afternoon we went to the Police station(which seemed more like USCIS) and had the childrens passport pictures taken. Hannah has been kind of fussy all day. We got back on the bus(and you know how I love buses) and drove for what seemed like forever!! We were headed for the grocery store/department store-very similar to Walmart. What an unbelievable experience. There are over 11 million people in the Guangzhou area and I think they all picked today to go shopping. You had to ride down an escalator(which was like a ramp and it was magnetized for the shopping carts) to get to the grocery area. Our guides led us to the diapers and baby food and helped us find what we needed. There were also many workers who were available to help as well. That is one thing about the Chinese people, their customer service is first rate. Anyway, remember how I talked about the driving? The same goes for stores. You will get run over if you are not careful. And if you are in the way, they will step in front of you. At home, we wait our turns in line. Here, there are no lines. People just walk up and don't think anything of moving to the head of the line. If you wait your turn, you will never move to the head.

We hurried through the store because the crowds were getting to me, Hannah was getting fussy(it was almost 6), and it felt very overwhelming. So we left the store(250 yuan poorer) and we went to the Starbucks and sat down. It was funny because as our group gathered, so many people stopped and stared. This little grandmother came over and told one dad that he needed to let his 14 month old daughter feed herself her cheerios and then took the girls hand and had her grab a cheerio and put it in her mouth. Then she came over and started talking about Hannah's ear. Now, understand, this is all in Chinese and our guides are not around. It was pretty funny. We were warned that this would probably happen. These grandmas feel like we are part of their family and we need to know the correct way to raise these children. If you can understand the culture, you can really find this endearing. These people are really happy that these children are getting a family. Family is so important to them.

On the bus, poor Hannah was done. The good thing is she was hungry enough to take a bottle. She has been very cuddly, but my back is pretty tired. We had dinner at Lucys(a place you can get Chinese food, spaghetti, mexican food and a cheeseburger-they play American music and they have license plates from all of the different states-and it is cheap) and we brought Hannah home to bed-which is where I am now headed.

Before I go, I would like to offer some prayer requests:
There is a 4 year old child in our group who is grieving terribley. She has cried for 3 straight days. Today was better-she had an hour at breakfast and at lunch when she didn't cry, but that was about it. Her mom is here with her sister and it is breaking their hearts. Today the little girl told our guide she wanted to go back to the orphanage. The mom and the child need prayers.
Hannah seems to just be kind of listless. All she wants to do is lay on me. We are watching her fluid intake and she is having wet diapers. I don't know if this is her way of grieving, but it is hard to see everyone else's kids smiling and laughing and playing and ours just sits in my lap with her head on my chest. We need an extra measure of grace.

And I need some sleep. Even with sleeping pills, I am awake between 2-3 and then I don't fall back asleep. I miss my boys so much and I am so ready to be home, it is unbelievable.

And for Alan-Hannah fusses with him. She just wants me and I know it hurts him. He is over the moon crazy for her, so we are both ready for a little bit of daddy's girl.

It is almost 8:30 so I must go wash my face and get in bed. My other 2 are already asleep and I need to be there too.

Tuesday

2008-07-30T00:12:00.005-05:00

So here we are back at the CCAA for our finalization on Chinese portion of our adoption.
Hannah slept great last night, although she isn't crazy about being in the hotel room. We had breakfast then we headed for the CCAA. Hannah still hasn't taken a bottle and she wasn't really drinking anything. That will make any mom panic a little. We spent the morning getting our family picture made (for some form) and then we had 2 interviews. In the first one they ask you to say her name and the name of her city(the Chinese one). They also ask if you still want to go through with the adoption and then they ask if we promise not to torture or abandon her. The next meeting is with the Notary and she asks the same questions. It is sad that they have to ask if you will promise to not torture. Not will you promise to love her and nurture her, and educate her, but will you promise not to torture her. It really makes my heart sad. The process seemed to take forever and then we were finally on our way back to the hotel.Mom and daughter in front of the waterfall. Note the toy which she has not let go of except in her sleep.
Finally some cuddle time.
And what a sleeping angel.

In the afternoon we tried to have a nap but Hannah decided she needed to be held and would not be put down. That means she laid on mom's chest and napped, while mom tried to stay comfortable. Did we mention that the bed is hard as a rock? Add 22 pounds on top of mom and it does not equal a restful nap. Hannah doesn't like to be in the room or on the elevator. I think she is really starting to grieve. She only wants for me to hold her-which isn't easy on dad. He has gotten to hold her to rock her to sleep, so that is good.

We had dinner at a Thai restaraunt with Mark and Julie(our Omaha compadres), and their daughter Grace. It is neat being with them because we are actually dealing with some similar issues.

I don't think I have given any information about the city yet. First off, all the buildings look like they should be condemned. Everyone hangs their laundry out of their apartment windows-underwear and all. We haven't seen the sun because of all of the smog. I don't know how the country isn't full of asmathics!! We passed by a hospital and there were people lined up like a ride for Disney World at peak season. Come to find out, there are no Dr.s offices, only the hospital and they don't take reservations. So if you are sick, you try to get there the earliest and you still might have to stand out in the horrible heat all day. We talked to our guide Tracy about the 1 child policy and it was interesting to hear her view. She said the Chinese people would love to have big families(which got them in trouble in the first place) and there are some exceptions to the one child policy.

Okay traffic. It is absolute insanity. You know how we have lanes and we try to stay in them and we signal and look before we change lanes? And how we yield to pedestrians? And cyclists? Doesn't happen in China. People on bicyles just come flying out of know where right in front of our bus. I can't even watch because there are so many close calls. And there are people everywhere. It's funny, because as a group we get a lot of people stopping and staring.

We are having a good time, but it will be nice to be home.

Gotcha Day

2008-07-28T13:24:00.005-05:00

Well, today was the day. We weren't going to leave for the China Civil Affairs office until 2:30 so we had a lot of time to kill. So we shopped. The people are so nice here. Every where we went, we were asked about our daughter and the store owners would give us a gift for her. We got a fan and a rattle, a very noisy rattle. They are so excited to hear that these children are getting a good home, especially the ones with special needs. The people just can't afford the health care.

We had lunch with another couple at this little deli down from the hotel. I got a sandwich-ham and cheese on white bread. That is all my stomach could handle. We go back to the hotel. We have a bag packed for Hannah(or Shen Shen as they call her). I had forgotten how much one small child needs!! We still have time to kill!! I was dying!! So I read a little, then I made Alan walk around the hotel a little and then it was finally time.

We met downstairs at 2:30 and got on the bus. We drove about 15 minutes and then we were there. Butterflies were flying. I was so nervous. We walk in the doors and have to go up to the 8th floor. There are 14 families and 1 elevator so we had to take turns. I was kind of in the front. We get in there and there were already other families from another agency who had gotten their children. It was incredible. We had to sign more forms and then when we waited.

They kept the children in the back room behind a curtain. Someone opened the curtain a little and there she was. I had a peek! And there she was, sitting quietly on her Ayi's lap, about to have her world turned upside down. So everyone is standing around, and then our guide starts calling families names. We were about 4th or 5 th and the brought her out and she was in my arms. The Gotcha moment is so incredible. We were there in the midst of 14 families and they hand you your child and it is going on all around you. I wish each and everyone of you could have been there. There were plenty of tears of joy.

We try and get out of the way so that the others can receive their children. And the Director of the orphanage comes over. We shake his hand and take a picture. We have to wait for an interpretor-there are only 4 of them and our group is large. So we are patient-and Hannah doesn't say a word. I pass her to Alan and she gets a bit teary, but then she starts to settle down. She is still unsure of him when he first holds her, but if he walks away, she looks to see where he is going. Finally we get our chance to talk with the director. He is actually the one who named her. And the ayi(nannny) who is there helped take care of her. How do you thank someone for loving your child for 21 months? The director said when they do evaluations she is always at the top. She is quiet and doesn't like loud noises!! Oh no!! What is she doing in our family??????

After our talk, we find a quiet spot on the floor. Out of 14 families, only one baby cried. And she was a foster care baby, so it wasn't a surprise. By dinner time, she was very settled in with her mom. SO, on the floor, we opened our bag of tricks and brought out Cheerios-as did eveyone else in the group. I handed her two and she held one in each hand. Then I started feeding then to her and she liked them. She never ate the ones in her hands, but gladly ate the ones that I gave her. When I held her, there were a couple of times that she put her head on my shoulder and I got some good cuddle time. I stacked cups, tried to give her some water from a bottle, gave her a rattle ring to play with. She dropped one cheerio to hold the ring and then she didn't let go of it until sometime in the night when she was asleep. The whole time on the floor she never made a peep!

Then it was time to leave. We got back on the bus and her face just fell. Tears came to her eyes. She knew something was up and I couldn't explain it to her. So I just held her tight. Still, no peep. We got back to the hotel about 5:30 and I was hungry. But the buffet didn't start until 6, so we looked at the Koi in the lobby. Then we went in for dinner. She sat on my lap and ate some watermelon, some congee, and some rice. I don't know how much she actually ate because it looked like she never swallowed. And when we got back to the room, she had a mouth full of watermelon! After dinner, Alan had to go sign more paperwork, so we went back to the room. There she was not happy. If I walked across the room without her, she cried. She isn't very loud, but it was very heartbreaking. When I put her on the floor, she walked towards the door-got to the edge of the carpet and stood there and rocked back and forth. So I opened my arms to her and she came to me. I held her and rocked her and she went to sleep. The poor thing was exhausted!! We put her in the crib and she slept, holding her rattle, not a peep except for an occasional sigh.

So we have our daughter. An incredible day that will never leave me. The day our lives were changed forever-woven together by a red thread.

Love to all.

Oh and by the way, I haven't figured out the posting pictures thing yet, and that is why they aren't by the descriptions. Maybe I can figure it out later.

The flight and day 1

2008-07-27T03:39:00.002-05:00

So, our first flight was great. Of course, it was a 45 minute flight, so who can complain? When we got to the MPLS airport, we met our first 2 travel couples. One, Chris and Michelle, are from Indiana and are adopting a 14 month old girl, and Julie and Mark from Omaha, adopting a 2 year old girl. We sat within 3 rows on the plane to Tokyo. Okay, the big flight. First off, all they did was feed us. We got on and got started and we had a drink and a snack.(Pretzels and water). Then we had dinner at 4:45-chicken, rice, salad, roll, and cookies. Then after a while, a movie and some naps(not for us), we had another snack-ham and cheese sandwich and oreos. Then after another movie and a small nap, we had breakfast. You could have an egg, sausage, cheese biscuit or fried rice. I went with the biscuit. And surprisingly, the food was pretty good. As for sleeping, neither Alan or I really slept more than cat naps on this flight. I tried to watch the movies, but I had to sit really tall to see over the seat in front of me, and I had a tall man with a head that moved where ever I tried to look, so the movies didn't happen for me. But I read 2 books. The worst part of the flight for me was that my knees just really hurt.

So then we got to Tokyo and we met more families. One family, Alan and Kristen, are adopting a little 4 year old girl who is deaf. The amazing thing is that this is a child we had looked at in the very beginning, felt we couldn't handle complete deafness and then prayed that she would find a family. They are also the family who is leading a prayer time tonight for our journeys.

We got into the hotel about 12:30 ish and once we got into our room we were ready to lay down. We got to sleep about 2, woke about 4 and then went back to sleep. The hotel has a breakfast buffet. So we went down for breakfast and it was amazing the number of American families with Chinese children. Pretty neat. So the buffet had American breakfast food-eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast, but then it had Chinese food. Noodles, fish, baked beans, dumplings and a variety of food I could not name. I did try a fried triangle of something, but it was too spicy. But I tried something new!!!'\

Then we had our Orientation meeting. Our facilitator, Iris, gave us some history of Chinese adoption and walked us through what we will be doing. But the highlight of the morning was getting a book with updated pictures and info. on Hannah. As each family received their book and their pictures, there were many happy tears. I cried when others looked at their own child and then we got Hannah's and it was so wonderful. And she is holding a basketball-g00d thing we put in that court!! She is also on her little rocking horse, so I am glad we found her one at home. Mom-could you please wash it off and bring it inside before we get home?

So our big day is tomorrow. We leave for the China Affairs office at 2:30 and we will get her sometime after 3. There are 14 families in our group, so it will take some time.

This afternoon we had lunch as a group at a real Chinese restaraunt. They serve it family style. There was shrimp, chicken, beef, rice, yummy green beans, a corn and nut dish, rolls. It was really good. Then we went on a tour of the island and the surrounding area and had a tour of a Chinese family temple-not like a church, but for the family. It was very very very very hot and humid.

Oh yes, the potties. The hotel has regular potties, but out in the city they have squatty potties. Kind of a porcelain hole in the ground(like a urinal but in the floor.) I haven't figured out how to use it without making a mess, so I just waited until we got back to the hotel.

We talked to the boys this morning and they are having a good time with Grandma and Grandpa. We keep seeing things we think they would like. We will love shopping!!!!!

We are anxiously waiting for tomorrow. We are going in a few minutes to pray for our trip. We appreciate so much your prayers!!

Will post mor tomorrow!
Heather

Greetings from Guangzhou

2008-07-26T19:45:00.002-05:00

We're here! It is very HOT! Left Omaha at 12:20 pm on Friday and arrived at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou at 12:45 am late on Saturday night. We just had breakfast downstairs - it was an amazing site at the restaurant. Lots of American parents with their Chinese babies and toddlers - folks who have been here for a few days, many who are anxious to return to the States no doubt.

We have an orientation meeting later this morning and then there are some planned sightseeing tours. Tomorrow, then, will be the big day, when Hannah is brought to us. I think just seeing all those other parents and their kids downstairs has ramped up our excitement.

More good news... There is a Starbucks nearby so I can get my fix every morning.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers. More later. Alan

Leaving on a jet plane

2008-07-25T09:44:00.002-05:00

Well, we will leave for the airport in about 15 minutes. I didn't sleep well last night and my stomach is in knots. I am not a great flier and I will be stuck in a plane for 12 hours. I have 3 books...hopefully they will get me there. We are so excited and we can't wait to be there.

But as I look at my boys faces this morning, I realize how much I am going to miss them. Alan is outside right now playing one more game of catch!! I definitely will be glad to get home with my family complete!!

So I will let you know more when we arrive and how things go.

Love to all!

Friends

2008-07-24T09:53:00.002-05:00

We leave in one day. This time tomorrow we will be trying to figure out if our luggage will fit in the van with all of the rest of us. Tomorrow we will be on a plane for China, just the 2 of us. But today, this whole week really, it has been amazing. Our friends are so very dear to us. All of you have just touched our hearts in so many ways. For instance, a friend who says I will bring over meals for your freezer, even though her husband just had surgery. A friend who tears up at the thought of me holding my daughter for the first time. A friend who says she will come over and stay with our boys so that my parents can have a break. A friend who wants to take my boys to the pool, again to give my parents a break. A friend who prays for our trip and looks forward to welcoming this child into our wonderful choir family. A choir family eager to embrace this little girl and to love her. We are adopting this little girl. I knew that we would love her and that our family would love her. But I was totally unprepared for the unbridled joy that so many people have in anticipation of her coming home. Every child should be so lucky to have so many people who are ready to love her. So friends, I thank God in every remembrance of you. I love you all and so appreciate the prayers, hugs, and words of encouragement.

I went to choir last night. It was nice to focus on something other than leaving tomorrow and always great to sing praises to God. But before choir, I had a moment of total serenity. I was talking to my friend Amy, and her daughter Olivia(17 months) came up to me and wanted to be picked up. I picked her up and she laid her head on my shoulder and she held me and I held her. And it was beautiful. We stayed that way for quite a while and then she got down and was off running again. But that moment, breathtaking. The beauty of a child.

So I have packed, and I have unpacked, and I have repacked, and then I bought a new suitcase and packed again. I have been doing this for a week. Alan...he is packing tonight. I think our boys are starting to get a little nervous. We have never been apart for this long. But Mom and Dad have tons of stuff planned. Hopefully they can keep them so busy they won't miss us too much. But we will certainly miss them.

SO we fly out tomorrow at 12:19 to Minneapolis. Then about 3 we leave for Tokyo, then Toyko to Guangzhou, arriving Saturday night at 11pm. We covet your prayers and we are so thankful for each and every one of you.

Our Travel Group

2008-07-13T15:23:00.002-05:00

On Friday we received a list of the people that we will be traveling with. There are people from all over the country, but there are 2 of us from Omaha. Yeah!! So we have talked by phone and email and we have many similarities. They have 2 children ages 8 and 6. Their daughter is 18 months and will be named Grace. It was so fun to talk to our new friends and to know there will be someone close by who is going through what we are going through.

One of the group members sent an email to everyone, so we have all been introducing ourselves. Many of us will be on the same flight from Tokyo to Guangzhou and we will be getting in at 11pm on the 26th and then it takes another 2 hours or so to get to the hotel!! We will all be pretty tired, but at least we will all be in the same boat!

There is one couple who has already talked about getting together and having a prayer meeting before we get our children. How great is God that He is providing us with praying people!!!

I spent a few hours this afternoon sorting through stuff to take. I have all of our medicines in plastic gallon bags, some toys for Hannah, clothes that need to be washed, bottles, diapers and wipes ready, my toiletries ready to go. I just hope I can get everything I need into the bags! I want to pack as efficiently as possible so that I have plenty of space for souveneirs!! I guess I can alway buy another suitcase!!:) Poor Alan...and I think that could really be literal!!

12 more days and we will be off. Mom and Dad are coming in Saturday, I think. It will be nice to spend time with them and have Mom help me think legistically through my suitcases. And I need to get them ready for life with Jacob and Sam. Plus my parents are just fun to be around.

I hope your day is filled with many shimmers of glory!

We have our schedule

2008-07-10T20:38:00.003-05:00

We received our schedule today. We have orientation on July 27th and we get to meet and take charge of Hannah on July 28. We would like to go to her orphanage, but aren't sure if that will happen. So please say a prayer that it could happen. The time is racing by and it won't be long and we will officially be a family of 5!

Alan took the boys to his ballgame and let me have some time to myself! Such a wonderful husband! I went to Target(only my second trip today) and bought the medicines that we need to take with us, plus soaps, shampoos, wet wipes and such. One more set of things to check off my list.

On our way

2008-07-09T19:54:00.004-05:00

Hey friends!

I have sent out an email, so I thought I would write a bit about our journey to Hannah. It all began because Alan was adopted. We knew from the beginning that if we had the opportunity to give a child a family, like his parents did for him, that we would like to do it. We have 2 wonderful sons, Jacob and Sam, but they were hard pregnancies and hard deliveries. So biologically we were done. In 2006, we lost Alan's mom to cancer. The week we were mourning her passing, Hannah was born. Because of Beverly, for oh so many reasons, we were going to be able to adopt. That thought hadn't crossed our minds yet, but it had been on God's mind. Hannah was born on my nephews birthday(my family tends to share birthdays-God's first connection) and on her 7th day of life, she was left by a theatre to be found.(A theatre...God's second connection for us)

In February of 2007, our church was holding it's annual global mission fair. Our new pastor had dubbed this year the "Year of the Child". Our church was partnering with 6 different programs, 3 locally and 3 internationally. One was an orphanage in China. And on the Sunday of the week of programs, we heard a teenage girl talk about being abandoned in China and her life in an orphanage, her foster mom and the fact her foster mom wasn't allowed to adopt her, and the fate of children in China.....our hearts melted. The church was offering a seminar on international adoption that week. So on the way home, I asked Alan if he would like to attend and check things out. Well unbeknownst to me, Alan had been thinking about adoption since he had lost his mom, so his answer shocked me. He said yes he wanted to go, that there was no reason we couldn't adopt, we had the love, the room, the finances, and he wanted a little girl. I wanted to go to a class, he was bringing home a daughter!!! We went to the class, talked to some people and signed up with an agency.

We started the process, which involves filling out ALOT of paperwork. We...oh I mean I, started the paperwork, got us signed up for the fingerprints and background checks and did all the running around trying to get everything China needed. Our paperwork was notarized,apostillized, and aprroved the US government and the Chinese consulate. In August of 2007 our dossier was sent in to China and on September 4 our paperwork was logged in and we were officially waiting for a child.

God had a plan. See, during the time that I was paperchasing, I began to have doubts and fears and I second guessed this decision. And God kept showing me how this was His plan. I had asked some friends to pray for us as we began this process. One Sunday, after a tough week for me, a friend came up to me and said she had been praying for me and God had told her to tell me that I would get my little girl. That same week, I was reading a book another agency had sent me about a mother searching for her daughter in China and during a prayer time, much like mine had been, questioning whether this was going to happen. What was written next in the book was actually as if God was talking to me(which I guess He was). He said, "You will have your daughter and her name will be Hannah." We had already chosen the name Hannah...what wonderful confirmation!!!

After our dossier was logged in, I began looking at sites that talked about international adoption. I was on our agencies forums(Holt International) and one person was talking about China Adopt Talk as a good website for information. I got on there and found out some scary news. I was thinking that we would probably have less than a 2 year wait for a healthy child. What I came to find out was that the China program had slowed down, the people at the front of the list had aready been waiting for 2 years with no end in sight and that we would more than likely have about a 4-5 year wait for a healthy baby girl.

I called our social worker(whom I love) who very honestly said that yes that was probably what the wait time was going to be. We had talked about children who had special needs and she said if we were open to that program, we could try and go that route and it probably wouldn't take as long. Not only are healthy girls abandoned in China, but also children with any kind of health issue. Now these can range from very serious(cerebral palsy, severe mental/physical disabilites) to very minor disabilities(missing limb, birthmark, heart problem, deafness, etc). Alan and I talked and decided because of where we live(excellent health care) that we would be open to some of the special needs on the list. We had already handled so much with our boys births, that we felt we could take some unknowns. We filled out our list in October and continued with our wait.

I am a worrier by nature. God has blessed me with a husband who takes things in stride. He never wavered. He knew God wanted us to have a child and he held onto that. Meanwhile, I worried. God had to get me to a place where I could trust Him with this decision, so from October He began to show me His faithfulness. He gave me verses in church, used messages from the pulpit, friends all around me, learning to put this adoption in His hands. We were nervous. I would look at pictures on the Holt website of kids available to be adopted and wonder if one of them was mine. How would we know...Alan really wanted this question answered. People would say when it is your child, you just know. Made no sense, but whatever. We looked at some files, but ultimately felt like they were not ours.

And then in March, our social worker called me and said she had a file for us to look at. She began to tell me about this little 17 month old girl and I got this nervous flutter in my stomach. You know the one...like when you saw your spouse for the first time, or hold your child for the first time, or you find out you have one a great award or you get to meet the President or when you first accepted Christ in your life. I was overcome. She told me that another family had had her file, but had decided that she wasn't their child. And Celeste(our SW) wanted us to have 1st chance to see her. After we had accepted her file, she told us that she knew Hannah was supposed to be ours. I will forever be grateful to the family who looked over her files, got all of the updated and necessary information and then let her go. I couldn't wait for the pictures!! I sent the info to be looked over by the International Ped. so that he could tell us how her health was and if we should have any concerns. He said her needs were easily handled here and that he saw no reason not to take her. We knew that she was ours but it was good to hear that she was healthy. She is deaf in one ear, but we can deal with that.

And on that, God smiled on us again. I have always loved the beauty of sign language and in my 20's used quite a bit in my drama. And the friend who God used to tell me we would get our daughter? She has 2 children with hearing aids. She has seen the doctors, she knows the specialists, she has walked the path before me. She will be working at the school for the deaf this fall.

After we recieved the referral of our little Hannah Grace, I began to grieve about missing so much of her young life. And God reminded me that He had blessed me in a way that I hadn't thought about. I had a friend who gave birth in Feb. 2007(the month we started our paperchasing) to a baby girl. I got to hold this baby girl, I got to give her bottles, I got to rock her when she cried, see her smile, make her laugh. I wasn't with her all of the time, but God gave us a special bond. She is my special blessing from God. Thanks Amy for sharing your child with me.

And now we are counting the days. I have never been out of North America. I am traveling to a country where I don't know the language, with people who don't look like me, talk like me, smell like me, etc. I will be away from my loved ones and all things familiar. I will be there 2 weeks and I will be anxious to come home. I say this to keep in mind that this is exactly how Hannah will feel when we bring her home and I want to remember how hard it is so that I can comfort her when she feels the same way.

God is good. He is faithful. He is surprising. He is amazing. He has wound our paths together in ways I could never imagine. He has given me people on the internet who had been at her orphanage in April and who gladly took pictures of her for me. He has given an organization-Love without Boundaries, who cares so much for the children of China. They have a nutrition program, and Hannah's home is one of the lucky ones who receives formula and rice cereal. Through this group, I was able to get an updated height and weight on Hannah, so that I could have an idea how big she is when we travel. I wasn't going to be able to get this information and they sent out an update which just happened to carry her picture and her updated information. God's blessing.

So as you say your prayers tonight, praise Him for me. Praise Him for Hannah. Praise Him for prayers raised and answered and for the faithful servants He used to encourage me. For God is great and greatly to be praised.

Welcome

2007-11-06T16:45:00.000-06:00

Hi friends and family!

I am moving into the 21st Century and trying to figure out how to put together a blog for our family. First I like to show off our wonderful boys, Jacob(7), and Sam(5). And we also want to keep everyone updated on our journey through adoption to bring home our little Hannah.

Thank you for visiting and we would love to hear from each and every one of you!

Heather