Christmas Craziness

Ho, ho, ho! Isn't this the cutest Santa you've ever seen?

Once again, I have been delayed in posting. It isn't because I have nothing to say (yeah, right), but because by the time my day is done, I fall in bed exhausted. So this post is full of pictures from the past two weeks, with much less interesting descriptions of said pics. So, without further ado...Will's face describes how easy it is to get a picture of all 5 of us smiling. Moving right along...

A couple of weeks ago, our dear friends David & Cynthia came up to visit us with their three precious children. Their kids are the same age as ours, and even though we haven't lived in the same town for almost two years, Ben and Will still talk about their buddies all of the time.A few days later, Ben got to experience his first snow day. Ben loves to play in the snow. He loves snow angels and snow balls and snow men. I think Tim should take him skiing. Will enjoys playing in the snow, in theory, but after about 10 minutes he is cold and wants to go inside. His favorite part is throwing snow balls at his brother. Kate liked going down the slide into a big pile of snow. She did NOT like stepping into a pile that was deeper than she thought and getting stuck.
On Saturday we went to my aunt's house to celebrate with my Dad's family. I always love spending time with them, and I wish we could see them more often.My boys went home with Dad and Jee and stayed with them a few nights, which allowed me to get more than 5 hours of sleep in a row. (They are early risers, thanks to public school for Ben.) They came home on Tuesday, and as I listened to them play "Transformers meet the Planet Heroes to save the day" while I cooked and did piles of laundry, I realized how much I had missed them. My life my be chaotic and crazy, but I am so thankful for it!

Anyway, we opened presents with Dad and Jenn on Tuesday, but I failed to get pics of them...oh well. On Wednesday, my mom and Arlie came up to celebrate. My mom and I fixed an awesome meal (if I do say so myself) of turkey, dumplins (not dumplings), sweet potatoes, etc., and I really enjoyed having them over. I only wish that we could've had more time together. There is never enough time, is there?
We went to our church's Christmas Eve service, which was lovely, but chaotic with three children. They did calm down for the part where we all lit candles and sang "Silent Night". That is the best part, after all. We then came home and read the Christmas story.

Later that night I got to talk to my brother and his wife (who I miss like crazy). They are doing fine, spending Christmas with friends. Jacob and I reminisced a bit, which of course made me cry when we got done. I hope we get to see them soon! They need to meet Kate, and I just want to get on an airplane:)

Christmas morning came with much excitement from the boys. The night before they had speculated on Santa, when he would come, if he is real or not, and Will's theory that every country has its own Santa and that's how he makes it to all of the houses in one night.

Kate didn't really understand what was going on, but she liked opening gifts. He favorite gift was the Reese's cups in her stocking. She ate three of them "for breakfast" before we noticed and took them away. Bless her. It's all about the chocolate for this girl. Once that was gone, she really enjoyed her pots and pans.Ben and Will got Mickey Mouse stuff and Legos. They didn't actually ask for the Legos, but they turned out to be a big hit. They had the big Duplos, but it was time for big boy Legos.

We are now at Tim's parents, celebrating with his brothers and their families. (Photos to come in a future post.) I love to let the kids get together with their cousins. They play so well together. I grew up surrounded by extended family, so I hope that they will always enjoy being together, despite the distance.

But since this is all about Christmas craziness, you should be aware that Kate got a horrid ear infection and a cough for Christmas, and she was up all night crying, despite the antibiotics. We weren't alone though, my niece and nephew have a lovely stomach bug and were up all night with that. Ick. I told my nephew that if he would keep his yuck to himself, we would keep Kate's to ourselves. Nobody wants to share germs.

And now for some happy news to end with. Last night Kate asked me to "howlp" her open her presents. She didn't exactly put the ending on the "p" and the "l" was questionable, but she SAID it! A new word!! I got very excited, so she has said it about a million times. She only started using the sign last week, so she has figured this out pretty quickly. Yea Kate!!

Happy Birthday, Tim!

First of all, let me wish my precious husband a big Happy Birthday!!! He is my best friend and I can't imagine life without him. He is an amazing Daddy too, and even Kate is warming back up to him. We had ice cream cake to celebrate. In the first photo, Kate is reaching to be held by her Daddy! Yea!!! (Can you tell that she is adored by the men in her life?)

I love celebrating birthdays. In our family, we let the birthday girl/boy choose whatever and wherever they want to eat, and nobody is allowed to complain. My sweet husband chose the Japanese restaurant (can you believe our little town has a Japanese restaurant?), so we all pigged out on rice and shrimp and teriyaki chicken and steak and... well, you get the picture. The boys love to go to a hibachi places like this so that they can watch the food be cooked right in front of them. This time, Will decided that when he grows up he wants to be a "cooker" but he doesn't think he will throw all of those knives around because he is afraid he will get cut. Ben spent half of the meal under the table because he was afraid the chef was going to light something on fire. Kate just laughed and clapped the whole time.

As is usual, most of the staff at the restaurant were international folks. Our chef was from Bali (How do you like that J?). The hostess was from China, and came over and talked to us for awhile about Kate. Chinese people usually have lots of questions for us, and some of them are very apologetic about families who prefer boys over girls. This lady was no exception, but she pointed out how much this has changed in the past few years, and how many families today want girls too. I saw many happy families in China with girls, so I have no reason to doubt this from my own experiences. (One of my traveling companions was in a very rural area and didn't see any baby girls, so I guess it varies by province?) Anyway, we also talked about Kate's name. When I say her Chinese name to an English speaker, I say it with pride. I think it is beautiful and unique. But, when I say her name to a native Mandarin speaker I always cringe because I know that I am butchering it.

I loved our time in China, and I have so much respect for the Chinese people. I hope that I can raise my daughter to be proud of her birth culture and heritage. I would love for her to learn to speak Mandarin. I hope and pray that she will have good female Asian role models who she can look up to. Yes, I know that I will be one of her role models, but she needs to see positive examples of Asian women too.

Anyway, back to the nice lady... She repeatedly told me that Kate was lucky to have us and how nice we are to give a home to a homeless child. She was super sweet, but these type of comments always makes me feel a little weird for several reasons. First, I feel incredibly thankful to China for allowing us to raise this amazing child. I feel like the lucky one here. Second, at some point she is going to start understanding these comments. Basically, I don't want my daughter to grow up feeling like a charity case. I don't believe that children should be taught to feel self-pity. She is loved because of who she is (my daughter), not because I feel sorry for her. Third, people act like I have made some kind of sacrifice, when I have wanted this my whole life. I didn't give up my dream. THIS is my dream! God has been gracious enough to bless me abundantly. I could say a lot more (I know you are shocked), but I will leave it at that.

Oh, and changing the subject completely....a random Will-funny. Today we were in the car, listening to K-Love and there was a story about a Santa getting attacked by a cat that was half bobcat. I know. Random. Anyway, Will heard it and said, "Well now they are just making stuff up!" I laughed so hard I didn't know if I could drive.

My name is Amy, and I am a Blog Addict

There. I confess. I love blogs, and I love blogging. I love to unload and vent. I love to write about my beautiful children. I love to attempt to get my thoughts down, even when I fail miserably and later can't figure out what I was trying to say in the first place. I love sharing pictures and videos and information so that I don't have to call all of my relatives to share because they can just read about it on the blog. And yes, I know that I am wordy. I like that too.

But perhaps I love reading blogs even more than writing them. I love the ones that update me on friends that live hundreds of miles away or across town. I love the ones that help me look at life from a different angle. But most of all I love adoptive family blogs. (No offense meant to those of you who aren't in this category. I love you too.) Every chance I get I am making my rounds on the blogs of people I have never even met to check in on their children and see how their lives have changed since they got home. I love to read about the little girl who had heart surgery days after her arrival in the U.S. And I love to read about Fin the Kindergartner. This little girl is adorable, and her mom is so funny. She always makes me laugh. Then there is Jeff. When he was in China to pick up his daughter he made me think about some really tough adoption issues. And I can't wait to see new pictures of Tara's son (he is soooo cute) and hear about her perspective. (OK, so I know Tara personally, but this makes it even better!) And ok, yes, I love to hear about their craziness because it somehow makes me feel a little more normal.

Another thing I love about adoption blogs is how God is using them to create community. These people provide me with encouragement and support. They make me cry and laugh. There is one lady who is in Uganda right now to bring home her 8th and 9th children. From her, I am learning to pray more for my kids and for orphans around the world. And then there is Sharla. Somehow, Sharla always says what I wish I could say, only she says it about 10x better. For example, I've been thinking about James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." It had been floating around in my head for a couple of days, and then she writes a post about it. And then in my post yesterday, I had been trying to put into words some of the preparation that goes into adoption. I had been trying to express how you shouldn't expect all sunshine and roses all of the time because sometimes adoption is tough. I was thinking all academically, but she points out that the most important thing is to ask God to prepare your heart for adoption, because there are certain things that only He can do. Wow - exactly!

The point is, God has blessed me with all of these folks who are a lot like a support group of sorts for me. I love how they challenge me to think outside the box and to go deeper in my relationship with God. So thank you to all of my cyber-friends out there. There are more of you than I could possibly count (like I said, I have an addiction), and I appreciate your openness and honesty. And I appreciate you making me feel less crazy too.

New words

Tonight I was playing on the computer when Kate insisted that she sit in my lap. I put the computer aside, and when she climbed up and got situated, she pulled the computer up on her lap. This girl loves electronics. She cracks me up. More than once she has fooled around with my computer or camera until I had to figure out how to fix what she did.

Anyway, tonight Tim grabbed the camera (after he wiped the drool off) and got some video of her playing and saying her extensive list of spoken words. She loves this game, which our favorite speech therapist (hi Jennifer!) says will make her a great learner when the time comes.

(Please ignore the laundry piled behind me waiting to be folded. I can't even remember how long it has been there... did I tell you that I am a lazy slob who is tired of housework?) (Also, "hau-la" sp? is Chinese for "that's enough". The sign we are doing is for "stop". She sometimes gives this sign to her brothers or other children and says a hearty "hau-ma!" when somebody is bugging her. It's very funny.)

I can't even imagine what my life would be like without her at this point. I love to watch her grow and learn new things. She is amazing.

One thing that we have been working with her on is how to play with toys. She just hasn't had a lot of experience with toys, and so Will has taken it on as part of his job. The other day I went in her room and Will was "reading" to her on her bed and showing her how to hold baby dolls. I told our early intervention people that evidently I don't need developmental intervention - I have Will! Ben has also been reading to her. Last night she brought me her doll and a book that Ben has been reading about the Christmas story. She did the sign for "baby doll", and wanted me to hold the baby and read the book to them. When I got to the picture of baby Jesus, I pointed it out to her and did the sign for baby. She then did the sign for Jesus! I can't get over how quickly she is picking things up. And what a wonderful sign to learn!

On Sunday we all went to Ben and Will's Christmas program at church. They "sang" two songs. I put that in quotation marks because they were much more interested in making eyes at Kate and waving to her from the stage. I'm not sure how much singing they actually did. As we were leaving to go to the program I told her that we were going to see the boys. We were going to go in the car and hear her brothers sing. While I was talking, she did the signs for boys, car, brothers, and sing. Smart as a tack, I tell you.

Anyway, I am blessed beyond measure. Do we still struggle with bedtime attachment issues? Yes. Are we making big time progress? Yes again. I can't believe how blessed we are with this child. As we work through our relationship, I am learning more about myself and my other two children. For those of you who are seriously considering adoption (I know you are out there), do your research and educate yourself on attachment issues. (Read Attaching in Adoption, or Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft - I will loan them to you:) One of the blogs I follow is by a former orphanage volunteer. She occassionally has parents write in, and she then shares these stories on her blog. They are often heartbreaking. The most recent parent's story is a tough read that talks about severe attachment issues, but her faith and persistence are amazing. So is God's healing power.

As an end note, I am actually getting excited about Christmas this year. I am usually quite Bah Humbug as I feel the holiday is too much about presents and logging miles on my odometer rather than love and peace. But this year, we are cutting down on our traveling, and we are scaling back the gifts, so I have high hopes of celebrating Christ's birth instead of my VISA card.

Progress? Let's hope so.

Ok, this picture doesn't have anything to do with my post, but I have been dying to use it, so there. She just crawled in the dryer the other day, and rather than doing what a good mommy does and pull her out, I ran and got the camera. She was so pleased with herself!Anyway...
As many of you know, Kate started out a Daddy's girl, but shortly after we got home she changed her mind and prefers Mommy. She usually does ok with him still, but at night she only wants me, and she gets frustrated if he wants to put her to bed. One night she screamed at him until she threw up. Twice.

Anyway, tonight he put her to bed and there was no crying! She whimpered a bit when she realized what was going on, but after they went upstairs she did fine. I am so thankful for this, and I am praying that this is a turn for the better. I love her snuggles at night, but it can be exhausting to do it every single night. It is quite the process. Plus, it is important for her relationship with her Daddy that she trust him enough to let him put her to bed.

Busy Week

I haven't blogged lately because I really haven't had many blog worthy moments. We have been super busy, without much time for thought, much less computer time. But I wanted to share a couple of pictures today, and give a shout out to my brother and sister-in-law. We missed you for Thanksgiving, and we think of you every day. Blessings to you as you continue to learn and seek God's will.

Anyway, back to my busy week. Last Wednesday we went to my grandparents house so that they could meet Kate NaNa for the first time. Naturally, she charmed their pants off, and her aunt Sally taught her a new word - Quack. It comes out a really loud MAH, but it's close enough we know what she is saying. She also learned to say "home" just perfectly.

That night we went to Tim's hometown and celebrated on Thursday with his family. The highlight of this trip is always seeing all of the neices and nephews playing together. There are seven of them now, and the tradition is that they all line up in order of age on the steps. This tradition dates back to Tim's childhood Christmases. In the photo, you can tell who the trouble makers are...
We then traveled to my hometown, where we celebrated with my Dad on Friday. By Saturday, my mom and I decided we had had enough turkey, so we went to Sonny's instead.

On Sunday, the kids and I decorated the Christmas tree...
And on Monday, we travelled back to my hometown for my Aunt Ruth's funeral. My Aunt Ruth was an amazing woman. She was godly, smart, and spunky. She spent most of her life serving the children of our church, teaching, and playing the piano. She is the one who explained salvation to me. She is the one who took me to the big stained glass window of Jesus with the children, and she told me that Jesus loved children so much! That left a huge impression on me, and I have always felt special to God because she took the time to show His love to me in real and personal ways. She will always be one of my heroes.

Today, we spent the day at the cleft clinic. The only interesting tidbit regarding that is that we hope to have the surgery to repair Kate's palate in about six weeks. Oh, and we feel very good about our surgeon.

So that is the update. Probably not interesting to most of you, but an update for the fam. Love to you all!

November is National Adoption Month

OK. It's my turn to get on the soapbox.

I don't remember when I first wanted to adopt. It is something that I have wanted since I was a little girl. It has always been in the back of my mind. When I was in high school I saw one of those nighttime news expose' shows about orphanages in Romania (Primetime or 20/20 or one of those). That was when I started thinking about international adoption. I don't remember if Tim and I talked about it before or after we married, but we both had a heart for orphan care, and after his trip to China in 97, he was in love with China.

Fast forward to November 2005. Will was 3 months old. I had just turned 29, and Tim was quickly approaching the same age. We knew we were going to be eligible for Chinese adoption soon, so we started praying about whether or not God wanted us to go down that road. Immediately God answered that prayer. Adoption was everywhere I turned - Newspaper ads, magazine stories, a TV episode that had an adoption plot line, and a billboard. My favorite "sign" from God was when we were getting off the interstate, and there was a handwritten, cardboard sign that said "Adoption" with an arrow below it. It was pointing in the direction that we were turning. Leave it God to literally give me a sign when I needed him to be clear.

Anyway, I know people adopt for many reasons, and I don't want to hash those out. What I want to say is that if you are a Christian, you are called to care for orphans (James 1:27). Psalm 68 says that God is the father to the fatherless, and that He sets the lonely in families. God cares about these children.

Now, this doesn't mean everyone is called to adopt. Some of you are called to sponsor orphans financially. Some of you might be called to go on a mission trip to an orphanage. Maybe you are called to be a Big Brother or a Big Sister to a child right here at home. Maybe you are called to start an adoption ministry in your church to encourage and financially support others who want to adopt.

But some of us are called to adopt and to foster. According to Steven Curtis Chapman, "If only 7% of the world's 2 billion Christians would care for a single orphan, we could end the orphan crisis." That statistic floors me. There are so many beautiful children out there in need of parents, and you might be the parents who need them right back. Just today, I have heard about 2 different lists of waiting children. A Helping Hand Adoption Agency has four beautiful Chinese boys on their waiting child list. And here is a link to information from another agency about four healthy teens who long for homes. If they are not adopted in the next few months they will be too old for adoption. I am more familiar with China's special needs program, but I encourage you to look into your state's foster program and/or other international adoption programs too. There are so many options.

If you are interested in orphan care, I encourage you to pray about what you should do. Check out http://www.shoahannahshope.org/ for more information about financially supporting orphans and families, adoption ministries, financial assistance, and just getting started with adoption. They blessed our family with an adoption grant, and we are so thankful for the work that they are doing around the world. Think about it. More importantly, if you are a Christian, pray about what you are supposed to be doing to care for orphans.

Ok, now I'm tired.

I had lunch with my cousin, Nan, yesterday. She told me that reading my blog made her tired. She cracks me up. I am usually tired, but not exhausted. And then today I had about 20 minutes which will wear you out.

First off, I was filling the dryer when Will hollered that there was a hole in his sock. I look in the play room and see Ben sitting next to him with scissors in hand. Guess who made the hole? Ben denies that he had anything to do with it. After further investigation I discover that in his mind "I didn't do it" means "I didn't mean to do it." He goes to time out, still saying, "I didn't do it."

I turn my back to go back to the dryer, and I hear Ben say, "Kate has your markers again." Oh, no. The Sharpies. I find her writing in bright green Sharpie all over my dark green couch. Yes, it shows up. I get a wash cloth and start to scrub. I scrubbed for a long time, making moderate progress. Meanwhile, I can smell Kate from a mile away. Big time stinky diaper. After lots of scrubbing, I decide that it is as good as it's going to get (Ben says he can't even see it...not sure if that makes me feel better or not. I can still see it. Either way, I am thankful for stain guard protection. Best $100 I ever spent.), and I need to change the diaper.

I take Kate upstairs and work on the diaper, which she hates. I hear Will holler again. This time he needs to go to the bathroom. I holler back that he should go. I get her cleaned up, go to check on him, and he has peed all over my newly mopped floor. So I clean that up, griping the whole time.

Now, here I sit playing on the computer, and the dryer still isn't loaded.

Oh, and just for you, Nan. Guess what? Kate spilled her milk all over the floor last night at dinner. So evidently it only took one month for my gracefulness to rub off on her. Now you have the answer to your question.

Praise Him

For the past month, I have been taking Kate to Sunday school. Mrs. Sandra is a wonderful teacher who incorporates sign into her songs and memory verses. I can't believe how well she fits right in with everything we are doing at home (Isn't God good?). For the music, she teaches the kids motions that are a combination of mostly sign language with some fun motions, and she has been teaching me some extra signs too.

One of the songs they have been singing each week is Praise Him, Praise Him. After a couple of weeks, I started doing it at bedtime, and Kate loves it! She does the motion for "all ye little children" whenever she wants to sing it. Tim caught her "singing" along with me on video today. (Please bear with my singing... my children are the only people who think I sing well.)

After Sunday School, I take her to the worship service with me. She usually dances around and tries to climb onto stage. Today Tim led us all as we sang I Am a Friend of God. As I was singing I realized that I knew the signs for I, friend, and God, so I started doing them as I sang. I am trying to get more in the habit of using sign in my daily life, so I thought this was good practice. I really didn't think Kate was watching me. Every time I looked at her she had her eye on a hymnal or the stage. But then she wanted to be picked up, and as I held her I noticed that she was signing "I" and "God" along with me (she really hasn't figured out "friend" yet).

I can't even begin to explain how overcome I was. I almost cried as I realized my little girl was learning to praise God. (Ok, I cried a little. Ok, I got really choked up.) And what a huge responsibility I have to teach that! I pray all of the time that she will know how much God loves her and that she will love Him too, just like I always do with the boys. But anytime I see that knowledge growing in them, I am so thankful to Him. Praise Him, Praise Him!

Sticking with you...& Attachment issues

(Disclaimer: I am an advocate of adoption, but I am also a realist. There are wonderful parts of adoption, and there are hard parts. Although I love and adore my daughter, there is no "and they live happily ever after". This is real life, people. And real life means that you have to work at the relationships that are important to you. That's just how it is. So the following is not a happily ever after part of adoption. It is a hard part of adoption. Read at your own risk.)

Ok, this little slide show is obviously someone's homemade job, but I liked that it had the lyrics to this song, "Sticking with You" by Addison Road. A couple of weeks ago I was driving with Kate in the car, and this song came on. I had heard it before on Air1, but suddenly the lyrics took on a whole new meaning for me and my relationship with my daughter.


Let me see if I can back up and explain the significance of all of this. I have to back WAY up. (This is where those of you who don't like my tangents should move on to your next blog.) I have always taught my kids to go to sleep by themselves when they were very young. Weeks old. For years I have preached to my friends about the importance of this, and how knowing how to put yourself to sleep is a life skill. So before you (my friends whom I have tortured) read this, let me just say that I still believe this. I am so glad that I taught both of my boys to go to sleep on their own. My life is so much easier because of it. BUT....

Adopting a two year old is a whole 'nother story. She had months in an orphanage where she put herself to sleep. And as for her time in foster care, I'm not sure of her exact sleeping situation, but I am pretty sure she didn't sleep in a bedroom by herself. She learned the whole sleep thing, but she hasn't learned that she can trust me and Tim. Right now, that is a top priority. So if I have to stay with her while she goes to sleep, then I will do it because she has to learn I will always be around.

Now, this sounds really pretty, but it's easier said than done. Some nights she wants her crib, some nights she wants the twin bed. Some nights she wants to be rocked and cuddled, some nights she doesn't want me to touch her.

In the adoption world, there is this big issue out there that most of you have probably never heard about. It's called attachment. Basically, adopted kids need to attach to their parents, and vice versa. This means trust, safety, continuity, affection, and a belief that this person isn't going anywhere. Sounds simple right? Umm, no. This is hard work, and the list of red flags we are told to look for is a mile long. Sleep can be a huge obstacle in all of this because sleep is one of the places where we are most vulnerable. So it is bound to be scary for a small child in the midst of strangers.

Anyway, on the hardest nights, she wants to lie alone and whimper. So I pick her up. She screams and fights and kicks. She cries, mourns. I could put her down and let her fight her demons by herself. That is what she wants after all, but I am her mommy. And it is the mommy's job to comfort the baby. Sometimes I even say that over and over as she fights me. I pull her close and tell her I love her. Sometimes I cry with her. I cry out to God to help her to understand, to bring her peace. I remind myself (and God) over and over that He is trustworthy and He loves her even more than I do.

Now, this scene doesn't happen often. And as we spend more time together, it happens less and less. She is learning to trust me to comfort her. She has been sleeping on the twin mattress, and I have been lying next to her until she sleeps. When she tries to push me away, she can't because I am too big. Then I kiss the hand that pushed me, and I tell her I love her. After several attempts, she gives it up and snuggles in. The other night she woke up crying in the middle of the night. When I reached out to her, she reached back. She wanted me to comfort her. She is learning to trust.

I have debated on whether to mention any of this at all, because it is personal. And it's really none of your business. But at the same time, I know there are other adoptive parents out there dealing with the same thing. Only, no one is talking about it. (Ok, almost no one. Thank you to those who are.) So, let me just say that you are not alone. This is one of the hardest things I have ever dealt with, but I know that there are parents out there dealing with attachment issues much more serious than ours. Know that you are not alone either. Attachment can be really hard, and it takes a lot of work. It's not something that happens over night.

As I have shared all of this with some of my dear friends, they have reminded me that all of this is so similar to our relationship with God. Don't we want to handle our problems alone? Don't we repeatedly push God away because it's scary to need Him? To need anybody? We want to be independent and do it ourselves, but the truth is, we need the comfort of our Father. We need to trust Him to provide for us and keep us safe. We need to trust that He is always going to be around and He will not leave us. But that is a hard lesson.

So back to the song... Kate, you can fight me, scream at me, whatever. I'm gonna be around. I'm sticking with you.

One month and counting (part 2)

Ben & Will - Holding the Letter of Acceptance from China (Aug 1)

Yesterday was the one month anniversary of meeting my daughter, but today is the one month anniversary of her adoption into our family. Like I said yesterday, it has been a complete roller coaster.

One question that I get frequently is this: How do the boys like having a sister? The answer is: They adore her. They really do. Now, we have our moments of "Oh no! She is drawing on my paper!" or "Hey, give that back, Kate!" or "She hit me again!" We also have moments of jealousy where one or both of the boys want to be babies again so they can be rocked and cuddled. I am a very cuddly mommy, so I am happy to comply on that one:)

But for the most part, they think she is awesome. To give you a little background on our story, we made the decision to adopt in November of 2004. That is 4 years ago. In other words, there has never been a time in Will's memory that we weren't talking about Baby Sister. She has always been there. And Ben has been a constant source of encouragement over the past four years. When I was sick and tired of waiting and didn't want to think about adoption anymore, Ben would crawl in bed and pray for his Baby Sister every night, like clockwork.

When we first met Xu Na (does is bug you that I like to use all of her names and switch them out a lot?), she did not want me around at all. This really worried Ben and Will. I can remember Ben giving me extra hugs because she would hug him and not me. And I can remember Will saying, "Mommy, doesn't she know that you are a good mommy?" Neither of them really understood why Kate initially didn't want me around, but they both instinctively knew what their roles as Big Brothers were. They would purposefully give me hugs and kisses when she was watching to teach her that I was safe. They would laugh at my silliness to teach her that I was fun. I dressed them and fed them so that she would know that I would provide for her. Of course, we do all of these things on a daily basis anyway. But the boys knew that she needed to see it. They knew that they were her teachers. When she finally came around, they told me that they were really happy that she finally liked me. And because they had been waiting for her to allow me to hug and dress and feed her, they were relieved. They didn't have the huge jealousy that I thought they would.

Now that we are home, they are teaching her how to play with toys and to color and to sign. They continue to be an example of love and kindness (well, most of the time).

I am sure that there is some big theological lesson or sermon illustration hidden in there somewhere, but my exhausted brain won't allow me to think about it too much. Plus, I don't need huge life lessons right now. I just need to remember how thankful I am for my beautiful boys, who are a blessing to me daily. God is good. All the time.

One month and counting...

The first time we met her - I gave her the cookie!

"Dude, make this woman stop touching me."

I met my daughter one month ago today. I thought that waiting for Kate was a roller coaster ride, but it's got nothing on actually being with her. In the last month she has hated my guts, tolerated me, ignored me, laughed at me, sought out my attention, pushed me away, loved me, taken my hand, taken my heart, kissed me, screamed at me, cried on my shoulder, asked me for comfort, asked me to go away when she needed comfort, and the list could go on and on. And through everything, I am constantly amazed at God's hand in all of this. He is the creator of families, and he is teaching me about what that means.

More on that another day. Right now I want to give an update on the past few days. We saw an International Adoption doctor on Wednesday where they drew a lot of blood, asked me to collect stool samples, and other fun and exciting things. We also saw an OT. Basically, everything looks good so far, with the exception of her speech and her ongoing ear infection. She is on her third round of antibiotics, and she has had it with the meds. Tomorrow she will be assessed by a early intervention specialist, who will help us to determine what types of therapies she is a candidate for.

I have had a lot of interesting questions and comments lately about Kate NaNa's cleft and speech (ok, some of them were interesting & some of them were just silly), so I thought I might fill in some blanks for those who are curious. A month ago, all we knew was that she had a repaired cleft lip and an unrepaired cleft palate. That is still true, but we do know a bit more now. For example, her cleft is complete, meaning that it goes from her gum line all the way back to the back of the soft palate. Food sometimes comes out of her nose, but she is pretty good at controlling that sort of thing. It seems to be a wide cleft, although I really have nothing to compare it to. As for her lip, I am not convinced that the muscles were connected when they did the repair, but it is possible that she has just never learned to use those muscles. I don't see any movement where that scar is. We will see the cleft team next month, and after that we will have a better picture of when the surgery will take place, and how many there will be (I am guessing multiple).

Because of all of this, she cannot suck out of a straw, bottle, or sippy cup. (She has no interest in the bottle or sippy, but she is dying to use a straw.) She cannot make most consonant sounds. She cannot speak in English (except for a few things) or in Chinese (except for a few things). However, she is extremely smart, and understands most of what I say. Around the house, we have developed this weird language that is a combination of English, Chinese, ASL, made-up signs, and pointing. She speaks to me through a combination of sounds and signs.

The ASL is saving my sanity. Literally. She can now sign bath, cold, cookie, hot, sleepy, milk, cracker, ice cream, apple, more, and candy. And she knows when I sign clean, dirty, drink, and play. And I am sure there are some I am forgetting. We are trying to get her to say our names with sign. We have even made up signs to represent Ben and Will. The only problem I have had is that all of the Signing Time videos are checked out or lost from the library, so I went last night and put in a request that they buy more. Libraries rock.

I would love to write more - about the boys and how amazing they are, about attachment issues and adoption, and about what she likes and dislikes. Not to mention just ranting about things I think are annoying about life. But I find that I stay exhausted. I come here for a creative outlet, but I don't have the energy for much. Two year olds are busy little people. Continue to pray for us. We are having a fantastic week, and I am so thankful for my family. I tear up just typing the word family. Ben told me today that he is so glad that we are finally all together. Man, he kills me. Have I mentioned that I love my kids???Staying up late with Daddy

Do you know sign language?

One of the most frustrating parts of my life right now is that I know that Kate NaNa has a million things to say, and no way to say them. She is so smart, and she is understanding more and more of what we say in English. She usually has to grab my hand and take me to whatever it is she wants. But let's face it, in a house with three kids, and housework out the whazoo, I can't always drop everything to try to figure out what it is that she wants. I feel like it turns into a guessing game where she eventually just picks one of the choices I give her, simply out frustration with me. I know it won't be like this forever, but until we can get her the surgery that she needs and speech therapy, communication is a huge issue.

So, this past week, we have introduced sign language into our home. It's something that I always thought was a great idea to use with kids, but I just never got around to doing it with the boys. According to the sales pitch, signing with young children can reduce temper tantrums, increase IQ, and increase vocabulary. And for our family, it is a necessary form of communication. Kate's cleft palate simply won't allow her to say many words. So now, I have a great motivation!

We are learning ASL from a series of videos called Signing Time. It is a PBS show geared towards kids, so it is simple enough for old people like me to learn. There is lots of music to hold the kids' attention, and the boys are picking it up like crazy! I can't believe how quickly they are learning simple signs. Kate is also learning how to communicate with us. So far, she has learned the signs for banana, milk, more, cookie, and hungry (do you notice a trend here?). We are so pleased that she can ask for what she wants (when she wants one of the above things:). The library has 5 episodes, and we have only watched 2. I think it won't be long before we have to ask them to purchase some more! For those of you interested in learning more, click on the link above or ask your local library if they have/will purchase the Signing Time videos.

Wei?

One night in Suzhou, China, I was sound asleep in bed. The phone rang, and in my half conscious state, I picked it up and said, "Wei?", which is how you answer the phone in Mandarin. Don't ask me why I did this. I have no clue. The lady on the other end started talking to me in Mandarin, until I said, "Wo bu dong" (I don't understand). I'm pretty sure it was someone in the front lobby of the hotel, because she answered, "Oh, so sorry" and hung up. The next morning I was laughing at myself for answering the phone in Chinese instead of English. Tim asked my why I did this. In his mind it was logical that if I answer the phone in Chinese that the other person would think that I knew Chinese, which is exactly what happened. But as I said, I was only half-conscious. Please don't expect reasonable behavior if you wake me in the middle of the night. It isn't going to happen.

BTW, for some reason, I have recently been answering the phone with ni hao (hello) here at home. I think I am secretly hoping that I will completely throw off a telemarketer or election campaigner. So don't be confused when you call. It is just me being completely ridiculous. When you spend your day with preschoolers, you have to get your laughs somewhere.

Amazing Weather

I started to post on another topic tonight (no, not the election), but I changed my mind. So instead I thought I would post pictures of the kids. I can never go wrong with that choice, right?

The weather has been around 70 here this week, and we can't get enough of it. Yesterday, the kids had a picnic in the backyard. Kate has worn the slide out (although she is not fond of the swings - it freaks her out), and Ben and Will have played pirates on their play set for 3 days now. Today, we even ventured out to the playground. So, enjoy the pics!

No, she isn't reaching for me. She wants the camera! (Although I do get that look occasionally...)

Is it just me, or does Ben look really tall here?

This one is specifically for Jacob and Alison. Will proudly wore it down the stairs this morning and said, "I didn't say I didn't like it. I said I didn't want to wear it THEN. Now I do." (Please ignore all of the junk in the background. My table and couch would never be covered in piles of mail and toys!)

Halloween

It is virtuously impossible to get three children to smile and look at the camera at the same time, isn't it? The boys picked out their costumes before we even left for China, and they were so excited to get to wear them! They wanted to dress their sister up as a princess, but I figured we would freak her out enough as it was. I like this puppy costume because it is warm, and the kids don't even notice they're wearing it if the hood isn't up. (We tried to put up the hood/puppy head and she wasn't having it.) It's also the same costume that Ben and Will wore when they were 1. All in all, she liked Halloween. She LOVES to carry bags around the house "collecting" things, so the pumpkin bucket was right up her alley. And then she discovered that people put chocolate in it! She gave her best bye-bye waves to our neighbors in thanks for their generosity.

Bumblebee and Optimus Prime - Ready for Action!

We are sort of getting settled in around here. We still don't have a routine, really, but at least we are sleeping through the night. She likes to sleep late, and her brothers get up early. If they are quiet, this works out fine, but if they get loud, then Mama gets a bit upset with them.
In this picture, she had slept until about 9, so she woke up a happy little girl. Don't you just love footy pajamas? We have tried to take it fairly slow this week, and Kate NaNa adjusts more and more everyday. The past few days, she has been trying to repeat after us when we talk. I have reverted to "teaching baby to talk" mode, repeating basic words over and over like I used to do with the boys. She loves the telephone, and so I often say "telephone, hello?" On Thursday she picked up the phone and said, "Hemmo?" When it rings, she almost runs me over trying to grab it out of my hands.

Also Thursday, when my friend, Melissa, went out of our front door, Kate waved and said, "Mye, mye!" H's and M's are really the only distinguishable consonants going on, but we are so happy that she is learning new words. She continues to respond when I speak in my limited Mandarin, but I know that won't last forever. We have already contacted our state's early intervention program, so hopefully we will have speech therapy going on soon. We still don't know when we will have her surgery. We see a doctor sometime next week, and there are several more forms that need to be filled out for the cleft team. It seems that the paperwork still isn't finished. Ick.

Last, a BIG congratulations to all of you who got your Letter of Acceptance from China this past week. I am so excited for you all! Blessings!

Yes, we've been busy.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us, encouraged us, and just been a blessing to us in so many ways. I can't even tell you how great it is to loved by my "family". (And by family, I mean all of you, in case you weren't paying attention.)

Anyway, I thought I would give the update on how we are doing. In a word, Exhausted. But not nearly as exhausted as we were yesterday. Jet lag has gotten us, especially the kids. They all three slept through the first night, but have woken up at least once every night since then. Sometimes, they are up multiple times. Tonight (as every night) I have high hopes that no one will get up until 6:30am (and then, only Ben).

Kate is especially having trouble sleeping, (Bless her heart, wouldn't you?) but she continues to improve each night. Last night she slept from 1:00am to 10:00am. Unfortunately Tim and I had to get up earlier than that, but it was good for her.

With so many things, we are two steps forward, one step back in our relationships with her, but I am so thankful for each step forward. God is being faithful as I cry out to Him, and He loves this little girl even more than I do, right? Today was actually a really good day. She didn't want me out of her sight - she took a nap in my arms, she went shopping in the carrier tied to my hip, and let me bathe her without too many tears. And to think two weeks ago she was giving me dirty looks just for talking.

On Friday, the boys and I slept in, while Tim took Kate to work to show off. He brought her back at lunch time, and she did great when he had to leave. She grinned and waved bye-bye. She would stop at the door occasionally to look for him, but was so entertained by the boys that she did fine. When he got home, she jumped into his arms for hugs. While he was gone, the boys and I taught her how to "go boom" down the stairs. My nieces, Bri and Danielle, taught Ben how to do this when he was Kate's age. It's basically going down on your bottom and saying boom every time you go down one. Two year olds think its hilarious.

As usual, we have had our share of adventures. On Saturday, my college roommates were having lunch at PF Chang's. It is kind of "our spot", so even though I had just returned from China 36 hours earlier, I gathered up the children and went to join them. We hadn't been there 3 minutes, when Kate asked to be picked up. I thought, oh this is good... until I felt a warm liquid flowing down my back. She had puked up all of the antibiotics Daddy had just given her. I have some of the greatest friends in the world. Tara started wiping us down, Stacie ran down to Penney's to get me a new shirt, and Shelley entertained the other four children who were present. How many friends would do that? Actually I am blessed to have many friends who would stand by my side through anything, but baby puke in PF Chang's? That's awesome. Seriously.

On Sunday, Tim's parents stopped by to visit. We had a little impromptu birthday celebration, since Kate had turned 2 during our travels. I had been craving chocolate cake, so this was really just an excuse for me to make one. (I am wondering about leftovers even now.) Kate did really well with Grammy and Boo-Pa. I am hoping that by introducing relatives slowly that she will be ready for the holidays.

She also did great at church, except she thought it was a little weird that all those people kept coming up to her and staring. (It really is ok, but that was her perspective on things.) Tim took her on stage when he read scripture and she clapped when everyone else clapped for her. She LOVED the music. She clapped and swayed, and she kept looking up at the ceiling while she did it. She pretty much stole everyone's attention. And their hearts.

Tonight, Daddy carved the pumpkin while the kids helped. Ok, actually, they ran around the yard screaming and telling Daddy the pumpkin smelled bad. But they did have input on the design. And more importantly, they had fun.

(Kate NaNa, wearing her hat that Chuck and Debbie made...where are C&D now anyway???)

We have some difficult moments, but she is basically a happy little girl with a whole lot of spunk. Whenever I take her picture, she wants to take pictures too. Here are the only decent ones she has taken out of over 100:

So that is the wrap up of re-entry into real life. We are taking it slow, but stop by sometime and visit. We are proud parents who like to show off!!

Coming Home! (aka, The longest day of my life)

I am happy to announce that WE ARE HOME!

Yesterday was definitely the longest day of my life, filled with laughter and tears, joy and frustration.

We got to the plane on time and boarded without problem. Except that Mom and I were coughing so much that the people around us probably wished that they had brought face masks, or better yet, gotten on a different flight. (Sorry Bette and Casey and families!!!) And then, Ben gagged on some rice and threw up half way to Tokyo. (Again, sorry to our travel mates!) But no worries, I had foreseen this possibility and packed a change of clothes in a Ziploc. Ok, clean clothes, clean Ben, on to Tokyo!

We didn't have much time to make our connection, so we rushed through everything, and barely had time to go potty (thank you to the nice lady who let me and Will jump line) before jumping on the next flight to Detroit.

The best part about the flight to Detroit was that Kate decided that Mommy is pretty fun. Mommy plays Ride a Little Horsey, Peek a Boo, Walk the Aisles of the Airplane, and Up, Down (where Mommy builds her muscles by lifting Kate and lowering her repeatedly). So after all of this play time, she was willing to cuddle with me for awhile!! She is coming around folks, I promise.

The worst part about the flight home was the food. On the way, the food was awesome. On the way home, the food was, well... weird. The kids meals had pizza for breakfast??? And the eggs were way salty. And served with broccoli. For breakfast.

At least we thought that was the worst part. Until we started looking around and realized that we couldn't find any of our traveling friends. No Bette and Mike, no Bob and Casey, no Greg and Jena. Uh-Oh. I even looked for their strollers when they were brought up. Nada. And I searched for them in immigration. Nope. I emailed them today, but haven't gotten an answer yet. I hope that they weren't stuck in Tokyo. Or maybe they just wanted to get away from me and Mom and our epizudic. (That's what Ma-Ma used to call a good hacking cough. She had lots of cool words for stuff.)

Anyway, speaking of immigration, it was AWFUL! We only had an hour and a half to make our connection. We waited in the first line forever before anything happened. Then, I spotted a faster moving line, so we moved. Then, an immigration lady moved us to the domestic line (even though we were told to stand in the international line). The guy ran our passports, and then sent us back to the international section, where all adopting families were put in the "Blue Line". I think it has something to do with immigrants who are joining other family members in the states. Anyway, we stood there for 20 minutes without moving up one step. At this point we had been in immigration for well over an hour, and there were about 7 or8 families in front of us. All trying to make connections.

Also at this point, immigration was completely empty except for the blue line. Finally, this one wonderful lady (God love her heart!) jumps out of her booth and says, "All adopting families, come over here for the express lane!" Woo Hoo!! There were only 2 families in front of us NOT adopting, so we ran over to this lady's lane. She then proceeds to collect our immigration documents, stamp all of our kids' passports, and get us out of there in about 3 minutes flat. And while she was doing it, she was fussing at the guy in the next booth for not helping out too! We were the last adopting family in line, so when I got up there, I said, "First of all, we LOVE you!" I then handed our stuff to her. She stamped it. And we moved on. TO THE NEXT LINE!

That's right. After waiting for over an hour and then collecting our luggage, we had to wait in another line. We stood there only a few minutes when Kate started screaming because Tim couldn't hold her and the luggage at the same time. A very nice airport guy came over and escorted us to the open lane, evidently reserved for unruly passengers - Thanks, Kate!!

When we got through that, there was another line. This one was for the purpose of telling you what line to take your luggage to for inspection. After inspection (which was where we handed in a form that had already been stamped that our bags were ok, nothing else), there was another line to tell you what line to stand in to re-check your luggage. Seriously?

So we re-check our luggage. Then, guess what? I know, you already guessed, ANOTHER LINE! Evidently going through metal detectors and body searches in Guangzhou AND Tokyo isn't enough for US immigration. We got to do it again! Oddly enough, this was the one place that the detectors didn't pick up on our fever meds and antibiotics for Kate. First of all, seriously? Second of all, Praise Jesus! Explaining what it was for would've taken precious minutes, and we needed to hightail it to terminal C!

So Tim picked up Kate, his pack, and the computer (Kate was the lightest among the three). Mom grabbed the stroller (with Will inside) and boarding passes. I grabbed my pack, all of the passports, Kate's shoes (she didn't need to wear them anyway), and Ben's hand. And we all RAN through the airport like crazy people. Poor Ben kept falling, and I stepped on his hand once. (Bless him, he said he forgave me because he knew it was an accident.) As we arrive at the gate, they were announcing that it was the final boarding call. We pushed through the people waiting to board another plane, and breathlessly handed them our passes.

Once we were seated, someone official-looking stepped on the plane to ask if I was on board. I thought this was a good sign because I knew that I had to be on board for them to put our luggage on too. The flight was fine, and Will and I cheered when we spotted our town's water tower and other familiar sites from the air. We cheered when we landed. Will said, "Mommy, you are going to see your dad soon!" Yay!

Our airport is tiny (I love it), so it didn't take but a minute to realize that only MY bag made it onto the plane. The rest of them were still in Detroit. But that was ok. I danced as I told the NW guy about our problem. He told me that I had a lot of energy for someone whose bags were missing. I was like, Dude, if only you knew how close I came to being stuck in Detroit too, you would understand. Plus, the bag that came home was the one with the clean laundry in it. So I didn't even have to feel guilty about not doing laundry right away (except for the guckies, that had to be done, people)!

Arlie took Mom home. Dad drove us home. And thankfully, we are here. Today has been a really good day, which I will share with you at another time. But right now, I am going to sleep. Night.

PS. Sorry this is such an incredibly long post, but I just had to vent. It's what I do. Kudos to all of you who made it all the way through! I hope I didn't drive everyone else away. (I didn't even have pictures for you!)

Day 12 - Guangzhou - October 22

Wednesday I felt some better, but not enough for me to say I felt great. Mom also started her antibiotic, deciding she probably has a sinus infection too. We both have a fever. This is so much fun!

Thankfully there wasn't much that needed to be done. Since it was our last full day in China, there was a little bit of shopping to be done, and the boys were wanting one last shot at the playground, so we did a little bit of both. Afterwards we went by a deli and got a few things for lunch in the room.

Shortly after, we met up with the rest of our group to head over to the Consulate. Basically, this is where we get the paperwork that allows us to take our children home. The Chinese adoption was complete, but the US has to grant a visa to get the child into the country. While we waited for the oath taking ceremony to begin, we sat around chatting and watching other adoptive families. I realized that this was one of those weird moments that is hard to put into words. Here we all were, on the other side of the world, isolated from the rest of our families, and adoption was the thing that brought us all there together. Being on Shamian Island is kind of this surreal place where reality is suspended. Everyone knows why you are there (and there aren't that many of you), and half of the people around you are a part of an adoptive family. Once again, I am having trouble expressing myself, but suffice it to say that it was so nice to just exist there as a family, after sticking out like a sore thumb in Jiangsu, and before coming home to real life.

The ceremony was brief, and then we had to fill out a survey that we think they were using to determine how many people have switched to the special needs program. We also had to show photocopies of all of our passports to prove who we were. And that was that. Kate got her visa and we went back to the hotel.

We had dinner as a group at a Cantonese restaurant a block from the hotel. The food was good, but this sinus thing has affected my appetite, so I didn't eat much.

It is also hard to describe my feelings about China. I have loved my time in all of the cities. It has been beautiful and strange and most importantly, the place I met my daughter. I love trying to speak the language and eat the food and find my way around a new place. I have loved meeting new people and seeing how wonderful they are. And I love daily maid service and the omelet stations in the hotels!

But I am sick, and it is hard to enjoy something when you are sick. And I really miss clean water. I can't believe how much that affects what I can eat and how I brush my teeth and all sorts of things. Thankfully bottled water is really cheap, but the boys and I miss tomatoes! And apples!

I wonder what Kate will think of America. I wonder if she thinks all we do is live in hotels and eat at restaurants. Only time will tell...

Day 11 - Guangzhou - October 21

Peek - a -Boo! (one of Kate's favorite games)

I'm sorry it has been awhile since I have posted, but on Tuesday (the 21st) I realized that I had a massive sinus infection. I have pretty much been in the bed during every free moment since then. And free moments have been few and far between, so posting here has not been a priority.

Tuesday was the day that our guide took all of our paperwork to the US Consulate. We stayed in the room for a while to make sure there weren't any problems with the paperwork, and then Mom and Tim took the kids to the playground for a bit. I joined them later for some lunch at Lucy's and shopping.

Today was the day we dressed our darlings up in traditional Chinese clothing for a photo op. They used to put all of the babies on the red couches together, but evidently this usually led to screaming babies, so now they just take a photo of the whole travel group in front of the water fall. We got some good candids of Kate in her clothes, but my other two children were less than cooperative.

Afterwards, we went to a pearl market and cheap DVD store. The pearl market was actualy more than a pearl market. Picture a mall about 6 stories tall, open in the center, ringed with store after store after store selling every kind of gem, pearl, or any other kind of jewelry you could imagine. I saw more jewelry than I have ever seen in my entire life.

Alison stopped and got us all pizza for dinner, but at that point my head was pounding so hard that I went straight to bed (after starting a round of anti-biotics, of course). I was hoping to enjoy Guangzhou more than this cold turned infection allowed! Yuck!

Day 10 - Guangzhou - October 20

Greetings from the White Swan! We were up early yesterday morning to catch our flight to Guangzhou, which was much nicer than the one to Nanjing. China Eastern seems to be a nice airline. The only problem we had was that Kate didn't have her own seat, and she couldn't get comfy on Daddy's lap. Her favorite part of the plane was when she spilled a whole cup of water on Daddy's lap. She thought that was hilarious!

Our guide met us at the airport and got us checked in to the White Swan along with Bob and Casey and their beautiful new daughter. Our first stop was lunch at Lucy's. Lucy's is an American restaurant, where we were happy to have a non-Chinese meal. I mean, we love Chinese food and all, but there is a breaking point with anything, right? It wasn't the best meal we have ever had, but it was good.

I should probably take a second to explain here, that we are staying in Guangzhou which is a huge, bustling city. But we are on Shamian Island, which is this peaceful little corner of the city. The architecture is colonial British, and the whole thing seems to be geared towards businessmen and American adopting families. The traffic is light, and since it is small we just walk everywhere. Patty and family arrived shortly later, and we took the kids for their visa photos and medical exam. This was a pretty simple thing. The doctors took her measurements, looked in her ears and mouth, looked at her body parts, and that was it. The only question they asked was if I had her on an antibiotic for her cough and fever. I answered yes, she gave me the thumbs up, and we were done. Kate, however, did not think it was simple. She screamed from the minute she saw a white coat until we left. That should make doctor appointments in the future fun.We had some free time after that, so Kate and Daddy took a nap while the rest of us took some laundry to the Home of Love laundry service and did some shopping around the island. When we left, Kate actually didn't want me to go without her! This made me very happy, but she was in desparate need of a nap, so she wasn't allowed a vote. I know, I am a bad, mean mommy.

By this time, Bette and Mike were here, so at five, we met with our guide to complete the American paperwork to bring Kate into the country, which was much more complicated than it should be. For example, they are picky about the order of month, day, year, and whether you use dashes or slashes. But they want different things in different places ON THE SAME FORM! Pick a system people!! The four of us parents filling out forms just about went through an entire bottle of white out.

Then we walked down to the end of the island to eat at La Dolce Vita, an Italian restaurant that was probably more Italian than American-Italian places. It wasn't amazing, but it was quite good. I had the gnocchi, and the boys and Kate had spaghetti (thanks, Emily, for sharing!). When we got back, we all crashed hard.

Today everyone has a cold except for Tim, and we are all on edge. Well, let me revise that. Will and I are on edge. Will just finished a temper tantrum, and I kicked everybody out of the room so I could have some peace and quiet. I love togetherness, but too much of a good thing can get to you. I am going to join them at the playground in a few minutes. Kate is still doing well. She is testing her limits, and Daddy is meeting the challenge beautifully.

I am hoping that today I can just relax and enjoy our last few days in China. I am already enjoying meeting all of the beautiful children.

I am also hoping I can leave my runny nose here too. Yuck.

Tim has the camera, but I will try to return later and post pictures. I know that is really why you all are here:)