11/29/2008

Something to think about




If we all take this approach, maybe no one else will literally get mowed down in our rush to spend money.

11/27/2008

10 things

We have decided to each write 10 things we are thankful for this year and review it in years to come and possibly in tough times to come. We thought it would be fun to share them with you too and maybe you would like to share with us what you are grateful for this year!

Counting blessings is actually really more fun than opening boxes with colored paper!We had a lot of fun together trying to figure out how to limit things to 10!

Aubri
1.My home- because with out it we would not be safe from the weather.
2. My family- because I love them and they make me smile and they love me and take care of me.
3. Food- so that I don't starve
4. Education, because when I get older I will be able to get a good scholarship and a good job.
5. My dogs, because they help me learn responsibility and because they are cute and make me smile.
6. Books, because I like to read about other places and people.
7. Friends, because they make me happy when I see them.
8. Toys, because I laugh when I get to play and it is nice to laugh once in a while.
9. Singing is something I like to do and it makes me feel magical.
10. Art because it is one of my favorite things to do when I am bored.

Andy
1. I am a boy, because I am happy like I am.
2. Food because I can share with people who need to eat.
3. My Mom, because I love her and she loves me and she feeds me and give me neat clothes and reads to me.
4. My sisters, because I love them and they love me and play with me.
5. My dogs because I like to play with them.
BaoBao, because he likes to play with me.
6. My family, because I love them.
7. My grandpa, because I love him and he cooks good food for me and plays games with me.
8. My teachers, because them help me to learn.
9. My country, because you have to keep your country safe and clean.
10. My drawing, because I can draw nice.

Sera
1. Mommie- I am a mommie's girl
2. My sister- She play wtih me
3. My brother- He play lego with me
4. My Grandpa and Grandma- He feeds me food
5. Dora and Kai Lan- I like the TV
6. Dogs- They cute animals. They nice doggies.
7. Eating- I get hungry
8. Miss Jenn- She MY teacher
9. Friends- They play with me
10. My blocks- They fun to play with.

Mom
1.My faith in my Heavenly Father and his help in guiding me though many difficult times.
2. My dad- because he has been my rock for my entire life. He stood by me and has helped support me emotionally and far to often financially when things have been tough. He has given me my sense of values and I know that they are the most important things in this life, both for me and for those sweet little people I am blessed to be able to also share them with as they begin their lives.
3. My sweet Aubri because she has been such a good influence on my life. Her bright and cheery spirit and abilities to care for others, especially when I have also needed her help this year are absolutely priceless.
4. My wonderful and loving, busy little boy, Andy, because his unique way of seeing things in this world from a different perspective has really helped me broaden mine and learn to see the fun in many things I would have simply ignored.
5. My sweet, silly and sassy Sera, who makes me smile every day and be so gratefu for everything we have. She has a true gift of warming hearts and l love her so much.
6. My health, while it definitey has been better in the past, I am so thankful that I am able toget up each day, walk on my own, think clearly ( most of the time, when I am not too tired :-)) and hold a useful job.
I really am not kidding when I say that I am grateful for my messed up leg (s), even though it has annoyed me often and caused me more pain than I ever want to admit, it has also taught me humility and patience which come in very handy on a day to day basis.
7. My job, because while it is definitely not the high paying job I might have held if I had taken a different road many years ago, it is very meaningful to me and has very little risk of disappearing and leaving my family without income.
8. My friends, who keep me honest, keep me smiling, listen to my gripes and shove me in directions I need to go.
9. My home, while messy and not the show place I would like it to be right now, it is very comfortable and keeps my children safe, healthy and happy ( due to all the toys scattered everywhere!) I also love my Amish heater which keeps us so toasty warm at night!
10. My dogs, who have kept me company in the past when I was lonely and who now ease my nerves after a long day of noise and kids :-)


Thanksgiving day photos to come later!

Amazing change....

Last night as we hustled in and out of the grocery store to purchase a few last minute things, I realized something.

At this time last year, my little Sera never asked for anything, not a drink, not to eat or even to go to the bathroom. It was not just a communication issue either, since she did not ask our guide for any of these things either. She just sat and played with her empty bottle while she waited for life to pass by and was absolutely thrilled when anything was offered to her.

Last night, she was tired and hungry and was very clear about that as we waited in line. She wanted to eat and she wanted to do it SOON! When I would tell her that we were going to eat as soon as we got home, she would frown and put her little hands on her hips and tell me very loudly, "Dut Nonnie, dere is fwood here wite now!". Everyone around us could not help but smile.

While it would have been so much easier to have her simply wait quietly, I am so thankful for her to have been able to make this so important change in her way of interacting with the world! She now sees herself as IMPORTANT and deserving of having me meet her basic needs.

She truly has no idea how how much I love her, but she is learning!

11/09/2008

365 days ago....

Aubri and I had traveled to Beijing, spent a day in Changchun and Siping visiting foster homes, and spent the previous day and part of the night fogged in the Shenyang Airport, managed to run to catch a flight to Shanghai, raced across Shanghai by taxi, slept for 3 hours at the Pudong Airport hotel, rushed through huge crowds to catch a flight to Taiyuan, worried all the way to Taiyuan about what would happen next, met our guide and traveled to the Taiyuan Civil affairs office and then FINALLY we met a wet, tired, scared and angry little Sera!!! It truly was the biggest whirlwind of travel I could ever have imagined possible!! I signed the paperwork saying that I wanted to be her mother, no matter what the nanny said about advising me to wait and see if I liked her since she was sooo "difficult", what ever that meant. It made me angry and I had no intention of not bringing her home, no matter how much she hated me ( which she very definitely did!) . Aubri was overwhelmed with exhaustion and excitement to meet her new little sister, only to be whacked in the head with her water bottle, repeatedly... Thankfully our guide was able to convince Sera to leave with us!

What an emotion filled family we were that day!

Fast forward to today, we are a busy and very happy little family! Sera is full of smiles and cuddles from the moment she wakes up each day. She can be stubborn and get her feelings hurt and wear them on her shirt sleeve a bit, but very quickly lets it roll of and is back to being her happy little self! Even today, when she has a stomach virus and cannot keep a thing down! She is quiet for a while, and then once she has an empty stomach again, she is up and playing and wanting to be cuddled and loved. She is as smart as a whip and learns new concepts so quickly! She loves to sing and dance and is a total little charmer! She mimics everything and keeps her preschool teacher on her toes too! She is talking a mile a minute and makes sure that everyone around her falls in love with her instantly!

I cannot imagine life without her. I cannot imagine not having survived and successfully made that life altering trek to Taiyuan to bring her home. I cannot imagine never having been inside the police stations in Taiyuan and GZ chasing down a new visa and reporting our stolen passports. I cannot imagine having closed my heart to even considering bringing her home when I was first told of her file and asked if I thought she would be OK. All of these things could easily have never worked out the way they did.

I am so grateful for His hand in shaping our lives and cannot wait to see what the next chapter will be, no matter what worries about the future may shade the path as we travel it!! We are truly blessed and I am so happy to be able to look into her sweet little face, receive the best sloppy kiss ever and cuddle her while telling her our story to bring her home.

11/01/2008

We are finally part of the Wii generation!











Grandpa and I had promised Aubri and Andy a Wii for their birthdays last January and they have patiently waited almost 10 months for me to find it in a price range we could swallow. We had put aside the money for it, so that I couldn't use the excuse that I couldn't buy it when we found it, which is a good thing since money has been so very tight due to my being off work with this knee replacement. I had truly been searching all this time. Finally today we found it!!! And is was in my price range!!! Aubri was so excited that she was literally bright red and jumping up and down for almost 30 minutes, before she started breathing easier as she realized we really did have it and she was going to get to play it! She has played it at some of her friends homes and has truly been such a trooper waiting for me to find it for her. I am definitely not a fan of buying games or even systems new, kind of like new cars, and absolute despise the inflated prices for buying something everyone wants.... We truly lucked out today!



The used game shop in town also had 2 of the games she and Andy had wanted and now they have something to put on their lists for Santa! We are using the poem of " Something you want, something you need, something to play with and something to read" for their Santa gifts and 2 will fit a game category :-) Today they got Nights and Mario Galaxy, which are both able to be played as 2 player. Sera is very interested in it and maybe a Princess game will be on her Santa list.. She is loving wathing Aubri try to learn to play Nights right now. We will see :-) I know Aubri wants Cooking Mama, Animal Crosing, Harvest Moon and some game that you sing and dance with. If I have to buy them new, she is going to have to make a choice of one! Geez ,these Wii games are really pricey!! Andy doesn't know yet what he wants, but I have no fears that he will soon! I need to get him deciding so that I can put in a wish list at the used game shop. Good thing their birthdays are coming soon after Christmas and they can get a game then too.


I guess I will not be watching much TV in the future, but that really may be a very good thing! they won't be wanting to either!




Some photos of the crazy times around here

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I wish I had been able to get more photos of Trunk or Treats or out Trick or Treating last night. I at least got one of each child in their parade at school. We went to a small town about 20 miles from home and had and old time Halloween. The kids walked to the church and to trunk or treats and then rode around in the back of a truck to the different houses. The church had a really neat Enchated Forest and Sera fell in LOVE with the miniature horses. We also saw owls, close up! We went back to a good friend's house and had the best ribs and potato salad ! It was tiring and lots of walking for Mom and for little legs, but it was worth every step. They will have lots of memories, I hope and I know they had fun!