Mid-Autumn Moon

We spent the evening celebrating a traditional Chinese holiday-the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Atlanta's FCC (families with children from China) group held a picnic with great games and activities for the kids. We had a lot of fun!

Uncle Wayne

My uncle Wayne is finally losing his battle with cancer.  He fought a good fight, and lived out this past year doing some things he liked to do.  Cancer is one ugly way to leave this world.  My dad is watching his little brother die,  I can't imagine the pain that brings. 

Uncle Wayne is the "fun guy"!  You know the one who always has a great funny story to tell at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  He always put a smile on everyone's face when he was in the room.  Uncle Wayne is the big techno dude you call when you want to know something about the latest technology gadget on the market.  I can still remember going to his house for our family Christmas gatherings every year.  As kids we were all in AWE of Uncle Wayne's house because he had the Atari and Commadors and even the first one ever with a Nintendo box :)  He made my kid Christmas's very memorable and fun.  Funny how I don't recall much about Santa Claus as a kid, but I certainly remember visiting my Uncle Wayne's house!

As his life comes to an end, it has certainly made me think about the "imprint" I leave on others in this life. Wayne has left the legacy of being the fun guy, the happy guy to be around.  Anyone who remembers my Uncle Wayne, will be doing it with a smile.  He is just that kind of guy.

 

I hope that I get to see my uncle Wayne in heaven one day.  I bet he will still have a smile on his face!  The crazy thing is that I am not really sure if Wayne chose to accept Christ into his life or not.  We never talked about it.  Sad.  I know his mother taught him about Jesus, and I hope he listened.  I hope that he made that choice to accept a future in heaven.  I know heaven woud really love hearing some of his hilarious stories.  Prayers for you Uncle Wayne as you leave this world.

Pretty Princess

My baby is always, and I mean always, in some sort of dress-up outfit when she is at home. Most of the time it is a ballerina leotard, but tonight she was showing off her "pretty princess" with purple hair attire. She is so stinkin cute :)

Shriner's Visit

Last week Ian, Elise, an I took a road trip to South Carolina. Destination... Shriner's Hospital. We spent one night in the hotel, then next day we had our visit with their wonderful hand surgeon.

The decisions were made to just let Elise's little hand to stay just the way God made it. For Ian, we have scheduled a hand surgery for January. The doctor will separate his pinkie finger from his ring finger. A skin graft will need to be done from his hip in order to cover his newly separated fingers. He will also have his nubbins removed and basically clean up his hand for appearance sake. As much as Ian would like, the doctor cannot just add a few new big fingers to his hand. Pretty sure Ian understands the surgery now, he doesn't seem to be scared since we told him he would be asleep during the procedure.

China's Lost Girls

Although this movie is a bit outdated, it is still a remarkable documentary on Chinese adoptions!!

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/chinas_lost_girls

Hope you take the time to watch it.  Very enlightening about the entire process of adopting from China.  I still tear up watching it. 

Chinese School

For those of you in the Atlanta area (or even 45 minutes away like we are), I wanted to personally invite you to take advantage of this opportunity. The students at Emory volunteer every Sunday afternoon to work with our kids for FREE!!

At 3:30pm, they give one full hour of beginner Chinese mandarin classes geared for our little ones. Then at 4:30pm, the teachers turn into playmates and mentors teaching our kids a little bit more about Chinese culture, games, and even food on occasion.

Everyone has fun and my kids love it. One of the mentors, a young man, told me today that he really enjoys his time on Sunday afternoon with the kids. He said it really gives him a mental break from college and he gets to do something meaningful at the same time. I couldn't agree more :). This little school is a way for these young men and women to help change the lives of our once were orphans. James 1:27 is alive and well in the hearts of these students.

Let me know if you want details about where we meet. Any of our adopted kiddos and their siblings are welcome to attend. Hope to see you there.

Cutest Kitty

Some of my kids had a bit of artistic designs added today :)

Explanations...

China pollution causes over million birth defects annually.  This probably explains some the reasons my kiddos are who and where they are today...

http://youtu.be/9QijM72iwSs

Special Visit

Ian and Elise have a visit at Shriner's Hospital in Greenville, SC tomorrow. Now instead of fretting the 3 1/2 hour drive with a baby who doesn't like her car seat and a boy who gets car sick, I have actually been looking forward to the trip. No, not for the barf bag and tears, but a perfect chance to visit a special friend.

On our way today, we made a stop by Sharon's house. Although Sharon and I share texts and calls almost daily, it is rare for a face to face visit. We seem to fit together like peas and carrots, such a special person in my life. She and I have shared amazing journeys of adoptionS together. So every time we get to visit...well it is special :)






Oh and I finally got to squeeze up on WP. I get to count him as one of "mine", so that makes him absolutely perfect!

Sweet Treats

I caved and let the kids each get a "goodie" as we were leaving Six Flags yesterday. As you can see, they Were quite pleased :)

My two big boys will ride everything at the park. Shelby will ride anything that she is tall enough for, including the Mind Bender and Scream Machine! Ian rides why Shelby does, but only after some deep conversations about what the ride entails-lol.

Faith and Elise stick to the kiddie rides mostly. But Faith did branch out this weekend and ride a few new things for her including the swings and this swaying boat ride that she ride with just Ian. Elise has a love-hate thing for riding Thunder River with everyone. She is so funny and gets excited while we are in line, but then nervous when we get in the boat. She puts my hand over HER eyes-haha-yet peeks out every now and then. So funny!

My Fortune

Hmmm....  Never heard that one before ;)

Princess Party

Well as expected, Shelby had a fantabulous day at the Little Miss Priss Party Spa. She was very surprised that I was off early to meet her and her little best friend at the bus stop Tuesday afternoon.

Shelby loves lives LOVES all things girly, and boy did this place not disappoint. The girls picked their outfits, had their nails painted, then a pedicure, next their makeup, and finally afternoon tea. Happy Birthday memories were made girl style this year for sure :)

Seven

Growing up SO fast! My Shelby baby turned 7 years old today. I stand in amazement seeing what a sweet, funny, and confident little girl she has grown to be. What a blessing it is to get to be her mommy.

We are fortunate enough to have some of Shelby's baby pics from her foster family. Thinking about Ning Fu Hong's first and second moms today. I wish they could see how beautiful and amazing she is today.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

Smaller Adoption Agency

If you want to get all fired up about "big agency" nightmares, then go read this blog about their latest issues with Great Wall.  Start with that post, and then it goes from bad to worse now that they are home.  This is why I don't ever recommend choosing a big adoption agency.  You seem to become just a number, and not a person anymore. 

 
When you choose a smaller agency, you get ONE person to work with directly.  This person "knows you", they get to know the way you like things done, they get to understand your heart, your family is not just a number anymore.  Once you work with one person throughout your paperwork process, you become a real live human with feelings to that person-not just a paycheck.

I will continue to recommend people choose BAAS or CAWLI for China SN adoptions.  Both Xioqing and Lillian know their stuff.  They both speak Chinese so this cuts out the middle person between your agency and the China.  You want someone who knows the entire program inside and out, and who will be your direct advocate in case of something like this family has endured.  You don't want to be just another number.  Oh and they just happen to be 2 of the least expensive agencies out there.  Low cost, personal service, direct contact with China, really hard to beat!

The Injury

Last week Ian got to experience his first trip to the urgent care doctor. We were about to leave for his tutoring, then they came running in saying Ian hurt his hand.

At first look I thought maybe it was just sore and he didn't want to move it. After full exam, his thumb really was "stuck" in this bent position. It literally would not move at all. So off to the dr we went.

After X-rays it was determined to be dislocated and not broken, thank goodness! The doctor said he was going to give two shots to numb it up and then he was going to try to "reset" it-ouch.

Once on the table and wrestling with Ian to get the first shot in the thumb....POP. We all heard it and sure enough, it popped back in place, no shots necessary-haha. It was still sore, but we left with just a splint. No cast-yeah :)

Memories Were Made

We survived a whole 10 hours at the park this weekend. Well the little girls made it about 9.5 hours-haha.
It was a lot of fun, and a lot of work for me too ;). Hopefully fun memories were made for all the kids. Everyone had a great day!

Fishing Family

The kids all enjoy hanging by the ponds. The boys do alot of fishing and the girls do alot of feeding ;)

Six Fl@gs Day

Yes, I am this crazy. 6 kids + 90 degrees+ 100 humidity

Yes She Did

Elise climbed up the whole rock wall by herself today. I stand in amazement watching my wonders growing up so fast :)

Summer Swinging

Sumer break may be over, but the fun of summer certainly isn't. Enjoying the day at the park with the littles!