10/31/2008 Happy Halloween!

Here is a page from a slide show at my office - where the kiddos can come and trick-or-treat safely. They only got candy from two floors and their bag and bucket was FULL!


Have an awesome and spooky weekend - just do not spook my daughter!

Blessings!

10/28/2008 More about Autumn Moon Festival

Back to the Autumn Moon Festival celebrated by and with Families with Children from China AND some families who have adopted from Korea. One of the activities we do with our children is to have them write a note to their birth family and tie the note to helium RED balloon and together we let the balloons go into the air. This is a time to show honor and respect to birth families and/or birth countries, etc. It really is moving to see all the red balloons in the air. Lacie’s note to her birth mom: “Thank you for giving me life. Thank you for giving me to my other mommy. Love Lacie” As the “other mommy” I have to say I am very proud of her.

The red dots in the photo are balloons.

Then we were part of a lantern parade – each child carrying their own lighted lantern. Ours were a bit heavy this year:

And Paul choosing to hold Euitag’s hand while parading.

One more Lacie story:

I asked her to make her bed yesterday a.m. (specifically to throw the blanket up over the pillow). She said, “I tan’t. I’m not strong enough. Daddy is strong. AND Jesus is strong.”

This is a huge promotion than her comparison earlier in the year when she said that Daddy was “almost as strong as Jordan” – her preschool friend.

Love to all

10/24/08 Partial update . . .

I am so behind on my blog updates. I will try and give the short abridged version of the last few weeks.

At the end of September/early October, we celebrated the Chinese Autumn Moon (Lantern) Festival at a nearby farm. We were able to pick pumpkins from a real pumpkin patch and almost four weeks later, finally carved (or painted by Lacie) the pumpkins this evening. Euitag had never had his hands in a pumpkin before, let alone carved one. It was fun. Photos of the carving to come later as well as more from our Autumn moon festival. But here is a sampling:

Before we went, we had to prepare by making lighted lanterns for the lantern parade:

More of our month:

Euitag got his first mid term grades – he did awesome. He has great grades and we are very proud. He got an A+ in calculus and got A’s in US history and English. I think he got one “B”. He did not feel he was challenged enough so he dropped P.E. and took up Chemistry. I can only hope that at least one of my kids will study as hard as Euitag. Lacie is like me and John though – she talks “to much.” While she is very very smart, I do not know if her social life will take precedence over studies. We will see. I am still trying to figure out Paul – but I do know he is a quick study as we only have to show him something once and he remembers.

Paul is still only saying “Mama.” But his sign language is increasing all the time. That is if I know the word to tell him. He loves to wear shoes and can put them on and take them off. He can also put on his socks (sometimes with help.) Paul is also making attempts at dressing himself – and sometimes he is successful – but often times his pants end up on his head and his t-shirts around his waist. But at least he wants to do it. Since he wants to do most of what Lacie does, it does not surprise me that he wants to dress himself. Paul is a comforter – i.e. one day when Lacie was having a bad day and she was crying, he went over to her and embraced her and began to pat her back. It was just so sweet. I do have sweet kiddos. He is just overall a sweet sweet boy. He does have a wild side to him and I have scars to show for it – but I will brag about my scars someday – Tee Hee.

Lacie understands that she is from China. She has understood this for a while. It became more concrete as we prepared to get Paul from Korea. She was able to understand how we left to go to China to get her like we are going to Korea to get Paul. She knows that both countries are near each other and both are in Asia. However, there is no doubt in her mind that she is “from China and Paul and Euitag are from Kre-a.” The other day John and Euitag were putting Seaweed flakes in their rice. Lacie asked what that was and I told her it was seaweed. I told her that Korean’s eat seaweed in their rice and it is very good. I then asked he if she wanted some in her rice. She responded with, “But mommy, I am not Korean, I am Chinese.” Euitag laughed and I did too. It was priceless and I am proud that she really seems to have it. Ok Lacie that is a good reason not to eat seaweed in your rice. Tee Hee.

Lacie asks often if she can “keep” me, or John or Paul. We talk very often about how we are a forever family and that she will always be our baby girl – no matter what. Even during the weekend of her birthday we prayed for her birth mom, and we talk ALL the time about us going to China to get Lacie. So, last week, Lacie asked again, are you going to be my mommy forever? I said, “yes, forever.” She then said, “But what happens when another mommy comes along?” Hmmmm – “well, then that mommy is going to have to go find her own little girl because Lacie is my little girl and daddy’s little girl – forever, even when she is a big girl like mommy.” I wonder if this is just a question that adopted children have or if other kids wonder about how life fits together.

Well, and just two days ago, while at my office trick-or-treating Lacie met a co-worker who is pregnant. We talked about the baby in my co-workers belly. A little while later Lacie said to me, “well, I grew in your belly mommy.” Oh dear – while I feel like I carried her, I did not. So, I said, “no, you grew in your birth-mommy’s belly and then mommy and daddy came to China to get you.” I still need to remind her too that she grew in my heart, which is a very special place to grow.

I knew that questions and comments would eventually come – and so far so good – but what happens when she asked me something I just can’t answer? Ugh!

Ok – I am not really very caught up but this is a start . . . More blogging to go.

Vonda

10/23/2008 Where have we been?

So, where have we been? I promise I have been blogging - but on another blog. We have friends who just arrived home today from China with their beautiful little BOY! Who would have thought that I, Vonda would get all excited about a BOY! I NEVER really wanted a boy. My siblings gave me plenty of nephews - all who are special to me and I love so much. BUT, I would have been personally happy with a house full of girls. But God had other plans and gave me a husband who wanted a BOY! So, I obliged after we brought Lacie home from China - some day we will ask to adopt a boy. WELLLLL - who would have thought that I would now say that I would take on a house full of BOYS?!?. Before Paul, I would not have wanted to have a male exchange student. And we have Euitag and we love him. He is a joy.

Anyway - this really is not about me - it is about WHY I have not blogged - a beautiful BOY came home today from China with his mommy and daddy. AND I had the privilege these last two weeks to help keep their blog updated. I got to upload pictures for them, copy an email and photos to their blog and OH it has been fun. Anyway, now Lacie has her best friend Noah and Bette and Mike have brought Mikah home to be a best friend to Paul.



I have a lot of updating to do and a lot of photos to share - and hope to do the updating this weekend. Stay tuned for multiple posts back to back -

Love to all - Vonda

10/13/2008 Big Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Lacie's birthday this weekend. She celebrated all weekend long. She is now 4 years old and she is so excited that she is such a big girl. Tonight she wanted to say prayers before dinner and she was very sincere: "Dear Jesus, we thank you for your love and blessings. Thank you that we can eat and go poopy." Oh yes she did. Somewhere in there she thanked God for protecting us and keeping us safe. Then John finished off praying for Lacie and the most wonderful blessing that she is in our lives.

Saturday we celebrated with friends and family at the gymnastics gym - it was a gymnastics party. It was so much fun. We had an awesome friend and photographer take pictures for us so John and I could just enjoy the party. I will post pics in the near future. Lacie's friends and cousins were very generous with their time and gifts. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Saturday evening we went to eat Chinese and Lacie was celebrated again. The restaurant gave her a cake with a candle, some chop sticks in a plastic holder, and sang to her.

Sunday we celebrated with my sister. Lacie and Robin have birthdays only one day apart. For the last six months or so Lacie has been convinced that she will have her birthday party and then have Aunt Robie's birthday cake the next day. So Aunt Robin came to visit all the way from Chicago-land to celebrate with Lacie. Lacie loves her so much.


We celebrated again tonight with just our immediate family. We ordered pizza and had another cupcake with a candle. So, Lacie has been well celebrated. She is very proud of being four years old!

Tonight when we prayed before bed we prayed again for Lacie's birth mom. And we talked some about how four years ago a special woman gave birth to a very beautiful baby. And that woman, Lacie's birth mom, loved her enough to choose life for her. AND she made a hard decision to let her baby go. Daddy and I have been so blessed to be able to be Lacie's mommy and daddy and will always be her forever family. We talked about how Lacie's birthmom is probably funny like Lacie and she is probably very smart like Lacie. Lacie just smiled. She has not ever asked questions, but maybe because we just talk about it at random and we make it open all the time. She also knows how much we respect her birthmom and admire her for making a very tough decision.

Anyway - I thought it would be a very short entry -but I an just so sentimental right now - and the blessings we feel of having our two beautiful babies - it is indescribable.

Blessings!

Vonda

A privilege AND pitiful

Lacie is full of compliments. AND she really is full of love when she gives them. Like the previous story I shared about her telling me I was "so lovely." She tells Euitag and daddy that they are "so strong" and daddy is handsome, and the list goes on. Well, yesterday she looked at me and very sincerely said, "mommy, you are so pitiful." And very quickly she said, "And that is a dood word." I believe she is saying pretty and beautiful in one good word - pitiful. I had to take it as a compliment - but honestly was a little surprised at first.
Here are a few zoo princess pictures I have mentioned -

So - I had the privilege this evening to go to my friend's house (Bette and Mike) to help them pack to go to China. They are going to get their little BOY on Lacie's birthday. I am so excited for them and my heart is taking leaps as I think about the joy they will experience. This is truly a trip of a lifetime - and I do not really mean a vacation type trip - although that is a total bonus to see another part of the world. Oh - to be able to go to China again and to be able to add to our family again would be just a wonderful blessing in my mind. Adoption is such a miraculous experience. It is so hard to explain. And I do not want to dismiss the miracle of birth of a biological child - but I thank God every day that John and I never conceived. For our lack of fertility is unexplained and we were both "perfect" in every way to have a biological child. I just think that God wanted us to have Lacie and Paul - our love for our beautiful children could not be any stronger if we had conceived them. Adoption is definitely God ordained as He really has commanded us to care for widows and orphans. I read an article lately that showed a statistic that if only a few percent of the worlds Christians would adopt one orphan than there would no longer be any orphans. I will have to find that article. If ANYONE reading this blog has even a remote inkling that they may want to adopt to add to their family, please please talk to me. AND as we approach Lacie's birthday this month I continue to thank God for her birthmom for making such a selfless act. If only we could meet her and share our gratitude for her gift to us.

So - can you tell that I am now very sentimental as our friends are getting to board a plane in such a few hours? Oh the privilege to share this with them!

Blessings!

10/06/2008 Gentle Giant

Ahhh - I forgot that we filmed the largest animal in the house being fed by the smallest person in the house - here are a few clips of Paul feeding Misty. She really is a gentle dog. The kids love her.

Blessings!

09/30/2008 Six months!

We are so blessed to have our boy home now for six months. Paul was placed in our arms on March 31^st. He has grown so much in the past six months. Right after we got him home he was measured at 19.9 lbs, and 29 inches tall. At his 18-month appt, he weighed 23.2 lbs and is 32.12 inches tall. So, he has gained about 3 pounds and 3 inches in six months. He still has a contagious laugh. He still loves to nurture babies and cook in his kitchen. He is beginning to like books (yea!). He loves balls to throw and kick. His main communication is his sign language. He has a temper and does not hesitate to express it when he does not get his way. Be careful – because he loves to hit and kick. Paul is a big helper. He loves to help do laundry and sweep the floor. He is a joy. I can’t imagine life without him now and our lives have been deeply blessed from day one. God is so good! On forever family day:

Six months later: