Adoption Clinic

Today we took Alice to her 2nd appointment at the International Adoption Clinic. I cannot tell you how excellent she is at the doctor...no matter when we have gone or what they have done to her (whether digging in her ears or taking blood) she has not flinched or whimpered. This time we saw the Dr, the family therapist and the occupational therapist and the audiologist. We left feeling pretty good once again. She is transitioning beautifully, bonding and is developmentally on target for her age, if you can believe that. They said they rarely see that with children that have been in an orphanage. The occupational therapist seemed to be pretty much in awe of her. She could not believe the things she could do like buttoning buttons, threading beads and copying circles and crosses with a pencil on paper. As for the audiologist, she didn't do great with her hearing tests because her ears are full of fluid. She has tubes scheduled for Jan 14th. Her language should pick up even more then. She did say her first sentence this week. She had put a bow in her own hair and she said "Hey,hey, Hua Hua do it!" She was pretty proud.

We talked a lot about how her trauma personally is playing out and talking to them just makes so much sense. She had great caregivers which has given her the ability to attach as far as we can tell, but the loss of those caregivers is where she is having a hard time. Thank the Lord that we have the good resources to help us help her the best way we can. She is blossoming so much already and is truly a precious little girl...I am so glad she is ours.

Late Evening Post:)

Well, it is technically for me, Tuesday since I am still up. I am sitting down for one last cup of coffee before bed and Charles and I just finished a game of Wii Tetris. I am all fired up from the win and the night is young, so, why not blog one more time! I am on a blogging roll, and I am gonna go with it....we were just talking about Alice and the fact that we have had her 7 weeks as of this past Monday...crazy. She has been home with her family for 5 weeks! You would think she has been with the kids forever...trust me...she acts just like them. She has even picked up on some of our other kids wonderful habits...funny how God placed us all together because she seriously has a VERY similar personality to my other kids. She is VERY loud and has a VERY colorful personality....only the Lord could so superbly graft our family. A mild and meek child wouldn't last in this family for a millisecond. And, you would think we made her fiesty, but she was showing herself to be that way, long before we even came home from China and we were still treating her like she was so very fragile at that time--just proof that God knows what He is doing...as if we needed to prove it!!! Anyway, she continues to progress and she is amazing. Frustrating still at times, but she is absolutely amazing. She understands SO much, but still doesn't speak as much as she understands. We are using alot less hand motions and she can follow spoken directions a good portion of the time. It is becoming harder and harder to remember what life was like before Alice...she is definitely a treasure and we are getting there one day at a time. She is becoming more attached and at the same time, as she is trusting more, she is more willing to go and play on her own without me in her sights. When she wakes up in the morning and I am not there, she doesn't go crazy, but just walks downstairs and finds me. When she finds me, she smiles big! Can't believe she has been with us almost 2 months...in that short time, just thinking back to China-she has come SO far...she is like a totally different child....it is amazing how much I have learned about her in this short time and it makes me realize just how much we were strangers when we met just 7 weeks ago. We are heading to the International Adoption Clinic again tomorrow (Wednesday). So, we will see what they say about our progression...I am looking forward to hearing. I still need to post about Christmas...you HAVE to see all of the bedhead that was around here on Christmas morning-too precious!!! That is all for now...gotta get some sleep so we can make our appointment in the morning....night night!

Christmas Morning 2010

!!!!!!BEDHEAD ALERT!!!!!!!
Have you ever seen more bedhead in one location!! Well,it just wouldn't be Christmas morning without a little bedhead!

Max SERIOUSLY loving what Santa brought...

The boys were ecstatic to hear that we got them tickets to the Music City Bowl to watch Tennessee...

They could NOT believe it!!!

Alice with her new toboggan...

Sweet Lucy....

Me wearing the new earrings that Charlie made me:) (out of sweet gum balls--or as we call them, prickly balls! He definitely gets an A+ for creativity)

My favorite Christmas pictures are the ones that show their excitement....

A White Christmas:)

Well, Alice's first Christmas with us, could not have been a more memorable one, because it was so white!!! She has NEVER seen snow before so we bundled her right up and out we went. She just stood there with a grimace and then finally made her way over to Nana where she snuggled in while the rest of us played!!!! I am actually NOT a fan of cold weather but I couldn't pass it up...the boys just LOVED torturing me with snowballs...it was alot of fun until Lucy got nailed in the face-eyes open-by daddy with a snowball...then, the girls were officially done. The boys moved to the front to make a snowman. We had a wonderful day and a memorable Christmas!

I am SO behind!!!!!!!

I am so behind, but maybe i can do a quick couple of posts and catch up...Charles has been bugging me about posting and so, tonight, I will give it a shot....that last week before Christmas really threw me for a loop....I didn't realize just how much I had NOT done and when I did realize it, i spent that week working like crazy to get it all done....all in all, I think I got the majority done...still have a few Christmas cards to mail, but I figure the phrase "better late than never" might come in handy, so I can do those over the next few days. Miraculously made it to all the kids parties and programs, 6 kids doctors appointments, finished all of the shopping and all but the handful of cards, made Christmas cookies and icing, played in the snow, made snowcream, helped the kids decorate gingerbread houses, and had Charles birthday complete with presents and a homemade pie...honestly, that is more than I thought would get done. (Notice that although these things got done, there is no mention of what the house looks like right now:) I figure I would stick to the fun stuff...the housework will wait on me til school is back in, right?? Ok, now the picture recap of the past 11 days begins!!!!

Here is daddy on his birthday (Dec 26th) with all the kiddos...

Little Alice...

Daddy opening a sweet present that Lucy made...

the whole gang...Happy Birthday!!!

Lucy with her gingerbread house...sassy little thing...

Charlie with his gingerbread house....

Alice with her very first gingerbread house....Max wouldn't let me take a picture of him and I didn't press it....he is funny that way...

This is Alice letting someone know that is HER gingerbread house.(She pats her chest and says "Hua Hua's". This is her face when she means business about something being hers. The other day, we pulled into the driveway and when she saw our house, she patted her chest and said 'Hua Hua's'....that's right baby:)

Ok, I admit, she ate way more candy than she put on the house...and she loved it...look at those lips...

Daddy wanted to go to Logan's for his birthday dinner....we had fun and everyone behaved:)

Now this is talent...playing ds while drinking through the straw....

Alice got upset when we made our picture with Lucy, so we had to get one too:)

This was the 27th, finally made and iced our cookies!!!! Alice just jumped right in!!

Max's Kindergarten Program

Max did so good in his Kindergarten Christmas Program...I will say, he is quite the dancer...he had everybody talking! His sisters sure were proud:) (Charlie was too, but he was with his class)...I can't believe my Max is in kindergarten...Life is flying by!!!

Alice update & violin recital...

Between Christmas cards, parties, doctors appointments and life in general, I haven't had much time for posting lately....hoping things will begin to slow down soon....this week in particular, it has been wild. Alice had her first visit at the International Adoption Clinic on Monday...Lucy had a doctors visit Tuesday and both boys have appointments today for well visits...but, it needed to be done. Alice's appointment went really well. We were there for 3 1/2 hours and while there we saw the family therapist, she got an overall check, had an ultrasound of her belly, kidneys, bladder and then had 6 vials of blood taken. To say she did good is an understatement...she laid back with her hands behind her head for the ultrasound and didn't make a peep...then, for the bloodwork, she held her arm out for the needle and when they stuck it in her vein, she barely even flinched, then sat and looked at the tube taking the blood out of her vein until 6 vials were filled...it was strange...but it worked:) She did so good, that Lucy was begging for a shot...so funny....the therapist said that after being in a family for a while, she would begin to be more sensitive to pain. It is sad, but she is tough...she weighed 28 pounds and they said she looked great. She might need tubes, but we will get to that...Dr Chambers listened to her heart, but at this time, didn't hear anything:) We still need to get the ASD checked out by a cardiologist, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it was closed and a non-issue. As far as attachment, they said that they liked what they saw and it looked like she was attaching very well. Of course, it is a process, but I can tell we have made great strides and was encouraged to hear that the therapist had all good things to say. She did say that our biggest battle will be to remember that she has come from some trauma. She just seems so much like our other children that there may be times when that trauma comes out and not to dismiss or overlook it because she seems so 'fine'. She really fits into our family well and it is hard to believe how much her personality matches our other children. Another bit of proof that God is so sovereign and unbelievable. We say she is the Asian version of Lucy and we honestly couldnt be more thrilled...we love some lively personalities at our house!!! She can hold her own for sure! We go back in 2 weeks for the developmental part of things...I would say she is probably ahead to be honest...she can fold clothes like you cannot believe, she sweeps like an adult and can dress herself, feed herself and her dexterity is unbelievable...I can't wait to hear what they have to say.

She is picking up a few English words here and there...right now she is at the window saying "Hey, Phoebe" (that is our dog)...she says 'thank you' in context and knows us all by Mama, Daddy, Max, Lucy and Charlie....when she is hungry, she points to herself and slaps her tummy...pretty amusing. She is very free with her hugs and kisses and is quick to check on and console anyone that is crying. She sings the sweetest little songs in Chinese that you have ever heard. She giggles like crazy-VERY LOUDLY--with her little hand over her mouth. She loves to help..with dishes, laundry, really anything you are doing and she is good at it. She is very opinionated. She is a pretty amazing little girl....God is more than good...I see a bright future for her and for us as a family.



On another note, Charlie had his first violin recital Tuesday night..he did so good and I was one proud mama:) He loves taking violin and I love that he loves it!!

Depraved Indifference

This is everywhere but I had to post it...please just take a few minutes to watch...it is worth it...it is truth that we all need to hear... DOUBLE CLICK THE VIDEO so you can see the full screen....(dont forget to pause my playlist at the bottom first)

Thank you Jesus...help me be your hands and feet, whatever the cost and however hard it may be...

christmas programs...

We are home this morning from church because Lucy has been sick and running fever...she seems to feel a little better, but sounds AWFUL....anyway, thought I would do a quick 'catch up' post...Here are a few shots from the Christmas program the kids had at church...they are always so funny...

Here are Max and Lucy...Lucy is chewing on the bobby pin from her hair...Max is right behind her...

Charlie looking thrilled as ever...he said he was just nervous...he is growing up...I can still remember when he was 3 up there...next year Alice will be up there...should be interesting...

The whole gang...so glad they are mine:)

She is full of sass...trust me...

Sweet Lucy...

After the program (at her MMO)...we told Lucy and Jaret we wanted a picture...this is what they did...how funny and scary...looks like they are at a dance...no thanks...not ready for that...so funny!! You can't see it here but Lucy decorated her nice Christmas outfit with a green sharpie all over the front....perfect....good thing the green matched!!

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Christmas season:) Time is flying by....

InSaniTy

Yep. I am officially insane. And I have been acting like a big fat baby. Things are going great, but honestly I have been a big ol grouch. Not sure why. I just had to apologize to Charlie, Max and Lucy for being such a meanie lately. I was pretty sure it was true when they had tears in their eyes. (just to note..I did ask the Lord for forgiveness too!)

Adjusting has been weird...its like I have a newborn, except I don't...she is almost 3 and her personality is large and loud (so, she fits right in:) My body isn't jacked up like it is 'after baby' but there is alot the same--just a weird chaos--you know what I am talking about. I hate chaos and everything within me hates chaos. The thing is, it is going really good...there isn't one area that I can say is going bad. She is sleeping, I am sleeping, she is smart, very smart, loving and affectionate, she loves the kids, they love her, she is letting Charles pick her up, she eats....i think she is bonding well and she is hilarious. Although it is good, it is still chaos...transitional chaos. Just stuff being different. I know before long, this time will be a distant memory and I will struggle to bring it to mind, just like forgetting the trauma of childbirth-and we all know I know about some childbirth trauma...

anyway, i have good friends and they have been so kind...they have helped me with carpool and brought dinner and helped run my kids here and there and it has meant the world because i really don't deserve it...and my mom has helped me out a ton at home with the kids with the everyday stuff and distracting Alice so I can bathe:) I can't say thank you enough...so, for those yet to deal with such circumstances...I thought I would share the coping mechanism that has helped me the most from day to day: when I am feeling frustrated and on the 'verge', I just burst out into a round of 'Jesus take the wheel...take it from my hands...cause I can't do this on my own.....I'm letting go-o-o..." then, I die laughing, do a ridiculous crazy dance and feel much better. I'm serious. :) Hope this helps someone as much as it has helped me:) It has really saved me from myself...that, and a big dose of prayer!!!!