30 Days of Giveaways!

Check out my favorite blog for 30 Days of Giveaways!! There is gonna be a lot of great stuff!! Now go and check it out!! If you don't win, there is sure to be a lot of great gift ideas!! Good luck!!

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Six weeks

I cannot believe that Michael has been with me for 6 weeks and home with the entire family for 4 weeks!! I am sorry that I haven't posted many updates, I have just been busy with 4 kids under the age of 6!! I know, I asked for it, and I am glad that I did!! Michael is doing amazingly well. He seems to have attached well to me and is getting closer to his daddy every day. If given the choice, Michael still prefers me, but that is understandable considering I have been with him longer and I am home with him all day. Okay, some specifics...he still eats well. He will try anything that I make and I can't think of a single thing that he has rejected. He loves fruits and vegetables and really is a healthy eater. He is getting better with having his teeth brushed (dentist appt. is scheduled), but still doesn't like it (thus, the bad teeth). He loves baths and still likes to go swimming. He will play (aka steals toys) with his sisters. They really get along quite well - he even enjoys coloring with them. Oh, sometimes he has been known to put on one of his sisters' dresses, which stresses out Daddy!! I have been given permission to go shopping for boys' dress up clothes!! He still sleeps in our bedroom, but in his own bed. He does continue to have some night terrors occasionally, but is actually going to sleep without me in the room! If he wakes up and I am not there he will cry, but otherwise he is doing well. Every once in a while he will even crawl into bed with me to cuddle, which is totally sweet!!

We have spent most of our time bonding as a family so I haven't even started homeschooling yet. I am planning on starting "school" after Labor Day...or soon thereafter. Right now we are trying to get into some routines and get into somewhat of a schedule. I am able to take all 4 kids on errands - they are very well behaved and I have been able to keep track of them all. Stephanie, Liz and Danielle have started taking swimming lessons on Tuesday afternoons which they love, and Michael and I get some alone time (while watching the lessons). A friend of ours is a photographer and he took us out to a local park on Sunday and took our first family photos together - it was great!! I will post some pictures when I get them. Now, I must tell a funny story about our pictures...on Sat. night I trimmed all the girls' bangs and they looked good! After baths, Steve came out and asked how much hair I cut of Danielle. Well, it turned out that she crawled up onto the counter in my bathroom, grabbed my SHARP scissors and cut off her bangs!! All the way to the scalp!! UGH!! I about died!! After church on Sunday, I ran out and bought some hairbows to help to disguise the jagged edges. What a story that makes for our first family photo! Oh well, the pictures did turn out well!!

Since I have been home, Danielle had a birthday! On August 18 she turned 3!! We had a big party for her on the 15th with about 30 children!! It was crazy but fun. We used the pavillion at our church which has restrooms, a playground, and a sand volleyball pit (good for using sand toys). She was so encouraged. She still keeps talking about her party - I think that she is ready for another one!! She had a hard time deciding about her "theme". When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she kept changing her mind...Nemo, Mulan, Care Bear, Pony, Ariel, Monsters, Inc., Tinkerbell...she kept going back and forth! So, I decided just to make a sheet cake and add ALL of the characters that she wanted. She loved it and it was easy!! The only characters that I couldn't find were Monsters, Inc! Bummer! Oh well, the party was a success. I just can't believe that this sweet baby is now 3! She is having a hard week, though. I don't know if she is jumping into the troubled 3s with both feet, struggling with having a new sibling or if she is struggling because it is her birthday week (often times, adopted children struggle with loss around their birthday) or a combination of these. Anyway, I am trying to love up on her a lot and give her the love, security and attention that she needs. In fact, I am trying to do that with all of the kids - which is probably why my house is trashed!! I tell ya, I just can't keep up! The kids are doing well with cleaning up their toys most days, but it is constant! Not to mention the dishes and laundry! Unbelieveable!! THAT is why I can't blog very often!! I am busy, but I am truly loving the life, children and husband that God has given me!! Praise to Him!!

New Photos

Our Trip Home

Okay, now that we are home and getting into some sort of routine...oh, and now that jet lag is finished, I thought that I would post about our trip home. Friday night in Guangzhou, Jessica and Adam and Michael and I all went to La Dolce Vita for a wonderful Italian meal. Let's just say, it was great!! Nothing like authentic Italian food in China!! It was funny, they even were having a wedding reception at the restaurant. In the middle of our meal, a small wedding party came in...and guess what...they were Italian!! It was actually kind of weird. About 20 or so people came in (including the bride and groom), and all but 1 of them were not Chinese. In fact, a couple of the men looked like they were Mob - truly not trying to be stereotypical, I am telling the truth!!

So after our last dinner in China, I went back to our room to pack. Let's just say, I bought a little more than I was planning on. My suitcases started bulging and I was wondering if I needed to go and buy another suitcase before the shops closed!! But, I didn't. In the middle of the night I had a revelation as to how to re-organize my suitcases to try and keep them under weight. I know, I should have been sleeping, but stress won. I woke up at 5 am, showered and re-packed. According to my hotel room scale, the weight on both suitcases was going to be tight. I called the bellboy, woke up Michael and checked out of the White Swan. We ran into Adam and Jessica in the restaurant (we were the only 4 in there at 6 am), and grabbed our last breakfast buffet (sigh - they have been good). We left the hotel at about 6:30 am and drove to the airport. While I was waiting in line to check in, I prayed about my luggage - that they would not be over weight and that they would not bust apart in transit - both prayers were answered!! Each suitcase needed to be 23 kg or under...they were both 22+!! WHEW!! When we landed in Atlanta, they were both intact and nothing got broken - praise God!!

We had no trouble with any of our flights. Everything left on time and we even arrived early. We had a 4 hour layover in Tokyo, but it actually worked out fine. We had to take a bus from the terminal that we landed in to the main terminal. It wasn't hard, just kind of a pain. Keep in mind that I am carrying a heavy backpack, laptop, 2 year-old and stroller - alone. Ugh. And we have to go through security in Tokyo. Oh well, at least we don't have to take off our shoes. Well, we managed to get to the correct terminal and grabbed McDonalds. Luckily they take USD, but the change is in Yen. So, my bill was $10 and I received $10 in yen. What to do? Spend it!! We went into a gift shop and bought a water and some magnets (Steve collects a magnet at every place he has gone) for about 840 yen. I have no idea how much that equals, but I still had a little change left, so I was good.

Both flights were full, so we had someone else in our row with us - not ideal. On the way to Tokyo, I sat in the middle and Michael was in the window seat. This worked well, until he fell asleep so I did too. I think that I may have leaned against some poor Chinese man sitting next to me. So, on the flight from Tokyo to Atlanta, I put Michael in the middle. I thought that that would give me somewhere to lean and give the girl on the end a little more room. It worked great, until Michael fell asleep. He slept a good bit of this flight, but he was restless. He likes to roll over, and since his space was limited, he got frustrated and kicked his feet - right on the girl next to him. Sigh. I tried to minimize this, but I am sure that he nailed her a couple of times. I kept apologizing, and she was so sweet about it, but I bet she complained about us to her friends when she landed!! All in all, Michael did great. He complained briefly about his seat belt, but over all was resigned to wearing it. He ate great, and we went through a lot of stickers....there may even be some still stuck on his seat. We arrived in Atlanta 30 minutes early (YEA!), but ended up sitting on the tarmac for 45 minutes until a gate opened up for us to deplane. Sigh. We then had to go through immigration. Our first officer was great and I was glad to get done quickly...until he told me to take the paperwork into another office. Ugh. I get there and there are only 2 people in front of me and 3 officers working - good. Not good. When one officer finished his case, he decided to "go and check things out". The 2nd officer finished and decided to take a potty break. Meanwhile more and more people come in. It was killing me!! I know that people have to go potty, but I just wanted to get out of there!! They really were in no particular hurry. They finally looked over my paper work, stamped Michael's visa with his temporary"green card" and sent me on my way. I had to get my luggage and then get in line with my luggage cart and stroller (not an easy task). I went through customs without any trouble, and then had to "re-check" my bags so that I could pick them up at the main terminal. Okay, done. On my way out, we had to go through security again!! NO!!! This place is killing me!! Everytime we go through security, Michael has a tantrum. Apparently he doesn't like to be yanked out of his stroller in the chaos - who can blame him!! So, I take my laptop out (again), put my backpack through the scanner (again), take off our shoes (only in the US), fold down the stroller (again), pick up cranky 2 year old (again) and walk through another scanner. Oh, and have his water bottle tested. Little Man had been carrying his water bottle since Guangzhou and wasn't ready to part with it. The officer said that I would have to toss it. I guess that 29 hours of traveling was showing when I told him that he has to be kidding me. I told him that I just want to get home!! He had pity on me and told me that he would have to test it. Great - do it. We passed and he got to keep his bottle - another tantrum averted. We finally got on the train to go and see the rest of our family!

When we got off the elevator, I immediately saw Steve and the girls. They came running over and we were finally united - our family of 6. I cried when I held them all - it was SO good to see them!! Our friends Ellen and Frannie came out to welcome us home, too - that was so great!! They are next - hopefully they will be traveling in the next month to bring home Gracie. It is so good to be home!! Everyone is adjusting quite well. We are even sleeping at the right times! We were both tired on Sunday, but I have been fine since Monday morning - seriously, no jet lag!! Thank God!! Michael is smiling, laughing and trying to repeat English words. He has even begun to spontaneously hug and kiss me and Steve. He really seems to be happy here, and I can only hope that he continues to feel loved. He slept great his first night home (despite sleeping a lot on the plane) and we even made it to church together on Sunday morning. We may have been crazy, but I was craving fellowship with my church family. They were so vigiliant in their prayers (so were many others), that I just wanted to go and praise God with them!! It was awesome - singing and praising the Lord with my son in my arms - I had been envisioning this for months!! I am so grateful that God has completed our family.

WE ARE HOME!

Just wanted to let you know that we are indeed home!! After 30 hours of door to door travel, my family is finally united!! Michael is getting along well with his sisters and is already bonding to his daddy. I will post more about our trip later, now I need coffee!!! It sure is good to be home!! Thank God!