Beyond Blessed

Is it really 2012?!

2012-01-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Logan-

Michael-

Hudson-

Kira-

Livy-

Little man-

Mia and Sophia-

Wow!
I say this every year, but I really mean it..... where did it go?
I think " it" went by me somewhere on I4 as we drove to many, many medical appointments this year.
But all is good. the kids are doing really well. All are settled into a good routine and thriving.
Kira received her prosthetic leg right after Christmas, and is now doing PT twice a week to strengthen her muscles, and correct old habits from how she used to walk.
I would love to say that this was a wonderful experience, and that she met it with arms wide open. But that would be a total lie. This was one of the hardest things I have done as a parent.
But doing the right thing is not always the easy thing. There were many tears and many moments of poor attitudes..on both of our parts.
I think she is finally seeing that we did what had to be done out of love, and wanting what was best for her.
She is so smart and very out going. It will be awesome to see where God takes her this year.

Our other newest kiddo, Hudson, is doing great. He came home in rough shape too. Pretty malnourished and with extremely high blood iron levels. He had the beginnings of organ damage, but through the great medical care he has been given..his iron levels are coming down. He has grown 4 inches and gained almost 10 pounds since last May.
He is extremely social and very affectionate. He was ready for his family.

Our "old" kids are doing really well too. Michael was accepted the The University of Central Florida and is excited to see where this new chapter takes him.

Livy is still our soccer girl and is fine tuning her photography skills. Thankfully she has a few years left in high school, it will take me a bit to get used to having a kiddo in college.

Logan is a hoot, he is just a total joy. Full of life, ready for any challenge and just a sweet kid.

Mia headed off to kindergarten this year. I can't believe it, she was just a baby a few months ago. She is still tiny and pretty shy..but so sweet, smart and working hard at trying new things.

Sophia is probably one of the most laid back kids on the planet. She goes with the flow, loves to tag along after her big brothers and sisters and still loves to snuggle.

We are still paper chasing for our last China kiddo. Things never go as planned, but we are hoping to have our dossier in China next week, and hoping to travel before summer.

We are still trying to decide on a name, so he is little man for now. He turned 3 in September, and we are so thankful to know that this was his last Christmas without a family.

We are really excited to bring little man home, and so blessed to be able to watch our children grow. Physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Excited to see what this year will bring.

Fall festivites

2011-11-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Fake fall fire going

Halloween cuties

Sophia's pre-k class party

Mia's K character day party

Prefect weather for a play doh party

Post op update

2011-10-12T21:17:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been 2 weeks and 3 days since Kira had her surgery.

She had her right ankle and foot amputated. The doctor was able to go a lot lower down her leg then originally thought, so this is great news for her. We also learned that she will have a much easier time with her prosthetic leg, given her knee and hip joint have full range of motion.

There were a few very tough days after surgery. She felt terrible from the pain meds, and was depressed about loosing her foot.

I was getting worried about her on the second evening. Thankfully we were given the ok to go home on the 3rd day. Bart came with the liile kids to bring us home.

Once home and back in the chaos, she perked up. And once she was done with the meds, she did a 180.

She has mastered her walker, and is actually back at school!

She had her first post op check today, and everything looks great. We will go back in 2 weeks to have one more pressure dressing applied and hopefully start the fitting process for her new lower leg!

Claire

Just a few weeks away!

2011-09-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

In just a few weeks Kira will have surgery on her leg. And understandably so, she is really scared.

The doctor is going to amputate above her ankle area, then once that is healed, she will be fitted for her new leg and foot.

We are nervous for her, but much more then nervous...we are so excited.

We can not wait to see her walking straight and tall. She has suffered many ways for a birth defect that she had nothing to do with.

People can be cruel. But God is not. He is love.

He brought her home where she is loved no matter what the defect.

So, soon she will be running with the rest of the kids, and we can't wait to see where she ends up.

Claire

Just one more.....

2011-09-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sweet little man..my baby boy!

Well, it seems that we are not completely "done" yet.

With the new special focus program China has going, and the new re-use your dossier program...we had some thinking and praying to do.

Do we take this opportunity to bring home one more child, or do we not.

So, after a few months of prayer and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with the 2 new ones...we have decided to throw all caution and sanity to the wind..and bring home our new son!

Please meet Levi Andrew Taylor. He will be 3 at the end of Sept. Such a sweet, sweet face.

We are cranking on some home study update paper work and hope to travel by the winter.

I can not wait to have another little boy! And a cleft lip one to boot!

God is so good. I am spoiled rotten.

First day of school

2011-08-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

The only one home to rot in front of the TV

Summer creations by Logan and Hudson

Ready for School!

All day creation

BFF"S at the beach

Kira loving the surf!

Hudson and his new love. He is a total beach bum!

The kids went back to school this week.

1/2 of me misses them very much, and 1/2 of me is really ok with some time to get things done @ the house.

Guess I want my cake and to be able to eat it too.

Sweet ride!

2011-07-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

It has a built in fire extinguisher!

The view from the back row.

The view from the driver's seat.

Sweet and sexy!

With room for a few more (:

Great start to July!

2011-07-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

A much needed beach week-end.

Michael's first car!

Michael turned 18!

Can not believe that my first born is now 18. Crazy how fast time has gone! Could not be more proud of the wonderful young man he is becoming.

Thankfully I have another year until the dreaded C word...college.

Claire

A very good month

2011-06-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Sir Jackson

A nerf warrior

Jacob, Connor and Hudson chillin'

Charlene and I with the girls

Sweet princess..Sophia, Grace, Shoa, Mia and Kira

Kira's 1/2 birthday. We couldn't wait until Jan!

Sweet Logan's 8th Birthday!

Our sweet ride! With room to grow (:

It has been a month of firsts for us. Hudson's first birthday home, Mike's first car, Kira's first half birthday. Our first passenger van, and a visit from Auntie Charlene and the kids! Charlene got to meet Kira, Hudson and Sophia for the first time. And as always the kids took about 3 minutes to warm up and the rest of our visit was shrouded in nerf bullets and dress up clothes.

And finally, Bart and I are taking the states foster/adoption classes after a few years of Bart really feeling led to explore this option of adoption.

I won't lie, my heart is still in China. And I still want a little cleft lip boy. But, as I am SOOOO very slow at learning, it is not about what I want. It is about what God wants me to be willing to do.

Another first for us was that we were interviewed by our cities magazine about our family, and our adoption journey.

I was hesitant at first, just did not feel comfortable with being the focus of that type of attention. But, I had to realize what a great opportunity this would be to possibly encourage others to adopt.

Save Now

Hopefully God will use our story to do so.

Love,

Claire

SUMMER !!!

2011-06-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hudson's 9th birthday!

1st official lake day of the summer!
tubing!

Hudson and Kira's 1st build-a-bear trip

Kira getting her ear pierced.

Sweet, sweet summer!

Finally, no 5:30 am alarms! No homework, no car line, big breakfasts, extended movie nights, first official lake day and beach time!

Well, keeping with a new tradition...we came home from China, rested a bit, then hit the road to see family. We drove to SC to see one of our niece's graduate from high school, and to introduce the new kids to Bart's side of the family.

Yes, all 9 of us in one vehicle for 8 hours. Not sure that is what adoption experts would say is text book family bonding, but what do "they" really know?

We had a great time. Hudson ate his way through 3 states, Kira loved watching Mulan (in Chinese) over and over and over..The other kids vegged out with their various electronic devices and I took a nap.

It was great to see family, and to celebrate Hudson's first birthday home. He turned 9 on June 2nd.

We have a few more birthdays this summer, Logan will be 8 on the 16th, and Michael will be 18 on July 3rd.

We also have a highly anticipated day of consultations at Shriners Hospital in Tampa tomorrow. we are so excited to see what can be done for Kira's leg and her hands.

She is amazing in all that she can do now, can not imagine what she will do with things corrected.

So, if you can't tell..I am really looking forward to having some down time with my man and the kids.

Love,

Claire

Home sweet home!

2011-05-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

How sweet it is!

We are home safe and sound! Oh how I missed everything about home on this trip.

I have no idea why this trip was different. I usually love my time in China.

The kids were fantastic, and the weather was great. But I just wanted to get the kids and get home.

I think I'm getting old.

But, enough about me! I know the kids are what is most important, and most interesting.

They are all doing really well. Getting used to each others personalities, and where they all fit in.

Hudson is a sweet boy. Very independent and a man of few words, even Chinese. He and Kira speak the same language, so they chat often during the day.

Actually, she does most of the talking, he just listens and answers once and awhile.

He loves to swim and ride his bike. He is also loves to eat!

We went to the hematologist last week, and are waiting for the results of Hudson's blood work. There are some more tests we will need to do, seems he has some things we need to check out related to the way he was transfused before coming home.

He had his first transfusion on Friday, did great. Did not see any change in his energy level, he is full throttle, but there his coloring did look really good after.

Now we are waiting to hear from Shriners Hospital about Kira's appointment. Hoping to get her in as soon as possible and get her started. She is doing really well too. Loves to swim and color.

She also loves to take showers and pick out her outfit for the day. She has also made it clear that she wants her ears pierced, so we will do that this week.

The other kiddos are doing great, ready for summer vacation.

Me too! Slow mornings,beach time,dollar movies....

Flying out tomorrow!

2011-04-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Hong Kong!
Thank you God! Hudson's chest x-ray for TB was clear, so we were allowed to leave China with him! If it had not been clear, he would have had to stay in China for another month. One of us could have stayed, or one of us could have come back to bring him home.

I couldn't wrap my head around either option. Thankfully we did not have to.

We rolled into to Hong Kong late Wednesday night our time. Got settled in our hotel and actually got some good sleep.

We woke up to the usual...Hudson opening the blinds and saying something over and over in Chinese. Pretty sure it was get up. Pretty sure this habit will meet with great resistance once we are home (:

Once the blinds were open, we realized what a gorgeous view we have. We are staying in a hotel on the Gold Coast here in Hong Kong. We are right here by a really nice beach on the South China Sea. Pretty stinkin cool.

So, as we got dressed for the day, Bart made a bkfast run and came back with some McD's. We had a delicious bkfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, some type of noodles in a bowl with a fried egg and ham slices. The kids loved it, I LOVED the diet coke..in a cup..with a lid and straw...and lots of ICE!

As usual, Hudson finished all left overs. This boy can eat!

We headed out to explore and played at the beach, hit the pool and then went exploring around a little shopping area for lunch. On our way back, we stopped at a great playground and let the kids wear themselves out.

It started to rain, so we headed back to the hotel and rotted in front of the tv.

Tomorrow we begin our trip home! We fly out of Hong Kong to Japan. There we have a 9 hour delay. Not enough time to clear customs and get a hotel room, then clear customs again and make the flight. So we will have our first camping trip in the air port.

After our lay over, we will fly to JFK and then onto home! We have enjoyed our trip, but we are all ready to get home. Except for Livy, she could keep traveling forever.

Can't wait to get home and into some great medical care. Hudson is doing great, he is a lot like Sophia...full of energy and always ready to try something new. He is rough and tumble, but the first one there if someone is hurt. We still have not figured out how he can be at your side in a flash..with a band aide!

He can mimic English perfectly, so we think he will pick up the language very quickly.

Sweet Kira is going to surpass all expectations that have been placed on her. We are amazed with how well she gets around and honestly a bit nervous to imagine her without her physical limitations! She is a sweet girl. And also a typical pre-teen. Finds her little siblings annoying at times, thinks she should be treated as an adult and does not always like the word no.

It cracks me up, not sure the girl realizes that Bart and I have been here before. But she does have a sweet side to her, very protective of everyone and does not like it when someone is lagging behind. She is smart as a whip too.

So, over 2 weeks of close quarter living has caused us to bond pretty well. As much as I love my kids...I am ready to be back home and have a little more living space and more then one bathroom.

Yes, I am spoiled. I admit it.

See ya'll soon!

Love,
Us

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hoping everyone had a wonderful day today celebrating Christ's resurrection.

One of my favorite things about these trips is meeting other adoptive families, and seeing how God has woven families together. Just listening to the stories of how families said yes to God's asking all to adopt, is such a privilege.

Our travel group is made up of 5 families. They are from all over the US and all ages. Only one family is adopting their first and only child, a precious 14 year old deaf boy who was going to age out of the system this summer. Their church has volunteers here in China doing missions work, and the missionaries sent a batch of photos of children that would be aging out soon, and needed to find their families.

So, this couple began praying for this one boy to be adopted. And as time went on, they realized that they were to be his parents. The kicker is that the mom is a sign language interpreter in the public school system where they live! How perfect is that!

The other families are here adopting their second, third, fourth child and also have more bio kids at home. One set of parents has grandchildren the same age as a few of their new ones.

And, there are 3 cleft lip, cleft palate boys!! I got to spend the whole day with them today (:

Our group went to The safari park here in Guangzhou. It was awesome. We took a train ride through the non-predator section and then walked all day looking at pandas, koala bears, lions, white tigers and ended our day with feeding the giraffes.

At one point, Bart made the comment that it felt just like being at the parks at home, except for the fact that it was all of the non asian people taking the pictures! So true!

So, we are in the final days here. Tomorrow we go back to the medical clinic to have the kids TB tests read. Seems Hudson's results are boarder line, so praying his chest X-ray is clear. Not sure what " they" do if not. Even after four trips, there is always something new to spice things up.

Hope all is well. Miss you all!

Claire and crew

In Guangzhou Baby!!!

2011-04-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the adoption blog world, I'm going to keep it real.

To say that we are so glad we are out of Nanjing and in Guangzhou would be a huge understatement. If we had to stay another day, I really think international adoption relations would have taken a hit.

We did do some great touring, and visited the city wall that was built over 600 years ago. And we spent an afternoon walking through a beautiful 4 island park.

But another more day of the stares, glares and comments about Kira would have pushed Livy and I over the edge. We tried so hard to enjoy our time there, and get the most out of visiting, but there comes a time where you just cut your losses and move on.

I completely understand that there are cultural differences in every society. What one values is not what another does. But seriously, this is an 11 year old girl. She did nothing wrong to have been born with her medical issues. And it is by the grace of God that everyone gawking at her, and commenting in judgment, was not born with a physical deformity too.

Unless you count being just plain ugly inside as one.

But, all is well. We arrived in Guangzhou late Friday night, and were greeted by three of the most handsome men I know!

We were not in the room very long before the kids got over their awkwardness and broke out the nerf guns. Honestly, it was like they had known each other for years.

Hudson is a hoot! He is pretty much the same size as Logan, and does not have a shy bone in his body. He is a bit more calm then Logan..... just a bit. Definitely ALL boy. He did let me hug him when ever I wanted to, and I got in a few goodnight smooches. He loves to talk to us like we understand him, then laugh. He also has a new favorite phrase, " Come oooonnnn baby!"

He cracks me up. He is always pulling his shorts up way to high, he looks like an old man. He was stylin' on his way to the park today with his shorts hiked up and his socks pulled up as high as they could go. Logan did the same thing.

After breakfast, we headed out to get the kids medical check outs. I talked with the doctor, via our guide, about how Hudson looked and if his spleen and liver felt enlarged. At first the doctor was like really white lady? Then I told him that we have a 4 year old with Thalassemia, and he relaxed in his attitude a bit. And, seems they are enlarged. Nothing horrible, just not exactly what we wanted to hear.

I am so thankful that he will be home soon, and will be getting some great care from our hematologist.

Kira and Hudson both speak Mandarin, not sure this is a good thing...there was a little head butting going on with them this am at breakfast. I think he crossed the line with some of his teasing/comments.

So Bart took him over to the table of one of our travel group. They have an older boy who was adopted a year ago, and he speaks excellent English and is still fluent in Chinese. After Joshua got the low down on what we think happened, he had a chat with Hudson. Of course Hudson denied saying anything mean, but the huge smile on Kira's face was confirmation of our suspicions.

And this scored major points with Kira. She is on the fast track to being a daddy's girl.

But honestly, things are going amazingly well. It is a bit chaotic and loud at times, but since Bart and I are brain dead already...it's great!

Hope all is well, we do miss everyone very much.

Love,

Claire

Visiting Hudson's orphanage and foster home

2011-04-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hello! from Logan, Hudson, and Bart in Guangzhou, China.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we picked up the Chinese adoption decree which officially recognizes Hudson Andrew Taylor as our son. Very cool!

Afterward, we went out with 4 other families to a nice Chinese restaurant on Shamian island. Our guide “Connie” ordered a sample of favorite dishes for us to share as sat around 6 foot diameter tables with a 4 foot turntable in the middle. Our first dish was roasted pigeon. Hudson and the other boys (age 12 and 10) from his foster home got really excited when they saw it. Logan was pretty excited, too. The rest of us were much more reserved. For those that are curious, it has very dark meat and it tasted like chicken. The platter also had several pigeon heads. I thought that perhaps this was for visual effect, but the boys, including Hudson, showed us all that the heads can be eaten as well. (Look closely at Hudson’s right hand). The rest of the dishes were pork, chicken, beef, and rice. Everybody was stuffed, and our share was about $20 for the three of us.

Today (Thursday) Hudson, Logan, and I along with two other families that are adopting children from the Longgang orphanage rode about 2 ½ hours to Shenzhen city to visit the orphanage that Hudson was brought to after he was found in a hospital in 2004. We also were allowed to visit the “foster home” that Hudson lived in for the past two years. I was allowed to look at (but not keep) his official orphanage file, including the details of when he was first found and his first picture. We’ve never seen this file in any for our previous adoptions, so that was pretty cool.

We had a good tour of the orphanage, a very large, clean, 4 story facility that was built around 5 years ago. The staff was very nice. One very nice social worker (Shera) spoke English pretty well and explained that she had set up online accounts for each of the three older boys and uploaded a lot pictures of picture of them. She gave us her email address and asked us to keep in touch.

We then headed about a half mile away to the “foster home” where 12 older kids from the orphanage live and go to school. It’s a sparse 3 story building with an eating/living area downstairs, 3 small bedrooms (four per room) on the second floor, and sleeping areas for the staff on the top floor. Hudson showed me where he slept on the top bunk.

The kids are cared for by an “uncle” and two “aunts.” They all work in the home during the day and take turns staying in the home at night. I counted 12 kids, so apparently 3 lucky kids had already moved in to take the place of Hudson and his two friends that were adopted this week. They seemed very nice and everybody, including the caretakers and all of the kids, seemed to be very excited to see the 3 boys coming back for a visit with their new families. We had a surprise celebratory cake. One of the other kids (Long Xiao Xiong) in our adoption group somehow had saved money for the cake and asked one of the aunts to buy for our visit; amazingly generous.

I wondered what Hudson was thinking as he went back to the orphanage and foster home and said goodbye to the only life he could remember. But, he seemed to be in a really good mood all day. There really hasn’t been any sign of homesickness yet. But I have no doubt that it going to come at some point.

But for now we’re all having a fun time getting to know each other and looking forward to Hudson meeting his new Mommy and sisters tomorrow night when they fly here to Guangzhou from Nanjing and we move into the second week of the trip.

A Very Great Day

2011-04-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Despite getting up at 6 am, today wonderful.

We went to the Civil Affairs Office to sign the final adoption papers with Kira. This was a sweet, new twist. Usually it is just Bart or I that sign, but Kira is old enough to make her final decision about being adopted.

She signed, smiled and was ready to go.

There were a few more T's to cross and I's to dot, so she made her self comfy on a sofa and just watched the going on. So wish I knew what was going through her head. I have ask the guide a few times to ask her what is she thinking? And he has tried but it seems that is not a typical question children are asked. He didn't know how to get the concept across to Kira, so I stopped asking..for now.

I am really looking forward to the day when Kira can tell me the about her life before us. Am hoping it was filled with good things. If not, we will work it out.

After we were deemed official, we headed to our favorite store in China, Wal-Mart! Picked up some snacks and a bunch of baby supplies to bring to the orphanage tomorrow. Kira was excited to do a little shopping, and picked out a few things that caught her eye. Funny, she seems to like random things. She picked out a little doll, and some Christmas like votive candles. Both are still in their packages. She also picked out a dart gun, that has gotten a lot of use this afternoon. Logan better watch out, she is a pretty good shot.

We are taking a day trip to visit Kira's orphanage, and see where she lived for the last 11 years. I am really looking forward to it. These visits help so much in getting a tiny glimpse of her life before us. It is always emotional, and I'm sure tomorrow will be also.

I am going to try my best to not fall in love with some beautiful kiddo tomorrow. These visits are bitter sweet. A glimpse of your child's past, and life time of seeing the other faces who are not home yet when you close your eyes.

Bart will be going to Hudson's orphanage tomorrow too. Hopefully this will be a good thing, a type of closure.

Hope all is well at home, miss you all!

Claire

Gotcha Day and Night!!

2011-04-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, have no idea where to start.

What a sweet girl Kira is! She is soooo ready to just hit the town and go. She was waiting for us when we got to the civil affairs office and has not looked back.

She had treats in her bag for the little girls and immediately wanted them to sit with her and hold her hands. Her smile is amazing is she is doing so well with her new mama who has no clue what she is saying.

Morgan!! You have a hair and nail buddy now. She is all about the polish and braids (:

Am still trying to process all of this, you might think that after 4 trips I'd have this. But it always amazes me how different each child is created, and how wonderful each personality is.

I CAN NOT wait to get my hands on Hudson, he looks so sweet! Seems he has a few of the classic physical markers of a thal kid. Sophia didn't, but she was much younger when we started regular transfusions. So we are so ready to get him home and on some good Go Juice!

SO, so far things are going amazingly well. So please feel free to pass this onto any one considering an older child.

When they say they are ready to have a family, they are!

I am also so amazed by how well Kira has compensated for her hands and leg. She has found a way to scrunch her long leg down and walks pretty well. It is amazing how tall she is when she stands on the longer one. No tiny Asian girl here!

Looks like we have a few things to get worked on, but she seems so healthy and smart. She has already mastered the camera and the paint program.

There are so many little details, but I have 4 hungry girls looking at me, and we have to go and do more paper work at 8 am. So we are off to eat and start our new day!

Miss you all, and hope all is well.

Love,

Claire, Livy, Kira, Mia and Sophia (does that not just rock!)

Sorry for the Inconvenience

2011-04-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, this is Michael. It has been brought to my attention that when you go to our blog, you do not see a blog, but in fact a rather large brown square. Seeing as this could pose a problem to the ease of use of our beloved blog, I am here to publicly apologize for the inconvenience this unsightly square may have caused you. So if you manage to see this despite said square, you must be a lucky one.

~Michael

Gotcha day and night!

2011-04-18T15:53:00.001-07:00

Hudson's Gotcha Day

2011-04-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

Well, today was a big day for the Taylor family! Around 3PM, Logan and I welcomed Hudson into the family here in Guangzhou, while Claire and the girls welcomed Kira into the family further north in Nanjing.

Hudson seemed really excited to see us and gave Logan and I both a big hug. I gave him a bigger one in return.

He and Logan have been playing very-well non-stop all afternoon and evening; so far they’ve played matchbox cars, nerf guns, and badminton. Apparently play knows no language barriers.

We all shared a good dinner of pork, rice and vegetables at the diner next to the White Swan.

We came back to the hotel and did the Skype thing with Claire; I got to see and say “Hi” to Kira, our new Daughter, as well as all my other girls (more details and photos will follow from Claire).

Everybody is showered and in their PJs, but I’m not sure how I’ll be able to get Logan and Hudson to slow down enough to go to bed.

Overall, it was a very special day. God is very good!

Bart

Gotcha day!

2011-04-17T19:25:00.001-07:00

Hey!

Just a quick note to check in and say hey!

The ladies are doing really well. Olivia is my money manager, she was born to do this international monetary stuff. And as usual, she is right at home and always up for exploring the city. Mia is pretty home sick. She seems better today after we skyped with Bart, Logan and Michael, but last night was rough. Sophia is going with the flow as usual. As long as her bottle is full of apple juice, all is well in her world.

We just returned to our room from a trip to the bank to exchange a chunk of change. Put it all into the safe and locked it, feel like a mini drug lord.

SOOO wish I could have taken a picture of the sign at our bank window..... " Particular window for the disabled" Is that not a hoot?! But it was not worth risking jail time in China for.

We leave to meet Kira in about 4 hours, wish I could know what is going through her mind today.

Bart gets Hudson @ the same time. So this is going to be a wild afternoon.

Ok, we are off to explore a bit and then get cleaned up for gotcha day.

We will post pictures later, when we figure out how.

Love you all,

Claire

One day to Gotcha Day!!

2011-04-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

All I (Bart) can say is “Wow, what a trip!” After about 30 hours in 4 airports and on 3 planes we made it to Hong Kong about 11PM Friday night, found some food, and crashed. Actually, while the trip was long, everybody managed to catch some naps here and there. Our last flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific – awesome) was only about 10% full and the kids all found places to lay down and sleep (buckled, off course).

On Saturday, we took the Limited express train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. We had assigned seats on the second level of the train and there was plenty of room. Logan and Olivia did homework, the girls played, and Claire and I just enjoyed seeing more of China. We actually went through Shenzin city, where Hudson is from. Claire and I pondered what he was thinking and doing. The trip was about two hours and we really got to see a lot of more than you do in a plane. It really was a very neat trip and only about $30 per adult, $15 per child.

Our guide Connie met us at the Guangzhou train station and helped get checked into the Victory hotel on historic Shamian Island (check out the island’s history online when you get some time). She mentioned that she had met Hudson a couple of days earlier when one of his friends was getting adopted. Our guide Connie says he “talks a lot” and was excited to meet his family. Sounds like he and Logan should be two peas in a pod.

We had a “homecoming” dinner at Lucy’s; Claire walked me through the menu and pointed out what she’s ordered at some point or another during her travels here; pretty much everything on the menu (except for the “seafood medley” which I ordered on our first trip in ‘06; Michael and Olivia still talk about how many eyes were staring back at me from that dish.)

This morning (Sunday)after a great buffet breakfast Claire, Olivia, Mia, and Sophia were picked up by our Guide to go to the airport. Today they will fly Air China about 2 hours north to Nanjing, the capital of the Jiangsu province where our new daughter Kira is waiting for her family. The girls are very excited to meet her. We can only wonder what is going through her mind after her entire life (11 years) in an orphanage.

Logan and I are stayed behind since Hudson is this same province. Logan is very excited to meet his brother tomorrow afternoon. Today we’re going to buy some toys for he and Hudson to play with and have play hacky and badminton in the park.

It’s amazing that less than 3 years ago we were here in Guangzhou adopting him. He didn’t know a word of English, now he can’t remember a word of Cantonese. Same thing with Sophia, who has been home less than a year. I wonder how much of the language will come back to them during the trip?

At breakfast this morning the kids weres visiting with an American family that had a newly adopted little girl and are waiting on her travel visa to travel to the U.S. with her new family.

Logan then went up to Claire, gave her a hug and said “thank you for adopting me.” Very touching and timely encouragement for mom and dad as we get ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a big day for all of us.

Love you all, Bart

zai jian!!

2011-04-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Leaving in a few hours!!

Almost done packing, can not wait to get on the plane and exhale...this could actually be happening!

We are set to meet our new son and daughter on Monday the 18th!!!

God is soooo very good.

T stinkin A's !!!

2011-04-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

It has been over a year since we first saw Kira's beautiful smile.

We did not expect to weather the storms we did during this paper chase for her. We did not expect to wait close to 15 months to bring her home.

This wasn't are first ride at the rodeo, but it was a wild one. Just as we were about to get our golden ticket from immigration, God opened a door and asked us to walk through it.

China started a new, fantastic program called Special Focus. Families would now be able to bring home 2 children at one time, if one of the children was a special focus child.

Well, as it would be....I had fallen hard for a little boy with Thalassemia. His eyes just cut through me. He reminded me so much of our sweet Sophia. I knew the road he was walking and what his future held being an orphan with such a medical issue. I told Bart that he was meant to be ours. And without hesitation, he agreed.

So, we called our agency and asked to be the little guys parents. We dotted all of our I's and crossed all of our T's and were given approval from China to adopt Hudson also.

We were crazy happy.

Then, we received news from our home study agency...different one then our kids agency...that our social worker had denied us approval for our son.

Her reasons were that she," could not imagine having this many children herself." We were shocked, sad and angry.

After talking with our placement agency, we decided to fight our social workers denial. How could her personal feelings keep us from bringing our son home if we met all of the qualifications of 2 agencies, immigration and China?

It was game on.

There were a few months of heavy prayer, many tears, intensive personal scrutiny of our beliefs, life style, and competence as parents of a large family. And a lot of guilt over having to put things on hold for Kira while we fought for Hudson.

But, as usual, God had it all covered. We won our appeal and were granted approval for Hudson.

And, in just a few weeks...Kira and Hudson will meet their crazy, loving forever family.

And I pray that each day God helps me to prove that social worker wrong... that large families are a blessing, not a burden.

Happy Birthday Sophia!

2011-03-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl turned 4 just a few days ago.

Yes, at 4..she is still our baby. Even though she has only been home with us for 9 months, we feel like she has been with us forever.

She is just such a gift. She is so sweet, kind, brave, brilliant,trusting and beautiful..inside and out.

Her smile is amazing, it just lights my heart on fire. Her passion to live life to the fullest, and I mean to the FULLEST, is so inspiring.

She loves her bottle still, and no...I'm not doing a thing about that. She loves to draw and cut paper into tiny, tiny pieces. She is a total water bug, loves to ride her bike and swing.

She loves broccoli, steak, onions, ice cream and any type of candy. She also has her mama's love of all Dr. Pepper (:

She loves her brothers and sisters, is very quickly becoming a serious daddy's girl, and gives THE BEST hugs.

There is no feeling in the world that can compare to that of her little arms squeezing me while saying," i love you too!"

God has blessed me beyond measure with my family. My cup, and my laundry runnith over.

NESTING!!!

2011-03-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

If we do not get travel news soon.....I can not be responsible for my actions @ here!

I have cleaned out every closet, drawer, cabinet,and shelf there is in the house. I have re-arranged the girl's room...yes..again.

I have cleaned out both fridges, and even under one!

I have done a seriously no holes barred clean out of toys, laundry room and garage. Well, not as serious as I would like in the garage. I do not want to risk starting any marital issues (:

I have given my man a serious honey-do list, and he has almost finished it!

It seems like forever since we first saw Kira's beautiful smile, and Hudson's sweet face.

We did receive a letter from Kira and it is priceless! We also received an update on Hudson. Both kids are doing well, and are waiting for us, that is what has been so hard about this adoption.

The kids are older, and understand what is about to happen. They know that some crazy family is coming to bring them home. I kills me to know that they are waiting.

Some days I get a bit light headed when I think about being a mom to 7 children. 7!?! If I stop and think about it, that is A lOT of kids. A lot of responsibility, a lot of time, a lot of energy, a lot of laundry!

I think...wow, can I do this? Can I do 7 children? Then I realize how many I's there are in my questions. And the answer is NO.

I can not do this. I need God. Without God, I will never be able to be the best mom I can be. I will not have any ability to have any semblance of patience, unconditional love or unmerited grace that my family deserves.

So, I breath deeply and know that there is such comfort in admitting that I can not do this with Him. And, as in all things..He will be with me always.

And I can not wait to teach our new kids about Him. Their ultimate daddy who gave them life, and has trusted us with them for just a short time.

I can not wait to get them home and to watch them grow and become all that God wants them to be. And I can not believe that I have been soooo very blessed to be their mom.

I can not wait much longer!! But I will.

Claire

Never a dull moment......

2011-02-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

Roasting marsh mellows
Happy Valentines Day!
Kira's Letter of Acceptance from China
No more carpet!

Not much going on @ here.

Just the usual...baseball, gymnastics, a few doctor appointments here and there, a new teen driver, immigration paper work, travel plans for the new kiddos, closet organization parties, and of course our latest home improvement project....the dining room flooring.

Some where in the midst of it all, Sophia's hematologist thought it might be a good time to throw in a cord blood transplant. Seems he has found a very good match to her tissue type! We know this is some of the best news we could hear. But, after much research and prayer, we have decided to put things on hold.

Cord blood transplants for non-related thalassemia patients are still in the clinical trial phases, and the hospital where our doctor would like to preform it is just now getting the program together.

Given that experience is crucial in these procedures, we have decided to wait and let some time go by and the new transplant team gain some invaluable experience.

It is not that we are ungrateful for this chance, but so thankful that Sophia does not have a terminal illness that requires immediate action. We are blessed with having time on our side.

She is doing fantastic with her monthly transfusions, and is fine with taking her daily meds. She is growing and thriving and such an awesome little girl.

At this point, we are not at all at peace with having her be in a clinical/trial situation. There are no second chances when dealing with the potential risks of the infections that follow transplants.

So after a mentally draining few weeks of having to make that decision, we are ready to look forward to Kira and Hudson coming home this spring.

Love,
Claire

Can you tell that we have had a lot of rain lately?

2011-01-22T20:28:00.001-08:00

Dressing up daddy
Livy and her piggy nose
hair cuts..Mike looks too happy to be doing this
Sophia....always prepared
Mia's juicy 4 hour nap fest
Make-up by Sophia

Logan in need of some serious outside time

And that we are going a bit stir crazy?! I do not know how you all up north survive staying indoors for extended periods of time.

Our rainy days have mirrored your snow storm days this winter.

I guess we are wimpy. But I am really o.k. with that.

Sunday snap shot.. if you build it, they will come

2011-01-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

A little of what we have been up to....

2011-01-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

Our Lilly
Love that the lipstick matches the gem in the crown (: He never woke up
Bart and his little girls, Mia and Sophia
Mia and Michael before his prom
Future Mozarts
Ladies lounging at the lake
Life buddies, gym buddies
My oldest baby, Christmas 2010
Sophia checking out what Logan has in his stash
My future son-in-law, Jackson. His mama is raising him right
Best buds at Christmas Eve service, 2010
Enjoying the beautiful "fall" weather
Michael, on the left, playing at Christmas Eve service, 2010
Staying warm at Christmas Eve service
Getting ready....
Trick or treating with the bff's .
DTC celebration dinner!
Universal with the Jersey crew
Guess who got their learners permit this year?
bff's...through the miracle of adoption. Sophia and Mia from China, Rosie from the US
One of my favorite photos.... with my girls
Another favorite photo..... my guys
At the zoo..which side of the fence is the exhibit?
Building our backyard fort

So thankful.

2010-12-20T22:15:00.000-08:00

Some days I slip a bit, and get weary with the day to day battles of this world.

I begrudge the mountains of laundry, dishes and household chores... being ungrateful for the fact that we have so much more then we really need.

But the past few days, I have been keenly aware of all God has given me. Not material things, but the awesome relationships that He has given me.

A very dear friend of mine was in a serious car accident a few days ago. I did not hear about it until the next morning, but even though I knew she was going to be fine..my heart just broke. When i realized how close I came to loosing her, my mind just ran with the truth that life is a gift. We are not promised tomorrow.

I found a sitter for the girls, and headed to the hospital to see with my own eyes that she was ok. As I walked down the hall to her room, i had a flash back to a few years ago when another dear friend of mine was in the ICU fighting back after a heart attack.

My two friends are very similar in height and coloring, so seeing J in her hospital bed was surreal. It took a minute or two for me too gain my composure.

We visited for awhile and when she fell asleep from the new dose of pain meds, I quietly left and headed home.

I chewed on all of the what ifs and was soooo thankful they did not come to be.

Then today, i was again reminded how precious life is. Michael was walking across the parking lot at the mall today when out of now where, a car that had pasted by just seconds before, shifted into reverse and hit him.

I looked behind and saw my son in a twisted pose on the ground. My heart stopped. So did my mind. I could not comprehend why he was on the ground.

Then I realized what happened. As soon as i did, Michael bounced up stunned but ok.

A few scrapes. but he is fine. And I am thanking God for His protection over Michael and also Logan. Logan was walking in front of Michael. Had it been Logan, things would have been a completely different outcome.

so, i am up very late..happily doing a mountain of laundry.

Is it really almost November?

2010-10-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Wow!

Craziness! Can not believe how fast this year is going.

I know I have a few things that keep me pretty busy, but I did get a little freaked out when I realized that I was buying an actual Christmas gift for one of the kids yesterday!

My head has been occupied with laundry, soccer, football, gymnastics, laundry, birthdays, laundry, homecoming dances, more room redos and finishing up Kira and Hudson's dossier....yes! We have another son!! Long story short..China has started a new program called Focus child, and we qualified...so we are bringing home a sweet 8 year old boy and Kira at the same time!!!

Logan is SO excited to have a brother, and we are SO excited to have another son! I love my girls more then life, but I also really enjoy having boys. So blessed that God has given some of each.

The girl's are doing great. Livy is playing JV soccer and loving it! She has survived her first few months of high school and is really enjoying the more mature aspects of it...eating lunch where you want and with who you want, lockers, teachers that are not threatened by kids who ask questions.... and the biggie... a dress code that realizes you are not a baby and can walk safely in flip flops and sandals. That may sound strange to some of you, but it is such a right of passage here.

Mia is in pre-kindergarten for a few hours a day and amazes us with her reading and writing skills. She worked hard at getting comfy with being away from home, but is really liking her class and all of the kids. Her teacher has been wonderful in working with her to reduce her anxiety and enjoy school. She still loving her gymnastics classes too. She just turned 5 at the end of Sept. and is really working hard at over coming her anxieties and enjoying the wild world going on around her. We went to a small fall fair this past week end, and she did not sit out any ride that she was tall enough to do! It was soooooo great to watch her let go and go a little wild.

Sophia is doing fantastic. She is doing great with her thalassemia, and is sooooo easy going and funny. She is so easy going that she moves much slower then the rest of the pack. The word hurry is not in this child's vocabulary. But, the chick is stinkin smart! She talks in sentences now! And seems to have a sarcastic side to her! Her English has come sooo far this past month and it is just obvious to all that she was meant to be with us. Even friends and neighbors comment on how it feels like she has been home forever.

The guys are doing great too. Logan has hit his stride with reading, and is really enjoying being able to read chapter books and not have to ask for help as much with his home work. He is also playing flag football again and loving it. Seems soccer is next on his list of things to try, he was not very cheesed with baseball. Not enough action for the little man. He is very, very ready to have another boy in the house to help even out the odds around here. It can get pretty overwhelmingly pink and princess like @ here most days.

But thankfully we still have Mike for a few years until college. That is a topic that I enjoy ignoring, but with the reality of PSAT's and college info showing up in the mail....I don't think I will be able to be in ignorance for long.

Thankfully he is looking at a few great state schools, so hopefully he won't be gone to far.

Mike is also still loving playing in the youth band at church, and has moved up to subbing for the main worship band. I am amazed that that young guy on stage, playing the electric guitar, is my little guy who used to cry if he felt that people were staring at him (:

Crazy stuff! Can not wait to get Kira and Hudson home and have the privilege of watching them grow, explore their new limitless futures and see what God has planned for them.

Love,
Claire

Sorry!

2010-10-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry that it has been 3 months since I have last posted. It seems like a blink of an eye to me.

These past 3 months have flown by! We came home in early July with Sophia, and have been on the go since then. A family reunion/wedding, beach week, start of school and all of the activities that go with that, plus Mia's 5th birthday! Sweet baby has not missed a beat, she has seamlessly woven herself into this crazy bunch.

I can honestly say that it was a matter of minutes before everyone who did not travel lost their hearts to her. She is amazing. So loving, trusting, and really funny.

Although her transition was really great, we did have a few months of dealing with some serious sibling rivalry. Seems Sophia was not excited about having to share mama with her big sister, Mia.

There were times when I had to literally pull them off of each other , and call for back up. But just when I thought it would last forever, the girls decided to join their super powers and become a formidable little force.

They are quite the dynamic duo, and get too much joy out of tag teaming everyone.

And, according to Sophia's hematologist, she did not get the memo about how a typical thalassemia child should act.... she is FULL of energy, and has a great appetite. She looked so good that he sent her blood work off to the mayo clinic to have genetic testing done to confirm the previous diagnosis.

We were all a bit shocked to see that she has thal major, and will require monthly blood transfusions until a cure is found. But we knew it was a very real possibility and were prepared for it.

I know it sounds so cliche, but we could not imagine life without her. She is such a joy, her smile is amazing and just lights up the day.

She is picking up English so fast, and has no problem getting her point across. She is obsessed with stickers and lip gloss. Has a terrible sweet tooth, and no need for shoes or most items of clothing.

She has become a total beach bum and water bug. Not sure how things will go when it cools down and she can not " go paid-a big water!" Translation....go play in the big water. Any pool, lake or the beach.

Thankfully our cooler weather does not last long down here, so we will be back at the big water soon.

It is going to be such a joy to watch this little girl grow up, I can not wait to see what God has planned for her. It is going to be something great.

Hope all is well.

Claire

Final post from China

2010-07-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

This is the famous "Red Couch" from the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou

Swearing in ceremony at the U.S. Consulate.

Tired and ready to go home.

Hey people!

My mom is packing, so I have taken the duty of writing the final post! Um, so it's been about a week since our last post... terribly sorry. Claire/my mom has been sick since Nanning, so she falls asleep with Sophia.

We went to the Consulate yesterday, which means when we touch ground in Detroit (after 15 hours of being on a plane, mind you), Sophia is officially a U.S. citizen! Yay!

This afternoon we are going to take the afternoon train to Hong Kong! Not quite the midnight train going anywhere, or the midnight train to Georgia, or the crazy train, but it's close. Sophia likes to sing the song: "Shwinkle, shwinkle, little sar" It's very cute.

We're anxious to get home, and see her interact with a more "normal" environment. Ex: Not living in a hotel. Well, we're off to lunch! Lucy's, here we come! Again! Sorry for the short post people.

This is the Taylor family, signing off from Guangzhou, China, one last ti... Forget it. Ya'll know this ain't the last time.

Peace out.
--Michael

Good to be back in Guangzhou!

2010-07-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

Oh it is sooo good to be in guangzhou. Familiar sites and sounds, and an amazing breakfast buffet at our hotel!

I have not talked much about the food... although Nanning was pretty, the food was not.

So, with full stomachs for the first time in a week...we headed to Sophia's medical check out. She is 32 lbs and 37 inches tall! A few of the medical staff commented on how long her fingers and toes are, seems they think she might be kind of tall. Looks like Mia will be the big sister only in name.

Thankfully, due to her anemia, the doctor waived all but 2 of her required shots. Since the new rules, Hague rules, have gone into effect...the children are required to get 7 immunization shots and a TB screen all at one time.

After the check out, we met the Horner family, wonderful friends, for lunch before they headed back home to the US. It was so surreal to be having lunch with them and our 3 new kiddos in China! And it was a sweet gift to lay eyes on some people we love while being so far from home.

After lunch we did a little shopping, but it was too hot to do any real damage .But, it was Michael's 17th birthday today! So as promised, I bought him some God forsaken Katana, big sword thing. It is very cool looking, but will have to be well hidden out of Logan's sight!

When we got back to the room, our guide had ordered a beautiful birthday cake! Sophia placed the candles on it, and we sang and had a great treat.

Another big step aside from the medical check was taken today. Sophia actually got into the tub and stayed there for a bath! She was hesitant at first, but soon was having a blast. And I was excited to finally give her something more then a sponge bath.

She played with her tooth brush a bit, but that ended when I put tooth paste on it. Do not think that she has much, if any experience with brushing her teeth. But, it is a huge goal of mine.

Why you ask? Well, I can honestly say that this girl is THE queen of back wash. The picture of the water bottle has been in no way altered or enhanced. Let's just say that she gets her own drink no matter the cost.

All in all it was a really good day. Sophia is opening up more and more. She is freely letting us hold her and carry her. She even let me "eat" her toes tonight at bed time. She thought it was hysterical.

She loves to walk around, look at things and talk to me like I have any idea of what she is saying. Too stinkin cute. She is also quite taken with flowers, and got us in trouble with the front desk this morning when she picked a few from their flower bed. Really people? There were hundreds of plants in it. So, I decided that I have been here enough times to shoot the desk clerk back the same look she shot us.

Bed time is getting less and less stressful for her. But tonight I think we were out too late for dinner. She was pretty tired and was trying to lay in my arms when she just became really teary eyed and looked afraid. I went outside with her where it was more quiet and we snuggled until
Pa and Michael finished eating. Not sure what it was all about, but once we were back in the room, she relaxed.

She is sound asleep now, and sleeping on her stomach for the first time. Hopefully that is a good sign?

I can not believe that we have only had her for 7 days. She just feels so right. Can not wait to get her home and let her get to know her other brother and sisters.

Tomorrow we will brave the heat, visit a famous Buddhist temple and do some shopping at an outdoor market that is said to be fantastic.

Hope all is well at home. Miss everyone so very much!

Claire

Leaving Nanning today

2010-07-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hey out there!

Hope that all is well. we have just finished a late lunch, and Sophia is down for a nap.

She has a pretty good cold going, so hopefully some sleep will help. She does find it very funny to blow boogie bubbles out of her nose, so she is still in good spirits.

Today was very low key. We played in the hall with other adoptive families while we waited for Sophia's Chinese passport application to be processed, and packed our bags for Guangzhou! We are on the down hill slide towards home!!!

We fly into Guangzhou tonight. Saturday morning is Sophia's medical check out [for U.S. immigration]. Then we are meeting some dears friends, who are here in china adopting their 6th and 7th kiddos, for lunch before they head out for home.

The rest of the week will be spent doing Sophia's final immigration paper work and end with her swearing in ceremony at the American Consulate. Between paper work and some site seeing, I am sure that we can squeeze in a few minutes of shopping on the Island!

Well, to be honest..things are going very well. Sophia is a hoot! Despite the fact that we can not understand a word she says...she gets her point across just fine. So far we have not seen much drama at all. She is easy going, but does know what she likes and does not like.

She has given Michael the "what for" a few times. It is hysterical, and unfortunately our guide was not around to translate. She gets this very serious look on her face and puts an arm straight out with her wrist bent so the hand is palm out. Then while she is saying something that she really means, she will hit his arm with short, fast hits.

Then she will walk away and stop with her back towards you. I'm sure if we understood it, it would not be as cute. But it is really pretty funny.I have a feeling that Sophia will be able to hold her own when she gets home.

She has also come to love Coke. She had one sip, and it was all over. She is also a huge fan of candy and all things junk. Seems that is a sign of being spoiled by the foster parents. But, when those goodies can't be found,,,she loves to eat all types of fruit. I have never seen a 3 year old peel grapes before. Pretty impressive.

She is also a huge fan of dresses only. When I pull out a pair of shorts she just shakes her head no and stands there. As I look around town, I do not see any girls in shorts/pants. Guess it makes using the squatty potty tough.

She is doing great using the western potty, but can tell it isn't natural.

And, as for our bonding.. If having your own personal rest room attendant is any sign, then I would say that things are going great. She calls for me, will hold hands and let me kiss her. She still does not understand what they are, but has resigned herself to the fact that it won't end anytime soon.

We can tell that she is feeling much more comfortable. She is having a good time exploring our luggage and likes to hand feed us treats.

Night time is also going better. We have gotten a nice little routine going and she likes her space in the bed, but also likes to have a hand or foot on me during the night.

So, that is the scoop from here. Our next post will be from Guangzhou. About 7 more days until we come home!

Love you all,

Claire

Pictures from the Park on Thursday

2010-07-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

Sophia and company went to a park in Nanning on Thursday.

--Bart

Nanning Minority Museum

2010-06-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Sophia went with the people that talk funny and keep giving her things (i.e. Claire, Michael, and Mike) to the Minority Museum in Nanning on Wednesday.

Here are the pictures Michael emailed me.

Note that I saved the best for last!

ttfn (ta ta for now)
--Bart

Michael was impressed with the agricultural advances.

The foyer of the museum

View of countryside. Very lush, hilly, with lots of history.

Our oldest holding our youngest.

What a SMILE !!!!

Beginning to Bond

2010-06-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

Claire wrote and sent the following, I'll post pictures as I get them. --Bart

sorry that it has taken me sooo long to sit down and tell you all about this amazing little girl that we are so blessed to have. the few times our internet was connected, i was not able to sit and post. hopefully it will stay on until i finish this.

we are getting to know sophia more and more each day. she does not answer much by the chinese name we were told she is called, so we started to call her mei mei, and it she seems to like it. we will go with that for awhile before we start with sophia.

she seems to be doing great health wise. has a lot of energy and eats pretty good. she just had a transfusion the day before gotcha day, and they are done about every month. so we will get things all straight when we get home. no other medical issues, and she is pretty smart too. likes to draw circles with her orange crayon, and is already repeating a few words.

she is very comfortable with me and my dad, and seems to feel really safe with michael. she lets me hold her hand and do all things for her, but michael is who she wants to carry her when we are outside of the hotel.

a few adoptions ago, i would have taken her want for michael personally, but i have come to realize that this is not about me or any of my wants. what ever makes her feel safe is what matters most. she seems to be pretty social and out going. we went to the play area yesterday, and she had a blast.

we can tell that she was very loved and well cared for. she is very trusting and easy to smile and laugh. becomes more outgoing every day. her foster family sent a back pack with her. it was filled with treats, and a few of her outfits and a photo album. i looked at it when she was sleeping, and can see why she is so very home sick for them.

despite this total upheaval of her little life, she is really sweet. slightly cautious when doing something new, but once she sees it is ok..she is ready to go. she has a mind of her own, but isn't hard headed...

so far (:

she sleeps ALL NIGHT!!! and takes a long afternoon nap. and, she is a complete bed hog like mia. talks A LOT, even in her sleep. it doesn't seem to bother her that we can not understand her, she keeps on going.

she sleeps with a little red sippy bottle/cup. and actually drinks from it in her sleep! no wonder she is not dry at night. i was told to wake her up at 12 and 3 am to go potty. uuhhh sure...she can have her water bottle, but this mama brought pull ups. the LAST thing i am going to do is wake a sleeping kid 2 times a night to go pee!

gotcha day went really well. i had no set expectations, but she came over to us and hung out. she was very quiet and shy, but did not cry until we were headed to the van, she put it all together..and broke down. the type of crying that breaks your heart. she was calling out for her foster parents over and over and looking around.

once we got to the hotel, she was a little more calm. but as it became time for bed, she became really upset. we had our guide come and talk with her because she had cried so hard, so threw up a few times. she was carrying her little back pack and asking to go home.

it was heart breaking. i cried too. not sure it helped, but you could just see how lost she was. but, our guide is fantastic and was able to help me get her a bath and settled for bed. sophia did let me lay down with her, and she feel fast asleep.

she woke up the next morning very stoic, and was crying very quietly. unfortunately, we had to be back at the adoption building at 9 am, so there wasn't much time for just letting her relax and get ready slowly.

going back to where gotcha day was, and seeing the nannies again was not easy. she seemed to be really confused, and went between us and them.

after we had our interview, sophia became officially ours!! we took a few pictures, but basically snuck out while the nannies weren't there.

last night's bed time was better. she stilled cried that quiet, heart breaking cry, but didn't throw up. she let michael hold her while i rubbed her back for awhile. then we laid down and she faded off to sleep.

no tears this morning. but still confused. we got dressed and headed to bkfast. she ate much better today. then we headed out on a tour of the city and went to a new museum the area . i am not a big museum person, but i really enjoyed this one. the expeditions were about the different minority groups in china. showed their housing, costumes and way of life.

we headed to pizza hut for lunch, then visited with a family in the lobby from canada. they are adopting their first child, and a little bit over whelmed. seems their little guy has no use for the mama...only wants daddy. mom is taking this pretty hard and dad is worried that the kids will never leave him.

so wish i had some advice for them, but just can't relate (: we talked for awhile and tried to assure them it would be ok in time. seriously handsome little man! he didn't want anything to do with me either, but i'd still take him!

so, sophia is napping right now and when she gets up we will do a little exploring. found a sweet dress shop where the dresses are hand made form sophia's home town. can not leave with out a few of those for the girls!

she resembles mia a little in the forehead and nose area, and they have the same type of thin..light colored hair. they will be taken as bio sisters i think, but not twins. they are not built alike. sophia is pale, more solid in build, and has bigger hands and feet. she is shorter then mia, but really just stinkin beautiful!

she has tiny ears and hardly any chin. under her eyes get puffy when she is tired.a really cute smile and a lot of very straight teeth. our guide even commented on how nice her teeth are.

we have come to know one of her "looks" when she thinks that she is getting away with something, she will put her bottom teeth out. kind of a half smile, half yikes look. pretty cute.

safe to say that we are in love. am looking forward to getting some smooches on those lips. they are to die for. she has no problem being kissed on the cheek and head, just looks at us like we have 3 heads. probably won't appreciate a lip smooch for awhile.

so that is about it from here. things are really going well, but we are really missing everyone back home. not bringing everyone has its pros and cons. have to see how it weighs out when all is said and done.

take care!

claire

Gotcha!

2010-06-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

We got her!!! Claire says Sophia got a bit upset when the nannies left her with Claire (understandable), but has done pretty well since then.

She's very talkative and playful, but a bit confused about what's going on since Claire doesn't speak Chinese.

We had a very good Skype video call this morning (Monday night there), and she was most excited to see herself in the little box on the computer screen. I don't think she knew what to make about Bart, Olivia, Logan, and Mia in the big box on the screen trying to talk to her.

Claire says it very obvious that she was well cared for and taken care of.

Hopefully, Claire will be able to work through the internet issues and provide everyone a good update.

-- Bart

In Nanning, China

2010-06-27T14:47:00.001-07:00

hey!

we are having some internet issues, seems to come and go. so we are doing our best to stay in touch.

got some good sleep last night. about 4 1/2 hours. the beds are hard, but still love those white, fluffy comforters! our goal for today is trying to stay awake this afternoon so we can sleep tonight.

breakfast was good. buffet is like the first hotel was in beijing. more of the local foods. but had eggs and fruit, so we were good. then we met our guide, lisa...very nice!..and walked around the hotel area about 5 or 6 blocks to get oriented.

she showed us a few good places to eat and shop. then we took a cab to the wal-mart. crazy on a week end day! looks like it will be more fun to shop at the local shops @ here. we are very close to a nice fruit/small grocery type store and a bakery. nanning has a nice feel to it. big city, but not so over whelming like GZ was.

probably because we have a little experience over here. the people are not very used to foreigners, we are very..very...very few and far between. but with dark hair, and not being tall...we don't stick out to bad.

the city is nice. very humid, but also very over cast so you aren't in the hot sun.

it is very tropical here. a lot of lush plants and palm tress. there has also been a big rise in the people using electric scooters instead of bikes and many more cars. kind of bitter sweet, losing that image of bikes everywhere and with little kids on the back. now they ride standing up between the parent and the handle bars.

i'm sure the locals are fine with it!

we are headed out for lunch, and will make a stop to check out the pool. it looks huge.

we are scheduled to get sophia around 3:30 monday afternoon! while at wal-mart, lisa helped me to pick out a sweet little back pack for her. it has a goat and a wolf on it. a VERY popular kids movie/show in china.

hopefully it will buy us a few moments without tears!

ok, i have a hungry Pa waiting. we are off to search for food beside McD's.

LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU!

claire

And they're off

2010-06-25T05:41:00.000-07:00

Claire, Michael and Mike (Claire's dad) were dropped off at Orlando International at 6:45 Friday, 6/25. Three flights later --with plane changes/layovers in Detroit and Shanghai they'll should land in Nanning, China on Sunday morning around 1:00 AM.

Then get Sophia sometime Monday.
-- Bart

Almost on our way!

2010-06-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

We fly out very early Friday morning, and some 3o plus hours...3 lay overs and 4 flights later... we will land in Sophia's province!

We will have a day to get settled and ready for our gotcha day. Some time late Sunday night, our time...Monday afternoon in China... we will get our little girl!

We will spend the next 2 weeks in Nanning and Guangzhou completing the formal adoption, immigration and medical paper work. We will end our trip with the swearing in of her American citizenship at the United States Consulate in Guangzhou! Then we will begin the trip home and God willing be home on July 9th.

TRAVEL APPROVAL!

2010-06-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

We got the call today! Our agency has received our travel approval, and God willing we will be in China in a few weeks!

It has been almost a year to date since we saw Sophia for the first time. A year that has flown by in so many ways, but has also dragged in our wait to have our newest daughter home.

But God is good, He has seen us through the seemingly endless piles of paper work and red tape.

Just a few more weeks, and we will be Sophia's forever family. Pretty stinkin cool!

Claire

Room is ready!!! Give me my girl!!!

2010-04-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

O.K.....

This wait does not get any easier. It has almost a year since we saw our sweet Sophia's face for the first time.

We are so very ready to have our little girl home.

I do have a few other things going on that keep me pretty busy, but she is always on my mind.

Most of you know that I turn my anxious energy towards home projects. Thankfully, Mia and Sophia's room was one that honestly needed to be done.

So, for the past few months I have completely enjoyed transforming my 16 year old son's "man cave", into a room fit for my two precious little girls.

Don't worry, Michael is happily settled in his new man cave. Even though I know Michael would prefer his own room, he has been great about sharing a room with Logan. And Logan is LOVING it.

Hopefully the noise coming from Mia and Sophia's room will be one of good times, minus the electric guitar wailing and random, odd odors.....

Claire

Happy Birthday sweet Mei Mei!

2010-03-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Sophia's 3rd birthday. It is a bitter sweet day in many ways.

She is not home to celebrate with her forever family, and she is not celebrating with her birth family.

There are two women on opposite continents thinking of her, loving her and missing her. Two women who long to hold her, kiss that sweet face and hold that little body close.

To say that I will be forever grateful to her birth mom for making the decision to give her life is a huge understatement. But I will say that I will love her as my own for the rest of her life, and will cherish having her for a daughter.

I don't know the circumstances that lead to her becoming orphaned, but I do know that those days are coming to an end. We can not wait to get her home!!

Happy Birth day sweet girl. May it be filled with joy.

We love you!

some more pictures of my favorite people

2010-02-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite people

2010-02-03T14:11:00.001-08:00

Zhang, 10. With China's blessing..our new daughter! She is said to be very sweet, shy and a hard worker. Hopefully home next winter.

Olivia, 14. Kind, benevolent and sweet.

Michael, 16. Quiet, sweet and an awesome guitar player.

Logan, 6. Brave, too stinkin cute, and all boy!

Mia, 4. Brilliant, beautiful,shy and always a mama's girl.

Sophia, 2 1/2....coming home soon!!! She is said to be very social, loving and not fond of sharing her candy. She is going to fit right in.

Here are some of my F A V O R I T E people in the world! Can't imagine life without them. All of the laundry, the dishes, the car pooling...and the love.

So... now that our paper chase for Sophia is over...and we thought we were settled as a family of 7... God had other plans! We have been blessed with a referral for a beautiful girl. If China gives us the o.k., we will have another daughter!

Crazy, but wonderful.

Claire

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T16:58:00.000-08:00

Lilly and some of Oscar.... checking out the gift stash

Michael and his new guitar

Logan and Mia opening a secret santa gift from the Strand family

Pa, Mia and Livy

Logan and Michael

Logan and Mia at his class party

Our kiddos, can't wait for next year...Sophia will fit great in that space

Logan, Mia, A and J, Isaiah, Kaleb and Josiah

Logan

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year.

Amazing how fast the holiday season sneaks up on me every year. It isn't like the dates change,or I don't get plenty of heads up with the Christmas decor out around town.

But, every year Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to be here before I know it. Maybe it is because we really never have a fall, much less winter down here. I grew up in the north, so swimming in October is still surreal to me. So no change of seasons, or big dip in temps to clue me in.

Or, it could just be that I am loosing my edge as I get older.

But, with God's grace..everything was done, wrapped and ready to go on time.

I know that this holiday is not truely about the gifts, the decorations, parties or getting the perfect photo for your card. It is a time of celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus.

But every year I find myself struggling to not be a Martha and striving to be a Mary. To not get caught up in the world's expectations of how to celebrate, but always working on the ability to put that aside, sit at the feet of Jesus and soak Him in.

I am a work in progress, and so thankfull that He loves us regardless of our short commings

Hope that this New Year is one filled with peace, love and joy.

Love,

Claire

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

DTC!!! DTC!!!

God granted my Christmas wish...our dossier was mailed to China this morning!

That is a huge step forward in bringing our Sophia home. Now our papers will be logged in and reviewed by the CCAA, China's Center for Adoption Affairs.

If everything is in order, we will receive our letter of acceptance and await travel news. Our time frame to travel is around 4 to 6 months. So, now we wait....again.

But, there is a lot going on to distract me. The kids just started their Christmas break, and we are all looking forward to staying home, relaxing and maybe knocking out some projects.

I also have some shopping left to do. And am looking forward to just being home. Time is going by so fast, I just want to soak things in.

Hope this is a great holiday season for everyone. Take care and don't stress. Jesus isn't asking for us to live up to the world's standards of what the holidays should be. But to love your neighbor as yourself and take care of those who can not take care of themselves.

Love,
Claire

Hanging out

2009-10-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition....Lilly

Proof that Bart actually likes her (:

Mia at dinner

Olivia at dinner

Logan at dinner

Michael's eye at dinner.....crazy night, nothing out of the norm.

Logan and A chillin out

KK and his daddy Patrick

Logan chillin with the pets

Football warrior

Michael and Olivia...career night at youth group

Mia's 4th birthday!!!!

Most up to date picture of our Mei Mei

life is so short.....

2009-10-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

I hate it when we are given that reminder. Life really is a vapor. We all lost a great person this week- end. Most of you do not know her, but I wish you did.

Julie B. passed away on Saturday evening. She left this world too soon. She was, wow..that is hard to type...always will be one of those people who were just a genuinely nice person. Very caring, kind and always ready to jump in and help out.

Just really too soon. Julie, you will be missed very much. Rest in peace, and will see you again.

Claire

Chillin'out

2009-07-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

Logan w/ Petty's car at Daytona 500

Crazy cousins

Playing at the beach

Pa, Noni, Aunt Amy and Mike catchin some shade

Daddy and his baby girl

Family reunion at Daytona Beach-- my side

SOOO excited to swim!

Hanging out in the lazy river

Logan, Mike and Livy racing the simulators

Me and my awesome crew, minus Mei Mei ):

Missing Mei Mei

2009-07-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Mei Mei in her awesome chicken suit!

I had some strange idea that summer would be a time of rest.

Not with this crew! 2 family reunions in 3 weeks, church camp, CIY and the paper chase for our newest kiddo! For now,we are calling her Mei Mei. That is the Chinese name for little sister.

But, it is great. The kids are having a great summer and as usual, it is going by so fast. Despite the wild ride, I am finding myself in a familiar place. I am really missing my new little girl.

I can not wait to see her in person, hold her, kiss that face and bring her home. I look at the clock periodically during the day, trying to imagine what she might be doing. Who loved on her when she woke up this morning? What did she do today? And I pray that she is happy and healthy. I ask God to watch over her and to pour His love out onto her until I can do it in person.

I know He will. I know He loves her more then I can imagine. So, I do my best to rest in that and keep going on this mountain of paper work to bring my baby home.

Hope all is going well.

Love,
Claire

Just catching up

2009-07-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

4 of our 5! can't wait until mei mei is home!

livy and buddy at awards night.

logan and buds, last day of kindergarten.

mia! swiiming all on her own!!!

mike and his new guitar.

beautiful angels at our annual travel group reunion.

Just posting some updated pictures. Things are going good here, summer is in full swing.

I am beat tonight, spent the last two days re-arranging kids rooms. The girls are now sharing the biggest bedroom and each guy has his own man cave. Figured they would need a place to hide when Mei Mei comes home, and they are out numbered.

Hope all is well. Am living for our time at the beach in a few weeks. It is like a drug, just need that sand in my toes and some good seafood in my belly!

Take care,
Claire

SOOO much to catch up on!

2009-06-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hey!

I have SO much to catch up on. Summer is going great, but very busy.

We have celebrated Logan's one year anniversary home, his 6th birthday and are about to celebrate Michael's 16th!

We are knee deep in post placement and dossier paper work. So amazing to believe that we have been given the blessing of another daughter. As soon as I can, I will post pictures and some details about our newest. But I can tell you that she is just to die for.

She looks so sweet and a little sad in her pictures. Life has not treated her as the priceless child she is. I am not going to go into much detail of her history, because it isn't mine to share. But I can say that hopefully soon she will come to know and accept our love for her. And that she will come to know and accept the love God has for her.

To believe that she is SOOOOOOOOOOO love and wanted, to be able to grow in that love and become all that God has intended her to be.

My head is swimming with things I need to do, things I want to do, and things I am being convicted of...and pretending I don't have to do.

This year has been a really amazing year for me. I have been challenged in ways I never imagined. I would love to say that I rose to each challenge, and handled them with ease..but that would be such a lie.

I don't think there there has been more then a stretch of a few weeks at a time where I have not had to ask God to let me see others as He does. Where relying on my own abilities failed.

I can look back and see that things have only turned out as awesome as they have because God was in them.

I honestly do not know how anyone can make it through this life without Him. Without His love, His guidance, grace, and unending patience.

Or the ever so needed, but done in love, kick in the rear.

Hope all is well, we are doing great. Better then we deserve.

Claire

PAPER PREGNANT AGAIN!!!

2009-06-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post that we are expecting again!

God willing, we will have our new daughter home next year. The story of her coming home is a little long, and ALL of the glory and credit goes to God.

I can't post any pictures or details yet. But I will as soon as we receive our approval from China.

I can tell you that she is an amazing 2 year old little girl from the south of China. From the description of her personality, she is a spit fire. She will fit right in.

Love,
Claire

Hangin' out

2009-05-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Hope that everyone has a wonderful Memorial week end. And take a moment to thank those who have served, so that we can be where we are today.

Just hanging on until all of the end of the year activities are over. The kids are more then ready for summer vacation, and to be honest...so am I. It has been a great school year. The kids did fantastic, and Logan just blossomed.. he just continues to amaze us with how far he has come in just a year.

FINALLY that feeling of restlessness has past. And now that I look back, I can see that the restlessness was all of my own doing. Trying to go in a direction that I wanted, not what God wanted. One might think I have figured this one out by now!

God has been working to get my attention focused onto a certain area for awhile now, but I have not been willing to really listen. He has sent more then a few burning bushes my way, and I felt the heat.

I have spent a lot of time wrestling with the concept of faith, deeds and pure religion. But James 1:22 just laid it out very clearly. " Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourself. Do what it says."

James 1:27 goes on to talk about what God accepts as pure religion," Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

My own issues were the part of "..in their distress.." I take this to mean that we are to get in there, where they are...get our hands dirty and pour ourselves into them.

It is time for me to turn my attention to those here at home. We have always been open to adopting more children since Mia and Logan have come home. I just always assumed the next one would be from China also. Notice how many I's there are in my plan?

But God placed a different thought with Bart. He planted the desire to provide foster care to the children around here who need a safe, loving home. And, after some time allowing that leading to penetrate my thick skull... I realized that not all orphans are in China.

So, we are about to embark on a new journey. We are signed up to take the required classes to foster, or foster to adopt. We have no clue where this will take us, but can't wait to find out.

Love,
Claire

Really ready for summer

2009-03-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

police man and daddy

one of these will be my future son-in-law!

shuttle launch- view from our street

getting ready for pool time

body art at its cutest

my princess having tea
Hey out there,

Hope all is good. Sooo ready for summer down here.

Sooooooooo tired of getting up and out the door 5 days a week to end the day with home work and projects. The weather is amazing, and the stores are stocked with sunblock and summer toys.

Thankfully we have spring break next week. We are headed out for some down time camping on a big river here. It will be the official kick off of our summer. It has been a long 5 months without swimming, boating and fishing.

As I have said a million times, I have no idea how you all survive up north during your winters.

Please feel free to come visit and thaw out!

Love,
Claire

A taste of summer

2009-03-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Restless

2009-03-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Nothing terribly exciting going on around here, that I know of yet.

For about the past 6 months, I have been in a season of restlessness and simplification. I had no stinkin idea of what to do with both things, so i turned my focus towards doing some serious de-cluttering of our closets,drawers and pretty much every nook and cranny in the house.

As I went room by room, I was both thankful for all of the material things we have...and also convicted about all of the material things we have. My conviction grew with each bag of stuff I loaded into my car and took to donate.

I realized that I have slipped very far away from being a living example to my kids about how stuff doesn't make you truly happy or more importantly...content.

I still don't really know where this season is taking me.I know that I need to stay in God's word and lean on Him to help me be the example I need to be. I sat down the other day, and opened up my favorite book of the Bible--Proverbs.

I decided to make the title, " Prologue: Purpose and Theme" my purpose and theme...to do my best to attain wisdom and discipline. To gain understanding, and to do what is right and just. To submit to God, and His commands in His word. To trust in Him, not myself.

Love,
Claire

Strawberry picking

2009-03-03T16:40:00.000-08:00

on the hayride at the strawberry farm.

sunday dinner with uncle jim, aunt alice, nonni and pa and cousins and kids.

princess mia and her armed guard, sir logan.

liv, logan and mia picking strawberries.

YES!!! there were as delicious as they look. especially with the home made chocolate dip the farm makes.

Just a few pictures of us out and about, enjoying our last few weeks of cool weather.

Back in the land of the living!

2009-03-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

Hey out there!

Hope all is going great. We are all back to normal, well...what our normal is anyway.

Fevers are gone, boogies are gone and we have enjoyed these past two weeks being healthy.

The kids are doing great, growing and changing every day. Mike is still loving high school, and has been promoted to 2nd lieutenant in his JROTC program. He is also getting really good at guitar. He wrote a cover piece for a rap song, and his guitar teacher is going to record mike playing the song, and put it on a CD.

Livy is doing great too. Cruising through middle school, and about to embark on her first try as an entrepreneur,she and a good friend are going to try the puppy breading business. Should be an interesting next few months, thankfully...the puppies will say with the mama, who is not at our house!!

Little man Logan...where do I start? He is such a precious boy, ALL boy! He is so into playing cowboy, good guy/bad guy, star wars, and anything else where the super hero saves the day. Has it really been 9 months since he came home? His English is coming along great, and he is really a great kid. Just keeps me laughing with seeing everything so new and exciting through his eyes.

The baby is not such a baby anymore. Not sure I like this at all. Mia is 3 1/2 and ALL girl. If it isn't pink and doesn't twirl, she doesn't wear it. She is very into the whole princess thing. You should have heard the screams of delight when we were out shopping the other day. She found a fake watch ( of course it had princess' on it) and best of all..... it was really a lip gloss holder!

Hope all is well.

Love,
Claire

Goin'to the dogs down here...

2009-02-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hey there,

Hope all is well out there. We have been hit with the flu here, and might actually be over the worst. Mia was so sick, she ran a 105 fever for 5 days. Thankfully it went down with motrin and tylenol, but shot up as soon as the meds began to wear off. She did great with drinking, so avoided the dreaded hospital, IV visit.

Logan and I were next, then Livy but no where as bad as Mia was. Mike seems to have gotten away with just a touch of it. Of course superman Bart is still going strong!

Wish we had something much more excited to post about! But in the grand scheme of things, we are doing great. Looking forward to the weather warming up and getting back to the lake and beach. DO NOT know how ya'll survive those winters up north. I am totally impressed with your physical stamina!

Take care.

Love,
Claire

Still hanging out

2009-01-16T21:18:00.000-08:00

Livy
Babies at putt-putt. Yes, we have alligators everywhere down here.
Go Gators!
My beautiful Mike. He feel asleep during the National championship game, so we dressed him up.

Just hanging out

2009-01-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

Aunt Amy and my girls at the park.
Mike and Mia ripping up guitar hero!
Bart, Amy, Mike, Alissa and Pat at putt-putt.
Alissa, Logan and Mia horsing around.
Logan and Mia
Hey there,

Hope all is well. We are just enjoying some quiet time, well...as quiet as it gets for us.

My sister, niece and my niece's boy friend came down for a visit last week. It was a great time! They thawed out and then headed back to the frozen north. I can't imagine how you all up there do it! We have been in the 50's down here, and that is about as cold as we can take.

But it is all good! Via internet, we have the joy of living through a few of our close friends as they travel to China and bring home their beautiful girls. Both Kate and Grace are home now! And Leah and Maya P will be home soon! No, we aren't going back -- just yet.

Stay warm out there, and take care.

Love,
Claire

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

Unstinkin believable! Is it really 2009?

I have sat down several times to write some beautiful expose about last year and our dreams for the new year, but it isn't happening.

I'm not much of a writer to begin with, so I will just keep it simple.

It was a year full of great blessings, some challenges and a season of simplification for me. I don't function well in chaos and disorder, so I have just gone room by room and closet by closet seriously purging things we don't need. Don't worry...I'm keeping Bart and the kids! The dogs are still in question. (:

To the dismay of the kids, I have removed my chauffeur's hat and called a halt to 99% of the after school activities that keep us running all week and week ends. My bottom is already regaining feeling from my serious case of car pool booty-itious.

I haven't made any resolutions for the New Year because I am still working on the one's from 2006. But I know this year will be great. All of our friends and family are healthy and we are really settling in with our newest angel, Logan.

Take care,
Claire

My beautiful kiddos

2008-12-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Crazy bunch!

2008-12-01T18:24:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you all had a great holiday. We spent the week with 5 of our closest family/friends camping in a National Forrest.

I'll be the first to admit that 8 days in the forrest is even a bit long for me. The company was great, I just don't do well with chilling out for that long. But it was some great down time..and much needed.

Logan mastered riding his bike without training wheels! Mia conquered her dislike of sand and dirt! Livy became quite the volleyball player, and it was sooooooooooooo good to see Michael without that X box or cell phone attached to his body!

But it is good to be home. Trips like those really help to remind me of all that I have to be thankful for. An amazing husband, healthy and crazy children, wonderful friends, a dishwasher, HOT water, and more then one potty for 6 people!!!

Hope all is well.

Love,
Claire

Lacking complete motivation

2008-11-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

Hope life is treating you well.

We are doing great. Had the chance to meet up with some dear friends from our first adoption group to China last week end. We had dinner out and just enjoyed chatting and seeing Laura and her beautiful family.

Not much else going on really..... just lacking motivation in many areas. The house looks like a tornado blew through, I have washed the same load of laundry 3 times in 2 days, and you could feed a small village with all of the snacks and drinks strewn about in my car.

I never realized just how OCD I am until Logan came home. I did great with just two kids, held my own when Mia came home..but now...I am totally out numbered. I thought for sure that God had given me a child after my own neat-freakness in Logan. Remember my posts from China about how neat he was? WAS is the key word there.

Oh well, I know there is more to life then having a picked up house. But there is just something about those fresh vaccuum tracks going across the carpet that makes me all warm inside.

Maybe my attitude is this way because I am sooooooooooo ready for it to be Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday, and we are headed out for our 7th annual camping trip with our precious group of friends. Out into a national forrest for a whole week!

No clock, no tv, no cell reception. Just room to run and play, 6 nights of campfires and s'mores, and the most amazing down time I have ever known.

CAN'T WAIT!!!

love,
claire

Busch Gardens!

2008-11-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post some pictures of our week end trip to Busch Gardens, and some of the halloween festivities in our hood.

We went to BG with 3 other families, and everyone had a great time. Logan was a riot, and Mia even was able to let go of some of her fears and really enjoy the rides and the huge sand pit/play area.

All is well here. We are loving the cooler weather, and can't wait for our annual Thanksgiving camping trip. We will be playing hooky from school for a few days, we lost some vacation days due to a few hurricanes. the kids are really upset with this decision, but I think they'll be o.k. (:

Hope all is well.

Love,
Claire

Happy Fall!

2008-10-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll!

Just wanted to share a few pictures of the kids and what they have been up to. And our ONE fall leaf we found. Not much of a change of seasons for us down here, so we get excited over the little things.

Logan and Mia are having a blast riding the bikes they received for their birthdays. School is going great for Logan. In fact.....he is adjusting so well that he had a check mark on his progress report a few weeks ago. Seems he is having trouble "controlling his verbal impulses".

TOO FUNNY!! He is talking too much in class! Remember, he has only been in the US since June!

Livy has been hard at work on her science project. A cake decorated as a plant cell! Yes, her science teacher is a bit off. And no!!!! I'm not her science teacher! She has also made squad leader for her ROTC class. It is wild to watch my girly-girl go all army on Thursdays.

Mike is off being a teenager, it is hard to get a good picture of him as he flies out the door. But, he did stop long enough to let us know that he made the teen worship band at church and his school's ROTC Rifle Team. He is really excited.

OH!!!!!!! Almost forgot... we had some testing done for Logan, and it turns out that he isn't 7. He is 5! There were many discrepancies in his paper work that led to us looking into things.

So, after a few moments of shock...we realized that we just postponed paying his college tuition by 2 years!

Hope all is well out there. I know things seem to be a little crazy these days, but it's all good. We serve a mighty God, and He is in control.

Love,
Claire and crew

Not blinking anymore!

2008-10-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am not going to blink again.

Seriously! I have no idea how...but Mia turned 3 last week, Logan is sitting on our lap top yelling at a computer game, IN PERFECT ENGLISH, Mike has a date to his high school homecoming dance and livy is turning 13 in a few months!!

Too much for this sappy mama.

Our baby turned 3 this week. It is hard to believe that Mia has been home almost 2 years. I remember our gotcha day like it was yesterday. She was so tiny, sweet and scared to death. We called her our velcro baby. Not much has really changed....she is still tiny, sweet and very reserved outside of family and close friends.

But what an angel. She is so smart, funny and beautiful inside and out. I can not imagine my life without her, without any of my kids. They are such gifts.

Given that September is the birth month of two of my kiddos, I want to especially thank Mia and Logan's birth moms for the incredible risks they took in leaving their babies at safe place for someone to find. They risked their freedom to help their children. They could have so easily taken the other road.... not only legal and free, but heavily encouraged for unwanted pregnancies.They could have aborted these precious babies.

I pray that God gives them peace and comfort, and that somehow they can know how loved and cherished Mia and Logan are.

Now off to do those mountains of laundry my precious angels have made while watching the 4th love of my life.....NFL FOOTBALL!!!! GO SKINS!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope all is well.

Love,
Claire

Happy Birthday sweet boy.

2008-09-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

Well, what an awesome day yesterday was.

We were given the tremendous honor of celebrating Logan's 7th birthday with him finally home! It was one of those times were I tried not to get caught up in all that we missed in those 6 1/2 years, but enjoy the moments we have.

I also found myself thinking of his birth parents a lot this week. I pray that some how they have a sense of peace, that some how they can feel how much we love Logan. How brave he has been these past few months...leaving all that he knew and trusting these total strangers enough to come home with us and begin a new life.

Everyday he opens up more and more. He is happy, healthy, outgoing and so smart. He lights up a room with his smile and easy going personality. He is so full of promise, he masters anything he sets out to do.

As we continue to settle into our new family dynamics, it is so evident that God created this child to be ours.

Happy Birthday little man. We love you!

Birthday boy!

2008-09-15T20:03:00.001-07:00

Crazy train!

2008-09-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

We are riding the crazy train down here.

With school in full swing, guitar,lacrosse,gymnastics and laundry....i am just holding on tight in this wild ride.

We are all doing great though, just enjoying life in between hurricanes. School is going great for the kids now that those first day jitters are gone.

I am counting my many, many blessing these past few weeks as friend's of ours are dealing with the unthinkable...the passing of their little girl, Anna. We had the privilege of traveling with Anna's parents in June, to China to bring her home when we brought home Logan.

My heart is broken for them. They did not have much time with their daughter here, but they are trusting in the truth that they will be together for eternity some day.

So, with that heavy on my heart this week...I just want to post some pictures of my babies and try and savor each day we are all given.

Love,
Claire

Growing mold!!!

2008-08-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

ARGHHHHH!!!!

It has been raining since Monday night down here. This has to be the longest tropical storm in history. Everything and everyone is totally water logged. And those poor people along the coast, they are just floating away with all of the flooding.

We are doing our best to avoid getting cabin fever. Heading out whenever there is a break in the weather. And enjoying the chance to stay up late, and over dose on the Olympics.

We weren't ready for school to start yet, so even though we are water logged...we are really thankful for these few extra days to just relax.

The kids are doing great, Logan LOVED his first day of school and is really excited to go back whenever they start school again. He just continues to amaze us with his strength to just go out and embrace all of these new life experiences.

As we settle into our new family dynamics a little more ever day, I can not imagine my life without these kids that God has given us. Not every day is great, some are just a matter of survival, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Love,
Claire

Bitter Sweet Day

2008-08-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our summer vacation is over. It went so fast, too fast.

And, I am having an even harder time believing that our first born went off to high school! It was 6:20 AM, and I am watching Mike walk down the street with his friends to catch the bus. It was surreal.

I can remember when these guys were 5 and 6 years old, and just learning to ride their bikes without training wheels on that same street.

Then, if that wasn't enough for one day....it was time to get Livy and Logan ready to go. Livy is in her second year of middle school, so it wasn't as psychologically damaging to me to have her head off. But I miss her a lot today.

Some how I managed to keep myself together long enough to take Logan to school for his first day of kindergarten in America. As usual, he was sooooooo brave on the outside, but there was that same look of uncertainty in his eyes that I saw when we were on the plane flying back to the states.

It was hard to watch them all head off today. I know they'll be home soon, but it is just another reminder of how fast life is going. And that I need to really do my best to cherish each day we have together as a family. And with that I need to go and snuggle with my baby girl, Mia.

Love,
Claire

Beautiful babies!!

2008-08-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Can I just take a moment and brag about how awesome these kids are!

Logan said his first multi-word prayer tonight at dinner. It was all I could do to not get choked up.
It went like this..." Tanks for Mama, Logan, Michael shopping shoes. Tanks for basketball! Ehh Mia, Sissy, Noni lots a ice cream. Ehh, Daddy home."

I had a great day with just my boys. We hit the mall and did some back to school shopping while my mom took the girls out for ice cream and girl time. Logan had a great time shopping for shoes, he would look at all of the shoes on the wall, and say" good girl or good boy." That means boy's or girl's. He feel in love with some black basketball shoes, which lead to buying a new basketball.

Yes, our tiny man loves to shoot hoops. And some how, some way...he actually makes some shots.

My other kiddos are doing their best to enjoy the last week of summer. A few more days of sleeping in then real life starts again. Mike will be off to high school and playing football, Livy will be in 7th and starting Lacrosse soon. Thankfully, I will still have my Mia at home. I'm sure that we will find a way to get into some trouble, I mean stay busy (:

Love,
Claire

Beach trip

2008-08-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

We hit the beach with some friends for our annual end of the summer vacation camping trip.
I can't believe that the kids start school in just a week and a half.

The kids had a blast, well...all except for Mia. She isn't a beach babe. Thankfully there was a great pool where she could go to escape the sand, and all of the things that crawl in it.

All in all, it was a great trip, but ended to quickly. Thankfully.....we still have 3 more months of beach weather!

Love,
Claire and gang

Sun and surf

2008-08-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

One month home!!

2008-07-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it has taken me so long to post an update.I can't believe that we have been home a few days over a month, it already seems like the entire trip was a dream. I do feel like I left a little bit of my heart over in China, I really hope to be able to go back and do some missions trips in the next few years.

So, we are all home safe and sound. The flights home went well, and the cool thing was that we flew back to the states with a great couple who were bringing home their 4th kiddo from China. Their 8th total! NO!! We aren't going to try to keep up with them!

Ok, what has happened in a month? Great things! Logan is doing awesome. He is all boy, and spent his first few weeks dressed in various sizes of band-aides. He seems to like to live life on the edge. He is already a pro at swimming...without any floaties! Riding his bike, scooter and has conquered his fear of our dogs. We took a few day long beach trips to see how he would do when we head out for a week in August. Of course he loved it!

He is picking up English pretty fast, and absolutely loves to go clothes shopping. He gets really excited when we go out in the car. He rarely leaves the house without his hair gelled or a spray or 6 from Mike's cologne.

We are really amazed at how ready he is to be in our family. What a gift from God this little boy is. We have taken him to the doctor and still have some blood work to do, but he is healthy and actually on the growth chart for his age! All be it on the bottom line, but on it!

After some discussions with other families with older adopted kiddos, and our pediatrician...it looks like Logan will be starting kindergarten in the fall. I am not sure that I am ready to have him head of to school just yet, but we really believe that he is ready to go and begin his new life here.

As for the rest of us, we are doing great. Bart is catching up on work, Mia is almost out of denial that Logan is here to stay and we are just enjoying the summer....sleeping in and getting tan. I know, it's a rough life, but someone has to live it.

Hope all is well, here are a few pictures of what we've been up to.

Love,
Claire

Be home soon!

2008-06-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Had Mike do an entry for me just in case I couldn't get on before we head out.

But, everyone is finally asleep, and we are 99% packed to fly out early tomorrow morning.

Wow, what a journey this has been. I think it is going to take awhile for everything to really sink in. I am so ready to come home, but it is also bitter sweet. This is the birth place of 2 of our children. I wonder how things will go for Logan, new faces, smells, foods and language. I know that he will grieve for what he knew, but I also know what things will look like on the other side when he gets there.

All I have to do is look at Mia. She is so happy, healthy and secure with us. I know Logan will be too. He has an awesome life before him. Freedom to become a follower of Christ, unlimited educational choices, excellent health care, freedom from being stigmatized as an unwanted member of society. And, a family who knows that they have been blessed by God to have him as their son and brother.

And he is so blessed to have all of you in his life. Once he catches onto this concept of unconditional love, there will be no stopping this kid.

Today Logan became an American citizen, and will have legal status once he touches American soil in Detroit. As I looked around the consulate, I saw about 60 children who are about to begin a completely new life in the next few days. It was a very short swearing in ceremony, but a great one.

We have been asked by many if we will be back to do this again. I can honestly say that we have no plans to. We are very content with our family, it really feels right. But we have also learned that our plans are not Gods plans. I never thought I would be a mother of 4 children, much less of 2 born across the world. Pretty stinkin awesome!

Can't wait for ya'll to meet the little man, guard your hearts.....he is a real charmer. And no, ya'll can't have him either.

See ya soon!

Love,
Claire

Hasta la vista, baby!

2008-06-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

Due to popular demand (I assume), I have decided to post on said "blog". Tonight we ate a hearty meal of rice, noodles, orange chicken, and second-hand smoke from the table next to us. This was a relief to our stomachs, because it wasn't McDonald's or that other place.

We fly out tomorrow morning at around 8:20, and so, for customs, we have to wake up at 4:30. Ok, heres one- we fly out Friday morning at 8:20, fly for a total of 30 hours, then land in Orlando Friday evening. Yes, it's creepy. I don't know if it's devine intervention, aliens, wormholes, alien wormholes, or magic. I haven't put my finger on it yet (I'm open to suggestions).

Today we went to a "Consulate" appointment, where we sat for an hour and a half, got our photos checked, and raised our right hand and took an oath that "All of the information was correct and we have not lied to the government of the United States." Then we came back to the hotel. My mom took me shopping and I found some ballin' Nike's for $20 (who knew I wore a size 44?). Then we went to a Asian restaurant for dinner (see paragraph 1).

So that's about it. That's my "blog" post.

Signing off from Guangzhou, China for one last time. (...or is it?) [CLIFF HANGER!!]
-Mike and the rest of the fam.

PS- My mom wants you all to know that Logan gave her a kiss. Finally.

Stir crazy

2008-06-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll!

It has poured rain all day. We did get out for lunch and some shoe shopping. But had to come back when it really picked up.

One of the moms in our travel group found a store that has nice name brand tennis shoes for a great deal. We took little man, and his little feet and bought two pairs. He loved picking them out.

Mia got a pair of those annoying, I mean adorable squeaky shoes. I thought we would make it through the trip without buying any....silly me.

Thank God we have our consulate appointment tomorrow, we are ready to come home. It has been a fantastic trip, but two weeks in just one city is a little too long. It is beautiful here, but hard to be in a place where your brain doesn't understand anything it sees or hears for an extended amount of time. Like I said before, it has given me an excellent idea of what is to come for Logan. It can be pretty intense.

Hope all is well, we are stir crazy..but doing great. Every day we settle in as a family of 6 more and more. Mia and Logan are acting like they have been together forever. The love-hate relationship is in full swing. They are learning how to push each others buttons, and really enjoying it. I think I might need a good pair of ear plugs when I get home.

Love ya'll,
Claire

Pictures

2008-06-24T06:08:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

Love,
Us

Just hanging around

2008-06-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll!

Today was another great day. Very easy and laid back.

We had group pictures in the lobby this morning, then we came back to our room and watched Kung Fu Panda. Very cute flick.

After lunch we headed to the pool while most of our travel group headed to the American Consulate to have their exit interviews. 10 of the 12 families fly out tomorrow...wish it was us! But, we don't have our appointment until Thursday morning, and fly home on Friday!!!!!!

We have really loved our time in China again, such an amazing country with such deep history. But, we are ready to come home. Especially Mia. she had a break down this morning, crying and asking to see her puppies. " I wanna go home. I miss my puppies. Logan can come to, can we go now?" She has done fantastically on this trip.

And little man....oh my!!! He is just all over this swimming thing. You will never guess that he has only been in a pool for a week. He can tread water and jumps in from the side. Of course we make him wear his swim vest, but we are amazed at what a water bug he is. He absolutely adores hanging out with the older boys in our travel group. These are some wonderful and seasoned big brothers. There are about 30 children ( bio and adopted) from 15 years to 13 months. Many of the families are returning for the 2nd,3rd and 4th adoptions. Quite a wild looking group.

Today was another great day. He is becoming more comfy with me, we did some hugging and hand holding again. He looks like he has been with us forever. He did break down in tears this morning, and let Bart and I just sit on the bed and love on him until he felt better. Not sure what brought it on, but it wasn't a surprise. I'm sure there will be more. He is one brave little guy.

Well, it is almost 9 pm here, and Logan has been asleep since 3:30. We tried to wake him for dinner, but he is out cold. I think he really needs it, I know that after a few emotional days in a row that I am exhausted, and I think this past week has been just a teeny bit emotional. (:

Miss ya'll! 3 more days!!

Love,
claire

Amazing day!!!

2008-06-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hey,

We just finished a very busy day of site seeing, shopping and a travel group dinner.

Everyone is in bed, and I am headed there soon. But I had to sit down and post about how AWESOME God is. We have been praying, and I know so have many of you, that Logan can feel our love and feel that we are his forever family. I think today was the beginning of an answer to those prayers.

I woke up and just felt like today was a new day, everything just felt right. I headed off to correct some paperwork at the American Consulate, and had to actually have Bart come and get Logan so I could go. He followed me out of the door! I know this sounds silly, but it is huge.

After I got back, we went for lunch then on a group outing. There was some hand holding, a few hugs and lots of smiles.

Towards the end of our group shopping trip, God put these 2 angels in our path. We were walking past a small shop, and Logan began talking with the two shop ladies there. He usually says hi and a few other things, then keeps going. But this time he was having what looked like a deeper conversation. I headed over, and couldn't imagine what the next 1/2 hour would hold.

The shop owners in this part of town speak excellent English, so one of the women began to tell me what they were talking about. She said that she asked him his name, where he was from and other questions.

Well, it seems that it was never really explained to him that we were his mom and dad. That he was a part of our family, our son. She said that since he grew up in an orphanage, he knew the names for mom and dad, but really had no idea what they meant. That he was ours and we were his. He thought we were just watching him and we lived in a hotel.

She spent a long time explaining all of this to him. She then told him, as we told her, all about his new home, his room, his dogs and that he would be leaving China in 5 days to go and live as a family. He was very quiet while she talked, but smiled a few times.

I am in tears by now, and Bart is just firing away with things we would like for the lady to talk with him about.

Logan was also asking questions. He was most concerned with why we were calling him Logan. So we listened as she told him that we knew his real name, but that when you go to America, your parents give you an American name. We asked if he wanted us to use his Chinese name Li Ghu, instead, and he said no...he liked Logan, just didn't know where it came from.

She then talked with him for a few more minutes, and then told us that she had asked him if he liked us and wanted to stay with us or the orphanage. She said that he said he wanted to be with us and did not want to go back to the orphanage.

We asked if he had any other questions, and he asked about his room again, and the dogs. He also asked the lady to ask if we could buy some ice cream. He likes eating ice cream with us.

After some of the most heart felt thank yous I have ever had, we headed next door to the 7-11 and got whatever ice cream Logan wanted. One of the other families was there, and had heard most of the conversation. They were choked up also.

I know that most of you are wondering why no one really explained to Logan what was going on and who we were. We asked our guide many times if he really knew what was happening, if she could talk with him and ask if he had any questions, what did he want us to call him.... and after some hesitation.... she would say a few things to him then tell us that he was fine. Our mommy/daddy radar was right, he wasn't understanding what was going on.

I'm not saying that this has now turned mine and Logan's relationship into a fairy tale mother-son thing, but he does seem more open to me tonight.

We spent awhile before bed looking at pictures on the computer of things at home. He loved seeing his room and would pet the screen when Oscar and Gabby's pictures came up. He was really excited about his bike too.

Just awesome. Thank you God. He is a precious little boy who has some healing to do, but he is ours. And hopefully after today, he understands that a little better.

Hope all is well at home. We miss ya'll, but all is good here.

Love,

Claire

A few zoo picutres

2008-06-22T04:05:00.000-07:00

5 days left!!!

2008-06-22T03:06:00.000-07:00

Wahoo!

I just realized that we have 5 days left until we fly home!

We are enjoying our time here, and our travel group is really nice, but we are ready to come home.

It is awesome to travel over here, and be in the culture, but my brain is dying to hear and see what it is used to. At least we are getting a good idea of what life will be like for Logan when we get home.

And speaking of little man.....what a water bug! We spent two hours swimming this afternoon, and I don't think he got out of the pool once. Both little ones are exhausted, so we gave them and early dinner tonight. It isn't even 7 yet, and Mia is out cold.

We did some more sightseeing today. Went to the Chan family heritage house, pretty interesting, then to a tea house. That was a different experience. We sat at tiny tables and drank tiny cups of Chinese tea. Not to be rude, but we were thankful that they were tiny cups!!! Tasted pretty much like grass,really!

After lunch we hit the pool. Things are going well with the rest of the family, but that Logan and I aren't bonding well. He wants very little to do with me as the days go on. Yesterday did not go well, and I took it personally. It looks like I have some work ahead of me. For now, I am hanging back and letting Bart handle him unless he specifically asks for me. It happens a few times a day, so I'll just go with that. There is another family here who adopted a 6 year old boy also, and they are having an even tougher time with him. All of the girls seem to be doing really well, who knows?

But, he is a keeper. He is very sweet, not aggressive or physical. He is starting to take on his role of big brother too. He was hovering over Mia in the pool, trying to pull her back to the steps. And I'm sure you can guess how that went over! Looks I''ll be working on attachment stuff when we get home. Plus, there is always good old duct tape. I've heard it is the rage in the RAD therapy circles. (:

Am off to get ready for bed, I have an appointment at the American Consulate tomorrow morning to fix a misspelling in Logan's Visa paperwork. Guess whiteout isn't an option, I get to redo a bunch of papers.

Hope all is going great at home. Here are some pictures of our orphanage visit, zoo and other crazy things.

Love,
Claire

Running a muck

2008-06-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry about not posting for a few days. It has just been really busy.

Plus, we received an amazing gift from a friend at church who works for Marriott. He was able to get us an upgrade on our room this evening, and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome. We now have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room!!!! This extra space is such a blessing.

Am off to finish unpacking. I have lots of pictures and will post them tomorrow. All is good here. Logan is such a little man, he does everything that Bart and Mike do. And Mia imitates him, it is pretty funny.

He is picking up a few English words, and answers to Logan right away. He doesn't like PDA, but is more open to it in the room. I think he is pretty in tune how men are in this culture, he is very business like when we are out and about. Sometimes we poke at him just to get a reaction.

Hope all is going great at home. We miss ya'll !

Love,
Claire

SUNSHINE!!!!!!!

2008-06-20T03:46:00.000-07:00

Hey, June 20-21sth

The sun came out yesterday!!! Very cool because it came out just as we were leaving the orphanage.

Yesterday was our visit to where Logan has been living. It was bitter sweet. We were greeted by his nanny of 3 years. We toured about two hallways, and an outside play area. We were not allowed to take pictures of any specific children, but did get a few group shots of his classmates.

His teacher was very sweet. Logan's class is sponsored by a foundation called Half the Sky, so we were blessed with a big book full of pictures of Logan over the past years, and each page has documentation on it. We will have to get it translated soon. It is truly a treasure. After visiting his class, we went to his room. He shared it with about 6-8 other kids, We also got to look in on some of the little ones, and I got to hold the most precious babies. Of course I asked if I could have a few, and they laughed. Our guide looked at me like I had 3 heads. She is young, no kids...doesn't quiet get the whole mommies always loving babies thing.

After our tour, it was really hard to read Logan. He was quiet on the way to the hotel, but he seemed ready to go. He was extra glued to Bart for the rest of the day, and wanted to sleep with Michael last night. But he seemed good this morning.

Mia did not like the orphanage at all, she asked to leave a few times, and was gluey most of the day also. When we went shoe shopping, she would not let the lady help her, she said that the lady was going to take her. I said absolutely not! I would chase the lady down.

After lunch, we hit the pool. It was really a nice break. Logan seems to love the water and told our guide this morning that he went swimming and " even the baby can swim!"

We went to the Guangzhou Zoo this morning and then got totally lost while we wandered around this afternoon. You should see the looks we got!! People would actually count and hold up 4 fingers and point to the kids. A few older ladies would just laugh out loud. Again, not sure it was a good laugh!

Even after 2 trips to China, it still amazing to walk around and see such a different way of life. I so appreciate all that we have back home. Of course the good, and even the bad. Our bad looks pretty good after 6 days!

I can't even imagine what must be going on in Logan's mind. His little eyes search everywhere. He is sooo curious about how everything works. I wish we could communicate much better with him.

OH!! We just got a message from the front desk! We are moving rooms! A friend of Bart's from church works for Marriott, and he has been able to get us an upgrade to a suite. It will be soooo nice to have some more elbow room. So....I am off to pack.......

June 21st

Good afternoon!

Hope all is well. We are back from Logan's medical check and a quick trip with the travel group to the grocery store.

We have a few more hours of paper work to do this afternoon, then we are all done with that! Bart is going to take the kiddos to the pool. He is off at the gym, and Logan doesn't like it one bit. He just finished a temper tantrum, and is now playing with the phone...trying to call Baba ( daddy in Chinese)

He is pretty frustrated with not being able to communicate with us. But the rest of the travel group is here now, and there are some older kids for him to play with. So hopefully he will like that.

There are a few older boys in the group, and it seems that their little men are pretty attached to the dads too. Thankfully we don't have any of the physical issues that a few have, at least not yet. Logan isn't a hitter or pincher. He does yell out loud when he gets frustrated, sometimes buries his head but all in all he is doing well.

Off to rescue Livy from her new little bro. Seems he doesn't want her to watch a dvd right now.

Hope all is well.

Love,
Claire