Merry Christmas

We are having a lovely Christmas, having spent the afternoon at my parents' house. The kids are in their new jammies from Grandma and Grandpa, soon to snuggle into their beds with their new soft and cozy blankies. Right now they are playing with the 1000+ Legos that my sister saw fit to give them for Christmas--this is payback for all the small toys we gave her kids when they were small. I think, though, that she actually evened it up with Catbox Barbie a couple of years ago. I am serious - this thing actually exists.

Off the wrap the last few packages. We are so blessed and wish blessings on you all! This is one of my favorite holiday songs.

This is so cool

Turn up the sound. These make me remember how amazing humans really are.

Early Christmas present

Jack was born missing part of his quadriceps muscles. Over time, this caused his knees to be unable to extend fully, which caused problems with his gait. He walked and ran leaning forward. In June he had surgery to put two metal plates over the growth plates in his legs. The hope was that the back part of his bones would grow longer and his legs would grow straighter as he grew taller. They had never used these metal plates for a problem like his (because they don't know anyone else with this problem) so they weren't 100% sure this would work.

He had his 6 month check yesterday and we are thrilled that he has gone from lacking 30 degrees extension in one leg and 35 in the other, to lacking 20 degrees on both. We could tell that he is walking straighter, but this is a huge change! The orthopedist was so excited that he took pictures on his personal cell phone. Jack will go back in April for his next follow up.

And...he had his well child visit this week and grew 6 inches in the last year! He is one amazing kid.

Thanksgiving at the Beach

Another nice, though rainy and cold, Thanksgiving at the beach. We had a lovely dinner with our friends Lynn and Doug at their beach house, and everyone marvelled at the ability of my kids to eat very large amounts of food and then be hungry 2 hours later. We saw Santa twice (though one was suspiciously skinny), watched movies and kept a fire roaring in the fireplace. It was lovely.

and Two Years ago Thursday...

we met Jack for the first time. We thought we would be meeting him a little later in the day when our guide called suddenly and said we were going right that minute. Fifteen minutes later we were ushered into a conference room and a little boy busied himself at a table while darting glances our way. A few minutes later we were on our way back to the hotel and a short while after that, Jack and his new sisters were jumping on the bed together. Jack has changed so much in two years and is just as amazing as we knew he would be. I love you Jack and I am so proud and lucky that you are my son!

Five Years Ago Today....

...in a governmental office on the other side of the world, I became a mother when a small girl peeked around a corner and our eyes met for the first time. It's been an interesting adventure since - sometimes frustrating, sometimes sad, sometimes very difficult but more than anything, amazing and wonderful and the best thing ever.

I love you Annie and I am so happy to be your Mom!

Too much candy

So when did people start giving out three or four pieces of candy instead of just one? The kids did very well both at a party at our friends' church and going around the neighborhood, we have candy for weeks. Here are some pictures.

Return to the Pumpkin Patch

The first year Annie was home, we saw an article in the newspaper about Pumpkin Patches and ended up going to one about 1 1/2 hours from our house - a gorgeous drive along the river to a fun farm with a maze, characters made from pumpkins and gourds and pumpkin bowling. So it's become a tradition to go to this farm now and this was our 5th year.

The weather was gorgeous which made for an extremely crowded and chaotic pumpkin patch. We didn't really get to experience the pumpkin bowling and spent quite a bit of time waiting in the pumpkin-weighing line (which you must stand in before you can go to the pumpkin-paying line). We did have a chance to have apple cider, popcorn and caramel apples sitting in our favorite chairs.

4... 4,5... 5,6,7. ...6,7,8.... 7,8,9

We have just been through our two months of birthdays. Jack started out on August 1, he turned 7. Annie turned 9 on August 4. Charlie's birthday is August 26 and mine is one month later on September 26. And Bethany rounded it out on October 5 when she turned 8. So now they are 7, 8 and 9.

We started out with a 4 year old and when Bethany came home, the girls were 4 and 5. Then with Jack, they were 5, 6 and 7. For two months of each year Jack and Bethany are the same age and people ask me if they are twins.

It's hard to believe that we no longer have a 4, 5 or even 6 year old. Seven, eight and nine - wow. We are soon to be in the double digits, then preteens.....I can't think any farther than that.

This is the time of year when I always think more about our children's birth parents. We will likely never know them, or know the whole story of how they came to take the actions that eventually brought us the greatest blessings we will ever know. I choose to think that they chose the best and possibly the only thing they knew to do to get the medical care all three children so badly needed. And that was to leave them where they would easily be found and taken in by authorities. I choose to think that they must wonder every day what happened to those precious babies and if they are safe, warm and loved. Which they absolutely are and that will never change. But those parents will likely never know that, just like we won't know them. I can't help but think being loved from both sides of the world can't be a bad thing, though. It's hard to give thanks for something that must have caused other people so much pain. I am still grateful for every moment with Annie, Bethany and Jack.

Beautiful Autumn Day

and we went to see my parents. Out to lunch and then to the park. If you look to the right in the sidebar there is a picture of the kids from last year in the same playhouse. They have grown so much.

Dragon Boats, Fresh Blackberries and a Giant Corn Maze

September is usually a wonderful month here. There are gorgeous clear blue skies and cooler nights, treasured all the more because they are mixed in with the gray and cloudy days that will gradually take over.

Yesterday was one of the gorgeous days. We started out by going downtown to watch the annual Dragon Boat races. We met a couple of other families with children from China, ate hot dogs (strangely no Chinese food was available), watched the boats and the kids played with the rocks on the little beach below the park. The boats are amazing. A long time ago I was a back up rower for a team and it's hard work!

After that we drove out to a farm about 1/2 hour from here. This place has a huge corn maze, along with fresh produce, farm animals, a Cow Ride (this is sort of a train of little cars made out of barrels painted like Holsteins), along with a cafe and bales of hay piled high for the kids to play on. It was so beautiful outside that we spent the whole afternoon there. Charlie, Jack and Annie did the maze (Bethany wasn't really interested) and it took them close to an hour to get through. Bethany and I rode the train and then all of us rode the train together. It was a bumpy and dusty ride through the fields, but the kids absolutely loved it. We came home with just-picked corn, tomatoes and a pint of amazing blackberries.

Here are some pictures of the day.

First Day of School

We have successfully made it through the first two days of school. So far the kids like their teachers and have friends from prior years in their new classes. Poor Bethany is struggling mightily with having a cast. The last time she had one, the surgery was done right at the end of the school year and she never went to school with the cast, just the old familiar summer day care. This time she is very embarrassed by it and hates people asking about it or, worse, touching it. Forget about anyone writing on it. Unfortunately for some reason she has a bigger, mostly white one this time and it's already filthy. It should look totally lovely by the end of the three weeks. I know that's not all that long in reality to wear a cast, but in little girl time it's an eternity. Hopefully she will get involved in school stuff and be able to be more comfortable soon.

So above is a picture of the first day of school. The hoodie Jack is wearing (I made him change it) is from last year - can you believe how much he's grown! He's a little taller than Annie now!

Catching up

I see I am quite a bit behind on posts, too much going on lately. The biggest thing is that Bethany had surgery on her hand this last Friday. This was to separate the last two fingers that were fused. We won't see the results for 3-4 weeks, after the big cast is taken off, but the doctor said it was a "picture perfect" operation and they were very pleased with the results. Poor BeeBee is not so pleased with having to wear a cast, especially since tomorrow is the first day of school. Hopefully soon it will all be a distant memory. The doctors don't think she will need another surgery until she is around 12 or so, to do a bone graft to strengthen one of her thumbs.

I am not really sure what has been keeping us so busy, just life I guess. Charlie had a birthday and we went to the coast, we've been gathering school supplies, now all packed in new backpacks, and getting school clothes in order. It's hard to believe summer is over and the kids will be in 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade. Being back in the routine will be nice, though I hope we don't have some of the homework wars we had last year. I was amazed at the amount of 3rd grade homework Annie had last year. Above are a couple of pictures from today in the park.

Too much summer

We've had a pretty cool and cloudy summer for the most part, but it's returned with a vengence - in the nineties yesterday and today and hotter tomorrow. We dragged out the kids' sprinkler and pools, just in time for the annual block party. The woman who organizes it lives directly across the street, so the party was right in front of our house. The highlight for all the kids was a visit by a local policeman. He let them climb in his car, turn on the lights in siren and play with his special flashlight. There was a brief tense moment when Jack (who else) almost keyed the microphone (I am not sure exactly what that would have meant), but his hand was quickly diverted from causing disaster. Bethany won the kids' pie eating contest and they all brought home some change from the hunt-the-coins-in the hay game. A good time was had by all.

I haven't even finished with the vacation pix yet, but here are a few from the party.