Merry Christmas!

Next to Jesus, I can't imagine a better gift than Michelle for Christmas. A year ago today we had breakfast in China, lunch in Japan, and dinner at our home. It was a 36 hour Christmas, filled with excitement, exhaustion, some fear and a lot of relief. Reminds me of the Christmas story... I'm sure Mary and Joseph must have felt all those same emotions. Adoption reminds me so much of what God does for us. Before we even knew we needed Him, he came to earth to redeem us, make us part of His family.

Merry Christmas to all. May you celebrate this day with family, friends, and the love of Jesus!

Winter Pictures

Michelle's Pre-school had a Christmas program this week. Michelle liked the Jingle Bells and loved her "Ho! Ho! Ho! Dress"

We got a big snowfall last night and it is still coming down. Michelle had fun in the snow.

The big kids helped Dad shovel the driveway.

And Michelle kept playing!

Happy Family Day!

A year ago today we went to a municipal building in ZZ China. It was the moment for which we had waited over 2 years. I remember standing out in the hallway and a man walked by and saw Bill and I and said, "Bing Qi!". (Michelle's chinese name) He recognized us from our photos, and I realized at that moment she was just down the hall!

Our daughter Lizzy asked if we could pray before going in to meet her. I don't remember exactly what we said, but as we held hands and prayed, I remembered thanking God for his amazing blessing to our family, and I remember a peace coming over me that could only come from Him.

We walked down the hallway with several other families in our group, and as we peeked in the room it was already crowded. There were 4 children adopted from Luohe orphanage that morning, and we recognized 2 of the families already inside from pictures on our yahoo group. Then, suddenly, a couple of ladies walked out into the hallway with Michelle. She was so tiny, wrapped in layer after layer of clothes. As she stood before me, I looked at this precious little girl and said to her, "Ni Hao, Bing Qi. Wo shi ni de mama." Which means, Hello, Bing Qi. I am your mama. I had practiced these 2 phrases for weeks before our trip. She looked up at me and said, "Mama?" The nannies picked her up and placed her in my arms.

Just as she started to have tears in her eyes, Josh came to the rescue. He was standing on the side, with a "wa-wa" (doll) ready to go. He came over with a big smile, gave her the wa-wa, and she looked at him and grinned. I knew right then we would all be fine!

We had such a wonderful first day with Michelle. She was so sweet and fun from the very beginning. She decided right away I was her "person", but she still played with everyone. It still takes my breath away when I think back to that time I first saw her precious face, that God would grace our family in such a way is just so amazing to me.

It's incredible the difference a year makes. We had a little celebration last night, a day early because my oldest daughter has a concert tonight. We couldn't really sing Happy Birthday because it wasn't the right song, so we sang "Michelle" by the Beatles as we brought out her cake. She loves the Beatles, and grinned from ear to ear. She blew out the candle on top of the cake, something she wasn't able to do a year ago. Now that she has had her cleft palate repaired, she can blow out candles, drink through a straw, and say almost anything she really wants to say. Her speech is getting more clear and articulate each day. That in itself it a miracle.

We love you Michelle! You complete our family, and you were so worth the wait.

Still Growing

We had our one-year follow up appointment with our Social Worker last Friday. As part of the interview we had to weigh and measure Michelle again. She has grown another 2 and 3/4 inches and gained another 4 pounds in the last six months. The catch up growth hasn't been quite so fast as the first six months we had her home, but it is still quick! She has gone from being at the bottom of the WHO growth chart scale to being just a hair over the median. I credit goldfish crackers!

A little shout out to our peeps!

A year ago our not-yet-complete family boarded a plane to fly from Dulles to Beijing. We were so excited to meet this precious little girl we had dreamed of, prayed for, longed to know for over 2 years. Seeing her sweet face in pictures was no longer good enough. I longed to hold her in my arms.

But, before we would meet her, God held another special surprise that we had not anticipated. We met these amazing, wonderful families who would take this journey with us. We enjoyed their company, and we delighted meeting their precious children and seeing them become families.

We remember them all, and have loved following their blogs and their stories as their children thrive in their new homes.

So today, a special "shout out" and hug to the Mongolds, Bednars, Smiths, Altermatts and McClintocks. And all those who traveled with us.

Memories of Christmas Past

I knew I was really jet lagged last year after Christmas, but I don't think I realized the full extent of it until I began getting out our Christmas decorations this year. I normally pack my ornaments as if we will move the following year. Being a military family, we never know for certain if we will receive surprise orders in mid-July and have to pack up quickly. So I always want to be prepared, and for 20 years I have wrapped each ornament and placed them in a box, then secure them again inside a rubbermaid type container.

This year, I found all our ornaments inside leftover gift bags, all jumbled together! Then, it took me over an hour to search through our basement to find my nativity set. It seems Mary and Joseph were wandering through my basement boxes, lost, and certainly not on the way to Bethlehem! Yikes! But, the best part, where I truly sat down and laughed until I almost cried, was when I pulled out the stockings. The bottom of mine was completely full! Chocolates, a big bottle of hand lotion, all kinds of goodies. You know if I left chocolate uneaten, there was some serious jetlag going on!

Last Christmas was wonderful - other than the greatest gift of all, Jesus, I can not imagine a better way to spend Christmas than bringing home Michelle. She truly is the gift that keeps on giving. However, I must admit, I am looking forward to a little more "normal" type of Christmas this year.

Here's a little early Christmas cheer to brighten your day!

Pigtails

11 Wonderful Months

It's hard to believe, it was 11 months ago today we first saw Michelle's sweet face and held her in our arms. As Lizzy said earlier today, sometimes it seems like that was just yesterday, and sometimes it feels like she has been with us forever.

She has changed so much in the past 11 months. It's obvious she feels comfortable now. She runs around our house and plays like she is "in charge". She gives me kisses everyday now and tells me I love you. And her language is exploding - it's so fun to see.

Just a couple of days ago we were waiting in the car to pick up Josh from school. I was listening to the radio, and Michelle told me, "No,no! I not like that song." So I told her o.k., we would turn it on something else, but not a kid CD because it was Mommy's turn. I told her we could turn on the Beatles. She said, "Ooooh! I like the Bee-bles!" I think it's awesome that she likes the Bee-bles.

Musings from the dentist office

Have you ever tried to take 4 kids to the dentist at the same time? I know there are those of you out there who do - I read your blogs. My hat is off to you, especially if you can do it and have one little piece of your sanity left when you are finished.

To get 4 children dressed, fed, and out the door by 8:00 a.m. is no small feat in our home. (and mom too!) Yet, somehow we managed to do it, along with all the backpacks ready to go so hopefully we won't be too late for school. But it takes a long time to look at 4 mouths, and so everyone ends up late. Including mom, who has a million things to do today. And did I mention it's picture day at preschool? And it's Michelle's snack day? And it's Thanksgiving Lunch day at Josh's school, and mom neglected to tell him she would not be joining him, so we have to deal with the tears and disappointment. It's sad that Josh doesn't have super-mom, he just has hanging-by-a-thread mom. And today, that thread is looking a little thin.

So, we make it through the dental visits. I wish I had a video. At one point I believe all of my kids were sitting with some form of open mouths - it was quite comical. And, Dr. Wooddell is AWESOME!!! Makes it fun for us all. So, we have to come back in to repair a filling, and we have to schedule an appointment for Lizzy to have her impacted wisdom teeth removed BEFORE she goes to college. (O.K., I'll add that to the list of a thousand other things we have to do BEFORE she goes to college.) But the best news is, no cavities. Good job Cole children!

So, I send 2 off in their own car. Have to answer some cell phone calls from the school counselor, but still beats having to drop off 2 kids. Get Michelle to preschool, still looking somewhat put together for picture day. Mrs. Z gives her a big hug, even though she's late, and tells her she loves her shiny teeth. I love Mrs. Z. Then we go to drop off Josh. I get the eye rolls from the office staff as I walk in the door, and I'm reminded I will be receiving an electronic phone call this evening since I neglected to call ahead to let the school know about his late arrival. O.K.

I don't think I deserve an electronic phone call, or an eye roll for that matter. I think I deserve some kind of medal for making through the morning!

Afghan Girl

Bill bought Michelle a dress at a local market during his travels last week. I think she likes it!

I love, I love, I love my calendar girl...

http://www.henankids.org/ Click at the bottom of their page to preorder before 12-01-09!

Just in time for the holiday's, the Henan Kids calendars are in and ready to order. I know what everyone on my Christmas list is getting!

I got a "sneak peak" yesterday, and I will tell you these kids are gorgeous! It's amazing to see them so happy and healthy. We happen to be a little partial to "Miss August". Go buy one! The proceeds go to support children still in the Henan Province. I can't think of a better gift to give this Christmas.

Happy Halloween!

Fall Fun

We have had some fun days lately enjoying the lovely fall weather. Last week we met our friend Tyler at the local nursery for some fun.
Michelle LOVES to go "round and round". We did this until we were both dizzy.

I just included this picture of her playing on the pirate ship because she looks like such a big girl! She is growing like a weed.
Michelle and Tyler had fun digging for treasure in the sandbox. They hide hundreds of plastic spiders in the sand. Yuck! but the kids love it.
Then, last Friday, Michelle's preschool took a field trip to a different, smaller pumpkin patch. We love Mickey Mouse.
I think it's cute the Michelle calls these "boos". She wanted her picture made as a "boo!"
She wanted this to go "round and round" too, but Mommy convinced her it would be more fun just to crawl through it.
They had sheep, ducks, and a bunny. Michelle thought it was fun to feed the sheep, but she would not feed the ducks. (I think she was a little afraid. Smart girl - they can be a little aggressive.)
Most of the kids from her class did not go on the field trip. It was a rainy kind of day, so I think most of them just stayed home. But we are glad we went. Here she is with her friend Madeline and her teachers.

On another note, Michelle's language is exploding. She is saying 4 and 5 words sentences all the time, and her articulation is improving day by day. For the most part, that is a good thing. However, this morning she crawled in my lap and was pointing at all my face parts - eyes, nose, etc. Then she points to my mouth, and very clearly says, "Ma-Ma's BIG mouth!" Ha!

Just to make me smile

No pic's today, just a sweet little story! Life has been more than a little crazy here at our house - 4 children, trying to get one prepared for college, one that hates 3rd grade (but at least likes his teacher. Just doesn't like the work. We can live with that .) Husband with a very demanding job with me trying to teach part time - well, it just makes life so busy that a lot of days I rush through and don't take the time to appreciate how really blessed I am.

So, this morning we had to make an emergency run to the grocery store. Michelle is staying after preschool for "lunch bunch" because Mommy needs to be a good "Army wife" and go to a Change of Command Ceremony. And, her brother ate her lunch yesterday after school.

As we were walking up the aisle's, Michelle looked so cute. She had on this cute little candy-corn shirt that said SWEET, matching orange socks, cute little kitten hairbows. And she was dancing/skipping/hopping up the aisle, wobbling her head back and forth. And as we walked out the automatic doors, she turns and says, very clearly, "Thank you door!"

I know it's probably not a big deal to anyone else, but it made me smile and remember how great my crazy, busy life really is!

Just Some Pictures

A week of new things

When Michelle turned 3 she aged out of Early Infant and Toddler Services, and came into School Age Services for her speech therapy. The first day I told her we were going home to play with a new friend, she asked for Ashley. I told her it was a new friend, that Ashley would no longer come play. She was a little sad about that, but Joanne quickly won her over.

She does a wonderful job with Michelle. She has been to our house twice now, and both times she brings a huge bag of toys. They play all sorts of games and activities, and Michelle has so much fun she hardly realizes how hard Joanne is making her work to say things correctly. Her speech is coming along. She still has to work hard to make so many of the sounds (B,P, even W sometimes), but she is getting better each week. She gets the "placement" right for many words. By that, I mean she might substitute another letter - say "muppy" instead of "puppy", but that is progress. I am amazed at how many words she says now - of course, much of it only our family can understand, but she is getting there. I expect big changes in her as the year progresses. We are so happy to be working with Joanne.

Michelle also started school this week. These are pictures last week of her meeting her teachers. You can see she thinks this is pretty fun. Here she is with Mrs. C. (I didn't ask them if I can put them on the blog, so I'll just use initials.)

And here she is pictured with Mrs. Z. It's a wonderful preschool. Small classrooms and lots of individual attention. Michelle is in the class with the young 3's, and its' a perfect fit for her.

The first day of school they had balloons and stuffed animals lining the walk way and benches as we entered. Michelle fell in love with the giant Clifford dog, and she was so happy to see a smaller Clifford when she went into her classroom. Her teachers told me she held onto him most of the day.

She did great her first day of school. I told her Mommy would stay and play for about 5 minutes, and then she would have to stay by herself with her teachers and friends, but that I would come back later to pick her up. She looked a little sad as I left, but I watched her through the outside window and she did fine. No tears, and she quickly found lots of fun things to play with. I brought my camera for pick-up, and I would say by all the paint on her shirt (and in her hair) that she had a great first day of school!

Going to the Doctors is just not fun!

Sorry, no pictures for this entry. I am just not that hard core when it comes to blogging, that I would even remember to take my camera to the doctors office.

First, let me preface this by saying we have had way too many doctors appointments recently for Michelle. First we had a follow up for her cleft surgery at Walter Reed 2 weeks ago. That same day I took her over to our pediatrician for a shot, so she would be up to date when she had her physical. She needed a school physical for preschool and speech therapy through the county. (I'll blog more about that at a later date.) The next day I took her in for her school physical. Let's just say the doc we saw was not the smartest, nicest person on the planet. It was a bad experience for Michelle and myself. Then, 2 days later we returned for more shots, because we still hadn't filled the requirements. (Don't even get me started!)

Now for the fun part - yesterday we got to spend the afternoon in the ER! Michelle was playing by my bed. It's kind of low (used to be a waterbed) and made of hard wood. (old This End's Up furniture. Indestructible) She was jumping around like a frog, and I saw this coming, tried to stop it, but she jumped face first into the corner of my bed. It took about 10 seconds for her to look at me before the crying began. When she started gushing blood and her nose started swelling, I knew we had no choice but to go to the ER. I put in a quick call to my pediatricians office, just to see if they could see her, and they referred me on to the ER.

So, I'm trying to hold ice and a washcloth on her poor little face, praying she didn't do any major damage and especially that she didn't mess up anything associated with her lip or palate. I'm also, at the same time, trying to gather up enough "supplies" to last us through a while at the ER. (can you tell I've done this before?) And at the same time, making phone calls to rearrange a very busy afternoon. (Think 3 kids coming home and 8 piano students showing up at my door with no mom/teacher there to greet them)

Michelle sat in the backseat with an icepack on her nose, crying most of the way and saying over and over again, "No doctor, no doctor." The first thing she told the ER nurse as we walked in was "No doctor." (She also remembered as we left we had gotten smoothies at Starbucks. She started her campaign for "ice ceem". She's like a baby elephant - remembers everything.)

My sweet husband met me at the ER entrance, took the car to park and I took Michelle in to the ER. By this time the bleeding had stopped, and already the swelling was beginning to go down. After a while, Bill realized she was probably o.k. and he went back to work.

There were a lot of sick people there, so I knew we would probably not be a priority case. Four and a half hours later, when the doctor finally appeared to a sweet little 3 year old, covered in Elmo stickers, "sliding" up and down the patient exam table, he took one look at her and said,"Well, she appears to be fine now." Of course I didn't scream out loud, but silently inside.

He did check her out. She seems to be fine, but he suggested I follow up in a few days with her surgeons just in case they want to do further checks.

Life can be a little crazy sometimes! But I wouldn't change a thing.

Zoo

Sorry it took so long to get these up - it's been a busy week. We enjoyed a fun day at the zoo with Na-Na and Granddaddy Merritt on Monday. The weather was perfect! Unseasonably cool for late August, but the animals loved it. I decided, against my better judgement, to drive instead of metro in to the zoo - after getting lost about 4 times, we finally made it. I will NOT do that again! I don't know why I didn't take the gps system - oh well, we made it and a good time was had by all. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought, but here are a few good shots.

Michelle and Granddaddy had fun watching the elephants.

Lunch was "interesting". Again, I made a different decision than usual - we usually bring our lunch and picnic, but this time I decided to buy lunch there. It was ridiculous how much it cost, but at least we got the cute souveneir lunch bags! The bees were out of control, and since I left my epi-pen in the car (what was I thinking!?!) I had a hard time time enjoying myself. Michelle dropped her hot dog after one bite, and all I could think was, "That was $6 for the pigeons to enjoy!" As you can tell, lunch was not the highlight of the day!

We have been to the National Zoo many times, and I have never seen the Panda's inside, but for some reason on this beautiful day they were inside. Michelle thought they were wonderful. We tried for a good picture of her in front of their exhibits but the lighting was off and never got a good shot.

Later that day Na-Na took her to a souvenier shop and told her she could pick something for an early birthday surprise. Mommy saw some beautiful red silk purses with little stuffed panda's inside, but after a quick lookover, Michelle said, "No tank-u". Then she spied a panda bear, but when she saw the straps she did not like those either. I told her it was a backpack, and she said, "No backpack!" Then she saw the stuffed animals, and fell in love with the stuffed panda bear. I am amazed that she knows exactly what she wants and has no trouble finding ways to express that to us.

We love you Na-Na and Granddaddy. Thanks for a fun day!

It's fun being 3!

We started off this morning practicing how old we are - it's easier to show "3" than to say "3".

After naptime, Michelle was so excited to come down and see the house decorated for her party. She liked the pin-the-nose-on-Elmo game. (The panda bear was from the zoo trip yesterday. I'll put up those pic's tomorrow.)

Mommy & Daddy bought a Sesame Street ball pit. Michelle and her friends thought it was fun. It will be a great addition to our basement playroom.

Ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Yum!

I LOVE this smile. She broke out in this beautiful grin as we were singing to her and said her name. Happy Birthday Dear Michelle.

She thought the whole cake, singing thing was pretty cool. She wasn't sure what to do when it came time to blow out the candles. She tried to hold her nose and blow. (This is what we do in speech therapy when she blows bubbles.) After a while I realized it could be a pretty messy procedure, so Mommy eventually blew out the candles for her. Our older son Josh thought that was terrible, but Michelle didn't seem to mind.

Cake and balloons - what more could a 3 year old ask for?!

Na-Na and Granddaddy came up to celebrate her birthday. They gave her a kitchen so she can cook with Mommy. She got some fun toys! (but I still think she was more excited about the balloons than the toys. Isn't 3 wonderful!)

As I was typing away in the blog, our older daughter Elizabeth went in to check on Michelle. She is laying in her ball pit, dressed in a princess outfit, surrounded by her toys and holding about 15 helium balloons in her hand. Elizabeth stuck her hand in the ball pit and said,"How are you princess?" To which Michelle responded, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" Guess she is getting into the spirit of this birthday thing after all.

Happy Birthday Michelle

There will be more to come later - pictures of the big 3 year old! But for now, I just wanted everyone to know it's her birthday, and we plan to celebrate in style. I had wanted to keep things simple, but couldn't quite control myself at the party store when I saw all the cute Elmo things. And of course, we will have balloons. Michelle doesn't know exactly what this is all about, but she does know there will be balloons involved, so she's excited. She has been walking around the house for a few days saying,"My buh-day!" Today when I woke her I told her it was her "buh-day", and she got a huge grin and did a little happy dance. Priceless!

I have a personal tradition I do with each of my kids on their birthday. We sit and look through their baby pictures. I love going back and remembering the day they were born. I tell them the stories. It's more for me than for them.

I will have to start new traditions with Michelle. I wasn't there the day she was born. But I do know that even then, the red thread was beginning to wrap it's way around my heart and draw us together. Today I pray for the woman who gave birth to our daughter, that somehow she will know she is safe, healthy and happy. Mostly I will pray and thank God for the precious gift of Michelle!

Summer pic's

Michelle has been wanting a ponytail, and since her hair is a little too short in the back, we came up with this idea. I think the Cindy-Lou-Who look is pretty cute, don't you? (Thanks for the idea Renee.)
We had a fun time at Cape Cod. I don't have most of the beach pictures developed yet, but here are a couple of shots. She thought "putt-putt" was about the most fun a girl could have! I thought she would be impatient and loose interest, but she waited until it was her turn. Then, she would hit the ball a couple of times, pick it up and put it right beside the hole, then hit it in.

A couple of nights later we went out for ice cream. As we pulled up to the ice cream parlor, Michelle saw a mini-golf place close by. As we were getting out of the car she said,"No ice keem. (No ice cream) Putt-putt." You know it's fun when she would rather play than eat ice cream.
Daddy was able to join us for the weekend. We went to one of our family favorite restaurants for a seafood dinner. "Lobster" was quickly added to Michelle's vocabulary. (Gotta love those B words. We are working on B and P words in speech therapy.)
Another Cape Cod tradition is going to the Brewster General Store. The kids have a great time filling a bag with cheap candy, and Michelle enjoyed this tradition too. It was fun after years of visiting Cape Cod to see it through new eyes. She even warmed up to the beach after a few days. When we went to Virginia Beach she was knocked down by a big wave, so the first few days at the Cape she wasn't too sure about the water. But by the end of the week she was splashing in the tide pools and having a great time.
Michelle helped Dad out with a work presentation by modeling her "Army girl" t-shirt. She is growing so fast and such a joy to our family. She amazes us every day with the things she is learning. She knows all her colors, can count to 12 (although she often skips 3 for some reason), and to our surprise knows most of her letters. She walks around all the time, pointing to shirts and signs and points out the letters. Of course, her favorite one is "O" for ElmO.

Her speech is constantly improving. She is beginning to put together 2 and 3 word sentences. Just this weekend we were eating dinner, and we had one of her favorites, canteloupe. She had already finished hers and when she saw her Daddy serving big brother Josh some, she said, "Da-Da! My turn!"

This week is her last speech therapy with Ashley. Next week she ages out of Early Infant and Toddler, and will graduate into the Preschool Program. Ashley has done a wonderful job with her and we will miss her. It's been exciting to see Michelle make progress from week to week. I know that this is not always the case, that it's often 2 steps forward, one step back, so we are so encouraged and grateful for the progress she is making.