Our Little People

Just a quick post

2008-11-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

Ray and Jesse in the coin-op car at WalMart.

Joe and the Munchkins.
Ayi Ping tells me that in China they say the worst ages for behavior are 3, 6 and 9.
Guess how old these kids are?
Joe did turn 10 shortly after this was taken though.

I'm not sure what's so fascinating about grandma's hiney?
Can you believe Ray is 3 and Jesse is 6? I thought Ray was tiny until
the fabulous Miss Jesse hit the scene. She is about 5 inches taller than Ray
and only weighs one pound more than him.

I do have more photos I need to load off the camera so I can post them. My crew enjoyed Halloween quite a lot. Miss Jesse, we found, can become quite aggressive when candy is involved. She started trying to shove past Joe to get to the doors first. Ray got into the spirit of collecting candy, though he still won't eat it. He was so cute with his manners. He remembered to say "tank too" every time he got a goody. Joe played the good big brother and helped mom and dad keep the munchkins out of the street.

Jesse is doing so much better than I thought she would be at this point, but we do have issues. We seem to be down to communication problems and some bouts of selfishness (she likes to take the boys things and not share hers) and being flat out stubborn. Poor kid got put in time out three times today. Once for hitting Ray, once for climbing in the refrigerator (then fake crying under me when I pulled her out) and once for stealing Daddy's nose-hair scissors out of the bathroom (I'd already told her "bu hao" (no good) when I caught her with them the previous day). Even though I had to put her in time out, I've still gotten plenty of hugs and kisses today. She's a really sweet girl who is testing the boundaries of her new family.

She and Ray can be quite jealous of each other at times and like to demand my attention at the same time. If I pick up one, the other wants up. If I get one a drink or food, the other suddenly needs something (even if they just finished). Last night, while Dennis and Joe were at scouts I had them each wanting me to lay down with them in separate rooms to sleep. That just doesn't work.

Jesse and Joe are totally enamored of each other. Joe just gushes over his Mei Mei and says she is the cutest thing ever. Jesse follows him around and wants him to sleep in her room. Its ok for now, but we'll have to get Joe back in his own room before long. He'll be getting too old to sleep with little sister.

Gotta go, Joe's having a little trouble with his asthma ...

Probably the Last One

2008-10-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, here are more photos of our precious little Pixie Priss. Probably my last post here. Thankfully it looks like I will actually be able to bring her home now. I did not need that kind of stress!

Herself tickled the maid yesterday by helping make beds and clean the bathroom. She really can do it! She is just so smart and helpful. I hope she keeps it up when we get home. ;-)

I am so ready to be home with family and friends and for Dennis and the boys to finally meet this wonderful little person!

On with the pictures ...

A little Snag

2008-10-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

I just talked with Laura on the phone. this morning and we are having a little DHR snag. Apparently because only one of us went I don't know the condition of Jesse nor do I know how to handle her needs. So someone out there pray for this one person at DHR approves our daughters entry into the country. Reggie and Olga are working on it as I type this. So hopefully They will get to come home on time.

Dennis

2:00pm Problem resolved. They will have the needed document in the morning

More from China

2008-10-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

More photos ... Jesse sprawled out in the bed this morning and our trip to the Kunming Zoo. Actually managed to get some photos of me with Jesse and she is smiling! We continue to have issues with her not wanting to play and be held by mama. I know it will come, but its tough. She will let me help her with things, but I think maybe she's trying not to get too close until she knows I'm not leaving her.

Jesse continues to amze me with how smart she is. She copied her Chinese and American names for me, she drew a clock with numbers earlier, helped string beads for a necklace and cut mamas hair! She had done up my hair with some ponytail holders and one of them got very tangled, so she cut my hair for me to get it out. Blends right in, no problem.

She threw up again at breakfast this morning. We're starting to think she may not be able to handle dairy products.

Last night I had to put her in the bed at 9 and she cried herself to sleep. She didn't try to get out of the bed but it was very sad. She finally collapsed around 10 and I was able to get a shower. She slept until nearly 8 this morning and I had to wake her up then.

I know it sounds like a lot of negative, but they are normal stuff. It will get better and better and we do have our good moments. She did actually let me pick her up and hold her for a few minutes last night. A good step in the right direction. I think it will get better faster when we get home and she sees me interacting with Ray and Joe.

We were supposed to leave Kunming Saturday but it wil be Sunday now.

More later ... May be a day or two.

Pictures from China!

2008-10-14T03:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, here are pictures finally! We're doing pretty good. Amazing what a difference a day makes. Jesse was trying to escape this morning after I got her dressed. You can see the picture. That's a screaming crying girl with all her worldly posessions trying to run away.

She has changed clothes 4 times today, seems to prefer dresses. And she had a lot of fun playing with Nai Nai's (Pat's) hair, both in the hotel room and the restaurant.

Right now she is playing with Cole and Corey while I borrow the Schmidt's computer.

We went shoping and Jesse insisted on helping the sales ladies hand clothing to Nick Schmidt, then she helped them fold and repack everything. They were very sweet and "paid" her for her hard work with a set of new barrettes for her hair ... hoping that will grow out pretty quickly!

We also bought lots of snacks and candies and our little miss has to open everything and examine it when we got back to the room.

She is still a bit more stand-offish with me than with others with us. I think she's a bit mad at me still, but it is better thos afternoon than it was even this morning.

Its Tuesday here and we will be leaving for Guangzhou Saturday or Sunday.

Will try to post again. I'm not nearly the shutterbug Dennis is, we'll see what I come up with ... mostly more shots of Jesse and not so much the area I guess.

Oh, Godfather, her favorite toy is the calculator. She'll be looking for a position in the organization soon!

Jesse Update

2008-10-13T18:27:00.001-07:00

I received this email from laura early this evening and she wanted me to post it.

We are in Kunming now. Just got Jesselin Monday morning and had no time at all to get to a computer. It was go, go, go all day and then hop a flight at 8-something pm. Jesse is dong as well as can be expected. We're having lots of crying and screaming right now with intermittent spells of calm and cooperation. She keeps asking to go home and misses her best friend Dwoh Dwoh terribly. She's gotten sick twice so far. I think the stress has upset her stomach. She just threw up all her breakfast at the table a little earlier. When we first met her she asked where di di and ge ge were. So, I know someone had shown her the picture book. She likes looking at the pictures. She was very happy and sweet at the meeting and then broke down at the embroidery institute. I think it just hit her that everything had changed. I'm pretty sure she did not get to say goodbye to her friend. She is very smart. They gave us some of her homework and she had all 100s! Looks like she may help ge ge with his math. LOL The Schmidt family has their laptop with them and I will try to get some photos to you a little later today. I've not taken many yet, but some. She is very beautiful ... everyone says so. All the people at the airport last night, and even the Chinese gentlman we met yesterday who looks just like my uncle Houston! I should have taken his picture! I failed to bring the card reader down with me at the moment to post on this computer, and changing locations sometimes sets of tyhe crying. She is being very very good for me right now though.

For the Godfather

2008-10-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

I promise to do my utmost best to get pictures of your goddaughter posted ASAP. Might have to email to Dennis and let him post, but we'll get it done. I can't wait to see what she looks like now either! I know she must have changed a lot in the past 2 years since the referral photos were taken.

Doris Rocks!

2008-10-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ya'll who know Doris, know what I say. Those who do not yet know Doris, will.

I was more than a little confused when I got my in-country flight plans, but all has been made clear. Since Jesse is older, Doris wanted to make sure that she was with me when I meet her so she will be able to tell her what is going on and that everything is OK. That she is safe and will be cared for and loved. She was very concerned that neither Pat nor I are fluent in Mandarin. Doris has also performed some of her magic and, hopefully, the magic will hold. It wouldn't hurt to have a few prayers going that Doris' plan works out as intended. We're going to be really, really busy one day ... I'll tell you all about it when we get back.

Sally. July.

2008-09-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Had to say it out loud.

Sally. July.

Sally. July.

Sally. July.

Sally. July.

Sally. July.

Sally. July.

Sally. July.

Sally. July.

Ok. Got that out of my system. ;-)

MEANWHILE ...

I leave in 10 days to meet out little girl! Still so much to do!

Did I mention the comforter I bought for her bed was wrecked in the wash? Cheap comforters! All the batting balled up and fused together. I told Dennis he could use it in the dog house this winter, but he says he won't. Nobody is going to want this mass of lumpy stuff on their bed. I did get a replacement that is pretty close to the color of the top of the wall in her room though. So, I'm happy enough.

We had to buy a new washing machine. We've got a home appliance warranty, but all they ever do is replace part after part after part while we go without our fridge for 6 weeks (living out of coolers to keep the baby's milk cold), without the dishwasher for over a month and without the microwave for over a month. I'm 99% certain they spent way more on repairs than a new appliance would have cost in all three cases. When they told me it would be several more days while they "research" the part for the washer I decided enough was enough. Weird thing is, one of the guys at work has the same warranty and they always immediately replace his appliance. Yeah, I'll be mentioning that when I cancel the policy. I don't care to continue paying them a premium each month for all the lost time at work and frustration and inconvenience for my family. Would I recommend A H S? Nope. Now, watch the AC and heat go out as soon as I cancel ...

Guess that's it for now.

Lean On Me

2008-09-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Ray loves his big brother. Ray loves annoying his big brother. Joe was trying to participate in the bike safety lecture at scouts over the weekend and I eventually had to take Ray out of the picture so everyone could concentrate. Amazingly enough, Joe was answering a question at the time this as taken. ;-)

Pencil Drawings

2008-09-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful ... Thank you, Margurite!

Ray

Joe

Definitely the 10th

2008-09-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

October 10 I leave for China!

Consulate appointment is on the 21st. Head home on the 23rd.

Jesse and I will be home for big brother Joe's birthday!

Meet Pinebow!

2008-09-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Here's the picture to go with the story ...

Ok ... So November

2008-09-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

Due to October Trade Fairs ... which unreasonably jack up the cost of a hotel room ($85 becomes $285) ... it looks like I'll be going around Oct. 31. Our agency is trying to get a Nov. 11 consulate appointment.

Its all good. This way I won't have to miss Joe's 10th birthday on Oct. 29! ;-)

I really was getting kind of sad thinking I would miss Joe's birthday this year ... on top of him being upset that he doesn't get to go to China this time ... would have been some tears shed on both sides of the world.

Tubes ... Again

2008-09-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Third time is a charm? I sure hope so! Ray had his third set of tubes put in his ears on Tuesday. Every 6 months, just like clockwork. The doctor said he hoped this set would stay in for about 18 months ... I'm pretty sure that's what he said on the second set. Ah well, what must be done, must be done.

In other news ...

Tonight Ray's best friend is a pineapple. I had to stop by WalMart on the way home. Before I even turned in he starts hollering, "I see it pinebow!" Pinebow being his word for pineapple. We went straight to the produce section where he proceeded to point and tell me "I wan dat one!" Well, "dat one" had a bad spot so I had to convince him to pick a different one. Pinebow rode all over the store with us beside Ray in the kiddie seat. Bear bear (Ray's teddy) was forced to kiss Pinebow a million times. When we checked out and the cashier put it in a bag he got very upset and ripped the bag off. Pinebow rode out of the store beside him, had to sit in the car beside his seat, sat with him at dinner, watched Spongebob, rode in the stroller around the house, shared a yogurt drink and cookies (Ray actually licked the cookie about 5 times!) and played hide and seek with big brother Joe. He finished the evening by sitting on the couch with the whole family as we watched Kitchen Nightmares. He's a little worse for wear and will have to be sacrificed soon (Joe wants to eat Pinebow) because he'll start to rot since the skin on bottom isn't quite intact now. Who knew a pineapple could be so much fun? Surely can't let Ray see the sacrifice. Maybe I can find a plastic one? Will try to post a photo of the stroller ride later.

Met with Joe's teacher today. He is doing pretty well in 4th grade so far. We need to work on his math more. He had mostly As and Bs, but math was a low C. Poor kid is going to end up like his mom and get an ulcer when he has to do Algebra.

I realized today that there is a chance may not be home for Joe's birthday this year. Could be in China getting his sister. I'm going to have to overcome my basic nature and actually plan something ahead of time so Dennis won't stress over the details. Hard to believe he is going to be ten this year. He's growing up so fast. He still amazes me with his grasp of the world and how it works, his compassion for others and his passion for keeping the line between right and wrong. The boy is something really special.

Well, that's it for now ...

For Susan

2008-09-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

Pictures!

Oh ... the Name Thing

2008-09-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

By the way ...

Our daughter's official name will be Jesselin Shanju. We'll still be calling her Jesse.

Now, with the names we decided to stick together on the English portion (Jesse and Linda), our young lady becomes a "beautiful gift." Technically gift beautiful, but ...

Somebody's Having a Birthday!

2008-09-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

Yep. Little Ray will turn 3 very shortly. He's already gotten his presents from mom and dad. A Thomas track and a chalkboard/magnetic board easel. He seems to like both. Not one to really play with toys, Ray gravitates to paper, pencils, crayons .... walls, furniture, major appliances! Oy! The Mr. Clean Magic Erase does come in handy. Never had that particular problem with Joe

No further word on traveling to get Miss Jesse yet. Just waiting and waiting. Of course, in my usual mode, the room is not done yet anyway. I did, however, finally make the curtains for Ray's room this weekend. Only took me a year-and-a-half to get around to that. They turned out pretty well, considering I'm not really practiced at sewing. Wonder how long it will take me to do the ones for Jesse's room?

I've been trying to guess if I have bought any correct size clothes for Jesse. She was 27.5 pounds (2T) and 37-inches tall (4T) on October 24, 2006. Most of the things I have bought have been size 5 and 6. Pat says she will hopefully have some sizes for me this week and then we'll have a better idea. The foster family has to travel a fair distance to get to the orphanage to do the measurements, which makes me feel a bit like I'm an inconvenience. It kind of makes me wonder if they will end up going ahead and moving her back into the orphanage once they get there. I don't think I like that idea floating around in my head either.

Joe had a fun weekend with his friend Conner. They got to watch movies, go swimming at the lake, build and island of rocks and eat barbecued ribs and who knows what else. Those two are like peas in a pod. We have to make sure they get to see each other now that Conner is moving over to another town.

We're about to play musical beds at the house. We're getting a king in our room, because we already have two boys hopping in the bed with us and will add a girl soon. Joe will get our queen and the full in his room will move to Jesse's room. So, we will officially have one bed of each size in the house, from toddler up to king ... Ray has a toddler and a twin in his room at the moment.

Well, I guess that's it for now. All very exciting, wouldn't you say? LOL

What's in a Name?

2008-07-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

A lot, apparently.

Yes, we're having a small rethink on the name. Jessie Rose is pretty, but we've had an idea. For one, Jessie may be spelled Jesse. Both have good meanings, but Jesse means "gift," and this child is a gift to our family in more ways than one. Jessie is short for Jessica and means "God Beholds." It can also be a diminutive of Jean, which comes from Joan, which comes from John, which means "God is gracious." Also good. Wonderful, in fact. Can't seem to go wrong with a Jesse, Jessie or Jessica... but, "gift" just works in our case.

The other part, Rose, is pretty, but just doesn't have a meaning. I like names with meaning. So, we're cogitating on that one and will reveal it later.

All of that said, who knows what we're liable to do? I've got to work on it some more. My poor baby doesn't need three given names ... yes, we're keeping her Chinese name as part of the name.

Yes, Ray would have been something all together different if mommy had picked. Daddy wanted a namesake though and I can't blame him. ;-) Its still a good name though. Based from Raymond meaning "advice" or "protector." According to Doris Jing Xia means "old Peking." The protector of old Peking perhaps? I really wanted to stick Jingxia together on his name, but it didn't get on the documents that way. Wonder how much trouble it would be to change it? Just for fun I think I'll start calling him RJ and see how long it takes Dennis to get on to me. ;-)

Joe, btw, based from Joseph means "He will add." Nathan means "giver." Yep. That boy got the right name. He has added so much to our lives, and we simply cannot keep him from giving his toys away to his friends. ;-)

BTW: cool site for name meanings ... http://www.behindthename.com/

LOA at Last!

2008-07-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it only took 78 days from our Log In Date to get the LOA for Miss Jessie ... still, its been over a year in process. Mostly me being so slow getting things together. I think its probably good though that Ray has had plenty of time to adjust to us, and us to him. Our agency thinks we may travel as early as September. So, SHE'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR!

I'm hoping to get some updates before heading over to pick up our baby girl, like how big she is now so I can take a few clothes in case we can't go shopping right away.

I have a demanding 2-year-old cryng for me to draw Spongebob right now, so I have to go ...

Meanwhile, I think its ok to post her picture now.

Worst Blogger in the World

2008-06-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Yep. That's me.

Hi, honey ... posting as requested. LOL

Well, it seems I've not posted since way back in January, let's see what I can remember of the past few months. Probably not enough.

Ray got his second set of tubes in February. Did we cover the part where I cried when the doctor told me we had to do them again and I wasn't through paying for the first set? Yeah. That was fun.

The good news is that the second set seems to be hanging in there pretty well. He just got his first ear infection since getting the new tubes, which is a landmark record for the poor child. About 5 months or so?

He's getting speech therapy at the daycare once a week and he's learning more words every day. The little fellow is smart! He still wants to revert to grunting for things, or screaming when he gets frustrated, but he's 2! Hard to believe he'll actually be 3 in just a couple of months. We've really got to start working on the potty training!

He's STILL not eating solid foods. Early Intervention still wants me to get him to the feeding clinic and I still have the words of one of my friends hanging in the back of my mind, making m reluctant. He was not impressed and refused to take his child again. We have seen some playing at eating lately. He's put french fries, cheese puffs and ramen noodles in his mouth (actually swallowed a couple of bits of noodle). He got himself a big bite of daddy's cole slaw the other night, but spit it out pretty quickly.

Big brother Joe is doing well. He is currently trying to convince us that he can be responsible for an aquarium of fish. In particular, he wants a dinosaur eel. The terms are that he must keep his room clean for a full month before we consider it. Not presently in danger of having to lay out any cash for the aquarium. LOL He is trying though. Its not nearly as messy as it has been in the past.

Joe is going to his regular summer program, and seems to be enjoying himself for the most part. He's struck up a friendship with one of the kids there that seems to be a good thing for him. They seem to just like goofing around in the same way. Its funny though that the other boy is a year or two older and Joe is so much bigger.

Joe's getting more active with scouts. I think he's starting to like it more now that the age level he's in gets to do more "fun" things. He and his dad recently went on a 3-day camp out that got a bit rough on him toward the end (he was just too tired from all the activities and ready to come home), but he keeps saying "we did this, and that, and, mom, did I remember to tell you that?" So, overall, I think he had a good time.

He is still the ever protective brother to Ray, until Ray takes a notion to hit or bite him. Then a battle ensues. Even then, though, Joe is very mindful that Ray is so much smaller. They generally end up laughing and chasing each other around the house.

Every now and then Ray insists he has to sleep with Joe. They look so cute cuddled up together, but then we have to move Ray back to his room. Joe is a wild, all over the bed kind of sleeper. In the mornings we can tell Ray to get Joe up and he stands at the edge of the bed, with his little hands up on the edge, saying, "Doe, wack up!" The other day he said it several times and one of us finally said, "come on Joe." Joe responded, "I'm awake, I just like to hear him, he's cute." He makes a lot of "he's cute" comments about his little brother. He really loves him.

Ray is still being a major daddy's boy. He'll let me do for him if Dennis is not around, but if he is here Ray just wants dad. He seems to be drawn to men more than women across the board right now. Some of our neighbors came over a while back. Jen was trying to get Ray to play with her and Steve was talking to Dennis. Ray just kept going over and pulling on Steve, who started playing with him. When they left Ray just cried and cried. He wanted his new friend back.

At the daycare he's taken up with two older boys. I think they are both around 8 or 9. The ladies at the daycare say they'll miss Ray sometimes and find he's gone to seek out these two, who are having a grand time playing with the little one. When we're out to eat we generally have to entertain Ray by drawing things for him, mostly the cast of Spongebob. Last time I had to add these two boys to our list of things to draw. He patted the paper and said their names, so I drew them. He seemed very happy.

We also get lots of requests for "see Sam" ever since we went to Sam's birthday party. I think he must have been very excited that day. I know I was. He did a few firsts. That was the day he put the cheese puffs in his mouth (then MG grabbed one and ate it, oops), he actually got in the little kiddie pool and played around and he ran across the grass bare foot. He normally stands in one spot and screams if you put him on the grass. Big day!

We're still waiting on Miss Jessie. Thrilled to have our LID officially on May 8. Looks like folks on the SN boards are getting LOA anywhere from 66 days to 140+ after LID, so its still a crap shoot when we'll hit the next step. I really have a ton of things I need to be doing to prepare. I think I'm in need of a personal assistant to keep me on track.

Well, I'm about ready to take a long nap. Its been along day.

snore ..... ;-)

The Boo Boo

2008-01-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

I didn't post this when it happened, but here is one of the many reasons I have grey hair ... It actually got worse before it got better, but I didn't take any more pictures of the poor little thing's face. I just got another bill from the ER for this too (we were afraid his nose was broken and it swelled and turned black so fast ...). Think I'll call and find out why. I thought we were all paid up.

Long Time No Posts ...

2008-01-31T09:31:00.000-08:00

Well, let's see ...

Ray's surgery for tubes was postponed due to pneumonia. He is rescheduled for Feb. 5. We're hoping he stays well enough to get them done.

I finally broke down and called Early Intervention. His pediatrician isn't worried about the eating issues (that will come with work), but is concerned about his speech development. The ear doctor thinks he can't hear clearly right now, but the pediatrician wants him evaluated before we lose access to the services. I'll be meeting with Connie from Child Find tomorrow to get the paperwork started.

Joe is doing well. Still loves his baby brother, but isn't so fond of Ray slapping him. We're working on that. Pretty typical 2-year-old behavior though. I think Joe shows a great deal of restraint and maturity when we have these instances. He has not hit Ray back. We did tell him he can hold Ray's hands and tell him "no, don't hit," and he's been pretty good about doing that. Ray is definitely jealous of Joe and tries to worm his way between us if I'm paying attention to Joe or sitting with him.

Found out yesterday that our home study for Jessie made it to COTW and they are working on getting our dossier authenticated now. We'll just be hanging out waiting to get the fingerprint letter.

Now for some pictures ...

Ray and his friend Nilani.

No, No, No ... Not ANOTHER Set of Tubes!

2007-12-19T12:43:00.000-08:00

Yes. Unfortunately that is exactly what is going to happen on Jan. 15. Ray has to have his second set of tubes in his ears since June. And I JUST paid off the first set a few minutes after the doctor let the hammer down on my poor little head. Yes, I actually cried by the time I could get hubby on the phone. I'm better now.

Apparently the lft tube has slipped backward into the ear canal and there is a good deal of fluid built up. the right one is trying to push out. Who knows? That one may be gone by the time the surgery is supposed to happen.

This go around he is putting in longer tubes that are harder and supposed to stay in longer, we hope. He is also going to take our Ray's adenoids. He said they can sometimes keep things from draining properly and contribute to the infections. He asked if Ray was congested a lot and I said "yes." The child is congested all the time. I really don't know of a day when he's been totally clear.

At least, this time, I've added Ray to our supplemental insurance and, hopefully, it will cover what the regular insurance doesn't. I can just see the "pre-existing condition" looming on the horizon though.

MEANWHILE

We completed the fourth, and final, home study for Jessie last Thursday. Now we just wait on Karen to get the all important report written out and shipped over to COTW. I honestly can't remember if they can send the dossier to China at that point or if they have to wait on the 171H before it can go. I hope they don't have to wait on the 171H. Not really wanting it to take so long as to need to redo physicals and other such things.

We've got to send an updated letter of application for China because we decided to change our guardians. When we asked the new couple I thought Angie was going to fly over the table exclaiming "I'll take your babies!" She didn't even let hubby finish the question. I love her!

Well, gotta run. More later.

A Word About "The Golden Compass"

2007-12-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

The series of books that the movie "The Golden Compass" is based on are considered to be one of the greatest achievements in CHILDREN'S literature in the past 70 years. Pay attention to that statement. This is considered "CHILDREN's" literature.

Aside from the anti-Christian theme ... Among the themes in this tale by author Phillip Pullman are (list provided to me by a friend who HAS READ THE BOOKS):

Murder
Kidnapping
Torture
Rape
Sex between two 11- to 12-year-old children (this, at least, is alluded to, not hashed out in gory detail)

Another person, who has read the books, tells me these are NOT appropriate for children because they contain concepts that would be frightening to children (kidnapping, murder, torture, rape), they are quite bloody and violent, and almost everyone dies.

Currently published in the US by Scholastic books, this trilogy will be finding its way into schools and classrooms, most likely it already has since the books have been around for a number of years. Scholastic is reportedly offering special incentives to get these books in the hands of our children in classrooms. In a world where much more innocently themed books like Huck Finn, How to Eat Fried Worms, and even Where's Waldo are challenged or banned from the school setting, I truly want to know why this trilogy has not made that list? I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want my child exposed to many of the themes in this set of books.

Ultimately, it is the role of the parent to decide what their child can and cannot read, or watch, up until that child is of an age to decide for themselves. However, I do not believe books with themes of this nature should be made available to a child by the school without the consent of that child's parent.

My son's school sends around a list of questionable and challenged books at the beginning of the school year and I have to sign regarding whether he is allowed to check out books on this list or not. I will be sending a request to the school board asking that this series be added to this list, due to the fact that many of the books the kids check out never make it into the home. He could feasibly check out the book and I wouldn't even know he was reading it to be able to discuss it with him.

As much as I am a Christian, the anti-Christian theme, although troubling, is not my main concern with MY child reading these books. His faith and belief are strong enough to withstand the attack. In fact, I suspect he would stop reading it as he figured it out. When I explained to him the ultimate goal of the main characters he was very offended and wanted to know "how anyone could even think they were strong enough to hurt God." Yes, the FAITH is strong in this one Master Yoda! The things I do not want him exposed to, at his age, are the themes of violence, murder, rape, hatred and sex between under-aged children.

The titles of these three books are: "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife," and "The Amber Spyglass."

Yay for Our Friends!

2007-11-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is the day before Thanksgiving and I just want to say "yay friends!"

Our friends Sally and Joel should be landing tomorrow morning at the Birmingham airport with their new daughter Nilani. from India. We are planning to try to meet them as we travel north to visit my parents. Hopefully all of their flights will connect on time and they won't get held up at immigration when they land in the good old USA.

Our friends Nick and Susan will be taking off first thing the day after Thanksgiving to go get their little man Sam and will return with him on Dec. 6. Isn't this all just too exciting! Both families will have their little ones home before Christmas!

We were all supposed to have dinner on the 16th of this month, but all this adoption stuff changed our plans. That is so very ok with me! It means they will have their children the next time we do get together.

That's It. No More Dresses Until Next Year!

2007-11-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

I went crazy this week. Culminating in the purchase of "THE SPECIAL DRESS." Even though the total spent on everything else this week was LESS than $40 (and I got 10 outfits for that...) I'm not buying any more until next year. Yes, dear, you (and everyone else) can (and should) remind me of that from time to time ... but gosh, just look at it! And it was the LAST one this lady will ever make of this design.

Hopefully Dennis won't kill me in my sleep when he finally sees this. ;-)

I decided to come back in and ad the web address for the Ebay store where I purchased this. When I sent my payment I discovered the seller's name is Mei Li, which predisposes me to want to advertise for her a little. Besides, she makes beautiful dresses. Custom sizes too. http://stores.ebay.com/princess-trunk-Designs

Some Kids Are Just Special

2007-10-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, some kids are special. You don't have to tell them to be protective of their siblings and family, they just are. You don't have to tell them to stand up to injustice and prejudice, they just do it. Joe is one of those kids and, God love his heart, he was just born that way. I really can't take credit for it.

Yesterday we went to a birthday party of Dennis' grandfather. His uncle persisted in making derogatory comments about Ray's heritage and wanted to know why we would want yet another one since he found out we're adopting Jessie. I responded that "you have three kids, why shouldn't we want three?" Well, he went downhill from there and I chose to ignore him, for the time being.

Later, we were discussing it in the car and Joe wanted to know what was going on. I explained that his uncle was making mean comments about his brother and sister just because they are from another country. At that point Joe did this half-scream/half-roar and declared (VERY LOUDLY) "I want to smash a house on him! I LOVE my brother and sister!" Now I just have to direct that passion into a more positive response. ;-)

I do intend to have a talk with this uncle at some point. I may have to put up with the occasional comment from people outside the family, though there have been NONE at this point, but I refuse to put up with it from within the family. And, to my knowledge, this one uncle is the only person who has had a problem with our adoption(s). Everyone else dotes on little Ray like he's always been part of the family and they all say they are looking forward to welcoming our daughter into the family.

Meanwhile ...

Joe is already preparing for the much anticipated arrival of his sister. Yesterday he saw a shirt that he just had to have. He begged and pleaded, "pleeeaaaseee!" So, now he is the proud owner of his first sister-related shirt. It says, "I wish my sister had a mute button." Oh, if he only knew how much more sisters actually talk than moms do ... Still, she's going to have to try to out talk Joe, which is no easy feat, trust me.

Oh, Yeah ...

I almost forgot! TODAY is Joe's birthday! My sweet, sweet boy ... my little protector of the defenseless turns 9 today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOE! I LOVE YOU!

He Ate It, Mikey ... I Can't Believe He Ate It!

2007-10-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Its true! Ray has actually eaten something that is not pureed baby food! It was just soup, but it WASN'T BABY FOOD!

He actually seems to like soup quite a bit, except for the chunky parts. Hey, we're making progress though.

We've had a couple of random incidents where he'd bit a french fry, but spit out the pieces. He's swallowed a couple of bits, but not with any consistency. He's also eaten one or two goldfish crackers according to the ladies in the church nursery, but has never eaten one in front of us.

Then there was soup.

Our refrigerator has been on the fritz for a month, so we lived out of coolers for a while until they got the frige partially working. Yes, we were keeping milk in the freezer part because the other side was too warm. No, the milk never came close to freezing. I think it was just cool enough to keep the milk from spoiling. Anyway, the point of all of this is ... we were eating a lot of soup because it was easy.

Ray took a notion that he needed to be in Dennis' lap every time his daddy started eating, even though he'd already had his meal. Then he kept grabbing the bowl and sticking his nose over the edge. Dennis finally offered him a bit of New England Clam Chowder and HE ATE IT! He wanted "Mo! Mo, DaDa!" So, Dennis kept feeding him. He ate almost all the broth from the bowl. He would spit out the chunks if Dennis gave him one though.

Since then Ray has had the broth off several types of soup. Rigatoni, Chicken and Corn Chowder, Steak and Potato ... Then, he discovered Italian Wedding soup. He wouldn't eat the meatballs in it, but he ate every bite of pearl pasta and spinach that went into his greedy little mouth. He even ate some crackers that were soaked in the broth. It seems it should be such a little thing for a baby to start eating table food, but, at 25 months, its a big deal for us. It means Ray is starting to catch up a little more. Its such a change for us from Joe who was totally off baby food by the time he was about 15- or 16-months-old.

OTHER THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON

Ray is also coming along more each day on his speech, though I still have to remind myself the doctor said he had to catch up on recognizing sound due to the past ear infections that he feels affected his hearing.

Right now Ray can say:
Doe (Joe)
DaDa
MaMa
Baw (ball)
MattMatt (his friend at school)
NiNi (the daycare director)
Mo (more)
Gogah (yogurt)
Night Night
Baf (bath)
Hello
Hola (thanks, Diego)
Daygo (Diego)
Dabo (Diablo, our dog)
Mik (milk)
Eat
Bye Byeeeee
Pease (please)
BunBa (spongebob)
No - he's got that one down pat!
Es - yes

He also tries to say "walk," but I don't think I can spellit the way it sounds.

Hey, once I write it all down, he's not doing so bad, eh?

MAJOR EXCITEMENT!

2007-10-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Not with our adoption, but those of friends.

Sally and Joel may be able to travel the first week of November to get their sweet little Nilani! We're all praying that these last steps through DHR go smoothly and quickly. Two other families are right there with them for the trip to India. Good luck and best wishes to all!

Nick and Susan may travel at the beginning of December to get Sam! They are just waiting to get the consulate appointment and set up their flights.

This is shaping up to be a great holiday season for us all. The first Christmas with our new little people. If only Miss Jessie could be here too, but maybe next year she can join her brothers and all of our friend for the celebration!

Whoops, I Did It Again!

2007-10-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know ... Dennis is going to cut off my Ebay account, but I had to get it. ;-)

I think I did pretty good. NWT, original price $59.99 and it was less than $20 with the shipping.

Yes, I am already thinking about that first fancy portrait with all three of my precious children in it. From the looks of this dress, the boys are going to have to have tuxedos by the time I'm done.

It Has Begun ...

2007-10-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

That's right. The shopping bug has struck, and the bug want little girl's clothing!

Went out to WalMart last night and saw the cute little outfit on the right. I could not resist getting it because I think the little fairy looks like a little Chinese girl. That's what started the whole thing ...

Late last night I found myself surfing Ebay, looking at little girl things.

Today I just couldn't take it and went over to Dillards and got the cute dress on the right. Pinks, browns, plaid and butterflies! and little Ray seems to like his new sister's clothes too!

I know I can't go out and do this a lot ... well, maybe at yard sales. LOL Dennis is going to think I'm crazy when he sees I've added the dress.

I'm worried about size, of course. I know Jessie was 37 inches and about 27 pounds in October of 2006. I'm guessing length, by the time we get her, around a 5T and around will probably be smaller if she's anything likte skinny-butt Ray. ;-)

Ok, Ray is climbing on the desk and attacking the screen ... gotta go ...

Joe's Having a Birthday Soon!

2007-10-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

Our dear first-born child, Joe, will have his 9th birthday on the 29th of this month. Gosh, I can't believe it. Nine years of those pretty (excuse me, HANDSOME) blue eyes and that endearing smile. He's gone from 9 pounds to 125, and from 20-1/4 inches to 4 feet 9-1/2 inches tall. He's always been my big boy.

At Ray's current age, 2-years-old, Joe was wearing a big old 4T in his clothing. I don't remember his shoe size, just that they were BIG! Shoot, the day he was born his footprints extended outside the box on the little cards they gave us. Must be something in the water, eh?

What can I say about Joe? He's sweet, smart (BRILLIANT in fact), funny, compassionate, loving and knows far more about the way the world works than I ever though a child his age would. He just has this old wisdom about him, like he's been through it all before. On the other hand he can drive me (and his father) half crazy at times with all the questions and incessant talking. Its ok though, I wouldn't trade him for the world ... especially when he looks in my eyes, with great seriousness, and says, "I love you, mamma. You're the best! Well, no, God and Jesus are the best, but you're second." Hey, I'll take a back seat to God and Jesus any day of the week! Man, I LOVE that kid.

I Love this Lady

2007-10-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, I was out surfing about and ran into this blog http://giorgiadanette.blogspot.com/2005/06/i-know-im-nuts.html

Again, I'm sure Dennis could help with the link, but ya'll can cut and paste in your browser til then.

Anyway, I just love her positive attitude and her insane (in a good way) list making! Helped remind me of a few things I need to do too ....

A Bunch of Pictures

2007-10-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

Let's see what we have here. And one day I suppose I will learn how to put a caption by each photo ...

We have a pitiful photo of little Ray on the day he had tubes put in his ears. Poor little man, he had no idea why he was in that ugly green dress. The nurse came in and gave him some sort of liquid medicine to make him loopy before the surgery ... and boy did it ever. I could tell the instant it kicked in. His little head swung around and up, his hand shot into the air and he started wiggling his fingers in front of his face. THEN he fell over backward and started laughing. This continued until the time they took him back to surgery. Keeping a drunk baby from leaping of a gurney is definitley and adventure!

Then, we have a picture of my boys, Mutt and Jeff. Not sure which is which, but, as you can see, there is a big difference in size and general appearance with these two. Its a huge change for us having little bitty Ray, who at 2 years is wearing a 12 month size on bottom and an 18 month on top when, at the same age, big brother Joe was wearing a 4T.

Finally, the day Ray attacked! He really just wanted to watch Joe's video game screen, but Joe kept moving it away from him. I really can't blame Joe. Who knows what might happen if Ray got his little death grip on the top hinge of the player?

Official Wait Date

2007-10-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am counting the official start of our wait for Jessie as march 21, 2007 which is the day we faxed our LOI to our agency. I guess I didn't realize that was over 6 months ago. Man, I should be ashamed at how long it took to me to get our dossier together. Yet, at the same time ... it took our doctor's office from August 1 until Sept 12 to get our paperwork completed on our physicals. AND, as I said somewhere (maybe to someone) now seems to be ther right time. At the very least it is giving us time to make sure Ray is fully settled in before disrupting his world with another child.

Shoplifting

2007-10-08T13:50:00.001-07:00

Dennis did such a good job with this one on his personal blog that I'm just going to give you the link.

Story

BTW: I don't know that I know how to make the link active. Ya'll may have to cut and paste.

Update: Ok, Dennis helped me with the link thingie ... it works now.

What are the Chances?

2007-10-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is a foolish question because its only about 10 months til Jessie's next birthday, but ...
What are the chances that we'll at least find out she is ours before her next birthday? Well, we have a positive response to our LOI, but we still have to clear the dossier test ...

I know. We JUST turned in our paperwork. We've not had our home study. The "fortunate" group of us who get the DHR lady with the M-Z cases typically get to wait at least 3 months for her to get to them. then it takes about 90 days (sometimes more) for our CSICS office to do their thing. Then there is the wait for DTC, Log-in and all that. I just don't have the experience of working backward like this on a SN adoption to know how fast or slowly it may go once our dossier gets to China. I'm actually assuming that we will end up having to do at least the China portion of our dossier again by the time the US side gets through all they have to do with it. Not really expecting to be able to get Jessie by her next birthday, but wouldn't it be awesome!

It took us (what seemed) forever on Ray's adoption (NSN program). We decided to adopt in Oct. 2002. I think we finally got our papers in to our agency in July 2003. Our first choice of country fell through and we switched to China. Resubmitted all new documents and were logged in on Sept. 12, 2005. (Ray was born on Sept. 6, so we feel we jumped the gun on our first attempt and God held us back until OUR child was born.) We finally got our referral for Ray on Jan 3, 2007 and completed the adoption in China Feb. 28.

It's a Boy! Finding Out About Ray.

By the way ... as we all know, the vast majority of children adopted through the NSN program in China are girls. When we did our paperwork we requested a girl between the ages of 3 and 6, but also stated that a boy would be welcomed.

About 3 or 4 months before we got our referral I started having dreams about our child. In EVERY dream he was a boy. I never once dreamed about a girl. I would catch myself looking at boy names on the internet (a lot of good that did since hubby ended up picking Ray's name, LOL). I'd be looking at little boy's clothes in the stores. I asked our agency director about the possibility of getting a boy. She said, "no way, you're getting a girl." And she stuck to that story every time I asked.

We'd gone ahead and decorated the room for a girl. Mint green walls with white butterflies stenciled all over ... A frilly white dresser with carved roses ... a blue bedspread with butterflies ... you get the picture. Very girly!

Then, the call came on Jan. 3, 2007. I remember it clear as day. I'd been waiting for my turn all day. Pat calls everyone in alphabetical order when the referrals come in, being a "U" we were last on the list. I think she finally got to us around 2:30 or 3:00 that afternoon. I answered my cell phone at work, set on a very loud siren sound just for the agency, and heard Pat's voice, "Laura??" "Yes, Pat??" "Laura, you're not going to believe this." "It's a BOY, isn't it, Pat!" "Yes! And there's something else ... he's only 16 months old!" I feel pretty sure everyone in the building could probably hear me talking. I have a tendency to get very loud when I'm excited. I absolutely could not sit still. Anyway, Pat was sitting at the ready to email me the photos of our sweet little boy, but I made her wait until I could get hold of Dennis and get him to his computer so he could see about the same time I did. When I got him on the other phone and told him we had a boy he hollered out to his co-workers "IT"S A BOY! I'm a daddy!" then we got to see his adorable little face. Three photos that were all obviously taken on the same day. But, gosh, wasn't he just the cutest thing! We both immediately started sending his photo out to all our family and friends. Its one of the times I really wish my mom had a computer. She had to wait 2 days for the envelope to get to her.

When we got the referral packet, and our letter of acceptance, we didn't even give our pediatrician time to wait on the translation of the medical for review. We signed our papers and sent them right back in. Ray was ours and it didn't matter to us if he had a problem we were unaware of at the time. I can guarantee this little man was worth every minute of our long wait. All told, over 1,500 days from the time we decided to adopt until we met our little guy for the first time at the SWI in Beijing, China. Definitely worth every minute. ;-)

Brothers Waiting on Their Sister

2007-10-08T10:49:00.002-07:00

Just a quick post today to show our two handsome boys. One is a photo we included in the little album we sent to Ray's orphanage. We had a (then current) photo of Joe and Ray's referral photo to work with at that time.

The family photo is us now ... well about a month ago really. Look how much the boys have grown! No, I don't know why it popped to the front since it was loaded second? This is the photo we included in our most Recent dossier to get the boys' new sister, Miss Jessie. We hope that all will go well and we'll eventually be able to post photos of Jessie too. I have referral photos of her, but since we are working backward, and the dossier hasn't made it to China for approval yet, I'm not sure I can post them yet as being our daughter.

I just realized Joe is wearing the shirt he got in China. He picked it out at the silk factory we visited in Beijing ... after I'd already paid for our selections. So, we had to make one more purchase. Its been a good one though. He wears that shirt at least once a week, twice if I do the laundry early.

We sent Jessie's LOI off shortly after we got home with little Mr. Ray (Ray Ray or Ray Bob depending on our mood) and did get word from the agency that they had received a positive response from China for us to adopt Jessie. I don't know if it the official LOA though. Doesn't seem like it would be at this stage. Ok, it has to the the PA (Preliminary Approval) that the agency received. yes, our second adoption and I still don't know what all these abbreviations stand for!

Right now, I'm waiting for the agency to let us know if we have trouble with a BMI score. One of us (who is rather sensitive about the matter at the moment) has a score of exactly 40. I also had a little problem with our police clearance. The notary scribbled over the date she signed the paper. who wants to bet a nickel I have to have that redone?

Ok, and one more photo ... I bet this pops to the very front too. I'll figure that stuff out later. This one is of Ray and our friend Sally (who is also in the process of adopting with her hubby Joel) at Ray's 2nd birthday party. Sally makes the neatest baby blankets. She gave us one just before we went to get Ray and it took me this long to realize that the "people" in the planes and hot-air balloons are actually PANDAS! Now that is a pretty cool detail that I should have picked up on right away. BTW: Ray Ray loves his "Sally blanket" and it HAS to be in the crib with him each night.

Ok, I'm supposed to be working so I'd better get back to it. More later ...

Little Person #3 ... Miss Jessie

2007-09-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

First, let me say this is not our first adoption. However, I didn't keep a blog the first time around. I'll try to catch things up a bit, including our decision to have our first son then our decision to adopt, and adopt again.

This is the "adopt again" portion of the program.

Today, Sept. 24, 2007 we sent off our application and China dossier to our agency for the lovely little person of Miss Jessie, age 5. It took me far too long to get the paperwork together, but somehow the timing feels right.

We decided to adopt Jessie even before we left for China to complete the adoption of Baby Ray back in February of this year. In fact, we began filling out some specific paperwork for Miss Jessie before we left on our trip and finished it up shortly after our return in March. Those papers were sent on to China and we were given permission to pursue her adoption. Yes, it has taken me 7 months to get her papers finished, but, as I said, the time seems right.

So, at the moment, I am at work and should (technically) be working. therefore, I shall add more later from home.