Six Arrows

My Sweet Sarah at TKD today!!

2011-01-29T16:46:00.001-08:00

updates!

2010-12-23T23:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, I've been trying to post for several months but blogger won't me post any pictures. Seems now it's working! Well we are on Christmas holiday! So happy for the break! We need it. Samuel is off for 2 weeks and we are all enjoying our time together. The girls had a piano recital and they all did great! Donya was in the end of semester play at DE and it was really good.

Sophia and I will be going back to the NiH in January. Please keep us in your prayers! I'll post some more pics in a few days

I tell my children this all the time!

2010-10-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to turn off the music on the playlist below!

Loving Fall and Answered Prayers

2010-10-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

The school year is well underway and we are busy! Corwin and Kai started Awanas 2 weeks ago and really like it! They are so proud to wear their Awana vests! Donya will be taking the PSAT next week. Sarah is loving Tae Kwon Do and is good at it.

We are so happy that the HOT HOT Texas Summer is over. I have a HUGE PRAISE report! I don't want to say too much on the blog, maybe later but God just moved some huge mountains for our family and we are so blessed!

Changes for 10th grade

2010-08-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

We decided that Donya will not be doing Sonlight Core 300. Instead she will be using Notgrass World History. We both decided that Sonlight was too much reading. We have loved Sonlight in past years but decided she needs something different this year.

homeschool curriculum for 4th grade and K

2010-08-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here is what we are doing this year. I'm not totally sure that I LOVE it all yet, but we are going to stick with it because I already BOUGHT it! I'll tweak it here and there if I need too.

Samuel, 4th grade: Christian Light Reading, Math and Social Stuides. Easy Grammar, Handwriting Without Tears, Explode the Code, Apologia Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology with the Notebooking Journal, Catherine Vos Story Bible, I try to read aloud at breakfast but sometimes can't. In that case I do it later in the day. Kai and Corwin sit with us and listen while I read. Right now Samuel is reading Childhood of Famous Americans, Thomas Jefferson. We're also reading aloud the Good and Evil Book. I know it's another bible story but it's SO GOOD! Also I just ordered some of these, I can't wait to get them!

Well thats about it for now, It's late, I'll post our K stuff tomorrow and upate on 10th grade!

Home School Time!

2010-08-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time again. It's still very hot and seems like summer should not be over yet. Donya and Sarah started their homeschool co-op today. They start early because they have a short semester.

Donya is taking: High School Spanish 1, Chemistry with lab (Abeka), High School Essays (IEW), Theater. Sarah is taking, High School Spanish, Physical Science (Apologia). Middle School Essays (IEW), Christian Worldview (Cornerstone)

At home they are doing Math with Teaching Textbooks, Donya is using Sonlight Core 300 for History, Bible and Literature. Sarah will be doing Mystery of History . They will both be doing Vocabulary from Classical Roots. We also use Daily Grams, Sarah will be doing the grade 7 and Donya will be doing the Senior high level. Some other things we use is Copywork from Queen Homeschool and a smattering of other things as we need them.
All the girls take piano as well.

As for the little ones:
Sophia, 6th grade: Christian Light Reading, Christian Light social studies, Teaching Textbooks, Daily Grams, we read aloud the Catherine Vos story Bible and she is reading a book called A Girl of Beauty, also handwriting using Copywork from Queen Homeschool. For science Apologia, Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology, she is doing that together with Samuel (4th grade).

We're also reading aloud Daughters of Destiny (all the girls), Jesus Freak and Voice of the Martyrs magazine. One thing I plan on reading aloud this year which I really LOVE is the Good and Evil book by Michael Pearl at No Greater Joy. I love this book and I am glad that the two little boys are now old enough to sit and read it with us. It's awesome book!

Ok, I have three children to go but it's late, so I will finish tomorow! Stop by again in a few days!

Thank you Lord!

2010-07-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

Priase God! All of Sophia's scans were normal! We are so, so, so very happy and so thankful! Thank you to everyone who prayed for Sophia! Please continue to pray for her healing!

I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.
O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Sing praise to the Lord, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved."
Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
I cried out to You, O Lord; And to the Lord I made supplication:
"What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!"
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Psalm 30

more pictures from Monday

2010-07-20T03:39:00.000-07:00

Hannah, Sophia and Tracy. Sophia gettig IV for contrast and Sophia right after CT scan,Sophia and I in waiting room after she drank yucky contrast drink.

First day at NIH

2010-07-19T20:16:00.001-07:00

just spent a long time posting pics and they DISAPPEARED!!!!! So mad!

Ok, here a few pics from today! Top,Sophia getting blood drawn..not happy. Sophia afterwards, not happy. Sophia, Tracy and Hannah in one of the family rooms at NIH. Sophia and Hannah at Panera,,yummy! My ultra cool brother Chad and sweet sis Tracy. Don't let Chad's stern face fool you! He is full of goofiness!

We're in Virginia now!

2010-07-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

We had a nice flight anf my sister in law picked us up at the airport and we're staying the night with them. Tomorrow late morning we'll head out to the NIH. Tomorrow at 1:30 Sophia has a blood draw, at 3pm she has to drink contrast and at 4pm has a CT scan. Keep praying!

Here is our prayer request!

2010-07-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I posted that I would ask for prayers for something real important.

Not all of you kmow that our 10 year old daughter Sophia had a cancerous kidney tumor last summer. She had the tumor and her left kidney removed, It was a rare tumor and took pathology over a month to figure out. She had to undergo many CT scans after that as a follow up! Thank God that the tumor was contained in the kidney and all the lymph nodes and the renal vein were clear!

Our doctor referred Sophia to the National Caner Institute in Maryland because they have a group of top docs and researchers that are specifically seeing people with the type of tumor she had. Only about 300 people in the US have it.

We are going back for our 2nd trip on Sunday. There Sophia will have a bunch of scans and we will meet with the doctors. My prayer request is that you will pray that all her scans are normal!! And also that we will have safe travels! Thank you so much!! Blessings!

Please pray for this little girl Daisy

2010-07-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

This little girl has a wilms tumor.Not the same kind that Sophia had but a cancerous tumor just the same.She went thru months of chemo and they thought it was gone but they just found out that it is back. Please pray.

Long time

2010-07-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a crazy long time since I've posted an update!

So sorry, but it's been a busy few months. In a few days I'm going to post a major prayer request. Please come back because its so important!

Camping and other cute pictures!

2010-05-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

Guess what these little guys are doing? They found their sisters old doll furniture and are playing Littlest Pet Shops with the furniture. So precious!

Tomorrow is school for Sara and testing for everyone else!

Crazy Love...prayers for healing, finances, children...

2010-04-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Linny over at http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/ is doing this thing caled Crazy Love. She asked that anyone interested in posting their prayer requests link up to her blog. Go and check it out! It's amazing! I'm totally interested in getting prayers......who isn't? But I am a little uncomfortable about posting them but I'm doing it anyway. So here goes...

Prayers for complete and total healing for my 11 year old daughter that had a cancerous tumor in her left kidney last June and had to have the kidney removed. It's a loooong story but now we're going through ongoing genetic testing because they think the tumor was caused by a genetic mutation. Like I said, it's a very long story. (Think:visits to the NIH) We're waiting on the results of a test right now. It's called fumarate hydratase. She's already had 4 tests run and they were negative!

Prayers for our finances. The surgery last was June was one of 5 surgeries that different people in our home had to have. Our 5 year son from China had two surgeries on his cleft lip and palate. My oldest daughter had surgery on her toe, she had a terrible bone spur. My husband had a benign thing on his nose removed. And all the scans and genetic stuff for my daughter.....well its taken its toll. If you could pray for a raise for my husband and financial blessings.

Prayers for more children. Yes we want more kids. Obviously because of the post above we don't have the money to adopt again right now, I'm heartbroken over it.....but I pray everyday that God will bless us with another child. We want to have more children by birth or adoption.....whatever the Lord see fit to bless us with.

Pictures from Virginia

2010-03-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Its the fabulous Donya ;)

My moms been super busy lately and she asked me to update for her! Here are some of the pictures from her, Samuel and Sophia's trip to Fairfax Station, Virginia:

Sophia and Hannah! Aren't they pretty! We had a great time! Thanks Chad and Tracy!

Life and homeschooling=(almost) no time for anything else!

2010-03-13T21:46:00.001-08:00

Yes, yes, I know that I've neglected the blog for a long time! So here is the lowdown on what is going on:

I just got back from VA and MD and had a wonderful visit with my dear brother and sis in law and their family.

Kai and Corwin are playing soccer. Their first game was today!

Sarah is taking Tae Kwon Do and is a yellow belt!

Sara Kim is doing great at school and making lots of friends!

Donya is studying hard and has lots of homework.

All the girls are playing piano, Donya - 7 years! Sarah - 6 years! Sophia- 2 years!

We're still homeschooling using: Sonlight Core 100 (Donya) core 6 (Sarah) and core 4 (Sophia) for history and literature. We're doing Story of the World Volume 1 with Samuel.

Bible: The girls are reading the bible everyday.I let them choose what passages/chapters they want to read. Sometimes we do a devotional book. Samuel is doing Christian Light Bible grade 3 plus we are reading His Mighty Warrior.

Math:Teaching Textbooks, Algebra 2 (Donya), Pre Algebra (Sarah), Christian Light gr.5 & 3 math (Sophia and Samuel).

Grammar and LA: Vocab. from Latin Roots, Easy Grammar, Wordly Wise, and some AO Lifepacs. Samuel and Sophia are doing A Reason for Handwriting.

Science: Apologia Biology with labs (Donya with a co-op),Apologia Physical Science (Sarah), Apologia Botany (Sophia), Abeka gr.3 (Samuel)

And...various other things I can't think of right now!

Corwin and Kai: right now they are doing various preschool workbooks that I pick up and there. But soon I will starting them on kindergarten. We'll be doing Explode the Code book 1, either Singapore math K or Horizons K. Handwriting without tears and History for Little Pilgrims and maybe a Sing Spell Read and Write workbook.

So right now it's late and we have church tomorrow so I'll post some updated pistures tomorrow!

THE HAIRCUT!!!!

2009-11-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Sweet Kai got a major haircut last weekend. Now he has "big boy hair"! I do miss his curls. He looks like a different boy to be sure. To the left is a picture taken 2 weekends ago and below that are pictures of his haircut....

Hallowen Fun

2009-11-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

This was Sara's first halloween.I think she had fun! She sure did look cute dressed as Dorothy! Kai was referred to as a girl at east 5 times. sigh....I guess I have to cut his curls....Today after church both Corwin and Kai came home singing "Open the doors of my heart Lord"......

2009-10-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

My sweeties!

2009-10-19T17:41:00.001-07:00

This boy needs a family!!

2009-09-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

George desperately wants a family and since he is 13 he desperately needs one who will work quickly for him. He is a sweet boy who has seen his friends get adopted and he enjoys practicing his English. As you can see from his picture, he has quite a lovely idea of what a home and family might be like. Let's help him find a family of his own.

George cannot be adopted after he turns 14. Please consider adopting an older child. These children need families! ASIA has the files for many older children who need families. Please see ASIA's blog for information on many of the children at asiahope.blogspot.com

Please contact Marci at 503-224-1860
marcisk@asiadopt.org

asiadopt.org

2 years ago this week

2009-09-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

We held our son for the first time. We were in the conference room on the 2nd floor at the Lakeside Hotel in Fuzhou and we were waiting in the hallway to see if we could see them coming. The hallway overlooks the foyer and we heard alot of crying. I looked down and saw a woman holding the hands of two little kids and they were both crying hard. I was hoping for a nice tranquil meeting...what I got was alot of tears.

Today he happy and beautiful and a total joy. Happy Gotcha Day Corwin!

Summer fun at the pool!

2009-09-07T07:48:00.001-07:00

God hears our prayers....

2009-08-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Some of you probably don't know that our daughter Sophia had surgery in June to remove her left kidney and a tumor on the kidney. The doc thought that the tumor might be associated with two specific genetic conditions. They sent her blood to a lab in GA for genetic testing. These two genetic syndromes are pretty bad. We've been praying HARD for close to 2 months for a negative test result for both of these and today we finally found out that both are negative! Praise God!

Thank you so much for all our friends and to everyone that prayed for our daughter. I know that alot of people we don't know were praying for her. Please continue to pray. We have another issue related to genetic testing that we have to look into.

Matthew 18:18-19
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

II Corinthians 10:4-5
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Hello Sara from South Korea!

2009-08-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Sara from Korea is here! She got here last Saturday. She is really sweet and we all like her alot! She likes to play wii with Samuel too. She starts school on Monday. I'll add more pics later.....

Summer

2009-08-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Wild Olive Tees

2009-08-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Friends, Remember that Love Without Boundaries repaired Corwin's cleft lip and palate? They are an organization that goes to places like China to preform surgeries and procedures for children that otherwise would go untreated. All the doctors and nurses volunteer their time and services. Many of their medical supplies are donated and they rely on donations to fund these surgeries for the children. Wild Olive Tees is helping them out, between now and the end of August, 25% of the profits from the sale of all 'chosen' tees will go to LWB! So check out their site and buy some really neat tees!

Haven't posted in awhile...

2009-07-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

2nd day here

2009-06-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Sophia is up and sitting in a rocking chair. Yea!!! The doc is very happy about that. It still hurts alot but getting out of bed is a big step. Here are some pics of a sad faced girl

In recovery room

2009-06-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from earlier in the recovery room. We're now in our own room and she is sleeping

She is out of surgery

2009-06-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Praise God! She is out and the doc said she did great! He DID NOT see anything abnormal besides the cysts! Will update when we are in recovery with her. Right now we are still in the OR waiting room.

Sophia

2009-06-02T07:15:00.001-07:00

Please keep praying for Sophia. She isn't in surgery yet, but will be soon. Here are some pics I just took.

Spring days...hot days!

2009-04-25T21:38:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the birthday party for my friend's son. She made him this incredible train cake!

The other pictures are from when we went to a local farmers market. The have goats,chickens, horses, etc..we had alot of fun. Its getting hot here. I was hoping the cooler days would last a little longer.

To be a mother........

2009-04-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

"To be a mother is the grandest vocation in the world.
No one being has a position of such power and influence.
She holds in her hands the destiny of nations;
for to her is necessarily committed
the making of the nation's citizens."

---Hannah Whitall Smith

Main Street Arts Festival

2009-04-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

Lots of Spring pictures!

2009-04-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Geography Fair

2009-02-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

Last week our homeschool group put on a geography fair. We did a booth on China. We all had a great time. Donya made dumplings. Here are some pics of the fair. Also two pics of Corwin the day after his surgery.

We're leaving the hospital today!!!!

2009-01-22T07:41:00.000-08:00

Corwin After surgery

After surgery

Before surgery

Corwin had his surgery and Dr. Schuster said it was a success! Unfortunately, Corwin was not doing well at all after he woke up and pretty much all day yesterday and most of last night. It was definitely hard. He was in alot of pain and they had him on morphine. Today is doing so much better. He is almost is normal, happy self! Thank you all for your prayers!

January

2009-01-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

I know its been awhile...I don't have time to slow down..life is busy.

Corwin is having surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30am. Please keep him in your prayers and our family also. He is having a pharyngoplasty. He'll stay at least one night in the hospital, could be more. Donya had her toe surgery last week and she did great. The bandage should come off next week. Samuel had a birthday. He is 8 and also lost his two front teeth! Here are some new pictures. One is of Donya right before we left the surgery center. One is of Sarah riding her new skateboard. And a few of Kai and Corwin in their bikes. Blessings!

December updates........

2008-12-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Life with seven children is busy! Thats why I don't get to post much to the blog! Sorry! We are all doing wonderful. Corwin will have surgery on his palate in January. Please keep him in your prayers! Also, Donya has a bone spur and will have surgery soon. Please pray for her too. Kelsey is done with exams and has the next 2 weeks off school! Tomorrow are are going ice skating. Samuel started a new and much prayed for job in November.

Corwin's 4th Birthday

2008-11-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

Believe in Life - Gianna Jessen Abortion Survivor

2008-11-01T21:54:00.001-07:00

Remember to stop my music in the side bar.

Also must see part 2 here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8B1nKGIAeg

Halloween

2008-10-31T18:54:00.001-07:00

Fall Festival

2008-10-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

It's a Birthday!!!!

2008-10-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today Corwin had his 4 year old birthday! Its had to believe that last year this time he was only home for a month and a half. We had a great day! Here are some pictures! BTW,can you tell he loves Thomas?

Sorry its been so long!

2008-10-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Alliance Air Show. It was fun. We left before the Thunderbirds because all the kids were tired so I was little bummed. Here are a few pics. We've been really busy here but all are well. Kelsey is doing great in school. She went to the State Fair last weekend. Next weekend is Corwin's birthday party. He's turning 4 soon!

some pictures from today

2008-09-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

One year ago today in Fuzhou, Fujian

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

after nine months of praying, our lives changed forever. We watched a sad, crying little boy being brought into our hotel lobby. We were hoping for a peaceful transition! He was brought into the conference room and sat in our guide's lap while they tried to make him stop crying to take his adoption and passport photo. I know he did not know what was going on. I was not able to hold him till after that was done. It was very hard.

Today we have an almost 4 year old boy and he is one of the happiest children I have ever seen! He is smiling all the time and has a wonderful disposition. God has truly blessed us. Tonight we had cake, please forgive the messy background in the video, we just started school and things are not quite as I would like them. Look at that smile! (to watch the video,you can turn off the music on the blog by clicking the little button on the upper left of the playlist on the side column)

Meet Kelsey

2008-08-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Our exchange student has arrived! Tonight she will be here one week. She started school on Wednesday. I think she is adjusting well. Her Chinese name is DengKe. She is from Beijing.She watched the fireworks from the Olympic ceremony from her living room window.

cute six flags pics!

2008-08-07T20:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to six flags and I wore some sneakers that are new and I paid the price! Two huge blisters on my heels. But the kids are a blast and thats what counts! Here are some pics from right before we left. Kai was pretty amazed to see The Green Lantern, Flash, Batman and Robin in person, it was pretty cute!

long time

2008-08-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile. Its busy here!

We are getting ready for the school year. I'm finishing up buying our curriculum. We are returning to Sonlight this year. We used it several years ago and I wish we would have stayed with it. This year we will be using Core 5 for Donya and Sarah and Core 3 for Sophia and Samuel. For those of you that don't know the core # (5, 3 etc..) does not mean that is the grade level. The Core # is a range of recommended ages. For example Core 5 is recommended for ages 10-13 and grades 5-8. However typically people use a core lower than their child's age/grade because Sonlight is advanced and some children just are not ready for some of the content. Example: even though core 5 says it's recommended for ages 10-13 most people that have taught it say that in their opinion its not appropriate for a 10 year old. Many people use it for high school level. Core 5 by the way is Eastern Hemisphere.

Core three is American History. Core 3 is recommended for ages 8-11 and grades 3,4, and 5. In the younger elementary years it is not unusual for a younger sibling to join in on an older sibling's core. Samuel will be 8 about half way thru the school year and I know he might not "get" all the books we read but as long as he is listening and getting most of it, I'm ok with it. One of our main focuses this year will be to improve his reading. He has spent years listening in while we've read the Little house series, The Hobbit, The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe series, Jesus Freaks, Voice of the Martyrs, Pilgrims Progress, etc....all well above his level but I think it prepares him.

Anyway, we have some news...No we're not pregnant or adopting (yet). We are hosting an exchange student from Beijing, China. She is 15 and will arrive here on 8/9 at 8:15pm.

I've posted some updated pics and some pics of our Sonlight books.

Blessings
Lesa

Florida Trip

2008-07-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well we are wrapping up our almost one month long trip to Florida. We have had a really great time but are very ready to get home. We been to the beach a bunch, Busch Gardens, Lowery Park zoo, going to our old houses, visiting with my brother, his wife and their three kids, remembering old times, swimming alot, getting sun burned, oh yea and a trip to the emergency room for Kai. The one thing I did not do yet is go to the cemetery to my fathers and grandparents graves.

Well enjoy the pics!

Here are some updated pics

2008-05-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

Home School Book Fair Day!!!!!!!

2008-05-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Arlington, TX- Yesterday my friend Laura and I and my three girls and her two girls went to the homeschool book fair. We got there around 9:30 and I couldn't believe how PACKED the parking lot was, in fact the police were directing cars to park in a lot far away. I've been going to this bookfair for over 7 years and this is the first time we've had to park so far. We think it is because homescholing has become so popular and more and more people are coming to these things.

We had a great and tiring day looking at all the stuff. SO much to choose from its mind boggling. The girls had a blast buying all kinds of goodies (they brought their own money)

Some of favorite booths were:
Mantle Ministries http://mantleministries.com/
Grace and Truth Books http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/
Sing N Learn http://www.singnlearn.com/
Tomorrow's Forefathers http://www.tomorrowsforefathers.com/
YWAM Publishing http://www.ywampublishing.com/
Vision Forum http://www.visionforum.com/
Sonlight http://sonlight.com/

There are alot more that we spent time at but those stand out in my mind. I really love Little Bear Wheeler and wish we could afford to but all their stuff.

So today I am recovering from that, looking over all the goodies I bought and getting ready for the girls SAT testing on Monday. Also thinking long and hard about math for Sarah and history for all the kids...... I already know what we are using for everything else.

Oh and last but not least! Kai had a birthday party today!! He had a great time playing and eating cake!

Louie Giglio - Laminin

2008-05-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Want to watch an incredible thing? I let my older girls watch this and they were amazed!

2008-04-12T11:04:00.001-07:00

a few new pics

2008-04-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

Today we HAD to take some pics for our post adoption HS that is overdue I am sad to say. Here are a few from the millions that we took.

Yesterday we got a package from Corwin's foster family in China. I was hoping for some pictures but they sent some olives that we packaged and I am sorry to say did not smell too good. Also they sent some dried meat. Not sure how to cook that but I have a friend that is Chinese and will ask her. The letter said these were some of his favorite foods in China. So we gave Corwin some of the olives and he said "yucky"!! I guess he is really Americanized now.

Ok and now for one old picture that I just happened to come across and felt a little sad....

New pictures!

2008-03-23T22:34:00.001-07:00

What You Wish You Had Known Your First Year of Homeschooling.

2008-03-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

Ok here is what I wish I had known:

1. Its ok to do this!
2. My children don't need to be with other children all the time.
3. I can switch curriculum ANY time it isn't working.
4. I can read aloud to the children ALL DAY long if I want too.
5. Its OK to take a day off.
6. I don't have to explain our reasons for homeschooling to total strangers at the park.
7. Our children are going to be learning differently than public schooled kids and that is ok.
8. Ten years goes by faster than you realize.
9. Keeping my children's hearts is a full time job.
10. How passionate I would become about homeschooling.
11. How much fun we would have.
12. How much I like not conforming.

Ok that is a quick list because I know if I sat here longer I could think of a dozen more but I have to put my two little ones to bed!

What I cried over tonight.....

2008-03-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

This is very powerful, so please preview before letting your young ones watch.

I just had to watch it again and again. I am so thankful that in the darkest times of my life, Jesus was there......pulling me out. Still pulling me out. This is what we must think of when we are raising out children. This is what is pulling them away from us.....ever so subtly, temptations are bombarding them from EVERYWHERE. satan wants us, he wants to destroy our families and our children. Christ is the only way. Please watch.

The Chinese Piano Show

2008-03-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

I thought this was really neat! Has anyone heard of this lady??

China

2008-03-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

China's Stolen Children

If you know me at all, you should know that I love China, its people and its children. Here is documentary about child trafficking. Its sad and brought to tears. I can feel this mother's pain. This is a problem in MANY countries, not just China.

This is the first of nine and you can see the other parts of the documentary when you watch this first one.

Keepers of the Springs

2008-02-28T21:21:00.000-08:00

Keepers of the Springs
By Peter Marshall

Once upon a time, a certain town grew up at the foot of a mountain range. It was sheltered in the lee of the protecting heights, so that the wind that shuddered at the doors and flung handfuls of sleet against the window panes was a wind whose fury was spent. High up in the hills, a strange and quiet forest dweller took it upon himself to be the Keeper of the Springs. He patrolled the hills and wherever he found a spring, he cleaned its brown pool of silt and fallen leaves, of mud and mold and took away from the spring all foreign matter, so that the water which bubbled up through the sand ran down clean and cold and pure. It leaped sparkling over rocks and dropped joyously in crystal cascades until, swollen by other streams, it became a river of life to the busy town. Millwheels were whirled by its rush. Gardens were refreshed by its waters. Fountains threw it like diamonds into the air. Swans sailed on its limpid surface, and children laughed as they played on its banks in the sunshine.

But the City Council was a group of hard-headed, hard-boiled businessmen. They scanned the civic budget and found in it the salary of a Keeper of the Springs. Said the Keeper of the Purse: "Why should we pay this romance ranger? We never see him; he is not necessary to our town's work life. If we build a reservoir just above the town, we can dispense with his services and save his salary." Therefore, the City Council voted to dispense with the unnecessary cost of a Keeper of the Springs, and to build a cement reservoir.

So the Keeper of the Springs no longer visited the brown pools but watched from the heights while they built the reservoir. When it was finished, it soon filled up with water, to be sure, but the water did not seem to be the same. It did not seem to be as clean, and a green scum soon befouled its stagnant surface. There were constant troubles with the delicate machinery of the mills, for it was often clogged with slime, and the swans found another home above the town. At last, an epidemic raged, and the clammy, yellow fingers of sickness reached into every home in every street and lane.

The City Council met again. Sorrowfully, it faced the city's plight, and frankly it acknowledged the mistake of the dismissal of the Keeper of the Springs. They sought him out of his hermit hut high in the hills, and begged him to return to his former joyous labor. Gladly he agreed, and began once more to make his rounds. It was not long until pure water came lilting down under tunnels of ferns and mosses and to sparkle in the cleansed reservoir. Millwheels turned again as of old. Stenches disappeared. Sickness waned and convalescent children playing in the sun laughed again because the swans had come back.

Do not think me fanciful, too imaginiative or too extravagant in my language when I say that I think of women, and particularly of our mothers, as Keepers of the Springs. The phrase, while poetic, is true and descriptive. We feel its warmth...its softening influence...and however forgetful we have been...however much we have taken for granted life's precious gifts, we are conscious of wistful memories that surge out of the past--the sweet, tender, poignant fragrances of love. Nothing that has been said, nothing that could be said, or that ever will be said, would be eloquent enough, expressive enough, or adequate to make articulate that peculiar emotion we feel to our mothers. So I shall make my tribute a plea for Keepers of the Springs, who will be faithful to their tasks.

There never has been a time when there was a greater need for Keepers of the Springs, or when there were more polluted springs to be cleansed. If the home fails, the country is doomed. The breakdown of homelife and influence will mark the breakdown of the nation. If the Keepers of the Springs desert their posts or are unfaithful to their responsibilities, the future outlook of this country is black, indeed. This generation needs Keepers of the Springs who will be courageous enough to cleanse the springs that have been polluted. It is not an easy task--nor is it a popular one, but it must be done for the sake of the children, and the young women of today must do it.

The emancipation of womanhood began with Christianity, and it ends with Christianity. It had its beginning one night nineteen hundred years ago when there came to a woman named Mary a vision and a message from heaven. She saw the rifted clouds of glory and the hidden battlements of heaven. She heard an angelic annunciation of the almost incredible news that she, of all the women on earth...of all the Marys in history...was to be the only one who should ever wear entwined the red rose of maternity and the white rose of virginity. It was told her--and all Keepers of the Springs know how such messages come--that she should be the mother of the Savior of the world.

It was nineteen hundred years ago "when Jesus Himself a baby deigned to be and bathed in baby tears His deity"...and on that night, when that tiny Child lay in the straw of Bethlehem, began the emancipation of womanhood.

When He grew up and began to teach the way of life, He ushered woman into a new place in human relations. He accorded her a new dignity and crowned her with a new glory, so that wherever the Christian evangel has gone for nineteen centuries, the daughters of Mary have been respected, revered, remembered, and loved, for men have recognized that womanhood is a sacred and a noble thing, that women are of finer clay...are more in touch with the angels of God and have the noblest function that life affords. Wherever Christianity has spread, for nineteen hundred years men have bowed and adored.

It remained for the twentieth century, in the name of progress, in the name of tolerance, in the name of broadmindedness, in the name of freedom, to pull her down from her throne and try to make her like a man.

She wanted equality. For nineteen hundred years she had not been equal--she had been superior. But now, they said, she wanted equality, and in order to obtain it, she had to step down. And so it is, that in the name of broadminded tolerance, a man's vices have now become a woman's.

Twentieth-century tolerance has won for woman the right to become intoxicated, the right to have an alcoholic breath, the right to smoke, to work like a man to act like a man--for is she not man's equal? Today they call it "progress"...but tomorrow,oh, you Keepers of the Springs, they must be made to see that it is not progress.

No nation has ever made any progress in a downward direction. No people ever became great by lowering their standards. No people ever became good by adopting a looser morality. It is not progress when the moral tone is lower than it was. It is not progress when purity is not as sweet. It is not progress when womanhood has lost its fragrance. Whatever else it is, it is not progress!

We need Keepers of the Springs who will realize that what is socially correct may not be morally right. Our country needs today women who will lead us back to an old-fashioned morality, to an old fashioned decency, to an old fashioned purity and sweetness for the sake of the next generation, if for no other reason.

This generation has seen an entirely new type of womanhood emerge from the bewildering confusion of ourtime. We have in the United States today a higher standard of living than in any other country, or at any other time in the world's history. We have more automobiles, more picture shows, more telephones, more money, more swing bands, more radios, more television sets, more nightclubs, more crime, and more divorce than any other nation in the world. Modern mothers want their children to enjoy the advantages of this new day. They want them, if possible, to have a college diploma to hang on their bedroom wall, and what many of them regard as equally important--a bid to a fraternity or a sorority. They are desperately anxious that their daughters will be popular, although the price of this popularity may not be considered until it is too late. In short, they want their children to succeed, but the usual definition of success, in keeping with the trend of our day, is largely materialistic.

The result of all this is that the modern child is brought up in a decent, cultured, comfortable, but thoroughly irreligious home. All around us, living in the very shadow of our large churches and beautiful cathedrals, children are growing up without a particle of religious training or influence. The parents of such children have usually completely given up the search for religious moorings. At first, they probably had some sort of vague idealism as to what their children should be taught. They recall something of the religious instruction received when they were children, and they feel that something like that ought to be passed on to the children today, but they can't do it, because the simple truth is that they have nothing to give. Our modern broadmindedness has taken religious education out of the day schools. Our modern way of living and our modern irreligion have taken it out of the homes.

There remains only one place where it may be obtained, and that is in the Sunday School, but it is no longer fashionable to attend Sunday School. The result is that there is very little religious education, and parents who lack it themselves are not able to give it to their children--so it is a case of "the blind leading the blind," and both children and parents will almost invariably end up in the ditch of uncertainty and irreligion.

As you think of your own mother, remembering her with love and gratitude--in wishful yearning, or lonely longing, I am quite sure that the memories that warm and soften your heart are not at all like the memories the children of today will have... For you are, no doubt, remembering the smell of fresh starch in your mother's apron or the smell of a newly ironed blouse, the smell of newly baked bread, the fragrance of the violets she had pinned on her breast. It would be such a pity if all that one could remember would be the aroma of toasted tobacco or nicotine and the odor of beer on the breath!

The challenge of the twentieth-century motherhood is as old as motherhood itself. Although the average American mother has advantages that pioneer women never knew--material advantages: education, culture, advances made by science and medicine; although the modern mother knows a great deal more about sterilization, diets, health, calories, germs, drugs, medicines and vitamins, than her mother did, there is one subject about which she does not know as much--and that is God.

The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal challenge--that of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other kind of women--beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career woman, talented women, divorced women, but so seldom do we hear of a godly woman--or of a godly man either, for that matter.

I believe women come nearer fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realm of morals to be old-fashioned than to be ultramodern. The world has enough women who know how to hold their cocktails, who have lost all their illusions and their faith. The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need woman, and men, too, who would rather be morally right that socially correct.

Let us not fool ourselves--without Christianity, without Christian education, without the principles of Christ inculcated into young life, we are simply rearing pagans. Physically, they will be perfect. Intellectually, they will be brilliant. But spiritually, they will be pagan. Let us not fool ourselves. The school is making no attempt to teach the principles of Christ. The Church alone cannot do it. They can never be taught to a child unless the mother herself knows them and practices them every day.

If you have no prayer life yourself, it is rather a useless gesture to make your child say his prayers every night. If you never enter a church it is rather futile to send your child to Sunday school. If you make a practice of telling social lies, it will be difficult to teach your child to be truthful. If you say cutting things about your neighbors and about fellow members in the church, it will be hard for your child to learn the meaning of kindness.

The twentieth-century challenge to motherhood--when it is all boiled down--is that mothers will have an experience of God...a reality which they can pass on to their children. For the newest of the sciences is beginning to realize, after a study of the teachings of Christ from the standpoint of psychology, that only as human beings discover and follow these inexorable spiritual laws will they find the happiness and contentment which we all seek.

A minister tells of going to a hospital to visit a mother whose first child had been born. She was a distinctly modern girl. Her home was about average for young married people. "When I came into the room she was propped up in bed writing. 'Come in,' she said, smiling. 'I'm in the midst of housecleaning, and I want your help.' I had never heard of a woman housecleaning while in a hospital bed. Her smile was contagious--she seemed to have found a new and jolly idea. "'I've had a wonderful chance to think here,' she began, 'and it may help me to get things straightened out in my mind if I can talk to you.' She put down her pencil and pad, and folded her hands. Then she took a long breath and started: 'Ever since I was a little girl, I hated any sort of restraint. I always wanted to be free. When I finished high school, I took a business course and got a job--not because I needed the money--but because I wanted to be on my own. Before Joe and I were married, we used to say that we would not be slaves to each other. And after we married, our apartment became headquarters for a crowd just like us. We weren't really bad--but we did just what we pleased.' She stopped for a minute and smiled ruefully. 'God didn't mean much to us--we ignored Him. None of us wanted children--or we thought we didn't. And when I knew I was going to have a baby, I was afraid.' She stopped again and looked puzzled. 'Isn't it funny, the things you used to think? She had almost forgotten I was there--she was speaking to the old girl she had been before her great adventure. Then remembering me suddenly--she went on: 'Where was I? Oh, yes, well, things are different now. I'm not free any more and I don't want to be. And the first thing I must do is to clean house.' Here she picked up the sheet of paper lying on the counterpane. 'That's my housecleaning list. You see, when I take Betty home from the hospital with me--our apartment will be her home--not just mine and Joe's. And it isn't fit for her now. Certain things will have to go--for Betty's sake. And I've got to houseclean my heart and mind. I'm not just myself--I'm Betty's mother. And that means I need God. I can't do my job without Him. Won't you pray for Betty and me and Joe, and for our new home?' And I saw in her all the mothers of today--mothers in tiny apartments and on lonely farms...Mothers in great houses and in suburban cottages, who are meeting the age-old challenge--' that of bringing up their children to the love and knowledge of God.' And I seemed to see our Savior--with His arms full of children of far-away Judea--saying to that mother and to all mothers--the old invitation so much needed in these times: 'Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.'"

I believe that this generation of young people has courage enough to face the challenging future. I believe that their idealism is not dead. I believe that they have the same bravery and the same devotion to the things worthwhile that their grandmothers had. I have every confidence that they are anxious to preserve the best of our heritage, and God knows if we lose it here in this country, it is forever gone. I believe that the women of today will not be unmindful of their responsibilities; that is why I have dared to speak so honestly. Keepers of the Springs, we salute you!

Our Father, remove from us the sophistication of our age and the skepticism that has come, like frost, to blight our faith and to make it weak. We pray for a return of that simple faith, that old fashioned trust in God, that made strong and great the homes of our ancestors who built this good land and who in building left us our heritage. In the strong name of Jesus, our Lord, we make this prayer, Amen.

Peter Marshall was the U.S. Senate Chaplain from 1946-48 during the presidency of Harry Truman, and died in 1949. He was born in Scotland and was known for his passionate preaching and deep conviction, as well as his picturesque speech.

For Tracy....Today is my birthday!!

2008-02-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

My sister in law wants me to update this more. So I will make an attempt. I apologize. Its hard to get to during the day when I'm homeschooling 4, taking care of a two and three year old and trying to keep the house in some semblance of order!

Well today is my birthday. I won't tell you old I am. I got a nice surprise call from my sweet brother. thanks! Got presents from my husband and children and ate brownies and ice cream..yummy! Got beautiful flowers from my mom and a pie and presents from my friend Laura! It was good day.

This week is also the anniversary of getting our CIS approval for Corwin! Its hard to believe that its been a year. We are so blessed to have him. We already had our 6 month post adoption homestudy. We would love bring another boy or girl home, I just wish it was not so much money.

Ok tomorrow I will post more pictures....

Unbelievable!

2008-02-10T14:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3328024.ece

You have to read this. If anyone had doubts that Europe was going to be taken over..here it is.

Take my quiz

2008-02-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

Take My Quiz on
QuizYourFriends.com

New Pictures

2008-02-06T23:25:00.001-08:00

Catch up

2008-01-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

I know I been terrible at updating this! Forgive me, I have six kids!

Things have been going pretty good. We had a nice quiet Christmas and Corwin turned three in November, also he got his Certificate of Citizenship in October. We spent Thanksgiving with some wonderful friends. Also Sophia turned 9, Samuel is now 7 and this month Sarah will be 11. Where is all the time going? We will also have our first teenager in April.......please help me!

Ok , lets see Corwin saw the cleft palate surgeon and he is won't need anything for at least a year. Also saw an ENT and there is some indication that he has some very mild hearing loss. We are scheduled for an in depth hearing test in April.

Homeschooling is ....hmmmmmmmmmm, how shall I put it? Challenging right now but we are taking it day by day.

I have posted some new pictures.
Enjoy!

Some recent pics......

2007-11-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

2007-11-21T21:35:00.001-08:00

Not flesh of my flesh,
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.

Never forget for single minute
You didn’t grow under my heart –
But in it.

Fleur Conkling Heylinger

I know I have not been good about posting updates. Sorry, its been a little crazy around here. Also this week I've been feeling under the weather.

We are ready to celebrate our first Thanksgiving with Corwin. He is fitting in just like he was always here. He and Kai are like twins. They are 5 months apart in age and must always be doing the same thing or have the same thing. If Kai has a sucker then Corwin wants one....well duh what kid doesn't want candy when he sees his brother having some? But you get the picture right? Today they were hiding from each other and laughing......all giggles, I had to stop and watch and smile and rejoice in the moment. Right now they are sleeping like angels...so precious. I can't believe that the boy we prayed for for so long is here and has been for 2 months!

Today we went and visited a friend whose family owns a Chinese restaurant. She had not seen Corwin yet and started to talk to him in Chinese. I did not know if he would still remember it but he did. He answered her in Chinese.

Well, its late so I'll post new pics tomorrow!
Cheerio!

update..........

2007-11-16T21:43:00.001-08:00

2007-10-22T22:17:00.001-07:00

Here are some recent pictures! We went to an airshow on Saturday and Corwin was very scared of the noise. It was not much fun. He finally calmed down and we had a nice time.

Corwin is doing great. He and Kai are having some difficulties sharing and such but things are getting better. He loves his brothers and always wants to kiss and hug them. Its hard to believe that we have been home a month already.

The weather is cooling down and its time to break out the winter clothes.

Dancing!

Samuel and kids at Airshow

Sarah, Sophia and Samuel-Airshow

Corwin and Samuel-Loving Brothers!

2 weeks home, One month since arriving in China!

2007-10-07T19:57:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few new pics. Corwin is doing great and is a real ham. He is also very loving.

We got a surprise last week in the mail. A letter from his foster family We are so blessed to have this opportunity to thank them for their love and care of Corwin.

We have started school and are working hard to play catch up. Samuel is reading well and the two older girls love their classes. It is a challenge with two two year olds but also an adventure. No day is the same. Next week promises cooler weather and we are looking forward to it.

I can't believe that one month ago today we were in China. Has that much time really gone by? Its amazing.

Some pictures from today at the park

2007-09-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

Home at Last

2007-09-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

Typical two tear old!

Grammy and kids

Learning to speak Chinese?

Yummy! SI made the cake

D and her new friend

Corwin on the boat

We are FINALLY home! It is SO good to be home! Three of our kids met us at the airport, it was so good to hug them again! Corwin is doing great and all the kids absolutely adore him. He is having a blast getting so much attention. He is an amazing little boy and very smart.

While we were on our last flight home last night I thought alot about what this journey means to him. He is too young to understand but I can't help but wonder what he would think about it all if he could tell me. His whole future has just changed...One of my major regrets about our trip was that we did not get to meet his foster family. We wanted too so much but our guide did not think it would be a good idea to have him see them again. I agree with that but I feel we owe so much to them. He is just an amazing boy and I think alot of that is because of them. We have only had him since 9/9 and he is doing so good considering that before then we were total strangers to him.

Here are a few pics from before we left GZ and some from tonight......

Heading Home

2007-09-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Finally....we are heading home! I am so happy to be going home. We are leaving for Shanghai tomorrow morning(Wednesday)..thats Tuesday night for you folks in Texas.

Today all us Americans went on two huge buses to the US Consulate,the entire reason we are even here in Guangzhou. We got our elusive "brown envelope" and it is safely tucked away in my carry on. The moment we land on US soil, Corwin will be an American citizen.

I have met one wonderful family here and only wish they lived closer. Their daughter and D have become friends and they even have a 7 year old son and a two year old son. And they homeschool too.

Today I made a Chinese shopkeeper mad! I wanted to but some beautiful tea cups. She was asking 58 yuan. I offered her 50. Thats like $6US. She seemed reluctant but finally said "For you, 50 yuan". While she was wrapping them up (before I paid) and I saw my friend mentioned above walking down the street. I told her about the teacups, she said she got the same cups for 25 yuan at another shop! So she walked in there and told the shopkeeper I changed my mind

Monday in Guangzhou

2007-09-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

Smiles at breakfast!

At Lucy's

Street scene

Inside White Swan

Waterfall

At Lucy's

Today David went to the Consulate and did at the stuff that I know nothing about! He called about 11:30 and said that all was well! What a relief!

While he was there I met some families in the hallway of our floor where I was playing ball with Corwin (had to stay in telephone range of our room in case David had to contact me)Two of the families were from Virginia near where my brother and his family just moved. One of the guys is in the Air Force and recently came back from Korea. One of the families had a boy from Inner Mongolia and he was such a cutie!! Just two and had a CL/CP just like Corwin.

In Fuzhou, we were one of three Western families that were there. Here in Guangzhou, is another story. Everyone that adopts HAS to come here. So there are Americans everywhere. This morning the breakfast buffet was so crowded that we has no place to sit. But there are some Africans here and Indians also. On our first morning here (Saturday) a man from Denmark offered to take our picture for us at breakfast. He then wanted to know how the entire adoption process works and seemed truly interested and surprised.

Tonight we go with our group, two other families from Small World and one from Lifeline on a dinner boat cruise on the Pearl River. We are becoming friends with anther Small World family here that has a little girl from Huangzhou (?) spelling it wrong! They are so nice and all the kids are here with them. They have an older girl, near D's age and two boys, K's and S's age. The dad is a nurse and is helpful because Corwin is nursing a cold...

Saturday in Guangzhou........

2007-09-15T05:07:00.000-07:00

Dinner at the Cow and Bridge Restaurant

What we ate

Corwin in stroller

At breakfast

Waterfall inside White Swan

Corwin at breakfast

Today we went to get Corwin's medical exam. Its basically a check up to make sure he is not sick. He did not like it at all. He cried alot! But after he was fine. After that we went around to some shops and looked at all the stuff. Its very different here than Fuzhou. I think its more Americanized. At least right here by the hotel its not as busy as it was in Fuzhou. Donya and I walked around and looked at all the shops here in the hotel also. They have some beautiful furniture (cabinets and such) wish we could ship some home...but its not in the budget.

After Corwin's nap we met in David's room and did paperwork for the consulate. That took about an hour. Later we all met up again and had dinner at the cow and bridge. It was good food and not too expensive.

Tomorrrow. we go on a shopping tour....not sure where. Samuel is home and the kids are all happy!

About Corwin, I am not kidding, almost everywhere we go someone comments about what a good boy he is. He IS a good boy. He just sits quietly and eats or walks to where we are walking and does not try to run away(Kai?), he stays with me!!! He goes to bed and and takes naps so easily! I am amazed. Oh and he is so smart, he definitely knows whats going on. Just a few days ago, I started signing to him at bed and nap time and today he started signing with me.Of course the words aren't right but he is trying..that is so cool. I just can't sing his praises enough.

Yesterday I started signing the patty cake song with him and tonight he knows it! He loves to be tickled and laughs up a storm! Its hard to believe that I am with the child now that we prayed for for so long....I just can't describe how I feel sitting here and listening to him breath in his sleep.

Guangzhou

2007-09-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

White Swan
Last sunset in Fuzhou

We are here! We had a good flight...well pretty good.Corwin was an angel at the airport and when we got on the plane he was very happy and chatty. The plane taxied down the runway and I THOUGHT.."wow, I have it made on this flight",well,in a word,No! Pretty soon after lift off he started crying hard. I don't know why, maybe he was scared, maybe the noise, maybe tired.I don't know.Finally I took him out of his seat and put him on my lap and he cried for a good while. Finally he fell asleep. I woke him up when the plane landed and he as fine! The flight was only about an hour.

Our guide here is David and he seems really nice. Tomorrow at 10am we meet in the lobby and go for the medical exam. Donya and Corwin are sleeping now. Samuel is on his way home and will be there at 8:55pm Texas time. The hotel, The White Swan seems nice, it was dark when we came in and we went straight to the room so did not have a good look around.

I feel like I made a friend for life with our guide Katherine in Fuzhou. She is very sweet and I can see us keeping in touch. I feel she really loves what she does and has a heart for the children.

Oh good news......Corwin did not cry AT ALL during his bath tonight!!!!! He seemed to like it!

Until tomorrow......

Leaving Fuzhou..hello Guangzhou

2007-09-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we are leaving Fuzhou and heading to GZ. Samuel left early this morning to head home. The children are all looking forward to seeing daddy. Katherine and David (our driver) will meet us at 3pm in the lobby and then to the airport. Looking forward to this last leg of our journey. I miss our kids!!! Corwin is doing great!!! He is now ours as far as China is concerned. We have his passport and all the Fuzhou adoption papers. GZ is where we do the US side of the adoption. Here is a cute picture of Corwin in his undies! He is totally potty trained! In the background you can see D...ever on the computer.

Every day is better than the day before and Corwin is really a sweetheart. I have seen no aggressive behavior and no sign of an undisclosed condition. He is shy around strangers and will not talk to anyone that speaks to him in Chinese except for our guide. I think he will love hanging out with the boys at home. ok until GZ.........bye!

Corwin

2007-09-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Corwin is wonderful. He is amazing! He wakes up happy. He wants to play and LOVES D!!!! He calls her name all the time. He is smiling all the time and loves to play with the toys we brought. I am so thankful that he seems to be adjusting to us!!! He is such a ham and doing silly things all the time! The only time is is upset is at bath and bedtime. And it does not last long. He gives hugs and kisses freely! We are SO BLESSED!! We definitely love him and can't wait for him to meet his brothers and sisters! I am just watching him while he is sleeping now and can't believe he is really ours finally.He is a beautiful boy!

The last two nights he has cried and called for momma.I have just held him and rocked him til he falls asleep. It takes about 10-15 minutes. Oh and did I tell you he loves to eat?!

Wednesday

2007-09-11T01:53:00.000-07:00

Almost bedtime

Shopping anyone??

At orphanage

At orphanage

Panda Zoo

You Jie

I am very tired so this will be short...

Today after breakfast, we went to The Panda Zoo. More on that later.

Then we went to visit the Orphanage. I was expecting that we would meet the director and be able to ask questions but our visit was very low key. As soon as we got out of the van we went inside a building and met a little boy and his foster mom. He is waiting to come home to a family that asked us to bring him a package. We gave him the package and took lots of pics and video.The foster mom seems very very nice and did not mind letting me take all the pictures I wanted too. Then we went upstairs and saw three baby rooms. Each room had about four babies and three aunties. The babies were little. I think that at least two babies had cl/cp. One tiny baby was hooked up to an IV in her head. ALL the babies were under alot of blankets and it was hot with no AC. The ratio of babies and aunties was good and all the babies looked well cared for. We did see some little kids playing at a playground,but we did not go to there. Thats pretty much all we did. We did not meet the director.

After, we had the day to ourselves. I have to say, the city is big, but there is nothing to do with a 2 year old here. We ate lunch,Corwin took a nap and then we called a taxi and met another family about 10 minutes away at a shopping mall. There is just so much time I can spend cooped up in a hotel room. As usual, many people looking,I don't think this city gets alot of Western visitors. I am tired of Chinese food so we ate at McDonalds! It was cheap...fit our budget!!! Ok enjoy the pics....

Tuesday Morning...finding place

2007-09-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Corwin is great today!!! He is sleeping now. We had a great morning.Katherine met us at 8:30am and we went to Corwin's finding place. It is in Fuzhou, but another district,called Mawai district. Its about an hour away from here. It was in a part of the city that was not so busy as where we are staying. Its is right on the Min River, surrounded by mountains. He was left at a small park, at the entrance. I always wondered about his finding place.I envisioned a large forested park, lush and green. This is just a small square park,with a few benches and right next to a busy street. We took some pictures.

Then we went to McDonalds for lunch. I don't think Corwin ever had a french fry at least he did not act like he knew what it was. Corwin called Katherine "auntie" and gave D more kisses.

Next we visited a Buddhist Temple. There were many people there praying and burning incense. It is like a park area, very pretty with lots of trees.

Later today we will go walking back to the big park and play there with Corwin.

Monday afternoon....

2007-09-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

After the official stuff was done we had lunch and Corwin took a nap.

Katherine meet us in the lobby at 3:30 and we went around the city to see all the shops. She took us to a shop where they hand make traditional silk dresses for very good price. The lady that owns the shop is a Christian,Katherine told me, her whole family is. She was very nice.

After that we went to a huge mall,but not a mall like you see at home,I can't explain it. It was about 8 stories,and in a circular shape. And no chain type stores,all stores were like little shops. Not many here speak english. I would be lost trying to shop or get around if Katherine was not here.

I wish I could adequately describe the city...you have to see it. Fuzhou is huge,much bigger than Fort Worth and busy, 3 million population.......I suspect not many westerners here, we are getting alot of stares. The people very friendly and petite. One shop we went into at the mall was a jade jewelry shop.The ladies working there were very nice,all smiles, they asked Katherine how old D was and when Katherine told them they could not believe it. She was taller than all of them. She is almost taller than me!

Corwin: he is coming out of his shell in a big way! Through out the entire day he was such a ham. Smiling and skipping and jumping down steps.Giving D kisses. Daddy was giving him shoulder rides and he was loving it. He is very well behaved (not like the children at home! ha ha). And he eats!!!!! Kai's opposite! He is amazing and all the people that see him tell us how hansom he is! He sleeps thru the night, now that IS a blessing! He DID NOT like his bath last night, oh he cried hard, sobbing.I will have to ask Katherine if she can find out if there is a water issue here.....We are so blessed to have Corwin. Samuel is loving it here and loving getting to know Corwin.D is having a blast and said he loves it here. All for now...have to wake the sleeping children.....

Today we go to his finding place.....

What a difference a night can make....

2007-09-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Night at the parkwaking up(above)

Cowrin at notary D at notary

At civil affairs

Families at breakfast

civil affairs

Corwin giving his handprint

At breakfast

I think we have a different boy this morning than we did last night! Did someone switch him during the night? :)

Well Corwin fell into an exhausted sleep around 6:30pm. He slept ALL NIGHT LONG! I was the one who could not sleep! I went to bed around 9pm and woke up around midnight and had a hard time sleeping after that. Drifted off finally and woke up at 6:30am. Woke Corwin up around 7am. He was very happy and smiled some and told D "I love you" (in Chinese). I had to bathe him because he missed the potty a little. He did not want the bath! He cried again after that:(

After a lovely telephone call from my children,we headed to the buffet and met up with two other families also adopting from Fuzhou.(They are with Holt) They both have little girls. Corwin ate and ate and ate,oh did I tell you he is a chunk? He is big, not fat, just heavy, fits the 3T clothes perfectly! He ate more than I've seen a 2 year eat in a long time.

Then Katherine our guide came and and we went to the civil affairs office. The two other families met us there. It was a flurry of paperwork and people coming in and out and papers being signed and questions being asked. It took about an hour. Then we went to the police station. I don't know why we went there. We stayed in the van and Katherine went in and did whatever had to be done. The driver gave us a little lesson in Chinese while we waited. After, we went to the notary where we signed more papers,put our thumb print on them and promised to always love Corwin , take care of him, never abuse him and provide him with an education, medical care, love and protection and more.

I have to say that Corwin was an ABSOLUTE ANGEL during the entire morning. He did not fuss, cry,anything AT ALL. I was amazed! He stayed with us and sat on our laps and held our hands and came when we had to walk...amazing! Not a tear, frown..nothing. Not much smiles either but hey,I'll take it.

Right now he is sleeping! Samuel and D went for a walk to the big park. We will meet our guide later this afternoon and go look at an art market and look for some traditional outfits for Corwin.

Tomorrow we will go to his finding place about an hour away near the beach.....We are doing fantastic and loving every minute of it here.
Enjoy the pics!

had to share

2007-09-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

We have him!

2007-09-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

We have our boy!! He is not too happy right now but he has stopped crying for the time being. We met our guide in the lobby and filled out some paperwork around 4pm. He was brought up to the meeting room around 4:30. He was NOT happy. The two other families there also had crying kiddos. We took his passport picture and then our guide told us to go to our room because the children were just making each other upset.

We went up and it took awhile for him to stop crying. We sang to him and rocked him and he finally fell into an exhausted sleep. He slept for a good hour or so and woke up,went potty (!) and I changed his clothes. He will not eat or take a drink yet.

Tomorrow we meet our guide to go to the notary,civil officials and police station.I pray that he will not be too upset tomorrow. Also maybe some shopping depending on him. Here are a few pictures. I am going to bed, everyone else is already asleep.

walking in the park in Fuzhou

2007-09-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

View of part of the hotel (to the left) and the city from a bridge in the park.

Me and Samuel at the park in front of a big wall that has beautiful engravings all over it.

Our hotel from the park across the river.

D and the girls that wanted a picture

D in front of the hotel

After the buffet this am we went to the big park near the hotel.It was very crowded. The park is huge and people everywhere. This is a little video we shot. There was a group of people singing. We could hear them all the way across the water at our hotel when we started out for the park. At the end of the video you can see a woman scolding D for taking the video. I don't know why. I saw some Chinese taking video as well.

After that we just walked around and toward the end went into a little shop. I bought some small items. D saw a little bracelet she wanted that was marked 80rmb. I told her ask the lady if she would take 50, but the lady said "no discount". Well I think next time we'll wait for Katherine our guide to shop with us. While in the shop some young girls started talking to me in broken english. Wanted to know where we were from.I said Texas, they did not understand,so I said US, they understood that. Then they would not leave us alone. They wanted to take a picture with us. So we took a picture with them but by then there were some crowds of people gathering and talking and watching us.I did not feel comfortable. So I told Samuel I wanted to leave so we said bye to the girls and when walking away some teenage boys came and asked to take a picture too. Samuel said no.

We just went swimming at the pool. Now we are relaxing and getting ready to meet Corwin!! We are meeting Katherine in the lobby at 3:45pm. I am expecting to meet up with two other families that are with another agency adopting as well. They arrive this afternoon right before the children are getting here. SO excited and happy!Please enjoy the pics, they are all from today.

Sunday in Fuzhou

2007-09-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Its 6:40Am here are we are going to go to the lobby and have the buffet in awhile.We did not eat dinner so I am very hungry. We all went to sleep early before 9pm and I woke up at around 12,wide awake.I stayed up for about an hour and a half and then to sleep again and had a bad dream.

Today is the day we get to meet our son for the first time! Our guide has been preparing us and telling us all these things. I am excited and very nervous at the same time. I have prepared his backpack full of goodies! She said that we might not be able to meet his foster mom because it would be too hard on Corwin to see her again. I am disappointed but I understand. I am going to ask if maybe I can go alone to the orphanage and Corwin stays here with Samuel? I'm nt sure that is a good idea either.....

Ok from yesterday,what I forgot....at walmart,in the chips section, the bags of chips are only the small snack size bags.Also we wanted Cheetos,but the package was all the Chinese so we asked our guide to get us the cheese flavored ones. Our flavor choices are, chicken,shrimp,beef no cheese.So we got the chicken ones and they are nasty! So don't buy Cheetos here.

The above picture (right)is our hotel taken from the walk we took yesterday. Today after breakfast we will go to the big park across the street.

The picture (left) is at the tea ceremony, the girl is the tea expert.We had four different kinds of tea and learned about them all and the proper way to drink tea, so when I get home I will educate all you tea drinkers (I know who you are) about the proper way!

The flower of Fuzhou is the Jasmin and the tree is the Banyan and Fuzhou is known for its tea.

Until later.......lots of love

Seeing the City

2007-09-08T01:34:00.000-07:00

This is the view from our hotel.

Ignore the dates on some of the pics. The date on the camera got messed up.

We just came back from braving the traffic!! We walked all over the shopping area. We got many stares. One old man almost fell over on his bike looking at us. You'd think we're a bunch of foreigners! There are small shops all up and down the streets.People on scooters, walking, playing board games on the sidewalk. We looked at some shops with silk dresses.I am going to wait til we have our guide because I don't know whats a good price or good quality. Its very different from home.

We ate at the restaurant at the hotel for lunch. It was a kindof late lunch so I think we will not be hungry for much of a dinner. So far,doing good not getting sick! Was worried about that. Ok trying to post some pics.Hope they come thru.

Fuzhou...

2007-09-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ok,I cannot view my blog, can someone email me and let me know if my posts are getting to the blog? If I don't hear from anyone I will assume that its not working.

Thank you all for your prayers!! Please keep praying for grammy and the kids at home and for COrwin tomorrow.

Today,we had the glorious breakfast buffet. It was yummy and saw two Americans there. They said that last week there was a large group of Spanish people staying here that were adopting. Katherine our guide (who is very nice)met us in the lobby at 10am. We went to the Walmart in Fuzhou. If you think parking is bad at home..you should see this. It was very crowded inside, three stories I think. We had to buy a new camera because ours broke. We stocked up on water and basic supplies, baby milk, and juice and some children's videos and music in Chinese. We were the only non-Chinese there. Then we went to a tea ceremony, it was very nice. I think we have the rest of the day to ourselves. Oh and she is trying to teach us some basic Chinese so we can talk to Corwin.

The traffic here is a bit scary.Bikes,cars, scooters and people just go kind of wherever they want. I have not seen any accidents so I guess they all know what they are doing. There is a big park very close and I think we will walk there after lunch. We want to go and look at some shops but I am afraid to cross the street. Maybe I'll be brave.

Tomorrow we get Corwin at 4PM!! We are excited and a little nervous. Its taken so much and so long to be where we are now. We feel so blessed to be here finally! We thank God His provision. While its a long dreamed of moment for us,tomorrow I know will be hard for Corwin. Please keep him in your prayers. Ok thats all for now,I'll update later with pics!

We're here!!!!

2007-09-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

We're in Fuzhou!!!! After a looooooog trip. It took us 3 planes, over 10,000 miles, over 24 hours and across at least 6 timezones. Meet our guide Katherine at the Fuzhou airport last night. Our plane got in around 9pm. It was an hour to the hotel.The Lakeside is beautiful. There are mountains here. There are alot of people. It is hot! Today if you can believe we are going to Walmart! We need bottled water and a few other supplies. After that we will have the afternoon to ourselves. We get Corwin at 4pm on Sunday. oh my gosh, is that tomorrow? I can't believe it! Havr to go meet Katherine in the lobby. Will upload some pics later today.

China..here we come!!!!!!

2007-09-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

The day we have dreamed is fast approaching! We are leaving on Thursday September 6 to get our son in Fuzhou. We are busy,busy packing, getting paperwork together and doing last minute things. I will post more tomorrow.

Thank you and tentative travel dates

2007-08-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

We want to say THANK YOU to everyone that has helped us bring our son home! Your help has meant more to us than we can explain in a blog post! I hope you realize that it is not all about US, but is more about our son, who will finally have a family to call his own. Yes I know all the money raised helped us pay adoption expenses but more than that it helped a little boy.

When we were praying about adoption and did not know yet if it was the Lord's will, I kept asking him to take adoption out of my heart if it was not His will. I'd go for months praying this but always felt Him calling us back to talk about it. Here is a verse I found and think it applies to how we felt:
"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

We are hoping to go travel to China to get our son on 9/6. CA date 9/17 and return 9/19!!!! We will know tomorrow if that will work out!!Yeah!!!

TA TA TA TA TA

2007-08-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

Guess what??? We got TA! Travel Approval!!! We have long awaiting this day!!! We are leaving for China on September 6 to get our little boy!!!!

Still waiting for TA

2007-08-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

Still no word today on TA (travel approval). We are hoping that it comes this week or at the latest early next week. Next Tuesday will be three weeks since we received LOA.

Today all the girls got their haircut! They all look so good. D got a new look and she looks alot younger. Don't tell her that though! This week is the first week back at co-op. Not really ready for that.......We'll miss two weeks of co-op when we go to China.

2007-08-14T22:02:00.001-07:00

Our littlest guy!

Our next oldest sweetie!!

2007-08-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Here is our sweet little oldest girl!