We woke up to the wind howling and the snow blowing. It was pretty frigid outside. Now grant you the snow isn't that deep, but Mike still had to work with the shovel this morning. The windshield was heavy with snow.
Before he actually headed out Evan woke up and said "Momma it Kuh-nowed"!! We laughed so hard. Wendy came in and he told her the same thing, but Wendy told him the correct way to say it. Evan then said "Snu-owed". LOL God love him.... he sure is trying. The one thing he can say plain as day is Santa Claus.
This is what we have been gearing up for this month. The nineteenth was Holly's Graduation from Texas Tech. She graduated Summa Cum Laude, and top GPA in her college. I only got a few snippets of video. Holly was the star of graduation. Quite cool to be first to enter the arena as Banner Barer for her College and first named for your diploma and not only this she was listed first for her GPA and then her whole name was said correctly all the way through....."Holly Leigh Erica L" Pretty cool!! We are so very proud of her. I know that her Papaw was there watching over her. He said the day she was born that she was marked for GREAT Things!! He was so very right. We missed my mom being there cause she was home sick with a cold. Three family members were able to come....so happy that Lacy, Ganny and Uncle Lane could come.
Sorry the video clips are shaky. I had to hold Evan and he kept trying to take the camera from me. lol
Well our journeys have ended, and both children are home from China it is time to start a new chapter in our lives. I have been playing with the thought of changing the title of our blog. I know there are many titles for a family of 6. My favorite is "With Six You Get Egg Roll", but I'm pretty sure that is taken. This was a Doris Day and Brian Kieth movie and I really love it as well, but in our case it really fits being that the tail end of our family is from China. LOL So I have named it "The Six Of Us". I think it says it all. What do you guys think?
I will try to add new updated photos of the kiddos today. Evan is eating all the time.....you would think he would be gaining lots of weight with how he is going at it. He isn't a meat eater, but he loves Broccoli. Noodles are a true favorite....even for breakfast.LOL As far as what we love well.... we love Italian food a great deal, but the only thing Evan will eat is Pizza. I guess that is fine for now, but Mike makes a mean Spaghetti. lol Hamburgers are out cause he isn't a meat eater. I have found that he loves turkey sausage when grilled! His English is coming right along. He is picking up new phrases everyday. The concept of "What's your name" isn't there yet. Nor is "How old are you". I contacted ECI here, but they won't help since he is three years old now. I need to see if we have a private Speech Therapist here.
Evan is very strong willed and will fight you on what ever it is he wants or doesn't want to do. ha We have gone head to head on many things lately. The big one is not hitting Wendy. Luckily the biting issue is gone for now. One thing he does that drives me nuts is when I tell him "NO" he points at me and gives me this cute look and says "Nooo". I know we will be butting heads for some time.
On the bright side he is a very sweet boy actually. When not being obstinate he gives sweet kisses and wonderful hugs not to mention that wonderful smile. He loves the dogs! His favorite is Tallulah, and he also loves our ferret Bear. This is one thing that took a while for Wendy when she came home.
Things will smooth out one day I know. Luckily I have friends who have adopted toddlers and I have seen that it took them some time to adjust but they are now doing fine. Since Mr. Evan has many good qualities about him he will do great once things settle in and his English starts to come more and more.
Wendy on the other hand has gone back a few steps from 6 years old to about 3 herself. Ha You see when a Princess has felt like she has been dethroned it is a catastrophe. LOL!!! She loves him deep down, but fights for all the attention she can get these days. If she sees Evan hugging our leg she gets the other leg and holds tight. This is fine, but can have its problems when you try to move around. Sharing has been hard since she has never had to do it long term before. Sure when friends come over she does, but now that Evan is here full time it is another story. LOL The one thing he wants more than anything is a Barbie Magnadoodle like Wendy's. "Very Big LOL!!! They both love to draw, but Wendy has had that since her 4th birthday; so now we all need to be on a mission. ha
As you can see there are many adjustments going on including my own. I am finally trying to figure out how to keep him content while doing house work and so on. So any of our local friends who are wondering.....this is why we haven't had a play date yet. If I can get the big sum of things done I'm going to get a house keeper in every other week. I think I deserve that don't you?
As for me, I'm still having a rough time after losing my dad. I do fine for a long while and then there is something that reminds me of him like when we went Xmas shopping for example. I find my self crying. The week after the funeral I decided to go through the phone messages from while we were in China. My dads voice came on and I listened and cried. Needless to say I'm not ever erasing that message!!! The message after that was my mom saying they were at the hospital and it was bad; now that one I erased. This was very hard on me. My mother is handleing it really well. She will cry on occasion, but not just let loose. She wanted to hear my dad's message over Thanksgiving while she was here. She did well on that as well. Our Thanksgiving was one of remembering and holding tight to each other.
On a fantastic note: Holly is about finished with school and will graduate on December 19th!!!! She has been offered acceptance into the PHD Program (Doctoral Program) for Human Development and Family Studies without having her masters degree in it!!!! We are beyond ecstatic for her!!! So, she will be attending Texas Tech this spring semester!
I know this is a LONG post, but I have been so behind on updating this blog.
This is our 5th Gotcha Day Anniversary with Wendy. I can't believe we have had her for 5 whole years today!!! The time has flown and yet it seems just like yesterday that she was placed in my arms. Her Gotcha Day was so different back then. So much of a treasure to remember. Wendy, we love you and are so proud of the little lady you have become. I can't wait to see what happens in the years to come!
This is also our 5th week Gotcha Day Anniversary with Evan. It is also hard to believe that we got this precious 3 year old 5 weeks ago. In this short time many things have happened in his little life. Losses and Gains have been many for this little guy. Luckily the gains have far out weighed the losses. I can't wait to see what is in store for you as you grow.
WOW!!!!! In one word let me describe how things have been "Whirlwind". I would have never thought or dreamed that something could go so crazy once we arrived home.
We arrived on US soil on the 6th of November at LAX in California. The air was so much more clear there than in China even. LOL We got all of our luggage and headed toward our gate to recheck them on to Amarillo. We hugged our dear friends and travel mates,Rich, Jen, and Mia, goodbye and vowed to stay in touch. Wendy really loved Jen! They had a connection right off.
After our goodbyes we lugged our carry-ons to our gate and found an On the Boarder and practically ran for it! LOL Margarita here we came and Tex Mex!! They didn't have Mexican Food in China!!! We found Italian, and German food, and Subway on Shamian Island, but no Mexican food. Can you imagine the business that they could get if they had one on the Island?
We called my Mom and Dad and Mikes Mother and Lacy while sitting and enjoying our meal. Lacy was so happy she was talking to Evan for the first time and he was truly interacting with her. Then Evan stayed on the phone with my parents for a very long time. My dad thoroughly enjoyed talking to him and Evan was saying Mamaw and Papaw constantly.
Our flight was leaving at midnight so we had plenty of time to talk and walk around. We were on a high being back in the USA, HOME!!! Hearing our loved ones voices was oh so comforting.
We arrived in Dallas at 5:58 am and grabbed a bite at McDonalds and a Cereal Bar there. We headed on to our next gate and I sat in a message chair. That was so nice. We all brushed our teeth and changed clothes for the kids. When we came back out Mike ran into his boss who was coming in from Washington and was about to catch the same flight as we were. Mike introduced him to Mr. Welch and Evan gave him a kiss on the cheek. What a sweet boy. We then got on a propeller plane and we were asked to set back of the wings so the plane would be ballast. LOL Arrived home and landed very smoothly at 9:00 am. We were met by two of our dear families here. Boy was that a nice feeling seeing familiar faces. Thank you to David, and his family along with the Ng family.
We were so tired, but pumped just the same. We got home and there was Mike's mother and Lacy waiting for us to come on in. Oh how wonderful to be home. Evan explored the whole thing in a matter of minutes.
All of us were trying so hard to stay busy so we wouldn't fall asleep standing up. You know it is just a awful feeling. We would be in mid sentence to Mike's mother and we would slur and kinda doze off. I hate Jet Lag!!!!! I hate it with a purple passion!!!! I was so unable to do anything that day. I had wanted to call my parents and tell them we actually arrived in Amahome and just couldn't muster up the energy to do so. We tried so hard to stay awake..... We pulled out the couch bed so we could lay both kids down since they had passed out on the floor. ha
That night late we received a phone call..... Mind you we couldn't hear it cause we had passed out. My MIL came to our bedroom and said that my brother was on the phone and needed to talk to us. Mike took the phone call, and I so tried to block it out and remain asleep. You see, calls at 2:00 am in the morning usually is bad news. Sure enough my brother told Mike that My Dad had passed away at 12:30 am November 8th 2009 with a heart attack. Mike turned to me while sitting in the bed and asked if I was awake. I set up and said yes...... Mike said that my dad had died. I just whaled, and cried and cried for such a long time and so hard and so loud. Wendy slept through it and so did Evan. Holly came in to our room and we held tight and cried more together.
I calmed down enough to talk to my mom and we just consoled each other over the phone.
Once off of the phone I went to tell Lacy out in the playhouse; she had just gotten to sleep and then here I come with this news. We cried together and ended up staying up until 6:00 am November 8th. Lacy and Mike's mother were suppose to leave early that morning to head back to Ft. Worth, but because of the lack of sleep they didn't leave until 4:00 pm that evening.
My head was spinning, literally, I started having vertigo and felt sick to my stomach. Before they left I finally had to throw up. Once I did the room slowed down. Too much stress.... Sorry if it is TMI.
The funeral was set for Thursday the 12 of November. We left on Wednesday and drove for several... hours.... say 7 hours. It was so good to see my mom and to give her love and hugs in person. The visitation was that evening and we had only been there an hour. We got dressed ate and off we went again. It was so hard seeing my dad lay there like that. I could hear his laugh and his voice in my head. He had the best ole laugh ever!! It is something we all will miss. The funeral was the next day at 2:00 pm. Evan and Wendy were dressed up very nice and debonair in their black velvet outfits. Evan has new Scooby Crocs and wouldnt' wear his dress shoes to the luncheon. Finally on the way to the funeral I asked him to "please" wear his dress shoes for Papaw. His reply was "Suxin's Papaw all gone". My mom and I looked at each other and were so stunned how well he was understanding things. He did finally allow Holly to put on his new shoes.
The funeral was so beautiful and meaningful. My girls were wonderful. They told of their memories of their Papaw and Holly mentioned how hard it will be on Wendy and that it is so sad that Evan would never know such a wonderful Papaw. While Holly was giving her message Evan followed her up there and stood by her being his usual cute self. It lightened the mood some and we were told at the start to let that young man do what he wants. He was new to the US and really didn't understand and if he ran circles around the coffin to let him do so. Well he wasn't that bad, but he did get up in front of everyone. lol It was so nice to have a little humor added.
I will add photos to show he is doing really well considering all that has gone on.
A HUGE Thank You to all of your well wishes and condolences through all of this. It has meant the world to me. God Bless You All!!
I truly can not believe that my baby is now 6 years old!!!! Hopefully we can get a Cake for her today. The cakes here in Guangzhou aren't as elaborate as they are in Nanchang. We will be eating Dim Sum tonight at a Cantonese place here on the island.
We went to the Pearl Market yesterday and for us it was a disappointment. We were told that the pearls were cheaper here for the good quality, but Mike and I found that when we were in Beijing they were much cheaper! Our last trip was much more successful on the pearl side.
Lacy, I'm sorry, but they didn't have anything like you were wanting. Your dad and Holly actually went down the hall to look for more pearls and found very nice strands of white pearls for so much less than what they were asking for at the place our guide took everyone. They bought 5 good quality pearl strands there. I hate being ripped off!!!!!!!!!
We also went to another shop that sold Lapis! Everyone who knows me knows how much I love the color blue!! We got a Lapis bangle for me and something for each of us girls there. Dad got him and Evan a Lapis turtle. VERY reasonable there!!
Before the market we went to the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. Five years ago Wendy got a blessing from a monk there and this time Evan and Wendy got a blessing along with all of us as a group. Not to mention photos.....
You can post that they TB test was Negative!! We are very happy about that.
Holly, has pink eye. lol She had to see the doctor as well yesterday. She is on the mend though. None of us can figure out how she got pink eye! At least it is being attended to.
We are going to the Pearl Market today and will also be going to the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. This is where Wendy and several others received a prayer blessing from one of the Buddhist Monks. Yes, we will allow the same for Evan. I will down load more photos soon... I promise.
Yesterday we went to the Botanical Gardens. Afterward we went to a Dumpling Restaurant. It was VERY good!! This is the best Evan has eaten, and the boy loves to eat. ha
While waiting on the bus everyone got a kiss from him all but Wendy. Veronica worked her magic and Wendy was able to give him a kiss and him in return. We have photos through one of the other families. I'll see if they can send those to me.
This morning the two of them woke up and were smiling at each other side by side in bed. So very cute to see.
We have been trying to do the bonding thing as a family so that is why we haven't been able to write as often as I would really like to.
Again as soon as I get some photos on the computer I'll get them off.
We are on the island and had the medical checkup yesterday and his TB test. Evan was the best kiddo in the whole clinic!! He never cried was totally attentive to their questions and watched as they put the needle in for the TB test. Not one tear!!!! I won't say that he enjoyed the TB test. lol, but he never cried or threw a fit over it.
We went swimming afterward. Holly had taken Wendy all over the island looking at the shops and then took her swimming. We met them down there. Evan absolutely loved the water and splashing all of us. Mike tried to take a nap while we were at the pool.
We at at Lucy's last night. Food was really good. It feels wonderful to finally be at the WS!! Air quality is so much better!!!
Halloween evening at the White Swan was made fun since we brought some candy, masks, and some window clings!! I truly think Evan will be one of us with the Halloween issue!! For those of you who know us we really love Halloween. Everyone dresses up and we decorate the house up. This year was just mild fun for us, but fun all the same.
Photos to come.....
Today is Chen Family Temple and Pearl/Jade market. I will be getting something for me here!!
In the photo of Holly and Wendy with the cake. Wendy was crying a little. She was trying to sleep when Holly got up to blow her candles out. We really didn't want here to drift off since it was only 8:00 pm. Bedtime wasn't quite time then.....ha
We will leave here tonight from Nanchang. The people here are warm and curious about our babies. Especially Evan being that he is a Boy, and that he looks so healthy. Lots of thumbs up.....)
Today it is Friday morning here to your Thursday evening there. We board the plane at 9:00 pm and get there around 11:00 pm in Guangzhou. Something like that. Mike and Wendy went to the countryside today while Holly, Evan, and Momma pack up. Amazing that it is time to almost be at the White Swan!! I keep telling Holly that the White Swan is so incredible!! So much more to do there that is near by. Oh, and let's not forget "LUCY'S". I can't wait to taste to American style cooking. Every meal Chinese is a bit much even for those who love it. LOL!
Wendy and Evan have had two good evenings now without him biting. YAY!!!! Things will be looking up, but it will take time.
For my friends with Children this age from China..... How long before they can speak English sentences? Our communication is really lacking. I have a few phrases from our friend Kelsey M., but there are still those moments when a string of words keep flowing out.....) Veronica said he is happy from asking him. He loves his family; so this is great news.
Tomorrow morning after not getting much sleep we have to be at the clinic for Evan's TB test. YIKES! This won't be fun for him. At least we found out that he won't have to get 7 shots tomorrow, and that is WONDERFUL NEWS!! Let's just take care of things at home thank you very much.
One family flies tonight from another province same agency group and we meet up at the White Swan.
One reason I don't think I should really say since things may be monitored.....
I will say continue to pray for Wendy and Evan's bonding and good health for the remainder of our trip for us all......
Evan and I are in the room for today.... Bonding. He has been saying for Holly "Jei Jei Momma". Poor Holly, hehe.... He also calls her Balko, or Marko. LOL Not sure what this is even our guide Veronica isn't sure. Hum....
He does say Michael from hearing Veronica talking to Mike. LOL
His vocabulary consists of Okay, No, Yes, Wendy, Holly, Daddy, Momma, Counting 1-10, For the number 7 he says Sebon. so cute. Hello, Good Morning(Zhou), He sings his abc's in Chinese.... We caught him doing this yesterday. Now we need to teach him in English. He knows so much more in Chinese than we would have ever imagined. I think I have a challenge for sure.
Many locals just come and stand by us and talk to each other about Evan. Some put their Thumbs up and say USA. They then smile.... This you get mainly from the older men and women. The younger ones just look.
The other day there were 4 Chinese Families adopting babies. So, they are really adopting here. I do believe this is a huge reason for the delay.....)
Yesterday we went to the Elephant Park here. It was very lovely. We heard music and chanting and realized they were having a Religious Ceremony there. They were Dao worshipers. Dao is the original Chinese religion. Evan loved the music. We have him a stroller and he really likes pushing it as much as sitting in it. LOL
I'll post photos to Sherry. I've been only able to send out two at a time so I promise I will send several her way in a row......
Thank you for all who comment. It sure is nice hearing from our friends while in a foreign land.
