Happy August

Happy August!  Yes, I am still blogging! We had our biometric fingerprints for immigration done two weeks ago and since Shelby is 18, she got the honor of also having hers done, too.  If you ever want to do some great people watching, I highly recommend going to sit in the lobby of the federal building in Cleveland. Wow, it never fails to wow us.  We even got a $35 souvenir from this last visit - a parking ticket! We didn't see the signs that said we couldn't park at the meter until after 9:30.  So at 9:22 our ticket was issued, funny the parking meter  had no problem taking our money before 9:30...

We are waiting for one piece of paper to finish our dossier (paperwork for China).  Isn't it time that they make all of this digital??? Everything else has been finished since the first part of July, so it is very hard to be sitting in limbo.  I expected this last piece of paper a few days ago, but thankfully I just heard it was approved (but of course we are still waiting for the paper copy).  When it gets here, I need to get it notarized,  then drive it downtown to get it certified and then drive it to Columbus to get it authenticated.  It would take two weeks to do all of that by mail, so I am going on my whirlwind driving tour.  I know we don't know who are next child even is, but I hate to make them wait even another day.  It's amazing how this little one already has such a place in our heart.

None the less, we have had a really nice summer.  We have taken 6 camping trips so far. Pictures below are from our last trip to Geneva on the Lake.  Such a nice  campground situated near Lake Erie.  It even has a little beach where Matthew filled and emptied his sand bucket for several hours.  The town itself is easily biked to.

Football season has started and Matt has informed me that "baby sister going to need a football uniform". Ok maybe not, but maybe we can find her a band uniform.  Robbie is excited to be playing for the 7th grade team.  He has been growing like crazy, hope his cleats last him the whole season.    This boy is getting tall - he is now 5'6 (everyone from my side of the family is pretty short).  This past week we celebrated his 13th birthday (even though it isn't actually till this weekend, somehow he didn't mind opening his gifts early!).  He is such a fun kid and I am so impressed with all the ways he helps with the camper and home projects with Jeff.

Shelby is getting ready to start marching band camp..  Camp is for 7 days - 12 to 13 hours a day!!!  I told her think of it this way, you are going to start college with a tan, some new friends and probably lose 10 pounds.  She is still working at a local farm market this summer and should be able to get more hours there through the fall.  Shelby has decided to live at home this year for college.  She has taken some flack for this, but is sticking to her decision.  Some people have mentioned maybe "when she matures" she can decide to live at college.  Ha!!  Shelby is one of the most mature people I know at her age and I love that her heart is in the right place.  She really wants to be here to watch Matthew grow up and since she is attending a primarily a commuter school - the decision is a no-brainer. 

Matthew will be starting preschool soon too.  He is thrilled! He will have the same teacher that Robbie and cousin Leland had.   We were all just talking about how boring and empty our lives would be without our Matt.   His cheek is still healing, up close there is still some bruising and the scar is visible.  We don't go back to the clinic till November for his one year post-op visit.  There is definite improvement and we feel it will get better with time. We honestly forget its there until you see his reflection in a mirror.

August 2014

     

July 2013

Gotcha Day

This is a video our adoption agency just put out and it shows a part of the adoption process called "Gotcha Day" (when families and their adopted children meet for the first time).  This  video is very special to us because it was shot in the exact same places that we went to adopt Matthew and even with most of the same guides that we had while we were in Zhengzhou.  Grab some tissues....




CCAI presents - "Gotcha Day" from CCAI Family on Vimeo.

The Graduate

It's official (for like a month now, but I am a little slow to post things ) that we have another graduate in family.  Senior year definitely flew by just like everyone said it would.  So proud of our girl!

Robbie and his friend Devon - these guys "met" when their older sisters were in the same kindergarten class.  At the time, they were both in infant car seats and probably less than a month old.  

First day of school

Last day of school

               

Adoption Update - no cute little face yet....

 Thankfully the home study portion of our newest adoption is DONE and is now off to Immigration/homeland security. A lot of people have been asking if we were able to reuse any of our paperwork from Matthew and unfortunately we had to get all new documents.  Our last homestudy agency closed last year due to lack of funding, so we even had to start over with a new agency.  Once we get the next round of paperwork approved at every level of government (literally), our dossier can go to China.  Based on our last timeline,  I am thinking that it will be around the end of September before it even gets to China though.

We have been gradually preparing Matthew for the idea of having another sibling.  I know he can't even begin to fathom what that means, but it's good to give this little seed time to grow.  Last week as I got him ready for bed he asked me  "tell me about adopting baby sister".  This was the first time he ever used the word "adopt", so that was neat.  It is kind of a hard concept to share with a preschooler, but my thought is to use the word in everyday conversation and for him to know that it is a wonderful word not something negative.  We have begun to talk how his new sibling will look like him and will also come from China like he did.  We have also talked about how he might get to go back to China with us on a big airplane.

Our hope is to be able to take the whole family back to China with us, but we will just have to wait to see how schedules and finances work out.  Jeff and I both feel strongly about our big kids seeing China.  Matt (and our newest little one) will probably be too young to remember this visit, but at least his older siblings can be one more person that they can talk about China with.  Seeing China in person, is so different than just seeing pictures. Visiting an orphanage is unforgettable. Let alone, meeting their new sibling for the first time will be pretty amazing.  We feel a lot more comfortable bringing everyone along this time, I think I would have been too nervous last time, but boy did we ever miss them..   Ideally this time around we would also get the chance to maybe visit the birth cities of both littles, but that is just a hope at this time.  

If you caught it in one of the above paragraphs, I used the word "sister".  This time around we asked to be matched to a little girl around Matt's age. Quite frankly, we would be ecstatic if our next child is a boy or a girl and we are approved to adopt either gender, so we will see what God's plans are.  So the next couple months will be moving slowly along in our eyes, but we are excited to proceed to the next step.

Prom

The last days of Shelby being a senior are trickling by fast.  Her prom was this past weekend and she had a really good time.    It was exciting to see all the kids dressed up.  The kids all stayed up till 4am for their after prom party and Shelby is just about caught up with her lack of sleep.  

Shelby and her date John, they have known each other since 1st grade and both play trombone in the marching band.  He even brought me flowers, very sweet!

Wasn't she just 8 years old though??????

Lindsey, Shelby and Maggie - these guys have been friends since early elementary school. The best part is that I call their moms my closest and dearest friends, too!

Robbie and Katie - he is always popular with the ladies...

                                       

Clarise, Lindsey, Shelby, Maggie, Laura and Katie  - Photo bomb by Max

Selfie in the van

the whole prom group

Shelby and Anna

Adopting Again

Jeff and I are excited to announce we are starting the process to adopt and God willing hopefully add another little one from China to our family!  Jeff first mentioned the idea to adopt again when we were packing our suitcases to leave China to bring Matthew home.  All I could think of at the time was please just get us home!! But to keep thinking of all those  little faces we saw left behind... we just cannot shake that memory.  Looking back on this past year to see the difference having a family has made for Matthew, takes my breath away. However the biggest and best thing is the difference he has made in our entire family - it feels like our hearts have doubled in size.   And while there have been some difficult days, we have still thought everyday about adopting again and the kids mention it all the time.  

We have been trying to wait for the right time to start the process again.  There is never a right time.  We aren't getting any younger or richer.  However, there is one extra seat at our dining room table and there is one extra bed in our house and even in our camper! I now even have a car that can fit an extra car seat.   Why wait? 

As we have told people, some have been happy and some not so much.  That's ok. We understand, we get it.  It doesn't sound like a great idea. Hey spend a bunch of money, add another little one, one with a medical need, we have a college freshman in the fall and hey you already have three other kids... 

We don't know what the future will hold and sometimes it makes me gasp a little bit.   But God has always promised to never leave us and to never forsake us.  We are confident that His heart and hands rest firmly with orphans and for them to be orphans no more.  We trust that our needs will be taken care of.  If He can make the Heavens and the Earth, I believe He can handle this, too.  

Quite frankly, this is not the future I ever imagined.  I am over joyed that God decided His plans for our future were much better than the ones we could ever think of.  So as we wade through an ocean of paperwork, we are giddy, thrilled, scared and trying to be patient to see who God has for our family.  

       Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Visit with Ben

Last year when we returned from China, I posted a picture of Matthew's cribmate  on one of the facebook adoption groups I belong to.  This little boy stole our hearts when we visited the orphanage, he is such a sweetie!  I often thought of him after we were home and then a few months later his mom saw my picture and contacted me.  She gave us the wonderful news that she and her husband had recently adopted little Ben and brought him home to the United States.  The very cool thing was that this family actually lived in the same county as us a few years ago!!

We got the awesome opportunity to meet in person in April.  I had been telling Matthew for a few weeks that Ben and his family were coming for a visit.  I could tell he was a little worried when I mentioned a "China friend" was coming, but he did just fine.    It was so nice to catch up with Ben's sweet family and for the boys to play together. Robbie stayed home the day they visited and got to play with Ben's older brothers. What a fun day!

I know this sounds weird since we also have experienced adoption first hand and Matthew used to be an orphan too, but I just was overwhelmed at getting to see Ben in person here in our home.  The last time we saw him, he didn't have a mommy and a daddy and he called an orphanage home. Here we were 14 months  and 7000 miles later....  I kept tearing up the rest of the day, the joy of adoption gets me every time.

It's so awesome that our boys will have always have this connection, what a blessing technology is!