China Friends and Other Stuff!

This is my friend April!  We met on a China adoption forum last fall.  We starting talking and discovered that not only were we on a very similar adoption timeline, but we also both home schooled, also both lived in Colorado, and also both loved Jesus!  We talked and compared notes and waited and lamented and worried and stewed and reminded each other to trust God for many months.  Finally we both traveled to China to get our new children in May!  We did not see each other there, as our schedules were a week apart.  Finally this last week we got together!

All of us eating lunch.  

Caylie with four of April's children.  She has three adopted from China.  It was fun for Caylie, even though she had to learn to share a little bit!

(April, I'm putting both of these photos in, since it took two to get everyone looking at the camera!) 

 In other news, Jim was invited to a Rockies game by his company's audit firm, and these were the seats we were in!  3 rows behind home plate!  These were "Clubhouse" seats, in which there is first an all-you-can-eat gourmet buffet, then you go out to the field via clubhouse gate.  And then you can order all the food you want for free!  (Well, it was free for us.  Haha.)  AND, in the 4th inning, they bring everyone a warm cookie!  It was very, very fun.  And yummy.  :)

Jim and me at the game.

On the way to the game we saw this.  I know it's kind of dark, but it's an Ichthus fish with a Broncos mane.  I'm not sure what this is saying.  We worship Jesus and the Broncos?  Jesus IS a Bronco?  We like fish with orange and blue hair??  

And while we were at the game, this occurred.  

And in other news . . . if I ask her to smile, this is what I get.  And she loves corn on the cob!

 We bought a baby bottle for the dolly that Grandma got her.  Sometimes she tries to drink the "milk" herself.

Snack time at the reservoir.  

And this is a beautiful ornament that was sent to us by a friend.  Thank you so much, Tracie!  :)

Tomorrow I'm taking Keelan for registration at Gateway High School.  How did this happen??

Please Pray for Two Mothers

This little girl is amazing.  She is smart and funny and sweet and cute as can be.  And although she's only been with us for a couple of months, we can't imagine life without her.  

Which is why I ask you to pray for this woman - Caylie's foster mother in China.  Caylie was with her for most of her 4 years.  I can tell from our videos that she loved our daughter.  I can't imagine loving this little girl and being the only mother she knew for all that time, and now knowing that she will likely never see her again.  It's heartbreaking to this mama's heart.  Please pray that she will have peace and joy in her life.  Please pray also that someone will tell her about Jesus.  

Caylie JiuChang also has another mother.  There is a woman somewhere in the Jiangxi province of China who is without her daughter.  For a reason that we will likely never know, she felt that she could not care for her baby girl.  She loved her enough to carry her and give her life and leave her in a place where she would be found and cared for.  Perhaps she had no choice.  I'm sure she wonders where that little girl is.  She doesn't know that she is smart and funny and beautiful and LOVED.  Please pray for this woman, as well, whoever she is.  Jesus sees her and He knows.  Please pray she will find Him, as well.

Pony Tails!

Just because it's too cute to not have it's own blog post.

6 Weeks Home

We are home 6 weeks today!  For some reason "6 weeks" sounds a lot longer than "5 weeks".  Seems like a milestone, I guess!

Caylie is doing well.  She is happy most of the time, eats almost anything we give her (although the only chocolate she's liked so far is Oreos - go figure), goes to sleep when it's time for bed (and actually slept till SEVEN this morning!), and is good at entertaining herself, although this usually means that whatever she finds in the house is automatically a plaything.  (What's hers is hers and what's ours is hers!)

She is getting more comfortable playing with other children, and will leave us to go do something fun with them if the opportunity arises.  However, she ran off to play with kids she didn't even know at the ball park yesterday!

We are working on using words instead of whining for something.  If she doesn't already know the word we will tell her "_____, please!  I want _____, please!"  Normally she is cooperative, but sometimes she gets into one of her stubborn moods and would rather cry or hit or throw things.  These are the times that I have to remind myself, "She's only been home 6 weeks.  She's only been home 6 weeks. . . "  As comfortable as she is in our home, it's easy for forget that less than two months ago she left her foster home and all the things that were normal and stable in her world.

Here are a few pictures from the last week.

Making sand castles with Taylor at the reservoir.

Learning how to "knit" with Sandy.

Ice cream at Jie Jie's ice cream store!  Yeah, we usually end up there once a week or so.  :)

Baba's birthday!  Can you see the candles?

I'm so excited about birthday candles!

Happy Birthday, Baba!

Sky Sox baseball game in Colorado Springs.  It was rainy and cold, but she got to wear her purple jacket, so she was happy.  

And I think she liked Sox the Fox even better than Dinger!

And this is just a photo for Rockies fans . . . poor Aaron Cook is a shadow of his former self.  :(

And just because, another photo of Justin being Justin.  :)

Home 5 Weeks

We have been home 5 weeks today!  In some ways it seems much longer than that, since we've done so many things and Caylie has come such a long way in her adjustment to her new life.  Things have really gone much, much better than we imagined.  Not that everything is perfect, but it is good.  

Caylie is happy most of the time.  Of course there are times that she must be told "no" about something, and that will set off a bad mood, or if she falls asleep in the car and wakes up cranky.  Then the bad mood can go and on!  But mostly she is happy.  Loves her brothers and her big sister. She is comfortable wherever we go.  She is shy with people when she first meets them, but will make friends if they persist in playing with her.  She is good about putting away her toys and following most directions.  She goes to bed without a fuss, which was one of the things I worried most about.  We just wish she would sleep past 5:30am!  

She is learning more English words all the time, although she understands way more than what she speaks.  She will still regale us with long speeches in Chinese, though, and it makes me sad that we not only don't know what she is saying, but that she will not retain her native language once she is fluent in English.  Ha . . . her newest word comes from watching Toy Story several times.  She always asks for "Buh-mm-woo-ee."  (Buzz and Woody!)  It is cute.

She LOVES to sing and dance!  Oh my goodness . . . if one of the kids gets out a dance game for the Play Station, she is SO excited!  And sometimes she will just make up her own moves if  she hears a song that she likes.  She sometimes sings little songs in Chinese, but is always trying to sing along to the songs on KLOVE.  Her favorite is Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons".  We sing that at church too, and Jim said that yesterday when we started that song, she cheered loudly!  Haha.  :)

Here are a few photos from the last week or so.

Hanging out with big sister Brittany.  *edit: She just looked at this photo of herself and said, "Pretty girl!"  

Playing cars with Justin.  I should have gotten a photo of what's behind them . . . Keelan's keyboard.  She loves to turn that on and "play"!

We went out to the driving range on the 4th of July to hit a few balls.  

And later that night we went to watch the fireworks.  She had a great time!

 Popsicles are yummy!  (And messy!)

 She likes to take the plastic cups and plates from the lower hutch cabinet.  One day she was out in the kitchen longer than usual, and I came in to see that she'd set the table!  (Although I think she was expecting company!)

Dinger hat!  And more yummy ice cream at Brittany's Dairy Queen!

Keelan needed a haircut, so I decided it was a good day to try for a bang trim.  Of course she did GREAT!

The finished products!

Yesterday we went to Famous Dave's BBQ for my birthday.  Had to get a shot of Caylie with the welcome bear.

Cookies are always better when there are TWO!

Taking pictures on Mama's phone.

We like to be silly!

All of my children!

Taylor - 20, Brittany - 24, Justin - 10 1/2, Caylie - 4, Keelan - 14

Fun with Friends!

Since Caylie's been home - 4 weeks yesterday - she hasn't really played with any other kids.  Usually she just watches.  But yesterday we had our church picnic and suddenly she was off!  I turned around and she was having a grand time, without her parents or brothers even watching!  So proud of her and so happy that she's getting comfortable in her new surroundings.  :)

See, Caylie . . . you throw the bean bag into this little hole.

These bean bags here, see?  Yep, toss them right into that hole!

There you go!  You can do it!

Look at me!  I'm playin' corn hole with my friends!

Time for a tickle break!

OK, back to the game.  Now where's that bean bag?? 

Yep, I am just havin' so much fun with my new friends!!

Aww, Graham, you are so silly.  And why do you have to move away just when I got here??  :(

Home for a snack, but too tuckered out to eat it.