danielle's blog

Evan has really developed a love of drawing in the last few months. He
has an unusual perspective at times drawing things from the top or very
fluid. Here are some of my favorites.

From Sept 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From December, the three bears chase some bad bugs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the three men go on an adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This month he is on a space kick... note the detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And my favorite... Spiderman!!!

 

The girls and boys got matching outfits for Christmas. Aren't they cute? :)

 

 

 

They say that blogs generally only show a glimpse of the total story and
often glaze over uncomfortable or embarrassing details. This is
certainly the case for this blog as somethings are simply too personal
to share when one is not blogging anonymously. This was a concession I
made when I chose to use our names and pictures and open this blog to
those who know us in real life. But I do try to always be truthful with
what I DO post and try to paint as accurate a picture of adoption and
the adoption process as I can. In that spirit, today I'm going to talk
about one of those more uncomfortable/embarrassing things in the hope
that it will help those who are in the adoption process.

Sept 13th 2011, I walked into a large room in Zhengzhou, Henan and
waited with my husband and 3 other families for the little boy who I had
been watching grow up in pictures over the last 9 months. I knew only a
little about him. I knew he was tiny. I knew he was delayed and not
walking at 20 months. But this was also not my first rodeo as they say.
I'd been here before. I'd adopted before. I'd adopted delayed children
before. I'd read page upon page and hour upon hours worth of blog posts,
forums, and books about institutionalization, adoption trauma, special
needs, delays, etc. etc. etc. I knew what to expect. But despite all
that knowledge, despite knowing what institutionalize and traumatized
children look like, it was all I could do not to freak out when they
placed my child in my arms. Seriously, I had to fight down the panic.
The child I was handled was nothing like I expected. He was not a
toddler in any sense other then his age. He was not just delayed. He was
SEVERELY delayed. Forget walking! He either couldn't or wouldn't sit up
without support. His head was horribly misshapen. He response to being
overstimulated was to throw his head back and stair at the ceiling, eyes
roaming around. Yes, all those things can certainly be the result of
institutionalization and trauma as they have turned out to be. I knew
that. I did. Yet, I felt pure panic in those first few moments.

And what if I had traveled alone and had no support? What if I
didn't realize that I could be looking at only institutionalized delays?
Or what if I didn't even know what institutionalized delays were? Then
again, in those first few days, how can you really tell the difference
between expected delays and true underlying issues?  What if I had not
committed in my heart on January 24th, 2011 that THIS child was my son for
better or worse? I don't know, but maybe I would have been so afraid
that I would have walked away from one of the most amazing little boys
on this plant. I really don't know... but I do know that even with all
the prep in the world, you can still find yourself feeling panic when
faced with the reality of your new child in a government office in
China.

There have been a lot of really wonderful things about adding Asher to our family. Some of them we anticipated, and some we did not. One of those unanticipated blessings is the special relationship that has formed between our now oldest and youngest. I had imagined a special bond between Evan and Asher as the boys of the family or between Katie and Asher due to their shared heritage. Both of those may well come in time. But right now, without a doubt, Asher's favorite sibling is his biggest big sister. There is no jealousy between them because they are boy/girl, first grader/baby separated by 4.5 years and two siblings; they really do not compete for anything.  They simply love each other. Miriam's maternal side has come out, and she loves helping and playing with Asher. He in turn loves having a devoted and doting playmate. Sissy equals fun in his mind and his face lights up when he sees her headed his way. Truly, theirs is a special sibling relationship we are so very blessed to watch develop!

Christmas day dawned bright and early. We're so mean and made the kids wait until after breakfast to open all their presents.
Miriam got some princess dolls from Grandpa George... she loved them.

Grandma W got her a camera (!) and she has been going nuts taking
pictures since then. Seriously, our house may never be the same again
she is always snapping away.

Case in point.

A few pictures from Evan's haul... big boy legos from Grandma W and a Buzz Lightyear (just like the movie) from Grandpa George.

Katie was excited by her magnetic dolls and new doll house furniture from Grandma W.

It took Asher most of the presents to get good at ripping paper but he got there!

He also enjoyed a ride on his new trike rocker from Grandpa George.

Looks like dolly got some new things too!

Given the way the living room looked after the fact, I think they were pleased with it all!

As I said in a previous post, since we spent the holidays at home for
the first time ever as a family, we have been able to start some
traditions of our own. One of them is that on Christmas Eve we make
Christmas pizzas for supper. The shapes this year were a tree and candy
cane. Daddy makes the dough. Momma shapes and assembles the pizza. And
the kid decorate. Everyone eats. :)

Before we attend our churches Christmas Eve service, the kids may each
pick one gift to open. Asher opened his very first Christmas present.

Even after that, this was the tree they woke up to on Christmas.

We're staying home for Christmas this year and this has given us the
opportunity to start some new traditions and spend more time with
friends as well.
Mid-month two of my homeschooling mom friends came over with their
families and we had a little Christmas party. We made Christmas pizzas
for lunch. I got the idea from this Pinterest link. The kids thought it
was way cool to eat a Christmas tree and snowman pizza!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we made a Gingerbread Nativity which in our case actually
used graham crackers. I got the idea from this Pinterest link. We had
lots of fun and I thought ours turned out well.

The first Sunday of December, Miriam was in a little Christmas musical
at church. We are blessed to have great little children's choir at
church which Miriam very much enjoys. This year they did "Just Believe"
the story of a church children's choir that doesn't get to do the
preformance they intended but along the way learns some important
lessons. Miriam played the part of a sheep. I know I'm bias but Cutest.
Sheep. Ever!!! I was so proud of her. She was in the front of the stage
the whole show and she did so well singing out and saying her Bible
verse (John 3:16). The last 6 months have seen a big jump in her
maturity and it show in places like this.

One final bit of proof that Pinterest is not a total waste of time... I
made this new decoration for our family. A felt Christmas tree the kids
can play with and decorate! It was easy to make and I think they did
enjoy being able to decorate over and over.

Asher turned to this week! We actually had his birthday party on the
18th in an attempt to not have it totally overshadowed by Christmas.
Note to self: work harder on that next year! Anyway, we had a lunch
celebration with a few friends and Asher's favorite meal... spaghetti!  I
made him a monkey cake. He wasn't impressed! LOL He's not a sweets fan
and when I put some icing on his face and hands trying to get him to at
least play with it, I got this look.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is saying
"Mommy, have you lost your mind??!?!!! Get this stuff OFF of me!!!"
In any case, happy second birthday little man!! So glad we were with you to celebrate it this year! Can't wait to see all you will accomplish in this coming year.

 

 

 

 

For what we are about to receive, may we be truly grateful!