Mommy and Bobby!

James enjoying his chinese food

James is really good with the chopsticks

We got chinese the other night and you would have thought James had not been fed for a while. He was so happy to see the food! I think either we'll have to order out more or I'll have to learn to cook better chinese food!

When James first met us we were Mama and Baba (Mandarin for mom and dad) Well just recently he started calling me mommy. It sure is the cutest thing hearing his sweet little voice saying it! Occasionally he would call me mother which I have to say sounds pretty funny coming from him. Well we all got a real kick out of it when he decided since he was calling me mommy he would change Baba appropriately to Bobby! Wow have we all had some good laughs hearing him calling for Bobby. We are just loving it, not sure if dad loves it as much but we are laughing. James and Baba are getting to be real buddies especially at the dinner table when all of us girls are laughing about something and the two boys don't think it is such a hoot!

An Adoption Legacy of Sorts!

"Difficulties afford a platform upon which He can show Himself. Without them we could never know how tender, faithful and almighty our God is." - Hudson Taylor

They say writing is therapeutic and so I write...February of 1999 was one of the hardest times in my life. My mom was taken to the hospital one morning and as us four kids met my dad at the hospital we found out she didn't make it. To say we were shocked is an understatement-she had no health problems, it was so out of nowhere. I remember those first few days and nights so vividly, thinking it had to be a bad dream. We just sat at the house we grew up in and cried and kept thinking someone would say it was all a mistake. I was a few months pregnant with Claire and she was due on my mom's birthday. I had been having problems in the pregnancy and they told me it was pretty certain the pregnancy would not continue and that I would miscarry. One time when I went in the ultrasound tech recognized me and said something about not believing I was still carrying the baby. My mom had been such a support to me during this time.

I really didn't know how to process my emotions, I don't think any of us did. I just felt so unprepared. I felt like the walls of my faith came crashing down, and it was a fork in the road in my faith. Was I going to believe God was who He said He was and His comfort would carry me? It was a long process of grief and I grew in my relationship to God in many ways. God met me in so many ways I can't even begin to count. I think through it instead of my walls of faith crashing down, the walls were made solid. I found I could believe God was who He said He was and He would carry me. I look at the friends He put in my life prior to this to grieve with me and support me. I am thankful for the great church I was attending where I could really continue to grow in this time. I can remember the beautiful conversation my mom and I had the night before she died. The dinner Mike, Ali, Caroline and I had with my mom and dad the prior weekend. This baby I was carrying that was due on my mom's birthday, which miraculously I was able to deliver!

I think it has been hard this year not having my mom here to be able to share the joy of bringing home James. I think of her often and know she would love James and get such a kick out of this little boy. And God continues to pour down His blessings and comfort. What an incredible joy to find out just recently from my dad that my mom had talked about wanting to adopt(a boy)! He said they talked about it, but never ended up going further. I could hardly contain myself when my dad shared this on the phone with me recently. I just cried-how amazing that this was my mom's heart as well and I never even knew it-but yes I guess it doesn't surprise me at all. I am so thankful that God would choose this time to have my dad share this with me, because it has been so comforting to me and just brings me such joy! Our kids have said they are going to adopt too-how cool is that!

1st Haircut with us!

I need a haircut mom-look what these girls are doing to me!
Yes it is time!

James thought this was worse than the doctor!

He sat on my lap and moved quite a bit as the buzzer tried to clip his hair!

That was not so bad!

Chinese New Year!

James and Aunt Cocoa (formerly Coo Coo but James has renamed her Cocoa -Coll is thrilled!)

James was so happy at the parade

His favorite was the dragon

James celebrating with some of his cousins

We went to Chinatown for Chinese New Year and went to the parade and went for a great lunch. James had a blast and the weather was actually great (heat wave at 25 degrees!)
It was great spending the afternoon with our family!

Yes folks that is an "A" and we have worked long and hard!
James insisted on carrying his shopping bag!

This is one dancing man! He has the moves!

Sad goodbyes

We said our goodbyes to my sister Lisa last week and she left for China. It was so great to have her here for Christmas and also spending time with her when we were in China. We probably won't see her again until spring. We went to meet Lisa and have dinner at the mall and Aunt Lisa got quite a greeting when James saw her. He ran up to her and gave her a big hug. He probably can't figure her out-she is in China she is here. We picked up a couple things for James at the mall and he insisted on carrying his shopping bag around it was so cute.

James slept in his own bed all night long for one night! Unfortunately it was only a night-but now when he comes in our room he has a place set up on the floor to sleep-we finally figured out none of us were getting much sleep with him in our bed. He seems quite happy with his little bed on the floor. Other news-James made his first "A"! I have been working with him on that since we arrived home and he isn't too fond of pen and paper, so I think it may be a long time on the alphabet, which is fine.

Other notes- James went to his first soccer game of the girls and enjoyed it. I think he'd rather be out there though. We went down in the basement and played some soccer kicking the ball around. James looked at my slippers and said "Sitong shoes" I think he thought I was kicking it harder with my slippers and he wanted to kick harder also. I went up and got his shoes and I think he still felt it wasn't as hard and far as he wanted. We had three balls down there and all of the sudden he started whipping the balls at me and it became a game of him bombarding me. I got a pretty huge laugh out of it! He felt he could have more power with throwing it. Maybe we will have another sport in the family besides soccer... bombardment, dodgeball, baseball, volleyball?

I think our computer is dying...I can't seem to upload any of my new photos. I have some good ones, so hopefully I can figure this out soon!

Christmas!

Sledding with Ali!

My real choo choo from grandma and grandpa-baba and I
just watched it go around and around!!

Ali, this Elmo guy is pretty cool!

I love my big wheel...I stayed in it all day and loaded my gifts in back!

My family says I am the absolute best gift of the year!

Baking cookies is so fun!