Brothers

We always tell our children that the greatest gift we can ever give them is each other. No one else will ever be able to understand what it was like to endure the trials and joys of having been raised by Jerry and I. Their siblings will be there to support them in times and in ways that we cannot. The gift of family is a treasure even if it sometimes just looks like an ordinary earthen vessel.
Simon and Jed couldn't be more opposite. Jed is smiley and outgoing and full of enthusiasm. He is the best at wii boxing. Even Everett can't beat him. Simon is shy and reserved and studies things carefully. He sometimes slips off in the evening and goes to bed while everyone else is still playing. When he saw how much turkey I put on his plate at dinner, he smiled as if he was opening a birthday surprise.
They seem wonderfully happy here. I believe one reason is that they have each other. I confess, I worried about bringing home two 'older boys'. Those worries seem pretty silly from this end. There is Alot of Chinese being spoken around here, since Dominic and Rosie recovered their mother tongue, and I do worry that I cannot be in control of what is being said. I heard of a mom who told her kids they couldn't speak Chinese anymore because they were obviously making fun of their siblings and all things American. I totally understand that. However, I would much prefer for them to be bilingual, even if it takes a little longer for them to acquire English. Even though the Chinese are all learning English as fast as they can, I am pretty sure that speaking Chinese will still be useful when the kids are older.

Here is the Jedi that Everett drew for Ric's Star Wars birthday party. We played 'pin the light saber on the jedi' with blindfolds. ......I am hoping that Ric's parents will start letting him spend more time with our family (he was here for a month over Christmas break but went home last week) since now we will be able to offer them a 'Chinese immersion program'. How strange is that?

Thoughts after a week at HOME

Gee, but it's great to be back home......Home is where I wanna be.....I've been on the road so long, my .........uh, okay,sorry, no one wants to hear me sing.........But all that is true. The kids are all doing great and spend most of their time having Alot of fun. Although, we never heard Rosie and Dominic speak a word of Chinese to each other, they both can speak to Simon and Jed. When we brought R and D home, alot of the responsibility to 'show them the ropes' fell on Nellie's shoulders. This week, we have been delighted at the way Rosie has stepped up as the big sister and Chinese interpreter, to help Simon and Jed.

The best news of the week came while the kids were watching the new Superbook cartoon about Daniel. Rosie told me that Simon 'knows Jesus'. I wasn't totally surprised because he had seemed so happy at church, but I was totally surprised that he and Rosie talked about it. (I am beginning to think that quiet little Rosie might be more of a FORCE than I had previously realized - just like Katrina, a Type A anomaly in this otherwise laid back family).

I have completed 29 plane flights since God first sent us to China in 2006. Even the Xanax only took me from 'terrified' to 'nervously keeping an eye on the stewardesses'. If bravery really isn't 'the absence of fear' but rather 'doing what you have to do even though you are afraid', then God must be working on making me brave. But like patience, that isn't really a character quality I had been seeking :/ . I would be okay with never needing to be brave again.

Every time we have done an adoption, and more particularily, every time we have gone to China, we thought it was our last time. This time I am not making any predictions, although I have a lovely sense of being Finished at this moment. During the adoption process, the missing children are never far from your mind and heart. You think you can imagine what it will be like to have them there , but it is never the same as you imagine. Knowing that older children can have a hard time adjusting, there is always a nagging fear that this effort to make life better for two kids might totally ruin the lives of the ones already home. The children at home have each been praying for Simon and Jed every night for over a year. I believe those prayers prepared Nellie, Rosie, Dominic and Andy's hearts to be able to welcome them home with joy rather than jealousy. And at the moment, joy is here in abundance.

Partly because of jet lag, I feel like we haven't had much individual time with any of the kids this week, so it was nice that I had the chance to make a trip to Chapel Hill (a five hour drive) for Andy's doctor apppointments, with just Andy and Jed. We stayed in a hotel and shopped and ate at a few special places, which included Jed's first trip to McDonald's, complete with Happy Meal. Simon still has that in his future. One of Andy's doctors asked Jed in Chinese if he missed China and he, very clearly, told her that he Did Not.

Some time this week we will start school. Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe not.

Lifeline Group

Some of the lovely people we met on this trip - All of them ordinary people, just like us, who were led to this unlikely place at this appointed time.
Catherine

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The Last Day in China

It was so much fun to watch Simon and Jed's reactions to the animals at the zoo today ! They chattered and pointed and made it obvious that they had never been to one before. It was finally relatively warm so a perfect day to stroll through, but cool enough that the animals were all very active. No one here seems to be worried about providing a natural environment for the animals , so they have no place to hide from the visitors, and can be seen much more closely than in any American zoos I have visited.

This afternoon we are packing. We will meet tonight with our group for pictures and put our baggage out for the porters at 6AM. We have a short first flight - about 2 hours- to Shanghai and then a 15 hour flight to Atlanta. We will be traveling for 25 hours, but because of the time change, will arrive only 13 hours after we leave. That boggles my mind. I think that means we get on the plane when you are having dinner Tuesday night and arrive Wednesday night. But for us it will be like leaving Wednesday morning and arriving in Atlanta Wednesday night, but living a 25 hour day in 12 hours.

The boys are ready. In fact, they have been in waiting mode, passing the time watching movies, for days now. We are so thankful for the prayers, encouragement, and support from everyone during this whole process, but especially during this trip. It has been a truly wonderful time for all of us. We have made new friends and met people we only knew in cyberspace. We have had more adventure than I thought my fearful heart was capable. I really, really hope that we get to support MANY of you when you make the decision to embark on a similar adventure!

Catherine

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Photo Fatique

We have two boys who are Really tired of posing for pictures!  We went to the White Swan (the hotel we stayed in when we adopted Andy) today to do some shopping and take the traditional 'Red Couch Adoption Photo" - you can see the results, the third photo is in our hotel, on our way out to 7/11 to pick up lunch. The timing for this, is actually pretty good, since, not only
are we leaving soon, but as you might notice from the black spot at the bottom of the pictures, my camera is dying.
   
We left early this morning and had what we thought was a successful morning at the consulate, but just got a call saying that one of us has to go early tomorrow morning again, as a date was left off some paper we signed. I nominated Jerry, since I am allergic to early mornings.  When he returns we will go with our group to the zoo and then come back to pack.  It will be so worth facing the mountain of laundry at home to get to see everyone again!
  
Tonight we are having a 'Room Service and Star Wars' family night to introduce the boys to SW in preparation for Ric's birthday party..
  
Another God thing - when I was buying backpacks, clothes, toys, to bring to the boys, whenever possible I bought Simons in red and Jed's in blue. When we got the boys and the guide asked them their favorite colors, Simon said red and Jed said blue. Smile.  It's always good to remember God's hand of direction when things get hard, as of course, in a fallen world, they will.   

Catherine________________________________________________________________
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Happy Birthday Camila and Ric !

This morning our group was taken to shop at two large indoor market/malls. Each were 5 stories tall, one totally devoted to jewelry, primarily jade and pearls. Mothers adopting baby girls like to buy pearls to give on their daughters 16th birthday or their wedding day. Not my cup of tea (not that I
don't like jewlery, but gold and valueable gems are my preference). I still needed some clothes for the boys so we left the buildings and mingled with the hoards of people in surrounding neighborhoods, looking for a bargain (TOTALLY my cup of tea). I found the longsleeved tshirts I have been looking for and matching angry bird sweatshirts, so the boys will get a change of clothes tomorrow. I hate that most of their pictures on this trip are in boring green jackets!

Speaking of tomorrow - it is our day to go to the American consulate to raise our right hands and swear that we will be good parents to these boys. No pictures allowed, even of the outside of the building. At that point the official business will be done (except for a small glitch with Jed's paperwork form his province, which will be taken care of in the afternoon).

Tonight we ate dinner on a riverboat cruise of the Pearl River. We don't have any pictures of Simon looking at the camera because he was working on eating 12 chicken feet. EWW !

THanks to those who are praying - the hard greiving baby seems to be doing a bit better and her parents got a decent nights sleep so they are doing better, too! I know they would still love your prayers though, she still isn't eating much.

Please wish Camila and Ric Happy Birthday today!!!

Love, from China, Catherine ________________________________________________________________
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Badmitton

This morning we went for the boys TB checks. Both were fine but our friends had a little scare when their daughters showed a reaction and necessitated an xray. After a few anxious moments, and her xray came back clear, happy tears were shed all around. (The USA does not allow non citizens with suspected TB to enter the country until they have completed many weeks of treatment and our children are not citizens until they step onto American soil. It is a classic Catch 22. Had her xray not been clear she would have had to remain in China, but since in Chinas eyes the adoption is final, she could not be taken back to the orphanage.)

While we shopped a little on the Island we saw some people playing badmitton (a fairly common sight) and decided to buy the boys a set. Jed lost the first shuttlecock up on a roof so Jerry took over his position and Simon got good at the game pretty quickly. A Chinese couple walked by and the man challeged Jerry to a few rounds, so he got to sweat a little today.

This afternoon I worked on Consulate paperwork (it is never ending!) and tonight we went to a Mongolian restaurant with our group. Today we added a single mom who traveled alone with her 7 year old to pick up her almost three year old. She will return home going west through Thailand and Gemany so will have traveled all the way around the world in two weeks, alone with
children. Yikes! She could probably use your prayers, as could another couple in our group who are first time parents and whose baby daughter is greiving hard and not even wanting to eat.

We highly recommend adopting 10/11 year olds !! They are a TON of fun!

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