Christmas

Naomi saying "I certainly do not want to see the guy in the red suit".

Christmas Eve and Smores/Sally

The best part of this picture was the fun I had taking it. This was probably the 6th one and my 3 mth. old grandson Ayden is missing. I love it. And then Smores/Sally was a great hit this morning and I cannot wait to see the faces of my grandchildren. She is greatly loved. Marissa wants to call her Sally. I think it's a good name for a pony.

Christmas Blessings

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Be sure to mute my music at the bottom before clicking to see the Smilebox. ENJOY!

Mom's Letter to Santa

I found this letter to Santa and thought to share
it with you guys. Hilarious! Enjoy!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed,
cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the
doctor's office more than my own doctor and sold
sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a
shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could
spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to
write this letter with my daughter's red crayon, on the
back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and
who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next
18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache
(in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms
that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong
enough to pull my screaming child out of
the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere
in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year
I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that
only plays adult music, a television that
doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking
animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind
the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll
that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental
confidence,along with two kids who don't fight and
three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without
the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks
chanting 'Don't eat in the living room' and
'Take your hands off your sister,' because my voice
seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can
only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products,
I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my
hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food
warmer than room temperature without it being served in a
Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few
Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it
be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will
clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you
could coerce my children to help around the house without
demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized
crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my
daughter saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think
she wants her crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to
leave your wet boots by the door and come in
and dry off so you don't catch a cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat
too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM

IT'S SNOWING !!!!

We woke up this morning to snow flurries and now a winter wonderland. The girls are so excited and run to the window every few minutes and exclaim LOOK! Naomi knows something special is going up and gets excited too. Can you believe snow down here in the deep south.

I'M A FURNITURE CLIMBING.........

Christmas tree rearranging, banana eating, crib sleeping (YEAH), sister watching, book reading, crumb snatching, uh-oh! and more saying, daddy loving, computer using (trying to YIKES!),toilet water playing (ugh) ,adored by everyone, very busy little girl.

THANKSGIVING

We had a houseful and it was wonderful. Naomi had her first taste of turkey and dressing. She loved the cranberry sauce and potatoes. She has been making herself at home and is interested in every nook and cranny of this house. Here she found the toilet paper. Her cup runneth over. LOL

IT'S A THREE RING CIRCUS

People ask how Naomi is adjusting in our family and I'd have to say it's now a three ring circus. Funny how adding just one more can change the dynamics of a group. Naomi spends a lot of time watching us deal with Marissa who has quite a mind of her own. Observations: Naomi now can count to two while pointing her finger . She's learning the 1-2-3 approach we use to modify Marissa's behavior. Naomi starts fussing in the same tone I use while redirecting and restating my expectation for Marissa. hmmmm.....I'll have to work on that one. Mia on the other hand will have a career in law enforcement. Mia likes order and has a do it myself thing going on right now. She is even trying to use the 1-2-3 approach on Marissa. hmmmm.....I'll have to work on that one too. Naomi has learned where all the appliance manuels are and can even start the dishwasher with her pointy finger. We are ALL learning to shut the bathroom doors after Na-Na discovered with great delight the water in the toilet bowl. UGH!!!! I'm telling you the joy she had on her face the day she found out there is water in there.... We are loving it.

GOOD NEWS

We are praising God for our good report at Children's Hospital on wednesday. We were told Naomi has 4 bones in her foot , even though only 3 toes and that her foot is stable and a strong leg bone with no weak areas. The bowing of her tibia may straighten out as she grows we were also told and most of her leg legnth difference is because of the bowing. We were not able to see her ankle bones well and will go back in 3 months for extensive xrays for that and to see how she progresses. She will be fitted with an AFO that slips into a shoe that will be built up . We are very excited to see that she will be walking in a few months and that her bones are good and strong. The doctor also said there were no other abnormalities in the pelvic region or her knees and there is growth plates at the base of the knee of her short leg.

Last night I was thanking God for every good thing about her leg and foot. She wants to walk so bad and can cruise about the furniture. She does try to stand independently but cannot get her balance yet. But, with the AFO she will be on her way . Praise God. She is such a darling child and her need so incredibly manageable.

FREEDOM

This video is excellent and is widely watched on YouTube right now. It takes less than 2 minutes. Remember to turn off my music so you can hear.

Our New Baby

It's what Marissa has been calling her lately. So cute! I hear "our new baby is ....." all day long. The girls just adore her and can't wait for her to wake up and play. Marissa now being the middle child is really leaving behind some of her baby ways and is enjoying being a big girl. Surprisingly they are able to play side by side even though there is clearly 3 years difference in their ages. It is a great match. Somedays when I look at Naomi I can hardly believe she is the same little person as the face on my blog , that I looked at a hundred times just waiting till we could travel to her. In my mind I thought somehow we would be denied on some flimsy explanation. But, she is real and she is here. We are so blessed and she is our joy.

My Beautiful Girls

DH casually says to me last Sat. evening during church after he made a trip back home for some clean clothes because someone had an accident, "I had a thought" . Hmm...I said "What" "Maybe you ought to start the paperwork for the next one...." Hmm.. I said "I think our I171h is still good".....Hmm....NOT!!!! I know to quit when I'm ahead. But, seriously that is his heart. He would have a houseful if we thought we could live through it.

Home update

Naomi is settling into her new home and loving it. At first I think she felt lost at times because our home is so much larger than she is accustomed to at the orphanage and especially than our hotel room. Of course I am busy cleaning and cooking and generally running around the house trying to get all things done. Sometimes she sees me flying by trying to accomplish wash or whatever and holds out her hands. I guess I could put her in the baby carrier and carry her with me , but she really likes being on the floor playing or exploring something. So for now I pick her up and TRY doing it onehanded. Sometimes it works, sometimes not..... I end up flying around the house while she is sleeping or intently playing. It's working fine and she fits in soooo well here. We are loving her and her sweet, calm nature. I can put her in her high chair with cheerios and she is fine. She went to our church last night for her first service and you should have heard all the oohs and awws. She loves people and of course will go to anyone having just come from the orphanage but she looks at me and wants back in my arms. (By the way , we are allowing others to hold her this week , but will actively practice attachment parenting by not encouraging this practice .) She is our first orphanage baby having 2 others in foster care and that was an entirely different experience. She is such a joy to us and we are so blessed .

We're Home

Home never looked so good Sat night at about midnight. With 4 flights and a 1 hr. car ride home I think Naomi thought she would live the rest of her life in some kind of contraption. Honestly though she did very well on the 12 hr. flight home with our bulkhead seats (which at first I absolutely did not want) . She had room to get on the floor by my feet, but did not fit in the bassinet provided. Eating was a challenge but then the meals were not really fit to eat in any case. She has been such a joy and such an easy baby to care for , happy most of the time and easily consoled. Does she know I am her mom? Maybe just the best nanny she has ever had. She is not completly mobile but scoots along very well and yesterday stood up independently in the yard while Grant and the girls were playing "soccer" . She loves the girls and they just adore her , helping me and protecting her whenever they can. She fits just perfectly into our family. I just cannot believe how blessed we are. Thank you LORD!!

Pictures to follow this post.

More China Pictures

More China Pictures

The top photo is a picture of Inga and me and Naomi inside the meeting room of the orphanage. On our tour of the orphanage we were led into a very large meeting room with quite a few very large arm chairs and this beautiful chinese screen. Inga came with her mom and dad to help bring her little sister Elisa home.

Guangzhou and Red Sofa Group Picture

Sorry to leave everyone hanging like this but Naomi has proved to be a velcro baby after all so I'll update from our travel day to Guangzhou. Sat. morning we flew out of Nanjing and into Guangzhou and the edges of a typhoon. The White Swan Hotel is situated on the Pearl River which overflowed it's banks and flooded several blocks one of which we had to wade in our walk to our Medical Examination. The water receeded quickly and even though several business flooded they were open promptly the next day. These pictures were across the street from our hotel.

More Cute Pictures

Naomi gains stregnth everyday in her legs and pulled to a standing position today. We don't know if she was doing this in the orphanage but we have no pictures of it and she would not the first few days. She is a delightful child and we are enjoying her so much. We feel very blessed.

Happy Baby

Naomi is becoming more relaxed and playful. She is a happy baby today.

Orphanage Visit

We took the 3 hour ride to Wuxi Orphanage to see where Naomi has been for her entire life. The grounds were breathtakingly beautiful. Large trees and manicured gardens. The classrooms for the preschoolers were very bright with wooden tables and lots of crafts the children had done. We then went up the stairs to the nursery where Naomi had slept and the room she played in. It was such an emotion time for her to see her nannies again and the familiar nursery and I could see she was very confused. But, just the same I think good for her to see us interact with her caregivers and she saw that they approve of us. It seems the girls were more relaxed and settled on the bus ride back to the hotel. We also passed by our girl's finding spots and were able to take pictures. We then stopped briefly at a market and purchased a few gifts to be able to present to the girls from their home town.