16
Jul

If Variety is the Spice of Life….

Then Hunan didn’t get the memo! Here it’s all spicy or it just ain’t from Hunan.

Love the food though. We craved the spicy green beans for the past two years. And now I can claim to have eaten goat. All those years teaching Indo-Canadians and I finally caved. Tasty! Especially with the spicy seasoning. Are you catching the theme?

It’s so super hot and humid, that we bought fans for our hotel rooms. It’s a bit like walking into a wall of humidity. I am loving the chance to do different. Last time was Lunar New Year and while others were layered in thick coats, I was in short sleeves.

Samuel is doing really, really well. He’s overwhelmed a bit by it all, but has held himself in check better than we expected. It’s a lot to sort out at five and a half years old.

Quote of the day comes from Samuel as we drove the expressway between Changsha to Yueyang City, “We in my China world?”

Yes, son. Here we are.

Tomorrow we make the drive to Yueyang County to visit Samuel’s hometown. We will be visiting the orphanage staff and his foster grandparents, and are really looking forward to getting to know them a bit better now the initial adoption meeting is behind us. They seem very genuine people that really adored Samuel.

Please pray for Samuel. We hope he receives the blessing that a big, messy, global family can bring him. And for us, that we can keep the respect and lines of communication open between us. It can only help him as he matures.

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15
Jul

People Watching

We are waiting for our flight from Beijing to Changsha. Thunderstorms have cancelled most flights in and out. Lots of time to sit and people watch. People are the same everywhere. Except for one family that has me thinking. They have a tween daughter and a toddler son. Two children. Special quota? Children missing in between? Infertility? Second marriage? Adoption? Careful birth control until fines raised? So many thoughts run through my mind. Different thoughts than I have in other countries airports. The land if my four youngest children’s births.

11
Jul

To China in a few days

After a long, long wait beginning in November 2012, we are finally a few days from flying to meet our Isaiah.

So much has happened over the past few months. I honestly have not struggled as much during the waiting period for any of the other children (and that includes our birth kids). I logically tell myself that it is the fact that approvals were coming in fast during the early days of our wait and I had gotten my hopes up, but in fact I think it was the uneasy quiet I felt in my relationship with God.

While I knew He was there and I was engaging with Him daily. It’s been many months since I truly could say that I had heard His voice.

Ironically, it was in the last few hours prior to hearing that our approval was to be granted that I finally knew He had spoken through His Word to me in a truly clear way. Or should I say, He’d spoken and I’d actually been aware of it, as the quiet isn’t indicative of His lack of relationship with me, rather it tells of my brain and heart clutter that had prevented my hearing Him.

The word He spoke was from Psalm 5:8.

Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make your way straight before me.

Make your way straight before me.

I had been struggling for Him to make MY way straight before me. Totally different angle there.

I am so thankful that a short time later He granted our approval from China to adopt Isaiah. But truly more so, I am thrilled that He made this clear to me before the approval was granted. This has become my heart prayer the past hours. I am holding to it. I can’t do this on my own.

Lord, make Your way straight before me.

23
May

What do you see?

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What do you see?

I see three children washing dishes.

I also see one of the children using step stool.

I see that it is not the child who measures in at 2 1/2 feet tall without his prosthetics.

LOVE it!

7
Apr

Peters v6.0

Announcing our newest blessing, Isaiah!

Isaiah

He is 19 months old and is from the same province as Samuel.

We are totally smitten and can’t wait to bring him home in the next couple months!

 

19
Feb

This is Love

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Do you see what I see?

I see Love!

Most people who know Stephen in his real life, see him as serious, regimented, disciplined and driven.  They’d be right.  In his professional life and in many of his personal hobbies and habits he is “Mr. Type A”.  And trust me, it’s served us all very well.

Chore Charts? Check.

Kids to appointments on time? Check.

3 Square meals a day? Check.

He likes life orderly and in line.

OH that is SO tough for this undisciplined girl!

But I’ve learned and he’s softened, and we’ve flexed back and forth and it works.

Watching him  take 25 minutes to pull out of our driveway with Garnet and Samuel this morning made me pause.

He didn’t just pick up Samuel and carry him outside.  Nope, he made him walk.

He didn’t just boost him into his car seat.  Nope, he waited for TEN minutes while Samuel figured out how to climb up into his car seat, turn around, not catch his prosthetic feet on the seat back in front of him, position himself just so, arrange his crutches, realize that his buckle was underneath himself, haul his bottom up and wiggle around his winter coat, position his crutches, feed his arms through the straps, and then proceeded to allow Samuel to buckle himself 1, 2, 3 times in order to get it just right.

You get the idea.

And he did it with patience, kindness and a smile.

That is LOVE!

 

15
Feb

Don’t see this too often anymore!

He fell asleep in the van.

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4
Feb

Happy Penny Day!

Samuel with his Pennies

 

Today, February 4th, 2013, was the final day of production for the Canadian Penny!

Take a look at what Metro News had to say in eulogy of our little treasure.

Samuel celebrated, as he does every day, by walking the length of our living room picking up pennies from one container and depositing them into another container.  This is Stephen’s genius invention to encourage longer and longer periods of walking in his prosthetics.

Just think of all the ways those little copper gems have been used in generations of parenting!

We’ll miss you little penny.  You’ve been a faithful friend!

8
Jan

l.o.v.e. my kids

Adorable Garnet story from pre-op (sorry if you already caught it on FB):

Garnet brought the stuffed monkey we bought for him while he was still in China to the OR with him. Monkey got a piggy back ride down the hall to the OR and then was clutched tightly as he drifted off to sleep. My little monkey…

Got home to sleep tonight (Steve is staying the night with Garnet) and the other kids had entertained Samuel all day, shovelled the mounds of snow, fed and cleaned up three meals, completed their assignments for school and tackled their chores. Totally impressed my socks off! Way to go guys!

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7
Jan

Garnet’s Bone Graft Surgery Eve

Here we are again.  Surgery time for Garnet.

He was scheduled for this one back in October but it was cancelled due to his catching a cold.

I’ve almost  hesitated to post anything at all about it for fear hope it would be cancelled yet again.

You see, I’m chicken.  

B-GAWWWWWK!

Yep.  I hate all of the poking and prodding and procedures that my kids have to go through.  But I think I may have mentioned that a time or two.  Let’s just say that I don’t go into these things lightly for any of them.

Oh my heart!

Tonight I’ll simply post some photos of him on his Bone Graft Surgery Eve.  They tell so much about Garnet right now.

Garnet the night before surgery

I think he’s adorable with his long shaggy hair and tired eyes.  Dad took him out late to get a “last supper” of McDonald’s before he is restricted to a soft diet for the next while.

Garnet happy with Dad's iPhone

Dad let him play with his iPhone too.  What’s not to love about being the patient?

Garnet's bag for the hospital

This is the one that made our hearts melt.

He packed his own bag for the hospital.

(Don’t worry, we tucked some clothes in another bag – but hey, who needs clean clothes, right?!)

Included in the bag was:

1. His stuffed monkey that we bought for him while we waited to travel to meet him.

2. His “Froggy” that James gave him.

3. His beloved hat that was passed down to him from his cousin Lane.

4. His Illusion-ology book about Magic.

5. His Pokemon guidebook.

6. His Outdoors guidebook that his Dad reads to him nightly when he is home.

And last, but not least…

7. Every possible electronic device he could get his hands on, including chargers and extra game cartridges.

That’s our Garnet in a nutshell!

He’s so delighted that he gets some time off school and smoothies for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

He’s obviously going to feel bit different tomorrow, but he’s a pretty upbeat guy and I know he’ll get through this  alright.  The one regret he has is the fact that he won’t be able to make those “oh so popular with the young boys” noises through the hole in his gum line anymore.

(Don’t tell him, but I might just miss that a little bit too!)

It’s all just so Garnet!