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Costume Fun

The kiddos had a fun Halloween yesterday.  Li Li was scared of a few masks until she realized candy was involved and perked up.  Both kids had a sugar high by the time the night was over.

Our Happy Stinkbug

Little Ladybug

With Grammi

Keith was gone Friday night on a retreat and I had to manage the kiddos by myself.  It was the worst night yet getting them down.  It took almost 2 hours to get them both down.  Usually Li Li will fall asleep within a few minutes while holding my hand, but with Koen being obnoxious across the room, she wasn’t falling asleep.  I couldn’t do much about him because if I got up from next to her, she would cry, and I kept thinking she was on the verge of falling asleep.  Finally she fell asleep after I made Koen sit in the hallway.  He came back in and I was finally able to leave the room.  However, she woke up again 45 minutes later and then was wide awake for an hour around 3 am!!!  Torture.

So, we started a new routine.  We’re getting both kids ready for bed and then putting Koen in our room for book time.  We leave him there for a few minutes while we both give Li Li her bottle (eventually we hope that  just I can do this).  Then Keith brushes Li Li’s teeth and puts her down for a few minutes while I read to Koen.  We switch places and I hope Li Li’s hand until she falls asleep (about 10 minutes so far).  Then I get Koen and put him down after getting some good snuggle time with him.  Both kids are going down happily this way.  We’ve also essentially dropped Koen’s nap and made it into a quiet time, but he managed to fall asleep in QT today anyway.

Heaven is the Face

If you need a good cry, listen to Steven Curtis Chapman’s new song: Heaven is the Face

Our Little Citizen

We received Li Li’s U.S. Certificate of Citizenship.  It looks so official!  It’s so fun to see our daughter’s name on an official American paper now.  Everything else has been in Chinese!  I am proud that she is an American, and it didn’t really hit me until I saw the certificate.  How cool is it that this little girl abandoned in a communist China is going to grow up in a free country with parents that love her?!  The Lord has plans for this little girl!

Li Li is continuing to show us more of her dark side.  She’s been testing us a lot, as has Koen, so I’m pretty exhausted and ready for them to be asleep at the end of the day.  But, even then relief is slow to come.  Now that they’re in the same room, it seems to take a lot longer for them to fall asleep.  The rules are no talking (Li Li doesn’t understand that one), and stay in your bed (Li Li is stuck in the crib anyway.)  Koen hasn’t been following these rules and is often upset at bed time, saying he’s not tired….. so he cries, then she cries…… Last night it took 2 hours.  Hopefully tonight will be better.

We had a scary moment with Li Li last night at bottle time.  Keith passed her to me as I sat to give her the bottle and he got up to go to the bathroom or something.  She usually cries, but this time she screamed and then heald her breath (like she does sometimes in a tantrum before the real hard crying begins.)  She was pushing away from me and obviously didn’t want me to hold her.  But, what scared us is that she continued to not breathe for much longer than usual.  I have joked before that maybe she will be a snychronized swimmer like her Mama because she can hold her breath for so long, but this time was too long.  As the seconds passed we wondered if she was choking and started to hit her back….. Keith got her up and turned the light on and realized she was really blue!  Just then she threw her head back, went limp and started to breath.  Within a few seconds she was totally calm – like she didn’t even know what had happened.  She had done this with me the other day and I wondered if she was actually about to pass out, but experiencing again confirmed it.

Any of you adoptive parents experienced this before?  It seems really extreme!

On a happier note, we’ve been carving pumpkins – way more than we’d planned.  Here’s the finished product:

Can you guess who's who?

Li Li will of course be a little ladybug (Chinese adoption symbol) for Halloween this year, and Koen a stink bug (which he is a little too proud of!).

They are actually both smiling!

Our community group's Halloween Party. Li Li and Koen are in the middle on the couch. From L to R, back row: doctor, 2 skeleton ballerinas, ladybug, stink bug, a fireman not in uniform, a fireman in uniform, a giraffe not in uniform. Front row: owl, ladybug, tulip. So cute!

We got to spend some time with another True Children’s Home Alumni last night – Li Li’s little friend “Mei Mei.”  Li Li is one year younger and came home one year later, so this family has been a great support to us as they have experienced much of what we’re going through.  We hope these two can grow up together.

Two Little Ladybugs! Mei Mei and Li Li

New words for today: “Apple” and “Wa han” for wash hands.  I counted up all her English words and she’s at 20 today!

Pray for me this weekend.  Keith will be gone much of it for a Crusade retreat.  I’m not sure how I’ll survive.

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A Snuggle

I got to snuggle Li Li today after her nap.  She was crying and I went and scooped her up and sat with her in the rocking chair.  She got quiet and I looked down and she was asleep again!  This was the first time I’ve gotten to hold her while she sleeps since her first night with us when she was totally exhausted.

Li Li and I had a good week.  There were a few times late in the week where she seemed to even prefer me over Keith.  But, yesterday and today she’s been more clingy with him and threw a tantrum when I held her while we all went for a walk together.  She wanted Papa to carry her and was mad I wouldn’t put her down.  I’m not sure if forcing her to stay with me is what is best or not, but I’m more stubborn than she is and I’ll win the battle.

Friends from our China travel group had us over for dinner last night.  It was great to see them and talk about how our little girls are doing.  Koen particularly enjoyed seeing his little friend again.  Seeing his friends from China has made him talk a lot more about his trip.  It’s sweet to hear what he remembers.  Today he was asking if Li Li cried while she waited for us to come to China.  Thankfully, we know she was well cared for and happy where she was.  He still remembers how long we waited, and so do I!

Donation Drive Delivery

A couple weeks ago we donated the remaining $426 that people gave to Love Without Boundaries so they could purchase needed items for the Huazhou Social Welfare Institute (SWI) that cared for Ai Li at the beginning of her life.  I received a note today that these items were purchased and are being shipped:

• 4 PT therapy balls
• 2 cases of shape-sorting toys
• 2 sets of car racing themed coordination toys (where the child moves the cars along a track)
• 6 fine/gross motor coordination activity tables
• 6 musical activity boards (where the children have to hit the boards to make music- good for strength and coordination)
• 4 pairs of shaking toys/hammers
• 4 rocking horses (for childrens’ balance)
• 2 sets of size-sorting ring toys
• 1 large wooden abacus (for fine motor coordination)
• 6 sets of puzzles and 6 beading sets (both for fine motor coordination)

Thank you so much for helping these orphans!  I know these toys and items will a huge help to the children who may never be adopted.  I learned recently that of the 90 children currently in care at Huazhou SWI, 60 are special needs and will not be put up for adoption!  These items were bought at the SWI’s request with these SN kiddos in mind.

3 and a Half

My sweet boy turned 3 and a half today.  We decided to celebrate since a lot of our attention has been going to his sister and he’s become such a good big brother.  He woke up quite excited that it was his “birthday.”  We kept correcting him, fearing his expectations were a bit too high to live up to.  All he really wanted he got anyway: a cake.  He actually got a half cake for his half birthday.  He enjoyed it for lunch and then woke up from nap with a fever.  I should have known something was wrong when he asked for a snuggle!  The Tylenol helped and he was happy again by evening.

Koen loved his half cake!

Li Li loved it too. Her first American cake eating experience (probably sweeter than Chinese cake, but not sure).

Praises

Last night I actually got to journal again.  Since Li Li is out of our room at night, I can resume some of my nightly habits (I could have before, but didn’t manage to….).  I sat down to journal and saw that my last entry was 9/9 – a few days before leaving for China.  In it I asked the Lord for peace amidst the stress of preparing and going to China.

A lot has changed since then, and I want to praise the Lord here for all the prayers He has answered:

• He gave us our daughter!
• He brought us through the wait
• He took us safely to China and back
• He kept us healthy
• He provided funding for our adoption
• He allowed all the adoption processing to happen smoothly
• He softened Li Li’s heart toward me
• He has blessed us with supportive friends and family as we transition

The list could go on.  A few months ago I was often is despair, pleading with the Lord to bring our daughter home.  Now she is here.

Lord, I praise You for bringing hearing our prayers and for answering.  I praise You for going ahead of us and preparing the way, for blessing our path and for giving us our daughter.  I praise You for providing for our needs and for always being faithful.  Thank you for helping Li Li love and accept us as her new family.  We trust You to continue to help her attach to us, and to give us wisdom as we raise her.