Opa's Birthday and Ocean City Board Walk

New Jersey AUG 2007

We visit New Jersey AUG 2007

We arrived in New Jersey Aug 10th. We were planning to travel the end of Aug. but with Mikes work schedule and puppy's, yes more puppies due the end of Aug we decided to pack up in 2 days and head for the States. Opa and Oma picked us up at the airport and we stayed at Mema's over night. It is always so great to visit family. We then spent the next day at my sister's and the boys played with their cousins Hannah,Kendall and Macquire. The last time we visited was in April, so we could see a big difference in Macquire, who will be turning 1 soon. The boys went on the huge blow up slide in the backyard. Then we headed for the lake and hung out there the rest of the day. The boys love the water and Gracie loved it too. Grace is still a little jet lagged, so we are hoping she will get on a schedule here quickly. We are spending the night at Opa and Oma's and planning to go to the beach a bunch. We are looking forward to a great week.

Gracie

IT's AUGUST !!!

July has flown by and it's August already. I spent much of July preparing for the new school year ordering books, curriculum and trying to figure out how to homeschool four boys with a new toddler. We are still schooling through the summer, although a much lighter schedule than in the fall. The boys have been reading a lot and Hadyn and Eamon are working on writing proficiently; it's been funny how their assignments always reflect our daily life. This week they wrote on a charcter whose cat somehow was tar and feathered. The names were Ms DVD for Eamon and Ms Fish Oil for Hadyn. On my schedule of things to do this week was transfer my DVD's to disks and to buy flavored fish oil for Grace. I guess they really are listening when I talk. Grace is repeating everything we say. The boys keep teaching her crazy things, which she loves. Curran has her saying "bally ole chap, wot wot" in a British accent. I like to get on the computer and check e-mails with a cup of tea I tell Grace," Go get your computer", which is a leap pad with pen connected to draw letters on. She always goes running to get it. She quickly comes over and climbs up on the big stool, sits up with me and we both drink tea and use our computers. What fun!!!! Grace plays well most of the time by herself, but has started holding on to my pants and pulling me to where she wants me to go. It's usually over to her large pile of books Goodnight Moon , The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and The Very Busy Spider are her favorites, so we sit down to read. In the afternoon Grace goes out with the boys to play, but I had to bring her in with me this week, as they have big ramps going into the woods and are taking all kinds of wheeled carts and skateboards down the big hill and off the ramps. I can't watch, so I go inside expecting to hear I need to call for an ambulance. So far it's been all fun with only minor injuries.

Family Pictures

My Birthday!!

July 23, 2007

For my birthday this year we were planning to go to the lake and just hang out. Mike had taken off work early, but it poured rain all day long, so we put plan B into effect. Take the boys to the indoor go-karts!!! Gracie and I filmed while the boys, Mike included, raced around the track. By the end they had figured out how to skid around the turns to prevent slowing down. It was all about speed. We then went out for pizza and back to the house for presents and icecream. The boys all thought I had a pretty fun birthday. They want to go sky diving for my next one!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYLAN

Rylan's Birthday

I can't believe I have a 15 year old!! Where did all the time go? As a mother, birthdays are always something of mixed emotions. It is so wonderful to reflect on all the amazing ways God has grown each child and the grace he has shown me despite all my failures. We rejoice at the wonderful young man Rylan is becoming and I am sad that our time with him in our home is getting shorter. We usually pull out the home movies and laugh at all the craziness when the boys were little. This is always a hoot and the boys love it. We are trying to take video of Grace as much as we can, especially since we have lost those first 16 months of her life. She is talking more and more each week and she seems to be more relaxed with all of us. When we look back at her improvement is remarkable how far she has come. She is such an amazing blessing to all of us and it has been so neat to see the boys protect,love and care for her. Grace truly loves them and she is all smiles when she wakes in the morning and is greeted by 4 enthusiastic boys saying good morning Grace in all kinds of cutesy voices.

EVEN MORE SWITZERLAND

MORE SWITZERLAND

Switzerland

Switzerland JUNE 16-18

We left for Switzerland early for the annual Trinity Reformed Church retreat. We had 3 days before everyone from the church arrived, so we spent some family time hiking and enjoying God's magnificent creation. Switzerland is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth. On Saturday we traveled down to Geneva to tour the Reformation Museum and take in the rich history of the city. So many great men of the faith preached in Geneva despite all the corruption and persecution. The boys had a great time walking through the reformation museum and listening to the audio guide. There was a beautiful park where we sat and ate on the grass and the boys played chess with large pieces. Grace just ran around and was happy to be out of the car after traveling the entire day before. Little does she know we have a 2 hour drive back to the bible school tonight!!!

We got up on Sunday and went to an English speaking church in Beatenburg where the guy bashed the reformers and held the Annabaptist in high esteem. Needless to say we had a lot of discussions at lunch with the boys. It was timely, especially after just visiting the reformation museum and having long talks on how great and faithful these men of the reformation were. We then hiked up the alps and the boys wanted to hike up the boulder field so of course we did. It was a wonderful hike and the scenery is amazing. We are so thankful to be able to spend family time together.

We got up early Monday and went to the cave of St. Beatus. The legend has it that Beatus a monk who lived in the cave slayed a fierce dragon. The cave had lots of rushing water and it was a great hike.

WEEKENDS

A typical day at our house

What does a typical day at our house look like. Well it all depends what day your talking about they are all usually a little diffrent with something unexpected always thrown in. We are up by 8 and sometimes I let Grace sleep in. She has actually slept till after 10am some mornings. Once she is up and dressed her breakfast is prepared either oatmeal or eggs and bacon. Then it's all play till around 1. The boys work on school work and I try to keep Grace out of the shower. She likes to climb in and out or she also like to crawl into the dogs cage and sit in there. When she gets tired of that we usually go out to the sand box or swing which she thinks is great fun. I take a boy or 2 with me and we work on school outside while she plays. I'll be explaining something to the boys and say something like you add it and she chimes in addit!!! Then we just laugh. After lunch and a nap she is ready for more activity. The trampoline is still a hoot for her. She can sit still and we have lots of book reading everyday. Her favorite right now is Goodnight Moon. Today I went out to put something in the trash can by the car port and there is a baby bird just sitting there. We have a nest in the rafter of the car port and the little thing fell out. I know this bird doesn't stand a chance with 2 dogs and a cat living here so I put it in a clear Tupperware storage box as the mother swoops down at me frantically squawking. The nest is way to high to put it back in. I tell Eamon we'll wait till Dad gets home he'll know what to do. When Dad gets home we clear out the car port and drive the van in. The van has never been able to fit under our carport with bikes toys etc. Mike climbs up on the van followed by Eamon and one baby bird. Eamon is now up on Dads shoulders and puts the bird back with the other 2. Wow Dad and Eamon save the day and the mother bird was very thankful. Grace was also very thankful that her playmate Daddy was home. He is the only one who can get her to really laugh out loud when he tickles her. After dinner she takes a bath which she really likes and then book time and a bottle. She has a real love affair going with that bottle, just the name of it gets her all happy. I am so glad she will take the bottle so we can get some real cuddle time in and work on her giving us more eye contact. She is improving more and more each day and is such a joy to us all.

Our Day

Bike riding

Grace went on her first bike ride with our family. She thought it was great fun just putting on the helmet. We ride a lot in the summers to the Bike Inn an outdoor restaurant that is right on the bike path. They have some farm animals and a sled that takes you down a hill on rollers. We usually go at nights for ice cream and sometimes there are a bunch of kids for our boys to play soccer with. The summers are so great here and we are really enjoying the warm weather. Grace loves being outside and one of her favorite things to do is jump on the trampoline. She actually doesn't jump just runs and falls down,but to her it is great fun. I am sitting outside typing right now and Grace is joyfully singing as she pushes her stroller around the yard. The stroller is definitely her favorite toy. I can't get her to put her baby dolls in it yet, but she manages to put just about everything else in her stroller.
Grace did better with greeting everyone at church this week and I think she wasn't as overwhelmed by all the people. She sat in her stroller at church again and did great and fell asleep about halfway through the service. She is slowly letting us hold her more and loves to point at everything for a full explanation of what it is. It will be such a joyful day when she is truly able to freely give us love. We continue to pray for Gods guidance and wisdom in training our children we know we are so inadequate for this task, but God's great mercy and grace continue to amaze us.

Grace's first bike ride

Birthdays,Anniversaries and Performances

Mike and I have been married 18 years today WOW!! Where has all the time gone? We have shared so much of our lives with each other and have so many special memories. Each year I look back at where God has been working in our lives to refine us as a couple and am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband to lead our family. Today was an unusually busy Sunday we all went to church then back to our house to celebrate Bekah's 2nd birthday. Sandy made a wonderful icecream cake and the frosting looked spectacular. Brent must of worked hours to get the icing design just right. It was really yummy!!! The kids had a great time playing in the warm sunshine. We were just hanging out enjoying the celebration when we had to wrap it up and head to Eamons gymnastic show. He did fabulous and we got super pictures of his performance. Of course Grace couldn't be left out so we got some shots of her doing her first headstand. We had Rob Margaret and cousins back for dinner and cake. It was another great Sunday full of worship, great food, friends and fellowship.

May 20, 2007

The Sign of the Covenant

Having spent my entire Christian life in credo-baptist churches, I never had an understanding of the covenant - who is "in" the covenant, how you get "into" it, what it brings with it and what the responsibilities are of those God has made covenant with. I understand the sign of the covenant to be baptism and as such have applied that sign and seal to our children - this day we celebrated Grace's receiving of the same. Will this baptism alone save her - no; is it a means of effectual grace to be applied to the elect - yes. God added to our number and we obediently responded in faith by promising publicly in the sacrament of baptism to pray with and for her and to raise Grace in a home that provides Christian nurture.
Does Grace believe that a table is really a table? Yes. Why? Because I told her. In the same way, she can know that Christ died on the cross for her sins at a very early age. While faith remains a supernatural gift, God can use Christian parents as human agents to frequently communicate this gift as they fulfil their covenant obligations. I expect that Grace's understanding of her savior will continue to develop, mature and be personally embraced as she grows in stature (and wisdom)!
Praise be to God.

Grace is baptized on Mother's Day

Finally home!!!!

Living out of a suitcase for more than 6 weeks is way too long. We have been back in Germany 2 weeks and are finally over jet lag. Grace is doing wonderful and is a real trooper when it comes to traveling. She loves our boys and I think it was a huge relief for her when she realized she wasn't just stuck with Mike and I. She is such a blessing to all of us and a great joy. She imitates everything we do and say and is really a super easy little girl. We are still working on her giving us love and hugs, but we know that will come with time. We are so thankful for Gods abundant blessings in our lives and this precious child he has given to us.

Our Time IN New Jersey

New Jersey

We had a great time visiting everyone in New Jersey. We took Grace to the zoo; she loved the stroller ride, but wasn't that interested in the animals. She really enjoys following her brothers around and she is really trying to talk. She says about 10 English words now. Grace is beginning to realize if you eat enough finger foods it fills you up. Her favorite food right now is french fries, but we try not to give her too many. She also eats egg yolks,bacon and of course rice. She still is happy to eat baby food because she can eat it quickly and it fills her up. She is totally attached to her bottle and gets very excited when she sees me making it. It is the only time she really likes me to hold her so I am glad we have that time together.
Grace is happy to play and entertain herself all day so we have really been trying to engage her in play which she loves. She likes to get on the boys scooter and have them push her on it up and down the sidewalk. We went to visit my sister and the boys took the canoe out on the lake while I pushed Grace on the swings. She was afraid to look up in the beginning but then really enjoyed it. She has a great time playing with her brothers and cousins. We look forward to moving back to the States so we can come and visit more often.

New Jersey

We arrive in New Jersey

We are on the last leg of our trip around the world before we head back to Germany. We arrived at the airport in Philadelphia and Grace met her Greatgrandma (Mema) and Opa and Oma for the first time. My parents had a party planned with all the relatives to welcome Grace. We are truly blessed to have family that care so much about us. The party was wonderful and Grace was definitely the star. We then went back to my parents' house and since the boys' cousins were there we had a little party for Eamon's 8th birthday. We had been in China on the actual day so it was great to celebrate now with family.

Grace in Texas April 14-19

Grace meets her Nanny and Papa and cousins April 16

Mikes parents and our sister in law and their 4 children drove out to Texas from Alabama to see all of us. We all had a wonderful time and Grace loved all the fun. The hotel they stayed at had a pool so Grace had her first swim. It was so great to see everyone and all the kids loved playing together. We pack up tomorrow and head to New Jersey to see Grace's Opa and Oma, great Grandma and more Uncles, Aunts and cousins.

Trip through Hawaii and Texas

Traveling to Hawaii and to see our boys in Texas!!!

Wow what a long flight leaving Guangzhou flying through Tokyo with a 7 hour lay over and then a 10 hour flight to Hawaii. We got Grace's citizenship done in one day spent the night in Hawaii and left for Texas to see our boys. Grace was thrilled to realize she wasn't stuck with just Mike and me. We were blessed to be picked up in Hawaii by Mike's brother's secretary's family who were our personal chauffeurs in Hawaii. We are so thankful to our wonderful friends Landy and Richard who watched our boys in Texas for the 2 weeks we were gone.

Red Couch Day

Days in Guangzhou April 9 & 10

Only one day left and we will be leaving for home!!! It has been wonderful seeing China, but we are definitely ready to bring Grace home. She had her medical yesterday so they could confirm she is healthy to travel. It was a cattle call but being in the military we were used to that. We went to the pearl market and shopped for pearls to give to Grace when she is older. Today we got the picture on the red couch. Grace couldn't understand the idea that you actually were supposed to sit on the couch. She attempted to do many other things though. She is now sound asleep and did discover tonight how much she loves pizza. We are packing tomorrow and then have our swearing in ceremony and consulate appointment in the afternoon. Then we wake up and get on a 6 hour flight to Tokyo where we have a 7 hour lay over. A 7 HOUR LAYOVER!!!! Then we fly I don't know how long to Hawaii spend the night to get Grace's citzenship then fly to Minneapolis then onto Dallas. This means jet lag!! We are so excited to see our boys, this is the longest we have ever been gone. Grace is definitley ready to meet her big brothers. She had 2 older brothers in the foster care family she was in so I'm sure she will be excited to know she is not stuck with just the 2 of us!!! She is such a joy and we are so blessed to have our precious daughter.

Kunming and Guangzhou

We found Grace’s “finding place” under the Dun Ba bridge in Kunming. It was a very busy and impoverished area. It was hard to imagine Grace’s birth mother leaving her – and we wonder how many of the young girls here have abandoned their babies. It was amazing how many of them followed us and stared. We took some video and pictures and then headed to a nicer part of town for lunch.

We walked to the flower and bird market. Lots of people selling stuff.

We packed up and left Kunming for Guangzhou early Sat. morning. We got to the White Swan hotel and walked around town. It is very clean and nice here and everyone speaks English. I feel like we are getting closer to home.

Today we went to a church in English a block from the hotel it was very crowded and we have heard that the Christian churches here are really growing. We have some great stories from people we have met.

Tomorrow is Grace’s medical appointment and paperwork day. Grace is walking everywhere but still falls down a lot. She is a real character!!! Most of the time she is happy, but she definitely wants things her way. We are slowly trying to teach her the world isn’t just about Gracie. We are enjoying Guangzhou but are ready to see our boys!!!

Kunming and Guangzhou

Apr 5 in Kunming

April 6 - Last day in Kunming

It’s Friday morning and we’re getting ready to head out for the day. It’s the first day without any agenda which will be very nice. Slept in until 7:30, leisurely breakfast upstairs, long warm tubby for you-know-who and now we’re off by ourselves to find some shopping. Yesterday we went to a tea ceremony and learned all about tea and climbed up to a dragon temple (Daoism / Taoism). Very beautiful hike up the steep steps on the side of a mountain overlooking the largest fresh water lake in China. It was sad to see these people climb all the way up the 400+ steps to touch this ‘mystical’ piece of rock and then pray to something that doesn’t exist. Kind of like Baal and Ahab’s people.

We ate lunch at a mushroom fondue kind of a place – very interesting. There are about 687 billion different kinds of mushrooms and they were all in our soup!

Today we will go to Grace’s finding place. It’s over by the silk factory we toured yesterday – we’ll go to take pictures and spend some time playing in the grass. Praise God that Grace’s biological mother left her to be found – only God knew what a blessing she would be to our family a year and a half later. His ways are so much higher!!!

We’re off to shop, good thing we brought all those suitcases!!!

Happy Birthday Eamon!!!

Happy Birthday Eamon. We wish you were with us, we'll be home soon!!! Have fun at Brahm's.

We love you!!!

April 3 & 4

Apr 3 & 4 - Days in Kunming

Yesterday we came back to the hotel and got take out food to eat in the room. We were all really tired. It was cold and rainy and we decided to go out to lunch and to Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart is not like the States. We then went to Parkson’s a really nice department store and bought a great stroller. We then walked back to the hotel about 100 blocks. It wasn’t that far but it sure felt like it!!! We bought Grace a little pair of cute shoes for $5.00. Today we were up early and it was cold again. We went to the Stone Forest. It was really neat to see all the rock formations. We bought some bags with embroidery work done by the minority groups. We then went to the Orphanage to see where Grace and Mei Lin spent their first 7 months. It is really a wonderful orphanage. Really clean and 60 full time employees and 200 volunteers. We saw 12 babies in the nursery with 5 nannies taking care of them. It seemed like all the children are very well cared for. Many of the staff recognized our babies and came out to hug them. We were given a book of the orphanage with many wonderful pictures and we got a lot of people who knew our babies to sign it. The orphanage was quiet and most of the rooms were empty that we saw. Three quarters of the children are in foster care. Grace had been with her foster family since she was 7 months old. We went into one of the rooms where our daughters had gone for game time and the women heard Graces cough and said we should go see the doctor who is part of the orphanage. I told her I was giving her medicine, but she still wanted us to go see him. The doctor we saw was the same one who saw Grace in foster care. He gave us some amoxicillin and also told us he did not hear her heart murmur anymore. He said he feels the hole in her heart has closed. We are rejoicing in God’s goodness!! The room we were in is where they bring all the babies right after they find them. So it was another neat opportunity to see where our little ones were brought at 1 day old. We were really pleased at all we got to see and know that our daughters were well cared for. It was late when we got back to the hotel and Grace and Mei Lin have been doing remarkably well for these long days. Grace seems to be attaching to us and did not want to go with the nannies at the orphanage. She has been burying her head when someone she doesn’t know comes up to talk to her. Grace’s favorite things to do are laugh, giggle and eat cheerios. We are really enjoying this time getting to know her little personality. She does get an attitude when it comes to not getting her own way, but otherwise she is happy and all smiles.

Gotcha Day!!!

What a great day!!! We got up early and left the hotel by 8:30 am. The ride to get our babies was about 20 minutes. We walked in the door and about 2 seconds later they were handing Grace to us. Our agency set up a video man to film everything and that was wonderful. Grace came out to us all smiles. She has been laughing and giggling all day. She seems to be having no problems letting us know what she wants and doesn't want. She has a spunky personality and is very vocal and active. She isn't walking yet, but is standing and trying to take steps. I think she was carried in a pack by her foster family a lot because we don't think she ever learned how to crawl. She is supposed to be asleep right now, but she is babbling and laughing in the bed. It may be a long night!!! We are so thankful to God for this wonderful opportunity to bring little Grace into our family.

Gotcha Day!!! 2 Apr 07

Kunming Pictures

Overpacked? I don't think so.....

Our first full day in Kunming brought with it many lessons. Our gracious guide Elsie finally told us that picking through the common bowl of food with your chopsticks is not very polite and pointing with your chopsticks is even worse. We had a good laugh and a great lunch.

Kunming has over 4 million residents, so there is quite a bit going on most of the time. Here are some photos of the people living their lives. This baby was in the checkout line behind us. The banana lady wanted us to take more than a picture. I think it was recess time at the restaurant – it looks like the entire workforce was running laps – maybe someone spilled the soup? The chickens were all lined up for dinner. I don’t think the motorcycle family stopped to smell the roses….

Chrysanthemum tea we had with dinner was very colorful. In fact, our travel guide at the hotel told us that tea was introduced first in Yunnan Province. They do a ton of tea here; tobacco and jade, too.