Merry Christmas - Part II

Before church on Christmas Eve (above). Q with big, cheesy grin.

Modeling some of their great gifts from Granny & Gramps (below). This time, K has the big, cheesy grin.

We've had a great Christmas (despite almost daily fights over new toys....) and are looking forward to an even better 2008. We wish the same for you and yours!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Peace On Earth, Goodwill To All

Last year, we spent Christmas in China. On Christmas Day itself, we were in Guangzhou for the last leg of our adoption trip. We had a medical exam scheduled for that morning (needed in order to get K's visa to come to the US). The picture above was taken on our walk back from the medical exam.

And then that afternoon, we had a pretty neat experience at a local Buddhist Temple.
I didn't blog about it at the time. Not sure why. I think maybe I just wasn't sure what everyone back home would think about it. You know, Christians in a Buddhist Temple. On Christmas Day to boot! But I had no qualms about going. There was going to be a small service there, where the monks would offer a blessing for the babies. I thought that it would be a neat experience. Part of K's cultural heritage. Plus, I was curious. You don't get a chance like this very often in the midwest.

So off we went. The place was beautiful. The Temple was not just one building, like I had expected, but rather it was a collection of buildings, courtyards, gardens, and a pagoda. The photo of K hugging me was taken near a little water garden there. It was a very peaceful place. The baby blessing was lovely as well. But as we strolled around, I still thought about the irony of being there on Christmas Day.

And then I saw it. The Peace Pole. Look closely in the photo below and you can see it in the background. It reads: May Peace Prevail On Earth. The other 3 sides carry the same message, but in other languages.
It all came together.

Being here on Christmas Day wasn't really as strange as I had thought. Afterall, at the very time we were in that Temple, our family and friends were likely heading home from Christmas Eve services in their hometowns, where they sang carols praising the baby Jesus, the one God sent as his Gift to us. The Messiah. The Prince of Peace.

I felt a greater sense of peace myself right then. A greater sense of connectedness to Keira's ancestors. For despite the cultural differences we were experiencing, I felt that at the core we all wanted the same thing. Peace on Earth.

I thought then that it had all come full circle. But there was more.

This past spring, after being home with Keira for a few months, I read in our church bulletin that the church was planning to install a Peace Pole. One just like the one we saw on Christmas Day in Guangzhou.

Apparently, there are now more than 200,000 Peace Poles in 180 countries around the world. They can be found at churches, schools, parks, and town squares. At the Pyramids in Egypt and at the magenetic North Pole in Canada. At Allenby Bridge between Israel and Jordan. Poles have been dedicated by political leaders, like President Jimmy Carter, and spiritual leaders, like Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.

And now, as Christmas approaches for this year, we offer you this wish: May peace prevail in your hearts. At Christmastime and always. And someday, may peace truly prevail on Earth.

The First Time Ever I Saw Her Face

A year ago today, we met Keira. She was known as Yi Jiao (Jiaojiao) then. She was just a year old, 17 pounds, and barely crawling. She was very quiet when her nanny handed her to us. And she just stared at us and took it all in. She's really much the same way now when she meets strangers - she gives them a big stare and a very straight face. As one friend told us, "Gee - she really makes you work for one of her smiles, but when you get it...Wow!" And we couldn't agree more.

We worked and worked and worked. Loved, hugged, and bonded. Fed her, held her, and sang the Elmo theme song to her. In fact, once we learned that she liked that song, we began singing nearly everything to her, to the tune of Elmo's World. (Hey - we were desparate those first few days to win her affections, and as you know, ga-ga parents will do most anything!)

Looking back on our trip to China to adopt Keira and thinking about it all has made me a bit emotional today. I find myself thinking a lot about how she came into our family. I wonder about her life in the orphanage and about the 4 months with her foster family. I wonder about those mysterious days that make up the beginning of her life, her entry into the world. I wonder about her birth family. I wonder if her birthmother is thinking about her today, on her birthday. Does she wonder where she is and how she is doing?

When I look at Keira, I can't imagine that her birthmom isn't thinking of her. The girl before me is too beautiful and too absolutely fabulous to be forgotten by someone. I feel so overwhelmingly lucky that she is my daughter. I'm very sorry that someone had to lose her in order for us to gain. Keira makes our lives richer and although I am sad about someone else's loss, I am also grateful that same someone, two years ago, made such a very difficult choice.

I wish I could tell Keira's birthmom that she's OK. That she is more than OK really.

She is safe and healthy and loved.

She is smart and funny and playful.

She is in America! (I bet her birthmom didn't think about that.)

And she licks snow and ice cream and windows (blech!).

She eats macaroni and cheese, pizza, and yogurt. But not noodles anymore.

She laughs hysterically when you press her belly button and when her brother pretends to fall.
She wants to do everything herself.

There is so much to tell. So much that makes Keira the amazing little girl that she is.

I know that we will never be able to tell Keira's birthmom these things. I just hope somehow, in her heart, she knows them.

Princess Jiao-jiao Turns Two!

Last year, Her Royal Highness looked like this....likely wondering if she'd just been captured by aliens.

Today, she looks like this, daring those very same aliens to stop her fun!

As her daddy says, she's got an attiTWOd! And we love it!
Apparently, she's got her own sense of style as well. Nothing wrong with sunglasses and a hat in the tub before 8am. Anyone who's anyone is doing it!


All the cool kids and all Indy 500 winners drink milk. It tastes even better from a new Tinkerbell sippy cup!

With breakfast out of the way, on to presents!

And at last, some cake!

Yummy!

This is how K felt about cake last year.

She definitely had more fun this time around, poking her fingers in the cake with no reservations at all.

Now, if only the paparazzi would quit following her around so she could enjoy her day in peace. It's rough being Princess of this place.

We've Got Your Holiday Cheer Right Here

Like most everyone else, we've been busy around here, getting ready for the holidays. "The Holidays" in this household include Christmas, New Years, Miss K's Birthday, Family Day and Adoption Day! There's a lot to celebrate.

Tomorrow, December 18, is both Keira's Birthday (#2) and what we call Family Day (the day we met her and brought her into our family). The 19th is the day we officially adopted her. I'm sure I'll be doing some sort of reflective post about The Year of Keira, but until I carve out that time I'm posting a little feast of photos. These are some outtakes from our family holiday photo shoot a few weeks back. Hope you enjoy.

HO HO HO!

What I Did for My 15th Wedding Anniversary - a Photo Essay, More or Less

I know what you are thinking, and so to answer, Yes - I was about 15 when I got married. ;-)
Anyway....
This past Wednesday, hubby and I celebrated 15 years of marriage. As luck would have it, he was scheduled off work that day and there was nothing else on the calendar - no preschool, no music classes or doctor's appointments. Nuttin'. So we planned a family date.
First, to the Indiana State Museum. The ISM has been around for a while, but this building - its new home - was just opened in 2002. It is lovely. We went late in the day (3pm) and basically had the place to ourselves. It was great! We had never been there before and it was fun to explore.
Squint, and you can see Quinn and Keira just below the INDIANA sculpture. The artist is Robert Indiana, the guy who did the famous LOVE sculpture (you know, LO on top of VE....the O tilted). Anyway, it's cool.

Of course, the real reason we came here was for Celebration Crossing. Basically, Santa and a train ride. And since no one else was around at 3:30 in the afternoon, Q and K had the big man and the missus all to themselves. Of course, K is still leary of the jolly old elf, so she just waved. said "Heh-woh" (hello) about 50 times, and refused to get too close. Quinn, on the other hand, was more than willing to sit and chat for a while. And Santa was happy to oblige. Keira also wasn't much for the train, so Q had unlimited time there as well.
The staff were just super to the kids - from Mr. and Mrs. Claus, right down to security staff we saw in the elevator and the "train conductor" who made Quinn his own special paper airplane.

After visiting Mr. HoHoHo, we walked across the hall to the ISM's temporary exhibit, Speed. What. A. Blast. Again, we had the place to ourselves and we took full advantage. We raced self-made LEGO cars. I had the best time of the day, until you-know-who perfected his craft and beat my time. This, while I was off "drag racing" with Quinn. I didn't have the best time of the day there, but at least I was able to hold off my 4 year old, and later my hubby, in those races.

Above, hubby shows off his best time time. Below, father and son race their own cars.

There were many other fun games as part of this exhibit as well. Quinn declared it the most fun. Ever. Even more fun than seeing Santa. [gasp!] He can't wait to go back. Unfortunately, the exhibit is only there through January 21, so we'll have to plan quickly.

After an exhausting couple of hours at the museum, there's nothing like a romantic dinner of burgers, onion rings, and cherry cokes at Johnny Rockets. The kids especially loved it when the wait staff "performed" a little dance number to "Stayin' Alive". Keira was dancing right along. And squealing, too. In between cheekfuls of french fries.

The evening was capped off with a visit to the Holiday light display at the zoo. It was chilly, but a great walk nonetheless. It was so cold in fact, that Keira stayed mummified in her blanket and spoke only every so often to mutter the word "cold". She'd never been so still in the stroller before. The cold did not slow Quinn down at all - he was running here and there, crunching in snow and watching the barking seals, the polar bear and the tiger. When he finally started complaining about the cold, we knew it was time to go home.

A few minutes after getting buckled into the car, we had 2 sleeping kids and a peaceful ride back to suburbia.

If you've been married for more than, oh say 12 hours or so, you know there's no such thing as perfect. Especially as married life goes. But this day felt close.

He's All That and a Bag of Cheetos

If you have ever wondered if it is possible to be moved to tears (well, nearly to tears) over a PB&J sandwich and a few Cheetos, the answer is yes. And it happened today. Here's how.
After church this morning, the state of the carpet was driving me crazy. I ordered the kids to the family room to play, and asked daddy to make lunch and handle all problems from the 2 squirts being quarrantined in the same place. I appointed myself dog-hair terminator. After a few minutes of vacuuming and a few rounds of "I told you to take your problems to daddy", the floors looked better and lunch was ready.
PB&J. Apple slices. And Cheetos all around. Not a dietician's dream lunch, but everything looks better when you didn't have to do the "cooking" yourself.
Of course, Keira poo-poohed everything but the Cheetos. She promptly chowed down on her allotment, leaving the rest of the lunch offerings on her plate. Then, she pointed to everyone else's puffs, saying "Mo peeeeees!" ("More, please!") Chris and I glanced over at each other, exchanging a yeah-right look. Hey - we both love junk food and she really should eat some fruit....right?! But before we knew it, the one with the biggest heart in the house spoke up.
"Here you go, Kiki, " says Quinn, handing over one of his last three Cheetos.
Awww, Quinn, I say. That's really nice of you.
"It's OK, Mom," he says. "I like to make people happy and enjoy their life."
I'm not making this up. That's what he said. See why his mom got a little misty-eyed?
Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised by this. He's the same kid who holds his sister's hand in the car when she gets a little cranky. And brings her blanket to her when she's getting ready for bed. And causes a bit of a stir at preschool when his girlfriends fight over who gets to sit by him at snacktime.
Of course, he's also the same kid who is just as likely to chase after his sister, growling, in his Spiderman mask, so you never know.
That's why moments like today's are all the better.
Even better than a few extra Cheetos.

*****************************************

And so, just what else has been going on here, other than these Hallmark moments?

These Whatever-Makes-Them-Happy moments....

Playing in the bathtub in our bathroom, right after a real bath in theirs....

Being a "superhero" -- the "cape" is Keira's bib, put on backwards; the "rocket man seat" is Keira's booster seat (why is it that you can't keep them in these seats when you want to, and then later, you can't get them out?!)

Coloring in PJs....and in Keira's case, in PJs and a winter coat (just in case she takes her art on the road??!)

Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! Besides all the usual stuff I'm thankful for each and every year - health, happiness, and the 2 fab faces below, here are a few additional things....

I am thankful that I didn't have to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family, since my oven died on Tuesday evening. I am also thankful that the microwave still works so we will have some way to heat up my mom's yummy leftovers!

I am thankful that, even though the NFL Network is carrying the Colts game today (and we don't get that channel), said Network is "allowing" a local Indy (and Atlanta) station to carry the game. So although we will watch with full bellies, we will definitely have a taste for a little Falcon for dessert!

I am thankful that, as we were getting ready to leave my parents' house last night and Q was wailing b/c he didn't want to leave his cousins, my mom offered to keep him overnight so he could still play well into the evening. (Our family Thanksgiving dinner was on Wed - T'giving Eve.) For her generous efforts, the rest of the gang wanted to stay. So it was a 5-grandkid sleepover. My sisters and I are thankful. The grandparents? They at least live to tell.....

I am thankful that these same generous parents of mine are driving 2+ hours today to return my beloved son. (And are bringing the aforementioned leftovers!)

And finally, I am most thankful that, while my parents are en route to central Indiana, my sweet daughter is napping and hubby (sorry for your luck, dear) is at work. This means quiet, empty house for me. For the next hour or so at least. I think this might even be better than pumpkin pie!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

May your blessings out-number the calories you are about to consume!

Different, Yet the Same

Two weeks ago, November 2, marked the 1-year anniversary of the day we finally got our first look at the girl who would become our daughter. The day before, November 1, we knew that "the stork" was on the way to our agency, but it was on the 2nd that we finally got the good news: a little 10-month old girl was waiting for us in Guangxi, China. The 14-month wait seemed to melt away in an instant and I couldn't stop staring at the photos. Trying to remember every inch of her face. Wondering what her personality was like, and wondering who she would become and who we would become together.
Around the anniversary of our referral (that's what they call it when you get the info on your kiddo), I was sharing some rememberances with others who also got their referrals that day. One of my fellow APs (adoptive parents) asked me about how this was different from the day Quinn was born, knowing that it had to be different but certainly no less special. And of course, he was right - it was quite different, but certainly no less special. And this all got to me thinking. (So watch out...here we go!).

If you've spent any time at all in adoption-talk circles, you'll hear people try to assign various pregnancy-type words/phrases to what it is like to adopt. "We're paper pregnant!" expectant parents will declare. "The stork is on the way", our agency tells us. "The 24-hour trip to China is like labor...or is that the 24-hour trip home with a new child?!" And on and on it goes. Not that there's anything wrong with this. And I think it's one way to try to get those who've never been touched by adoption to somehow relate to the rest of us. But it falls short. On both ends.
For example, nothing can compare to labor. And in my case, I mean this in a good way....I was very relaxed and pain-free (God bless the scientist who discovered epidurals and fentanyl!), enjoying a nice convo with my hubby and a bit of the NCAA b-ball tournament. Others, obviously, have had it different. You've heard the horror stories. But when Nov 2, 2006 came around and we were waiting to see K for the first time, well, nothing compares to that either. For one thing, no drugs or goofy hospital gown; no one waiting on me hand and foot. And still, when I saw her face for the first time, I cried happy tears just the same. I studied her face nonstop for hours, trying to memorize it, just like I did with Baby Quinn. (I was so worried about not being able to pick him out from the sea of babies in the hospital nursery!) I wondered about our futures. And I loved.

You know, often people become adoptive parents as a second choice, a fall back plan. When the original plan of "having your own" doesn't work out. Some folks head straight to adoption. And others...well, there are as many stories out there as there are people who adopt.

But the bottom line is this: it is in no way second-best.
Yes, it is different. In so many ways. I've barely scratched the surface here.
But the good news is: the love is the same.

**********************

Your lucky day...if you stuck around to read the above, you now get treated to a few more fabulous photos. Who could ask for anything more? That's really why you come here in the first place, no?

And here she is. Little Miss My-Future's-So-Bright-I-Gotta-Wear-Shades!

Below Keira is channeling her inner-cat. Waiting to pounce. Although on what, I'm not sure.
(Note above and below: Bows! In her hair! For more than 2 minutes! Getting them in can be a struggle, but at least my work wasn't for naught.)

Here, Quinn and his old man are having a bit of fun in the front yard.
It was all fun and games until somebody started putting leaves down someone else's shirt. And I'm not naming names, but his initials are D.A.D.!

Below and/or to the right (depending on how you are viewing this, you see Keira diving into her first jelly doughnut. She is still so averse to fruits and vegetables that I actually counted the raspberry jelly in this fine, fine breakfast food as a serving of fruit. Betcha never knew Dunkin' Donuts was serving health food, did ya'?

And to the left, Keira-cat. Contemplating some evil-doings with her brother's trains. She was a kitty for Halloween and she still occasionally wears her ears. What she really loves, however, is the tail. Not as much as she loves jelly doughnuts. But almost.