We Moved

We have a new blog, that I am promising to keep more updated!

http://lotsandlotsofkids.blogspot.com

You can see us as we go through our daily lives with five kids, a mom in grad school, and a dad who handles it all very well!!!

Snot

"As snot flows through the noses of my kids, so are the days of our lives..."

Ok, so I have a while to go before I can write good enough to have more readers, however, as most of you can imagine, when one of the kids gets sick, they all get sick...

In the past three weeks, there has been sneezes, coughs, runny eyes, runny noses, stuffy noses, grumbly voices, throwing up, coming out of the other end, fevers, and now - pink eye.

Took Kylie and John to the doctor today and they both have pink eye. The only place I can figure they got it is from preschool. Kylie has now been to preschool all of two days and look what happens! And John has a double ear infection. You know how you wait and wait, wondering if you should take your child to the doctor? You dread the phrase, "It will just have to run its course." I waited too long...

Kaycee just has the nose that has been running from the middle of August till now - Leonard swears she has at least a gallon come out a day...

The gunk that comes out of Kylie's eyes are green - it would be a pretty color for paint, or a shirt, but not coming out of my daughter's eyes...

But I think we are on our way to recovery now! Thank God for doctors and medicine!

I think I have been called...

Adoption has touched my life more than I could ever have imagined. I think it all started before I was married to my husband.

I remember getting a call from him at work (we were just dating at that point - it had only been about a month or two.) He was so excited - his mom had just called and his sister and brother-in-law had just referred their first son, who would soon be called Quinn. It was something I will always remember.

A few months later, we were meeting Quinn for the first time. Here was this little boy, who had been taken thousands of miles to a strange land, with strange people. He was all smiles, with bright beautiful eyes. It was an incredible experience.

A couple years later, the next amazing experience happened. By this time, my husband and I were experiencing a mild form of infertility. At the same time, my sister in law and brother in law traveled back to Russia to bring home a little boy and a little girl. What an experience that was...and I only know a little.

We started looking into adoption from China but then became pregnant soon after. Even though we didn't adopt at that time, I knew it was still in my heart.

Well, of course, as you are reading this blog, you know we have since adopted our daughter Kaycee from China. She has been home for two months and is doing wonderfully!

Before you think I am going to called to adopt again, keep reading...

I really feel called to start a ministry for orphans. I have prayed and prayed. I have started research and more research. I have talked and talked to my husband. But this is the first time I have put it into writing.

I want to help families get past the obstacles of funding their adoptions. Even though we have adoption debt and it isn't a small amount, I still feel led to help others.

I wonder if there is some way to help even one more child find their forever family? I have started research with Shoahannah's Hope. They are an incredible resource! They have information on how to approach your church about a ministry, etc.

I am scared to death, but am feeling very led to do this...

Right now, as I writing this blog, keep in mind my two year old son is trying to bite the snap off my shirt...hhmmm, what is missing in HIS diet?

Here the three little ones are working on a project with their nanny! Looks like fun to me...

Anyway, in my household, here is a note about the laundry in a normal week...

There are seven of us - seven people will create the following dirty clothes:

49 pairs of pants/shorts/ or skirts

49 shirts

35 pairs of underwear (two are not potty trained) however, we have at least 70 changed diapers a week

21 pairs of socks - it is summer, the little ones and I don't wear socks in the summer - only three of us do

42 towels ( we try to use them more than once)

14 washclothes

6 sets of sheets

That is 216 pieces of laundry - per week - in a month that is 864 pieces - in a year it is 10,368 pieces of dirty laundry...of course there is probably more, as four of us will start to wear socks in the winter, we will wash coats, jackets, etc...and of course, don't forget we have a teenager. Yes, he is a boy, but there are days where he will wear two or three sets of clothing - depending on what he is doing, and we have uniforms, doll and Barbie clothes, stuffed animals that maybe has some thing unidentifiable on it...what else? I am sure there is something else!

What about toilet paper? When people think of big families and the expenses, usually they think about what goes into the body, not necessary what comes out of the body! Toilet paper seems to "run" out of house...no pun intended!

"

A catch up blog...

Kaycee had her first ENT visit yesterday. And all we had was wonderful news about her hearing and her ears. First of all, Leonard was the one who took her to Children's Hospital. This was something by itself...but dad did really well.

Anyway - back to Kaycee's ears...

As we knew, without hearing aids, she is profoundly deaf. She really does not hear anything at all. HOWEVER, with hearing aids, she has normal hearing. PRAISE GOD!!!! What a great gift!!!

So we are making an appointment to get her a hearing aid but more important, we are making an appointment to allow her to hear!

Next...three days ago, school started. Jacob is now a freshman, a 5'10", 140 pound FRESHMAN!!!!! Cannot believe that! In addition, Nathan is in 7th grade! Kylie will start preschool next week, and mom is feeling very sad!

AND, last but not least - I just turned in my final for my child development class - whew! Just in time to write another paper for my class that starts Wednesday and try to figure out what I am going to do in my second class that starts Monday!

Check out my next blog. So many people ask...how do you do it...read my next one and find out :)

The past...

We received a huge treasure yesterday. The lady that is over the foster care system in Kaycee's province sent us a cd with 5 photos of her as she was growing up. Included with these pictures were also the foster care write ups, which includes things like when she got teeth, etc.

I cried and cried...

In Kaycee's short little life before she was with us, she was...

abandoned at 1 month old, stayed in the orphange for about three months, went with one foster family for a little over a year and then with another foster family for about four months. I can't imagine what this little girl has gone through..my heart hurts so bad for her.

Also, she has two very deep scars on her upper arms. They should have been stitched. They are the same type of scar located at the same place on each arm. In one of the photos, the scar is somewhat fresh. It was when she was about 9 months old. I can't imagine what it was...it makes me sad.

I think that the reality of her before us has hit me. Here she was, all alone, can't hear and she is being shuttled around from house to house, bed to bed, etc.

I know God was with her, He was also by her side. I just wish I could have been there from the beginning also.

tales from the red couch

Today is the Consulate appointment. Actually we don't even go to the consulate, our facilitator does. She is there now. We have to stay in our room from 11:30 to 12:00. If we receive a call...that is not what we want. It means there is something potentially wrong with our paperwork.
Speaking of paperwork...our agency gave us the wrong paperwork so I had to go to the consulate yesterday to get it fixed. So the chances of us having a phone call are pretty good. In addition, our agency gave her the wrong Chinese name. They used the wrong character for her name. So all of the paperwork I filled out, has the wrong name on it...AAGGHH!!
BUT on the other hand, Kaycee is a bright little girl. She is full of laughter and life. She has learned a couple of new signs. No one can tell she is deaf. However, I watched her play with some other kids and she stood back away from everyone else. This could be because she was in foster care and was the only child or it could have something to do with her hearing, or maybe it is just her personality.
Anyway, everyone says she is a beautiful baby! We met one Chinese man on the plane flying here that was amazed we would adopt a baby that was deaf. "Did you know she was deaf when you adopted her?" It was a very sincere question, not meant to hurt. But it goes to show that she probably would not have had a very good life here...
We went shopping last night for minute and will try again today. When we left Fuzhou it was 101 degrees and about 49% humidity. Here it is only 93 degree with 47% humidity. But really, you can tell, it is much more bearable here than in Fuzhou...
We took pictures on the "red couch" last night. The little boy she is with is John Jones. He is absolutely adorable, Darla. He has cheeks you could pinch forever and this morning I waved to him and he just smiled and gave a huge wave back!
We miss everyone dearly and can't wait to get on the airplane back.

Independence Day

For some strange reason, the 4th just isn't the 4th in China! :) But we are all doing really well.
Kaycee is starting to show some signs of grieving. She cried a lot more last night when we were trying to go to sleep. In foster care, they have the kids sleep with them, so that is what she is used to. I am not ready to fight that battle yet, so that is where she is sleeping! Right beside me. But she is a good sleeper. She had a 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon and slept another 10 1/2 hours last night.
We went to a park on Tuesday and then shopping. That is what the pictures are from. Then yesterday, we went to her orphanage. All of the nannies were happy to see her again and happy to see her with her family. They all loved her, and talked to her. It was good to see that but very sad to see the other kids in the orphanage.
This orphanage is for special needs kids, some like Kaycee are only slightly special needs, while others are severe. There were only about 60 kids in the orphange, but most of the others are in foster care. It was clean and it was evident that the nannies loved the kids. They knew all of their stories! The picture of me, Kaycee and the orphange director is also included.
I am not sure of our plans today. I think we are going back to the park, with the other family that is here. I am homesick for my family.

We will be getting Kaycee's paperwork back tomorrow from the Chinese. That will be a really good feeling!

Introducing Kaycee Abigail Xi

It has been an incredible whirlwind since we left!!
We got to Beijing on Saturday and met up with some other adoptive parents there. On Sunday, we went to the Great Wall, the square and the forbidden city!
Then my mom and I were supposed to fly out on Sunday night, but after waiting for about 4 hours at the Beijing airport, the flight was cancelled!!! That is a complete story in itself!
HOWEVER!!!
WE HAVE KAYCEE!! She is beautiful, full of life, and very easy going! She has three words in her vocabulary and there is hearing there!!! The first word out of her mouth when she saw me on the road was MAMA!!!!
She is very happy, loves her stroller and slept for 11 hours last night! Of course, she went to sleep at 5 p.m. but oh well!
All of our paperwork was completed last night and it is a relief! As far as the Chinese government is concerned, Kaycee is ours!!!

a tad bit of a change

We found out that we will actually be leaving on Friday, June 29th. Our flight is out of Denver at 6:00 AM! We have to be there 2 hours early, and we live about 1 1/2 hours from the airport. When the travel agency called, the person actually chuckled at the times!!

But you know what? It didn't matter, it just means that we are SO close to getting Kaycee - it is a feeling that cannot be described!

The next time I post, I will be just hours from leaving! Just pray that I get everything done that needs to be done!!! :)

Itinerary

June 30 - Depart for China (still don't know when exactly)
July 1 - Arrive in Fujian Province - this is where Kaycee is from
July 2 - GOTCHA DAY!!!
July 2-7 - China Adoption Processing
July 8 - Flight to Guangzhou
July 9 - Doctor's exam for Kaycee
July 10 - US INS processing - Consulate appointment
July 11 - Pick up Kaycee's Visa
July 12 - leave to come back to US

Somewhere in here, I need time to shop!

Please don't let us fly on Friday the 13th. I am NOT superstitious, however, I am scared to DEATH to fly over the water! At least they are about 16 hours ahead of us, so we should leave on the 12th and get back to the US on the 12th.

IT IS HERE!!!!!

I can't believe it!! Our TA is here! (Actually it was here two days ago, but I have been so busy, I haven't had time to enjoy it!!!)

We should be leaving on June 30th and our Consulate Appointment should be on either July 10 or July 11!!

This means in just under three weeks, Kaycee will be our FOREVER! What an incredible feeling!!

Let me tell you how it happened!!

I have another lady that I have been emailing back and forth that is also adopting SN with the same agency. (She is wonderful!)

Anyway, Monday, we emailed wondering if anything was going on. I had received phone calls and one email from my agency for small pieces of information, so I knew something was up...

But nothing came on Monday.

Then Tuesday morning came. Emailed again to see if anything was happening - nothing.

Then my friend emails out of the blue and "I GOT THE CALL!!" You should be getting yours any time.

So the clocked ticked and ticked.

Nothing...

I had to pee so bad...

Still nothing...

I had to go!

I put my cell phone in my pocket.

Walked to the bathroom.

Closed the door.

Started to sit down..

Ring, ring, ring.. Sure enough it was them.

Hello? .........

What do you think Kaycee will think about this story when I tell her?

TA

Rumors are spreading like wildfire out there in the land of Yahoo groups that TA's should be coming tomorrow. I had three phone calls from our agency and one email today alone. I think something is up...

One lady received her TA today and she leaves Friday.

What if that happens to us? I CAN'T leave Friday!! I have WAY too much stuff to do, there are not enough hours between now and Friday!

(Im)patiently waiting for the sun to rise tomorrow...

So it begins...

I have to laugh...I have started the dreaded task of packing my suitcase for the trip...

Why is is dreaded? MAny reasons, of which one is the size of my suitcase and the restrictions on suitcase weight.

I am trying to pack a light as possible but honestly it is not ending up that way. I know some of the things I can get in China, that is great - but honestly, there are some things I just want to get here, so I can do the "fun" shopping there.

My list:
diapers
bottle
pacifier
little plates
sippy cups
rabbits for the orphange
gifts for everyone
clothes for Kaycee
clothes for me
books
toys
medicine
wipes
papers
camera
charger
laptop
camera cards

I know there are other things, just can't figure them out right now...

As I get more things in order, I will post a picture of the beginning and the end :)

Interesting

I was just googling around, and found these photos of the Fuzhou Social Welfare Institute, in the Fujian Province. This is the province where Kaycee is.

These photos were taken in the late 90's, so it is possible these have changed drastically. It looks like there is a lot of grass and trees in this area.

Getting nervous

Our Visas came on Saturday - what does that mean?

There is nothing else keeping us from leaving except for the Chinese government.

AAGGHH!! What am I going to do?

Really, I have accomplished NOTHING in the past two weeks since our LOA arrived. I have three more weeks in my class, of which most of my assignments are completed. Other than that, I still have a ton of things to do.

I can't tell you how excited, nervous, anxious, and any other words I can think of, I am feeling right now.

I was able to get 5 gifts, and three outfits to take to the orphanage while I was in Kansas. I also got a couple of outfits for Kaycee.

Duct tape - got that - I have heard this is the most important item to take with you when traveling to China - got it.

I wonder what Kaycee is doing today...

You're a big girl, Kaycee!

Our agency sent us something yesterday that makes me feel even closer to our daughter - her updated measurements!

She is about 25 pounds and 31 inches tall. Which means she is a healthy little girl!

I was at work when I got these measurements, so I really didn't know where this would put her in the clothing department.

So I ran to Walmart to find out where she would be - she will be wearing 12-18 month clothing. Just a little small for her age - (she will be 21 months in a couple of days)

Now it makes me wonder - what does she look like? The last picture we have of her is from when, I am guessing, she was about 10-11 months old. I wonder how much she has changed.

Does she have long hair? Are her cheeks still as chubby?

Oh the wait is starting to get to me!

Come on TA - come on!!!

In just hours...

Your whole life can change. It is actually amazing to think about where I was yesterday at this time, to where I am today.

As in the last post, we were waiting on our LID yesterday at this time. It had been 72 long days waiting to find out if China had received our paperwork. Well apparently they had.

About two hours after the blog was written, I received a voice mail from our agency. "We really need to talk to you, it is very important."

In tears, I called them back.

Valerie, we have really good news for you. We received your LOA today. (Letter of Acceptance) This is a letter from China, it asks you if you for sure would still like to adopt this child. It is actually a one page document that has two boxes on it - check yes or no.

Yes, yes, yes!!! Of course we want to adopt her! This is it!!! :)

So within two hours, I went from having a pity party to having an LOA party!!

Now, since we are traveling about 1-2 months before I thought we would be, now I have to get things going...

I know everything is in God's timing, I wish I would have trusted Him more.

Waiting....

We are waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

Generally a LID (see past post) doesn't take as long as ours is taking. Day 72 and we still don't have a LID. Our agency is now going to call China tonight to try to find out what is happening. They have already sent a written request to find out, but no response, so tonight the phone call will be made.

As we wait, I think about what all has happened in our lives in the past 72 days...

I have lost 7 pounds
Jacob graduated from 8th grade
Nathan grew an inch
John started talking (now we can't get him to stop)
I gained 4 pounds
Leonard started job searching
Jacob started high school football practice
I lost 2 pounds
I interviewed for a job (didn't get it)
I decided to go back to school (restarted my masters)
I decided to become highly qualified in math (I need two more classes - but need to go back to a little ways to get back into the swing of things - so will take a math class this summer)
My sister in law and brother in law started their adoption from Ukraine
My sister and mom went to Ireland?
My dad has played golf - how many times?
My father in law found out he has back problems
My mother in law has been wonderfully supportive
I gained 1 pound

Even though I have a calendar where I count the days, our life still goes on. And honestly, what a wonderful life it is!!! :)

LID

China adoption is full of initials. We actually live by them...

What exactly do they all mean?

Let's see...

LOI - Letter of intent. When doing a special needs adoption, a family must write a letter to the Chinese government indicating their desire to adopt a certain child and how they intend to raise this child.
Our LOI was dated 12-29-06

PA- Pre - approval - This is the letter families get back from the government stating they have been accepted to adopt this certain child. Our PA was dated 2-15-07

DTC - Dossier to China - After all of the paperwork is completed, of which I won't bore you with the details, the dossier is sent to China. This is a date that is very important in the Chinese adoption. We have a DTC date of March 6th.

LID - Oh the coveted Log in Date. The date the Chinese put your paperwork into their system. The date from which you can start counting down to travel...usually families will know about their LID within a week to 10 days. It has been a very long 62 days since we were DTC and still no LID. VERY UNUSUAL! It has been very difficult also.

LOA - After much anticipation the Letter of Acceptance comes from China. This is a letter sent that asks "Are you sure this is the child you are wanting?" Usually comes about 100-120 days from LID.

TA - Travel Approval - This is the final word from China telling you when you can come to China. It is usually about 2-3 weeks before travel.

So the question is - WHEN WILL WE TRAVEL? Who knows, only God does!!! But I wish He would let us in on the secret. :)

Recommendation Letter

Can you do a recommendation letter for us?

Sure, that would be easy to do!!

My sister in law (and very good friend) and her husband are in the process of adopting from the Ukraine. They have already adopted three children from Russia and are truely a blessing to our family.

Do you know what it is like to write a recommendation letter for a family member?

Please, don't get me wrong - I highly recommend them to adopt again. I think they are absolutely wonderful parents - but...

I have written numerous recommendation letters as a high school teacher. They have been for scholarships, colleges, jobs, etc. In the big scheme of things - how important were these letters? Oh they were important, sure, but did they determine life? Most likely not...

Back to the recommendation letter - what if I write something that is not quite right? What if one little word was interpreted wrong? What if what I meant to write didn't come out like it should have?

What if my letter hurts their chances of adopting again? Ruin their chances of being parents again and ruin the chance for a precious little child to have loving parents.

UUGGHH. If I don't write the letter, who will? If I do write the letter, will it be ok?

My sister in law and brother in law are wonderful people. They deeply love their children and each other. And of course, they will be just as wonderful with their new child. But how do you convey that to the Ukraine government?

So went my day on Tuesday. I pray my words will speak to their hearts. I pray my letter will be exactly what they are looking for because I know these two people are exactly what God is looking for in parents!!

Where do you start? How do you tell the story of searching the world and finding your child?

My husband and I experienced about two years of trying to get pregnant. We weren't infertile, we just kept having miscarriages...I already had two wonderful boys from a previous marriage but my we really wanted more children.

At this time, China is where we wanted to go. But we were too young to adopt from China so we had to wait. To make a very long story short, we became pregnant and our beautiful daughter, Kylie, was born.

And in another 14 1/2 months, John was born.

There we were, a family of 6! Jacob is 14, Nathan is 12, Kylie is 3 and John is 2. We were set. Life was good - very good.

But have you ever experienced a talk with God that tells you there is more? Have you ever tried to tune God out? It really doesn't work...

I can't even put my finger on the day or how it happened exactly, but the next thing I know, I am totally emersed in the China adoption community. I read every post on every China adoption yahoo group. I was completely and totally of the mindset that this was where God wanted us.

And so began our beautiful, wonderful, stressful, and tearful journey to Kaycee Abigail Xi.

Kaycee - Yuan Yuan Xi born on October 6, 2005 in Fuzhou, Fujian, China.

Kaycee was born with Bilateral Microtia (neither of her ears are formed all of the way on the outside.) At this point, she is deaf, however we have been told that when she comes home, and receives a hear aid, she will be able to hear.

What a beautiful gift she will be to our family. What an awesome, God given journey awaits us...