Why? and "Meant to Be"

Why do I feel like adopting Tyson was the most natural thing in the world for us? I look at him and he just fits in so perfectly. And then, why do I just feel like anyone could do this? Why do I feel so embarrassed when people say, "Wow you are amazing for adopting him," or "Wow, I could never do that!" And all I want to do is say, "No, I am not amazing...not in the least. And yes you could do it! I wish you would!"

BUT...when I hear of someone fostering kids to adopt in our DSHS state system, I just want to hug them and say, "Wow, you are amazing! I could never do that!" And sadly, that is the truth.

I hate it when people ask me why China over the US. And I can honestly answer that by saying we didn't feel comfortable with open adoption or DSHS systems. That's the truth. So I guess for people who do feel comfortable with it, I just think they are amazing because I could never do that.

So maybe that's the feeling people have when they say those things to me...yet I don't agree, and I never will. I still think I'm selfish, going halfway around the world to adopt who I hoped would be the perfect boy...and he is!

I leave you with a video of a Steven Curtis Chapman song "Meant to be" which will be in a new Veggie Tales movie. Adoptive parents, get out the kleenex. It's an amazing song.

I think as adoptive parents some of us say, "He/she was meant to be ours." I've said it too. But I've also heard that can have a negative connotation to adoptive children, as if God meant for them not to be raised with their biological families. BUT this song just says "Meant To Be"...

Listen and watch for yourself. You'll see what I mean. Our kids were meant to be, there is no doubt!

Summer Photos

Kacie and I are in the middle of this roller coaster. We had a blast at Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho, but we will definitely wait to go again when Tyson is bigger.

Hot cocoa in the morning while at Silverwood, ID. We camped near the park.

The end of our camping trip in Leavenworth, WA.

He is a watermelon eating machine! And of course...must eat the watermelon on an 80 degree day with a hat.

Tyson figured out that if he pulls hard enough, he can open the refrigerator. So juice and go-gurt tubes were flying out the refrigerator. I had to put a child lock on the refrigerator to keep him out of it.

Kacie taught Ty to make brownies today, and they had to wear their hats. You can tell what Ty had on his mind!

1 year stats--what a wild ride!

Here is Tyson on Adoption Day: Aug. 2009


This will probably be my last measurement update for Tyson. Clearly, we are out of the woods for growth-related issues. I still find it amazing that he has grown so much in just one year--it's almost super human!

I remember our referral and the 11 months leading up to bringing Ty home, the lack of updates, and just being worried all the time--yet knowing that this was the path God chose for us. I could have turned down this file, being scared of what was to come, but we decided he was our son no matter what. And OH LITTLE DID WE KNOW what God had in store for us!

Tyson is now 38 months old--That is 3 years, 2 months. If you'd like to see my other posts where I commented more on growth-related issues, they are:

http://powellfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/2009/12/small-head-circumference-and.html
This above post I talk a lot about our worries with head circumference.

http://powellfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-stats.html

*Gotcha
BOLD==One Year since Gotcha/Home

Length/Height:
8-9 months: 63.5cm (25 inches), below the charts
16 months: 75.5cm 29 3/4 inches), 5th%ile
22 months: 81cm (31 7/8 inches), 5th%ile
*26 months: 83cm (32 3/4 inches), 5th %ile
27 months: 84cm (33 inches), 5th %ile
30 months: 86cm (33 7/8 inches), 5th %ile
33 months: 90.8cm (35 3/4 inches), 22 %ile
38 months: 96.5cm (38 inches), 49th %ile

Weight--it's amazing what enough food can do!
8-9 months: 6.5kg/14.3lbs, below the charts
16 months: 8.5kg/18.5lbs, below the charts
22 months: 10.5kg/23lbs, 5th%ile
*26 months: 10kg/22lbs, below the charts
27 months: 12kg/26.5lbs, just under 25%ile
30 months: 30lbs, 50th %ile
33 months: 33.5lbs, 75%ile
38 months: 37 lbs, 91%ile

Head Circumference
8-9 months: either 40cm or 41.5cm, all below the charts
16 months: 44cm, below the chart
22 months: 46.5cm, between 5th and 10th%ile
*26 months: 48cm, 25th %ile (I measured to confirm it too and watched 2 nurses as well)
30 months: 49.5cm, 50th %ile (based on my own measurement)
33 months: 50.3cm, 81st %ile
38 months: 51.3cm, estimated 75th to 84th%ile (no charts after 36 months)

Here is Tyson one year later, Aug. 2010, meeting Garfield at a theme park.


Theme park...that seems appropriate because this last year has been ONE WILD RIDE!

1 year ago, we met Tyson

Today marks exactly one year since Tyson entered our lives, or that we entered Tyson's life. However you look at it, all of our lives were forever changed on that day.

Looking back at this year, the only word that captures it is miracle.

Then: 26 months
22lbs, almost 33 inches. Tiny.
Walking was wobbly, no running or jumping, climbing or pulling himself up.
Sat in a high chair.
Repaired cleft lip, but unrepaired palate
Hearing loss.
Afraid of our bed.
No English.

Now: 38 months
Almost 37 pounds, 38 inches
Walking, running, jumping, jumping off of curbs and steps, climbs and pulls himself on everything and anything
Sits in a regular chair (he refuses a booster seat!)
Palate was repaired 12/09, and it was successful
Two sets of ear tubes, hearing is normal
Crawls in our bed every morning.

Those are just a few of the changes. Overall, he is a happy, healthy little boy. There have been moments where I didn't think I could do this, but God always shows the light at the end of the tunnel (or end of the day=bedtime!), and gives me nothing I can't handle. Overall, it has been a blessing to be Tyson's mom, and I can't wait to see what is to come in the next year!

I hope you enjoyed our Family Day video!

This face...

...is swollen. He has very bad reactions to mosquito bites, and he was bit and the entire right side of his face (the left that you are looking at) was so swollen he looked like he had the profile a Peanuts character, most likely Pig Pen since this child seems to have dirt surrounding him where ever he goes!

This was at a theme park in Idaho called Silverwood. He was scared at first, but he loved the merry-go-round. He called it "Horsies go up and the down".

I love this face! I could look at his little cherub cheeks all day long, swollen or not!

Tyson-ese: Speech and words

Some might find this insensitive, and to that I say when you have a child with a speech/language delay, you have to find some humor. So we have dubbed Tyson's speech as "Tyson-ese" and the official translator is none other than big sister Kacie! Here are just a few of his words and their meanings.

Kay-Kee: Kacie, his sister. This is a huge improvement from "Ay-ee" as it contains actual consonants!

Be-mere Be mere!: Come here Come here! He struggles with words that have CVC patterns in which the first consonant is made with the soft palate and the second consonant is made with the front of the mouth. He also cannot make the "h" sound.

Pup: cup

Mammick and Mo-wee: Maverick and Molly, our pugs

wa-were: water. If you slow him down, he will insert the "t" sound.

pweeze: please, but I do notice the actual word once in a while now.

women: swimming He really struggles with the s sound.


OK, so those are just a few examples. Many words he says very well, others sound slurred, but the success story here is that we can actually FIND patterns of errors! Rather than his speech just being one big mess, we can actually identify things to work on. The progress is so exciting, and hopefully soon we will no longer need the translator for Tyson-ese.

Would he have been adopted?

I will be going down memory lane over the next few weeks, along with my typical rants and thoughts. We just spent some time camping, and I did not take my lap top, which of course means that I had A LOT of time to think.

Tyson had only been on the shared list for about 8-10 hours when we locked his file. Little did we know how truly small his measurements were and what this could be a red flag for. We did learn later, but with faith and courage, we persevered and continued, and it was the best decision ever.

I have always assumed that if we hadn't locked his file, someone else would have. I thought this up until last week. I have been looking at the shared list, and I still see little boys on this list with cleft lip and palate, and they have been on there for some time. I am making a huge judgment here, and I know it, so it's just one theory. My theory is that there must be something in these files that is keeping these kids from being adopted. Sometimes there can be things in files that are hard to interpret or disturbing, such as Ty with his low measurements. Is that why those boys are still on the list, or is it that there aren't enough people willing to adopt boys? After thinking about this, I will no longer assume someone would have locked Ty's file, and I am so glad we did. Others may have looked at those measurements and said, "We can't do this..." because the reality was that he could have had serious medical issues, learning disabilities, microcephaly, growth problems, mental retardation... all of which we know Ty does NOT have. But the "what ifs" were there.

A year ago today, my mom was driving us to the airport where we would spend the night for our early flight to China the next day. Today--one year later--, we just returned from a 5 day camping trip, and as I type this, I'm sitting in the hall watching Ty in the tub, as we try to find his natural skin color under all of the dirt and dust! He's all boy, there is no doubt! I'll post pics as soon as I get them loaded.

He's just like the other kids--swimming

Tyson started swimming lessons last week. I found a session where Kacie can swim at her level in the big pool and Ty can take lessons at the same time in the small pool. It is a two-week daily session called "Pike" for beginning swimming/water adjustment for 3-5 year olds. The biggest issue for us was that I am not in the pool. He has a swimming teacher! And that is what Tyson now calls swimming."I swimming teacher!" he proudly exclaims!

I kindly explained Ty's situation to another teacher before I knew who his regular teacher was. Once I saw Christy ("swimming teacher"), I told her that trust was a huge deal for Ty, and for this session, if he'd just get in the water, I'd be tickled pink. I didn't want him forced underwater yet because he needs to build trust for future lessons. Christy has been more than amazing!

The first day, he cried. Fortunately, I know the teacher from working with her 6 years ago, so she scooped him up and took him to the pool. He observed the other kids sitting on the bench, and he did it too. Then the teacher took him for his first "swim", and he was smiling ear to ear. He cried a little on day 2; day 3 no tears, but teacher still had to pack him to the pool. By day 4, he was a pro and walked in on his own, no tears. Now he just tells me where to sit. The teacher told me if I'm not watching him, he gets mad and says, "Mama look!"

But the biggest thing I noticed that first day was this:


Remember, this is a class of 3-5 year olds, and Ty just turned 3. Naturally, he's going to be smaller than the others....or is he? LOOK! He's sitting on the bench with the other kids. He's taking part in a group activity. He's not being naughty (OK, the lifeguard has talked to him a few times, but that's it. Hey, that little girl has curly hair, of course he has to pull it gently to see if it bounces!), and he looks to be the same size as the other 3-5 year olds. He looks and acts like any other kid.

And that's what I got out of it. He may be different from other kids, but it is nice to see him starting to blend in more and do what other kids his age do. It brought tears to my eyes. God reassured me we are on the right path, and I praise Him for his guidance this past year.

And as a swim report, Kacie has moved to the next level! Ty will be a pike for awhile, and that's OK. I'm just so beyond proud of him for even getting in the water with someone different and watching him progress in his independence.

Enjoy the photos!

Getting ready to do "pencil point" with his arms to go back to the bench.


I guess I shouldn't use the flash at the pool--pics turn out dark. But you can see his smile, and that's what's important!


The last 5 minutes of class is free time, and you'd think Kacie would go play on her own. After all, her brother drives her crazy! But oh no, they seek each other out immediately and have so much fun!

Tyson and the Purple Marker

Do you remember this story, the little boy named Harold and his purple crayon? Well aren't I lucky...I have my own real-life version. It's called "Tyson and Purple Marker" Notice the nice vertical design on the left of Tyson. Nice...



Well...I've been meaning to paint my kitchen anyway...

Camping at Lake Quinault

We spent last weekend camping in the area that I grew up--beautiful Lake Quinault. This area is in a temperate rainforest, proven by the average of 12 feet of rain per year. It can get very depressing and many people struggle to live out there for this reason. And for those of you who are Twilight fans, it is only 70 miles south of the REAL Forks, WA. My parents still live in this area, and Dan and I lived out there for five years but decided to move when Kacie was 2. It is a remote area, and after going to the same school (K-12 in one building) for 12 years, then I taught there for 6 years, I was ready for a change. But, it's a gorgeous place to visit, and on top of it being a gorgeous weekend (you have to endure the rain to get the beautiful days!), there was an all school reunion and I got to reconnect with some old friends.

Here we are setting up our campsite. We got a sweet spot near a waterfall, and Kacie had so much fun climbing down the bank to the creek.

Kacie and Tyson at our camp site. My parents came to visit us both Thurs and Fri, and mom brought us a wonderful dinner on Friday night that we didn't expect, complete with chicken, potato salad, chips, watermelon, and lemonade. Thanks Mom!

The Quinault River, which flows into the lake. This site is where our friends used to live until the river changed course and literally took out the ground below their house. They had to relocate to the family barn (which is gorgeous...but still...it's a barn) until they could move their house to new property. The river literally flowed under their house!

I know it's a blurred pic, but here is a cow elk we saw on our ceremonious "drive around the lake". It's one of those hick things we used to do when bored, but honestly, it's an amazing drive into some beautiful old growth forests where you will usually see elk if you go early in the morning or just before dark. We went before dark, and we had already passed the normal places we see elk, but then I spotted about 7 of them in the forest, and we were able to pull over and enjoy them for about 5 minutes. Kacie thought it was amazing...Ty wouldn't stop talking and finally he scared them off. Oh well...

Most of the drive around the lake is gravel road. I love it!

A rare photo of me (I can't stand pictures of myself) and Ty having breakfast, made by Dan! He always cooks the breakfasts when we go camping.


As you can see, I grew up in a slice of heaven. You endure the gray skies and rain for days like these. For me, I live over an hour away...close enough to take advantage of those sunny days, and I certainly need to do it more often. It is a pleasure to share this area and these memories with my kids. I hope they will continue to visit the area when they grow older.

As for us...next stop is Idaho and Leavenworth coming soon!

Dreams, Reality, an Faith

So I have been going through waiting child lists. Of course, I had my ultimate child in mind: 5-7 year old girl with a cleft lip/palate or CHD/heart issue, or maybe even a missing limb. No child seemed just right, so the dream continued. I even thought maybe adopting a boy with cleft Ty's age would be a good move too, so I kept my eyes open for a child fitting that description.

And then I saw her. 5 years old, CHD, cute as a button! I told Dan about her, and sadly, I told him that the reality of adopting again suddenly became just a dream, not a reality. It's funny how something seems doable, then when the opportunity comes, you find that it's just not.

I'm also going through this with buying a car. I woke up yesterday with the realization that I will be commuting to school next year with BOTH kids in the car. I only drive about 8-9 miles one way, but the roads can get very icy in the winter, and I will be leaving before daylight. I don't want another car payment, but I think safety wise I don't have a choice. So I was excited as I started looking at cars, thinking I could handle the payment. I have decided I can either get a base model and buy new or buy something a few years old with bells and whistles. But the closer I came to finding something I really liked and getting the guts to go test drive, the sadder I became thinking about that car payment and rise in insurance and gas money. I will get a new-to-me vehicle before October, but the question is will it be something I like or something out of necessity?

But back to adoption. I have seen multiple lists, and I am in shock of how many older boys are on the list, and how many boys under three year old with cleft lip/palate are still on the list. Lots of people are advocating for kids to be adopted, and I am wondering if this is a direction I should go since I can't adopt myself. You know where my heart would be...toddler boys with cleft lip/palate. I can't help it. These children have stolen my heart!

If you are reading this and considering adoption or cleft lip/palate, i know it's scary at first. And it's scary before you meet your child. And it's scary when they don't talk well, and you wonder if there's a syndrome, and you...and you...and you... but I have to say one thing. I had to get over it and say to myself, "Jolene, this is not about YOU!" In fact, I believe it was the Lord who said this to me. Basically, I had to get over myself and let the Lord be in control.

So just as I had faith that Tyson's adoption would work out, I'm going to have faith that God will lead us to a second adoption if the time is right, and He will lead me to the right car, and best of all, He will just keep leading us!

Please if you would, pray for Tyson. He has his first fever with us. It's 102, and I believe climbing. It was 99.3 earlier, so hopefully it peaks tonight. He is supposed to start swimming lessons on Monday!

Here is Ty this week after pouring bubbles in our fountain. The funny thing is that our city hall has a fountain that people like to put bubbles in, and often the bubbles float down the streets. I like to tell people that Ty is starting small with our fountain and working his way up to the city hall fountain in about 10 years. :)

Sidewalk Chalk=MESS!!!

I left for a few hours to shop and get a massage...so much for relaxation. Dan says he was watching him...you be the judge.

Remembering last summer and other Tyson updates

Well, my Kacie is off at camp for the week, so it's just Ty and I for a few days while Dan is at work.

When I was pregnant with Kacie, I was mostly afraid of the pain of child birth. Most people told me, "You won't remember it, it's so worth it!" Well, the last part is true, but I have to beg to differ with the first part. It was nine years ago, and I remember it vividly. I vowed, I never wanted to be pregnant again. Well, then I changed my mind (not that I wanted to be pregnant but just the decision that yes, I'd do it again), but I couldn't have any more children biologically, and that part of the story has turned out just fine.

So when we started the adoption process, I didn't think the pain of it could be possibly as bad as the physical pain of my pregnancy. Wrong. Even my good friends say that after watching what I went through that they would take a pregnancy any day over the agonizing wait I endured for Tyson and the mountains of paperwork beauracracy.

When we started the process and locked Ty's file in September 08, we hoped for an April departure, which quickly turned in to May...then June...then July. OK, July, I could deal with that. When we got our LOA, we had hoped for a July 8th travel date...then July 15th...July 22, and then we watched the possibility of July 29th pass us by. I went into a cold, dark place that I didn't know existed. I still remember that pain, that depression of sitting on the couch every day, checking various internet sites and wondering, "Where is MY TA? God, is my son not important to you?" Yep, I questioned God, over and over. If it wasn't for the strength of my church family, I'm not sure how I would have made it.

This was the face we saw in Sept. 08, taken in about May of 08. It was one of 4 pictures I had in the referral paperwork.


In June of 2009, I finally got a picture of him on his second birthday. This photo actually scared me. I thought maybe he couldn't clap his own hands. The funny thing about that is that I worried even after we met him because he didn't clap his hands. But on our second night home, while we were all trying to sleep, he decided to party and clapped his hands in our bed! No more worrying on that one!


And here he is last week, one year ago from the worst July of my life.


I can't say it's the best July of my life because of my dad's health, but other than that, it's been fun being home with my little man! I look at him, and I know why I felt that pain. I still harbor a lot of resentment over those lost months with Tyson, and I pray I can get over it. I think these next few months are going to be emotional. I didn't experience a lot of emotion with Ty's birthday, other than that it was the first birthday with him. But I think coming up on a year of being a forever family is going to be a little different.

In other Tyson news...

Today we went to a park that two months ago Tyson couldn't play on. It was a bit too big, there was a wavy bridge he couldn't cross, and he refused to go down the slides. Today we tried it again. He had a new-found confidence, and he conquered the bridge and slides! Totally amazing.

His speech is still coming along, but he puts consonant sounds in all the wrong places. He says "pomb" for "comb"; but then he says "ig" for "pig". Go figure. There are many more examples. But he's speaking better every week. We still continue weekly speech therapy.

Discipline is going well. He is understanding "first you do this...then this will happen". I can take away toys, and he responds with the correct behavior. I can count 1...2... and usually he changes his behavior before I get to three. All of these show that he is capable of behavior modification and understanding consequences, which is huge for me because 2 months ago, I was still dealing with a very angry kid. We're not out of the woods, but at least we're on the trail!

Attachment is going better. He enjoys being rocked like a baby now, and we do it daily. It's all about re-creating that bonding cycle and filling the gaps he missed as a baby. He is making good eye contact, and I just feel very positive with the direction we are going.

Potty training is coming along, which is also a huge improvement from not moving forward at all. I am hoping he'll be close to fully trained before I go back to school.

Funny story! Today while I was out of the room, he took a ketchup bottle, squirted half of the bottle on the kitchen floor, and was eating it with a spoon while the pugs helped him. Had I not been in such shock, I would have grabbed the camera. Oh how I wish I would have!


Enjoy the week!
Jolene

The little things...

Tonight, Tyson noticed I have a mosquito bite on my leg. Lately he has been obsessed with band-aids. He had just had a bath, and I thought that when he asked for a band aid it was for him. He went to get one, then asked me to open it. To my surprise, he put it on MY LEG! He was fixing my ow-ie.

To the typical family, this is so cute, sweet, etc... but for us, this is MAJOR. This is showing compassion, wanting to help heal someone. Kids with attachment issues often do not feel compassion or remorse. We have been working so hard on this, so this was a big deal. And yes, it was pretty darn cute and sweet too!

Today we went to the lake to visit one of my friends from high school who was up here camping from California. We took some time to find a spot where we could safely throw rocks in the lake, and Ty just thought that was the greatest past time ever!

Here he is showing me the rock he's about to throw.


And he's very thrilled when the rock plunks into the water and make a wake around it. He thought that was hilarious! I truly had no idea this was all it took to make him happy. I guess we'll go to the lake more often!


And of course, here are my two beautiful children. I love them so much!


And then to end the day, we got the bad news that my dad was not able to have his heart procedure. I will be going back to Seattle tomorrow to help my mom. He will be in the hospital the next few days as we figure out what to do from here. Please keep praying. There is a chance this is a blessing in disguise....or not.

Special Needs...a relative term

In college I learned about China adoption and always felt called to adopt from China. So when we truly started the process in March 2008, it was for a nsn child, most likely a girl. I knew nothing, zero, zilch, nada, about the special needs program. When we started the Hague classes and learned about some of the common special needs, we said, "Well, we could do that!" and immediately switched gears. Education was the key to our decision, and it was not a decision we took lightly.

There is a lot of discussion right now on people switching to the sn program and whether or not they are ready for a child with special needs. Some believe if you aren't ready for any/all needs, then you shouldn't adopt a child through the special needs program. Well if that was the case, I shouldn't have adopted Tyson.


People say, "I could never adopt a child with special needs." I always say, "But he's just like any other little boy! He plays in the water, he loves cars, he runs and jumps....he's just like any other kid. Except that he heard Chinese his first two years and English in the last year, and his mouth was completely reconstructed in December and he's had to learn to speak in a whole new way, and we go to speech therapy once a week, and he's had two sets of ear tubes so now he can actually hear the words we use. Oh, and the fact he had gross motor delays but has caught up now, as well as gaining 14 pounds in 10 months. And he still has more surgeries to come, as well as major orthodontics. And at times he gets stared at due to his little cleft lip mark...Other than that, he doesn't have any special needs at all."

And that's when I realize...he is NOT like any other little boy. Tyson has special needs to many people, but to us, he's just Tyson, a remarkable little man who has defied the odds to not only survive abandonment and life in an orphanage, living for two years underweight, no mommy or daddy to love on him... yeah, he does have special needs. Needs that have just become part of our lives now.

Whatever his special needs are, we work through them. I know he has attachment issues, so we intentionally work on it. We enunciate our words more clearly than before. Our lives have been turned upside down for sure. I can truly say, I was prepared for his special need of cleft lip/palate, which has been a non-issue for us. And for those who say they couldn't do it, I say that if your child has a special need, not only CAN you do it, you WOULD do it!

I find myself struggling with the fact that I did miss his first two years. He's growing and changing right before my eyes. Look at this big boy now.

And there is nothing I wouldn't do for him. I took a chance on a little boy with special needs...which to us aren't that special at all.

2 days, 2 trips to Seattle

On Thursday, we had tickets for the Yankees vs. Mariners game in Seattle. With no traffic, it's about a 2 hour drive. With traffic, it can be 3.5 hours. It was also 97 degrees when we got to the game. But nevertheless, we had a pretty good time. Here are KC and Ty with their hats, as it was "Griffey backward hat night", and they were giving out free hats to the first 20,000 fans. Don't ask about the outcome...all I can say is that our bullpen totally stinks!



We had a decent drive up to the game, stopped for dinner, typical traffic in the typical spots, but overall, not bad. So usually after the game the toughest part is getting out of Seattle, then it's a clear shot home, home in just over 2 hrs. Ha! 3.5 hours later, we were home. Can you say ROAD CONSTRUCTION???? We got home at 1pm, and Dan had to be up at 4:30 for work.

So this morning I was up with Ty, and my mom called, and I could tell by her voice, it wasn't good. My dad had a heart attack last month. Then he was in the local hospital for 5 days last week. Last night he took another bad turn, and so she was bringing him back to the local hospital. Dan came home from work so I could be with my mom, and I met my parents first at the doctor's office. The doctor said to take Dad to the ER, and from there he would be flown out to Seattle.

And that is how you make two trips to Seattle in two days. After dad was flown out, my mom and I drove to Seattle, and it took 3hrs. 15 minutes to get there. Traffic was awful. Dad had an angiogram, and it looked good, so he is back to the original plan of getting a pacemaker on Monday, except that he will be staying in Seattle until the surgery. I had to get back to the kiddos, so after being in Seattle for about 3 hours, Mom and I hit the road and were home in just over 2 hours. That was a plus!

What a summer it's been. Please be praying for my dad to make a complete recovery. Thank you!

I am so selfish!

There is a family that on the news that is trying to raise money to adopt. On the comments, you can't believe the ridiculous statements people make! The main argument of course is that they should be adopting from the US and they are selfish for adopting internationally and not helping the kids here. I always can't help but asking how many children that person has adopted or fostered.

I am so selfish, yes it is true. Here is why.

I wanted to have a baby back in 2000, and within a month, I was pregnant with Kacie. So rather than adopting one of the children here in the United States who desperately needed a home, I had a biological child.

And then in 2008 I chose to adopt a boy from China, and in 2009 he came home. Once again, rather than adopting one of the children here in the United states who desperately needed a home, I adopted from China.

So which of the above statements do you think I hear more about? Sad isn't it? The bottom line is all children need a home and a family, and my heart breaks daily for those children. I teach them and see them every day. I certainly can't bring them all into my family, but I do what I can to make their day a little better as much as I can.

I believe there are about 147 million orphans in the world. And I'm selfish for adopting from China, but not having one biologically? According to some idiots, I am. Things that make you go hmmmmmmm....or WOW!

Picture of my two beautiful children that I so selfishly brought into my family to call my own! (taken November 2009)

Potty training, and it's working!

I can't even believe it. Poof, out of the blue. Since I've been off for the summer, and Ty turned three, I've been working with Ty on using the potty. When we first brought him home, he was deathly afraid of his little potty. He'd cry at the mere sight of it or concept of using it, which told me something may have happened in the orphanage around this topic--negatively. We have had so many other hurdles to overcome that potty training was the least of my worries...until about 2 months ago.

I told him now that he's three he has to wear pull-ups and underwear, and he has to start going on the potty. We've been working on it, and he had gone a total of 3 times--EVER--on the potty. Then today... TA DA! Five times he told me "I pee" or just "pee" and off we'd go, and he'd go!

I have tried not to sweat this, but inside I was getting a little nervous that he'd be going to Kindergarten in diapers. I'm not saying he is potty trained, but what I am saying is that today we turned a major corner! Yay!

In other news...

My dad has been back in the hospital for his heart. Please pray for him. He will hopefully get out tomorrow. A pacemaker might be in his future.

I am still pretty appalled at the insensitivity on RQ, but I continue to go there (I miss you MCK! I need your blog address again!)

For the fourth of July we are staying close to home, enjoying some community fireworks in our area and BBQing with some friends.

Tuesday is our 2nd and final post-placement report visit! When that report is complete, we will do the re-adoption to get Ty a state birth certificate.

Ty continues his obsession with Lightning McQueen. He has two cars, and one has to be in his hand at all times. He goes to sleep with them, wakes with them. But if you've seen how I decorated his room, you understand. If you're new to the blog, here's a picture of his room. This was from last October, and his room is Disney Cars.


Well, make that SIX times going potty since I started typing! :)
Jolene

Summer Days and Dreams

After the end of the school year and birthday madness, I took some time to relax. But not too much. I treated myself this week to a massage, manicure/pedicure, and a facial! I've also been walking 6 out of the last 7 days. All of these are nothing short of a miracle for me. Dan decided we should paint our house. It is now a dark green, but we haven't done the trim yet, so no pics til it's all the way done.

We've spent a few afternoons at the park, and one day they had some games by the city parks and rec, and Kacie won two first place ribbons in the egg toss :) Good times. Here are the kids on one of the new swings at the park.


And Tyson? Well, I have taken 4 2+hr naps since the break began (with an adult present of course...). I have been super consistent with him, and it's wearing me down--but it's also paying off. Today he told me he had to go "boppy" (potty) and he went! Too bad he had three accidents after that, so back to the pull-ups we went.

We've pretty much decided that this house is our home, and we aren't moving. It would be nice to have a bigger house, but it is what it is. A new fence is probably in the future very soon.

But most of all, I can't shake my desire to adopt again. I saw a very adorable 4 year old boy with heart conditions that I just fell in love with. I always said if I adopted again, I wanted a 6 year old girl. But now I'm wondering....couldn't Tyson and another boy share a bedroom? Hmmmmmm.... but again, back to $$$$. We have to make choices. A new fence was in the works when we decided to adopt, and trust me, I'd rather have Tyson than a fence!

Is it just me, or are prices just sky rocketing? It just doesn't seem like my money goes as far as it used to. I need to pay bills right now, but instead I'm blogging because I like to see my money in my account...but if I don't pay my bills, they will be late, and even more will come out of my account. I'd better pay my bills.

So here is a picture I took with my phone of Tyson today when I decided to spike his hair. He got a super cute hair cut yesterday. I thought this look on his face was priceless.


We are halfway through the week and it's almost the weekend! Off to see Karate Kid on Friday with Kacie, and I can't wait!

Both of my babies had birthdays!

Kacie turned 9 on Saturday, June 19th. My little preemie baby, who is now full of life and energy beyond what even I could have dreamed.

Tyson turned 3 today, June 22nd. While we will never know if this is truly his day of birth, it is the date he was given and the date we will use to celebrate his rite of passage of turning another year old.

A little known story: When we were called with our first referral, the birthday of that child was in April. I said, "Oh wow..." I was asked if that would be a problem. Well, of course not! We just had several April birthdays in our family, and I just thought it was a coincidence. I guess it has happened that referrals have been turned down because of a birth date. That is ludicrous to me!

So when we accepted Tyson's referral, imagine my thoughts when I realized that my children would have birthdays 3 days apart! I can tell that June is going to be an expensive month as my children get older, and I have to find a way to separate those birthdays. But for now, this was a fun year of celebrating together.

Kacie was invited to play up in a 10U fastpitch tournament, so she had two games on her birthday. Her big present was to tell her that on Monday, we were headed to Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park about an hour from our house. Kacie has been wanting to go here since it was built two years ago, so she was pumped up and ready to go! I added a birthday package for the kids, so we had lots of little extras along the way, including a birthday cake with a crazy birthday hat. We had a great time!

Kacie baked a cake with her grandma on Saturday so she and Ty could blow out candles. Here they are singing to each other, blowing out candles, and then just a nice smile for mom!



This is celebrating their birthdays at Great Wolf Lodge after a full day of indoor water park fun!


Happy birthday my beautiful babies!