New Engine or new car?

So, my car wouldn't start this morning - thankfully Bryan was still home so, I could get Kenzie to school on time with his truck. Having the tow truck come get the car from our house and all - Bryan received a phone call from the "car doctor" (as Jailyn calls it) - and - the engine is dead. New engine or new car. UGH!
We were really hoping the van would last one more year! If anyone knows of a van or SUV that seats 7 or more, in good condition that is for sale - we'd love to chat with you!

Our Thursday's are usually very busy. We meet with families for church for Bible Study every other week or Connections - for Mom's and kids every other week. Today, was Connections - at our house. We had a great turn out - 7 mom's and 15 kids. We made valentines for the kids at Vicery Meadows Ministry - The Refugee program. The kids did a great job making the valentines! It was kinda strange for them to make cards for people they had not met, but we do plan on meeting these kids at the part in a few months! Hopefully, the kids will be able to connect with each other at that time.

We had to cancel Conner's OT today (because of no vehicle) - he really could of used it! Maybe I need a little OT! :)

Trust is building!

Jorja seems to be trusting us more and more.
Lately, when playing at home Jorja has been checking in on me. If she is playing in another room, she will come find me - and give me one of her precious smiles and then run off again. Sometimes, she will stick around and chat, or play peek-a-boo. But mostly just to see where I am. This is good!
Today we were at the mall - and we let the girls play for a little bit. The play area was super crowded. Jailyn jumped out of the stroller and ran off - by the time we got Jorja unbuckled and she entered the play area Jailyn was unable to be found. Jorja looked scared as she was shouting "Jailyn - Meimei" over and over again. It was sweet! I ended up staying inside the play area so she could find me - she followed Jailyn every where and enjoyed it!
It is interesting to watch the two of them - sometimes Jorja takes the older sister roll and sometimes Jailyn does. I love just watching them and am so glad they will have each other for life!

Complete opposites!

My precious little cleft baby that still has a whole in the roof of her mouth - therefore, her nose is a mess most of the time, not to mention she has no problem eating and being messy!
And then there is my sweet 4 year old neat freak! Well, at least when it comes to when she is eating. Jorja has a napkin in her hands at all times. She has already taken over the chore of passing out napkins at the dinner table. :) Jailyn's eating habits are about to drive her nuts!

What a difference a week makes!

A long week - but we made it through and we are all still smiling!
Many emotions ran through our house this week!
Dad being out of town all week, mom being sleep deprived, Jorja refusing to sleep, Jailyn needing extra comfort - did not make a good combination!
Many smiles, many silly faces, many interesting conversations - Jorja laughs so hard at me when I try to repeat her Cantonese, and many temper tantrums.
Jorja can be the sweetest, most fun loving little four year old - and then there is her stubborn side. Thankfully, these are fewer every day. The other day during a temper tantrum, I went to sit down and speak to her - and she spat in my face. Oh, soooo not good! Now we know why her paperwork from China said that she has socialization issues! Cause she chooses too. :) She likes to pick fights with Jailyn - but Jailyn, in her own little world never holds a grudge. Too cute!

Jorja's biggest lesson this week was to learn to say "I'm sorry". She expected others to apologize to her, but refused to apologize to others. After numerous "situations" she has finally been willing to apologize and hug.

Hopefully, we will be able to work on the whole going to be thing! The last two nights I have been able to get her to sleep on me on the couch. I hate this bad habit - but as she begins to trust us, we will work on getting her to fall asleep in her bed.
We haven't done naps most of the week - I don't have the energy to fight that one too. The night that she slept only 5 hours really put me under!

Enjoy some more photos from our week!

Homeschooling a 4th grader...

with two munchkins running around!
I wasn't too sure how this week of schooling was going to go for Conner and I trying to home school while we all get to know Jorja and she gets to know us. Last week Conner did a lot of make up work as he didn't get much work while I was in China.
He did great this week! On Tuesdays, he has Occupational Therapy in the morning - this is a great day to get things done. He is really on his game on Tuesday's after therapy. Thursday's are busy with Bible Study and hanging out with other home schooled friends. Conner has therapy again in the afternoon so we enjoy less "book" learning on Thursday's and use our time getting to know each other, chatting and reading together, as the girls enjoy some time at home after a busy morning and afternoon.
Though some days are easier then others - neither of us have regretted this move we made. Conner is learning, expressing his creativity, and is understanding that he can challenge himself without comparing himself to others. He has been off his medication since we began school. He is learning to deal with his frustrations on his own without medication helping him.
Now, how do the little ones come into play. They are really good at leaving him a lone for the first few hours. They are becoming so close. I have noticed Conner and Jailyn's relationship become stronger since he has been home during the day. (Conner has mentioned it too.)
While Conner is working on his own, the girls and I work on their "home work" (as Jailyn says.) Jailyn knows her numbers, ABC's, shapes, colors... so now we are teaching Jorja. Jorja to love to learn as much as Jailyn does. I'm not sure how much work Jorja has done with scissors before - I had to show her how to hold them but she caught on quickly and loved it! As they were working quietly, I was busy doing things - next thing I know the two girls are cutting over the trash can! Too funny!
So, to sum it up - school time is going well. Jailyn is still in speech school twice a week too - so that keeps us going too, and she loves to share what she learned with Jorja.
Jorja gets her pre-school evaluation this week - we'll see what they say about her and what school would be the best for her. I wasn't sure about putting her in school right away, but after she joined in on Caroline's b-day party after being home less the 24 hours, and going to Sunday school the 2nd week at church - I think she will enjoy some school time. I'm not sure I'll be able to send her off too many days in the week.

I love this girl!!!

Okay, so Jorja has been home with us for 1 1/2 weeks. The first few days she was still in diapers and pull-ups. She has done really well with potty training since then. She only wears diapers at night. She is continually wet at night, but that is fine. I'm not worried.
Tonight during dinner she asked to go potty. We excused her from dinner to go to the restroom. Next thing I see is this -

"Momma help!"
Can you believe it! I still can't get my husband to change the toilet paper roll!
We may be having growing pains getting to know each other - but this makes me feel like all will be okay!

Learning more about Jorja!

With the language barrier it is difficult to tell what Jorja understands academically. She loves to mimic what ever is said to her. Trying to get her to say, "please" or "thank you" Bryan usually says, "What do you say?" she repeats "Wat d yu zaa?" Okay, she does do the "please" sign. :) She seems to be relaxing with us - as she just rambles stories to us in Cantonese. I so wish I knew what she was say! I can't wait to be able to actually hold a conversation with her. :)

We pulled out the blocks the other day. We learned the word "same". J & J enjoyed matching their blocks and shouting "same!!! same!!!"
It was interesting to see that Jailyn liked to stack the blocks and Jorja liked to line them up. We finally were able to encourage Jorja to stack the blocks.
We then sorted the blocks per colors. Jorja wanted the green ones, and Jailyn wanted the blue ones. The two girls were so cute!

Today I caught Jorja doing her best to count her blocks, at least I think that's what she was doing. I love watching her play by herself. She just chats with her stuffed animals - or chat on her play cell phone, I really wish I new what she was saying!

"She has black hair like me!"

Jailyn has never seemed overly concerned about the fact that she was the only one in the family with black hair and brown eyes. I have tried to put emphasis on the fact that I also am the only one with green eyes and red hair. Yesterday, while Jailyn and Jorja were playing, Jailyn looked and me with excitement, "She has black hair and brown eyes like me!" It was so sweet!
Tonight Jailyn sparked another adorable conversation:

J: Mom, did you go to China?
M: Yes honey!
J: Did you go to China to bring Jorja home to me?
M: Yes honey!
J: Jorja, my sister?
M: Yes honey!
J: (with her sweet, huge smile) Thank you Mommma!
I love my sister!

For those wondering how they are getting along - this sums it up! Of course, there are moments of learning how to share, but for the most part - both of them are doing really well. They love running around together and are great at helping each other!

At times Jorja seems to be the younger sister but for the most part she is taking the role of big sister to Jailyn and younger sister to the big kids! She is really bonding with each one of them. She warmed up to Kenzie first but has gotten close to Brady and Conner in their own way too. Brady keeps her laughing, Conner loves to play soccer or reading books to her, Kenzie is her second mother and my right hand man! Kenzie is amazing! I don't think I could do two toddlers without her help. I try not to take advantage of her but she always seems to be there with a helpful heart!

Though in China Jorja seemed to be a bit slow on the whole potty training thing - since we have been home she is only wearing diapers at night. During the day she is wearing panties and doing great! We use a sign language sign for "potty" because she is unable to pronounce "potty" - I can't even spell what she actually says. :) She is able to pronounce "poopa" though! :) (That's always lovely in public!)

Here are a few photos of our time home so far! Can't believe tonight is a week that we have been home. Bryan, Jorja and I are still struggling with jet-lag, but trying to make the best of it. I have been back to my Chiropractor for my muscle-spasms in my back - love this office! They even have a massage therapist - much more relaxing then the massage in China.
Okay, so I know you can't see their eyes - but look at those sweet smiles! They love the trampoline! Jorja's orphanage had one in the playroom - she loves it!
Jorja loves playing with play-doh!
Happy 10th Birthday Conner J! So glad we were home for your birthday!
Not the best photo, but the first one of all five kids! Aren't they cute!
Jorja loves loud toys - oh, goody!
Jorja is enjoying learning how puzzles work. This next week we will begin working specifically on her fine motor skills.

I guess we are a BIG family now...

We have only been home with Jorja for a few days and I am amazed at the amazement I have seen in peoples eyes when they see us coming! We really haven't gone anywhere as an entire family yet either. :) The other day, I had to take Brady to the Dr. and get x-rays on his leg (all is good with his leg - but he has to stay off of it for at least a week). I had Brady, Conner, Jailyn and Jorja with me. Kenzie was at school. Strangers were amazed at how many kids were with me and noticeably two were not biological.

I was asked today, why did we adopt? Were we just not able to continue the "natural way" to have a larger family? or is this a calling? I guess we feel it is a calling. That seems really weird to say. "A calling". I guess when God has placed orphans on your heart all your life it just seems like a way of life, not a "calling" in which I have to sacrifice something in order to be obedient to God.

I've been asked if we are "independently wealthy". I seem to laugh harder every time I think of that question. :)(Have you seen our cars, or our carpet?)
To be honest we went into Jailyn's adoption with the idea that we can pay for everything ourselves. And that is pretty much how everything happened. The journey to Jorja was a bit different. Though our adoption finances we had covered - it was the toddler beds that we now needed for both Jailyn and Jorja, and the extra car seat, and the clothes, and the extra food that our family would devour. I admit at times I wondered if we were really following God or just doing what we wanted to do. But, God is good! And His people are giving and gracious! When I mentioned to two friends that I was shopping garage sales for toddler beds - they both perked up and said, "We have one!" And one of those friends had an extra car seat that their child had grown out of. Another friend helped raise funds for our expenses by selling beautiful bracelets! $ for our Visa's were raised through this beautiful friend! and all the friends who purchased them. Thank you!
There have been so many friends who have helped us through both adoptions! Thank you sooo much!

"Isn't it expensive to adopt?" Is a question that I receive more then ever.
Yes, if that is the way you want to look at it. But, when I visited Jorja's orphanage and saw the 16 friends in her room, all different ages. I thought, I need to come back and encourage others too! How more much more "stuff" do I need? These babies need homes! They need someone to love them, hold them, discipline them, teach them! Tonight, for the first time, Jorja let me rock her and sing to her to sleep. It was so precious that I didn't want to put her down. When I finally did, she opened her eyes, I rubbed her tummy, thinking she was going to begin crying, but she gave me the sweetest smile and closed her eyes and was fast asleep. I'm sure she never experience this comfort before. I believe the nannies and orphanage staff do their best, but nothing compares the comfort and love of a family.

"But, what about your kids?" This question baffles me. All five of my kids are "my kids", and I love them all the same. I do get what people are trying to say though. "What about your bio-logical kids." My answer to this is - how can I not do this for them? They are part of God's plan to care for the orphan! God commands this! Sure they would love to have a Wii, and maybe they will some day, but the fun they have with their little sisters is so much more important then playing tennis in the family room. Today was Conner's birthday. It was so sweet to see Jailyn get so excited for Conner when I told her! She ran to Conner and hugged him so hard and told him "Happy Birfday!" All day, she asked, "How old is Conner!" She loves and adores her big brothers and sisters!

"Are you finally done?" I think I have received this question 20 times since we have been home in less than a week. The answer to that question is still up for discussion. Bryan and I are willing to do what God leads us to do. I did promise Conner I wouldn't leave to go to China again, so Bryan will have to go by himself, but having done it twice he would be fine. We are praying for the Lord's guidance in this area!
I would love to begin a group in town to encourage adoption awareness. I really feel the Lord calling me to this, so I am in the research phase. (in my free time :).

When I complain about the long air flight, or the paperwork and government red tape that needs to be cut through - I just look at the photos of these precious faces and drop to my knees asking forgiveness. How selfish am I to complain, while my child sits alone, freezing, and starving waiting for me to love him/her.

I pray for many more to heed God's call. Love the orphans as he does! Pray for them, sponsor them, or even bring one (or two) home to complete your family! Feel free to leave me a note or email me if you would like to hear more about adoption! I would love to hear other adoption stories too!

Jorja's best friend has her Mama and Baba!

Another family is born!!! Jorja was already asleep when I was able to check if Dee had posted any photos yet. Jorja will be so excited to see her best friend Chun Xiao with her Mama and Baba! Follow their trip to China at their blog Our Adoption Journey
Congratulations to Dee, Jason and Chun Xiao!!!

Girls just want to have fun!

Girls having fun is great but can we think of a better time?
2:30 am is not fun for Mom!!
Yes, Jorja was up first and then an hour later - Jailyn is up and ready to go.
What in the world?

7:00am and they are dressed and ready to go for the day.
Jailyn has school in an hour - I feel bad for her teachers today!
Hopefully, they both will get early naps and be ready for bed tonight!

No, I didn't take photos of them last night - would have only encouraged them.
We did have some Cheerios while Mom caught up on her TV shows that were recorded when we were in China. (This is why I recorded the shows - with four kids already I have seen every show on Nick at Night and TVLand!)

Things that have broken in the last 24 hours

Okay, so we have been home at the house for 24 hours and a number of things have broken...
~ kitchen sink faucet (lovely, no cooking water - or water for garbage disposal
~ master bath room toilet
~ 2 of my Longaberger drinking glasses - Denise I need to place an order! I'm down to 4 glasses!
~ upstairs bathroom toilet seat
~ vacuum cleaner (okay, so that broke 2 days before we left - but we still need to fix it
~ Jailyn's head - okay, so it's not broke but she does have a huge lump on her forehead. She decided not to obey me and sit in the double seater shopping cart at Target - and she feel out. Poor thing! She is doing fine but the lump doesn't look very pretty! I wont go so far as saying Jailyn wont be doing that again, but I don't think Jorja will try it! Kenzie and Conner were not with us when it happened - when we united with them she had to tell them the story! It was funny to see how animated she got in telling them exactly what happened.
~ Jailyn's glasses - due to the fall she took.
~ Brady's leg - not sure of Brady's leg yet, but it's not looking good. We'll see how he is doing tomorrow. He is having a hard time putting weight on it. Since I didn't believe him when he broke his arm in 4th grade I guess I am overly cautious anymore. Hate to send him to soccer again with another broken bone.

I sure wish I had the amenities that we had at The White Swan in China. Just call housekeeping, just call the plumber, or the engineer! Oh, that was nice! We may just have to call a handy man and have him move from room to room in our house!

Tomorrow calls for hanging at home - fixing, hopefully, a lot of these things and taking down Christmas decorations. We haven't heard from our HOA yet, but I'm sure it will be coming soon!
Have a great day and be safe!
I love my friend Valerie's latest blog post! I agree V! I'm trying to do the same thing! At this point my house will never be really clean again - that's okay! My heart was so full it was ready to burst tonight when I added Jorja's booster chair to a chair at our kitchen table! And discussed with the big kids who was going to move into my chair. That's right, no room for mom at the table anymore - that is fine with me as long as there is laughter coming from the table!!

We're home!

I will show pictures soon but wanted to check in and tell y'all that we made it home safely and all in all the flights were uneventful! Thankfully! :) Jorja was amazing!!! She is a great traveler! Even when our flight was extended because we missed our connection flight in LAX. She didn't even mind the car seat! When we arrived in Dallas we met our family and some friends at a local restaurant! It was so wonderful to see everyone again! We thought Jorja would be really shy and hang on Bryan. We got to the parking lot - and Jorja met our family first and took to Kenzie immediately! We played and chatted outside the restaurant for about 30 minutes until we were seated - by then Jailyn and Kenzie were inseparable! Bryan asked if he should sit by Jorja - she was already surrounded by Kenzie and a friend of ours 6 year old daughter. She was in heaven! She had so much fun at dinner - but not as much fun as I did! I don't think I ate much - I was just so glad to be home with my family and friends!!

When we got to the house, Jorja was amazed at all the toys! Jackpot!!! After playing a while it was time to settle down for the night. She was so tired but was so scared and confused. She cried/whined while sitting on my lap on the couch for about 20 minutes and when we went to my bed where she whined for another 20 minutes. She finally decided to give in and cuddle up with me and fall asleep. She slept through the night! :)
Today she has done great! Amazingly great! She played all morning and then we went to another 4 year olds birthday party (Jailyn's friend from Preschool). Thinking she would be shy and sit on my lap while the other girls played - I was totally wrong!! After about 5 minutes of standing playing with a few toys she was ready to join the girls for the party! She dressed up in a princess dress and got makeup on! She even modeled her dress on the cat walk! She loved it!!




Jailyn is doing well too. She was so excited to see us last night! She kept asking me - "Momma, are you coming home to my house?" Jailyn snuggled with me on the couch too and soon fell asleep! It has been so good to hold her again!
The whole sharing issues have come up today, but they are learning! It's been better then expected! It helps that Jailyn likes to run and jump and Jorja likes to play house and with the baby dolls! Right now Jailyn is playing in her tunnel, and Jorja is playing house - chatting in Cantonese! Too cute! They did think taking a bath together was the best thing ever! :)


Brady had a soccer tournament today so we were at the school at 5:45 am. His first game was at 8am and 45 minutes away. Since the rest of the house was still asleep I went to see his first two games. It was SO good to be at a game again! When I got home Bryan left to go to Brady's other games. Of course, Brady came home hurt! He got kicked in the shin - it is swollen really bad - guess time will tell.

After the birthday party, the kids and I went to Target. Jorja got 2 new pairs of shoes, a pair of jeans and two shirts. She was so excited! When we got home she emptied the bags and asked Kenzie to help her take tags off and put her things away! Guess she is feeling at home!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! Please continue to pray as we have Jorja's "special need" tested again. Two of the kids who were adopted with our group last week went to their medical check-up (like all adopted kids do) and their "special need" was cleared up and they got a clean bill of health! What a blessing! Praying the same for Jorja!

Apologizes if this post doesn't make a whole lot of sense... I am patiently awaiting bed time!

Shoes, Swearing in and Saying so long

Updated with more photos that wouldn't load last night!

This is our last post from China - we are exhausted and ready to get to bed before our long day tomorrow!
Today was an eventful day! We went back to the mall that we had been at the other day. This time we had a game plan! Course, Jorja had a plan of her own - shoes, shoes and more shoes!!



Oh, and look at the kids we played with at the mall! The kids scare me to death - as they just run around without their parents! (Even these little ones!) This has and is still a hard lesson for Jorja to learn, she just wants to run off and play! She may have a leash on her for a while until she learns to stay with us!


This is my newest Chinese friend, Judy. She owns a shop near the White Swan. She is lovely and a joy to chat with. And always gave us "a good price"! :)

When we returned from shopping Bryan and Jorja went to lunch with another family while I went to the room to pack. I was worried that Jorja would get upset if she saw me putting all of her stuff away in the suitcases. It is hard to tell how much she understands about where we are going in the morning. She seems to be okay knowing that all of her favorite snacks are packed in Mamma's backpack! Please pray for us as we return home - this could be very stressful for her!

This afternoon we all went to the US Consulate for our Swearing In. I think the visit to the Consulate is really to just have the officials verify our passports and give us Jorja's paperwork needed for citizenship and then they add a little swearing in ceremony to look more official! Either way it was uneventful. But, again nice to get out from the hotel area.

Upon our arrival home we ran to Judy's shop to finish a bit of shopping. Judy is pictured above. If any of you are traveling this year - please visit her shop! She is a joy! She loves to talk to Americans! She told me that I should have come in earlier just to talk - no need to buy anything. :) Jorja had a fun time there - she picked out her first barretts and is so proud of them! She also decided that she needed to grab another umbrella and pose for a photo! She is such a ham!


We spent the rest of our evening with our friends having a pizza party! It was so nice to just hang out together and let the kids wear themselves out! I think we are all exhausted! In fact, one friend is so sick she didn't join us - Loree, I'm sorry I didn't get to see you but totally understand! Hope your flights go well tomorrow and you get feeling better soon! Love you friend - keep in touch!!!




Last bubble bath in China! Jorja was excited about her bath tonight! And loved washing with bubbles, even her hair! The towels and hair dryer are the best part though!



See y'all in The U.S.of A.!!!!