Holiday Photos

Beware: Slightly Depressing

Well, there is a beautiful fluffy white blanket on the snow on the ground, but my girls have yet to play in it. Meagan has strep throat and an ear infection. Alina has pneumonia. Thank God for really strong antibiotics, Immediate Care centers and a nice pediatrician who treated both kids when I only made an appointment for one (free of charge). So, the last 3 days have consisted of the usual sick kid routine....mommy and daddy taking turns going to work, the washing machine running almost constantly, and 2 AM rocking, refilling humidifiers, taking temperatures, giving tepid baths, etc. But they will feel better soon. As Alina's fever reached almost 104 degrees last night and all she could do was whimper miserably, I couldn't help but think of the kids who don't have a mom and dad to hold them when they are sick. The kids who learn that crying is of no use because no one comes to the rescue. The kids whose only concept of "parent" consists of a person who comes and goes according to shifts and holidays. I'm sure that other adoptive parents agree that once you see orphaned children, it changes your perspective on most things. For example, I can't watch the movie "Annie" without crying. We have the DVD and probably watched it a hundred times before going to China. Now I can't even get past the opening song where Annie is dreaming about having parents: "Maybe now it's time, and maybe when I wake, they'll be there calling me baby. Betcha he reads, betcha she sews, maybe she's made me a closet of clothes. Maybe they're strict, as straight as a line. Don't really care, as long as they're mine." I recently heard about a little boy who is 5 years old and blind. His file has been sent to a number of different adoption agencies and returned. Now he is considered "un-adoptable". Another agency is graciously sponsoring his education at a school for the blind. But, apart from an act of God, he will grow into a young man, never having a mom and a dad. I often think about some of the kids at Alina's orphanage. I wonder if they have found families or if they are still there... about to celebrate another birthday as an orphan. I know, there will always be orphans and suffering and hunger in the world. It's true. It's also true that many people have the means to add one more child to their home. Chris and I bring in a middle income, live in a small 3 bedroom ranch, and have a staggering amount of student loan debt. The last thing I want to do is elicit more "Look at you, you're doing such a good thing!" comments. It's not that we are so special or saintly. It's just that we've seen the needs with our own eyes. If more people saw, they would feel the same way. I know that many people want to adopt from China and are discouraged by the ever increasing wait times. It doesn't seem fair that there are children who need homes, couples who desperately want a child, yet it takes nearly three years to match them! I would often say this to myself when we were going through all that we went through with adopting Alina and Mayah...God is more powerful than the Chinese government. Things can definitely change. At the same time, the wait for special needs children is still considerably less...about 7-8 months from log-in date to travel the last I heard. Most of my friends who read this blog have already adopted. And of course my family has heard this spiel before, but maybe this can inspire some ramdom person that comes across this blog. If not, I still feel a little better for putting it into words.

6 Months Home

It just occured to me that today is the 6 month anniversary of Alina's adoption day. June 11th is the first day we met, but it wasn't "official" until the 12th. Looking at her picture from that day reminds me of what a different kid she is now. Doesn't that despondent sort of look in her eyes break your heart? She didn't want to play, didn't want to eat, and didn't want us to put her down for an entire week. We didn't even know that she could really walk until a week after we got her! And look at her now...sporting 5 extra pounds and feet that are a whole size bigger (maybe the bigger size is just to accomodate the "chub", I'm not sure), holding her own in fights with her sister, learning new words and signs everyday (just yesterday I caught her looking in the mirror pointing to herself and saying "Ni Ni"), and totally eating up the love and attention from mom, dad, and a whole host of aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Oh, and throwing tantrums when she doesn't get her way. Yep, sounds like a typical almost-two-year-old to me!

Ouch!

Well, now that I am nearing 4 days-post tonsillectomy, I can honestly say that all of the rumors are true...it hurts as bad as everyone said it would. I was a little caught off guard since right after the surgery I felt pretty good. As I flipped through a magazine and nibbled popsicles in the recovery room I thought to myself, "Hmm, I must have a pretty high pain tolerance" Even after we got home from the hospital I chatted with my sister, who agreed that I handled things very well and that this recovery was going to be a piece of cake. Maybe I would use my time off to do a little Christmas shopping... Heh, heh. It wasn't until about midnight when the searing, razor-blades-in-the-back-of-my-throat pain started, that it occurred to me that my anesthesia had not fully worn off. What a nasty trick. Thank God for the liquid hydrocodone (happy juice) but it really only deadens the pain for 2 hours and is supposed to be taken every 4 hours....so here I am, like a junkie, counting down the hours until my next hit. In the meantime, here are a few pictures I am late in posting from over the holiday. I just love the one posted above of Alina blissfully absorbing all the attention being lavished upon her!

I can handle this, mom
Aunt Laura singing "Deep and Wide"
Nini said "grandma" (gama) for the first time and the entire room erupted in applause. As you can imagine, she said the word several MORE times over the course of the day and even now, will clap for herself when she says it :)
Meagan and daddy getting a little tickle time

Tonsillectomy

Well, it's final. Exactly one week from Friday, those ghastly, festering, strep-loving, worthless hunks of lymph tissue will be gone forever. In a last ditch effort to avoid the weekly infections and feeling crummy all the time, I went to the ENT practically begging him to put me on some low grade antibiotic (I learned from my at-home medical advisor (aka the internet) that this was sometimes a possibility). Well, I got a "No way, Jose" from the good doctor and was promptly scooted out of the room to schedule my tonsillectomy. At least I was able to strategically plan it so that I can enjoy eating on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also roped Chris and my mother into taking some time off of work to wait on me hand and foot. After all, the doctor DID say that I would be out of commission for 10 days. And I'm pretty sure that includes no dishes, no diapers, no cooking, and DEFINITELY no laundry. Yep, I specifically remember him saying no laundry. Sounds like the best vacation I've had since I was single....minus the really, really bad sore throat, of course. I'm also about to order a new historical fiction book on China for my down-time. Has anyone read "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang? It looks very good, although I may have trouble keeping all of my dictators straight while doped up on liquid Vicodin. On the other hand, my altered mental state could make for an interesting review of the book. I'll let you know. So, if you want to leave a comment, please only share about the easy, nearly-pain-free adult tonsillectomy rumors you've heard, since I think I have quite a collection now of the other kind. Until then, have a happy Thanksgiving....you can bet I will be thoroughly enjoying my turkey and pecan pie!

Happy Anniversary!

1994~Sweethearts















1999~Our wedding

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits...who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like an eagle" Ps 103:1-5

Dear Chris,
It's hard to believe we have been married for 8 years...even harder to believe that we have been friends for 15 years! The goofy look on our faces only highlights the fact that we had no idea what God had in store for us. For example, who knew that we would actually stay in the full-time ministry for as long as we did. Remember us making bets on how long we would keep our jobs? Those were wild times...changing our address every couple of years, starting all over with relationships again and again. Amazing that God used us to make any kind of impact on people when we were really just trying to figure out life ourselves. As if life wasn't crazy enough, I decided to become a college student again. At the time, Meagan was 2, and my life was full of Barney and dirty diapers...I thought, what graduate school would give me the time of day? You gave me the courage to apply to the really good schools and repeatedly told me that I was smart and valuable. Your enthusiasm never waned, even when my dreams meant that the only affordable apartment had chain smokers living downstairs and was in the not-so-nice part of town. Even when you were stuck being Mr. Mom, and me on the verge of a stress-induced nervous breakdown. Even when you picked up a part time job clearing trash and cleaning toilets at Starbucks so that we would have health insurance. Now, for any ladies reading this, that is the very definition of romantic. And I certainly never imagined that our prayers for children would be answered in the way that they have been...with the unexpected birth of a daughter, the loss of a daughter, the adoption of a daughter and the years of infertility woes in between. I knew that life would throw us curve balls, I just didn't think there would be so many. Many times when I am tempted to beg, "God, why can't my life just be normal?", I stop and remember standing there, staring at you on our wedding day. I can't say that I was secretly praying for a normal life. I looked at you and you looked at me and I wanted a happy life with you by my side. What God acutally gave me was that and so much more...a full life, with unexpected delights at every turn, bursting with adventure (more adventure that what I am comfortable with) and peace. God has given me peace. I think about that Psalm quoted above. When we placed it on our wedding invitations and I had no idea that it would become the song of my life. The rest of it goes..."bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits, who pardons all of your iniquities, who heals all of your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things..." In a way, you are the "good things" in human form, that God has lavished on me. Do you ever wonder how on earth have we managed to cram so much life into eight measly years? If the next eight are anything like the last, then bring it on...joys, heartaches, ups, down, ins and down-and-outs. God has a funny way of making sure that we are not bored, and you, my dear, are His very unexpected way of showing His goodness to me. I love you.

Jen

The Pigtailed Princess