A Visitor from WAY Up North!

We have a friend at our house for about 6 weeks. He's hired help - FINALLY!! The kids named him Carson Crash or Car Crash for short. Nicci thinks he looks like our cousin Carson (he does), but Ethan wanted to call him Crash Bandicoot. We compromised. And Ethan has fallen for it hook, line, and stinker. He talks to Car Crash, waves to him, and writes him notes (has his sister write them for him).

One morning Car Crash hadn't moved to a new spot. Ethan was very upset. He said, "Mom! He lost his powers because you touched him yesterday!" I had to read online to see how to get his powers back ;). What I discovered was that if Ethan does three nice things for someone else then the elf would get his powers back - piece of cake! So, he got busy making a bowl of cereal for Avery, then feeding Jasmine, and making our bed. Just like that Car Crash had hopped to a new spot!

Why hadn't we thought of this earlier?

Krazy Kids!

I've got these friends. Let me just tell you how KRAZY they are . . . FIRST of all they have 8 kids. Yes, I said 8. SECOND of all they are bringing home their NINTH child in a few months (it will be their SIXTH adoption from China). THIRD of all their kids' names all start with the letter "K" and each name is six letters long - kooky, I know. FOURTH of all they are one of the biggest examples in MY life of someone who has AMAZING faith. They KNOW that God is going to provide for their family, for their adoptions. They just know it. Adoption is not cheap, but God always ALWAYS provides. Kurrently they are fundraising for their newest treasure from China, Miss Kasidi (isn't that cute?). If you wouldn't mind taking a peek at their blog just to check them out I would just LOVE that. They make and sell the most amazing kandles - great for teacher's gifts or just to make your house smell yummy. You will be blessed!

k6comehome.blogspot.com

Oh My Goodness!

My "bloggy" friend Stefanie is having 30 days of give-aways!! WOO HOO!! Go check her out! But, don't do think link thing because the more people who do the link thing the less of a chance I get to win anything. Wait . . . is that selfish? Nevermind then, do what you want.

Orphan Sunday November 7 -Huk*u Papers

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday. We are an advocate whether we want to be or not (we want to shout it from the mountain tops, but what will Avery want? what will our other children want?) For now, we will be as vocal as we can. When Avery is older and more able to make decisions we will include her in how much she wants to be involved if at all. Like I said, we are a walking poster family for adoption even if we don't want to be. My basic message is for everyone to do something. There are MILLIONS of children who are orphans - they go to bed without being read to, prayed with, alone, they may or may not have access to the basic needs of food, clean clothes, regular bathing, medical care, nurturing, warmth, toys, they don't know what it means to have a mom or a dad, brothers, sisters, an extended family who dotes on them and loves them. Can you imagine what that must be like? If every Christian would adopt just one orphan there would be no more orphans. We are called to care for the orphans, it's Biblical. What does it mean to 'care' for an orphan? It can mean lots of things. Adopt. Pray for them. Provide financial assistance to organizations that help orphans like Half the Sky and Love Without Boundaries both help children in China by providing medical assistance or training for nannies and a lot more. Or you can search for blogs of people who are adopting. Families are always raising money to help with their adoptions. Some of my favorites are: k6comehome.blogspot.com www.redthreadstitches.com or orphaned-no-more.blogspot.com or www.wildolivetees.com or www.showhope.org. God knows every hair on their head, He is concerned with each one of them.

I've been waiting to post about Huk*u (pronounced who-ko) Papers until I had some time to give it. I hope I do it justice because it just dumb-founded me that a system like this still exists. And from the research I have gathered it has only been around since the 1950s. It is Ch*na's way of classifying people into mostly two categories: urban and rural. It is associated with your family history and surname, and it follows you where ever you go. It sounds to me like it's a bit like illegal immigrants in your own country who can't go from province to province. Imagine living in Oklahoma and not being able to go to Texas for work. From what I gather this is what Huk*o papers do - keep track of or control their citizens (the article I read compared it to apartheid in South Africa). If anyone who reads this knows more about this subject than I do, then please chime in! Occasionally they will perform raids and round up anyone who is working outside their province and deport them.

Well, what if you are an orphan in Ch*na? You have no home, therefore you are not tied to a family, or even classified as urban or rural. Forever you are classified as an orphan! Your Huk*o Papers tie you to your orphanage. You have an almost impossible time getting into college and getting a job (you are considered unlucky and people won't hire you). Amy Eldridge from L*ve With*ut B*undaries was our guest speaker at Ch*na Camp this past summer and she told us this (see the link here: chinaadoptiontalk.blogspot.com/search?q=love+without+boundaries, I hope you will read it). My heart was broken for these kids who have this stamp of disapproval for life in their country.

So, in honor of Orphan Sunday, let's recognize that their is so much we can do to get this number down and bring home one more.

Is that an Entomologist?

The Butterfly Palace was one of the highlights of our trip to Branson. It was perfect for the little kids (and that one big kid we brought - the best big sister ever - NICCI!) There were all kinds of butterflies and lady bugs every where. They thought that the little girls' hair bows were flowers and would land right on their heads!

They passed out pith helmets and magnifying glasses so they could really get into it. How many legs does a butterfly have?
Such silly kids . . .
This was one of my favorite butterflies. Isn't she beautiful! (Aren't all butterflies girls?)

Falling In Love With Branson (Wow That's a Corny Title)

We took the scenic route on the way there. Not sure there's much of a choice, but it was beautiful to see the Mark Twain National Forest with all it's changing tree colors and winding roads swirling up into the mountains. When I was a kid we used to go to the Rocky Mountains in the summer. My Dad loves the mountains, but doesn't like driving up into them on rural roads much. We'd get up about half way and he'd precariously turn us around. These roads weren't like that. This was God's country.

Our first day was spent at Silver Dollar City or Sinner Donner Cinny as Carlie called it. It was a beautiful day and we went all over that place more than once. There were only a few rides that Avery was tall enough to ride and she seemed fine with that. We kept her busy with the food and the sights.
This was fun! It went up and down and round and round. I made Nicci go with me, she wasn't too sure about it and I don't think she was too happy with me. She's more of a roller coaster type of chick!
We're missing one! Yup, Conner stayed back in Oklahoma with some friends so he wouldn't miss the church Fall Retreat. We really missed him, but he had a great time where he was. We stayed in a cabin in the woods where it was nice and cozy. After our days of exploring we came back here to make caramel apples, drink hot chocolate, explore outside, sit in the hot tub and watch movies. It was a wonderful and much needed break from our rat race.

It's Kinda Like a Church Family You Only See Once or Twice a Year

Last Saturday was a great celebration. We celebrated the fact that less than a year ago a young man was just 3 days away from aging out of the orphanage (which means he would have been placed in a vo-tech type of situation and never known about the love of a family in a country where family means A LOT) and was adopted by his forever family. There were about 6 families all gathered at the N's house to meet face to face the children we have all prayed home. Several of these children weren't here a year or two ago! There are more on the way (not us, don't panic, but you never know!). The kids made new friends got reacquainted with ones they had seen last year or at China Camp and the adults chatted and ate and ate, and the adults ate, and then we had some food. Our big group picture is missing three China born babes (they had to head home early), so that makes 17 of 28 total children who are orphans no more. Technically, we are all orphans no more, right? Our heavenly Father adopted us all!

Making Friends

Jessa and Carlie had so much fun. Carlie was trying to squirt the dirt off of Jessa's legs. I think these two might be quite the pair if left alone for too long ;). Carlie came home and named one of her babies Jessa!

Ethan and Kaeleb did lots of boy things. They had their own squawky language going and got all kinds of dirty.
Maggie and Avery kept a safe distance from each other. They both wanted the same toys a lot of the time, but kept a mutual respect for each other. I'm sure with time they will be two peas in a pod. Maggie just came home about 5 months ago!

TEN Months

She's been with us just 10 months today. Ten months and one day ago she was living in an orphanage, with no Daddy, no Mommy, no brothers, sisters. Sometimes I forget that because the girl has adjusted so amazingly well - like really well. We have our moments of fear where we are all doing something that seems pretty much normal to us, like a helicopter will fly over, and she'll get nervous and cling to me, maybe whimper a little and say, "What's that sound Mommy?" Or she'll touch something that is unfamiliar to her - it used to be grass - and she'll completely balk at the idea. She's learned a new language, learned to take a bath, learned to ride in cars (and a few planes:), learned to eat food completely foreign to her, learned to get used to having her clothes changed, learned to 'go' in a diaper, and countless other things. She's been through so much and come so far,

and

honestly,

I can hardly remember life without her!

Being Three

The "2's" are nothing for us. We can handle those like a breeze. It's the "3's" that get us every time. And seeing as how this is our 4th "3" to handle, and that she has 2 older brothers, and an older sister to stand up to - she's going to be nothing short of a challenge and a joy.

Yesterday she was asking me for goldfish and we were already late to go get a kid at school so I started off nicely saying that we couldn't get goldfish just yet. Well, she kept asking and getting a little more demanding. Finally I told her to hush, that we couldn't get them right now. She said, "YOU HUSH YOUR MOUTH!" The nerve of her!

Guess Who Has Their Forever Family!!!

This little girl is Wu LiNa. We met her at the Baotou S.W.I. when we visited there to see where Avery had spent the first year of her life. She was just adorable and I wanted to put her in my pocket right then! She now has her forever family!! You know what the coolest thing is? She ran to her FATHER first! We should all run to our Father first. You can go check her out at auburnkids.blogspot.com. I'm so glad the orphanage let her hair grow out - she has the cutest little pig tails. Can you imagine getting your forever family when you are 6 years old? What must be going through that little girls' head. Precious.
The orphanage sent her all dressed up so cute and with a bag full of momentos and even some examples of the work she had done in school. We have been so blessed to have our children taken such good care of. Thank you God. Go visit www.halfthesky.org, this is the organization responsible for training the nannies, the preschool, medical care, new building, etc.

Now, this sweet Pan Yue, she needs a mom and a dad. She's the same age as Avery, and just cute as a button. Just like the parable of the lost sheep . . . we'll go after that one.

It's been a great day in China! I know of THREE families who have gotten their children in the past 24 hours. My heart over flows. I want to go back to Baotou.

Preschool for the 'Twins' (I've always wanted twins:)

Preschool started this week! (I know, it's been a crazy busy week here!) The 'twins' go two days a week at a wonderful little preschool that we've gone to for many years (they know all of our kids except for Conner, he went somewhere else). The girls did so good! Miss Angela (Carlie's teacher) said that about half way through the day, Carlie came to her, clasped her little hands together and said, "I need to go check on Avery." So, they peeked in the window to see how she was doing. So sweet. Their two classes had rest time together and the 'twins' got out their nap mats and layed down next to each other. Ethan was even worried about Avery! When I picked him up from school the first thing he asked was how Avery did at school. Be still my heart!

Momma had a good day, too ;).

Our Kids!

Dinner for a TWO Year Old

We are learning to LOVE Chinese food! There's a place called Chopsticks in T-town that serves it Chinese style where you order 2-3 dishes, bowls of rice or noodles, and it's served on a giant lazy susan. It was wonderful! Most of us ate with chopsticks the whole time (Ethan and Carlie would just stab their food with the stick to eat it - smart kids). Conner gave up REAL quick and grabbed a fork. Did we have birthday cake? Nope, not yet, we had Moon Cakes! DELICIOUS!!! Wait, I can't lie. They are not good at all. What the Chinese call a dessert we might call sand molded into a pretty shape??? But, hey, it's worth a shot, right?

Party on Saturday!

She's TWO!

I love my blog, I really do! But, well, with 5 kids and a husband who travels a lot, there's just not much time. Well, today, I AM MAKING TIME! I brought the little kitchen play set and the play food and dishes downstairs so the little girls could play and get caught up on Blue's Clues and Ni-Hao! Kai Lan. They thought I had bought them a whole new toy! The squeals from them were so cute! Now, back to blogging . . .

Avery turned TWO (AR in Chinese:) on Tuesday. We are making a week of it because, well, she got to spend her first birthday with her nannys and friends back in Baotou - and not with us! So, Monday I took the girls (and later Ethan, because he pouted and because he's so darn cute) to Build-a-Bear. Avery still gets scared at some new places, especially where there's loud sounds, and this was one of those places. I mostly had to hold her while her bear was being made for her, but once we moved away from the stuffing machine she was OK (but still clung to me). Carlie had never been either and she was all about it! She's such a little princess/girlie girl. She named her bear Trinida :). Nicole was an old pro at this and I had to limit her on the glamorous outfits she wanted for her kitty cat. I said "T-shirt only sweetheart. You have other clothes at home that you can dress her in, right?"