The Story

First off, let me say that the last thing we planned was adding to our family again.
Five, well, is truly a handful of kids.
And as much as I love parenting, we really felt, well, COMPLETE.

Then we found out that China had recently changed some of their rules regarding adoption.
They were going to allow anyone adoptive parents to re-use a dossier already filed in China, if they started the process of adoption within twelve months of their last adoption being finalized.

And our hearts started stirring.
The whole "paper chase" to put together our dossier had been so daunting, we really had no desire to go through all that again anytime soon. We wanted to focus on school, and life, and just moving forward.

However, once we heard the news of the dossier being re-used, we started wondering if maybe
God wasn't opening up a window for us to step up in faith one more time. The window was very small, as it was almost the one year anniversary of Abby's adoption. So we prayed hard, and figured it was truly in God's hands. If this was His plan, we would have to be matched with a child pretty quickly.

We were thinking it would be a boy this time, as our heart had really been softened for the boys who wait in China, who seem to wait and wait, many times with no or very minor special needs.

God, however, had something else up His sleeve. And a few weeks later we were matched with our new daughter, Genevieve Grace (Evie). She just turned two this past May. She's got plump lil' cheeks. And such expressive eyes!

I absolutely cannot wait to get her home, and neither can anyone else around here. The girls, in particular, are bursting with excitement and already packing bags filled with the things they are going to "hand down" to their baby sister. It's also been a while since we've had a baby girl in this home, and so I'm stocking up on irrestible baby girl clothes. I put my sister on notice to let the shopping begin.....

We've kept this under wraps for a while because, having walked this road before, we fully understand how fragile the whole adoption process is. Basically, until that child is home with you, anything can happen. We didn't want to bring others on that emotional roller coaster with us. And frankly, although we have pre-approval from China, I still worry about things going wrong. But we are stepping up in response to His call, so once again I remind myself that if it is His will, it will come to be. We couldn't hold the news in any longer!!

I think it's too early to post pictures, and will hold off until our Letter of Approval from China is here. I'll just have to send out a private email or two if anyone just can't wait to lay eyes on her!!

Another exciting part to this adoption will be that we're planning to take the entire family to China this time!! We hope to be able to add some days on the front side of the trip to take Abby (well, all the kids, but I think it's of particular importance for her) to do some sight seeing. And it doesn't seem remotely daunting to do it from here - we don't even have to worry about jet lag!!! Abby can't stop talking about getting to see the Great Wall.

And if that wasn't enough excitement around here.....
SIX more days of school left!!!!

Exciting News

We're heading back to China in the near future....
and it won't be just a vacation.

Details to come......

Normal ????

Well, life must definitely be back to normal.
Whatever that is.
And today it felt totally normal to take 4 kids to back to back physical exams.
We were at the doctor's office for three hours.
And I'm sure we weren't the only ones happy when we finally got to leave.
To make it even more fun, there was a brand new doctor on staff today.
Not brand new as in brand new to the doctor thing.
Just brand new to this facility, which when you are in the military is just the way it is.
Someone is always new.

We survived, and everyone is pretty healthy. And it did make me a bit sad that I have one kid that doesn't qualify for the pediatrician's office anymore. A kid that has the same primary doctor I have. And that is kind of scary.......

PW is Going to Kill Me - Or At Least Make Me Fat

Pioneer Woman is going to literally kill me. I just made these for dinner:


I don't think I've ever tasted anything so delicious. And I'm really hoping someone will hurry up and eat the last one lonely taco sitting on the counter, 'cause I really don't want to go back for more. Well, I DO want more, but I'm trying really, really hard to be good!!


(Disclaimer: That is NOT a picture of MY tacos, but mine looked just as good. Or better).

And guess what? Tomorrow night, it's another PW dinner!!

Mother's Day

I am having a truly fantastic Mother's Day. Started with breakfast in bed - nothing can beat that!!! Then I ventured over to the little Asian bazaar we're having on base this weekend, and was beyond thrilled to find this:

Yes, it's a mortar and pestle (actually, suribachi and kogi, to be exact) - and I've been wanting these items very badly recently. 'Cause it makes me feel like I'm really cooking when I use things like this. And because it makes me think of my own mom, which is always nice.

The pestle is made of wood from the pepper tree, which is supposed to add a hint of fragrance to the food. SCORE!!!

AND my twelve year old made me this. From scratch:



He said he had some trouble making the frosting and getting it to be, well, smooth. So I asked him how he made it. He said: "Well, I melted some butter, added 3 cups of sugar, a little vanilla, and a little milk......"
Me: "Wait. Three cups of REGULAR sugar?????? You mean powdered sugar, right???"
Jake: "No, it was regular sugar. I think it said cane sugar."

Well that would explain the trouble he had getting it nice and smooth.

But you know what???? You top anything with a little New York Super Fudge Chunk, and it's not a problem. No matter how gritty that frosting was!! I loved every.single.bite.

The Blessing of Siblings

Remember the recent fiasco with Josiah's swimming lessons?

We went twice. The first time he screamed his little head off the entire time.

The next time he calmed down some, and even went in the water, but was very stressed out.

The day it was time for the third lesson, he started throwing a fit at home at the mere mention of going. And I figured it was not worth it to force a three year old to go to swimming lessons. So we just quit going. I had only paid $36 for the month, so I didn't count it as a great loss.

Soon after that I took Abby for a swim test to see what level she needed to start on. Although she's pretty comfortable in the water, she would NOT put her head in without plugging her nose, so they said she had to start on Level 1.

Then the lightbulb went off. Maybe Cy would be willing to go to his lesson if his big sis' was there with him. So I signed them both up.

We had our first lesson yesterday, and it worked like a charm. She's happy because she feels like the "big" girl. He's thrilled because it's not so scary with her there. They both did a wonderful job.

Now I'll just have to make sure they work at the same pace, so they can move up to the next level together : )

Uninspired

I've been pretty uninspired to blog lately. We're pretty much doubling up on school so we can get done as previously scheduled. And by the time that's done for the day, I just don't have the energy to think.

Abby's been up to her usual - trying everything possible to NOT have to do any school, or should I say - to not have to THINK in school. Which involves a good amount of tears and drama. The good news is, I'm getting pretty good at expecting it and, frankly, not letting it get to me. The schoolwork IS getting completed by the end of the week, mainly because she really wants to be able to play on the weekend. It's not an inability to do the work - it's just plain unwillingness. But she won't just say "no". That would be too confrontational. She pretends to be trying but it takes forever. Kind of like eating used to. Then somehow, magically, on Friday it all comes together and she can get like 3 days worth of work done in about 1/2 a day. Whatever.

We've cut out sports for now so that we can focus on school. But, that doesn't mean no fun. It is very rare for us to have a completely free Saturday, but, yes, we actually had one this week. So, we went and hiked up Mt. Takao - another beautiful mountain here in Japan. At the top they have a little monkey park. It was great to get outdoors and get some fresh air and exercise, and so much fun to be able to do it as a family. Jim and Jake took turns carrying Cy in one of those hiking backpacks that kids ride on, and surprisingly he enjoyed it. I was very impressed with Abby here because she hiked all the way up AND back down with zero whining. And I could tell it was hard work for her little body. Frankly, she did less whining than some of her brothers, who will remain unnamed.

Yes, I did let my children pet a monkey.

I spent the remainder of the weekend poring over curriculum choices for next year. So much fun, but, oh so hard. So many choices.........