Awesome Community

We've been asked at church to really think about the definition of community, and I must say I feel so blessed to be a part of the blogging community. The friendship, support, and sharing of our lives electronically has lead to phone calls, shared trips, and real live hugs. This community has been an integral part of our adoption journey, and I'm so happy to see it grow beyond adoption. The common thread that was once responsible for introducing me to so many of you, has been spun into a awesome community of friends. When I read your funny posts, I laugh out loud, and when I read the heartbreaking posts I cry. When something exciting happens in our life, I think, BLOG it. When we're experiencing hardships, I think, BLOG it, because I know I'll be supported. The comments were my life line while in Taiwan, they have continued to be a sense of encouragement, and always warm my heart or make me laugh! It's about choosing to share our lives with each other.

A special thank you to Judy for donating the Baby Blessings Package to help Tami bring Froggy Boy home. Thank you to Tami for asking me for prayer, and making her needs to be known, allowing me to participate in a fundraising event, that won me the wonderful prize below. So perfect for our new bundle of joy!

 

Another special thank you to Lora and Allie for thinking of me during these last few weeks of pregnancy! You're right ladies, the last few weeks can be rough. The matching outfits for the girls are so adorable and will be perfect for Spring! Peyton asked if the Ni-Hao Kai Lan coloring book was for him because he likes to "talk in Chinese"! And you guessed it. He staked claim on that one first! Although he did say the hamster was "COOL"! He's really into hamsters. We appreciate you thinking of us!

 

 

THANK YOU to all of you follow our journey, who take the time to leave comments of concern, love, and support. This wonderful bloggy-thing we have going on can certainly be defined as "COMMUNITY" and an AWESOME one it is.

The significance behind August 28th for our family. . .

Today marks three years since we were LID for Morgan Fay. Today also marks one year since I boarded a plane to bring Gracyn home.

Here's what I wrote in 2006:

LID: August 28, 2006

We finally received our LID, which is a little later than we anticipated, but at least we have one. Now the wait truly begins. . .not to mention the uncertainty of the wait.

We originally thought our wait would be about 6-8 months, but rumor has it that expedited referrals (Due to our Chinese heritage we requested to be expedited) have slowed significantly. We're looking at about a year from now. . .so, Summer or Fall of 2007. Hard news to take, but it's part of the adoption process, and we need to be prepared for changes like these until Morgan comes home!

Peyton is keeping us busy in the mean time. . .he just had his 18 month check up and is still only 18 lbs 14 oz. . .but we're happy to announce he's healthy and growing taller! He's actually in the 10th percentile for height which isn't so bad for our Chinese boy.

Yesterday we took Peyton to the fair, and he LOVED the petting zoo! He got right down and played with the goats, the pigs, the kangaroos, ducks, llamas, sheep, and miniature horses! WHAT A SIGHT! He's growing up so fast!

Countdown has begun: 4 days waiting. . .many, many more to go. .

And here's what I wrote last year:

I used to travel a lot for work, and after I while I got pretty good about saying goodbye to my sweet pea. We spent the morning playing "horses," giving lots of hugs and kisses. . .a ton of reminders, "listen to your Dad, okay?". . .and then I put Peyt into his car seat, said goodbye a million more times, with a million more kisses, including blubbery ones on his tummy and feet. . .and then as they drove off, he yelled out the window. . ."By Mom, I love you!" and blew me a kiss.

Yes, a few tears came to my eyes, and my heart skipped a beat. . .it's time. Peyt said this morning, "Now you're going to Taiwan?" - I explained I was leaving and would pick up Gracyn on Monday. Peyt replied, "NO, you said you're getting her today." - Kids are so brutally honest and cute.

My first glimpse of Gracyn. . .

My all-time favorite photo for months. . .

Suprise photos for 4th of July! And boy is she independent - she's walking!

First close-up photo with a beautiful smile to melt Mommy's heart.

Gracyn,

Mommy has waited a very long time for this moment. I'm still very at peace, and relaxed. PTL! Perhaps since we have a few days before we meet you, I'm just not nervous yet. I am so excited to see where you were born and where you've spent the first two years of your life. I am so blessed to call you my daughter. I pray that you have been at peace with your family this week, and that you are being somewhat prepared to meet me. I know it will be sad to say goodbye. It was sad for me to say goodbye to your brother, and that's only for a week. Leaving behind everything that you know might make you scared or angry. I hope that you know God is always with you. He was with you they day you entered the world, has been with you while I've been waiting to bring you home, and will be with us during our first days together as Mom and daughter. He is always with us sweet pea.

Mommy can't wait to wrap her arms around you, and wipe away your tears. I can't wait to see your beautiful eyes and your sweet smile. I wonder how big you are and what your voice sounds like. I wonder what you smell like, and how thick your hair is. I can't wait to "touch your palms" to help you sleep, and to feel your hand around my finger. Mommy fell in love with you a long time ago, and now I can finally show you how much!!!

Until we meet. . .may you be blessed with joy, comfort, and sweet dreams.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday Gracyn!

Last year we celebrated Gracyn's birthday while she was in Taiwan. Just 3 days after, I hopped on a plane to go meet my beautiful baby girl.

Last Year. . .

 

This Year. . .

 

We celebrated Gracyn's birthday early to ensure that Mommy wasn't in labor on her BIG day. This was Gracyn's first birthday at home, and our baby girl is now THREE years old!


Happy Birthday Baby Girl! We're so blessed to call you our daughter. You have grown so much over the past year, and we're so very proud of you. Love you with all our hearts.

WARNING: Birthday Suit Photos included! And watch for the picture with the ping pong ball - I had no idea until I saw the photo afterwards, but it says, "Made in China". . .

Check out the TIPS!!! WANTED Part 2: Tips on Photo Storage and Making Memories

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Keep the tips coming!!! I'm loving it!!!!! And be sure to read the comments so you can see how many super smart Mamas there are in this world! Did you know that sidewalk chalk is more vivid on wet cement? Who knew?!

The sippy caps I mentioned can be found at Babies R Us. I purchase the 3-pack which includes a red cap for sports drinks (fits Kirkland VitaRain). The blue and yellow caps are just like the ones found HERE. Amazon has them as well. I've only had one experience in which they didn't fit. The stunted sized Gatorade bottles just don't work with any of these. These help when we're at parties and there's a variety of beverages, and my kids want to carry around a bottle like every other guest. For restaurants, I always bring the disposable cups with lids and straws. Kids can split a drink (saves money), we use them tons before we dispose of them, and you can assign colors to each child or write names with a Sharpie marker which scrape off with your nail. And when the meal is over, fill it up and take it to go!

Please keep posting tips. . .some of what I've read I used to do and have since forgotten about, so the reminders especially for babies is so incredibly helpful. So, while I've got your attention, and I'm apparently in nesting mode, wondering how all the Moms out there keep track of photos? Are you using a free site, do you back up on CD, do you print any photos, do you digiscrap?

Currently I archive by year, and back up to an external hard drive. I only remove them from my desktop once they're on the external hard drive, and backed up on CD. When I burn to CD, I make two copies. One set gets stored at my in-laws. I strive to only keep the current year's photos on the desktop. More recently, I started creating some web albums, but I started with Picasa and I'm running out of room rather quickly. I used to pay for photo storage so I could store in original size, but that takes a ton of time to upload,and was getting expensive!

I take thousands of photos a year and want them to be enjoyed. Recently, I've been digiscrapping, but in the simplest form. I've committed to one page a month, and at least one page per special event or trip. I usually end up with more than one page, but it guarantees that at the end of the year, I've captured most of our memories. I scrap using FotoFusion (suggested by Hannah's Mommy), utilizing a 10x8 format so that I can print at Costco when the year is over, or even make into a photo book. I didn't realize at the time that Costco can print larger formats, but I don't want to go back now. The best part about digiscrapping is I'm not having to make each child their own book. I make the pages about the whole family, and then each child will have a copy of their own. I slacked off on my blog to catch up on Gracyn's first year. Stay tuned for the results!

WANTED: Best Mom Tips

I'm about to become a mom to three, aged four and under. That makes me like a REAL mom, right? With one, you can still keep the sporty sedan, provided you don't mind the car seat denting your interior leather. With two, you become better at juggling, but the kids really do keep each other company, and the ratio for us still remained at one parent to one child. With three, well, we're about to be outnumbered.

What I've learned since becoming a Mom:
1. Leave extra diapers and wipes in the glove compartment.
2. Always have kleenex or paper towels within reach of the driver's seat.
3. Keep a stroller of some sort in each car.
4. Keep a portable toilet (potty training style) in each car with ziplock bags.
5. Always have a dry snack that doesn't stale easily (cereal works) and drinks.
6. Always have anti-bacterial gel on hand.
7. Sippy bottle caps that attach to water bottles/sports drinks work wonders!
8. Thermos Sippy's really do work for 12 hours. (Target now has a Kai-Lan one!)
9. Buy Disney Toys from Target before you go to Disneyland and save tons of $!
10. Pick out clothes the night before.

So, what I want from you. . .your BEST MOM TIPS!!!! Please comment away and leave as many as you have to share!!! I'm going to need 'em.

Oh, how my Gracyn has changed. . .

Photos on left taken just days after arriving home in September of last year, and to the right, our baby girl now. . .

 

 

Top photos of her riding in her car back then, bottom photos of her now. . .

 

The dress Gracyn is wearing was given to her by her Foster Family. I intentionally put the dress on her to take photos to send to Taiwan. Just days later, Typhoon Morakot hit. We are still awaiting news on the status of her foster family and their home. I continue to pray for them, and hope that one day very soon they will be able to see how much Gracyn has grown, and how beautiful she is in the dress they gave her.

Just when I thought he was all done growin' up. . .

Notice the Princess Bike? I know, he needs a big boy bike in blue. . .or better yet, YELLOW! And, he's not wearing any pants or shorts either. Those are his favorite boxer briefs. We forgot to put them on before we went out to play! Oh well.

 

Doots = Paci's; What sounds like DX = DS
He made up this song all on his own. . .and as I got to thinking about it, I guess he's not that grown up yet if he still uses paci's, huh? But, it did come in handy for transitioning him to his own bed. Paci's are only allowed in the tent. Although I did find him hiding between two couches in a space barely big enough for him to army crawl into, and I found 2 paci's. . .told him Daddy would throw them away if he saw them, so he quickly ran them back to his room. YES, I'm the softy when it comes to the paci's. I only gave my own up because it fell in the toilet and my mom couldn't find the same exact one. I refused to take anything different. (I was four, and technically, he's STILL four too.)



Oh, and when Peyton saw his own music video, his first comment was, "Gracyn, why did you walk behind me?!" - as if he's a professional and she ruined his video.

My chubba buh-buh baby is growing up. . .

My first born is really growing up. Last week was very busy for Peyt. He attended his his pre-K school 5 days in a row, met his soccer team, I met with his teacher for our first parent teacher conference AND he made a secret proposal. This is a mega post, because as I await the newest baby of the family, I fear that this may be one of my last posts on my oldest baby for quite some time. . .not sure I can keep up with 3 kiddos!

School Update:
Peyton tells us he doesn't like the food at school. Teacher says, Peyton told her he likes the food, and given he's eating second helpings, I'm going to side with the Teacher. He's even eaten SALAD, and steamed veggies! WHAT?! I think he's finding new ways to get an extra grilled cheese from Gong-Gong. He comes home and says, "I'm HUNGRY, I didn't like the food at school."

Peyton can count to 1-25, and teacher says he will be able to count to 100 before he "graduates". He's more inclined to play with the older girls, than the boys - blame his Dad for this one. (I'm the only "younger" woman his Dad has ever dated.) He also threw away some broken toys during play time, and when his teacher asked him about it, he told her they were broken, and someone might get hurt, so she should buy a new one - blame his Mom, oh wait, that would be me for this one. . .When I clean up the toy room, I make him throw away all the "broken" toys, or the ones who have permanently lost their homes. Oops! Sorry!!

"New Friend" Update:
The kids are encouraged to make "new friends" - Peyton found his new friend already. He calls her "Cindy" but her name is really Sidney. He's in love with her. According to his teacher, she gave him the cold shoulder on Friday saying she didn't want to be paired up with him, and she was tired of him. When I asked Peyton if Sidney was mean at school, he was way too quick to defend her. His response, "NO." Okay. . .guess he can't take a hint that the absolutely gorgeous 5 year old just 'aint that into him. (He's since made some "New Friends" to include Alexander, Mason, Matthew, and Blaine. ALL boys mind you!)

Soccer Update:
Peyton met his soccer team. Although he was more interested in collecting these little figurines from the gumball machine. Me on the other hand, I was more concerned about getting a uniform that would fit my chubbalicious child. Coach says there are 2 shorts in size "L" - I was quick to raise my hand - I'll take one!!! His uniform shirt is yellow, so we lucked out - that's his favorite color! We're real parents now. Soccer practice?? Tuesdays AND Thursdays from 6:15 to 7:15??? Wait a minute, we're having a baby soon, can we delay the start of the season a bit??

Soccer practice is a hoot - pics from this week. . .

 

 

 

 

Horse Incident:
As a treat at the end of Peyton's first week of school, I decided we needed to have a Mommy-Peyton date. We had lunch together, then went to a local amusement park, where he enjoyed spinning in the tea cups all by himself, driving cars, I tried to ride the train with him but was DENIED to my pregnant state, and then of course he went to ride the ponies. He's a BIG boy now, so he usually rides a pony for one round and then the horses for the other two. . .Well, round two ended up with a spooked horse who threw him off. Scared the he** out of me. . .One minute he's on the saddle and the next minute, I look up and he's gone. And then I hear him crying. I run over, as fast as my pregnant butt can, and he's covered in dirt and bleeding from the mouth. Praise God that he fell on that padded chubbalicious tummy of his first, not on his head. Praise God that he didn't break any teeth, or his wrists. Praise God that the horse didn't step on him. . .He was back to normal that very afternoon. Of course Daddy had to come meet us there to help me assess his injuries and carry him to the car, but we survived. . .and yes, I do mean "WE" - this could have sent me into labor!

My sweet boy. . .

 

Wanna kiss?

 

Innocence. . .

 

Wild Man. . .

 

Here's the horse. . .and then the culprit (the dog at the bottom) and uh, notice there's no seat belt??????

 

My poor baby. . .

 

The Secret Proposal (to the best of my memory):
Peyton: "Mom, I want to tell you a secret."
Me: "Okay." (Mind you, we were the only two out back with our feet in the pool, so no one could have heard us.)
Peyton: "I want you and me to be married."
Me: Heart melts first. . .then I tell him that he doesn't marry his mommy, and doesn't get married until he's really old.

My poor baby. . .rejected by the 5 year old, thrown off of a horse, his marriage proposal denied, and to top it off he got out of Mama's room all in one week. But, on a more positive note, after over a week of the kids sleeping in Peyton's room successfully, they earned their new bed. And they love it!

 

On an unrelated note, but a big boy note at that, does anyone happen to know what "Octamus Gripe" is? Something to do with Power Rangers???? Please comment if you do. I have no clue what he's talking about! I think this might be one of those "Pamillwa Favorites" type deal. . .Pamillwa Favorites = Vanilla Wafers; Octamus Gripe = ??????

Please Pray. . .

Typhoon Morakot as cited on CBSNews:

. . ."In rural Pingtung county, the rains turned rich swaths of farmland so sodden that it was difficult to distinguish them from the open sea. In the Pingtung community of Sandimen, troops maneuvered armored personnel carriers through flooded streets, plucking whole families from water-logged buildings and ferrying them to safety.". . .

It is believed Gracyn was born in Pingtung county, and her foster family resides in Pingtung. I have every reason to believe they are specifically in Sandimen. I pray that her foster family and all others are safe and sound.

Who will our next little miss look like?

I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy, and am anxious to meet the next little miss. I haven't been sleeping much, as I seem to have insomnia now, and she's most active between 11PM and 2AM. It's incredible to feel her move about, and well, sometimes a bit painful, but all worth it.

We're still deciding on a name, and I've finally made the diaper run. Darryl told me yesterday that I better get "some diapers or something" because she could make her appearance any day now! I'm feeling good overall, and praise God for the cool summer, and for healing my rash. I'm at the point now, where I'm excited to see who she'll look like. I had an idea of what Peyton would like look, and I was wrong. . .completely wrong. I expected a 9lb baby with a round face, and a button nose. I ended up with a 5 pounder with nothing round about him, and an indented button nose! He was so tiny the middle part of nose had yet to drop down and be in line with the rest of it! With Gracyn, I must admit I was nervous to see her photos. Would it be a photo of her as an infant, at her current age, was she fair, or more tan, would she have slanted eyes, or round eyes. . .I remember as I waited for Darryl to arrive at our adoption agency, I told our director I wanted to wait, but the picture kept "sneaking" it's way up where I got a glimpse of her before Darryl arrived. Of course my heart melted when we finally got to see her referral pictures. Such a little peanut, with spunk, and those ginormous eyes! So, now I wonder, who will our next little miss look like?

I'd love it if she somewhat resembled me since none of my children do. I wonder if she'll look Peyton or maybe my mom. . .

 

 

 

 

A Week of Fasting, Spontaneity and Many Firsts

WARNING:
After a week of no blogging, pregnant mama went a little blog crazy while Daddy and Peyton went out for ice cream and Gracyn napped. Long post ahead.

Our Pastor challenged us to fast this past week. We decided to give up the television, so when we got home from church, I put the remotes away so no one would accidentally turn it on. Sure, there's a power button on the front of TV, but who would actually walk over to it, right? And me, I gave up our blog. Reading allowed, no time spent writing posts and playing with photos.

It became a week full of "firsts". The kids began sleeping in Peyton's room after a very structured routine of baths, snacks, reading time, and then straight to bed. No more paci's outside of the bed. No television. And, Peyton started attending a new pre-school. (If you're wondering if the structured bedtime routine is really a first in our household, I must admit that the answer is YES. . .and it's wonderful!)

 

 

Another very special "first" celebrated this week, was Peyton really experiencing Jesus, by using his very own hands as a result of two challenges presented to us by our Pastor. Fasting was the first, and spontaneity the second. When we explained to Peyton what we were doing and why, we told him it was a way to remind us of all that we've been blessed with and to give our family a chance to connect more with each other and with God. We were talking about the hot weather and how we should bring water to the needy. When Peyton overheard our conversation he became very interested in helping. (He originally offered his DVDs, but we convinced him that water might be a better option!) Darryl, Peyton and I brought bottles of cold water and hot dogs to the needy serving the thirst and hunger of close to 200. The experience was incredible. To hear Peyton saying, "God bless you," and pulling shoes out of his basket to bring in case there were children who went barefoot, and giving high-fives to people who could very easily have been judged as dirty was such a blessing.

 

No television after dinner lead us outdoors. We spent time swimming, walking, and at the park!! And best of all, our family enjoyed time reconnecting with each other and with God.

 

 

 

Another first. . .Peyton is starting SOCCER!!!! I can't believe they sell cleats for kids his size. We had no clue what we were doing in the soccer store. And even though Darryl looks like he might be able to play, he never has. . .I love my boys.

 

 

Gracyn's first time climbing up the ladder, spotting and butt lift compliments of daddy, while very nervous mommy held her breath.

 

Are you familiar with the Backyardigan's? Can you hear my kids singing, "Gotta hold on tight, Hold Tight"? I think they're trying to tell me that I'm in the home stretch and they're baby sister is on the way. . .

 

Stay tuned. . .Next post will include updated belly shots. Just about 6 weeks to go, although if you went with the comments I receive on a daily basis, I'll be lucky if I make it another 4.