Friendship

Yesterday we enjoyed an afternoon with friends. Just a few pics from the time together.

These boys have known each other since they were babies and toddlers.

Brothers and sister. :-)

Our oldest holding our youngest.  Where has the time gone?!

 

4 Months Today

Today marks 4 months home for our sweet Q.  The time has flown
by very quickly!! 

She's doing amazingly well.  She's talking so much...even though some
of it sounds like a combo Chinese babble and English. :-)

She's had one surgery for her cleft palate.  The healing is questionable
as a few holes have developed over the past month and a half.  We will
see her surgeon next week to see how we will handle them.  The holes are
not causing her any pain.  We just want to make sure they won't interfere
with her speech therapy, which begins next month.

They boys are doing great with her.  She loves to follow them around to
see what they're doing.  I imagine one day, she'll report back to me as to
what they are up to. :-)

She and Jake are best buds now. :-) 

Sleep is even getting better.....thank you Lord!!  Just the other day I woke
up in MY bed and didn't know where I was. :-)  It took me a minute to
realize that she had slept the entire night in her room...by herself!

She loves all things boy except for one special thing....having her
toenails painted. :-) She squeals with delight...yes squeals...when I
bring out the box with the polish. At least we have one thing to bond over. :-)

She continues to amaze us each day with the things she learns and
how she fits perfectly into our family.  Q, we thank God for
allowing us the opportunity to be your Mama and Baba!

She loves being at the track.  Watching her brothers race and being part of the pit crew.

A few more years before she can climb into a kart to race....I have a feeling she already knows what to do! :-)

She came downstairs one evening dressed like this. :-) 

Today was the last day of VBS.  Whew, we're all wiped but
fun was had by all!  I'm blessed to be part of such a wonderful
church family that comes together to help out with VBS and
share their love of Christ with the children of our community!

The boys did a great job as the snack helpers.  Lots of hungry
kids to serve. :-)

Q helped out (when she could) but mainly stuck to my
hip---literally. She did venture out with a few of my friends
towards the end of each day, esp when music was playing. 
We were told with her initial paperwork that she loved music
and it's totally true.  She dances and claps her hands on Sunday
mornings during worship and this week was no different. :-)

Today during the closing part of the program a song was
sung by the preschoolers and it involved using sign language.
The song was titled 'He Knows My Name'.  As the song
was playing, she was signing (mind you at a two year old
level, but it was signing to her).  This mom lost it.  Tears of
joy!  This little girl knows the love of Jesus.  I truly believe
it.  She prays with us at meals and says 'Amen'.  When we
pray at bedtime, she's ready with eyes closed and hands
folded.  The song reminded me once again that He knew her long
before we ever contemplated adoption and was watching
over her until we could bring her home.  Okay, need to stop
before the waterworks begin again. :-)

Thank you Jesus for watching over Q and giving her peace
about her new family and life!  Thank you as well for the
blessings of J & D in our lives!

Post-Op Update

It's been a little over two weeks since Q's palate surgery and she's doing great! 
She had her first post op visit to the surgeon this past Thursday and he's
pleased so far with her recovery.  She's still got 4 more weeks of
soft foods.  Most of the swelling is gone, except for the tiny bit
around the top lip/gum area.  It's still pretty sensitive.  Interestingly,
she has more food coming out of her nose now than before surgery. The
doctor thinks it's just the small holes that are in the front gum area
and they will close eventually. 

In the past week, she's been feeling more like herself.  She's starting
to babble and sing more.  She's even feeling up to playing with her
toys.  Sleep has taken a few steps backwards as far as needing mommy,
but this was expected.

We're thankful for the prayers for safe surgery and speedy recovery.
She still has more surgery in her future, but at least we've got a few years
to forget this one. :-)

A couple of pics of before and after surgery.

Her last meal before surgery...she LOVES tortilla chips and salsa.

About two hours after surgery. 

 Two days post op...really mom, do you have to take my picture?! :-)

J&D Racing Update

This is the first post of the racing season even though racing is well underway.  Both scheduled races in May were lost due to rain, but all three events for June saw good racing weather.  This year J is running the Jr. Outlaw and D is running in the Tiger Sprint A division.  Unfortunately, both karts are not handling well through the turns and the finishing results show this.  J has finishes of 5^th, 10^th and 8^th in the three races we’ve had, while D has finishes of 7^th, 6^th and 10^th.  We’ve made some big changes to the setups for both karts and will continue to move in that direction until we either go too far or hit something that works.

The next race is Monday, 7/11/11 at Stafford Motor Speedway.  For those in the local area, this event is the Family Fun Night – the event with games and prizes on the midway for kids (as well as kart racing).  In the past, this event was held in August before the kids went back to school, but this year it has been moved to July 11^th.   If you want passes for this event, please let me know as soon as you can and I will get some for you.  Passes are only needed for those 13 and over, as usual, 12 and under are free.

After 7/11, the kart racing schedule at Stafford Motor Speedway is as follows:

July 18 & 25 (Karting for Cancer)
August 8, 15, 22 & 29
September 11 (Sunday)

God Bless and hope to see you at the track.

What We've Been Up To

It's been a long time since our last post....sorry.  We've been busy
settling in as a family of 5.  Trying to finish our homeschool lessons. 
Yard work. The boys (and by that I mean ALL of them)
have started a new season of go-kart racing.  So, needless to say
we've been busy.

We've also been getting all of Q's doctor appts. needed to
prepare for her palate surgery (which will be July 17th). 
We wish there was a way to prepare her for what's to come
and also explain to her that her favorite snacks will be off limits
for weeks to come.  I see many meltdowns in my future. :-0
We're praying for a safe surgery with no complications and
 a speedy recovery.


Q has done so well adjusting to her new home.  It's amazing to
think she's been home less than two months.  It truly seems
as though she's always been with us.  She continues to amaze
us each day with what she knows.  She babbles and tries to
say words (but we're not sure if it's a combination of English/Chinese
or babble). She understands more than we'd expect being
home for such a short period of time. We started teaching her some
sign language so she (read we) wouldn't be so frustrated with
communication. She has no fear, which is good and bad.
She LOVES her brothers! :-)  The feeling is mutual. :-) 
She loves her baba even though it seems that words with 'b' are
difficult for her to say...she calls him 'mama'. She lights up when
he walks in the door each afternoon (the string is firmly tied around
the finger). :-) She still has a love/hate relationship with the dog.
I think the dog feels the same way. :-)   Sleeping is still an issue,
but I've learned to get over it. She falls asleep in her crib but wakes
up a few hours later looking for someone to rescue her.  I've learned
to just enjoy this time with her as it will pass quickly. I have to remind
myself of that each time I get a jab in the back or face in the middle
of the night from our little kick boxer. :-) She loves to be outside
and has no problem getting dirty.  She prefers cars over bows and
ribbons.  Yeah, makes me a little sad but she SO fits in with our family.
God truly had a hand in placing her with us.  We are thankful that He
entrusted us to be her parents.

We had an unexpected trip to FL two weeks ago due to my
father having a stroke. Q did great traveling. I had worried that
she'd have trouble adjusting to a new place, people, etc., esp
after just being home with us for such a short period of time. She did
GREAT! This was a true blessing as I needed to be with my sister
and dad at the hospital quite a bit. On a good note about the trip
(if there could be one), the kids got to go the beach. We haven't seen
the beach in YEARS. The boys had a blast but Q ,who LOVES the
water, didn't like that there was so much water....not to mention this
water had lots of waves. :-) Maybe next time Q. :-)

So, we end this post with a few pics from the last few weeks.
More to come after her surgery.

                    Our trip to the butterfly garden.            

                                                                     

Q having fun at one of the local parks.

Big brother J helping sis with the slide.

Okay, so she does like some girly things. :-)  She giggled the whole time I painted her nails. :-)

Supervising the yard work in her chair.

J & D at the Air Museum in Pensacola.

Boys enjoying the beach.  They haven't seen it since they were Q's age.

Enjoying the view from the safety of mama's arms.

Baptism

Today was a very special day for our family.  Q was baptized. 
It was also Mother's Day....what a wonderful way to celebrate!
Q has two special people as her godparents...F & T.  We've known
them for several years now and they are awesome witnesses
for Christ!  We are so happy that they said yes to being
part of Q's life!

Tried to get the snack cup away from her, but it just wasn't gonna
happen.

The godparents. :-)

The fam with Pastor Randall.

Q with Grandma.

Got one pic before the bow came off. :-)

We thank God for the blessing of baptism.  We thank God for the blessings

of family and friends.  We are thankful for the addition to Q in our family!