Max's Big Debut

The girls couldn't wait to bring Max to school to introduce him to their classmates. Alexa, being my first born planner, was all over getting things lined up with her teacher before I could get an email sent out.

The girls wanted to have everyone meet Max but also wanted to share about China.

In Alexa's class they pulled down the map and looked where China was and found the big ocean we flew over to get to China and back home.

We made some handouts for the kids and one had a map of China. We talked about how China has provinces instead of states. The kids found Max's province, the Shandong province, on their maps.

The girls were proud big sisters. They wore their Jie Jie shirts that said big sister in Chinese.

We also talked about the Chinese New Year since Chinese New takes place in China in February and is the most important Chinese holiday.

We printed a chart for the kids and talked about how the Chinese have an animal that represents each year. I shared with the kids that in China they would ask us when Max was born and when we said 2009 they would say, "Oh the year of the ox, he is a strong boy!" The kids had fun finding their year on the chart and figuring out what animal matched up with their year.

Alexa and Emma wanted to teach their friends how to use chopsticks. We had a brief lesson and the kids had fun trying to figure out how to use them. They got to take them home to keep practicing.

The girls filled red envelops with chocolate coins for their friends to take home.

The girls had fun having Max make his debut in their classes and sharing with their friends a little bit about China and the Chinese New Year.

"Friend Cafe"

I know I have mentioned this before but Shane has such an amazing preschool teacher. She was such a blessing to us this year and just the teacher Shane needed. She has been so excited about Shane's new little brother that we are adopting from China. She put together a unit on China and Shane was so excited. Shane would wake up and ask if it was preschool day. When I would say yes he would say "Oh good I get to learn about my baby brother today!!" It was so fun to see the things that he learned and his excitement for the culture and country that his new brother is from. At the end of the unit they were going to go on a field trip to a Chinese Restaurant. The field trip fell through so Shane's teacher decided to have a Chinese Restaurant right in their classroom. It was called Peng You Cafe which means "Friend Cafe!" Shane was so excited for us to join him on this special day. It just so happened that a pipe by the girls school broke and the water was contaminated so school was canceled so the girls were able to come to the cafe as well. The girls were excited too!

Shane and some of his friends were busy in the kitchen making some stir fry!

MMMMM doesn't that look yummy!

The kids were served stir fry, rice, Mandarin oranges and of course tea. They also had the opportunity to try eating with chopsticks. It was fun watching all the kids try to carefully pick up their food or just try to stab it!

Alexa and Emma had fun too. Shane felt like such a big boy that the girls got to come to his school and be a part of his special day!

The kids also made homemade fortune cookies. Shane's teacher made fortunes for each of them to put inside the cookie. Shane's read "Shane, you are intelligent, kind and fun. You bring joy to so many and you will be the BEST big brother ever!"

What a fun morning!

Shane's teacher sent this special book home with him as a gift. She wrote a note to him inside. As I read to him the note that talked about what a great big brother he was going to be he was going to be he grinned from ear to ear.

Shane Has A Bit Of A Wait But He Is Busy Getting Ready For His Brother

The kids have been so excited about her their little brother in China.  They have been processing and asking questions.  They pray for him, ask questions about him and love planning for him.  He is part of our daily conversations and lately Shane has been talking about him a lot.  Last week the snow started melting and so Shane was pretty sure summer was coming which meant we would be getting close to getting his brother.  He asked if he should pack his suitcase for papa and grammy's house.  

We knew we wanted to tell the kids early so they could process and we could begin preparing them.  The hard thing with adoption is you just don't have a time line.  We told the kids we don't know when we will be able to go to China and get him because we have a lot of paperwork to do.  The other day Emma said, "Mom, why don't you go work on paperwork for our brother and we will just play!" We did tell them it will probably be after summer.  We are hoping by summer at least we will have a little bit of an idea where we are at.  So needless to say Shane is pretty sure that since the snow is melting then summer is coming which means he is closer to meeting his little brother.  It may be a long winter, spring and summer for Shane.  

Here are a couple things Shane has been doing to get ready for his brother.  

He painted him some pictures the other day!

We have been going through all the toys and are getting rid of stuff.  I think I may be nesting already.  Shane is having a really hard time letting go of his toys because he is pretty sure his brother needs them.  So here is his line up of trucks he is saving for his brother. 

He also has decided he no longer needs to sit in a booster seat at the table.  He is getting too big and his brother will probably need it.  He carefully placed it in the corner and it has been in the corner waiting patiently for his little brother.  

Shane I know you are going to be such a great big brother even though it just may rock your world a little bit! 

Life Is A Journey

Webster Dictionary defines a JOURNEY as

jour·ney (jʉr′nē)

noun pl. journeys -·neys

1. the act or an instance of traveling from one place to another; trip
2. any course or passage from one stage or experience to another

As I look back over 2009 I have to say it definitely was a journey.  It was probably one of the harder years we have experienced in our married life.  The economy took a toll on Eric's company and he was forced to let a number of employees go.  This brought a bigger work load for him and a lot more stress.  There was the stress of finances, work, putting into our marriage, kids and then just the daily things that happen in life.  What a comfort to know that we believe in a sovereign God that has a plan for our family.  Even though it was a hard year it was a year I would walk through again.  It made me really look at where my security lies. Does financial security or feeling loved by husband bring me security?  Does no stress or a stable pay check bring me security?  Does health or thriving kids bring me security?  Do I look to the things of this world to bring me security?  Do I look to my husband or kids for  security? As I struggled through stressful times wanting to control them I had no choice but to lay them down. This year I truly learned what it meant to fully rely on God and what that looks like as a woman, wife and mom.  

There is security in knowing that I put my trust in a God that loves me unconditionally, sent his Son to die for me and has a plan for my life. Is everything we went through this past year preparing us for something BIGGER?  

As I look back over the past year I see God's hand so evident in our life.  And as this year comes to a close it also marks a new journey we are on as a family.   A journey both Eric and I feel God has called us to.  Were things we went through this past year preparing us for this new journey?  As we begin a journey to a son in China I know what it means to fully rely on Him and trust in his perfect plan for our family.  We would be lying if we didn't say there was fear of the unknown or uncertainty that is before us.  But I also know that the excitement that we feel and the confidence we have in God's calling on our family to adopt a little boy in China is something I can't explain.  So yes maybe 2009 was a hard journey at times but maybe in part to prepare us for the journey that will forever change our lives in 2010. 

Please join us in praying for the little boy that God has for our family in China.  

I have started a new blog The Journey To Our Son

I will be posting our little guy's story here.  I will be posting what led us to our decision to adopt a little boy from China, our progress through the adoption process and then finally our trip to our son. I can't wait for you to share this journey with us!