Today was Happy Head Shot Day, the day my brother survived a gunshot to the head in Iraq three years ago. He was in his helicopter and came under fire. His helmet was ruined, but not him, Thank God.



K has a cane now. He has no depth perception and has a hard time ambulating in new places. He is learning to use it, but it is hard having spent so long without it.

J would not smile for any reason. None of the usual smile tricks worked, so here is a pensive Snow White wearing a cape my mother made for me.


The Princess Leia doo.

Today is the six month anniversary of meeting K. It seems like it has been so much longer. I barely remember life before him. He continues to adjust to all the changes in his life, as do we all. They really are doing better as siblings and are having more 'usual' sibling rivalry.

I keep telling myself I am going to be more consistent with the blog and with taking pictures. I promise to try, really.

We have stuck our toes into the adoption waters again. Just testing the water right now...

I seem to have once again fallen off the blog wagon. K has started school and seems to enjoy it. He is doing very well with English and is settling down more. We go back to UAB next month for more testing.



J stays home still. She is doing ballet and gymnastics this year.



They are getting along better and playing more together. It's been a rocky road this summer, but we hold to the belief that this is God's plan and trust in His sovereignty.







-- Post From My iPhone

Have you ever read something that you probably have seen many times before, but for some reason, this time it really strikes you? I read one this morning: Hab 3:17-18 "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

J is making a patient list for rounding.




-- Post From My iPhone

We had a whirlwind trip to UAB today for K's follow-up. No answers right now, more testing ahead.

The drive back is always very long, but it does give me time to process. There are times when I think that I am not up to another adoption. In my heart, though, I still feel God is leading us back to China someday. Not any time soon, but I know the road is not done yet.


-- Post From My iPhone

Here are the two darlings with the things they love--Miss Kitty and Batman.

Beyond that, I'm at a loss for what to say.

On second thought, I do have something to say. This blog update made me cry. This young man was severely burned in an accident that killed his father. To be loved by a new family is fantastic. More amazing is that he was able to spend the last few years among people who accepted him despite his special needs, who opened their arms, sought to meet his physical and spiritual needs and showed him the love of God through their actions and not mere words. If only every child in the world had such an opportunity...

A lot has happened since I last updated the blog. Keith had his follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist. His corrected vision (with glasses) is somewhere between 20/100 and 20/200. For perspective, the big E at the top of a vision chart is 20/200. With glasses, he can see that line. The next line is 20/100. He cannot see that line. Without glasses, he walks into walls. Legally blind is best corrected vision of 20/200, so he is close but not quite legally blind. He is going to have an exam under anesthesia of his eyes on August 7. I have spent a good deal of time over the last month on the phone with the public school system trying to get him evaluated and into the regional blind school. It has thus far been a very frustrating and irksome process.

He is doing quite well with learning English. He has trouble with concepts and words that sound similar, like Sunday and Someday. Overall, though, he communicates with us very well.

He is better bonded to daddy than mommy still, but at least doesn't cry when daddy leaves anymore.

J is now four, which is hard to believe. She continues to have sleep issues. She remains our little princess.

These are from the beach this weekend. K looks like he is surfing on his own in the top, but in the bottom, you can see Paw Paw holding the back. They both had a great time. J liked being in the water more than K.
A lot of other stuff has happened that I'm still processing, some of which still makes me very mad. I think some things are beyond repair, but time will tell.

I'm listening to a sermon where the speaker says we should use all that happens to us as a witness. I've spent a lot of time mulling this sermon. I've been uncertain about the direction of the blog for months and maybe it's time to turn the focus a little.

Overall, I believe that our adoptions have been the road God wants us on and overall I believe all that has happened has been His sovereign plan. The struggle, though, is seeing that sovereignty in the daily battles and seeing His plan in the hurtful times. It's the point where faith becomes reality.

This morning the kids were driving me a little crazy and I passed through the kitchen and saw the above. It was quite endearing, somehow, and reminded me how much fun they add to my life, even during the battles.

iphone pic dump: spring '09

Here's the best from my iPhone. Enjoy!








These last ones, with Keith in his Bama shorts, Superman pajama shirt and Batman cape, are a pretty good indication of the constantly moving target that Keith is. He was acting "super" and was just cracking me up.

We had our orthopedic appointment this week. It was really uneventful. He got some X-Rays and a stuffed bunny. The doctor was not impressed by his foot. He thinks his gait problems and foot turn are related to the arm in the sense that you normally use your arms to balance as you walk and run and he cannot do that, so the gait and foot are off. He said the arm is what it is. There are surgeries available, but he does not recommend them because he does not think kids gain enough function to warrant the extent of surgery required. We go back in six months for a check up.

We are getting the semblance of routine around here. Some days are better than others, but overall, things are headed in a positive direction. His behaviors are muted compared to a couple of months ago and he is having fewer totally ramped up wild moments. They still happen, but we are getting better at recognizing the start and heading them off. Both kids are testing the limits constantly, but who's kids don't?

No new pictures. No excuses, just no pictures.

Things around here are in some ways settling in. Brother has really started to push the boundaries and test the limits. It is almost as though he figured out we were not going anywhere and decided he needed to establish the control. He is very different from sister in his power struggles. He will do more half-obedience and delay tactics than she would. Unfortunately, mommy wants full obedience and delay tactics result in being carried to bed. Sister is pushing the limits, too, I assume to figure out the new norm and establish some control for her. The days can be very long, but I know someday it will all pay off.

I have finally given up the battle of a toy free living room and have begun to turn it into a play room. I bought a kid table and two chairs today. I had one put together when brother woke up and he claimed it as his chair. It is identical to the other, but he drug that chair all over the house to make sure only he sat in it. I would walk to the kitchen and here he came with that chair. It was almost comical. He also went through his sister's room decided which toys in there were "his". She did not take well to that expedition.


We have our appointment with orthopedics May 7.

It remains difficult to get two children smiling, looking at the camera and not physically harming one another. We are sporting new glasses around here. They arrived yesterday. It is hard to tell if there is a big difference or not, but he does wear them pretty consistently.

We had our eye appointment yesterday. It went reasonably well. They put the drops in to dilate his eyes then made us wait TWO HOURS before they did the exam. That was sheer misery. He does have vision in both eyes and hopefully glasses will help. They are being made. The eye doctor used a set of lenses to test his vision. I'm not sure how it works, but somehow it does. We go to the regular pediatrician next week.

They are a couple of busy beavers. I tend to run out of activities by about 0930. Right now they are "napping", because I needed a break. I go back to work in the morning and I think I am more excited about it than I should be. Hopefully I will remember all my log-in information this time.

We are back from the international pediatrician in Birmingham. He had to give some blood and both of them had renal ultrasounds for melamine. They gave us a lot of information and right now we are processing it all. We go to the ophthalmologist in the morning. He still has a visit to orthopedics and urology in his future. And his regular pediatrician. Mei Mei continues to be delayed.

My camera battery died right before Easter. It is recharging, but no Easter photos. We go to UAB tonight for an evaluation in the morning. We are ready to start the medical exams and hopefully, some treatments. Or at least some answers to what all is wrong.

He is starting to pick up more English, but it continues to be very slow. We have a lot of sibling conflict. He went to Sunday School and extended session on Sunday with no problems. The first week he lasted about 15 minutes. This week he stayed the whole time, no issues. Whether that is good or bad, I suppose, is open to debate. He charms everyone. He can now ride a tricycle. He sleeps alone in his bed. He is terrified of our cat. Silverware is still a challenge. I don't know where we are with attachment and bonding. He does give us some eye contact, but with the vision issues, we don't know what to expect. He is very loud sometimes and is very sweet sometimes.

We have now been on US soil for one week. Things are going quite well, I think. The jet lag haze is beginning to lift and sleep patterns are approaching normal. Mei Mei still thinks 4 or 5 am is a good time to get up, but we are making her stay in her bed until 6, even is all she does is play and sing. Hopefully she will gradually return to her normal 0630-0700 wake up time. There is a lot of sibling rivalry, mainly on mei mei's part, but I am trying to not intervene unless blood is shed. We have an Opthalmology appointment for next week and are waiting for our UAB appointment.

The photos are from an Easter Egg Hunt (in case you have never seen such an activity before). The eggs stayed in the car until mommy could remove the sugary contents. They fought over them until they realized all the jelly beans had been removed. Now they will shake each egg repeatly, just to see if I missed one.

Sleep is getting a little better around here. Everyone is in their own bed right now. We will see how long that lasts. We got some proper shoes for the boy today. No more ill fitting shoes. We were buying two pairs and he had a fit when we tried to take of the first pair to try on the second. I guess he thought we were not going to get them if they came off his feet. We are planning to go to church in the morning. Hopefully that will go smoothly.

We are starting to settle in around here. I have not unpacked the camera and most of the clothes are in the hall waiting to go through the washing machine. Everything had a funk to it, even the stuff we laundered in China.

Last night was a rough night. Mei Mei has always had sleep issues. She slept soundly the night we got her, all alone in her crib, but that was the last time. I fondly refer to 2 am as the witching hour because she wakes up like clock work. It used to be screaming and trips to the rocking chair, now it is just calling out for mommy, sometimes to potty, then right back to sleep. Well, last night was like the old days. She woke up every forty minutes and screamed. I had to get out of bed and walk her around. I made several trips to the kitchen. She woke up for good at 3 am and I finally went to sleep at around 5. Ge Ge slept like a rock until about 5 am. I'm hoping tonight will be a better night for her. Ge Ge is refusing to go to bed.

We are home and all in bed. I am hoping no one wakes up before about 630 am. I have one story from our otherwise uneventful travels home. We had one large suitcase that on the way over exceeded the US domestic weight limit and had to be repacked in the airport before I could check it. So, coming home I was meticulous with this one and weighed it constantly in the hotel room to keep the weight down. When we checked in for the flight to LAX it turned out to be 22.7 kg (49.94 lbs), which just squeaks under the limit. Before we left LAX, I took a few more things out just to be on the safe side. We get to the airport and they don't even weigh it!! The attendant slaps tracking labels on all of them and sends us off to the TSA x-ray machine without a second thought. AUGGHH!! All that obsessing for naught.

Happy sleeping to everyone.

-- Posted From My iPhone