The elves have been so busy...

Christmas cuties

Sorry so long since i've posted!

I deserve coal in my stocking for this. I didn't realize it has been so long. We had a great Thanksgiving with parents and pre-teen niece from Pennsylvania. I hadn't seen them for a year.

Alex had his first appointment with the pediatric orthopaedist. Alex walks with his legs a bit turned in and falls sometimes on his left side but otherwise gets around great. He is even potty trained which is great for having spina bifida. The doc said that he has some nerves that never developed in his hip area, so he has learned to walk as best he can (by sheer spunk imho) and there's nothing to be done about his gait. Just let him keep playing. (i have already seen alot of progress in his gross motor skills since he came home) As for the falling, he said there is just some weakness in that leg. He will be keeping an eye on his hip bones to be sure they grow normally. We also talked about the possibility of tethered cord surgery in the future ( some of the kids never need this, but many do as they grow). Sometimes there can be a loss in mobility after surgery but he feels that in a mild case like Alex's it would never be so bad that he wouldn't be able to walk. Let's pray that he never needs it!

Alex is continuing to do well emotionally. He loves kisses and hugs and wrestling. He loves all the Christmas decorations and especially seems to like snowmen. He is always stopping to point at something and say "Mama, Mama!" He gets excited when Daddy gets home and loves a bath. He looks proud of himself when he says English words. He said "It's my turn!" the other day.

This seems like the busiest holiday ever with 3 kids. This week we have 2 Christmas parties, and Dan is running slides for the church Christmas concert, and Dora is an angel in it as well. I have cookies to bake, cards to mail but what a happy chaos when I see the season through my kid's eyes! Today, we went to see Santa at a store and the kids were so excited. I wanted to make sure they remembered the real reason we are celebrating. I asked the kid's "whose birthday is it? and Zach said "Jesus!" Good job my sweet little man. I told them that Santa was a person long ago (Saint Nicholas) who gave presents to children to celebrate Jesus, and ever since people like to pretend and add to the story. Their enthusiam was undimmed and I was happy to know it in the right direction :)

Love to all,

Pam

Holiday Shopping

Hi all- If you like to shop online like I do, I wanted to make sure you know about goodshop.com. You just go there, type in the name of your favorite charity (I like Love Without Boundaries of course!) and any major retailer, including amazon, donate a percentage of your purchase to your charity. Out of their pocket, not yours :) I could kick myself for all the stuff I've bought online before knowing this!

Love, Pam

A little sibling love

Update on Pastor Mingxian

Some of you have asked if I had heard anything about the pastor in Henan province I blogged about a few months ago. He was released due to international pressure. Unfortunately his sons were recently beaten by police. Please continue to pray for the family.

This is from voice of the martyrs:

U.S. Department of State Gravely Concerned by China’s Harassment of Pastor "Bike" Zhang

UPDATE: The U.S. Department of State released a statement detailing its serious concern about the brutal beating of Pastor "Bike" Zhang's sons by China's Public Security Bureau (PSB) on October 23. They also condemned the harassment and recent imprisonment of Pastor Zhang by the PSB.

"We are gravely concerned by the brutal beating of Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan's two sons by public bureau officials. We are also deeply concerned by continuing official harassment of Pastor Zhang, a prominent Beijing house church leader, including his arbitrary detention and the forced relocation of his family," said Robert Wood, The U.S. Department of State, Deputy Spokesman in a press release.

Wood's statement called on the Chinese government to release Pastor Zhang and permit his family to return home. "We call upon the Government of China to condemn the violent acts committed against his [Pastor Zhang's] sons, and to bring to justice those individuals responsible for such acts," the statement said. "We are concerned about a pattern of intimidation of religious freedom and rule of law advocates and their family members. We urge China to honor those international human rights instruments to which it is a signatory that protect the rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom of religion."

On October 16, PSB officials severely beat Zhang Jian, the elder son of Pastor Bike, after they entered Pastor Bike's home, secured the exits. The officers beat him with iron bars for nearly half an hour. As Zhang lay bleeding profusely, his mother called an ambulance. The receptionist told her a higher government authority had directed them not to dispatch an ambulance to rescue Zhang because he is related to Pastor Bike. Xie Fenglan next called her younger son, who rushed to the house. Authorities also then beat him.

"We are encouraged to see the U.S. government speaking out on behalf of this persecuted Christian family," said Todd Nettleton, VOM's director of media development. "We join with the State Department in calling on the Chinese government to release Pastor Zhang and to allow his family to return to their apartment."

This incident is the latest attempt by the Chinese government to stop Pastor Bike and his family from sharing the gospel in China. In August, two days before the Olympics, Pastor Bike was arrested along with his wife and a co-worker. The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association launched an international petition drive advocating for their release. More than 58,000 people signed the petition, and it was delivered to Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong in Washington D.C. Shortly after the petition was circulated and the Olympic Games ended, all three were released.

VOM encourages you to pray for the release of Pastor Bike and the speedy recovery for his sons. Ask God to protect and encourage them and all believers in China during this challenging time.

Trick or Treat!

Alex enjoyed his first Halloween- he caught onto the concept fast- At the Wal-Mart candy aisle he burst out "Wo ai candy!" (I love candy!). He is mixing Chinese and English alot these days or adding little endings to English words that make them sound Chinese. "Bubbles-shi!"

Fall is such a beautiful season, and I'm so lucky to share it with these sweet kids. Jumping in the leaves pics to come soon!

Love, Pam

Love Without Boundaries

Hi everyone! A few weeks after I brought Alex home from China, my friend who works with Love Without Boundaries called with exciting news, They are starting a program at Sanmenxia, Alex's orphanage! Love Without Boundaries is wonderful charity that assists Chinese orphans with surgery, recovery homes, foster care sponsorship programs and more. Now more of the sweet children in Alex's orphanage will have the opportunity to receive medical care and bond with loving foster families, which will benefit them when they are adopted or transition into Chinese society.

I have accepted a volunteer position as a Foster Care Assistant for the Sanmenxia Program. I will be helping the coordinator send regular update reports to the children's sponsors, etc.. If you would like to know more about Love Without Boundaries, you can visit their website:www.lovewithoutboundaries .com. Just click on the Foster Care tab to see photos of children in need of sponsors from Sanmenxia and other programs. They also have a tab that links to their Blog, which is excellent reading.

Love, Pam

Elmo Live!

I entered a drawing at the mall and guess what- we won the grand prize-4 front row tickets to Elmo live and a "backstage pass" to meet the characters. I brought Dora, Zach and our friend Logan. It was a blast! Zach got a high-five from Prairie Dawn. They all loved the songs and I was impressed by all the hip-hop dancing the dancers do in giant foam costumes. At the end confetti strings rained down on everyone.

My three pumpkins at the patch

A quick update

Some of you heard that Alex had a visit to the hospital this week. He is doing great- he just got severely dehydrated. They think he caught some sort of virus on top of the giardia and it was just too much for him. He stayed from Weds morning to Thurs. morning. It was weird because he was just fine the night before. In the morning I led him sleep a little late and then decided an hour extra was plenty. Well, he was just limp. I laid him on the couch and for the next hour he only lifted his head to vomit every few minutes. I gave him his giardia medicine which he couldn't keep down. I got an appt with my pediatrician. I told him Alex hadn't peed in 16 hours. They tested his blood sugar and it was 44- not so good. So he sent us to the children's hospital er. They had a hard time getting the IV in and he didn't really return to his regular self until the middle of the night. So a little scary-but it on the bright side we had a really special binding time, sleeping in a giant crib together, singing and feeding him 6 bananas (he was a hungry monster when he finally perked up). He never threw up again or showed any other symptoms after that day.

It was soooo good to get back home. i love my bed ! I love my shower!

I really felt that God was watching over my little guy. He was meant to be with us. People kept saying it was a good thing we did adopting him, but I think we got the biggest blessing- Alex is the kind of kid you'd be happy to have known no matter how short or long your time together turns out to be. And to get to be his mama- well that's just out of this world.

Love, Pam

one of those trying but wonderful weeks...

I've lots of tough moments this past week. I've reached the end of my patience so many times, but there have been victories to celebrate too. Wednesday I took Alex in for his MRI. He was such a good boy, but of course there was lots of waiting and holding him down for the IV was no fun. Afterwards, he slept for six hours straight which was kind of unnerving. As soon as he woke up, I heard from the clinic that he had giardia (parasite from dirty water). the medicine needed to be compounded and we scrambled to get Dan over to the faraway pharmacy before closing. He didn't make it in time. While I'm on the phone Zach is whining and crying at a high decibel level after which I flipped out worse than he just had.

The next day I and the kids headed over to that faraway pharmacy and they fought all the way. All three of them. Then we go inside and it turns out to be pharmacy/breakable tchotcke extravaganza. The boys' behavior was not stellar. When we get outside, CC falls and cries. Zach trips and cries and his knee is bleeding. We go back inside and get a band-aid. Will this hellish errand never end? We drive home. Another half hour of fighting. We get home and they all are commanded to play separately for a long time- D in her room, Z in his, and C with me in the kitchen. it actually works well.

During this period, Zach was waking up at night. One night all three woke up one time each. But I am happy to report that everyone is sleeping well now. I can feel my sanity returning, partly because of this and partly because Sunday's sermon was a good reminder that I need to pray a lot more! I sensed that I really needed to get back in there this week and I'm so glad. I cried leaving Alex in the childcare for the first time but he did just fine :)

Oh yeah and Dan has to work late b/c it's year end and my mom had another heart cath (she's doing fine) .

Now for the happy things!

Top Ten Things Great Things I learned about Cheng-cheng this week!

10) When he runs, he spins his right arm around in circles!
9) He calms down and stares into my eyes when I sing "Jesus loves me" at bedtime (and tries to sing along now).
8) He doesn't really have a sweaty smell like we thought- All this time it was the giardia and now he smells great!
7) He will eat his icky medicine if you bribe him with grapes.
6) Everything remotely ball- like elicits squeals of Qiu!!!(chinese for ball) and is tested for throwing qualities (even the mini gourds on the dining room table that are fall decos)
5) Will say please and thank you in English-very cute!
4) Loves to brush his teeth. Very jealous of brother's spider-man toothbrush.
3) Will give out kisses if you ask for "some sugar"
2) Gives great toddler leg hugs
1) Loves his mommy. The other day I was snuggling him and I said in Chinese, "You are my baby." he replied "I am your baby" and smiled.

Love, Pam

A no nap day....

It was one of those days when the little ones catch a little catnap in the car and your usually calm older one is crazed by the end of the night from no nap at all...a day when my son who speaks very little English picked up the phrase "knock it off" by 12:00.

The morning went well- we did homeschool, played outside, coralled tantrums, etc, then we went to Keepers (homeschooler girl scouts) where one of our talented moms taught the girls how to can pear honey preserves and all the little boys played.

Then it was off to Daddy's work to show off Alex to his co-workers. They surprised us with cake and balloons and gifts. Alex charmed the whole crowd of course. His company is very supportive of adoption, giving huge grants and paternity leave to any employees who want to adopt. We appreciate Dan's workplace so much.

well, then we drove home, the kids trying to kill each other with the balloons all the while. By this time, Zach had half lost his mind. he kept asking, how did we get home, Mommy? i kept telling him: we drove, mommy drove. you know, in a car. Finally I said "I attached one of our balloons to the car and we floated home." This seemed to satisfy him.

I decided CC must have a bath because he's having an MRI tomorrow, early. Of course Zach wanted in, too. I made him promise not to pour water on CC's head (which CC, kind of enjoys, but it gets out of hand). So I let him in. Next Dora starts complaining that she always gets a bath alone, and when my back is turned she is in there too. I said "you will be killing each other in 5 minutes" Prophetic words...

I the midst of the chaos, I did pull off a yummy dinner (lamb, rice and broccoli), and I have to say a good dinner does make things better somehow...

The boys went down early and I played "my little ponies" with Dora. I can't remember the last time we played dolls together and it was a delight to peek into her imagination.

Pray for more patience for me and them! I would like to become the mom these kids deserve.

Love, Pam

it's good to be home

Here's some pics of the kids in their Olympic shirts. We were shocked to hear Cheng-cheng say "Beijing huanying ni" (Beijing welcomes you) which the mascots name spell out!

the kids are crazy about each other and of course my head is spinning from going from 2 to 3 ! But of course we can't imagine our family without Cheng-Cheng. Btw- that nickname is way too long to type so I think I'll abbreviate to CC or Alex from now on. (We've been introducing his English name gradually)

We had a good appointment at the int'l clinic in Birmingham. They said he is doing great with his emotional adjustment, speech and fine motor skills. His gross motor skills need a little practice. His knee that is little turned in is is actually probably because of a little hip displacement or atrophy from when he had his cyst. They said he will likely need another surgery when he is 6 or 7 to make room for his spinal cord to grow. :( But we won't know until we talk to our neurosurgeon here.

He was a trooper through it all and only flipped out when he had to put down his bag of cookies to give blood. He didn't care about being stuck so much as the cookies! Dan was amazing, explaining everything to Cheng-cheng in Chinese. CC likes to call Dan "gege"- (big brother) which Dan hopes will change soon to Daddy. I told him be glad- you must look young.

Today Cheng-cheng said Thank-you in English. It's funny-Zach and Dora are picking up more Chinese as Alex picks up more English.

Thanks for all your prayers while we were in China-they helped!

We took all the kids to our monthly Chinese school-there were 3 kids recently home from China. It was so sweet to see. Zach got to go to class for the first time now that he's 3- he did well.

Pam

Forget to say...

...the picture with Alex and the Barbie (Going Home Barbie is given by the hotel to the adoptive families)- Alex saw it and kept saying Cheng-cheng ! mama! Cheng-cheng! mama!) i wanted to cry!

Love, pam

We're in Guangzhou now!

Whew! we've made it to the comfy adoptive family enclave- the White Swan. Cheng-cheng has been doing very well. He throws an occasional tantrum if you take something away that he wants, but they last only a minute. We had a few times that he cried and asked for his former caregivers, but these bouts were mercifully short also. He seems to really like us and is usually laughing and smiling. He likes to say "yeah, yeah, yeah!" when he's excited. He is still a great sleeper too, so mommy hasn't lost her mind. Y'all know what I'm like without sleep.

There are 12 other great wall families here. I think they are all SN adoptions. Beautiful kids. Today we went to the Chen family temple here in the city and a little shopping. We visited the Henan province museum the other day-some of the pics are from there.

I miss Dora and Zach so much but they seem like they are doing fine at home and enjoying the daily presents i left for them.

Pooky, i miss you too!

Love, Pam

visit to the zoo

Hi all, everything is going great here. Turns out Cheng is potty trained, so that's a great blessing. Yesterday we visited the orphanage. it was a 4 hour trip into the countryside and very emotional. The poverty was overwhelming but so was the love the staff had for my son. Everyone from the guard to the nanny to an older boy (who stood out for being completely healthy) wanted to hug him one more time. They all agreed he is very smart. We also went to his finding place to take a photo. The staff was very hospitable and took us to lunch and even offered to take us to a historic spot, but we thought it would wear out little guy too much. They gave me a copy of his finding ad. One thing that struck me is that he'd be happily playing but if I stepped away he missed me. On the way home he said "Ni shi Mama", "You are mommy".

Today we went to the zoo. Cheng screeched with joy whenever he saw an animal (or a car or boat ride). He threw a tiny tantrum when I wouldn't let him push the buggy because he's too little. Two yr old behavior is universal! He wanted to really get to the little boats on the lake. He kept saying "Wo yao kan!!!!" "I want to see!!!"

Love, Pam

Gotcha Day photos

Yesterday we received Cheng-cheng and it could not have gone more beautifully. He didn't cry, he just slowly warmed up to me and within minutes was playing. By the time we got back to the hotel, he was smiling and laughing. we are so grateful that God answered our prayers. It has been a delight getting to know him.