Gosh, I just realized that I didn’t even post about Thanksgiving. It was a great holiday this year, because my sister, Sandy, and her family came into town. It was wonderful having them here to enjoy the holiday with all of us, especially to celebrate my new niece, Isis. We were even privileged to celebrate her first birthday, which was so much fun. Isis shared her first steps with us too. It’s amazing how God works, because just like Rachel, Isis fit right in with the family and she wasn’t a bit shy or upset that she was surrounded by unfamiliar faces. She is a spunky little thing who just loves to laugh and entertain. Hmm, sounds like someone else I know! Actually, I was surprised at how well Rachel did with Isis being in our house. She wasn’t too jealous considering she had to share the spotlight with the youngest addition to the family. We did have a small birthday celebration for Isis and my friends and Dave’s family were so gracious enough to celebrate with us with gifts and food! It was so much fun! I did put Sandy to work where she made her famous fried chicken, green collards, “crack mac” (macaroni and cheese) and very tasty cornbread! This is a new tradition that has started for whenever Sandy visits us here in PA. My friends still talk about our southern fried chicken dinner! Sandy does a great job, but it really is a lot of work! She only knows how to cook for an army, but we love it because we have a weeks worth of leftovers! They may be coming up for Easter this year and I’m totally psyched! I so wish they lived closer so that we could do more and get to know our niece better. Hopefully one day they will make the transition back to our old stomping ground!
Unfortunately, the rest of the year was a little stressful for us. We have so many birthdays this time of year, including Jake and myself. But, we always make sure that we celebrate in some way for Jake. Having a birthday in December myself, I know all too well how sometimes we get forgotten because of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Before celebrating Jake’s birthday, we always make sure the house is already decorated for Christmas and I always do tons of cleaning beforehand. I need to get more organized with that, so that I can eliminate some of that stress. Andrea and Phoebe came this year to help us decorate the tree. I believe this is Andrea’s 5th year in helping us decorate our tree and now Phoebe has joined our tradition. Andrea is Jewish in faith, so she doesn’t have her own tree. She remembers doing this with her grandmother, who was catholic, when she was younger and she enjoyed the tradition of tree decorating. It’s fun having your “extended” family help in decorating for Christmas. Dave and Jake had helped this year topping the tree with our star. Rachel was thrilled to have a part in putting the star on the tree. It’s hard to believe that she’s old enough to help!
Basketball season was in full swing and keeping Jake, and us, busy! Jake pretty much played ball seven days a week. I guess we didn’t learn from the fall with his busy activity/sport schedule! Basketball is Jake’s “new found love.” He tried out for the 7th grade team at school and made it, which was a big deal for him! We were so excited for him for such an accomplishment, especially considering he hasn’t played competitively for very long. His school had a great team this year and the record ended up being 10 and 1. Jake also played for a recreation league and for their travel team which he also had to try out for. He played for Upward Basketball at our church, which I tried talking him out of, but he wanted to play, especially since this is his last year because he ages out. He thought it would give him more practice, since we don’t have a good driveway for a basketball net. We are now at the tail end of the season and we aren’t sure what spring looks like yet in the way of sports. Jake may not play baseball this year for the first time since he was five years old! I’m very sad about this! He wants to pursue basketball and is hoping to find a team where he can play this spring. I just hate to see him give up baseball all together. He’s so good at it and has a natural talent for the sport. I thought he could play for school and do recreational basketball. He’s not sure about trying out for school since they only have one team which is composed of both 7th and 8th graders. I was surprised to learn this, since I thought most schools have a separate 7th and 8th grade team. Anyway, he’s afraid he wouldn’t be good enough to make the team. I say he should go for it. So what if he doesn’t make it (I do think he would make the team!) at least he would get the experience of trying out. Jake sometimes shies away from challenges, which bugs me. Hopefully he will change his mind. It would be a shame to let his talent go to waste!
Rachel is still dancing. Although, lately, she hasn’t been wanting to go to dance. Not really sure why, because she loves to dance. I guess it could be a phase. She still loves school and continues to learn more and more each week. She is so funny. She loves to sing and every day we get to hear the songs she has learned at school. I am amazed at how many songs this girl knows and is willing to sing to anyone who will listen. We get such a laugh out of our spirited girl. Just last night while eating dinner, she announced that she was finished. I told her that she needed to eat at least 3 mores bites. In the end, she ended up eating almost every bite on her plate. I complimented and praised her for this and she says “I’m the best and no one is better than me.” I explained that this really isn’t a very nice thing to say out loud and she responded with “stop criticizing me!” All Dave and I could do was laugh. The words that come out of my girl’s mouth at three years old is unbelievable. She is a pistol and I think this is just the beginning that we are in trouble for what is to come!!!! Everyone keeps telling me this and it scares me to death.
I’ve been sharing Rachel’s adoption story with her just about every night. We have implemented “snuggle time” in her bed which lasts about 10 minutes or so each night. During that time, we say our nightly prayers. She is so cute, because every night she wants to pray for several families who lost their house in a fire back in the fall/early winter. We pass by these homes everyday and each day she asks about it and wonders if they are getting help. I love that she thinks of these families and shows empathy towards them at her age. So each night since she saw these homes, she is sure to include them in our prayers. I love it! Anyway, the second part of our “snuggle time” is spent sharing her adoption journey. She loves to hear about her adoption journey and how we waited and how she “grew in our hearts.” When I talk about us entering the Chinese Adoption Civil Affairs Office in China, I talk about how we knew she was our little girl because she was the only “bald” baby in the room! When I get to that part, she yells “that was me…that was me!” I share with her how she cried for a little while and she always intervenes and says “because I didn’t know you yet.” I go on to tell her the rest of her story and how we loved her before we even laid eyes on her. She is always telling me “but I grew in your heart.” Back in December, I switched out the picture with the kids and Santa with the new one from this year. I found the one of Jake with Santa when Jake was only a year old behind all the others. I laid it on the table and Rachel asked “is that me?” I explained that the picture was Jake when he was a baby and she responds “he’s from China too?!” LOL. Without too much detail, I tell her that no, Jake grew in my belly and you grew in China. She pondered that for a moment and after a few seconds, she grabbed my face and said “but I grew in your heart for a long time.” Did I tell you how much I love this girl?! My heart skipped a beat when she said this. I pray to God that that will always be enough for her. I hope that by sharing her adoption story with her, she will never be ashamed of it, but know that she was chosen out of pure love. I pray to God that she will be proud to share her story and that her story will always be a part of her and one that she will proudly treasure. I know I always will. Right now, I’m cherishing the moments during “snuggle-time” in her bed where we lovingly share her adoption story and pray that God will continue to give her that sense of love and belonging as she gets older.
We celebrated another Chinese New Year with Living Hope at the Chinese Buffet earlier in February. It’s always great to see the families, especially the children because they usually have grown or changed so much. I hardly see Rachel when we go because she is all over the place running with her little friends, especially Elizabeth. This year I’m excited, because I’m helping with the planning of the next reunion this summer. This coming weekend we are taking a ride to visit one facility that is a big possibility for the reunion. I’m praying that we can find something that will be fun but financially affordable for everyone. I’m excited about this role and I’m looking forward to meeting and coordinating activities with other families. I love the networking and the growing relationships that have come from our adoption process. I think it’s so important for us, particularly Rachel, to network with families who have the same family dynamics as ours. I pray that Rachel, and us, develop lifelong relationships as we continue to grow and network with other multi-cultured families. We have already developed some great friendships and it’s been a blast!
I am happy that we are at the tail end of winter already. It’s been a tough start this year. I’ve been struggling mentally on so many levels, but thank God, I think I got to the root of the problem. I struggle with severe fatigue and after having a sleep study done last September, it was determined that I have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD). It’s very similar to Restless Leg Syndrome, but it occurs while I am sleeping. They sleep study revealed that this PLMD wakes me up about 15 times per hour because of the jolting movement of my legs and arms. So, the doctor put me on a stimulant, which is supposed to help keep more awake during the day. The drug worked like a charm, or at least I thought so. It worked great in keeping me awake, but the side effects had caused some severe mental issues including aggressive behavior. My poor family took the brunt of my behavior and outbursts. I’m ashamed and embarrassed by the whole thing. My mood swings were so severe that I would go on rampages that would last a long time and then end in severe depression and crying fits. One Saturday morning, I was so aggressive and agitated that I tried getting out of our moving car! That day, I knew something was seriously wrong with me. My aggressive behavior made me so upset and ashamed; I would then fall into a deep depression where I would hide away from my family and friends. I started researching my medication, and once I realized it was the medication and I stopped taking it, within three days I was back to myself! I still can’t believe that I dealt with this for 6 long weeks. I can’t believe how horrible I was to my family and myself. I have the best husband in the world for putting up with me. When I think back over those 6 weeks, it makes me cry. Thank God my family is loving and forgiving. I asked Jake if he saw a difference in me after few days after I stopped my medication and he said “oh yeah!” I can’t ask for forgiveness enough. I would rather be exhausted then to put me or my family through that again. Thank you to those who prayed for me during those rough weeks.
It is hard to believe that we are at the end of February and that spring will be upon us before we know it. I have faith that things will in fact improve as time gets on. We have some exciting things coming up for the spring and summer, including my sister and her family visiting for Easter, and an Easter surprise for the kids (I will share later)!. My hubby forgave me enough to purchase a gift for me, which is a digital photography class! I can’t wait for April 17th! My friend has inspired me to want to learn to get my DSLR out of “auto-mode.” I’m going to make plans to go visit my friend, Tina, in Chambersburg and we are planning the Living Hope reunion for August. So, we have some great things to look forward to and honestly, they are very much deserved! We need to embrace life and count our blessings each day.
Please keep my father in your prayers. After a nasty fall while working, an MRI showed spots on his spine. He has an appointment with a specialist next week. Please pray to God, that it is nothing serious and that if it is serious, that God will give him and everyone around him the strength to handle whatever he is faced with. Please continue to pray for my brother, Paul, who is dealing with severe and dangerous obesity. Pray that he can stick to his food plan and lose the weight that will allow him to live a more comfortable and normal life.
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| Rachel LOVES her new motorcycle. |
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| When she realized there was a turbo button, there was no stopping her! |
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| Love seeing the mess on Christmas morning. |
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| Andrea, Phoebe & Rachel |
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| My little angel bugs. |
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