One Month with Shan Chen

Psalm 134:2 "Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the LORD."

I cannot believe that Shan Chen has been with us a month now. He has been with us longer then he was here this summer. One month ago today, we waited in the orphanage lobby for Shan Chen. From the first moment I saw him, he had a huge smile on his face. Except a few times, that smile hasn't left his face this month. Shan Chen is a joy to have back in our house and the girls are smitten, especially Micaela. Shan Chen is her little buddy. Both boys are still trying to understand that adoption is forever. When I told Shan Chen this week that he never has to go back to the orphanage, a huge smile broke out across his face and he gave me a huge hug. He said, "Oh, thank you Mama!!" That right there makes me want to go back to China and bring home even more waiting children, who just want a family to call their own. It breaks my heart to see all these waiting children, just longing for a family. 

Shan Chen is full of life. He loves to joke and be goofy. If he gets attention from the girls for doing something, he will keep doing it. He also loves being affectionate and gives everyone lots of hugs and kisses! Shan Chen is also very bright. He has picked up a ton of English, because he had classes in it since he was 5. He sometimes understands what I am saying and will translate it to DJ, which is very nice. I also discovered yesterday in Chinese class that he knows more English then he let on. I was asking my tutor a few words and he answered how to say the in Chinese, which means he understood what I asked. It is fun to have such an energetic boy in the house that is full of life. We are so blessed to be his parents. 

Shan Chen's finding place in Chengdu. This spot makes my heart hurt. I cannot see it and not think of the pain and anguish that his birth mom experienced leaving her son there to get the medical help he needed. We will always tell him about his loving birth parents who chose his well being and gave him a chance at surviving. Adoption is such a beautiful, but painful process!

Landing in Chicago - new US citizens!

Shan Chen loves to give hugs!

Micaela is thrilled to have Shan Chen home. She cried every day the first two weeks he went home this summer.

Class clown - or in our class, the family clown. He loves to be goofy.

Getting ready for his MRI and he was still all smiles. These left when he had to get an IV, and it took two tries. My poor baby!

Big families take advantage of deals. Portillo's had a $.54 piece of chocolate cake the other day to celebrate their anniversary. I cannot swing $27 for dessert, but I sure can swing $4.50!! The kids all had a blast!

Today I got creative in how to squeeze some exercise into my busy morning. The girls had soccer (Naomi, Sophia and Micaela) at Trinity College. So, I decided that we would walk to soccer (about 2.25 miles). The kids decided to ride their scooters, which meant that mom couldn't just walk, I had to run/jog the whole distance. Thankfully we had a soccer game in-between the trip there and the trip back. Nice way to squeeze in 4.5 miles and wear my kids out on a beautiful day. 

They dressed themselves in their matching shirts!

The boys love to play games together. Today they were playing our Chinese chess set.

This is what it sounded like in the car on Wednesday on our way to church. The kids were all pumped up and were singing and dancing to a song. Abigail decided to capture the moment on my cell phone. I did ask Micaela to not scream. I don't mind loud, but screaming is a big no.

Thank you for your continued prayers as we adjust to being a family of 10!

One Month with DJ

Psalm 103:1 "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name."

It has been one month since I walked into a Jinan hotel room to pick up our son DJ. I will never forget the range of emotions we both experienced that day. Fear, excitement, tears,  awkwardness, love, loss, and so much more. We are still working through many of those emotions a month later. DJ is trusting us more and more, but he still is homesick at times for China. I am so thankful for all of the training we had ahead of time that helped prepare us for all of these emotions and experiences. Each day we are discovering more and more about our son. DJ loves to help cook. He asks each night to help dice or cut veggies. If there is anything to help with in the kitchen, he is the first one to ask. DJ also loves to build things. He can spend hours quietly playing with legos or his transformers. DJ loves his family fiercely, but he also doesn't mind being alone. He is thoughtful and is a hard worker. He is doing a great job trying to learn English and helping us learn Chinese. DJ loves to be outside and keeps asking when it is warm enough to go swimming. Thankfully, we found a local swim team that has a free week of trying it out that we are taking him to next week. DJ has also been learning to pray with us. He loves his nightly showers and he LOVES routine. Each day we have to layout the entire day for him. Sometimes we even have to discuss what is going to happen the next day. It is amazing to see how far we have come in just one month. It feels like he has been with us so much longer then a month. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for this amazing young man we have the privilege to call our son!

Our first few minutes together.

Reading our first book together - he was trying not to laugh at my awful pronunciation of Chinese in the book.

Picture in Chinatown last week.

"Running" with Mama. He told me he could go 1.8km, which is about 1.2 miles. We made it exactly 0.5 miles before he was done. I guess we will have to work on running. We went home and I left him with Wayne so I could go run 2 more miles (which about killed me).

Saturday night we made homemade individual pizzas and watched a family movie together (the new Star Wars). The boys had a great time.

Yesterday we took Shan Chen and DJ with us to vote. I have always taken my kids to vote so that 1) they can see what a privilege we have to vote, 2) encourage others to get out and vote, 3) get them in the practice of getting out to vote, and 4) it is part of school - Political Science.

We appreciate all of you prayers, especially as we continue to help the boys process all their emotions and feelings. Today we made our first post adoption appointment with our social worker. It is crazy how fast time flies.