Halloween Pumpkin Patch Adventures!

I love Halloween. The orange and black...pumpkins...and colorful leaves. It is too bad this time of the year passes so quickly. Today we took the girls to the local pumpkin patch. The man who owns that patch has been selling pumpkins there for 20 years and has lived in that home for 50! The girls went nuts and just kept loading the wagon with more and more pumpkins. Finally, we narrowed it down to nine, plus 5 ears of colorful, dried corn. Tonight we will go to a neighborhood Halloween party (if Abbie will mellow out a bit!) Have I told you she is a total maniac yet? The kid never stops moving, even in her sleep. I am a little worried about ADHD, because she can't sit still and has no attention span what-so-ever. Hopefully, it is just some pent up orphanage-related behavior manifesting itself. Only time will tell...and I hope that time goes quickly! Have a great weekend!! Tracie

CDs, VCRs, DVDs, VCDs, CD-Roms, oh my....

Abbie's orphanage gave her a most precious gift of a Cantonese (Teochew?) Children's VCD. For those not familiar with a VCD, it is popular in China and is a Video Compact Disk. After nearly two months, I finally figured out that we can easily play the four disks on our DVD player. I have no idea what it is called, or what they are singing, and the subtitles are all in Chinese characters, but it is really, really cute! The songs are lively and sweet and the animation is adorable. When I turned it on, Abbie went bananas!! She was dancing and pointing to the television and utterly joyful. She must recognize this from her orphanage. Unfortunately, Abbie has the attention span of a monkey and she didn't watch it for long (she hasn't learned the American tradition of being a "couch potato" yet, ha ha!), but what fun to have this special gift to share with her, and with her own children, of her first three years of life in China! Would you believe it actually makes me homesick for China?! Strange, how we are so connected in many ways. On a side note, Abbie will see the cranio-facial dentist tomorrow for a dental impression. Wish us luck as we take this important step towards her surgery on 11/1 and repairing her palate so she may have the gift of speech. Love to you all! Tracie

Greetings From Snowy Utah!

Howdy Everyone:
Greetings from a cold rainy and snowy day in Utah. Ugh. I am just not a winter person. Had a fun time in Chinese class with the Stewart Family today. It is fun to watch Beckett recognize the Chinese words. He seemed to be having a lot of fun and was playing the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes game. Lucy loves a song about turnip stir fry and makes me do the hand game with her about 100 times per day. Now Abbie is in on the action. I think I just need to record the song and play it on a continuous loop for them! After class we all headed to Fong's Fine Chinese Dining for some grub. Tasty, but nothing like the wonderful food we ate in China. It's just not the same in America - just as American food is just not the same in China. Lucy ate a huge plate of Chicken Lo Mein. Beckett mostly wore his. :) Abbie ate everything in her sight and then some. I was seriously craving a Mango Hello Kitty pudding from the Cow and Bridge Restaurant in Guangzhou. Sigh. When we got home, the girls went down for a three hour nap! Unfortunately, so did I. I have to lie down with Abbie to get her to nap. My plan was to leave the room once she feel asleep and have a couple of hours of quality reading time. Oh well. The nap felt good. :) Have a great weekend everyone! On Wednesday Abbie will have her acrylic prosthetic impression made. They will either have to sedate her or me to do this. Wish us luck! Love, Tracie

Kyla T. Starts Pre-School!

Hi Everyone: I just heard from a family we traveled with in 2005 to adopt Lucy. Their daughter Kyla was 19 months when she was adopted from Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province and her brave dad (Gary) traveled by himself. Kyla kept him very busy and he had the patience of gold! I just remember Kyla dancing on the tables at Lucy's Place during dinner and landing face down in the only puddle of water in sight! Here is Kyla on her first day of pre-school! What a beauty!

Pictures of our Visit with Papa and Grandma Coryell!

A Spectacular Fall Day in Utah!

Hi Everyone: today was so beautiful, we decided to take the trio to Tracy Aviary and Liberty Park. The girls got to feed the ducks and pigeons, watch a bird show, ride old-fashioned rides and go nuts at the playground. Abbie couldn't get enough. Everything was so new and exciting to her. The best part is that she is not afraid and just enjoys every tiny thing. She is so curious and a huge grin was pasted on her face the entire day. She loved the rides (didn't want to get off) and went down the largest twisty slide I have ever seen - all by herself! Freaked mommy out, but Abbie squealed with pure delight! The girls have morphed into sisters. I'm not sure when and how it happened, but we are now a family and I cannot imagine not having three little ones and two big ones to keep us "young." The girls are so close and stick together like glue. Abbie has blended right in and it is so beautiful. The hardest part of the day was selecting which "Family Day" pictures to put on the Blog. Enjoy!

NO LONGER A WAITING CHILD

If I have ever second guessed or questioned in my heart why I was meant to be the mother of a child who is almost three years old, this poem (published on the Love Without Boundaries Blog) says it all. I fell in love with Abbie from the moment I saw her picture on the Internet and knew she would be my daughter from the moment I had the opportunity to meet and hold her in March 2007. She didn't know I would be her mom, but in her heart, I am sure she knew. Infant, three year old, or 16 year old - it did not matter. She is a child, I am a mom.

I am now her mom - forever and always.

The Waiting Child

- by Debbie Bodie

I saw you meet your child today. You kissed your baby joyfully and as you walked away with him, I played pretend you'd chosen me.

I'm happy for the baby, yet inside I'm aching miserably. I want to plead as you go by,"Does no-one want a child of three?"

I saw you meet your child today. In love with her before you met and as I watched you take her out, I knew it wasn't my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year! I knew I'd seen your face before! But you came for a second babe. Does no one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today, but this time there was something new. A nurse came in and took MY hand and then she gave my hand to you. Can this be true? I'm almost six!

And there are infants here, you see? But then you kissed me and I knew,

the child you picked this time was me.

(Copyright 1997 Debbie Bodie) Debbie-Bodie@Prodigy.net

UPDATES ON ABBIE!

Hi Everyone:

Abbie is continuing to do GREAT! I believe she has definitely gained some weight because she feels heavier, her face is filling out, and she has a porky, little belly! Her skin is just glowing with good health. She is a very good eater (eats a LOT!) and a good sleeper. We started her in daycare on Tuesday and she just loves being there. She gets so excited when we drop her off in the morning and waves goodbye with a big smile. I was worried that she would think we were abandoning her, but it seems she knows we are her family and are coming back for her. I also think it helps that she and Lucy are in the same room together. When we pick her up, she is happy to see us and gives big, squeezy hugs. Her palatal prosthesis surgery has been moved due to meetings required of Dr. Morales. Instead of 10/29, her surgery will now be be just three days later on 11/1. This is good because she will be able to enjoy watching the kids on Halloween, instead of feeling poopy from surgery. I learned that her prosthesis will be "permanent" and installed with two screws. I am relieved I won't have to try to use denture cream and wrestle a three year old to put it in! I am now working on getting an appointment with the ear, nose and throat folks to have ear tubes installed on 11/1 too. Tomorrow, she has a follow up appointment with her pediatrician and I can't wait to see how much she weighs! We had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Papa Coryell (my folks) and I will be posting some great pictures soon! Love to all. Tracie

Pictures From a Sunny Utah Day

Hi Everyone: Don't let the sweet smile and seemingly mild disposition fool you. I was warned well before we adopted Abbie that children labeled "clever and smart" by their orphanages are usually "stubborn and hornery." Abbie picked today to start terrorizing her sisters. She takes their toys then runs off screaming in delight, while they just stand in total disbelief looking at me. What do they want me to do about it? I'm not going to stop Abbie - she scares me! Ha ha! Just kidding! Despite her activeness, it is wonderful to see that she is feeling comfortable in her new family. Earlier today, all three of them were sitting on the piano bench making pretty music together. It was a really cute Advil moment. :)

A View From McDonald's in Guangzhou

As you can see, I have saved some pictures of our trip to intersperse amongst pictures from the here and now. This lovely picture was taken from the window of McDonald's in Guangzhou at the walking mall, shortly before I was adamantly told "NO PICTURES!" Oops! At least this trip I wasn't threatened to have my camera taken away. (Yes, this actually happened in 2005 at the Guangzhou Airport Customs and Border Control.) Double oops!

LAUNDRY

As a family of seven, especially three wee one's, the amount of laundry we do is astronomical! In order to save energy and considerable amounts of water, I have decided to start washing our laundry like the Chinese do. Now, where did that Pearl River go? I guess Utah's Jordan River will have to do! Ha ha!

Cami Mei the Lady Bug

I visited the McInnis Family blog and found this absolutely adorable picture of Cami Mei. It's SO wonderful to see a smile of pure joy on her face! What a sweet Halloween lady bug! You know her bucket will be filled to the brim with goodies!

Cute Little Guy!

My Cyber-Friend Paula, and her family, are anxiously awaiting their time to travel to adopt their sweet little boy, Ben. Ben was one of Abbie's friends (Abbie is on the right with her hands up) and three pictures of him were on the cd the Shantou SWI gave me of Abbie's life. I couldn't resist posting a picture of this beautiful boy on our site! Ben is in the blue shirt and the expression on his face looks like he is ready to give his family a big hug! Congratulations Paula and family!

Goodbye Sweet Summer :(

Ugh. I am sitting in Utah, literally freezing to death. We returned home from warm and humid Guangzhou on 9/26 and to welcome us home, it snowed on 9/29 and again today. Yuck. Is it obvious that I don't like Winter? Melanie, how's the weather in Idaho? I truly live in the wrong state. I just read this information about Abbie's hometown of Shantou, and I am seriously wishing I could be there for the next several months (years?) instead! Big sigh - I love the alternation of Spring and Summer! "Long coastal lines and a pleasant subtropical marine climate provide the city with many charming tourist attractions. Beautiful mountains, natural beaches, and exquisite islands, together with the marine scenery that surrounds the harbor, form a breathtaking environment that is especially attractive to those who want to escape the busy life. The locals use their rich seaside resources to set up many resort villages that provide sound facilities and services for the tourists. In addition, the Tropic of Cancer traverses the city, making it a wonderful place to feel the instant alternation of spring and summer in China."

First Day at The Utah Chinese School!

Howdy Everyone: Each day is getting better. Abbie is on the right time schedule and is sleeping through the night. She still follows me around like a tail, but is starting to laugh and follow her sisters around a little bit more. Each day, her comfort level and understanding of what she can do is improving. It's amazing how well she can eat with her open cleft palate. The other day, she had her first Irish meal of Shepard's Pie (her last name is Laughlin, you know.) Our little Chinese, Irish and American Lassie LOVED it! As a matter of fact, she ate half my dish full! Today, my little Teochew speaker went to her first Mandarin class. She may not understand English or even Mandarin for that matter, but she had fun at class and enjoyed singing and dancing with Mommy, Lucy and the other kids. She was very well behaved in class. We are learning our numbers, body parts and all about our friends. Since she has to learn a new language anyway, she might as well learn two! I am very glad Mandarin language classes are something offered right near our house in Utah! Abbie will also start daycare on Tuesday. I think she really misses being around a lot of kids. She is rather quiet at home, but really opens up in noisy, social settings. Here are some pictures of our day. Love, Tracie