The China Pack: Reunited

August 13, 2017

How to make lifelong friends:

Travel across the world together.

 Go through life-altering family changes together. 

Realize that you have never seen them NOT sweaty, and visa versa.

Travel in a "pack". 

Order group dinners via Google Translate. 

Share Miralax amongst yourselves. 

Sweat a lot. 

Take pictures with strangers.

 Sweat some more.

Get together almost a year later and realize that it seems like yesterday...and that everyone is NOT sweating.

July 22, 2018

Plan to get together again next year. Sweating optional.

10 days ago, we traveled to Dayton, Ohio to get together with the families we traveled with in China. One came from Kentucky, the other from North Carolina. 

We stayed at a regular hotel and spent hours and hours at parks, watching our kids play and catching up on the previous year, the year home from China.

Lucy* and Maggie meeting for the first time since we left them at the Detroit airport on August 17th, 2017. We asked them to hug...but Lucy's brother Jack got it instead!

Did the girls remember each other?

Probably not. 

BUT.

They were very excited and very comfortable with each other right away. So, maybe they sensed something.

Either way, they were just the cutest together!

The girls taking a break from the ice cold pool.

Jack G. and Colin got to sit on the Birthday saddle since they were both July birthdays.

(Jack F. declined that honor)

Playing with toys while the big kids and dads played some football in the rain.

We hung out in the hotel that evening and Jessica made s'mores!

The bigs played some Uno!

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and the Gilsdorf's met up with us! Alexis joined in on the fun.

Who knew a luggage cart could be so fun?!?

Alexis graciously shared her sidewalk chalk with the girls.

 Colin was the best little helper with all the kids. He helped the girls move around the playgrounds and made sure no one ran off!

Macy and Jack G. were the cutest little friends. Here they are playing in a little "old fashioned" house together.

Two girls, from Beiliu, China, adopted on the same day, playing in a park in Dayton, Oh. It blows my mind.

We all spent most of the day just watching the girls interact.

It was just the best day.

These sweet girls, one year ago, did not have a family.  But, oh, what a difference a year makes!

Now all three of these lovely ladies are dearly loved daughters. Forever in a family.

And now we are a great big adopted family.

And I can not wait to see everyone again.

* If you want to follow along with Jessica and her family, you can find her site here.

Energetic Eight!!

This sweet boy is 8 years old today!

You came into the world and immediately stole our hearts.

You were sweet and determined.

You were born in the early hours of the morning, coming at your own time, your own way.

You were either happy or mad, laughing or crying.

You were that way from the very beginning!

You were my most active baby. You were crawling up slides at 8 months, walking at 9 months and full on running at 10 months!

Life was never, ever boring with you!

Your smile can light up a room and you pay attention to those around you. You are fiercely loyal to your family and once you have made a friend, you are fiercely loyal to them as well.

You like to make us laugh, to be silly with your big brother and to have your little sisters giggling all day.

You have a mischievous streak in you, that usually involves something to do with food, especially sweets! I've cleaned more Nutella off of you than I care to admit. The picture below was not the first or the last time you snuck into the Nutella jar.

(While you no longer get it on your face, I am pretty sure this still happens!)

You love to be active and fell in love with soccer at a young age. I kept expecting you to grow bored with it, and to move onto another sport, but the opposite has taken place.

You are passionate and driven and you give 100% when you play soccer. That drive and ambition continues in everything that you do, whether it is school or tackling a new challenge.

I am proud of your dedication and teamwork. You insisted on attending games that you had to sit out due to your eye injury, because you are still on the team and you wanted to support your teammates.

Your dedication is inspiring.

You are always the first one to greet me in the morning and always make sure to say goodnight.

You give the best hugs.

We love you, Colin, with your sweet soul and fierce loyalty.

We like to call you our bulldog. You defend the weak and seek justice in everything.

We pray that your defense of the weak and doing what is right will carry on throughout your entire life.

Seek justice. Defend the hurting. Lift up the brokenhearted.

 Your love for your siblings is the best. Jack is your best friend and your friendship is something to value. You love your sisters,  helping and caring for them both. You are especially caring with Maggie, helping her around the house. Macy may never leave you alone, but that is because she loves you so!

 Happiest Birthday, my Colin. I look forward to watching you learn and grow this year, tackling new challenges and growing into the amazing young man you are becoming. We are proud of you and we love you so!

All the fingers: 10 years old!

Today, 10 years ago, you made me a momma. My first born, my boy. Everyone thought that you would be born on the 3rd, but you decided that celebrating on the 4th of July was a better idea.

It is so much more fun to celebrate a birthday with fireworks and celebrations!

You can now use all of your fingers to show how old you are.

Though, you probably will not.

That is embarrassing.

Your favorite thing is to be with friends, be social, be active.

You could be busy with friends from the morning that you wake up till the minute you go to bed, and it would not be enough.

You like to learn and read, but also play sports and be active.

This year, you are going to venture into the music world and learn an instrument.

I think that it will be a perfect fit for you.

 You have kept us laughing from day one, with your silliness and songs.

You have lots to say and love to share with anyone around you.

You are a fantastic big brother, with your younger siblings looking up to you and wanting to do everything that you do!

We love you so much, our dear first born.

You add wit and wisdom into our family.

You love those around you!

Our prayer for you, as you embark into the double digits of life, is that you will always remain kind.

Sincere with your words, and seek to lead those around you in kindness.

People look up to you, and we want you to be an ally to the hurting and befriend those who have none. To look for the vulnerable and lift them up.

Advocate for those others ignore, and stand up to those who mistreat.

Use those natural leadership skills for good, as we know you can!

Happiest 10th Birthday, Jack!

We are so excited to see where you will go, and what you will do.

But above all, know that you are deeply and truly LOVED.

Post Adoption: Month 9 & 10

The school year has ended and summer is upon us. Our sweet Maggie has been home with us for a full 10 months! We are starting to prepare our 1 year report and can not believe it! I remember last summer, being so close to bringing her home, but still so much to to do and so many miles between us. Now, we are home and ready for our first full summer as a family of 6!

Food and Growth:

Maggie is growing so much! We are down to 1 bottle in the morning now and she will drink from her cup without issues. She likes to use her fork, but still struggles with yogurt and a spoon! She loves fruit, cheese and more fruit. We are working on getting more varieties in her...but she is a very typical 2 yr old.

The doctors are pleased with her growth and that it continues to climb. She is still a bit small for her age, but has put on 5 full pounds in 10 months.

Attachment:

We are doing well on this area. Maggie knows we are her people and she will look for us while we are out in public. She gets very excited when she sees her brothers get off the bus and when she sees her dad at soccer practice. She is well loved by her siblings, each one trying to get the most hugs and kisses good night. Each of the kids have a special bond with Maggie and it makes me so proud to be their momma.

Health:

While Maggie is doing great, we will be doing a small eye procedure for her in July. Both of her tear ducts are blocked, so she will have out patient surgery to have those opened up. Because of her age, she will have to be put under, but it is a simple procedure with no post-op issues. I am nervous for the anesthesia, as I am not sure how she will react when she comes out, but I am thankful that in 10 months, we will only have had one small procedure.

Development:

After weeks of evaluations and meetings, we have finally started speech therapy for Maggie. She is slooooowly adding more words, but not at the speed she should be. So, we are hoping that this will help her communicate with us. Macy is anxiously awaiting the time that she will be able to have full conversations with her sister!

Maggie is so fun and is coming into her own. She still loves to snuggle with her mom and dad when she wakes up. She has a very strong opinion and is not afraid to let it be known. If she is tired, she will climb up in her chair and put herself to sleep (as pictures above) If she wants to be held, she will let you know. If you have food, she wants a bite. She wants to do whatever everyone else is doing and she refuses to be left out.

We can't believe that we have had this sassy fun thing for 10 whole months, but yet, it feels like she has always been with us. We are looking forward to summer with lots of sibling time, trying to get her to like the pool and seeing our China friends next month. So many things to look forward to! 

Happy Summer, friends!