Happy Birthday Alexander!!!

Today my eldest is fifteen years old. I cannot believe I have a child that old! He is such a blessing to this family.

Dante and Alexander have a special relationship. Here are a few pictures:
These ones are two years ago, just after Dante came home.





In this recent photo, Dante is giving Alexander some pointers on the PSP.


When Alexander was born 15 years ago, Jamie and I had been married for not quite 2 years. We were living in a one bedroom apartment that was part of a complex in Hamlin, New York. The high that day was -2 degrees. Yes, negative two was the high!

Jamie: At the time we drove a Geo Metro and we had to defrost the starter by dangling a hair dryer out of the second story window. When I was leaving the hospital after Alexander was born, I was afraid the car would not start (he was born at St. Mary's in Rochester, New York; Zachary was born there 15 months later). Fortunately, Jesus (and Mary?) intervened because a hair dryer in the parking garage was not an option!

I never imagined that 15 years later we would be "expecting" our seventh child and living in Massachusetts. We have come a long way from our little one bedroom one baby life, and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for our whole family in the future.

Here is a picture I took this morning while Dante was in the bath. Yep, it is a picture out the bathroom window...but what a beautiful photo it is of a morning after a fresh snowfall. And the temperature was already in the 20's...thankfully much warmer than 15 years ago!

Dad's Haircut

Amelia decided Dad needed a haircut.

First she put him in the haircut chair and gave him a cape to catch the hair.

Next time I'll have to remind her to use the stool.














Now for a few snips. Amelia would have preferred some real scissors, but settled for the two finger method.

















And finally, a little clean up with the trimmers. You'll just have to imagine her sound effects.

Adoption Update

We have received word that our adoption is just waiting for the hearing in Taiwan! It will probably occur in late February or early March, with travel in April. We have been praying for travel in March or April, so this is wonderful news for us!

Now we have to decide if we will try another fundraiser to cut down on adoption debt, or just use most of the Lifesong for Orphans adoption loan we have been offered. Our expenses still are plane tickets, hotel and food, in country travel, miscellaneous fees (visa, medical...), and country fee.

Jamie thinks we should take Amelia with us to Taiwan when we go to get Sunny. I think it is good because she will miss us and could be difficult while we are gone. I also think it might not be good because she will be so exhausted from the time change and new surroundings that it could drain our energy in Taiwan. We also do not have a US passport for Amelia, and getting one could take some extra effort. And there is the extra expense of her plane ticket. On the plus side again, she and Sunny could really hit it off and that would help Sunny adjust to us. Definitely some praying to be done about this decision. The four boys are definitely staying home, and Nikita is definitely going, we just have to decide about Amelia.

How Are the Kids?

It is winter in New England, how does anyone think the kids are? Micah has an ear infection, Amelia has a sinus infection, Zachary has stomach issues (to put it politely, he has a lack of fiber in his diet- not really a winter thing though), and Dante has "the snots" as one of my co-workers likes to refer to the common cold. Nikita and Xander are just fine!

When I am asked that question by well meaning people, I can in all honesty say the kids are doing pretty well though. Every issue listed above will run its course and they will be fine. I am thankful their current issues are really minor. Yes, I am sure Micah would rather not have an earache and Amelia could do without the gallon of mucous in her sinuses, but they are certainly not lacking in energy or a zest for life!

What I could do without is this freezing weather!

Shopping

I often do not even get to around to posting twice in one week, and here we are at two in one day. Amelia was really good today, though, and she has earned a post!

Thursday is when one of the local grocery stores has their circular in the paper, and Amelia loves to go through and look at all the food. Anyone sitting at the table is asked repeatedly to stop and look at it with her. So this morning, in my attempts to keep her focusing on something, I decided we would make a list and shop. We went through the paper and cut out a few items that we needed, and pasted them onto a blank piece of paper. There were a few yummy looking items that I had to veto going on her list. Then I put it on a clipboard and went out to clear the inch of icy snow off the van. She was so excited she came out in her sneakers and shirtsleeves to go!

Once we were all set and properly dressed, off to Big Y we went. Amelia enjoyed carrying her shopping list and putting the items in the cart. It helped her to not just start throwing things in-- we matched each item to the picture on her list. She was great!

One Month

Today it has been one month since our paperwork arrived back in Taiwan. There was a flurry of activity at the end of November, beginning of December when we received the paperwork-- the "hurry up" part, and now we are in the "and wait" portion of our adoption.

As Amelia stands next to me now leaning her head on my shoulder, I am reminded that the wait will end, and just as Amelia is home, Sunny will be home soon too. In the meantime, I am reading about attachment, we are praying for her daily, and we are attempting to learn some mandarin. Good golly I can only imagine how much we are botching the pronunciation!

Here's another picture of Sunny from the batch we were given in November. It was taken back in June.

Chinese Dragon

First of all, Zach is feeling much better, and Jamie only had to check for eggs once. I joked that if Jamie likes it so much, he can do it every day. To which Zach said, "But then what would I do??" I guess he does take his job seriously. Maybe I should ask Jamie to take over the blog since his posts are so profound.

Anyhow, I have pictures of our Chinese Dragon in the making! Our church's Christian Life Committee, of which I am a part, is planning a Chinese New Year's Party with a missions emphasis. We do something each year during Winter Break, and this year it is something very near and dear to me- talking about China. We have crafts, games, missionary stories, and chopsticks for snack time. I have taken it upon myself to make an extra decoration for the party, and the girls have been helping me construct a paper mache dragon.

Amelia was not too sure she liked the feel of the flour mixture on her hands. She washed her hands several times during the first layer.

The body is done, although it looks like a worm at this point.

For the mouth, I have used an old egg carton craft from Zachary's younger days. Even with the scales along the back, it still looks like a cross between a duck and a worm.

Legs, and the beginnings of some color! Nikita helped with painting the eyes.

Zachary brought Pip in, and she willingly stood on some posterboard for me to trace her feet. I thanked her with a slice of fruitcake.

I have all the tissue squares cut, and soon Nik and I will begin filling in our dragon!