All Together At School for M's Birthday

Here are the three boys....E and Z got to go upstairs to celebrate
M's 4th birthday with him. Two birthday parties down....one for
Daddy tomorrow! In just over a week we should be holding Silin! The
countdown has begun.......5 days to China......

Guess Not

oh please work

New netbook, still haven't been able to email blog photos from it yet....this time?  please.....

Ladybug Bonanza!

I went to pick up the kids at school a couple of days ago and the
ladybugs were everywhere. If you are in the China adoption world,
you know what that means......for everyone else, I'll just explain
that its a sign of good adoption luck (seeing that we are leaving so
soon, ladybug good luck is a good thing!)

Birthday Walk

Four times around the sun for M today!

This is really happening

For a long time it seemed unsure -- would this really ever happen? Would we find our child? Would China grant us approval? Would we get approval to travel? And now, it seems a bit surreal......we have tickets and we are going to travel....I even have partially packed bags to show for it. We are going to meet Silin....we are going to have a daughter..... This is all happening and I am trying to sit back and take it all in (while running around like a crazy person trying to get everything that needs to get done done b/f we leave). For her, I want to chronicle this....it is her story and it is our family's story as well......this is really happening.....what once seemed so amorphous is manifesting itself before my eyes.......My goal: stay present and watch this experience unfold......

Apple Picking Time

Its hard not to love New England in the fall (thing is, you can't think too much about what's to come....snow, snow, and more snow.....well, that is, unless you love to ski like my kids who wish winter would go on forever.....my confession.....not this FL girl)

M shocks them!

Today when I picked up M at school, his teacher brought him out to
the car and asked him to tell me what he did at school today. He tried
to think of it and then the teacher helped him.....M did the hundreds
board all by himself. The hundreds board is a Montessori
manipulative where the kids lay out tiles from 1-100 in order. M
remembered and was obviously proud. The teacher looked at me and
said (in jest, I hope), "I don't know how I'm going to find work for him for the next 3
years." When we were driving away I asked him if his teachers were
surprised.....he answered me, "no, they were shocked!" (Ha! I didn't
know he knew that word!) Well, there we go, M shocks em' (probably
won't be the last time and hopefully it will always be in a good way.......)

Peace is....

The boys came home with statements they wrote about what peace is to them.....

Z's

Peace means going to bed at night and going home after school and after going on a really hard trail and reading a book and playing games.

E's

Peace is kindn(es)s to me.  Peace is fr(i)endship to me.  Peace is to hlep people in need...to be smart and to tell people whet they do not (k)no(w).  

Ok , I'll try--

Peace is a world in which every person has enough and where the meaning of enough preserves the world for the multitudes who come after.  Peace is about living consciously and being grateful for that which is easy to take for granted.  Peace means love and friendship and the end of suffering.  Peace means having something to live for, to work for...it means seeing beyond our own needs and helping others reach their dreams.  Peace means knowing that though we are not perfect, we are enough, and that we can make a difference during our lives if we take the opportunity to do so........

M Butterfly

I noticed yesterday the transformation that M has undergone since the
start of school. There is virtually no toddler left in him and not
even a hint of baby -- he's a full fledged kid. I can't help but
wonder the role that I played in his transformation. Have I been
treating him like a little kid because he is the youngest (even
though at this age, I probably expected plenty from Z) and did I
finally start to treat him like a big kid now that Silin is on her
way home? Yes, probably so.

When Silin comes home, I guess we'll just have to see what happens.....either M will realize that he is no longer the youngest and he will embrace his big brother role or alternatively he might feel displaced and regress.....it's impossible to know right now.....

Transformation is never easy and rarely quick. Although there is a single moment that the
butterfly is finally free from his chrysalis, the process of metamorphosis happens over time and so, time is what we'll give it......well, that, plus a lot of love........

Brotherly Love

My thirteen year old mother's helper was here last night. She is a musician, a good student, and she is fantastic with the kids. We met her at the library when she couldn't stop smiling at the boys who as usual were running up and down the sidewalk outside the library after having to have been quiet and tame inside the library.

I asked her if she thought her mother would let her babysit sometime. We were sitting down for dinner and I explained that Yami and I would like to go out on a weekend afternoon to have some time together (Tuesday night date nights are probably off for at least six months after we get back from China b/c I won't leave Silin with a babysitter). I suggested that she could stay with the boys and let her know that Silin would come with us. Z looked up from his dinner plate and said, "what, you're going to take Silin with you?" and I thought I knew what would come next, something like, "don't take her, take me" or "that's not fair" but instead what Z said was, "don't take Silin, I want to play with her."

He wants to play with her. He means this. He loves little kids and he is a great big brother to Em and M. In fact, the first thing he said to me when he came to visit in the hospital after M was born was, "thank you for making him."

Thank you God for the children you've blessed me with and for the opportunity to make a difference in their lives. I am grateful beyond words. And thank you Z for your comment yesterday.....you give new meaning to "brotherly love"....

TA is here

Well, today is a big day. Our travel approval arrived or as my kids say,"China gave us the last yes." (originally we told them we were waiting for three approvals -- Micah came up with the term '3 yeses') Hang on, Silin, we're coming soon........

Easy E has Eye Surgery

Easy E did a great job during his eye surgery. He is doing well now but its going to take a little while to make a full recovery. Here he is below b/f surgery, in recovery, and with Gobbley, his new Webkin who joined him in the hospital.

IMG_1025.JPG

Another Silin Update

After nearly two weeks of waiting, we got some updated Silin information through Ladybugs and Love (a service in China that makes calls to ask questions and sends care packages). We didn't get new photos but the orphanage said that they used the disposable camera we sent with her care package and that they'll return it when we come for her. I asked the questions and here are the responses:

1. Has Si Lin seen our photos and does she know she will have parents and three brothers soon? Yes, she’s seen it. Si Lin loves her brothers. 2. Did our care package for Si Lin including a blanket, clothes, and stuffed Minnie Mouse ever arrive at the orphanage? Yes. 3. Does Si Lin still take a nap during the day? If so, at what time and for how long? Yes. 12:00pm until 2:00pm. 4. Can Si Lin use a spoon, straw, or chopsticks? She can use them all. 5. Does Si Lin get up during the night to use the bathroom? No. 6. Did she have any prior serious illness, accidents, or injuries? Has she ever been hospitalized? No. 7. Is Si Lin currently taking any medication? If so, what is she being treated for? No. 8. What would you like me to tell Si Lin when she grows up about her first home in the Kaiyuan CWI? We hope she will know how she grew up. 9. Is there a specific toy that you think I should bring with us for her that she likes….a ball, or doll, or something else? Si Lin loves dolls. 10. Would you like to keep in contact with us? Yes. 11. Her updated measurements: Height: 92cm; Weight: 9.1kg; Foot: 16cm. So, although we didn't get any new photos, all the information is good. She is finally more than 20 lbs and believe me, we are getting excited. When I sent this to Yami, his reply was, "Wow - she can use chopsticks! We'll have her home soon." Yes, that is where she'll be soon.....home....how beautiful is that? After waiting so long, Silin finally has a home......

Unintended Consequences

After hearing the patter of little feet in the wee early hours for the last few months, something had to be done. Those little feet belonged to flying squirrels and it was time to issue them an eviction notice. We had been here once before and I didn't call that time until I had a flying squirrel in my bedroom (while Yami was out of town and I slept next to six week old M). I was not about to have that happen again.

And, so, I made the expensive but necessary call. All Creatures came out to the house and performed the one-way door trick which lets the critters get out but not back in and the problem is supposed to be solved. The thing is, Scott from All Creatures told me that I also have mice which I suppose is what happens when you move into the woods.....well, as expected, he sealed up the hole.....

This brings us to yesterday when I was standing in my kitchen and saw him running across the floor....a little gray mouse....after mild trepidation and some quick trap action, we caught him with a live trap, Yami took him about 2 miles from here, and the little guy went free (unfortunately probably to be a snack for a bigger animal but I try not to dwell on that)....but that isn't all because, well,.....Yami saw another last night...

Today, I called All Creatures and guess what.....these are the babies!!!! Their mother probably didn't come back to the nest (did I tell you that Scott set traps) and they are out looking for food! OK, now I just feel horrible....of course, I can't keep mice in my house and no, they are not pets, but I certainly had no intention of taking a mother away from her babies even if that mama is grey, furry, and is residing in a place where she is not welcome......

Somewhere the karma keepers watch, and record...Orphan Adopter also Orphan Creator.....the No-Critter Policy in the Baker household, like many policies, has unintended consequences--