Deck the Halls

Mikaela, Maimie (with some attitude), Jacob, and Joseph

Our family tradition is to go cut the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving each year and decorate the tree and the outside of the house. This year Maimie was running a fever and vomiting, so for the first time in forever we didn't get our tree that day. By Saturday morning Maimie was feeling quite chipper, so we bundled everyone up (against their wishes, of course), put the wreath on the front of the suburban, and grabbed a couple of saws.
It was really a beautiful morning, and we enjoyed the brisk walk out to the spot at the Christmas tree farm where they keep the douglas firs. Once we had spotted the perfect tree and everyone had voted, Dad started the cut.



The smell was unbelievable. Jacob, Joseph, and Mikaela all took turns sawing until it finally fell over. The older kids dragged the tree to the path while Maimie toddled along behind waving and greeting everyone. We hauled our tree up onto the tractor and rode back to pay for it. By evening we were ready for the traditional homemade pizza meal and some tree trimming. The older kids enjoyed unwrapping the ornaments and sharing their memories of each one. I found a couple of "oldies" from our first Christmas back in 1990. Yikes!


Maimie thoroughly enjoyed the decorating. I would give her an ornament, and she would show everyone, try to put it on the tree, get daddy to help her, clap, and dance around awhile before coming to get another. Some of the ornaments needed a big wet smooch before she would hang them. Others required much touching and tweaking both before and after hanging. A few found their way onto the floor and were hung again.

Then Maimie decided to have daddy lift her up so she could hang everything higher. We ended our evening by watching the movie "Elf" by the light of the Christmas tree.

Thanksgiving

Maimie waking up Mikaela on Thanksgiving morning

Joseph and Maimie resting at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Maimie loving on Jacob in the car

I have so many blessings to be thankful for this year. Here are just a few of them:

>>a warm cozy little house (which means a little less cleaning than a big house)
>>an overabundance of delicious food (and subsequently a few extra pounds of insulation)
>>a wonderful church and community where we can raise our kids
>>an attached garage (so our neighbors can't see me getting into the car in my pjs every morning when I drive the kids to school)
>>sleeping in on Saturday mornings (because my husband gets up with the kids and keeps them quiet downstairs)
>>the sound of piano hymns being played early every morning (and knowing we were right to pay for lessons all these years)
>>a husband that provides well for our family and still has the energy to take care of all 4 kids while I go out for an occasional evening with friends
>>kids that still like to snuggle with their worn out old mom
>>the chance to rub the freshly shaved heads of my three hansome guys
>>a teenager that still wants to hang out with me sometimes
>>big slobbery neck kisses first thing in the morning from a brown-eyed cherub in footy pajamas
>>and for God who makes all of this possible

Thanksgiving pumpkin pie

Getting Excited!

Dodgeball, anyone?



Jacob with his dodgeball teammates





Mikaela performing at the speech contest




Mikaela's group earns first place and the judge's choice award

Okay, so I realize it's only almost mid November, but I'm starting to get really excited about this Christmas season. Not that I don't care about Thanksgiving. Really. I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Our family has been blessed beyond belief. But....

Our tradition is to wait until Thanksgiving to start getting out the Christmas stuff...holiday movies, decorations, music, the wreath for the front of my suburban, everything. The day after Thanksgiving while everyone else is trying to find the great bargains, our family is busy trying to find the perfect Christmas tree. You know the one. It looks perfect growing there--from every angle. Until you get it home. We spend what seems like hours turning it to hide all of the huge holes and can't ever get it to stand up straight even with the special stand.
But, I don't care that it's going to be a pain. I don't care that everyone is going to give me grief about my beautiful little white lights when they are all lobbying for the huge ugly multicolored ones. I don't care that we will probably only be able to decorate the top 2/3 of the tree so that Maimie doesn't break every heirloom ornament and handcrafted bauble. I'm excited!!

Jacob and Joseph

I can't wait to walk for miles looking for the perfect tree, and lug up all 8 or 10 bins of decorations from the basement by myself, and make really messy gingerbread houses with the kids, and watch all the holiday movies, and eat all the yummy snacks, and listen to the kids argue about how to set up the nativity scene, and tell Maimie for the millionth time not to splash in the tree water, and read the holiday stories as a family, and drink gallons of warm cocoa, and enjoy all of the fun and meaningful traditions that we do each year. Christmas has always been such a precious time for us, but it will hold special meaning for us this year as we enjoy it through Maimie's eyes. It makes me feel glad that she is home with us and we can make her a part of our family traditions.

Singing with Daddy



Earning her keep

So, it may be 67 degrees outside today, and it may be more than a week until Thanksgiving, but I'm planning to sit down with a couple of Christmas magazines this afternoon or evening and dream a little.

Referral Anniversary

Maimie in the beautiful blanket made for her by
longtime family friend, Dianne Hedge

Today marks the one year anniversary of our referral call. It's so hard to believe that we were just seeing Maimie's sweet little face for the first time one year ago. It seems like she has always been with us.


I remember being excited to see her photos, but not really feeling like she was ours yet. Within a couple of days of staring at her photos endlessly and reading over her referral information many times, I had fallen in love with little Guo Zhen from far away in southern China. I don't know if I have ever been prouder of Mikaela, Jacob, and Joseph than I was at that time. They were so excited to take the photos of their little sister with them to school and everywhere else. They taped her photos to their desks, took them in their binders, and showed everyone that would look. They were met with a few negative reactions, but mostly congratulations and concerned questions. All three of the kids were great at educating others about their sister's cleft lip and palate condition, and had already begun to exhibit a strong sense of loyalty and protection towards her.

Relaxing with big brother Jacob

Maimie has fit so well into our family and has truly become a special part of us all. She loves on all of us and is loved on by all of us. She has bonded fabulously now and apparently feels comfortable enough with us to be a bratty two-year-old.

The grouchy gourmet on her "fit step"

By the beginning of October (right before her second birthday) she was potty trained during the day, needing only a diaper at night. Although all of her other developmental areas are catching up, next week begins Maimie's speech therapy. All in all she's come so far in the 9 months we have known her.
Looking back on our referral day, we had no idea what blessings awaited us with Maimie in our lives. And so many of the fears and concerns that we harbored never came to pass. God has been so good to our family.

First Halloween

Maimie celebrated her first Halloween with us yesterday. It was a lot of fun dressing her up and taking her and Joseph around to a few houses in the neighborhood. The weather cooperated beautifully, and Mikaela and Jacob gladly volunteered to stay home and pass out candy. I think they probably ate nearly as much as they passed out.
Mikaela dressed in her 50's poodle skirt, and Jacob dressed in his Jedi costume as Anakin Skywalker. Joseph dressed as David (the Bible character) for a party at church later in the evening, and Maimie dressed as a box of Chinese takeout and wore a fortune cookie barrette.


We taught her to say "trick-or-treat", or at least a reasonable facsimile. Maimie thought she should be able to eat each piece of candy as she received it, but eventually caught on to the concept of putting it in her candy box. Later, while the older kids were at church, Maimie helped pass out candy to the last few trick or treaters.