LIFE IS GOOD!!!

The Beach

2010-09-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Kevin's brother was camping at the Indiana Dunes State Park so we decided to "visit" for the day. We visited at the campsite for a bit, playing corn hole and ate dinner-but the favorite thing for the kids was going to the beach area (Lake Michigan for you out of towners). Hannah and Emily absolutely LOVE the beach so it was not surprising that this was a great time for them. Our sister-in-law took some amazing pictures of the girls. (Thanks Traci!!!) Here are jsut a few.....

August-A Month of Firsts

2010-09-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

A few "firsts" occurred in August.

Hannah's first day of school. She was so excited and scared to start 3rd grade. She heard so many stories about how old and how mean her teacher is this year. Well, after meeting her, Hannah says she is the nicest teacher in the school and says she is "not THAT old". Honestly, she looks to be around 30!!! She has the same bus driver, who also happens to be a friend of ours, and loves Hannah. I think it will be a good year!!!

Emily had her first official hair cut. I was cutting her bangs at home but not ALL of her hair. She did really good. Smiled through the cut and seemed to enjoy me taking her picture through the process. The hairdresser, Ann, was wonderful with her. She looks so different with her hair cut short. It can now grow out at one length and it is out of her eyes. Yah!!

A new baby is born into our family. Our niece, Ashley, gave birth to LAYLA on Fri the 13th (Aug). SHe is so adorable-and little!

Hannah celebrated her 8th birthday party. Her birthday is Aug 20 and we usually celebrate her birthday with a party on Labor Day weekend because everyone is over at our house for the 1st Notre Dame game of the season. However, this year she decided she did not want to share her day with Notre Dame. Hmmmmmm, who can blame her. She deserves her own day. The thing with late August is you can NEVER tell what the weather will be like in northern Indiana. Well, it was HOT-and the party was outside. I suppose it could have been hotter-but it was still hot.

OH-YEAH

Hannah would not forgive me if I did not tell you all she finally "lost" one of her front teeth!!! She wanted to lose that tooth so bad. Her friends are losing them left and right and she has only had 2 baby teeth come out and they needed to be pulled. She worked and worked on this front tooth for about 1 1/2 month, but it would not come out. We ended up having it pulled in order for the permanent tooth to come in. Dentist fears we may need to pull ALL of her baby teeth when they are ready. ARG!!!

FTIA Reunion Picnic 2010

2010-08-17T00:16:00.002-07:00

This was FTIA's anniversary year get-together in Noblesville, Indiana. All the children who have been adopted in forever families (who were at the picnic) placed their hands in paint and then put them on the banner. Each different color of handprint designates where that child was born. All the red handprints were from a child adopted through FTIA from China. They say the banner will be displayed at the home office in Evansville, Indiana.

Hannah and Emily's handprints were put together with the year they where joined with our family and are joined together on the front of the banner with the word "Sisters".

The day was HOT and not many of Emily's group were able to make it but we did have a good time talking and catching up as the kids played together. Hannah's group did not meet at this picnic because we decided to get together later in the year with cooler weather in Southern Indiana. We did meet up and conversed with Betty Betz. She was with Hannah's group in China part of the time and was actually our coordinator from FTIA to help us get Emily when we did. When we were in China to bring Hannah home she was adopting an "older child"-"Sela". I remember thinking in China what a difference in age Hannah and Sela were at that time. Hannah is now the same age Sela was when we were in China. Amazing how fast the years go by. This is a picture at the end of the day of Emily with her "China Sister", Hannah G, and our Hannah with Emily's "China Brother", Jack.

They had games, face painting, tattoos, and of course the famous carrousel ride. Emily loved riding the "horses". I love this picture of her and her dad stealing a kiss and sporting their tattoos on their arms, although Dad's is real. She was so hot the paint on her face ran right down her face and by the end of the day she looked like she had a big smudge of grease or dirt on her face instead of a pretty blue and black dolphin.

"The Hannahs", as they have become known as, having a good time at putt-putt golf with Hannah G's dad, John. I think he did FINALLY get that ball in that hole.

We did not get a picture of our dinner on this evening, but we were thankful to have been able to meet up briefly with one of Hannah's "Chinese Sister's" family, the Magers, for pizza.

It was a very nice relaxing time in air conditioning before heading home 2 1/2 hrs in car seats.

********************************************************

Driving home, Kevin "Snuffy" and I were discussing how lucky we are to be part of two awesome groups who we consider part of our extended family. All of our children play great together and even the older children in both groups look after and play with the younger kids as a family would do. Our only regret is that we eventually need to say good-bye (and most of the time with tears in our eyes) and drive back home saying to each other how we wished we all lived closer together. We ALWAYS miss them all and keep them close in our our thoughts and our hearts as they are all so very special people and have become so special to us.

July Update-vacation

2010-07-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

We went on one of our annual vacations this month. We first met up with Hannah's China sisters (china travel group) in Fishers, Indiana. We started off going to Conner's Prairie. It was a very hot day but the girls seemed to enjoy themselves. They visited a colonial town, where they dipped candles in hot wax and learned about life in the "old days" and an indian village, where the girls practiced their spear throwing and animal trapping.

The girls (Hannah, Aubrianna, Annaliese, Emily, and Violet)

taking a "ride" in canoe made from a tree trunk.

Emily taking a break in the flower garden

The gang spent some time just hanging out at one of the family's home. The girls all played together. It amazes us everytime we get together that the girls never have a moment of shyness or a need to get to know each other since the last time together. They just start talking and playing as if they see each other every day.

All the girls together at the Magers' home.

(Thanks so much for your hospitality)

We seem to always go to breakfast together before we all head our separate ways to go home. This year we went to Cracker Barrell. (And just to say-they have some awesome blueberry pancakes.) After some of the families left for home, we stayed with another family and went to the childrens' museum in Indianapolis. The girls seemed to really enjoy this. They seen real dinosaur skeletons and petrified dinosaur eggs. They played Barbie's fashion designer and dressed as Barbie walking down a runway with photographers. They played in a make believe ice cream parlor and rode an antique carrousel. I think the best part though was when Emily danced in front of a crowd with the Disney Radio DJ and dancers. Everyone was watching her and clapping her on. She must have danced in front of 75 people. She is definately not shy.

After returning home, Hannah had her gymnastics team try-outs, which laster for a week. She was very nervous that week and she did made the team at level 4. We now spend 8 hours a week in the gym learning her routines. Her first gymnastics meet is in September at her home gym. Then she has the opportunity to compete in a meet approximately 1 time per month. YAH!!!

At home, we had a few days left before Kevin needed to return to work so we took the girls to St Joseph Michigan, where there is a nice beach on Lake Michigan. The girls played and played in the water and in the sand that day.

Hannah running through the tide.

Emily getting another bucket of water for her sandcastle.

The next day we relaxed at home and did some doctor appointments.

Then........back to reality, as we know it.

All in all it was a wonderful time spent with family and friends.

We miss them already and can not wait until we see them again in the fall.

June updates

2010-06-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Beautiful sisters!!!

Emily-

Seems to be excited about pre-school next year. Every morning she asks "I go to school, Mama?" Her speech seems to have taken off. She is speaking in really good sentences. It is really great to hear her personality come out. She has had some issues with bloody noses and allergy symptoms. She will be seeing a ENT July 1 to check her tonsils and adnoids. Other than that she continues to be happy and healthy. She does not know a stranger. We kid all the time that she is going to grow up to be a WalMart greater. She seems to love the outdoors but we have noticed she sweats SO much from her head. Just look at the picture below. And that was not a really really hot day!!! Just wait until it gets in the 80's.

Emily drawing and coloring a "flower" with side walk chalk

Every parent needs a picture to use as bribery in their child's future. This is Emily's picture. Snuffy can"t wait until her wedding day!!!

She has found her hips and she knows how to use them!!!

Hannah-

Has finished up the 2nd grade and looking forward to the 3rd grade. She is under the assumption that 3rd graders have cell phones. Sorry, Hannah :-) She is going to be busy this summer with swimming and gymnastics. She tries out for the gymnastics team the end of June. We are also getting together in June with Hannah's chinese sisters in Fishers, Indiana. This is always a good time!!! And she is going to be busy with mom this summer. Yes, I said "mom"!!! I am going to be a temporary "at-home" mom for the summer. So, I am hoping for a nice cool summer!!!

The next American Idol?

Hannah's bribery picture!!!

Just chillin' near Dad's garage

April Update (A Little Late)

2010-05-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

Wow-it has been awhile since our last update. April seemed to come and go and we are already into May. All we can say is "Life Happens"!!! So we are going back into April for this update.

Easter landed in April this year so we will start there. Emily and Hannah went to the annual easter egg hunt a tthe town park. Hannah returned with a half bucket of eggs/candy in her bucket. I felt so bad for Emily as she had picked up 3 eggs and 1 piece of candy. One of her eggs was plastic and 2 were real. It had started to sprinkle a little so we decided to go home before the downpour of rain hit. As we are driving away, the girls open up the plastic eggs to see what kind of candy was inside. Emily's lonely plastic egg revealed a PRIZE EGG!!!!! Now, let me just tell you. I have been to that easter egg hunt ALL my life with my family and NONE has EVER found a prize egg. Emily picks up 3 eggs and just happens to pick up the prize egg!!! So we head to the American Legion to collect her prize and they were giving out free hot dogs, potato chips, and pop to not only the kids, but to the adults as well. My (Rusti's) mom is serving the hot dogs, my nice was serving the potato chips, my sister was pouring the pop, and my brother-in-law was taking the pictures of the event. You have to love a small town!!! Here are a couple pictures from that day.

Also in April, Hannah had a musical at her school. All the songs were related to recycling and taking care of the earth. All the kids even made an instrument from recycled goods. Hannah made a drum out of a gallon vegetable can. The teacher told all the kids they had to wear their "dress" clothes. Here are pictures of Hannah modeling in her clothes. Oh my............

And I think we told you about our new addition to the family, however, here is his first picture fo you to enjoy. This is "Sam K", our guinea pig. We had another but it did not work out as he seemed to be a biter and a fighter. Good thing he came with a 7 day guarantee. He went right back to Pets Plus!!!! Sam K is a good guinea pig though..... or as good as a guinea pig can be. He does seem to poop ALOT!!! But he is so cute and when you hold him and pet him, he purrs just like a kitten. Did I mention that he poops ALOT?

Emily-1st Gotcha Day Get-Together 2010

2010-03-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

Gotcha Day Get Together 2010

This past weekend we traveled to Cincinnati (Home of the Bearcats) to meet with Emily’s travel group. We drove down Friday afternoon and after checking into the Holiday Inn Express in Sharonville and taking a short break (30 minutes) we met a lot of the group at the Blue Goose Sports bar for dinner, after a short wait we were all seated in the same area and had a great dinner. (Thanks Eric for going early to arrange this). After dinner we went back to the hotel and our Hannah and Hannah Gross just had to swim. On Saturday we met (with an even bigger group) at Larossa’s Pizza for lunch and a few cupcakes (thanks Felicia & Matt). After lunch we headed to Sharon Woods and the kids (and adults) visited and played all day, we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for March. All the families are doing great, it’s amazing what real American food will do. After some family’s left we decided to go to I-Hop for dinner, us and three of the other family’s had a great dinner and then the sad part came, it was time to part ways. A little teary eyed we went back to the hotel and once again Hannah & Hannah had to swim. Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel with the Gross’s and then headed north towards home. We had a great weekend but it seemed way to short. It was great to see everyone again. Even Hannah had a great time with Emily’s “China Cousins” as she calls them and their siblings. The bond we share with both of our (very wonderful) travel groups is hard for some to imagine but as Kevin (Snuffy) says it’s like we have four sides to our family, we have his side, my side, Hannah’s group and Emily’s group. We also have some very wonderful neighbors, I guess that makes five sides. We are very blessed!!! We hope we can continue to keep these groups together and meet for a long time to come. Also I would like to say thank you for the hospitality of our Cincinnati families and thank you for all those who helped in the planning of the weekend and researching the hotels for us, everything was perfect !!!! We look forward to seeing everyone in July at the FTIA reunion. Maybe there will be three boys from Cincinnati (Bearcat Fans) sporting their new “NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH” tee shirts.( We love you Shannon, Eric and boys as well as everyone in our groups) God bless everyone and have a great Easter.

Hannah and Hannah playing with Emily while waiting for spaghetti and pizza

Sadie "teaching" Emily

Emily sliding into Hannah, the monster of the playground

Hannah helping Jack on the bridge (Buddies)

1 YEAR FOR EMILY

2010-03-21T09:49:00.001-07:00

It will be one year this Tuesday since we had Emily placed in our arms for the first time. In one way it seems like a dream, but in another, it seems like just a few months ago. She has changed so much. When we brought her home at 2 1/2 yrs old she was just wearing size 9 months pants. Now 1 year later, she is just growing out of size 18 month pants and wearing big 24 month pants. IT has been amazing to watch her change in such a short time. She is talking and playing ALL the time. This weekend we are traveling to see our travel group for the first time since last summer. I am sure all the kids have changed so much. We are so excited and it will be very nice to see them all.

Ever since Hannah met Emily, she has been the big sister to her. This includes being the bully of the two. We kept telling Hannah that one day EMily was going to grow up and was going to "get her back" for all the "things" her sister has done to her. I was taking a picture of the two in the bathtub and Hannah was doing her usual pose when Emily finally got her. Well, it looks like she got the best of Hannah this time!!! SISTERLY LOVE!!!

NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY!!!

We are pleased to announce our newest member to the Chlebowski family. THis is "SAM K". I do not know how Hannah came up with the name but she was determined to give him this name. He is a 2 month old guinnea pig. We figured it was this or a dog and since we are not home all day, the guinnea pig won out. (Plus he is nocturnal so he sleeps all day when we are at work/school) In a couple weeks he will be getting a "companion" so he is not lonely in the cage. Wonder what his name will be. Yes-it will be a "he" as we do not want a bunch of lil' baby Sam Ks running around.

Just a quick update on Emily'. We had her tongue follow-up appointment and all seems to be doing well. She continues to develop the muscles in her tongue. The surgeon feels this may take up to a year. For example, she is able to stick her tongue out more but does not seem to be able to lick her lips. Her language is getting better. We often have difficulties understanding her but I think this is just being "3". We signed her up for preschool so she can be around children her own age. We did keep her back one year so she will be starting kindergarten at an older age. From the kids we saw going into her class, she still is the smallest of the kids. And she appears to be the most out-going of the bunch.

And a quick update on Hannah. She received her report card and was on the A/B honor roll again. She seems to be counting the days until summer break. She has her first musical this week. She is singing 5 songs and playing a home-made drum to a recycle song. She continues to be doing her gymnastics. She is almost able to do her back handspring on her own. Her coach feels she can do it on her own but she seems to be afraid of falling on her head. hmmmmmmm. We re traveling in June to see her "China Sisters". Her latest "thing" is reading Harry Potter. Have you seen these books? WOW!!! Big books with big words. She seems to understand them though. She continues to love anything to do with wizards and wizardry. We have been able to keep this on a level of Harry Potter and Wizards of Waverly Place though. I ask her often to use her wand to make the clothes fold themselves, but no luck yet........

Until the next update-be safe and healthy-and know that you are loved!!!

February Update

2010-02-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

February in the Chlebowski household has been..........interesting!!! Hannah continued with her light case of the chicken pox. She had about 20 pox on her whole body!!! Now let us tell you-she had the vaccine for chicken pox 2 times. She had the vaccine in China but due to poor records of her vaccines and the amount of serum she received, she received the vaccines a second time!!! Santa Clause got Hannah a guitar for Christmas and she has been strumming to Taylor Swift songs in effort to survive the boredom of having chicken pox . Even though she has been playing with the guitar since Christmas, the picture looks better than it sounded, really :-). I think we may need to beg her Uncle Scott for some basic lessons, but until then, she seems to be having fun with it.

Hannah missed a week of gymnastics due to having the chiclen pox, but the next week was "watch week". This means I can go upstairs and take pictures!!! Hannah is in a bluish leotard in the bottom (3rd) row behind the girl in the green/black leotard.

A new family picture is taken!!! All the adoption families know what this means-HOMESTUDY UPDATE. Our 1 year update for Emily's adoption. WOW-where did that year go? Since our 6 month homestudy update, Emily (3 yrs old) has grown 2 inches (35inches), but appears to have not gained any weight (26.5). We had a family picture taken for the 6 month report, however, they were asking for a new and different photo. So thanks to one of our wonderful neighbors who was able to get a decent family photo the day before the homestudy appointment!!! Here is our "new" family picture.

When Hannah had the chicken pox, everyone was telling us that she had them light because she had the vaccine. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Guess what? The second week starts off and Emily REALLY broke out with the chicken pox. Vaccine, hmmmmm. She actually had to have the vaccine in China before we could take her out of the country to return home (thanks to the Hague Treaty) She had a fever for days and the spots just multiplied every day. I took several pictures of her skin. Here is one of her face when they jsut started to show up. As of today they are pretty well done and scabbed over. During the "high-itch" period she was so cute. We told her to try not to scratch herself with her nails so she moved around the house leaning on the furniture and walls.

Due to the chicken pox, her follow-up appt for her tongue surgery has been changed to February 25.

January Update

2010-01-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

Just an update because I know some of you are watching and waiting for one.

Of course I had to put a sister-picture in here!!

EMILY is doing well after her tongue surgery. She has started eating meat and seems to be swallowing more of it, which is a huge improvement. Her communication seems to be getting better too. We are not sure if it is from the surgery or just more time listening to the English language. Her follow up appointment is Feb 8 and we are expecting a good report. She has fallen in love with Barney (the purple donosaur) and sings the song "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you-won't you say you love me to?" The problem is she can not seem to remember it all so we all end up singing it ALL day!!! After 9 months, she is really attaching herself to us. I know I said that about 4 months ago but it seems even more now. She seems happy and content in her home and those around her. At night she continues to say "My Mommy, my Daddy, my Hannah". And when we put her to bed we go through ALL our family and friends and give each one of them a blessing-then Emily will lay in bed and quietly repeat "....and God bless Mommy, and Daddy, and Hannah, and Mike, and Marie, and Dawn, and "Misser" Denny, etc........." Oh.....and the really good news-Emily is potty trained!!! It took 1 day!!! She is wearing "big girl" undies day and night without accident-even when we are out on the town!!! Here is a picture of her washing her hands after using the potty.

Hannah seems to have an unendless love for Emily as only a sister can have. There are good days and there are bad days, but at the end of the bad days, there are lots of hugs and kisses. They seem to be becoming good friends as well. They are playing more together without us to "referee". One of our dear friends are waiting to hear about a possible adoption of a child from China, which Hannah is all excited about. Now she thinks we should adopt a big sister for her. (Thanks-"dear friends") For those of you waiting for our announcement on this-we will not let you wait long, as this is not going to happen. We are very happy as a family of 4. That and I just received my 25th school reunion notice that said "please bring your grandkids". Wait until they see my 3 and 7 yr olds!!! Sorry-I digress-back to Hannah!!!!

She is flourishing in gymnastics. She almost has her back-handspring by herself and has been perfecting jump roping and doing cartwheels on the balance beam. She will try out for the team in July. We just found out that there are several on the team who are qualifying for Nationals in order to try out for the Olympics-So, this is her goal now. She has also recently entered the life of Harry Potter. (Oh boy!!!) And she has even made a wand out of restaurant straws to do her "spells". Too bad she has not figured out how to get the laundry folded with that wand!!! Hannah came down with the chicken pox this past week (and yes, she had the vaccine). She had to miss her cousins birthday party as some of the invited friends have not had them. So I kept her home with me. Now, I do not know what you do in this situation, but decided to have a blanket toga party. Of course I was on the OTHER side of the camera, but you can tell from the picture that we enjoyed some dancing in our toga outfits.

Emily's Surgery Update

2010-01-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

The surgery is done!!! At 7:00am on January 7, we gave Emily the controversial Versed Syrup. After giving it to her and driving approximately 2 miles I noticed it had hit Emily. She was very quiet and was drooling. She was answering questions very very slowly-but was not "out". At one point she had her hand in front of her hand and was studying it as if she had never seen it before or could not figure out what it was. Once at the surgeon's office she wanted to walk but she just could not figure out how to put one foot in front of the other and would fall into our arms. After trying several times to walk unsuccessfully, she laid on the floor with a smile on her face saying "I uv ew daddy", "I uv ew, mommy". At around 8:10am, we handed Emily to the nurse for her surgery.

At around 8:30am, we were told the surgery was done and Emily was in the recovery waking up. She looked so little on the recovery bed with a wool blanket covering her. They ended up giving her an injection to "put her out", but it really did not take her long to wake up. Once she was awake, we took her to get a scoop of vanilla ice cream. She got to eat ice cream and popsicles throughout the day. She refused to stick her tongue out or move it from side to side for the first couple days, despite the surgeon telling us she HAS to do it so the scar tissue does not "close" it back up. Really, how do you make a toddler stick out her tongue when she has never been able to do so?!?! It is getting better now. She still doesn't stick her tongue out or lick her lips, although she is trying to. It is like she has not figured out which muscles it takes to do this.

I have seen a difference in the way she eats though. She is really opening her mouth for her bites of food and is actually starting to chew her food and move the food slightly in her mouth with her tongue in order to chew it up. Since the surgery, she has not had to have us "clean out" the excess food in her mouth. I seem to hear more "T"s and "L"s in her speech. She is still drooling ALOT. There is still "burned" tissue in her mouth as the new tissue grows to replace it. Her follow-up is set in 1 month.

Christmas 2009---New Year 2010

2010-01-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

As we celebrated Christmas and as we begin a new year, we do not forget what we are thankful for.

For starters we have a wonderful and healthy family-starting with our new addition to the family this year, Emily, who always has a smile-even through her tears. She has a smile and a hello for everyone she meets.

Hannah has grown in so many ways and is becoming a beautiful lil' lady inside and out. She has discovered the world of Harry Potter and The Wizards of Waverly Place this year and is convinced we are keeping the secret from her that she is a real wizard.

We have 2 wonderful "travel groups" who we do not see enough, but are greatful for. They are truley our our girls' "China families". Adoption is a stressful and frustrating experience that that brings total fulfillment in your life and it is a true blessing that we were able to share this with so many wonderful families.

In these difficult times, we are been blessed to still have our work as many in our area have been laid off this holiday season. Kevin has transfered from GM to Nissan , and I continue to help help run the Alzheimer's unit and direct the social work department at St Joseph's.

Kevin's brother had an emergency by-pass heart surgery November 22. The doctors say they never seen anyone survive following an 8cm aneurism-his was 10!!! Despite these extraordinary odds has returned back to work at the fire station!!!

We just found out our niece is going to bless the family with a baby around August 19, 2010. The last word on the name is "Molly". (Now watch her have a boy.) Good thing she did not break the news before her dad had the heart surgery, huh?

Kevin and I have been also been blessed with 3 great nephews on my side of the family this past year--Lucas, Heiden, and Calen. All these boys and all we have are baby girl clothing!!! Good thing most toys are universal.

And I could not leave out our neighbors, who are the best friends we could have (other than you!!!). From reading the Sunday paper together in the summer to our neighborhood garage sale to Notre Dame garage parties (yeah, for the new coach-sorry Shannon & Eric!!!) to ice cream sundae parties, we could not ask for a better bunch of neighbors who have been a good support for us and the girls. And to think I did not want to live in a sub-division!!!

Life is good and God is gracious. Enjoy some pictures taken since our last post

Emily loves to talk about Santa and even told Santa "I uv ew", but when it came her time to sit on his lap..........NO WAY!!! Maybe next year!!!

Emily's Surgery

2010-01-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

Emily was to have her tongue surgery on December 21st, 2009, however, we ran into some complications. According to the doctor she is still too little to "put under" for this surgery so he came up with a plan to use Versed Syrup along with Nitrous Oxide. This sounded like a good plan until we called EVERY pharmacy in a 50 mile radius on and they reported that they do not carry the Versed Syrup. So we had to cancel the surgery.

We did find out that Versed Syrup is a controlled substance and pharmacies are not allowed to keep it on their shelves. The doctor refused to give the medication in the office as this would make her surgery an inpatient surgery and she would have to stay in the hospital over night-which is not necessary. We did manage to talk Target Pharmacy into a special order for the Versed Syrup as long as we would agree to pick the medication up right away after they recieved it so they would not have to show it was on their shelves. So long story made short.....we have the Versed Syrup in our possession and have made another surgery date on January 7, 2010.

Originally we wanted to get this surgery done by the end of the year as we had our insurance deductibles paid in, however, insurance has decided they are not going to pay for this surgery as they say it is not medically necessay. Let's see; Emily has stopped gaining weight (at 26 lbs for a 3 yr old), she cannot chew foods such as meats and vegetables because she can not maneuver them in her mouth to chew them properly, and she continues to have difficulties with her speech. We have done alot of "arguing" with the insurance company, however, they continue to say it is not medically necessary.

So on January 7, we will have Emily drink her Versed Syrup, write a check for the surgery, be thankful for what we have been given in our lives, and proceed into the new year.

This is a good picture of what Emily will have done.

The doctor will use a laser to "cut" under her tongue so she is not longer "tongue-tied". This will allow her tongue to separate from the lower soft pallet. Then he will "scoop" out the bottom soft pallet under her tongue. All this with no stitiches-amazing!!!

Emily's 3rd birthday & Basketball for Hannah

2009-11-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Emily's 3 yrs old!!! Her birthday was November 13 (Friday the 13th). We went to our favorite pizza place, Starlight Pizza. For those following this blog, this is the same pizza place we ate out just before hopping a plane to China to get Emily. On November 15, our family and friends helped her celebrate her birthday. She seemed to not know what to do when she received presents from our family and friends. It could be possible that this was the first present(s) she has opened. After about the second or third present, she seemed to get the idea and was ripping the paper off them like a pro. We thank our family and friends for helping us make this a nice event for her. The only thing that could have been better was the weather!!! (It was cold and rainy). This week she has been playing with all her gifts. She seems to like them all. And we especially would like to thank Emily's Aunt Lori, Uncle Rami, and cousins-Jesse, Andi, and Haiden for the drum set. It has been very.................. musical in our house this week.

Notice the frosting missing from around Elmo?

We found it on Emily's fingers as it went into her mouth!!!!

Birthday kisses from Sissy

Hannah just finished a season of basketball

She really learned alot this season. Her school has stopped all after school sports due to funding issues. So all the sports are now being done in the school system with the help of volunteers. So about 20 1st and 2nd graders from within Hannah's school signed up for 8 Saturdays in a row of basketball. The first 30 minutes was like a practice and they learned basic skills. The next 30 minutes the girls split into 4 teams of 5 and play against each other with the high school girls team officiating and helping them play . They do not keep score so they do not know who wins or loses. The last 15 minutes was ball handling skills. Hannah really enjoyed it and cannot wait until summer basketball camp. Here are a few pictures. Watch out boys......She is not shooting like a girl!!!!

Hannah's cousin, Meghann was in the 3rd and 4th grade basketball group.

WAY TO GO GIRLS!!!

Life is happening!!!

2009-11-02T19:20:00.002-08:00

I can not believe it has been so long since our last posting. For those of you keeping up with us, sorry!!! Life seems to have just been "happening" lately. By that I mean we seem to have fallen into a daily life routine. Work and school and of course ALL the extra-curricular activities going on lately. Between school, gymnastics for Hannah, a mommy & me class with Emily, basketball for Hannah, and extra hours at work, I am starting to understand why they invented all those agenda calendars for moms. Life is busy and at times hectic, but I would not change any part of it!!!

We have completed our 6 month review for Emily and China insisted on having a family picture. We have not scheduled time yet for a formal picture. We actually had one taken at a funeral dinner so we could email it to our social worker at our adoption agency. Not the best picture-but our first picture. Memories!!!

Emily updates-Language continues to be our biggest problem at this time. We are usually able to understand her but most others are not able to get the words she is saying which seems to frustrate her at times. She has started to act out what she is trying to say now. We were at the point we were going to call the doctor to see if we could re-evaluate her weight for the surgery then she got hit by some sort of intestinal virus and she lost about 2 1/2 pounds. This diarrhea "issue" seems to keep coming back. Remember, last time we thought maybe it was milk-but then we found no difference without the milk. If it returns, I think we will ask for a "test" as she is high risk for Giardia (from drinking contaminated water in Asia). Anyways, she is slowly gaining her weight back. Her surgery evaluation date is set for December 17. Help us pray she will be ready.

I have to tell you something cute though-tonight she was playing with her "chinese" doll and she was saying "nee ha" "nee ha" (ni hao). I asked her what she was saying. She said she was talking "chinee" (chinese). I asked her what that meant and she replied "hawoo" (Hello).

Her first Halloween proved to be somewhat exciting. She dressed up as a lady bug. She wore a sweatshirt OVER her winter coat as it was so incredibly cold. When Emily would see a scary mask, she would just stop walking and watch that person as they walked passed her. One time she was watching them so closely, she fell off the curb into a pile of leaves. And she refused to walk up to some of the houses as they were decorated in scarey items. After about 45 minutes, she had enough of the cold and the scariness.

Hannah updates-Hannah has been busy with school, gymnastics and basketball. Tonight she asked me if she can sign up for "BOXING". Hmmmmmm-don;t think so, sorry. She is growing up so fast. She has had her first friend over to spend the night and she has been calling the same friend in the evening to talk about "their day". We limit the phone conversations now as the first few lasted so long, the phone went dead. I have been catching her looking at herself in the mirror more and putting her hair in different styles. Pretty soon she will want to be taking showers every morning and wearing make-up. UGH!!!

Hannah's doctor says she most likely had the H1N1 virus last week. she missed alot of school. Her first symptom (looking back) was a very bad headache that lasted about 4 days before the fever hit. Then the fever would go down at night but go high during the day. The fever lasted 4 days like this. She is back to school now but we just got a letter stating there are 33% out with flu-like symptoms. We are now waiting for the incubation period to see if Emily will get it.

Hannah was Cleopatra for her halloween. She was so excited about this constume. She keeps calling it "Cleopatrick-Queen of Egypt"

6 Months

2009-10-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today marks 6 months since we brought Emily to the United States. It seems like a dream since going to China. She is so totally amazing and fits in our family perfectly. She is developing into such a wonderful little girl. For those keeping track, Emily has grown almost 3 inches and gained nearly 4 pounds since coming home. What a miracle she is!!!

We wanted to show a current picture of Emily, however, we must have taken 100 pictures tonight with her eyes closed in all of them. Who ever invented the digital camera gets a huge pat on the back from us though. It would have cost a fortune to develop all these pictures with her eyes closed. Check back soon for updated pictures on Emily. Here is a picture of the Emily with her big sister, Hannah. It is hard to believe they have only been sisters for 6 months. They look like each other and they act lke each other. I think they are true soul sisters.

Hannah's 7th Birthday Party

2009-09-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hannah's birthday was August 20, however, we celebrated on Saturday, September 5, with our family and friends. Hannah even had her special favorite friend from school come over for the day. She received alot of very nice gifts and some money that she is putting with her already saved money to get an expensive item she has been eyeing for a few months. Thanks to all who helped us to make this party a success. I was not sure it would be as nice as it was as I was mandated to work 16 hour days the week of the party and was working on very little sleep. Here are a few pictures of our day:

Hannah contemplating exactly what to wish for;

Hannah blowing out all the candles to make sure that wish comes true.

(Mom and Dad hoping that wish was not for a puppy)

All the kids had a blast in the sand box. Emily was not sure about getting in there.

Once all the kids left to watch Hannah open presents-she took off her shoes/socks and dug in!!!

The day started with the birthday party and then ended up into the viewing of the opening home game for Notre Dame and if anyone knows us-that is also a party in itself. We "tailgate" in the garage to a large screen TV and yummy food.

This was a very special day for me as Emily fell asleep in my arms tonight. This is only the second night this has happened and boy-oh-boy, did this feel so good. The first time I had to "force" her to stay in my arms while rocking her. This time she sought me out to pick her up. I sang to her and rocked her from side to side and she closed those little eyes of hers and gave in to the safety of her mama's arms. (Then work called and I ended up going in until 1am.) But all in all-it was a wonderful day!!!

Happy Birthday, China Sisters

2009-08-22T19:17:00.004-07:00

Happy 7th Birthday to Hannah and her China sisters!!!

150 days!!!!!

2009-08-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that Emily has been with us for 150 days. On one hand it seems like it has been longer because she fits in with our family so well-on the other hand, it seems like just yesterday I was feeding her with that bottle of thick Chinese formula and congee. We had our follow along appointment for our homestudy last weekend, which got me to looking at the pictures we took while in China. I was amazed at how Emily has changed in this 150 days. She has so quickly changed from a "baby":

to a "toddler":

to a "little "big" girl".

What a gift God has given us with this child.

Summer Days

2009-08-18T17:58:00.001-07:00

I know this is not my best picture but I had to show off this picture as it is the very FIRST time Emily snuggled up and fell asleep in my arms. Boy-did I soak up that moment!!!

So let me ask you-What do you do when it is 98 degrees outside? We decided to stay in the air conditioning and can 52 quarts of green beans!!! Thanks to Mom and Bob (my big brother) for picking and bringing us the nice beans-we will think of you whenever we "pop" a jar open this winter. And thanks to Marie (my wonderful neighbor friend) for helping me snap the beans and teaching me to use her pressure canner to get the beans done this weekend. All I have to say is-BRING ON THE TOMATOS!!!

Hannah was helping snap beans while watching the Hannah Montana marathon on Disney channel. She snapped a couple, ate a couple, snapped a couple, ate a couple.... You get the idea. No lunch for Hannah that day.

Emily also was "helping" by sorting out the jar rings.

Emily saw the stack of jars and said "ewwwwwwwwww" !!!! I think we may be a future canner.

Our tribute to Elvis!!! Actually this is how Emily woke up after her nap. I think this may be a picture to show her boyfrriend when she is 16!!!

More Updates

2009-08-02T10:56:00.001-07:00

*It has been 2300 days since we held Hannah for the first time!!!

-HANNAH finished her first session of pre-team (gymnastics). She continues to really love it so we signed her up for another session. Her coaches say she is doing very well and should be ready to compete next summer if she continues to work hard.

-We started an email address for her to help with her reading and spelling. I am not sure that was such a great idea as now she wants a mini-laptop for her birthday!!! But she is really loving reading the emails coming to her-it just takes a long time to answer and return them, so be patient, she is getting to you!!!

-She is getting one of her permanent teeth in-and she has not lost one of her baby teeth yet. We were waiting to see if the permanent tooth loosens the baby tooth, but it does not look good.

-She starts school August 12 so she is enjoying what is left of summer. She did find out her best friend, Sydney, is in her class this year so she is very excited about that. 2nd grade, can you believe it?

Hannah wanted her pictures taken of her in her bedroom to show off her comforter she bought from saving up her allowance. At least it was not another Nintendo DS game or Barbie doll!!!

It has been 130 days since we held Emily the first time!!!

-EMILY has learned a couple words this week. "Why" and "Hey". What fun the week has been with these words!!!

-She is holding still with her weight at this time. We think she is cutting some new teeth as she has been having a low fever, diarhea, and not eating much. Oh yeah, and drooling. So this is not helping with gaining weight. We are not real sure how many pounds the doctor wants her to gain for her surgery but we are sure we are not close yet.

-We all went to the Firefighters' Blues Festival and I wish I had taken the camera because Emily was so dog-gone cute. She was dancing to every song there was. She was really enjoying herself. Snuffy held her up on his shoulders and she just danced away up there for everyone to see. Words can not describe how totally adorable she was. Next time I will have a camera, I promise!!!

-We took Emily to the beauty shop for her first official haircut but she had an absolute 2-year old fit. I do not know how else to put it, really. She was screaming and refused to sit down. She was crying so hard she hair was wet. So, we gave up on that. I did manage to get her bangs trimmed at home after her bath tonight. I do not guarantee that they are straight but the hair is out of her eyes. It seems like all of a sudden I am cutting her fingernails and toenails every week and her hair is growing very fast as well. It must be from the good food/nutrition she is eating instead of the bottle she was receiving in China.

This next picture is for those of you who are amazed by Hannah's triple jointed body. The picture looks like she is just holding herself up on the couch and keeping her behind off the floor, but after looking at it closer, Hannah's arms/elbows are backwards with her bottom in the air.

Take a look at this next picture

2009-07-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 18, we went to Forrest Park in Noblesville, Indiana. Our adoption agency, FTIA, held their annual picnic for adoptive families. At this picnic Emily's travel group met for the first time since traveling and returning from China. It was nice to see the families again and it was amazing to see the children again as they all have changed in so many ways. Even Hannah had fun playing with the kids in Emily's group-especially Hannah G, who Hannah is telling everyone is her new best friend!!! We are very fortunate to have 2 very special travel groups that I think, or at least hope, will be part of our lives forever. It is hard to describe the feelings you get from having a close travel group. In adoption there is always some type of heartache, whether it be from the incredible hoops we cross to get there, the long wait we have to make a child a part of our family, and/or the story each child brings home with them. It is a bond we develop as we support each other through a very emotional period of our lives as well as the celebrations we share as a family. It is a thread, of sorts, that is woven through us that keeps us connected.

Our Weekend

2009-07-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

We went to the 4-H County Fair for a couple hours this past weekend. Hannah had sign up and completed a Pom-Pom Mouse project and we rode a few rides while we were there. Emily absolutely loved the car ride. I say that ride in particular because for for some reason this was the only ride she could ride on for her height. It is just a reminder of just how small she is at 2 1/2. I wish I had remembered my camera as it would have made a cute picture of Hannah teaching Emily to steer her car with the steering wheel, even though it automatically only went around and around in a circle. Hannah seemed to be in the middle as she was too big for the kiddie rides but still afraid to ride the bigger rides-which was really fine with me. After the fair we went to our favorite pizza place (Starlight Pizza). Other than this I am sad that Hannah will be starting school on Aug 12 as I have gotten used to the extra hour of sleep in the morning!!! And it seems like we will be spending a paycheck on school clothes and shoes as she has outgrown everything this summer. Here are a few pictures from our week.
We found a hat that we bought for Hannah when she was around 3 years old. I thought it would be nice for Emily to wear while playing in the sandbox in the sun, but it turns out she will only keep it on for a matter of seconds. Just like her sister. And they look so adorable in hats too.

Spaghetti Night!!! Remember the Disney movie of the dogs that would eat the piece of spaghetti and when they got to the middle they would end up kissing? That's our kids!!! And don't tell them-but it got them to eat a few more bites after they said they were done.
Sister Squeeze!!! They may have their moments of sibling rivalry and jealousy but at the end of the day-sisters seem to always prevail.

This weekend we are getting together with some of Emily's adoption group. Watch for pictures next week-these are amazing kids!!!

100 Days!!!

2009-07-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we have had our daughter Emily for 100 days? 100 days since she was placed in our arms for the first time. WHAT A DREAM COME TRUE!!!

And since we are counting-it has been 2270 days since Hannah was placed in my arms. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

We recently got together with Hannah's travel group and went camping. Hannah calls them her China sisters. We have been very fortunate to have 2 great travel groups and hope to stay close with both groups. Hannah's group has been getting together 2 times a year. The girls seem to see each other and just take off playing as if they get together every day. So here is a picture of Hannah's China sisters; Abrianna, Kacie, Lilly, Mary Catherine, and Violet with siblings Annalise, Kassidy and Emily.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2009-06-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hannah just finished up a week of basketball camp. We have not really played much at home so I was unsure how she would do, but she really liked it and she is pretty good. She worked on defensive skills and shooting. And for all you boys in the family-watch out because she does not shoot like a girl. And thanks to the Piechocki family she now has a really nice basketball hoop to play at home. (Thanks Susie-you are her hero!!!)

Monday Hannah started gymnastics camp. She has team try-outs on Saturday. This picture is her on the low bar.

Emily continues to grow and adjust to just about everything. Her excitement over new things is overwhelming. She is learning to drink out of a regular cup instead of a sippy cup. She is starting to throw a play ball even though sometimes she throws it behind herself and then looks at me as if saying "where did it go". She has found she loves blueberries, watermelon, cantelope, and anything with sugar and carbohydrates in it especially suckers and pasta. She loves to play with her sister and refuses to go to bed at night without a "night-night" kiss.

We did find out that Emily is going to need a surgery. It was noticed by Marie when we were eating at our favorite local Chinese restaurant. Emily was not using her tongue to move her food around and when asked she was not able to stick her tongue out. After getting the second opinion from an oral surgeon, it was confirmed that she is tongue-tied. The funky skin flap under our tongues it actually connected all the way to the tip of her tongue causing it not to be able to move much in her mouth. This impedes her ability to chew and swallow her food as well as form words effectively. The oral surgeon gave us 2 options. 1) Surgery now, but she is too little for anesthesia and the use of the newer laser technique. This means they would need to tie her down, use scissors to do the cut and several stitches under her tongue. Or 2) Wait until she is just a little bigger when she can be "put under" with anesthesia and use a laser which results in no stitches. The down fall of this is that it means longer for her to not be able to chew effectively. Right now she often needs to spit her food out and/or push it off the top palette to the back of her throat to swallow. And of course continued difficulties in learning proper phonics, which right now she is either babbling or speaking Chinese-we can not tell. After talking about the options with the oral surgeon, the decision was made to wait 6 months and see if we could use the anesthesia. I have to also admit that to tie her down may just also bring back memories of her life in the orphanage as this is what they do when they need an IV to treat colds/flus. I did not want her to relive this or lose the trust factor we have earned in the last 2 months. So I guess we will have to write an update on this in 6 months (just before Christmas).

This girl has spirit!!!

2009-05-28T17:14:00.001-07:00

65 days ago we seen this child for the first time. There were no smiles on her face and she seemed to have very little life in her soul. Today I took these pictures and see the love and the joy in her spirit. She smiles and laughs most of the day. She is learning to play and enjoys those she is around. She sure has life in her soul now!!! What a beautiful child and a wonderful addition to our family.

Life is Good!!!

2009-05-27T18:13:00.005-07:00

During waking hours Hannah and Emily are usually together. They play together and sleep together (as long as there is no school the next day as they seem to do more playing than sleeping). Life is good!!!

50 Days-AMAZING!!!

2009-05-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today it has been 50 days since we first held Emily. This little girl has changed so much in these 50 days. She fits perfectly with our family and has been an absolute joy. It really is amazing to see what healthy food and love can do for a child. Our doctor is amazed this is the same girl he saw when she first came home and we are amazed at how she is adjusting to her new life. Others in our travel group have mentioned how our trip to get our children now seems like a dream: What a wonderful dream to come true!!!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

You know you are truley blessed when you are awaken by two little girls kissing you on the cheek!!! Today was Mother's Day and they were ready. Hannah and Emily not only gave me kisses to wake me up this morning but they took me for breakfast and gave me "gifts". As the pictures show, I was given a nice card with 2 pictures inside. One picture is a picture of my 2 daughters and the other picture is thanking me for all I do. She then gave me a coupon book. There are 5 coupons: 1) 100 hugs 2) Take out the trash 9 times 3) Help in the kitchen 100 times 4) Clean her room 99 times 5) Feed our pets (fish) 91 times. How precious is that!!! Now I know how my mom and dad felt when I gave them the coupon book I made for them!!! We stayed at home and had "family day" as we seem to all be suffering from a cold. We ended the day grilling steaks as the rain came in. I love being a mom!!!

This Mothers Day evening I now sit here and think of the women in China that made my Mothers Day possible. They gave their children up for their own reasons that we may not know nor understand. I imagine that their hearts must ache as they wonder what ever happened to these "lost girls from China". I do pray on this Mother's Day that these women can be overcome with a comforting and peaceful feeling that these children are safe and loved unconditionally.

Emily Is Now An Official United States Citizen!!!!

2009-05-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

Emily became an United States Citizen the day we returned home and handed over her paperwork to immigration at the O'Hare Airport in Chicago, but we have now officially received her certificate of citizenship!!! Let's hear it for Emily Mei Chlebowski!!! Our next step is to apply for her social security number. Then register her adoption and apply for her United States passport. Whew!!!
For all those who read our last post and are wondering what we are feeding Emily-EVERYTHING. This child eats everything out there and she eats ALL the time unless we hold it back. She loves everything from cookies to vegetables. It is ALL about the food and we really have not denied her anything!!! Her favorite foods are anything loaded with carbohydrates. Her favorites to be pancakes, pasta, Cheetos, cereal, cookies, chocolate, and suckers.

Emily's Doctor Appointment

2009-05-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

Emily had her official doctor appointment this week. Some of you may remember that we took Emily to the doctor the morning after we returned to USA. We got an antibiotic to "kill" off a nasty cold bug that the Chinese antibiotic did not get rid of and we got an official height and weight on her. This doctor appointment was her complete physical. The doctor told us Emily is developing very well. He was actually surprised this was the same little girl he saw a month ago. He commented that she has a different look to her. He said she smiles without forcing it and he said her cheeks are "fuller" now too. She was jabbering non-stop and at times we actually understood her. He stated that China done very well with her shots as she has all her recommended shots and doses (and a few extras) and does not need any more until she enters kindergarten. And the excellent news he gave us is that she has gained 1 pound and has grown 2 inches in the 1 month she has been home!!! She does not register on the American growth chart yet but is close to the 15 percentile on the Chinese growth chart. The doctor predicts her to be around 5ft 4inches in her adult life. This is pretty good considering her "special need" was delayed physical growth most likely related to a premature birth.

So That's What Beautiful Days Are Made Of!!!

2009-04-28T18:11:00.003-07:00

Sunday we finally had a nice day. This does not happen often in Northern Indiana in April so we have to take advantage when we get it. Here are a few photos from our day.

Emily was throwing Hannah's soccer ball all over the yard. Everytime she would throw it, she would let out a big GRUNT. Once the ball would hit the ground, she would smile and clap at her "achievement".

Hannah had never looked for a four leaf clover before. So Hannah and Rusti had a four leaf clover hunting contest. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. They looked and they looked.........and they looked some more .

Emily started out slow in Hannah's old Wiggles car as she could not figure out how to use her legs/feet to get the car to move. Once she figured it out-she was rolling all over the pavement. She even ran into her "dada's" truck. Oh no!!! She drives just like her mom!!!!

Dada was teaching Hannah how to fly a kite. It was a fairly windy day so Hannah done very well. At times the kite hit the ground but Hannah pulled the string tight while she ran against the wind and the kite went right back up into the sky. Dada is either a good kite-flying teacher, or Hannah is a good kite-flying kiddo!!!

And the winner is ...........................Hannah!!!!! Good job, Hannah!!!

April Updates

2009-04-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Emily waving "HI" to her "China Friends". We hope to see everyone soon. And for those of you keeping track-We have officially decided it does not look like the awful "poopie" diapers are from the regular milk as they have continued on the soy milk. Yesterday Emily experienced 5 extra smelly "poopie" diapers. So, I guess we will just let the doctor decide if this is normal or something more. It has really only been about 3 1/2 weeks since we took her off the bottle and she tasted food for the first time and now she is eating everything and anything we put in front of her.

Hannah has been recommended to try out for for the "pre-team" team. She has been taking a 10 year old class and the coach/teacher says she is one of the better girls in the class. (She is 6 1/2) She says she wants to do it but this will mean 2 days a week instead of one. They are approving her to join the team's summer camp to see if she is ready and likes it well enough to "work hard". I told her as long as it does not run into her vacation with her China sister's group then she can do it this summer. So, we will have to update you on this also.

3 Times A Charm???

2009-04-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

Emily has having a dry diaper every morning I wake her up and after watching her during the day, I have noticed her standing still from playing and looking at the floor. My guess is that she is recognizing when she needs to urinate. So-yesterday I got the potty chair out. I put the training panties on and waited for "that moment". After 2 "accidents" she did it!!! She was so excited that she flushed the toilet 3 times. Today she seems to want to play more with the potty than use it for what it is intended for. Update on the milk idea: She had no milk yesterday and had one good "poopy" diaper. Today she has had 2 so far but they happened within minutes of each other so I think it may have really been 1. I think I was just to fast to change her. This seems better than 6 a day so I will try to find a milk substitute for her. In the meantime, she is still drinking her warm tea but is taking sips of water.

Is No Milk The Answer?

2009-04-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Since we came home with Emily she has been experiencing many bowel movements a day. After a day of 6 "poopy" diaper changes (sorry for exposing you, Emily) I consulted a few "seasoned" moms. I decided to take their advise of holding back the milk she has been drinking. At first I was leary to not give Emily the milk as this is all she accepted to drink other than room temperature tea. And she was not experiencing any noticable belly aches. But-today without milk proved to give us only 2 "poopy" diapers, which were in the morning-and it may not be connected, but, she did not cry herself to sleep for her nap or at nighttime-she just slightly whimpered herself to sleep while snuggling with her glow bug that her big sissy, Hannah gave to her. Hmmmmm..... Could no milk really be the answer? Tomorrow is another day!!! The jury is still out. In the meantime-I guess we are back to room temperature tea. At least we have decaf tea in USA-our guide in China laughed at us when we asked for the decaff tea!!!

Just 25 days ago...

2009-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

It has been 25 days since we first saw Emily and held her in our arms. It is amazing what a little individualized attention and love can do to a child. Emily's world has been turned upside down and she seems to be adjusting to the changes very well. Uprooted from all that she had known in China-her nannies, her culture and her language all changed on in that one single moment 25 days ago. She was just 2 years and 4 months old. She was drinking formula and rice cereal from a baby bottle 6-8 times a day, unable to roll over, unable to sit from a sitting position, unable to take 3 steps without falling, was "Miss Serious Face" in China, and unable to make any viable communication to us. Today she is eating solid table food at EVERY meal, has the nickname of "cookie monster" as she ALWAYS wants a cookie, can actually jump to a standing position from sitting on the floor, is walking up and down small steps, is running EVERY where we go, and is starting to pick up the English language by repeating words. Today she put 3 words together and told our good neighbor "bye-bye, Dawn". She smiles all the time and is easy to get to laugh now-in fact, at times she will laugh so hard she has trouble standing up. She is a joy and a true blessing to us and our family and friends who know her. We are so happy she was "chosen" to join our family. 25 days ago we picked up our child who was diagnosed with a "special need"- 25 days later, we no longer see the "special need". She is one of our true miracles.

The other miracle is our 6 year old daughter, Hannah, whose world was also changed instantly 2195 days ago when we first held and cuddled her and then again 25 days ago when she went from being an only child to a big sister who needs to share not only her most precious material possesions but also her parent's love and attention. What an adjustment our family has been through. We hope the future brings one of peace and love so our children can grow to be the individuals they choose to be. I said it several times before but let me say it once again-What a wonderful world we live in. In a world where there is war and punishment, there is also a world of love and hope.

A Typical Day

2009-04-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hannah is back in school this week. This is how our days have typically been going-so far. Our day gets up early. Kevin leaves for work at 6am. Then Hannah gets ready for school. I (Rusti) drive Hannah and Emily to Busia's to catch the bus in the morning around 7:30am. Emily waits for the bus eating her banana or breakfast bar of fruit and oatmeal. When it is time for the bus-Emily and Hannah give a good-bye kiss before Hannah. Busia and I have a cup of coffee while Emily decides to fill her diaper with stinky "poop". Yes, this happens every morning like clockwork. This is usually just the first of 3 or 4 each day. I change Emily into her clothes for the day and she "plays" with Queenie and Sheeba (Busia/Dzia Dzia's dogs) When she saw a dog for the frst time in the US she was petrified of them and this morning she managed to feed one of them her half eaten cookie. We are getting there. We are thinking of getting Hannah a puppy this summer so we are working on getting Emily used to being near dogs. Then Emily and I go home where she proceeds to play and look for Hannah as if she is playing hide and seek ALL day!!! She misses her big sissy soooo much!!! She has started to kiss everything in the house now-even lids off water bottles!!! She is picking up some English words now and at times during play or changing her diaper she still speaks in her "jibberish" Chinese. We play until lunch time and then she takes her nap. This week she has been taking a 3 hour nap and I have to wake her up to go back to Busia's to meet Hannah coming off the bus. When Hannah comes off the bus-Emily bursts into a laugh and smile really big. Hannah runs up to her and they give each other a big sloppy kiss. Then we head home to finish our evening with more play-time and dinner and we usually get to bed around 8:30pm. This is when I have been finding the time to take my shower and get some things done around the house. WHEW-what a beautiful day with 2 beautiful girls!!! I hate the idea of having to go back to work soon.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2009-04-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hannah was color-dying easter eggs today. She seemed to have more on her fingers than on the eggs. She had a little of each color on her fingers and it made her fingers look a black color. Luckily it all washed off with soap and water. It would not have looked very good with her easter outfit tomorrow. She colored 2 dozen minus 3 that cracked in the making which we ate. She colored them all in a light color and them put polka dots on them in a darker color. There were some with shrinky plastic dogs and cats that shrink to the egg when put in hot water also. I had pulled out the video camera and Hannah made a "food network video" on the proper way to color an easter egg. She was trying on some new clothes she had just got and decided to pose with one of her eggs to the camera. She is such a "ham"!!!

I can not believe this is our daughter. It may be the parent in me but I just think she is a beautiful 6 1/2 year old. At times she acts so grown up but at times she still wants to cuddle and snuggle up with her mom and dad-especially in the evening. She has had a few "tantrums" since Emily has been home as we "never carry her anymore" despite her weighing 56 pounds now, and we have even been told we "smile more" at Emily than we do at her, but other than this-she has been a pretty good big sister. They play together and at times sleep together. Hannah has not cleaned Emily up after a dirty diaper yet, but has helped to put the clean ones on. She says she will change a "wet one" but never seems to be around at that time. Hmmmmm. If at time you are reading this Hannah-me and Dad love you very much-and we think Emily does too!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T14:02:00.002-07:00

Today was the annual easter egg hunt at the town park. This is a long time event in our town and we have been doing it for many, many years. It started today at 11am and each section of the park is marled with an age group. There are real color-dyed eggs that the American Legion dyes the night before, chocolate bunnies, candies, candy filled plastic eggs and "prize eggs". Don;t ask me what the "prize eggs" look like as no one in my family has EVER found one of these. In my 42 years I have never seen one. Not in my family or my friends. I do know they exist-they are apparently just very hard to find. All the kids line up a the end of the hill at their age group section. When it is time they count down from 10 and the kids go running out into the park area to pick up what they can find. There is alot of goodies in the park for them and it seems like only minutes until they gather all of it up. The kids play a little in the park and then everyone is invited to the American Legion for free hot dogs, potato chips, and pop. It is at that time that the kids go through their basket of eggs and if they have one of the "prize eggs" they get their prize. All the kids also empty their plastic eggs and leave them in a basket or bag for the legion to use them next year. In the pictures, Emily was just starting out with her basket. She picked up a chocolate covered marshmallow bunny, 2 sugar eggs, and a plastic egg. (She was more excited to watch people) I thought that maybe since she had just one plastic egg she may have beginners' luck and have the "prize egg"-no luck!!! Hannah picked up about a dozen real colored-dyed eggs and 2 plastic eggs. She did not have a prize egg either!!! Maybe next year. The other picture of Emily was at the American Legion after eating her hot dog. Her cousin, Katie, was there and saw Emily for the first time. Emily got comfortable in Katie's lap and was practicing "answering" her cell phone. After our good-byes, we were off to home so Hannah could color-dye our easter eggs.

Dentist Appointments

2009-04-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Me (Rusti) and the girls had dentist appointments. I do not know what I was thinking when I scheduled these 3 appointments all at the same time-but I guess it is good to have them all over. I would rather not talk about my teeth on the internet, but I will say that Hannah done very well. She continues to have no cavities and she was told her 2 bottom front teeth are getting loose and she should lose them soon. She is very excited over this news as she is the only one in her class not to have lost any teeth yet. Emily had her first dentist appoint also-sort of. There are no pictures because the picture taker (me) was holding Emily and as she was screaming, Leanne (dental hygienist) was counting and checking her teeth with each scream. It really was not as harsh as it sounds though. Her orphanage nanny told us in China that she had 8 teeth but we counted a total of 14, hmmmmmm. Other than two in the front that are fused together and some extra white spots on her molars, all looked A-OK. After the appointment both girls picked out bouncy balls for being such "good" patients. Emily has developed a wicked throw and is having fun throwing that ball straight at our patio doors in the kitchen. OH BOY!!!

The following is a good set of pictures though. We played a game of hide and seek tonight before bed. Hannah was hiding first and Emily was trying to find her. Hannah was making noises as a hint of where she was and Emily was following the noises. When she found Hannah she was pointing at her and laughing so hard she had trouble standing up. Then I (mom) hid from the girls. Hannah found me in the shower stall with no problem. I guess to a 6 1/2 year old, I am an amateur hide and seeker. Afterwards, Dad and the girls shared a "group hug/kiss" before going off to bed.

Update-Home 4 Days.

2009-04-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

After being in airports for approximately 25 hours we were surprised to see our daughter, Hannah, waiting for us at the end of customs. Once we saw her it was all over. Her eyes got real big and the tears were running down her cheeks faster than her legs could run to us. We hugged and cried together right there in the middle O'Hare airport, which was very busy. With her was Kevin's Mom and Dad, who helped us with our luggage to the door where we saw the biggest white stretch limo we have ever seen!!! The ride from the airport to home was filled with excitement and awe over a new child as well as seeing Hannah after a very long 2 weeks. In the limo Kevin's Mom and Dad talk about a real nice couple they met at the airport that was also waiting to see their new grand-daughter. They said she was almost 10 years old and was from Nanning Province in China. This has to be the Gross family that we met 3 years ago at an adoption reunion for our Hannah. This is also the same Gross family that by a miracle was in our travel group and brought home their almost 10 year old, Hannah. What a wonderful red thread that was woven between this family and ours. At home we were greeted shortly by some very special friends. Emily had NO problem buddying up with them. During this visit she noticed, on her own, her referral picture on the table in a frame and went straight to it, picked it up, pointed at herself in the picture and grinned at us. It was amazing to see. It was almost as if she was saying to us and herself "this is where I belong".

Emily's first night at home seemed to go well. She fell asleep after some needed fussing and cuddling. The dolls in the pictures were given to her on her trip home. The baby doll was from Busia and Dzia Dzia (Kevin's Mom and Dad) and the Glow-Bug was given to her from Hannah. Hannah had a harder time sleeping this evening than Emily did. Hannah was up several times to "check on her" and then in the mornig we found her laying in Emily's bed "cuddling" with her (or using her as a pillow-we are not real sure) Both of them slept just 5 hours that night and were ready to get up and play the next morning!!! We let Hannah stay home Friday from school.

The morning after we arrived home (Friday)we look in our refrigerator and realized we really didn't have much food in the house for Emily and Hannah to eat breakfast so we decided to venture out to TopNotch restaurant. This also meant we were exposing Emily to her first ride with a carseat as in China they do not use them. Needless to say, she did not really like being strapped down in a chair that she could not move from.

Busia (Kevin's Mom)giving Emily a little loving at the restaurant.

The rest of the weekend seemed to go pretty well. We pretty much just stayed home and

enjoyed the company of our 2 girls. What a beautiful thing to say "Our 2 girls". Hannah has
been a wonderful big sister all weekend and everything seems to be working out well. Hannah

and Emily have been inseperatable. They are playing together and getting along as if they have been sisters all their lives. There have been a couple of times where Hannah feels she is being "ignored" due to Emily getting ALL the attention because she "is new", but she just seems to take a small break to get some alone snuggle time with one of us and then goes right back to playing with Emily. Emily has done good as well. In the evenings she seems to be running a low-grade fever almost as if her body needs to "shut itself down". She doesn't like to stop playing to go to bed and this may be her body telling her to slow herself down. We have been cuddling her to bed at these times and when she wakes up-no fever or issues related from the fever.

Sunday night we ran out of food that others had made for us and the time had come for Rusti to make the first big family meal. Hannah could not wait to feed Emily her meal. She grabbed that spoon and just dug right at it as if she feeds little ones every day. And Emily did not mind.

Then it was time for Emily's first bath. She did not receive a bath in China because she had a cut on her hand and due to the bacteria count in the water there, our guide told us to just give sponge baths in China and wait until we get home for the full bath. Hannah wanted to take the bath with her to "help" her. She proceed to pour water on Emily's head to wash her hair and Emily did not like this one bit. Needless to say-this bath lasted about 30 seconds!!!

Monday 4/6/09-Hannah is on Spring Break so we decided to venture out with some of Hannah and Emily's cousins to do something fun. About 8 mile away there is the South Bend Chocolate Factory and we decided to go do the "Inside Scoop" tour on how they make their chocolate. It was very informative but the best part was when we got to make chocolate spoons. Hannah done Emily and mine as the chocolate was too hot for Emily and I could not do it because Emily had decided at that point to be a permanent fixture on my hip by refusing to get down and walk. I think Hannah was okay with this though as she got to dunk 3 spoons in the chocolate instead of just her one. When shopping for other chocolate items, Hannah shared one of her chocolate spoons with her little sissy, Emily, who took a rather large bite off hte spoon, smiled and wanted MORE. Hannah ate the rest of the spoons. They are definately their mother's daughter!!!

After the tour Hannah and her cousins decided to go to Burger King for lunch and played some in the playroom. Emily's high chair had wheels so her cousin, Taylor was pushing her around in the high chair as if it was a car which she really seemed to enjoy. She smiled and laughed most of time we were there. I think Taylor may have some babysitting in his future-hmmmm.

***After the chocolate tour we got a good discount on the other chocolate we bought so Mom and Dad ended up with a treat after the kiddos went to bed :-)

GOING HOME TOMORROW

2009-03-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

After 189 days of seeing Emily's picture we will be taking her home!!! It has been a wonderful journey but it is time to go home and be a family of four. We miss our daughter Hannah ALOT!!! Words cannot describe how happy and blessed we are to have 2 beautiful and healthy children. I said it once but i will say it again-It is a marvelous world we live in. Pray for our safe return home and hope to see all of our family and friends real soon.

Pictures from Guanzhou, China

2009-03-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

Yuintai Gardens-beautiful park. There were hundreds of roses and many different shaped trees that the chinese shape themselves.

Some of the rose bushes at the garden

Emily playing in the hotel room. This day her favorite toy was a set of "batteries" that we took out of the camera. Everytime we tried to take them away-she started crying.

This picture is a little blurry but how could we not resist putting it up here for all to see.

DADA & EMILY walking in the street in Guangzhou, China

2009-03-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

All of our group has come back to us and it has been so nice to see them with their children. Emily was tired today. She slept 12 hours last night and at 11am she decided to lay down for a 3 hour nap!!! Then we went shopping. The shopping here is good. We are off on a shopping tour here tomorrow so we have not bought too much----yet!!! Emily continues to warm up to Kevin and his facial hair. She is giving him a 1/2 smile now when we sneaks a kiss to her. She is smiling now almost all the time. She is still very curious and doesn't miss anything. And still eating everything in sight. She is sucking on her first sucker now and really slurping it up. Hope to post some pictures later so keep posted.

UPDATE!!!!

2009-03-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

The last 2 days have been amazing. Emily is now smiling ALOT and giving some wide mouthed kisses to her mama. She is still warming up to dada's mustache but they play together ALL the time. He has started rubbing his face against hers and she cries out but there are no tears. We think this is improvement. She is still walking like a drunken sailor (sorry Tad and Jesse) but her hand eye coordination is 200% better. She eats ALL the time, just like her big sissy, Hannah. Watch out Pete-this girl loves french toast!!! The other thing she really loves is to walk. She walks and walks until her little legs can go no further. Yesterday she actually fell asleep walking on in the park and we needed to carry her back to the hotel. She also has not napped. She goes and goes until she just drops-also sounds like her big sissy, Hannah. Last night she had an old fashioned temper tantrum as she just did not want to stop and go to bed. Once asleep she slept for 12.5 hours. Naps are hard to come by as she just does not want to miss anything. We went to a chinese noodle restaurant today and we were a little nervous as our guide, Helen ordered for us, but it was excellent!!! The only thing on the table that we did not like was the tea they served us as it was made from corn and Rusti thought it actually tasted like vegetable oil. But we really like the noodles with vegetables, BBQ eggplant, dumplings, fried cakes, and "beef" which reminded Rusti of the mongolian beef dish her and Hannah have at the local chinese restaurant. Rusti asked it there was any "American" Chinese restaurants where you could get chop suey and she just smiled and answered "Lucy's". Lucy's is one of the restaurants here that is like a 50's style restaurant (cheeseburgers and fries). Emily loves Lucy's as she has chicken congee and she eats the whole bowl of it (which is a lot for a baby). The rest of the group flies in tonight so we will have more people to socialize with and play in the play room with. Until tomorrow............

We have pictures!!!

2009-03-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the many pictures we have taken so far. Emily is very little for her age as you can tell walking with her "baba". Her favorite thing right now is to play with the stacking cups and go for walks-everywhere. She started eating for us today. Scrambled eggs, french toast, watermelon, bananas, and congee. And for you adoption followers-we have had a successful poop!!! Our guide helped us out with some "special" chinese tea-and 45 minutes later-eureka!!! We think we are going to get more of this tea to bring home (just in case). We have found that when Emily rubs her hand in her hair she is tired. She really has not spoken anything except mama, baba, and bye bye, and this is hard to get from her. She is very serious and curious of everything. Today we applied for her passport. We have a free day tomorrow. We may go play in the "Swan Room" in the hotel that has alot of toys. We are still trying to bond with Emily. She has not given us a kiss or really relaxed in our arms yet. Sometimes when she cries, she looks as if her heart has been broken. This seems to be happening less though so we must be doing something good here. Will try to keep the updates coming.

WE HAVE EMILY!!!!!!

2009-03-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry we did not post yesterday. It has been a whirlwind of events here. We received Emily right at the elevators to the Civil Affairs building. We were not to see her until later but we seemed to have showed up at the building at the same exact time. So we got to hold her up the elevator and then they took her so we could finish some paperwork. She is just as beautiful as her picture. We are having trouble with the computers at the White Swan so we can not load any pictures yet. At first Emily did not like Kevin and everytime she looked at him she would scream!!! We later found out it is because he has facial hair and she has never seen any. But he charmed up to her by bribing her with cheerios. Today she is is best friend. The adoption was final today!!!! We can not wait for Hannah to see her baby sissy and return home to be a family.

Delayed again!!!

2009-03-22T06:39:00.001-07:00

We boarded the plane from Beijing to Guangzhou on time so we thought our "curse" was over-but then we didn't move and they announced a "technical problem" with he plane and we sat on the plane for an hour before we left the runway. We are here now though. We hope the rest of our group did not get delayed as some of them were to receive their children today. We wish them our love and hope their kids are healthy and can;t wait to see them on Friday in Guangzhou. We took a "tour" of where we will be staying for the next 11 days. There is many restaurants to here (American, Italian, German, Thai, and of course Chinese. There is also a deli attached to our hotel for ice cream which may come in handy as it is very hot here!!! There are 2 parks for the kids to roam as well. We receive Emily tomorrow at 2pm. All we were told to bring is some copies of our paperwork, a change of clothes for her, and some toys. So I guess we will update everyone tomorrow.

2009-03-21T03:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Beijing for you to enjoy. We leave tomorrow for Guangzhou. We have been doing ALOT of walking again today. We climbed some of the Great Wall, went to an authentic chinese buffet for lunch, The Cloisson Factory, and to the Summer Palace. We are very tired and ready to move on with our journey. Monday we will see Emily!!!

Beijing-Day 2

2009-03-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

We walked our _ _ _ off today!!! We went to Tienaman Square, Forbidden City, the Olympic Village, and an acrobatic show today. We would love to show you pictures but technology still has a been an issue here. We did get marvelous pictures of the big squid and shrimp laying out on the table at the market today and of course we got a few pictures everywhere else. We ate at Pizza Hut too!!! Not too anxious to try the authentic chinese food here. I had cheese pizza and Kevin/Snuffy had Pepperoni pizza. We are anxious to get our last day here over with so we can fly down to Guagzhou. Kevin/Snuff is like a "celebrity" here as everyone chinese wants to take their picture with him. We think it is because he is so tall-he towers over te chinese people. I think they are mistaken him for that chinese basketball player "Yau". We miss everyone. We hope everyone is doing well. We will try to get one of our friends computers and try to send some pictures tomorrow.

WE MADE IT!!!!! (Day 1)

2009-03-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Well-let me tell you how our "wonderful" day went. We woke up and turned on the TV before going to the airport and the television would not work (and it was not the remote). Perhaps, Gene, Mike, and/or Tim can figure it out. We are thinking we will need to get a new TV when we return, which leads me into the rest of the morning. We show up 2 hours early for our flight from South Bend to Chicago and when are to board the plane-they announce a delay due to "overfueling" the tank. So we wait an extra 2 hours for them to do that, which is not a big deal because this now cuts our 4 hour delay in Chicago to 2 hours-right? WRONG. About the time we are to board that flight they announce a "maintenace problem" with the plane and it ends up being delayed 3 hours OVER the original 2 hour delay we already had. We were thinking at this point of upgrading our tickets to help change our luck, but upgrading was $725 extra a ticket. And remember now that we may need to buy a TV when we get back home!!!! So we sufferered it out and about 23 hours and 6850 miles later we have arrived in Beijing!!!! We went checked in an absolute wonderful hotel, the Kuntai Royal, and visited the nearby supermarket named the "wonderful" to buy some pringles and bottled water, then came straight to the computer to tell you all of our "wonderful" day. We are now going to go to bed in our big comfy king size bed and dream wonderful thoughts for the rest of the journey. we are scheduled tomorrow to go to Tienaman Square and The Forbidden City. Love you all!!!

We are leaving on a jet plane.......

2009-03-18T02:52:00.000-07:00

We are ready to go!!!!!!!!!!! We are all packed-twice!!!!! We are a little over the luggage weight limit so we added a carry on. Now we are ready to go. Talk to you when we get to Beijing!!!!

1 more day to go!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will be on our way to get Emily. Hard to believe that after nearly 3 1/2 yrs the time has come to get our precious little girl. We are doing some last minute packing tonight and doing a final weigh in before we lock up our bags. Here's hoping for a good night's sleep!!!

2 days to go!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the last night we have with Hannah as she will spend the night with Busia and Dzia Dzia (grandparents) so she can catch the school bus while we catch the plane. She has picked the movie "Stewart Little 2" to snuggle up with. This is the best way for us to spend our evenings together so it is perfect that we do it this evening. Soon we will be snuggling with 2 daughters!!! In a world full of uncertainty-what a beautiful world it is to raise each others children as our own to give them a wonderful and beautifully full life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. Isaiah 43:5

3 days to go!!!!!!

2009-03-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

3 days-WOW!!! We actually packed today. We have also found out why people take carry on luggage. Because it holds the extra pounds you would be charged with your checked luggage!!! ahaa!!!
In all seriousness-as the "days to go" are getting shorter, the tears are bigger and lasting longer. Hannah had crocodile tears tonight when we snuggled with her stating to us "What if you don't come back". We do not even want to think about that!!! We are flying 1/2 way across the world in attempts to complete our family that naturally we could never have. At times we feel selfish (for the lack of a better word) for wanting to add to our happy and healthy family. We have to leave one child in tears to bring our other child home. We thank God for the wonderful family, friends, and neighbors (who are our friends-but wanted you to know we were talking to you, also!) as we know Hannah will be safe and happy while we are gone. Know that we love you and all that you do for us through the love in your hearts and in ours as our words can not describe our immense appreciation and love for you!!!

4 days to go!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

Last minute shopping took place today. We bought some smelly lotion and sprays for Emily's caregiver's today. We are finishing up the laundry tonight and dedicating Sunday for packing. Most families in our travel group are having difficulties staying under the 44 pound weight limit. Stay tuned to see how we do!!!

5 days to go!!!!!!!!

2009-03-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

5 days to go but more importantly-10days until we get to hold Emily!!! This is also the last weekend before we take off. Hannah seems to be getting excited as she asked if she could pack this weekend also. I guess we are soon to find out how much 44 pounds REALLY weighs as this is the weight limit the airline has given us. The rest of the weekend will be full of cleaning the house, shopping for last minute items, and freezing a lasagna for a quick home made meal when we return home. (This was also the first meal we ate when we returned with Hannah)

6 days to go!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

We had our group conference call this evening to go over any questions we had and last minute "issues". All seemed to go well. Our plans this weekend are to clean the house, buy some food for our house sitter, and of course-PACK!!!!!!

7 days to go!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

One week to go. Next week at this time we will be flying off to get Emily. I think we have everything to go now!!! We decided on the Chinese officials' gifts from Claeys' candy and Notre Dame. We will attach a South Bend postcard and that will be that!!! No more paperwork to do, which seems to have been our life since we started this journey in 2006. Just wait and pray for health & safety to take us to our daughter.

8 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Boy is it going fast now. I think we are ready to start packing!!!

9 days to go!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-09T19:39:00.001-07:00

Hannah overheard the end part of a conversation that I had today about not getting chocolate from the chocolate factory for the Chinese officials' gifts and Hannah looked at me with a sad look and said "Baby sissy is not coming?" When I said we were leaving to get Emily in just 9 days she gave me a big smile. I asked her "you really do want her to come home, don't you?" and Hannah looked at me with big eyes and answered "Yes, mama. She is my sissy". I wanted to cried some big ol' crocodile tears right then!!!

10 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today seemed to be a lazy day at the Chlebowski household. We caught up on some laundry and general cleaning and sleep. This week is going to be busy. Ensuring all the required paperwork is in order, despite looking at it 500 times in the last couple weeks and getting some packing done. We did measure our luggage and are happy to see that we meet the requirements and do not need to buy new luggage. We talked to Hannah today and after saying we were going to miss each other alot, she asked if we could hide her in our luggage-when we said that was not going to work , she ask if China to send us baby sissy in a box. Even though it is heavensent to go get our dtr in China, it is going to be the hardest thisng we ever do to leave Hannah here for 2 weeks.

11 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Today we bought some gifts for the Chinese officials and helpers. We were supposed to find something for them that represents our area. We have several things in the South Bend area to choose from but we decided on some nice pens from the Notre Dame bookstore. We are planning on getting something else for the gift bag but right now we are not real sure what. We would really liek to put a small box of chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Factory, which is close to our home, but we are afraid the chocolate may melt before we get there. We are open to ideas. Hint Hint Hint......

12 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

Just 12 days left. We learned today that we have 13 families traveling in our group. We have been talking to several families and we are really looking forward to meeting them. We actually met one family a few years ago at Hannah's adoption reunion. They have been waiting a long time to be united with their daughter, who they have named "Hannah". We are very happy for them and glad to be traveling with them after all this time. Another family that we have been talking to is traveling at the same time, on the same flight, and staying at the same hotel in Guangzhou but is using a different adoption agency. We are happy to meet up with them as well. We hope to gain lifelong friendships like we did with Hannah's travel group.

13 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-05T16:46:00.000-08:00

Less than 2 weeks to go. Today we received our itinerary. We hope you follow us on our journey to bring our daughter, Emily, home.

March 18-Leave South Bend to Chicago to Beijing
March 19-Arrive in Beijing. Stay at Kuntai Royal Hotel for 3 nights.
March 20-21-Tours to the Great Wall, Summer Palace & Forbidden City
March 22-Fly from Beijing to Guangzhou. Stay at the White Swan Hotel
March 23-Civil Affairs Bureau of Guangdong Province to unite with Emily
March 24-Complete the adoption registration and notarization procedure
March 25-Apply for Emily's passport
March 26–29 Free time to play with Emily/Shop.
(Have visa picture taken and medical exam performed for Emily on Friday)
March 30-Free time to lay with Emily/Shop. Pick up passport for Emily
March 31-Visa application documents submitted for Emily
April 1-Adoption oath taken at the U.S. Consulate. Receive Emily’s visa
April 2-Leave Guangzhou & fly to Beijing to Chicago to South Bend

14 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

14 more days before we leave for China to pick up Emily. All the paperwork is done, we put in for our vacations, verified days with the house sitter, and purchased the tickets. We have not received the itinerary yet but should have it any day. We have been talking and getting to know our travel group. We have a conference call with our group and our adoption coordinator on March 12 for more specific information. All we can do now is wait.......... (and start packing!!!)

15 days to go!!!!!!

2009-03-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

Our flight tickets to and from China were verified today. We are just waiting on our "inside travel" itinerary and hotel verifications, which should be coming this week yet. In just 15 days we will be heading 1/2 way around the world to meet with the new addition to the Chlebowski family. Hannah actually seems to be getting more excited now as the date is getting closer. She said she will miss us snuggling with her when she goes to bed. We just hope she does not grow up too much in the 2 weeks we are gone. Oh-how we love and will miss our "lil' snugglebug".

TIME TO START PACKING!!!

2009-02-27T20:40:00.000-08:00

After a week of intense conversation with immigration to get our approval for Emily's adoption, we have finally received a consulate appoinment on March 31, 2009. We will be leaving March 18 and returning April 2. We will post the itinerary when we receive it next week.

Hannah gets 2nd place!!!

2009-02-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hannah received 2nd place in the her school science fair this week for "Webby Web Web-How does a spider spin its web". GOOD JOB HANNAH!!! On the way home she said "Next year, Mama, I want to do-How a car works" UHOOHHHHH!!!!!

I-800 Approval received today!!!

2009-02-26T17:44:00.000-08:00

Last night we found a ladybug in the house.
(Ladybugs are a chinese symbol for good-luck.)

I went to work today and told a friend that I had a dream last night that we received the I-800 today. At approximately 12:00 (noon) our Immigration officer requested information today from us. She was missing pg 8 of a 10 page form. So we completed this and waited ALL day to hear that the I-800 was approved. We received a fax of the approval at 6:45pm tonight. We scanned it and emailed it to our adoption coordinator by 7:00pm. We received an email stating it was on its way to Beijing!!! We are now awaiting for an appointment with the Chinese Consulate to complete the adoption in China. Once we know when the date is, we will know when we travel. We are hoping to make it on the next "adoption plane" out for Beijing on March 18!!! If we do not get to go with the March 18 group, then we can not travel until Aprl. Keep your fingers crossed (and say a prayer) that we will are able to make the March flight to bring our lil' Emily home soon.

Still waiting.....

2009-02-25T17:24:00.001-08:00

Well, we are still awaiting our immigration paperwork before we can set an appointment with the Chinese Consulate in China. We were told that if we receive the paperwork and get it to our adoption agency this week-we may be able to travel on March 18, 2009. If we do not receive it-then we travel in April. In April there is a HUGE trade fair going on close to where we are going and the rates for flights and hotels are extremely higher in price and more difficult to get. Here's hoping we get a call tomorrow that the paperwork is ready. Our visas did arrive so we are readyto fly!!!

I-800a approval received today!!!

2009-02-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

We received the I-800a approval from immigration. I told Hannah we received Emily's envelope today and she said "Is she in there?" If only she were!!! But-we are waiting for 1 more immigration form (I-800), which should be coming any day now. Once we receive this form, we can make our adoption appointment with the Chinese Consulate in China and plan our travel. Until then-woooohooooo!!!!! One step closer.

Paperwork update

2009-02-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

There has been no word from immigration this week. We are hoping to hear something next week so we can get a final date of travel. Our visas went out today to be completed next week and we turned paperwork in for Emily to apply for her visa to come home to the United States. We are getting closer to getting our Lil' Emily!!!!

Updated information

2009-02-12T20:26:00.001-08:00

We made contact with our immigration officer!!! She is working her magic and pushing our paperwork through as "priority". She said we should be able to travel the end of February, however, after talking it over, we decided not to travel until the 1st or 2nd week in March as we wanted to ensure the paperwork was received and completed correctly. At this point-we do not want to make a mistake. We also asked for an update on Emily and got a couple new pictures. Did you see her? She is absolutely beautiful. She looks healthy!!! We also received new measurements on her:

Height-78cm, Weight-10kg, Head Size-45cm, Chest Size-48cm, Feet Length-14cm, Teeth-12

Everyone is telling me she is going to wear a 3T, but I am thinking more like a 2T. I will probably take a few of each size to be safe. We are in luck because we saved Hannah's clothes that she grew out of.

We continue the wait

2009-02-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

Well......
We did not receive a call or a letter from immigration today. So no news today. I did manage to leave more messages for our immigration Case Worker today though. Everything is on hold until we get our immigration approval. So, the wait continues. Maury from FTIA did send us over some instructions for those forms we need to complete next though. I am still lost but not quite as much now.

Rusti

Paperwork Blues

2009-02-08T13:09:00.000-08:00

I am hoping to find something out about our I-800A approval from immigration tomorrow but today I am attempting to complete the paperwork in order to file our I-800. WOW-a college degree and I can not figure any of these forms out. How do they come up with the wording on these anyways?!?!?! Frustrated today is a good word for me. Guess I will call our adoption caseworker, Maury, tomorrow. UGH!!!

TRAVEL APPROVAL RECEIVED TODAY!!!!!!

2009-02-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

China approves us to travel and adopt Emily!!!! We are still waiting for the official form from immigration to bring her back into the United States though before we can go. Our immigration caseworker was out of the office today so we could not inquire about where we are in the process. Here's what our adoption agency caseworker told us today. If immigration has approved our paperwork and it is sitting on a desk to be sent out then we can make our travel plans to travel around 2/20/09 (yes-2 weeks!!!!). However, if the approval is still getting approved and we won't receive sometime next week, then we are looking at travel around the sencond week in March-which is when we actually were expecting to travel. I guess we will know on Monday. Say a prayer for approval!!!

Update on Emily 1/28/09

2009-01-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year was Monday, January 26. The Chinese typically will use this holiday to go to their homes to visit their familes. The government offices have shut down until February 2. Because of this, there will be a hold on all approvals at this time. My estimate is that it will take approximately 1 week for any travel approvals to be received in the United States. There seem to be a few people in front of us waiting for their approvals, however, China typically will send a packet of several travel approvals at a time. At this time I am thinking we will receive out travel approval in 2 weeks. And our fingerprinting paperwork should be coming in around that time also. When both approvals are in, we can make our appointment with the chinese consulate in Guangzou, China and start to plan our journey for Emily. Most of you who know me know that I really believe in karma and that dates and events are truly significant. I am having a strong feeling that we will be in China for Kevin's (Snuffy's) birthday on March 29. Perhaps that will be the "gotcha date" or our adoption date in China. Only time will tell. The latest update on Emily states she is a "firecracker"!!! Runs and walks everywhere, loves the outside, talks ALL the time (catonese), is still in diapers-uses a bottle-and is still sleeping in a crib, even though she crawls out and loves to sleep on the floor. (Uh-Oh) But she does sound like a healthy 2 year old!!!

Our daughter Emily

2009-01-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

This is Zhao Si Yue.

Soon to be called Emily Mei Chlebowski. She is 2 years old. She was born 11/13/2006 in ZhaoQing City, China. She is currently residing at the social welfare institute in ZhaoQing City, China. The name Emily is named after her grandpa, Emil, and the name Mei is chinese for sister-as she and Hannah will forever be bonded as sisters. We reveiwed her medical exam with our physician and requested pre-approval to consider her as our daughter on 9/24/08. We received the pre-approval from Beijing, China on 10/24/08. After the chinese officials reviewed our paperwork (Dossier), we received our letter of agreement for adoption on 1/5/09. We were fingerprinted at the United States Citizen and Immigration Office on 1/9/09. From these fingerprints, we are awaiting our final approval to adopt this little girl. We are awaiting the travel approval from China but without the form from the fingerprints stating we are approved to adopt Emily, we are unable to make an appointment with the chinese consulate to complete adoption in China. Our agency, Families Thru International Adoptions, is projecting us to travel around the beginning to middle of March. According to the chinese guidelines, Emily is considered special needs. She was born prematurely and had low birth weight (approximately 5 lbs) and is reported to have slow physical growth, which puts her at a smaller statute than the "average" 2 year old from China. Her developmental growth is reported to be on target according to the chinese medical exam and history. We asked for an update when we received the letter of approval. The orphanage told us that she was in very good condition. She is very smart and she can speak a lot (cantonese). She can walk and run on her own. She is very outgoing. She is always happy. They also state that when we receive our travel approval, we will receive an update on sizes and measurements. As far as the United States and the China governments are concerned-----SHE IS ALL OURS!!! Please help us to welcome this little girl into our family as we anxiously await our approval to adopt in China and our travel approval.

Our daughter Hannah

2009-01-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

This is Hannah

She is 6yrs old. She was born in Fuling, China. She became part of our forever family when she was 8 months old. Her middle name is Jayne, which is named after her "Big Busia" (polish for grandma). She is anxiously awaiting her sister, Emily, who was born and residing in Zhaoqing City, China. Hannah is in first grade at Olive Elementary, which is in New Carlisle. When asked what she wanted to do in her adult life, she originally wanted to be a mermaid-until she realized the lake was too dirty to live in and she could not talk all of her family and friends into moving to the ocean. She then wanted to be a cheerleader-until she asked how much money they make. Now, after careful consideration, she has hopes and dreams to become a veterinarian. She does love animals and bugs so this may be an actual option for her. Only time will tell. She loves staying at home and being what she calls a "homebody". She enjoys playing the Nintendo DS and the WII. She is very competitive and hates to lose, but after a few slamming of her bedroom door episodes and asking why we did not "let" her win, she is learning that losing is also part of the game. She also enjoys watching television. Cartoons, Drake & Josh, and Wizards of Waverly Place are a few of her favorites. She also enjoys a good Disney movie. She often will ask to help out in the kitchen as she likes helping to cook and bake pretty much anything. She is involved in gymnastics and has hopes to join the gymnastics team at Gymnastics Michiana soon. She takes swimming/diving lessons in the summer and seems to enjoy this as well. In the winter, Hannah is crazy about snow and will even offer to shovel the driveway just to "play" in the cold white stuff. She has 6 very special friends that she calls her "China Sisters (Aubrianna, Lilly, Mary Catherine, Violet, Cassidy, and Meridith), who returned to the United States with their forever families when Hannah did. They are all from Fuling, China and were playmates while there. They see each other throughout the year and seem to have an unbreakable bond to this day.