Tru's New Leg (#10)!

New Leg Day! #10 for Tru. A growing boy needs bigger, stronger, more advanced legs. Today, Tru received his first adult leg.

Bonus: With a new leg and new, bigger foot, a boy also needs new shoes.

There is the line-up. Baby Red Leg all the way up to New Leg.

Tru marveled over how small his first foot was. Love Baby Red Leg!

There he is. Very proud of his "adult" leg and his new hydraulic knee. Our Baby!
Go - Tru - Go!

Just for fun, here is a link to our post about Tru's first leg which includes a video of his first steps: Tru's Leg #1

Thank you to Ms. Angie and everyone at Dankmeyer!

Lin-Ley is 14!

 
 

Look at our Spicy China Baby! Our baby turned 14 today!!

For her birthday she got a trip to Louisiana (total coincidence) and in the middle of the Atlanta airport she received her "big" gift - a new (to her) iPhone.

Although she was expecting this gift, she was still very excited and pounced on it to make it her own.

First stop in Pride was to see Mama Shirley and Papa Bill. They were waiting with a cake.

Later, she tried Papa Cowboy's hat. To wrap up a long day, she and the boys spent some time in the pool, more time with her phone, Blue Bell ice cream (thanks to our favorite cousins and most gracious hosts - The Flottes) and much to my dismay, she and I became friends on social media today. *sigh* Don't forget the birthday whooping from Papa Bill. We love you Toots! Happy Birthday!!!

Crosse - Happy 1st and 15th

April brought cause for Crosse to celebrate and remember. He arrived in the U.S. last April and soon celebrated his 14th birthday. Since then, he has had many firsts. Just to list a few - he has:

wrestled alligators,

been up close and personal while feeding the cows,

rode his first 4-wheeler,

met the China Girls,

made many new friends while participating in school sports to include football, basketball and track,

learned to be a team player,

and survived (and quite enjoyed) his first blizzard. Just to name a few first.

For his birthday, Crosse had a friend over for the day. A serious game of badminton ensued. After burgers, hotdogs and birthday cake, they were off to see the Superman / Batman face-off.

Birthday weekend continued today as Crosse was treated to a shopping spree at the Asian market and a friend gave him some gifts from NASA. Thanks Jin!

Happy 1st and 15th Crosse!

Happy Birthday Mom - ASL Version

Me today: 

On this birthday, I was treated to a quiet day at home.  It was election day here in Maryland and schools were closed.  Well, county schools were closed.  Crosse still had school.  While Lin-Ley and Tru treated me to quiet time for my birthday nap and Dallas gave me a beautiful watch, Crosse sent me the following message as he and his friends were driving back from track practice this evening.  (Crosse is seated in the center.)  The video is a little dark (had to turn off the lights to see it), but the sentiment and their obvious planning and practice shine through.

Their message:
"Happy Birthday Mom, Happy Birthday Mom, Good Night."

13 Years of Loving Lin-Ley

13 years ago we held this chubby-cheeked baby girl for the first time. I still can't stop kissing those cheeks!

Look at this young group of new parents. What a crew! We were tired. We were hungry. We were homesick. However, we were happy! We had our baby girls and we made a lasting bond that still ties us today. Love you all!

 
Happy Gotcha Day to our unicorn, candy, puppy, candy, animal, candy, book loving Spicy China Girl. We love you soooooo much!! (More than candy!) xox

 

Tru is 10 !

 







Happy Birthday Tru-Tru!!  10 years old already.  We love you so much!!

First Day of School - TLC

First Day of School Photo.

Met, by the subjects, with much dismay.

**Disclaimer - All children choice their own wardrobe....

**Side Note - not sure why the boys are standing at attention.

Top Dog at middle school, Lin-Ley began 8th grade. The request for these photos was met with a middle school "really, Mom!"

Tru was off to 4th grade. He was nervous, excited.

Crosse, wearing his new hearing aides, was ready for 7th grade. Immediately after school, he traveled to another campus to practice with the football team. He is on the team! 

Tru's New Leg (#9) !

New Leg Day!

After only 7 months, Tru had grown so much taller that it was time for a new leg. As tradition requires (around here), it was time to line up the legs from Baby Red Leg to New Leg and all in between.

A knee adjustment here,

A height adjustment there.

Yes, Tru's got this! Watch out Color Vibe 5K - Tru is on his way!

8 Years Of Tru Love

It was 8 years ago today that we held this little guy for the first time. Little guy, large noggin, sad face.

It took two days to see a genuine smile from Tru. It was well worth the wait.

8 Years Later.... Tru has been obsessed with airports, airplanes and airlines for close to two years. He has his own personal copy of a book discussing all aspects of commercial airlines. Today, as a surprise, we took Tru to the airport to explore at his heart's content. He loved it! At the observation deck he watched and narrated. "OK, they are loading the food service there. Over there you can see they are unloading the luggage. Oh, wait, that plane just landed. American Eagle? Huh, I've never seen one of those planes before...."

"Oh, I found Qantas. Alaskan Airlines is not very popular here. Remember that time you got Dad a ticket on Southwest for $75?"

Tru wanted to see how many international airlines he recognized. "Yep, there's British Airways. Huh, I don't know about that one. Oh, Cancun. I'm sure it is nice there."

Lin-Ley went along for the adventure.

We even rode the bus. Tru told the driver we needed to go to the Delta counter.

This sums up the day. Tru is happy! Happy Gotcha Day to our Tru-Tru!! XOXO

Lin-Ley is 13!

Our Spicy Girl has become a Spicy Teen! Happy Birthday Lin-Ley!! For her birthday, she made the tough decision to get her ears pierced. After almost backing out at the last minute - she got her "diamonds".

Afterward, the anxiety remained...

The next day.

And since we were in Louisiana, she decided to wrestle a gator. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOTS!

Dear Library,

Dear Library,
Thank you for making one of my wishes come true.  Let it be know, at this moment in time, all three of our kids are in their rooms quietly reading.  (Apparently Tru is also taking notes.)

Ahhhh.......

Yours Sincerely, Mom

With A Grateful Heart

Since returning from China, with Crosse, our family has been so blessed! 

To back-track, throughout the entire adoption process our friends and family were incredibly supportive.  There were countless prayers and words of kindness and encouragement offered almost daily.

Once Tru was home with us, and his emergent medical needs were met, we knew our family was complete.  Family of four. 
That all changed in January of last year.  Many have inquired as to why, or how, we came to chose this road - to adopt a teenage boy.  That is easy to answer. 
On that cold, January, Friday night, we happened upon a website which explained the "aging out" process.  We learned that in Chinese orphanages, if the children reach the age of 14, they would no longer be eligible for adoption.  They would not have a forever family.  At 14 their future became a potential unknown.  14!

That weighed on us heavily.  We talked about it.  Prayed about it.  Talked to the kids about it.  As a family, we decided that we wanted to adopt one of the oldest children.  Along came Crosse's photo and a video of him signing.  We had another discussion and knew that we could learn ASL (American Sign Language).  A week later - our application was approved and the paperwork (goose chase!) began.

We have had many ask how we met or came to know Crosse.  Again, that is a simple answer.  We met him the day of his adoption. Only about 45 days ago!  Therefore, we can all understand his apprehension when he met his "new family" and was expected to leave with them/us.

Here we are, back in America for the past five weeks.  Three of those weeks, Crosse has been in school.  He is attending a school for the deaf and he is already thriving.  Smart boy!  We had no doubt we would catch-on to ASL quickly as he already knew Chinese Sign Language.
Yes - Chinese and American sign language are different!

Crosse (and our entire family) has been shown one kindness after another - cash gifts, gift cards, clothing, hand made cards, a huge birthday cake, a bilingual Bible, toys, balloons, fruit, chestnuts (which he loved - the rest of us... not so much :).  And the food!  It just keeps coming.  Home made Chinese treats - noodles, dumplings, and a variety of other foods including a special soup purchased from a restaurant with a chef from Crosse's home province in China.

Above all, we continue to receive daily prayers by so many.  So many people care about Crosse and his well being.  It is truly touching.  There simply are not words enough to express our gratitude.  The generosity and kindness to our family during this time of transition has left us awed and inspired.  Thank you!  Thank you all so much!

We are truly....