One Month Home

It is hard to believe a month has already gone by since we came home from China. It has been a busy month with lots of new things for our boys to experience. They are easy to please boys who love to go places. In the last two weeks, they have gone to their cousin's birthday party, an educational wildlife program, a local state park beach and playground, the library, church, and our good friends' wedding. Levi had his visit to the pediatric endocrinologist as well and got lots of blood tests. He liked the doctor who was very kind and funny but he was not happy at all about the blood tests. We are waiting on results and our MRI.

This past week things really started to feel more normal. We are getting into some good routines, the boys are learning English, and Jacob is learning to do what we ask most of the time. The house is now all set up like we want it to be accessibility wise and we got a handicap placard for our car so we can use handicap parking spaces which is a huge help. Levi received his certificate of citizenship today and I was thinking how blessed the boys are to be Americans where people with special needs have rights and access to so much compared to people in other countries.

Levi now knows about 150 to 200 English words and communication with him gets easier every day. Jacob understands so much more English too and he is starting to speak many English words regularly. Aaron, Isaiah, Susu, and I now know a lot more Mandarin as well which is very cool. Having the boys has produced an unexpected positive side effect for me. I am getting some decent looking bicep muscles. I hate exercise that is just for the sake of exercise. Yes, I know it is good for a person's health but it is just so boring to me. God knew I needed two very good reasons to do some weight bearing exercise and it is fun to have some arm muscles for once in my life. My new exercise regime is called a365xx2. The very popular p90x exercise program stands for power, 90 days, extreme. My exercise program stands for adoption, 365 days/year, extreme, times two. I find my exercise program to be very emotionally rewarding especially when I get hugs and kisses during and after a work out.

This weekend we are having a family birthday party for Levi. He doesn't turn 14 until the 10th but this Saturday was the day that worked best for all the cousins to come. He has never had a birthday party before and he is excited! I really can't wait to see him enjoy his party. There is really nothing quite like experiencing firsts with an enthusiastic 13-14 year old. An example of this happened at the state park playground today. Levi has tried out swings a couple of times since coming home and he has been afraid of them. It was pretty obvious he had little to no experience with a swing prior to being adopted. Well today he decided to try swinging again and this time he was more adventurous and let me push him a bit higher. He realized that swinging can be very fun and he was happily yelling as he swung back and forth like he was on some really exciting amusement park ride. He kept talking about how much he liked the swings as we were heading back to our car. Who needs Disney when a regular play ground is thrilling!

I will close this post with pictures from some of our latest outings.

Siblings Bonding

Warning to all friends and family who may be considering coming to visit us anytime in the near future. If you really like your peace and quiet, don't expect to find any here unless it is night time and all children are asleep.

Four Weeks as a Family of Six

On Tuesday, it was exactly four weeks since we adopted our boys. At the very beginning of the week I was feeling fabulous about being the mother of four children. I kind of didn't want to write a post because I thought it would come across as unrealistically positive. Well it is now Thursday and after a busy week of doctor's appointments, our yearly homeschool portfolio review, PMS, and a cold, I am not feeling so unrealistically rosy about being the mother of four. That is life isn't it, very up and down.

We actually only had one doctor's appointment so far this week and the second one is tomorrow. On Wednesday, Levi had his first appointment with the pediatric neurologist. We believe he has Septo Optic Dysplasia based on a CT scan that was done in China. This is quite a complicated syndrome and you can read more about it here for anyone who is interested. The symptoms vary from patient to patient and there are many things that can be done to deal with issues related to the disorder. Levi will be going to a lot of doctors over the next few months so we can figure out the best ways to help him. The neurologist we saw on Wednesday was very nice and was knowledgeable about SOD. He has a number of patients with the syndrome. He thinks there may possibly be something else going on as well and said Levi has symptoms of spastic diplegia which is a form of cerebral palsy. Levi will be having an MRI done soon and that should give us a few more specific answers.

Tomorrow, we have our appointment with a pediatric endocrinologist. SOD causes issues with the pituitary gland and can affect growth and hormone production. This was the appointment I wanted to get in as soon as possible because Levi may have a limited window for growth and untreated hormone issues can be the most serious. He will be getting lots of tests at the endocrinologist. Poor boy!

In addition to these appointments, we will be visiting our pediatrician to get all those post adoption tests and getting titers to see which vaccinations he needs and doesn't need. After that we will be going to the orthopedist, ophthalmologist, dentist (Levi has a number of cavities), and physical therapist. Yes, this is a lot of appointments and we haven't even started on Jacob yet. Fortunately Jacob's issues are pretty much strictly feet/leg issues and we can wait a while to start on that besides the visits to our pediatrician. I would never rush a four year old just home from China off to have major surgery anyway. So far the hardest thing to deal with is normal active strong willed four year old boy behavior. Is there a specialist for that (ha ha ha)!

We could not be doing all this without my wonderful parents. Grandma and Grandpa came over on Wednesday to watch my other three while I took Levi to the doctor. It was almost like a mini vacation only dealing with one easy going child for four hours. Doctors appointment with Levi might just save my sanity, LOL. My Dad spent the four hours we were gone installing and fixing things and then he put in tomato plants for me and weeded my carrots. My Mom was wrangling a lively four year old who reminds her a lot of another boy in our house who used to be quite the little wild man. Isaiah does not believe for a second that he ever acted like that but we keep assuring him that he did! Thank goodness Isaiah has grown into an incredibly helpful nine year old so there is lots of hope for Jacob. I just yelled out our bedroom window for Isaiah to go and water those tomatoes so they don't die. I would not want to be a plant in our garden this year since gardening has fallen way down on the priority list!!!!

Time to get the kiddos into bed. My very favorite time of the day!


I will continue to add some older pictures of the boys until I get my act together and get the camera out again for some new pictures.

Kirill, Jonah, and Patrick Updates

I just had to share some wonderful updates on these three boys who I have written about on my blog. Kirill's family was finally allowed to adopt him and he is home. Here is a picture of him home with his brother. I wrote about Kirill here and you can read more at Kirill's family's blog, Our Eyes Opened, if you are interested in reading about the miracles that brought him home after a judge originally said he would be better off living the rest of his days in an institution versus being adopted by the family who had come to adopt him and already loved him.


Sweet Patrick who is from Kaifeng, just like my boys, has a family who has committed to adopting him. Almost all the children from the Love Without Boundaries foster care program in Kaifeng have been adopted or have families who will be traveling soon to adopt them. I was so thrilled to hear the news that Patrick will soon have a family!


Last but not least, Jonah has a family who wants to adopt him and is in his country right now working to do that while they adopt another child from the same orphanage. The child they were originally adopting is best friends with Jonah and precious Jonah has captured the family's heart too. They are trying to move mountains of paperwork to bring both children home together. Please pray that all the paperwork and approvals will be taken care of and Jonah can come home. He was about to be transferred to the adult mental institution so it is very important that this family be able to adopt him so he never has to spend a day in such a place. Julia, who adopted her son from the very same adult mental institution that Jonah is about to be sent to, wrote about it on her blog.


It has made me so very happy to know that all three of these boys have families who want them. I know God greatly loves all the children in the world who are waiting and waiting for a family to call to their own and He wants to see all of them in loving families. He has moved the hearts of many people who have realized that they too can make a difference in the life of a child whether that be by praying for waiting children, donating money toward adoption costs, sponsoring a waiting child, or opening their families to bring one or more of these children home. Everyone can do something and I believe in my heart that the bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the blessing.

I am looking forward to celebrating four weeks of knowing my boys tomorrow and writing about how they have been blessing us amid the challenges.

Going Back in Time

This last week I received a bunch of reports and pictures of our boys from Love Without Boundaries. Once a family is home with their adopted child, Love Without Boundaries is allowed to send the family any pictures and reports they have. I am so thankful to have the pictures and information. This helps fill in a small bit of the time we have missed with our boys before they came to us and means a whole lot.

We found out that Jacob and Levi have been foster brothers since around July or August of last year which was right after we committed to adopting Jacob and God started slowly working on our hearts about Levi. In one report, we read that Jacob received some new cars and was happy to share them with Levi but would not share them with the neighbor children. He was asked why he would share with Levi but not the other kids and he replied that Levi was family and the other kids were not. I am so glad the boys were able to become forever brothers and family. The boys truly act like brothers and first thing in the morning Jacob always wants to go in to see Levi. Here are some of my favorite pictures that we received of our boys taken a few years ago.

Boys at Home in Pictures

We have been spending a lot of time at home waiting for Levi's new walker wheels to arrive. They came yesterday so we headed to the school playground in the afternoon. Tomorrow we will make a trip to the library. Here are some pictures of the boys at home. I will get some pictures of Susu next time.

Jacob loves his Big Wheel!

Levi's new wheels make getting around much easier.

Why are my boys staring at the deck boards?

Baby robins hatching right under the deck are cool to see!

Archery in the back yard.

Isaiah's original lego design inspired by our trip.

Isaiah builds the coolest stuff!

Adjusting

We have had three more days of adjusting to the new normal with ups and downs throughout the three days. The kids seem to be handling things well. Mom and Dad just need to get used to caring for four children and get our house set up to make that easier. On Saturday morning. I went shopping on-line for a gate to go upstairs. Jacob is good about staying off the stairs but I am afraid he might trip and fall down the stairs when he is going from one upstairs room to another since he moves fast and is prone to tripping. We keep very close watch on him right now and gate him into whatever bedroom he is playing in with a portable doorway gate. It will be nice to have one gate that makes the whole upstairs safe.

The upstairs bathroom is also not handicap accessible for Levi so it is unsafe for him to use alone at night. That means getting up with him because we don't want him falling and conking his head on the floor like he did once at a hotel in China. I put in another on-line order for railings to make the upstairs bathroom safe for him. My Dad is going to install those when they come in. I also ordered handles to make the bathtub safer and new wheels for Levi's walker. The ball bearings fell out of one front wheel after we got home and now the wheel on his walker just drags along. All I can say is thank God for on-line ordering. I can't imagine having to find companies or stores prior to the internet where I could easily and quickly order all this stuff and have it shipped right to my door.

Levi has been working hard on his English with me. He now knows between 50-60 different words and sprinkles a lot of English in with his Chinese. On Saturday, my friend Ru from Chinese School came over to visit. Her daughter is in Susu's class and she speaks fluent Mandarin. We were able to tell Levi some things and ask him some questions that we thought of this last week. I keep a list of things we want to talk to him about or ask him about when we have someone here who speaks Mandarin. Aaron and I can cover all the basic stuff with him but obviously we can't communicate more complicated ideas. We can always call Ru if something important comes up. We are so thankful to have her helping us and I know Levi really appreciated having her come over to talk to him.

One thing I have been concerned about is that Levi thinks that he might get sent back if he makes too many mistakes. We wanted to make sure he knows that we are his family forever and he doesn't have to be perfect. I know it will take time for him to really get this. He told our friend Ru that he did not want to be a burden on us. He is such a sweet soul and I can't wait to be able to communicate to him how very special he is once he knows English better. I did have Ru tell him that we think he is a wonderful son and that we love him very much.

Jacob continues to be very mischievous and he has a mischievous smile to go with his actions. He keeps us on our toes but is also learning to listen to his Mom and Dad! I am so glad that he spent his first four years being cared for by a loving foster grandma. It is so much easier to adopt a child who is a bit naughty because he was slightly spoiled versus a child who spent the first two years of her life in an orphanage and is carrying much baggage and fear with her. It is obvious that Jacob expects to be well cared for and he is bonding quickly to both Aaron and I. He likes to rock with me in my grandma's rocking chair before his naps. I sing to him and he closes his eyes and grins especially when I sing the Mama loves Jacob song. I sing it in Mandarin and I made it up for Susu after we adopted her. I can insert any child's name and that song is one of Susu's favorites too.

I realized I need to get my camera back out so I have some new pictures to post. It is harder to stay on top of everything right now. I really want to keep up with my blog because it is my written journal of our boys adoption. Isaiah and Susu both have handwritten journals from their adoptions but I don't have time for that this time around so this blog will have to do. I am glad we can keep our family and friends up to date on the latest as well since phone time is also more limited.

We are so incredibly thankful for all the support we have received. I have read about many adoptive families getting very negative comments from friends and family when they decide to adopt children, especially children with special needs. Families can be understandably concerned about the stress and risks involved and they don't always convey those concerns in positive or loving ways. We have been so blessed to have such overwhelming support and we greatly appreciate it.

Mom's First Day Alone With Four Kids

Aaron went back to work today and left me to fend for myself. I obviously survived since I am writing this post. Four kids is more challenging than two kids but not as hard as I thought, at least not today. It helps that I don't have any infants and my 13 year old very much wants to please his mother.

The boys are adjusting amazingly well this first week home. Their transition seems much easier than Susu's transition home. It certainly helps that I am feeling well and that I wasn't in the hospital getting rehydrated on day 3 of being home like last time we adopted. I also think that it helps tremendously that the boys have each other while Susu had no one familiar.

Both Jacob and Levi have been learning the new routines quickly. I am big into routine and they seem to be embracing ours. Today we did some relaxed school time reading books, playing an alphabet game, working on some English, and listening to classical Chinese music. We also did watercolor painting which both boys loved. I guess I have three artist sons now which is great because I love art.

If you read my post about the Perfect Noodle Storm you will especially understand how thrilled I am to share that both boys are quickly learning good table manners. Here is a cute story. In China, it is not impolite to burp at the table and is actually a sign that you really enjoyed a meal. We have taught Levi to cover his mouth when he burps and to say excuse me. Isaiah told me this morning that Levi got the hiccups very early before the sun was even up. He kept hiccuping and after every hiccup he said excuse me. He got the hiccups again later in the day and I let Levi know that he did not need to say excuse me after every hiccup.

Just to let you know, I am not supermom and all is not perfect in the Smith household. I made a fancy dinner of scrambled eggs, tater tots, and applesauce. The boys both voluntarily told me how delicious the meal was which I thought was very funny. Scrambled eggs and tater tots are my easy go to gluten free meal that I make when I am tired so I am glad the boys think it is so wonderful. Jacob had a ten minute screaming temper tantrum right after his nap time. He gets both the pre and post nap crabbies as we like to call them in our house. He was demanding that I do something and I told him he needed to say please Mommy and he refused and had the melt down. I read a book while he worked out his lungs until he finally realized that the screaming was getting him no where. Then he very nicely said please Mommy and apologized for the screaming at my request. The kids spent a pleasant two hours in front of PBS and we are slowly weaning them (and Mom too) off the excessive children's television we let them watch in China. There were no limits on T.V. time in China which thrilled all the kids.

As a last random thing that I want to record for our family, Isaiah has a new name. Jacob just can not pronounce Isaiah correctly and calls him Izow which is a quite unique nickname I think.