Fireflies and Crickets

Created to Be

2011-08-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

I know deep in my heart I was created to do something special. But what, I sometimes wonder? Is it to be a great teacher to hundreds of children? Is it to be the best servant leader in small group Bible study? God made me just who I am for a reason. God wants me to serve Him in some capacity. Is it to be a stay-at-home mom to my three children and wife extraordinaire to my sweet husband? I'm thinking...maybe, for now. Where I'm at is a good place for I'm so happy cooking, cleaning, and teaching my kids as one learns to read and the other two prepare for life in college. I'm able to be there, no REALLY be there for my family. They can call on me anytime day or night to talk through a monumental life question or discuss what the Bible says on any given subject. It's good that they trust me enough to just talk. I feel privileged that our relationship is such that they can do that with me. My kids are a blessing to me.

I worked full-time and part time for many years, but I was always pulled in so many directions. Now I'm only pulled in about 3 directions...one direction per child. It something I can handle. It's like going from having 32 kids in a classroom to only 20, but now I only have 3. I can HEAR them when they talk, and listen to what they're really saying. I can look into their eyes and read their body language. Most importantly I can be present when we are together instead of worrying about my lesson plans for the next day.

If I had my life to live all over again, I'd do it exactly the same. I've saved the best for last. I'm home with my family where I belong. I was created to be a wife and mother. My legacy belongs with them. For I know whatever I sow in their hearts today, they will sow in their children's hearts and their grandchildren's hearts after that. What I'm doing now may not seem all that important but I know over all it is affecting the future. My children will grow up knowing I loved them the best that I could. I gave them my all, not just a part of me.

I was created to be exactly who I am. I'm so glad I have friends that are closer than sisters, a sister who is a friend, a husband who loves me unconditionally, and children who call me "Mommie", "Mom", and "Mama". Life is good. Enjoy the time you have here on earth because it's short. Love your children with all your might. They are the reason we are created to be...

Ramblings about Distractions...

2011-04-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

What? I'm blogging? Yep, I found some time to journal today. Josh's Eagle Court of Honor for Boy Scouts is over finally. That extravaganza only took 2 months of dedication to plan and prepare for. It was a lot of fun, but boy am I glad it's over. I'm done with training for the LA Marathon. Boy, that took a lot of time. All I did each day for 4 months was walk, walk, jog a little, and walk some more!!! It was worth it, for all the little babies in China who got the medical care they needed, I walked to raise money for them. But now...now it's time for some down time. You know what I mean? I might have some time for myself....I hope. Time to do something I want to do like blogging, or catching up on my scrapbooking, or working out at the gym. I envy those blogger friends that blog on a regular basis.

I want to be like you one day. There is just so much to do and not enough time to do it. I don't know, maybe that's just an excuse...oh, it is. It seems that whenever I get on the computer, something...or someone...needs me. Have you ever tried to type with a 25 pound 35" adorable sweetheart on your lap? It can be done. Right now I'm holding her on my lap, smelling her fresh babyskin fragrance and I have to be honest with you it's distracting. I can only see the screen when she lifts her head. Typing without looking is challenging, you know. And then she says what she says every morning upon waking and finding me on the computer..."I'm hungry!" Well how can I ignore that? She wants to eat. She needs to eat. Then Josh comes in and says he's leaving for school and could I send in the money to pay for his college. Frank arrives shortly after with his list of things for me to do today. Sheesh! How can I have time to journal on the computer? What's the secret to having sustained journaling time on the computer? And pictures. What about those? Who's got time to take them let alone download them on the computer. I want to know your secrets. You know who you are...how do you do it?

So for now, enjoy my post. Who knows when the next one will be. My children are calling...gotta go feed them.

The Life of a Two Year Old Princess

2011-02-16T16:22:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

My Heart is Deeply Touched

2010-10-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

My adoption agency friends, the one's who were strategically placed in our life by God to help show us about cleft affected babies, just adopted their little Bella today. Her story is an amazing one that only God could orchestrate. If you want to hear their wonderful Godstory, email me (www.nuts4mykidz@yahoo.com) and I'll send you the link.

Anyway, after reading their travel journal today my heart so deeply ached at the reminder of how each orphan's life is so drastically changed at adoption. Oh yes, it is good for them to be able to have a forever family and a mom and a dad they can call their own. A life in America is a very rich life where these children will never want for anything. But each little baby/child is removed from the people and places where they have come to know as home. Can you imagine being permanently torn away from your home today...unexpectantly? Then given over to strangers who look, smell, talk, eat, and act differently than anyone or anything that you've ever known? It is heartbreaking to see these little angelic faces so sad from their very core as their old life is stripped away! Not to mention their foster families and/or nannies who have grown to love them as their very own for the first years of their lives...the pain as a parent is just too much to fathom. But it happens everyday, all over the world, thousands of orphans are dealing with this change.

As I write this journal with tears in my eyes and a broken heart, I look over at my sweet, little angel, Sophie, as she plays with her Duplo blocks building a swimming pool with a slide. She's talking to herself, she's content to play with her toys, sometimes changing to her Cinderella playset, or to put on the headphones to listen to Steven Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella" song. She has more than she needs in all sense of the word.

She has had 3 surgeries to repair her cleft lip and palate, she's had countless speech therapy sessions to help her speak clearly, she has a closet full of clothes and cute, little pink shoes, she's been to Disneyland at least 20 times in the last year to visit the princesses, she goes weekly to a mommy and me ballet class, she has a playgroup made up of little Chinese friends who share her story of adoption, she has such a wonderful big brother and sister who adore her a million times over, and she has a mommie and daddy who love her with all their hearts. Yes, it was a difficult journey getting to this place of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness and comfort but God has her right where she belongs now.

God has had this plan all along, to give her hope and a future. His plan was set in place before the beginning of time. His plan is a masterful plan, well thought out, all to bring Him glory. You see, He loves us so much more than we can ever think or imagine. God is good, all the time. I'm reminded of the song called "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" that I was introduced to when we decided to adopt. It tells of how God loved us so much that her gave his only son to die on the cross for us, but not only for you and me, but for all those millions of orphans all over the world. He wants to bring them to sit on his lap, to be sheltered under His mighty wings. And maybe the best way to do that is to bring them into our homes where we can lavish them God's love, teach them all about Him, and prepare them for a life of giving Him glory.

Adoption is a miracle. It is a miracle that shows God's love and mercy in a daily, tangible way. I know for our family, and countless others, our lives have been forever blessed by taking that step of faith and adopting. I hope that if you are at all considering adoption that you take that next step forward in faith. You won't regret it. Just be ready for an incredible gift that will make your heart sing a new song and change your life forever!

My Sister

2010-09-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Sophie (Mei mei),

I Love you my little moon cake,

And I love your crooked smile.

Since you came from across the seas,

You made life better than it's been in a while.

I love your silly giggly laugh,

And I love watching you grow.

Everyword you say makes my heart smile,

It's hard not to let is show.

I love when you dance around the room

And I love the way you pat my back when we are hugging tight,

Your beautiful brown almond shaped eyes

always let me know when everything's all right.

I love how you use chopsticks to eat your rice.

And I love when your soft little hands are in mine.

When you twirl around in your princess dress,

I realize that this love is part of a perfect design.

I love your big kisses

And I love your little voice when you sing

God always knew you were the one for me

with all of the joy and love your bring.

I love you my little moon cake,

You are a slice of Heaven!

Love,

Courts

(Meim)

Sophie's Favorites

2010-09-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Laurie's recent blog interviewing her son Aaron, Sophie's China travel mate, to also interview my sweet little princess. It's kinda cute to see how her little mind thinks. Enjoy a little piece of Sophie!

Favorites

color: purple, green, red, yellow, black, brown and pink

clothes: Cinderella dress

food: ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies

drink: lemondade...no water...and lemonade

dessert: vanilla ice cream

video: The Wiggles

activity: dance class

letter: abcdefg...Z (I guess she like all of them!)

place: Disneyland

Disney character and "best friend": Cinderella

BFF: MeiMei (that's what she calls her sister, Courtney)

ride at Disneyland: horsies, Dumbo, Cinderella castle, It's a small world after all, it's a small...(she just sang the whole song)

toy: puzzles

animal: horsies

books: Mouse a Cookie

Now I'll tell you what I think some of her favorites are according to what I witness everyday...

color: pink

clothes: anything girly girl, especially a yellow "Belle" dress, a white "Cinderella" dress, and any dress with sparkles on it!

food: grapes, watermelon, yogurt

dessert: strawberry ice cream, frozen GoGurts

drink: apple juice

video: Shrek

books: anything book in the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series

computer site: Nick Jr.

computer games: Caillou, Team OomiZoomi, Kai Lan

It's Been a Month!

2010-08-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Boy how this summer has flown! It's been a month since my last post and so much has happened. I wish I could be like my other blogging friends and post daily or weekly, but I've got just so much time in the day. Anyway, here's what's been happening in a nutshell:
I'm starting to homeschool Sophie not because I'm one of those overachieving moms but because she wants to learn! She learns very fast and can already count to 15, recognize numerals 1-5, sing her ABC's, and recognize about 1/2 of the letters and their sounds! And that is just from watching educational videos and playing computer games! I'm amazed at her abilities. Wow!
Josh is back to his senior year in high school and seems to really enjoy it. He has more confidence now that he's been at his new school for 4 months (b/c of the move in the middle of the year). He is taking some tough classes and has really is taking off academically...finally! He is right in the middle of doing his Boy Scout Eagle project for a local nature center. He's building a much needed bench with pergola on an upper hiking trail.
Courts is finishing up her final year of community college. She is doing really well and LOVES her Italian class. She's figured out the perfect time for classes...1-5. This way she she can still sleep in and come home in time for dinner! She has become quite the helpful person around the house and I'm loving having her around.
I'm so excited that I have found a wonderful group of adopted moms from China to meet with weekly. They get together to do a variety of activities from going to the beach to celebrating Chinese Moon Festival and Chinese New Year. We plan on going to Disneyland soon. Now Sophie has some sweet friends to grow up with.
I will be also starting MOPS in September as well as a Beth Moore Bible Study. Finally, life in the OC is getting back to normal. Well, that is until we find a house to buy. We will be moving into our "real" house in less than six months. So my busy life that is finally settling in will be totally uprooted once again. At least we'll just be moving within a 15 mile radius of where we are now. Updates to come!

My Little Buddy is Growing Up!!!

2010-07-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Somehow the last 17 years have flown by in a blur. My little curly head baby boy is now a young man entering his final year of high school. It's amazing to hear how he wants to be an engineer, creating and inventing new ways to do things. He is a wonderful person, both kind, gentle, thoughtful, and sensitive. In many ways he is just like his dad. Heck he can wear his dad's clothes now (those are Frank's pants and shirt he's wearing in the picture)!

As a child, "Doshie" was always playing with balls, trains, cars, and throwing everything in sight. He even threw his grandma's cordless phone into her pool once, hence the reason he owes her his first paycheck to cover all of the damage he's caused. LOL Josh was never a big talker, his sister took over that role early on. No, Josh was a hugger, a kisser, a snuggler. I'll never forget the image of him sitting patiently on the rocking chair, waiting for me to nurse him when I was ready. He nursed until he was 3 years old and was getting the boot from his dad to give it up. In his cutest, littlest, most innocent voice he replied..."just one more time?"

Awwwww, my little boy has finally grown up. He takes out the trash, mows the lawn, washes the pots and pans, keeps his room clean, does his laundry (mostly), does his homework without being told, and even flushes the toilet when he's through. See there is hope for all of you younger moms out there. Haha!

I'm so proud of how you're turning out and growing into a wonderful young man.

Josh, you make a mama proud! Many blessings on your final year of high school! May it be filled with lasting memories. Love, Mom

Favorite Family Recipes

2010-07-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

What puts a smile on my little ones' faces? Food...delicious food! Heck, it even makes my husband happy.

One of my current hobbies is to cook. I try out new recipes every week. We even have one day where I try to feed the family dinner on just $5...and it can be done, people! But mostly, I research on the Internet for something special or try out the zillions of recipes I've cut out of magazines and managed to file away over the years. Is anyone else like me? Or is it just me? Well, anyway, 9 times out of 10 the family LOVES what I cook. I've been inspired by the movie Julie & Julia and now I've decided to share some of my family's favorite recipes here. Won't you share some of yours with me too?

White Chili with Chicken (from Family Fun Magazine)
3 T. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 t. chili powder
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 oz.) cans white kidney or navy beans, drained and rinsed
3-4 c. diced cooked chicken

1 c. frozen corn kernals
1 (7 oz.) can diced green chilies
2 c. chicken broth, I just use 2 cans of the low salt variety
1/4 t. salt
2 T. butter, softened
1 1/2 T. flour
pepper
3-4 T. half and half, light cream, or milk (optional)
grated cheddar or jack

Warm oil in large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute, stirring often, for 7 mins. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Stir in beans, chicken, corn, green chilie, broth, and salt. Bring to gentle simmer and allow to simmer partially covered for 10 mins.
In small bowl, blend butter and flour. Add mixture to chili and stir about a minute. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Add milk to thicken. May add more broth to thin. Serve hot, topped with grated cheese, if desired.

I can't wait for my bananas to turn all brown and mushy because then I can make everyone's favorite banana bread!!!

Lowfat Banana Bread
4 very ripe bananas
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 T butter, softened
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 egg
2 T. applesauce
chopped walnuts (optional)

Mash bananas in bowl. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Pour into 1 greased loaf pans (may pour into 2 pans for smalled loaves). Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for about 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle come out clean.

Summertime

2010-07-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

I've come to the realization that each child has their own time schedule to be potty trained, learn new speech sounds, go to sleep at night, finish college, and to develop into their full potential. My kids did everything at different times, different ages, no matter how hard I pushed. Being an experienced mom means that I don't push anymore. I just let each child develop at their own rate and I don't worry about things. Before I was consumed with making sure my kids hit all of the benchmarks at the earliest that they could, or even ahead of their peers. Now I've learned to just let it happen, because I know it will...eventually.

Josh is just about finished earning his Boy Scout Eagle Award...I've pushed and made things happen for the last 5 years. Now he is going to get it done and I'm not pushing. I'm so proud of him because he has come a long way and has learned so much. He's going to be a senior this year. Yikes! My baby boy is growing up!

Courtney is finally getting the hang of college and will finish her AA this year at Fullerton College. Phew! I think she's getting straight A's this summer session. Wow! She is one smart girl, when she puts all her energy into it. I'm so very proud of her as well.

And Sophie's speech expression is coming along, slower than I expected, but it's progressing nevertheless. I've decided that I'll homeschool her and give her speech therapy at home. Hey, I could do what the therapists do, but I can do it everyday, a little bit here and there. I know that at 2.5 year old needs to play, explore, jump around, laugh and pretend. I'll give her "speech" therapy in those contexts instead of sitting at a table, with her precious little hands folded and feet perfectly still. With that said, I feel so free! I feel that my amazing little rosebud will unfold into a beautiful, understandable rose...at her own pace! I love that about homeschooling. Afterall, I can teach, I have 25 years experience! I'm going to join a group of moms who are like me and see how this whole thing works. I'm so happy to finally have some structure to my days at home with Sophie. This is an adventure that I've always wanted to do but never had the guts to try.

So I'm starting a new career...Here we go...

Rebirthing

2010-06-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

My 3 kids having fun in Toontown, Disneyland USA!

Me, comedian Bob Smiley, Courts and Josh at Spirit West Coast

Frank and Sophie doing "The Wave" at Angels Stadium, Anaheim

Just driving around Disneyland

My little artist donned a pair of Build-A-Bear glasses for this special art project

This weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to take my kids to a Christian music festival called Spirit West Coast in Del Mar. Oh the music was fantastic...Newsboys, Mathew West, Skillet, Kutless, and the like, the testimonies of famous musicians and guest speakers were inspiring, but the real joy came from being there with my 2 year old and my 2 teenagers. They were able to be bold in their faith and beliefs. They saw amazing role models of husbands loving and caring for their families and then praising God with open arms held up high. They witnessed people speaking out for Jesus Christ unashamedly. They were able to sing and get crazy for God in an arena where other Christians of ALL ages were doing the same.

The best part is that we got to do this together and they actually liked being with their old mama, ME! I am so blessed to have such wonderful, loving children, all three of them, and to be able to share a common faith that is not only mine, but theirs as well. There is no greater blessing than to see your children love the Lord with all their heart, minds, soul, and strength (Mark 12:29-31).

Out of all the memories of this weekend, the one that I'll treasure the most is seeing all of us jumping up and down, pounding out the beat with our fists to Skillet's very loud and amazing rock song called "Rebirthing". The words appropriately say..." Rebirthing now. I wanna live my life, I wanna give You everything!" Seeing Courtney and Josh giving it all in praise was one thing, but then I realized that Sophie, who was on top of her sister's shoulders, was also jumping up and down and raising her hands as well, grinning from ear to ear, rocking out to the beat just like her family! Oh, how happy God must be to see thousands of his very own creation lifting their hands, worshipping his awesome power and majesty...with all their heart, minds, soul and strength on that beautiful evening under the starry sky.

She'll Talk Your Socks Off!

2010-05-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's been 6 weeks since Sophie's fistula repair and I'm sad to say that there is still a fistula in her palate. Although it is a lot smaller than the last one, nevertheless it means she might need another repair in the future. The surgeon said this happens in only 15% of children and he'll fix it only if her speech is affected. The good part is that he'd bump up the plastic surgery on her lip and do the repair at the same time instead of waiting until she's 5.
With all that said, I can attest that with the last repair 6 weeks ago Sophie has been talking up a storm! It's amazing how all of a sudden verbally she has taken off full speed ahead. Don't get me wrong, I can't understand most of what she says because she's talking so fast and she's not forming the phonemes properly. but, speech therapy should fix that in time. I must admit that it's sooooooo good to hear her sweet, little voice and see her adorable, pink lips and tongue trying to get the words out. She's speaking in phrases and sentences now, as well as still using some signs.
Here's an update on some of Sophie's favorite activities. She enjoys dancing, singing, painting, and drawing. Her absolute favorite toy is her big, pink dollhouse fully loaded with furniture and dolls. She'll play with that house everyday for over 30 minutes, sometimes longer! She's learned to use scissors and will cut everything in sight too.
I'm enjoying my time staying at home with her. She is the light of my life. I'm loving every stage of life with Sophie Rose!"

I'm On the Move!

2010-05-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

You should've seen what happened last Sunday! Here we are all leaving "the" church I picked as our home church and I hear the real story from all of the other family members. One person doesn't like that it's not a Catholic church...oh, that one again. One person says it's too big and the kids aren't friendly and inviting, plus they give away $100 prizes at youth group and that's just not a "good use of money." One person just says there is no one he knows there. Sheesh! I guess I was the only one who was starting to feel more at home there and ready to jump into some bible studies!!! How could we be so far apart on this church shopping thing? Anyway, I ended that "conversation" as why doesn't everyone just find their own small group to belong to, at whatever church you want, and we'll all attend this one on Sundays!

No one believes me but this is what I know about people...if you want to meet people, you have to make the attempt to put yourself out there, to be vulnerable. YOU have to be the one to find a group to join. YOU have to get into a small group in order to get to know people. Most of the time, people won't just come up to you and say, "Let's be friends!" My kids aren't willing to accept the facts about people. I guess it's because for the last 15 years they haven't had to make friends at church. They just grew up with the same kids and knew everyone. In a way that is a good thing, but in a way, it's not the real world.

So with that said, the saga of church shopping continues. But as for me, I'm actively pursuing a small group to join for the summer session, I'm getting involved in a service group, and I'm starting to plant some roots down in this Orange County soil. I'm not waiting around for everyone to make up their minds. I'm on the move!

My Thoughts Exactly!

2010-04-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Starting today, I want to use my blog as a running journal of my life, not just a scrapbook of life with Sophie, although this is a good way for others to see what a special blessing she is for our family. It's just that I need a place log my collected thoughts, not so much for anyone reading it, but to help me figure things out.

I would love to have input from the blogging community on any thoughts presented here. For those of you new to blogging, please feel free to comment by pressing "comment" at the bottom. Create an account or sign in as anonymous but write you name in the body so I know who commented. It's easy and I'd love to read what you have to say!

So here goes...

We've lived here for over two months and it's tough living in a different place where you have no connections to people. After living in T.O. for the last 15 years, it's like traveling at full speed on the highway of relationships then all of a sudden coming to a complete traffic jam...not even creeping along...just dead stopped. I still maintain contact with my old friends, but I'm really ready to get some new ones started. Anyone have any suggestions or experience on making this happen?

One step in the right direction is that we finally found a church that we can call home and I think that will really get things going. I'm hoping that I'll get connected to a bible study, a playgroup, and/or by volunteering to serve others in someway it will provide opportunities to meet new people.

I realize that maybe God's plan for me right now might involve just relying on Him for companionship during this time and that would be OK too, but...I still need to be actively involved in something. That's how He made me...to use my skills for others. It's just getting a little mundane around here. I know, I know, I need to start praying about it. So I guess that's where I'll start and hopefully by my next post I have something positive to post!

Until next time,

Lonely in the Hills

Sophie's Thoughts

2010-04-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

My 2 year old thoughts on life...

I want to be just like Mei Mei!

my family is like the paparazzi! i enjoyed shopping in old town temecula... mostly cause i got "can-ee" and my very own water bottle!

It's all about me people! unst! unst! unst!

I love all kinds of animals! too bad the zoo didnt have an "elie"!

Mei Mei and I made brownies for our secret snack! shhh! dont tell mama!

i got a cape! they said i looked like a superhero called wonder woman!

Ayi and i colored these "ehhhs" for Easter!

Nonie gave me an Easter basket! the first thing i did was

bite the ear off the chocolate bunny!

Bubba and i had fun at the park! what is "titanic?"

Mei Mei and Bubba gave me this balloon after my surgery! i bounced right back!

"ahh ooo" Jesus!

(thank you)

Momma still thinks im a burrito!

Don't they know i'm only 32 inches tall?

I got beautiful "reee"!

"addie" is giving me chocolate before breakfast! no way! i love this Easter business!

another one of my skills is taking pictures with mei mei's camera!

i got both their heads in the shot all by myself!

I got a sandwich kiss from the birthday buddies!

happy 20th birthday to mei mei and happy birthday to uncle "yo-yo"!

green frosting on my mouth kept the saint patrick's day leprechuans

from pinching me!

being in the hospital was no fun! i couldnt use my hand! but

i was a happy camper once they put shrek in for me!

i still have a little hole in my mouth from after the surgery, but it shouldnt matter

unless i dont start talking within the year.

thanks for all your prayers everyone. time for me to go watch Elmo!

"ahhh uuuhhh ooooo"

(i love you)

Life is a Whirlwind!

2010-03-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

In the last 74 days...

We have moved from our house of 15 years to the beautiful Anaheim Hills

We went to Children's Hospital and we scheduled Sophie's next fistula surgery for March 24th. Please Pray for our little one!

Sophie gives the best hugs now

She became our personal "Diet Hansen's Spokesperson"

We have taken Sophie to Disneyland 2 times and she loves it! Her favorite rides are the carousel, Dumbo, The Casey Jr. Train, and The Teacups

Sophie has mastered the art of walking in her sister's high heels

Josh and Courtney have been working together decorating the bonus room named, "The Lighthouse", complete with a multitude of various lights

Sophie learned how to drive...

We joined Auntie Rosie and Uncle Rocky in celebrating their 60th anniversary

We celebrated Chinese New Year at the local library

The Kids started Iron Chef Night! They pick a secret ingredient and make a top quality meal based off the ingredient

I enjoy the views from my backyard as well as from the hills I hike behind our house

In the past 2 months we have also...

Packed and unpacked a hundred plus boxes

Rented our house in Thousand Oaks to a cute little family

Frank only lives 15 minutes (no freeways!) away from his new job with Boeing in Anaheim

Found lots of little problems in our house but were reminded not to complain in our luxuries

Josh started classes at Canyon High

Courtney attends the beautiful Fullerton College and loves her forensics class
Visted over 5 different churches in hopes of finding a new church
We got the blessing of Direct Tv with DVR!
Courtney and I got lost inside the South Coast Plaza Mall

Courtney's favorite frozen yogurt store, Yogurtland was discovered just 2 miles from our house!
Visited many high class garage sales for fun new bargains
Courtney got to see Nick Jonas in concert 2 times!

It has been a hectic last couple months with the move, but it has brought our family closer together. It has been hard not having any social activities but we have been able to have family game nights and spend more time together. We like driving around and discovering new places to go, but we do NOT like the Orange County traffic. We miss all of our friends but we know that God has plans for us here in The O.C. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives and I will continue to post how God shows his grace to us everyday!

Love you all,

(with the help of my almost 20 year old, Courtney)

25 Years of Wedded Bliss

2010-01-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

Glamour Shots of a Two Year Chinese Princess

2009-12-27T04:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas from the Eyes of a Toddler

2009-12-27T04:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a time of remembering the birth of one very special little baby...Jesus Christ...sent down from heaven to be Savior of the world. Happy birthday, Jesus!

Here's a synopsis of what Christmas was like through the eyes of one very special little toddler...Sophie Rose...sent to us from God to help us know Him better.

I love all the ornaments on the tree and I'm happy my mama lets me rearrange them daily.

Santa is kinda scary. I want to take a peek at him at the mall but from really far away.

Cookies, candy, or anything sweet is a constant source of temptation as I can't get enough. I ask for cookies at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. More please!

Presents, what can I say. I figured out the whole gift thing on my birthday a month ago and it never seems to end. I love ripping open packages and I believe every gift is for me! Clothes don't excite me much. I want to play with every present I open right away and don't really care to open the next one. I just want to play with one!

I have my very own nativity and I like to play especially with the baby Jesus and the Wisemen's treasure boxes pretending to eat the food contained in them.

I love Christmas carols and on occasion, you can hear me trying to sing along with them. I like the one that says, "Gloooooooooooooooooooooooooo-ria!"

Out of all the food I tried this holiday, I must say that I like ham the best. Forget the mashed potatoes, just give me ham and apple juice and I'm set.

Now that I'm big enough to have my carseat turned around to facing the front, I love driving down the street looking at all the pretty houses lit up with bright colorful lights. I really like the "no-men", "ah-no-mos",and "ho, ho, ho" (snowmen, animals, and santa).

I adore all the excitement of parties, getting all dressed up in my party dress, dancing with my family, fun kids to play with, yummy cookies to devour, and stairs to climb. I could party all night and never get tired.

But the best part of Christmas is singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and blowing out the candle for Him...over and over. I pray to Him every night and thank Him for the wonderful blessings He gives me daily. I love my Jesus and I know He loves me too.

Forever Family/Gotcha Day One Year Anniversary

2009-12-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

Sophie's sooooo excited to dig into her Forever Family Day Celebration cake

Boy Scout Troop 719's littlest mascot

One blessed little girl to have such a loving brother and sister

Our family and the judge who helped us readopt Sophie through the California Juvenile Courts.

Sophie and her Papa celebrating being a forever family at the local Chinese restaurant.

One candle on her ladybug cake that signifies one year of being in the Light, being with the family that God wanted her to be in so she could know Him and grow to love Him with all her heart.

It was on December 8, 2008 when our family united with our sweet baby girl, Sophia Rose. This is known as Forever Family Day, or Gotcha Day in some circles. As we look back on that first day, we all agree it was a day that changed all our lives forever. Adopting a child has got to be one of the most incredible experiences a family can have. We are soooooo thankful that we didn't miss the opportunity. God led us down this amazing path full of the richest blessings anyone on earth can have.

The year flew by so quickly and Sophie has changed a bunch. She has grown 5 1/2 inches and gained 7 pounds! When we first got her she couldn't crawl, walk, sit up without toppling over, or even stand up alone as most 1 year olds can master. But she quickly learned with a little practice and exposure to the floor. Our special princess has learned so much over the last year with her favorite activities being reading books, helping around the house, doing puzzles, and watching Wiggles DVDs.

Although she has had a year full of firsts, i.e. birthday party, holidays, trips to the aquarium, ocean, desert, and museums, the one that will be the most special is the day she was first placed in her mama's arms forever.

Happy Forever Family Day, dear Sophie! Your family loves you with all their hearts!

The Latest

2009-11-27T06:24:00.000-08:00

Well, it's about once a month that I get to updating my blog. My days are filled to the brim with toddler activites, such as drawing, painting, playdough, tea parties, cooking, puzzles, and speech therapy. My kids are the joy of my days and I love being so busy as a mom.

Here's the latest: Frank and I are planning a big party celebrating our 25 wedding anniversary, complete with a cute little apple green flowergirl dress for Sophie. The picture is one of the pictures that inspired my party theme. I love the colors and design of this table. I'll post pictures after the event on Dec. 6th.

Sophie just turned two on Nov. 24, a Thanksgiving baby! She had a Hello Kitty themed party and loved all the attention. The best part was that she enjoyed all the presents with such glee.

Courtney is doing well in school, almost finishing up her 3 semester next week. She still pursues a child development focus with a TV/film media bent. Who knows where that will lead. All I know is that she wants to stay close to home so she can be close to her Mei Mei. She adores her little sister with an amazing passion.

Josh is also doing well in school because, as he puts it, he wants to get into a good 4-year university so he can move away from home as soon as possible. They are so different! Don't get me wrong, Josh simply adores his little sister too as she is crazy for him, but he likes peace and quiet. I think this is all show because it is him who wants to play with her all the time, trying to steal her attention by annoying her like big brothers are supposed to do.

Frank is actively looking for another job within the Boeing Company as his current one is fading away with this new administration and economy. Please pray that the right job comes along. We are not worried as we know God will continue to provide everything we need.

And me, well, I've taken the year off from teaching school, and God-willing, I will not return. I'm enjoying being a stay-at-home mom and as long as we can afford it, I will not work as a teacher. We are eating better because I have time to cook. But along with that, our midsections are getting a little fuller. We are spending more time exercising. That is a good thing.

Well, I promise to upload more pictures later.

Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great day at the Underwood Farm's Harvest Celebration! Sophie loved all the animals (alpacas, sheep, chickens, cows, pigs, ducks, goats) and got to feed them carrots through a unique feeding tube that was a pvc pipe propped up on an incline. We also got to climb all over a wooden train, ride a John Deer tractor, sit in a wheelbarrow, climb a giant haystack, and find our way through a corn maze. We picked our pumpkin, smelled some beautiful sunflowers, then shooed away some bees. Sophie enjoyed her first pumpkin patch experience and we're pretty amazed at how the pictures turned out. The only thing she didn't like were the scarecrows. Oh well, we just learned to avoid them and we were on our way home...for a nap!

How Do You Make a Happy Girl Happier?

2009-10-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

How do you take a "happy-all-the-time" little girl happier? "Is it possible?" you wonder?

Do you put on a pair of the silliest Mickey Mouse sunglasses and visor? Noooooooo...

Do you give her a piece of Uncle Duke's favorite SunMaid raisin bread? Nooooo....

The answer to the question is as follows:

First, have your best big sister read the book If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff. This happy little girls LOVES her books!

Next, bake strawberry cupcakes and frost them with sweet pink frosting using a baby-sized knife. Anything to do with food is always highly recommended, especially when she gets to help with the cooking or baking.

Then, sprinkle on LOTS of multicolored sprinkles... sprinkles are the aphrodisiac of the toddler generation.

Next, of course, add just a few more sprinkles to top it off! And even taste test a few for "quality control" purposes only.

Then decide who each cupcake will be given to...Mama...Bubba? This beautiful one goes to Papa who LOVES cupcakes!

And that's how you make a happy little girl much, much happier!

The Advantages of Being an Older, More Experienced Mother

2009-09-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

You maybe one of those few people I see on the street who give me funny looks probably wondering if Sophie's my granddaughter. Or like many family and friends who boldly ask "Why I would want to start all over and raise a baby?" Here are a few of the answers:

1. Ever since I was a young girl, I've always felt God giving me the desire to adopt a little girl from Asia. I'd see an adorable little girl and my heartstrings would be tugged or Frank would come home and tell me about a broadcast he heard about adoption and say we needed to consider it for our family. Little signs along the way of our lives would occur here and there, over and over, always leading us on the same path of adoption. We were following a leading that God had placed in our hearts. I'm am sure of this like nothing else in my life, that adopting is definitely a "God thing".

2. Besides the fact that we were following God's plan for our lives, we can truthfully say that we've been there and done that (BTDT, affectionately referred to as in the adoption community). I know what to expect and have the experience to deal with temper tantrums, potty training issues, spilt milk all over the floor, and how important it is to play with her.

3. I have two, terrifically loving teenagers at home who enjoy giving her a bath, taking her to the park, playing with her while I cook, putting her down for her nap, and babysitting so I can run a few errands. Without Courtney and Josh this would be a different story. They are exceptional teenagers who continue to amaze me with their thoughtfulness, caring attitude, and gentle ways. They are being trained as parents and I know they are benefitting from all this practice, they've said so themselves!

4. Also, I actually ENJOY changing diapers, cleaning sticky fingerprints off the sliding glass doors, watching silly kid videos, reading wonderful children's books with lots of pictures, teaching Sophie all about the world and seeing her eyes light up in excitement, dancing with her in my arms to Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Cinderella", laying on the floor doing puzzles for the hundredth time, and building towers out of blocks only to let her knock them over.

5. She has caused me to slow down and enjoy life. I'm not working at this time so I can focus on being the best mommie I can be and I'm loving it. The entire family is reaping the benefits as well. Frank has been such an awesome father and provider allowing me to stay home indefinitely to be there for my kids. I appreciate all he does for our family. Having a Godly husband is a great advantage!

6. One of the best parts is I get one more chance to get tight, squeezy hugs; wet, slobbery kisses, and hear that oh-so-sweet voice calling out "Mama". I still get to see my sweet baby's eyes as she drifts off to sleep, or she stops playing for a minute-looks up at me-and smiles. I love it when she wants me to carry her everywhere, knowing that I'm the only mama she's ever had that would value her so much as to care for everyone of her needs. My heart is constantly being melted by this little miracle, God's miracle in our lives.

7. I now have the wisdom (and finances) to realize that hiring a babysitter is very cost effective, giving me a much needed break, allowing me to have dates with my husband of almost 25 years, and giving Sophie someone new to play and interact with. And...I don't feel guilty about leaving her. Now that's definitely an advantage!

So you see, it's not all that bad being a mama in my late 40's. It's a blessing really. Don't feel sorry for me. Be happy for me that I've heard God's voice, followed His lead, and have finally found my purpose in life. Adopting a baby is the biggest blessing of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks for listening!

Beautiful Life Friday

2009-09-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Well, this old Mama is learning something new! Without any idea of starting to potty train on my part, 3 days ago Sophie signed that she had a dirty diaper. This was a new thing. So I followed her lead and took her to sit on the potty like a big girl. Lo and behold she went #2!!!! I was blown away. She actually had some control and knew what she was doing. How did that happen overnight? So for 3 days she's been going on the potty like a big girl at her request. She thinks she is so grown up and gets a big kick out of her own abilities. I know that she'll probably tire of the novelty of it all and go back to her normal diapering routine, but for now, we're going with it. I've stocked up my supply of M&M's (one of the few words she can actually say with clarity), bought a Winnie the Pooh potty seat and we're ready to go.

On the downside of all this "growing up" is the fact that I'm beginning to mourn the loss of an oh-too-short babyhood. I never minded diapering her, giving her a bottle, picking up the spilt milk (well, that one I did get annoyed with too often), or all the things that came with having a baby in the house. Rather, I enjoyed it immensely, savoring every moment of it. So now that she's entering toddlerhood in full force, I'm missing the cute little baby face, the fact that she loved to please me, that I could help her with everything. Now, she's telling me at every turn "I do" with her words and sign language. I guess this is to be expected and yes it goes by too fast, even more so with an adopted child that I've only had since she was 1 year old. I missed a year of her babyhood. I'm sad. But, I rejoice in things to come. I know God has a plan for this little spitfire's life and I'm excited to see how it all unfolds.

Can't You Just Stay Little Until Your Carters Wear Out?

2009-09-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

Cluck cluck!

this is one overstuffed chick!

Trying to fly to no avail

Our little sweetpea will be a chick for Halloween

This is my favorite pose

Sophie's wearing her new hat (notice plastic tag thingy still on top) not caring that it clashes with her bib and shirt

Look at the delicate way she handles her "oh-so-precious" cupcake

As I was rocking Sophie before naptime, a tear formed in the corner of my eye. I realized my little baby was growing up way too fast! I must admit that I enjoyed changing her diapers, giving her a bottle as I cuddled her in my arms at night, watching all those Baby Einstein videos explaining what all the animals and shapes were, just basically doing all the baby stuff with my little cutie pie. Everyone knows that I've been loving her as much as possible and trying to catch her up on all she missed by living in an orphange, but all of a sudden it seems that she instantly turned into a toddler.

Her face looks more mature today. Her hair is longer, her body is leaner and taller. Her 18th month clothes are snug and most of her 12 month clothes don't fit anymore.

The biggest deal though is that for the last 3 days she's told me she has to go potty with her sign language. The first time this happened, not believing that she could possibly know what her body needed, I cheerfully sat her on the toilet for a little pretending. Well, much to my astonishment, she went #2! Now some might say it's a fluke but she has done this for 3 days now. I'm still thinking that the novelty will wear off soon and we'll be back to doing her business in the corner of the living room, but still...I am quickly realizing that she's growing up more and more each day. I'm not ready!!!! It wasn't my idea to start potty training. What's up with a little baby telling their mom that they're ready to grow up?

I'm really OK with waiting on the potty training thing until she's 3...it's fine to be a cute little complacent child who wants nothing more than to please her mommie. The terrible twos and threes are creeping up on me and I'm grieving for the loss of babyhood. God give me patience!

Blessed Bliss: Finally, An Update!

2009-08-20T05:27:00.000-07:00

Jesus loves me this I know!

Our little celebrity loves to wear sunglasses b/c she always gets such a huge reaction from people!

Josh and Courtney (at Monterey Bay) are an INCREDIBLE brother and sister to their Mei Mei

Sophie enjoys watering flowers and does it with such finesse, just like her great-grandpa "Charlie"

At 20 months, our Sweet Pea has an amazing personality that likes to play games, do tricks to astound her audiences, and has adorable facial expressions that say, "Go ahead, tickle me if you can catch me!"

Don't 'cha just love the little drool that comes out her mouth when she's concentrating?

Priceless!

Wow, it has been 2 months since I last updated my blog. Sorry about that. Summer has been so much fun for all of us filled with Mommy and Me swim lessons, 2 days a week of speech therapy, playing with fake food and plastic dishes (her new favorite pasttime), discovering The Wiggles on TV, learning new sounds and having a blast with each other. We all totally enjoy being with Sophie, so much so that Josh and Courtney sometimes fight over who gets Sophie. I read a Beth Moore Bible Study the other day that defined "Asher" a name given to a child as "blessed bliss". That defines our life with Sophie. She never stops amazing us with her incredible cuteness and personality.

Here are the Top Ten Things She Does to Amaze Us:

1. Hides her hand in her sleeve and then suddenly POPS it out like she's doing a disappearing hand trick with full-on facial expression that says, "TA DUH, can you believe it?"

2. Imitates our words and phrases with intonations in her own "Sophie-speak" and can say "Mama", "more", "apple", and "amen"consistently

3. She continues to increase her sign language vocabulary with about 70 words,

4. Sophie can make animal sounds of cows, ducks, horses, dogs, cats, sheep, & chickens,

5. Loves to dance along with the Wiggles and does the hand motions to "Taba Naba",

6. Likes to hide in a big carseat box and spontaneously play peekaboo around corners and doors,

7. uses her brother's laptop like she knows what she's doing-typing with both hands on the home row keys, using one finger to manipulate the built in mouse pad, and pressing buttons,

8. loves to do big people chores like feeding the dog, washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, and holding the dustpan to pick up dirt from the floor,

9. go outside with Daddy (Papa) to say goodnight to the moon, stars, birds, crickets, and grass,

10. give real pinched lip kisses and hugs to those she loves!!!

Hey, here's a great book for adoptive families recommended by Laurie Loudenback (China Travel Buddy): God Found Us You by Lisa Todd Bergren. It's one of those books that makes you cry. It's great for assuring your adopted child that " God knew you, and knew me, and knew when we'd fit perfectly together," in our forever family.

Blessings,

paula

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

It's Been Six Months Since we Traveled to China

2009-06-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to see this picture of Sophie 6 months ago. She has grown so much, 4 pounds and 2 inches to be exact, and has soooo much more hair. Here she is adorned in a pink traditional silk outfit purchased on Shamien Island.

Our little Chinese Sweet Pea waiting to travel home to her new life in America.

June 8th is the 6 month anniversary of traveling to China, so I thought I'd commemorate the occasion by sharing some pictures and memories from that trip. It's funny how we all instantly bonded and felt like family upon meeting each other. We were stuck in a big bus traveling all around Beijing in 19 degree weather with a wind chill that made it seem like sub-zero temperatures. We all had a great story that brought us to adopting from China. The one other commonality was that we all had a strong belief in God, his perfect timing, and generous provision. We spent the first weekend together in Beijing, then some of us separated and went off to different provinces to pick up our new children. But then we reconvened in Guangzhou to show off our sweet little children. We had been through so much together in such a short time. I hope that we'll always stay in touch and that we'll commit to getting together regularly for reunions.

The Gammariello's

We're loving being a family of five!

This is the entire traveling group posing on the staircase at the Asia International Hotel in Guangzhou. Our wonderful tour guides, Maggie and Rosa took this picture.

Our travel group was so much fun. We swapped stories, antibiotics, baby clothes, diaper, formula, and snacks. Eating together as a group was always a pleasure. We saw some pretty "interesting" food choices and even tried a few new things.

All the moms with their newly adopted children

America's newest soon-to-be citizens!

Eating was always a big event for our group. We loved the breakfasts with a great variety of American and Asian foods. Imagine eating Udon soup for breakfast along with plain rice congee, lox and bagels, and french toast!

The Loudenbacks and Woodruffs enjoy the fantastic buffet breakfast in the restaurant that rotates 360 degrees every hour.

The Downing's

Ronnie, Sandy, Mitchell, and Qing Shuang are enjoying being a new family. Courtney and Josh loved hanging out with Mitchell! They loved playing Chinese hacky sac in the hotel hallways and making fun of translations gone wrong.

The Gager's

Karl, Jenn, and Karleigh Mei can't wait to take Karleigh home to meet their other kids. Karl showed us cool tricks and made it something to look forward to at meal time!

The Evan's

Chet, Ann, and Matthew begin their new forever family. We got to share a nice dinner with them and watch "foobers (food-boogers- a term made up at the Gammariello family dinner table)" come out of our cleft affected children's noses.

The Loudenback's and Mr. Jordan

Laurie and Aaron (Scott is taking the photo) pose with the famous "Jordan" the Christian store owner on Shamian Island known by all the AWAA families. Laurie showed us that Jordan had the best deals on squeaky shoes in all of Guangzhou. Her advice on stocking up squeaky shoes for all growth stages was priceless.

The Woodruff's

Dave, Amy and Abby are excited to be in the Olympic Birds' Nest. This was before they met their newest addition, Elisabeth.

The Bythewoods'

and finally, Jim, Rebecca, and daughters-Jennifer and Kimberly go sight-seeing together in Guangzhou.

The Jacobs' and Gammariello's

We traveled to Jiangyin City, Jiangsu with another couple from Ontario, Canada, Lee and Leslie Jacobs. Our daughters, Lyla and Sophie, slept in adjoining cribs for the first year of their lives. Here we are posing in front of the Children's Social Welfare Institute in Jiangyin City after a wonderful tour of the orphanage. We were welcomed like old friends and treated to a lunch fit for royalty. There was a sense of love and caring very apparent from the moment we entered the glass doors of this modern, clean orphanage.

The Jacobs'

We were blessed to be able to travel in Sophie's province with another couple. Lee and Les were such nice people whom we enjoyed eating breakfast with every morning. We loved their Canadian "accents." eh?

The memories of our trip to China are too numerous to include here, but we know we will never forget those two weeks spent halfway across the world.

i <3 mei mei

2009-06-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Courtney posted these pictures of her mei mei. Can you tell that Sophie is her favorite subject to photograph? She sorted through 400 pictures of Sophie taken over the last 2 weeks and finally chose these 12. Enjoy her artistic creativity! Note: The pictures with Courtney in them were either taken by Josh or me.

modeling her sparkly shoes in front of the couch.

is it possible to go up a slide?

Courtney's favorite from that sunny day at the park. :)

Crazy driver at the Santa Barbara Zoo...

Do I look cool or goofy?

They were trying to take cover from the bird poop!

One of her favorite animals at the zoo is the giraffe (look carefully in the background).

Goofing around with her brother, cousins Elizabeth and Mike at the park by Nonie's house.

Her Godmother and cousin, Analise, just adores Sophie as much as Josh!

And there's Chloe, waiting for any little morsel of string cheese dropped by Sophie.
Sophie has so much fun at the park with her Mei Mei!

18 Months Old

2009-05-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

Here's what Sophie can do at 18 months:

use her feet to push a ride on toy,

give a high five followed by a "pound it" fist and "exploding" fingers,

use a shovel to fill a bucket with sand and dump it out,

pull a toy dog by a string,

put trash in the trashcan,

pretend to talk on the telephone,

climb a chair,

go up and down steps safely,

do all the hand motions for pat-a-cake, wheels on the bus, & eensy weensy spider,

use about 55 words in sign language,

stack 9 blocks,

pretend to feed a doll,

pretend to eat a picture of a cupcake in a book,

hold her pencil with the correct grip,

give puckered lip kisses,

give an occasional hug,

smash a bug on the sidewalk,

rock on a rocking horse,

run,

use a spoon and fork,

can point to her ears, eyes, nose, ears, teeth, head, neck, toes, knees, hands, & bellybutton,

can make the sheep(baaaa) , dog (hhhhhh), and cow (mmmmm) sounds,

and even helps Mama do chores.

The Many Faces of a Sweet Pea

2009-05-26T16:06:00.001-07:00

The look of joy to be in her mommie's arms after a bath...

The look of a beauty queen modeling her sister's baptismal dress...-

The look of uncertainty being so close to a lit candle celebrating her 18 month birthday...

The look of merriment as she drives her favorite ice cream truck from her grandma...

The look of total elation as she mimics the expressions and gestures of her big sister Courtney...

The look of amazement with herself after she pulls along a toy dog by a string for the first time...

The look of contentment as she takes a rest on her favorite step...

and finally, the look of regret, as she figures out that she spilt her milk again for the 100th time!

Made in China by God

2009-05-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

The flamingo stance

Can't you just hear her squeal in delight?

Our little precious girl may have been made in China, but we know our God created her just for us. She's oozing with personality, cheerfulness, and enthusiasm. Today you would've thought she was Edison inventing the lightbulb as she figured out how to pull a little toy dog along with a string! I especially love how she stands like a flamingo, with one foot on top of the other. She is an absolute delight from her head to her toes.

What is Joy?

2009-05-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

When I think of joy, I think of Sophie. She is the completion of joy, the very definition of joy, the embodiment of joy, and joy itself. Let me tell you what makes me think this way.

Joy is...

seeing her face light up when I walk in the room,

hearing her breath drawing in when she sees a rollie pollie walk across her path,

hearing the crunching sound she makes as she pops another Kix into her small little mouth,

feeling her ever-so-soft bottom after her nightly bath,

smelling the fresh scent of Johnson's baby lotion smoothed over her soft skin,

tickling her by nudging my nose into the soft folds of skin in her neck,

hearing her say mama when she wants something,

knowing that she has waited a whole year without a mother,

and now she has one forever!

Courtney's Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

A Weekend Away

2009-05-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Trying to feed a plaster duck some food to no avail.

Ahoy Matey! Have you seen Orlando Bloom? My mom is looking for him.

Playing in the pool is lots of fun, especially when Aunt Sog filled it with warm tap water.

Just hanging around.

We visited Auntie Kiki and her dog Killer.

Sophie nonchalantly reaches into Auntie Kiki's top...I guess it's warm and soft there. :)

She samples Auntie Kiki's famous deviled eggs.

Now she's learning how to play "Stairway to Heaven" with much success!

Sophie has some BIG dreams!

Aunt Sog helps Sophie touch a squishy sea cucumber at the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla.

Help! We got eaten by a big shark!

Sophie enjoyed seeing all the fish, jellyfish, starfish, frogs, and seahorses.

Thinking the doggy door is just for her, Sophie goes in and out of Aunt Sog's house freely.

What's new with Sophie?

Last week we visited Aunt Soggy in Temecula for her 40th birthday (can you believe she's getting old?). We loved going to the park, eating macaroni and cheese at Applebee's, playing in the baby pool, going to San Diego to see the aquarium, visiting Auntie Kiki, and making a mess of Aunt Sog's house. Sophie owes Sog her first paycheck to pay for the coasters she broke while she was "playing". Anyway, we had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back, we just hope Aunt Sog childpoofs her house next time we come.

Well, let me tell you...she is making more sounds and intonations like she's talking. We thought we heard her say "I love you," "amen," and "apple". It's so nice to hear her little voice. You should see her face light up when we actually understand what she's trying to communicate. It's like the excitement you feel when you're playing charades. She smiles, nods her head and squeals!

What else? She stacked 9 blocks on top of each other before they tumbled over. The physical therapist said that was a skill of a 30 month old toddler and she's only 17 months! She's so advanced in her fine motor skills. Just the other day she picked up a centimeter sized paper and threw it into the trash. We're all amazed!

She's also doing all the normal toddler things like going down the slide by herself, imitating me when I clean the house, pretending to read a book, running everywhere instead of walking, giving hugs and kisses, and dancing to the Wiggles.

Yesterday we went to a Mother's Day Tea at my school and she was so comfortable talking and playing with all the students and their mothers. Sophie is definitely at home in social situations. She gives them the eyebrows, shines that gorgeous smile (you know the kind that makes your eyes close), and lets out a little giggle. She is always so happy.

Her favorites at this time are sweet potatoes, grapes, strawberries, apple juice, black beans, the sandbox, taking a bath, and reading Goodnight Moon with her papa (even though she highly prefers her mama to put her to bed).

But one of her favorite joys is riding on the back or shoulders of her big brother "Bubba" or big sister "Mei Mei." By the way, they both are over the moon in love with their little Sophers. They both express time and time again how they can't wait to get home to play with her and how much they love her. Josh thinks she's so cute when she gives him a high five, followed by knuckles called "pound it" and finally all her fingers pop out for the "explode" motion! Courts think she is as sweet as honey and loves to take her to the mall and show her off to all her friends who work there. I secretly think she loves it when people mistake her for the mommy.

So that's what's new with our darling little Sopheroonies. Until next time...

Beyond Measure

2009-04-23T13:49:00.001-07:00

There's nothing sweeter than a baby's giggle!

Happy birthday Frank!

Aren't my teenagers adorable? They are the BEST big brother and sister in the world!

We love our little Sophers!

Yes, we think she is absolutely "gorgeous"!

Well, I've found it tough to blog every week now that Sophie is a typical toddler running around the house, pulling everything off the shelves, unrolling the toilet paper, throwing all of her books into a big heap, and precariously standing on her little chair with a huge grin on her face as if to say, "Look at me, Mama, I'm doing something very dangerous! What are you going to do about it?" But the cutest thing that she started today was drawing in a great big breath and making a squealing sound when she sees something absolutely amazing...like freshly baked cupcakes...a green frog down the toy aisle...or a box of Cheerios!

I must say that she is the absolute joy of my life! She is so happy, social, and adorable. I can't get enough of that cute little face with it's playful expressions. God's love is so abundant and He is so faithful. Before we got Sophie we prayed that He would give us a heart of love for this little stranger and that we would look beyond her cleft and see the beautiful child that He loves with all His heart. Well, He has answered that prayer 10 fold!!!!! I am having the time of my life taking care of her. The love we have for this little precious angel is beyond all measure.

My Very Special Grandma, Janet Rose

2009-04-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

Feeding Grandma some toast

How big is Sophie? Thissssssss BIG!

Give Grandma kisses! MMMMMMMMMM!

"My Grandma was a very special person to me. I loved her so so sooooo much and I knew she loved me too. She always made me smile and laugh. I loved giving her big, slobbery, wet kisses...more than anyone else in the world. I was the twinkle in my grandma's eyes. My grandma spoiled me like no one else too. She bought me all kinds of toys, clothes, and puzzles. One little outfit I still fit into says, "I'll always be Grandma's little sweetie!" But my most favorite thing my grandma bought me was a soft, furry "nannette". That's her name for blanket. I sleep with it every night and I remember how soft my grandma's face was. I miss my grandma very much, but I will always keep her in my heart. I love you Grandma-------thissssssss much!!!!!!

Love,
your little angel,
Sophie Rose"

My dear, sweet mom went to be with the Lord on March 20th. Her health had been declining in recent years due to diabetes and heart issues, but she seemed to be holding her own when suddenly she had a heart attack while sleeping. We know she went quickly and hopefully painlessly. This blog is dedicated to preserving her memory for Sophie Rose who was named after her grandma.

God is good and he blessed us with a wonderful visit the week before she died. During that week she had the time of her life, going to Graumann's Chinese Theater and a live play at the Pantages for the first time. She visited with her favorite "aunt and uncle" in nearby Port Hueneme, shopped till she dropped, and went out to dinner with her loving family. My mom was excited to take home a little Chihuahua named "Angel", a 1 1/2 year old rescue dog who loved sitting on my mom's lap and sleeping most of the day. But most especially, she enjoyed being with Sophie the most!

Everyday Grandma would wake up and have a bowl of Cream of Wheat with Sophie. Her grandma was the one who made her "addicted" to the bland, white cereal. One morning, while I was showering and Grandma was on "Sophie duty", she allowed (if not downright encouraged) Sophie to spill all her milk and cereal on her high chair tray. Then joyfully watched as Sophie spontaneously started pounding the tray splattering the milk ALL OVER her face, the floor, and the nearby counter top! It was the biggest mess I've ever seen and my mom was laughing hysterically. I, on the other hand, didn't think it was that funny because I had to clean it up. I'm so glad my mom, who kept a clean and meticulous house, was finally able to cut loose a little bit with her granddaughter.

My mom's face lit up whenever Sophie made her eyebrows go up and down at her. It would tickle my Mom's funny bone. Sophie knew so many baby signs in sign language that Grandma wanted to learn them all so she could better communicate with her. My mom enjoyed every little cute mannerism, sweet smile, and amazingly clever thing Sophie did. Grandma was Sophie's biggest fan and Sophie knew it!

Another game they would always play went like this:

Mom would say, "How big is Sophie?" and Sophie would automatically raise both arms above her head and grin from ear to ear, tensing up her whole body with excitement. Sophie knew Grandma loved seeing her do this by the over-the-top reaction my mom gave her. Sometimes they'd repeat the game over and over several times as they both laughed and squealed in merriment.

My mom loved sitting out in the yard, enjoying the warm Southern California sunshine and so did Sophie. Whereever my mom was there was Sophie not far behind. They hung out most of the time together. Many morning and afternoons they'd go outside and my mom would watch as Sophie puttered around in the backyard playing in the dirt, picking up rocks and handing them to her. One of my favorite memories is watching my mom and Sophie walking across the grass, Sophie stepping on each stepping stone holding her grandma's hand, as Grandma cheered her on every step of the way. They loved being outside together.

Grandma loved shopping and enjoyed buying things for Sophie. Sophie loved puzzles so Grandma went out and bought her one with animals that made noises. She bought her two textured balls to develop her tactile sense. She bought her a beautiful red dress with white embroidery on it with a matching purse and sunglasses at Baby Gap. She also bought her two play cell phones. There were no limits on what Grandma would buy her little angel.

My mom loved jewelry. She always had matching earrings, necklaces and rings. She especially loved pearls (her birthstone) and diamonds. Several times when I'd talk to her over the phone she'd asked when I was going to get Sophie's ears pierced. I told her as soon as she healed from her palate surgery. A couple of weeks ago she gave me a little silk pouch with two pairs of small diamond earrings. They were for Sophie. I am so glad I have those special earrings that my mom wanted her granddaughter to have to remember her by.

When we first accepted Sophie's referral in July, it was Grandma who went out and bought hundreds of dollars worth of baby items, including pajamas, onesies, outfits, Robeez shoes, a clothes hamper, toys, and blankets. My mom gave me her own little baby shower. I could tell that my mom was excited to meet her newest granddaughter because she wore a pink pin that said, "I have a new granddaughter!" I loved seeing Mom have something to look forward too and get excited about.

My mom lived 3 1/2 hours away in Fresno and we visited her once a month. But that wasn't enough "Sophie-time" for her. We Skyped her frequently so she could see Sophie give "eyebrows", eating dinner, taking her first steps, crawling up and down the steps, waving bye-bye, and blowing Grandma kisses. We'd call her or she'd call us to see what new things Sophie was doing. When I put my cell on speakerphone, the caller's picture pops up. So when Grandma called, Sophie could see Grandma's picture. She was so excited to see her grandma and almost always kissed the picture and wave hi. It was so precious to see the love go back and forth through the phone line.

Sophie had a special, close connection-like no one else-to her grandma. Whenever I asked Sophie to give Grandma kisses, she would kiss her without hesitation, sometimes 3-4 times. Even to this day, Sophie won't give anyone else that many kisses on command. Sophie felt very comfortable sitting on her grandma's lap or holding her hand. Even to this day, when I show Sophie a picture of Grandma, her face lights up, she gets a twinkle in her eye, a big grin sweeps across her face, and she kicks her legs and claps her hands. Sophie was very special to her grandma, and her grandma will always hold a special place in Sophie's heart.

One last memory to share before I close...after downloading the above pictures of my mom, I showed them to Sophie. Her eyes lit up, a smile spread across her face, and she grabbed the computer screen and gave it a kiss. Then she said, " Guh ma". Her official 2nd word. As Courtney and I sighed, "Ahhhhhh!" Sophie then said, "I love you" in sign language while looking at her Grandma's picture. I hope she never forgets her Grandma...I know I won't.

we're finally through the tough part!

2009-03-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since Sophie had her palatoplasty and I can finally say that she is back to her old self. She's beginning to drink milk from a cup normally now. She totally gave up the bottle and anything to do with sippy cups. I've had to spoon feed her her liquids and use a syringe to dribble some squirts in her mouth, always worried that she wasn't getting enough fluids. It's been trying to say the least.

She has slept through the night 2 nights in a row now. That is something she did since we first got her so it's been difficult for all of us. I'm feeling much better now that I have had my sleep too!

Sophie has wanted me to hold her all the time, so much so that my back was beginning to ache. I haven't had a chance to get my normal housework done and a cluttered house drives me batty. So now I don't have an excuse, hee hee!

I'm so anxious to get back to my weekly bible study on Daniel, take daily walks, and enjoy my sweet little angel's dynamic, happy-go-lucky personality.

Did you know Asians naturally squat a lot to play? A physical therapist told me that she has seen this phenomenom a lot but only in Asians. Caucasians don't squat to play. Sophie can play for at least 5 minutes in a squatting position. It's adorable! She's just like her great-grandpa...but we called it Filipino style.

I'm So Proud of My Baby

2009-03-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

I've been teaching Sophie baby sign language since we got her on Dec. 8, 2008 and has learned words at an incredible rate! So far she can use 25 different words. Here's the list of words in the order that she learned them. Notice the food words are the ones she learned first!

milk

banana

eat

all gone

book

duck

bird

dog

love

sleep

out

water

cat

cow

hat

fish

hurt

toothbrush

stars
bath

yes

hungry

I'm currently working on teaching her juice, want, gentle, cereal, mama, and daddy. She's right on target for language production! Now all we have to do is work on getting her lips and tongue to do their job. With her palate repaired and the goop drained out of her ears, she should be on the road to speaking and hearing better. Please pray that she learns quickly!

Another thing that we are so proud of Sophie for is her large motor skills. She started taking steps on January 10th and learned to crawl on January 15th, but it wasn't until February 23rd that she actually started taking off everywhere. She walked from the kitchen to the bathroom and back again. She was 15 months when that happened, within the normal limits according her pediatrician.

When we first brought her home she was delayed in everything and qualified for Tri County Regional services for physical and speech therapies. But because she is soooo smart and very capable, they have told me that she doesn't need early intervention or physical therapy anymore. She'll just be monitored monthly to make sure everything is going smoothly. The therapists said that all she needed was the opportunity to do these normal activitites-like crawling on the floor, standing up, sitting and playing-to catch up with her peers. It's amazing to see her grow and learn new things every day!

Even though it's only been a week since the doctors closed her palate, I can hear her making new sounds. She makes a modification of "N" and "Y". Yippee! We love those consonant sounds! Before she only made the "M" sound. She LOVES learning, practicing her new skills, and entertaining her family. God is such a compassionate, loving God who loves nothing more than providing for all of her needs.

Yah, Can You Believe It?

2009-03-01T06:31:00.000-08:00

Licking the last drop of yummy tapioca pudding off the spoon!

Dear God, Thank you for everything...my family...my doggy and my shape sorting can of blocks.

When you ask her to give you eyebrows, this is what she does...raises them up and down, up and down. It's the absolutely cutest thing I've ever seen!

Aunt Sog gave her a mohawk hairstyle which Sophie thought was a blast!

Grandma loves getting kisses, even though they are sloppy, wet, full on open mouth kisses from her little angel.

Sophie enjoys playing in places that have bright, colorful balls.

I can't believe the gift I have been given. I stand constantly amazed how much I love this little girl! I am so in love with my 18 pound little package of sweetness. Sophie has warmed my heart to the very soul. I can't believe what a privilege it is for me to be called her mama. Every single day, I see her grow, change, do something simply adorable, or revel in her 10 perfect little toes. How much can one person love another? I can't believe that I ever doubted if I could love someone as much as my other two bio kids, but she is proof that anything is possible in God's economy. God has given me an amazing adventure to be part of. Sophie is everything I had hoped for, but so much more. All of us love her incredibly. It's hard to believe it's possible how much joy she brings all of us. People always ask if she's mine, doubting if a 40's-something mom like me could have such a small baby. Well, the answer's always an amazingly contented resounding, "Yah, can you believe it? I'm the luckiest mommie in the world!"

We're Home from Children's Hospital

2009-02-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

Before surgery...

Happy to be in Papa's arms...

Doesn't she look cute in these adorable little hospital pj's?

Always a happy baby...even moments before surgery...

Awww...she's knocked out in the recovery room after a successful couple of surgeries...

2 days after the procedures...our little Sophers is a happy girl once again...

Finally she eats "solid" food...yummy yogurt...

Trying to get her to eat, for the first time in her life she gets chocolate pudding...having surgery is really paying off...

Children's Hospital LA has a great little playroom...Sophie loved all the musical toys with buttons

and the dollhouse with all the wooden furniture...

Right before we were discharged, a stir-crazy patient, tries to escape down the hall, running at full speed away from her beckoning mother...giggling like crazy!

Surgery Update

On Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 12:30pm, Sophie went in for palatoplasty (plastic surgery to repair her cleft palate) and ear tubes. Our starving and "oh-so-tired-of-waiting" baby didn't like leaving her mama and papa's arms after not having to eat or drink anything for 15 hours, but we all knew it had to be done. The surgeries took 4 hours and were both successful! Praise the Lord, the Great Physician, for whom we had no doubt would be there guiding the Dr. Urata and Dr. Lin's hands.

When we first saw her in recovery we almost didn't recognize her. Her face, lips, and tongue were swollen and there was blood mixed with drool coming out of several orifices. Man, it looked like she had been in an car accident. But there was no time to worry or be sad because for the next couple of days, we focused on getting her well. Both Frank and I held her close and whispered how much we loved her while assuring her that she would be OK. We tried feeding her drops of water, milk, pudding...with very little success. She ran a fever and cried every time (and that was about every 4 hours) they came in to give her medicine, take her temperature, and monitor her blood pressure. Mama and daughter didn't get much sleep, but we got lots of time to bond. :) Papa was always there trying to distract Sophie by walking the halls, taking Sophie up and down the elevator, and playing in the playroom, all done to give Mama a much needed break.

The pictures show the progression of her last couple of days...from waiting for surgery to waiting to go home. I continue to be amazed at how only 48 hours ago Sophie had big time surgery and now she's walking around the house playing with her toys and practicing her "up the steps, down the steps" skills. Thank God for providing the means to repair her palate, for keeping her under His protective wings, and for a quick recovery. Thanks for your prayers! They worked! Hopefully she won't have another surgery for about 4 years.

The Busy Life of a Toddler

2009-02-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

Sightseeing with the Herrins at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Frank takes pride in Airforce One, a Boeing product

Sophie is the captain of Airforce One

Posing right outside the airplane

Walking is her favorite pasttime

"If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops, oh what a rain it would be. Standing outside with my mouth open wide...ah...ah...ahah...ah...ah..ahah"

Steven (yes, Courts is still dating him) finally gains Sophie's trust as she plays with her favorite toy that plays at least 50 different tunes

Learning to eat cottage cheese with her own spoon creates quite a mess

Apparently Sophie loves making a mess

A star is born!

Life is just getting busier and busier. Sophie is really starting to walk and babble more and more. I guess you can call her an official walkin-talkin toddler. On most days she wants to walk and stand holding onto furniture. Some days she prefers to crawl at a fast clip. So with that new found mobility, I've had to childproof the house. She also loves to pull things out of drawers and cupboards. A lot of my day is spent just walking behind her picking up everything in her path.

Meeting A Celebrity

2009-01-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

Sophie's first sighting of a real celebrity was at Children's Hospital LA. We were there meeting with Dr. Urata, her plastic surgeon, when he asked permission for us to meet with a donor to the hospital. He explained that it was Kate Walsh from TV's Grey Anatomy and now Private Practice. Dr. Urata also said that she wanted to meet some real people to see what the hospital is all about. I, being a fan, said, "Sure!" without hesitation. She came into our consulation room just like an average person interested in clefts. She shook our hands and remarked how cute and sweet Sophie was. She looked into Sophie's mouth, not having ever seen anyone's cleft before. She learned that day how her donations were being used. Kate was really appreciative of our time. What a nice person!

Gung Hay Fat Choy-Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

Cleaning up is part of the Chinese New Year custom. Here, Sophie is helping to take down the welcome sign the Canet family made for her and hung upon our return from China.

The Chinese also put on a new clothes.

Sophie gets ready for her New Year's bath, first by playing patty cake with her feet just like her great-grandpa would've done.

Then Sophie gives her mama a hug!

To celebrate, we went on a playdate to Chuck E. Cheese...varoom...varoom...beep...beep!

Cousin Karson (3), his twin sisters Trina and Audrey (4 months), invited Sophie to her first playdate.

Karson's mom, Cousin Becky gets to hold Sophie while her twins slept.

Well, things have definitely settled down around the Gammariello home. We have ceased taking a multitude of digital pictures every day now, and the "ah, how cute..." comments about Sophie's poopy diapers have disappeared. We don't fight over who gets to change her diapers anymore. Although, everyone still wants to rock her to sleep as she drinks her milk.

Josh is into his routine of babysitting Sophie once a week while I tutor in Camarillo. You can tell she looks forward to going to the park to swing, swing, and slide as she kicks her legs and squeals in delight. She never wants to get out of the baby swing and likes to go higher and higher! Sophie can always expect some thrilling adventure or ride when Josh is in charge.

"Mei Mei!!!!!" (little sister in Chinese) is what Courtney yells every morning when she first sees Sophie comes into her room. Sophie smiles as big as she can and then points to Courtney's stuffed bear "Steven". Which translates into please make it play that sappy love song..."I'll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold!" sung by Adam Sandler. We do this routine EVERY morning and Sophie never grows tired of it. One morning we thought we heard her try to sing the song.

Frank's daily routine involves giving little Sophers her bath. On at least 3 occasions, when taking off her clothes, readying for the tub, Frank has taken her diaper off and Sophie instantly peed. Yep! All over the floor...all over Frank's arm or leg. She just knows to pee on demand...once there's a draft in the diaper...she lets it all go! It's pretty comical around here at bathtime. Oh, and I have to mention how Frank loves to pour water over Sophie's head. She blinks her eyes and instead of giving a shocked scream...she smiles and laughs. She is going to be a great swimmer.

The best part of my day is hearing Sophie repeatedly say, "Mama" all day long. She just loves her mommie and wants to be held, within eyesight of me, or attached to my leg. Now that she's crawling, I'll leave her in the one room and call her to the next. I love to hear the "thump, thump, thump" of her hands as she slowly puts one hand in front of the next and peaks around the corner with her adorable smile. It amazes me to see how quickly she has bonded with me. God does answers prayers for this is exactly what we prayed fervently for before we picked her up in China. Sophie has adjusted so well to her new life. It almost seems like she has always been a part of our family. God gets all the glory for that amazing feat. He is good, isn't he?

For Chinese New Year, we followed a few of the traditional New Year customs...Sophie took a bath, wore a new outfit, she helped me clean her bedroom and bathroom, ate Chinese chicken salad, rice, and orange chicken with chopsticks, and ate mandarin oranges for dessert. Next year we hope Sophie has more hair so we can follow the custom of getting a haircut. :) We also hope to take her to Los Angeles Chinatown for their annual parade. For right now, we'll just take the low-key approach to New Year's...who could handle anymore with a one year old?

Learning by Leaps and Bounds

2009-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

Learning to play Nintendo DS is a necessary skill which Sophie quickly learned from her big brother, Josh.

Sophie and Chloe, our dog, have an understanding that every so often she will drop morsels of food over the side of her highchair. No one had to teach her how to do that. It must have been just instinct.

Daddy shows Sophie that you're never too old to act like a little kid. He proves that he's still young by taking a Boy Scout challenge where he and Tim pulled another scout dad, Martin, on a tripod around a gymnasium track.

Courtney, Steven (her dashing young boyfriend of 5 months), and Heather (friend since 1st grade) have taught Sophie the fine art of frozen yogurt consumption on Waffle Cone Wednesdays.

We are all amazed at how quickly our little sponge is learning new things. Here's an update on how Sophie is growing by leaps and bounds.

Sophie has been home one month and learning all kinds of new things. She walked 8 steps on Jan. 10th while Sandee Tischler was over for a visit, but totally stopped the process until a week later when she walked 25 baby steps while Aunt Sog was visiting. In the meantime, she's decided it's much safer to crawl and has learned how to do that efficiently.

Sophie is learning sign language too! She is very interested in doing hand motions as she repeats a new one over and over again. Sophie seems very proud of herself when she masters a new one. She knows and is learning signs for "more, banana, bird, duck, milk, eat, want, all done, book, gentle, hot, in, out, quiet, and sleep."

Her capacity to learn English is astonishing! She can do simple commands like "wave bye-bye," "blow kisses," "give Daddy, Courtney, Joshie, and Mommie a kiss." Sophs will kiss her "Papa" repeatedly to see him do a little jig afterwards. She loves to play "Patty Cake" and claps her hands and "rolls" them up at just right time. It's just so darn cute.

On the other hand, she has also learned that juice and cookies are more delicious to eat than milk and Cheerios and that french fries from McDonald's are really good.

A Day in the Life of Sophie Rose

2009-01-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

I love taking my shoes and socks off so I can chew on my toes...can you?

I love the park with Joshie! This is my jacket from my orphanage. It's thick and warm!

Courtney likes to dress me up with all her jewelry. What do you think?

I like the feel of the sand running through my fingers.

Here's my daily schedule...

7:30 Wake up and begin playing with my hands, say good bye to Joshie and Daddy

8:00 Have my morning milk cuddled up with my mommie

8:30 Floor time-play with my toys and practice my crawling and walking

9:00 Breakfast of banana, Cheerios, toast

9:30 Baby Einstein or music video

10:00 Outdoors time-go for a walk in my stroller or the baby carrier

10:30 Wake up Jie-Jie (Courtney) and play with her in her bedroom (cool stuff in there)

11:00 Help Mommie with chores (bang on pots, stack bowls, dust mop floor with tummy)

11:30 Milk time number 2 as my doggie, Chloe, lays next to me

12:30 Lunch-I'll eat anything

1:00 Sleepytime

3:00 Go to pick up my big bruder-Joshie, from school

3:30 Play with Josh, sometimes he takes me to the park

4:30 More floortime for blocks, books, and balls

5:00 Dinnertime

6:00 Time for Daddy to come home!!!

7:30 Splish splash it's time to take a bath

8:00 Books and a bottle...yawn...

8:30 Nighty-night time!

Gotcha Day 1 Month Anniversary

2009-01-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

Our little Pink Satin Eggroll

Sophie loves her new found American friends!

Yesterday was the one month anniversary of the day we met Sophie Rose for the first time-in the adoption world this is known as "Gotcha Day". It's hard to believe we've only had our sweet baby girl for only 4 weeks. It really seems like she's been part of our family forever! I'm still totally amazed at how God placed this little girl in our family...she fits in perfectly, she's easy to take care of, so happy and cheerful, the life of the party, and she even looks like her Uncle Joe! :) (He thinks all babies look like him). God knew what He was doing when he placed her in our hearts so long ago. He knew just what we needed. I believe since the beginning of time, He had a plan for this little girl to be in our arms. It was always meant to be that we would have a family of 5. We are sooooo happy and enjoying being new parents again. Every little event is so much fun! We all can't wait to give her a bath and watch her face light up as she splashes half the water out of the sink all over the floor and countertop then pulls the plug and wonders where all the water went. She is adorable and we are so in love!

We are so happy you're part of our forever family, Soapy!

Rocket Scientist or Physicist?

2009-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

All I want to do is hold you forever...little Sophie Rose!

"Uuuuuuuuhhhhhh, Mommie.....I'm thinking I don't really like this pokey green stuff...."

Sophie even curled up her toes and feet to avoid touching this forest of little green blades.

"OK, ok...I'll put one foot down, but no way will I put down the other!"

I don't know if it's just being a proud new mom or what but I think my little "class clown" is going to be a physicist!!!! Today, to my amazement, she was launching Cheerios off of her highchair tray like Tiddly Winks. I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast and she was in her highchair with a handful of Cheerios. About 3-4 minutes later, I returned to feed her her breakfast and noticed most of her Cheerios were gone. At first I couldn't believe she could eat them that fast. Then there she was...taking her little pointer finger and pushing it down hard on the edge of a little Cheerio and OFF IT FLEW! I couldn't believe she figured out how to do that. Now that's not normal 1 year old behavior, is it? She did it over and over until the rest of the cereal was on the floor. Chloe, or dog, was so happy to snatch up every little morsel launched her way. They've got quite a little racket going on.

So as a teacher-mom, I thought I'd give Sophie a new experience today. Because it's rather warm outside, I took her shoes and socks off so she could walk barefoot on the grass. Being an orphan, I think this is one activity that she's probably never done before. I wish I had a video camera ready because what happened next was too funny for words! She took one step on the grass with her right foot, stopped, thought about it for a looooooonnnnnnggggg time, and decided that she didn't want her other foot to EVER, no NEVER touch that yucky grass EVER! She lifted her left foot in the air like she was kicking but it never came down. Then she bent it like she was a flamingo, all the while balancing on the one foot. Next she place left foot on top of the one standing on the grass. It was so comical to see her expression and her problem solving skills. No matter how hard I tried, she wouldn't put the other foot down. Needless to say, the barefoot in the grass experience didn't go as planned.

Well, she's up from a nap, so I must be going!

There's Nothing I'd Rather Be Doing

2009-01-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of our travel group on our last day in China. There were 7 families who wer bringing 2 boys and 5 girls to America. That's 7 more children who will come to know our heavenly Father!!!!!

This is us in front of the Chen Family Museum (?).

Thousands of starfish washed ashore. A little girl began throwing them in the water so they would not die. “Don’t bother, dear,” her mother said, “it won’t make a difference.” The girl stopped for a moment and looked at the starfish in her hand. "It will make a difference to this one."

As Sophie is sleeping (going on hour 2) :), I have a moment to reflect on the sweet blessing our Lord Jesus has given our family. I sit here amazed at His great love for us, that He would give our family such INCREDIBLE JOY!!!!! Sophie is "practicially perfect in every way" (quote from Mary Poppins). She sleeps well, is happy most of the time, has soooo much personality we just burst with happiness, and gives us something to be passionate about.

Oh, I still get comments from people who think we're crazy having a baby at such a late time in our lives, but I have to say that there's nothing I'd rather be doing than rocking my sweet baby to sleep, feeding her Cheerios from my lips, introducing her to new foods, playing with her stacking cups on the floor, making her giggle while I nibble on her toes-ears-knees and belly, and changing her diaper for the millionth time. It's all good! I can't think of a better way to spend my time than making a difference in this little angel's life. I feel it is an honor and a blessing to have her in my life at this time. She gives us a reason to live, to stay active and healthy. We are blessed beyond all measure to be raising Sophie. Thank you Lord Jesus for the opportunity! I wouldn't have missed it for the world!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Presents

2009-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Between Aunt Sog (Ayi), Courtney, and me, we've compiled a bunch of pictures from the past couple of days. By now you might be getting tired of seeing our little plum blossom smiling, in different clothes, and doing other amazing feats, but we haven't tired of it yet so here we go...

Each day is a new gift to open...Sophie brings all of us such joy...we can't wait to see what she does next...

Wearing Jie Jie's Christmas dress from 18 years ago

Sophie didn't really like wearing Santa hats so getting a good picture was quite difficult.

Dad is teaching her early how to search for good deals in the ads the day after Christmas.

"Look, Daddy! Kohl's has a 70% off sale on fine jewelry. Maybe we should get Mommie something?"

This little outfit was a gift from Aunt Lisa and boy, it looks cute on her! It was the first dress we put her in since we got her. The adorable pink striped leg warmers showed off her long, skinny legs.

Sophie has a talent for anything musical. Aunt Sog took out some bowls and gave her some chopsticks and away she went. Needless to say, Mommie doesn't bring out the bowls much because the banging is too loud. She'll have to save that experience for when she visits her ayi!

Enjoying the sunshine and all that nature has to offer. Sophie found a dainty little daisy and plucked off each tiny petal one by one.

Learning to walk is Sophie's main pasttime now. She is developing her skills daily.

This was the day we went to the hospital for an ultrasound of Sophie's kidneys and bladder. We were checking for any traces of melamine, the chemical that some baby formula companies in China were putting in their milk. Thank the Lord, Sophie's results were all negative! Yay!

Aunt Sog is holding Sophie's hands as she practices her walking skills wearing her sweet little hoodie from her ayi.

And finally...I love this shot that captures Soapy's devilish grin.

Silly Star of Christmas

2008-12-30T21:18:00.000-08:00

With all the busyness of the season, we finally had time to sneak in a Christmas photo. Here is Sophie with her new Veggie Tale movie, "The Star of Christmas". We think Sophie is our star this year!

Sophie has so many facial expressions that make us all laugh with joy. Here she is scrunching up her face as she smiles the biggest grin.

Getting ready to blow a kiss.......She can even blow kisses upon command. It's the most wonderful thing to have your child understand your words and show affection to anyone who is going out the door.

MMMMMMMMM...ya! I love you! The grin says it all!

Here's her eyebrow raising expression...deer in the headlights.

Sophie IS a hug waiting to happen! She discovered her barefeet today and wouldn't keep her socks on. Of course I had to nibble on her toes before putting them back on her...a million times!

And finally, a classic "getting ready for her bath" photo shot. She's ready for a dip in the sink, complete with rubber ducky and hooded towel. Today I was the queen of multi-tasking...Sophie took a bath in one sink and I washed dishes in the other. Boy, I'm good!

To all my students:

Many of my 2nd grade students and their families have been following along on my blog. I can't wait to take her to my school for show and tell. All 20 of my students are going to love her! As soon as I told them that I was going to go to China to adopt a little girl, they were all so excited to learn some basic sign language, Chinese words like "ni hao and xie xie", and make some Chinese art projects. I'm sure Sophie will love to see all their sweet faces and make them smile.

Hi Alexandra, Ashley, Austin, Bijan, Cali, Casey, Cody, Hayley, Jack, Luke, Mitchell, Paige, Nastia, Rachel, Sam, Sarah, Tia, Toni, Warner, and Victor!!!!!! I miss you guys! I'll bring Sophie in sometime in January for a visit! Be good and learn a lot from Mrs. Spahr!

Love, Mrs. G.

Taking Her First Bath at Home

2008-12-22T00:15:00.000-08:00

After attempting to bathe Sophie at various hotels and in many ways, we finally got her to enjoy it at home! She was such a riot to watch as she began slowly splashing, splashing, splashing until the water splashed up onto her face. She laughed, giggled, and basically thought that taking a bath was the best thing in the world! Sophie always claps when she does something that makes us laugh or cheer for her. She amazes herself with her new abilities.

...splish, splash, I was taking a bath on a Saturday night...

Yay! Sophie is clean!

Who needs TV, books, movies, or any other form of entertainment when you have a very cute 1 year old around to make you fall out of your seat laughing, with her antics and adorableness? It seems like every minute she does something else amazing...like walk while pushing a walker, mimic you as you teach her sign language for "more" or "banana", learn to crawl...backwards, pull herself up using Aunt Sog's leg, or eating a tangerine for the first time, and seeing her face scrunch up when she drinks plain old water out of a bottle-expecting sweet milk. Or eating more banana than thought possible by a one year old...and ocassionally shooting it out of her nose (cleft babies have that special talent).

She was the celebrity at church today, waving and letting others hold her, winning them over with her cute smile. Everyone that saw her was blessed. It was great to show her off.

Aunt Sog reports that she seems to like cookies and licorice, much to her mother's dismay. Frank is trying to win her over by giving her any kind of food he can...and it's working!

Life is definitely busy, but, boy are we having fun!!!!! Christmas will have a new meaning this year...it's not about shopping, gifts, and decorations (cuz we don't have time or money to do any of that now)...it's all about God's greatest gift to us...His love...and the love he has for all His children, especially little spoiled orphans (as Frank has come to affectionately call Sophie). She is God's gift to our family and we couldn't be more happier.

If you haven't had enough of Sophie yet, or just want to see this silly, little girl in action...view the following 30 second video. It's guaranteed to make you smile!

We're Home!

2008-12-18T02:52:00.000-08:00

After flying for 3 hours, stopping in Tokyo, then getting on another plane for 10 more hours... with lots of crying, eating Asian food in little compartmentalized dishes, feeling total exhaustion with stiff necks and legs...we are finally home. That was a looooooooong flight. Our little Asian princess didn't like being confined on mama's lap for so long, but who could blame her? It must've not been too bad because people all around us were sleeping through all the noise.

It's incredible how tired one feels after that kind of journey. We left Guangzhou at 8:30 am on Wednesday and arrived in Los Angeles at 9:00am. We all came home and hit the sack for a nap. After waking up after 3 hours, I had to take nap number 2 a little later. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Now it's 3:00 am and I'm wide awake. This jet lag is going to take some time I guess.

Sophie finally went to sleep in her own crib and I can do the same. We'll have pictures maybe tomorrow. Thanks for all of your calls, emails, and comments. They carried us through the last 2 weeks knowing that we were covered in prayer. Good night!

Going Home!!!

2008-12-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how much i love being a big "jie jie". Sophie is the cutest little half american citizen around. today we went to the consulate and she was sworn in with a whole bunch of little kids. and tommorow when we hit the ground she will be a proud american!!! its so exciting!!!
sorry i dont have any pictures from today.... we are all packed up and the cords for the camera are in some suitcase. but its also getting you used to not having new pictures everyday. cause who knows how long we will be able to keep that up when we are home. :) plus you guys will all be able to meet her!! hahah
we are leaving from the hotel at six tommorow morning! ugh... so early. but then we are home two hours later. oh the humanity of it all!! well.... i guess i have to try to get some sleep before the big journey back!!!
thanks for all your prayers! love ya all!!
Court

GZ day #3

2008-12-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

A spur-of-the-moment photo shoot on the famous red couch at the White Swan Hotel

Sophie and I in front of a beautiful flower garden complete with panda-shaped bushes

Ge-Ge means big brother...Mei Mei means little sister...Jie Jie means big sister

Our roller coaster maniac loves going on the elevator up to the 45th floor for breakfast

Finally we get a picture where Miss Smiley Pants isn't smiling...she was mad at Daddy for wrapping her up like a burrito in her bath towel

This was a lazy day in Guangzhou. We had to hang out in our room for a couple of hours just in case our visa paperwork needed adjustment. The kids and Frank played rummy while Sophie and Mommie took a long nap. Then we went to the Chen Family Museum to see some intricate embroidery and wooden carvings. No one was really into the museum so off we went to Shamien Island for all those last minute souvenirs and gifts. We're still not completely done with shopping. Tomorrow we'll take a taxi to finish up. While in the bus, the kids, ages 8-18, joyously sang songs praising Jesus! It was awesome when all the adults sang along. But, the best part of the day was when our whole travel group went out to dinner at The Banana Leaf Thai restaurant. Most of us got up and danced with some wacky waiters to the tune of Day-O. The food was Chinese-Thai and extremely delicious. The kids have found a great friend in 13 year old Mitchell Washington D.C. They even played Chinese Hacky Sack in the hotel hallway when we all returned. We're really going to miss our new-found friends when we leave in less than 2 days. We've had a wonderful time!

Shop till We Drop

2008-12-14T00:48:00.000-08:00

i love walking around in my new squeaky shoes!!!

yummy!!! mutton!!!!

thoughts from mommie:

We've been in our final destination, Guangzhou, for the last 2 nights. It is really a large metropolis with lots of skyscrapers, people, cars, and ....shopping! The best part is that we reunited with our travel group from Beijing. There are 8 families with adorable children ranging from 1 year to 6 years old. They're like family now. Today, Josh was sick so Frank stayed at the hotel with him while Courtney and I went to the famous Shamien Island for some serious shopping. It was so much fun buying lots of squeaky shoes for "Soapy" in various sizes. I don't know if you can buy them in the US but they are a big hit with all the adoption families. I bought 4 different pairs in pink, white, black...but I think I'll go get some more tomorrow. One can never have too many shoes, especially for $5 each pair!!! I had to buy a traditional tea set for all those upcoming tea parties I plan on having. This is one Chinese custom that I love! Tea is so soothing. Soapy has come to the conclusion that I'm more than just a nanny. She wants to come to me all the time, smiles when she sees me, reaches her hands out to me when someone else is holding her, and prefers me to feed her when she goes to sleep. This mommie thing is wonderful! It's great for one's self-esteem!

Frank, Mr. Practical, asked while feeding Sophie rice cereal, "Honey, can we get another one of these?" I think he's smitten with our little girl and head-over-heels in love with her! I knew he would be.

Courtney said that it's hard missing anyone at home because she's so in love with Sophie. While holding her hands as she walked down the hallway testing her squeaky shoes, Courts said, "She's growing up so fast and we've only had her for five days!" That pretty much expresses everyone's thoughts and feelings at this point. Until tomorrrow when we receive Sophie's American visa...one step closer to home.

I love you THIS MUCH!!!!

2008-12-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

yay!!!! so much fun with my new family makes me clap for joy!

we visited the starbucks so we could get aunt soggy a mug!!

big wet slobbery mommie kisses are my favorite kind!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

today i played with my cups again. i am gettting really good at stacking them by myself. i even figured out how to drop them and watch them spin before they stop. and im messy here cause courtney gave me a bite of her moon cake. yummy!!

"the wheels on the bus go round and round round and round, the wheels on the bus go round and round all through CHINA!!!"

Mommie and Daddy bought a beautiful little present in China!!

December 12th 2008

2008-12-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

my awesome siblings and i on the a few of the many steps of some dude's masoleum.

i have the coolest parents ever!!!! hahaha pigeons everywhere!

Lyla got this super cool hat for me!! we were matching!!!

all packed up and ready for my first flight!! guanzhou here we come!!

Thoughts on Being a Mommie

2008-12-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

Warning: The following blog has lots of words and few pictures. Enter at your own risk!

I thought I'd give you some insight from a "new" experienced mommie's point of view. Sophie is an amazing little girl. We have had it easy, except for the first hour of crying on Gotcha Day. She likes to eat and does a really good job with it, cleft palate and all. The only difference is that ocassionally, a little drippy food will leak out of her one nostril. It's kinda weird but we just tissue it off. She also has a special soft-sided bottle with a chewable nipple that we are able to squeeze to help her get the milk out. She's not able to suck because of the big cleft in the roof of her mouth. No big deal.

Sophie is a great sleeper too! She has slept through the night 2 out of 3 times. When you put her down, she goes right to sleep. This kid is way easier than my other two were.

Our new daughter likes to go shopping and look at all the sights. She's very curious and looks at people, blinking lights, listen to music, watch fish in a tank, and loves to hold onto things with a tight grip. So if you put anything in her hand...you buy it because she won't let go without a fight.

I thought maybe because she spent a year in an orphanage that she wouldn't like to be around people, ride in cars, or be touched by strangers. Well we were blessed with a little one who has no problems with any of those things. Because she is so cute and small, many people come up to her and talk to her, stroke her round cheeks, hold her hand, some waitresses or jewelry salesmen also pick her up. No tears at all! She's like a little Chinese celebrity.

I know you're probably thinking it's easy now because I have 3 other big people around to help me all the time, and you're absolutely right. Also, we're probably in a honeymoon stage, yah, yah, yah. Just let me enjoy my little utopia for awhile! It's way better than I expected so everyday I'm just so thankful to God for blessing us beyond measure! Others who have done this before said that this is an incredible journey, rich with incredible feelings, blessings too numerous to count, and instant unconditional love. Well it's true! I wouldn't have traded any of the millions of governmental hoops we've had to jump through, the cost, the incredibly long wait, the sleepless nights worrying about what could be, or the zillions of questions people ask with that tone of voice that said, "What are you thinking? Are you out of your mind? Aren't you too old to be starting over again?" Let me just tell you once and for all...YES...we are out of our mind...and yes we may be older parents...but ,people, this is one wild ride that is totally amazing and sooooooooooooo worth it! I am extremely glad that I listened to God who was telling me to show His love to the ones he loves sooooo much and not worry about my self. He promises to take care of all of our needs and he has with this adoption journey. God is to be praised and given all the glory! Our God is crazy in love with us and wants us to experience life to the fullest...and that is exactly what we're doing! May you be blessed by this incredible gift from God as well.

Love you!

Paula,

Sophie's forever mama

NIHAO!!!!

2008-12-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

its me again! just giving you an update on what we did today. for the most part it was a slow day but i did get to ride the bus again. the bumps are so much fun!

We ended up at some art museum. this was definetly my favorite exhibit. it was so amazing that it put me right to sleep in mommie's arms.

Courts, Joshie and I really liked these bells. but we were all a little more entertained with my links. they are def my fave.

but somehow we ended up in a jade shop at the end of the tour. cant they see i'm a local. these white people are the suckers!!!

i loved when big sissy even squirted the water in my mouth. it was kinda like a game. and then daddy made cheerios stick to her face. she looked really funny. but i had fun anyway.

CHEEEEEEEESE!!!

Nap time! i borrowed Courtney's blankie. and daddy's arm. this is the life!!

Where the River Meets the Sea by Sophie

2008-12-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

Nihao to all my new peeps in America! today i'll be reporting for my new family. we visited the orphanage where i spent the first year of my life. we were welcomed with this lit up screen with my name on it. i felt like a celebrity! it is a really nice orphanage with marble floors with clean, shiny, new furniture. they took good care of me. these guys played with me a lot.

this is me waving bye to my friends and nannies who were up on the second balcony!! tootles! i'm going to America now!

she loved me very much. she even started to cry when i was left.

the visit was a lot of fun. mommie and daddy thought i was going to cry and want to stay, but im really excited to be part of my new family. :)

Lyla slept in the crib next to mine at the "jiangyin children's welfare institution".

we celebrated my first birthday today! mommie and daddy found this really yummy cake and even lit a match in place of a candle! i nearly ate the whole thing myself. i definitely don't have any issues with sugar and fat content!

i stuffed that whole cake in my mouth. it made a mess but it was definetly worth it!

my new family and i visiting the bridge in my hometown. this is the biggest river in china called Yangtze. the bridge in the backgroung is longer than the golden gate bridge. jiangyin is the place where the river meets the yellow sea. i thought it was kinda a neat place for me to leave...like i'm leaving my old life and traveling across the sea to my new life.

my popeye/ smile/fart/ cute face... yah...i finally had a big bowel movement today...phew...i feel much better

this purple cracker was DELICIOUS! i worked on it for quite a while. mom tried to give me something healthy, but no way, give me cookies!

mommie even blew up this big beach ball for me. we all took turns hitting it back and forth. it was as big as i am.

winnie the pooh isnt nearly as cute as i am in this outfit!

we took a river boat ride. i loved staring at all the flashy bright lights while we were waiting. but then i fell asleep on courtney in the boat. what a day. and tommorow, our tour guide, jenny, is even going to take us to a museum!! i cant wait!!!

just a couple more from today...

2008-12-09T06:30:00.001-08:00

i took my first trip to the store. they had really big fruit in the super walmart!!

i fed daddy his snack. yum yum!

yes, i was worth the wait!!!!!!!

this is my caretaker from the orphanage. but i was sleeping when we saw him.

at dinner mommie let me play with the chopsticks. i'm a natural. :)

we even went for a little walk around town. but then my tummy started to hurt so we went back to the hotel.

this is mommy and i waiting in the consolate. i am officially a Gammariello today!!!

INTRODUCING SOPHIE ROSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-08T02:17:00.000-08:00

this is right after we arrived at the civil affairs office. sophie cried for a full hour.

but she finally looked at mommie....

this is the official picture that will show up on Sophie's adoption certificate

it's time to go home so we put on her mice hoodie that the orphanage dressed her in

it only took 4 hours to get a smile out of her when she became comfortable with us four babbling baboons gawking at her and cheering her on when she moved her feet, did a pushup, looked at Daddy, and she finally reached her car keys

we even cheered when she sat up

daddy's little princess

we were worried that josh wouldn't attach to her but he was the one who wanted to hold her all the time and be up in her face

we decided to "girl her up" by putting a ribbon on her head

yeah, she can do a push up but can't quite figure out how to crawl

i love my little baby sister

and after a little formula...

...she is sleeping quietly in her crib like an angel

2008-12-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

here are some more courtney pics.......

"hello, sucker, hello. two dolla. twenty yuan. hello."

JOSH AND I ARE IN FRONT OF THE BIRDS NEST!!! IT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!!!!!!!

Go Team USA!!!!

The architecture in Tianamen's Square was really pretty.

we took a picture with this blonde tourist. haha just kidding. mitchell got asked to take so many pictures cause all the asians were amazed with his blonde hair and blue eyes. the three of us ended up just posing in front of one of the buildings. americans are such freaks. hahaha. Merry Christmas!!! in the hotel in beijing they had this little santa's helper. just another photo op for us!!!

thats it for now.... i have to go get ready cause we are getting sophie in about two hours!!! the next post i will be a big sister again!!! its really happening!!! love ya all!

-"que-ney" (aka courtney)

2008-12-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

courtney here again!!!! i finally have a couple minutes to myself to blog again!!!! thank you so much for all your prayers.... the flight went by so fast. and i think i slept for more than half of it. and ate the rest. they gave us so much food!! haha beijing was a really cool city... here are some of the pix that i took. ive taken over 600 pictures since we've left!

at the great wall i felt like a celebrity. at least four people wanted to take picutes with me. they were so nice. maybe they just thought my outfit was crazy or they had never seen anyone so beautiful..... jk jk

this is at one of the watch towers with the great wall behind me!!!

beijing: home of the 2008 summer olympics..... and michael phelps beautiful victories!!

the sun was starting to set with the great wall behind it.....GORGEOUS!!!

Last day in Beijing

2008-12-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

After a great night's sleep, we had breakfast with our new found best friends...the other 4 families in our travel group who went to Beijing. We tried some weird stuff like congee, steamed dumplings with something unusual in the middle, and fried mashed potatoes (Josh and Courtney's favorite). Our group went to an awesome international worship service where people freely sang Christmas songs and prayed for all the nations. It was really a spirit-filled service among a nation of ungodly people.

Then off we went to Tianneman Square and the Forbidden City to see some pretty amazing buildings and a huge picture of Chairman Mao. It wasn't as cold today so we enjoyed just walking around with a million other Chinese nationals. The highlight though was going inside the Olympic Birds' Nest. It was so exciting to see it upclose and personal. It is huge and an amazing piece of architecture. We bought lots of souvenirs because Frank loves bartering with the locals. He must have "sucker" written on his forehead.

We "enjoyed" a traditional Peking Duck dinner, sitting at a 12-seater round table. Again we tried some unusual foods like this slimy, greasy stuff that I thought was beef fat but later found out was some kind of squash saturated with oil. Ugh! I can truthfully say I'm tired of Chinese food and can't wait to start eating peanut butter and jelly!

After a long day in Beijing, we flew to Nanjing in the Jiangsu Province. We're staying at a pretty fancy hotel that includes white bathrobes and slippers, of which Josh immediately donned. We told him not to get accustomed to such fancy ammenities unless he intends on getting a good job.

It was great to see a crib set up in our room when we arrived. REALITY is settling in! First thing I did was get Sophie's diaper bag ready for Gotcha Day! Our guide, Jenny, informed us that we will meet our sweet little dumpling tomorrow afternoon at 2:00pm. I can't believe we've only been in China for 2 days. Time is flying and we've already clocked in approxiately 16 1/2 hours of flight time with even more to go.

Courtney has gotten a cold again, but the good news is the rest of us are healthy. Please continue to pray for good health for all of us and that Sophie will make eye contact with us tomorrow. Does anyone know how to make a bottle with formula? Ha, ha! I've got to learn that one because I nursed my other two. Gotta go to bed...big day tomorrow! I got all your comments and appreciate you all!

We Made It to Beijing

2008-12-06T04:19:00.000-08:00

Well, after flying over the Pacific for 11 hours, then 4 more from Tokyo to Beijing, we finally arrived in China at 11pm on Friday night. The way we figure it, we lost a day somewhere. The flight was uneventful and everyone was uncharacteristically calm. Your prayers worked! We were totally exhausted and couldn't keep our eyes open on the last leg of the flight, but that made for a good night's sleep.
Today, Saturday, we had a full day of touring that began by getting up bright and early for breakfast then off to The Summer Palace in freezing cold weather. We were warned that it would be cold, but this is way colder than we thought. We wore thermals, heavy snow jackets, hats, snow gloves, scarves and boots and we were still cold. It was below freezing at about -2 degrees celcius. But we all agreed that the best part of the day was climbing the Great Wall. It was such an amazing sight as pictures can never fully describe the total immensity of this man-made structure stretching along the top of a mountain range that goes on as far as the eye can see. Needless to say, climbing all those steps at such a high elevation was no easy task. On the descent, we were so tired, our legs were shaking. A curious occurance to report was that three different Chinese people asked if they could take a picture with Courtney as she was all dressed up in colorful winter clothes, quite the contrast to all the Chinese natives in their black. We could've made some money by charging them...maybe a summer job for Courtney?

Tomorrow we go to a worship service only for travelers, see the Birds' Nest, Tianneman Square, and The Forbidden City. Then we board another airplane in the evening for a one hour flight to Jiangsu to pick up Sophie. Our guide, Rosa, promised that we'll meet her at 1:30 pm on Monday. Can't wait! We're getting a little nervous, but excited at the same time. It's weird to think that in less than 2 days we're going to have to start changing diapers and warming up bottles again!

Thanks for the prayers and comments! We feel connected, even across the Pacific. Love all you guys! And yes, we'll cover Sophie from head to toe with everyone's kisses. Wish you were here!

It's finally here!!!

2008-12-04T04:33:00.000-08:00

courtney here. its pretty early in the morning. i havent gone to bed yet. but we are leaving for the airport in about two hours. just a whole bunch of excitement and nervousness! i dont even really know what to expect. i've been sitting here on the computer updating my ipod, clearing my camera memory, and playing games. i dont think any of us can sleep. mom and dad both came in here cause we're all awake. it kinda reminded me of father of the bride, when they cant sleep before the big day. but minus the basketball and snow. haha.

i just cant believe that me sitting here will never be the same because when we come home there will be a precious little girl here. everything is going to be different. i cant wait to be in china. but i dont know what china will be like. will they give us weird looks cause we are Christians? but thats the least of my worries... the plane flight is going to be so long... but not as long as we have been waiting for sophie to come home!!

mom dad and i prayed together tonight. it was so calming. and hearing my dads voice as we prayed assured me that he is going to love sophie. he is trying to open his heart to her. i am so thankful that we were chosen to be her family. but just knowing how many people are praying for us makes me know that we will be okay on the flight and for the journey of her life..... well i think i'm going to try to get a couple hours of sleep if i can. although the more tired i am the more i will be able to sleep on the plane i hope. but then again we have benadryl!!!! hahaha. i just hope we only have to use it to make us relax, and not for sicknesses. their are so many bugs going around. :( anyway..... these were just some of my last minute thoughts before we are blogging from CHINA!!!! thanks for reading!! we love you!!!
-COURTNEY, proud big sister <3

We're Leaving On a Jet Plane

2008-12-03T22:49:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we leave for Beijing at 11:00 am, with 5 suitcases, 4 carry-ons, tons of medication just in case, and anxious hearts. We are so excited to finally being able to meet our dear little ladybug face to face. Thank you to everyone who is lifting us up in prayer. I definitely feel an unusual sense of peace that must come only from the Father. Your prayers are working. Thanks also for all of the emails, texts, and phone calls with words of love and encouragement. It feels so GREAT to have so many wonderfully supportive family and friends in our lives. We are truly blessed beyond measure. God is good, all the time!

It was so hard saying good-bye to my students and their parents today. I'm really going to miss being their teacher, but know I'm going to LOVE being Sophie's mommie. I was an emotional wreck today, crying bittersweet tears of sadness to say goodbye and happiness for realizing our dream of Sophie is coming true.

Well, better go to bed and get some rest (yah, right!). Gotta get up early tomorrow! Stay tuned to our first blog while we're in China!!!! Love you all!

Thanksgiving Blessings

2008-11-29T17:02:00.000-08:00

We have such grateful hearts as we ponder upon all of our God-given blessings! While driving to visit my mom (who's out of the hospital, yea!) for Thanksgiving, each of us listed 3 things we were thankful for. I thought it would be a great idea to document those things as it tells you a little bit of our heart at this time.

Josh is thankful for his new snowboard/boots/bindings, his dog-Chloe, and his much-used IPod.
Courtney is thankful for her autographed copy of the new Jonas Brothers book called, Burning Up!, her home, and her boyfriend-Steven.
Frank is thankful for his health, family, and home.
I, Paula, am thankful for the blessings from God that have provided the necessary funds to make this adoption work, my heart procedure that has cured me of those crazy episodes, and my wonderful husband.

We are also so thankful for our extended family, friends, and AWAA family who have supported us throughout our adoption journey, for without your encouragement and kindness we wouldn't have made it this far! God bless!

We Have our Chinese Visas!

2008-11-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

Today I drove about 90 minutes into Hollywood to the Chinese Consulate to get 4 Chinese visas stamped into our passports. Because I didn't want to make that drive again (imagine the traffic through 3 major LA interchanges on the 101) so I paid the extra money to get a 1-day rush. I waited around for 4 hours and then paid big money to pick them up at 2:30. This was just one more important step toward getting our little girl. It seems this whole adoption process is just one series of things to get done after another. But the good part is that that humungous list is ever so small now. I think all we have left to do is pay for our incountry travel, do some laundry, finish packing the rest of our suitcases, get Al to take care of Chloe (our dog), clean our house so it's ready for us when we get back, and confirm Sophie's pediatrician appointment for Dec. 19th. Only 6 things left to do! Watch out China, here we come!

Happy 1st Birthday, Sophie!

2008-11-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

Today is Sophia Rose's first birthday! We are so sorry that we aren't able to celebrate with her in Jiangsu, China. We'll figure we'll find a bakery that makes delicious mooncakes and party with her there. Tonight we'll have a little celebration in Thousand Oaks with white cake, a candle, and ice cream. We can't pass up an opportunity for a party, can we? Maybe we'll even go out for Chinese food. Yum! It's starting to become so real that we can hardly stand it! Besides the sleepless nights, we're trying to focus on all the positive aspects of becoming parents to a baby again. Staying positive is the key here. Happy birthday dear Sophie! We'll be coming to get you 10 days!

Travel Approval

2008-11-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

Yipppppeeeee! On December 4th, the Gammariello Family will be traveling to China...FINALLY!!! We received our travel approval this afternoon after a 3 1/2 week wait! We're halfway packed...now we have to get serious! We need to drive to LA to the Chinese Consulate to get our VISAS next! Busy, busy, busy! We only have 2 weeks to get ready! Please pray for travel safety, for anxiety-free traveling, for Sophie to be healthy and strong, for her to quickly attach to us, and for us to love her like crazy cakes!

Hurry Up and Wait-The New Name for International Adoption

2008-11-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been waiting for our TA-travel approval which I thought would be here by now. They told us 2-3 weeks. We are on day 24...and still waiting. It's like a cross country flight that is supposed to only take 5 hours but ends up taking "days" to get to your final destination because every time you think you're on your way, the plane has to stop for a connecting flight. Ugh!

I was happy to find an email from our agency travel coordinator today! But the only thing I got out of it was that there are no guarantees on when we'll get our TA. She just told us to hurry up and get our travel documents faxed over to her office. "Hurry up and wait" that's the name of the game!

It's kinda weird how now I'm not getting my hopes up at all. It's a real let down to be so close yet so far. We have no control over any of this. The only thing I do know is that I need to walk by faith. That's what this long journey has taught me the most. We think that we are in charge of our lives, but that's all a big hoax. We think we have control...but we don't have any control at all.

I must admit that I would LOVE to travel the second week of December as that is when my substitute will be taking over. If I leave any earlier, I will have to get a sub for a couple of days before the 2nd sub (the more desirable long term sub) took over. God has always provided and been my rock. He has this "perfect timing" thing down. Apparently, I don't. So, I'll continue to trust in Him and just trust that it will all work out. Besides, even though everyday I'm disappointed that the next call hasn't come, I'm getting pretty excited that soon I'll have my little Sophie Rose in my arms forever!

Showered with Love

2008-11-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

Frank and I were showered by Troop 718 Boy Scout Parents at Janice and Martin Leung's home this afternoon! It was so much fun to be treated to an Asian-themed couples shower hosted by Janis, Linda, and Sandee. Everyone brought in a delicious dish to share ranging from Chinese chicken salad, egg rolls, and sushi to roasted pork and fortune cookies. Linda made a beautiful cake which was 6 pastel-colored baby blocks that spelled out "SOPHIE." Pink Chinese lanterns were blowing in the wind and pink M&M filled take out boxes as favors sprinkled the tables. Every little detail was so well thought out. We felt so honored by our friends who wished us only the best in our upcoming journey. It was wonderful to get together and share our happiness with a great group of people. The Troop blessed us with a beautiful, much-needed car seat and other miscellaneous gifts. We left a big smiles on our faces.

The best part is Janice has invited us over after Thanksgiving to teach me how to make congee, a well-known rice mush that all Chinese kids grow up on. She also volunteered to have us come over, once Sophie arrives, to show Sophie that there are Chinese people just like her in America!

Pictures of Sophie

2008-11-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

This is Sophia Rose Gammariello, Sophie for short (yes, we changed her name again) at 5 months. This is most current picture we have. Isn't she adorable? We can't wait to see what she looks like now. We leave for China probably in about 3 weeks. We're still waiting for travel approval and our consulate appointment.

Why I Named my Blog "Fireflies and Crickets"

2008-10-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

When I think of whimsical, wonderful, happy things I think of fireflies and crickets. I wanted my new blog to be just that...whimsical, wonderful, and full of happy things. I wanted it to be somewhere you could go to get a smile on your face.

What do fireflies and crickets have to do with the whimsical? Well, a while back I had the opportunity to go to visit my brother Duke who lives in Ottawa, Illinois. The most memorable part of this trip was experiencing fireflies for the first time in my life as an adult. You see, we don't have fireflies in California., where I was born and raised. When the sun set in Illinois, I was simply bedazzled by how the tiny little critters glowed off and on and flew around ever so slowly. They hovered just about 5 feet from the dewy grass which made catching them quite easy and loads of fun! My sister Sog and I acted like two little kids as we caught a million (?) little glow bugs in a mason jar. So you see, fireflies remind me of happy, carefree times just like when I was a kid.

Crickets are another story. They are quite the amazing creature who make music each night by rubbing their wings together. Crickets are quite the smart insect who somehow elude humans and seem to hide in just right place in my house so I can't capture them. Beside all of these interesting facts, the Chinese people think they are good luck. Well, my little Sophie is my symbol of good luck, or better yet, she is evidence of God's amazing love for us. Crickets remind me of my beautiful Chinese daughter and the love my Savior has given all of us who believe in Him.

I've Been Tagged

2008-10-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

I've been challenged to share 7 random facts about myself, so you must endure yet another 7 interesting facts about me, different that previously posted. Ummmmm, let's see...
1. I love to collect tea cups and have British-style tea parties complete with scones and crumpets.
2. I used to play second base on my Jr. Hi softball team.
3. When I was 4-5 years old, I had a pet snail named Sam whom I fed saltine crackers and then he died.
4. My mom gives me goofy, colorful, holiday socks regularly.
5. I love to go hiking in Wildwood Park, near my house, early in the morning.
6. Jeremy Camp is my absolute favorite Christian singer in the universe! I've seen him in concert 3 times.
7. I'm a beginner when it comes to this blogging thing but I LOVE reading other people's blogs and making new cyberspace friends.

We'll Probably Travel in Early December!

2008-10-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! We received our referral approval today from China. That means we'll be traveling in early December! What a wonderful Christmas present from God! I can't believe we are really going. It's been such a looooong wait! If you count the years it took making that final decision to adopt, we've been waiting about 3 1/2 years. We're all so excited here. Frank is thinking about the financial part of the trip but secretly relieved that China approved him even though he thought they would think he was too old (hee, hee). Courtney is worried about taking her finals in college but can't wait to dress her up in all the cute clothes in her closet. Josh is reverting to being a little kid "Just one more time" as he wanted to be pushed in the shopping cart at Trader Joe's but told us that he would stay home to save money (no way is that going to happen!). I am just electronically informing everyone I know about our great news! There is definitely a buzzing excitement in the air at the Gammariello home!

The Waiting Game

2008-10-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

This "Waiting for China to Approve our Paperwork Game" isn't so fun anymore. People have always said that this was the hardest part of the adoption process because you know who your child is, you've seen pictures, you call her by name, you've gotten her room ready, you're half-packed with a zillion over-the-counter medications "just in case", and you just wait and wait and wait. There are good days when you just forget about the wait and dream of what life will be like with a little toddler running around the house and your heart smiles secretly inside. Then there are depressing days when you unsuccessfully wait for that phone call from the agency saying that we have our RA-referral approval. I know it will come in God's perfect time..."but God I thought this would've been the perfect time? :)" Anyway, it all just goes to show that I have no control over any of this, no matter how hard I try. Do we really have control over anything in our lives? I'm humbled by this reality and I guess that is my life lesson along with Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight."

Frank

2008-10-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Frank, the quiet one, loves watching "Mad Money with Kramer" every night on TV. He follows the stock market, has an interest in real estate, and loves to spoil the dog. On Saturdays he fiddles around with household chores, keeps his garage clean, and catches up on his newspaper reading. You can always find him helping someone out, especially with the little kids at church on Wednesday nights at Break Out. One day he hopes to lose a couple of pounds and gain a little more hair on his head. :)

Courtney

2008-10-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Courtney is a successful college student who loves having the freedom of sleeping in until 10:00 before going to class. Her favorite class is speech (of course). When she's not working at Mrs. Field's (yep, it's been a year since she started), she out with Steven Milbourn. He is a quiet, sweet, Christian musician who enjoys doing crazy, fun things with Courtney and her friends. He's such a good sport. They make a cute couple. We parents approve!

Courtney's interests are all connected to having fun! She enjoys going to concerts, Disneyland, and cyberspace whenever possible. Courtney is active at church where she is a leader for the junior high girls and still loves hanging out with Marty in the college group on Sunday nights. We are sad that we don't get to see her much as she is always out and about with her friends, working, or studying...not!

We are proud of how she is growing up, making good choices, and learning how life works. She is most excited about meeting Sophie in China and can't wait to bring her home.

Josh

2008-10-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Josh is growing up. He is a sophomore at high school. He is taller than Paula and the same size as his sister. He loves to play soccer and text people on this phone. When he's not at school, you can find him playing on his Wii, practicing his soccer moves, studying for Spanish, or at a Boy Scout outing. At school, Josh is one of 40 students selected to be involved with the Entreprenurial Academy where he is learning how to run his own business. One day he hopes to have his own flat-screen TV and be a successful business owner.

Sophie's Website

2008-10-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

We still have our adoption website complete with pictures, poems, and a little history on our adoption. Check it out and post a comment! www.ourjourneytosophie.com

We've Joined the Blogger World!

2008-10-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

It's official. The Gammariello Family has joined the world of bloggers by establishing our very own blogspot. We'll post the latest happs in our little world. Our intention is to use this blog for our traveling journal when we go to China. It should be an easy way to keep you updated with all the ins and outs of going 1/2 way around the world with 2 bio teenagers as we adopt a little one year old baby. We are anxiously awaiting our referral approval from China which is our biggest next step in the process. It could be anyday now...hopefully sometime in the next two weeks. By the looks of it (really just a guess) we may be traveling in November or December. It all depends on China. Pray for us that we survive this long wait with a smile on our faces!