Such a Great Read!

Linny Sanders, one of my bloggy friends recently wrote a book. 

It arrived in my mailbox yesterday and I'd finished reading it less than twenty-four hours later.  It is the true story of their little princess Ruby who was adopted from Africa. I've been a "fan" of Ruby's for quite some time.  I also feel a kindred spirit in Linny since we are both older moms with a houseful of kids still (again) at home.  In fact, her family is in process to adopt one of Isaac's friends whom he knows from his time at An Orphan's Wish!  Small world...  Anyway, I simply couldn't put the book down.

If you have a heart for the orphan or simply love stories of what faith and love can do GET THIS BOOK!!!!  Linny is currently traveling with her family, doing some speaking and book signings.  Check Linny's blog for the schedule. 

NOTE:  I was not a reviewer for this book with a complimentary copy.  I purchased it from Amazon, just like everyone else!  I tell you, it is GOOD!

Mission Accomplished

If you've been a reader of my blog for any time you are aware that Jennifer came to us with an extreme case of medical anxiety.  She informed us early on that "Doctors hurt me."  Merely driving BY a medical facility caused her to panic and SCREAM, much like an ambulance siren! 

Sometimes it is a difficult balance to guard against further psychological trauma, be watchful for attachment issues (and things that could upset the attachment) and still get our children the medical attention that they actually need.  The doctor at the CP clinic has wanted an MRI of Jen's brain for many months.  Since it wasn't something urgent it has been put on hold until I felt Jennifer was attached well enough to trust me with it, and until she wouldn't totally freak out when we walked through the door. She has done so much better when seeing a physician lately that it seemed reasonable to try getting the requested MRI.

Jen cannot hold still for any amount of time so an MRI with sedation was required.  Our local Children's Hospital is fabulous with really tending to the child's needs overall.  They explained to her what was going to happen this day.  They took the time to allow her to smell the different "flavors" of gas that she could have, and even inquired as to the name of the little stuffed doggy friend that came to the hospital with her.  Jennifer was allowed to sit on my lap while they administered the sleepy gas.  She panicked a little when they applied the mask, but she dosed off pretty quickly.  I was called back to recovery when she had just started to wake up.  We went home shortly thereafter.  At home, Jen was treated to a lazy day and exclusive rights to picking the movies.

It has been a week since the procedure, and I've been watching for signs of regression but she seems to have taken it in stride. I'm so happy to have reached the place that Jennifer appears to trust that I'll make the right choice for her.  This is such a HUGE breakthrough for us! 

Zoo

The company where Ethan works had their annual employee family day at the zoo this year.  You may recall that our kids weren't allowed to ride the amusement park rides at the Safari Park in China because of their special needs.  But it was all smiles on this day as the first thing we did when we entered the zoo was to hop on board the carousel.  The staff at the Cincinnati Zoo were very kind to our children with mobility issues and took great care later in the day to safely buckle their chairs in on the zoo train.

 

 

 

We saw a bird show that was super awesome!

Some animal that we didn't catch the name of...

We missed the FLAT zoo that we were used to in Indianapolis.  Pushing the wheelchairs up all the hills was work!

 
But perhaps the most entertaining was watching the goats investigating the wheelchairs!

 I thought we were going to have to spend the night in that barnyard.

We're Still Here! Catch Up Post...

I've had a few private messages asking how Pat is doing, some perhaps concerned that my silence meant bad things on the horizon.  It has just been a really nutty time for our family!

Shortly after returning home one of our sons graduated from college.  I literally drug myself to the graduation and hosted a large crowd in our home for the weekend afterwards.

 My recovery from jet lag has always been slower than the rest of the family, so I wasn't too concerned when I didn't "bounce back" with everyone else.  But it soon became apparent that I had brought back an illness from China.  I barely finished my round of antibiotics when we had to travel out of state for a few days.  The son who just graduated?  He made a spectacular month of it by getting married a few weeks later!  We had hired a caterer, but somehow in my (rather severe) illness I totally forgot that the ONE thing I was responsible for was getting the rehearsal dinner set up and decorated.  With some mad shopping skills and talent of some of our daughters we managed to pull it off in about an hour.  Just in time!

It was simple, but pretty.  And I'm sorry to say that at this point my camera went missing and I haven't seen it since.  I have no photos of the wedding, but big hopes of getting some from the photographer in the near future.

Now we are in the thick of scheduling doctor and testing appointments (had to cancel a bunch of them when I was sick) preparing our homeschool portfolios for review of our just finished school year, and figuring out the next school year with an additional child who appears to have more severe learning issues than I had anticipated.  Whew.  In all honesty, life is stressful for me right now. Adjusting to a "new normal" always is, even if one doesn't come home sick from China and have all these extra things thrown in!  At this point I'm trying so very hard to be patient while waiting for the "normal" to arrive.

Weenie Roast

A bad storm came through our neighborhood while we were in China and this happened in our driveway.

One of our sons-in-law and two grandsons came over, cut up the tree, and cleaned up the mess for us before we came home.  That was so, so appreciated!  (If you're wondering, no it wasn't insured for this type of loss.  Our homeowner's policy also won't cover it since the tree didn't damage the house.  Who knew?)  We're still debating what to do about the car that is pretty severely damaged.

BUT..... it gave us LOTS of branches to do this:

We're enjoying the good weather and making summer memories already!

Pat is home and doing well!

One of Pat's very favorite things to do is to play in the sand with his sisters.

We've been home for a few weeks, and it is certainly time I introduce you to our little guy!  Patrick is full of life, very curious, and pretty much always smiling.  The first few days he kind of wandered around like a little lost puppy, but is settling in to our routines well now.  He and the Little Princesses spend a lot of time playing in the back yard.

The first weeks home are always full of visits to the doctor and dentist, and of course in fighting that wicked beast called Jet Lag.

Thank goodness for dentists who allow all five kids to have concurrent appointments!

We actually traveled China with FIVE kids in tow, two of them in wheelchairs, and we lived to tell about it!  It was difficult, yes. But we made lots of memories, and I'm so glad everyone got to go. Because there were so many of us we required something larger than a hotel room, or even the two bedroom apartment we had when we traveled last year for Isaac.  We stayed in a three bedroom apartment in the area of the city where the US Consulate and the health building are located.  This also allowed us to keep more of a "normal" home life than staying in a hotel would have allowed.

Playing games in the apartment.

Watching a funny video on the computer.

 

 

Of course sometimes it is a treat to go out to eat - especially when you can get a bowl of noodles as big as your head for under $3.00!

Our agency's guide arranged for a driver and van so we were able to visit many places when we weren't at official legal appointments. 

Way up in Canton Tower!

Visiting the orphanage where we got to meet Abigail's foster mother!

Night time cruise on the Pearl River

Easter in Guangzhou, finding their "baskets" in the apartment.

Waiting for church to begin at Shamian Island

China has such fabulous parks!

Safari Park

Shopping with Ann!

Pedacab tour of a Hutong community in Beijing

Our guide in Beijing, David Wang, was wonderful!

The family in the Hutong who made us the most delicious food we ever had!

The Forbidden City

The Great Wall of China

We flew into our local airport when we went on our other trips.  But this time we saved literally thousands of dollars by driving to Chicago O'hare.

  We thought we would miss the welcome home parties - not so!  Our daughter Ruth and her husband Gerret met us at the airport.  We stayed overnight in Chicago, and stopped in Indiana on the way home the next day to introduce Pat to more of our adult "kids".  They along with several friends surprised us with a welcome home party.

  There was yet another welcome when we arrived home.  We partied all the way home!  Three states, three parties! 

The scene on the street in front of our house when we arrived home.

 

 

 

 

It is so wonderful to be home again.  We are settling into our new normal with five kids.  Pat is beginning to pick up on some English, and Isaac is a huge help in translating for us when needed. Thank you all for your kindness and prayers for us along this journey.

A thank you from the director of the orphanage school

Dear friends

. . . and I dare say family . . .

of the Bao’an Social Welfare Institute,

Hello from Sunshine Academy! My name is Heidi Olson (or you can call me Bao Hai Di 宝海蒂 – yes the same Bao 宝as Bao’an – the gift of a name given to me by our Bao’an children!), and I am the Executive Director of Sunshine Academy. In 2008 I came to China to start our first school at the Bao’an Social Welfare Institute, since that time we have grown to 5 cities! We are so grateful for the many open doors we have been given to touch our precious children’s lives!

Last month Randi Lanz came to pick up her son Pat (our dearly beloved Pat!) and she generously asked if there was anything we might use at Sunshine Academy. We gave her big wish list and to our delight and incredible encouragement she came bearing about 4 massive pieces of luggage (wow!) filled to the brim. Filled with beautiful, fun, educational, unique, precious things for our children, given to us by all of you – our extended family. She included all of the gift cards that came in the Amazon orders so I was able to read each of your names – amazed at how many of you responded!

I wish I could thank and hug each one of you – and your family members! Thank you for your tremendous gifts for our classrooms and thank you for having a vision to love beyond your family. You have selflessly given your lives, opening the doors of your hearts and homes, to welcome one (or in some cases many!) of the least of these. I admire that so much.

THANK YOU for thinking of us and for all that you have done for the children of China – our children.

God bless you!

Heidi Olson

宝海蒂