Sunday Day 2

Could he be any cuter?! We went to church, he colored very well in Sunday School and sat quietly in church. Today was the first time he looked directly at me and said something. About 3 sentences in Mandarin and I just smiled and said, "Sweetie I have no idea what you are saying". I tried to track down one of my 3 translators and by the time I got in touch with one (hour later) he was shy on the phone.  One of my translator friends is a cute Chinese college girl studying here in the US who I happened to meet the one day she attended our church, Tianni. She has only been in the US a couple of years and her English is amazing! She suggested I record what he was saying. So as he played I taped some because I was so curious. This is what he was saying, "Oh, what is this, oh a CD. Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me what is happening now. Oh, how did that happen?" So turns out, he just plays and has a running monologue like most kids. Tianni also said that his Mandarin was fine and on par with a 7 year old. When I hold up the phone for him to speak into it he gets shy and whispers. Google translate has given me things like : Hermit crab, crazy dance audition, university registration and kitty. NONE of which had anything to do with what we were saying or asking.

Tonight I served rice and turkey meatballs. He ate everything I served him (has every time) this time with chopsticks. My own kids had a hard time choking down the meatball mush. Then our visiting dog owner surprised the kids with a brownie. His first American sweet!

My friend suggested I get these puzzle sticker books at the dollar store. He LOVED them! He can figure out the shape and quickly put them in the correct spot. While we were working on the sticker book, A. called us in for a surprise show- her chin saying Ne-How in Mandarin.

He laughed at her. He didn't even mind our crowding him in his bed staring at him working stickers.

He is so delightful I spent most of my day borrowing trouble from the future instead of enjoying my day. I know he is human, when is he going to start misbehaving?! Crazy me. I need prayers to just enjoy the sweet moments I get.

Day 2 Observations:

He LOVES Nerf wars! LOVES!

Our son loves chasing him around playing Nerf wars.

He is the most obedient kid in our home.

He never whines or complains.

He does things the very first time I ask.

He walks with a bounce in his step.

He is a great sleeper.

Day 1

We woke him up out of a deep sleep at noon. That was a full 8 hours straight of sleep and we are trying to regulate his internal clock.
I set out several brunch choices- Ramen, mandarin oranges, strawberries, bread.
He ate the Ramen, cleared his dish, pulled the bowl (entire can) or oranges and started eating out of the serving dish. He eats all the food on his plate and clears his dish. He came with a small back pack that had 2 gifts in it for us, a new pack of 3 undies, 2 silky pairs of socks, this tank top with a pink rabbit on it, a sweatshirt, t-shirt and these gray capris. I laid it all out and showed him the clothes we had for him and he picked this outfit. Looked like he was ready for a workout. SO cute!

We played Loopin Louis and he laughed at laughed. We played other games like Spot it and Cups that didn't require English knowledge. Then we went to the library and played.

He touched the Lego flower and said, "flower" without anyone of us telling him. The kids think they have heard other English words from him. At first I just thought they were hearing what they wanted to, but he used flower in the correct context which makes me think he has learned some English at school.

This was one of the gifts he gave us. Very pretty! We put it on our mantle. The other was a red decorative scroll of a warrior, we hung that in our kitchen. I took an hour nap and when I stumbled down stairs at 6:00PM people started asking what was for dinner. Perry was asking me questions about what we had so he could make something and I was hardly articulating a response. I said, "I have no idea what to make for dinner". I checked my phone and had a message from Ann, "We are pulling out of the drive way, on our way to your house bringing you dinner".

WOW! Awesome! Perfect timing! Delicious!

After dinner it was time for showers. Jude couldn't keep hold of the soap and it bounced around the shower to his delight! Perry had a great idea of getting Pixar Shorts from the library. Most of them don't even have words! They are short cartoons that can be enjoyed without much dialogue.

To bed at 8:30, read (looked at board books) until 8:45, lights out.

Day 1 Observations:

My kids and husband are awesome!

Hosting is fun!

Jude can play well with our kids and alone!

I had time for a nap!

Jude is absolutely delightful!

He is here! Airport Adventure

The children were delayed in immigration in Dallas and missed their connection by 2 minutes. That delay changed their airport and their arrival time by 2 hours! We arrived in NoVA at 9:00PM for a 12:30 AM flight. We stopped at the Reston Towne Center to kill some time with our fellow hosting family,

  At 10:30 headed to get gas still with too much time to kill and starting to get tired. Friends of ours from high school and college saw our Reston post and invited us over to hang out. SO extremely hospitable, so late at night. What a blessing and true joy to catch up with them!

We arrived to Dulles, after missing a turn and coming in the very back, parking in a garage. Due to the construction we had to wait on a shuttle. It was 12:25am plane lands at 12:30.

 Two different people approach us, trying to find out what is going on and who we are waiting for.  At about 12:50AM they come around the corner.

My dear friend Ann (who recently hosted) relieved our babysitter at 9:00PM and slept on our couch until we got home at 3:30AM!  Jude has not said anything to us yet. Like his file said he is shy. Some smiles and nods but no words yet. We get home, he gets in some pjs I gave him, brushes his teeth and we tuck him in around 4:00AM.

 It is now 10:40AM and sis and visiting dog are laying at the foot of the stairs for Jude to come down. We slept in until 9:00. We imagined what it would be like to send our 7 year old to another country to live with a family without knowing their language and culture. WOW. That would be incredibly hard and she is outgoing and has been raised with a full love tank from 2 parents who love each other. Her baseline is more confident and secure. Praying for Jude as he transitions that his love and confidence tank get a much needed fill up!

Today is the day!

This is a picture of Jude in the Beijing airport heading our way! We pick him up late tonight in DC!

My friend Ann ( Ann's Blog ) is coming over tonight to sleep on the couch so we can make the journey without all of our kids. I was thinking if we are all up until 2AM it will make for a cranky first day. We are bringing our 11 yr old so Jude can have someone to stare at in the back seat.

We are getting EXCITED! We have his bed all made in our son's room, and he cleared off a shelf for Jude's toys. My friend Arin gave me some cars for him so they are lined up waiting to be played with.

 

I have 2 drawers of clothes (he comes just with that backpack) and I am not sure what else I am missing. I already feel like I am about to be induced. I have been nesting like crazy. Trying to prepare as much as possible.  We cannot wait to see what God has in store for us and him!

Delays and Dishwashers- His Timing is Perfect

Another visa/flight delay, but we have an official visit date and it comes with an actual flight itinerary! Jude will be coming July 29-Aug 20th!

I don't have any Jude stories to share yet, but I wanted to write about our dishwasher. For several weeks the dishes are dirty instead of clean at the end of the cycle. My husband finally said, "The dishwasher is not going to heal. We need to do something about it". I think in the back of my head I really was hoping it would just get better. We were washing dishes by hand and using the dishwasher to as a large drying rack. Neither of us is handy, but we decided to tackle it.This is the story in bullet form:

• Talk to my very handy/smart brother about the symptoms and we diagnosed the dishwasher as the pump or motor needs replacing.
• Did all the basic trouble shooting things like running it with vinegar and scrubbing the inside
• Consulted my contractor brother in law and he explained the 5 steps we had to take to get to the pump.
• Decided we have time, don't want to spend money, so on July 4th Perry and I started our dishwasher repair journey with my brother facetiming us.
• We got through step 2. We couldn't undo the power box under the dishwasher. Perry told Nathan, "Look at this and go find a tool that will take this box off". I was thinking, "Why are we inviting a 9 year old into this mess?" Nathan hopped right up, ran to the garage and returned with a star screwdriver we needed. wow.
•  We got step 3 but were stuck on 4 and 5. I was so frustrated and I prayed aloud, "Lord, You know what is wrong with the dishwasher. Lead us. Give us wisdom".  That morning I read, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5
• Perry finds a YouTube video of our exact dishwasher. The repair man is taking all of the insides apart. We follow the steps and take out everything down to the impeller (new word for us). I find 3 twist ties, a lemon seed and lots of food debris. I scrub it all outside with the hose.
• My brother in law walks in and marvels at how far we got off course. In Perry's words to him, "You told us to zig and we zagged." We were feeling very defeated. What had we done?! Seriously, I honestly thought I could get to the motor from the top down. Man, we had a huge mess!
•  BIL helped us complete steps 4 and 5 and we got the dishwasher out. Then he helped us reinstall the impeller and suggested we hook everything up and give it a try. He left.
• While the dishwasher was out we took a picture of the pump/motor so I could order a new one ($135).
• We hooked everything up and Perry said, "There is a 3% chance of this working". To which I said, "Hey, God can do anything!"
• Would you believe it worked?!! Perry looked at me in disbelief. I started crying in awe of God. We heard the WOOSH! And 3 days later it is still working!

What I learned about God from the dishwasher:

• True to His Word, He gave us wisdom! Had those 5 steps worked, we would have taken the pump/motor off, ordered a new one, waited on it, replaced the part and it still would not have worked! Instead He diverted us! We ZAGGED! And in the process we felt defeated and off track! We had in our minds the path we were to take and we seemed off of it. All along He directed us to the right path!
• I can rest in His plan and His timing. When things don't seem to be going like I think they should, I can rest in Him directing my path. I hope next time things seemed derailed, He will give me eyes to see that He knows what He is doing.
• He cares about me and all the details of my life! I am in awe of how He helped me heal the dishwasher.
• I started thinking about His timing in other aspects of our lives. Perry really wanted a specific job this spring and didn't get it. He has worked hard gaining the experience necessary to put him in a better position for the same job that posted last week. If he does get this job, why didn't he get it in March? I'm not sure, but I do know there was a plan and purpose in the past 4 months for him not having the job. I don't have to figure out God, but I can rest in His plan for our lives. And if this job doesn't pan out? Keep seeking wisdom and following the path God lays out for us.
• As far as Jude. Why the delays? I actually don't even need to know all the details. God's timing is perfect and I trust His plan was for Jude to be with us in August.