The Wait For Kate

Suzie Wolf Photography

2010-06-17T20:44:00.006-04:00

LIVE! One Night Only!! KATE MCKENZIE

2010-05-03T14:31:00.008-04:00

Kate's school is a creative arts and science magnet and as such they have an end of the year program extraodinaire! They are given total access to the Time Warner Music Pavillion which is such a great venue and such a fun, huge stage for the kids to strut their stuff. All grade levels were fantastic. It was obvious that they have top notch teachers working with the kids throughout the school year to produce such a professional show. Second grade's performance theme was the seasons and Kate was a snowflake. Brrr.

Outward Bound Bound

2010-04-19T11:21:00.004-04:00

Alarm went of nice and early today (although not as bad as when Alex went to Japan last month) so we could drop Alex off for his 8th grade trip. They'll be spending the week out in the western part of the state with NC Outward Bound.

They left Raleigh this morning at 6:30 and should meet up with the Outward Bound instructors at 11:00. They'll be assigned to groups (of 10-12) and leaders, go over and pack their gear and then start walking. They won't return to base camp until Friday around noon. Everything they'll need for the week they'll pack in with them. They are taught how to use a compass and read a topo map and then are responsible for making sure they get to each evening's camp location. They have no tents, but will be taught how to make a canopy (if needed) with a tarp. They'll do some rock climbing and rappelling.

On Thursday they have reflection time, where each student is plopped down in the woods alone (although within earshot of the group leaders; each student has a whistle) for 2hrs of reflection time. They're to spend that time thinking and journaling about ????? The past few days; this past year; the past three years at Exploris; what the future holds; fears, concerns, excitement about the challenges ahead in high school; 2 hours worth of doodling? It's actually an exercise (minus the sitting alone in the wilderness to do it) that these kids are pretty comfortable with at this point in their Exploris career. Every semester they compile a portfolio of work they've done to present to their teacher and parents. They open with a letter of reflection, looking back at the semester and what they've accomplished and how they hope to grow. Alex' teacher this year has been a sixth grade teacher up until this year. When we had his portfolio conference in December his teacher commented that she needed to schedule longer conference sessions because these 8th graders are so much more verbose than the 6th graders . . . they've grown in their time there and are capable of really looking inside and sharing what they see.

Friday when they return to base camp they have a ceremony to celebrate the challenges that the students faced during the week. The students are each presented with a pin which the student can take if they feel they lived up to the expections they had set for themselves at the beginning of the trip. In the past, some students have chosen not to accept the pins, have gone home to continue the journey and at a later time contacted NC Outward Bound to tell them they had reached their goals. And a pin was sent to them.

Then they load up on the charter bus (poor, poor bus driver . . . I'm sure the stench will be beyond compensation)and head home.

I'm so excited and envious and I cannot wait to hear all about his week. And hopefully he'll remember to take a few photos!

More Dog Walk Pictures

2010-04-18T08:54:00.012-04:00

Saying Hello

2010-04-17T20:34:00.003-04:00

It's been a while. A long, long while. I'm sure that anyone who was following me oh those many, many months ago has long since given up on me posting anything ever again. Can't say that I'll make amends and be a conscientious poster. I'll try. It just seemed like there wasn't 1. enough time (and facebook was so much quicker) and 2. not enough worthwhile to write about. There will probably still not be enough time and I'm sure that when (and if) I do find the time, my postings will have inane little tidbits about what cereal I had or how many gray hairs I discovered lounging on my head. Or not. One can hope.

So today, Kate, Alex, Tux and I went downtown to participate in the SPCA of Wake County's K9 3K Walk. Aside from alot of sniffing and barking, about 2 dozen businesses in Raleigh were dog friendly for the day. Opening their doors or at least patios to families and the pooches.

The walk had us meandering through the Historic Oakwood District of Raleigh, past some lovely bungaloes, four squares, the Krispy Kreme and the Governor's Mansion. After our walk we headed over to an Italian restaurant for lunch, then to my favorite gallery to visit some artists that we enjoy. Topped it off with the purchase of my Holly Aiken/Casey Porn messenger bag that I've been lusting after for quite some time!

Good Day!

Saying Goodbye

2009-09-03T21:31:00.013-04:00

Today was the last day for Alex in the middle school building that has embraced him for the past two years and one month. It's a long story, one which started the fall of his 6th grade year when their building (along with several surrounding buildings) was purchased and they were told they would need to leave. Thanks to a tanking economy, the anticipated interest in their space was nonexistent, so they'd been able to stay put while locating a new location.

A new location they do have. It's been revamped, remodeled and updated to accomodate our kids and their teachers, and will welcome them on Tuesday morning.

Today was my last day in the old school helping with pizza, so I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the school in transition. Bittersweet.

One Year

2009-05-21T21:16:00.007-04:00

We officially started our adoption process July 2005. Unofficially we had begun long before we were married. The idea of providing a home for a child in need of one was something that I had harbored, nurtured for a long time. Of course, perspectives change. I realized that I wouldn't be coming to the aid of a needy child, so much as that child would be a gift of joy for our family. We would be the lucky ones! The summer of 2005 we began our process to bring Kate home and filed an application with Children's Hope International. At the time it should have only taken about 8 months from log in date to referral. Well, we all know that that time frame changed. If we hadn't seen Kate and been selected to review her file (in January 2008) and ultimately decided that she was the one our family needed, we'd still be waiting. I read today that they are matched up to March 14, 2006. Our log in date was March 29, 2006. Close, but still not there.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Kate's arrival in the States. One year that she has been on US soil. With completely foreign sounds, sights and smells. One year that she has had to deal with the grief of leaving everything familiar. Any hope that she may have had of her biological family finding her, bringing her home. I'd be lying if I said it's been a breeze. There were a few times the first couple of weeks home that I sat in the bathroom crying, incredulous that I had actually wanted to do this.

But then I would consider the fact that no matter how stricken I felt, her anxiety had to be off the charts worse than mine. And unlike us, she only learned about her new family the day before she met us (this she shared with me a few weeks ago). And I think she was pretty much content at her "house in China" (which is what she calls the orpanage).

Today, a year later, she is a happy girl. She loves High School Musical. She loves elephants. She loves pizza, but hates cheese :). She loves dresses, especially pink ones. She loves to ride her bike and hunt for bugs. She loves to draw.

And she loves us. And we love her. And we cannot imagine what it was like without her, just over a year ago.

Another Layout!!

2009-04-29T21:34:00.002-04:00

I think I'm in Love!!

2009-04-25T09:49:00.003-04:00

After posting last night with my first attempt, I whipped up these two pages in no time! I'm no Ali Edwards, but I think they look cute. And I think this may restore sanity to my life!!

Experiments

2009-04-24T17:10:00.003-04:00

I've had Photoshop Elements collecting dust for over a year now. When I first got the software I installed the program and opened it up. I was hoping there would be a little Mr. Paperclip that would hold my hand and walk me through the entire process. That digital scrapbooking would be my new favorite way of saving our memories. Bringing beauty and joy to our lives.

Well, when after a few minutes of clicking and cursing, a beautiful page did not emerge, I returned to my old fashioned way of scrapping. Standing up at the draft table and cutting, pasting, stamping, and embossing . . . all by hand.

A few weeks ago my back started hurting. Not a big deal, just an annoyance. Two days ago the pain shifted from the lower back to radiating pain straight down the back of my right leg. Today went to the chiro and was told to get off my feet. So I decided that this forced inactivity would be the perfect time to sit around with my laptop and really figure out digital scrapbooking.

I've spent the better part of this afternoon experimenting with photoshop and some free downloads and came out with the above (lame, but fine for a first attempt and free downloads) layout.

An experiment about Kate's experiment she submitted to the school science fair. Granted she had a LOT of help in the entire process (when they got back from the fair last night I was eager to learn if I, I mean Kate, won anything), but it provided an opportunity for some new vocabulary and working on a big project for school. And a chance for Tux to play ball. He can never get enough of that!

Kate On Two Wheels

2009-03-29T17:45:00.001-04:00

We took away the training wheels today! It was really amazing! She hopped on and away she went! No spills. No tears. No bandaids. No kidding. She was fantastic!

Where's Alex?

2009-03-25T20:13:00.006-04:00

The 7th grade spring class trip was a three day adventure in Philadelphia so Kate had the chance to be an only child for a while. We thought she'd love being the princess . . . oh wait, she's ALWAYS the princess . . . love having our undivided attention for 3 whole days. And she did enjoy it. But she really missed having her brother around.

She told me that she was going to make a card for Alex (she's BIG into making cards right now). I told her I thought that was an excellent idea, that Alex would love to get a card from her. On the day that he was getting home (late, late that night), she ran upstairs afterschool and was busy for quite some time. She came down later with a sealed envelope and announced that she had made her card for Alex. Groovy.

When Alex got home (after 11pm) that night, this card was waiting for him on the kitchen counter:

When she says go home she really means come home. And wes is wish. So sweet. And just as wonderful was that Alex had used some of his spending money in Philly to buy Kate a gift. A key chain (she's got this amazing jingly key chain collection on her backpack) that said Philadelphia on one side (with a flag and some other patriotic stuff), and a flashing #1 Sister on the flip-side.

Happy sibs watching Stuart Little together!

Vista and Valentine's

2009-03-23T09:23:00.002-04:00

For my birthday I got my very own lovely laptop! It's fast. It's green (my fav color)! And it uses Windows Vista. Previously I was an XP girl so this has taken some adjustment. I'm not really digging the photo storage, but I'll get there. So I'm going to blame my slow learning curve on the reason why I haven't posted in ages. Or I could blame facebook.

Pic thanks to Shawndel who sent this to me from Kate's Valentine's Day breakfast at school (oh, about a month ago . . . oops).

Frog for Chelsea

2009-02-28T21:20:00.002-05:00

No School Today

2009-01-20T07:29:00.003-05:00

It's 7:30am, the wind is whipping and the snow is falling!!! I wonder if the kids will let me curl up with a good book and a latte . . .

Ants

2009-01-18T10:03:00.008-05:00

He really wanted a hamster. Knowing that we have a very inquisitive cat and due to a poor track record for keeping pet enclosures clean, Santa opted to bring Alex an ant farm. It's actually pretty cool. It's filled with a gel that is not only their home, but their source of food (lots of little Hansels and Gretels).

We ordered the little guys on line a few weeks ago and had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. Of course the day of their delivery was the coldest we've had so far this year. And they had to hang out in the mailbox for hours until we returned home in the evening. They were in a little vial. No blankets. No mittens. No hot chocolate. They were not looking very happy. Or active. Or alive.

Much to our surprise, and quite the test of our reflexes, the little nippers were far from dead (well, most of them anyway) and those little Steve McQueen wannabees tried to escape! Only one brave soul perished in the ill fated prison break, may he rest in pieces. The surviving soldiers proceeded to scoop up the hypothermia victims, deposited them in one corner of their new home, and began tunneling. According to the literature it takes about a week for the ants to begin digging their new digs. Ours must be overachievers (Steve McQueen was no slouch) for they have moved and grooved and have a quite impressive 3 day old subterranean habitat.

Bunny Clock

2009-01-14T10:38:00.004-05:00

Debbie, a new blogging friend, posted a photo of a soup tureen that looked a bit like my bunny clock. I mentioned to her that I would snap a photo and post it for her to see. It's not an antique but I find it to be quite charming! Voila!

There's Ice in My Birdbath!

2009-01-14T10:33:00.002-05:00

How wonderfully seasonal! Although my family in Chicago may feel differently, I'm so happy for the cold!

Nine on the Ninth of Ohh Nine

2009-01-09T08:25:00.007-05:00

One year ago today we logged on to our agency's website to see the new list of waiting children. That is when we first saw our Kate. I could say that hers was the only face that spoke to me. The shy smile and the hand on the hip. But there were others. Other children that we would have been very lucky to welcome into our fold. One thing that did stand out about our Kate was that the very day that we were looking at her picture was her birthday. My first thought was I hope her family finds her today on her birthday.

When we got the call the following week, it was my birthday wish that was being answered (our birthdays are two weeks apart)! And our life and family took a new, exciting turn. We took this picture one year ago to send to our daughter waiting for us in China.

It's amazing to think that 9 years ago today this amazing, spunky, loving creature was born. And 1 year ago today this amazing, spunky, loving creature was born to us.

Happy Birthday Kate!! We love you and are lucky beyond compare to have you as a part of our family!

The Lemonade Award

2009-01-08T21:35:00.003-05:00

The purpose of this award is to give it to someone who is showing gratitude or a good attitude ("if life hands you lemons, make lemonade") within their life or blog.
The rules:
1) put the logo on your blog
2) nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude and/or gratitude.
3) have your 10 pass it along to 10 more!

I wish I had enough blogging friends in my arsenal to pass this along to and do it justice, but I think the few friends that I do have tagging along with me on this journey will be able to spread the wishes as strongly as 10 friends would!

Thank you Kimberly! A wonderful friend to me and my family here in North Carolina. I appreciate the Lemonade Award and will pass it right along!

Below are a few friends that have been very supportive in many ways, being there when perhaps I was the "lemon" that they had to deal with! Some I think I was able to be on my best behavior with. An old blogging friend that has had to deal with the lemons that were dealt out to our agency, but has hands down handled them with grace and whose blog brings so much beauty to those that visit it. And one new friend that I have yet to have met, although I did know her husband in college, and I hope to meet her in person someday!

Lynn at http://wishesquilt.blogspot.com/

Lori at http://ajourneytoourdaughter.blogspot.com/ (who I know is very busy getting her business started up, but your blog has brought much joy!)

Lynn (a different expat Lynn) at http://lifeaccordingtolynn.blogspot.com/

Chelsea at http://gourfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/

Jolie at http://www.little-latham.blogspot.com/

Carla at http://gulke.blogspot.com/

Picture Tag

2009-01-08T21:20:00.003-05:00

My friend Lynn tagged me for picture tag. Sounds like fun, so I think I'll play along.

The object of picture tag is to:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

No Cheating! (cropping, editing, etc)

So this is a picture of one of our Virginia Tech friends, Brian Self, at his wedding in July 2006 to Eileen. They were married in Colorado in the shadow of Pikes Peak. They are now living in San Luis Obispo, SLO, (not sure if I spelled that correctly), California. He's an engineering professor at Cal Poly and she is working on her Masters in Sustainable Architecture.

So, Kimberly, Chelsea, Carla, Kristy? Photos anyone?

Kerbie's Visit

2008-12-20T09:55:00.008-05:00

When we traveled from Beijing to Nanchang on May 11, 2008 it was just two families, the McKenzies and the Lathams. Jolie and Shawn met their precious daughter Kerbie in that same conference room just minutes after we had met Kate. We really enjoyed their company while we were in China and were thrilled that they live in Richmond, VA. We were certain that we would visit with them once we got back home.

We were so excited when they planned their trip down to Atlanta with a stop-over in Raleigh! Kerbie is such a sweet thing! She is 20 months old now and has started talking. She loved the dogs (she has a couple of her own) and enjoyed making sure they ate all their food. She also helped Phil work on his squatting (very important resting position in China).

After all the kids had gone to bed, we started swapping "horror" stories about the first few weeks back from China. All the adjustment issues. Trying to figure out how to be a working family again. Feeling totally disfunctional, disillusioned and afraid to let on how low some of the lows could be. It was reassuring to know that we were not alone in our stress. I felt like an idiot for not realizing that they were probably experiencing at least a little of the same and, even if they weren't, that they at least would be supportive, having made that same journey with us back in May.

It was great spending some time with them. Lots of laughs. Lots of stories. Good therapy!

He's Going to Hate This !!

2008-12-18T17:10:00.001-05:00

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She's Going to Love This!

2008-12-16T15:02:00.001-05:00

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Elf Party

2008-12-12T08:40:00.003-05:00

It is so easy to take for granted how lucky I am. I never give a second thought to the fact that I live in a safe and loving house, with all my needs met and a whole lot of my wants, too. And it's been a couple of years since I was actively serving in the community, so it's easy to have a kind of happy bubble existence. And easier still to put off new volunteering starts because we were "expecting". At any moment we would get word from China. I would need to be a full-time, kid at home, 24/7 Mom. Not that it would happen quite that dramatically, but I didn't want to commit to something that I couldn't follow through.

I realized last year that I needed to pop that bubble and find a way to contribute here in our "new" hometown. I got an application to begin volunteer training with Interact, an organization that helps battered women and their children in the Triangle area. Then we found out that we were picked to adopt Kate!

It's been a busy 6 months since our trip to China, but it's time to dust off that application and get moving. Wednesday night, Alex, Kate and I spent the evening at Interact's annual Elf Party. We organized toys, clothes, books, and other gifts for Interact's Holiday Bazaar. The bazaar is an opportunity for their clients to come with their children and pick out gifts for one another. We helped set up "shopping" areas for Mom's to "shop" for their children and another area for the kids to pick out gifts for Moms. The bazaar will be held this weekend and will have volunteers helping the kids "shop" for their Moms, helping Moms by keeping kids out of the way while Mom shops and getting all gifts wrapped up to keep secret until Christmas.

Both Alex and Kate had a great time and I had numerous complements on how helpful and hard working my two Elves were! Hopefully next year, after having gone through the volunteer training, I'll be able to help out during the bazaar itself! While we drove home Wednesday night, I had two tired kids both agree that we definitely need to do that again next year.

Inspired

2008-12-04T10:52:00.002-05:00

Kate received a video of the Nutcracker performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov and was so inspired that she ran up to her room and put on her "butterfly dress". After posing for a few pictures, she danced around the kitchen, asking Dad to help her with the lifts!

Snow!!

2008-11-18T14:04:00.004-05:00

Hey Yall! The leaves haven't even finished falling, yet there's snow falling! How groovy is that!

Hope you didn't strain your eyes to see the snow in the photos, but it's there. Promise.

Girl Party

2008-11-13T17:20:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, both Phil and Alex were out of town so Kate and I decided to have a Girl Party! We brought out some lovely plates, lit the candles and dusted cupcakes with pink sugar crystals. We painted each other's nails and watched the bonus DVD that came with her High School Musical 3 soundtrack. We danced around and took pictures. We had a lovely time at our Girl Party and found that we didn't miss those boys one bit. Well, maybe we missed them just a little!

Is It Too Good To Be True?? North Carolina Is Blue??

2008-11-05T09:07:00.004-05:00

Our local stations are saying that we've done it, that we've gone blue here in North Carolina, but I haven't seen it yet on CNN or other National outlets. It's fantastic how much excitement there has been leading up to yesterday and I'm so hopeful for our State! I'm proud to say that my county, Wake county, voted for Obama. Just waiting for a decision to be made for the state as a whole.

Today's The Day

2008-11-04T06:56:00.003-05:00

If you haven't already voted, get out there and be heard.

Halloween

2008-11-01T08:24:00.003-04:00

Kate's first Halloween (that we're aware of). We had a Princess, a Psycho (Alex' friend, Nolan) and a Cereal Killer. Alex, Nolan and another friend, Jesse (Santa with a Scream mask), took off and did their own thing, while Kate and I visited some families on our street and just tried to take in all the sights. She definitely had the whole trick or treat thing down, and was thrilled to see the candy filling up her pumpkin!

Unlike last year where we were wearing shorts and tshirts, last night felt like a fall holiday. Cool and crisp. So it didn't take too long before our Cinderella was feeling cold and was ready for some hot chocolate and Disney channel. Alex returned home about an hour later with more candy than we'll ever know what to do with (especially since he still has candy left over from last year).

Fall Party At School

2008-10-31T12:32:00.004-04:00

Games were played, pumpkins were decorated and lips were blackened (picked the wrong day for a white t-shirt). And while all this is going on, no school work is taking place. What more could a kid ask for?

Ireland Continued

2008-10-31T12:00:00.017-04:00

While the purpose of our trip was to visit my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin and Granny, we did manage to get in quite a bit of sight seeing. On Monday we went into town (Dublin) and went to Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral and Dublinia.

The Castle is on the site of the original Dublin fortress and where the black pool which gave the city it's name was located.

Dublinia is very cheesy, but does a great job of explaining Dublin's history. You walk through Viking history, life in Medieval times and lots of information about the Black Death. Nice.

Christ Church Cathedral is the resting place of Strongbow (in the picture Alex is showing how he apparently died) as well as home to some beautiful stained-glass windows. Alex was quick to point out the Holy Hand Grenade found in one such window. Perhaps Monty Python is not the best roll model.

Wednesday we visited Kilmainham Gaol during the day and that night saw Ireland beat Cyprus in a World Cup qualifier.

Thursday we visited Trim Castle (location of the majority of the filming of Braveheart) and Newgrange, a very cool stone age passage tomb.

The Boy is Home!!

2008-10-29T20:45:00.003-04:00

Alex spent the past 3 days at an outward bound-style camp for a 7th grade class trip to foster unity, teamwork, whatever . . . it drove me nuts not having him home!!! Oh crap crap crap I don't think I can let him go to college. Maybe if I let him play video games instead of doing homework I can sabotage his academic efforts.

Off the Plane and On the Beach (Sunday, October 12)

2008-10-24T09:56:00.010-04:00

Our flight from Atlanta was fab! I love it when they have upgraded the interior of a plane with the individual screens in the seatbacks so we can pick and choose films at our leisure. Plus we could pause, fast forward, rewind! How cool is that! Really could have used that kind of luxury on our trip to and from Beijing.

As an employee of the Irish airline Aer Lingus, Uncle Don was able to meet us at baggage claim and walk through customs with us to where Aunt Rita was waiting. It was a beautiful day in Ireland. Really. Blue sky and warm. Really. We walked out to the employee lot where Don had parked (he offered to go get the car and come get us, but after been cooped up like a sardine for 7 hours . . .) and I actually had to use my sunglasses. Almost didn't bring them. It is Ireland, after all.

First order of business when we got to their house was to turn on the electric kettle and have a cup of tea. Mmmm. Second, as our early arrival had thrown off their usual AM routine, was to get Dusty out for his morning romp. We loaded up in the car and headed off to the beach (Malahide), a five minute drive from their house.

We parked on the roadside and walked a bit on a laneway past a new golf course and up to the dunes.

Dusty was happy as a clam, racing along barking at the waves, chasing the tennis ball and fetching sticks. Alex was similarly affected by the sand and surf. He is like a child possessed when he gets around water (oddly the shower doesn't have the same effect) and has to get in it. Before we knew what had happened Alex as in up to his knees. Shoes and bottom half of jeans just soaked! I lambasted him and had him shed the shoes and roll up the jeans (yeah, yeah, barn door) before he went back in. Ah well, vacation.

Ireland

2008-10-17T10:04:00.002-04:00

We've only one more day here in Dublin with Rita and Don. Our last minute trip to Ireland has been a whirlwind visit; the fact that I haven't had time to post anything while here should speak volumes!

We'll be home tomorrow (happy and sad) and will hopefully get some things posted on Sunday!

Tag Sale Saturday

2008-10-04T16:21:00.002-04:00

Neighborhood sale. Was not planning on participating. Too much stuff to go through and not nearly organized or disciplined enough to get ready. Not that I didn't have advanced warning. There were weeks to prepare. I'm a bit of a procrastinator. And since I hadn't prepared I decided last night that we would not be participating. Like me, Alex is a procrastinator. Unlike me, he decided last night that he had stuff to sell and would be setting up shop in the morning. So we gathered up a few things in between our Friday ritual pizza and a movie, and at around 8 this morning set up our little table and waited for the dough to come rolling in. Although we didn't generate enough to bail out Wall Street (just enough to buy some milkshakes this afternoon) since we were so busy keeping shop, we had no time to shop at our neighbor's. Thus a win-win for the household account.

Love This

2008-10-02T20:53:00.001-04:00

I saw this commercial tonight during the Colbert Report and I was so appreciative of technology that allows me to rewind and watch (and smile) over and over! Then I remembered the power of the ever generous YouTube . . . enjoy!

Seeing Pink

2008-09-29T20:45:00.005-04:00

Just a quick post. Monday is generally laundry day for me. I like to start the week with this chore. Makes me feel like I've accomplished something big and worthwhile (I'm sure my parents had just this type of accomplishment in mind when they were sending those tuition checks to Virginia Tech).

And I like to sort. Really sort. I've got the basket for whites. Who doesn't? But I also have separate baskets for blues/blacks (dark), grey/tan, green, and finally, red/brights. The baskets are labeled. Even the dogs could sort out their dirties.

Pre-Kate, the blues and greens would tie for biggest load. The whites a close second. Many weeks the brights would get skipped; get an extra week to add to their numbers.

But no more. Not only do the brights now outnumber all others, they've now got a new majority color. Pink. Hmmm. Kate mentioned last night after she'd sorted all her laundry "I lots of laundry" and low and behold this morning I found lots of laundry. Lots of pink laundry.

New Projects

2008-09-17T13:56:00.006-04:00

Trying to keep up with our scrapbooks has been both a joy and a curse. I love the process and the finished product, but it just takes me so dang long to finish albums. I've decided on trying a new approach to the instant gratification that scrapbooking normally doesn't offer me: mini-albums. I love the idea of something more accessible to the kids and a project that may actually get finished up in a day or a weekend.

My first project wasn't for me, but a baby gift for a neighbor who is due any minute now. A simple baby book that she can update with photos monthly and has pockets for stashing any little things she may want to keep. I think it's cute and I love that I was able to finish it so quickly. Now to get some started for us!

Hokies and Pirates

2008-09-01T11:08:00.014-04:00

First game of the season for our team was held at the Panther stadium in Charlotte. We didn't win, but it was a great game! We got to be with college friends Melissa and Rex, John and Sharon, and Keith and Maya (who graciously hosted all of us and our kids for the weekend) which is always fun no matter where we are or what we're doing.

Sunday we went out to Lake Norman where Keith and Maya's boat lives. We swam, skied and tubed, a first for both Alex and Kate, and they loved it!

Strange Fruit and Snowcones

2008-08-23T18:04:00.008-04:00

This weekend in Raleigh was the third of four Arts Alive on Lichtin Plaza events. Art on the Edge brought us unique performers and collaborations of disparate art forms that managed to meld beautifully, and the installation, Levity III, which was like a circus tent gothic cathedral smoothie with some Islamic architecture sprinkled on top.

Friday night we went to see El Gleno Grande. He was hysterical. Street performer style humor and skills. A little juggling, some mime, some magic. Pulled unwitting members of the audience into his little world on stage. But his crowning glory, was his equestrian spoof. Apparently he has some links on his web site, www.horseguy.com, where you can see him in action.

Then we visited? toured? experienced? Levity 3. It is impossible to put into words and I think it really wouldn't matter much my interpretation because I think everyone is going to experience it differently. I will say that we were very fortunate to have visited it last night because there were so few people there and we were able to wander at our own pace. And for us part of the experience was just finding a little spot where we all stretched out and enjoyed the kaleidoscope of colors and sounds.

After that we went back into the Fletcher Opera Theater where a local (Chapel Hill) band, The Old Ceremony, was performing in conjunction with members of an Argentine Dance school and an aerial dancer. The music was incredible. Kate loved it! Kept saying "I like this song"! The music was bit too loud for Alex, so we only stayed for a few songs. I'll need to remember ear plugs for his next time out.

Today we went back to see Strange Fruit perform "Swoon!" Similar to El Gleno in that they reminded me of street performers, but perched 12 feet off the ground on poles that the artists would bend and sway as they "told" their story of love, jealousy and anger.

After sitting out in the sun it was decided that snowcones were in order. We weren't the only ones ready for some cool, so while we waited in line we had some time to chat with a fellow Exploris family we ran into and make a run for some water.

As we were getting ready to leave we stopped to thank a mom who we had sat next to briefly during "Swoon". Robin and her (Asian) daughter, Lucy, had given Kate a lollipop right as the show started so we didn't really get a good chance to say thanks. We chatted for a while, interupted every once in a while by either Kate or Lucy. At one point Kate pointed to Robin's t-shirt which had asian characters on it and asked "Chinese?". Robin told her it said Fu. I told Robin, "Oh, that is where Kate is from. Fuzhou." And guess what?? Robin's Lucy is a Fu, too! Such a random meeting half a world away from where they both started.

All That Glitters . . .

2008-08-19T22:44:00.003-04:00

is not old . . . enough!

How did I miss that little girls now wear makeup?? Maybe I've always been out of the glamorous loop. Perhaps the fact that I didn't start wearing makeup until Alex was 2 is tell-tale to my lack of beauty savoir-faire. But I had no idea that first graders were hip to maybelline, etc. And no idea that girl's clothing stores offered free makeovers on weekends. It was arranged that Kate would get to go with her friend Bailey to one such "event". Kate was thrilled. I was apprehensive? And a wee bit scared (for Bailey's Mom who was taking the two friends).

Fortunately the makeup and hair adornement was low key. Although, and you can't really tell in the photo, they only shadowed-up one of her eyes. Is this yet another trend that I have missed the boat on??

Playdate

2008-08-19T22:34:00.007-04:00

Our first playdate for Kate at our house. Anada is one of Kate's friends from her last school year. Confusing, I know. She had a few weeks in Ms. B's first grade class at the end of the 2007-2008 school year (just to get her feet wet) and then started up (with Ms. B again) for the 2008-2009 school year. So Anada has moved on to second grade, but is still a good friend of Kate (and her sister Alice quite adores our little bug, too).

Let's Go Home?

2008-08-04T20:46:00.005-04:00

Our first vacation as a family of four. Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Just two nights at the beach. And throughout the weekend Kate kept asking "let's go home?".

When we first got our match with Kate in January, we were sent a link to a yahoo group for families that have adopted children from Fuzhou City Social Welfare Institute. We found a group of families that had a wealth of knowledge about both Fuzhou and Nanchang; all those "been there, done that" families sharing their experiences.

We also found that they get together each summer. Hold a reunion of sorts for all these children that called Fuzhou City home. They pick a different location each summer for their reunion weekend, LaLaFuLooza. So cute!

For the 2008 Fu-Fete, Atlantic Beach, NC was the chosen location. Perfect! Friday night was a pizza party at a fabulous park in Morehead City. Loads of fun crafts, an amazing playground and fun music for dancing. Saturday morning Phil and Alex took surfing lessons while Kate and I boogie-boarded and splashed in the surf. Saturday night was a banquet at the North Carolina Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. What a perfect venue for a party! We had dinner next to the largest saltwater tank in NC, with all the fishys swimming past. We learned about the aquarium's logger head turtle relocation assistance program and met one of their baby turtles. There was more dancing.

Kate tugged on many heart strings with her excited cries of "Kate's house in China" when she saw pictures on video screens of Fuzhou City SWI. As we were leaving the aquarium that night she grabbed my hand, pointed to the screen and said "Kate's house in China because . . ." and then fell silent. We hugged for a while. Then as we were leaving the building she asked again, "let's go home?"

We're Soaring, Flying

2008-07-30T21:01:00.006-04:00

Not just the lyrics to one of Kate's favorite songs, but a daily ritual with the two sibs. We feel a wee bit guilty that we didn't go ahead and build the swing set when we moved in two years ago. "Alex is too big. He'll never use it." Oops. He's out there several times daily, Kate or no Kate. Better late.

First Grade

2008-07-28T12:02:00.009-04:00

Our area of NC has been growing incredibly fast. It is evident in the number of new housing communities, license plates from all over the US and the log-jam traffic on roads. The local schools have suffered from the crush, not being as prepared with enough schools/classrooms to accomodate all the kids that have infiltrated. Last year, in an effort to ease crowding and better use existing buildings, our county schools switched to a predominantly year-round calendar. Most kids in elementary school are on one of four tracks alternating in-school weeks with three week breaks throughout the calendar year.

So while it is summer vacation time in many parts of the country, and even for a lot of kids here in Wake county, for Kate it's first grade time! She's been in school now for several weeks and is loving it. She likes her teachers, enjoys the structure, happily takes her Hello Kitty thermos full of noodle for lunch, willingly does her homework with me in the afternoon and loves the school bus.

We are extremely lucky to have so many friends that want to help Kate so finding a couple of bus buddies was a slice of cake. Emersyn and Zoe, two lovely fifth graders, have been crucial to my retaining of sanity with Kate's daily bus riding. They sit with her on the bus, but, most importantly, meet her at her classroom each afternoon to make sure she gets on the correct bus and makes it home!

Friends

2008-07-27T16:03:00.004-04:00

We had such a lovely time this past week with our very wonderful friends, Michelle and Emma, who came from St. Louis to visit with us. Thank you, Tom, for sharing them with us!

And thanks to Michelle for the fun iphone photos.

Learning

2008-07-16T11:00:00.003-04:00

We're all good. We're all busy. We're learning so much this summer. And we're keeping busy.

Kate has started school. She's in the first grade at our local grade school. She rides the bus. She was taking Spanish. We felt it better that she wait on that one. She's been to two of her classmates' birthday parties. She loves her teacher. And she doesnt' like it when there is a substitute.

She's rapidly learning English. She can say Gabriella and Sharpay (I'm sure I just misspelled her name) and Troy and Chad, and she runs around outside with the basketball yelling "get your head in the game".

I'm learning not to let her temper flare-ups stress me out. Fortunately we're seeing fewer tantrums. There's a power plant we would drive past every so often near Blacksburg that had a huge banner proclaiming how many days they'd been accident-free. As the days accumulate that we've been tantrum-free, I think that maybe we should post it out there for all to see. Then on those days at the bus stop when I'm looking a little worse for wear, the big zero will provide fair warning to any and all. And what a fabulous head's up for Phil. No more shocking awful when he walks in the door. To be fair, they really are very infrequent and the duration with which she puts the house on lockdown has decreased substantially.

I've been working overtime trying to get caught up on our scrapbooks. I'm currently in France and the year is 2002. Although that isn't really how far behind I am. I typically will go from the most recent and work my way back. I'm also trying to figure out digital scraping and using Photoshop. Thank heavens for all those digital scrappers that have paved the way.

The Human Hamster Ball

2008-06-13T08:23:00.003-04:00

More Pictures

2008-06-12T20:38:00.011-04:00

My dearest friend in the world requested more pictures. Big apologies. I've no pictures of Alex enjoying the lovely alpine dinner of melted cheese, charcuterie and corncihons. I do, however, have quite a few (perhaps too many??) shots of the two sibs engaged in water warfare, with one parched pooch in between.

Sorry about the excessive number of photos. Perhaps next time you'll place a cap on your request. Hugs!

Happy Birthday, Alex

2008-06-04T20:03:00.003-04:00

Wow! So hard to believe that 12 years ago today I was officially introduced to the most amazing little person. I'm so proud and dazzled by the person he is today. He is so caring and intelligent and goofy and he makes our lives complete in a way we could never have imagined.

Happy Birthday my sweetest guy and thank you so much for all the joy that you give to this family!!

Why Don't They Write?

2008-06-01T20:55:00.011-04:00

One of my favorite movie lines. In our case it's not because we've been scalped, but rather very very busy trying to sort ourselves out.

It's been a full week home and we feel like we're getting to know an entirely new little individual. We still have some of the goofy faces and parroting and laughter, but we also have a lot of whining and a few really good temper tantrums. Fortunately the "good side" seems to be crumbling the hard shell of this strong-willed young lady and she's learning that the tantrums are ineffective in getting the desired results. It's been rather stressful for me, as Alex has always been such an easy going kid. I'm ill equipped at dealing with the strong willed child.

We've discovered that she's fantastic at folding laundry, making her bed and feeding the dogs, but lost when it comes to sitting down and playing. We need to hook her up with some imaginative kids because this chick is severely lacking in the ability to play. Toy sets that we've gotten for her get constructed identically to the picture on the box, then are placed carefully on her dresser never to be touched again. Yet give her a laundry hamper full of clean clothes and she knows exactly what to do. The only exception to this have been her dolls which seem to get new coifs daily.

She's also quite fond of doing whatever big brother Alex is doing. Both on the porch eating popsicles and playing game boy.

Yesterday she had a chance to get creative with sidewalk chalk with a few of the neighborhood girls (Abby, Emma and Emersyn) and today it was wild and wacky with the slip n' slide and Alex, Nolan and Emersyn.

And I feel like a used car lot with all the bikes we've accumulated in the past 48 hours! We started with Emersyn's old bike which is a little large right now for our petite lass. Then we were gifted with a smaller bike that while easier than Emersyn's was still a bit too heavy to manage. Finally, like Goldilocks experienced, the third and smallest was just right! We can pedal and turn without falling over. Plus we have a horn. Easily removable with a screwdriver. Thank God.

Would Somebody Please Make the Bed Stop Moving

2008-05-24T09:04:00.005-04:00

When I was a kid growing up in Northern Virginia, we'd take a day trip once a year to King's Dominion amusement park. I loved how when riding home in the car, my body still felt like it was on one of the roller coasters. I could feel the sensations of the drops and turns.

Apparently 27+ hours of traveling, over half of it bumpy, is just like a day at an amusement park (minus the funnel cake). When we finally got home late last night and got settled into bed (even later last night or actually early this morning) I still felt like I was dipping and dropping at 36,000 feet above Russia. I really didn't enjoy it the first time, so I was equally dismayed at having to relive it when all I really wanted was to be asleep.

Kate was a trooper. Slept most of the Beijing to Chicago leg, and was very huggy and happy when she met my parents at O'Hare. Not very happy or huggy when boarded that last flight home to Raleigh from Chicago. She moaned for the first 45 minutes, bored and mad that we were subjecting her to more air travel. But after a trip to the bathroom and some snacks and my ipod, she perked up. She was glued to the window during our approach into Raleigh, mesmerized by all the lights (I'm assuming it was her first night flight).

We were thrilled to see our three suitcases, safe and sound, and even more thrilled to see our friend Amee who came to pick us up at the airport! When we got home Kate explored rooms and drawers, and found the case of hair accessories from Tammi and did both American Girls' hair.

We're off to find some clothes for her that fit . . .

To Market, To Market, To Buy a Fresh Hen . . .

2008-05-21T19:35:00.011-04:00

or cooked hen . . .

or hen's feet . . .

or seahorses . . .

or turtles . . .

or snakes . . .

or sugar . . .

or scorpions.

And to top off such an incredible morning of market going, the real highlight of today was our visit to the US Consulate to get Kate's ticket to travel to the States, her US Visa.

The consulate office in Guangzhou was packed with about 40 adopting families, most of whom we've seen around the hotel and island, all ready to take the last important step in this adoption journey.

The director of the consulate office, before ever being employed by the consulate office, adopted 2 daughters from China. Both daughters were from Guangdong province (where we are now), so now they are growing up back in their home province.

After giving us some instructions about our return to the States and going through immigration at the airport, the consulate director had everyone stand. We all took the oath that we would raise these children as our own, never to abandon or abuse. And with that Kate officially became a McKenzie! The minute she walks through immigration at O'Hare Airport she will be a US citizen!

We'll leave here at 6:30am Friday (6:30 pm Thursday in NC) and arrive home in NC on Friday at 9:30pm. A really, really long day of travel. I'm looking forward to being home, but not the incredibly long day-plus of travel it will take to get there. Oh well.

Bawling Babies on a Couch

2008-05-20T05:04:00.007-04:00

It is a tradition among adoptive families staying at the White Swan to take a picture of all the children wearing traditional silk outfits on the red couches in the second floor lobby of the hotel. It's always been a favorite of mine when following family's adoption journeys, seeing the mayhem and madness of trying to get a group of littles to sit still long enough to get their photos.

I was torn today at our red couch photo shoot between still photos and video. Nothing would have captured the joy better than video footage, but I opted for still photos. It only took a minute or so for the kids to get set into position and the cameras to start flashing. Most of the children did great, but a few wanted nothing more than to be back in their parents arms.

Then we tested the stamina of our cheek muscles (and again the kids willingness to sit still) as we smiled while ten cameras took 3 to 4 pictures each of our whole group.

And now it's time to publish post as we need to head out for our group farewell dinner!

No News Is Good News

2008-05-19T22:39:00.001-04:00

We are sitting and waiting for no phone call. No phone call means no questions regarding our paperwork for the US Visa. Our consulate appointment is this morning, right now actually, but we don't have to be there. Our coordinator handles the paperwork for all the families. We stay put from 10-11am. If there are any questions, we will be called. We have 18 more minutes and then we are free. In the meantime we are working on building a "Bricks" (Lego knockoff) airplane.

Stethoscopes and Starbucks

2008-05-19T09:17:00.006-04:00

Today Kate had the medical exam necessary for her US Visa application. All went well. We were a little concerned when the doctor requested our coordinator/translator, but he just wanted to be sure that we knew that she had a heart condition. We assured him that we were aware of her medical needs and that she would be receiving care once we returned to the States.

We celebrated at Starbucks. Kate had her first Vanilla Bean. Our coffee fix splurges will now be costing us a little bit more!

This evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner cruise along the Pearl River. Guangzhou at night is a beautiful city. All the lights on both the buildings and other boats made for a picturesque trip.

Period Of Mourning

2008-05-18T19:52:00.002-04:00

Today at 2:28 China will begin three days of national mourning for the more than 32,000 known victims and the over 4 million families that are homeless from last week's earthquake. There have been numerous aftershocks, including a strong one yesterday that killed one person and injured over 1,000, that have further terrified an already devestated nation.

We've been very fortunate to not have been affected at all by the quake. The museum that we went to yesterday has been donating all of the entrance fees to the quake relief. I wish we knew the language because I'm sure there are ways we could help out while we are here, but other than the museum we haven't noticed quake relief donation opportunities.

Diaper Rats and Hockey Sex

2008-05-18T08:21:00.013-04:00

I wish I had been keeping track of all the cute ways we've heard different things pronounced by our Chinese guides. My favs so far are diaper rash and hackey sac. If I can remember some of the others I'll be sure to post.

Today we woke up and pinched ourselves . . . not a dream, we really are here in Guangzhou! Pizza, chicken nuggets and french toast with syrup some of the many many choices at the breakfast buffet. The restaurant overlooks the Pearl River, and while not the most picturesque, it certainly beat the ambiance at the Gloria Grand in Nanchang.

After a lovely breakfast, we loaded up for some sightseeing. We went to the Guangzhou Museum to learn a little about the history of the city. We learned that if you want to say "good" in Cantonese you say "oh". Very good is oh oh. And excellent is . . . oh oh oh. I think perhaps this is one Chinese language I could learn.

Part of the museum complex is a park that works it's way up a hill to a statue of 5 goats (there is a legend about the founding of the area that involves fairies bringing the goats, with corn in their mouths and then the fairies left, leaving the prosperous goats and their corn . . . Guangzhou means goat city)

In the park are several terraced areas where people enjoy ballroom dancing and play a game like hackey sac, although instead of using sacs, they use feathers attached to a stack of small metal discs. We saw this being done in BJ but actually got to give it a try here in Goat City.

After bargaining rather aggressively for our own little feather toys, we loaded up and headed to the Guangzhou Pearl Market, ready to get to some serious bargaining business. The "market" was actually more of a mall. Several stories with loads of stores that seemed identical, we had the opportunity to spend our money on not only pearls, but jade, turquoise, clothing, music and dvds.

We bought a jade pendant for Kate, looked briefly at the pearls, then headed to the dvd store. They had dvds that work in all regions that have Chinese language options (which we learned last night while out shopping thanks to a cool hip Chinese mandarin speaking teenager that was able to get our little stinker to speak mandarin, that Kate does indeed understand Mandarin) which will be great for Kate to retain her maternal language. The store clerks opened up the drawer of Disney dvds and Kate went to town. She picked out Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, a Mickey Mouse movie, Underdog, Alvin and the Chipmunks and a Barbie Movie. Alex got AVP, National Treasures 2 and the Superhero Movie. We were quite thrilled at the 16 yuan (2 bucks) per dvd until we learned at the hotel that we could get them a block away from the hotel for 5 yuan each.

This afternoon after Phil got back from working on paper work for the American consulate visit this week, we suited up and headed to the pool. It was cold, but those resilient kids splashed and floated until their lips turned blue. And then swam some more.

The icing on the cake de jour was pizza and a movie in our room thanks to Papa John's delivery! Life doesn't get any better (or maybe we've just hit our saturation level for Asian food).

Sibs

2008-05-17T08:48:00.007-04:00

Kate's first (as far as we know) trip to McDonalds on Friday in Nanchang. It had to happen eventually, might as well have been in her home province.

On the bus from the Guangzhou airport to Shamian Island and the White Swan.

Alex and Kate in front of the (famous among adoption families) White Swan waterfall.

Enjoying a movie our first night at the White Swan.

Our Last Port of Call

2008-05-17T04:42:00.002-04:00

We made it safe and sound to Guangzhou, more specifically Shamian Island and the White Swan Hotel. We've found the Starbucks, so we're good.

We need to be downstairs soon to go have photos taken for Kate's visa then we're off to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Looking forward to meeting up with the other families that we met in Beijing.

We did learn today that one of the families was in the earthquake region. They were woken up from their nap by the shaking of the building and ran down 11 floors carrying their son in his stroller to evacuate the hotel. We spoke to them briefly before heading up to our room for Kate's nap time, but I imagine we'll hear more tonight at dinner.

It's really good to be here, one step closer to bringing our girl home!

Feral Kate

2008-05-16T01:18:00.002-04:00

I think since she doesn't understand either the English that she hears with us or the Mandarin she's hearing everywhere else, she's developing her own little language of clicks, clucks, squeeks, growls and laughter. She's such a tiny, wiry thing (some of the 5T clothes I brought for her are too big) bouncing around with her little noises, she's like a little wild beastie. Our feral Kate.

She has started parroting us more and more. Especially when the lights are out before nap and bedtimes. She's said happy nappy, good night, and Alex babbles, among other things. She also knows and asks for water.

Tomorrow we leave Nanchang and head to Guangzhou, the Oz of our trip. Apparently all the comforts of home await us. I'd be happy with an Internet connection that allows us to post photos. And a latte would be nice, too!

Hopefully the airplane ride, Kate's first, will be fun for her. It's a short flight, just an hour, so a good intro for her. I'm not sure how much fun it's going to be to have to restrain our Kate for the 13 hour BJ to Chicago flight, but it's not like we have a choice. Perhaps she'll sleep.

There Goes The Torch

2008-05-15T21:06:00.004-04:00

When we arrived on Sunday our guide Mary told us that the Olympic torch relay would be coming through town on Friday. Better still, they would be passing right in front of our hotel!

Monday was the first practice run. The military and police were out in full force, the road was closed down and they ran the full Nanchang route. Thanks to the practice we planned on an 8:35am pass-by of our hotel.

Thursday was the second practice run. No military, but the police were here. Again roads closed and this time locals were en mass at the barricade next to the entrance to our hotel, dressed in the pro-Olympic tshirts, waving flags and chanting. So authentic was this practice that we thought that perhaps the earthquake had disrupted the route and they were going to be in town a day earlier. Nope. Just another practice.

Last night saw our hotel lobby filled with

OK Sorry to break the story flow, but this chick is SO my daughter! As I've been sitting here typing, she's been using her new markers, drawing lovely pictures. Then she grabs her new barbie-ish doll in one hand and a marker in the other . . . visions of a very sad Mrs. Beasley doll flashed in my head! Fortunately she just looked at me and laughed and then put down the inky weapon, leaving the doll unscathed. Whew. For now.

Anyway, apparently our hotel is where all of the torch officials and runners are staying, so the lobby was filled with new guests and loads of official luggage with torch tags on them. Everywhere we walked yesterday people were adorning their cars, homes, businesses, themselves with Olympic and China flags. Even the ramshackle high rise (never completed) building next to our hotel was given a banner proclaiming it as the soon to be finished (2008-don't see it happening) Crown Residence. I'm expecting that the banner will be down tomorrow. So much pride! So much excitement, especially for this city, everyone here is so proud to be Chinese.

This morning everyone was just buzzing in the hotel. Although we have a unobstructed view from our room, we really wanted to carve out a spot on the street to watch the torch pass. The hotel dining room has a tv screen on one wall, so we watched the torch ceremony begin at Ba Yi Square at 8am while eating breakfast. We watched as the first runner left the stage and began his small portion of today's relay. Big smiles and waving happily to the crowd, each runner had their minute of Olympic glory working their way through the streets of Nanchang.

We headed outside at about 8:20 and found a great spot outside our hotel. The way the police had blocked off the street, only hotel guests could take advantage of the raised parking/entrance area of the hotel.

At about 8:40 various caravan vehicles sped by, followed by military trucks, police cars and a couple of ambulances. Then several official torch relay vans went by, filled with runners, one of them holding a torch out the window. OK! Any minute now we should see the runner!! Then the police start folding up the barricades. They pack up, get into formation and start to leave. Everyone looks confused (not just us Westerners). Apparently the relay was taking too much time and was behind schedule. The torch we saw hanging out of the bus window was THE torch. The torch had already passed.

I know how disappointed I felt that we didn't get a chance to cheer for the runner. Watch them run past. But I'm sure my disappointment doesn't begin to match all the locals that had been crowding up against the barricade since at least 7am when we woke up and first looked out the window. So much pride and excitement and preparation.And such a let down.

"Sightseeing"

2008-05-15T01:38:00.002-04:00

We were told that today we would be visiting the countryside and a small village. So we hop in the van all excited about getting out of this city and seeing some of the lovely areas that we saw from the plane when we arrived on Sunday.

We leave the hotel, drive along the river a few miles, the cross over on a small bridge that is under construction. We drive through some narrow, dingy streets, not 5 miles from our hotel and then stop. "Everyone out" says our guide. We are nowhere near the countyside, we are in more of a slum neighborhood, although it is all relative because the city of Nanchang is very poor. Jiangxi province is one of the poorest in China and it's capital city, while very opulent by Jiangxi standards, is well below many of the other cities in China.

We walk along the dirt path past one roomed brick and concrete homes. Homes where the human residents share space with the chickens, pigs and rats (yep, saw all three types of beasties). The people who live in this "village" farm plots given to them by the Chinese government, then sell the produce in the city.

Kate was terrified. She shut down completely and clung to Phil as her carried her around while our guide described the sights that we were seeing. With her not speaking or understanding Mandarin there was no way to reassure her, no way to explain that we had left our lovely hotel to view the "sights" of this village and would then return. And this was the first outing that we've had with her where we loaded up her her book bag to bring snacks and activities since we thought we were going on a trip out to the countryside; one that might take several hours and she might want things to occupy her time in the van. She probably thought we had loaded up her bag to haul her off to her next dumping spot. I was just glad that I had tissue with me.

As we approached the van, Phil set her down and she hauled him to it. They were the first two back on. We're now back in the hotel room and she is a happy camper! Smiling and playing hide and seek with big brother. And she got him at his own game . . . lurking in the closet while he was in the bathroom! He came out, realized she wasn't in the room and just as he was getting out the words "where's Kate", she pounced!

Personality Shining Through

2008-05-14T06:11:00.005-04:00

This morning our group traipsed across the street to the Tengwang Pavilion. We've been admiring it from both the window at the end of our hall and the windows in restaurant where we've dined (the one with the catfish cabaret). It has been rebuilt 29 time since first erected during Tang times, in 659, with the most recent rebuild in 1989. Tengwang Pavilion was always a place where learned men gathered to write articles and hold banquets, therefore the display in the new pavilion gives prominence to culture in Jiangxi province.

The pavilion is also a place for tourists to spend their yuan. Alex bought a bracelet with a beetle encased in epoxy and Kate found a necklace with her zodiac bunny.

Kate is definitely feeling comfortable with us! We've moved beyond shy and reserved. She is very active, curious and determined. When we are in the hotel room (home) she is always smiling, bouncy and feels secure. She seems to understand quite a bit of what we are saying to her (or perhaps our impeccable charades skills are doing the trick) and has been very good about following directions. She does mind us, so far, but if she gets any more comfortable with us . . .

Once we leave the safety of "home" she becomes much more reserved and pensive. I'd love to know what is going through her mind. She does not appear to understand Mandarin. She doesn't understand our guide (so much for having our guide translate for us) or the myriad locals that try to talk to her when we are out and about. I'm sure they all think that we adopted her when she was an infant and have raised her as an English speaking child and now we are back on a homeland visit. She seems to get very nervous (furrowed brow) when we are in loud, crowded places.

She loves riding in cars/taxis/vans! Hopefully she won't be disappointed when we get back to the States with how tame riding in vehicles is there. It is amazing how crazy the traffic is here in Nanchang (way worse than BJ which was heart-poundingly scary). There are all manner of vehicles and peds vying for the right of way. Lane markers are merely suggestions. I consider myself a fairly brave individual, but I really do not want to go walking around town alone. The bigger the group, the better chance of getting across the street. I had hoped that our crowd drawing appearance would cause traffic to come to a halt (kind of like when you see the Bison on the side of the road at Yellowstone), but apparently you don't need to be looking where you are going while driving here. Each day passed unscathed is a blessing.

The Human Hamster . . .

2008-05-13T18:54:00.002-04:00

or How Alex Single Handedly Jump Started a Local Man's Business.

Nanchang is not a tourist destination. You won't find many people who speak English outside of our hotel, and even the hotel staff's English has it's problems. So if you are a lazy soul like me and don't take the time to learn the language, you'll find yourself experiencing unplanned adventures.

Case in point. There is a huge ferris wheel on the other side of the river from our hotel that we wanted to go to. We thought we'd take advantage of our free day to get a cab over there, take a picnic lunch and let the kids run amuk. We asked at the front desk what the park was called and how to get there. They gave us a card to show the taxi driver to get us there. Great! We leave the hotel going the complete opposite direction from the river and the wheel. Not good. We end up in the center of the city, at Ba Yi park which is a communist memorial. Very popular tourist site. If you are a Chinese tourist. Oh well. We had our picnic in the concrete park. Had an older lady park her little wooden stool two feet from us and just sit and stare. Again, payback for the photos taken at the geriatric playground in BJ. We went to the 3 story WalMart across the street from the park (reminds me of an earlier posting about juxtipositions) and let Kate pick out a few books and a toy. Looked at the interesting "food" items. Then grabbed a cab back "home".

Nanchang is also a great place to eat on a budget. We've had the most amazing dinners with more food than we could ever hope to finish for $20 including a couple of local beers, a pitcher of watermelon juice and endless cups of green tea. Fabulously spicy and often of unknown ingredients, and last night accompanied by a show! Several catfish managed to escape and flopped right past our table.

Breakfast at the hotel is also an adventure. Partly because of all the incredible choices (again some unknowns) and partly upon the realization that in being focused on getting Kate through the buffet finding things she wants, Alex has managed to carbo load his plate with donuts and french pastries, with a slice or two of watermelon. Some of the things that I've had for breakfast while in China are fried noodle, rice, sauteed bean curd, Dim Sum (dumpling), a very spicy celery dish, croissant and coffee. Our last hotel had an omelet station while this hotel has the fried noodle station.

Last night after yet another fabulous meal, our group loaded up in a van to go check out the Nanchang Fountain Show (it's in the park with the Ferris Wheel; the park we didn't get to earlier today). Similar to the show in front of the Bellagio in Vegas, but far more elaborate and stretching for a mile along the river. It was choreographed to music with changing lights and lasers, and right in the center of the mile stretch (where we were standing) an old faithful style geyser that shot up about 80 feet.

The whole riverfront park area had a carnival feel to it (this happens nightly) with vendors selling T-shirts, snacks and various small attractions. One such attraction that we noticed while watching the fountain show was an inflatable pool about 25 feet in diameter, about 2 feet deep, that had 3 clear inflated rubber balls that were about 6 feet in diameter. Floating human hamster balls. We kept watching to see if anyone got in, but no one ever did. After the fountain show we headed over to the pool because we all wanted to get a closer look and Alex said he wanted to give it a try.

Twenty yuan later, less than $3, Alex was inside the rubber ball and being put into the pool. I may have mentioned that this is not a tourist destination, so while we may have drawn some stares and gotten attention in Beijing, we are a downright freak show here in Nanchang. So put a yellow-haired westerner in a big plastic bubble and you've got a show way more entertaining than that silly fountain show. Within seconds I couldn't get through the crowd that was surrounding the pool. Alex flipped and flopped, tried to walk, succeeding for a few seconds, then on his back. And a huge smile never left his face. Soon others were lined up with their 20 yuan in hand. When we left with an elated Alex all three bubbles were in use and looking at the line, they'd be busy for a while!

Beach Balls and Earthquakes

2008-05-12T19:53:00.003-04:00

Apparently there was a devastating earthquake here yesterday. Although we are closer to the epicenter than Beijing is, we didn't feel a thing. We're all safe and sound, and looks like the other folks in our travel group who are in different provinces are also fine (and were equally oblivious).

No shrinking violet, our Kate is feeling quite comfortable with us. Her favorite activity is bouncing the beach ball off of Dad's head and then quickly ducking down behind the bed and laughing. She also enjoys chasing big brother down the hallway of the hotel to and from the elevator. And this morning she and I looked through one of her new books, pointing to the different objects and saying the names (me in English, Kate in Chinese). She also went through the alphabet with me, repeating most of the letters.

Fabulous Day!

2008-05-12T08:48:00.003-04:00

We are officially a family of four in the eyes of the Chinese government. We spent the morning running around the city getting all the necessary forms filled out and pics taken to make her part of our family.

We had all sorts of smiles this morning as we got ready for breakfast. The plan was to meet our coordinator in the lobby to take care of some paperwork that we had to abandon yesterday afternoon.

As she and I walked into the lobby and saw Mary, our coordinator, Kate's grip on my hand increased to almost painful. She stayed glued to me, sitting on my lap while I signed all the forms. As we went around to the different offices she would walk in by our side (while holding our hands) and then would eagerly lead the way as we left, holding a hand and dragging us out. And she was so excited when we got back to the hotel at lunch time.

She's been all smiles and giggles, quite the change from yesterday afternoon. And we couldn't be happier!

Our computer situation here in Nanchang is not as relaxed as it was in Beijing. I can't post photos and I can't read comments. But we'll keep trying!

Heartbreak and Hope

2008-05-11T19:21:00.002-04:00

We arrived in Nanchang yesterday afternoon and were told that the "babies" would be brought to the hotel to meet us. We had a little over an hour to sit and stew and wonder.

At four o'clock we went up to a meeting room in the hotel to meet Min (who, I'd like to announce, is in fact a Kate!). She is so tiny and looked so out of sorts. She was very brave for the first fifteen-twenty minutes, parroting back bah bah and mah mah as directed by the orpanange officials. But then I notice a tear and within seconds she was crying unconsolably.

We took her to our room where she cried herself to sleep in our arms. While she was sleeping, I took a look at the care package we had sent. The scrapbook hadn't been looked at and the white Teddy Bear we'd sent looked just and clean as when it was purchased. We think she had no idea until that morning about what was going on. And when the orpanage officials told her she was going to meet her Mom and Dad, was she expecting to see her bio parents?

She slept for over an hour and upon waking and realizing that it wasn't just a bad dream, started crying again. This time though, instead of hanging limply in our arms, she clung to my tightly to my neck and calmed down within a few minutes.

She sat with me watching Phil and Alex color, and then watching them play with playdough. She didn't want to participate, but was very interested in what they were doing.

After our room service dinner, we all put on our pjs (she had no hesitation in changing out of her clothes and putting on the pjs we brought for her) and climbed into the king sized bed and watched some of a video. We saw smiles as she watched the crazy chipmunks capers. After the video, we were the ones getting the smiles! Loads of them.

Now it's Monday morning and we are all awake (no tears, I was a little concerned that we'd start startled) and all smiles! She's been playing dominoes and I think Alex is going to try to get her started on chess. We'll let you know how that goes.

Two Blonds and Other Popular Tourist Attractions in Beijing

2008-05-10T10:36:00.009-04:00

We started our day at Tiananmen Square with the main attraction apparently being Alex and myself. The other other folks in our group were amazed at all the Chinese people circling us and trying to take our pictures.

We left the Square and crossed the road to visit the never ending Forbidden City. It felt like we were opening up those wooden Russian nesting dolls, only in reverse, with each door we'd pass through revealing a slightly larger and grander version of the previous courtyard and buildings.

For lunch we had the traditional Peking Duck, although the head and feet had already been removed so it wasn't as traditional as I was hoping for.

Later, after a brief detour past the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, we found ourselves working off all that lovely lunch climbing along the Great Wall. The section that we traveled was incredibly steep and the centuries old steps varied in rise height from brick to brick. We had fabulous views of the mountains all around us and Beijing in the distance.

Tomorrow is the day. We'll be leaving our hotel at 8 am, our last few steps along our path to Min!

Juxtapositions

2008-05-09T17:37:00.007-04:00

Yesterday while visiting the Hutong loo, I was thinking "how unfortunate that these dividers are not a little higher", whereas the local woman in there with us was perhaps thinking "how fortunate that I have this indoor facility with running water to use whenever I need it".

While stopped at a rather long traffic light at a busy intersection we noticed a group of about 20 or so men digging in the dirt (a la Holes) with what looked like garden variety shovels. One of the men in our group commented that in the States we'd have a big old backhoe loader making quick work of that job. But that one tractor would be replacing all those individuals. Maybe those men didn't see their digging efforts as outdated, but instead felt happy to have that job.

Saw a shiny new Mercedes sedan, stuck in the slow moving rush hour traffic, being passed by rusty bicycles.

The Starbucks in the 5 storey modern shopping mall down the road from our hotel seemed perfectly normal, almost expected. Yet this one just a few blocks from the ancient Hutong and Drum Tower made me feel a bit sad.

Most Hutong Homes Have No Bathrooms or . . .

2008-05-09T09:29:00.014-04:00

. . . Getting to Know Our New Travel Buddies.

Our first full day in Beijing and we are officially exhausted! We managed to stay up until 9:30 last night and I managed to sleep until Phil woke me at 6:30 this morning, but poor Alex was up at 4:00 and didn't go back to sleep until this evening at the Chinese Acrobat Theater!

We started our day at the Temple of Heaven park. Built in the 1400's as a place to give thanks for the good harvest and originally only accessable to the Emperor, now is a major tourist attraction and city park. The park is used daily by the seniors in Beijing as a health club and social center. Huge open areas are littered with what looks like kid's playground equipment, but is in fact apparatus for the adults to keep fit. And the place was packed!! It was amazing watching the various fitness routines taking place. In other areas of the park we found seniors playing cards, dominoes, various musical instruments and singing old familiar songs from their youth. Much healthier than sitting around watching Jeopardy.

We then went to one of the many Hutong neighborhoods that can be found in Beijing. The Hutong are narrow alleyways that date back to when Genghis Khan destroyed BJ and the Chinese had to rebuild the city. Today there is a combination of one-storey ramshackle dwellings and historic courtyard homes. Our group cruised around the area in a 5 rickshaw caravan through the maze of homes to our lunch destination.
We dined in a two room home, the double mattress propped up against the wall to make room for the table. The food was amazing. The homeowner kept bringing plate after plate of various veggie dishes, peanuts, rice, pickled cucumber, dim sum and, the group fav, the sauteed garlic sprouts. The family dog hung out at our feet for a while until his owner got wise to him and kicked him out (we think he knew that perhaps our chopstick skills could yield him a snack).

While on our Hutong tour it was explained to us that most of these homes have no bathrooms and therefore the families rely on the many public restrooms dotting the neighborhood.

We visited the Drum Tower, that originally marked the center of the old Mongol capital and was used to both mark the hours of the day and announce the closing of the city wall gates. One of the best parts of the Tower visit was the dizzyingly steep stairs we had to climb to get into the tower.

After the Drum Tower as we were returning through the Hutong, a few of us decided to use one of the public toilets. Ten turkish toilets (sometimes known as squatty potties) awaited us with little 3 foot high by 4 foot long partitions separating each one. No doors. No privacy. Quite the moment that we were able to share on this first day!

We ended our day at the theater watching incredibly strong and incredibly bendy acrobats. Before the show began we started chatting with some Americans sitting in front of us (not with our group) that had their teenage son with them and are also adopting. They also get their daughter on Mother's Day and have their consulate appointment on the same day as ours. And the husband works for Caterpillar. Small world.

We're Here!!

2008-05-08T08:04:00.003-04:00

We left DC around noon on Wednesday and arrived here in Beijing around noon Thursday. The flight was great; well as great as a 13 hour flight can be and we've managed to stay awake all afternoon.

We decided to forgo the cab ride to the Olympic venue area. One high speed flight a day is our limit. Instead we wandered around the pedestrian area that's a few blocks from our hotel. We're in a very trendy part of town. Everything is glitzy and new. Loads of Olympic souvenirs to be had. I love the Beijing mascots, the Friendlies! Oddly, my two guys don't see the charm in the cute, colorful cartoon pandas. If only Min were here with me . . .

Today is the Day!!

2008-05-06T08:39:00.007-04:00

We leave town this evening, the final leg of our nearly 3 year journey to Min! Our flight to Beijing leaves tomorrow and we will be in BJ around noon on Thursday.

Our hotel is across the street from the Forbidden City, so when we get to the hotel and get checked in we're planning on heading out to explore! We've got to do what we can to try to stay awake until Thursday night and hope we sleep through the night. Wishful thinking, I know. Most likely we'll get checked in and go straight to bed!
We are also hoping to go check out the new Olympic stadium in BJ, the one dubbed the Bird's Nest.

Another cool structure that has been built for the Olympics is the aquatic center, The Water Cube. Hopefully we can grab a cab and head over there Thursday evening!

Looking forward to posting from the road! See you in Beijing!

Waldo

2008-05-05T21:41:00.009-04:00

Alex' sixth grade class at Exploris has been tracking and studying Eastern Box Turtle populations near Lake Raleigh. It has been a year long ongoing study with the students finding turtles, recording data about the turtle's size and appearance, and putting a transmitter on the turtles so that they can track their movements and habitat choices.

A few weeks ago a reporter and photographer from the News and Observer (our local Raleigh paper) joined the students on their Waldo search. Follow the link to the article to learn more about the students' Waldo studies. Also click on the "related content" link about halfway down the page. There you will find 11 photos of their field work and Alex is in one of them!!

Waldo Article

Jiangxi

2008-04-30T17:41:00.006-04:00

Min is currently living in the province of Jiangxi, highlighted in pink on the map.

Although little known outside of the province, Jiangxi cuisine is rich and distinctive. Flavors are some of the strongest in China, with heavy use of chile peppers, pickled and fermented products! Looking forward to some fabulously spicy food!

Jiangxi is the main area of concentration of the Gan varieties of Chinese, spoken over most of the northern two-thirds of the province. Examples include the Nanchang dialect, Yichun dialect and Ji'an dialect. The southern one-third of the province speaks Hakka. There are also Mandarin, Hui, and Wu dialects spoken along the northern border. With all this in mind I'm feeling less guilty about not knowing more Mandarin!

Jiangxi is well known for their incredible porcelain. Apparently the thing to get will be a tea set (child's) for Min. It'll be fun to take her around and let her choose one to bring home!

A little Jiangxi claim to fame: in 2007, Jiangxi (specifically the Zhelin Reservoir, about 40 km from Nanchang) was the filming location for the fifteenth series of the show Survivor. Too bad we don't/didn't watch the show. Maybe we should rent that series?

Our Itinerary

2008-04-30T07:46:00.002-04:00

We have our detailed travel plans for our time in China! We'll be doing quite a bit of sightseeing and touring over the 2 weeks of our visit. So much icing on an already very sweet cake! The highlight of the 2 weeks will be on Sunday, May 11 when we finally get to meet the newest McKenzie! We are all very anxious to reach that moment.

We have 3 full days in Beijing. We'll go to TianAnMen Square and the Forbidden City. We will visit the Great Wall. We will be ferried by rickshaw through centuries old Hutong neighborhoods and visit the Temple of Heaven. And we'll get to see a Chinese acrobat show. Hopefully we'll also be able to check out the "Bird's Nest" that has been constructed for the Olympics that is 100 days away.

While in Min's province we've got two days of sightseeing set up for us and a free day to enjoy the sights (aka shopping!). Apparently there is a shop directly across the street from the hotel where we will be staying that makes the traditional Chinese silk dresses with next day turn around. We choose the silk and they will make the outfits. I believe that we will be visiting that store! Plus, they also provide free finding ad services.

We will be in Guangzhou for 5 days and have alot of paperwork and a medical visit for Min's US Visa. So far there isn't any sightseeing set up for us but I know from having followed other family's journeys that there are loads of interesting markets, great parks and a zoo. I also know that it is incredibly humid there so we may just hunker down at Starbucks sipping iced lattes and people watching.

Single Digits

2008-04-27T16:49:00.002-04:00

OK folks, we are down to single digits in our countdown to China! I cannot believe that we are so close to such an amazing event and I am still capable of normal daily functioning. Of course a broken table this weekend could be indicative of some stress simmering within. Hmmm.

The Perfect Gift

2008-04-25T19:13:00.003-04:00

We just found out that we will be meeting Min a day earlier than what we had originally been told. We will meet her on Sunday, May 11. Mother's Day!

Only 15 Days Left to Pack

2008-04-21T07:39:00.002-04:00

Even in the best of situations I loathe packing. I'd much rather drive than fly because I can toss all those last minute things into the car. I like to have shoe options. I like to have clothing options. I'm not good with having to fit things neatly into a suitcase (or 2 or 3). I love traveling, but hate the packing.

This trip is really going to challenge my travel preparation issues. We've been told to pack light which I find laughable when you see the piles of things we need to take for Min, official paperwork, the gifts for her caretakers, gifts for officials and our coordinators, toys and activities for keeping 2 kids cooped up a small hotel room happy for hours on end, the meds that will help alleviate all sorts of ailments, and clothes and toiletries for the 3 of us. Add to this the fact that domestic China travel only allows one checked bag per person. And before you reach for that body-bag sized duffel realize that there is a 40lb weight limit per bag.

When I start posting photos of the trip I think our attire will quite nicely illustrate how we managed to get everything to China. I just hope for the sake of our fellow travellers that our return flight to the States is not full.

Bridge Building State Finals

2008-04-19T07:35:00.002-04:00

Last week Alex' Bridge Building Team competed in the state finals. The state is divided into four regions, with teams from both middle and high school at the competition.

Our bridge team spent the month in between events fine tuning both the bridge and the skit. The bridge we entered this time was 10 grams heavier than our previous entry, our engineers having determined the additional weight was a necessary trade off for a more secure structure. The face paint created this time for Yodaneer was a much nicer shade of green (that was the only change for the skit group . . . "if it ain't broke. . .").

Once again our skit crew wowed the crowd with their production of Star Bridge . They won best presentation and were awarded a check for $100 from the NC DOT! While our new bridge did much better than last time, the extra bulk on the bridge didn't translate into being the strongest of the 4 entered.

Everyone had a great time and the best part is that everyone is excited about being back for next year's team! Alex even has a title for next year's skit: Star Bridge II: Return of Darth Deadload!

The Hat, the Helmet, and the Headband

2008-04-03T15:31:00.004-04:00

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-04-02T15:13:00.002-04:00

Some pictures from our Easter Sunday at Ron and Amee's house. Alex had a great time with his friend Colin, and Colin's sisters, Alyssa and Taylor, who were visiting from Illinois. Thanks to Erin for the information on making photo collages!

World Autism Awareness Day

2008-04-02T13:40:00.007-04:00

Our son is on the spectrum. He wasn't diagnosed until the age of 10. He has Aspergers/HFA. We love the person that is our Alex. All his amazing abilities and unique interests and ways of viewing the world make our world much more colorful. Sure, I'd love for social interactions to be easier for him but in our mind his autism is not a disease, it's a difference. A difference that makes him who he is.

We have friends who have a different view of autism. They have children on a different part of the spectrum. They love their children. Love the unique people that they are but want more for their children. The want to see more time and research put into autism studies to see what can be offered to enrich their children's lives. They would like to see a cure.

For us a cure would mean our son wouldn't be who he is. It would be like taking him away from us. But a cure for our friends would allow their children to develop into who they could be and would give so much more of them to their families.

Congratulations! It's A Girl ('s Room)!

2008-04-01T14:58:00.006-04:00

A few signs of the upcoming arrival of Miss Min Xiu!

Travel Dates!!

2008-04-01T12:45:00.005-04:00

We have our official travel dates and our consulate appointment! We will leave for Beijing on Wednesday May 7 and we will be a family of four on Monday May 12. Our US Consulate appointment has been scheduled for May 20 and we'll return to the states a few days later.

Min Xiu Updates

2008-03-31T11:32:00.004-04:00

We received updated photos and measurements of our XiuXiu! She is currently 19 kilos (almost 42 pounds) and 111 cm tall, so she is a size 5/6.

We have heard that our travel approval should be arriving in St. Louis (where our agency's office is located) today, but we will still need to wait for the consulate appointment to finalize our plans and purchase those tickets.

Our Incredible Bridge Building Team

2008-03-07T16:38:00.010-05:00

The North Carolina Department of Transportation sponsors a bridge building competition and invites middle and high schools from around the state to participate. Teams are judged on their bridge (which had to be light and strong), an oral presentation and an essay.

Our team started meeting after school once a week in October. Students were challenged to build a bridge that was both light and strong, using balsa wood and glue. It had to have a clear span large enough for a 3" cube to pass under and space for a 2" cube to "drive" over the bridge. Everyone designed, then built, then weighed and finally stress-tested their bridges. The winning bridge was designed by Sarah Beach and Tanika Bantukul and they spent the next couple of months working to improve upon the design for entry in today's regional competition.

The rest of the bridge building team devoted themselves to the essay and the oral presentation. The group of students who were in charge of the presentation decided to do a skit based on Star Wars with characters Obi Wan Compression, Darth Deadload, Yoganeer and Luke Tension (Alex). Their skit was fantastic and did a great job of explaining the engineering behind bridges!

Our bridge was one of the lightest, but unfortunately was not strong enough to be the winning bridge. We were surprised and thrilled to learn that our essay and skit earned enough points for our end of day total to edge out the competition and win the middle school division! We now have one month to strengthen our design for the state competition in April. Great job team!

It's Official

2008-03-04T12:56:00.002-05:00

Lauren Min Xiu McKenzie

2008-03-03T20:16:00.005-05:00

We've been holding tight to some news. Some wonderful news that after our experience with GuoXin we felt we needed to wait until sharing. Wait until we had our official referral from China. Well today we got the call from our agency that the Seeking Confirmation Letter had arrived from China! They are going to overnight it to us and we should have the official referral tomorrow for our 8 year old daughter, Fu Min Xiu. She is currently living in Fuzhou (pronounced Fu-Joe) City, in Jiangxi Provence. We should be traveling mid-May to meet her and bring her home.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T08:07:00.006-05:00

Will you be my Valentine?
I know that I am yours.
You are like a tossing sea
And I am like your shores.

You are like an endless wave
And I your waiting sand.
And I will wait forever for you
To come and take my hand.

I will wait forever, yet
You are a part of me.
I hold you in my arms, while you
Come to me endlessly.

Will you be my Valentine?
I know that I am yours.
I love you with a love that waits
A love that time endures.

36,000 Doughnuts

2008-01-28T10:11:00.000-05:00

It was no place for the faint of heart. Four miles. A dozen doughnuts. One hour. The fourth running of the Krispy Kreme Challenge took place this weekend and we were just the idiots, 4 of 3000+, to participate.

What started as a gag (no pun intended) among fraternity brothers at NC State has seen each year double the previous in number of runners and this year's earnings for the Children's Hospital of NC was $20,000.

You start at the NC State Belltower and run 2 miles to the Krispy Kreme store in Raleigh. You eat a dozen doughnuts. Then run back. And you have to complete the challenge in under an hour.

We (mostly Phil) had been planning and training for this thing for months, including a morning where we ate some doughnuts mid run. But in the past month and a half I had slacked off quite a bit and wasn't planning on actually running. Plus Alex hadn't been running regularly for a while so I figured he may not be able to run the full four and was prepared to meet the guys at the doughnut shop and shuttle Alex back to the start in the car. What I didn't know until Friday morning was that my brother, John, had signed up for the race and took the red eye from Seattle Thursday night to surprise me for my birthday. So at 5pm Friday evening I signed up to run.

It was cold Saturday morning. Well, cold for here. I think it was 31 when we left the car to head over to the Bell Tower. But the party atmosphere at the start area helped to keep us warm and helped to distract us from the calorie laden task ahead. Alex and I ran together with Phil slightly ahead and John a minute or two ahead of him. When we reached the Krispy Kreme the parking lot was already full of people in various stages of sugar high. We found John with his box of doughnuts, 10 still to go. He had managed to pull away from us during the initial run, but 10 minutes later all four of us were leaving the sugar encrusted parking lot together. I shudder to think what that says about our ability to pound the junk food. Oh, and for those of you thinking what horrible parents we are, Alex only ate 2 doughnuts. Not a dozen.

The run back wasn't too bad at first (at that point downhill) until we heard someone yell "Uggh!!" and looked back to see why. Fortunately no one in our group saw their doughnuts reappear although there were people using the numerous lined trash cans to ease their stomachs.

John was the only one of us to complete the challenge in under the hour (:59). Alex came in a few minutes after him and Phil and I brought up the rear in 1:07. Remarkably we all felt fine throughout the day and there were no ill effects the next, either. We'll see if today sees everything catch up with us!

The winner of the challenge finished in 31:20. And his prize . . . doughnuts!

And the Winner Is . . .

2007-12-11T17:04:00.000-05:00

We did the drawing for the advent calendar yesterday and the winner is Soon 2 China! Just send me an email with how to get the calendar to you and I'll post it straight away! Thank you for taking the time to follow our ramblings!

Fall

2007-12-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

I know it's nearly Christmas, but we are just now getting to our leaves. It's not that we're super lazy (although we do at times lack the necessary inertia to get things done) but the trees have been hanging on to their dried out vegetation like the bald guy refusing to admit that his comb-over is a bad idea. Just get it over with and dare to bare. Well our trees in the past two weeks have finally given up any hope that their leaves would come back to life and have released them to our care. Fortunately it is a beautiful warm December day (that is just so wrong) and we've raked and gathered, and raked and mulched, and the yard looks much tidier.

Holiday Street Lighting

2007-12-03T08:56:00.000-05:00

Last night was a great example of how fun our neighborhood is. Some very creative and festive neighbors decided to have a holiday street lighting celebration to kick off the holidays. The idea was to have all of your exterior decorations up and ready to go by Sunday night. Just before 6:30 we were to meet at the Cul-de-Sac halfway along our street, but leave one family member at home waiting for the signal! Everyone was to bring bells and their best holiday cheering voices, and when the countdown was over Dads who were left home, heard the ringing and shouting and flipped the switches and illuminated the street. The Dad's soon joined the festivities which included hot cocoa, cider and cookies, and a surprise guest performer Stacy Clearman , who performs weekly at a local coffee shop and is extremely popular with the preschool set (and their parents).

It was a nice evening chatting with neighbors, listening to fun holiday music (with some creative and interpretive horn accompaniment) and kids playing in the fresh piles of raked leaves. We walked home, with cowbell in hand, enjoying the first lights of the holiday season.

Giving

2007-11-28T12:32:00.000-05:00

I just revisited my earlier post and I think I need to shift my thinking. We are so blessed in our lives with family and friends, a secure and loving home, and our needs (and most wants) are able to be met. Our collective health, while not perfect, is very manageable and doesn't overtly affect our day to day. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives it feels very selfish whining about something that we have control over (emotional control, not so much).

Phil and I met while students at Virginia Tech and were both members of the national service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. Giving and helping others is something that is a mutual joy. Whenever I felt stressed or was having a difficult week with classes (or roommates, lol) going and working on a service project, just giving to others, was such a boost.

In that boost-needing light, I'm taking an idea from fellow blogger Lori and am having an Advent Calendar Giveaway. I know that my timing is a bit off for this year, but to be honest I've had this one (plus 3) since purchased while living in France. I stashed them away with my holiday decorations vowing to keep one for me (someday, someday I might have a daughter) and send the others to various friends with daughters. Well, each year I open the tub of Christmas decorations, see the calendars, and sigh "next year".

The calendar is really far more charming than the pictures portray, a lovely raspberry color (not fuscia) and the detail on the fairies is lovely. If you would like to be part of the giveaway please leave a comment letting me know. I'll have Alex pick the winner December 10th!

Sadness

2007-11-28T11:06:00.000-05:00

What should have been so joyfully wonderful has opened such a can of worms . . . we received a video of our little guy last Monday afternoon. We knew it was coming; we had actually thought it would have arrived earlier. We couldn't wait to see him in action and hear his little voice. It turns out that the orphanage was not entirely up front with his medical information and we are now trying to decide how to proceed. Our agency is not satisfied with the initial response from the orphanage regarding the undisclosed medical status and is requesting more clarification. Of course, if we do not proceed with his adoption they will be trying to place him with another family and having accurate information is imperative.

This whole thing is just breaking my heart into pieces. I watch the video of him and an so enamoured and cannot imagine him not being part of our family, but the potential degenerative nature of his condition is more than what we had agreed we could knowingly handle. I vascilate between feeling like a horrible person for not continuing with his adoption, and a horrible parent for not considering the potential impact on Alex and his world.

Then, two days after we receive the video, we get an email from Alex' school that their building was sold to a consortium of banks and they need to find a new location. Not since our homeschooling days has Alex so flourished with his education. The school director is confident that there are many positives regarding the move and that the mission of the charter school will remain unchanged. They will be allowed to remain for the entire school year, but will need to have a new home in the fall.

I really hope it's not true that bad news comes in threes. I'm rapidly running out of tears.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-19T12:40:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving MySpace Glitter Graphics

We're heading to Chicago for the holiday. We are so excited and so thankful for the wonderful year we've had, the time we've shared with family and friends and the son we have waiting for us in China.

Small World

2007-11-17T15:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I joined a yahoo group for families who have or are going to adopt children from the same children's welfare institute in Luoyang City, Henan Province. I immediately got an email from a woman who lives an hour away who has a six and a half year old son and a thirteen yo daughter from GuoXin's CWI! The son was adopted one year ago and the daughter just came here in September. I was amazed to learn that this family has adopted 3 children from China in 22 months!

Plus, we saw photos on the group site posted by families who traveled there in the past year, photos that included him! Apparently through this group we can make contact with families who are traveling there and they can look specifically for him and give us some first hand updates and photos.

The best part in looking at the pictures posted was seeing the orphanage and the children. It looks like a clean, cheerful place and the children seem to be happy and well engaged in school and play activities. It's comforting to know that he's in a good place.