The boys are back to school

I've been pleasantly surprised that our mornings have gone fairly smoothly the first two days of school. The boys are used to staying up late and sleeping in so I was afraid it was going to be hard waking them last Thursday and Friday. Especially Matt at 6:30 am. Both days they actually woke up with their alarms. I guess next week will be harder since it will be their first full week of school.

I asked Brendan on the first day back if I could take his picture, and he told me that he is too old for that. I didn't even try asking Matt that early in the morning. So this picture of the two of them is the closest I'll get to their first day as a 5th grader and a 7th grader!

We've been talking about wanting to go paddle boating downtown Naperville, so one day last week I called my mom to join the kids and I. When we got to the Riverwalk, we were disappointed to see that they are now closed during the week and only open on weekends. We had a good time just walking around down there though and we'll have to try again on a weekend.

Yikes, blood!

I try to not be squimish around blood, but yikes. Last night around dinner time I was out picking up Hunter so he could help Brendan with one of his playstation games. (since B had to take it easy) When I got back, K said that B's leg started bleeding and the steristrip was starting to come off already. So nurse mom takes a look and oh my. The area is all bruising and it's starting to look nasty. Not as neat and clean as it looked while at the doctor's. I know it's normal but I call the doctor on call anyway. Will this dermabond hold up? I covered his leg with a gauze pad for overnight. We'll see how it looks this morning when he wakes up. I hope it's okay.

Brendan's fine!

I will have to say that it was a breeze today. We got there on time at 6:30 am for a 7:30 scheduled procedure. The doctor didn't get there until 8. Dealing with a waiting 10 year old is so much easier than dealing with a waiting three year old:) (remember, dental surgery) Especially when the facility is "children" oriented and the nurse wheels in a WII game system for Brendan to play while he is waiting. Wow. I had to giggle a bit because when we first walked into the room they had his name on a piece of paper with the doctor's name too and a SpongeBob character.










(Maybe if Spongebob had greeted Kamryn she wouldn't have been so insane. No, highly unlikely that would have made a difference.)


Brendan's surgery was only 45 minutes. This nevus was pretty well rooted in his leg so the doctor had to cut deep. He told us that there are two layers of internal stitches and then just dermabond on the visible cut. Brendan did fine afterwards and loved getting the royal treatment from the cute nurse. What 10 year boy wouldn't like a popsicle and than a gatorade and a wheelchair ride out to the car? (He could have walked, but why not spoil my cute boy?) Since he was so hungry then too, Kevin and I took him out for a big pancake breakfast.















Thanks Mom for coming over so early (7am!) to stay with Matt & Kamryn! It was comforting knowing that you were here so we could take our time with Brendan.

Even though we warned Kamryn that Mom wouldn't be home in the morning, when she ran into my room at 8:45 and didn't see me, she started sobbing. Matt then woke up, and he and Grandma comforted her.

Why do my children not sleep? Brendan has not slept a wink since we've been home. I am ready to take a nap, but no one else seems to be. Brendan told me that he did sleep during the procedure . . . hearing him talk about the laughing gas (before the IV and anesthesia) is funny. He said the one nurse turned into three people and he felt like he was floating above the room.

Tomorrow will be an early morning

Brendan is having surgery tomorrow to have a birthmark removed. It is a pretty big nevus on the back of one of his thighs. Please say a prayer for him (& mom in the waiting room) that all goes okay. I'm sure it will but once again, here we go, that whole anesthesia thing again. We need to be at the Children's Memorial outpatient facility at 6:30 am! Yikes. Better go to bed now.

Special Friends Visit

Our friends Chris and Kendra and their three sweet children stopped over one recent Friday night for a visit. It was a special visit not only because they are special friends, but because they live all the way in Texas! They drove to Crown Point, IN to visit Chris' family and then got back in the car the next day and drove to our house for the night to see us too. We were honored:)

Chris and Kendra's family became a family of five the same exact day and time our family became a family of five. It is an amazing moment to share that special delivery of a child. Our little Ling sisters had so much fun playing together. They are really so much alike. They both are talking the same and liked dancing and singing together.














Kamryn was not shy around them at all. Can you tell? She just loved on Jia's brother's (and daddy!) as if she sees them all the time.





























Look how tall Jia is! Look how tall her daddy is;) Kendra and I have always said that our girls just fit perfectly into our families. It's proof positive that God is the One who formed our families. For that we are very thankful. I wish we could snap our fingers and move Texas closer to Chicago so that we could see our friends more often. I've never been to the Dallas area so it's pretty top on our list of places we'd like to go. Funny how our destination places include family or friends that we'd like to see too.

Our Olympic Festivities

It was fun to watch the amazing Olympic opening ceremonies Friday night. It was fun to watch the Travel Channel last week since they were airing shows on China. (I especially loved Samantha Brown's Passport to China when she was touring Beijing. It was cool to say, "We were there!" while watching it.) But nothing was as fun as our pre-Olympic party last weekend with our bigger FCC playgroup.

Our playgroup leader Kerry had thought of all the small details to make it a memorable day for everyone. The decorations made us feel like we were really at the Olympics.











Kerry took some time to explain the mascots to the kids. The five mascots each have a name. If you take the first part of each of their names, it says in Chinese, "Beijing welcomes you." Bei jing huan ying ni. Pretty cool!












The games and relays were fun for all the kids! Even for my boys, Kevin included!
























This game was so funny to watch. The kids, with help from their friends, had to put all this dress up stuff on, carry the suitcase to the next station and take off all the dress up stuff, put it back in the suitcase, then roll it to the next person and help them get dressed! (I don't know if I even have that right, but everyone loved it!)



















The medals were a big hit with the little athletes.












The crafts were Olympic style.



















The cooling station was not only a great way to cool off but a fun activity too. There were surprises frozen into the ice cubes!

























My mom and Aunt B joined us for the fun day, and I'm glad that they came! We loved spending the day with friends and family.
















Kerry gets the gold medal for organizing such a fun event! Thanks Kerry!

Kane County Cougars Game

My next door neighbor Jen graciously gave us 4 tickets to the game one night a few weeks back since her family wasn't able to go. It happened to be on a night when Kevin was out of town so it worked out perfectly. Just enough tickets for the kids and I.

Jen is a teacher and had these special passes into the picnic area too so we all got a free dinner! Bonus! The boys enjoyed being spectators at this game. They really loved the fun things that happen on the field in between innings! I think I impressed them by catching a soft frisbee that was tossed into our area. Kamryn enjoyed the night too. She actually became an attraction for the folks sitting near to us. Watch the video and you'll know why.

Boys Trip to Great America

My brother-in-law Todd was brave enough to take the day off work and spend it with Hunter, Matt and Brendan at Great America! The boys were thrilled. Even if it meant waking up early since traffic is a nightmare around here. My night owl, Brendan, has been sleeping in all summer sometimes until 10 am or later. I went into Brendan's room to wake him up at 7 am, and to my surprise he was already dressed, bed made, ready to go! He woke up by 6:37 on his own that morning. Figures. Do you think that will happen in a couple of weeks when school starts? Not a chance.

When the boys were much younger, Kevin and I took them to Kings Island in Ohio. They both rode the Beastie, and Matt and I went on the bigger roller coaster, The Beast. At the time, I remember looking over at him and thinking he looked scared to death. I was so worried that my sweet boy was going to have a heart attack.

Needless to say, I am glad I was not with them at Great America. I would have been worried sick to see them actually board the roller coasters. Especially Brendan because he never has really been on a bigger roller coaster.

Well they both loved every minute of it! Here's the proof.















Thanks Todd!

FTIA Picnic 2008

Every July, FTIA, our adoption agency, always has a big reunion picnic. It was great the first summer home with Kamryn when we lived in Indy because we only had to travel about 10 minutes away from home to get to the park. This was our third picnic, and now it's a good excuse to get back to Carmel to see our friends.

It was a terribly hot day the Saturday of the picnic. Kamryn enjoyed the carousel ride this year and the boys were able to play mini-golf. One of the highlights for me (other than seeing how big the girls are getting) is shopping the booths that vendors have set up. The gal from Scrap-N-Tell.com is always there and she has the best supply of adoption related scrap booking stuff. This time I bought two albums so that I can maybe try to copy what Linda did and make each of the boys their own travel book. The covers are red with black Chinese characters on it. Of course I forgot to get some stuff so I am planning to order from her soon. If anyone wants to tag onto my order so we get free shipping, let me know! If you happen to order yourself, let her know I referred you and I'll get a little gift certificate;)

Start Your Engines!

The same weekend as my parents' party were the Nascar Races at the Joliet Speedway. My Aunt Linda is a HUGE Nascar fan to put things mildly and since she was coming in for the party, we treated her to the nights at the races as a kind of a thank you for all of her hard work doing our China travel scrapbook.

I was able to go with Kevin, Brendan and Linda to the Friday night race. It was more fun for me to see Linda's reaction to the whole event and especially Jeff Gordon's trailer of stuff. She's a huge #24 fan! Jeff wasn't racing that night, but we did get there in time to watch him practice for Saturday night's race.

Linda rented us these cool screens and headphones to keep tabs on the stats and listen to whichever car we wanted to. Since I was a bit busy on Saturday preparing for the party, Matt went to the Saturday race with them instead. (Matt is not into racing as much as Kevin and Brendan) They were able to leave at noon on Saturday and spend all day at the track. I was told they all had a great time. Kevin was able to text a message to Linda on the Sprint scoreboard in the infield. Pretty cool for her to see her name out there!

The Greatest Fortune Ever is a Love as Good as Gold

It was a "golden" day. The sun was shining, and we were surrounded by family members from both my mom and dad's side of the family. My Aunt, Uncle and cousin from Virginia drove in to be here, my Aunt drove in from Omaha, my Aunt and Uncle drove down from Wisconsin and we had cousins drive in from Indy, Bloomington and Rockford and a bunch of other towns . . . everyone was together from aunts and uncles to cousins and their kids. What a celebration it was! Thanks to everyone who came to make it so special.

Here's the wedding party 50 years later!















Isn't it amazing that the wedding party could celebrate together? How cool is that!


Thanks to our designated photographers of the day, Ginny and Linda:) we have a great collection of photos that captured the day.







































A special thanks to my cousin Teri who helped me bake, set up, and clean up and for entertaining Kamryn with homemade play-doh the day before the party. The kids didn't need help being entertained during the party because my sister and I rented one of those big bouncy playhouses and set up lots of outdoor games. Honestly, I don't think I saw the kids much at all during the party. Kamryn tuckered out and took a short hour nap starting at . . . yes, gulp . . . 6 pm that night.















It was a sweet day . . .
















At the end of the night, we even got my dad and Aunt Ginny to dance to "their" Glenn Miller song, In the Mood. My sister and I always enjoyed watching them dance at family weddings. My mom says at all the parties they would dance while she and my uncle would sit and have a drink:)

Too bad we can't have this big of a family reunion every year! We honored my parent's marriage and reminisced about years gone by. Boy, how they seem to be flying by faster and faster . . . maybe we'll have another party when they hit 60 years together!

Prayers appreciated again

My dad had knee replacement surgery a week ago Tuesday. He's been doing great with his therapy but last night he started complaining of shortness of breath and that his ribs hurt. My mom took him to the hospital, and he has a blood clot in his lung. It's so hard to see him down like this because he is such an active guy. Please keep him in your prayers that this clot disappears soon and that no others form.

My Uncle Fred (my dad's brother) could also use prayers. He and my Aunt Polly were one of the first guests at my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary party, and not 5 minutes in the house unfortunately he took a fall. To make a long story short, he ended up spending the party time at the hospital and even though everything checked out fine that day, they realized a couple of days later that he had broken his foot. He is recovering in a nursing home.

Hopefully these two brothers will be home and well soon. Once again, it's a reminder that even with the best of plans or doing as the doctor orders, some things are just not in our control. That's why prayers are appreciated.

Florida visitors!

Dad and Dianne and Kevin's sister Kathleen and her husband Peter left the Florida sunshine for some Illinois sunshine and fun with family. They came up the last weekend in June. Kath & Peter actually celebrated their one year wedding anniversary while here in Chicago! We surprised them that weekend with a copy of the video we took at their wedding. (they didn't have it professionally videotaped) It was fun to watch it together during our big family barbecue. Some of Kath's friends were even able to come over so they could meet Peter for the first time. (Kathleen met Peter while living in Florida.)
























Look how lovely Maddie made Kamryn's hair! They were sitting watching the wedding video together. Notice Kamryn's boo boo on her nose. Figures a couple days before this she fell down the stairs and got this major rug burn.

Try cooking with two professional chefs in your house! A bit intimidating, but I pulled out all of my best recipes:) Plus, it was actually nice to have so much help in the kitchen! Peter and Kath did most of the preparing for the barbecue, and Kevin and I learned a few tricks:) Everyone agreed that my chocolate chip cookie recipe was the best one ever! The kids even helped make those.













Since Peter's trips to Chicago have been limited, Kathleen wanted to finally show him the house where she grew up in. So one day while Dad & Dianne were at cousin Maddie's dance recitals, we all drove to the south side of Chicago. It was a trip down memory lane since we then found ourselves also driving by her high school and then the first house that Kevin and I lived in after we got married almost 17 years ago! It's for sale now so we had to stop and pick up a flyer. They have redone so much inside and it looks great! No more yellow and white tiled bathtub and an updated kitchen!












Grandma Dianne and Grandpa spoiled the kids rotten one day too. They took them to the movies, out to lunch and then to play mini-golf! The kids loved it. The boys especially love just hanging out with Grandma Dianne and Grandpa because they will play games with the boys all the time. This trip it was Sequence. Grandpa was a good sport when Kamryn got out her play doctor kit and listened to his tummy:)












We all enjoyed their visit and wish we could see each other more often. It's great to see how Kamryn just loves on them and picks up right where she left off. And even with Peter, whom she has only met the one other time at the wedding. She knows who loves her and is great at returning that love. Her newest saying is, "We're family, we're all together."

My Life in Six Words

I've been tagged by my friend Sue to describe my life right now in six words.

Party Planner - My parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary party was at our house. I planned every detail of the party to make it memorable for our parents. (and it was memorable! A separate post about the party coming soon!) They didn't renew their wedding vows, but other than that, it was like an actual wedding reception. There were gorgeous flowers on the tables, a special corsage and boutonniere, music playing from the 50's, golden tablecloths, golden wrapped silverware, golden balloons, a memory book for guests to write a note, golden picture frames adorned with crystal hearts showcasing their wedding picture and also a recent picture from Lake Geneva, homemade food (just like their wedding), golden sparkling wine for a toast and gold organza bags with customized fortune cookies as favors. I also splurged and ordered customized gold and white m&m's with their name and wedding date on them. My sister and I also put together a musical picture slide show of pictures throughout their 50 years together.

Decorating Crazy - Okay, it's one of my passions and actually an obsession. I LOVE to decorate my home. I used to sell Home Interiors & Gifts for 8 years which I stopped doing when we moved back to IL. Just recently when I was getting a quote on window blinds/treatments, I was told by a decorator that I should start my own business. It was such a huge compliment coming from her and was nice to hear. Anyway, the one big project that I recently finished and didn't post pictures of yet is Kamryn's bedroom/playroom. It's adorable. Pictures coming soon.

Blessed - Blessed beyond belief to have good health, a wonderful husband, three really good kids, a great family-immediate and extended, and friends-old, new and reacquainted ones! in my life.

Mom - It's the biggest job and best job that I have right now. With the boys being older and Kamryn being three, it sometimes can be a challenge to keep them all happy. We've been having a great summer though and keeping them all happy!

Nurse/worry wart/hand holder/hugger - No, not a licensed nurse. But I feel like a nurse none the less. Matt had a "mole" removed earlier in the summer (easy), Kamryn had her surgery (not as easy) and Brendan actually has one coming up in August too to remove a birthmark from his leg. It will be pretty intense since it's a pretty big nevus on the back of his thigh. (hopefully not too hard) I hate when my children are under anesthesia, that's the worry wart part. But I do like to hold their hands (the boys who are too old to cuddle) and hug on them. Kamryn is so good at cuddling, until she says "that's enough mommy."

Hectic - But fun . . . but it's been nonstop. I really need more whitespace on my calendar:) But then I will be looking for things to do. Why is that? This afternoon we stayed around the house and the boys found two little frogs out in the street while they were pulling weeds. Brendan was complaining about his chore but then was so happy he was out there.
















I am supposed to tag 5 other people, but I think many of my blogger friends have been tagged already. If you are reading this and haven't been tagged, consider this your tag. Go ahead and try to describe your life right now in 6 words. Even if you don't blog, think about it.

Forgive me blogger

for I am behind. Terribly behind. About one month behind really even though I posted two weeks ago. I will try to catch up. I have been too tired, busy, not in the mood to post but I will try to get out of this funk.

Okay, so she eats ice cream too!

This picture was taken this past weekend in Lake Geneva. Grandpa treated everyone to an ice cream cone after the boat cruise. Okay, not good for her teeth I know, but we were celebrating!

Isn't her dress adorable? My mom made it for her. She couldn't pass up the ladybug print fabric since she knows we have a thing for ladybugs. Ladybugs are a good luck symbol for Chinese adoptions. She even made a matching purse. Thanks Grandma!

Her surgery is over

I am so glad that the morning is behind us. She is doing well and is back to her spunky self! She hasn't even napped at all today even after the anesthesia; figures, this girl never sleeps! Actually, I wouldn't want her any other way than her "normal" self.

It was terrible to see her all dopey on the sedative they gave her before the surgery to help with the separation from us. When we got to the hospital room, she started throwing a fit, refusing to even put on the gown. Ten minutes after the sedative, her eyes started rolling and she just laid on my lap.

Three and half hours in that waiting room is no fun.

Finally, the dentist appeared. He filled 11 cavities and did the two crowns on her two front teeth. We only knew about 4 cavities going into this. Needless to say, we were very shocked! He said it is due to the bad enamel on her teeth, probably from lack of prenatal care. Hmph. No fluoride in the water in China probably didn't help either. Two strikes against her right from the start. Really, it is not our parenting skills . . . she doesn't really drink juice, yes she eats suckers and will drink pop sometimes . . . but the boys haven't even had one cavity yet. I guess I will brush her teeth more often even when she insists on doing it herself.

It is what it is. The dentist put sealants on her other teeth. Hopefully that will help. Oh, and the ear tube was still in so the ENT took it out and fixed the hole in her eardrum. He put packing stuff in her ear so he said she may not ear well for a few days until that all dissolves.

The ENT was the hero though. Her teeth are bothering her more than her ear. We are tired here tonight. Getting up at 4:45 am and leaving the house at 5:30 is not common for Kamryn or mommy. Looking forward to some sleep tonight.

Please say a prayer

Tomorrow morning we are off at 5:30 in the morning to go to the hospital for Kamryn's dental surgery. Ugh. It was going to be a dual surgery with the ENT going first to remove an ear tube that has been in her ear for over 2 years with the dentist going next to do the crowns, fillings and xrays. But when we went to the pediatrician for the pre-op physical, she didn't see the ear tube. So the ENT will still take a peek but hopefully it has in fact fallen out on it's own. I think this surgery will be harder on me than it will be on Kamryn. I can't wait until it's over.

Then . . .

And Now . . .


It was a golden day as our families took off for Lake Geneva. The kids were happy to be with their cousins, Kamryn was happy to be with her Uncle Todd (she wouldn't leave him alone!), and Melanie and I were happy to be with our parents and Aunt Bernice and reminisce about their wedding days. We were all happy to share the beautiful day together!
























My Aunt Bernice was my mom's matron of honor.

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary!

The greatest fortune ever is a love as good as gold . . .














My parents celebrated their Golden Anniversary today. We were lucky enough to spend the day with them up at Lake Geneva and took a luncheon cruise. More details and pictures tomorrow I promise . . . wanted to post this on their actual anniversary! Love you both! You are an inspiration.

Happy 4th of July!

My little rocker

This is what happens when she sees the boys playing guitar hero . . . she wants a guitar of her own! So we did find a cute little pink one that plays preloaded children's tunes or in a different mode Kamryn can make up her own tunes. She's so funny because she'll stand real still and play and then once in a while lift the guitar up like she sees the boys do.