and she is EIGHT!

Pure joy to celebrate this one, my oldest daughter, the one who first called me "Mommy". 

Every year it just keeps getting better.  Mothering this child is privilege and joy and delight and humility and need.  All wrapped up in one sweet package.

New birthday backpack, new year, new school on the horizon.  [Oh that God would continue to give grace as we navigate change and transition and new-ness.  Again.] 


Julianna is a whiz in the kitchen.  Loves to work alongside me and gaining an impressive skill set too. 

An eight-fold treat at lunch... meeting up with our dear dear friends from highlight-film-worthy years in Asia together.  Now we have 8 children between us, the perfect number for this 8th birthday. 

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  Crazy face photos aren't only for the younger generation :)  This lunch = water for my soul.  Brief but beautiful.  LOVE LOVE these people. 

We had 15 for spaghetti (Julianna's choice) dinner, all family.  It's different, a birthday here in the land where she (honestly) has few friends.  We do have two furlough-ing family friends within a few hours drive, but it'll be good for all of us to get settled into some relationships up north. 

Christmas Eve morning dawned clear and bright and crisp.  At 40 degrees we are probably a solid 30 degrees warmer than it was the morning after her birth-day in Beijing. 

 Happy 8th birthday Treasure.  I love watching you now, and dream big of the one you are becoming. 

whole

Matt is here.  Our family is whole.

It feels wonderful.  

Just finished hanging balloons and making cinnamon rolls.  It's Julianna's 8th birthday tomorrow.  Time to celebrate!!!

the other end of the smart phone

For 5 weeks I've bombarded Matt with photos.  And videos.  And voice texts. 

His absence makes me even more aware of how precious the moments really are - my heart hurts that he misses these little things.  (Reality is that I sometimes feel like that at the end of a day - how can he leave for work and know he's going to miss hours of these kiddos ... and of course, he misses hours of grumbling and complaining and whining too.  I guess it's an even trade off?)

Life is not all smiles and photographic moments, despite the pictures in this post.  In fact, I think I'll start off with this one (from a few weeks ago) just so you can see how good John Paul is at expressing disappointment with Mommy.  In this case I had just told him he could not pick at Grandmama's flowers.  Quick as a flash the lower lip was out and tears flooded the eyes! 

But in the brighter moments I'm reaching for my phone, sending pics across the ocean.  Yesterday I took these....

Isaac drew this picture of a snowball fight.  That's me on the left (wearing a dress, which is why my legs look short).  Isaac (on the right) clarified that his snowball was both larger and faster than mine.  Looks like I better watch out when we head to the snow-covered north! 

Isaac learning to wink

It's tricky.  Just ask me.  I can't wink. 

Making "welcome Daddy" posters (didn't send this one to Matt, don't want to ruin the surprise!)

The finished products.  It'll be a while before the glue dries on a few of these :)

Christmas cookie decorating

and eating, of course!

Our smart phone saga is coming to a close though - Matt is already en route, on his first airplane.  It's another 25 hours before he arrives, but it feels SO good to know he is getting closer every minute!  I can't wait to  have him here, with us, watching these silly drawings take shape, and getting a good look at Isaac's new winking skills, and admiring his posters and eating our cookies. 

only a few more days

The past few days - well, life is just full.  Full in all sorts of good ways and with all sorts of good things.  Also full in "I don't spend a lot of time with my computer" sorts of ways!

I'm extra grateful for the love and support from my parents.  I cannot count how many times I have left the house with only a fraction of my children in tow.  When you have five children, well, when you have five, and take only three of them with you to run errands.... it feels "easy"!  I also love leaving the house during the early afternoons - when the little two are asleep the house takes on a whole new rhythm.  A slower one :)  It feels less burdensome to leave the littles at home when they're napping!

Only three more days until Matt starts his journey to the U.S.  That means only four more days until he arrives.  I didn't really start counting days until just this past week (I think the number seemed large and scary, and not at all helpful!), and now it seems almost surreal that he'll be here so soon.  I am so so ready to be a family of 7 again! 

As far as I can tell John Paul's ears are in great shape.  He did once tell me "ears hurt need pink medicine" - congrats little guy on attempting a sentence for Mommy, but no you cannot have Children's Tylenol on demand, on matter how yummy you think it tastes :)

[I know he got that idea because the first night I put his ear drops in and also gave him some Tylenol.... you know, just out of surgery, figured Tylenol couldn't hurt anything.  Well, the next night he was bummed to get just the ear drops, no Tylenol.  The third night was when he tried to convince me his ears were hurting and he needed that good 'ole pink medicine :)  Now that we're done with the ear drops he's dropped his Tylenol requests, at least for now!]

Other than that, we're cruising towards the big HOLIDAYS.  Julianna turns 8 on the 23rd.  She seems more "8" than ever these days, so it seems right on time.  It also seems way too fast - it puts 9 on the horizon (9 feels like a biggie - halfway to 18).  That's one that I'm not ready for.  

I've got a post coming called "cooking with 5 grandchildren", gotta get the pictures off my Dad's camera and you can see my Mom in action.  Get ready.  It's impressive.  

our day (longer than we wished)

An emergency newborn surgery pushed John Paul's surgery to 1:30.  That translated into a LOT of time to kill with an active hungry John Paul!  Mom and Isaac sneaked away to get some breakfast while John Paul and I took pics in the lobby. 

Then Mom came back and I took a secret snack break.  We figured that no food sightings were the way to go - no need to remind John Paul that he had not eaten since dinner the night before.  It helped tremendously that the entire OR area in that part of the hospital is food/drink free - signs everywhere saying "no food or drink - kids preparing for surgery". 

With a few hours still to go we wandered the premises and Isaac was such a gift - the perfect brother to run around with :) It was in the mid-40s around noon and the sunshine felt wonderful.

Finally we got called back - the anesthesiologist agreed with me that since we already had one traumatic leaving-for-the-OR experience under our belts we'd make this one as easy as possible.  I carried him into the OR and was with him until he was totally out.  Perfect. 

Back in the waiting area Mom and Isaac had a few purchases to share.  One balloon for each boy :) 

Isaac is pretty much the perfect child to have along for this kind of day.  He is mild-mannered, easy-going, fun-loving, often-content, and LOVES his role as big bro.  While we waited the final stretch Isaac entertained himself taking photos with my phone.

blue sky, American flag, Isaac's reflection in the glass

Mom and I walking a few laps up and down the halls

It wasn't long before they called me back to meet my grumpy, disoriented little boy :)  He woke up fast (but not happy) and we were gone within the hour.  Every step away from the hospital brightened his little spirits and by the time he was buckled in his seat and we were on the road home he was asking for a snack. 

The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful.  Until the Christmas tree fell over :)  Still not sure why it fell ... no children were involved.  Seriously.  All five of them were present, accounted for, and nowhere near the tree when it toppled. 

But fall it did.  The mess is cleaned up, the presents are drying out, the broken ornaments vacuumed (total damage minimal), and the tree anchored to the ceiling with twine. 

It won't fall again this Christmas!

[My Dad is the oldest of five boys and no stranger to attaching a tree to the ceiling.... his Mom always tied their tree to the ceiling.]

keeping up with Daddy

It's been over three weeks since we bid Matt a teary goodbye.  Now that we're on the home stretch of these weeks apart (he gets in late next Saturday night, we'll be generous and say that's a week from now, more or less!).... anyways, now that we are on the home stretch I'm very eager to see him, yet very grateful for the many sweet ways God is carrying us through this time.

With so much technology at our disposal I feel like Matt and I could be in almost constant contact (unless he is asleep or I am asleep!)  We trade text and voice and video and photo all the time.  The longer Skype-type conversations are not as frequent (we usually try to plan those out a few days in advance, so both of us can block of a period of time to be on the phone). But shorter phone calls are easy - he's able to do a quick Skype and say goodnight to child in bed.... so precious to see my little one cuddled in bed in the dark, hunched over the glow of a cell phone talking to Daddy.  [Of course I would MUCH MUCH rather see them doing it in person, but my heart swells with gratitude that we have this available to us!]

Matt makes personal mini videos for the kids and on the nights they can't talk they BEG to watch 'one of their videos from Daddy'.  He speaks to each one individually, prays for them, cracks jokes, etc .... it's just a super neat added blessing to a Momma who is tucking many little ones in bed many nights in a row.

John Paul and Luke might think Matt moved inside my phone!  John Paul carries my phone around and whenever he sees a picture or video of Matt says "hey Daddy it's John Paul".  He has a hard time differentiating between the real live Skype session and a video or voice message or photo.

And tonight I was getting one of Isaac's videos cued up for him (the media library on my phone is chock full!) and as soon as Luke heard Matt's voice he practically tackled me trying to get the phone out of my hands.

Matt sends silly photos, like this one of him eating cookies I baked and left in the freezer for him ;)
My kids know their Daddy and his love for cookies!  

While none of these fun techno-treats are a decent substitute for the real man, I am so thankful that we have them.  I'm also so thankful that we are here.  One big reality is that since we left our home in China Matt has spent many many nights on the road.  I'm thankful he has the freedom to really invest in some of these trips, even staying longer than he 'normally' would, if he was heading home to see us.  I'm thankful that instead of solo-parenting through much of the holidays I am living with my parents (support network extraordinaire!)

He also sends pics of the places he roams!  We all recognize this one, down at the river
that runs near our apartment - this is where we get all our rock-throwing done :)

And I'm thankful that when Matt joins us here in America the early weeks of transition will be behind us - what a sweet way to bless him with a single-person-entry instead of the wearying nature of an entire family in massive upheaval.

Today (Friday, China time) is his last day on the road.  Until next weekend, that is, when he heads over the Pacific en route to all of us!!!!  As blessed as this time has been (such sweet times with my parents, friends here, everything... so worth it all!) as blessed as it has been, I am more than ready for us to be a complete family again.

And tomorrow (Friday, America time) is John Paul's ear tubes surgery.  Should be pretty straight forward... he's scheduled for the procedure at 10am, and we hope to be home mid-afternoon.  Isaac and my Mom going with us (over to UNC Children's Hospital).  Dad will be manning to fort here at home with the two girls helping and Luke underfoot.  The girls wanted to go with JP and me but they were out late for a Cinderella play this evening and need a morning to sleep late!  (Mom, the boys and I pull out about 7:30 for the drive to Chapel Hill.)

navigating the medical world

I've spent most of my adult life overseas.  And while in most cases I quickly and easily "fit right back in" to life in America, there are always a few things that leave me feeling like I'm a day late and a dollar short.  Or at least like I'm the only clueless one in a room full of people that already know the answer to the question. 

This past month the main thing that's left me feeling like a fish out of water is navigating the medical world.  All five of my children are due for some immunizations so I called a recommended pediatrician.  The receptionist all but laughed at me when I asked if they had anything available in December.  I didn't even get to mention that I didn't need ONE appointment, I needed FIVE, and they were all NEW PATIENTS! 

Turns out I should have scheduled them last summer.  Oh well.  We're getting them done at the Public Health Center.  They were able to get me five back-to-back appointments in a jiffy. 

Then I needed to get Luke seen by a pediatric gastroenterologist.  His first available appointment is in March, and I need a referral from his Primary Care Doc (he doesn't have one, but he does have a pediatric gastro doc in Bangkok, does that count?).  My uncle (a family physician) stepped in and with a pile of emailed records from the Bangkok hospital and a little wiggling we got Luke in for January 20th.

Even simple questions (what's your phone number?) get fishy.  Do you want the number where I am living now?  Or the one where I'll be living later?  What if I just give you a number for my mother-in-law, she'll be able to find me? 

[I planned (and still plan) to get cellular service for my phone here but this is one of those things that Matt usually handles and here I am on week three, still no cellular coverage for my phone :)  I did go to Verizon but my phone is not compatible and "no thanks I'm not interested in a 99 cent phone with a two year contract" and "Yes, several people have recommended Wal-mart pre paid plans but have you ever taken five children to Wal-mart and if I meet you there could you keep an eye on them while I figure out what to do about my phone?"   My phone works perfectly well when I can get on a wifi connection, so that's a blessing.]

But mostly this trip home its the medical world stuff that leaves me spinning.  I did get appointments for all five to get immunizations (tomorrow, Wednesday) but now John Paul has his ear tubes surgery this Friday so I can't risk a fever and I'll be postponing his shots til *hopefully* next week.   Luke is, I think, settled for now.  I tried weaning him off his reflux medication and it did not go well.  It went the opposite of well.  So I quickly put him right back on at the full dosage and now hoping to get some answers in January.  I think our next steps are a upper GI endoscopy and/or a full elimination diet. 

John Paul too, I think most of the medical world mess is behind us.  He gets his ear tubes Friday.  I have his initial speech evaluation set and the right documents faxed and the insurance approval should be on the way and, well, wasn't that easy?!?  Ha!  It only took about ten phone calls, maybe twenty.  And emails.  And a fax (thanks mom).  yeesh. 

So while I'm thankful to be here in this land full of a ga-zillion highly trained doctors (who are all booked up til mid-spring, in case you are wondering) and I'm hopeful for the results of some of our visits, right now I'm exhausted from just chasing paper and people and info, trying to figure out what I need and getting it to the right spot.  

the Lady Wolfpack (at Reynolds)

As a child I spent many hours in Reynolds Coliseum, home of the Wolfpack.  Both my parents hold graduate degrees from NCSU (we lived in married student housing, though I don't remember it - not even two years old at the time). 

And after we moved off campus we didn't go far - I grew up within a short drive of the State campus and while everyone knew our first loyalties were with the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest we cheered long and loud for the Wolfpack too.

So when Dad mentioned a Lady Wolfpack game I was sold from the get-go.  Such a great way to spend a cold rainy Sunday afternoon!  (Mom home with the littlest two napping while Dad and I took the bigs to the game.)

My Dad loves collegiate athletics.  He's a long time season ticket holder at WFU and never one to pass up a seat at Carter-Finley, or just about anywhere else the ACC is playing (football or basketball).  He and my uncles would take whole troops of us little cousins along for tailgating at Wake, I told the kids this afternoon how they would plop us down inside big black trash bags to keep us warm on colder football days! 

To watch my kids experience the excitement today was such a gift.  They loved every minute of the experience, from our jog to the courtside (we were buying our general admission seats last minute as the Star Spangled banner played inside) to our half time visit to meet the Lady Wolf.

Yep, we all dressed in red!  Even though I traded my allegiances to the Tar Heels when I left for college I'm not ashamed to wear a little red when visiting Reynolds. 

They loved it all - the pep band, the players, the scoreboard, the cheerleaders, the time outs, the popcorn, the whole experience was a big win. 

The Lady Wolfpack pulled off a nice win over Elon (a 40 pt spread at the end).  And we all know how much nicer it is to cheer for the winning team :) 

There's no telling how many hundreds of hours I spent as a child watching Wake play (and State too).

This opportunity to go with my kiddos and Dad on game day - just so thankful. 

Pullen Park

Earlier this week we checked the weather and knew that today would be the perfect day to head to Pullen Park.  [The oldest public park in NC and the 5th oldest operating amusement park in the U.S.]

The high today was 79 degrees!  It was gorgeous!  Mostly, we were captivated by the carousel (built in 1911), but we also spent a lot of time on the playgrounds, walking around the lake, and picnicking. 

See the wind blowing Julianna's hair?  In other words, a cold front is coming.  The forecast-ed high for Sunday is 39.  But we'll take a summer-like day when we get one! 

All the kids loved the carousel but it captured Isaac the most.  He is eager to take his Daddy!

My time away from North Carolina definitely makes me appreciate it all the more.  It is a GREAT place to call home.

all the many questions

Hello little miniature sponges.  Welcome to America. 

My children are in question-asking-hyper-drive.  This is what it sounds like in the car.....

What are the green signs for? 

What about those arrows? 

What does 'exit only' mean?

If the speed limit is 55 why are you driving 61?  [Julianna can see the dashboard from her back-row seat.  Yes, she totally asked this, and not at all in a condemning tone, just perfectly curious!] 

Why are some signs blue/brown? 

When will we see another brown sign?

How come some roads have numbers?  (Hwy 70 west, Hwy 50 north)

Why are you parking like this?  [In China I always back in to the space, always, and so does everyone else.  I'm contextualizing here and pulling straight in more often.]

Why don't you park closer?  (It's a handicapped space.)

What is a handicapped space? 

What is that clicking noise? [It's my turn signal! Ha!  Shows that the turn signal is not a big part of Asian driving!]

Why does every house have a number?  [We do have street addresses in China, but they aren't a big direction marker and not frequently used, or even visible.]

Even the bank has a number??!!??  Does every single building have a number?

It's awesome.  As long as I am up for the many many questions.  Today en route to the library (trip #3 already!  we're in love.) I explained the street numbering address system and we all agreed it was a pretty great idea.  "So easy to find something, just check the number where you are and then go up or down."

I even explained the streets/avenues grid system we'll encounter next month when we head to the upper midwest. 

Still, they were a little incredulous that every building had a number.  I guess it seemed like a lot of work to them. 

And then, while stopped at a traffic light, I heard Julianna's voice again, "Look!  Even the poles have numbers!" 

The tone of her voice said more than her actual words.  It's crystal clear that this little girl thinks the whole numbering system has gone one step too far.  Numbering the telephone poles?  What's next?!?! 

I LOVE THIS PART OF OUR LIVES!  LOVE IT!  I love how big their worlds are and how much they learn just by living life. 

Recently Isaac asked about a friend he had just met: "What country does she live in?"  In his mind, this is a very pertinent question. 

Isaac is also the one who, when the plane lands, almost always asks "What language do they speak here?"  It doesn't matter if we were on the plane 45 minutes or 14 hours, he asks. 

They've asked about price tags (Why don't they just put 5 dollars, I mean 4.99 is practically the same thing, it would be easier).  No surprise that the follow up questions were about sales tax.  (With no sales tax in China the price you see is the price you get, simple as that.) 

They ask about the credit card swipe machine at the grocery store check out.  The "double mailboxes" (one for the mail, one for the newspaper).  Intersections with no traffic light (few and far between in our land of dense housing and crowded roads - practically every intersection needs a light!) 

Why does the bus say CAT on it? (it's Capital Area Transit, kids)  Why is the library free?  Why Why Why?

The questions are relentless.  My Dad even observed, "I did not realize how often I have to say I don't know why such and such is that way."  They ask about everything. 

They know they are in new territory.  And they are determined to learn the ropes.  They're off to a great start, that's for sure.  If only I can keep up this pace! 

in just one day

One thing we have talked about for MONTHS in anticipation of this time .... visiting museums! 

Today we made our first trip to the Museum of Natural Sciences.  It is incredible.  My older four really engaged with a lot of the museum's material (although they also ran right past huge exhibits and ignored gobs of it!).  Luke was delighted to roam free in a kid friendly zone.  We're already talking about going back - free admission and about 15 minutes from my parent's house, can't beat that!

my boys at the electric car model

goofballs sticking their heads in a dinosaur skeleton's mouth!

The naturalist brought this rabbit out of the cage and John Paul immediately reached out his arms and said "hold it"!

Julianna wants to go back for more of this - real live animals!

And they have plenty of used-to-be-alive animals too - like this wolf skin. This room is designed for "scientists aged 8 and up" so we were a little young but fascinated none the less.  So cool all the amazing stuff they have here - microscopes and skeletons and audio of animal calls and...  and... and... and... just seemingly endless stuff to see and do.

 
Me and my little people.  What a treat to spend the morning here!

And if that weren't enough, we put up a Christmas tree late this afternoon.  Everyone got in on the action with this kid-friendly tree in my parent's kid-friendliest room. 

Good thing I got this shot of Luke actually ADDING an ornament to the tree.  Mostly he specializes in ornament removal.  There's nothing quite like a toddler and a Christmas tree.  I've been down this road before :)

Last year John Paul was our tree's greatest security risk.  Oh what a difference a year makes!  Look at him working hard on getting it just right!  You, my boy, are growing up! 

Isaac's arms didn't reach quite as high as he wanted.  Later I put him on my shoulders for some good high ornament hanging. 

Oh she worked hard on getting them in just the right spots.

And so did her big sister. 

Joy to finish this day, kiddos all snug in their beds.  And hopefully do a little more of all of this - museums, Christmas prep - in the near future.

big days, little visits

So fun to be here in the States for Thanksgiving, and also so fun to be here for the little visits - holidays are a treat, but it's often the little visits that I miss the most. 

This afternoon I took my older three to see my college roommate Sara and her two children - her husband was out and I was enjoying not chasing toddlers so we had tons of time to visit, and watch our children play together.  BIG treat!

We ate dessert sitting by the fire.  Double treat!

I'm (unfortunately) missing photos from Thanksgiving and a family gathering on Saturday night (one with Mom's family, one with Dad's).  The solo-parenting starts to show when I realize how few photos I take at large group events!  Hopefully I'll get better at photos once Matt arrives.  [Dad surely has some on his camera though, and I'd love to add some here when I can.]

After week one (the battle with jet lag) and week two (John Paul meets the cleft team plus Thanksgiving) I'm ready for a more 'normal' week around here!  Library visit #3, some more time with friends/family in the area, doctor appointments for practically everyone.... those are the things on tap for this week.