Are We Done Yet?

Sunday Cuteness! And yes, the hat was a battle all day!
Cute outfit from our friend Sarah, isn't that adorable! I love that!
4 Smiling at One Time?! It must be a miracle!

So, are we done? It's the million dollar question, isn't it? The one the Grandma's are afraid to ask, scared of what the answer might be! ;) Is 4 children enough to call our family complete? Are we finally to the point we are so nuts that we would not dream of adding anymore? When we first started the adoption, before we even had a LID, a friend told me, "not many people go to China just one time". And I just kind of laughed, I was so thankful to even be going once, I knew that would be it. Through the horrible wait, I said over and over, I could NEVER do this again. Emotionally could not handle it. In china I thought, Thank you for this child, and maybe someday we will be back for a heritage tour to visit. We came home, we both said "WE ARE SO DONE!" But then the jet lag started to wear off, life started settling in, and I looked at Sage and I started thinking, what if we had said no to this child? Where would she be, and what would my life be like? Then I started having dreams, that we were going back. We were on the plane traveling w/ various families who we had talked into adopting w/ us! And I just started having this huge burden for those children who are left behind there. Who is going to be their mommy? In all honesty? I know lots of people. Lots. But I can count on one hand the people I know personally who have adopted. Sure, I have met tons through the adoption that I now call friends, but I am talking the ones we know outside of that circle. I realize not everyone is called to adopt, but there are a million orphans out there. Who is going to go for them? Are we supposed to? Obviously I know we can't go back for a million. But who I am to say that I don't have room for just one more? NOT that I am ready to sign up just yet! And I am NOT saying that we ever would for sure. I am just saying that I have no idea what God has in store for my family. I will say, I am open to God's will. I refuse to limit him on what anyone thinks is the ideal size of a family. Besides, I am pretty sure I passed up ideal after 2.4 kids right? My mom claims I grew up saying I was having 6 children. I really thought 4 was ideal. We are even. It is manageable. (well besides the laundrey, oh i hate laundrey!) We can still fit a set of grandparents in the van w/ us! Yet, part of me would love to give Sawyer a brother, I would love for Sage to have a chinese sibling. I would love to go back to China. And what does Mark say? "are you nuts?" hehehe! He says right now he has no desire, however, we both agree. China gets in your heart, it is under our skin. And I am pretty sure Mark learned his lesson when we started this adoption. It is out of our hands. If God calls us, then we listen. So.. there you go. Who knows what our future holds. All I know right now is that yes, we have our hands full, and I love it!

Happy Sage!

Weekend Fun

We had lots of fun this weekend at the corn maze. The kids loved making their way through the maze, trying to find their way out. They were very interested in the "haunted maze" which takes place at night. Don't think they are quite ready for that one yet. Next entry Sage pictures.

Sage is 11 months!

And sadly, these are the only 2 pictures I have taken this week! I am the worst picture taker that is for sure! It is not that I don't take pictures, it is that they all turn out blurry. So.. I already gave Mark a hard time, he needs to take the pictures, or buy a point and shoot camera for me! Ok, ok, Sage! Sage ChenYi Mae is 11 months AND we have held her for 2 months now! Can you believe it? And wow, what a difference 2 months has made..

• She weighed in at the dr this week at 18 POUNDS! I could not believe it!
• She has 4 teeth, 2 top, 2 bottom.
  
• She sits up now perfect, pushes herself into sitting.
• Pulls herself to standing, as you can see, she CONSTANTLY wants to be standing!
• She can cruise the furniture now. She has no fear. Great.
• Is still on baby food, though we are starting to let her taste some table food. She gobbles up any type of baby food, at least 3 jars a day. Along w/ oatmeal and of course still loves her bottles.
  
• She can now hold her own bottle.
• Just in the last week she appears to be going through a little bit of stranger anxiety. I thought it was partly due to her not feeling well, she has her first ear infection, but I think it may go deeper than that. Which we know is a good thing. She wants us and that makes us happy.
• Sleeping overall great. We have nights here and there where she wakes up, but really she now sleeps about 8 pm-7am straight through. She still shares our room and will for awhile. I like to be able to look at her.
• Can now pick up cheerios and put them into her mouth. This just started in the last week!
• EVERYTHING goes in her mouth. This almost shag carpet we have, she finds every lost toy in it! And she does not enjoy you fishing things out of her mouth!
  
• Still VERY curious about everything.
  
• Favorite game is still peek a boo, starting to participate in So Big.

Life is full, and very good. Everyone asks, how is it going to 4 kids. And overall, it has not really been that bad. I think the hardest part is that we did not get that gradual newborn baby adjustment. We got a lively active girl who is on the go. I swear, the laundrey is the worst part of the whole thing! I am drowning in laundrey for 6 of us! There are days that are much tougher than others, but I feel like we are all settling in pretty well. I am much more tired, that is for sure! Remember the 18 months we waited, I could not sleep well. Could not sleep in China. Now I could sleep all the time if given the chance! And on that note, I am heading to bed! Tomorrow we are going through a corn maze, maybe Mark will take pictures. Can you believe we are now heading towards Sage's 12th month!

Malaine is Fabulous 4!

I am a little late in posting, Malaine celebrated her 4th birthday last week. It was a fun day with dinner at her favorite place, Denny's! (maybe not her fav any more after she found a spider in her ice cream sundae! YUCK!) Malaine Shaye was born on October 11th, our 3rd and our surprise! Mark had said we were done after Sawyer. We had 2 children, a boy and a girl. THAT was practical, so why would we need more? Hmmm... Thankfully God had other plans, what does Mark know? We needed Malaine and she is such a joy! By far, the easiest and most laid back in our house. Most of the time. She has her moments, but they are few and far between. She is just so sweet and really enjoyable to be around. She enjoyed the role of baby for almost 4 years, but has gladly with out hesitation given it up for her new baby sister. I thought she would be jelous, but overall, has just been wonderful. She started out as our smallest baby weighing in at just barely over 7 pounds. And has continued to stay tiny, as I packed away summer clothes in only 24months. Though she seems to finally be growing! She has not started official preschool yet, but attends one day a week of library school at our public library. (public unless you live 10 feet away from the city limits, but I digress...) She is on break from gymnastics, but will be starting back in that soon. LOVES to play with babies, all about anything babies and her new favorite is "having a baby in her belly, or going to adopt a baby" I am thinking this might come from letting her watch the baby story w/ me, they have to learn somehow right! She is convinced that we are going to get to watch her new cousin be born next month. if not in the hospital, then on tv! Funny thing with this child of ours, she really loves to be good! The older 2 get mad at her because they say she brags. Such as if they are in trouble, she always says, "Am I being good mom" And yep, she usually is! Coming soon, I promise... Pictures from the Family Farm Party, Sawyer is out of the cast but still no running recess for 3 weeks, Sage offically CRUISED down the couch today! And my thoughts on the question, are you done yet? ;) )

Sawyer Says

If you know Sawyer, you know he is just silly. You can't help but laugh at him, he is a goofball! 2 things that were to cute not to share he said recently.
When I asked him what he wanted to be for halloween he asked what his sisters were going to be. They are all 3 being ladybugs, so he said, "Then I am going to be whatever EATS ladybugs!"
Last night I was putting them to bed, and he was saying, "Mommy, I love you to the moon and I would reply w/ something, back and forth we went. He said, what is the worst thing you could do to me? I said, Take away your playstation forever. So he said, "I love you even if you take away my playstation forever". I hugged him and he sat there a minute and said in all seriousness, "well, maybe not that much." The joy of a boy!
Thursday he gets his cast removed. Thank Goodness! I guess they will xray again to make sure it is healed, and we are praying it is because we are ALL tired of his cast! 2 weeks did not sound like long, but it has been.
Tomorrow Malaine turns 4! I will put up pictures of the girls party from this weekend. We had farming fun!

Our Chunky Monkey

When Sage first became ours, she had her 2 bottom teeth. She has been working hard on getting those top teeth in. I forgot how miserable teething is! One finally did break through last week, the other one is so close. I was so sad when we first found out she already had 2 teeth, now I am THANKFUL for 2 less times to teeth! Isn't she looking chunky? She is really filling out. I think her legs are now getting rolls! She has gained at least 3 pounds since Gotcha day. Remember she was not sitting at all at that point, she now sits great. And today I walked in to get her out of her crib, she was sitting up, something she had never done. (putting herself into a sitting position) AND,, I walked over to her and was standing there talking to her, she pulled herself up!! NO, NOT YET!!! I am not ready for that at all! I want to keep her a baby longer. I am wondering if we are going to just skip crawling and walk. Yikes!

Makenna is 9!

October 1, 1997 Pittsburgh, Pa. Makenna Kaylee was born at 5:50PM weighing in at almost 8 pounds. Our first baby, a girl! I wanted this child of mine with a passion I can't even put into words. We had been through loss, we were in a new city alone, and we were desperate to be parents. God was gracious and He delivered an angel into our waiting arms! The wait was worth it, the all day sickness for way more than the first 3 months was worth it. I was a mommy! Makenna was the one who taught us how to parent, and how NOT to parent! She has a will that is stronger than everyone in the house combined. (Well my mother and mark might say besides her mothers! ;) ) She is firstborn and the big sister of 3 siblings. She is a little mother that is for sure. She has a passion for animals and for art. She is constantly making cards telling me I am the best mother in the world. These are usually followed by the I am the worst mother tantrum! She is super shy, yet very devoted to those who are close to her. She is our daredevil who is not afraid to try anything new. Unless it involves talking to somone she does not know! She and I are so much alike, that it often leads to conflict! But I am so thankful that she is mine.
We celebrated Makenna's 9th birthday w/ dinner at the Old Spaghetti factory, her favorite, along w/ 2 of her close friends. Giggly girls that is for sure! They made makenna stand up after dinner and brought out a cake having the guests around us sing happy birthday. I am pretty sure she wanted to crawl under the table! After dinner the girls talked us into a carriage ride, which Sage was not so sure about on those old cobblestone streets! The girls stayed up late decorating cookies and giggling the night away. Saturday Makenna woke up w/ a fever, I suppose her little brother passed that on to her. So Sunday, the actual day of her birthday she was bummed. She had been very excited to spend her birthday at church. Hopefully all will be well by her & Malaines family party next Saturday.

Never A Dull Moment

Sawyer has been home sick all week with a virus. I hate virus'. not that I wish anything worse on them, but at least if it is strep, etc, we get medicine we know they will be better quickly. Anyways, on Wednesday he and I were in the garage looking for something to amuse him. I had my back to him and all of a sudden he lets out this bloodcurling scream. Which if you know Sawyer, you know he tends to play on the dramatic side. But he did have good reason to scream. The deck from our riding mower was leaning on the side of the garage and somehow Sawyer knocked it over, or according to him a wild animal ran in and knocked it over. Fell right on his foot. We, being the compassionate parents we are, stuck ice on it, and figured it was no big deal. By evening he had hopped his way out to the swingset and played, so surely he is fine, right? This morning, it was swollen. We decided maybe we better get an xray. I made a 10am appointment and our day was over at 5pm. Long story short, he did have a fracture running down the middle of his foot. So he is in a cast as you can see for 2 weeks and they will recheck it. They stuck the shoe on it so he can use his heel, but is not allowed to use his foot. They told us to get crutches, which we are having a hard time locating for his size. He is pretty excited so far. Can't run around? Then that means more time for video games right? hmmmm..
Tomorrow we have our first homestudy visit post adoption. nothing like a broken foot to top off the week!

Hummingbirds, Dumb Dogs & Single motherhood

Last week Mark was out of town all week, again. It is not that I mind him traveling overall. It is just that it might have been nice to be home longer than 2 weeks before he left! But we survived and he is now home. In fact, maybe traveling might not be that bad, I swear if he keeps it up, I am getting a maid! ;)
The week started out fun. The day he left we had a hummingbird get into our garage. That would not leave. I had the doors open, tried putting a red bowl of sugar water outside, but no go. They are just not smart are they? Of course that got the kids all excited for the evening, which resulted in not going to bed. The 2nd picture is my babysitter Megan and Shannon taping the fishing net to a pole, as the garage ceiling is high and the bird was not coming down low enough to reach it. Of course they were not offering to catch the bird, I was not going out there, so thankfully my dad came to our rescue. After knocking out one light, he was able to get it out. My mom called telling me how i needed to go out to find the bird, make sure it had sugar water so it did not die. I left the red bowl outside, good enough.
That night was also the night that Sage decided she no longer needed to go to bed early, as she had been doing every single night since we first got her. After finally getting her down, she woke me up during the night because she had soaked the bed. Believe me, I was sending very good wishes to Mark by that point!
Whenever Mark is gone, the kids are just more wild than usual, and last week was no exception. No one needs sleep, ever. No one can get along. No one cares that Mommy is stressed out!
And then there is the dog. I might as well say we have 5 children, she is as much work as anyone else in the house. She loves diapers and is always able to find them, so I am constantly cleaning up a mess of that. Recently we purchased the electric fence, FINALLY! If you have been here, you know she is always running away. Dumb dog. So we got this fence right after China, and it has been great. Till of course the week Mark is gone. Hershey is out back, and some big dogs come in the yard. She starts to chase them around front, and I am thinking, yep, she can go in front to the middle of the yard, then will get shocked. Well I look out the window and watch her RUN right through that stinkin fence. And she did not even flinch. She takes off down the road with out looking back. I have visions of a dead dog on the side of the road and my kids seeing her after school etc.. So we get in the car as my friend Susan pulls up w/ dinner(bless her heart!) and she rides w/ me to dog search. We drive down the road, no luck. We finally see the big dogs back towards my house, and they are eating something behind a big trash pile. We were both convinced it was Hershey, so Susan gets out to check for me! Thankfully(I think?) they had just found McDonalds in the trash can so we head for my house and there is the dumb dog on my back porch. I guess the batteries on the collar were dead, and that has been fixed now for sure!
I don't like being a single mom that is for sure. I was so tired by the end of the week! And Mark wondered why I was crabby upon his return.
Sage is showing off a cute outfit Megan and Shannon got her along w/ her new glasses. Those girls brought her a whole new wardrobe of very cute clothes! Thanks girls! By the way, don't you love her scowl! And look at those toes, aren't they to sweet!

Sage is 10 months old

Today Sage turns 10 months old. And in China it is the exact time a month ago we first held her in our arms. How is it that time stood still for the 18 months we waited to get her, but the last month has flown by. In some ways it seems just yesterday we were in China, other times I feel as if she has always been here. She is such a part of me, a part of this family, she has made us complete.
I was sad today though, she is 10 months old! In 2 more months we will celebrate her first birthday. I don't want her to be a year old, I want back all those months I missed out on. She is already growing and changing so much, I don't want that. I want her to stay small and dependant on me! I did not get enough time of that stage with her. Yet I am reminded that though she was not in my arms for those 9 months, she was in my heart and so in some ways, I did get a part of her. I am thankful that the month we signed our agreement to adopt, was the month she was most likely conceived. We began praying at that time specifically for our baby, and I remember I would go through and list each part of her body and pray over it. Please Lord, let her ears be formed well, let her legs and arms form and each tiny finger. At that time of course we had no idea that she actually was being formed and that we had the chance to pray over her through those 9 months of pregnancy along with our daily prayers for her birthmother, and then we were able to pray for her through birth, through her being abandoned etc.. So while I did not get to see her those first 9 months of her life, she was very much a part of me.
Some Sage Stuff for 10 months old...

• She is now sitting up pretty well on her own. She will flop over eventually, but she can go quite awhile now.

• She got up on all 4's today! Makenna is encouraging that one! She is fast though simply by rolling and scooting all around.
  

• If you say bye bye she moves her arm up and down and says bababababa.

• Says mamamamama, not sure she knows what she is saying, but it is a new sound!

• I would like to say that she is still a great sleeper, but for some reason that has changed in the last week. Once asleep for the night she is fine, but getting there is hard all of a sudden. Actually It is odd, she goes to sleep fine, but then wakes up with in 20 minutes for about 2 hours. We knew it was to good to be true. No kid of ours sleeps perfect like she was.
  

• Not a neat fact, but she SOAKS through her diaper every single night. I have tried pampers and huggies. We are now onto double diapering with a larger size over the first diaper. I hate changing crib sheets every morning.
  

• She still loves her bottle. In fact, I have quit giving her baby food to see if maybe that was causing some tummy trouble. So just the bottle. Which is fine with her. She takes a bottle every 2-3 hours. (that was with baby food also) This is my first experience with bottles and it is expensive! And alot more work than nursing.
  

• She seems to be bonding pretty well. I am not sure what defines that "Yes, Sage is 100% bonded to me!" She looks for me when I am not the one holding her, and sometimes she cries for me,. She will let people hold her, she is so curious and enjoys checking everyone out. She does make eye contact with me while drinking her bottles( i have heard that is one of the signs). If you know the child you know she locks gazes with you and just drinks you in. As if she is memorizing you
  

• She is still very laid back. Nothing scares her, nothing upsets her. She just takes in life and ponders it all. She is a serious baby and to get a laugh takes work!
  

• She loves peek a boo, LOVES when you sing to her, loves her ball and stacking cups.
  

• If you want her to like you, wear a necklace! She literally falls out of my arms reaching for you if you have a necklace on! When i wear one, she hangs on to it like it is her handle!
  

I could go on and on! She is such a beautiful and sweet baby and I just sit in awe that she is here. Our lives are so full and we are so thankful for each of the gifts of our children that we have been given.

First (or 3rd) Doctor Visit

Yesterday was our first "official" dr visit. Sage did great! She is 16.3 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long. She is on the chart, just on the lower half. Tiny, but proportioned, and she is already growing since we have had her. She said she is right on target... for a 6 month old. Which is about what we guessed, 3 months behind. We know that she will quickly catch up. Although this child has such a laid back personality, I am not sure she is in any hurry to crawl! Rolling suits her just fine, or better yet, mommy carrying her! The dr commented on how good she was and so very inquisitive. It is so funny to just stand back and watch her. As she is checking reflex, looking in her eyes and ears, Sage just looks at the Doctor w/ that look(the above picture look), like, you are weird and I am not sure why you are doing that! She did not cry till she had her shots and then she really cried. It broke my heart, I have not seen her cry that way. I thought maybe by baby #4, shots would be easier to handle. Nope, I cried right along with her. They gave us her shot records from China, but our dr recomended getting all of them over again because we just don't know. She has to go get all her bloodwork done soon at Childrens Hosptital, along with collecting things from the diaper, YUCK! Just to make sure all is well and nothing followed us home from China! She did not sleep well last night, I assume from the shots. She was restless and just cried in her sleep some. Mark is also out of town of course, but thankfully will be home tonight. There is no way he is getting out of bloodwork or scooping poop! ;) by the way, she is not sitting on a potty in the above pictures as it looks but her new bumbo seat. It is lots of fun!

Welcome Home Sage!

Instead of a baby shower before we left for China, my family hosted a Welcome Home Sage party this weekend. I am going to post a whole page on our website, because I have so much to say about it, however I wanted to add a picture for you here. It was beyond a party, it was a full blown banquet! We had well over 100 people there and it was just amazing. If you have not met my family, you should know that Mark refers to us as the "Big Fat Greek Family". (I am not sure, should we be offended by the big fat? hehehehe!, and we are baptist by the way!!) Nothing is done on a small scale, and we find any excuse to celebrate! I will let you know when I get that page done on the website.
Quick Sage update... Sage started on the antibiotics on Tuesday. By Friday she was not better, so I took her back in and they started her on breathing treatments. Then Friday night we discovered she has thrush, so she is now on medicine for that. Tuesday she goes in for her full check up. Not looking forward to that one for sure. Oh but the ear drops were working by Friday so she was able to see into her ears and they look good!
She is still sleeping great. 7pm till 7, 8 AM. She is getting to where she wants to be held more than she will allow me to put her down, so that is proving to be a challenge with getting anything done. Who needs a clean house anyways. Although, clean underwear are a little more necessary!

Our Littlest Ladies

Cute matching ladybug outfits compliments of Aunt Judy and Uncle Ray. Thanks for the welcome home gifts!

Back to Reality!

Wow! So much for my book long posts that I was able to keep up with in China! Gone are the days of someone washing our clothes for us, cooking every meal for us and cleaning our room for us! We have been home for 5 days now. When we walked in the house looked perfect, it now looks as if a bomb has gone off. Laundrey is piled to the ceiling, suitcases are still not unpacked, you have to wade through piles to walk. However, we are home! Sounds so good to say that. It is good to tuck our kids into bed, to look over and see Sage sleeping in her crib, right where everyone should be. It is good to make a bottle with out boiling water. To lay down on my nice soft bed. To know what I am eating. To just be home.
Sage went to the doctor today. She has her first full physical next Tuesday, but the chest rattle is still going on and it appears she does have a touch of bronchitis. So we are starting on zithromax today and hopefully that will take care of it. She also put Sage on ear drops to soften up some major ear wax build up she appears to have, which she said can be common among asian babys. She did not enjoy the drops, but better than them digging in her little ears!
We took Makenna and Sawyer in for school today, our first day of school this year! They both enjoyed taking in their new sister, and we were happy to see their classrooms and friends. Funny how I was so upset that school would be going on, I had wished we could be home during the summer to let them have time w/ Sage. But this weekend I was SO thankful that God knew once again what would be best, and I was quite ready for school today! The older 2 have a contest on who should do this or that for Sage, and I was ready for a little quiet! Malaine is actually adjusting the best out of the 3, if you can believe it. She is the one who lost her spot as baby, yet really is just being so great with Sage. I should not be surprised, she is really an easy little girl. Sage's personality reminds me alot of Malaine. So our house was actually back to calm and quiet today with just the younger 2 girls. Does not mean I got anything done of course. Both wanted attention and I enjoyed playing with them much more than making myself unpack or work on laundrey!
Sage had her first visit to First Baptist Church Columbia this weekend. Felt so good to be back with our church family, knowing we have had so many of them praying for her and for us this past year.
I am still trying to finish up the travel journal on our website. I want to finish it while it is all still fresh in my mind. I am also planning on working on a packing page, I have lots to say about packing tips for those who are going to be traveling. Just as soon as I can stay awake long enough to type!
Oh and yes, Sage is sleeping great! It took a few nights, but she is back to her full night of sleep. She goes to bed around 7, and for the most part sleeps about 12 hours. She might wake up for 1 quick bottle in there, but last night she slept from 7 to 6 and we got her up for school at that point. Plus a few naps. We have switched her over from the chinese formula to enfamil. She takes anything, and does not mind bottle temperature at all, not picky for sure. She is eating more baby foods, and again, will pretty well eat whatever you give her. She is still not sitting all alone, but can balance herself for a short time. It won't take long. Not that I am in any hurry. I am enjoying this "baby phase" for as long as I can. We missed so much, I am going to enjoy each and every milestone that I get to teach her. It has taken me all day to type up this post, so I am headed for bed. Someone, please tell me, jet lag does not last forever right?

Laptop Problems

We have run into computer problems. The laptop screen has gone completely blank on us and all of the files we need for the website are on it. You will have to follow the rest of our journey here. I am typing this on the hotel computer so I will not be able to upload any pictures tonight. We are hoping to be able to borrow a laptop the rest of the trip just to be able to upload a few pictures. Shannon is so upset she sent me down to post tonights update.
Anyway, today was pretty uneventful. We had most of the day free so a few of the couples and us went to the park. It was very beautiful and fun to see the Chinese people just being themselves. We were stopped many times and took pictures with some giggly teenage girls (just like American girls). They were very friendly and fun. After that we took a taxi to Wal Mart to get some baby supplies. No matter where I go I cannot get away from Wal Mart. Ugh! We then went to McDonalds which sounded very good after so many Chinese meals. The donkey meat may have caught up to me because I was sick to my stomach for half the night last night. I actually just think it was all the spicy food I have been eating. I then did about an hours worth of paperwork which was extremely tedious. Last we got some additional information about Sage. We received a picture of Sage the day they brought her in wearing the clothes that they had given to us. We both we teary eyed. We also received her finding add which shows when they tried to find the parents. Very neat.
Last, we had another pizza party. The last one was so much fun that we decided to do it again and we had more fun than we should be allowed.
Sorry, if this is not as entertaining, but writing is really not my thing. While I have the chance I thought I would post a few things that I believe guys would be interested in. These are just random thoughts.
1) You see almost no American made cars here. Most are Honda or Toyota but not brands you see in the states. Most of the taxis are to my surpise either Hyunda Elentra's or Volkswagon Jettas. They must be cheaper here.
2) Staring is not taboo here. It is not unusual if you are on the sidewalk having a conversation for someone to come about a foot from you and just stare. It takes some getting used to because my natural reaction is to always turn to them to see what they need. They just continue to stare. Very weird.
3) All driving signs and stoplights are only a guideline. It is survival of the fittest. They just go until about an inch away and then someone stops. This includes pedestrians and bikes. However, nobody every gets mad because if they are able to cut in front of you it is your fault for letting them!
4) A couple of interesting food items. They do not put Soy sauce on their food. They think it is weird when we ask. They use it only to cook with. They think it is way too salty. Also, they have never heard of Crab Rangoon so it is definately not a Chinse thing. The local specialty here is Pigeon. We passed on it, but I have tried donkey, lamb, and shark. The most disgusting thing I tried was a big hunk of Calamri. It looked like a big fat noodle, but when you bite down juice squishes out and it is very hard to chew. The only time my gag relex was tested.
5) The big sports here are ping pong, badmitten, soccer, and basketball. They have highlights on these every night.
6) They show most of the American movies here, but with Chinese caption at the bottom so we can watch movies on HBO with no problem. They also have ESPN sportscenter with different hosts and highlights.
7) The most popular TV show is "Super Girls" which is basically American Idol with only female singers.
8) The most popular weekend event is karaoke. They like to sing period. At the parks you will see a group of 20 or so singing together impromptu.
9) The vendors here are unbelievably aggressive. They put a toy in Sage's hand we she grabs and then they ask for the money. We also had a guy that walked 3 block with Shannon trying to get her to buy a Rolex for $5. Sometimes it is easier to just pay the $2 or $3 which is the point. Some people beg with their babies.
I am sure I will think of others but these were some random thoughts. Shannon should be posting tomorrow night. Please keep praying for us.

And we are Off!

We are now moving to our website for our travel posts. Please join us as we meet our Sage! www.laxtonkids.com

We're Leaving on a Jet Plane...

In less than 48 hours we will board our first flight towards our daughter. Wow! We are ready, oh so ready. Not only are the bags packed, the house is scrubbed, the closets are organized, the lists are made for the grandparents, we are ready. I have little moments of panic that creep in. The thought of being away from my children for 18 days, breaks my heart. That is so long! Sure there have been moments this week, MANY moments, that the idea of quiet has made me smile! And I know they are going to have a blast! They are going to get so spoiled and I am so glad that they are going to have 18 days to build forever memories w/ their grandparents. But we will miss them terribly. There are the panic moments of "please let the plane stay in the air as it should". Or please let my luggage make it to China. But those fears are few and the JOY I feel outweighs all of them that is for sure. I am going to hold my baby! For 18 months we have wondered so many things. What does Sage look like? What does she sound like? Does she have hair now? When she smiles, what is that like, or the sound of her laugh? Does she eat food, does she gulp down her bottles? Does she sleep on her belly and who is holding her when she cries? What does she feel like when she is in your arms? Soon there will be no more wondering. She will be in my arms forever and every question will be answered. How Great is our God?
So, Monday we go. Our flight leaves St louis at 2pm. We will be in China on Wednesday at 11am. For you here that is about 10pm here on Tuesday night. We will be updating at our website which is www.laxtonkids.com I hope you will join us on our journey to Sage!

100 Good Wishes Quilt

I copied this off of another blog, lets give it a try...

Sage: "Mommy, my family and friends must not love me as much as Ellies family does."

Me: Sage why would you say that, of course everyone loves you.

Sage: " Well then why does Ellie have 200 wishes on her 100 good wishes quilt and i only have 50?"

So, there you have it, is that enough guilt for you yet?? ;) I do have dreams of getting this quilt made, by someone else of course. But in order to do that, I HAVE to have at least 100 squares, and I am still not there yet! I realize you have only had 18 MONTHS to work on your quilt squares and wishes, and for some, that might not be enough time, but we all now know, She is a SHE and SHE is coming home in just a few more weeks!!! So....If you have no idea what I am talking about, please visit our website and read all the directions for the quilt at www.laxtonkids.com. If you need our address, just email me at laxton@htc.net
Unfortunatley right now, there is no way I can exchange squares if you are looking to swap, sorry!
So, when Sage is older and looking through her special book of wishes, will you be in there? ;)

Tickets Are Booked!! (updated)

Someone, not sure how, we ended up doing upgraded tickets. I guess leaving someone behind results in something good? ;) So we will be flying in the reclining seats w/ slippers and the works! Here is the plan...

depart St Louis Monday August 14th 1:58PM
Arrive Denver, Co 3:12 PM
Depart Denver 5:21 PM
Arrive Los Angeles , Ca 6:46PM
Depart LA 11:50 PM
Arrive Guangzhou , China 6:20Am (yep, that flight is 15hours and 30 minutes, YIKES!)
Depart Guangzhou, China 8:20AM Arrive Bejing 10:55AM
I don't have all the in flight details, but here is the coming home info...
Depart ChinaWednesday August 30th 9:00PM
Arrive LAX Wednesday August 30th 6:50 PM (do you catch that time/date thing?)
Spend night in LAX
Depart Lax Thursday August 31st 9:20 am
Arrive Denver 1240pm
Depart Denver 3:23Pm
ARRIVE ST LOUIS 6:22PM

I will post all flight numbers on our website. But if you add it up, we will be flying a total of 22 hours to get to China. And i think it is 32 hours from the time we leave St Louis till we land in Bejing. Think that will wear me out enough that I might actually sleep? ;)