Being Family

It is hard to believe that we've been home nearly a month.  Sometimes, it feels like its been like 3 months to be honest.  But, we are doing well and are finally starting to feel settled in-ish.  The first full week home was intense, I'm not going to lie.  Kaleb was really struggling with needing his parents after us being gone for 16 days.  Its hard explaining the concept of 16 days to a 3.9 year old.  His world is pretty much scheduled at the times of... now, tomorrow and someday.  Ah, needless to say- he needed some reassurance that we're not going back to China anytime soon & lots of snuggles.  Elsie was glued to my arms and craving attention as well.  By the end of the week- I literally had bruises on my arm from holding her so much.
The 2nd week home... the theme was 'competition' :)  Competition over who could be the closest to mom, have the most of mom's lap, be touching the most of her, the most attention... ah, the fun.  Coupled with some fairly demanding food obsession and it made for quite the week.  As long as I didn't walk into the kitchen and sat on the couch where everyone could touch everyone, we survived.  The 3rd week home... they finally figured out the joy of playing together instead of against each other :)  Yay!  This past Saturday, I told Wes if finally felt like we had a 'normal' day.  Kids played outside, I cooked my first real complete hot supper, we worked on the yard and the weather was beautiful!  Life is starting to settle in however, we definitely have our days when life still is full of a lot of adjustment and reminders that Mom & Dad will never leave a certain 4 year old.  Between the 12 hours of time zone adjustments, learning how to be in a family, healing from Mom & Dad being gone for 16 days, food obsession/insecurity, five trips to Black Hills Peds, and many, many sleepless nights (think waking up about every 45 minutes)..... we've had a lot of fun along the way too :)
And, here's the proof- we've got some cute and precious kids I tell ya!  There've been some challenging moments but also some really sweet family memories.  The first hugs.  Learning to give kisses to Mama.  An abundance of snuggles on the couch.  Giggles as they tease each other.  Good times, indeed.

Enjoy :) 

What a cutie she is... and, a trooper too!  

 Playing in the barn tent... compliments of Grandma Berry.  

(Ah, the tent...which is near life size & nearly consumes my house once it is 'built'.  

Every time we put it up, I'm tempted to buy Grandma a very large kitchen island that is like 5' tall just so her kitchen feels 'full').  

 Meet the pumpkins... we planted them a few days ago to get them started inside.  And, it has turned into quite the adventure as Kaleb would say.  These last few weeks, we've had many conversations between the two of us about "who is in charge".  Ya, Mama's in charge kiddo ;)  Kaleb's been designated as being in charge of the pumpkins... trust me, they will not be drying out as he religiously sprays them down numerous times throughout the day.  

 This afternoon, Kaleb intentionally and quietly slipped himself and little Elsie out the back door.  They got about 3 feet as I was onto their game pretty quickly.  Mr. Kaleb and I had a little conversation that went like this... 

I am reminding him that he can not take Elsie outside and he always needs to ask before 'helping'...

Me:  Who's in charge of the kids, Kaleb? 

Kaleb:  Mama is.  Kaleb in charge of the pumpkins!! 

(said in the most authoritative 4 year old voice)

And... I might add that Mama's just prayin' the pumpkins grow!

 On Saturday, the weather was beautiful.  It was a fun evening in the yard riding bikes, running around and simply enjoying time together! 

Love that boy, yes I do!

And, today we made a little side trip to see the baby chicks.  Oh, boy... the temptation was great to smuggle a couple home!  Grandpa's lucky too... if he didn't already have hundreds of pesky turkeys, we just might have brought home a couple baby turkeys & then 'let them live at Grandpa's house' :)  

Home...A Beautiful Place to Be

Today marks day ten of being home- together as a family.  What a blessing!  The past ten days have been wonderful... of course filled with some changes, a little adjusting here and there but mostly sweet moments watching our family become glued and fused together.  Kaleb has excelled in taking on his new big brother role.  His is great about seeing what she needs, telling her its ok and making sure she never cries :)  Elsie gets more and more comfortable each day.  Yesterday, was the first day she really ran around the house and played for big chunks of time without needing me to carry her, lift her, be holding her, etc.  all day long.  I love cuddling and holding her however, doing so for 2 1/2 weeks solid- your arms are tired and your feet are bored ;)  Together, the two already are siblings at heart.  We can see it in how they interact and tease each other.  Many fun times ahead for our little family!!
Thank you so much for everyone's love and prayers these past weeks and really months.  Our transition has went really well so far.  From the beginning, she attached (quite literally it felt) to me and not as strongly to Wes.  However, in these last few days- she is reaching for him, seeking him out, teasing him and definitely watching his every move.  It has been fun seeing her settle in with her dad.  I think she's already figured out that he's the softie around here... if you want to count on someone to smuggle you chocolate chips or Cheetos, Dad's the Man :)  Kaleb really hasn't had too much struggle with Elsie however, we've discovered that if he has to share Elsie, then we have some struggles.  Such as sharing Elsie with the grandparents, or extended family or church family.... he's been kind of turning into a little stinker when others are getting a little bit of Elsie's attention.  However, once she is all his... he goes straight back into rock-star big brother mode.
Elsie gained 1.4lbs in 4 days last week and I'm pretty sure she has gained another pound or two!  She is starting to gain some chunky legs, has learned to sign 'more', can go up stairs easily, down stairs kind-of, starting to practice her dance moves and already loves popcorn.  She's spunky kid and doesn't have a lot fear!  Yesterday, we went to the park and the only slide she went down was the big huge twisty one that starts about 25 feet in the air.  Of course, I was right behind her but she scrambled her way up the steps, then we sat down together and down the slide she went.  She sleeps through the night unless she wants a bottle.  She isn't convinced yet that bathes are such a good idea and is a little skeptical of peanut butter.  We'll work on those however :)
We blessed and incredibly thankful that God has blessed us with these two incredible kids.  To GOD be the glory for He has done GREAT things!  Our trip to Elsie's homeland was uneventful for the most part- nothing too crazy, which is always good :)  The flight home was long, painful and we'll try to forget most the 12 hours spent holding a fussy, overly tired, 20lb. 19 month old.  Let's just say the guy across the aisle kept ordering Jack Daniels.
China in a nutshell can be described as fog filled and crammed people everywhere.  There were indeed some beautiful parts and of course literally centuries of history everywhere.  I am so grateful however, for the clean air we breathe here, the wide open spaces and the beautiful sunsets that are so astounding in good old western South Dakota!
With that, I'll leave you with a few precious snapshots our dear friend (and INCREDIBLE) photographer captured from our arrival at the airport.  It was incredible and precious to introduce Elsie to her proud big brother!

The big introduction we've been praying for :) 

 Our attempt at our first family photo together... 

Real life people, this is how we roll :) 

Our little family- assembled by God!  

P.S. Check out hH Photography... http://www.hhphotodesign.com/

Turning 4

In the middle of all this craziness... Kaleb turned four!  Yikes, how does that happen so fast, ah.  Three days after we got home, it was his birthday.  Thanks to Auntie & Grandma... I didn't need to do a thing & Kaleb had a wonderful, fun day mostly centered on him.  Which is nice when your parents just brought home a spunky 1 1/2 year old.  After extensive discussions, I guess he requested a Thomas the Train party to his party planners so of course, they fully complied :)  Great job Auntie & Grandma!!

 Uncle RyRy even delivered a 'motorcycle'....

 Oh, boy. 

 Serious popcorn love for this kid!

Don't be fooled this is an expression of 'if only I could eat this right now' because he asks nearly every day if we can have popcorn for supper.  

 Then... and ultimate soccer game with everyone involved :) 

 Followed by cupcakes :) 

 And, our sweet Mrs. Tiller even stopped by for a few minutes :)  

She was actually dropping off a gift but, Kaleb thought it was pretty cool that she came to his party.  He even invited her in & offered her a cupcake therefore proving how highly she ranks in Mr. Kaleb's little world!! 

Good times indeed!!  Can't believe our little man is four.  My goodness, time is flying!!

Here We Go....

Our bags are packed, Kaleb is off to Gamma & Grandpa's house, bills are paid and we are ready... or, we think we are :)  There is so much I could write tonight or should be writing tonight and want to write.  So many thank you's to say (Mom, Dad, Mom, Dad, Ashley, Hills View, Laura, our prayer warrior friends & family) for the piles and miles of blessings which have been showered upon our family in order to get us to tomorrow morning.  Thank you.  We Love YOU.  Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.  All I really need to say tonight, is....

God is Good.  All the Time!  His timing, ways and provisions are perfect.  The story of Him bringing us to Elsie has so many chapters some already told and some yet to be told showcasing His master plan.  We praise Him and thank Him for all that He has done in getting us to tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow morning is just the start really though...you see, we're not quite done begging from all of you yet.  Sorry, you're not done with us yet.  What we covet and ask for in the coming 16ish days is your prayers.  

Prayers for smoothly connecting flights, for excellent health, for Elsie, for bonding, for logistics to work smoothly, for wisdom, for grace and mercy and love and strength when they days and hours of this next adventure are getting long.  Please, please pray for Kaleb.  He's a tough one but, still- sixteen days without Mama and Daddy are a long time.  Pray for Ashley as she has graciously volunteered to jump into parenthood of a 3.9 yr. old for the next two weeks.  Pray for good weather, safe flights.   Pray for Elsie's heart to be open to us.  Help her understand and feel our love although so many changes are happening so quickly.  Pray for Wes & I.  

While you're praying, here is what we'll be doing... 

This weekend, we'll do some sightseeing and touring of historical/cultural locations in the area.  

This will also help us get our time zones adjusted before they hand us a 19 month old :)  

Sunday Evening:  When you're going to bed, we'll be meeting and holding Elsie for the first time.  We'll then stay in her province all next week as we complete paperwork.  The second weekend we're gone, we'll travel to the very southern region of her homeland to complete the immigration process of bringing her home.  On March 16th, we should have the entire process complete however, we don't leave the country for a few days in case there is a delay somewhere during the prior 2 weeks.  

Then... 

We're HAVING A PARTY!!!  

11:30/45ish am at the Rapid City Airport

at the bottom of the escalator :)  

(plane officially lands at 11:35 however it will take a few minutes to get off the plane, etc. it will be closer to 11:45 at least)

Trust me, it'll be a lunch hour you won't forget!  

Then, we will load up together for the first time as a family of four.  Wow.  I can't wait! 

After that, then we'll be laying low for awhile as we adjust to life together.  Unless, of course you're stopping by to bring me gallons of coffee or diet coke ;)  We'll start venturing out based on how Elsie's settling in.  But, if you don't see us for awhile well- adjusting can be tough.  Send chocolate people!  (jk...well, kind of).

We love you all dearly and can not thank you enough for all the love, blessings, & generosity you've blessed us with.  God has done crazy, awesome, amazing things this past year.
Go God! 

We're coming for you Elsie!! 

An Open Door... the Next Chapter!

This post is about praising God.  About an answer to years of prayers & supplication, questions, pondering, considering and sometimes what felt a little like a weary drought.  But, God is faithful no matter what.

This week, God opened the door.  A door that we've been tugging on, sometimes giving it a good ole stiff shoulder, a door we've tried to pry open ourselves and have attempted to budge often.  But, every time- the answer was a resounding NO.  For the past 5 1/2 years, we've been 'road warriors' as I call it- both of us commuting 30 miles each way everyday. As a family, we spend our days 60 miles apart, meeting in the middle each night before getting up the next morning to do it all again.

We have 4 towns in our lives... two different towns to work in, one to live in and another to attend church in.  We go through gas & tires like toilet paper... quite literally it seems.  And, our cars live on a treadmill of insanity.  The poor cars.  My poor Dodge that looks like a play room, dining room, office, mail sorting center and laundry service transport vehicle.  Because well... that's what it is.

And, then there's our sanity.  During the school year, we leave the house at 6:35am through snow, slush, rain, moonlight, fog, sleet, wind, more slush, blizzards, white-out blizzards and who knows whatever other weather that gets thrown our way.  Add in over zealous North Dakota bound truck drivers, people who don't believe in headlights, the deer and people who think they can pass a school bus + three semis + four cars all at once...its a lot sometimes.  Go God for protecting us & keeping us safe on the roads.  Seriously, I don't take it for granted.

Plus, the insanity of never being in the same town or the right town.  Or having your rock star husband take an hour of 'vacation time' to drive from Rapid to Belle to pick up your kid from daycare then heading home to Sturgis simply because I am at school until 9:30 at night running a concession stand.  Do that about 10x in two months.  That's insane.  That's a supportive husband going way, way above an beyond the norm to support his wife and our family so we can pay the bills.

In fact, we once tried to wedge open that door... we listed our house for sale for over 5 months to only get zero offers.  Dozens of showings, everyone loved our house but God prompted no one to make a formal offer.  We kept our house spotless for 5 months straight.  FIVE MONTHS straight.  Seriously.  Having my house clean for 1 day feels like an accomplishment but 5 months.... that's insane.  We tried doing it our way but God of course, had a better plan.

These past 5 1/2 years, we've worked hard.  There have been moments when we've tried to budge the door open.  Considered trying something new, dreamed about possible ways the door may pop loose.  Once, there was even a job offer but we had to say no.  And, God kept saying- no.  Every time, it came back to waiting on Him.  God knows I'm not good at waiting so He lets me do a lot of it.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"

 - Psalm 27:14

Last summer, again- we saw an opportunity.  But, if you switch jobs while adopting- you slow down the process to re-do things, you add a little cost and you delay getting your kid home.  That wasn't an option.  So we passed.  We waited more.

Then, God opened the door.  

Simple.  Like that.  

A job opening was revealed and I was encouraged to apply.  

After much prayer, discussion, prayer, contemplation and to be honest- a fair amount of uncertainty, I applied.  An interview was offered.  Second interview scheduled.  References were checked.  Then, we waited.  And prayed and prayed and prayed that this would be our 'yes'.  Our church prayed, our friends prayed, our Bible study group prayed.  We prayed.

Last Wednesday, over lunch- the phone rang and God kicked the proverbial door wide open! The offer of a new job.  I accepted the job :) As I write this, as of today.... I now have 5 days until I retire from teaching.  Five days.  You see- as usual, God orchestrates every single detail.  Details... God loves details.

Get this.... I will teach school 5 more days, walk out the the school on March 2nd, my 12 weeks of FMLA will expire on May 27th and on about June 1st, I will begin with the Department of Education.  I will work remotely from home.  Yes, that's right- God has provided a 'work from your home office' job that utilizes my education degree.  That never happens!  I will no longer work directly with students but with educators from across the western part of our state.  To say we're thrilled would be a major understatement.  While I have enjoyed the people of Belle and my season there- our family needs a new season.  We are in awe of God's blessings, provision and masterful way of setting our paths in just the perfect way at the perfect time.

Its as though a new dawn is coming for our family.  Within a couple weeks, we'll all be together and under one roof.  The commuting/teaching school, driving all over creation, concession stand, craziness chapter is nearly complete and a new career direction waits just around the bend.  Our God is faithful and for that we are incredibly blessed!

And, because this song has literally been in my head and heart for about the last 3 weeks solid.... crank it up & sing God's praise!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAyvSBTgYis

P.S.  We leave in 10 DAYS to pick up our Elsie!!! :)  

In the 'teens'....

Well, our countdown is slowly being trimmed away...today, we broke into the 'teens'.  Nineteen days until we leave for China!  Have I mentioned that we can't wait.  We'll we really can't wait to go meet our little girl.  Last weekend, I did a little pre-packing to make sure we have everything we need.  Packed a few of Elsie's things including her homecoming outfit and suddenly realized the girl didn't have a proper pair of shoes to wear with her cute little dress- a girl's gotta have at least one cute pair of shoes :)  

Today they arrived....oh, my adorable. 

I've got a feelin' that tea parties are just around the corner :) 

In the meantime, please continue praying for our little Elsie.  We keep upholding her in prayer that she will stay healthy, be shown love each day and be well cared for.  She turned 18 months this week. We're also praying that once we do finally, finally, finally get to scoop her up in our arms- that her transition will be as smooth as possible.  There will be a lot of changes and a lot of 'new' in her life.  This weekend, we're focusing on soaking up some fun memories with Kaleb and enjoying a nice long quiet weekend.  We love you baby girl.  

TA!!!

We got!  We're approved to travel to pick up our Elsie :)  Excitement doesn't even describe what it feels like the moment you see that incredible news.  Our tickets are bought, plans are being made and we can't wait to get her home.  On Saturday, I decided we officially needed a countdown chart ...

We can't wait to see those days fill in...Kaleb has a stockpile of stickers and smelly markers to fill in the days as they hopefully roll past quickly.  We'll definitely need another countdown for all those days we're away in China.  Kaleb is thrilled that he gets to go to Gamma & Grandpa's house and also hang out with Auntie Ashley :)  We're so thankful and fortunate that family is able to help out with Kaleb.  Its so reassuring and great to know that he'll be having a blast while we're gone.  Absolutely can't wait to have our entire family together on March 19th!!!  Kaleb, Elsie and Us.  All together finally & forever.  There's gonna be a big ole party at the airport I tell ya! 

While we wait, we're definitely keeping busy!  Gamma & Grandpa treated us to Stock Show tickets to the rodeo, with Uncle RyRy.  Always a great time and a true west river tradition.  Saturday was a day filled with sunshine, bike rides and playing outside as it was 70 degrees out.  Shocking and bizarre for the first week of February!  This morning, as I looked out the kitchen window- I realized that if we mowed the yard today, it would definitely look green. Weird.  Weird.  Bring on spring- I'm a definitely ready!!