9 Months!!

Nine months??? Seriously? I cannot believe it...I had to count (on my fingers, of course) to make sure I had this right...nine months!

How's it going? Perfect, actually, thanks for asking!

 Playing piano with Baba

Thumb wrestling with Baba

Things really are going fantastic. Johnny and Lily were both in foster care in China and I am starting to really grasp how beneficial this has been for us that they were. Neither of them have any issues that is sometimes associated with being raised in an orphanage. 

Johnny is extremely helpful and likes to set the table and clear it when we're done eating. I never even have to ask him to take his plate to the sink (a big thanks to his China foster Mom!!) She raised him well. I barely have to discipline this boy. A stern look and just saying his name makes him crumble...Lily on the other hand...umm, I'd like to have words with her foster Mom...she was SPOILED! Actually, Lily is doing fantastic now, but it took months of daily showing her that the universe did not revolve around her. 

Here are some common phrases Johnny uses:

"Check it out!"

"Why you do that?"

"How that work?"

"I dunno."

And, of course, "ticka." (Still don't know what it means; it's the only Chinese word he uses anymore.)

Lily talks in basics...she cuts all the fluff out of the English language...but it's the WAY she talks that's funny. She has a very low voice that is sometimes shocking to people and very comical. She sounds like, umm, well...ET. Or Roz off of Monsters Inc...but probably mostly like Edna from The Incredibles...I need to teach her how to say "darling" like Edna..."daaahhhhling," tee hee. I know God has a sense of humor because I requested a video of Lily before we went to China and do you think she said one word in that entire video? Not one. I remember watching the video of Lily over and over and thinking...I wonder why I received this video and didn't hear one word from a girl they claim is extroverted...I wonder if she has a funny voice...that would be just like God to have me adopt a cartoon character.  

And that is exactly what she is. She has everyone wrapped around her finger...including the dog. She torments the dog mercilessly but takes food off her plate and intentionally drops it on the floor for her, so our poor puppy endures the abuse for the food.  Umm...total side note here...as I'm typing, Lily is playing X-box and just kissed R2D2 on the screen and said, "Hi baby." Ok...that was disturbing.

Alright, back to our regular scheduled program:

My favorite word she says is "careful," but she says "share pole" instead. 

They are both so stinkin' cute...I wish I could adopt 20 kiddos from China!! 

I know not everyone has fairytale endings. I totally get that. I just read a post from a lady who went to China at about the same time I did. Her child was listed as "developmentally delayed." The description made it sound mild...it was not...her child will need lifetime care. I cannot fathom that. And I know that some people take months and years to bond with their children. I'm not trying to take away from that. But all I can say, is that for MY family, and OUR experience, being in China was ROUGH, the 3 months after were just as rough...but it gradually got easier. I did not force any expectations upon myself, Johnny and Lily, or the rest of our family. I allowed us to bond on our own time. Although Johnny and Lily bonded to me right away, it honestly was at about 4 months home that I was 100% connected to them. 

That's the beauty of adoption: everyone's experience is different. If God told you to do it, if it's on your heart and not going away, then He will see you through it all the way...through bonding, through post-adoption depression, all  of it...He's bigger than all of it. 

His grace goes with us!