English Kindergarten.

Michael is moving to English Kindergarten.  (My ipad told me to spell it kindergarden and this laptop tells me kindergarten.  Take your pick.  I'm sure you'll pick the correct one.)

I had a meeting at school this week with some fabulous women who are educating and working with Michael.  After these first three months, they feel that because he doesn't have a nice strong and solid English background and because he is has some delays, it would be best to move him out of Manderin immersion and into full time English class.

This is hard.  It is hard because I've been thinking about this for the past couple of weeks (even before it was brought up).  I began to sense that maybe Michael would be better off in preschool and learning English.  I shoved that aside knowing that the school would have told me if that was the case.  They told me.  They told us.  Another hard part is that Michael is going to lose his Mandarin.  I know that this decision is the best one for him long term, but I remember watching Simon lose all of his language and it broke small pieces of my heart.  Now Michael will do the same thing.  Statistics show that it will take about 6 months.  We'll try our best to fight that by having our other kids use their Mandarin with him.  It is hard because I love the kids in his class, I love his teacher, I love Michael's smile when he talks about the kids in his class, I love I love I love.  Loving sets us up for heartbreak, so we are doing what is best even though it hurts. Plus, it can make me really selfish.  And I am selfish and need to fight against it.

Once again, Michael is going to be moved into something different.  (Four months ago he moved into a different family, culture, country, school, bed, eating structure, language. . . quite the shock!)  I believe he will be o.k. because I've seen him work through it.  I'm so glad that I get to be with him this time. . . I was with him last time too but this time he trusts me.  He loves me and I love him.  Last time we weren't kissing on the lips yet.  :)

We don't know when this is happening, but we completely trust the school leaders to plan and let us know.  That is one thing that makes this much easier.  I completely trust the leadership of Zeeland Christian School.  It is wonderful that I don't feel the need to contradict.  I'll ask questions of course, but I trust the answers.

God has put Michael into our lives for purpose and into our school for purpose.  We are just following His lead.

On a side note--Michael had a big specialist appointment in Farmington Hills a few weeks ago.  The results of the CT scan of his ear canals was very discouraging.  The canals are so small, bones are fused together, pockets are tiny. . .after looking at the scan and visually inspecting his ears they talked to me about hearing aids.  Surgery didn't fit at all for how Michael's skull is shaped.  They wanted to give him a hearing test because they didn't trust the results of his other hearing test.  (I didn't either.  Michael cheated.)  After the hearing test they entered the room in disbelief.  Against everything that they can see, Michael can hear out of both ears.  It isn't stellar, but it is good enough that he doesn't need a hearing aid right now.  Gary and I praised God for the miracle that only He could do for Michael. 

Michael's eyes are also getting better with the patching we are doing at home.  God continues to be faithful in so many ways and I have no doubt that this will continue.  I'll be waiting and watching and enjoying God.

Penny just got up (napping twice a week these days) and I promised that I'd teach her Wii bowling.  We are enjoying our second snow day off from school this week.

Big Girl Pants

I've been reciting this many times over the past month. 

 "Big Girl Pants" 

I've written it on my to-do list.  I've recited it before making a phone call.  I've called Gary to tell him that I'm ready to put them on.  I've even told my kids that I needed to go and put my big girl pants on.

What are big girl pants?  Well. . .I'm afraid to do different tasks that come my way.  I'm afraid that I might get confronted.  I'm afraid that someone I love will be unhappy.  I don't like talking to folks at a doctor's office to make an appointment.  I don't like to talk to a business about problems or return clothes.  I don't want to take the car in to get the tires rotated because I feel uncomfortable.  These are all "big girl" things.  If I put on my big girl pants, then I need to be a big girl and do these tasks that are in front of me.

So in the very recent past, I've been avoiding some of these tasks or begging Gary to do them for me.  Although I still find myself falling into some of these holes. . . I'm standing up more and more.  I'm doing tasks that I'm afraid of.  I'm making phone calls that I don't like.

And it is going o.k.

Phone calls go well.  I smile and say that I was put in charge and so I'm going to trust that the Holy Spirit will fill me and help me make good decisions about Bible Study groups.  I can call and change a doctor's appointment.  (Oh I dreaded that one!)

I'm 42 now and perhaps. . . .perhaps it's time for me to wear my big girl pants more often.  :)

42

I'm 42 today and I wasn't yesterday.  Yup, it is my birthday.

At our house, birthdays are met with cupcakes for breakfast.  No cupcakes.  No family gifts.  No special supper.  No special treatment--the usual fighting.  No respit from kid homework. 10 minutes with my hubby.

It was a good birthday.  We were given money to go out for supper from AT&T for Gary's 15 anniversary and so we went last night.  Gary is on-call so I knew we had to go when we could.  It was a great meal and our kids did great in the restaurant-a great gift.  Good thing we went last night as Gary worked until 5:30 this morning and so he went to bed as soon as he got home from work today.  I went to my friends house to order family pictures and she asked me to stay for lunch.  My Bible Study sisters in The Lord sang to me.  I made a new supper (pumpkin pancakes) that went over well with the kids.  I saw my mom.  I snuggled with Penny in bed and watched cooking.  I exercised.  A friend stopped by with a card and an orange necklace.   I received a pickle card.

Best of all, the Holy Spirit fell all over our Bible Study group this morning.  He was felt and heard and glorified.

I love walking with The Lord.  I love it when I ask him to show up and He does!  (I shouldn't be surprised right?!?). Birthday or not, this was a great day.  I received encouragement from friends and family and I bless God for putting them in my life.

I was a little uneasy this morning about how my day would go, but it was wonderful.  It was ordinary and extraordinary all in the same breath.  Isn't that great?  I have a feeling that if I ask God for the same thing tomorrow He'll give it to me.  I just need to look and listen.

Blogging

I'm finding myself thinking about blogging again.  Funny things happen during my day or I learn something or do something foolish and I find myself beginning to compose a blog post about it in my head.

I've been absent for awhile.  There are several reasons for this.  First, I've been so much busier than I ever dreamed that I would be.  I thought that once school began, I'd have some free time during the day where I could sit and blog.  That ain't happening.  My life is full and busy and wonderful and stressful.  I'm discovering that I'm doing a better job of managing my time more now than when I just had Garrison.  I'm getting on my to-do list more quickly.  That is a good thing.  There are some things though that just keep falling further on down the list.  For example, a friend gave me a bag of clothes for which I was very thankful.  I have a basket full of girls size 6 (too small for Noel and too big for Penny) sitting on the floor of my room.  It has been there for weeks.  It just needs to go downstairs and be put in the right bin in the long storage room. Doing this job would take about 10 minutes, but there are so many other things that are of greater importance that it just doesn't get done.  It'll happen.

Second, my life seems pretty ordinary.  For a long time we were focused on the big changes of adoption and before that was the birth of Penny and before that was the drama with my dad and before that was the adoption of Simon.  There always seemed to be something next--and on this day there isn't a something next.  I believe that is a good thing, but I don't have new announcements to share.

Third, I've been struggling with what to share.  As my kids get older I want to be more mindful of who they are and what I say about them.  They are working out their lives and making small mistakes and making big mistakes and celebrating victories every day.  I want them to decide what they share with the world and not me.  It gives me a little angst to try to discern what is appropriate and what isn't.

Finally, I don't want to be a broken record about adoption.  So much of our lives right now is tied up in Michael and his medical issues and his adjustment.  It is our journey at the moment and it is what we see every day.  I don't want to "blah blah blah" about it all the time.

Then this morning during my devotions in I Thessalonians, I looked at how Paul shared of himself.  Sometimes he got burned, but he always got back up again and kept on sharing who he was and what he believed.  I was challenged by Beth Moore (who is my very good friend even though she doesn't know it yet) to share my story.  This is one of the sentences that I underlined.

This I do know: we're all called by Christ to serve people.  We each get to decide how vulnerable we're going to be in the process.

I sat for awhile in my prayer chair this morning and asked God to show me how vulnerable I need to be.  I felt a stirring that I needed to open up more again and share more of my story.  This morning an on-line friend challenged her blog readers who have adopted to get the word out--not about how folks should adopt, but how challenging it can be.  She begged for adoptive moms to tell it like it is.

So I knew that after dropping Penny off at school and running my errand, I needed to return home and blog.  I can't commit to specific days, but I'm going to make more of an effort and then I'll see what God gives as the result of my obedience.

Sunday Church

I finally began laughing 10 minutes before the end of the service.  It was when I took an envelope, grabbed a crayon, and began writing down all the things that had gone "wrong" within Sprick nation in the pew.  Here is my list.

Crying 3x (Three kids cried at some point during the service.  Noel cried because she kept writing "G" when she meant to write "C" while trying to spell "Sprick" in the Friendship Register. )

Whining

Kicking

Dropping Pappers; 3x 4x  5x  6x

mint (continually asking for a pink peppermint!)

cookies (Michael began asking if there would be cookies during the offering.  He did it as least 4 more times.  He kept on holding up his first finger indicating he knew he could only take 1.  At least that wasn't an issue.)

Sitting on lap (Michael and Penny fought over my lap-several times)

singing (Michael refused to stand up at one point and then sang in the middle of the sermon)

2 Papers  Drama over not being allowed to take more than two children's bulletins.

ARAR--Pastor George asked us to say this word.  Penny said it rather loudly 2 seconds after everyone else.

The icing on the church cake was when Noel went into a huge funk over the letter "C" and then began sobbing.  I asked her to get out of it and she refused.  I then dramatically wrote "Noel Punishment" in black ink pen on the palm of my hand so that I could remember (please tell me I'm not the only parent to have forgotten to give out a promised consequence!)  Michael saw me write on my hand and then took his marker and wrote all over his.  Oh Shanda.  Not only did I have to hide the palm of my left hand from all the other saints in the church, but now my son has red marker everywhere because I was a shining example.  ((sigh))

When I began laughing it all seemed o.k.  I was still a bit embarrassed about distracting the folks around us from worship.  Then again, they did promise at our children's baptisms (Michael hasn't been baptized yet, but I think he is included) to help us raise our children.  Surely they know that not every kid is going to behave in church all the time.  Sprick Nation raised the stakes by taking five ducks to church.

The takeaway?  I still learned a few things from the sermon (though I missed most of it I think).  I still loved singing.  I love sitting with my family.  My kids want to sit on my lap.  I used to ask for more peppermints too.  I didn't have any trouble with Garrison.  Someday Gary and I will be sitting with just the two of us in church and we'll look with wonder and a touch of envy at a young family in front of us.  And finally, writing "punishment" on your hand might not be the best thing to do ever--next time use code.  :)

New Post

"He is an amazing kid and I'm excited that I get a front row seat to see how God uses him in the Kingdom."

This is the sentence that I just wrote to a friend via e-mail.  It was written about Michael and it is true.  True.  Yesterday I might have written something along the lines of adopting being hard and at times I need to find patience where I think there is none.  Another day might bring news of extreme joy at watching him discover brand new things around him or work so very hard to put English words together.  My heart broke on the second day of school when I left him in his classroom crying because he realized that I'd be gone all day long just like the day before.  (His teacher e-mailed me later stating that "It goes well.")  Other times I'm crabby because I just am sick of him in our house.  It is all true.

We are a new family unit with new ups and downs. Adopting is amazing on so many levels and hard on so many other levels.  I feel like one of those flip books where you can choose a head/body/feet and they might match or not.  We haven't matched often, but we'll get there.  I know we will.  We haven't been together for very long and though I can keep telling myself that, it can be hard when you are living in the day.  God pulls me back to look at the big picture.  The big picture is so bright and encouraging!

Life has really been good.  Michael got glasses and his world is bigger and more clear that ever!  I've enjoyed seeing the world through his eyes.  He already has a scratch on the lens and the glasses have gotten bent several times, but hey--he is six!  He is very faithful about wearing them and I love how cute he is with them on.  They do sometimes get in the way of us snuggling, but we've been known to take off the glasses if we want to get cheek to cheek. I'm o.k. with that.  :)  We are going to go to Holland Hospital sometime in October (hopefully) to get his teeth taken care of.  He'll be put under so everything can be done at once.  It'll save many trips and multiple injections for my little guy.  Plus, he wont be afraid of the dentist.  Bonus.  We've been referred to DeVos Children's hospital for a hearing test and CT scan.  I'm eager to see the results of that one.  We also know that his palate is rather high and that explains why he can sound "airy" at times and why making certain sounds is so challenging.  Speech therapy is in our future for sure.  Isn't it amazing that we have so many resources at our disposal to help make his life better?  God is so very good.

Our other kids are doing well and living the same flip book as I am.  Sometimes they love being with Michael and other times they don't.  Simon said to me about three weeks ago that he just didn't like Michael.  I assured him that it was o.k. to feel that way.  He looked at me with complete surprise.  "Christ doesn't ask us to like him.  He does ask us to love him.  We need to work hard to be kind and patient with him.  Hopefully someday, you'll like your brother."  Simon felt good about that and just this week-end as I watched them laughing together I asked Simon again.  "Hey.  How are you feeling about Michael these days?  Do you like him better, the same, or worse?"  His reply.  "I like him better.  He is really funny."  Noel has the most patience with him and is a little mother to him--which goes over sometimes and doesn't at other times.  I'm glad that Michael can assert what he is feeling--in Mandarin and that Noel understands him.  :)  Penny is completely unaware that Michael speaks and understands very little English.  She talks with him exactly like she talks with everyone else.  It is hilarious and I see no need to correct her.  Penny and Michael seem to communicate very well with each other.

Garrison caught some toads last week and organized a sale of them to raise some money for himself.  Noel was so distraught that I gave her the money to redeem them.  Everyone was happy with the outcome.  Simon has spent so much time digging this summer that his fingernails are "distraught"  (doctors words) and they are falling off.  Penny still wears a leotard wherever she goes.  She proudly announces that she is going to begin Mandarin school, but will work in Spanish when she grows up.  Noel is a bundle of maturity one minute and full of drama the next.  I love being with her and am enjoying the grown up conversations that we are having.  She is taking a break from gymnastics for the time being.  Garrison and Simon are beginning soccer and Michael can't understand why he isn't playing.  He also wants to go potty every time he sees a port-o-john.  This mama don't play that game.  Gary is on-call this week, the first since we left for China.  I'm cooking meals again and this feels good--it feels normal.  I'm so thankful for the meals that we received, but it is good for us to be on our own too.  I have several tucked away in the freezer for those days with doctor's appointments and the like.  I'm beyond grateful.

Life is good and God is good.

4 weeks

It is hard to believe that Michael has officially been our son for four weeks.  It seems to normal and surreal at the same time.

We just returned from a week of camping.  We didn't know if we'd be able to go until we met Michael and evaluated his adjustment.  It went so well.  Gary was able to take the week off and we spent time together as a family.  Michael is growing in so many ways--every day is a new discovery for him and he celebrates learning very visibly.  The friends who camped with us laughed and celebrated with us as we watched him learn new skills (pounding in a tent stake or riding a tricycle) and new words (marshmallow).  It is really fun to experience the world through new eyes.  Being with friends also encouraged us in so many ways.  It is easy to get bogged down with daily life and events and I think we all left refreshed.  (I wasn't so refreshed after doing lots of laundry.)

I love my Michael.  He is a gem with a smile that takes over his whole face--I find myself smiling at him a lot because he is smiling at me.  He squeals with delight at new things and it makes me laugh.  He loves life and loves me.  He is fun and has become very affectionate with all of us.  I must say that God made a great choice when He picked him to be in our family--he is a Sprick and certainly one of the ducks.

Michael is a worker bee and wants to use all of his new skills all of the time.  This can be fun or is can be annoying--for the kids and sometimes for me.  I have to keep reminding myself and the other ducks that this is new for him and being able to do something by himself (turn lights on/off, shut the door of the van over and over and not let anyone else touch it) is a way to control an environment that is very out of control.  We do ritual every day together and I need to keep doing it.  He is able to communicate with me in such a limited way that I need to let him.  This takes great patience from me as I'm sick of it.  I have to keep remembering that we did the same thing with our littles--how many times did we say ball?  For example, he knows all of our names but he likes to play a game where he calls me by the wrong name. We laugh and I call him by the wrong name.  Not a big deal really and we are communicating and laughing and he gets the attention that he needs.  We say the wrong name about five times and then I end the game.  This gets hard when it happens every day and five or six times a day.  Patience Shanda.  Patience.

On the adoption side of things, he is bonding so well--and we are too.  He doesn't like to hug others and will hug us.  He doesn't even enjoy communicating with others and wants to be with his family.  We give great thanks for this.  It is helping us to grow and it enables me to leave the house with him. . .and to go camping for that matter.

Camping was great, although I struggled with others' perceptions that Michael is mentally challenged.  He looks like it and he sounds like it with his limited English.  I wanted to tell everyone that we met that he was just adopted and that he has Treacher Collins Syndrome and that he is really picking up English and figuring things out and. . . .  Today at the park I was playing with Michael and a little boy came up and began to ask me about Michael's age.  This boy was 5 and bigger than Michael and couldn't quite believe or get that my son was older.  I talked to him for a bit about it.  We are all going to have things that people assume about us based on our appearance.  I get that.  I just want the assumptions to be the best that they can be, and I realize that I often make assumptions as well and treat others accordingly.  Though this can be hard for me to come to grips with, I love that God is teaching me over and over again and refining me into who He wants me to be.

We are getting rid of our "new to us" van and praying/searching/waiting to see what vehicle will be the right fit for our family.  We can't tow anything now with our conversion van and that is something that we need to have, both for our family and to manage our rental property.  I'm thankful that we didn't sell our mini van yet--another way of God's provision in our lives.

God is blessing through daily encouragement, through meals being delivered (I NEVER thought that I would really need some meals this late in the game, but boy was I wrong about that one!  The folks in the office at church knew more than me and insisted on taking care of us through this week.), through all of my kids, and through my sweet Gary.  Moments are very hard at times, but I pick myself up, say a prayer, and hope to do better moving forward.

How it's going

My apologies for the last blog post---I thought I published it, but it looks like it didn't.  So sorry!

We have had a good week!  I've been so very encouraged by friends and family.  We have been lifted up by prayer, but comments, by meals being brought in, by gifts. . .by Michael.

Michael is doing great.  On the adoption scale of things, Michael is doing amazingly well.  He is sleeping.  He is very attached to his mama.  He is very teachable and is respecting our authority on most issues.  He is eating well and doesn't seem to be hoarding anything.  Sure we have tons of issues and not all of them can be addressed right now.  We need to establish a great base with him and we will get there.  The other ducks seem to be respecting that some of the house rules (not all of them certainly!) don't apply to Michael.  He can chew with his mouth open.  He doesn't get his shoes taken away if he doesn't put them in his locker.  I don't yell super loud when he unbuckled his seatbelt before we get into the driveway.  He doesn't have to set the table yet and his duck duties are a bit lighter.  This is how life is running in the house.  They get it for the most part.

We had a great eye doctor appointment today.  Michael's vision is terrible.  Awful!  Oh I can't wait until he gets his new glasses.  His entire world is going to change.  As I've mentioned before, his behavior is more like a 3 year old than a 6 year old.  I know that I have seen big changes already and I really believe that when he can see the world with his really thick glasses. . .I think when that happens we'll be in a whole new ball game.

I love this guy.  He is so sweet and is very in love with his mama.  He is now hugging me more quickly in the morning.  He still isn't crying when he gets hurt.  Oh how I wish I could have gotten my hands on him when he was an infant, but God has given him to me now and I've already learned so much about God and about myself.

Please keep praying.  It is so very important.  We need protection each and every day as we work to put our new family together.  :)

I feel loved

I'm sitting on my couch in my house.  It is 9:00 at night and I'm awake.  I'm beginning to feel tired, but I'm not in that "my eyes hurt when they are open or closed" kind of jet lag tired.  That is good.  Very good.

We had some adventures when we left China on Thursday.  I woke up ready to go, but wanting to do just a few more things before we left--I needed to make the most of the day.  I was a little sad about leaving. . .would I ever get back?  This is Michael's home.  As a quick aside, I received some pictures of Michael's going away party from the orphanage.  He looked at each one and made me go back to his favorites.  He wouldn't stop talking and kept saying names and one other phrase.  I asked Garrison what he was saying and his response was "he keeps saying that it is his home".  So this exchange on Thursday morning was on my heart.  I know that Michael's new home is in Zeeland, but I also knew that it is hard to change to a new home.

So, we went for a walk in the morning to do some last minute shopping.  Then I got hot.  And a little impatient.  I tried to have a good attitude.  Back to the room for some packing.  Then swimming.  We swam and had to two hotel workers stand next to the pool and watch us.  It made Gary and I a bit uncomfortable and awkward.  It lasted for an hour!  We took pictures.  Really.

Back to the room to pack.  We forget to each lunch.  We had to get out of the room by 4:00.  We had to leave at 7:20.  We left all of our luggage on a cart (it is secure, we promise!) and we set off to walk around, find some supper, and get through 3 hours.  We took the escalator up to McDonalds and couldn't find a seat.  We found one downstairs and were told we couldn't sit there unless we bought coffee.  I kept saying there are no seats upstairs and they kept saying coffee.  We didn't even begin to understand each other.  We went across the plaza to another McDonalds.  On the escalator on the way down Michael's foot got caught, I heard a pop,  and at the bottom he had no shoe or sock.  I had to carry him for the rest of the night.  We are so thankful that he wasn't hurt!

We got kicked off of couches on the hotel, our place got delayed, I couldn't find Garrison in the airport and wept, it took forever to get through customs in Hong Kong, the shuttle to our hotel was closed, it would cost us an extra 400 for breakfast and wifi. . .

I laughed later.  How good of God to send things my way to get me excited about leaving. :)

The flight home went better than I had ever thought!  I had begged God for help and  He said "you've got it girl!"  Michael slept for 8 hours.  Customs took too long in Chicago, but we made it home and I was able to hold my girls.

The past few days have been filled with an open house at our church, visiting with family, worshipping at our church, and being in survival mode.  That is o.k.  Our meals are taken care of.  I've received lots of encouraing e-mails and Facebook posts.  I read and re-read them.

This morning I felt like we needed to get back to normal.  Duck duties, packing a lunch, less screen time. . .it was good.  Things are different now.  I have a new person who doesn't know how we roll.  I need to be on him all the time and other duties are getting neglected.  It is o.k.  It is the new normal.

Michael is doing great.  He is learning words.  He loves his mama and daddy.  He was so confused today because Gary was at work.  He doesn't know going to work.  He loves his siblings.  He is naughty sometimes because he doesn't know the house rules and he is naughty sometimes because he is naughty.  He is sad because he isn't in swimming lessons.  He sleeps well every night.  He wants to help with every job I'm doing.  He is learning about "his clothes" in "his dresser".  He will go put on anything in any dresser because that is what he is used to.  He is sweet.  He tries to be funny and sometimes I smile and other times I'm annoyed.  He yells out "Ni Hao" to every person he sees while on a bike ride.

We still aren't up for long visits.  We are still adjusting.  We are still learning about passing food and praying before meals and being extra patient

Pictures! Monday and Tuesday

Hard to believe that we are leaving later tonight.  I'll have to post the rest of the pictures when we return home.  I enjoy going through these and celebrating all the great experiences that we have had here.

We went out for dinner to an Irish pub with 6 other adoptive families.

Swimming every day!  The pool is a big hit for Michael.

They have so much fun together.

Taking an outdoor shower together.  What a view from the top of the hotel.

Awe.

His typical pose.  This is at breakfast.

A wine dispensing machine at the Medical Clinic.

Our guide Judy is in the black dress.  She is bypassing everyone and getting us in right away.  I felt like I have a fast pass at Disney.

Speaking of Disney, this is on the floor of the medical clinic.  Did they do this to make Americans feel more at home?

Part of Michael's testing was to see if he could write his name and numbers.
"Smart Boy" was her assessment.

Checking out his eyes and ears.  This is the doctor who told us that he has equipment in both of his ears!

These boys did a great job of entertaining themselves while we went from room to room with Michael.  They have been such a great support to each other.

Judy helping to navigate the entire process.

We got dropped off in the middle of a huge shopping street.  There were four McDonalds across from each other.  It was only a five minute walk from our hotel (quiet) into this loud and very bright area.  It was so great to go from Old China into Modern China in just a few steps.

This is the drink I wanted.  I got it once, fell in love with it, and then it was discontinued.  It was pineapple juice with a little vanilla soft serve on the top.  Two of these for $1.50 and so nice on these hot and humid days.

We went to the dessert McDonalds and they see our white faces and hand us a picture menu so we can point.  Judy is on her translator app. so she can tell us "sweet potato" flavor ice cream.  No thanks.

We settle for Sprite with strawberry burst ice cream.  Not bad.

Simon loved them.

We walked to the largest mall I've ever seen (except for mall of America) and every store had jewelry.  Wholesale on the first floor.  We went into a pearl shop and bought five strands.  One for all the wives of our boys (if they choose) and one for each of our girls.

You look at a hundred strands and then pick out the five that you like.
Then they put them on the string with a knot between each one.  It is so fast it is hard to even see what they are doing.

Then we were off to find scorpion on a stick for Simon to eat.
We couldn't find any, so Simon settled for squid on a stick.
It was 3 for 10 yuan, or about $1.60.

Garrison wasn't about squid at all, so he got a potato and was thrilled.

He loved it.

A whole alley full of cheap street food.  It was so delicious and I was able to get fried dumplings.
Every place has pictures and in many cases bowls of food sitting out.  Just point, pay and enjoy.

These are my friend dumplings.  They are unlike anything I've very had before.
They were so delicious!

And we are off to shop.
Can you sense Gary's excitement?

We shopped at a place called Shamian Island.  We stayed here when we traveled to get Simon.
There are many statues everywhere and so we got the boys picture by one of the more famous ones.

Our Zeeland Christian boys enjoying a little dance.  I love seeing the retired people dancing and singing and doing any number of exercises in the park.  We visited one of the largest parks in Guangzhou.

The translation for the trash: Love our Homeland.

I was trying to get a good "China picture" of the boys for school.

Michael wanted to get in on the action!  I find them adorable and love that God entrusted them to me.

Just missing two!

Simon found the outside of a cicada!  Of course he did.  His trip to the park was almost complete--if only we had let him catch a toad.

Garrison found a palm branch and used it as shade.  It also came back to our room with us because he thought it was so cool.  His mama didn't think of it as fondly as he did, so it mysteriously disappeared.  Hmmm

An amusement park ride?  Yes please.

Loving it.

I think we aren't supposed to climb over the fense.

Garrison got to ride the bumper cars in exchange for going with me to doctor's appointments next week to translate for Michael.

Another stab at a "ZCS in China" picture.

Love these signs!  This was posted by the water.

Good-bye to Guangzhou

Good Morning!  It is 5:30 and I can't seem to sleep anymore--bummer because I wanted to get some extra for our late night ahead.  Our flight is at 10:20 tonight and hopefully we will be to our hotel in Hong Kong around 12:30 in the morning.

Our week here has been amazing, truly wonderful.  Our paperwork has gone without a hitch--bless God!  Yesterday we received the news that Michael's TB test was negative.  This is great because otherwise we would have been delayed.  Yesterday morning we were up and at em very early to make it to the U.S. Consulate.  We had to check everything at the front and go through security.  Our guide was not allowed inside with us.  There were so many people waiting in lines to get permission to travel to the United States.  Being there made me so very proud to be an American.

A little side story here--our guide Judy has been wonderful.  So very kind and knowledgable and she really gets our kids.  She seems very happy and speaks fondly of her family.  She hopes her son will someday be an exchange student in America.  She gets Garrison involved in everything and speaks mandarin with them and engages them.  She has also indulged some of our requests like a chance to ride the subway here.  As we were riding the subway, she was asking the boys if someday they might like to come back and work in China.  They nodded and I said that maybe God would call them to work with adoptive families like some of the folks we encountered at the American Consulate.  Her eyes lit up and she quickly said "Maybe you come back when I am older and then you give me a Visa!"  So many want to come to America.  So many.  It has been hard at times for me to be stared at all day long.  We don't see many Caucasians here at all.  Our pictures are taken.  One man stopped his motorbike in front of us as a crosswalk to stare at us.  Yesterday on the train people made a semi-circle standing in front of us while we sat on a bench and they all stared at us.  America is such a melting pot and I love that though I live in a mostly white community, there are people of different races around me.  I see them every day and my children will live in a world where differences are encouraged.

Back to the U.S. Consulate!  We headed upstairs and were the second family there.  Soon more families trickled in and it was so great to see these ten new families adopting Chinese children.  We enjoyed chatting with a few of them and hearing where they were from.  It was a mini-American reunion!  When we had all arrived, a man behind the glass summoned us over to stand in front of him, raise our right hands, and repeat the oath.  I missed saying parts of it because I was a little teary.  Our Michael will be a citizen of the United States of America when our plane touches down in Chicago and he will officially have a new name.

This afternoon Judy will pick up our Visa and then that is the last piece of the puzzle here in China.  After we get that, we are free to go--and we will go! :)

I plan on posting some pictures later this morning, but wanted to tell you a bit about our days here.  There hasn't been as much adoption stuff that we needed to do, so we have had a lot of down time.  I feel a bit like I've been living in the movie Groundhog Day.  Our mornings have been different each day as we might have the doctor's appointment or one day we walked in a park with our guide.  One morning we went shopping.  Each afternoon is about the same though.  We get lunch from the "food street" by our hotel.  It is this amazing place with really cheap noodles and rice.  Just don't watch too closely because the sanitary standards are questionable. :)  We eat in our room.  We chill for awhile playing on tablets or phones.  We head up to the roof to do some swimming.  We shower and change and then go down to the 12th floor for supper.  (We decided to stay on the executive level and have loved it--drinks are free all day long and since we can only use bottled water this is great!  At night there is a little buffet which is plenty of supper for us.  It has been convenient and has saved us a lot of money.). Then we take a walk until supper time.  We are ready to be done with this schedule and get in with real life.  Michael is going to be shocked there isn't a breakfast buffet at the Sprick Nation! :)

We are living in the old city center of Guangzhou.  It is 2600 years old and we love it here.  This is old China.  Narrow streets, little shops, crazy smells, and lots of interesting things to see.  None of the other families we have met are here because they are closer to the medical clinic.  We wouldn't change anything and the medical clinic is only a 20 minute drive that we had to do twice.

God has richly blessed us in so many ways.  We have a good foundation established with Michael that will serve us well as we transition home.  Garrison and Simon have memories that will last a lifetime.  I do too.  I have loved this trip and am not only taking home great memories and new information, but a sweet little boy.  Now that is a souvenir! :)

New normal

Tomorrow we get up early and go to the American Consulate to take our oath.  It is the second to the last step to finalize this adoption.  Second to the last step.  After we promise to take care of Michael, then we just have to wait for his visa so that we can travel home.  
Travel Home.
In my devotion this morning, I studied how God keeps His promises.  Christ will come again and we will all be doing home.  It has really hit me these past two weeks in thinking about Michael coming home and I think there are a lot of similarities.  We chose Michael and God chose us before the beginning of the world.  There was a lot of sacriice.  Michael heard that his parents were coming, but didn't exactly know what that meant.  I know that Christ is preparing a place for me, but I'm not exactly sure what that means.  I know that Michael is scared--how could he not be?  He is leaving all that he knows and hopefully he trusts that what we have in store for him is for his good--his life will be better--he is no longer an orphan!  I believe God has the same intent for my life.  I trust Him, but sometimes I don't want to give up what I have here. . . not knowing that what lies ahead is oh so much better!

Last night while we were lying in bed, I was thinking about home.  I'm thinking about going home more and more these days, especially when I see my Noel struggling a bit and getting weepy.  It makes me weepy too.  The end is in sight and I'm ready to go.  I said to Gary, "I wish I was going back to the old normal."  I'm a little afraid of what lies ahead.  I loved my life before I left.  I know my kids so well, we work together, we know each other's buttons. . .it just works.  I want that life.  I just want Michael in it.

Gary replied, "There is going to be a new normal."  Yup.  The problem is that the new normal won't be so normal for awhile.  Things are going to be hard next week.  Yes there will be joys and I anticipate seeing the amazing hand of God at work in Sprick Nation, BUT my life as I know it, the normal that I like. . . won't ever be the same again.  We will have to adjust to each other.  I'm going to have to work much harder in my family.  We'll have to figure out how we fit together now.  Next week will also be hard because my boys are coming off a "buffet for every breakfast/hotel pool for two weeks" kind of time and my girls are coming off of a "lots of amazing attention from Grammy and friends" kind of time.

So while I'm very excited to go home, I'm not so excited about the week ahead.  Am I allowed to say that?  Yes.  When we adopted Simon I didn't talk about those feelings because I didn't think they were Christian.  I loved Simon, but I didn't like him as much as Garrison and Noel.  I felt like I was babysitting for so long.  That is o.k.  I'm being obedient.  I know that over time we will adjust.  Michael will learn how a family works.  I'll learn how he works.  And then someday in the future. . . maybe three months. . . maybe six. . . maybe more. . . I'll lean over to kiss him good-night or I'll take a quick peak at him during prayer. . . and I'll realize that I love him just like the others.  There is no distinction, no difference.  He'll be my son in my heart as well as in my head.

So I'll grieve the loss of the family unit that I loved, and I'll look forward to the family unit that I know I will love.  In the interim, I'll lean heavily on The Lord and maybe even on you.  I'll allow myself some extra grace.  I know God does that with me every day.

An unexpected surprise!

I know it is the middle of the night back home, but I just have to share our amazing news!

Michael needed to have his medical appointment this morning.  We met our new guide (her name is Judy and she is wonderful.  What a great yes answer to prayer!) in the lobby and off we went.  Friends who did theirs on Saturday were there for 2 1/2 hours.  Our lasted less than an hour!  We aren't with a group so that is shorter in and of itself, we also had Judy.  I remarked to Gary that it felt like we were at Disney and we had a fast pass.  She get the right people and just moved us along.

He has his writing and speaking checked, his eyes/ears/throat checked, his sight and hearing, and then they drew blood for a TB test.

Here is the news--ready?  When we received his file, it stated that his left ear was completely closed.  It was obviously deformed in his pictures.  We knew he could hear in his other ear, although his carers suspect some hearing loss.  I was so surprised on the second day that we had him to discover that there was a small hole in his left ear.  Hmm. So before the doctor looked in that ear, I had our guide ask if there was any equipment in there.

There is.  There is!!  There is!!!

I have no idea what his hearing might be, but I do know that there is equipment in both ears!  Not only that, but we discovered that he is able to see out of his right eye.  This is the lazy eye and he rarely seems to use it.  We wondered if he could even see out of it.  

Yes.  He.  Can!

For every new exam we had to move into a new room.  After Gary and I wiped our tears away at this astonishing news, we left the room and as we sat in the next room I looked at my son and all I say was 

I praise you because I am wonderfully and fearfully made.

Pictures!

Garrison shows off Oreos while modeling his swimcap (required at the Dolton pool).

We went to McDonalds and Simon discovered condiments.  He likes them better than food and would eat them with a spoon if we let him, so instead he dips, licks, and dips again.

Tarro Root and Banana Pies at McDonalds.  They were great!

Michael was scared of the dog.  It was a statue.  Let's see how things go with Smokey at home. :(

Posing outside the orphanage.

Michael's friends made a blessing picture to give to him.

I had the honor of giving Biao a gift from his parents.  What a treat to watch him open a gift which included pictures of his family!  As an added bonus, Biao is the child that we sponsor as a family!!!  We have been able to meet two of our sponsored children from ICC.

This is Michael's teacher.
We both wept as she said good-bye to him and I thanked her for educating him.

Kyla points out Simon's old bed.

One of Michael's nannies.
She had a very difficult time saying good-bye to him.
See the pictures on the wall in the back?  They are huge pictures of Michael!  They made them for his going away party and left them up so they would remember him.

Michael lays in his bed for the last time.

Garrison wanted to try too.

I respect and adore these women.
Kyla and Anna both work at ICC and are doing amazing kingdom work there.  I wish I could have talked with them all day.

A family picture in front of the orphanage.

Then we went out for dinner.
The director is sitting next to Anna, then the bus driver, then the health services director, then our guide Stacy.

My boys!  Riding to Martyr's Park.

There is a beautiful temple like building at the top of these stairs.  It was so hot and steamy at 9:30 already that you cant even see it in the picture.

Oh Yeah!  I'm on a ride!
(Totally not worth the cost.)

Bumper boats

Oh yeah, I'm on a ride!
(Totally worth the cost.)
Michael let me drive until this picture is over.  Right now he is plotting to see how he can get me out of the seat.  He did really great driving.

Please McDonalds!
Please bring this to America!
Pineapple juice with vanilla soft serve on top.
Then again, maybe don't bring this to the U.S.

Michael and I shared the pineapple amazing drink.
I didn't get much to drink.

My boys at the park entrance.

Simon choosing what he wants off of the menu.
He looks at every picture and either nods yes, or shakes his head no while waving his hand in front of his face.
So adorable!

This is one of his favorites.
Steamed egg with fish eggs on top.

The restaurant gave free ice cream.
We didn't miss this opportunity.
Watermelon ice cream sounds better than it tastes.

Playing with bubbles in the hallway.

Garrison, Michael and I went to the grocery store while Gary and Simon made a Lego Star Wars thing.
We brought it for Michael to work on it with Gary, but Michael could concentrate for about 23 seconds.
That is not long enough to build a Lego thing.

One of our favorite suppers with a friend I've had for five years and never met.
Karen works for ICC and was Simon's nurse while he was there.
She told us lots of information about Simon.
What a gift!
Plus, she is really cool, she took us on the bus, and she's a believer!
Blessed by her.

The group before we say good-bye.

Waiting to cross the street.
It's so hot that he just needs to rest before going.

A quick selfie with our guide Stacy before we get on the train.

Our hotel is right next to the "pet market" street.
Our boys were beyond excited.
We were at these turtles for at least 10 minutes.

Michael checks out the baby ducks with our guide Lily.

Live scorpions for sale.
Live scorpions.
No thanks.

This restaurant has about 20 tanks with live seafood in them just ready to be cooked and served.
Not only was this so much fun to look at, but it was a chance to get out of the heat.

When we went to get Simon, he was initially afraid of this dog.
By the end of the week, he could sit on it.
We just had to get another picture of him on it. :)

They boys try to use these umbrellas to block to sun and keep cool