Finding Day Anniversary

I am so behind on this blog it isn't funny. I'll catch up as soon as I can, but lately I feel like I'm about 2 steps behind the girls, running as hard as I can to TRY to catch up. Between the girls, the 6 animals (temporarily 7) and one husband - I have come to understand that the house will never be neat or clean again. I'm going to have to be satisfied if I can keep a path cleared from room to room.

We have been busy. We took a week and drove to Indiana so Ke Xin could meet her paternal relatives. We rented a wonderful Honda Oddessy and saw the countryside. We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and Mark turned the big 5-0! Whoo-Hoo! Now I'm trying to do the paperwork for Ke Xin's "re-adoption" (in order for her to have a US-issued birth certificate) and some other post-adoption things. The paperwork never ends.

We're getting granite countertops. We think they'll be beautiful. You don't really "need" granite countertops, but in this market - if we needed to sell the house, people wouldn't even look if we didn't have upgrades like that. So, the kitchen is torn to shreds. I took a "before" picture today, so I'll post it when I have an "after" picture". Mark does most of the cooking and he is thrilled to get the granite. He almost gets giggly when he talks about it. I will get giggly when we get new carpet for the family/sun rooms.

Olivia is 5 going on 16. I love her and she is wonderful, but she wears me out. She has at least one screaming/crying tantrum per day about her clothing. If she's like this now - what is going to happen when she hits puberty????? Her boyfriend from last year, Ryan, is in her Sunday School class this year, so they sit together. She is tickled to see him again. And yes - he is still her boyfriend. At least she seems to enjoy long-term relationships. ;) (Lucky for him, he still has the same haircut.)

Ke Xin has become VERY clingy. I know that is good for the bonding process, but it makes it extremely difficult to get anything done. She is talking more and more and making an effort to repeat things after us. And she's putting words together. I think she's really starting to get used to all the strange stuff she's had to process in the last 3 months. She did great with everyone in Indiana. Now, whenever the phone rings, she runs around saying "Grandma! Grandma!"

Grandma Sally and Grandpa Howard returned from their 5-month summer vacation in Minnesota and Michigan, and Ke Xin was able to finally meet them, too. She had fun trying to style Grandma Sally's hair.

I could not let the day pass without noting a special anniversary. It is Ke Xin's "Finding Day" anniversary. Today, 3 years ago, Ke Xin was literally left on the side of the road by... someone. At least one of her birth-parents, we assume. Here is what her file says: "She was found abandoned on October 6, 2006, at the side of Yanxiang Road in Xindian Village, Xindian Town, Yancheng District, Luohe City. After receiving the report, the officers of the Luohe City Public Security Bureau Xindian Police Station brought her that day to the Luohe City Social Welfare Institute to be cared for." The topic came up at a birthday party Olivia was attending this past weekend. One of the moms got so upset at the thought of a child left on the side of the road, she almost cried. But, if you are familiar with China adoption, it is a typical story and you understand that Ke Xin is one of the lucky ones. She just as easily could have been hidden and left to die. But someone took a chance and left her where she was sure to be found, and taken care of. If you are caught abandoning a child in China, you face jail. (If you give birth without a government issued "Birth Permit", you are also in BIG trouble. If you choose to keep the child, the government will make you very sorry.)

They estimated her to be one month old at the time of her abandonment. That means that whoever had her must have kept her warm and safe and dry and fed - and probably hidden - for a month. Not an easy task. And it was complicated by the fact that she was born with a meningocele - a bubble of spinal fluid encased in skin, on her back. What in the world did they think of that? It could have burst at any time and she could have died. China won't provide medical care unless you pay, up front and in cash. If her birth-parents are typical Chinese, they barely had money for food, let alone major surgery. They knew that if they abandonded her into the orphanage system, she would have a chance of getting the medical care she desperately needed (in fact, the orphanage had her surgery done one week later). It makes me wonder, too - they went to alot of trouble to keep her for a month. If she hadn't had the meningocele, would they have kept her forever??? We'll never know what her real story is, but I can't help wondering about that. So, while some would say her birth-parents were awful for leaving her on the side of the road, I thank them. They had a choice - and they chose to keep her safe and sound for a month and then took the personal risk of leaving her where she would be found and cared for. They gave her a chance. Today is a good day - it was the day she took the first step on her journey to us.

When I can make time, I will post the details and pictures of the trip to Indiana and Mark's visit to the Air Force Museum in Ohio! He is anxiously awaiting his official AARP membership card.