Yikes! I got blog-back-logged!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I have to apologize for my long absence, but maybe you've been absent too? Holiday craziness, anyone? I hope that everyone reading this had a wonderful Christmas, we sure did!

My Mom came from Missouri and we had nowhere else to go or be, which was so great. Mom wasn't feeling well, so we just hung out and had a very low key visit. Watching movies, talking, (eating about a million cookies), and enjoying the kiddos. As always, the kids had a fantastic time being with her, as did Joel and I. We sure love you, Mom!

I do have one terrible confession to make, so let's just get it out of the way. I have no photos of Christmas Day! Not one! In all of the Night Before Christmas activity, I completely forgot to charge our camera and we realized Christmas morning that the battery was dead. I know . . . those of you who have known me long enough are wondering why I'm acting as though this was an isolated incident. I'll give you some highlights of the day, and you can picture them in your mind - not as good I know, but we'll just be old fashioned together.

I'm afraid that Eli might think that every month or so, we have a big gift pile for him to open in the morning. He's only been home a little over two months, and had a birthday and Christmas. Boy is he going to be disappointed January - November! His birthday provided the training that he needed, and he had no trouble ripping into his gifts! He got some Lego sets he'd asked for, a remote control car, and some other odds and ends. Just when he thought he'd mastered the secret of gift unwrapping, he encounters a Christmas stocking. His face was pretty funny when I handed him his stocking, but luckily he had the examples of his siblings to follow. One of the things I put in his stocking was a package of boxer shorts. I thought his eyebrows would become permanently glued into his hairline! Emma got a big gift this year - a Nintendo DS. She hadn't asked for this, so she was very surprised. I'd give anything to have her reaction on videotape (nope, that camera wasn't charged either)! Hannah got a Barbie "laptop" that unfortunately lets her pretend she is shopping online. On the box, they had a picture of a little girl learning her letters from her Barbie laptop, so I bought it thinking it was an educational toy. I guess in a way I was right, just not the sort of education I had in mind. So, Hannah, will you be paying with your credit card today?? Joshua had his wish list basically filled, with video games and Lego sets. He is feverishly plotting how he'll spend his Christmas stash . . .

While I don't have any pictures of Christmas Day at our house, I hope you enjoy the photos of my little snowhawks out on a walk with Daddy. Check out Hannah's hair.

Why Joel? . . . Why?

We are so, so blessed this year. I am filled with a content, peaceful, and thankful spirit - I pray the same for all of our loved ones!

Love You All,

Jen

The Tooth Fairy . . .

Emma says the funniest things sometimes, and this story was just too good not to share. Friday night, Emma lost her last remaining front tooth! She was so excited! I was in bed, very sick with a high fever and a double ear infection (did you know that grown ups can get those??), but I propped myself up far enough to rejoice with her. Later, when Joel was putting her to bed, she was chatting excitedly about the Tooth Fairy. She described to Joel what she thinks the Tooth Fairy looks like, what sort of dress she wears, and how she manages to get in the house and leave money under pillows while avoiding detection.

Joel was rather taken aback, not having realized that Emma actually still believed in the Tooth Fairy, but he played along like a good Daddy. Then as he finished tucking her into bed, she suddenly became very serious. "So Daddy", she said, "Mama's really sick - do you know how to do the Tooth Fairy thing or what?"

LOL! I love that she had so much fun playing up the fantasy, all the while knowing that the real tooth fairy doesn't dress very glamorously and was sick in bed across the hall! The answer was that of course Daddy made an excellent tooth fairy - she even scored more cash than I would have left for her. I think the kids might confer and decide to fire me as the Tooth Fairy and keep Daddy on instead!

Love,

Jen

Pictures, Finally!

Here we are "decking the halls"! Eli had so much fun decorating his first tree!

Can you tell we can't wait for Christmas??

Love To All,

Jen

Trying this . . .

I admit it, I have blog envy! I see so many people posting videos on their blogs and it's so fun, but I had no idea how to do it. My friend Trina talked me through it, so I'm going to try and post a short video of Eli's Winter Program.

I sure hope it works, it took forever to upload!

~ Jen

Waiting On The World To Change . . . Yes Indeed!

"me and all my friends we're all misunderstood - they say we stand for nothing and there's no way we ever could. now we see everything that's going wrong with the world and those who lead it, we just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it. so we keep waiting waiting on the world to change we keep on waiting waiting on the world to change it's hard to beat the system when we're standing at a distance so we keep waiting waiting on the world to change."

What on earth is Jen talking about? Who is the person in that photo? Has Jen finally gone off the deep end?

Today Eli's school presented their "Winter Program" - (can't say Christmas, folks, or we'll owe someone money to assuage their hurt feelings.) Eli was so cute and excited that we were there to see him, and he did so well - especially considering that he's only been learning the song since Monday!! I'm a horrible Mom today because I rushed out without the camera, but they are performing again tonight and I'll have my better half with me to say "Did you remember the camera"?

Eli's class, along with some of the middle school kids, presented the above quoted song in ASL, while a video played behind them about the history of deaf culture and some of the influential deaf people in history. I can't explain how moving the performance was - particularly watching Eli sign the chorus of "I keep on waiting for the world to change" - that statement holds so much truth for him.

Before we set out to adopt Eli, I had no idea how intense the discrimination against deaf people has been in our country through the years. It is something I've always associated with taking place in other cultures - surely not in our "progressive" and "civilized" nation! I've learned alot since then about how hard deaf people have had to fight (even today) to be recognized as perfectly capable individuals who deserve the same rights and opportunities as anyone else. It's hard for me to comprehend, but it's a reality for Eli. On the way home, I had some really awesome dialogue with the other three kids about discrimination. We talked about all types of discrimination and the kids all had some interesting thoughts and feelings to share.

The person in the picture is Nellie Zabel Willhite. She was one of the many influential deaf people featured in the video presentation. I put her in this post because she is believed to be the first deaf pilot in history. Eli has such a passion for everything aviation - I have a gut feeling that we'll be doing a research project on her someday! I also put her picture up because she happened to be a woman, and I am an ardent feminist, as you all know. ;) LOL!

Love,

Jen

First Day of School!

On Monday, Eli started school! This was a day I've been dreading for so many reasons. But once again, God blessed it beyond my wildest dreams. We decided to put Eli in full time and see how he did with that. He splits his day between the special education class and the second grade classroom. The special education class is due to his lack of language. He seemed excited but became a little nervous when told him I was going to leave. I asked his teacher to call me if he seemed upset, but instead I got a phone call at lunch time telling me what an awesome day he was having! He really loved school, Praise God!!!

We are so blessed to have such an amazing school for Eli, his teachers are fabulous and the resources at the school are out of this world. When I picked him up, he was happy to see me but seemed a little bummed that we were leaving! He told me all about his day - the pair of reindeer the children got to pet, the hamburgers for lunch, his teachers and on and on. When he saw his siblings in the car, he positively lit up. He bounded into the car and immediately grabbed Joshua's hand and kissed it! It was too sweet!

Once we were home, he began going through the house showing me new signs he'd learned. There were a few new to me, and I figure it won't be long before the pupil becomes the master!

This morning he was practically beside himself with excitement to get to school. I ran into his special education teacher in the hallway, and she told me that she doesn't expect to have Eli in her class for very long. She said he is picking up things so quickly, and is so eager to learn, that he will progress really fast. My heart is so full, and I am so happy for him. It amazes me to see what God has done in the life of this child. It is such a gift to watch these blessings unfold for Eli.

I must admit, Monday was one of the longest days I can remember. Our house felt so strange and somehow empty to me with Eli gone. I'm so glad that I have the other three home with me this year, but we all miss Eli during the day and can't wait to go and get him. He's only been home one month, but he is already such an integral part of our home and we feel his absence big time. I am so very thankful to God for that, for leading me on my journey to China with Kimberly, for causing my breath to stop and my heart to skip a beat the first moment I laid eyes on Eli, and for choosing me to help usher this precious boy through life.

I have a ton of other pictures to post of Eli's first haircut, trimming the tree, and some arts and crafts at home. Hopefully I'll get to those tomorrow!

Love,
Jen

THANK YOU MR. KEVIN AND MS. DEBBY!!

Here is a photo of the future home to our little "Pip".

We're hoping to have him home in the next couple of weeks, and our sweet friends Kevin and Debby sent us a gift card to Petsmart to welcome to our new little addition.

Kevin and Debby were our neighbors before Kevin retired from the Air Force and they moved to Texas. We miss them terribly, they were wonderful neighbors and wonderful friends. We share a deep love for the Lord, and we also happen to share a love of animals. As you can see, Kevin and Debby have outfitted Pip's cage quite nicely with perches and toys through their gift.

Joel has declared that if he had to live in a cage, he'd choose Pip's.

Thank you so much Kevin, Debby, and Lani (their golden retriever)! We Miss You!!!

Love,

Joel, Jen, Eli, Josh, Emma, Hannah, Ranger, Chili, and (soon) Pip

Eli's First Crush!

This is Tiana, Eli's first love.

You have to admit, he has excellent taste! I have had the great honor and blessing of knowing this beautiful young woman since she was four years old. I was her preschool teacher's assistant, and later I worked for her family as a live in nanny for a little over two years. When Joel and I got married, I moved from New Mexico to Florida and a few years later lost touch with Tiana and her brothers. I've always regretted that. Recently Tiana began attending college about 45 minutes from our home, and I am completely thrilled to have her back in my life. She is an amazing person, and I am slowly getting used to the fact that she is no longer 8 years old. It's taking me awhile, but Tiana is being kind about it! The first time she came over to meet Eli, he got the strangest look on his face and then this huge smile. He quickly took me aside and signed "Mama . . . that's a girl". Since Eli has seen alot of 'girls' in his time, I'm assuming he meant to indicate that this one was quite special. Every time he sees her, he's got lots of smiles, hugs, and attempts to impress her with his masculine powers. He performs feats of strength for her (lifting his siblings into the air - yikes) and always makes sure he's sitting as near her as possible.

Here is another photo of Tiana with the girls. This picture is quite special to me, partly because it's so strange to see grown up Tiana next to my two young daughters, but mostly because of the story I'll share with you now. When Tiana was about 7, she would always climb into bed with me when she had a nightmare or there was a thunderstorm. One particularly stormy night, we were snuggled up talking when she abruptly stopped and put her hands on my cheeks. She said "Jen, what if someday you have your own little girl, then what about me?" Her eyes were wide and teary, and mine welled up at the sight of her distress. "Tiana, even if one day God blesses me with ten little girls of my own - you will always be my first little girl, and I will always love you very much".

And it's still true.

~ Jen

Happy Birthday Eli!!!

On Sunday, November 25th, we celebrated Eli's ninth birthday - or his first, depending on how you look at it!
When Eli came downstairs in the morning and saw all of the balloons and streamers we'd set up for him, his reaction took us by surprise. We'd expected some pretty animated excitement from him, but instead he seemed out of sorts and even a little alarmed. I think that any change in our normal routine will have this effect on him for awhile, it was a good reminder for us how new everything still is for him. We sat him down at the table in front of his gift pile, and he simply looked at the neatly wrapped boxes in front of him and back at us as if to say "Okay . . . so what now?" I handed him a box, and he politely stuck it under his arm and continued staring at us. That is when we realized that he'd never opened a present before - he had no clue what to do! I helped him out by tearing a bit of the wrapping away to show him that there was a toy underneath - toys he understands! After he'd checked it out, I told him it was time to open another one. He went solo this time, but cringed as he ripped the paper and looked at us again -
"Are you sure I should be tearing stuff up? I don't think I'm supposed to tear stuff!"
I took the package from him and made a big show of ripping the paper up, rolling it into a ball and tossing it over my shoulder.
Okay - that did it - Eli absolutely adores slapstick humor. He went through this process with all of his presents, giggling hysterically every time he tossed a paper ball over his shoulder. It was too cute!
After dinner, we got out the birthday cake, which he was very impressed with until he actually took a bite. We all signed "Happy Birthday To You" and Eli signed along with us, it was so funny when we got to "You" and pointed at him. He wasn't sure who he should point at, and so we each got a turn!
I was so touched by how Eli handled all of the attention, and all of the gifts that he received. He got several Lego sets, and each time he settled down to build a new one, he would get one for Joshua to build with him. Joshua was very hesitant (birthday loot is a very sacred thing), and kept signing "No, Eli, this is yours, it's your birthday". Eli would just smile, nod, and tell Josh that he wanted to build "together". Joshua came to me and said "I feel like Eli thinks he has to share with me, would you tell him that he doesn't have to?" I went over and told Eli that all of these things were just his. I showed him the toy bins in the boys' room which are labeled "Josh", "Eli", and "Josh and Eli". I indicated that every birthday toy would belong in the bin labeled "Eli". I really think he understood, but he continued to insist that Joshua take part in the fun. How amazing for a child who has had so little, he has already learned that relationships are the real treasure in life. How many people who have been far more privileged in life never learn this?
As I indicated above, Eli is not into birthday cake. He ate all of the icing from his piece, and then let me know that he was "finished". Truthfully, I'm a little devastated by this. How can someone not like cake? It doesn't make any sense! I mean . . . it's cake! I'm not sure what all this means, but I'm getting him a full psych evaluation just in case. You can't be too careful!

Love,
Jen