Our Leap of Faith

Nothing prepares you for parenthood

2011-12-23T22:24:00.003-06:00

We are having a wonderful holiday season, but Dec. 23 we had to pause for a lip revision surgery and some rhinoplasty of Jake's nose.
Honestly this had been planned for months, but I think we were in denial it truly would happen, but it did, and Jake is working like a trooper to get better.
You can prepare for weeks, or years, knowing this is something he eventually will need to get better and have a brighter, healthier future. You can read all you can about what is best. You can seek second opinions and know you are doing what you have to do.
But when that little boy is sick and in pain and the alarms go off in the middle of the night on his monitors, it's one of the hardest things to go through in your life.
All you can do is your best and leave the rest up to the Father, who does see it all and know what is best for real.
Violet

"The Dark Lord of the Sith never had to put away his underwear!"

2011-11-23T18:20:00.005-06:00

Jake dressed up in his Halloween costume this morning. He was Darth Vader from helmet to gloves to shoes, running around the house, causing terror in the hearts of the household. lol
One of the goals he made for karate class was to help out with household chores, so I gave him some of his clothes to put away upstairs — underwear in the top drawer, socks in the same and pajamas in your pajama drawer.
He quickly exclaimed that he couldn't do it with his gloves and helmet on, took them off and proceeded to accept his skivvies.
At which point Daddy loudly exclaims, "Hello, the Dark Lord of the Sith never had to put away his underwear!"
The really funny part is Jake looked at me with hesitation in his eyes like I was going to buy that one. I laughed and he headed upstairs!
It's these little things that I love about my life with my men!

Violet

The photo is him on Halloween.
I still have to get some of his birthday party up, which was Oct. 30.
A fun time was had by all!

The little stuff you forget

2011-10-05T11:30:00.005-05:00

our-leap-of-faith.blogspot.com/2008/10/gotcha

The link above is to our blog post the day we pulled Jake into our arms.
I had not revisited that in a while, and it is amazing how you never forget the important stuff, but there was a lot about that day I had not remembered. I am so glad we blogged, and I wish we would do it more now. Darn Facebook! lol Makes me wonder about the little stuff we are living now we will forget tomorrow. :(

violet

3 years already?

2011-10-05T00:44:00.002-05:00

It was 3 years ago today that Jake was carried into our hotel room in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, and into our lives.

It's hard to believe it's been 3 years. Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday, but most of the time it's hard to remember what life was like without him. He wasn't quite 2 years old then, now he's coming up on his 5th birthday. He's blossomed so much, especially in the last few months. We have been so blessed.

He can do it!

2011-09-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

Jake's been working on this for a while, and suddenly he can do it!

Here's one a little longer:

Out with the old and in with the new

2011-08-25T22:04:00.004-05:00

I absolutely loved the header I created for blog to the point where I resisted changing it for nearly three years.
But with the advent of Jake entering "Big Boy School" and the fact he's almost 5 years old, I figured the photo on the header of the not-quite-2-year-old reaching out to his new Mom or Dad in China needed to be updated.
All good things must come to an end, but I decided to post the header here so it could live on in his blog. The beauty of closing one door is finding the wonderful things in store behind the next.
Can't wait to explore them with my ever-growing, ever-learning and ever-wonderful son and husband.
Our family.
Violet

Old header – Jake a few weeks shy of 2 years old:

First day of school

2011-08-24T21:50:00.012-05:00

Today was Jake's first day of "Big Boy School." He's been going to school at daycare for a couple of years, but this is the big jump into our local 4-year-old program.
It was a big day with speech session, school, karate, and he handled it all like a trooper and was excited. He said he likes his teacher and his new school.
Here are some photos from Day 1:

Jake posing by his new school sign. Don't worry, the bird is potty-trained (nice positioning Mommy!):

Daddy and the Little Man on their way:

One of Jake's task every day is to hang up his backpack under his name all by himself:

Because he was quiet and criss-cross he was one of two selected to participate in the Pirate station, the popular place to be:

He was a little shell-shocked just because of the newness. Teacher told him to sit on the rug, and when he did he sat on the "J." Violet asked if did that on purpose, and he looked at her like, Wha??!!:

Waiting for the bus!:

Jake got on the bus with Mommy for his first ride and proclaimed, "This is the best bus ride ever, Mommy," just before he smiled this heart-stealer!:

Days of first

2011-08-24T21:48:00.002-05:00

Jake took a big step in his life today, as he entered "Big Boy School," and I'm not sure how I have felt about my Little Man growing up this summer right before my eyes.
I remember the day it happened, on a Saturday, right after one of Jake's friends had a birthday party and Jake decided he wanted his hair buzzed off like his friend. Oh, it wasn't the hair cut, but the way my suave, debonair guy acted afterward.
I have the pictures to prove it: That morning he's grinning like an little imp at the camera during the party and then after his haircut he's all sultry and acting about three times his age.
And that was not all. Suddenly he was half-a-head taller and talking better and coming up with more mature thoughts and plans.
And, now, he is going to school. Yes, he has gone to "school" at daycare, and this is only a half-day 4-year-old program, but it is the beginning of an education that will lead him to great things.
It is the beginning.
No more picking up to take off whenever we feel like it. Now there is school to consider. Bedtimes are earlier and homework will come. There will be questions I don't remember the answers to and angst about various and sundry things that come with childhood.
But we will face them together, as we overcame the first day.
Another day of firsts.
You know, like many children born, Jake came into our lives sort of kicking and screaming, not knowing who we were or really how he came to be in our arms.
Those days are long ago and far away.
We spend so many years planning for our child, even before our adults lives, that it is strange to hold on to them and see the years go by and milestones grow even as his measurements increase on the growth chart.
I always will remember this day, Jake's first day of school, and I look with sadness and anticipation for the rest of our lives.
violet (aka Mommy)

Beach Blast

2011-08-07T18:47:00.006-05:00

We spent last week at the beach, well, as close as we are going to get for awhile. LOL
Beach Blast vacation Bible school ended Friday with a final program and a hot dog supper.
The kids were a blast to work with, and Jake had a lot of fun, especially since his friend Marossie attended, too.
Jake's favorite lesson was learning about Jesus dying on the cross. We talked about why he did it, which was to save all of us so we can all get together in heaven!
Of course, his favorite thing was playing with friends.
Here he is in the final program singing a little Beach Blast!

Artist at work

2011-07-21T12:39:00.007-05:00

Jake must have been inspired Wednesday because he turned out 5 major pieces of art.

The first two are pencil drawings he did at pre-school, the other three after school and karate using different mediums.

This is Daddy going into outer space. He's heading to the moon and planets, although he better watch out. The round object to the left of the top of his spaceship is Darth Vader's spaceship.

That's Peter Rabbit on the right side of the paper going out of his house and about ready to go through the gate to Mr. Macgregor's garden. He better be careful he doesn't get caught. Jake was sneaky in this work. In the lower left you can see he wrote his name backwards. Very clever.

This is Cinderella's castle.

This one is an ocean scene. From left at the bottom are an eel, a sting ray and a leatherback sea turtle. The sting ray turned the water orange for some reason. We think he learned about leatherback sea turtles from watching "Diego." At the top is someone's beach house.

Finally, we have a self-portrait simply titled "Jake Throwing Up." He was going to stay overnight at Grandpa and Grandma's house a couple of months ago, but for some reason he got sick to his tummy and threw up. This is his rendition of that night. Personally, it's our favorite of the works he did Wednesday.

Chopsticks and water pistols

2011-07-18T00:14:00.010-05:00

Last week's China heritage camp inspired us to trying cooking more Asian foods, so we started this week with some recipes shared by our cooking instructor during the camp's adult workshops.
We made fried rice, sweet and sour pork and egg-drop soup.

While ours was not as delicious as what we tasted last week, we were happy to say it was pretty good and well-received, and we had a lot of fun making Chinese dishes for Jake. And we even tried our hand at eating with chopsticks, which Jake loved!

Afterward we reconnoitered in the backyard for a long-overdue water gun fight, a welcome blast on a hot day!

We finished off our heritage evening with a trip to Meadowlake Park in hopes the train was running. Well, the heat got the train, so we settled for sno cones, which was a great runner-up treat.

China Heritage Camp

2011-07-11T11:28:00.007-05:00

We just spent the past few days in Tulsa at Dillon International's China Heritage Camp.
It was a blast. There were some 260 children from China at the camp. It was our first year to go, but some of the kids have been going for 10 years. They divide the kids up according to ages, and they had classes in arts and crafts, dance, language, cooking and kung fu.

We think Jake had a good time. He tells us he did, but he also says his favorite part was swimming in the hotel pool. Oh well, what do you expect from a 4 1/2 year old? One of the best parts for us was that the kids were the majority for a change. It was the non-Chinese kids who were the exception rather than the rule.

They also had classes for parents, including language and cooking, and they had one about heritage trips. It was fun for us adults, too.

It was a three-day event, so they weren't able to get really in depth on things, but it still was a great experience we would definitely encourage those interested to look into.

The group that did the lion dance at the opening ceremony was really good.

Jake's in the tie-dyed shirt, looking at the lion.

After, he posed with the lion.

Playing around during dance class.

I just had to add one more photo. This is one of Jake's group singing ... OK, Jake didn't sing, but he did the sign language ... "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in his native language. I actually cried. I didn't realize how moving his performing to Chinese would be and how special China would become to me. I hope it is as special to him some day. violet

Jake's learning new skills

2011-04-23T10:31:00.004-05:00

We enrolled Jake in a Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan martial arts class. He's been to 3 classes so far and seems to be enjoying it.
Last week, just happened to be their shim sa (testing) and Jake knew enough to get an orange stripe on his belt.

He also broke a plastic board with his foot. It is a board that breaks if you kick it right, and they can put it back together for the next kid, but Jake did kick it right and broke it. It took him a couple of tries, and when he broke it he seemed surprised but then he smiled big.

Here he is showing off his new stripe.

And here he is recreating his powerful kick.

Look out Chuck Norris!

3 years ago ... it all changed

2011-04-17T20:54:00.004-05:00

Three years ago today (April 17) our world changed.

We were in JCPenney buying some last-minute things for our trip to Chicago for the East Meets West conference when my cell phone rang. It was Great Wall, and they had a "kiddo" whose file they wanted us to take a look at. Since we were in town, we hurried over to work and checked the e-mail.

This was one of the first photos we saw.

From that moment on, we knew we had found our son. Who couldn't fall in love with that face? Luckily for us one of the guest speakers at the conference was an international adoption doctor who had adopted 4 girls from China. He reviewed our file and we decided to go for it.

Three years later life is definitely good.

BE THERE! BE THERE! BE THERE!

2011-03-27T00:46:00.011-05:00

We were there Saturday night, for the monster trucks. We figured Jake would get a kick out of it, since he has taken more of a liking lately to his extensive collection of toy cars and trucks.

He did enjoy it, although a couple of times he said he was "tired of watching this" and could we do something else. But, we stuck it out and he ended up having a good time. His favorite thing was when "the cars went upside down."

Here we are in line. We had to stand in line for a little while in the cold.

Here's Jake with his ear plugs in (it was really loud) standing in front of the monster trucks.

Another pose with the trucks in the background.

Jake watching the show.

Waving his flag for the winner.

What goes up, must come down ... upside down that is.

Bigfoot standing on end.

Jake doing a silly pose in front of Bigfoot after the show.

Another CNY celebration, and a great time was had by all

2011-02-12T19:21:00.008-06:00

We had a great time at the CNY party put on by Central Oklahoma FCC. Thank you so much gang for the good time. It was at a Chinese buffet in Edmond and we were celebrating the Lunar New Year (a little late) and welcoming the year of the rabbit. There were crafts, good food, friends, a chance to meet new people and the lion (or was it the dragon?) dance.

Jake's favorite: Egg-drop soup

Making crafts. Jake is getting good at coloring, although he did run out of patience today and go crazy with the crayon at the end.

Here is what Jake and Marossie made. Scary!

They also made a lantern for the lantern festival, celebrated shortly after the new year.

Was it a dragon dance or a lion? We're going with lion since the teeth seem more blunt. LOL Jake didn't want to participate in the dance at first, but Daddy shoved him in and it was all fun from there.

Who's that lion?

It's Jake! He pretty much stole the show.

Mommy, Jake, Daddy in our traditional self-portrait

Jake with his friends Marossie and Mary playing in the water fountain.

Later we had some fun outside at our "Little House" as Jake calls it.

How handsome is he?

There are thousands of geese that have taken up residence in the field across the road. When they take off it sounds like thunder or a truck rumbling by on the dirt road.

There still is some snow left.

Showing off his form. Pretty good.

Chinese New Year

2011-01-30T22:59:00.003-06:00

We had another great time with area families Sunday evening celebrating Chinese New Year, the year of the rabbit.

Jake had a good time playing with his friend Marossie and the others.

Here's the whole gang.

And here's the little ham having some fun. I wonder who taught him to do that?

Too big for his britches

2011-01-26T21:09:00.004-06:00

In China nothing fit Jake. We were told his size, and we brought clothes accordingly, but everything was way too big. Unfortunately, he had to wear what we brought for a few days until we could shop for more.

Today I packed the pants away. He's "a big boy now" and he's finally gotten too big for these pants.

Violet

This is Jake's province. Amazing video!

2011-01-22T23:25:00.004-06:00

Snow

2011-01-10T23:52:00.004-06:00

We got a bit of snow here Monday, maybe a couple of inches.

But, it was enough to have some fun. For one, we were able to go sliding down a nearby hill.

Is he having fun, or what?

It was cold, too, so we came home and had ... hot chocolate with marshmallows. Yummy!

The snow wasn't the best kind for making a snowman, but we gave it a good try. He's a mini snowman.

Home, sweet home

2010-11-18T10:06:00.001-06:00

Our home, complete with a rainbow. Jake's on the right.

Happy Birthday Jake!

2010-10-26T10:03:00.002-05:00

Jake turns 4 years old today, and we're going to have a big party with most of the family. Cooking out hamburgers, cake, homemade ice cream.

Jake's now been with us longer than he's been without us. We've been so blessed with our little man.

Happy Birthday Jake! We love you!

Here Jake and his good buddy pose with some of his presents.

Oct. 5, 2008

2010-10-05T08:54:00.004-05:00

Two years ago, in the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi'an, China, we received a knock on our door. We opened it to see our guide, Kelly, two men, a woman and a little boy we only knew from photographs, a medical report and a couple of updates.

He started crying when he saw us, but he calmed down some when his ayi picked him up and carried him into our room and our lives.

When she handed him to Violet, he started crying again. As we all know, there have been more tears in these past two years, as well as lots of laughs and good memories. It's been a fun and wild ride watching Jake grow.

That's Jake playing with his friend Marossie at a recent Moon Festival gathering for all the families in our area.

We wouldn't trade these past two years for anything in the world.

Kevin

Vacation Bible school ... great time was had by all ...

2010-08-06T23:01:00.002-05:00

We serve an awesome God! Jake spent the week with good friends, making new friends and learning all about Jesus while having fun creating and snacking!
VBS wrapped up tonight with a program (he did great! singing and signing) and a cookout (not so great as two jumbo hot dogs rolled off his plate :(
I was blessed as a "craft lady" this year and helped in that mission.
What a wonderful fellowship. Hopefully I can post photos soon. I was too busy craft nights, and we forgot our camera tonight. Oh well, we figured as nerd parents we needed to tone down the filming a bit, but in reality I'm kicking myself for not having video!
Ginger from our church was taking lots of photos throughout the week, though.
Kevin's parents came and my mom did too!
Truly a great time was had by all.

Violet

On a safari

2010-07-21T23:49:00.016-05:00

We're baaaaaaack!

The day after Jake was ring bearer at cousin Bobby's wedding in June we headed over to Gentry, Ark., and a drive-through animal park.
You aren't supposed to feed the animals, but you know how that goes ... LOL. Obviously, though, we weren't the only ones who have violated that rule because the animals all expected some food.

Before we went on the drive-through part, we walked around and saw some other things.

Jake petted a python.

And a wolf pup.

And, Jake and Mommy rode a camel.

They had dozens of emus. They were persistent and hungry.

Joe Cool poses with a camel.

Jake took his turn at driving!

These prairie dogs were cute.

All was going well until we met this fellow.

He seemed friendly enough. He ate some of the fruit bars we gave him. First Daddy fed him. Then he went over to the other side of the car where Jake and Mommy fed him.

Then, when Jake bent down to get another piece of food, the monkey reached in and pulled Jake's hair. That startled Jake and he started crying, which upset mom and dad. At first Jake said the monkey hit him. Then, once we got him calmed down, he said the monkey pulled his hair. He finally got some smiles from Jake again when we said we would drive around again and get the monkey back by pulling his tail. The monkey must have known something was up, because he wouldn't come close to the car again. So, our revenge became we waved food at him then rolled up the window and laughed! Take that monkey!

After the drive, we went through the petting zoo part of the place.

Jake got to meet a couple of baby goats.

He also fed and petted a kangaroo.

Then he rode on a gorilla's back. OK, so it wasn't a real gorilla.

Gonna get married ...

2010-06-26T23:20:00.013-05:00

Jake got to be ringbearer at his cousin Bobby's wedding. We wondered how he would do, and he did really well. He got a little fidgety during the ceremony, but he's only 3 1/2 after all. Nothing his other cousin Matt, the best man, couldn't handle.

Here's the ringbearer stylin' before the ceremony. How cute is this?

Before we were so presentable, though, we had to get dressed.

Posing with a cool drink.

Posing with the groom's men beforehand.

The happy couple, Bobby and Klarissa. Congratulations you two!

Taking pics at the reception. Jake loves to take pictures. He filled up at least four of the disposable cameras set out on the tables to get photos at the reception. No word yet on if they turned out.

The night before, before the rehearsal and dinner, Jake tried his hand at ping pong and foosball for the first time. He may be a better foosball player, though.

The day after the wedding, before we came home, we went to a drive-through wildlife preserve. More on that later.

Father's Day on the road

2010-06-25T21:01:00.015-05:00

I realized the other day with the family gone to a wedding over Father's Day weekend we never posted.
Jake got to wake Daddy with a "Happy Father's Day," and though they both tried to catch some more shut-eye, Jake soon got excited about Daddy's gifts.
But first there were the cards:

Jake made a homemade card for Daddy after discarding the first attempt because it was not good enough. You're on front Daddy, this is me:

Then it was on to the store bought card. I picked it out myself:

Yeah, I picked this one out, too. I had a little trouble deciding:

Jake's a little excited over Daddy's beef jerky:

Last year, for Kevin's first Father's Day with Jake home, I started what I guess will become a tradition — a photo of Daddy and Jake and Jake's handprint. It is awesome to see how those hands are growing:

Two years ago a verge of a dream. Today, a reality — father and son:

Happy Father's Day Daddy.

Busy summer, part III

2010-06-22T00:22:00.011-05:00

We went June 6 to a family reunion in eastern Oklahoma for a branch of Kevin's mom's family.
In addition to spending time with family, it was a day of firsts for Jake: his first ride on a big boy bike and his first boat ride.

Aunt Debbie got him the bike and he had a blast riding it once we got the training wheels on properly.

Then Jake made some music

Then we went out on the lake for a ride around on a pontoon boat. Everyone had a great time.

Cap'n Daddy was at the helm

Jake and Mommy enjoyed the ride

Jake had to look at the water while we went along. Uncle John was right there to make sure he was OK

Mommy had fun

A boat, water to ride on, water to drink. What could be better?

Jake had to take his turn at being captain, too

Coming up: The summer fun continues. Cousin Bobby got married and Jake was the ring bearer.

Busy summer, part II

2010-06-12T21:26:00.007-05:00

Jake has been taking swimming lessons at Denny Price Family YMCA. With kids this young, they are just getting them familiar with the water, getting them comforable with being in it and showing them some of the basic things they need to know.

As the lessons continue, they will get more into the actual learning to swim. We only were allowed in on the first day, so we snapped some photos. The rest of the time, we have to sit in the waiting room and catch glimpses of what we can. Jake is having a lot of fun, so far he hasn't cried or refused to do anything the instructor says.

Waiting his turn

Getting ready to dunk his head under water

Face in the water

Floating on his back

Jumping in

Silly grin after the first lesson

Busy summer, trying to catch up ...

2010-06-12T20:44:00.011-05:00

... and still not caught up.

Sorry it's been so long since we updated the blog. It's been pretty busy for us this summer.

The last pictures we posted of Jake seeing the buffalo at the Tallgrass Prairie Reserve were taken on our way to Joplin, Mo., for our nephew's and Jake's cousin's graduation from college.

The night before the commencement ceremony Jake had his first really big pillow fight. Here he is taking on cousin Bobby, the soon-to-be graduate.

Here Jake poses with Bobby, who just graduated from Ozark Christian College and is ready to embark on a career in the ministry. He's already been pastor of a church in Adair, Okla., while he was going to school.

And, we will be heading back to eastern Oklahoma this coming weekend for Bobby's wedding. Here he is with his bride-to-be, Klarissa.

Jake also got to go to his first birthday party. A girl from pre-school had a party at the local miniature golf course. This was Jake's first time and he had a blast. He also go to eat cake.

Stay tuned for more. We went to a family reunion last weekend and Jake took his first boat ride. And, Jake has been taking swim lessons. More good times.

A hunt for buffalo

2010-05-22T06:24:00.017-05:00

Jake has seen a lot in his 18 months as an Oklahoman, but yesterday Kevin and I were able to introduce him to one of our favorite places — Tallgrass Prairie near Pawhuska. We love nature and history, so parks and preserves are great places to visit. This gem has a herd of buffalo that in previous times has been right alongside and upon the roadway, making viewing of the creatures optimal without leaving the comfort, and safety, of an automobile (nothing like having the roadway blocked by bison crossing). As we drove into the preserve, we saw some buffalo off in the distance, and Jake was excited. Finally, we came across a handful near the road, with one guy right alongside scratching his neck on a post. As expected, and hoped for, Jake was thrilled. We picnicked at the preserve, where we saw buffalo walking single-file along a hill in the distance, walked the prairie trails and even visited the headquarters, which has been closed before, as it is operated on volunteer time. There were some nifty bones (comparisons of buffalo to cows are awesome) and Jake was enamored by an armadillo shell. As we drove the bison loop, we were disappointed there were not anymore buffalo. We finally gave up, but as we left the park, grateful for one encounter, we finally saw several others (albeit not the big herd we've seen in the past) all gathered at the entrance close to the road. Jake loved watching them (especially when nature called. LOL). It was a great day.

Jake's first close-up encounter with a buffalo:

Time for lunch:

Man, I'm hungry as a buffalo:

Buffalo:

Getting a good, safe look:

Watching the bathroom habits of buffalo is good times:

Jake jumping (We think Violet's nose pushed something on the camera to mess the settings up, but we liked this photo despite its being dark):

Jake in the flowers:

Jake in the flowers some more:

Jake: No more in the flowers Mom:

I'm going back to the car:

Bye:

Because I missed you

2010-05-09T21:44:00.004-05:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day I have had today. First, I received an awesome homemade card and a watch from Jake, and then we went to church and enjoyed another Mother's Day with Kevin's mom, or Mama Sue, as she is known since Jake came into our lives.
After a yummy potluck dinner at church it was on to see my mom, Mama Sherry, and pizza for supper. We stopped off along the highway for ice cream at Dairy Queen.
When we were going home, it was dark, and the talk turned to past Mother's Days since I became a mom.
I told Jake this was our second Mother's Day together and my third Mother's Day since I've known he was my son. I told him the first Mother's Day he still was in China, and we were ready to come to get him, but the governments wouldn't let us yet.
"I know," Jake said, "and I cried."
"You did?" I asked, the same time Kevin said, "You cried?"
"Yeah," Jake said, "because I missed you."
WOW. Jake doesn't talk about his feelings much, and while I know he really didn't cry because he missed us (before he knew us), it still spoke volumes about his depth of feeling for us now.
Yeah, it was a great Mother's Day.
Violet

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T22:38:00.002-05:00

This is one of my favorite photos of Violet and Jake.

It was taken just a couple of days after we were united with Jake in China. We were driving somewhere on a sightseeing trip.

You can see the love in Violet's eyes for her new son. And, you can see how comfortable Jake had already become with her. There's nothing better than falling asleep on your mommy's lap.

Happy Mother's Day Violet.

Love,

Kevin

Having a ball ... a bowling ball that is!

2010-04-26T23:40:00.011-05:00

If you saw the teaser photo at the end of our last post, you've figured out we went bowling after our trip to Salt Plains.

Jake had a blast. He bowled. He played games in the arcade that dispense tickets when you win that you can redeem for valuable prizes (that's cheap plastic trinkets to you and me. LOL). No matter, though, they were treasures to Jake.

You gotta get your ball to the lane. It's an 8-pounder he handled like a champ.

Jake's first ball ever heads down the lane. He's got pretty good form.

Watching it head to the pins.

Take that you pins!

Another perfect ball.

Look at that score. Jake did pretty good for the first time out. Notice the spare he picked up in the third frame. Mommy and Daddy, though, could have used some help. Maybe we should have used the bumpers, too.

Jake wanted to play a driving game, so Daddy worked the gas while Jake steered.

Let's just say Jake's bowling is better than his driving! If you look at the screen on the previous picture, our car is airborne!

Tickets! These are just a few Jake won.

Birding and heritage festival

2010-04-24T23:04:00.018-05:00

Saturday Jake and Kevin usually bach it, but Violet took off from work and the family headed to Salt Plains Wildlife Refuge for the annual birding and heritage festival. The refuge offers hands-on lessons about animals and habitats. We went north of our mark to start at Byron fish hatchery and watchable wildlife area where they were teaching kids to build birdhouses.

Jake was ready to do his part on the family birdhouse:

Proudly carrying the finished project, which we got to take home to put up, as Meredith, who helped us with our project, watches:

Then it was on to the refuge, where we saw animal skulls, felt animal skins and learned about buffalo and reptiles. Then Jake had to make tracks ... literally:

He got to make an edible wetland in which the bedrock was two vanilla wafers, the subsoil appeared to be Cocoa Crunch, the muck or mud was chocolate pudding, the water was blue-colored whipped topping, the plants were straight pretzels for cattails and the animals were gummy frogs:

And, of course, the fun part is that it is edible:

There were some exhibits that definitely were better off behind glass, like the rattlesnake. Western diamondbacks always draw Jake's interest:

The day started out promising, with the sun peeking through the window, and even as the clouds gathered and we left the house we were confident a 30 percent chance of rain would not be an issue. Well, 30 percent turned into 100 percent for us. We kept thinking it would be a sprinkle, and it would turn into a downpour, and surely it had blown over, and it would pour again. Thank goodness for tents, but Jake pushed the limits of staying dry. Rain, rain, go away ...:

We had a great time, despite the rain, and the Oklahoma City Zoomobile visited in the outdoor classroom at the refuge, which thankfully was covered. This month was the anniversary of the land run that settled the Oklahoma City area, so we learned about what the settlers had to deal with in the pioneer days. We also learned of animals that might have prowled the land in those days, like the owl, which Jake learned has eyes that won't move, so the bird compensates by moving its head.

He also learned the owl has ears under its eyes, and a cupped face that enhances sound like cupping your hands around your ears:

He also got a look at an armadillo, which admittedly he can see in his backyard, but this species hails from South America:

The zoo representative, Amy Stevens, set the armadillo down so it would walk. Come over here Dillo:

He also was introduced to the box turtle:

It was wet, but we got to do everything we set out to do. People often tell us Jake is so cute, and today was no exception. Our patented answer is we can take no credit for his genetics, but we can take credit for the smiles, and this one just had to be shared:

This is how the afternoon ended. Perfection:

But our day didn't end there. We had more fun in the evening, but we'll save it for a later post, as this one had gone on long enough. LOL We will leave you with a sneak preview, however, of a first for Jake:

April brings showers of blessings!

2010-04-05T21:18:00.004-05:00

It's been 18 months since we met the Little Man face to face — ours excited and nervous, I'm sure, and his terrified.
Our son went from tears of mourning, missing the people who filled the first two years of his life and wondering who this strange couple was, in those first few days to total excitement when he sees his Mommy and Daddy now.
This is such an exciting month — almost as exciting as October, but not quite. This is the month of our original log-in date with China and the month we first saw Jake, as we gathered around our computer at work because we couldn't wait to get home.
It always will be the six-month marks for our Gotcha Day and his birthday.
We are blessed beyond words. We can't wait to see what the next 18 months bring.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T22:48:00.014-05:00

Sunday was a great day. We celebrated Jesus rising from the grave, then we had some good family fun.

Jake checking out his basket of goodies. Hey, it's candy.

After a wonderful church service, the kids had an Easter egg hunt.
We're a small church, so there aren't many kids, but they had a great time.

The boys, Jacob, Oaklee and Gavin, get ready to go.

Here's one.

Gotta, go. There are more eggs to find!

Mmmmmmmm, chocolate.

After church, we went to Kevin's parents' house for Easter dinner and more egg hunting and other fun, including lots of tricycle riding and some chalk drawing.

Come out, come out wherever you are eggs.

Is there one here?

Here's one!

Mmmmmm egg.

What's a few crumbs among friends?

Artist at work.

Adding Daddy's glasses.

LID anniversary

2010-04-03T23:51:00.007-05:00

Two years ago today was the last time we truly marked this date as our LID, or log-in date to adopt a child in China — it was our number in line, so to speak.
It was an auspicious event, full of hope that slowly was giving away to the scary reality of a wait time growing uncontrollably.
The writing was on the wall early; the China program was going to see unprecedented delays.
So soon after our LID of April 4, 2007, we starting exploring our adoption agency's special needs program. We would receive a list of children in China with special needs — which run the gamut from serious to minor medical issues.
At the first of 2008, with our first anniversary of our LID approaching, we enrolled in the program, open to minor special needs.
Then, we waited. We celebrated our first LID anniversary by eating Mexican food and looking forward to our agency's big adoption conference in Chicago that we planned and looked forward to attending.
Then, less than two weeks later, as we were picking up last-minute items for the Chicago trip we were to take the next day, we got the call that rocked our world — the referral for our son, Jacob Wenfeng Hassler.
April 17 turned into our referral day, making today's date obsolete.
But still we remember our friends who still celebrate that LID anniversary and still are waiting in an ever-growing, stagnant line of potential parents of children for China.
And we know we are blessed, home 18 months (as of Monday) with the light of our lives, who will celebrate today in church with his family, having Easter dinner (making quick work of tomatoes and pickled beets that he loves and trying to find ways to dodge Mommy and Daddy's efforts to get him to eat meat) and hunting Easter eggs in Grandma and Grandpa's back yard.
We do realize the special needs program is not for everyone and we do realize not everyone desires that route to creating or expanding their family.
We know those facing the pain of the wait every day really don't want us telling them about our successful adoption through the special needs program.
But know this: It is hard for us to watch the pain of those continuing to wait knowing the smiles our son brings us every day.
We can only thank God for guiding us onto the right path every day, and we pray others can find happiness soon, no matter the road they take.
Here are a few photos of Jacob's activities on Saturday:

Showing his computer skills at sesamestreet.org

Sleeves rolled up and hard at work coloring Easter eggs

How's this Aunt Debbie?

Finished eggs

Eggs weren't the only things going into the dye!

Yuck! But it cleaned up.

Happy Easter everyone. May you be as blessed as we are.

Going up

2010-04-01T00:08:00.006-05:00

Last Sunday we went to visit Violet's mother and celebrate her birthday. While we were there, Jake showed off his tree-climbing skills. Boy he can climb.

Just about up there

Looking down on those poor earth-bound souls

Wow, that's way up there!

OK, we're not that crazy. It really wasn't that high, and he did get a boost. LOL. Camera angles work wonders, don't they?

Hurray! It's spring ...

2010-03-20T19:22:00.006-05:00

... so since we were home, Jake and Kevin headed outside to play ... IN THE SNOW!

Yep, we had a blizzard hit, a few inches of snow (4 or so) and a wind of 30-40 mph. We only went out for a little bit, because Jake has the sniffles. Can't wait for it really to be spring.

Getting ready...

Throwing a snowball at Daddy.

Piper says, "Hey it was almost 70 degrees Friday. What gives? Whatever it is I don't like it."

Oh well, the high temperature is supposed to be near 60 on Monday and close to 70 on Tuesday. Gotta love Oklahoma weather.

'They are very happy to hear from you'

2010-03-16T23:52:00.004-05:00

We had been talking about doing it for a while and finally sent Jake's orphanage, Jiangzhang SWI in Baoji, an update on our little man. We had heard some less-than-great things about the orphanage while we were waiting to travel, but when we were united with Jake we found him to be a well-cared-for boy. His transition has been great, so we know he was treated well at the orphanage. Because of that, we thought they deserved an update on how he has been since he came home.

We sent a letter to Angela with Lady Bugs 'n Love to translate for us. We just summarized what the last year and a few months have been like, and how Jake has progressed. We also sent along a few photos of Jake and us.

We hadn't heard anything from Angela, so we fired off an e-mail to her and she responded the other day: "I just confirmed with them that they received it on Feb 23. they are very happy to hear from you. :)"

We didn't really expect to receive a reply, but it was nice to know they appreciated the update.

I say Glass, you say Gloss

2010-03-16T00:44:00.018-05:00

After church Sunday we headed off to climb in the Glass (or Gloss) Mountains, a chain of mesas not far from where we live.

They aren't mountains in the sense the Rocky Mountains are mountains, but for western Oklahoma they are all we have. Cathedral Mountain, which we climbed, is more than 150 feet high and includes a walking trail at top that is more than 1 mile long. All in all, another fun family outing.

Pick your name. This sign explains why they are called Glass and Gloss.

We have to climb up there?

Climbing. There are steps and hand rails most of the way up, but sometimes you have to rough it.

Rock slide. It's obvious there still is some instability with the rocks on the mountain. We had to climb over these on our way up and down.

The view from the top. Our pickup is on the left. Jake took this photo with our old digital camera, which now is his. He's a pretty good photographer.

The little man composing his next shot.

Another Jake masterpiece. A nice scenic view.

Selenite crystals which reflect sunlight give the Glass (or Gloss) Mountains their name.

Jake and Mommy living on the edge.

Jake and Daddy at the edge of the world.

Hey guys, I think we need to go this way.

Lone Peak. 175 feet tall.

Examining a rock.

Going back down. We all need a little help.

Keep your balance when you walk the plank.

Back down and Jake shows off his balance.

He is here, and he is loved

2010-03-10T14:19:00.005-06:00

The first time I saw this picture was after I knew I was Jake's mom but before we left for China. These are children at my son's orphanage in 2007 (the woman who took them visited around the time Jake would have been 1 year old). We had heard some bad things about his orphanage that had gone on in recent years and not many good, updated things. I remember I couldn't see very clearly the boy in the background lying his head on his walker, and I thought, "Please don't let that be my son." I didn't want him to be sickly or malnourished as some of the children I'd heard of and seen.
Well, we went to China, and Jake was healthy and anything but sickly. We always will be grateful for the care he received in the first two years of his life at Jiangzhang SWI. It wasn't like the love his family gives him, but we know they cared for our boy.
After we had been home for several months, I saw this photo again, and the way the little boy laid his head on his walker struck me as familiar, and this time I was excited in thinking that was my son (albeit a sleepy little Jake). I started looking for other photos with this boy in them and the result can be seen in the previous post.
Thank you all for your responses here and on Facebook. Three different people said picture 3 convinced them it was Jake. We, too, believe it is Jake, but we never will know.

These pictures have taught me a valuable life lesson.
I struggle with my faith from time to time (my personal joke is if the Rapture comes I hope it is on one of my good days). Seriously, though I believe in Jesus and love to study the Gospels and New Testament books, but sometimes the Old Testament brings me down. There are tales that present good life lessons, but they seem, at times, to be just stories, or myths, too fantastical to believe. (I admit I have a lot of studying and learning to do.) Science and technology of today, along with many non-believers' scorn of religion, work to convince me in my weaker moments that maybe there could be no heaven. I fight it, but the devil walks with me at times. I try to find something to convince me that it is all true. I tell myself, as in Job, that who am I to question God? I am like a bug is to humans, and I don't understand.
While sitting in church pondering my obsession with these photos of Jake (sorry Gene, it was a momentary lapse brought on by something you said in your sermon), I suddenly realized it doesn't matter whether or not those photos are Jake (although I still am obsessed with studying them) because he is here now and that's all that matters.
Take it to scripture, and it suddenly doesn't matter I have issues with the Old Testament because Jesus is alive and he is my savior.
Anyway, that's my epiphany, for what it's worth :)
These photos will be saved and discussed in the future. We cannot prove these pictures are Jake, but we will make sure it doesn't matter, because he will know we are real and he is loved.
Violet

Never before seen photos?

2010-03-09T13:12:00.005-06:00

A family adopted a boy from Jake's orphanage when Jake would have been about 1 year old. They were able to visit the orphanage and take photos. In the background of their photos is a little boy whom I think is Jake, but he is really far back. I'm obsessed with it. I have come to grips that it doesn't matter, as he is here now and that is all that matters, but I still want to know as much about him as I can in the years before I knew of him.
I really, really think this is him, but the fact I am more certain now after I have studied and obsessed over it than I was when I first saw it has me seeking outside opinions.
.... So, what do you guys think?
The first photo is one that is Jake we received while we were in the adoption process. His shirt is the similar (same vest different shirt???), so try not to let it sway you. I will post more on this in the future, as there is more to these photos and this story, but first I'd just like some feedback on if you all see similarities and think it is Jake.
Violet

Jake's photo

Other photos (double click to make them bigger)

Thanks for your feedback

A day of discovery

2010-03-07T22:11:00.017-06:00

On a rainy afternoon, we decided we needed some action, so we headed into our local science museum, Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse, for a day of learning and fun. There were several things to do, and while admission comes with the outdoor playground — a huge castle area built by community volunteers — we stayed inside and had a blast.

First, Jake and Daddy climbed into a cockpit of a T-37 for takeoff:

Then it was on to bigger and better things ... Space (Mommy told Jake to stir the oxygen tanks. LOL)

Funny things happen when you are in outer space:

There is a wood shop, where kids can explore with tools, with Mom and Dad right there to assist. This sawing thing's not too hard:

TaDa!

There were animals to pet. Jake got to pet a boa constrictor (the python was adamant about not leaving his cage) and a ferret. He got to see a tarantula (Mom was disappointed we couldn't hold it), chinchilla, hamsters, bearded dragon, turtles, fish and this guy, a hedgehog:

Jake had to put up with Mom and Dad, who got a little carried away with dress-up time. Enough with the boots already:

He had so much fun, but we have to admit he got a little of a big head:

His favorite thing was going through tunnels and having to climb up and down ladders to get out again. This is probably where he'll spend all of our next trip:

There were a couple of sand tables (the water tables are in the outdoor park), one of which was a fossil table. Jake had to get a closer look at one of his finds:

And after all that action, it was good to sit down and relax and make crafts. Jake and Daddy and Mommy made a stick man to take home and Jake settled in to his newest passion of coloring:

Here he is with his final product. He surprised us by resurrecting his portraits (we call them Veggie portraits because they kind of look like the gourds.) Notice his stacked name. He starts to far to the edge of the page and has to stack his letters:

We had a great time. Thanks Leonardo's!

By the way, Leonardo's came about because of a lot of dedicated people, chief among them Owen K. Garriott and his former wife, Helen. Owen is an Enid, Okla., native and former NASA astronaut. He went into space twice, with the Skylab 3 mission in 1973 and aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1983.

'I do it myself'

2010-03-06T19:33:00.002-06:00

That seems to be Jake's favorite phrase as of late.

He wants to be a big boy and show he can do things on his own, like going up stairs.

At work, we have a parking garage in the basement, so he has to walk the stairs. It used to be he would reach his hand out to either one of us for help. Now, we get "I do it myself," and he goes up the stairs by himself. Of course, we keep a good eye on him with one of us in front and one behind, but he really does a good job of stairs.

One of his other favorite phrases is "I help Mommy" or "I help Daddy." He loves to help us do things. Sometimes it's a good thing like today. Kevin was filling holes in the yard from badgers, moles, skunks and armadillos. (Take your pick, we have them all at one time or another). Jake came up to him and said "I help Daddy" and had to help fill the holes. But, when he wants to help fix dinner that can be an issue, especially if knives or the stove are involved. Usually, though, we can find him a safe, easy task to do and he's happy.

If we only can get him to always say "I do it myself" when he eats. LOL He tends to poke along and we have to shovel the food in.

Chinese New Year, Veggie Tales

2010-02-28T14:07:00.008-06:00

It's been a while since we had an update, so here goes.

On Feb. 21, most of the families who have adopted from China (as well as ones from Taiwan and Korea) got together for our annual Chinese New Year dinner. There were 3 more kids this year than last year. Our group continues to grow. It's such a good time getting together.

As usual, Jake hams it up

Most of the gang. Trying to get all the kids together and standing still at the same time is nearly impossible.

We also headed to the mall in town Saturday for a free showing of the latest Veggie Tales CD, "Pistachio: The Little Boy That Woodn't," thanks to Ruth's Christian Bookstore, which puts on similar events every so often. They give all the kids a goody bag and let them spin a wheel for other prizes. Jake won another Minnesota Cuke umbrella. It's the second time we went. Jake got to meet Bob and Larry again, and this time we had our camera!

After the show, Jake rode a couple of the rides the mall has.

And, it has nothing to do with Jake, but Violet caught one of our cat food bandits in the act.

An important dignitary

2010-02-20T23:09:00.005-06:00

The other day we were in Oklahoma City for an appointment with Jake's cleft surgeon. Everything is going well.
So, after the doctor visit we decided to stop by the state Capitol. Not really sure why, but it was my idea. As they say, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Any way, while we were there we noticed OETA (the public television network here) had sent up booths in the rotunda. We spied a familiar face a floor up from us. Jake saw him, too, and waved and got a wave back. So we decided to go upstairs to say hi.

A woman with OETA was kind enough to take a couple of pictures and took down our e-mail address. A few days later the pics showed up. They also asked if Jake would like a book. Sure he would. He likes Clifford.

I'd say a visit with Clifford the Big Red Dog was better than meeting a politician, don't you think?

How much do I love you?

2010-02-13T20:47:00.003-06:00

Apparently a lot, judging from the size of Jake's balloon.

He had some money and this is one of the things he wanted to buy. Wow, that balloon is bigger than he is.

The other day, all on his own Jake came up to Kevin and grabbed his leg and hugged. Then he looked up and said, "I love you Daddy."

And, Saturday morning he came in and crawled in bed with us. First he reached over and hugged Violet. "I love you Mommy." Then he reached over and hugged Kevin. "I love you Daddy."

It's just recently that he has said this all on his own without any prompting. No other four words sound so good.

A Saturday afternoon drive

2010-02-13T20:41:00.005-06:00

Yes! The sun came out Saturday and the temperature went up to nearly 60. After days and days of mostly cloudy skies and cold temperatures, it was good to get out in the sun.

Jake took advantage of the day to take a drive in his pickup. He needs to work on keeping it straight, but zig-zagging around is more fun.

Happy Chinese New Year ... Xi'an style

2010-02-12T01:02:00.006-06:00

This AP photo shows workers setting up a giant lantern ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations in the old city district of Xi'an in northwestern China's Shaanxi province. It looks like they are setting it up on the city wall, touted as the best preserved city wall in China. It's several hundred years old and was pretty cool to see and walk on when we were there. It encircles the old city area of Xi'an and is 8 miles all the way around.

This AP photo shows a dust storm hitting Yulin in the northern part of Shaanxi Province earlier this month. We were nowhere near Yulin. It's hundreds of miles north of Xi'an. All that dust sure doesn't look fun.

I'm rooting for the Colts

2010-02-05T13:31:00.004-06:00

My favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings, didn't make the Super Bowl, so I'm rooting for the Indianapolis Colts. I like them, too, and I've always been a Peyton Manning fan. He seems to be a pretty classy player and a good person. But, there is another reason I'm rooting for him in the Super Bowl ...

During our research after we received Jake's file, I found several references online to Peyton Manning being cleft-affected. He has lent his name to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St.Vincent in Indianapolis, which has a big pediatric craniofacial center that treats, among other things, cleft lips and palates.

It gives me a feeling of comfort when I look at Jake going through surgeries and speech therapy to know that Peyton Manning went through these issues, too, and now he has won one Super Bowl and may win another. All things are possible.

Kevin

Let it snow ... NO!

2010-01-30T08:48:00.003-06:00

This is what we woke up to today. It started snowing Thursday afternoon and continued through most of Friday. Throw in a little sleet and frozen rain and you get a winter wonderland. Yeah right! Some places around here received 10 inches of snow. I don't think we got as much at our house, but we got enough to make getting down and out of our driveway a chore. And, until the highway department gets to working on the roads, travel is pretty rough. It's slow going.

As bad as it was near us, in southern Oklahoma they got it worse. They got a lot more freezing rain than we did, which coupled with strong winds, means power lines came down. The last figure I saw was 179,000 people without electricity. We went through that in 2002, when we were without power for 13 days following a bad ice storm. Ahhh, the joys of living in the country.

Well, this too shall pass. We will make it and maybe even have a little fun doing it.

That's my Daddy

2010-01-26T09:52:00.003-06:00

Sorry to scare everyone with the photo, but it's a Jake original, taken by him with our old digital camera. He loves to take photos, he just needs to work on pushing the button down and holding it.

The other day Jake and I went to get our hair cut. Usually, mommy has gone along with us so she can watch Jake while I'm getting my hair cut, but she was at work this time, so it was just us guys.

They weren't busy when we got there, so we both got in the chairs at the same time. I made sure Jake was OK before I started getting my hair cut. About halfway through I heard the woman cutting Jake's hair turn his chair around and her say "There he is." I could see it all in the mirror. I saw Jake's face light up as he saw me, then he exclaimed for all to hear, "That's my Daddy!"

As they say around these parts, 'Nuf said.

A long journey coming to an end ...

2010-01-01T10:21:00.006-06:00

Congratulations to a wonderful family we met during our international adoption journey. They started out with Great Wall China Adoption, too, and were LID a little after us. We conversed via e-mail and message boards quite a bit, then got to meet in person when we went to the East Meets West conference in Chicago in April 2008.

With the wait time in China growing so much, they decided to switch to Korea and left today (Friday, Jan. 1) to be united with their daughter. You can follow their blog (see the link below).

Congratulations Amiee! A long journey is coming to an end.

journeytoeden.blogspot.com

Opening Christmas presents

2010-01-01T10:12:00.007-06:00

It's a little late, but here are some pictures of Jake opening Christmas presents.

Checking out the stocking

The bow on the head has quickly become a Christmas tradition

Opening presents

Wow, what's that big one?

There's only one way to find out

It's a train set

Getting ready for Santa

2009-12-25T00:25:00.008-06:00

Violet made some delicious sugar cookies, then had Jake help put the sprinkles on them to get ready for Santa's snack.

Puttin' on the sprinkles

Finger lickin' good

Checking out the NORAD Santa Tracker. Hey look, he's flying over the Great Wall of China!

First the cookies ...

... then the milk

After three trips to the bathroom ... Jake was nestled, all snug in his bed

Merry Christmas everyone! May you enjoy the true blessings of the season.

Deck the halls ...

2009-12-06T22:50:00.016-06:00

Today we tackled the tree and had a lot of fun in the process. Jake was pretty bored with constructing the tree, though he did help, and with hanging the lights, but he got more involved when hanging decorations. Last year, he didn't know about Christmas. This year he understands a little more about what's happening, and he wants to be more involved.
Every year is different, and that makes them all special.
We took a break to eat supper and watch "Frosty," and he was riveted to the screen as a snowman came to life.
Afterward we finished the tree, as Jake was determined to "help" with it all. He did, too.

Here is the traditional reindeer antlers shot

We call this our zombie reindeer

The whole family

Daddy and Jake hanging the ornaments Jake made this year

Then Jake hung the regular ornaments

He likes his ornaments on one branch, it seems

Our favorite ornament

Admiring our efforts

Breakfast with Santa

2009-12-05T20:24:00.019-06:00

Despite the title, we did not have breakfast with Santa, we were too late for breakfast and were having so much fun we waited to have lunch, too.
Every year there is a local Breakfast with Santa event to raise money for March of Dimes. There are photos with Santa, lots of games and fun craft booths and food. It was a good time, but boy was it packed.
Here are a few things Jake did today:

With all the holiday hustle and bustle of last year, Jake's first year home, he never got a picture with Santa. So, without further ado, here is Jake's first picture with Santa Claus.

We did it at the first and we don't think he quite knew what to think about it all (it was really packed). He didn't cry, though, even if he didn't smile. We call this the "I'm only sitting on this man's knee because Mommy and Daddy are really smiling goofy" look.
:)

Next was the Moonwalk, an inflatable game he has been watching for quite some time. It's always been a little crowded, so we've told him, "Next time." Well, next time finally came today, and he had a ball.

Look at that kicking form in the soccer ball game. The object was to knock down a little player and win a prize. While Jake's form is perfect, he needs a little work on his aim. He eventually got it and got his prize.

Jake's fascinated. What could it be?

A tall cowboy making a reindeer antler hat out of balloons ...

for Jake!

Here's the proper way to wear the hat ...

Here's Jake's way

Then he made some ornaments, a snowman and a tree ornament:

The last thing Jake did was get his picture with some pilots from the nearby Air Force base.

It was a good day and a nice holiday outing for our family.

Bringing in the Christmas season

2009-11-28T23:24:00.008-06:00

The city where we live has a unique event to ring in the Christmas season. On Friday, hundreds of people showed up downtown to see Santa, eat and drink, ride in a carriage then watch a fireworks display.

It's a good time. Violet helped man our church's booth selling hot chocolate and coffee. Kevin and Jake showed up after a day at the park. We didn't help sell anything, but we did eat hot dogs and nachos and drink a cup of hot chocolate. :)

Posing by some lights

Oooooooooohhhhhh (also the best seat in the house)

Here's a look at what got him so excited

After the fireworks we stood in line to ride not in the carriage but in the stagecoach. It was a long wait, so we had to entertain an antsy 3-year-old. Doing some flips in Kevin's arms did the trick for awhile. At one point the people around us started clapping for Jake everytime he executed a perfect flip. And how did the ham take that? He wanted to flip again, so before he did he looked out and said, "Watch me guys." Oh yeah, he doesn't like to perform. LOL
Soon he saw people getting in and out of the coach and kept saying, "C'mon Mommy, Daddy," and we had to explain the reality of a long line (something many of us adopting from China know about. ;)

Eventually, though, it was our turn. We know the people who were operating the carriage and stagecoach rides, so while Kevin was paying, Jake excitedly pulled Violet into the coach. The woman taking the money asked, "Do you think he will like it?" I guess Kevin was taking too long, because Jake kept saying,"C'Mon Daddy! C'Mon Daddy!" and looking out the door to wave Kevin in. No worries there about him liking it.

He spent almost the whole ride with his head out the window and Kevin's arm tight around his waist. As we pulled away he waved and shouted "Bye guys!" to the others waiting in line. It was a moment of joy we never will forget.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T23:21:00.002-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving Day with Violet's mother.

We had a good time and ate a lot. We also had time to reflect on all the good things we have.

Pardon the use of hands, but sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do.

We are thankful ...

2009-11-26T10:20:00.004-06:00

... for all that God has given us.
... for our families.
... for our health.
... for each other.

And mostly we are thankful for our little man.

OK, so he has his mouth full of marshmallow, but he's still our man.

All fired up

2009-11-22T22:33:00.012-06:00

Violet came up with a great idea Sunday, so that night we decided we would head outside to roast hot dogs over an open fire for supper. And, we had toasted marshmallows and smores for dessert.

While Mommy put away our groceries, Jake and Daddy headed outside to gather fire wood for the fire. With all the trees on our property there was no shortage of wood. Jake's a pretty good gatherer, too.

Once Daddy got the fire going, it was time for our feast.

Cookin' up a dog

Double dog cookin'

Taking a bite

Family portrait (the fire was dying down by then)

Fire, a great invention

On Daddy's back

MMMMMM, toasted marshmallows

MMMMMMM, smores

Let the wild rumpus start!

The games we play

2009-11-15T08:56:00.005-06:00

Jake already is a computer whiz, and many times we can just set him up on one of his sites and let him go. Here are a few of his favorite places to surf:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-songs-traditional.htm

I think this was one of the first sites we found for Jake. It has some classic songs we sang when we were kids, albeit with a British accent. Jake loves his music and always asks for incy spider. It was a good tool to get him to talk.

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http://www.fisher-price.com/us/fun/games/colorshapes/default.asp

This site is pretty much how Jake has learned his colors and shapes. We stopped at a Love's convenience store on the highway once and he pointed out the hearts on the building.

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http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/index/load.htm?f

Starfall is the best in our book. Jake can identify all of his letters and still loves to go through these,

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http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2601&e=gamesByAge&mcat=game_toddler&site=us

We haven't gone to this one as much, but we do every once in a while. I wish our printer worked. I would love the coloring pages.

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http://sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/matching/mmammals.htm

Jake is a matching fool!

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http://www.fisher-price.com/us/fun/games/countthescore/default.asp

A good counting game.

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http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/tx-/p.pdf

This is a good site I found for speech therapy. Again, a printer would be nice. Remember to make sure they say the words the right way.

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http://www.fisher-price.com/us/fun/games/phonics/default.asp

Here is another letters page that focuses on the sounds of the letters.

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https://bigidea.com/products/music/jmm_find.aspx?pid=405&name=Jake

And finally, if you type your name in on this site and listen to the audio sample, you're child might get a kick out of hearing his or her name in the song snippet. Jake loves it.

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And now, a picture. Just because. :)

Look, it's an elephant!

2009-11-05T01:06:00.002-06:00

This has nothing to do with Jake, but last night in the city near where we live (and where we both work), an elephant escaped from a circus and ended up getting in a traffic accident.

It certainly isn't something that happens every day here. LOL

Here's a screen shot of the newspaper's Web page:

Halloween fun

2009-11-01T23:50:00.009-06:00

Jake had a great time celebrating Halloween.
Last year, he was sick and missed out. This year, he was a Wild West sheriff and did his part to round up his share of the candy.
First, we went to visit Violet's mom so she could see the little man, and he got to do a little trick-or-treating there and at Violet's sister's house. Then, he visited Kevin's mom who was a little under the weather.
Finally, we all went to church for some fun and games at the annual Family Fun Night.

Sheriff Jake rides his two horses in search of bad guys and goodies.

Crawling through the tunnel set up at church. It's amazing what fun kids can have with just a few cardboard boxes.

There was a long tube set up where the kids could roll small pumpkins and then look in and watch them roll down. Jake loved it.

Getting ready to roll.

Watching them roll.

Picking up the pumpkins again.

The real Wild Bunch.

Happy birthday baby!

2009-10-25T22:37:00.011-05:00

Jake's birthday officially is Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, but we celebrated a day early with family who came to town for the occasion. Besides, by the time the pizza was on the plates and the cake was cut it was the 26th in China.

Good pal Elmo showed up:

Practicing for the candles (hey, he couldn't push out air on his 2nd birthday)

Here comes the cake!

No help needed with these candles (thanks, cleft team)

Good cake:

School bus just like Papa's (grandpa's):

Picture's worth a thousand words:

Strike a pose:

Riding his trike with his new Sesame Street riding gear:

Jake's Mama no more?

2009-10-16T21:25:00.011-05:00

A year ago today, Jake stepped off the airplane to a new world — one filled with a Mama and a Baba and grandparents and aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
We have been so blessed throughout this past year and look forward to many years of being a family.
Some months ago, our little boy stopped calling us Mama and Baba, and as he developed enough English skills to communicate on his own, and he started calling us Mommy and Daddy.
We're not sure when the change was made, but all of the sudden it was there. Kevin mentioned long ago he kind of missed being Baba, but our Little Man is showing his personality by calling us what he would call us. Of course, at the time, he was still calling me Mama some, so I had the best of it all.
His grandpa made himself known as Papa, which for a little boy with a cleft was easier to say than Grandpa, and, of course, Jake being smart and all, he figured out Mama was easier than Grandma for both his grandmas.
However, it was even more confusing because that's Mama's name.
At first, he called his grandmas MaMi (the i is long) and I encouraged that greatly, but eventually the more he called me Mommy the more he called grandmas Mama, even though he still says MaMi and even Grandma some, too.
But it really doesn't matter so much now. To our little man I am Mommy, Daddy is Daddy and he loves his Papa and two Mamas. We are a wonderful family.
He met all his grandparents and some of his aunts, cousins and friends for the first time Oct. 16, 2008.
Yes, it has been a year.
We have said it before: We are blessed.
It is so good to know that all the years of worry and pain all worked out to a perfect ending that God knew all along.
Happy anniversary to our family.

Jake and Grandma:

Jake and Grandma:

Jake and Grandpa:

Jake and Mommy and Daddy:

Jake a few days in our arms:

Jake now:

The time of our lives

2009-10-05T19:56:00.005-05:00

It's been one year since Jake entered our lives, one year since our sweet boy was united with us.

That first day was a little rough. Jake obviously was upset, which was totally understandable. He's made such tremendous progress in a year. We truly don't remember what life was like without him. Our big plans for a one-year celebration, though, didn't materialize like we wanted. The weather was kind of yucky, overcast and drizzly all day, and Jake was suffering from a stomach virus. But, just being together was celebration enough.

By the way, the photo of the hotel room door in our previous post was taken just after the two orphanage directors, the nanny and our guide knocked on the door with Jake.

Here are a couple of then and now photos.

Jake and his mommy

Jake and his daddy

The door

2009-10-04T22:31:00.002-05:00

Behind this door stands everything.

Day after Day

2009-10-04T08:54:00.006-05:00

How can I miss someone so much who is sitting behind me eating his breakfast?
Every day I love my little man even more, and I love seeing him grow into himself, as he blossoms nearly minute by minute.
Today, I miss the 2-year-old. Next year I'll miss the 3-year-old. I guess that is parenthood — a wonderful, longing journey.

Violet

This time last year, we were settling in after a day of wonderful sites — the Great Wall, Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium and walking around our hotel in Beijing. It was our last night of our old life.
This is where we were.

Baoji City - This is where Jake was.

Closer but not together. A family about to be ...

One year ago ...

2009-10-03T14:24:00.003-05:00

This was the view outside our room in the Poly Plaza hotel in Beijing. We left Wichita, Kan., at 9 a.m. Oct. 2, 2008, and arrived in Beijing at 9:35 p.m. Oct. 3, 2008. In between were stops in Detroit and Tokyo. It was a long day, and we were getting ready for another long day, with tours of the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tian An Men Square.

A great time

2009-09-28T23:25:00.005-05:00

Sunday after church we headed up to Great Salt Plains again. This time, we were meeting a family from Kansas who have four children — two of whom they adopted from China. We had "met" them before on blogs and various message boards, but this was the first time we met them in person.

Gayly brought the clan down from their home near Dodge City to check out the fun things at Salt Plains, including crystal digging (which we did earlier this year) and the beautiful scenery. Unfortunately, her husband, Shawn, couldn't make it, but it was great to finally meet those we could!

Their latest addition, son Nate, is from Shaanxi Province, but is from a different orphanage than Jake. He is 5 days older than Jake, and he's a cute little guy. Their daughter Abigayl is from Hunan and is a doll. Their other two kids, Lenna and Eli, are precious, too.

We had a great time just taking it easy and enjoying their company. Hopefully, we will be able to get together with them again.

Our Shaanxi princes

Jake flying

Climbing the steps to the top of the dam at Salt Plains

Looking at the lake

Hopping like a bunny

Season of sadness and happiness

2009-09-26T08:24:00.007-05:00

I love this time of year, and there are so many reasons to look forward to fall now with Jake home. There's his gotcha day and birthday coming up, and then there's our anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas, cooler weather ...
But there's also time, as in every season, for sadness, and I am feeling it now, as my dad died two years ago today.
He never got to see his grandchild, and that I regret for my son. So many things in his young life to miss, but kids are resilient, and they teach us adults to live in the present, for which we receive so many blessings every day.
Monday would have been my Dad's 72nd birthday, and it also is the day our agency will receive our final paperwork regarding our adoption — a joy for us and another bittersweet ending. We are so glad our adoption obligations are over, but we never will forget the journey that led us to our dream a half a world away.
In this season of sadness and happiness, I'm going to work harder at focusing on the blessings God has given us, but I will remember those things that are sad, for they are close to my heart, and my memories truly are God's blessings as well.
Violet

Wow, government sure moved fast

2009-09-15T12:19:00.002-05:00

On Thursday, Sept. 10, we took Jake for his 6-month checkup on his cleft surgery. All is going well, but he may need more surgery in the spring. We will know more later.

Then, we went to the Oklahoma Department of Health to get him an Oklahoma Certificate of Foreign Birth. We didn't need to do this, but it will make it easier come school time if everyone has a copy of an Oklahoma certificate, as opposed to the Chinese documents we have.

After a long, sometimes frustrating time dealing with the bureaucracy, we finally got in to see the woman we needed to see. We had been prepared ahead of time when she told us there would be a 72-hour time period during which they researched things before they could process our request. Then, it would take 2-3 weeks before we received the certificate.

Well, on Saturday, I went out to get the mail and there was a letter from the Oklahoma Department of Health. Uh oh, what was wrong? What more documentation did they need? I opened it up wondering what was up and was I surprised. It was Jake's Oklahoma Certificate of Foreign Birth - only 48 hours later and not the 2-3 weeks we were told to expect. Absolutely amazing!

Kevin

Cowboy Jake

2009-09-13T21:42:00.013-05:00

This past week we celebrated Cherokee Strip Days. It's the annual celebration of the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893, which settled the area.
For those unfamiliar with Oklahoma history, much of the state was settled by land runs, and the Cherokee Strip Land Run was the biggest of them all. How it happened was like this: The government bought the land of what actually was the Cherokee Outlet, but more commonly called the Cherokee Strip, from the Cherokee tribe. Then, they marked off 160-acre plots of land, as well as town sites and individual town lots. Then, on Sept. 16, 1893, everyone who was participating (and it was open to anyone) lined up on the border of the Cherokee Outlet, which encompassed most of what is now north central and northwest Oklahoma. At noon, a gun was fired and everyone raced by whatever means to stake their claims on the land of their choice. Some people ran. Some rode horses. Some rode on trains and jumped off when they got to the spot they wanted. All the towns in the area sprang up overnight. If you have seen the movie "Far and Away" starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, the Cherokee Strip Land Run was portrayed at the end of the film.

OK, enough history. They had a parade in town Saturday so we went to enjoy the fun.

Beforehand, Jake had to pose in his cowboy duds (that's clothes to you city folk. LOL). Thanks to our friend Marla for the stuffed horse and the nice western belt.

Then it was off to the parade.

Two happy parade watchers.

A clown came by and gave Jake a sticker.

Sometimes a cowboy just has to hitch up his britches.

Jake took this picture. We thought he showed good composition skills.

Watching the stage coach go by.

Look what's coming now!

Wow, a whole herd of longhorn steers. (These animals obviously have the parade routine down. They didn't let anything bug them. They just walked on down the street.)

After the parade, it was time to hop on Lightning and ride off into the sunset.
YEE HAW!!!!

Court appearance, home study and an ear infection

2009-09-09T20:58:00.004-05:00

On Aug. 31, Jacob became officially ours in the eyes of the state when District Judge Barefoot signed our petition for readoption. Jake was ours in our hearts from the moment we saw him and he has been legally ours since our adoption day nearly one year ago. It was a formality we are hoping will make our lives easier, as we can now file for an Oklahoma birth certificate for Jake that the schools and other agencies will more readily accept.
Today we had our last home study with our social worker, our 12-month report. We will miss her, as all of those who have played such important roles in our lives since this journey began.
Each of our friends, from our agency workers to our coworkers and the doctors to the therapists, have been such a support throughout our adoption process. Thank you all.
We were so glad Jake's minor cold was in latter August, as he would be well again for his 6-month followup with his cleft doctor. The last checkup (the 2-month) found him with a cold. It is hard to determine progress when your nose is stuffed. However, a clean bill of health was not to be. He got over his cold only to develop a worse one, and we found out today he has a minor ear infection.
He hasn't felt the best today, but he's doing OK, and still has had a smile on his face most of the day.
Here are two photos from adoption day:

Like father, like son -- Jake and Daddy wait for the judge

Our family portrait with Judge Barefoot

More milestones

2009-08-21T22:30:00.003-05:00

Thursday was six months since Jake's surgery, and things are looking good. He has come such a long way, and his speech is getting better. Still few sentences, though, but his pronunciation of words is better, and he seems to expand his vocabulary every day.
He is growing up, which is frustrating because it seems his waist just gets slimmer. He was in a size 12 pants the other day that was too big for him in the waist and approaching knicker-length in the legs. LOL I hope the elastic was stretched. Actually, he fits well in most 18 month clothes but they are getting high-watered.
Today we made our last home study appointment. The 12-month home study. We are fast approaching our year anniversary, which is Oct 6, adoption day in China.
So much is happening these days it seems a whirlwind, and at the center of it all is Jake, our son.

Well, here is a picture of us piddling around outside one night:

and one when we were at Salt Plains this past weekend:

A place of honor

2009-08-10T23:50:00.003-05:00

We learned in our journey to adopt that in China putting a child on Daddy's shoulders is the place of honor, so of course when we got Jacob he was riding high on Baba's shoulders for all the population of China to see.
Jake's always liked to ride on Daddy's shoulders and occasionally will ride on Mommy's, too, though her hair tends to get in the way.
This morning Jake ran into his room to get his big Elmo pillow Grandma and Grandpa got for him and spent some time with him riding on his shoulders, so of course I had to get the camera.
Violet

Let 'er rain

2009-08-06T21:29:00.003-05:00

Jake is fascinated with rain, loves umbrellas and hates showers. So we found a compromise.

One happy family

2009-08-05T13:32:00.003-05:00

Jake sat down with his crayons today to draw a picture.

After a few minutes he came to me with his paper. "Daddy."

I looked and he pointed to the right side. "Daddy."

I pointed to the middle and said, "Who is that?" "Jake," he said.

Then I pointed to the left and said, "Who is that?" "Mommy," he said.

We never looked better!

Kevin

One happy family

One year ago ...

2009-08-04T20:24:00.002-05:00

... we received our TA (travel approval). It was a great day.

Little did we know then that through a variety of reasons we wouldn't actually get to travel to be united with Jake for nearly two months. We found that news out for sure on Aug. 13, 2008. It wasn't such good news that we had to wait that long, but it all worked out for the best.

Little did I know then, too, that one year later I would find myself sitting on the floor of the local mall watching Veggie Tales on a big screen TV with my little man. You know what, though? I wouldn't change that for the world!

Kevin

Jake loves his Veggies

2009-08-01T22:26:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, Ruth's Christian Bookstore in the mall in town had several special screenings of the Veggie Tales adventure "Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella."

Jake lately has been really into Veggie Tales. So, we headed into town to catch the 1 p.m. showing. They had goodie bags for the kids and free popcorn. We sat on the floor in front of the rows of chairs they had set up and watched the big screen. It was Jake's first time to eat popcorn (unless the grandparents snuck some in and didn't tell us) and he liked it. He did pretty well watching the movie, switching between Violet's lap and mine.

At the end of the showing, two special guests showed up — Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato. It was wonderful to see Jake's reaction when Larry rounded the corner and Jake saw him. His eyes got big, he broke out into a smile and pointed excitedly. Then, he jumped off Violet's lap and hustled over to Larry, even giving Larry a hug. He was so excited. He also got curious and had to peek into the arm hole of the costume to see who was inside.

Then, we got a few pictures on Violet's cell phone of Jake with Bob and Larry. Sorry we don't have any posted, but we are cell phone challenged and don't have any way to get them off the cell phone and onto our computer. However, one of the store owners had his camera (we really need to remember to take ours with us everywhere) and snapped at least one shot. He's going to e-mail it to us, so we will post it when we get it.

Of course, the little ham was mugging it up when he was getting his picture taken. He looked so cute, and all the adults around thought so, too!

He's also the proud owner now of two Minnesota Cuke adventures: "The Search for Noah's Umbrella" and "The Search for Sampson's Hairbrush." (They had the 2 DVD set on sale.) With them came a free green Veggie Tales umbrella. Jake can't wait for it to rain! LOL

Another fun day for the family.

A week on the dock

2009-07-31T00:05:00.010-05:00

This past week has been a blast at vacation Bible school. It has been so much fun (and relief) to see Jake go with his class and always be reassured when he seeks and finds me. He's attached enough to want me but secure enough to have fun, even if it means without me. (I credit his Sunday school teacher for making him feel at home in the church.) But, we have had plenty of fun together! In fact, I think I'm more worn out at the end of the night than he is. Last night (Thursday) I really let him be independent with his class. I let him go to the bathroom with others and he did all of his activities without me. I had to help in the kitchen, and I told him I had to work making snacks and he should go with his class and have fun, and he did! And I actually feel more rested last night after slaving in the kitchen than I have the other nights playing with the 3-year-olds.
Tonight is the big finale, and Jake's daddy and grandparents will come. God continues to bless our family.
Violet

And now, without further ado, the photos:

On his way with his can for collection (they were gathering food bank items):

Standing in line and waiting for the action:

Looking confused, but really dancing to the Crocodile Dock theme song:

Whoops. Mommy's got the camera, gotta mug:

Jake loved recreation and the wagon rides (thanks to classmate Oaklee for sharing his wagon!) Here he is with Gavin:

Snack time was a favorite, especially the lemonade (Dorothy makes good lemonade):

A tribute to Frost

2009-07-21T14:35:00.003-05:00

This past weekend my riding buddy Marla lost her longtime horse Frost. He was in a lot of pain, so it was a blessing, though Marla's heart is broken.
We used to load up the trailer with Frost and my horse, Piper, and go on camping/riding trips. It is the only time I like camping is when I'm with my horse.
I still remember when Marla left for Wyoming. We went riding one last time, and as Marla and Frost left, Piper and Frost were whinnying at one another.
I miss our rides, I miss Marla and I will miss Frost.
Here is a picture of (from left) Piper, me and Frost.

Violet

Wind beneath my wings

2009-07-08T20:28:00.016-05:00

Jake was fascinated by a dragonfly, which actually is a common sight around here this time of year. This is as close as we got before he flew off in circles:

Uncle Steve and Aunt Doris got Jake a cool Elmo kite, and the weather and timing were just right to fly it Wednesday night. Highlights not pictured included Mama climbing in and out of a huge ditch to get the kite untangled, and an ant attack from which Jake narrowly escaped. Here are the pictured highlights.

Getting ready:

Wind's just right, Baba:

Run like this:

Up, up and away:

Look, up in the sky:

Elmo's flying:

Father and son:

Jake's solo run:

Wrapping it up:

Tail end of the day:

The grand finale

2009-07-05T00:06:00.012-05:00

Jake went to his first Fourth of July celebration in Meadowlake Park Saturday night. He loved the sno cones, watching the train and playing by the creek, and hated the wait (takes after his parents there). Once the fireworks began he was impressed, but quickly lost interest and was having more fun tossing a wadded-up napkin in the air and chasing it. The fireworks seemed a little spaced out and not as impressive this year, but we had a lot of other things — Jake, camera, video — drawing on our attention, so maybe it was just us.
We had a great time, however, and he promptly fell asleep on the way home, as it already was past his bedtime. Luckily he had a good nap earlier in the day.
Here are some pictures of our evening. We took some video, too, we'll try to post later.

Ahh. Fourth of July treat:

Our national anthem:

Down by the riverside:

Catch me if you can:

Our family:

Watching the show:

Lighting up the sky:

Bored now but hanging on:

The last blast:

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T15:36:00.008-05:00

After a Fourth of July morning of rain, the sun came out in the afternoon, and Jake was able to get his promised trip outside to put out the American flag.
Then he wanted to trek out to the pasture to ride Piper, his most recent favorite pastime.
Tonight it's grilled burgers then we head into town for fireworks.

The flag unfurled:

At the old flag pole ... our version anyway:

O Say Can You See:

Forward, Ho!:

Taking a few steps forward:

Thanks Piper!:

Picnic fun

2009-07-03T20:43:00.018-05:00

This is an overdue post, but on June 14 we met with other families in the area who had adopted from China for a picnic at a local splashpad area.
We had a great time, and the kids loved the splashpad, even though it was a little cool, believe it or not.
Jake actually got his first taste of water world, besides the tub, and he didn't take to it too well, I'm afraid. The kid does not like water in his face. But he had a lot of fun, anyway, and here's our day in pictures.
(on a side note: Jake since had a blast on Father's Day during a family water gun fight. It was much hotter that day.)

Jake makes a run for it with Mama:

This little boy is not happy at all:

Oh, this is much better:

Watermelon courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa, of course:

Our Little Man loves to climb:

And climb:

Doesn't he look so grown up?

Daddy taught him to say "Ta Da" when he is done:

He also is a sliding maniac:

Not sure if our son has a future in log rolling:

Silly Daddy. I'm not a sack of potatoes:

On the playground ... running for the ladder, of course:

A day for fathers, sons and fun

2009-06-21T22:47:00.003-05:00

Sunday was Kevin and Jake's first Father's Day, and while we had no specific plans, it turned out to be quite the day.
First, we decided to fumigate the house while we were at church (sounds fun, doesn't it?) but not before Baba got his Father's Day surprises from Jake.
He got a picture frame, complete with a picture of him and Jake on one side and Jake's handprints in clay on another, a bird feeder (Daddy's a nature guy) and a set of six water pistols labeled for Daddy and Jake.
It was fellowship dinner at church, and, as usual, the food did not disappoint. We had to let the house air out some, so Jake got a nap while Dad got a haircut and then we went to a little park in our small hometown. The park is quite neat, with static displays of a T-37, which used to be the planes flown at a nearby Air Force base (Jake's nod to grandpa who is an USAF veteran) and a howitzer and a torpedo.
It also is home to a small, walk-through Astrobleme Museum. Yes, that's right, we live in the middle (or at least near the edge) of one of the nation's largest meteor craters created 450 million years ago. Cool, except it's completely filled over and the only reason they know it exists is because they dug for oil and uncovered the geology.
Then, it was back home to get engaged in a huge water fight, which Jake took to like a fish to water (ha, ha), which is somewhat strange since he didn't do so good at the local splashpad last week (we've got to get that one posted, we're behind) at our ChinOkie picnic.
Maybe the fact it was about 20 degrees hotter helped our Waterboy.
We ended the night cooking out and going on an ice cream run.
It was day we never will forget.
Here's some images from our adventures:

Father's Day

2009-06-21T00:30:00.002-05:00

Wow. It's my first Father's Day as a father.
At this time last year we had our PA, but we still were waiting for our LOA. So, even though Jake was our son from the moment we saw his first photos, we still had some official hoops to jump through before we could say he was ours for sure.

Well, now we have been back for a little more than 8 months and I can honestly say I wouldn't change anything. Jake has been everything I dreamed of and more. I am so fortunate to be able to call him my son, and I am always blown away when he calls me Daddy.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. And, to all the dads-to-be, the best is yet to come.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jake and me. It was taken in Xi'an a few days after we were united as a family.

It's hard not to smile

2009-06-19T22:08:00.001-05:00

It's been a tough week at our home this week, but Jake sure can make you smile.

Taking a walk on the streets of Heaven

2009-06-17T11:42:00.005-05:00

Our dog Hot Rod died today, and we are feeling his loss heavily. Hot Rod was Kevin's dog contribution to our marriage. He got Hot Rod shortly after we met in 1993. The photo above was taken when he was a puppy. Kevin and I were co-workers then, so I didn't realize at the time how important that fuzzy, little puppy (he looked like a cuddly bear cub) would become in my life.
The thing HR loved best was going for a walk. That was his and Kevin's thing. I remember when we first moved to the country, we let our two dogs loose and off they went. When we started missing them we saw them on a country road a quarter of a mile away. Hot Rod was just trotting down the road, with Ballou tagging along behind.
Ballou died last spring, so we imagine they had quite a reunion and are even now trotting down the roads and fields of Heaven.
Hot Rod was a good dog and went to his reward, but we will miss him terribly.
The thing I think I'll miss, too, is Jake calling Hot Rod's name.
Hot Rod probably was the first two-word combination Jake said, but with his cleft he did have issues. He said it something like Haa Raa (it loses cuteness in the translation). I'm sure he will miss Hot Rod some, but he's OK now. We told him Hot Rod's body didn't work anymore, so he had to go to Heaven where it could, and Hot Rod's happy now because he can run and play again. Jake accepted it with an emphatic nod and a smile.
God bless you Haa Raa. We love you.

Violet

Family reunion

2009-06-10T22:12:00.003-05:00

Jake got to meet some of his extended family for the first time recently at a reunion for one branch of Kevin's mother's side of the family. It was great for him to meet them, because some of them have really done a lot for him. His great aunt Gladys brought him a box of stuff, including 4 Elmos she collected during the wait. That gives him 8 Elmos of various sizes. She also gave him a Clifford the Big Red Dog with the red thread bracelet she wore during the wait wrapped around his ears. That was so touching. We can't thank you enough.

Jake was a hit, and he enjoyed the time at Greenleaf State Park in eastern Oklahoma. There was a pretty nice playground where he spent much of his time. There also was a building that housed some turtles and snakes, and there was a semi-tame deer that showed up to graze. Jake liked them.

He also enjoyed playing with his cousin Matt and Matt's girlfriend Ashley.

After the reunion, we stopped at Kevin's sister's house so Jake could visit for a bit with his cousin Bob, who couldn't make it to the reunion because he had to conduct services at his church that day.

All in all, another great day.

Here's a slide show Violet created of the day:

Family fun in China

2009-05-28T20:11:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of YouTube videos of Jake in China. The first one was the fountains at Xian, which play every night in the park by the Wild Goose Pagoda. The second was of him ringing the bell at the bell tower and the drum at the drum tower, both of which could be seen from our hotel in Xian.

Our fountain video was posted before, but we took it off because of some kind of video warning from YouTube. Everything is fine, though, months later. We just never got it posted again.

Another day in paradise ...

2009-05-24T20:34:00.011-05:00

Today was a great day. We went to church, went grocery shopping (the not-so-good part), cooked out, took a walk and made homemade ice cream.
Nothing so special as being together as a family.

Little Man gives Mama the eye:

Baba cooks out:

Jake helps make homemade ice cream:

Jake eats homemade ice cream:

Here's a few from Mother's Day, including one with Grandma:

Digging it

2009-05-12T22:37:00.012-05:00

About an hour from where we live is Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. It's a 32,000-acre refuge for migratory waterfowl. We go there some to just walk around and enjoy the outdoors (we've posted previously on one of our trips). This past weekend, we headed there to dig for selenite crystals. Part of the refuge is 10,000 acres of the "largest ... saline flat in the central lowlands of North America."

The refuge opens part of the salt flat each year from April to October to the public and you can go dig for crystals. We had never done that, and last Saturday the sun finally came out (we've been having a lot of rain lately) so we headed up there to give it a try.

Jake had a great time, not necessarily digging for crystals (although he did some of that), but just being out and being a boy. We all enjoyed the family time, and we actually came home with a bunch of crystals.

After we got done with the digging, we came to town and got some food and took it to the park to eat. All in all, another fun adventure and another really great time.

Baba digging, Jake supervising

Jake doing his share

Jake and Mama getting down and dirty searching for crystals

What we were searching for

Writing in the sand

Stomping

Walking around

Pure joy, just running for the fun of it

Jake was here

Family portrait

Jake's got the giggles

2009-05-12T01:14:00.003-05:00

We were coming home from a recent adventure to Salt Plains (which we'll post photos of later) when Jake started playing his favorite travel game – snake. He was really giggling hard during his attempts to get us with the snakes (his hands), and Violet finally got the idea to pull out the video camera.
Here are a few excerpts of the frivolity, including the best giggle toward the end. Pay no attention to the goofy parents, who are not seen but unfortunately can be heard. :)

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T09:24:00.003-05:00

Today is the first time I can truly say I am a mom on Mother's Day, and my little one is playing at my feet to prove it!
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, and especially my mom, Sherry, who always has been my best friend, and my mother-in-law, Sue. Both Sue and my father-in-law, Bill, have treated me like a daughter, and I love them very much. They also are the best grandparents to Jacob, and that has meant so much to us.
Love to all and God bless,
Violet

Seven, eight ... a big, fat snnnaakke!

2009-05-05T15:43:00.016-05:00

Sunday we piled into the car to go to Okeene Rattlesnake Roundup. Jake has been seeing a lot of snakes on a matching game he plays and outside in our yard (none of them rattlers.). We told him we were taking him to see snakes, and he was ready.
He even ate a little snake, although that was tough since snake is mostly muscle. Does it taste like chicken? Maybe. It was hard to tell by the small bites we managed to peel off the bone.

It's a good thing those snakes are behind bullet-proof glass, or I'd show them what a snake wrangler I am:

Come on out snakes:

These are chicken snakes:

Who says snakes are scary ... scaly, maybe
(P.S. You can try this at home; it's just a harmless rat snake)

What! I'm not touching that. It's a rattlesnake!

No silly. It's not snake, it's a fried Oreo!